Yes This Is From Me Talking To Cassandra / Inkantation - Tumblr Posts
━ talking about how Shiver loves like a shark.
━> Shiver’s default affection is this rough physical contact. not intent to harm but still somewhat reckless to even bruising sometimes. the constant way they challenge the recipient ( or rather their partner ) because thats just what they Do. its learned behavior. sharks fight for territory, sharks fight to feed but also to not be fed upon, sharks test what is and is not prey with their teeth. its just how they Are. Shivers not affectionate the way Octolings are communal, how they sing together: Shivers affectionate in the way sharks ram their heads into knees and ribs to see if they get pushed back or watch the bones shudder and splinter with the contact, Shiver’s affectionate in the way they’re more often than not alone but not in a bad way, in the way they just Are, as much as they live in groups, Shiver’s affectionate in the way they never really grew out of living in that group, in that swarm, and how the swarm is different from the kettles, this is less family so much as its rivalry turned less bloody than war. Shiver is always kind of a rival, or at least, they were raised to be one Which makes the quiet, thin, late night moments where they’re careful and barely touch at all all the more pronounced
━> Shivers just. a very intense person overall but they’re also very intimate and have specific times of vulnerability that it feels just. very different. very quiet. very worth listening to overall n its just fascinating to me
━> shiver can be an incredibly gentle person and esp partner they’re just so accustomed to roughness being associated with affection that its kind of. engrained into them. what do they do with their hands if not scratch until they remember that claws don’t have to dig in to trace on
━> its less vulnerability problems i think and more just. they Forget that this is not how it always is or Must be. they can Choose to act differently than their childhood and tradition raised them, and while the behavior isn’t inherently harmful, they can’t be all teeth and no gums. the meat of it isn’t always just breaking bones
━> its less that theyre not giving as much as its giving in a Different Way :theyre not actively harmful and Will 100% cut the shit the MOMENT they detect discomfort or any kind of negative response bc as much as this form of contact is just what they’re used to they’re also someone who values the people around them much more than how they’ve Always been. a big part of them is changing from their predisposed ways while not entirely losing their tradition, just moving it in a better way. if their partner doesn’t like it when they press their claws or challenge them or push in what is intended to be a push & shove, back and forth, but isn’t then they’re not going to Keep pushing, and they’ll find something different, or new entirely. innovation doesn’t mean the eradication of what came before, it just means doing something different with it, and Shiver will never allow themselves to be so caught in the what they were raised to reject the what they can learn
━> they’re vv aware that they Can be harmful if left unchecked the way a shark can get too much too fast and leave someone missing something and the water bloodier than it ever should’ve been, they’re intense but Conscious of it, conscious of boundaries, conscious of what Is and Is Not, and if what Is Not is the abrasive way they often go about things then its time to find out if what Is is something gentle. the asking of what do you Need from me. the not losing the self in fulfilling that request. the trueness to themselves while never being rigid and unbending. they will bend as you need them to, so how do you need them to bend?
━> they’re intense and stubborn but never to the point of being unreasonable. never to the point of allowing themselves to hurt people. never to the point of refusing to talk. respect is respect, and they respect themselves as much as they respect you, so tell them what you need, and they will give you this without dissecting themselves in the process. if a gentleness is what’s needed, then u will never know a kinder form of contact
━> they’re flexible without being a doormat. they’re not sb you can walk on, but they’re also not someone who wont listen. they’re the embodiment of Knowing who you are, and understanding that while things Must change you do not have to crush and dissolve yourself for other people in the process. changing for relationships is inevitable and necessary but the destruction of the self is not necessary for the repair of the social. the ‘who am i without them’ is always answered with 'i am myself’