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copperbadge · 1 year

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would you mind talking a little about enjoying traveling solo? I've always wanted to explore, but so many people paint traveling as this group activity, and I've always felt bad not having friends to do it with

My god, how much time do we have?

So, I could indulge in a little free therapy here and talk about some fucked-up experiences of travel I had as a child, but that's not really applicable, so...let's leave it at the fact that until I was out on my own, I didn't get to pick what happened to me on trips. I do often travel with my friends, who are always up to do the dumb shit I concoct for us, but any travel with another person involves compromise, and sometimes I just don't want to compromise, or to irritate my friends. Even though I know they probably won't be, I still worry they will, and sometimes I don't want to worry.

I also never internalized the idea that doing things alone was sad or weird. It's a social cue that I completely missed. The first time a friend of mine randomly came across me eating alone in a restaurant in college, she said, "Sam, why are you eating alone?" and I said, baffled, "Because I wanted dinner?"

I was twenty years old before it occurred to me that other people would feel strange eating alone in a restaurant, and then only because she told me she'd be too self-conscious. I was thirty before I realized most people would be self-conscious traveling alone, something I'd been doing since I was seventeen. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to be with other people -- some people love company or are nervous traveling alone or just plain don't get the appeal, and that's entirely fine.

But I love knowing that everything I do is for me alone. I can go to the weird museum or check out the odd store or do strange secret things to delight myself and never worry that I'm making life unpleasant for someone. I can be as selfish as I want. That's very rare for me and very precious. Also why I will probably never have a permanent romantic partner, but that's also free therapy for some other time.

The truth is, when you are alone, nobody actually knows that. Yes, if you're the only person at your table in a restaurant you're obviously alone, but nobody knows you aren't just getting a bite to eat before meeting up with your many cool friends. I don't look at anyone I see out in the world and go "Oh sad sack, look at them without anyone to hang out with." I think most of us worry everyone is saying that, and none of us actually are saying that.

And when I have been asked if I'm with someone and said, "Oh, I'm traveling on my own", people universally react with envy. "That must be amazing. I couldn't do it," or "I've never gone on a trip by myself, is it fun?" I've never had anyone say or imply that I'm a loser who couldn't find someone else to travel with. Quite the reverse.

Recently I had the thought that if I was more afraid of being alone I would probably have more intimate friendships or at any rate a much wider social circle, because I would need someone else to go with me on adventures and I would have to internalize the idea that it's okay to inconvenience or bore someone else at times, which I never really have. But that's kind of a tautology; "if I was less okay being alone I'd be less alone" is cyclical reasoning, when the truth is I'm someone who is a little fucked up about other people but also just genuinely enjoys solitude.

I love my friends, and I try very hard to form strong bonds with them despite that being really hard for me. I do get lonely, and I spend more time alone than is probably good for me. I get very anxious before solo trips. But I will also always need times when I am alone and only ever have to worry about myself. And once I'm launched on the trip I fucking love it. There are very few joys to rival walking out early in the morning into a strange city and knowing that the day and the city are both yours and yours alone.

Also sometimes I pretend I'm a spy, or an art historian on the trail of a stolen painting, or an academic writing a very important book. That's fun as hell.

Anyway, even when I do travel alone my friends are only a text message away, and I get to see cool stuff that I bring back to my room at night and share with all of you. I love sharing my adventures with you guys.

So yeah. My thesis is that nobody will even notice you're alone and if they do they'll probably think you're fucking cool for doing it, and meanwhile you get to do exactly what you want and nothing you don't. I think everyone should at least try it. You don't have to do a four-country trip through Europe for your first time out; you can just find something in another city that you want to see -- a museum or a zoo or a play or a cool burger joint -- book a trip, arrive Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon. And if it turns out you don't like traveling alone, that's okay too. There's no inherent moral virtue in being alone any more than there is in not wanting to be.

I just think it's super cool to sometimes go haring off on my own and do dumb shit. :D

#travel #sam travels #solo travel

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tubbytarchia · 23 days

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Just a bunch of Doc and Jimmy thoughts as to why I find them so appealing and endearing. I wanna draw them more but regardless I have too many thoughts on them to ever visualize them all. It's a lot and very self-indulgent. This is your warning TLDR Jimmy in a father/son type of dynamic (as opposed to a romantic relationship) would do him good and Doc would be very perceptive and gentle and awesome about it

These are pretty much all reliant on a hypothetical scenario in which Jimmy is on Hermitcraft (after Secret Life?), temporarily or permanently or accidentally etc. I'm also gonna refer to Jimmy's relationships with Tango, Scott etc as romantic just for clarity

- Firstly I don't mind them as a ship, its all cool with me (cause I know at least a few of you ship them haha), but to me their absolute main appeal is the fatherly aspect. It being a father/son dynamic eliminates so many of Jimmy's struggles off the bat - ones that are prevalent in his romantic connections, mainly the inherent anxiety and inability to open up to his partners as a result (at least fully)

- Because of said anxiety, none of Jimmy's partners up to this hypothetical unexplained point of time would fully "get" him. Even if Jimmy trusts them, he's been conditioned to see himself as the faulty link by default and the people around him, however good they are and however much they COULD help, aren't the type to pick up on or be able to understand exactly what he needs (Tango's rather oblivious, Martyn's hot-headed etc), and Jimmy isn't exactly going to tell them in the headspace that he's in, he doesn't know how to. Yet Doc has had one, ONE notable interaction with him, and in that one interaction, even as Jimmy's just jokingly calling for Etho, Doc immediately and immaculately picks up on what Jimmy needs: "I want to take you into my hands and take you to a safe place"

- There's a quote(?) exchange that goes "You're free, (referring to a bird whose gate has just been opened), why don't you fly away?" followed by the bird "the cage is all I know". Sorry to use some "I'm 14 and this is deep" quote but that's just Jimmy. He needs time and gentleness, and a safe place that'd allow for that. A safe place to heal until he's ready to step out into the world of his own accord. He's helped out of the cage with patience and understanding, not by pushing him. Where Doc understands to be patient, some of Jimmy's partners post-3L would push - of course just trying to help but failing to grasp Jimmy's needs fully - or fail to realize there's (still) a cage there at all. Sorry what are we talking about again

- Add-on to the above points: Doc being able to pick up on Jimmy's wants and needs without verbalization. He'd be able to offer Jimmy desired comfort, and, comparing to Tango for example, without their time necessarily being cut short and without the failure to recognise that it's something Jimmy continues to need. (I've said it before but Tango's oblivious, and that's partially why he and Jimmy work well together, but it also means that he doesn't pick up on everything, especially when not near and soulbound to Jimmy, and by virtue of being a romantic partner, Jimmy's too anxious to ask for help too, because of previous relationship experiences). Doc would pick up on it all though, eliminating Jimmy's need to explicitly ask for help, because that's the one thing he's not able to communicate however desperately he's needed to to kickstart any kind of healing

- We all know how Doc gets when he's being a dad so. This father/son dynamic only means more softness and gentleness from Doc you know... Again, something Jimmy is in desperate need for!! And what he's gotten from people like Tango as well, but once again, this isn't a romantic relationship so Jimmy's feelings about physical affection are a bit different. Doc would have the utmost mindfulness of approaching Jimmy in any physical touch scenario though and never push or pressure. He always watches out for signs of discomfort, and will hardly touch him if he thinks that there's a chance it could upset Jimmy further. He understands that Jimmy needs time and patience and he doesn't want for him to draw more into himself, thus reversing any progress they might've made, especially if in Jimmy's current mindset, an even remotely unwanted approach could make him feel unsafe. If there are defenses that he's learned to and needs to keep up, then Doc won't take that away from him and give him space as needed

- When Doc IS to offer physical touch and such, he'd still have the utmost gentleness and pay attention to where he's situated near Jimmy just so he can ensure that he's using his organic arm to pat him or to have the organic half of his face towards him, not only to minimize intimidation but to also put them on more equal footing - If Doc can just look over and read Jimmy's eyes at any moment, he wants Jimmy to be able to see his too to help him feel more comfortable (and thus encourage opening up)

- Back to the "safe place" thing specifically, Doc would totally take Jimmy under his wing and thus also into his base - his huge and scary full-of-machines barely-resembling-a-house-to-any-degree base. Jimmy would be naturally intimidated by Doc and his base in kind, but just as he grows more used to big scary goat man, he grows more used to big scary goat man base. He'd be intimidated but not past the point of intrigue, and combined with his need to prove himself, Jimmy would very much try to study Doc's machines and learn the layout of his base etc. I'm tickled by the idea of no one understanding Doc's base as per usual, except this one lost guy he took under his wing

If Jimmy were to mess anything up (he inevitably would I'm sure) Doc would be all grumbly about it in the moment but never hold a grudge towards him. And Jimmy would either flee but quickly return and/or be very insistent on making it up to Doc, which Doc would refuse because there's no need

- Again, with Jimmy's need to prove himself but also out of genuine interest, Jimmy would very much try redstone whilst at Doc's. He'd ask Doc to be honest and not to praise his work just to be polite, but Doc would believe in him and find his efforts genuinely endearing and worthy of praise for the work that he'd have put into it. Not once would he have complimented Jimmy's work without meaning it. I don't think he'd be able to live with himself if he stooped to disingenuousness like that (though Jimmy wouldn't know that)

- Doc would be protective and rightfully so. If he were to see Jimmy bullying becoming too prevalent, he'd very much step in to say that that's enough of that. He might tease Jimmy a little himself, very lightheartedly, but otherwise not find much comedy in it. And we all know how he holds grudges if he's to single anyone out for going over the line... Jimmy would be opposed to Doc calling anyone out or anything of the like and Doc very much wants to respect Jimmy's wishes but... There's no way he isn't going to speak his mind at least out of Jimmy's earshot

- Doc has always understood that Jimmy's in need of help, but of course he can only entail so much without hearing it from the man himself. And when Jimmy does inevitably open up, Doc would be totally taken aback by the amount of things weighing on Jimmy's heart, and just out of disbelief he'd go "and you haven't told anyone??", which may make Jimmy curl in on himself a bit, but Doc would be quick to reassure that he's not questioning Jimmy's actions nor blaming him for bottling his feelings up, merely expressing sadness that Jimmy hasn't felt like he could tell anyone up until now. Doc would remember everything he's told with precision and keep it all in mind constantly. Very self indulgent but for example, Jimmy having felt the need to dress up as a maid as payback just to stay on SOS would make Doc pay even more attention to any potential signs of discomfort in Jimmy presenting himself to others or feeling pressured to do something etc

