#and would simultaneously date everyone without issue

[labyrinthinesyndicatex]

"Yes. And the worst part is acting like you're not doing it while simultaneously cataloging everyone else's moves for future reference."

The server appeared at their table with perfect timing, like they'd been hovering just out of sight waiting for a lull in conversation. "Good evening, have you had a chance to look over the menu? Can I start you with any appetizers or would you like to order your entrees?"

"I think we're ready," Anais said, glancing at Demir. "I'll have the mushroom risotto, and..." She gestured for him to order. After they'd both ordered and the server disappeared with their menus, Anais settled back in her chair. This whole thing was spiraling way past reconnaissance territory. She was supposed to be mining information about Izel, figuring out weak spots she could exploit later. Instead she was sitting here relating to his damage like it matched her own. "Polished," she said, shaking her head. "Trust me, half the time I'm just hoping nobody notices I'm winging it. All that composure you're seeing? Pure survival instinct wrapped in a decent blazer." The honesty slipped out easier than it should have. She wasn't supposed to be giving him real pieces of herself to work with.

His comment about skipping straight to emotional dessert made something warm settle in her chest that had nothing to do with strategy. This was dangerous territory - the kind where she started forgetting why she'd called him in the first place. The Solis family had destroyed her father without a second thought, but here was their princess's ex making vulnerability sound like humor instead of weakness. "You know what's really twisted?" she continued, scanning the tiramisu description without actually reading it. "We spend all this energy pretending to be normal, and then when someone calls us on it, we're shocked they want to stick around anyway." She looked up at him, caught off guard by how easily he'd shifted from flirting to something real. "And honestly? This not being pretend thing works for me too. Even if we're both probably more damaged than we're letting on." The admission hung between them for a second before she forced herself back to safer ground. "As for my dating profile disasters, I'm thinking 'Enjoys spreadsheets, has daddy issues, may audit your personal finances for fun.' Real winner, right?" She grinned, trying to keep it light even though talking about her father always made her chest tight. "What about you? 'Recovering charmer seeks someone who won't run when emotions get complicated'?"

Demir’s laugh came low and warm, the kind that slipped out without permission, and it lingered like he didn’t want to rein it back in. "God, I really have done that too many times. Pretending I know which glass is mine while quietly tracking the cutlery hierarchy like it’s an Olympic event.” He leaned his elbow on the table, chin tilted her way, eyes holding just enough mischief to keep it flirty—but the kind that ran deeper than surface charm. “And you’re telling me that behind all that spreadsheet elegance, you were also mapping escape routes and mirror-checking your posture like the rest of us? I feel betrayed. I thought you were one of the polished ones.” His smile softened, just slightly. “Funny, isn’t it? All the ways we twist ourselves into what we think people expect, and half the time they’re just doing the same thing.”

He watched her, the edges of his smirk tugging up with something far too real for a fake date. “And hey, if you’re spoiling me with light childhood trauma and perfectly delivered audit humour, I might have to skip straight to dessert. Emotionally, I mean. Though—” his eyes flicked to the menu, then back to her, “—if you think I’m waiting till date three to hear your dramatic reading of ‘systematic irregularities,’ you clearly underestimate how easily bribed I am by good risotto and better company.” There was a pause. Not heavy, but honest. “You know,” he said, quieter now, “this was supposed to be a casual date. Polite laughs, harmless banter, maybe a story or two that doesn’t leave bruises.” He toyed with the edge of his napkin again, the same idle thumb movement she’d noticed earlier. “But here we are, trading damage and dessert plans like it’s the most natural thing in the world. And I don’t know what that says about us yet, Anais... but I’m not in a rush to define it.” He looked at her then—not just amused, not just curious, but seeing her. “Whatever this is, it’s not pretend. Not for me, anyway.” And then, as if to break the weight of that truth gently, he added with a wink, “Now go on, tell me more about what else would be on your dating profile, even though I already admitted I'll swipe right. Then you can tell me--what you think my profile would be like and if you'd swipe right or not."

[misc-obeyme]

okay so! Imagine if you given the choice to marry barbatos and Solomon but here’s the twist! You have to choose only ONE to marry! Who would you pick? >:3

-🍁

Noooooo why do I have to choose?!

I want to marry both of them 😤

Though can you imagine having those two as husbands at the same time?? LOL oh ho ho that is fun to think about.

Right, but anyway, back to the question!

I'm really trying to come up with ways to get out of choosing lol. I'm like well technically I could marry either one of them and then have the other one just live with us or something... But I know that's not the point. I just want to find a way to keep them both!

But okay, if I had to choose for some reason...

I think I would choose Barbatos. But I would feel bad because I think Solomon would really struggle with rejection.

I almost chose Solomon for that reason alone because I think Barb could handle it better, but my heart was like, lol no you love that butler too much. And it's true, there's quite a lot I'd be willing to do if it meant I got to marry Barbatos. Sorry, Solomon.

But let the record show that I would rather just have them both to myself because I am greedy like that. speaking of greed I wouldn't mind Mammon as a third husband either tee hee

[creatingblackcharacters]

Please tell me if I am wrong about this but it is dated/offensive to refer to Black people as characters of colour, right?

You must have seen my meltdown yesterday, huh 🤣 okay. I'm gonna get a little personal with this one because I think I'm allowed to be passionate about it (and yes, anger).

It is not dated nor offensive to say that Black people are characters/people of color. The offense comes into play when you know their identity, you have the option and the knowledge to say Black- especially when the topic at hand is about their Blackness, which is its own particular experience- and you choose to say "characters/people of color" over that instead, as if they're synonymous terms, when they aren't.

It implies that you don't actually care about the character's/person's identity to use it, or maybe even that you're uncomfortable mentioning it without cushioning it in something else. Why? Why is saying "Black" hard?

I need y'all to understand that when you say "people of color" that's literally EVERYBODY ON THE PLANET that didn't get to be labeled "white". It's basically saying if you're not white, you can be generalized. I'm not just "not white", I'm Black! And I want you to use my specific identity, because for a long time, it's been treated as a dirty word and lesser identity!

E.g.: If a woman made a post saying "hi, I'm a trans woman, my pronouns are she/her, and these are the issues that affect me." And in the notes are messages saying "yeah! I support all my hes shes and theys!!" And she's like "hey, that's cool, but I'm a she, and this post was about my identification with this label and what comes with".

And they respond "oh well all lives matter it's fine, btw I'm an ally". 😐 But then turn around and think they're being supportive of her, when in reality they're disrespecting her and the identity she asked them to use, overgeneralizing a topic that was specific and thus declawing the directness original message (while simultaneously receiving validation for being an "ally" from everyone that isn't this identity). 🤬

Anyway. When we consider the history of the identity of Blackness and how it has been treated as a dirty, taboo topic: Why would you say "character of color" when you're solely talking about Black characters? Why is that your go to? What does it add, that mentioning their Blackness directly doesn't? What are you trying to say, that you can't say "Black"? Because if it's gonna be a problem, then the problem is the context you're about to use it in! I genuinely want y'all to consider this, in your own conversation and in others.

Why not say Black, when someone is Black and identifies as such? Why not?

[lightandfellowship]

There are SO many layers of meaning to Roxas giving Axel the WINNER popsicle stick at the end of Days, it just blows my mind how much symbolism can be derived from this one item.

(1. Axel is arguably the “winner” at the end of the game since he’s the only one out of his friend group who survives to the end relatively unscathed and unharassed.

(2. However, ironically, he is also NOT the winner because really, nobody is a winner at the end of that game (pun not intended). Everyone suffered, including Axel. You see the word WINNER staring back at Axel in this cheerful, celebratory font and you can just tell that it’s mocking him.

(3. Since getting a WINNER popsicle stick requires some degree of luck (because it's completely random), it can be considered “lucky” to come across one. Much like the irony of “winner”, Axel is simultaneously lucky and anything but lucky.

(4. The act of eating ice cream together is closely associated with friendship in this game, meaning that Roxas leaving the popsicle stick behind, and thus making a show of refusing to partake in their usual daily ritual, is his way of telling Axel that their friendship is over (at least for now). The abandoned popsicle stick in the envelope says more than any conventional letter would.

(5. When Roxas first gets the WINNER popsicle stick, he initially doesn’t understand what it means and decides to ask Axel about it at a later date. He never gets the opportunity to bring it up, and though he does eventually find out what the WINNER stick means by asking the ice-cream seller, he still ultimately relinquishes the popsicle stick to Axel without ever discussing it with him. Thus, the popsicle stick represents the thoughts left unsaid or the unresolved issues of a friendship terminated prematurely. It represents all of the conversations that they could have had, but now never will because there’s no going back to how things used to be.

