#intelligence vs ego

[theresilientphilosopher]

Discover what academic research and The Resilient Philosopher have to say about emotional regulation, fairness, and complaints in the YourTango viral article. Intelligence isn’t immunity—it’s introspection.

[dleondantes]

Discover what academic research and The Resilient Philosopher have to say about emotional regulation, fairness, and complaints in the YourTango viral article. Intelligence isn’t immunity—it’s introspection.

[mightymorphinnegro]

When intelligence outpaces empathy, it leaves something important behind—the very humanity that connects us. You can be brilliant, but without kindness, it’s just empty arrogance.

Intelligence without compassion doesn’t elevate; it isolates. And in the end, who wants to be the smartest person in a room they’ve emptied themselves?

[millysastroblog]

RANDOM ASTRO NOTES PT.2 🎋

🎋People with Mars conjunct/Square or opposite Jupiter can have a inflated sense of ego and pride just like Sun/Jupiter aspects (especially men since mars has a stronger and dominant energy in their charts)

🎋Tell me why every Aries Sun be waking faster than then wind ?😂 # you are to fast

🎋People with Taurus and Virgo mixed Placements are the most humble grounded individuals to exist they just exude „ZEN“🍃

🎋People with 1st house placement can sometimes feel left out or stand out from the crowd due to the focus being directed on their individuality and presence

SIDE CHICK INDICATORS:

🎋Venus square/ opposite Neptune ( lacking boundaries)

🎋Neptune in the 7th ( unreliable partners )

🎋Venus in the 12th (secret affair and relationships)

🎋Mars in the 12th (hidden sexual relationships)

🎋Venus / Chiron (low self worth)

🎋Venus Square /opposite/ conjunct Lilith ( lustful attraction to unconventional, shocking secret things like a married person )

🎋Mars conjunct Lilith (secrecy and power dynamics turn them on )

🎋 Venus conjunct /Square Uranus (unpredictable love life’s and entanglements )

🎋Lilith/ Pluto in the 9th house ppl can be scared of taking flights, traveling to foreign countries

🎋Sun/ Pluto aspects might be scared of their fathers or have huge respect for them 🫡

🎋Venus conjunct Chiron synastry: trauma bonding relationship vs. healing relationship

🎋Capricorn MC have a reputation of being the GOAT after their hard work has paid off

🎋Venus conjunct Jupiter is usually seen in charts of woman who marry wealthy partners

🎋Mars square asc look fierce

🎋Pluto Square asc look alluring, mysterious and dangerous

🎋 Moon in Scorpio/Moon conjunct Pluto stare intensely on pictures and camera angels

🎋While moon in Pisces/Moon/ Neptune placement look away or their eyes wonder to the the ceiling, they look sleepy, sweet and in another world

🎋Moon in cancer have doll eyes with little sparkles, round like the moon and comforting to look at

🎋A lot of child actress have Neptune influence on their Moon or IC

🎋Saturn in the 1st house have visible oval nostril where their nose kind of looks pointed and straight

🎋Mercury square Jupiter makes somone who doesn’t have a filter or lacks in reading the room they probably over share and reveal to much information

🎋Mercury/ Neptune aspects can misconstrued, antagonize, change information or get very confused, they also posses very imaginative creative mind that could inspires other people

🎋Moon/ Mercury have an internal need to express their feelings through their voice they are very emotionally intelligent and speak with their heart. They have a hard time taking critique and will voice their opinions whenever they feel like it

🎋Lilith /Mars in Pisces woman can be a unknown sugar baby or trad wife placement since they use illusion, charm and fantasy to get what they want (if they play smart and don’t get carried away)

🎋7th house in the 4th can show an family arrangement marrige or both peoples family being heavily involved in their marriage/ engagement

🎋Pluto/8th house synastry/Composite makes for an unforgettable relationship especially if both people have it. The separation is very painful and takes time to heal

🎋Saturn/ Pluto in the 6th house need to take care of their health, body, routine more than the average person, if not they will have to face harsh consequences

🎋Cancer mixed Leo Placements gives either a neutral balanced personality or drama queen they embody the most authentic expression off themselves and won’t hide for anything and anybody #period

🎋Venus in the 10th has a similar effect as Venus in the 1st house

🎋Venus/ Chiron hard aspects can usually show cheating and betrayal in a chart

Venus conjunct Chiron = being cheated on

Venus square Chiron = being the cheater

Venus opposite Chiron = vise versa

(Pls take it with a grain of salt, it doesn’t have to apply to you)

🎋People with harmonious aspected moons are emotionally stable and regulated, empathetic and understand people needs and emotionall nature

🎋People with Harmonious aspected Jupiter carry a sunshine energy everywhere they go and attract plenty people and opportunities towards them -> positive optimistic mindset -> Luck 🍀

🎋Aries mixed Cancer Placements = unhinged crash- out, impatient, anger issues, very loyal and protective, uncontrollable emotions, lovely and nice to the people that are close to them

🎋Libra mixed Virgo Placements = fashionista, life style influencers, perfectionist, good cooks, enjoy finer things with an hint of detail and excellent observation skills, a bit judgmental, very very very helpful people

🎋Scorpio mixed Virgo Placements = psychotic (just joking 😂), natural detectives and truth seekers, extremely intelligent people, literally know everything, extreme control issues and can be obsessive and a bit creepy when they like somebody, once trust is gained they are number one supporters for life

🎋Gemini mixed Capricorn Placements = Aloof (weirdly give Aquarius or Virgo vibes?) , Logical thinkers, like to think outside the box , can also be very responsible, less inclined to open up about emotions and would rather joke about them. Less lighthearted but also less serious, truthful and honest people

Thx for reading 🫶🏽

•~Milly~•

©2025 millysastroblog All Rights Reserved

[companion-showdown]

Who is your favourite companion?

