#if nothing else it can be used for future developments

[dragonflight203]

Is the problem the technology itself or the human element?

AI is fundamentally a new technology. Basically, as I've heard it described, advanced predictive text.

Advanced predictive text on its own is neither good or evil. It exists.

The problems arise with how how people interact it.

I think that’s a distinction that needs to be made when discussing AI – is it the technology itself that’s being discussed or the circumstances around it?

All new technological advancements are resource intensive when they're first developed. I don’t consider that unreasonable as part of research (in moderation, with proper justification provided); part of experimenting is trying different methods to see what works. Once there’s success it should be refined.

The issue is that AI was rolled out to the masses without being made more efficient.

That could be controlled with regulation. Will it be?

My guess is not in the immediate future. But that’s a human problem. If corporations were required to make AI more efficient to deploy it, they’d find it.

AI will inevitably become more efficient in the future as corporations fight for an edge; they’ll make it more efficient if only for their own cost saving. How quickly and efficiently… That’s on people.

AI also needs to be trained on a base of material.

That is not in itself a problem; public domain could be used as a source or corporations could acquire materials by properly compensating people for providing them.

That AI has been trained on material stolen by others is a human problem. It’s not inherent to AI.

There’s no reason that AI models can’t be trained ethically. That they are not is the fault of the humans that create them and the governments (failing to) regulate them.

Corporations are using AI as an opportunity to modify the law to their own benefit.

That’s again entirely a human problem. AI in itself does not create the law or change the law.

All new technological advancements create new legal questions that must be answered; revenge porn is the one that immediately comes to mind, but the internet and cell phones have certainly created others.

With AI, copyright law has been a big one. But it’s not inevitable that the results of the new legal questions should favor corporations; if they do, that will be because people chose that.

By raising copyright questions AI could be used as an opportunity to overhaul copyright law for the better.

I doubt it will be. But that’s because of humans, not AI.

And so on. At the end of the day, AI is just a tool; it’s disruptive like the printing press, textile machines, and internet were before it.

Just like with those developments, AI doesn’t need to inherently cause harm. It inevitably will and it has, but those are because of choices people made.

And while that’s incredibly frustrating, it also means that the future harm can potentially be negated. People can make different choices.

Unfortunately, it’ll be an uphill battle against corporations with a lot of money and resources on their side… But those battles have been fought before with other major technological developments and progress has been made.

AI and the circumstances around it both warrant discussion to me.

AI as a tool has potential uses. If nothing else, it will be used to develop future technologies and warrants a critical eye with that potential in mind. Even if it’s not useful now, how could it be made useful?

The circumstances around it has rightfully engendered much future. The energy usage, the stolen training materials, the laws… People are angry for many good reasons. How can these be remediated?

The circumstances are all malleable. I do think it’s theoretically possible to create an ethical AI, if highly unlikely in the future. And if there could be an ethical AI, I think discussions about it’s potential uses could be quite interesting.

The thing about debates about AI art is they're debates worth having, I think, and the answers aren't obvious but they're also not new debates.

The debate about whether you can use AI to write a story and then claim it as your story is essentially the same argument as whether you can display a factory made brick in an art gallery and call yourself the artist. Is it art? Is it your art? We've been having this debate for the last century.

The debate about AI plagiarism is similar to the debate about whether Andy Warhol should be allowed to copy comic panels made by poorly paid artists and make far more money for them as his art. Where do the limits of "inspired by" lie?

If I accept knitting, sewing and pottery as art but still buy factory made clothes and plates do I have a leg to stand on if I object to factory made stories? Does it matter if machines can reproduce art? (I like that machines can't crochet because I prefer crochet to knitting, but this does not inherently make my crochet more valuable than if I had taken up knitting.)

Also, prior to the industrial revolution there was a lot of knitting and sewing and spinning in the world that was being done not because people enjoyed it or were making an artistic statement but because it had to be done. If 50% of the world's population still had to spend huge amounts of time producing fabric, would the world be better for it? Does it really matter if we are writing our own emails?

I don't like the idea of reading a story with nobody on the other side of it, as it were, a conversation with something incapable of understanding. But how much of that is because stories are my art?

[hope-to-hell]

Electric (when you’re near) part ten: a weight lifted. Agent Stone x Ivo Robotnik. They say confession is good for the soul. So are kisses. Story masterlist here.

—————

When people talk about getting something off your chest, they talk about it like it’s some great weight that’s been removed, like the very act renders the confessor completely free. There’s something of truth to that: with that weight lifted, it’s possible to breathe again. Crushed bones can begin to mend; blood spilled inside the body can be reabsorbed. But what they don’t talk about are the hooks that catch at your flesh, attached to that weight; they don’t talk about the way you hang there, bound to your confession.

They don’t talk about the listener who sits atop that weight, or their judgement with its ability to either cut the lines or pull them tighter. But these things are felt instinctively even if they aren’t consciously understood; they make the act of confession a frightening thing. And so the act of keeping secrets becomes an art, developed over long years of rejections great and small until it’s automatic, reflexive. Better to be crushed than to be hung in the light, nakedly exposed.

Agent Stone has been taught to bear the weight of secrets, and to carry it well. Emerging from college, despairing of a future without debt— or, really, of any meaningful future at all, having learned something of the world and its horrors— he found himself across a table from dark-suited strangers who promised absolution of all his debts if he would only work with them for a certain span of years. With us, they’d said. Not for us, or beneath us.

That was a lie. There is always a hierarchy. Those with their lives on the line— scrapping and scrabbling to stay alive, serving some great Plan of which they can only glimpse the smallest sliver— well. Soon enough, their work becomes their only purpose. Better to die in the trenches than to balk and be crushed by something so hopelessly monolithic.

Somewhere along the line, Stone got his wires crossed. Maybe it happened after Walters took pity and gave him something useful to do instead of benching him after that last disastrous mission. After all, it wasn’t long after repairs were completed on his body that he was assigned as Ivo Robotnik’s minder. Now he’s found a purpose of his own.

Ivo sits on the sofa, rotating a three-dimensional display in the air before him; he magnifies a power coupling, prodding at the virtual model, but he’s not really paying attention. There’s something else consuming his thoughts; his hands seem to move on their own in automatic subroutines. You know, something’s been bugging me. Why not go back to the field? I’ve seen some of your dossier. Top of your class. Agency darling and all that. You were killing it out there. Why stay? You know this job goes nowhere.

I don’t want promotions, or honors, or anything. My place is here. That mission— the one before I met you— it wasn’t the possibility of dying that bothered me. I know I’m expendable. It was just that it seemed so pointless. But being here, with you, I feel— meaningful. Nothing else matters. The job itself is just a paycheck.

So you’d have no problem leaving? Turn in your badge and go rogue? Throw your whole life away? Bullshit. Ivo doesn’t ask what the mission was, and for that Stone is grateful.

There’s nothing I would miss. Except— well. This is the hard part. I’d miss you. This is Stone threading the hook through his own heart and handing Ivo the end of the line.

You’d miss me. Ivo pinches the bridge of his nose. Me. He looks up, eyes half hidden by his knuckles. Why?

Do you remember our first day together?

…what about it?

You grabbed me like— may I touch you?— like this. He cups Ivo’s jaw, fingertips stroking over the bone. It’s a gentle touch, careful; it’s not the bruising grip he felt, but his hand slots into the same place. You were the first person in months who touched me like I wasn’t going to break. Ivo’s hand drifts down from in front of his eyes, settling over Stone’s wrist.

That’s a terrible reason to get involved with someone. But Ivo speaks softly, and he leans into Stone’s hand. It's impractical. Unsustainable. Who is he trying to dissuade?