(6. Additionally, Roxas says in his diary that one of the reasons why he hasn't gotten around to giving Axel the WINNER stick yet is because he thinks it wouldn't be nice to give one to Axel but then leave Xion out. But Roxas never does find a second WINNER stick to give to Xion, emphasizing all the more how Xion isn't technically a "true" member of the Organization, and indeed is doomed to be left out of everything. And Roxas finally giving the WINNER stick to Axel at the very end despite not having one for Xion is almost like Roxas giving up and acknowledging that life is never going to be fair to him and Xion.

(7. And finally, since Roxas was hoping to give Axel the WINNER stick as a friendly gesture all throughout the game but never managed to, him finally doing that is indicative of him trying to tie up loose ends before he leaves. As Axel says in his diary entry about it, "…leaving [the popsicle stick] here makes [Roxas' departure] feel so permanent."

[chaifootsteps]

strap in, this one's a long post

I had an idea of how they could fix Millie that would make her more interesting without stapling an angsty backstory onto her:

Have her marriage with Moxxie go into a bumpy patch or fall apart completely.

It's kind of a throwaway line, but Millie in Unhappy Campers points out that she's let down that Moxxie hasn't supported her half as much as she's supported him that week. She went with his stupid idea to investigate even though she spotted the guilty party immediately and she tried to help him befriend the teenagers just because his ego was hurt. And that's been their dynamic consistently throughout the show - Moxxie is the neurotic one, the one who needs reassurance and is insecure. Short of having her tell Blitzo to knock it off when he's mean to Moxxie (and he is their boss) I don't think Moxxie could ask for a more supportive wife.

So have that evolve into the problem. Have Millie have some minor frustrations that Moxxie doesn't notice or support her with, but she's constantly supporting his attempts to become a better assassin and impress her parents/Blitzo. Have Moxxie be good at romantic gestures and dates but not the emotional work of being there for her since he's always preoccupied with his own problems. Have Millie be frustrated not just with him but everyone assuming that they're just this effortlessly perfect couple and that she has no problems of her own, even though she's the one carrying a lot of the team's weight on assassinations if Blitzo and Moxxie mess up.

Have it get worse when Millie does get another external stressor - maybe she has an argument with Sallie Mae or her siblings, maybe her parents get sick or something goes sideways with the farm and she can't just go home. And right when she needs Moxxie to actually pick up some of the slack at work or at home, he isn't there for her because he's too distracted by issue of his own that's much smaller by comparison but Moxxie blowing it out of proportion gives Millie another thing to be stressed with.

Right before they have a massive fight, the relationship stresses can work in to the stol1tz plotline. Maybe explain Millie isn't as mad at Moxxie at Blitzo intruding in their relationship because she realizes he just wants what they have and can't admit it. But have Millie simultaneously start to project her own relationship problems onto Blitzo/Stolas. At first it's just the surface level similarities - Moxxie is more of a sophisticate who likes musicals and opera, just like the educated Stolas. But then she starts to see that both Stolas and Moxxie have the trait of being sweet on the surface but being all take and no give, then sensitive enough to make everyone assume Millie is the one blowing up for no reason (Moxxie does this by accident where Stolas does it habitually, of course). This actually gives Millie's relationship with Blitzo some texture, since he's trying his best to get M&M to make up because he thinks they're perfect and Millie keeps getting frustrated trying to get Blitzo to see that she's not what he's projecting onto her.

It's when she tells him all the issues with her family and how she can't deal with Moxxie's issues on top of it and she feels like she's drowing alone that it clicks for Blitzo, because that's exactly what he's going through with Stolas, who expects Blitzo to rescue him from his own problems and fulfil his romantic fantasies at all hours of the day. But it terrifies him too because if relatively nice demons like M&M can't make it work, what chance does he have?

Use this to inform her relationship with Loona, too. Without Millie there the office falls into nonstop tension. The writers said Millie is the heart - use her absence to actually show it, because everyone is just fighting constantly and there's no one to right the ship.

Maybe also interrogate the other pillars of Millie's identity. She seems self-actualised, so instead of giving her angst attack the things that makes her sure of herself. Maybe when her marriage begins to struggle her family uses it as an excuse to attack her choice of husband and her "freelance" work. Millie feels like she's failed leaving home, she should have never left the farm. She has to define herself outside of Moxxie and her job. She has to figure out a source of strength within herself. And have Sallie Mae, the one who complained about missing her, be the one to encourage to go out and look because she loves Millie selflessly enough to know she belongs in the city and wants more than staying in the Wrath ring.

And since Moxxie isn't Stolas, have him wise up, apologize and actually change to support her more and help her through whatever the challenge is she's facing. He doesn't immediately get more confident but he stops using Millie as his go-to fix and pick me up for all his problems, especially the little ones. Then they get back together just in time for a second anniversary, with the punchline being them expecting Blitzo to crash their next date - except he doesn't. Because he's learnt better than to keep doing it, and he knows he needs to work on his own relationships. But in his case, he'll soon realize when he tries to make things up with Stolas that Stolas is not Moxxie, and he should just leave since nothing short of being a slave to Stolas' every whim will be good enough. That way the show displays how love is worth fighting for with M&M, but not when abuse is involved.

I love everything about this. The character development all around, Moxxie and Millie growing as people, Blitzo growing as a person and realizing he deserves better than Stolas...even Sallie Mae gets something real and substantial to do! It's everything this show should have been!

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Fluffvember day 14 - In the Rain

Ganondorf had to admit, he had not expected to be downright excited to be returning home.

It had been almost a year since the entire family had been together. Ganondorf had been tirelessly working with Merovar, befriending King Ozen, making trade negotiations… all the while he and his children would make sporadic visits to the desert but never together, and he would sometimes swap places with his wife, letting her visit Hyrule while he was in the Gerudo capital.

With the Festival of Colors approaching, it was time to finally change that.

The festival was a delightful time of year, filled with colors and excitement and pageantry, a celebration of the coming spring. It was a pity they could not share such a holiday with Hyrule, as it would be a good means of showing their power and splendor, but honestly he was just as happy to have this celebration at home with no Hyrulian scrutiny.

Well, there was one Hyrulian who would be there. But after nearly a year of getting to know him, Ganondorf didn’t mind.

Speaking of Orik, though, the Gerudo king realized there was an issue. His people were all returning for the festival, a fairly sizable group traveling together, with multiple tents pitched and guards posted as they made camp for the night. Ganondorf had his own large tent, the twins had theirs, and then everyone else generally shared four women to a tent.

Orik sat in the rain alone, cloak pulled over him tightly.

It was nearly midnight. Ganondorf had only noticed because he heard the rain start to fall and wanted to peek outside, sometimes enjoying the sight. He knew for certain Hemisi had to be asleep or she would’ve dragged Link into her and her brother’s tent the instant she saw him outside.

Ganondorf hesitated. He liked the rain but he didn’t want to be out in it. But he sighed, relenting, throwing a cloak on and stepping towards the boy.

“Orik,” he called quietly. “What are you doing?”

The young Sheikah warrior glanced at him, looking very small all of a sudden. He tipped his head apologetically, calmly saying, “This was the best spot for shelter with the rocks sticking out, my lord. I can move, if you like.”

What? “Where’s your tent, boy?”

Orik shifted a little uncomfortably. “I, uh, don’t have one.”

Ganondorf stared at him. This was their second night camping on their journey. What had he done the first night?? And what about— “How did you journey to the desert last time?”

The only other time Orik has been to Gerudo Desert was when he’d been introduced to the entire family after he and Hemisi had started dating, and that has been nearly a year ago. He and Hemisi had traveled together then, had they not? Had he shared a tent with her then?

“I sent Hemisi ahead,” Orik answered. “She could travel with the entourage that way. I… don’t like making a scene.”

Goddesses if that wasn’t the truth. Ganondorf couldn’t fathom it, loving such attention and very much accustomed to it, but he knew by now how shy the boy could be. Sheikah were creatures of the shadows, he supposed. But that meant the kid had been roughing it the entire journey there and back, and this time…

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he asked, “And where, pray tell, did you sleep last night?”

“The grass was really soft, Lord Ganondorf, I promise—”

“Come here,” Ganondorf immediately ordered, exasperated but not surprised. Honestly, this teenager. Didn’t Hyrule supply its soldiers with some basic necessities? Or did Orik not even think to ask? The kid was an independent warrior, he had to be at least, what, sixteen? Surely he’d gotten enough experience traveling that he should know better by now.

Orik could be a mystery sometimes. Quiet and obedient, but able to flip on a moment’s notice and cause chaos. Intelligent and seemingly not innocent of the ways of the world yet simultaneously so naive.