TOURNAMENT MASTERPOST

Propaganda

Clara Oswald

No one is doing it like Clara Oswald. She’s bisexual, she’s a control freak, she’s made out with Jane Austen, she was the Doctor (and she was good at it). She looks like the normal one any time she’s standing next to twelve, but when you see her interact with humans on her own you realize how bad she is at acting like a normal person. Steven Moffat once said she’s what the Doctor would be like if they were a 20 something human woman stuck on earth. She is such an incredible enigma of compassion and bravery and ego. If she doesn’t make it to at least the top five then what are we even doing here. (@tardis-technician )

Jamie McCrimmon

He's the longest running companion (113 episodes!), the original companion with romantic tension with the Doctor, loyal as can be, on the same footing with the doctor despite being an 18th century highlander, he wears a kilt in space, and he was so devoted to the Doctor that he had to be forced away and have his memory erased, and the Doctor had to be grounded, for his run to end. Also really just watch a video of them they're so gay

What can I even say. It's Jamie Mccrimmon. He never would have chosen to leave the doctor, he's the doctor's most loyal companion. He's so Scottish and I love it! Always wears his kilt, gets excited when he hears bagpipe music and sees the Scottish Highlands on the Tardis screen, speaks Gàidhlig, what's not to love. (@gothicacetheatrekid )

Jamie is the longest running companion in all of Doctor Who. He is arguably the doctor’s first best friend and has been haunting the narrative ever since his departure in 1969 (even in 2024 “Boom” he is referenced!! The 10th doctor uses his name in s2e2, and the doctor-turned-master in s13 plays the skyeboat song, which only became a huge part of Doctor who because of Jamie, who was a Jacobite! Several classic doctors meet/reference Jamie in tv and extended universe media, and if you’re an I, TARDIS fan you’ll find Jamie’s entry is the only one where it’s explicitly referenced that Doctor - and the TARDIS! - loved him). He is a very complex character, who might be dismissed but is much more intelligent than he is given credit for. He’s brave and kind. He has a huge fan theory that gained enough traction to become canon through tv stories and audios - “s6b” - in which he works with the Doctor under time lord supervision. He came into the show at its most crucial watershed, the first regeneration, and impacted so much of what we consider core to doctor who today through his friendship with the second doctor. He’s a companion from the past who is quick to learn and adapt, and was the first companion who wanted to join the tardis AND never wanted to leave, until he was forcibly removed. Jamie was with the doctor for pretty much his whole second body, and Doctor who would not be what it is today without Jamie.

[applestorms]

naomi certainly isn’t a moron, if anything she probably doubts her own intelligence/reasoning more than is really justified, but— well. that’s just it, isn’t it? she’s just so goddamn insecure. in almost every scene that we see her in she is Constantly deferring to the authority of whatever man happens to be pushing his ego around the most, coming to her own conclusions quickly but keeping her mouth shut until someone gives her permission.

she’s gruff, and harsh, and brutal; she wears leather jackets and hates skirts. she suffers from Death Note Woman Disease, but also seems to genuinely care about kids. she can’t bring herself to shoot at 13 year old. she quits her job to marry a man, and then takes it back up again the minute he mysteriously dies. really i think it’s the contrast between those two sides, the fact that she can get a nickname like massacre vs. her overwhelming, underlying anxiety, that really makes her compelling to me.

[nrhshm]

Hello, I would like to have headcanons on what he likes and what he hates in a woman (Mihawk, One Piece). Thank you 🥰

Heya! I’m actually ınterested to know too! Lets fınd out together now, shall we? ☺️

Likes VS Dislikes in an S/o: Mihawk

● Likes ●

1. Grace and Poise

I MUST begin with this one, as Mihawk's known to carry himself with an air of nobility and grace wherever he went.

Thus, it is a standard upon all tolerable human beings to present themselves the same way.

And most importantly: His beautiful S/o.

HOWEVER, you'd be surprised to learn about Mihawk's second taste in women.

2. Opposites Attract

I'm not talking about this as a trope, but rather as something quite practical and possible.

A man who has spent his entire life living alone in a draculian castle with a gloomy, dark cloud above his head, and his job was just killing governmental targets and waiting for Zoro to get stronger. THE MAN NEEDS SOME SPICE!

So if a woman of smiles and spontaneity comes into his life, he will find himself strangely drawn in to know more.

Of course, not after trying to repulsively avoid her in any way possible.

It's a Yin and Yang compatibility, an eclipse where the both of them together can create something absolutely magical!

3. Independence and Strength

Okay this is a solid one. Every love story involves a woman depending on a man to protect her from any danger, and Mihawk is ready to put his title on the line if it comes to his s/o's safety.

But! Mihawk would find it more fascinating if his lover was able to handle herself efficiently during battle. Even better! It would straight up boost his ego, priding himself in her strength. He would even give her a subtle head rub or him just carassing her face with a soft expression.

4. Intelligence and Wit

Make no mistake, Mihawk hates naivety. Period.

The man appreciates a daily boost of knowledge and information, a challenging discussion that could lead him to new depths, or one of those debates where he keeps winning everytime.

His s/o can be clumsy, optimistic and almost out of this world, but he cannot bear a naive woman that takes things for granted and isn't grounded to reality's harsh truths.

Afterall, and as he puts it himself: "I'm not a kindergarten teacher."

Add to that trait, the last and most important one...

5. A Subtle, Unspoken Loyalty

And that is an understatement to every man, but to Mihawk it's a ground rule.

Loyalty is the most important thing to a swordsman, and loyalty is tested and proven in the most dire situations. And if his s/o does prove her loyalty to him, Mihawk will view her in a whole new light, a treasure in this world that shouldn't be wasted. His trust in her will be blind, and he will make sure to live up to her trust as much as that.

Mihawk is naturally loyal. If he loves you, he's loyal. If he loves you, he immediately becomes trusting and dependable.