- Before reaching the point of being able to open up, Jimmy would inevitably tear up at some point when he gets stuck thinking about just how kindly he's being treated for whatever reason that remains a mystery to him. Even if he tried to hide it, Doc would immediately notice the unusual body language, or something like his headwing moving to cover his face. And he would become very panicked lol, quickly reassuring Jimmy about whatever he thinks caused the reaction, like his redstone attempts for example, only for Jimmy to be unable to express why he's really crying, but at the very least Doc would understand that there's more to it and will just do his best to comfort him regardless

- Jimmy has and will absolutely call people his dad as a joke, but when he inevitably refers to Doc as such by accident, he'd become embarrassed about it. It'd be awesome and cute I think

- Ok so Hermitcraft, of course Tango's there!! And with no death game looming over his or Jimmy's heads. Still, that doesn't erase Jimmy's anxiety even when he opens up to Doc about it. Doc would offer suggestions for how Jimmy could approach Tango (And maybe Pearl too), but if Jimmy expresses his inability to do so because of anxiety and such, then Doc will let it go and just comfort or reassure him for the time being instead. He'd ask if he should talk to Tango all menacing and Jimmy would be vehemently opposed to the idea lol. Doc would probably still take it up with Tango at some point and Jimmy wouldn't find out until much later into him and Tango talking again, at which point he'd become embarrassed that Tango had to deal with that (but of course there would have never been any malice involved and Tango can easily laugh about it). Added drama if we go with the idea that Jimmy's time on HC is limited which would only stress him out more about talking to Tango

- Doc would pay so much attention to Jimmy's wings' welfare. He'd ask Grian and do all kinds of research on his own too to make sure they're properly cared for whilst fully understanding their personal importance and potential intimacy that caring for them entails, giving Jimmy whatever space he needs whilst still keeping an eye on his wings. In a different hypothetical scenario where Doc is in the Life series and not much else is changed, he'd take note of Jimmy's wings being clipped (3L, LL), then growing (DL, LimL), and then becoming ragged (SL, with Jimmy's increasing hostility, restlessness etc)

- You are insane for reading till this point. Take my hand, we can be insane together

#blabber #shak's doc&jimmy thoughts

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festering-obsession · 2 years

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CREEPYPASTA DRABBLES

CW: Serial Killers, Yandere Content, (Forced) Established Relationships, Self-Esteem Issues, Hollywood-ized Disorders, Descriptions of Blood and General Violence, Stockholm Syndrome, Some Implied Bits But It Doesn't Go Far, May Be Ooc?, All characters and reader is 18 and above

A/N: I wrote some HC's of these fellas in like the prime of quarantine era. Nostalgia hit so these are losely connected to those HC's.

Jeff The Killer:

The bed is cold and hard surrounded by four dark walls. From your spot on the bed, you can see the glimmer of the pale moonlight that reflects off the steel bars in the windowsill.

The mansion is relatively quiet at night, as it's the time most it's inhabitants are out for their nightly sprees, Jeff included. This is the only time you get some amount of free time to yourself, but you rather sleep the entire time so you can properly deal with Jeff when he gets back. Tossing and turning doesn't help the ounce of anxiety that lays in the bottom of your stomach. What were you scared of? The door is locked to keep you safe from the others, even though they know not to even try, and you dont have to worry about Jeff breathing over your neck as you try to rest.

Wait, were you scared for him?

No, no, no. You are not going to get yourself flustered over how your captor may get a fucking bruise while he's out slaughtering. He'll be fine, and you shouldn't give a shit about him.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep...Anything to get your mind to stop from racing. And your eyes finally feel heavy as previous nights with little hours of sleep finally push you to slumber. The bed dips, and you're unaware of what time it is. Then a cool, splatter of something hits your check.

You crack open an eye and see Jeff hovered over you, his beloved knife is nowhere to be seen and his hands are gripping his jeans tightly. His sullen blue eyes stare into your figure, and there's blood covering his hoodie, with some splashed on his face.

"Jeff, why are you..." You begin and you see him snap out of it.

"I can stare at you if I fucking want to. Your ass was kidnapped for a reason." He snaps out.

"I never said you couldn't, did I?" You say leaning up and seeing the newly soaked blood-red sheets. Shit, you'll have to wash that out later.

"Stay being a smartass and your blood will get on me next." Jeff threatens. You flinch slightly, but you grab the edge of the bedsheet and raise it up to Jeff. He looks at you puzzingly before you wipe the blood off of him on one cheek before leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek. If it wasn't for what happened next, you could have sworn you saw his cheek grow pink.

Jeff grabs you by the hips towards him and presses his lips onto yours so fast you yelped. His hands moved over your body feverishly, and you could barely keep up with his movements due to the grogginess from just waking up.

Almost too quick, he pulls away as he askes in a hushed voiced. "Why, why did you never even contact me when I left that hospital?" He grits his teeth. "I thought we had something, but you, you changed. Do you even like me? Or is this all some bullshit act and-" You gripped his face and pushed yourself onto him. Your hands felt wet with blood, but you rather deal with that then his outburst.

Your lips connected to his.

The first time you initiated a kiss with him. If he was still a schoolboy, he would have been giggling and kicking his feet in happiness. But that was years ago, and he wants more.

Apart of you wants to think you're doing this to surivive, but another part of you is enjoying this.

You lean back for just a moment, parting from his permanent-smile. "You know how much I care about you, I was just scared of change."

Jeff moves you closer onto his lap, his arms around yours pulled as close as possible. "You know I'll follow you anywhere. If you even leave the room, I'll be there. You try to leave the mansion, I'll be there. Even in death, you will still find me, so don't even fucking try."

And Jeffery consumes you entirely again.

Slenderman:

The clock ticks in the background softly as you sit stiffly on the sofa. The normal red velvet plush would feel soothing, but as your heartbeat hammers faster, it feels like it's pricking into your skin. You don't even dare to move an inch as you could feel the proxies staring at you.

You can see Hoodie, his red eyes downcast as you look up to him, nervously fumbling his yellow strings of his jacket. His legs stay crossed on the floor of the room. Toby passes the room, from bookshelf to the window, nervously scratching down on his arms through the sleeves. You can fairly hear him repeated whisper "Oh, n-no, no, no, no..."

But Jeff, he sits on the couch right across from yours, his glare is intimidating and piercing. Despite him being far from you, you could feel his knife being edged closer to your neck. Move even an inch, and your neck is slit bleeding on the ground.

Masky comes back in his face, or mask, devoid of any emotion. "I was able to reach him. Boss should be back any moment now." Masky goes to look out the window.

"F-Fuck, we fucked up! No, n-no, what do you think he'll do to us? We just had to watch them and we me-messed that up!" Toby stutters, his scratching more feverous and you can see the seams of his jacket rip open.

"For someone SO paranoid, you forgot to check the locks to Slender's room!" Jeff gets up with a quickness, his knife pointed at Toby.

"Y-You shouldn't have dumped all responsibility onto me, ha-have you thought of that?!"

"Do you even think, you fucking cunt?" Jeff laughs. "I mean, can you even get a sentence out right?"

Toby goes to launch at him, axes drawn but Hoodie pulls him back.

You screech and jump back, knocking the couch over in the process. Your head gets hit on the wooden floor as you hear hushed voices. What once was chaotic, went eerily still.

You feel inky black tendrils climb over your body, and the distance from you and the floor grows.

Despite being slightly dizzy, you can feel yourself pressed against a silky smooth tuxedo. You can hear a cluster of voices, all speaking and tumbling over eachother as they rush to speak. A deep voice, almost static booms from the rest, finally bringing you back to your senses.

A pure white hand grabs the side of your face, lifting up slightly to gase at a blank slate. "As long as they remain unharmed, make sure this does not happen again. Do your best to make sure there's no more escape attempts." Slenderman speaks again. "

"What if some other creature got to them before you or I could?" He grows tense, and the air fills with static. "You all would be dead where you stand."

That fucking static, the one that warningly rung through your ears before being kidnapped. The proxies react by gripping their hands tight and gritting their teeth, trying to endure. Not you. Fuck that. Your head that was once soothingly placed against his silk tux ripped away from him as you pushed yourself away from his body. You collapsed to the floor before clambering away from Slenderman, one hand pushing yourself up while the other was grasping the side of your head.

You ran for the door unsteadily shifting side to side as your hand reached out for the knob. Inky tendrils wrapped around your legs up to your thighs before being pulled up, but not hitting the ground. The static came to a halt.

"Leave us be." Slenderman had you gripped into his arms once more as he started at the still shaken killers. "I said, NOW." His mouth unlatched, ropes of white were the last bits holding it together.

One by one, they left in a hurry, Hoodie running down a hall, Masky hurrying to the basement, and Jeff jumping through a window.

Slenderman sat down on the couch with you tucked into his arms, grazing your cheek with a pure white hand. "I wish to not harm you, little one, but you can not attempt these stunts." His head leans against yours and even though he has no eyes, you can still feel them gaze into your eyes.

"I just, believe, that I was getting cabin fever. Could you please take me out? It could just be us both."

"Well, that may be sooner than we both think. You see, I was able to contact a man who is an excellent artist. I wish to have a portrait of us together to hang in the hallway." He lifts and hand and brings it to his "mouth" for a mock kiss.

A doll for him, that's what you feel like. "Sounds lovely." And you force a smile at him.

Ticci Toby:

He was shaking hard in your grasp. The ripped magazine is torn to shreds with an axe dead center in it, that poor model in the front didn't know what was coming. All you can do is hug him tight as he sobs into your shoulder.

"Why w-were you looking at him..Does he have some-something I don't..?!" Toby stutters out as he grips hard into your ribs.

"Toby, no, I was looking at the recipe catalogue." You combed your fingers through his brown hair.