The teenager obeyed without any attempt at insisting he was fine, which was at least a good indication that he’d finally learned not to argue with Ganondorf. He was shaping up to be a good son-in-law, if it did eventually go that way.

Hemisi would be of age in just over a year. What a terrifying thought. But he imagined they’d have the Triforce far before that.

Disregarding such plans for the time being, Ganondorf reached out just as Orik got close enough, pulling the boy under his cloak. The kid’s clothes were soaked.

“Best spot for shelter?” He repeated, feeling Orik shiver a little.

The Sheikah halfheartedly remarked, “For the circumstances, yes. I didn’t say it was a good place.”

Humming a little at the boy’s cheekiness, the Gerudo king guided him towards his own tent. Orik nearly planted his feet in as soon as he realized where they were going, but a firm hand on his shoulder moved him forward.

Once they were inside the tent, Ganondorf slipped his own cloak off and grabbed a blanket. “Strip down, boy, you’re not sleeping drenched.”

The Sheikah watched him a moment, red eyes debating the matter. Ganondorf let him have the moment, but only briefly - if Orik wanted to be treated like a man, he needed to start taking care of himself like one. Why couldn’t he figure that out?

Sighing, the kid pulled off his cloak, and his simple folded tunic. Then he removed his boots, but left his greyish brown trousers on. Ganondorf tossed him a spare pair of Merovar’s, alongside one of his son’s tunics - his own child was bigger than the Sheikah, but it would do. And it was freezing - Hyrule’s winter was still clinging to the land, rain barely warm enough to not be ice.

Orik stared a moment longer, and Ganondorf at least granted him some dignity by turning away for privacy. When he heard clothing stop rustling, he stretched and laid back down on the large bed near the center of the tent; the center itself was dedicated to the small fire, smoke trailing to the opening cut away to sit above the rest of the roof of the canvas. There were enough blankets to even bury the large king of the Gerudo. It would do.

“Come on,” he bade, patting the bed as he turned to see the boy. “Get in bed.”

Ganondorf nearly laughed as he got a good look at Orik. The boy truly looked like a child dressed in oversized clothing, and the mild alarm at his suggestion was evident.

“Lord Ganondorf—”

“Are you arguing with me, child?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Orik’s protest stammered to a halt, but he didn’t quite look ready to give up yet. Ganondorf didn’t fault him - he too would argue over being coddled and cuddled.

For a moment, a small part of the Gerudo king wondered what it would be like, for his own father to hold him. But he pushed the thought away. He’d never known the man and didn’t need to.

Orik found his voice. “I promise I’ll be okay outside, my lord. It’s not my intent to inconvenience you so much.”

“I will decide what’s inconvenient to me,” Ganondorf fired back easily. You’ll have to try harder than that, kid.

Orik floundered again for a second, biting his lip. He seemed to be moving from surprise and mild alarm to guilt and worry, maybe even fear.

That put the Gerudo ill at ease. Taking a gentler tone, he said, “Orik, you know you’re safe here with us, right?”

Orik’s eyes widened further, catching the implication, and he hastily corrected, “Y-yes, my lord, I would never dare imply that you make me feel uncomfortable in such a manner!”

Thank Din. Fine. Not an issue, then. “Then get in bed, child. It’s cold and your lack of foresight will get you ill. I’m not having you be sick for the duration of the festival.”

Orik shifted his weight a little and then sighed, finally relenting. Ganondorf moved the blankets, letting the teenager settle on the mattress, still very obviously shivering. Slowly, the Gerudo king relaxed in the bed, stretching a little. When he saw how stiff Orik was, he hesitated again.

Having grown up in a culture of women made Ganondorf naturally far more physically affectionate. His people were very open in how they showed their care. Ganondorf had little use for such actions prior to getting married, but now he was very accustomed to it. He figured by now that Orik knew he had to be on good terms with the family, though the circumstances tonight were unusual - Ganondorf was not in the habit of letting a teenager who wasn’t his own stay with him. Nevertheless, if he left Orik to his own devices he knew the kid would go back outside and that was not an option.

Perhaps Sheikah were just cold and aloof to their children.

Ganondorf was not a Sheikah, though. So he wasn’t going to leave the kid just freezing. He cared about him too much at this point.

Sneaky little brat, worming his way into the Gerudo king’s heart. Honestly.

“If you ever wish to join this family you’d better get used to this, because I can assure you Nabooru will cuddle you to death,” he quipped mildly. “And Hemisi is far worse.”

Unexpectedly, Orik giggled at the words, relaxing a little, and it made Ganondorf smile.

Thank the goddesses this was their last night before reaching the desert. He could only be so affectionate to the kid. But…

You know damn well this isn’t going to be the only time.

No, perhaps not, he mused as Orik carefully tried to maneuver himself to be more comfortable, close enough to feel Ganondorf’s body warmth without being quite in reach.

He heard the child yawn, shivers lessening a little, and he relaxed, falling asleep.

XXX

Link listened as the rain grew heavier on the tarp above. The small fire was nearly burnt out, simmering with the occasional pop as a raindrop leaked in through the opening overtop. He felt a little uncomfortable, stiff in an awkward position as he tried to be as unobtrusive in the bed as possible.

Lord Ganondorf had insisted this was how the family would treat Link, if he were to ever…

Merovar’s words echoed in his mind, speaking of how Queen Nabooru loved him, how Lord Ganondorf…

Well, it was downright ridiculous to let his mind convince him the Gerudo king consort didn’t at least like him considering what he was doing. Ganondorf was not a very accommodating man, demanding others bend to his own will. He was stubborn and did not suffer fools. Link sometimes wondered why he was trying so hard to befriend King Ozen, considering…

Well. Link was just a guard. He knew nothing of politics. But what little he’d observed, he wasn’t entirely sure King Ozen was someone Ganondorf would respect. But he supposed that didn’t matter - one did what one had to do that their own kingdoms survived.

He was just grateful he was able to meet all of them.

But more to the direct issue, Link had never really slept in the same bed as anyone. Many years ago, in the orphanage, he’d slept on the floor with the other kids, but never shared a mattress. So while he was blessedly warm, he was… he didn’t know, he didn’t want to bother Lord Ganondorf by trying to move or stretch, and what if he had to get up or turn or sneeze or anything like that? Would the man sleep through it?

Almost as if to answer his question, the Gerudo king let out a loud snore. Link jumped, completely caught off guard, and then he almost laughed.

When he wiggled a little, though, he felt Ganondorf stiffen. Link, in turn, stiffened even more.

Sighing, he resigned himself to just not sleeping. He tried to enjoy the warmth, at least, and somehow the weight of Ganondorf’s arm over his side was grounding. Sometimes anxiety got the best of Link at night, making it difficult to sleep well, but for whatever reason that wasn’t quite the case tonight.

Instead, Link found himself thinking about what it would be like if he could just have moments like this more often. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as uncomfortable or awkward. Or maybe if it was during the day instead…

Oh stop it. No one is going to hold you just for the sake of it.

Well. Hemisi did. Link liked snuggling with her. But the King and Queen of the Gerudo?

Link knew it was silly to wish for such a thing. But being stuck in this situation, he…

He shook his head. Maybe just think about something else. There was no point mourning a childhood without parents.

But he steadily relaxed in the bed, nodding off just as the sun started to rise.

And, a few days later, when he was bedridden with sand fever, as lucidity finally came back to drag him into the daylight, he felt a warm arm around him, heard a heart beating against his ear. Link moved a little, not bothering to worry about waking anyone, just letting himself be comfortable as Ganondorf readjusted in the bed alongside him, holding him close. In that early dawn light, Link felt safe and loved and he smiled, ignoring how his eyes stung a little, chalking it up to the fever, and snuggled with his guardian.

[mikuni14]

Heesu in Class 2 - Ep 7-8

The following post is critical, so if you're a fan, you'd better skip it 😉

I really want to like this series and I approach each new episode with the hope that this time it will be better, but every time I'm met with disappointment.

My biggest issues are with the character of Heesu, whom I simply can't like, and the lack of logic in the continuity of the story and the characters' behaviors. Despite everything, this series is just a romance, and one of the simplest ones, because Heesu and Seung Won are simply supposed to get together and the series does everything to help them do it, to the detriment of the sense and the characters - and most of all Heesu.