This man is one of a kind when he's in love. DON'T TAKE HIM FOR GRANTED!!

○ Dislikes ○

1.Disrespect for His Solitude

It's a known fact that Mihawk enjoys his personal space and quiet lifestyle. It's something that will stay with him for the rest of his life.

So please, the "I can fix him" trope is out of the question.

A woman who tries to invade that without understanding his need for isolation would not last with him. If she does not respect his personal boundaries even as a married couple, Mihawk will cross a bold X on that. He can not tolerate foolish boldness to that extent.

2. Lack of Self-Respect

This one is quite obvious. Mihawk is a man who respects himself and expects the same from his partner.

So, a woman who constantly belittles herself, lacks confidence, or allows herself to be treated poorly would be unappealing to him.

What DOES appeal to Mihawk are the extraordinary, the people who stand out in a crowd.

Thus, petty habits such as this is a BIG no to him.

3. Lack of Intelligence or Depth

I've already mentioned this one. Mihawk hates the naive, pointless people.

He doesn’t seem interested in shallow or airheaded individuals. A woman with no depth in conversation or who lacks critical thinking would bore him. As simple as that.

4. Overly Competitive in an Annoying Way

I DID say, that Mihawk respects a strong independent woman, who can handle herself in tight situations.

But don't mix strength with delusion. This man dislikes pointless arrogance or someone trying to "prove" themselves to people constantly.

A woman who seeks to challenge him without true substance would be unimpressive and empty.

Yeah. These are the key highlights of Mihawk's refined taste in women. Good luck y'all!! 🤭❤️

[diamonddaze01]

tarararara my love! for your drabble game i wanna do prompt no. 6 but with a twist-

Do you like me? Check yes or yes

the ball is in your court now bub!

do you like me?

pairing: wonwoo x reader, law school au | wc: 944 prompt: "Do you like me? check yes or yes" | warnings: none a/n: dedicated to both @svtiddiess and @tusswrites bc the greatest minds think alike

The library was quieter than usual, the usual hum of stressed-out law students replaced by the rhythmic scratching of pens and flipping of pages. You and Jeon Wonwoo had somehow claimed a table near the window—a rare truce in the ongoing cold war of your academic rivalry.

You weren’t entirely sure how it started. Maybe it was the time he answered a question in Contracts class before you could, perfectly articulating the rule of consideration in a way that had the professor beaming. Or maybe it was the time you aced your Civil Procedure exam, and he shot you that unreadable glance as he exited the lecture hall, his graded paper tucked discreetly under his arm. Somewhere along the line, though, it became a thing: Jeon Wonwoo vs. You.

You were loud, unabashed, and utterly relentless in debates. Wonwoo? Quiet, methodical, and terrifyingly sharp. It was as though the universe had handpicked you to be polar opposites, with one mutual goal: finishing top of the class.

It wasn’t just about ego—though you’d never admit how much satisfaction you felt when you won. For you, being at the top meant proving that your voice mattered, that you could command a room even in the cutthroat world of law. For him, you suspected it was different. Wonwoo worked with a quiet precision that seemed to come from something deeper, something you couldn’t quite place. He was impossible to read, and maybe that’s what frustrated you the most.

The rivalry only grew fiercer with time: whispered debates in the hallway after class, stolen glances at each other’s grades, the occasional sarcastic jab when you passed in the library. It had become a fixture of your law school experience.

So why were you here, sitting across from him in the library? That was another story.

It started two weeks ago, when the Professor of Legal Ethics—who clearly took pleasure in student suffering—had paired you two for a moot court assignment. The project was simple: argue a mock case against each other, with grades determined by individual performance.

You’d scoffed at the announcement. “Of course,” you muttered under your breath, just loud enough for him to hear.

He’d glanced at you, an amused glint in his eyes. “Don’t sound too excited.”

The idea of working with him—of watching him meticulously dismantle your arguments before you even had a chance to deliver them—should have been unbearable. But instead, you’d found yourself suggesting, “We should prep together. You know, scope out the competition.”

Wonwoo had hesitated, his lips twitching in what might have been amusement. “You’re offering to help me beat you?”

“Who said I’m helping you?” you’d shot back, grinning. “I just want to see if you’re as good as everyone says.”

Now here you were, begrudging study partners, buried under stacks of legal texts and sharing a tense but surprisingly comfortable silence. Except you couldn’t focus. Not because of the assignment—your case brief was flawless—but because of him.

Wonwoo, with his quiet determination, his maddening focus, and his infuriating ability to make your heart race with just a glance. You didn’t know when it started—when the rivalry began to feel less like competition and more like curiosity. When his sharp intelligence stopped annoying you and started fascinating you instead.

Maybe it was last week, when he had stayed late after your prep session, walking with you to the parking lot under the glow of the streetlights. The conversation had been light, easy—unexpectedly so. You’d caught him smiling, not his usual smirk but something softer, almost shy. It had lingered with you far longer than it should have.

Or maybe it was the other day, when you’d caught him lost in thought, glasses slipping down his nose as he scribbled something in the margins of his notebook. He had looked up at you then, catching you staring, and raised an eyebrow in question. You had blurted something incoherent about “legal precedents” before burying your face in your notes, your cheeks burning.

You were doomed.

Tonight wasn’t any better. He was scribbling furiously in his textbook, his pen tapping softly against the edge of the page. You should have been working on your counterarguments, but instead, you were folding a piece of notebook paper into an origami crane.

After a few moments, you slid the crane across the table to him. Wonwoo didn’t look up at first, too engrossed in his notes, but when the crane nudged his hand, he paused. His sharp eyes flicked to yours, and you gave him your best innocent smile.

He carefully unfolded the crane. Inside, in your bold handwriting, were the words: “Do you like me? Check yes or yes.” Below, you’d drawn two boxes, both labeled “yes,” along with a winking face for good measure.