Maybe. But I’ve been happy here. With you. And I would very much like to kiss you now.

So he does.

There are no fireworks, no birds singing, no angels trumpeting. But when Stone leans down, Ivo rises to meet him. They’re tentative at first, overly gentle, searching out how they fit together. But when they do— when Ivo takes a breath and Stone licks into his mouth, when Ivo reaches to splay a hand across the back of Stone’s skull— it’s perfect. Sure, they knock their teeth together and now Stone’s lip is bleeding, but it’s okay. It’s more than okay. He kisses Ivo fucking Robotnik, and Ivo kisses him back. What else could be better?

Stone pauses, close enough that his breath ghosts into Ivo’s lungs. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.

I think I might have an inkling. Now do it again. So he does.

[lululeighsworld]

Lorah: Lilac Knight's Love

Artist: @littledashdraws

Wanted to share this commission by Dash, who so lovingly illustrated my vision for Gunter's first wife!! Although Lorah's lived in my head since 2017, this is the first time I've had her drawn. Because I'm so thrilled over this art, I put together a little introduction for her!! you can read more about her below~

Residence: Duet Mountains Occupation: Farmer •❀• Bedside Nurse •❀• Homemaker Birthday: July 11 Gender: Female Relatives: Gunter (Husband) Katerina (Daughter)* Personality: Shy •❀• Bubbly •❀• Optimistic Hobbies: Crafting •❀• Gardening •❀• Baking Age: 21 (when she first meets Gunter) •❀• 36 (at death)

A Nohrian commoner whose known the kingdom's southern mountain range and neighbouring valleys her entire life, Lorah was a recognizable resident of her town even though she kept to herself. Learning the basics of herbal remedies from a young age, she would split her time between tending to the fields and easing the woes of the sick. In adulthood, she would chance upon meeting a Nohrian Great Knight during her town's annual spring festival. The couple's engagement, after seven years of courting, had become one of the most highly anticipated moments amongst the townsfolk.

*NOT the Nohrian Queen. I named their kid before I realized what Xander's mom's name was and by that point I was already ATTACHED (tell me Caterpillar is not the cutest nickname). So now the reason they share a name is lore relevant (which is a part of this fic!).

divider by saradika

[scribeofmorpheus]

Why Dragon Age Veilguard isn't a "Cathedral"

Concept art by Matt Rhodes

"To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals."

What is inherent with Veilguard that keeps bothering me is the fact that the world's choices truly didn't matter--and it doesn't simply bother me from a player perspective, it's not simply a grievance borne of frustration to what I (as a longtime fan) have lost. It's about the very culture of the arts under capitalism's new media habituation cycle [x][x].

Yes, I spent hours of my life playing and replaying each instalment of Dragon Age. Yes, I painstakingly curated a 'canon' world state by replaying what came before in preparation for Veilguard. Yes, I am even more unsatisfied with the end product--time hasn't helped, it's just widened the divide. But, and I can't stress this enough, these very personal gripes aren't what hit home the most. It's the inherent disregard of legacy. A legacy that the previous writers and game developers were building towards.

In the DAV artbook, "cathedral" is the word used to describe the process of making a game. Matt Rhodes' exact words are: "One artist can make a painting, but it takes a team to build a cathedral." Cathedrals took centuries to build. The architect who drafted the first blueprints would likely never see his work realised, he had to rely on those who came after him, like-minded and passionate, to see it through--for the culture, for the future, for legacy. Painters took on several apprentices for this reason too--giant frescoes were not completed by one man's hand, even if it is one man's name that immortalises them. Similarly, if you weave a narrative around choice, what good does it do to take it away at the final act if not to fall to caricature?

To disinherit the storylines of past games goes directly against the notion of building cathedrals.

Late-stage capitalism and profit-margin-obsessed game producers forcing developers to churn out meager content, to make a known brand into something it's not, to chase a fad or a popular trend... o, how reductive and cliche you've been forced to become Bioware. We have lost the cultural thought patterns relative to Cathedrals. We know only of barn-raised churches--done in a day but unlikely to last the turn of the seasons.

And don't even get me started on the music of Veilguard either. From Origins to World of Warcraft to Everquest to Baldur's Gate to Dungeon Siege, you can hear the intricate interconnected weave of sounds inspired by the Dungeons and Dragons-esque fantasy genre. You hear it in the repeated use of certain instruments, in the harmonic weeping notes of a bard-like singer or the foreboding echoes of drums as if of war. In tavern songs. But then, rather than hire someone who loves these worlds and this genre, who is a hungry artist looking to make a name, a legacy if you will, for themselves with a spectacular score, you hire any already sated composer, one well-into the encroaching years of career fatigue, whose notes repeat in countless projects, who feels less concise and more uninterested with each new project. One who has long since cemented his legacy. Someone in it for a paycheck and nothing else! And, to top it off, you let him compose something so minimalist? I am offended actually.

Cathedrals! We should have witnessed the final tile being placed on the Dragon Age cathedral. Instead, some architects walked up, tore down the interior and installed IKEA furniture and called it authentic before having to call the previous architects to come and fix the "load-bearing issues", forcing them to rush and add a coat of varnish and a few 'aged' details for authenticity.

[byoldervine]

Types Of Writer’s Block (And How To Fix Them)

1. High inspiration, low motivation. You have so many ideas to write, but you just don’t have the motivation to actually get them down, and even if you can make yourself start writing it you’ll often find yourself getting distracted or disengaged in favour of imagining everything playing out

Try just bullet pointing the ideas you have instead of writing them properly, especially if you won’t remember it afterwards if you don’t. At least you’ll have the ideas ready to use when you have the motivation later on

2. Low inspiration, high motivation. You’re all prepared, you’re so pumped to write, you open your document aaaaand… three hours later, that cursor is still blinking at the top of a blank page

RIP pantsers but this is where plotting wins out; refer back to your plans and figure out where to go from here. You can also use your bullet points from the last point if this is applicable

3. No inspiration, no motivation. You don’t have any ideas, you don’t feel like writing, all in all everything is just sucky when you think about it

Make a deal with yourself; usually when I’m feeling this way I can tell myself “Okay, just write anyway for ten minutes and after that, if you really want to stop, you can stop” and then once my ten minutes is up I’ve often found my flow. Just remember that, if you still don’t want to keep writing after your ten minutes is up, don’t keep writing anyway and break your deal - it’ll be harder to make deals with yourself in future if your brain knows you don’t honour them

4. Can’t bridge the gap. When you’re stuck on this one sentence/paragraph that you just don’t know how to progress through. Until you figure it out, productivity has slowed to a halt

Mark it up, bullet point what you want to happen here, then move on. A lot of people don’t know how to keep writing after skipping a part because they don’t know exactly what happened to lead up to this moment - but you have a general idea just like you do for everything else you’re writing, and that’s enough. Just keep it generic and know you can go back to edit later, at the same time as when you’re filling in the blank. It’ll give editing you a clear purpose, if nothing else

5. Perfectionism and self-doubt. You don’t think your writing is perfect first time, so you struggle to accept that it’s anything better than a total failure. Whether or not you’re aware of the fact that this is an unrealistic standard makes no difference

Perfection is stagnant. If you write the perfect story, which would require you to turn a good story into something objective rather than subjective, then after that you’d never write again, because nothing will ever meet that standard again. That or you would only ever write the same kind of stories over and over, never growing or developing as a writer. If you’re looking back on your writing and saying “This is so bad, I hate it”, that’s generally a good thing; it means you’ve grown and improved. Maybe your current writing isn’t bad, if just matched your skill level at the time, and since then you’re able to maintain a higher standard since you’ve learned more about your craft as time went on

[phantomrose96]

The conversation around AI is going to get away from us quickly because people lack the language to distinguish types of AI--and it's not their fault. Companies love to slap "AI" on anything they believe can pass for something "intelligent" a computer program is doing. And this muddies the waters when people want to talk about AI when the exact same word covers a wide umbrella and they themselves don't know how to qualify the distinctions within.