I'll try to explain as best I can what I don't like about this series:

there are no transitions between the characters' mental states. For example, Heesu has a broken heart and the status of his feelings literally changes immediately. Right away, on the same hill, he goes from one guy to another. There is no transition, no "bridge" from one love to another, no period of grief for an old love. Same with Chan Yeong's personal life: randomly thrown in single scenes with his abusive father and there is no transition to the next scenes. For example, after a fight with his father, he leaves home late at night… and what? Where was he? How does all that weigh on him? Who did he go to with his problems? Doesn't he feel lonely without Heesu? No answers

when Heesu has his heart broken by one straight guy, he immediately falls in love with another straight guy, and the reason is the same as before: another guy shows interest in him (which would be an interesting topic to show in the series btw, but why bother). There is no fear, no contemplation, no confusion, despair that his heart will be broken again, because Heesu KNOWS that Seung Won is in love with a GIRL, and the same one as his ex-crush. (Somehow the irony of this situation is completely lost on Heesu and the writers)

the potential homophobia appeared for a moment and was forgotten. This is one of my biggest problems with this series: Heesu is supposedly afraid of coming out, but the series simultaneously shows him as someone who is NOT afraid. Heesu was ready to confess to Chan Yeong (and publicly!), and when he discovers his feelings for Seung Won, he tells him that he won't go on a blind date because he already has a crush on someone - and he says it while looking him in the eye. In general, the topic of homosexuality is treated quite freely, we have lesbian couples, Seung Won has already told two people that he likes a boy in his class, and most importantly: Heesu, like a true soap opera MC, lives his love life 24/7, nothing else happens in his life, even his hobby has somehow become about his love life, he smoothly moved from one love obsession to another and apart from a momentary fear after a mysterious text, there is no such constant fear and stress associated with living with a huge secret and hiding an important part of himself. Again: lack of logic and continuity

Seung Won confessing his feelings for Heesu to everyone else, not even his close ones, but not to Heesu is so irritating, especially since...

.... he just said with a cocky smile on his face that he feels quite sure that he has a chance with Heesu and is flirting with him quite openly. So is he confident or not? Or has he simply not confessed his love yet because we need to fill half the series somehow?

Heesu is becoming more and more inconsistent, he is sometimes nice, only to completely deny his nice moments by being a total asshole next. He takes out his frustrations on others, he does not think about the consequences of his words, others pay for his desires, anger, jealousy. Those others are usually Ji Yu.

there are no scenes between Heesu and Chan Yeong, there is no conversation about what happened between them, why Heesu is like this towards him and his girlfriend, they don't try to talk, to fix their relationship, Chan Yeong has more scenes with the coach than with Heesu. Their friendship is very unreliable because of this, although I would understand Heesu trying to avoid Chan Yeong for various reasons, Chan Yeong not questioning the sudden and drastic change in their relationship is simply illogical

unfortunately Heesu keeps meddling in other people's business, he likes the attention and compliance that the guys in his life show him, everything he does is about him, he even starts a club for his personal purposes, not for astronomy and not caring about the potential club members, he is very selfish, he is very susceptible to influence, for example, it was enough for JiYu to talk to him nicely and his whole attitude changes and the resentment towards her goes away.

This whole emotional mess is frustrating and tiring instead of being funny. The amount of suffering they cause each other, which Heesu excels at (like the scene on the bus when he doesn't sit next to Seung Won - it would made me feel down for the whole day if something like that happened to me), makes me not have fun watching it and this romance doesn't spark joy. The worst thing is that this series had potential and all these topics, problems that were only touched on, done properly and with care, could easily fill the airtime without harming the characters and the plot.

[legandairy-horror]

Headcannons about how the Lightner crew show affection for each other because I can't stop imagining these dorks as the world's most confusing and disastrous polycule

Kris

Feral animal in all things, including relationships. Is very particular when it comes to physical touch and other displays of affection. Instead they give out cool rocks and other shiny things to people they like/care. Has had a crush on every person in their class at one point or another and simultaneously refuses to acknowledge it and refuses to move on. Subconsciously uses their pranking and general weirdness as an excuse to get closer to people without having to admit that they like being around them

Susie

That one "Excuse me, they asked for no pickles" meme. Is willing to commit any crime for the people they care about. Absolutely refuses to acknowledge the fact that they have feelings for anyone even after going out on several dates with them. Not helped by poor self-worth issues making he doubt anyone actually liking her let alone romantic feelings. Deeply infatuated with Noelle, strong feelings for Kris. Complicated for Catti (started out real rough but thinks dark magic is sick as fuck)

Noelle

Lesbiab. Lasbein. Girls. Has such a low self-image of herself and tries so unbelievable hard to hide how weird she is that she just does not realize that every girl in class has been actively trying to date her and just assumes that they're all being nice. Not helped by some lingering Heteronormativity makes her just default to "Ah yes, boys and girls date, that's how that works".

Berdly

I cannot emphasize just how performative he views relationship. Raised on a healthy diet of Heteronormativity and Societal expectations he understands every relationship through that lens. "Of course the guy and girl get together in the end, that's just 'how it works'". Except it's not how it works, because people are often a lot more then what society expects from them. And he just never realized that there might be other options, that love isn't this destined thing that everyone one day accepts like fucking ex-caliber. That he doesn't have to do this if we doesn't want to. That he can just be friends with people instead of having to worry about all this forced bullshit. Yes I am head-cannoning Berdly as closeted aro/ace and there is nothing you can do to stop me.

Catti

Developed a crush on Kris & Noelle while she was teaching them both magic and never fully got over it. Also had somewhat of a friendship while they were younger and thus unjustly blames herself for not doing more to help them after Dess's disappearance and Kris's Possession. Combined with typical teen angst of "My parents are humiliating me by their mere existence." and she's developed a very distant and detached form of love. a very "I'm fine sacrificing my happiness if it means they keep their happiness" kinda mentality. Reason she doesn't get along with Susie at first is because she subconsciously projects a lot of her own anxieties and fear onto her leading to a lot of hostility at first.

Jockington

Token straight and is thus the only remotely competent person here. Serves as the supportive rock for everyone and especially Catti. The first and mostly likely person on the team to suggest the completely reasonable advice of "have you tried talking to them?" and "you're probably overthinking this". It's part of why Catti fell in love with him, because he's the only one here who would willing and readily admit that he cares for someone.

Bonus Monster Kid & Snowy meme (not at all serious)

"Have you ever been walking down the street with your best bro and while you're walking you accidentally touch hands? You think to yourself - That was weird, but I'm not gay. - You are, you are gay". Source

[yandereunsolved]

if Aegon wants to date everyone I’ve ‘dated’ he’s going to have a very long list lmao- we don’t do long plays so everyone can have experience in every roll, which means I’ve ‘dated’ like…40 ish people? Also the brothel suggestion isn’t…wrong for some of my classmates? Which I think would fuel the murder thoughts more- and now all I can imagine is criston hissing like a cat as I spray him with water for trying to murder my classmates- I’d totally make out with daemond, but Aemond would suffer because I like his brother better and they both have enough weird self esteem issues that I can’t make out with one without triggering the other. I think Helena would have a blast looking at the props though because quite a few are made by the people playing the characters that need them, which means their are little personal details put into them most of the time, and I think she’d love looking at all the props one of my classmates makes because he also hyperfixates on bugs and as such has added little beetles and bees and butterflies into props he makes (The ones I make either have space or cat details, depending on mood) Rheanyra gets to sit in the corner we have for the like, four other protective partners of my fellow cast members while we rehearse and maybe daemond can join depending on his behavior

-☀️ (Forgive me for jumping from topic to topic with no transition, my thoughts are all over today- also I suppose admire can live in my brain then, I’ve been needing someone to feed my muse recently because I am amassing far to many things into it I fear I’m going to end up writing a giant self aware Yandere thing for all of them and I cannot imagine how I’d manage to smoothly combine beetlejuice, cod, dc, marvel, hotd, zzz, Honkai, and Genshin all into the same thing all at the same time, not even counting the oc’s that are stuck in my muse rn because I need to finish making character sheets and descriptions for them before I can actually write the book for them)

Now you mad Criston angy and wet. He's glaring at me like I did something. get tf outta here little soldier boy. Let them cook. 👏

You are going to need to kiss all the men. All the hotd men need little kisses on their foreheads or they get jealous. (Daemon and Aemond definitely cross their arms and huff when getting forehead kisses.)

Helaena would love talking to him about bugs. And then she'd show you with an innocent smile on her face like 'look at this!!!' and then hug you or cling onto you if you let her.

Nice details. Space and cats are both groovy.

Rhaenyra is standing there like a proud (and worried) mother. Daemon is standing there like he owns the place (and simultaneously feels like he's being punished for something he hasn't done yet).

I jump to random topics all the time. No worries, little sunshine emoji.

[devildom-moss]

Roses for You (6)

This had all started when you noticed a link between a book on the language of flowers you had borrowed from Satan’s room and the current lessons from your Seductive Speechcraft and Magical Potions classes.