Wonwoo blinked at the note, his expression unreadable. But then, his ears turned a shade of red so deep you could practically hear your heart screaming.

You stared, waiting, your pulse thundering in your ears. And then, to your surprise, he smirked.

Pulling out his pen, he checked one of the boxes. Then, with deliberate care, he tore off the bottom half of the paper, scribbled something, and slid it back to you.

You unfolded it, your chest tight with anticipation. Written in his small, neat handwriting was: “Can you quiet down now? I’m trying to focus.” Below it, he’d drawn a tiny, lopsided heart.

You laughed softly, shaking your head. “You’re impossible,” you murmured.

Wonwoo didn’t respond, but the pink flush creeping up his neck and the faint twitch of his lips told you everything you needed to know.

Somehow, the rivalry didn’t feel like a competition anymore.

send me an ask for my drabble game!

[k1llerfr0sst]

“Batman’s refusal to kill, even when it means allowing known murderers to kill again, is not heroic—it’s selfish. Take the Joker. How many times has Batman caught him, only for him to escape and massacre innocent people? Batman knows Joker will never change, never be contained. Yet still, he insists on letting him live. And every time, more people die. There’s nothing moral about that—just arrogance."

A character analysis on Batman’s moral absolutism vs. real-world consequences. (+ Red Hood’s form of justice as a ideological opposite)

CONTENT WARNINGS

Violence (Physical harm, murder, brutality)

- Graphic depictions of violence, especially when discussing Batman and Red Hood’s actions in their idea of justice, and how aggressive the prison-industry complex is to both abusers and victims.

- Includes discussions about Batman’s refusal to kill versus Red Hood’s more lethal approach, the justification of murder, and the Jokers murders (especially around Jason Todd)

Systemic Inequality & Prison/Justice System

- References to systemic issues, corruption in Gotham, and parallels with real-world institutions like the American police system.

- Critique of the criminal justice system, including prisons and the portrayal of Arkham Asylum as a stand-in for the prison-industrial complex.

- References to the issues within Gotham and real-world parallels, particularly how Batman’s privilege as a billionaire impacts his choices.

Trauma & Mental Illness

- Batman’s trauma from the death of his parents and Red Hood’s trauma from being killed and resurrected.

- References to how distressing mental health causes crimes and needs to be systematically normalized and helped.

DISCLAIMER: Please don’t take this as a personal attack against your favorite character or however you relate to them, this is not intended as hate or to call these characters bad or unherolike, just a leftist perspective on how they could improve on their justice systems.

READ ME HERE (BATMAN)

I’ve started to unintentionally hate Batman. For years he's upheld an image of being the ultimate moralist—a man who doesn’t kill, who stands for justice above vengeance. But the more I think critically about it, the more that this entire persona feels hollow. It rests on the back of his privilege. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire—an upper-class white man—and that bleeds into everything he does as Batman

His version of “justice” is deeply entangled with the law; a law that we know is broken, corrupt, and biased—especially in Gotham, where police and political officials are explicitly and obviously on mob payrolls or worse. Yet Batman still aligns himself with these institutions. He acts as though he’s separate from them, a moral force outside the system, but he works with the police, he uses their channels, and he lets the courts handle people he captures.

One of his famous lines is that he isn’t "judge, jury, and executioner," but that’s exactly what he is. He decides who deserves to be chased, who deserves to be brutalized, and who deserves to be locked up. And with his intelligence, he absolutely knows what will happen to these people. He knows the horrors of jail. He knows who will die, who will rot, and who will eventually escape. He calculates all of that information into his moral code and decides what he thinks is a fit punishment for a crime—something is not his choice to make.

It’s a moral fantasy built on ego. His refusal to kill is often painted as strength or principle, but it's ultimately about preserving his image of himself. “I won’t become like them” sounds noble until you realize it’s less about ethics and more about identity. He wants to believe he’s better. That he's somehow untouched by the violence he enacts. But refusing to kill, even when it means allowing known murderers to kill again, is not heroic—it’s selfish.

Take the Joker. How many times has Batman caught him, only for him to escape and massacre dozens or hundreds of innocent people? Batman knows Joker will never change. He knows the system will never contain him. And still, he insists on letting him live. And every time, more people die. There’s nothing moral about that—just arrogance. In theory, yes, everyone deserves a second chance. But Batman isn’t a philosopher, and his world isn’t built to support healing and second chances, it’s made to punish and brutalize. Batman is supposed to be a protector of innocents. That’s his job, and he has to make the hard decisions. He has to choose what is better for the people despite his morals. Not out of vengeance, but out of necessity. When you're entrusted with protecting lives, you don’t get to hide behind moral absolutism while people suffer.

He becomes a symbol of a certain kind of ideology. A rich man who beats up the poor and mentally ill while refusing to address the root causes of Gotham’s problems, many of which he profits from as Bruce Wayne. And people adore him for it because he makes them feel like justice can exist without sacrifice (without confronting one’s own complicity, without personal moral failure) But real justice? It’s messy. It's not about looking clean while doing what's easy—it’s about doing what's right, even when it’s ugly.

Honestly he’s a direct reflection of American policing, especially the way it's idealized in media.

A man who works outside the law but still collaborates with the police, who uses surveillance tech, torture like interrogation methods, and physical force with little to no oversight. He embodies the fantasy of a "good guy with power" who uses violence to “keep order,” even if that order is deeply broken.

Batman decides who the threat is. Just like the police often do. He targets “criminals” without addressing why crime exists. Gotham is filled with poverty, systemic corruption, cycles of abuse, and mental illness. But instead of investing in infrastructure, mental healthcare, or community safety, Batman punches muggers in alleys and throws mentally ill people in Arkham Asylum—a place that’s basically a stand-in for the American prison-industrial complex. And then he walks away like the problem is solved. (Don’t get me wrong, in the newer comics he does act more radically, and explores a modern solution, and I’ll talk about that in a bit.)