"Sure, I be-bet you think I'm ugly, and you wo-would rather be with someone normal." He pushes you off of him and grabs his other hatch, slamming it down on the already ruined magazine. You see the splinters rise with each hit of his axe, and you're almost at a lost for words.

There's a bigger hole beginning to form, but you're too scared that if you try to stop him, that axe will be going in you. You're able to usually help ground him, but now, you're scared. You scoot back from him, and you can't help but let frustrated droplets go down your face.

What could you even do to make him stop? The hacking stops and Toby turns to you. Despite his goggles, you can see a cascade of tears beneath them.

You shake but open your arms to beckon him to you. He wastes not a second, almost tripping on his feet as his weapons drop and he clings himself back on you.

You nudge the backstrap of his goggles off as he arms remain firmly planted on the sides of your body. You slowly and gently place quick kisses on his eyelids. Your fingers gently hook on his mask and tug them down. Both items fall to the ground with a tiny thud.

But Toby doesn't seem to mind in the moment. You press more kisses on his face now with the extra room.

"Toby, it's okay. I'm here. I'll always be here for you, okay?" You hug him so tightly but he melts.

"Do you re-really want me?" Toby numbly says. You slowly press him back to clearly look at him. His brown eyes scan over you, quickly growing anxious at the delayed answer.

You smile and kiss him. "Yes, more than anything." You use your sleeve to wipe off the tear stains and kiss them clean.

"I get it, magazines make me insecure too, but they got nothing on you." You cup his cheek and smooth over his scar.

"Why would they ma-make YOU insecure? You're p-perfect." Toby firmly states while leaning into your touch.

"I'll fucking kill those models for you if you ask." Toby stares at you, genuine and sure in his tone.

"No, no, lets just clean ourselves up, yeah?" You stand up, but his arms still try to hold on before dropping down. His brown eyes still gazing up at your figure.

You walk to the connected bathroom and turn on the shower. Thank whatever entity Slenderman was to know that even if they're his serial Killers, some of them were human (mostly) and needed basic hygiene.

You let it run as you help Toby up and his face grows warm. "Together..?"

"We won't do anything you don't want to do." You smile and take off your clothes.

"I'll be in the shower when you're ready." The water was warm enough and it wasn't long before you felt Toby behind you, slightly shaking.

"Can you ju-just hold me please?" He asks, the water droplets hitting his pale body and flattening his brown curls.

The steam in the bathroom filters out the cracks and fogging the mirrors. Your body sits on the floor of the shower with him, your body pressed to his back, holding him as close as possible so he doesn't break into another outburst.

For once it feels like, Toby's mind feels clear as he snuggles back into your body.

...

~Cole.

#yandere x reader #yandere imagines #yandere x darling #monster boyfriend #creepypasta x reader #creepypasta imagines #yandere scenarios #slenderman x reader #ticci toby x reader #jeff the killer x reader #yanderecore #monster x reader

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etaleah · 8 months

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Why Not Ship Sonic with Knuckles Instead?

Why is it that, when Shadow and Knuckles have such similar personalities and dynamics with Sonic, do some people prefer to ship Sonic with Shadow instead of Knuckles? Wouldn’t a Sonic and Knuckles relationship offer the same thing and be more believable since those two are friends?

The answer (in my opinion) is no, it would not, and here’s why I find a Sonic and Knuckles relationship both less believable and less interesting.

(Disclaimer that I’m not knocking anyone who does like the ship. I have no problem with it; it’s just not for me)

Now the first issue I would see with a Sonic and Knuckles pairing is logistics. Knuckles is stationary; Sonic is free-roaming. Never being able to stay in one place for long is a big part of Sonic’s character, and staying in one place for a long time is kind of Knuckles’ whole thing. He guards the Master Emerald and never leaves Angel Island unless he has to, and never for very long if he can help it. Having to stay in an isolated place for a long time would drive Sonic crazy. Maybe a good fanfic writer could reconcile this by playing up the “being in love with you makes me want to stay” schtick, but even that I think would only work for so long. Knuckles wants to stay where he is because that’s his home and he feels an obligation to it. Sonic wants to travel and go where he pleases. And while we don’t know where Shadow lives, it’s safe to assume he’s probably living at least a somewhat nomadic lifestyle because the one permanent home he did have was destroyed. So I think he and Sonic would work better just from that standpoint if nothing else. Shadow has moved on from his past, but Knuckles is still very much tethered to his.

My other issue is that these characters don’t clash over the same things. As I mentioned in my Sonadow post, Sonic and Shadow fight over serious ideological differences that both are equally passionate about defending. When Sonic and Knuckles fight, however, it’s usually because Knuckles got tricked into falling for an Eggman scheme that almost any other character would have immediately seen right through. There are exceptions to this, I’m sure, like in the movie where they fight over which parent was on the right side in the war, but a lot of times they fight because Knuckles is just so dang gullible. Instead of both of them being passionate, it’s more one-sided where Knuckles is passionate but Sonic is smirking at what a dumbass he thinks his friend is. I don’t find that nearly as satisfying to explore and write about.

There’s other factors as well. I think Shadow would be drawn to Sonic because he reminds him of Maria. They’re both blue and kind-hearted, they both love the world and want to protect it, and they both want to explore and hate being trapped in one place for a long time (only in Maria’s case, she can’t really do anything about it). Knuckles doesn’t really have anyone like that in his life. There’s not really any reason for him to be drawn to Sonic in that way, at least no more so than he would be drawn to Amy, Tails, or any other good-hearted person in the series. He admires Sonic for his bravery and good morals, sure, but I imagine he admires Cream for the same reason. The only family we see Knuckles have (outside the Ken Penders comics) is his dad, who always just kinda seems like an older version of Knuckles. Shadow being with Maria makes me think of Shadow being with Sonic, while Knuckles being with his dad just makes me think of Knuckles being with his future self.

And finally, there’s the speed. Only Shadow is a match for Sonic in a race. Knuckles could beat Sonic in a fight, where it’s a contest of strength and power, but he could never beat Sonic in a race. Only Shadow can keep up with him in a race. And I just think there’s something romantic and cool about that.

Knuckles and Shadow may have a lot in common, but they are not the same character. And neither is their dynamic with Sonic.

#sonadow #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hegehog #knuckles the echidna #my thoughts #maria robotnik

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flanpucci · 1 month

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I already talked about why I love Pucci on a logical sort of level but I didn't get in depth about what I think and feel about him as a character and why he stuck with me enough to get him permanently tattooed on my skin so I'm gonna get into it a little bit. Feel free to skip this one because it's not really analysis and delves a tiny bit into interpretation/headcanon so I guess it's more blogposting than anything.

To be honest although I really liked his design and the cool black representation he is, and Whitesnake was instantly my favorite stand, I didn't like him right away, I thought he was a little bit of a weirdo in his introduction scene with Miraschon, and it took some time for him to grow on me. His design and themes land right in the middle of stuff I've been interested in since forever (Christianity, the moon, space, technology, arts, science...) so of course I had an interest in him. I remember that I really liked the fact that even though he's a priest he's knee deep in the occult with the green baby and making Foo Fighters etc, I thought that was super interesting. It took me til the end of the part to root for him, and then when he was defeated, I realized that I wasn't as happy as I should have been lol.

I guess one of the first reasons why I was touched by Pucci on a personal level is that I felt really strongly empathic towards him, and his behavior and actions just let me feel like I caught a glimpse of his many emotions inside, even though he has a thick facade. For example, his loneliness felt very real to me. Having lost most of his family, and his dear ones by his own fault, them being taken away from him, him choosing to live a celibate life in the clergy, shutting himself in a prison for the biggest part of his life... His self inflicted suffering just saddened me a lot deep down inside. He's also got big existential dread, wondering about the greater purpose of his life from his childhood. Isn't this something that touches everyone at some point?

But not many people have their entire beliefs about their existence and identity crushed at a young age in their life. Pucci, when his brother is found out to be alive, has everything that he built himself upon, his justification for being alive, completely shattered. It then turns into tragedy, yet he seems to find a little hope and comfort with Dio, only for them to be crushed again when he dies. And then he holds on to this impossible grief for 22 whole years, unable to accept that his fate in this world is to suffer so much loss. We don't see him sad after his sister died, we don't see him cry or flinch. Living his life in this manner, he surely had to have a lot of pent up emotion, which he surely dealt with by dissociating them from himself and pushing them onto Whitesnake. But not entirely, it's a little 'see-through'. When you think of it, he's amongst the most 'perfect' characters in the series, he's superior, composed, poised, tightly upkept, articulate. He has both an advantage in status and seniority in age over almost everyone in the part. He seems to be well adjusted and respected by people working in the prison, and in the city. Yet he's also very faillible, often prone to panic, he begs for his life at multiple times. Scenes like the frog scene where he slips and messes up the prime number count because there are frogs on his expensive pants make him reek of humanity when otherwise he could easily feel 'out of reach' and inhuman because of how superior he is (like let's say, Kars is, which is a lot of his appeal though!). Same when I recently discovered his watch is worth several thousand dollars. It felt like peeking into his true self right through the wall of righteousness that he built to protect himself and further the plan. His bad sides and inclination towards cardinal sins are really fun to watch and try to notice. That's also why I don't like when people pass him off as a good person, because to me he's really not, he wouldn't be half as interesting if he was! But he's not completely evil either, and as Weather tells him, being so sure that his evil is necessary for a greater purpose is what makes it even more heart breaking to me.

On top of that, his quirks and unique traits make him both very endearing and relatable, especially if you happen to have similar ones! In my case counting has been my primary means of shutting down anxiety attacks for years now, and when I saw him do it too, I automatically felt really drawn to him. Same goes for his ramblings in the worst moments, they made him really stand out, and I felt drawn to him because of some examples he used that hit close to my interests. If you've read my other analysis maybe you know that I tend to interpret him as autistic and so this hits close to home too. In the same manner, the fact that such a cool and powerful character grew up with a canon disability (in his foot) made me feel happy as a disabled person.

There are scenes where he expresses love and devotion very directly and in a raw way, which is very rare, and was also surprising because of how indirect he usually is to make a point... His love for Dio however you wish to interpret the nature of it is deep and sincere and rooted in both despair towards his impossible situation and the hope that maybe another miracle could occur and turn things around for him. I thought the evolution of the way he talks about Dio was really interesting and it moved me to see him very attached to his dear friend. Also the scenes with Dio let us see how sweet and interested he is when he's with someone he gets along with, and how different Dio behaved towards him made me like Dio a lot more too.

