i may be the only person with this interpretation but i’ve always wondered if elio’s comment on her creating fear was something he mentioned during her recruitment and/or very early on in their time together since fear as a concept doesn't exist on pteruges-v so i’ve partly viewed that as possibly him explaining to her why she's a valuable asset to him in regards to her work rather than him pointing it out in the context of interpersonal relationships. ofc that isn't to say she's never intimidating to those around her but i wish we knew more about how they viewed her during their respective recruitments bc blade, firefly and stelle often make remarks on her sadness so i wonder if her being intimidating is more about her abilities than her usual demeanor

blade talking about kafka’s feelings specifically is fucking me up so badly bc it reminds me of his conversation with stelle in kafka’s cm. he once again places an emphasis on how much kafka cares about stelle and how much she’s done for her. imo it's understandable why he mentions her specifically rather than the sh as a whole bc blade has always been shown to be perceptive, thoughtful and respectful to those closest to him and he expresses genuine concern for their wellbeing and appreciation for their efforts so it makes sense that he’d place an emphasis on kafka's feelings here rather than the sh as a faction bc kafka specifically has done so much and cares so deeply for stelle. blade knows the emotional impact all of this has on her and he's recognized her loneliness since the day they met so it's understandable for him to be very particular about stelle’s actions since he doesn't want to see kafka go through another loss. i really appreciate how much he cares for all of the stellaron hunters and i’m sure he cares for stelle too so i hope we can learn more about their pre canon dynamic soon

kfstl shippers usually aren't the biggest fans of kfbld's platonic and/or romantic relationship, the admin of the biggest daily kfstl acc reposted one of my tweets about kfbld's platonic relationship to criticize it on their other account and didn't delete it despite me clarifying that kafka is a necessary part of the conversation around blade's personhood and healing and i've seen an insane amount of kfstl fans unironically say kafka views/treats blade like a dog and doesn't care about him which is a ridiculous disservice to her character. i cannot stress enough how much i genuinely dgaf if people ship kfbld or if they see it purely as platonic. it's just the insistence that she treats him like an animal and/or object that i can't stand and multiple kfstl fans have said that shit in direct response to my posts

april 26, 2023. played the game the day of its release with no prior knowledge of any of the characters and kafstel stood out to me from the beginning. first hsr ship and favorite stelle ship. i haven't talked about them as much partly bc i'm very multiship for stelle but mostly bc my interest in kafstel as a ship lies more in their relationship pre canon (which we still don't know a lot about unfortunately 😭) and their eventual reunion. personally i don't see them pursuing a romantic relationship in the current day for various reasons and afaik that's not really a popular opinion amongst kafstel shippers so i keep most of my thoughts to myself. tbh i keep going back and forth with wanting to post about them since i'm not particularly welcome in the fanbase but 3.0 pushed me off the edge so unfortunately for everyone i'm sharing my opinions again

it took me an embarrassingly long time to realize you were saying this bc of how he holds his sword omg 😭😭 ik your comment is probably just a joke so i don't mean to be like ☝️🤓 and from what i’ve heard how he holds it references an idle sword holding pose in chinese martial arts (i didn't know this for a long time so i thought i’d share!). i’m also very for him hugging and cuddling her from behind though lmao i agree that he'd enjoy being held by her too and i think it might be one of those things that takes time for him to come around to just bc having someone behind him isn't something he's used to but i think of him lying on or by her a lot. i think it's harder for him to be on the receiving end of affection so like you said she leaves it up to him to decide whatever position and kinds of touch he's comfortable with

i had to google forking bc i couldn't figure out if it was an innuendo or not omfg i feel so out of touch it's embarrassing 💀 but yeah i think sometimes it's more comfortable for them to face each other since they can see each other bc i have hcs about blade struggling with dpdr so being able to see kafka’s face is important at times. there was this post circling at one point about someone's partner being their weighted blanket and i can see that both ways for them lmao

before i answer this i want to make it clear that i really really hate how top/bottom are treated as synonymous with dom/sub and associated with personalities and tropes due to cisheteronormativity and how misogyny shapes seme/uke dynamics that are popular in fandom spaces. i’m very against any interpretations of kafka aligned with the whole “mommy dom” bs and any use of her whisper in sexual contexts. there is a significant problem across the entire fandom with portraying kafka as aggressive and coercive with little to no respect for boundaries and i find it incredibly disturbing

i hc her as a verse and again i don’t associate this with dom/sub dynamics and i also really hate how many kafblade fans say weird shit like “kafblade is good bc she pegs him” so i don't want my answer to be misconstrued

stellaron hunters cuddle pile is sooo real to me and i agree, i think it takes a good amount of time for blade to come around but as he learns more about the others, how they express themselves and what kind of support they need/want, he finds himself questioning what physical affection means for him too and over time, as he understands more about his own comfort, he makes an effort to initiate touches more frequently, whether it’s subtle or, as you mentioned, trying to catch the right moment, and i think he’d have a hard time asking for multiple reasons but the others also learn to read his nonverbal cues and gauge when he is and isn’t comfortable with contact and that makes it easier. i like to think they all give him opportunities to be engaged and reaffirm that he’s never intruding so the metaphorical door is open and he has room to move at his own pace. also kafka plushie is so funny and i see them both as having times where they’re pretty clingy but it’s mostly when they’re alone

ty for the submission!! thinking about stellaron hunters hugs always brings a smile to my face :)

i’m so sorry anon omg i wrote an essay and it didn't even address your message 😭😭 i have thoughts about that too and i try to keep my account somewhat sfw so i don't talk about it often but i will say i think it's something that takes time for them to come around to bc it's a lot for them to process mentally and emotionally. physical pleasure like that is something that's deemed as “unnecessary” and something that blade even sees himself as “unfit for” imo so i agree that it plays an important role in their relationship and i often think about it in the context of allowing themselves to want things and how desire and pleasure are parts of the personhood they distance themselves from. and ofc there's lots to be said about the trust aspect of it too and bc i view blade as a stone butch i have a lot of very specific hcs for how things play out for them both but i won’t get into the details publicly

i have so many thoughts about this so my response is bit long 😭 one of the reasons kafblade’s dynamic is so interesting to me is bc touch is canonically an important part of their relationship regardless of whether you choose to interpret it as platonic or romantic. we know physical contact isn't necessary for kafka's whisper to work, there is no implication that prolonged direct touch enhances the efficiency of her persuasion and during their meeting, sam was holding him still, not kafka, so touch was not initially incorporated into her handling his mara. bc mara is associated with memories and strong negative emotions, the way to “decrease its potency” is to remove stressors (which kafka does by “cleansing” his memories) and create a comfortable environment so if kafka's touch wasn't comforting for him, she'd have no reason to incorporate it since it'd be unnecessary work on her part at best and distressing to blade at worst. at some point in their time together they developed a closeness where blade isn't only comfortable with her touch. he’s comforted through it and that's such an important distinction for two people with a tendency to physically and emotionally distance themselves from others, including each other. i have plenty of thoughts about their individual feelings and experiences regarding touch, its role in emotional intimacy and how these beliefs manifest as behaviors in their interpersonal relationships but for the sake of keeping this as short as possible i'll just say i agree that touch is an important and complicated thing in a relationship with two people with disorganized attachment who are both disconnected from their sense of personhood, especially when you consider touch as an act of vulnerability for both parties