That’s American policing. A reactive force that rarely prevents violence and almost never addresses root causes. Like Batman, American cops claim to "serve and protect," but what they actually do is punish and control. And when they fail—when people die, when prisons overflow, when violence continues—they don’t take accountability. They say the system needs more funding, more weapons, more power.

And let’s not forget that Bruce Wayne is a billionaire. He could actually “fix” Gotham. Fund housing, education, mental health clinics, jobs. But he doesn’t. Because that wouldn’t give him the same emotional satisfaction as suiting up and punching someone through a wall. It wouldn’t maintain the fantasy of being both traumatized and righteous.

Batman believes that he alone knows what’s right. That’s dangerous. It mirrors the mindset of American cops who believe they’re above the law because they ARE the law. No matter how many times Batman causes collateral damage or perpetuates Gotham’s suffering, the narrative always forgives him. Just like how police are almost never held accountable for systemic failure or brutality. Because the myth of the hero must be protected—even if the people suffer for it.

But to be fair in more recent comics there’s been a noticeable shift in how Batman is written—especially as writers and readers alike become more critical of the capitalist, conservative and authoritarian elements that defined him for decades. DC is starting to fiddle with the uncomfortable truth that Batman, in many ways, mirrors the failures of real-world policing and systemic inequality. And some newer stories have made deliberate moves to challenge that.

Modern Batman isn’t as rigid, detached, or brutal as he used to be. Some writers have started to explore a more self-aware Bruce Wayne—someone who’s actually engaging with his privilege and trying to do better, not just punch harder. He’s been funding social programs in Gotham, building better mental health infrastructure, and working with marginalized groups and vigilantes from the streets who don’t have the luxury of billion-dollar tech. In some issues, he’s even explicitly shifted away from working with the GCPD because he recognizes how corrupt and violent they are.

Even with all the recent character growth, where Batman is more compassionate, more socially aware, and even funding progressive infrastructure—he’s still deeply entangled in a system built on corruption. That’s the trap of his character. Because no matter how much he personally evolves, Batman still believes in law as the ultimate tool of justice, it’s a key point of his character, but the law itself is inherently flawed.

He might recognize that the Gotham Police Department is corrupt. He might distance himself from them, or even call them out. But he still puts people into prisons. He still trusts institutions like Arkham Asylum. He still believes that the system, if just operated by the “right people,” will work. That’s the fantasy—one rooted in liberalism: that reform is enough. That institutions are neutral. That the problem is bad actors, not the structure itself.

But in Gotham—and in America specifically—those structures were never neutral to begin with (Police beginning as slave patrols, prisons starting as a system of punishment and labor exploitation, with the post-slavery convict leasing system re-enslaving Black people for forced labor, etc). Arkham doesn't rehabilitate, it tortures. Prisons don’t reform, they disappear and isolate people. Cops don’t keep communities safe, they uphold power. And even when Batman tries to fix things—fund shelters, mental health clinics, community initiatives—he's doing it all through the lens of a benevolent billionaire. He’s still deciding what gets funded, who gets saved, what justice looks like. That’s not liberation, that's control.

So despite Batman becoming more left-leaning in modern stories, as long as he still operates within the same legal and moral framework—one that centers punishment, isolation, and billionaire saviorism—he’ll always be upholding the same system he claims to fight.

Because Batman’s core dilemma isn’t just “should I kill or not?” It’s “can I protect the people without tearing down the very system that keeps hurting them?”

And so far he hasn't had the guts to answer that

READ ME HERE (RED HOOD)

Red Hood is often held up as the ideological opposite to Batman—and for good reason. Where Batman refuses to kill, Red Hood kills without hesitation. He doesn’t believe in Arkham, or the courts, or second chances. He knows the system is corrupt and that it lets criminals walk free. And unlike Bruce, Hood doesn’t just acknowledge that, he acts on it.

In that way, Red Hood is more grounded in reality. He sees the failures of the legal system and doesn’t pretend reform is coming. He knows the Joker will never change. He knows serial rapists, abusers, pedophiles, and crime lords will slip through the cracks. So he picks up a gun and says, “I’ll do what Batman won’t.” He puts them down permanently, claiming he’s protecting the innocent by removing those beyond saving.

At first glance it feels righteous. Like he's the honest version of Batman—no more moral gymnastics, no more tying up murderers for the cops to mishandle. But dig deeper and Red Hood isn’t doing the right thing. He’s just doing what feels right. His justice isn’t based on principles—it’s based on anger

Because Red Hood isn’t actually fixing anything. He’s deciding who deserves to live and who deserves to die. He’s not just killing genocidal unchangeable supervillain warlords—he’s killing street-level criminals, dealers, gang members, people he sees as “irredeemable.” He becomes judge, jury, and executioner—but not from a place of balance or mercy, only vengeance. He’s operating from his trauma, not from a higher moral ground. And that’s dangerous.

This makes him less like an antihero and more like a metaphor for a frustrated, disillusioned liberal society (which reflects most of Americans today)—one that sees how corrupt everything is, but channels its rage in a way that doesn’t build anything. It’s the mindset of: “Burn it down, they’re all scum anyway.” It recognizes the system is irredeemable, but instead of imagining better systems, it just replaces institutional violence with personal violence. It feels radical, but it’s just another form of control.

Red Hood doesn’t protect people—he punishes. And that distinction matters.

Real justice isn’t about who deserves to be saved. It’s about asking why people become who they are, and whether we can build a world where they never have to. Red Hood doesn't want to build anything—he just wants to destroy what he hates. And that might be satisfying, but it isn’t stopping abusers from becoming abusers, just stopping them after the fact.