When I watched Stone Ocean I had just finished The Outer Wilds and FFXIV Endwalker, and in a way these 3 pieces of media hit the same nerve in me. I was thinking a lot about the purpose of existence and the end of the universe, so I really wanted Pucci to fulfill his potential and go as far as he could, taking the entire universe with him, breaking every rule of his world and becoming bigger than the story itself. It's still how I see him and why I admire him a lot. I was very shaken by his death and the part it played in the entire series. In a sense I get the feeling that he was obsessed with destiny because he knew he was created to do something, and he was right, he was created by Araki only to suffer his horrible backstory, to have everything taken from him. But his extraordinary inability to accept it pushed him to break the wall of the story and try to subtract himself from it, while opening everyone's eyes on the cruelty of the (fictional?) world they live in, and giving humanity the possibility to be at peace with it. The first time I saw the ending, I was completely crushed by the weight Araki put on him, making his total erasure from the world the only condition for everyone's life to suddenly become better, almost perfect. I was disgusted that it was expected from me to be happy that the world was finally rid of him when it all started with an impossible to predict chain of events. Now that I look back at the ending, I think maybe I misunderstood it, and I've decided to believe that he maybe was freed from the curse that was his existence in the story, and that he took upon him many of all the 'wrong' that was in the original world, making it all right for the other characters. I hope Perla is happy in the new universe... Even though this is probably just delusional coping...

Although I feel sorry for Pucci and wish he could have solved his problems differently, I'm glad the story is sad as it is because otherwise I wouldn't have felt so deeply for him. In a sense I felt his pain so strongly that I was instantly drawn emotionally to find a way to 'solve' his situation, he's like I tormented soul that I have to appease, and that's why I pick up a pen and draw, write, or spread love and wholesomeness. That's also why I draw him peaceful or sleeping most of the time, why I bring my plushie to see nice things 😔🫶 I also get a lot of different feelings coming from Araki's way of drawing him throughout the part, and I think Pucci was a character that Araki learned to love and understand along the way too, instead of liking him from the start like he did Dio or Jolyne, but he probably was a lot to handle even for him lol.

Jojo's been one of my favorite mangas for more than 7 years now and I'm so glad Pucci was the last boss for it, embodying and carrying in him the legendary Dio without being overshadowed by such a legendary character, while giving the story and Dio's character the last missing piece of the puzzle to truly tie things up nicely. Saying goodbye to him and to Stone Ocean after watching it also meant saying goodbye to the universe that I had loved and enjoyed for many years so it was bittersweet. In any case he's the peak, the climax, the strongest and has permanently changed the course of one of the best mangas in existence with his actions, and I take a lot of pride in my taste and the fact that my favorite character is the one who did all that haha 😫

And lastly I'd like to say that even if it's not really related to Pucci as a character, this last year that I've been active in fandom, liking him as pushed me to develop my skills, I started drawing, got back into writing, went on trips cause I wanted an excuse to bring him to the Louvre, go out of my way and explore new places when I made that collection of pictures representing the 14 words, made friends, I'm going to Japan soon and I'll be bringing him with me to meet them, he has fueled my imagination and given me more inspiration than I've ever felt, and I'm forever grateful for that. It is not easy nowadays to feel very intense positive emotions, life can be stressful and tiring, so I'm thankful that liking him has given me the push I needed to start doing many new things, interest myself in the wonders of the world, go to church, explore my city, go see art, travel, feed my mind with knowledge and beauty. Heck I even listened to that Handel's CD, it was wonderful. And read an essay on prime numbers when I have math dyslexia!?

I don't know how much deeper I can get without sounding completely off my rocker so I'll leave you guys here, hope you enjoyed and feel free to tell me how you relate to your favorite characters and how much they mean to you!

Fame redraw for illustration by me~

#enrico pucci #pucci #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #stone ocean #jojo #wild as fuck post #i might be crazy #as you can see i dont relate at all with being an obsessive person too /s

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vivithefolle · 11 months

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Aside from letting Luna of all people take a dig on Ron for some non-existent reason, i think Hermione's self insertion and Mary Sue writing also damaged Luna's. It's the emotional awareness Hermione randomly gained after book 3 having no selfawareness due to her pride and rigidness being a jerk to people. Hermione is randomly the one who tells Ginny - who has NOTHING in common with her and busying with Quidditch or teaming up in crime with the twins - to be herself, but not Luna (1)

who was always Ginnys friend and whose thing was always "be yourself dont care". Hermione is the one who knows Ginny is Harry type and can read Harry like a book, despite not clicking with him at all when it comes to things he and Ginny cared about, in the same book, but not Luna, who Harry liked and related to since book 5. (2)

Hermione is the one who tells Harry Ron was jealous of him – gee thanks Hermione, wouldn’t be be less insecure if his supposed love interest cared about things he cared about instead of whatever the hell you were doing in book 3 and 4. Luna is supposed to be the openminded, emotionally free and caring, people reading, deep quoting, knowledge applying Ravenclaw, but only in theory. , but thanks to being there late AND Hermione, she was reduced to an outcast for the sake of ir. (4)

She has no character development either, nothing but a weirdo conspiracy theorist that didn’t even get to have a “rival” arc with Hermione, to develop either of them from being total antagonistic opposites, and a prop in book 7 for when Harry needs her. Hermione remains a closeminded asshole with NO true friends but two, but now somehow always right, and Luna…nothing that shows a good Ravenclaw, despite what movie fans tells themselves.

(7) Hermione is badly written bc she’s DAMAGING to all characters that comes close to her, and the more I reread I realize why the fandom was so divided and toxic around her. Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Rowling ruined them all with the self insert.

Let's be fair and remember that Luna came in last.

She was in the prime spot to be "the new character that shows everyone what they've been missing all along" and as such would be in a prime spot to earn the fan's ire, but she wasn't.

I don't find it awful that Luna wasn't given much to do; she was the newcomer. She appeared in Order of the Phoenix; it's a testament to how cool she is as a character that she sticks to people's minds so much to the point that some chucklefucks will cry about Ginny "coming out of nowhere" only to ship Harry with Luna, who actually did come out of nowhere as far as the books before OOTP were concerned.

The biggest tragedy of all this is... even if she's coming in five books later, Luna still has more backstory and substance to her character than Hermione ever gets in SEVEN books.

Seven books we have of Hermione solving problems for Harry and being basically a crutch for exposition and plot devices, and we still have no idea who she is outside of "being useful to Harry" or "the girl waiting for Ron to grow up, isn't he such a bother taking so long".

Luna could, might have been more. It's sad that she's such a missed opportunity in the end - and it's sad that she's the only non-Gryffindor of the team.

But she's also the last introduced, and as such Hermione should take priority over her when it comes to character development and all that - Hermione is an important secondary character, like Ron is. A problem with other characters' relationships in HP though is that no progress can be made unless Harry is there to observe it. Harry Potter has no object permanence, thanks for coming to my TED talk.

#vivi answers #harry potter #hermione granger #luna lovegood #ron weasley

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jxncywarrior · 9 months

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Stranger Things characters and ships as Taylor Swift Albums

Part Four: Red (Taylor’s Version)

*Disclaimer: I’m tagging all the ships and characters featured. I’m gonna try not to be biased. MOST of these are strictly based on canon. No hate to ANY ships or shippers.*

State Of Grace: Ronance (Nancy’s POV)

“So you were never a saint and I've loved in shades of wrong. We learn to live with the pain. Mosaic broken hearts but this love is brave and wild”

Red: Mileven (El’s POV)

“Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead end street. Faster than the wind, passionate as sin, ending so suddenly”

Treacherous: Jopper (Hopper’s POV)

“Two headlights shine through the sleepless night and I will get you, and get you alone”

I Knew You Were Trouble: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“No apologies. He'll never see you cry. Pretends he doesn't know that he's the reason why you're drowning”

22: Elmax (s3)

“Yeah, we're happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way. It's miserable and magical”

I Almost Do: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“I just wanna tell you it takes everything in me not to call you”

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: Mileven (El’s POV)

“I remember when we broke up the first time saying, "This is it, I've had enough," 'cause like we hadn't seen each other in a month when you said you needed space”

Stay Stay Stay: Jancy (Nancy’s POV)

“Before you, I'd only dated self indulgent takers who took all of their problem out on me but you carry my groceries and now I'm always laughing and I love you”

The Last Time: Byler (Will’s POV)

“This is the last time I'm asking you this. Put my name at the top of your list. This is the last time I'm asking you why. You break my heart in the blink of an eye”

Holy Ground: Elmax (Max’s POV)

“Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress. We had this big wide city all to ourselves. We blocked the noise with the sound of 'I need you' and for the first time I had something to lose”

Sad Beautiful Tragic: Byler (Will’s POV)

“Distance, timing, breakdown, fighting, silence, the train runs off its tracks, kiss me, try to fix it, could you just try to listen? Hang up, give up. For the life of us we can't get back”

The Lucky One: Steve

“You had it figured out since you were in school. Everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool”

Everything Has Changed: Byler (Mike’s POV)

“All I've seen since eighteen hours ago is green eyes and freckles and your smile in the back of my mind making me feel like”

Starlight: Ronance (Nancy’s POV)

“He said, "Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change. You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way"”

Begin Again: Jancy (Nancy’s POV)

“But you throw your head back laughing like a little kid. I think it's strange that you think I'm funny, 'cause he never did”

The Moment I Knew: Mileven (El’s POV)

“You should've been there. Should've burst through the door with that "Baby, I'm right here" smile and it would've felt like a million little shining stars had just aligned and I would've been so happy”

Come Back…Be Here: Byler (Mike’s POV)

“And this is when the feeling sinks in. I don't wanna miss you like this”

Ronan: Hopper

“I remember the drive home when the blind hope turned to crying and screaming, "Why?" Flowers pile up in the worst way, no one knows what to say”

Nothing New: Nancy

“They tell you while you're young "Girls, go out and have your fun" Then they hunt and slay the ones who actually do it”

Better Man: Will and Jonathan to Lonnie

“And I see the permanent damage you did to me”