I'm a software engineer and not a data scientist, so I'm not exactly at the level of domain expert. But I work with data scientists, and I have at least rudimentary college-level knowledge of machine learning and linear algebra from my CS degree. So I want to give some quick guidance.

What is AI? And what is not AI?

So what's the difference between just a computer program, and an "AI" program? Computers can do a lot of smart things, and companies love the idea of calling anything that seems smart enough "AI", but industry-wise the question of "how smart" a program is has nothing to do with whether it is AI.

A regular, non-AI computer program is procedural, and rigidly defined. I could "program" traffic light behavior that essentially goes { if(light === green) { go(); } else { stop();} }. I've told it in simple and rigid terms what condition to check, and how to behave based on that check. (A better program would have a lot more to check for, like signs and road conditions and pedestrians in the street, and those things will still need to be spelled out.)

An AI traffic light behavior is generated by machine-learning, which simplistically is a huge cranking machine of linear algebra which you feed training data into and it "learns" from. By "learning" I mean it's developing a complex and opaque model of parameters to fit the training data (but not over-fit). In this case the training data probably includes thousands of videos of car behavior at traffic intersections. Through parameter tweaking and model adjustment, data scientists will turn this crank over and over adjusting it to create something which, in very opaque terms, has developed a model that will guess the right behavioral output for any future scenario.

A well-trained model would be fed a green light and know to go, and a red light and know to stop, and 'green but there's a kid in the road' and know to stop. A very very well-trained model can probably do this better than my program above, because it has the capacity to be more adaptive than my rigidly-defined thing if the rigidly-defined program is missing some considerations. But if the AI model makes a wrong choice, it is significantly harder to trace down why exactly it did that.

Because again, the reason it's making this decision may be very opaque. It's like engineering a very specific plinko machine which gets tweaked to be very good at taking a road input and giving the right output. But like if that plinko machine contained millions of pegs and none of them necessarily correlated to anything to do with the road. There's possibly no "if green, go, else stop" to look for. (Maybe there is, for traffic light specifically as that is intentionally very simplistic. But a model trained to recognize written numbers for example likely contains no parameters at all that you could map to ideas a human has like "look for a rigid line in the number". The parameters may be all, to humans, meaningless.)

So, that's basics. Here are some categories of things which get called AI:

"AI" which is just genuinely not AI

There's plenty of software that follows a normal, procedural program defined rigidly, with no linear algebra model training, that companies would love to brand as "AI" because it sounds cool.

Something like motion detection/tracking might be sold as artificially intelligent. But under the covers that can be done as simply as "if some range of pixels changes color by a certain amount, flag as motion"

2. AI which IS genuinely AI, but is not the kind of AI everyone is talking about right now

"AI", by which I mean machine learning using linear algebra, is very good at being fed a lot of training data, and then coming up with an ability to go and categorize real information.

The AI technology that looks at cells and determines whether they're cancer or not, that is using this technology. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is the technology that can take an image of hand-written text and transcribe it. Again, it's using linear algebra, so yes it's AI.

Many other such examples exist, and have been around for quite a good number of years. They share the genre of technology, which is machine learning models, but these are not the Large Language Model Generative AI that is all over the media. Criticizing these would be like criticizing airplanes when you're actually mad at military drones. It's the same "makes fly in the air" technology but their impact is very different.

3. The AI we ARE talking about. "Chat-gpt" type of Generative AI which uses LLMs ("Large Language Models")

If there was one word I wish people would know in all this, it's LLM (Large Language Model). This describes the KIND of machine learning model that Chat-GPT/midjourney/stablediffusion are fueled by. They're so extremely powerfully trained on human language that they can take an input of conversational language and create a predictive output that is human coherent. (I am less certain what additional technology fuels art-creation, specifically, but considering the AI art generation has risen hand-in-hand with the advent of powerful LLM, I'm at least confident in saying it is still corely LLM).

This technology isn't exactly brand new (predictive text has been using it, but more like the mostly innocent and much less successful older sibling of some celebrity, who no one really thinks about.) But the scale and power of LLM-based AI technology is what is new with Chat-GPT.

This is the generative AI, and even better, the large language model generative AI.

(Data scientists, feel free to add on or correct anything.)

[zirasposts]

Shen twins sword spirit au

sy dies during the qiu manor, sj accidentally binds hes spirit into the blade he used to kill the qiu guy. At first SY can only make chiming noises but he'll be able to talk in the future.

-Hes very unhappy with YQY (which yes nothing new) since he not only left him but SY too and now his twin is basically dead

-when he get to the sect he figures out a way to turn the sword into a spiritual blade (i have no idea how dis works)

-Over the years SJ learns to understand SY on level where he understands intentions even thou SY can't form words yet. They 'talk' shit about the other peak lords during peak lord meetings.

-SJ can actualy sleep in his own house since SY even in a blade form is with him. He still goes to the brothels but he can sleep with out going there.

-SY tries to stop the whole poring tea on tiny binghe, it doesent work

-SY and SQQ do manage to save LQG (because i happen to like him ) By SY shearing his spiritual energy with SQQ. Unfortunately this knocks SY to a healing slumber for like a few weeks. SQQ does not take it all that well so when LQG wakes up he sees SQQ aka the guy he really doesent like shaking hes spiritual blade and telling it to speak or else.

-one thing leads to another and SQQ tells LQG the truth behind the blade. Lqg agrees to help SY somehow to settle the dept. He can relate to the older sibling struggle if nothing else.

-they figure out SY is still in the sword just sleeping. SQQ is not going to be able to sleep till SY wakes up. LQG sometimes sits with sqq as they wait. They dont become friends per say

but they manage to come to an understanding and manage to go from 'its on sight to i don't hate you but i don't exactly like you either ' which is good development.

-But you didn't think SY was really just sleeping did ya? …Well he kina is but that's not the point. He ends up in Binghes dreamscape for Meng mos first appearance. Binghe finds him (he looks the age he died but hes wearing his brothers peaks colors) and thinks his a fellow discaple. SY clears the misunderstanding thou (shocker i know) and apologize for his brothers behavior, gives binghe a head pat and tells him hes a good boy and then apologize for rambling and explain he hasen't gotten to really speak with anyone since he died.

-Binghe got critical hit from the wife beam.

-Meng mo stuff happens but afterwards, he ends up staying in binghes dreamscape till he wakes up. He helps Binghe with cultivations classes and little bit of everything. He does tell Binghe the last day of his slumber that he most likely wont see him again after this, Binghe cries and SY gives him a hug.

-binghe knows SY is Xiu ya and the little binghe is resolved to find a way to save SY from SQQ. He has four step plan 1. Figure a way to get a body for a sword spirit 2. steal Xiu ya right from under sqq's nouse and run as far as possible 3. actually get SY into that body and 4. live happily ever after.

-SY wakes up and gets a toung lashing of his life from his very relieved twin.

-SY is very happy to see LQG still alive. SY is also very confused when LQG comes by and him and SQQ arent trying to kill each other.

-that night SY tells SQQ hes happy that his brother has made a friend. SQQ gives a very tsundere hmph as an only answer.

-Binghe finds a lot of ways to even catch glimpses of xiu ya. at some point when the imortal conference the live happily ever after part of the plan becomes. Get married, cook A-Yuan All the foods and have a joined tomb stone. Meng mo thinks he is delucional.