In Seductive Speechcraft, you had just reached a section on the effectiveness of spells using non-verbal communication: enchanting glances, dance, and offerings. Meanwhile, in Magical Potions, the professor had been discussing the significance of using specific quantities when concocting potions; they had spent fifteen minutes just providing examples – including adding petals from two different flowers when using them for a love spell.

You couldn’t resist discussing the use of flower language – utilizing the type, color, and quantity of the flowers – to specify the magical intent of an offering as a form of seductive speechcraft. Asmo and Solomon listened intently. The same idea popped into both of their minds, and before you knew it, everyone was looking into color and number meanings, searching for the perfect combination to convey their feelings for you and try to put you under their spell. The only rule for their little competition to charm you? Only roses are allowed.

Will you be charmed by their attempts?

Six Roses - Beelzebub

Word Count: +600

I want to be yours

(a rare Nightbringer era-specific fic)

Your phone buzzed on the table between you and Solomon. You were having one of your study sessions at home. Solomon glanced at it – nosy as ever – and sighed. “One of your other suitors?”

“Oh hush.” You rolled your eyes and checked the notifications. Okay, so Solomon was right.

Beel: Are you home?

Beel: I’m near Cocytus Hall. Would you like to go on a date?

MC: Right now? I’m not really dressed for a date. I was just studying with Solomon.

Beel: Don’t worry about dressing up. We can have a casual date. I just want to eat with you. Besides, you always look good. Please?

MC: Okay. I’ll see you soon.

“Sooo,” you started, gathering your books and notes.

“You’re ditching me to get some dick, aren’t you?”

“Nooooo.” You pat Solomon’s cheek playfully. “But I am ditching you to get food with a cute demon.”

You had just enough time to put your books on your desk and check yourself in the mirror before the doorbell rang. That was quick. You rushed to the door, hollering at Solomon, “I got it.”

“No shit,” Solomon shouted back, “but I’ll tell my abandonment issues not to get the door.”

You rolled your eyes at him again.

When you opened the door, Beelzebub was standing on the steps with a small bouquet of bright red roses. He grinned, cheeks tinted with a faint blush, and thrust the roses towards you. “I knew you’d look cute.”

“I –” you were stunned, and heat rose in your cheeks. Six red roses were a bold declaration of passion and lust – that he wanted to be yours. You second guessed whether he understood what he was saying or if he just wanted to give you flowers. Everyone knew red roses were supposed to be romantic, so maybe Beel didn’t think too much about it. Despite the “competition” that the others seemed to be engaged in, you didn’t exactly expect Beel to be concerned with it. Your face twisted in uncertainty, wondering how you could ask if he meant it without offending him.

“Do you not like it?” Beel asked in a soft, nervous tone. His eyes were wide and sad.

“No, I love them,” you insisted. “It’s so sweet, but is this a part of the little game everyone’s been engaging in with me? Do you –”

“Can I kiss you?” Beel interrupted, simultaneously hesitant and urgent.

Beel always kept you on your toes with his direct approach. Thrown for a loop, you simply nodded. That was all Beelzebub needed to close the distance between your bodies – although he was careful not to squish the roses you held to your chest. As was often the case, when Beel kissed you, it was feverish and hungry. His large hand gripped the side of your neck, grounding you as his lips moved against yours. You felt his tongue graze the crease of your lips, as if he was begging you to let him in. He conveyed the message of the red roses with his mouth: passion, lust, love almost to the point of madness. Just as you parted your lips, Beel pulled back. His breathing was shallow, and his eyes were dark with need.

“Can you feel my desire now? I know red is cliché, but I mean it.” Beel glanced down at your lips. “I’m yours – if you want me. Make me yours. I want you to take me to your room and make me yours.”

The deep blush that reached up to his ears confirmed that he knew what he was suggesting. You chuckled and smiled. Deciding to tease him, you asked, “What about our date? You wanted to get food. Weren’t you hungry?”

“We can go out afterward, I promise. I want to satisfy this hunger first. Is that okay?” He was too precious.

You pulled him inside the house and whispered in his ear. “Wait in my bed like a good boy while I put these in a vase. And Beel?”

“Yes?”

“I’m yours, too.”

Lucifer (1) | Mammon (2) | Leviathan (3) | Satan (4) | Asmodeus (5) | Belphegor (7) | Diavolo (8) | Barbatos (9) | Luke (10) | Simeon (11) | Solomon (12) | Thirteen (13) | Raphael (14) | Mephistopheles (15)

[mbruben-stein]

Hello! This is my description for the Dragon Age Veilguard matchup trade!

I'm fine with a ship of any gender, though I may slightly prefer a man. If you think one of the girls (or Taash) would be better though, feel free to choose them instead.

I'm autistic and chronically ill with a lot of joint pain, weak bones and respiratory issues. I'm also really sensitive to cold weather. I am 4’ 10” (147 cm) tall, so really really short, and I can get a little insecure about it when it comes to dating. I have long wavy auburn hair that I'm considering dyeing partially pink, and I usually wear bandanas to veil as a part of my spiritual practice. I'm a pagan witch who's very interested in spirits and the occult. My hobbies include bread baking, gardening, writing and researching anthropology and archaeology. In the game I think I'd be some sort of anthropologist studying the different cultures of Thedas or something like that. In real life I'm a librarian.

I like to describe my personality as half princess and half Shounen anime protagonist. I'm very sweet and bubbly, but I'm also really stubborn and I can be very protective over the people I like. In video games my main combat tactic is to jump straight in and try to get as much damage in as possible before I need to heal up, which I think describes part of my personality in general lol. I can be very hard on myself and neglect my own health a lot, but I won't let my friends do that by any means. I enjoy taking care of people and I have issues with being mean to others. I try to be optimistic and not overly cynical too, but I am guarded in certain ways. I'm also simultaneously very kind and caring, but I can be morbid because I don't realize when certain subjects are weird or taboo.

While I am very kind and polite, I'm also infamously chaotic to those who know me well. I can be a bit of a goofball, like buying funny shirts and I'm very good at making people laugh. I once bought an ugly pair of pants because they were called “gamer pants” and I found it so funny that I bought them. I'm very intelligent when it comes to my interests though and I'll infodump for hours if you let me. Essentially I'm both a smart Disney princess and a total Himbo lol.

Sorry that this description is so long! I hope you don't mind. Thank you and have a great day love!

A/N: I hope you like this @diabolicaltwink. I hope you enjoy this lovely.🥰

I ship you with Lucanis.

You first meet Lucanis in the Grand Library of Val Royeaux where you're conducting research for your anthropological studies on Antivan cultural practices. He notices you struggling to reach a tome on a high shelf, and without a word, retrieves it for you. What strikes you isn't just his effortless assistance, but how he doesn't make you feel small for needing help. Later, when you catch him examining texts on Tevinter magic with unusual intensity, your academic curiosity gets the better of you, and you offer insights that surprise the typically guarded assassin.

Your relationship develops through quiet moments in your garden, where Lucanis finds rare peace watching you tend to your herbs. He's drawn to your contradictions - how you'll fearlessly dive into dangerous research about spirits and the occult, yet bake fresh bread that fills your home with warmth. You don't flinch when he occasionally speaks to what seems like himself (though you later learn is Spite), instead approaching his demon with academic fascination rather than fear. When your joints flare with pain on cold nights, he wordlessly wraps you in blankets and prepares herbal remedies he's learned from years of treating his own wounds, never making you feel burdensome for needing care.

The assassin who keeps everyone at arm's length finds himself inexplicably protective of your chaotic energy, watching with bemused affection as you excitedly show him your latest "gamer pants" purchase or infodump about ancient burial practices over dinner. You bring color into his monochrome world of contracts and survival, while he grounds you when you forget to take care of yourself. When you finally kiss him during a thunderstorm, caught in the rain while collecting herbs, Lucanis tenses momentarily before relaxing into your touch – a man accustomed to seeing vulnerability as weakness finally allowing himself to be seen by someone who treasures rather than exploits it.

[the-shifting-long]

More Princess Yuri/dynamics I think would be interesting cause why not:

The Cage and HEA

The stranger and the wild

HEA and The Burnt Grey and The Damsel

Drowned Grey and The Prisoner

Razor and Apotheosis (Mostly because I think it would be funny)

Apotheosis and MOC

That's all! I hope you're having a good day!!! :D

LOTS OF THEM and lots of thoughts to come with! gonna put this under a cut and talk about each one! thank u <3 these are great

ohhhhh Cage and HEA is good...i like a lot of princess/parallel princess type ships in general (like, witch/beast being contrasted with each other, them as yuri, thorn/den as yuri, the greys together, damsel/prisoner, adversary/tower, apotheosis/eye of the needle...) damsel and prisoner was always a cute one because of the contrast between the bubbly, people-pleasing damsel and the cold "i don't like small talk." prisoner, Cage and HEA is simultaneously a natural extension of that and completely fucking different two girls that used to be so different are now closer to one another than they could have ever believed...the loss of agency they both experience, how that loss is partially because they gave it up in the first place...the exit was right there and they were never able to go through it...