Murdering criminals as a form of punishment may feel like satisfying revenge but it ultimately fails to deliver true justice. Justice isn’t about causing more pain or balancing one person’s suffering with another’s. Inflicting harm in response to harm doesn’t undo the original damage—it only spreads trauma and perpetuates cycles of violence. When society chooses execution, isolation, or jail over rehabilitation, it sacrifices long-term safety and healing for short-term emotional relief. True justice must go beyond punishment to prevent further harm

At this point in time, both in real life and in the comics—choosing, or acting on revenge over rehabilitation is not just a personal preference; it’s an active choice that harms survivors

When society or characters prioritize punishment and retribution above healing and accountability, they reinforce cycles of violence that make survivors less safe, not more. Revenge focuses on making the offender suffer and ignores the real needs of survivors. It also distracts from addressing the root causes of harm, such as mental illness and systemic failures.

Rehabilitation recognizes that people who commit crimes, even serious ones like rape and murder, are human beings with rights and lives and capable of change.

While some offenders may never fully repair the damage they caused they can learn, grow, and reintegrate into society when given the right support and accountability. This process centers on accountability—not erasing or excusing wrongdoing—but on transformation, prevention, and restoration. It allows everyone to heal without witnessing endless cycles of violence and vengeance. Most importantly, rehabilitation aims to protect future potential victims by addressing root causes of harmful behavior rather than simply removing some offenders from society and furthering abuse

But I do agree there are situations that would require Red Hood’s methods. Like the Joker: people who have been given several chances at positive change, who cannot be kept institutionalized because they keep escaping, and who continue to hurt masses of people. Because despite what would be a radical and better solution then what Hood or Batman does, there is not a system or a society currently that could provide that for extreme re-offenders, and people like the Joker.

Morally and socially, I don’t believe in murder to control or govern a people, but it is his job to protect the innocents, and sometimes he has to make the morally incorrect choice for them.

In the end, despite their different ways, both Batman and Red Hood participate and actively support the system that causes violence in Gotham by refusing to dismantle or fundamentally challenge the corrupt institutions and social structures that enable that violence to start. They focus on fighting symptoms rather than addressing root causes, because doing so would force them to give up their control, their sense of purpose, and the clear-cut identity they’ve built around being vigilantes.

Further Explanation of Rehabilitation over Revenge

Rehabilitation is ultimately more effective than revenge because revenge, especially in the case of severe crimes like abuse and rape, is driven by emotion—a desire for justice, closure, or punishment that may feel satisfying in the moment but doesn’t address the root causes of the harm. Executing or punishing a criminal may temporarily provide a sense of justice or emotional relief for survivors, but it doesn’t stop the cycle of violence, nor does it help the abuser confront and work through the underlying factors that led to their harmful behavior.

Rehabilitation, on the other hand, focuses on understanding what caused the harm in the first place—whether it’s trauma, learned behavior, mental health issues, or societal influences—and actively working to address these root causes. By providing support like therapy, accountability, and education, rehabilitation offers the potential for change, reducing the likelihood of reoffending and helping the individual understand the impact of their actions.

Rather than continuing the cycle of violence through punishment, rehabilitation opens the possibility of healing—for both the survivor and the abuser. When abusers and rapists are given the tools to acknowledge their actions, understand the harm they’ve caused, and take responsibility, they have a better chance of reintegrating into society without perpetuating the same harm. This is a more logical, compassionate, and long-term solution than simply resorting to retribution, which only perpetuates further trauma and violence.

Thank you so much for reading!

Originally posted on my ao3 account

[retireddaddyric]

Legacy VS Opinions

(“You’re nobody” pt 4)

Synopsis: Daniel Ricciardo and the fem journalists who hated him and with whom he had a sex affair start a public war only they can understand. ( PART FOUR of a short fic, but can be read as a one shot)

Warnings: 18+, minors do not interact please. Insults, hidden jabs, oral sex, smut, aggressivity, unprotected sex, kind of fluff.

Note: this is all fiction. English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance if there are any errors.

A month of silence.

No messages. No texts. No passive-aggressive memes. Nothing.

You keep telling yourself this is good. That the silence means it’s over. That he’s out of your system.

But the truth is louder than your brain.

And then, one day, he speaks. Not to you directly but during a podcast interview, live, public, dressed up as harmless banter:

“I’ve met people who make their living with words,” he says with that laugh that always comes just before a hit. “They can twist anything. Sound smart, sharp, impressive. But when it comes down to it… that’s all they are. Words. Hollow as fuck.”You stop breathing. The room spins for a moment. Noy because the world heard it, but because you did. No one else would catch it but you know what that tone means. You can hear the anger laced beneath the laughter. The betrayal he still won’t name. He’s still carrying it and blaming you for it.

You don’t tweet about it that night. Two days later, you drop an interview with a respected sports outlet. It’s thoughtful, sharp, buried halfway through, in a paragraph about ego in motorsports, you say: “Some drivers think being liked is the same thing as being respected. And when they stop winning, they can’t tell the difference anymore. So they start trying to make noise instead. But not all noise means you’re still relevant.”

The quote goes viral. People think it’s about a general trend in racing. They start naming random drivers. No one suspects or if they do, they know you never liked Daniel.

But you know who read it.

A week later, he’s on another podcast.

“You ever been in a conversation with someone who’s convinced they’re the smartest person in the room?” He snorts. “They say a lot, sure. And maybe they’ve got a degree or two, I don’t know. But at some point you realize: all that intelligence is just armor. They’re not thinking, they’re hiding.”

That last word hits like a knife. Hiding? You?

The media doesn’t see it but the pattern is forming: coded language, paper-thin disguises. It’s war.

Quiet, precise, vindictive.

And every quote is meaner than the last.