-so imortal aliance happens SQQ stabs binghe and as he is about to fall he craps Xiu Ya and falls with it. As you can imagine SQQ did not like that.

[teaboot]

Growing up, how was your relationship with the fundamentals of conscious existence?

My earliest memory of what I would call self-awareness occurred spontaneously in the middle of my fourth birthday party, where I suddenly became alert to my existence as a separate entity surrounded by other conscious beings.

This presented to me as not dissimilar to simply being brushed along the flow of a river- experiencing life as a serious of flashbang moments and instants and sensations, like meditating to music until the individual notes break into sounds that follow no rhythm and are only noise- no past or future, only now- and then suddenly finding yourself holding a paddle in the belly of a boat with no idea what to do next.

I remember running to the body that felt safest, who I did not recognize as anything else, and asking it who all the strangers around us were. The person that I learned was my mother told me they were my aunties and uncles, and I was being silly because I KNEW them, and why was I so shy all of a sudden?

Learning to articulate myself after that instant, I remember, was immensely frustrating. Learning your first language, as I remember it, is wuite a bit like how Ive been told recovering from brain damage feels like.

YOU know what you mean. YOU know what you're saying. But there are holes where you reach for something you know MUST be there and find nothing, and must find a way to communicate using only what you have at hand. Except there are always faces looking at you, talking down to you, asking you to do tricks for them to prove you really are a real human person.

I loved art, and I'm very good at it, but GETTING good at it was the worst. I'm told I started with scribbles at six months or so, before I could walk, and at three and four I remember being immensely frustrated that I could see in my head exactly what I wanted to produce, and I didn't know how to PRODUCE it.

And simple shit, like drawing shapes and circles, developing fine motor skills. You FULLY UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT, but your hands are soft and wobbly and don't cooperate. Getting your mouth and body to obey your directions is hellish, especially when all the appliances and furniture and installations around you are built for someone easily triple your size.

Chairs are hard to sit in when you're small and cant touch the ground. Your legs dangle and you cant scoot closer to the table, and the backrest is so far back you cant use it for support, and the table comes up past your chest so your chin is amost in your plate and your dumb clumsy hands cant hold a big spoon or fork in a way that feels natural or elegant so you end up smearing shit EVERYWHERE and getting yapped at for having your elbows on the counter.

Reading people was interesting. Most people are condescending and plastic when you're small, and you can tell when they're being saccharine and fake, but you're told the polite thing is to believe what they say and be polite back. I used to try using big sentences on purpose just to het them to leave me alone. "What a pretty girl! Can you say Hello?" was the most common ask I can recall. Id answer with the floweriest thing I could think of, usually, "I'm very well, thank you for asking, how are you?", because people only ask you interesting questions after you do well enough on their tests to prove you're people.

Being small was very tiring, and very frustrating, and becoming aware of myself in my own head probably made everything a lot worse overall.

No regrets, though. From what I can recall, life is far more enjoyable when you're aware of it occurring. Time can't slow down until you know it's there, I think

Being a baby full of instincts felt like living as a live grenade. Being a child was far harder, but more Full. More Human. A LOT more like adulthood than infancy, and I was very determined to remember that.

If any of that makes sense

[haikyu-mp4]

Suspected proposal

"Did you hear about Sakusa? He proposed to his long-term girlfriend today! But I’m not judging or anything!" – @kittygirl11829 for my Gossip Event.

word count; 834 – f!reader

The first one to become suspicious of a possible proposal was Hinata. He just so happened to look over Sakusa’s shoulder while the black-haired man looked at diamond rings on his phone. Unfortunately, he had switched it off the second he realised he wasn’t alone, and not another word was spoken about it.

Atsumu was next because of a certain look on Sakusa’s face as of late. It made him look restless, which wasn’t normal for him. It wasn’t that he didn’t focus on practices anymore, but something else seemed to be on his mind as well.

Bokuto didn’t really put two and two together himself, but when Atsumu brought up his information, the owl shared that he had seen Sakusa at the jeweller the week before, and he couldn’t believe he didn’t say hi!

No doubt, Sakusa would be proposing to his girlfriend. 

You’ve been dating Sakusa for a long time, ever since your first year of university. This means you also developed close friendships with all of your boyfriend’s friends. Therefore, the three suspicious MSBY boys snuck up to Sakusa after practice one day (meaning they ran over and cornered him so he couldn’t run away) with the wish to participate in making you say yes. 

“Are you proposing to y/n?” Atsumu and Hinata asked him, just like they rehearsed, however-

“CAN WE HELP WITH THE PROPOSAL?” Bokuto was practically bouncing with excitement.

Atsumu turned to him with a frown. “I thought we agreed to be demure and mindful.”

Sakusa rolled his eyes and sighed, unsure if he was ready for his own answer. “I would like your help with my proposal.”

The three were silenced as they looked at Sakusa in surprise, making him squirm under their gazes.

“You asked.”

Hinata was the first to recover. “What do you need?”

Sakusa smiled, not big but it was definitely something. “I know she’d love to have different angles to choose from for the proposal video. Can you three spread out and film it?”

In near-perfect sync, the three volleyball players clicked their heels together and saluted him. “Sir, yes sir!”

You had no idea Sakusa wanted to propose to you today. It wasn’t uncommon for him to invite you to a fancy restaurant, asking you to dress up with him and take some time off to just be together and have good food.

This time shouldn’t have been any different.

The only peculiar thing was the head of bright orange hair that almost blended in with the flower arrangements. And the grey hair that zoomed past the window earlier before someone in a hoodie and black mask asked for a table. And the bleach blonde hair peeking out from that guy in the corner’s cap while he played on his phone without ordering any food.

Why are Sakusa’s friends here?

Still, no matter how suspicious you were, you gasped in shock when Sakusa got out of his chair and knelt beside you on one knee, holding up a little velvet box with a gorgeous ring. Your eyes brimmed with happy tears as he nervously recited his speech.

“You are already such an integral part of my life. You make every day better, and I want to spend every moment with you by my side. I want to call you my wife, or fiancé for now. You mean more to me than life itself and I will dedicate every second of the rest of my life to making you happy if you would do me the honour of marrying me.”

You were breathless, barely remembering that you should probably answer him.

“Yes! I’ll marry you, I’ll marry you a thousand times!”

The whole restaurant erupted in cheers, and the loudest was from your three dear friends (who were clearly more used to standing out in a crowd than hiding in it, which should become a funny story for the future).

w: this last part is suggestive

After making your way home, nothing could keep your hands off each other. That dedication for the rest of his life started right now as he took his sweet time decorating your skin in sensual kisses, lifting your arm so he could trail them all the way to your new ring.

“Sakusa y/n.”

“I think I doodled that in my notebook once,” you purred, thinking back to the days when you stared at the back of his head in class.

“You have bewitched me,” he accused with a dopey smile, hands sneaking around you to unzip your dress.

“Body and soul,” you whispered before once again capturing his lips in a kiss.

Bokuto, Hinata and Atsumu totally misread the situation, and realised so as they came up to your house door and heard you moaning Sakusa’s name a little too loud for it to be anything other than…“Let’s drink at mine instead,” Atsumu announced, already turning around and rushing off, careful with the six-pack of beer he carried in each hand. You would be having a private celebration for now.

masterlist

[sirfrogsworth]

So Elon has decided to skip the imminent disaster of global climate change and just move on to a calamity 5 billion years in the future.

If you ever need to understand Elon's motivations, it's all this.

Okay and a little bit the woke mind virus.

But mostly this.

He wants to get to Mars more than anything. It's why the only thing he can speak intelligently about is his rockets. He has put in the time and effort to learn about them because this is his singular passion.