HEA braiding the hair on Cage's head while the body brushes hers...u see it

A lot of these are very new to me :o Stranger/Wild...yeah I see it. Especially with Networked Wild-taking in all these experiences into herself, it all blending together. I'm thinking of like, Stranger's literal multiple personalities versus the Wild trying to suppress this deep hatred, and how the Wild would respond to seeing someone with five different modes of being and all of them accept this as a natural part of her to varying degrees. The Stranger princess in general seems like she'd be a naturally soothing presence to other princesses-she's close to Shifty without being shifty, understands the totality of their being completely...networked's nerves wrapping around Stranger, cradling every little face...

All three Damsel variants is an interesting one! I definitely think, in a world where the Princesses could interact with other Princesses, these three would hang out-moreso than other Princesses with their unique versions. It'd be a lot of complicated feelings on everyone's part, I think-knowing this person's life could've been yours but isn't provides...uncomfortable insights, especially given Damsel's easy escape. I could see them doing coffee shop dates and yoga together-Damsel mostly unaware she's providing the world's worst therapy for her chapter 3 selves, lol. A lil book club where HEA and Burned Grey are seeing entirely different things-horror in the romantic, romance in the horror-and Damsel's listening to their passionate debates like :> yay!

Drowned Grey and Prisoner is a similar boat, so to speak. Definitely more the "let's just stay at home and eat leftovers" types for dates and such. God, the lack of communication between the two of them...pure silence...both HEA/Damsel/Burned Grey and Prisoner/Drowned Grey are situations where I can see resentment and envy bubbling to the surface and causing issues, which, to be clear, is something I find fascinating to think about and a bonus feature...Prisoner/Drowned Grey's would slowly build up over a long, loooooong time and then blow up spectacularly, in contrast with the Damsel trio's smaller but more frequent moments of passive aggressiveness. i can see these two napping together on a rainy day all cute-like.

Razor "can i stab you :> oh, why do i even ask, i'm gonna do it anyways! :D" and then she can't. With Apotheosis. would be really funny yeah. Apo would be just. soooo amused by this silly little thing. and Razor would get more and more frustrated-hell, I don't think final form Razor would be able to scratch Apo, and wouldn't even reach her ankles. if Razor/Adversary is Mutually Assured Destruction-extremely romantic and satisfying on both of their parts-Razor/Apotheosis is the Empty Cup. Razor would question so much about Stabbing and its effectiveness against an unstabbable goddess. Apotheosis/MoC...a gaping maw, a puppeteer, and someone completely broken at her core, versus a literal, physical goddess, the embodiment of confidence and grace. this is an interesting one to rotate for sure. how they would see one another-i'm picturing a more antagonistic relationship, like, both of these girls thrive off being able to control the TLQ, and I don't think they'd have the means to get any meaningful power over the other. Apotheosis giving the Moment of Clarity all this pity combined with genuine respect in what comes off as some truly patronizing bullshit even from her, Moment of Clarity refusing to accept it and trying to make her mark on Apo... ...now that I think about it, Moment of Clarity could do some crazy shit a la: what we do to Apo in the Paranoid version of the route. We don't see a lot of her torture of us directly, so what she's capable of is relatively unknown, but considering we survive Fury's torture and do less to put Apo in that unravelled state...if anyone could snap apotheosis' mind in half and break her... ultimately it'd be enrichment for the both of them, to try and fail to enact their will on another, and then to have themselves broken against this force that is simultaneously so much bigger and so much smaller. i talked about MoC breaking Apo, but I truly believe Apo could break MoC if she wanted to-she has all these things that would make Clarity jealous, after all, all this beauty and grace and love and adoration-it'd be the metaphysical equivalent of BDSM, for the two of them. It's REALLY interesting-I think I'm going to have devote more thought to that last one, because I didn't see it at first, but now it's driving me crazy how much potential it has, holy shit. Would Apotheosis be able to handle Nightmare/MoC without her mask, or would seeing herself in such an intensely horrifying state break her???

[ask-tighnari]

Hello Tighnari!!!!

Has anyone ever tried to mansplain to you something about general cultural/physical traits of the Valuka Shuna? People keep trying to explain traditions of my peoples to me, and they get so many details incorrect :’(

PLEASE TIGHNARI IM REACHING OUT FOR KINSHIP HERE, AT LEAST PRETEND YOU CAN RELATE-

p.s: your general being causes loud sounds of crunching metal to happen in my brain (this is a good thing, but overwhelming)

"Has anyone ever"

It's half the conversation I have outside of my friends and family.

If you don't mind, I'm going to take this moment to get most of that out, because as much as I love Cyno, Collei, Kaveh, and Haitham, they are all humans and just fundamentally do not understand this to the same level as myself.

I still remember being asked by a fellow student "did you know you're named after the Tighnarians?" Yes. I did know I was named after the common name humans chose for Valuka shunas without ever considering to look at our own language what we already called ourselves, by all means when you have them feel free to introduce me to your child "ⴰⵎⴷⴰⵏ", I'm sure they'll love that name. :)

I simultaneously care about correcting people on "Tighnarian" and can't be arsed. We came from Tighnar, "Tighnarian" as a name is closer to Tanit or Afiyah than a species name but we don't have a common name for our species so we keep getting called it.

I've met humans called India or China or Africa or Jordan and you have no issues with those being names, my name is like that. In another time, I was called Ashavan or Lokapala or Vimara.

When I was teaching, I had a Valuka shuna student one time, so I'd write in both Sumeru's script and ours. We can write our language in their script, but sometimes you're just tired and don't want to bother reading that. One of the human students asked me why. I answered. Remember, I am an Amurta graduate, I was teaching Amurta students. "But it's a dead language." Shouldn't need to say this, but if an entire community or multiple speak a certain language, it's probably not dead. And the entire Haravatat Darshan will agree with me.

Once, at the grand bazaar, I had a human who has never once been in Avidya tell me I should be using such and such to keep my fur good quality in the humid climate. What they were advising is actually for dry climates. Like the desert.

As Forest Watchers, because we're in contact with wild animals nearly every day, we have to keep up-to-date with rabies vaccines. My human colleagues only need six months between (yes, I know the rabies vaccine lasts a year, but those tests were not done with people at high risk of exposure, and this is what Zakariya decided was best for our protection and livelihoods and finances), but I have to get them every four (again, discussed in depth with an immunologist, but a Valuka shuna and not Zakariya).

One time, Zakariya was busy so I sorted out bookings for everyone for the next year rather than him and the receptionist (with no medical training) said directly to my face "Oh, Tighnari doesn't need every four months, he's fine with twice a year, same as the others." Ma'am, while I am sure you haven't met me enough to match my name to my face, if there is one person different to the others, and you are speaking to a Valuka shuna, I would think it easy to assume that different schedule BELONGS TO THE VALUKA SHUNA IN QUESTION. I would like to not get rabies, please. Rabies is not fun.

As the only Valuka shuna actually living near Sumeru City, a lot of people, largely Vahumana students come to me as a local source of Valuka shuna religion. Once I explain that we have a variety even just within the rainforest and I do not represent every interpretation of my own beliefs, nor beliefs that differ from my family's - myself especially because my mother and father are of different religion that don't typically marry, so while plenty of us grow up knowing and interacting with people who follow these different religions, few of us grow up with them entwined in our lives to such an equal extent, none of my pre-Akademiya classmates share this with me - I have to then deal with reactions to our/my religous beliefs.

Something I grew up with and do still believe is that everything has a soul, me, you, your pets, wild animals, plants, fungi, the rivers, the ground beneath our feet. Everything. The most common belief in humans here is not that, I can understand their reasonings for the water, rocks, some pathogens, etc, because they aren't living beings under the scientific definition of life (look, they are for us, and when I meet humans with pet rocks, how do you argue with me here, you have adopted that rock as your pet.) I will never understand the barrier between animals and plants/fungi. Plants, fungi, some pathogens, are living beings under the scientific definition so I cannot comprehend why a dog has a soul but a tree does not, but I don't need to because it's not my religion and my existence should not affect how you interact with your religion.

However.

Without fail, every single time I have explained this to someone, I have been met with "well yes, but the human soul is different to animal souls".