You post a story later that day, not even an article, just a casual piece: “There’s a difference between those who won races and those who won championships, you can see the crack in the first ones, their hidden insecurity that slips out at the wrong moment .” You don’t name him. But you feel the swing land. And so does he.

The real deal comes when you attend a motorsport panel.

You don’t know he’s on the panel too until you’re already mic’d up. Until you’re walking toward the stage, heels echoing down the hallway, and you see him, dark green suit, no tie, thick neck on display with necklaces. As if it’s not a weapon. That familiar smirk stretched over something tighter in his jaw. He sees you and doesn’t flinch. Just lifts a brow. Like the silence, the spite, the sex, none of it touched him.

“Daniel,” you say trying to sound cold.

“Didn’t know you’d be here,” he lies smoothly.

“Likewise.”

You both sit, next to eacj other. There’s a moderator. A conversation about media and legacy in modern motorsport. How convenient.

For half a second, you consider turning back down the hallway. Faking illness.

His knee almost brushes yours but he doesn’t apologize.

The moderator welcomes everyone and launches into an over-rehearsed intro about “how narrative and legacy shape modern motorsport.”

You can’t stop glancing at him from the side of your eye.

He can’t stop letting you.

And then it begins.

Moderator: “Let’s talk about media framing. Drivers, you’ve seen the headlines, the stories. How much control do you think you ever really had?”

Daniel’s smile tightens. “Control’s a myth. You either get loved or eaten alive. Sometimes both. Depends on who’s writing.”He doesn’t look at you when he says it. Not directly. But the heat of it lands on your skin like a slap.

You lean into your mic, smiling sweetly. “I don’t think drivers like to admit that the media usually gets it right.Maybe not always kindly, but we tend to land close.”Daniel’s brow lifts, “Sure. If the truth is whatever version fits your headline.”

“I’d argue the same for race strategy.” You say.

Nervous laughter rises from the audience.

He tilts his head, that sharp grin crawling across his mouth. He knows exactly what he’s doing. “Difference is when I crash, I don’t write an essay about it.”

Your smile doesn’t falter. “No, in fact you just smile in post-race interviews and pretend it wasn’t your fault.”

The other panelists glance between you two like they’re watching a tennis match. You know the audience thinks this is entertainment. Chemistry.

You wonder what they’d think if they knew his tongue had been in your mouth. Or inside you.

The moderator laughs nervously and clears his voice: “Okay, okay, spicy. Let’s pivot a bit.. when we talk about legacy, especially post-career… how do you want to be remembered?”

Daniel’s expression shifts. The playfulness doesn’t vanish, but there’s something deeper beneath it. “I don’t know. I used to care about that more. Now I think… I’d rather be remembered by people who actually saw me. Not just the highlight reels. Not just the opinions.”

You feel the weight of it. You know that “opininions” means your articles.

You tap your pen against your notepad once. “Legacies aren’t always accurate. Sometimes they’re just loud. That’s why we need people who aren’t afraid to look closer. Even if what they see isn’t pretty.”

There’s a beat of silence. The moderator looks at the crowd , then leans forward, smiling. “I feel like there’s history here. Am I wrong?”

Daniel doesn’t miss a beat. “Something like that.” He declares. He says it without even looking at you. Which is worse, somehow. More intimate. More dangerous.

You glare at him. ‘Something like what?’ You wanna ask him.

Them you decide you have to stop the hossip before it spreads, explaining he meant your back and forth between his interviews and your articles about him.

“We’ve always had different definitions of truth.” You say smiling.

“And of closure.” Daniel adds.

That word hits like a low blow.

You clear your throat and sit back, crossing your legs. You feel his gaze dropping for a fraction of a second.

The panel moves on, questions come and go but the energy never settles.

You can feel it in the way his fingers tap the armrest, his voice lowers every time he speaks near you. Your body won’t fucking relax, not with him sitting there, not with the memory of his mouth between your thighs replaying like a reel you never pressed play on.

By the time they wrap the panel, your hands are shaking. You don’t wait to say goodbye. You leave the stage first, your heels click on the floor at a fast pace. You don’t expect to hear his footsteps behind you.

You slam the door behind you, adrenaline still pumping from the spotlight. Your hands are a fury from excitement, anger, arousal.

You don’t even get to breathe before the door opens again and slams shut.

He’s there, no knock, no permission.

“You’ve lost your mind,” you shout turning around. “Get the fuck out.”

He doesn’t move. Just watches you from across the room like you’re prey and he’s been starving for weeks.

“Didn’t think I’d miss that voice,” he murmurs, low. “But I do.”

You laugh, sharp and bitter. “You don’t miss shit. You made that very clear.” You shake your head.

A pause.

He sighs. “Yeah? Then why the fuck can’t I stop thinking about you?”

Your throat tightens. Your legs want to betray you. Your mouth opens and before anything comes out, he’s there, crossing the room in two strides.

You don’t move one bit, you don’t even exhale. And when his fingers graze your jaw, slow and warm, your knees nearly buckle.

“You’re still pissed,” he whispers.

You nod, swallowing, trting to look away.

“And wet,” he adds, even lower.

You meet his eyes.

That’s when you’re about to slap him but he catches your wrist.

And then you kiss him. No, devour him.

Your mouths crash like a fucking car wreck. His tongue pushes past your lips, claiming, greedy. His hands are already under your blazer, pulling at your blouse like it offends him.

You grip his shoulders, grind into his thigh, feel how hard he is already through the fabric of his slacks. He grabs your ass with both hands, lifts you onto the dressing table. Things fall to the floor; lipsticks, brushes, a bottle of water. But neither of you cares.

He pushes your skirt up, rips your panties hooking his finger at the base.

“I shouldn’t,” you breathe.

“But you want it,” he growls, sliding two fingers into you, knuckle-deep. You gasp, your whole body arching forward.

“Say it,” he whispers against your neck, biting it just enough to leave a mark. “Say you missed me.”