A lovely Youtube physicist did a video about SpaceX and she said half of the rockets blow up and Elon just wants more money. And it was disappointing to hear her say that because she is a scientist and both things are inaccurate.

SpaceX would be an amazing company without Elon. His leadership is the only thing really holding it back. They have put lots of cool shit into space. Their Falcon program is the most productive and cheapest rocket program in history. They put more stuff into space than everyone else combined.

They had to blow up part of the graph just so you could see the competition. Half of the SpaceX rockets are *not* blowing up.

Starship is a specific prototype. It has nothing to do with their main rocket business. Starship is Elon wanting to go to Mars. It is basically him trying to send a 3 story building into space. And he keeps blowing it up because that is the fastest way to develop a rocket. He's wasting a lot of money by trying to speedrun a trip to Mars in his lifetime. And these tests are bit more like crash test data than expecting the rocket and Starship to actually function properly. It's a process and they have goals for each launch, and for the most part, they reach those goals. Any success after those goals is gravy to them. But they are pretty certain it is going to end in fireworks at this stage of development.

I don't know if they will get it to work. It would be nice because a functional spaceship that size could do a lot of cool science. But Elon's goals and NASA's goals are going to conflict in a major way at some point in the future. And I'm worried that may damage space exploration.

Starship is very different than their Falcon program. It's a science experiment. Falcons rarely blow up. They get shit to space like the James Webb telescope.

And as far as Elon just wanting more money... sort of.

His personal wealth has not been a huge concern of his for a while. Otherwise he wouldn't have let Tesla fall apart like it has. The wealth he is actually concerned about is not his own. Going to Mars is a trillion-dollar-plus endeavor. Even the richest man in the world cannot raise that much money.

Only a government could fund that.

Elon knows this. He figured it out a while ago. And when he saw an opportunity to get his hands on the government purse strings, he jumped at the chance.

He jumped in the shape of an X like a giant loser.

I'm *positive* Elon thought, "If I could save the government a trillion dollars, they'll give it to me so I can go to Mars."

But it is probably breaking his brain right now after learning he isn't this super genius who can figure out government bureaucracy in a weekend with a bunch of coding dorks.

He got depressed and realized his cool plan to get to Mars was falling apart.

Whoops.

Elon will say anything to get to Mars. He will lie about anything to get to Mars. He will consort with anyone to get to Mars. If you are ever unsure why Elon is doing something, it's to get to Mars. His moral calculus is based on this. In his delusional mind, everything is justifiable to save the human race.

He does have side quests. He wants to repopulate the Earth with his seed. And he uses IVF because you can drastically increase the odds of getting a boy if you pay extra. And he is angry at his trans daughter because he wants boys to continue his mission to spread Musk seed. He spends $50,000 extra to make sure he gets boys and she is messing with the plan.

Oh, and he really really wants people to think he is good at video games. And he wants people to like him. And he wants to kill the woke mind virus because he didn't get the boy he paid for.

But Mars is *almost* all he cares about.

Elon thinks Earth is doomed and he wants immortality from being the man who saved human civilization. He truly believes our existence is dependent on being "multiplanetary." It might be the only thing he believes.

Saving the human race is supposed to be his legacy.

And it is killing us.

[glitterandwitchcraft]

🟣 TAROT TIPS FOR ANY LEVEL 🟣

Every pack is different in its energy, advice, art, and use. I have multiple decks to use for different scenarios.

You don't need all the fancy accessories so don't stress over them. All my cards are kept in a drawer in their original boxes.

Please don't cleanse your cards by shaking them in a baggie with things, especially coarse things like salt. I don't know what I was thinking when I did this. You will scratch your cards.

If your cards are sticky, try some baby powder.

You can mix incense ashes in baby powder to bless a new deck.

If you're struggling with picking cards from intuition, just wait for the trusty jump out.

Not all reverse cards are the opposite.

The art on the card reflects the personally held meaning from the creator of the deck so not all universal meanings will hold true for every card.

Your intuition will help guide you to messages and meanings.

Tarot is a great tool for meditation and trying to get your thoughts in order.

Sometimes, the meanings can feel kind of fortune cookie like. That's because usually they're there to help paint a broad picture. You can refine this with an extra card or two as well as your own thoughts.

If using tarot for spirit work, leave an offering for both the cards and the spirits and make sure to thank both at the end.

You don't need to use them every day to build a connection to them.

Tarot is a great tool, but nothing is ever 100% and the future is always changing so don't stress if the cards were wrong a couple times.

Developing your own ritual for big readings will help you focus and channel your energy and make the whole experience better.

Tarot takes a lot of practice to get super comfortable, but don't let that discourage you. The time will pass anyways.

You can use different decks in the same reading.

Tarot and oracle cards are two different things but can also be used together.

Cards are flammable. Please keep away from areas with high heat and open flames.

You don't have to ascribe to other's beliefs and rules when it comes to your personal practice. Some people don't do yes/no for tarot and some do. Some treat their decks with utmost sacredness and some don't. It's your practice to do as you wish.

For a personal deck, you can ask it for a card that indicates the reader (you) and a card to indicate anything else you need a reference to. Doing this can also give you insight into yourself and your energy.

[twilightkitkat]

Everyone knows that Deadpool can break the 4th wall. It's a large part of his charm: being able to directly address the audience and make popculture references that don't exist in the MCU.

It's a common gag in fanfiction for Logan to be slightly weirded out by this but to just let it go.

But can we talk about the implications of knowing about 4th wall? The potential?

Imagine Wade, knowing that he's trapped inside a story that nobody else is aware of. Knowing that his fate is in the hands of the storywriters and that if he doesn't perform well for the audience, his universe could cease to exist. Knowing that he's just a character and being completely alone in that knowledge.

Knowing that he's played by an actor. Knowing that nothing is really in your control. Knowing how your fate rests in the hand of corporations and money. (Knowing nobody is safe as long as they can be used to further your character development.)

He knows that there's a plot and the general rules of it. He knows that The Conflict can't be resolved that easily and when the end of the movie is coming. He knows how to tell narrative death flags.

He partially makes references to keep the audience engaged (to keep his existence renewed) and partially because it's funny to see everyone confused over a joke only he gets.

But every reference is trying to see if anyone else knows, too. He's throwing out the bait. (Trying to see if anyone knows that the world they're living in is fake.)

And everyone sees him as crazy for it. Schizophrenic, manic, insane. (And maybe he is. It's not like he can prove it to anyone.)

Wade assumes things about the world and they're generally correct. He knows the rules of the game, knows the writers, and has a razor-sharp intuition that has his allies questioning him sometimes (he knows popular tropes).

And so, when he realized that he was in a movie with Logan, he made a lot of assumptions. That they would have to work together. That they'd overcome their differences and grow closer.

But most importantly, he assumed the limits. Disney wouldn't make an openly gay character, would they? Deadpool is fine because he's a joke but Wolverine would never be seriously gay, even if he was queer in the comics.

So he sees it as safe to flirt and joke because it wasn't going anywhere. Being gay was funny to the target audience, but that was it. It'd never be taken seriously in a superhero movie. (Especially with characters as popular as Deadpool and Wolverine.)

Wade was either getting Vanessa or nothing. That was how the story was written.

So he never takes Logan's feelings seriously. He cared about him in a very family-friendly bro kind of way and that was it. He doesn't even consider the idea of romance. He jokingly flirts and spews innuendos, but they never went anywhere. Wouldn't go anywhere. Ever.

And Logan is confused because he thought Wade was attracted to him, yet he keeps brushing him off as friendly when he tries to be sincere. He one time legitimately shared a bendy heart straw with him by Wade's request and Wade just played it off as a bit.