Babe: Stancy (Steve’s POV)

“Big mistake, you broke the sweetest promise that you never should have made”

Message In A Bottle: Byler (Mike’s POV)

“I know that you like me and it's kinda frightenin'. Standing here waitin', waitin' and I became hypnotized by freckles and bright eyes. Tongue tied”

I Bet You Think About Me: Stancy (Nancy’s POV)

“But you know what they say, you can't help who you fall for and you and I fell like an early spring snow”

Forever Winter: Nancy to Mike

“He says he doesn't believe anything much he hears these days. He says, "Why fall in love, just so you can watch it go away?". He spends most of his nights wishing it was how it used to be”

Run: Byler (Mike’s POV)

“So you laugh like a child and I'll sing like no one cares. No one to be, no one to tell”

The Very First Night: Jancy (Nancy’s POV)

“My friends all say they know everything I'm going through. I drive down different roads but they all lead back to you”

All Too Well (10mv): Mileven (El’s POV)

“And maybe we got lost in translation. Maybe I asked for too much. But maybe this thing was a masterpiece 'til you tore it all up”

Eyes Open: Mike

“The tricky thing is yesterday we were just children playing soldiers just pretending. Dreaming dreams with happy endings”

Safe And Sound: Jonathan to Will

“Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire. The war outside our door keeps raging on. Hold onto this lullaby even when the music's gone”

Links to other parts of this series: Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, 1989, reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore

#ronance #mileven #jopper #stancy #elmax #jancy #byler #steve harrington #hopper #jim hopper #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #will byers #lonnie byers #mike wheeler

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margolovescoffeeandbooks · 1 year

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this might be a controversial take for some, but midnight rain by taylor swift reminds me a lot of averygrayson.

i’ve seen many swifties using this song as a way of representing the sunshine & grumpy/golden retriever & black cat kind of dynamic and it's cool with me, but i think we all know that’s not what this song is exactly about. midnight rain is a story of a boy who preferes to stay in his comfort zone and a girl who craves something bigger than that. she wants adventure. she wants to feel the rush of adrenaline. she wants to cross her own boundries and reach for what she’s always longed for.

the description you’ve just read sounds awfully familiar, right? avery kylie grambs. it’s literally her.

at the beginning of the series, avery is convinced that she must stay invisible, that she can’t allow herself to be more that that, even though deep down she fantisizes about adventure and the life of a daredevil. the idea of taking a risk is incredibly appealing to her, that’s why she wants to study risk assessment, but she’s afraid to actually try it out in real life. she thinks that it would be too bold of her, that she would want too much. as the series progresses, avery becomes more confident and eager to take risks. she slowly starts to escape her shell becoming the person she’s always wanted to be.

and it’s jameson who is one of the most important factors that make her character develop in such a way.

jameson is a daredevil. he lives to take risks, to feel adrenaline. jameson’s hungry, always in search of something. he doesn’t know what it’s like to stand still. he experiences life the way avery’s always wanted to. that’s why she gravitates towards him throughout the whole series. because he feels like the personification of so many of her dreams.

jameson awoke in avery the desire to be bold, to reach for the things she's always longed for. he made her escape her comfort zone, for her own sake, but also for him. so many times avery's the one making the first move when it comes to their relationship. and it's takes a lot of effort for her to do that. because usually, she keeps distance from everyone. she's a lone island. and the fact that she takes the risk and actually pursues her desire to be with jameson is such an important change in her.

avery is midnight rain. she chooses the pain. because building a relationship with jameson was challenging for her. she had to break the cycle of avoidance she had been living her entire life. she had to overcome her boundries and tear down her walls. it wasn't easy for her. but what she gained was worth all the fear and pain. she got the boy and she finally started living the way she's dreamed of. she became the best version of herself, bold and confident. no more avoiding, no more hiding from the world.

grayson would've never inspired avery to change the way jameson did. because avery and grayson are painfully similar when it comes to their flaws. they're both avoidant and leading a lonely life. except avery is the one who overcomes it and grayson... well... he stays pretty much the same ("i was making my own way / he stayed the same / all of me changed like midnight rain").

i'm fully aware of what grayson's been through and believe me, i understand like no one else how hard it is to break free from your trauma. it takes a lot of effort, but it's not impossible. and there are moments in the book where gray tries to take steps forward, tries to change, but these actions, they lack permanance. every times he takes a step forward, a few scenes later he comes back to his comfort zone (which is not actually comfortable or safe for him, because he's build it on pain and self-loathing). because it's simplier, it's less painful than actually making persistent steps towards healing.

and i'm not saying that grayson hasn't changed even a little bit. he has. but the progress of his character wasn't as noticeable as in jameson's case. and especially, not when it comes to his relationship with avery.

and to be honest, even if grayson had been trying more to gain avery's love, she wouldn't have changed her choice. because love is not only about romantic gestures, but also about feeling a true connection with someone.

averygrayson would've never happened and never will happen, because there was never this kind of connection between avery and grayson. they might have some common interests, but grayson doesn't entirely understand what lies at the core of who avery is, the hunger, the need to seek the truth, to keep searching no matter what. there are even moments when he's trying to discourage her from it. and yes, most of the time he does it to protect her, but his way of keeping her safe is often disrespectful towards avery's wants. jameson literally has to remind him that avery's her own person and she's perfectly capable of making her own choices.

jameson understands avery, because at their core they’re the same. they're both hungry. they're both constantly looking for a way of proving themselves. they're both in need of new experiences, new possibilites. jameson stimulates avery. he inspires her to be the best version of herself, to be bold and confident, to reach for whatever she dreams of.

and he's there for her at all times, no matter what, even when he's going through a crisis. every time she's being bold or taking a risk, he's supportive of her. when she finally puts herself first and starts seeking the truth without trying to please everyone around her, grayson's the one who's trying to stop her. "this isn't you, avery." he should've supported her then, but he didn't. somehow it was more natural for him to support eve than avery in that scene and basically throughout the entire book.

the girl in taylor's song, she chooses to leave her hometown and her lover behind. she takes the path of growth, the path that would eventually lead her to the life she's always dreamed of. and that's also what avery does when she chooses jameson. she chooses the boy who inspires her to make progress, to challenge herself. she chooses the boy who she can have a beautiful, exciting life with. a life full of adventures, but a life that will also make her happy and comfortable with herself. because the journey might have been hard and painful, but what she gains in the end is wonderful and blissful.

a relationship with grayson would mean for avery staying the same person she's always been. and i'm completly certain that for grayson it would mean the same. because when you think about it, they need completely different things, both in life and relationship.

just to make it clear, i'm not saying that i associate every lyric of midnight rain with averygrayson (say whatever you want, but grayson is not sunshine). i'm only talking about the general concept behind the song. so pls, don't come at me.

this rant was sponsored by taylor swift. I LOVE YOU, MOM.

(i know this rant is messy, but you gotta deal with it. i'm a mess and i create mess.)

#the inheritance games #the hawthorne legacy #the final gambit #jameson hawthorne #grayson hawthorne #avery grambs #averyjameson #averygrayson #taylor swift #midnights #midnight rain

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ifihadmypickofwishes · 6 days

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what's the morally gray book series that fandom couldn't handle? I must know. Also, what are your three favorite books/book series and why?

The series that a large fandom would 100% ruin is the Villains series by V.E. Schwab. The premise is essentially, "What if two med students who already had a questionable grasp of ethics gave themselves superpowers, and then one of them became a serial killer?" Even the "good" one of the duo is certainly no saint. I love it a lot. It would 100% deteriorate into morality discourse and shipping wars if it ever got widespread traction though.

My favorites are a tough call. It changes all the time. Today they are:

1. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It still makes me laugh, even though I've read it well over a dozen times. The premise of, "Oops, Armageddon may not proceed as planned because we lost the baby Antichrist," is just *chef's kiss*. The theme of humans being neither fundamentally good nor fundamentally evil. The other theme of the importance of free will and self-determination. The silliness of it all, from the weirdly specific prophecies to the Four Human Bikers of the Apocalypse. I'm actually more than a little sad that the small book fandom was permanently eclipsed when the show came out.

2. Space Opera by Catherynne Valente. Eurovision in Space™ if the entire world hung in the balance of Eurovision results. There's a really cool variety of aliens, including one that's a prion. It's funny and then emotionally devastating. The theme of "Life is beautiful and life is stupid."

3. How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix. It's hard to explain why I love this one so much without spoilers. So I will spoil it, thematically: The common analysis that ghosts in horror are really a metaphor for unresolved trauma, but make it textual.

#Had a realization looking at this list that I like comedies about the end of the world A Lot. Like probably an off-putting amount.#book recs #book recommendations #not autism

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mmikmmik2 · 1 year

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I guess it’s reasonable that maybe Belos wouldn’t have recognized Lilith when he met her for the very first time, presumably soon after she was enlisted in the Emperor’s Coven when she was still a teenager. But it’s plausible that he recognized her on the spot, and I don’t think it would have taken very long after she physically matured to adulthood.

Philip must have been lowkey obsessed with Luz (and her cool aunt) for years. She not only claimed to want to see the Collector, she knew that he specifically was also searching for the Collector and saw him get the round boy. She obviously didn’t understand the significance of the tablet, but she knew enough to be dangerous. What if, years later, “Luzura” learned what that thing was and came back as a seasoned adult witch with decades of glyph experience to kick Philip’s ass and steal his tablet? What if Lilith or Luz blabbed about the disc they helped him recover to people who would recognize what it was, and want the Collector for themselves? Philip seemed to try to choke down his furious loathing towards Lilith for permanently physically disfiguring him, trying to stay goal-oriented and not run off on a revenge sidequest, but he would have had to take Lilith and Luz’s existence seriously as a threat to his plans.

I think it’s very possible that Philip did spend some time actively trying to track them down or figure out where the hell they came from. Even if he didn’t, he would have been keeping an eye out - looking nervously over his shoulder, even - for years. Maybe even until enough decades had passed that they both should have died of old age. And he would have remembered Lilith (and stayed mad lol) every time he looked at himself in a mirror. Basically they lived rent-free in his mind for so long that I think he would have remembered them even centuries later. Especially since they were part of how he contacted the Collector, one of the most significant events of his entire life. I bet he drew them at some point, too - as a reference for himself, or to show other people while trying to track them down.