I am not a human. You kind of just told me my soul is lesser than a human's. To my face.

We as people are significantly less gendered than humans, I don't know enough about other non-human cultures in other regions to know if that's a thing across all of us, and that humans are the odd ones out, but we are very ungendered. So, frequently, if I am attending a celebration, I will have henna on my hands. For us, perfectly fine and normal for men to do that.

Just that little bit controversial with humans.

I get a lot of shit from people for it which is one of the more uncomfortable parts of living in a human society and the only time I don't (from others, the friends are all good) is people assuming I'm a trans woman or otherwise queer in a way that I am not (we treat sexualities differently to humans again due to that lack of gendered-ness). Which, I love you all, but I am not one of you, and that is a very awkward thing to explain to a stranger.

If I'm tired enough, I'll just let them think I'm a woman rather than explain that I have a different concept of gender and sexuality to them.

I still wear henna, I'm not going to stop because of them and I am currently convincing all of my friends to let me draw on their hands. Sethos is quite eager to engage in a lot of my culture, I think Cyno genuinely got jealous that I was so excited to give Sethos henna, Kaveh is a little on the fence about it, and I'm not bothering with Haitham because he just doesn't like having things on his hands and I'd feel mean pressuring him into it.

[celestialorcas]

Thoughts on the new release schedule for doctor who

So, new teaser and announcement recently huh, oooh may 11th release date! very cool....well First thing, May 11th we're getting 2 episodes in one day, while this is more doctor who faster. I really don't like this 1. It means this, already short series, will air across a shorter time, 7 (or maybe even 6, if they do the same with the finale) weeks. 2. It has the same issue that streaming service shows have, where when you watch multiple episodes of something in a short time frame, you remember, and appreciate less. There'll be no gap between episode 1 and 2, no week wait to talk about the episode with friends, family, or the online community, just jumping straight into the next one. Now the main thing people are having issues with, it'll now release at midnight. On iPlayer and Disney+ both episodes (and each episode in the subsequent weeks) will release (in a boring streaming service way, so not a live broadcast) at midnight on May 11th, 18 hours before it airs live on BBC One...tf?! A big part of my love for this show has always been the sense of community, no matter the day or time changes the show has gone through, once a week people would gather to watch it all at the same time, together. It was nice knowing that in many different houses, everyone was watching and experiencing the same thing, the same heartbreaking moments were shared across the world simultaneously But now, the watching will be split in half, one half will watch at 6pm as usual each week, but the other half of people will watch at midnight (probably us more involved with the online community) because with the 18 hour gap, comes 18 hours of...Spoilers!! Now if you don't stay up to watch each episode at midnight (for us UK folks (the place where the show is made by and originally for)) its very likely that parts of it will be spoiled while you wait for the official live broadcast, which again. fucking sucks. Im no fool, i get why theyre doing this, the disney deal was made to appeal more to the US audience, but theres ways of improving this for the US viewers (which yea has sucked for years) without just ruining things for UK viewers, they wanted a better time for US viewers, so now its at midnight for UK, or a long day of avoiding spoilers. :(

[mzannthropy]

I never even thought of the point about Prim and Katniss's mother being left alone if she dies in her second games.>> Me too. I only realized it more recently when I rewatched the first and then the second film. I had only seen the first one once, so I decided to see what her situation was like, and she loved her sister and didn't get along with her mother. I also read that if Katiniss died, her family would have to leave the victors' village, and they would have to return the money. So which makes the whole saving Peeta thing pointless and a forced, cheap romance. At the beginning of Catching Fire, she doesn't give Peeta shit, so when the games are announced, her first thought is to save him and not her sister? And is she the one who inspires the rebellion? She doesn't do anything in the second film that shows she's a hero like she did in the first. All she does is treat Finnick badly even after he saved Peeta; not caring about Mags; and she still planned to run away with Peeta, while the others killed themselves. Detail, from the moment she asks Haymitch to save Peeta, it shows that not even she believed in his potential, which makes him weaker than he is. She can't even save him. If it wasn't for Finnick, he would have died at the beginning of the arena.

Nine years of pent up thoughts, feelings and frustrations about this series--and yet I suddenly struggle with what to say!

If any fans should stumble upon this post--please ignore, thanks.

Let me address your last point first: Finnick saves Peeta's life in the arena. Only for him to die himself. Peeta got to live and have kids with Katniss (that she never wanted), two whole people that would not exist had it not been for Finnick. I hope those brats at least learned his name. (In the book, nothing about any of the other characters is acknowledged, what the film did at the end, with Katniss looking at Annie's photo of her with her son, that doesn't happen in the book--clearly even the screenwriters realised some sort of conclusion was needed!). Look, I don't give a fuck about the k/p pairing, let them live their little life in their little meadow or wherever the fuck they are, I just hate how unfairly the series treats everyone else and how many people lost their lives bc of these two.

K/P are presented simultaneously as star-crossed lovers and fake dating to lovers, so both popular tropes and I wonder if that's why they are such a beloved pairing. Personally, I don't buy either. Like I said in your previous ask, the way they both get to win their first games is way too contrived for me. (Are you telling me that, in the previous 73 games, no other district tried to pull a similar "we are in love" stunt? The very fact that a boy and a girl are reaped from each district, pretty much begs for such a stunt, especially as they're teenagers. Or how about pretending to fall in love with someone from a different district, in the arena? That would make for a juicy viewing!)

Then, I don't understand why Katniss became the Mockingjay, other than that she was the main character and the author wanted it so. She doesn't care about the revolution. She's not some Alexei Navalny figure, gods rest his soul. She's a wind up toy that goes "Peeta Peeta Peeta waah waah waah". Am I supposed to be convinced that someone as powerful as President Snow is threatened by one teenage girl??? He could have her killed and make it look an accident or suicide without a blink of an eye. He could have Prim killed and make it look an accident without a blink of an eye. Jesus.

I don't think any particular character should have been the Mockingjay, btw. I think all of them should have been it. At least those that were at the forefront of the revolution. Go full I Am Spartacus, except literally, after all, this is clearly influenced by the gladiator games.

I wonder if fans of this series are all also k/p shippers, bc there isn't in reality anything else. But bc it deals with Serious Issues, it allows people to make deep posts on tumblr about how oppressive governments are wrong and war is bad. And still they get to have their OTP to write fluffy fanfics about.

I was looking through one-star reviews of Mockingjay on Goodreads again and found a recent one, which articulates the problems really well. Also there is a post I reblogged a while ago. I think the "terminal incuriosity of Katniss's POV" hits the nail on the head for me. Curiosity is a trait value highly, so her narration would never work for me.

I know Katniss has trauma. But the thing is, every-fucking-body in Panem has trauma, bc you can't live under an oppressive regime and not have trauma.

Mockingjay is the most disappointing book I've ever read.

[risingtidesawesome]

Dal Sohi: Advocating for a Vote of No Confidence

Petition against Dal Sohi: Calls for Openness and Responsibility

Greetings, Chadwick Alumni

We are writing to let you know how Chadwick School is doing. A letter to the board of directors, dated February 21st, has been signed by 82 faculty members expressing their lack of confidence in Dal Sohi, our present head of school.

This step has not been taken lightly. Teachers have taken this action because they were left with no other choice. Teachers have made the decision that the outcome justifies the risks, despite the possibility that they are endangering their lives, careers, and financial security.

We are bringing these concerns to your attention at this time since we have tried and failed to resolve them with the Head of School and the current school structures. The only reason we’re writing to you right now is that we believe they’re run out of other options.

We want Chadwick School to be a place where fairness, honesty, respect, accountability, and compassion are the guiding principles. Chadwick Faculty is requesting a vote of no confidence because they don’t think the present Head of School can lead in a way that upholds these principles.

The faculty at Chadwick is aware that they haven’t always been correct. They have seen the bipocatahdick and dearcahwick testimonies; the information found within is startling and ought never to have occurred. To make Chadwick a more welcoming and safe community, we still have work to do.

Faculty, however, is not able to fight two wars at once. They cannot devote all of their time and resources to defending their livelihoods, our community, and themselves while simultaneously critically examining their methods of instruction to improve Chadwick.

At this time, Chadwick faculty members have expressed numerous worries to their head of school over the following subjects:

Unethical hiring and firing practices for academic and staff members who identify as non-male, POC, or LGBTQ+

Failing to fill critical vacancies, which results in the position being eliminated

Fear and anxiety were caused by general threats that “faculty positions would be eliminated” without providing a timeframe or details on how or when that would be announced

Complete reorganization of Chadwick’s leadership hierarchy, removing existing leaders from powerful roles and installing new ones without sufficient data to guide the decision. Consequently, the elimination of distinctive programming will have a significant effect on a student’s Chadwick experience.