And also, Wade keeps making references he doesn't understand. That nobody understands. And he'd chalk it up to saying random shit except Logan starting paying attention and it's all oddly cohesive and creates a singular story. It ties together in ways that complete nonsense doesn't.

And that's leaving out Wade's "intuition." How he makes comments about "tropes" and "cliches" like they're in a movie except that he ends up being right. Almost every time. It's like he can predict the future, but in a vague yet oddly specific way. Like he can see how things are going to go.

And sometimes, when Wade thinks Logan isn't paying attention, he notices how he mutters to himself in dread. And how something bad almost always happens after.

It makes him disturbed and painfully, achingly curious. What was Wade seeing that he wasn't? It could be that Wade was a secret prodigy, but that didn't seem to be the case? Some of this was too specific and far-fetched.

(All while Wade laments over the lack of agency in his own life, subject to the currents of the story while being painfully aware of it. He couldn't live a life of blissful ignorance like everyone else. It's like he saw a tsunami hurdling toward him—even if he ran away at full speed, the plot always caught up to him somehow.

Trust him. He'd tried to outrun it.)

[cosmicbyeol]

𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 : 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛

take this however it resonates.

calm down and take deep breaths.

pick an image!! each corresponds with a pile.

♥︎ pile 1. Luther – Kendrick Lamar & SZA

hey…

all though you’re strong… there’s no doubt about that, we have to choose and pick our battles correctly. we can win for sure. don’t get me wrong. but there’s consequences if we choose the wrong one. not everyone is worth our spark, not everyone is worth our fire. and who do we look like wasting it. it sure as hell ain’t us. that’s for sure.

we’ve worked so hard to get were we are. everyone who says “working hard or hardly working” irks me. but alas, we should take a break. we need to take a break. it’s so close. the sweet sweet time off. it’s time to sit back and relax. take that time off work. it’s time to treat yourself, we have the right of way.

we’ve got everything that we’ve ever wished for and maybe more further in the future. we have all these things and gifts. I think we should share them. what do you think about that? everyone needs help every once and a while. but be careful with who you give it to. some people could drain you for all our worth and then we’d be left with nothing.

we’ll learn to use our gifts a little later, you’ll develop the energy to be the light around people. you’re energy might be in you now, it’s just a little hidden. but once you get the hang off it and tap into it, people will feel like they can do anything when they’re around you. you make them feel like they’re strong and powerful too. but again make sure you’re around the right people.

you have a select few or a small group of people that are good for you. you love them and they love you too. some celebration is in order. maybe an anniversary or an accomplishment is coming up or in the future. it’s good to celebrate closeness or a bond. you’d do anything for them in your power, and they should be able to do the same.

it’s okay to stand your ground. it’s okay to be outspoken, especially if it’s something you believe. especially if it’s about you and your wellbeing. I just want to see you win. you have the tools and your soul in your corner. fight for yourself with your whole being. you’re ready. stand up for yourself. You’ve got this!!

it’s okay to not be okay sometimes. and it’s okay to tell someone about it. someone you trust, someone who won’t judge you.

♥︎ pile 2. 30 for 30 – SZA & Kendrick Lamar

hey boo! ,

it’s confirmed. we’re not for everyone. and that’s okay. people are meant to be in and out of your life. we have the strength and power to overcome anything. why would we settle for less huh? we don’t need someone that’s going to treat us like shit, we don’t need someone that wouldn’t tend to us and our needs. we don’t need someone that won’t do what we would do for them. we’re stronger than that. it’s been put in our heads that we deserve below the minimum. we’ll never be at peace.

we should should learn to love yourself and our being before going to someone else to seek what we need. find that feeling you need in yourself first, before you give it to someone else. learn your worth know that you’re worth more than anything you could imagine. you’re worth more than that person you think is treating you right. KNOW YOUR WORTH DON’T YOU DARE SETTLE FOR LESS!!

learn how to love you!! take yourself out on a solo date. learn about yourself. learning and knowing yourself can take years, but at least you have somewhere to start. you’ll feel a little less lost. learning about ourself is the best thing we can do. it’s the best thing we could do for us and the people around us that truly care about us.

you don’t have to be with a partner or a significant other to have a good time. go out with your friends. go have that girls/boys/theys night. celebrate finding yourself and dumping that piece of trash. I know they didn’t let you go out. treat yourself.

with this new mindset you’ll do wonders. you won’t ever settle for less again. promise you’ll stand up for us, make more buzz and be a boss. never settle for less than your worth. WIPE THEM DOWN. ( but don’t go to jail! )

♥︎ pile 3. miracle – wayv

hey bestie ,

we need to learn to love ourself. and we need to learn about ourselves too. how else can we ascend? how else can we exist in that plane? how can we peacefully open our eye? we need to learn about us before we can start our journey, we can’t open doors if they’re locked. we can’t enter windows either. no hidden doors will work. “dreams can take you far, find out who you really are”

I’m gonna hold your hand when I say this, but to open these doors we can’t hang on to everybody. we can’t hang on to certain places or people. you can’t grow in a place with no water and no lights. you need to make that decision for yourself. no one else can make it for you. only you can give yourself water and light. and maybe plant food.

you definitely have the strength to grow and take yourself to a whole new level. you have the power to transcend all the things you deem “meaningless”, to reach that orbit. to replenish your energy and grow countless of times. it’s something more than psychical for you. you could even get the the point where you don’t even need to open eyes to feel and see things.

this definitely isn’t a journey you can quite get through alone. but most of it will be done within you. but as long as you have someone in your corner and someone that knows about this kind of thing. but maybe finding a like minded person or people can do you some good 😌. you won’t regret it. you guys might be on to something.

don’t get too deep in that ascending and bigger than life feeling. keep yourself grounded, just because you’ve reached this state doesn’t mean it can be taken away from you. especially if you start to abuse it. this feeling can cause some miscommunication in your circle you’ve made. it might cause a rift, but sometimes not everything is meant to be. this miscommunication could lead to you to question if your ideologies and feelings are the same as your circle. you might need to take a step back and see if your circle is for you.

[lilia-calderus-pet-goat]

In case you forgot just how impressive the acting is in episode seven of agatha all along, let me take you back again.

Lilia is five hundred years old. Four hundred and fifty? Maybe. When we first meet her, she may be kooky, and she may be strange, and forgetful, but she doesn't immediately seem vulnerable, or lost. She's a grown woman, damn it—and a fraud, a liar. She's toughened with the passage of time in her unique isolation.

And in the next episodes, we see her sweeten here and there—and we see more vulnerable moments—but she still stands on her own two legs. In her dynamic with Rio, for example, or whoever else, she exhibits the 'no bullshit' attitude of her maestra. She's softer, of course, more empathetic, less cynical—like in Alice's trial, where she's posed much like s comforting grandma. But even then, she is a grandma. She is the one who does the comforting, or the one who disapprovingly shakes her head at you and judges your life choices.

But when she talks to her Maestra?

Lilia is a little girl. She's childish.

In no other scenario does Lilia speak with herself center-stage. She always thinks of others first, even in her own trial.

But when she talks to her maestra, she acts like a wounded child, a wounded fawn, who can only focus on her own pain. Who has not yet developed mechanisms for processing her emotions—and who just wants—needs—her mother. And she speaks, and she says things she shouldn't say, floods her maestra with her own grief, overwhelms her with information that Lilia has known as fact for hundreds of years, but for her maestra—it's her first time hearing it. Because the little Lilia on the chair is having her first divination lesson. She hasn't predicted the fever yet. But Lilia can't think of that right now—she's overwhelmed, she's hurting, she's visiting her maternal figure after centuries—and so she's snappy and impatient and vulnerable like a child.