So, the name “Lilith” (which Philip did know because Luz shouted it twice when the Stonesleeper was attacking Lilith) would have caught his attention, and it’s reasonable he would remember her appearance/reference it from sketches or memory photos well enough to see the resemblance. He might not have been sure it was literally the same woman for a while, because she didn’t look enough like her adult self yet and because the whole situation is absurd, but he would have at least suspected a connection and wanted to understand it. This is likely why Flora (who is implied in Elsewhere and Elsewhen to be manipulating Lilith into time traveling on the Emperor’s orders) was Lilith’s mentor in the first place - she would have been able to investigate the “historical” Lilith and the potential connection, and Belos may even have discussed the time loop with her.

I really like the theory that Lilith’s palisman was spared because of the time loop, but I don’t buy it. We never saw Lilith take him out in front of Philip. It’s more likely that recruits to the Emperor’s Coven aren’t forced to surrender their palismen, or at least weren’t back when Lilith joined. I mean, Flora also still had her monkey palisman. Probably there are so few EC members with palismen because of the palistrom trees becoming endangered. And I don’t think there was ever a time when every witch had a palisman.

#the owl house #some of the ways belos’s face changed throughout king’s tide #and the wound on his face growing when philip is talking to the collector #makes me think that the huge green scar on his face might just be an extension of the damage from lilith’s punch #like he’s such a nasty slime man that the damage opened a crack in his human disguise #through which the rot poked through #if so: lol. stay mad.#he must hate lilith so much. so very much.

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mukuberry · 2 years

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regarding Haruka: why don't you believe the brother theory?

Ok so the brother theory I've seen spoken about the most is the "Haruka is jealous of his younger brother and the love he gets, so Haruka kills the things he loves and in the end, the brother himself" so I'm basing this around that, if there's any other form of this theory feel free to bring it up 👍

So at the start of the mv we see Haruka sitting in his childhood home, looking in a mirror, before his perspection of himself starts to flash between himself and his younger self. They look extremely similar, with 4 noticable differences, 1) the younger version is well... younger, probably around 8? 2) He has a brighter colour scheme 3) He looks alot happier 4) He has a light permanently shining on him. The image outside the window changes from a normal looking tree and sky (current Haruka) to the sky we see his memories later on (young Haruka). After his reflection rapidly changes, Haruka falls back in suprise, into what I'm calling the "Ocean of memories" cause it sounds cool as heck.

You could argue that the reason they look similar and the reason he sees his 'brother' in the reflection is because he envies him and wants to be him which- fair enough makes sense. BUT I'm not swayed yet. I think Haruka envies his younger self alot, if we look at his current life he's completely and utterly alone, his mother has abandoned him (as we see later on), he's in a pretty shitty place right now (in his life i am not judging his childhood home im sure its great. He constantly says in his mv that he wants "to be a pitied and loved weakling", something which child him was. Sure, he was still verbally abused and his father still had abandoned him, but his mother was still with him and he was still able to make friends with other children (seen later in mv). All Haruka wants is to not be alone, and child him isn't. Because of this, the younger version of him looks brighter and happier, because current Haruka can't really understand why he wouldn't be, also in many cases, when a child is born into an abusive home, they don't really understand that whats happening is wrong, they repress the abuse, make excuses from it, dissociate from it, so it makes sense that younger Haruka was genuinely happier than current Haruka.

After falling into Memory Ocean, he sees alot of things from his childhood: drawings, his dog and his mother and younger self walking. Younger Haruka looks pretty happy again here :D, and current Haruka, filled with envy, stops the memory to push him down. When younger Haruka falls into the water, current Haruka takes his place, which doesn't make much sense to me if they were different people. Haruka in the Memory Ocean now looks upon his younger self with a young girl of the same age, watching fireworks together and holding hands, before current Haruka reaches out to her and he's seen laughing over her dead body.

It's not really clear why he killed her, however I believe it was to stop her from leaving and forgetting him. As he reaches out to her, he says "I just had to make sure". She's the only person excluding the mother and Haruka in this mv, so I assume he doesn't talk to or interact with people very often, and I'm pretty sure he didn't go to school, I feel like once the firework event was over they wouldn't see eachother again. We're also never shown his father in this mv, however it's mentioned in the interrogation cards that Haruka 'disappointed' him and that Haruka loves him. It's safe to assume that his father left when he was very young, which probably left Haruka with a huge fear of abandonment. As to why it was current Haruka killing her instead of younger Haruka? A mix of 2 things. 1) As said before, children block traumatic memories out and dissociate from them. Before the murder, the girls face was censored, after the murder her entire body and surroundings were. The mv has alot of this- more traumatic things are completely censored out, but everything is overall weird, things are missing or out of place, discoloured or stuck together unnaturally, like Haruka is trying to piece his memories together. The only places that aren't like this are the room he's in at the start and the bed he wakes up in, when he's not in his memories. That's why current Haruka is doing the murder, he can't remember his younger self actually doing it, so he puts current him in place. It also ties back to his envy of his younger self, it's kind of hard to be envious of someone for how happy they are if you see them muder someone while crying, so he just changes the killer from younger him to current him.

Haruka falls through the Ocean of memories again, before finding a memory of younger him with his mother playing with his childhood dog. His dog runs off into the forest, and younger Haruka runs after him. Something interesting is that he's nervously walking through the forest in one scene, then he's out of breath in the next, rubbing sweat of his forehead. He looks down at his hands and sees them covered in blood. If it was his younger brother, why would he be out of breath and why does he have blood on his hands?? I think Haruka himself makes this connection, as when he sees the blood, the younger him suddenly has current Harukas colour scheme, as the bright perception of his younger self starts to break and blend with his perception of himself, and his brain panics and quickly shows current him doing the murder (for reasons I said in last paragraph lol). When he murdered the girl, we didn't see the actual murder take place, just him over her body. We do however, see him murder the dog (beating it to death with a rock, wowza!) This is his brain slowly unlocking more memories, and Haruka himself slowly starting to accept his childhood as being more brutal than he first believes.

After the dog murder, he wakes up in bed again, before we see current Haruka standing in Memory Ocean, the background completely filled with bright coloutful doodles, Haruka himself is coloured completely blue. He's lost sight of who he is and who he wants to be, his idealised younger has started to fall apart completely but he's not quite there yet. He tries to reach for his mother, but unfortunately for him she's abandoned him aswell, leaving him alone. If Haruka's mother loved his younger brother, hence Haruka's envy, why would she have just left him behind aswell? Same with his father, why just leave him instead of taking him with them? Eventually the background completely fades to white, this time not because his memory is broken and repressed, but because we're at the current day. One last time, Haruka falls into his Ocean of memories, and is confronted with the memory he saw at the start, of his mother and younger self walking.

Haruka is desperately trying to piece everything together and understand why his mother and everyone else abandoned him, and he's so close to figuring it out (kind of). He focuses back on the happy face of his younger self, and instead of looking on with envy, he is absolutely distraught. One last time, he reaches out, not slowly like the previous times, but as quickly as he physically can as his emotions all explode. And he goes straight for the throat. He can't handle what he's just realised, but he can't unrealise it. He can't be that 'pitied and loved weakling' not because he is no longer a child, but because he was never loved in the first place. Despite this however, he can never stop his need to be wanted by others, and because of the verbal abuse he's faced his entire life, the conclusion he comes to at the end isn't "the people around me failed me and even though I've done terrible things, I didn't deserve what I've been through" he instead understands "I've always been a terrible person, I was unlovable from the start and always will be". The spotlight that has been stuck to his younger self finally shifts to the current him as he says and truly means "I was wrong. Yes, it was me."

TLDR: Weakness isn't a song about a boy torturing his brother due to jealousy over his mothers love, it's a song about a desperate man stuck in the past, trying to figure out why his life is the way it is, and coming to the wrong conclusion.

Sorry to the anon who asked this probably expecting a few sentences and getting an essay haha, honestly I was expecting like 3 paragraphs but while writing this I got a lil carried away, but atleast I finally have all my Haruka thoughts together ^_^

As always, obviously I could be 100% wrong about this! Milgram is about giving us little information at a time, there's no way we'd get the whole story from one mv and with his second trial video coming out soon who knows what could be revealed! If you made it this far, thanks for reading :) sorry if it's incomprehensible, most of my thoughts are

#milgram #haruka sakurai #sorry to my other anons i swear I'll respond one day ♡#anyway time to cry what a tragic character

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violence-as-a-love-language · 1 year

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👀 tell me bout them ocs mayhaps?

*cracks knuckles* Alright. So. Easiest to break them down into their stories. All WIPs because who said finishing anything is how this works

So the main group I'm obsessed w at the moment come from Mirror Image, a series about two husbands, Oliver and Antonio. Oliver tragically died and Antonio went a little...Dr. Frankenstein. But we'll get back to that. Oliver, without his knowledge got stuck in the illegal brain scanning human trafficking rig and is now stuck in a body that is very much not his and angry about it. The illegal data mining of his brain kinda gave him a permanent sour mood. With him is Kuma, the lovely lady who decided to help him find his way home as a way to uh... escape a very fundamentalist anti-andriod cult. She's a sweetheart tho. Way too patient with Oliver for her own good, really.

Meanwhile, Antonio is kinda off the deep end grief wise. Wants his husband back. Doesn't know about the brainscanning. So he has an idea. Why not make my own Oliver!

Yeah that goes about as well as expected.

So now we have Oli, a synthetic replica of Oliver that doesn't really love Antonio but is programmed to. Loves art, still trying to understand how to make it. Really naive sweetie. Easily taken advantage of. Oof.

Below is another story I'm working on, specifically a graphic novel. Basically just a big eldrich horror fest with furries! Woo! Main characters are Aspen, a lovely longhorn beetle with self esteem issues and inherited fire powers; Helios, an Ox beetle with mom friend energy crossed with that really cheery dude that is somehow friends with everyone and has an A in everything as well as being on the football team (also gets a sword later! Cause he deserves it); Fennic, a hoary bat with family issues, a partying problem, and a care free attitude; Jovita, a chainsmoking maned wolf who wears exclusively leather to look cool and somehow always has a weapon handy; and Roxanne, a very shy jumping spider with magic ability that might rival Aspen's (also spoilers! ends up in a very cute lesbian relationship with Jovita).