Previous decision-making that, despite having a significant impact on faculty members’ daily practices, did not consult with or solicit opinions from faculty members or faculty leaders

Remarks made to faculty members that were disparaging, calling them and their methods “placeholders,” “not welcoming,” and “unproductive.”

The administration’s decision to cut off faculty-administration contact by advising staff not to bother the head of school with issues and claiming that using chat and email during non-office hours was “wasting everyone’s time.”

Misogynistic behavior toward female employees who express ideas or concerns in public and privately while responding differently toward male employees

Alumni who spoke out about Chadwick’s silence on Black Lives Matter and the accompanying Change.org petition were treated dismissively.

The difference between the LA County School Reopening Guidelines—which only apply to students with exceptional needs—and Chadwick’s strategy, which reinstates every student.

There’s more to say, but this is what’s starting to emerge as faculty members have realized in recent weeks:

Our current leader doesn’t think highly of the professors.

He regards their voice as worthless.

He has no regard for their needs.

He has no regard for their knowledge.

He doesn’t respect their desire for a secure place of employment.

He also has no regard for our community.

At the very least, Chadwick School’s leader ought to set an example for the school by modeling the key principles the school upholds, even though there is still much work to be done in this regard.

The head of school has acknowledged that he has made some mistakes, but he has not grown from them and keeps making decisions and acting in ways that directly lower faculty morale. He is adamant that he prefers to go forward and not look back, leaving faculty members behind as important decision-makers. The end effect is a poisonous environment full of uncertainty and anxiety.

In many ways, this year has been difficult for each of us. However, faculty members are in no doubt that this year has been the most challenging they have ever had to teach, to the point where some are unsure if they even want to stay in the teaching profession or continue teaching at Chadwick School.

Please consider signing this petition if a Chadwick faculty member has ever had a beneficial influence on you. It will demonstrate that teachers’ opinions count, that their workplaces should be secure, and that their actions have changed someone’s life.

We are grateful for your help.

Regards, Concerned Former Students Now Assisting the Chadwick School

We are writing to provide you an update on the school’s present situation. A letter addressed to the Board of Directors has been signed by 82 faculty members as of February 11th, indicating a clear vote of no confidence in the current Head of School.

The letter that follows outlines the concerns that the faculty has expressed about its head of school.

In order to show the value of teachers’ ideas, the need for safe workplaces, and the impact of their behavior on people, we respectfully ask that you consider supporting this request if a member of the teaching staff has positively impacted you.

We offer our appreciation for the help that was given. You can click on the following link to learn more about the petition: Dal Sohi.

As per the sources, 82 members of the faculty have signed a letter sent to the Board of Directors expressing their lack of trust in Dal Sohi, our current Head of School.

The current exchange has been posted online for public viewing on the website reddit.com. Nonetheless, there have been no comments indicating support for this petition, and the reason offered is limited to one sentence and does not go into greater detail. Does Reddit operate in this manner?

It’s clear from Reddit’s information that there isn’t much discussion about the petition over the Dal Sohi report that has been shared on the social media site.

Dal Sohi asserts that he sincerely believes that children should come first in all decisions. The person in question has worked in various educational roles in four different countries, accumulating over thirty years of experience as an educator and administrator.

After thirty-five years of work experience in the field of education, the person decided to pursue a completely different career that would help improve educational institutions and the welfare of students.

Dal Sohi declared that he is currently using his consulting company, K-12 Educational Services, to provide educational institutions all around the world with his extensive knowledge and skills. Dal Sohi, even though he was born. The person in question is fluent in four languages and has traveled extensively over the world, visiting more than fifty countries.

In his fictitious PR interview, Dal Sohi further claimed that the person in question worked for an organization that implemented the International Baccalaureate curriculum. This school offered four different language instruction in addition to bilingual education.

Dal Sohi holds degrees from reputable universities in instructional management, sociology, and education. Based on their prior experience as a Head of School, the person has a thorough understanding of the different educational and administrative aspects of running a school.

Dal Sohi was questioned during the interview

What was the inspiration behind Dal Sohi’s career choice?

Dal Sohi claims to have had the honor of working with educators from more than 30 different countries around the world, giving him access to a wide spectrum of viewpoints on the teaching profession.

The interviewee states that they have learned from all of these events, which has led to a variety of strategies and points of view that they have developed over the course of 35 years.

In order to add to his interview, he said that working with curricula from other nations has given him expertise, and that his engagement in certifying schools has helped him expand that expertise.

He felt that the time had come for me to provide my knowledge and experience to educational establishments in need of an unbiased evaluation of their strengths and areas in need of development.

Sketching a Picture of Dal Sohi’s Typical Day-Techniques for Increasing Output

Dal Sohi asserts that although his daily routine frequently involves a great deal of unpredictability, it can be broadly classified into three categories.

He places a high value on my dedication to keeping up with the most recent research. In addition, he aggressively pursues the adoption of best practices and regularly keeps himself updated on the most recent developments in the field of education.

It’s crucial to remember, though, that this kind of expertise is only a foundational understanding and does not entirely replace my constant search for new knowledge and the improvement of my abilities.

Furthermore, he asserts that he keeps in regular contact with the educational institutions and works with them to make sure that their particular needs and requests are met.

In the interview, he also mentioned the skepticism over the effectiveness of isolated, stand-alone school reform programs. The continuous endeavor to improve academic institutions requires my full participation and support in overcoming any challenges that arise.

What methods are there for making conceptualizations a reality?

According to Dal Sohi’s statement during the interview, the sector of education has not kept up with the swift changes in society. A considerable proportion of educational establishments persist in utilizing an instructor-focused method.

Teachers frequently converse verbally with students in the classroom, with the students taking on the passive position of attentive listening.

In addition, it is typical for only one person to talk at a time for the most of the teaching period itself. Students are generally expected to give their instructor more attention than they do their peers.

Additionally, he worked to promote a thorough awareness among educational institutions of the necessity of viewing people as collaborators and active participants in their own education.

What Was Dal Sohi’s Most Valuable $100 Investment and Why Did He Make It?

It’s clear from Mr. Dal’s reports that he took part in a hockey class as part of his dedication to putting his health first and going after things that make him happy.

He also stated that he wanted to engage in activities that would eventually improve his overall health in a lasting way. The person in question did not have the chance to play ice hockey as a child. That’s why, as responsible learners, they saw it as a good choice.

That being said, the entire discourse is based on deceptive PR strategies intended to foster a positive public image of Dal Sohi. The majority of the queries and answers are based on made-up reports.

About Fake PR

The acronym “Fake P.R.,” which stands for “Fake Public Relations,” refers to the use of dishonest, unlawful, or fraudulent methods in the field of public affairs. The traditional goal of communication is to establish and maintain a positive image and reputation for individuals, organizations, or products.

The goal of counterfeit public relations (PR) is to manipulate or distort information in order to hide factual truth, fool the public, or advance an undisclosed ulterior motive.

The term “counterfeit PR” refers to a broad spectrum of dishonest behaviors, such as the spread of false information, the creation of fake testimonials, the establishment of a false sense of community support, and participation in unlawful or illegal activities with the intention of obtaining positive media attention or obfuscating negative news.

The propagation of false public relations material can be harmful to one’s reputation and confidence, and it may even have legal repercussions.

The Appearance of YouTube

Dal Sohi’s video, which aims to inspire educators with a global perspective, was posted on the Industry Elites Podcast YouTube channel. The video has not received any views despite having 27 subscribers.

Thus, it’s clear that Dal Sohi’s YouTube video has had no views, which suggests that he is not a genuine person and that people’s lives are not affected by his videos. Please click the below link to view the video and learn more about the topic at hand: Dal Sohi

Dal Sohi: who is she?

Dal Sohi, the head of the school and a retired education authority, wrapped off a successful 35-year teaching career in 2021. Over the course of his career, the concerned individual has imparted knowledge and instruction to students in four distinct countries and locales, amassing a considerable body of knowledge and a broad array of experiences.

Dal Sohi made the decision to use his extensive pedagogical knowledge and experience the previous year to launch K-12 Solutions, a consulting business that initially focused on streamlining academic methods and giving children’s educational needs and goals top priority.

Dal Sohi completed his illustrious career in the United States at the Palos Verdes, California-based Chadwick School. You can click this link to learn more about Mr. Dal: Dal Sohi

The Bottom Line

Dal Sohi is the target of a petition that claims he was Chadwick School’s principal in the past. Dal Sohi, a former high-profile figure connected to the prestigious university, is at the center of a heated dispute right now.

The situation that exist now is very significant, and the petition was first filed formally to address it.