And her maestra knows she can't help it. And she knows that right now, she's needed by her child who is hurting. Who has been hurting—so much fear, even now. She must swallow the shocking piece of information that she and her covenmates, her sisters, her students, her children, will be wiped out by a terrible fever—treat it like a given fact, because she's not the focus right now. Because she needs to be a guiding light for Lilia, even centuries later, because she needs her. Centuries later, she needs her. And she's a tough woman, a no-bullshit woman. She's a thick-skinned, old, Sicilian witch, much reminiscent of my own greek grandparents—those who have lived through so much and so nothing affects them, really. Because 'back in their day' they had 'more serious issues,' like war and famine and plague. This woman lived through the dark ages. And she delivers. She's nonchalant. 'Death comes for us all' - It means, this isn't about me. I have to brush it off.

But I still have to wonder where within her she proceeded to bury that piece of information about her own coven's untimely demise. Not only to focus on future Lilia, but also, later, to keep little Lilia calm and focused. To—knowing all the suffering she'll be going through and the state in which she'll visit centuries later—keep her innocent for just a little time longer. Give her time. Until eventually, she predicts the fever herself.

And how beautiful is it that, after all this time, she sought help in her maestra—?

How beautiful is it that—for the second time—Agatha Harkness is saved by a woman whose empathy was bred by a mother's unconditional love? A woman who sacrificed herself just when she found herself, for no other reason than the fact her mother never stopped putting her first, so now, it was her turn to do the the same for her family—?

[maybefae]

What Creature Would Your Person Be?

Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3

Remember, this is a general reading and it may not resonate for everyone or completely. Tarot is a tool to help guide but you are responsible for your actions and life, you choose your path.

Tips!

|Pile 1

Tarot: Ten of Pentacles, The Hierophant, The Emperor, Four of Cups, Three of Swords, King of Cups, The Hanged Man, Ten of Cups, The Empress, Queen of Cups (bottom of the deck)

Oracle: The Skunk and Magnolia (protection), The Finch and Peach (romance), The Hawk and Thistle (graceful persistence)

This was a very allusive energy and it feels like it belongs to the sea. But my first thought was a male selkie as soon as I pulled the cards, which honestly makes sense why the energy is so slippery and allusive. Another creature could be a male siren. And male sirens exist in myths but were phased out during the 5th century for some reason.  Male selkies have been in legends and operate a little differently than their female counterparts (from what I know/heard). For those not looking for a male partner, adapt this to your liking. I just tell the messages how I receive them.

Selkies can be put in the same realm of sirens but I know them to be completely different. Selkies derive from Celtic and Norse legends and we really only hear of the female counterparts, yet male selkies exist. (One of my favorite movies is The Secret of Roan Inish and it is a story with a selkie in it.) Beautiful in their human forms, they naturally lure in humans from the land because they can easily seduce us and the humans try to steal their seal hide so that the selkie can stay with the human forever. Only once the selkie finds their seal skin, which the human had hid, can they go back home to the sea. Male selkies, from what I have heard, can roam both the land and sea freely, unlike the females who stick to the sea. And they aren’t a malevolent creature and do have a sense of familial responsibility. Which is why I naturally got “selkie” when looking at your cards. Your person being a siren wouldn’t make sense with the cards and it would teeter on your person being more loose with their love. Some stories say that to call in a male selkie, a woman must shed seven tears into the sea. And usually this comes from the woman missing and longing for their fisherman partner that is at sea. They usually target unhappy women.

To combine the legend with your dynamic with your partner, I think your person comes in after a heartbreak from your end and there could’ve been a null on your love life for a while, years even. There is an energy of almost giving up on love but you really hadn’t, there was a pause because of the hurt and because you developed a fear of putting your love into someone else when it could be all for nothing. But under all that, there is that intense longing. The hope that someone will be brought into your life and confirm that to love and be loved isn’t all for nothing. And I love how they gave me a water creature for your person because he comes in as the King of Cups to your Queen of Cups. Your person is so full of love and matches the love you have so there isn’t a one-sided dynamic. You also have The Emperor and Empress so there is a strong emphasis on being a really good pair for each other. And you both want commitment and have the same vision of what you want with each other and for your future together. There is a strong emphasis on family but I’m getting that family could look different for everyone. You could just want a family that is only the both of you since you’ve never had someone stable to come home to before or it could just be you two and your pets or children could be in the picture. Whatever it is, it’s your person’s top priority and they do everything for that. Nothing is more important. 

They would be someone to willingly give you their seal hide because they love you that much. I also kept getting the imagery of sea otters. How they use rocks to crack open shells, scallop shells, and how they hold hands when they sleep in the water together so they don’t lose each other. My sister mentioned something after this thought, and she didn’t know I brought up sea otters in this reading, but apparently the rocks can be passed down through the otter’s family. Take this message how it resonates.

|Pile 2

Tarot: Temperance, Nine of Wands, Ten of Pentacles, Ace of Wands, Five of Cups, The Hanged Man, Death King of Swords, Queen of Pentacles (bottom of the deck)

Oracle: The Bee and Pomegranate (productivity), The Caiman and Poppy (dreams), The Dragonfly and Pansy (balance)

I knew I was gonna get a dragon through one of the piles. Your person made themselves known even before pile 1. Before I even pulled your cards, I had the feeling of the air element. Dragons, for me, are a very well-rounded creature when it comes to all the elements. They are a creature that can rule it all. There are many, MANY stories of dragons and I can’t and won’t pinpoint an exact variation of dragon. But I will tell you what I’m seeing based on messages.

Your person, in regards to dragon traits, is very hardworking and gathers as much financial wealth as possible. They don’t really spend it either, like it kinda sits and racks up interest so they gain even more money. The classic image of a dragon that lays amongst all the gold and jewels and treasure. And they could encounter a lot of people that want to wiggle their way into your person’s life to get to all that wealth. People may say that they are selfish and greedy when your person’s boundaries get slammed down on these people’s greedy hands. They have extremely strong boundaries and they don’t have a lot of people around them. They keep a very strict few people around that they trust, to the point where they don’t even keep family around I don’t think. They worked hard to achieve what they did and they aren’t just gonna give it away to anything or anyone. There is a familial wound that they have around money and I can’t move past their shield to get the exact story, it will be something only you will be able to hear. 

I want to also preface by saying that they aren’t heartless. Dragons love very passionately, loyally, and protectively. They are someone that has waited for the spark in regards to finding a lover and that person that they ultimately get to share their love with is you, pile 2. And you aren’t an object of possession, but you get clumped in with their riches in importance. There is a strong territorial feeling when it comes to you but it’s more protective, not at all toxic. They are going to spoil you and support you in anything you want to do - they want to be successful together. You can do whatever you want as long as they get to love you. There’s a feeling of turning a dragon into a dog, kinda like “scary dog privileges.” 

I don’t know any stories of dragons only being able to communicate through dreams but I keep getting that message. I don’t know if your only encounters with them, so far, is only through your dreams. I think they are actively communicating to you through your dreams and you may not realize because you could be someone that forgets their dreams as soon as you wake up or they come though VERY cryptically.

If your person is male, they have a very big build. For some, this could be a “dad bod” but for others, they are very strong and have an active build to them. If they have a female figure, she’s more curvy with bigger breasts and wider hips, kinda the definition of a woman. Very handsome and beautiful.  18+ Warning: Your person, if they have male genitalia, is very well-endowed. We all know the stories of dragons having two members, like their reptilian counterparts.