Also Isla, Aspens aunt whos entire friend group was decimated by the horrors, leaving her forever scarred! I have big feelings about her.

I do have more stories but uh... that feels like enough OCs for the moment lol

#moth talks #my ocs #I don't really have a lot of one off characters not connected to narratives #only frankie #the cabanera singing raven adopted by the chicken mafia #also hes bad at singing #i don't even know man

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elektra-world · 1 year

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MIXED EMOTIONS [Part 1]

Hyesoo begins a special friendship with a certain someone and begins to question things about her true self.

Hyesoo had been growing restless and bored these days, which was odd considering the girls of ELEKTRA had been preparing for their comeback and the festival.

She had reasoned with herself that it was mostly due to loneliness - most of her members had significant others who they spent a great deal of time with, when they had free time. Aries had been out and about most days with her friends, and Lilah had taken to sleeping any chance she got because she was permanently tired, not used to such hectic schedules just yet.

So when her boredom became so overwhelming, she decided to pay Danbi a visit at elevate entertainment, eager to get a glimpse of LEV8s comeback song. She adored her hoobae group and found their members adorable and music uplifting.

As she checks in and heads for the girls practice room, she hears a beautiful and slightly nostalgic melody drifting out from a practice room when a figure exited. There were no lyrics, but it still pulled her towards the room. She was fascinated by the sound of a band practicing. Or was it really practice? They sounded absolutely perfect. She knew Jieun had signed a band that had yet to debut and now her interest was piqued.

She crept forward like an weary cat around a corner, peeking through the window into the room. There were five members total, one immediately catching her eye. Her hair was jet black, ending just at her chest, bangs long and perfect. Her skin was milky white. She almost had an intimidating look to her as she vibes along, fingers moving swiftly over the silver strings of her guitar.

"She's so cool and pretty..." Hyesoo murmurs with a smile.

"I know, right?" A voice beside Hyesoo speaks up, startling her. She turns, laughing as Danbi grins, murmuring an apology. "Unnie, are you playung recon? Steal a concept, perhaps?" She teased playfully before leaning in for a hug before pulling away, peering in as well and swooning. "You like Jozie? I like Fabian! He's so dreamy! Huifang likes him, too. And he's so nice! And Lee is really cute as well." Danbis face lights up as she speaks, like a school girl talking about her first crush.

"What about Jozie?" Hyesoo inquires with a loft of her brow.

"Jozie-Unnie is...Mysterious. She works a lot. Maybe even too much." Danbi shook her head, adding, "I've never seen her leave the building. She's always here. I've even spotted her sleeping in the tutor rooms late at night. Sometimes her and Lee-Oppa argue because she never stops working."

"We have creepers!" Someone in the room speaks up. Both girls stare wide eyed at the door as it opens and a tall, almost menacing looking man steps out. "Lee-Oppa!" Danbi spits out, bowing instinctively.

"Don't do that." He says, chuckling as Danbi stops and stands perfectly straight. "You're my sunbae, after all. And I don't need you to call me Oppa." Hebsays nonchalantly.

"Sorry Oppa." Danbi says softly before turning red.

Lee rolls his eyes, smiling at them both. "Why don't you two come in instead of being peeping toms?" He suggests, stepping back and opening the door for them.

The girls exchanged a look before tentatively stepping in. The other band members looked at them curiously as they fiddled with their equipment. "Is this our first official audience?" A boy spoke up with a bright smile. His eyes locked on Hyesoos and he jumps, almost knocking over his microphone stand with his bass guitar. "Hyesoo-Sunbaenim!" He gasps, quickly removing the strap and running over to her to give her a hug. "You are my favorite idol! Is this real? Am I meeting my favorite idol?"

Hyesoo couldn't help but laugh.

Jozie rolls her eyes but there was a hint of a smile on her face. "Dash, give the poor girl some space." She mutters, working on tuning her guitar.

Lee steps forward, prying the affectionate boy off of her and murmuring an apology, "he has some issues with personal space." He says with a straight face.

"It's alright. I like hugs!" Hyesoo reassures, giving Dash two thumbs up.

"Good because I like to give them. And cuddles, too." Dash chirps. He had a special energy about him - cheerful and welcoming, much like ELEKTRAS maknae, Kay.

Lee sighs, running a hand through his hair as he turns to face the other members. "Jozie, have you figured out the lyrics yet? We have a full debut track with only the intro lines finished. We're close to the deadline." There was a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Jozie looked a bit embarrassed then, glancing at Danbi and Hyesoo almost shamefully before she sighed. "No...I'm having some issues. It's more pressure now that we're signed and it's killing the inspiration, ya know?" She says in perfect english.

Lee narrows his eyes at her, looking annoyed then. "You've never had this trouble before. Hyunwoo is getting impatient and I can't keep capping for us. I gave up a lot for us to come here." He responds back, also in perfect english. A look of sadness came onto his face.

Hyesoo was fascinated by them. Danbi looked thrilled at hearing them speak english so well, looking wide eyed at Hyesoo as she grins. "See! They are so awesome! Cool americans!" She mouths.

The air in the room changed then, the drummer running his hand through his long, wavy brunette hair before standing up. "You two need to figure this out soon. I can't keep playing these back and forth games." He shocked Hyesoo when he spoke fluent Korean, even a hint of a korean accent. He was handsome and though didn't look Korean, they were some hints to his features that suggested he was mixed.

Jozie shook her head, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. "Yeah, I know our fate lies all in my hands. I'll get my shit together. Just stop hounding me so much, okay?" She looked flustered - all the air of coolness had melted away into vulnerability - and she yanked the door open and walked out.

There was one mysterious member who was sat on a couch, looking off at a wall, clearly lost in thought and not speaking much. Hyesoo looked around, sensing the groups frustrations and stood abruptly, apologizing for disturbing them before quickly leaving. Danbi had stuck around to talk to Lee and the mysterious quiet member.

Hyesoo tentatively walked the hallway, jumping when a voice startles her yet again and she mentally cursed herself for being so jumpy. "Are you following me?" Jozie asks, looking amused. She was twirling a vape pen between her fingers as she eyed Hyesoo up and down.

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bandofchimeras · 10 months

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posting a lot rn sorry Im gonna readmore this vent that is a standin for next therapy session

i have a lot of trauma from losing my last few housing situations over interpersonal conflict and not having enough money or being good at managing my money. I was too ashamed to ask for what I needed until it was desperate and I had no options.

I have big decisions to make that are producing so much anxiety. and am burnt out. but also grateful and astounded at the miracle that is life.

so can't handle small talk right now. my whole chest is splitting open with the need to be somewhere I feel loved and safe bc I know who tf I am now....but knowing I have to make these next moves out of my own initiative

somewhere deep in my brain I know this isn't all my fault but I had to stop victim thinking to get myself out of the Hole and consequently just Shut Up about the Pain

the last people I lived with really wanted me to shut up and conform perfectly to the anxiously controlled life they'd constructed bc I was there temporarily

and for my part I was in depression self centered funk and coming out of abuse too brainfoggerd to remember the rules

One of them is a former mutual and he was also a transmasc person I had a crush on and we had a short little Thing

what they ended up doing was 1000% shitty asshole stuff like kicking me out in the middle of winter after I communicated I was in too much pain from moving in and work, and requested a two week extension, and trying to charge me illegal "storage fees" when I needed time to get my stuff after being kicked out.

my discord friends had to help me parse that these people were not my friends and did not care about me at all. I thought they did. but the guilt they laid on thick and blamed me for their actions has been dragging around my ankles for awhile and I just want to shake it off, I want to be okay and not soaked in guilt like milk toast

the situation also led to my car being stolen, getting in a crash, my cats health severely declining until she passed away this spring. just fucking wrecking ball on everything I was attached to for any sort of comfort or sense of reality.

Right before that my long term job that was....dubiously ethical, my sort of boss fired me in a similarly guilting way, and similarly could see exactly why they had a problem with me but I just, at the time I simply could not show up how I needed to. Not killing myself was an accomplishment. And this boss was deeply prejudiced against autistic people despite running a group home. I genuinely hated her guts for how miserable she made everyone around her while also recognizing I wasn't doing much better.

anyways through this time period kitchen work has become this attachment that toughens me up and feels doable while my brain is inflamed, despite being shit for my disabled body. I can't shake free quite. I don't have a permanent house and all my friendships feel weird and troubled in that way only mutual survivors of emotionally neglectful or abusive families and religious trauma can, like every thing I do or say can be wrong, or isn't giving someone enough attention or isnt the response they want or is bad bad bad bad

and so yeah, making new friends is hard

letting people in feels impossible

looking for decent jobs too

I'm not a mess in the way I have been but it's all messy inside and I'm sad and tired and very hypersensitive to rejection, every day breaks and makes me again and I miss writing and loving and feeling good

I thought pride would be so fun and make me feel better. It was cool in a lot of ways, but also grimly corporate and fangless and expensive, there were a ton of missed connections and the couple I went with was being nitpicky and hurtful to each other and even at the club dressed to the nines and dancing my little gay heart out I felt disconnected and ignorable (maybe it's just a Seattle thing, moving from a small-town environment into big urban reminds you you're nothin special all in all) and couldn't see the magic

I miss my ex or at least keep seeing stuff that reminds me of caring about her in that specific way and the bridge we tried to build across everything despite it all and I know we still care about each other just couldn't stop the fucking awful Bullshit, moving on would be easier if I could just dismiss people entirely

and at work things started falling apart too, my boss got super guilt happy at overworked caregivers and I lost all respect for him and was mega triggered and posted about it and embarrassed myself. theyre more okay I guess but everyone seems so demoralized and worn down by being criticized and used up and overcharged and under loved and I don't want to give any more right now, I want to rest rest rest and make art and I can't let myself while I'm living in someone's living room and both of us are working around eachothers mood disorders

meanwhile my family while making progress is still on about how I have to accept criticism of my gender identity if I want to talk to them about the harm done by their religious ideology and MEANWHILE I develop deep feelings for yet another unavailable cis man for bare minimum shit

i don't know I guess it feels like other people know how to have friends and love and enjoy things and I am missing the boat and if I don't change something indistinguishable super fast, it will be too late for me and I will continue to ruin every good thing that comes my way and.magnetically attract trouble

and it doesn't help that my attempts to connect online also feel desperate and awkward like I'm really a sick puppy who wants headpats but aren't we all they say

some days I do think overall it would be easier to Kermit but I can't do that to my siblings AND there are many buoyantly beautiful things bout life I am looking forward to like top surgery and kissing boys like I mean it which someday will feel real and not like a knife twist in the chest

also I haven't got enough sleep lately and my period came back so hopefully this stupid shit is more bearable in a few days I'm just gonna watch OFMD and hug myself to sleep and literally kill anyone who is a hater about the tiny things that bring me joy bc I am fucking doing my best out here to stay afloat and not yuck other people's yums either

#personal #i wanna say BPD but also just #too much shit happening #also my fuck ass ex employer has nog emailed me back about my tax documents #which i need to get my return #everything is too much i really do want and need a hug #suicide mention

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enby-nyc · 1 year

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Hair-Free and Confident: Transfem Hair Removal Techniques

Date: 13 February, 2023

For transgender and non-conforming people, getting rid of hair can be a scary and confusing process. Finding the right hair removal technique that works for you can be difficult, as there is no one-size-fits-all method.