I also heard the song Crimson and Clover.

|Pile 3

Tarot: Death, Ten of Swords , Six of  Wands, Two of Swords , Nine of Cups , The Devil, Seven of Pentacles , Page of Wands , Knight of Pentacles, Ace of  Cups (Bottom of the deck)

Oracle: The Snail and Huckleberry (trust in the invisible), The Opossum and Peony (bashfulness), The Quail and Gooseberry (anticipation), The Antelope and Wheat (nourishment)

Hmm, pile 3. I knew I was going to get a pile that has a more “dark” creature. And I personally don’t feel like your person takes on the original, dark and evil characteristics of these creatures. As someone that kinda romanticizes creatures like this, as I have OCs that take on some of these creatures, I believe your person wants to be seen as those characteristics I give these creatures when making my original characters. I just wanted to warn you before I get into the reading.

Now, your person could be a couple different creatures! But they are a creature that inherently “feeds” off a person.

Personally, demons don’t exist to me. Demons usually can be characterized by their trickster energy, which I closely align with fae folk. Your person could be coming through as an unseelie fae, succubi, a vampire, or a grim reaper/death. AGAIN, I want to preface this by saying your person isn’t aligning with the “evil” traits of these creatures. Your person is picking out traits that align with them, which I am going to get to.

Your person has an intense energy (I say as I get a little dizzy) and only a select few can handle this energy. Your person is very used to being solitary. This could be the pile that is looking for a more…temporary and fun partner. They like to have fun, they can seduce very easily, and they are extremely attractive. They can show you a good time. Or they could’ve had their share of temporary lovers in the past, not looking for anything serious, and when they get to you, they are more ready to settle down. Their skills of seduction, passion, and intimacy carry into your relationship and they become more geared towards you. 

They will be good at breaking down your insecurities and drawing out your deepest darkest desires and fantasies, for sure. They feed off passion as much as they give it, so once they get you to be as passionate as them, you could probably have them hooked for life since there's a continuous source of energy. An eternal battery, if you will. I’m getting Gomez and Morticia Addams. I think your lover is SO different from what you’re used to and you have only dreamt of a partner like this, like they are a deepest and darkest desire themselves, so you might not know what to do with them at first. They will definitely make you a little shy and speechless, especially since they are a little unpredictable in the best way. There could be a little anxiety but more excitement/anticipation. They feel like a guilty pleasure to you. I’m getting someone biting their bottom lip at the thought of this person. They feel like the dark character that a main character ends up being with instead of the blond character they start with. 

If this person does end up setting off red alerts to you, then I do suggest staying away from them. For some of you, I am getting that this is someone you SHOULD NOT get close to, at all. This isn’t your person.

Dividers: @inklore

[another-lost-mc]

SHATTERED MIRRORS

PAIRING: Solomon x gn!Reader

SUMMARY: Trapped in the Devildom's murky past, Solomon is there to remind you that even if all else seems lost, you still have each other.

CONTENT/WARNINGS: Nightbringer angst. Vague worldbuilding that hints at a darker version of the Devildom. Bittersweet with a hopeful ending. 1k words.

A/N: There's so much in Nightbringer I wish we got to see, both in the past and future timelines, and this is my small contribution to exploring that untapped potential.

Sometimes it’s the little things Solomon does for you that makes you feel loved. No one wants to be ripped from their life and thrown into the past by some mysterious entity for mysterious purposes. The demon disguise you wear, weightless thanks to the complex spells Solomon casts on you before you leave the safety of Cocytus Hall every morning, still sits heavy on your shoulders like a burden. His magic envelopes you and fills you with warmth, a reminder that he’s always there to protect you even when he can’t be.

Because you can’t be yourself when you’re in this strange version of the Devildom, with its cobblestone streets not yet paved, or the line of unfamiliar shops and market stalls that sell food that’s much too spicy (or dangerous) for you to consume. You rush past countless shops and apothecaries, ignoring the tendrils of fear that shoot down your spine when you realize they still sell rare artifacts and reagents collected from celestial beings and human specimens that will be outlawed by royal decree long before the exchange program begins.

You can’t be yourself in this version of the Devildom, not with Diavolo and his faithful butler that are so familiar yet so foreign, younger than when you first met them. Their eyes are sharp and wary as tensions within the realm fluctuate thanks to its newest residents. There’s something guarded yet knowing in their expressions when they see you, and you have to remind yourself that despite the social and political drama surrounding Diavolo’s controversial plans, he is determined to succeed. It’s only now that you realize the lengths he’s willing to go to, and that relentless ambition is laced with the menacing power his title holds. Like every obstacle he’s faced, he weathers this storm with dignity. It’s almost instinct to want to offer your support for him, heartfelt reassurances that he can do this and you are proud of him. Every time you see him now, those thoughts wither like dying flowers on the vine because the Devildom’s prince has never felt more dangerous to you than he does now. You have to suppress the uneasy shudder that threatens to ripple through you each time his cheeks dimple with a lopsided, insincere smile that shows the tip of his fangs.

You can’t be yourself in this version of the Devildom, not in the House of Lamentation that is simultaneously familiar and unrecognizable at the same time. The rooms and hallways are easy to navigate, but you can’t help but notice the walls are covered in different photographs and paintings than the ones you’re used to seeing. The décor is fashionable but strange, reflecting trends of the current time, but it doesn’t feel like the home you’re used to. The brothers haven’t been here long enough so it lacks that lived-in charm: rooms remain intact, not yet destroyed then rebuilt, and familiar scuff marks on the floors and walls have yet to develop. The house still has that lingering musty smell like it was neglected and empty until recently. The bedroom you used to call your own feels foreign, neglected and cold because they’re unused to hosting guests (and you get the feeling guests are very much unwanted). It nearly breaks your heart when you instinctively walk in that direction and one of the demon brothers chides you with undisguised annoyance that there’s nothing over there, the room that needs cleanin’ is this way.

You can’t be yourself around the demon brothers either, not with their strange and unpredictable behaviour that leaves your patience frayed and fight-or-flight response on edge. Not long after you arrive at the House of Lamentation, you can hear Lucifer scolding Mammon from halfway across the house in an unfamiliar language that sounds too beautiful to be native to the Devildom. Even in his anger and frustration and despair, you realize Lucifer’s voice still carries the lyrical cadence of Celestial language, the place he and his brothers used to call home. It’s a harsh contrast to the dark wings and anger burning in Lucifer’s gaze when you see him in his demonic form. Their celestial garb and heavenly features are only memories of a not so distant past, and like Lucifer, his brothers are forced to wear the physical manifestation of their failure – the death of their sister, their shameful fall from grace. Part of you sympathizes with them even more now that you can see the raw aftermath of their demise, but part of you fears them too, the fractured versions of themselves held together with the growing power of their respective sins.

Every morning you wake up, homesick but determined to make the best of things, and Solomon helps you don your disguise and pushes a cup of tea into your hands. Every evening, you trudge back to Cocytus Hall, weary from spending all day pretending to be the attendant of seven unruly demons that look like the demon brothers you know but feel like poor substitutes at best. Solomon is usually waiting in your dorm, greeting you with a kiss while offering a hug and if needed, a shoulder to cry on. You make food together (while you handle most of the cooking and he helps set the table and wash the dishes). Later, you read together on the sofa or talk about the latest gossip or Devildom news, and Solomon updates you on his progress – or lack thereof – of finding a way home. Despite the hopelessness of it all, it feels bearable because Solomon is there to share those burdens and fill your heavy heart with hope. You can rest easy at night, laid down in your shared bed with Solomon’s arm draped over your waist, his gentle snores coaxing you to sleep after him, and no matter how bleak things seem, it feels like a promise that one day, everything will be alright again.

Read More: Obey Me Masterlist