In this blog post, we will explore various techniques of hair removal available to transfem people so that they can feel more at ease in their own skin and certain of who they are. With so many hair removal techniques available, it can be difficult to know which method is right for you.

Table of Contents:

Hair-Free and Confident: Transfem Hair Removal Techniques

What is Transfem Hair Removal?

Importance of Hair Removal for Transfem Individuals

Common Hair Removal Techniques

Shaving

Waxing

Laser Hair Removal

Electrolysis

Depilation Creams

Aftercare and Maintenance

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Hair Removal Method

Pain Tolerance

Cost

Hair Type

Skin Sensitivity

Time Commitment

Preferences

Conclusion

What is Transfem Hair Removal?

Laser technology is used to eliminate unwanted hair from the bodies of transgender people. The goal of this procedure is to provide transgender individuals with a smoother, more balanced look and feel to their skin. Laser hair removal allows for long-term results, meaning that once treated, the hair follicles will no longer be able to produce unwanted hair.

The procedure works by using a laser device to send pulses of energy directly into the hair follicle. The pigment in the hair follicles absorbs light energy, destroying the hair follicles without harming the surrounding tissue. After several treatments, most of the hair will be permanently destroyed, with some touch-ups needed to maintain the results.

Importance of Hair Removal for Transfem Individuals

Facial and body hair removal is a necessity for many transgender individuals. It is not only important to help with gender identity, but also to reduce social anxiety and stigma. Hair removal can offer improved confidence in one’s appearance and provide peace of mind. By removing body hair, trans-fem individuals are able to present themselves as they feel most comfortable, which can lead to increased self-esteem and improved well-being.

Traditional hair-removal treatments, such as shaving and waxing, may not be suitable for everyone's skin type, making hair removal a challenging process for many male-to-female (or MTF) individuals.

Additionally, these methods can cause skin irritation, discomfort, or ingrown hairs. This is why it is important to learn about the different techniques and methods that are available in order to achieve smooth, hair-free skin with minimal pain or irritation.

By researching and learning more about the various options available, trans-fem individuals can choose a hair removal technique that best suits their needs and lifestyle.

Common Hair Removal Techniques

Multiple treatments and techniques are available for hair removal. There are permanent hair removal techniques that offer more lasting results as well as temporary methods that last for shorter periods of time. People who align more with femininity should consider their unique needs when choosing which option is best for them.

Shaving

Shaving is one of the most popular hair removal techniques, and it can be done with minimal effort and cost. It’s best to use a sharp razor and richly-scented shaving cream or gel to ensure that all hairs are removed quickly and efficiently.

When shaving, it is important to use a sharp and clean razor to avoid skin irritation, nicks, ingrown hairs, etc. It is recommended to shave in the direction of hair growth and to use a shaving cream or gel to lubricate the skin and reduce the risk of irritation. After shaving, it is important to rinse the skin with cool water and apply a moisturizer to hydrate the skin.

To reduce the risk of skin irritation, it is important to avoid shaving over the same area multiple times and to use an exfoliating scrub regularly to remove dead skin cells and prevent ingrown hairs.

Waxing

Waxing is a popular and effective hair removal technique used by many transgender women. It involves applying a heated wax to the desired area and quickly removing it with a strip of cloth or paper. Waxing provides results that last for weeks, but it can be quite painful.

This hair removal method is best for people with thick and coarse hair, as it effectively removes the hair from the root. It is important to note that waxing can cause skin irritation, redness, bumps, and even scabs.

You can remove hair yourself with at-home waxing kits, or you can visit a salon for professional results. To reduce the risk of skin irritation, it is important to test the wax on a small patch of skin before using it and to apply a soothing lotion after treatment. In addition, all the hair in the area should be at least a quarter of an inch long for best results.

Laser Hair Removal

This type of hair removal uses laser light to target and selectively absorb the pigment in the hair follicles. The absorbed light is converted into heat energy, which destroys the individual hairs without damaging nearby tissue. It's most effective on people with light skin and dark hair.

Transgender women can undergo laser hair removal that precisely targets areas of unwanted facial and body hair. Depending on the number of treatments needed to achieve optimal results, it may take several months before they can enjoy a smooth, hair-free skin appearance. In addition, hair growth may eventually return and require additional treatment sessions.

A laser hair removal session may cause some mild discomfort, but it shouldn't be painful. This hair removal method also carries a risk of skin irritation and discoloration; therefore, it is important to consult with a specialist before starting treatment.

Electrolysis

Having body hair can be a dissatisfying experience for some trans women, which is why electrolysis might be the perfect solution. It’s a more permanent hair removal method that uses electrical currents to permanently destroy individual hair follicles.

The treatment is usually done in multiple sessions and may cause discomfort, but it's relatively safe and can provide long-lasting results. After electrolysis, the treated area may be red and swollen, but these symptoms can usually be relieved with over-the-counter medication.

As with any other hair removal method, it is important to consult with a specialist before starting electrolysis sessions. It is also important to look for a provider who is experienced in treating trans women to ensure the best results.

Depilation Creams

Permanent hair removal is not the only option for transgender women. They can also use depilation creams to reduce body and facial hair temporarily. These products are usually applied on dry skin, left on for five minutes or less, and then rinsed off with warm water.

Depilatory cream works by dissolving the proteins in the hair shafts and breaking them down. The results typically last for one to three days and may vary depending on the product used.

This hair removal method is relatively safe and pain-free, but it can cause skin irritation in some people. It's important to test a small patch of skin before using the cream to avoid reactions. In addition, depilation creams may not be suitable for people with curly or coarse hair.

No matter which hair removal method you choose, it's important to follow the directions carefully and always consult a specialist before starting treatment. With the right care and tools, transgender women can achieve their desired body hair-free look.

Aftercare and Maintenance

Aftercare and maintenance are important steps in ensuring the best possible results from your hair removal treatment, as well as promoting skin health. Proper aftercare and maintenance can help reduce pain, discomfort, skin irritation, and the risk of ingrown hairs, as well as prolong the results of your hair removal treatment.

After hair removal, it is important to hydrate the skin. This can be done by applying a moisturizer, such as a lotion or an aftercare product specifically designed for hair removal. Hydrating the skin helps to reduce the risk of skin irritation and promotes healing.

Also, avoid direct sunlight and hot baths to prevent skin irritation and infection. Tight garments can also aggravate the treated region.

In terms of maintenance, the frequency and type of maintenance will depend on the hair removal method you have chosen. For example, shaving requires more frequent touch-ups compared to methods such as laser hair removal, which can provide long-lasting results. It is important to follow the maintenance schedule recommended by your provider to ensure the best possible results.

For methods such as electrolysis, it is important to maintain a consistent schedule of treatments to ensure long-term hair reduction. For laser hair removal, it may be necessary to undergo multiple treatments to achieve the desired level of hair reduction.

To reduce the risk of ingrown hairs, it is important to exfoliate regularly. This can be done by using an exfoliating scrub or brush, which helps to remove dead skin cells and promote healthy hair growth. You may also want to use an aftercare product specifically designed for ingrown hairs to help prevent and treat ingrown hairs.

In conclusion, proper aftercare and maintenance are important steps in ensuring the best possible results from your hair removal treatment, as well as promoting skin health.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Hair Removal Method

Hair growth can be especially difficult to manage for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals because it can often feel like a reminder of the wrong body. Here are some considerations when deciding on a hair removal technique:

Pain Tolerance

Different techniques have different levels of discomfort. Shaving is usually the least painful option while waxing and laser treatments can be more uncomfortable.

Cost

Some techniques such as shaving or using an epilator will require regular upkeep, while methods like waxing and laser treatments are more expensive upfront but may require less frequent maintenance.

Hair Type

Thick hair may require more effort to remove, so it’s important to consider what type of hair you have before selecting a technique.

Skin Sensitivity

Some methods can be too harsh for those with sensitive skin, so make sure you know your skin type before deciding on a method.

Time Commitment

Depending on the method you choose, you may need to spend a particular amount of time on hair removal every day or week. For example, using an epilator takes the most time because you have to go over each hair more than once. Waxing and shaving take less time.

Preferences

Consider what you’re most comfortable with before choosing a method of hair removal. Some people prefer the convenience of shaving, while others may feel better about taking their time with waxing or laser treatments.

These are just some of the factors to consider when choosing a hair removal method. You can make the right choice about which technique is best for you if you do your research and talk to your doctor. With the right knowledge, tools, and support, you can be hair-free and confident!

Conclusion

Unwanted hair is a common concern for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, so it’s important to choose a hair removal method that fits your specific needs. There are many things to consider, from pain tolerance and cost to skin sensitivity and time commitment. Whether you opt for shaving, waxing, epilating, laser hair removal, electrolysis, or depilation cream, make sure you talk to your doctor first and follow the aftercare instructions given. Combined with other personal touches like makeup and fashion, you can be both hair-free and confident in your MTF body!

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