You dig your nails into his back. “Fuck you.”

He smiles against your skin. “That’s the plan.”

His fingers curl inside you, fucking you slow, deep, until your hips are moving with him, chasing it, needing more. He drops to his knees without a word.

And when his tongue touches you, everything burns. He’s at it again after a month, like the month never came.

He eats you like he’s punishing you. Like you’ve wronged him, and this is how he wins. Your head falls back against the mirror, thighs trembling as he holds them open, relentless.

You moan his name, more than once. Shame mixes with need, but you don’t stop him. You literally can’t.

When you come, it’s with a sound you don’t recognize: half sob, half surrender.

You try to speak but he stands and undoes his pants. You don’t protest, instead you look at him in the face.

He doesn’t tease.

He slides into you in one deep, unforgiving thrust, both of you gasping. Your legs wrap around him instantly. He buries his face in your shoulder, growling curses against your skin.

“This is another mistake,” you whisper closing your eyes.

He fucks you harder. “Then tell me to stop.”

You don’t.

Because you can’t again.

Because the sound of his breath, the way he fills you, the heat of his hands on your hips, is the only thing that’s felt real in weeks.

You cling to each other like lifelines. You come again before he does, your body trembling in his arms. He follows moments later, burying himself deep, groaning your name against your neck like a confession he doesn’t want to make.

After, there’s silence. Heavy. Unforgiving.

He’s still inside you. He doesn’t move. Just looks at you.

And you know if either of you speaks now, something will crack.

So you look away.

He pulls out, breathless, tucks himself back in, and says, “Just sex, right?”

You meet his eyes and nod. “Right.”

You both lie.

And neither of you is brave enough to call it what it really is.

But this is enough for now.

(Part five here)

[moonshynecybin]

What would happen if Marc woke up in a world where sepang never happened...

ooh the classic what would happen if you got everything you wanted scenario… idk i think we could do a time travel sitch, where he gets his ass dumped into his 2013 body and has to set about preventing one of the more` significant little tragedies of his life, but that would also count on marc having the emotional intelligence to think he did ANYTHING wrong in his relationship with vale, and i don’t think he can do that quite yet lol… maybe it has to be a story where he realizes that he couldve handled things differently? in that clip from his recent interview, he talks about how when he was younger he would go flat out every training session but he doesnt feel the need to do so nowww, so maybe hes processing that sort of internal shift while also looking at vale from the perspective of an injured, post-honda marc who has personal knowledge of how hard it is ego-wise to mount a comeback... maybe this inspires some empathy w vale (he's looking at him and realizing THAT vale is only 4 years older than him and hes like. hm...) and the fic ends up being a character study on baby marc vs marc now PLUS actually internalizing all of the lessons he thinks he’s learned… i don’t wanna make this sound like sepang is marc’s fault lol like to be clear i don’t think he did anything WRONG per se, he was just marc level abrasive in ways that specifically rubbed against vale’s tender bits, but i also think that if he handled vale with more care than perhaps some parts of this could have been avoided ! so maybe older marc's presence removes the ranch nasty and the assen nasty (“marc is only my friend when he wins”) and gets vale out of the 'well clearly marc is sabotaging me' mindset. and then at some point marc has to like. TELL vale about all this after sepang has technically passed and vale. perhaps does not handle that well in conjunction w his title loss anyways BUT this version is closer to marc and its a different sort of less public sexy mess....

OR it could be marc gets sent to an alternate reality of 2025 where sepang maybe doesnt happen, but him and vale still kinda implode a little less dramatically and marc is like well this IS what i wanted but it feels hollow as fuck lol. no new, frothing vitriol between them really, like vale will shake his hand and do the same kinda stuff he does w jlo or whatever (vale shows up to the paddock and takes a pic w marc to get reposted on socials bc the press ask and marc is like ??? bc he has never been a somewhat neutral topic to vale before ever in his LIFE… unsure how to deal w the rivalry treatment that jlo or casey or sete get handed. little does he know vale is still insane, he just has less cause to go nuclear lol) butttt marc still had to leave hrc, still alienated from the academy, still breaks his arm… like realizing that sepang isnt this huge axis that the bad things in his life kinda spin on.... and maybe he sets about interrogating all the ways they would’ve broken up even without the heightened melodrama of the sepang race… starts hanging out w vale even though that’s something they Don’t Do Now and vale is surprised but likes it (and is also. still somehow DEEPLY hurt by how everything went down maybe just less specifically delusional/paranoid to cope in conjunction w title loss. idk maybe he won 2015 here and marc was injured for the back half of the season and they both feel weird about kinda drifting apart)... this fic would have lots of fear from them both about the other leaving, the injury stuff, the age stuff--- all the reasons why sepang happened that they never delt with, just without the actual sepang… and i think it could be sweet idk i like it when they’re fucked up but they spend time w each other and it’s like oh it’s you… of course it’s you…. its always been you

[lizzyk137]

Genuis Vs Genuis: A Spencer Reid Story (Spencer X Reader)

Summary: Spencer and you have known each other academically since they were kids and never got off on the right foot. When you transfer over to the F.BI. behavioral unit from N.C.I.S., Spencer starts to not play nice. Warning: Angst, swearing, mentions of death/murder.

Part 2 on its way! Want to read more, visit my Masterlist!

The day started off great. It was actually relaxing for Spencer. His files had been finished and no new cases had presented themselves in the last couple of days. So there he sat, coffee in hand as he watched the team fool around as he threw in a chuckle here and there. He was content.

It was all good till he heard the shrill of your voice calling his name out.

He turned away from the group to see you bounding over to him, enfulfing him into a hug before his brain could even register the what, why and how's of the situation.

The team snickered at the interaction, the newcomer's face bright and happy with the biggest grin while Spencer's was a face of horror.

He had no idea how you found him or why you were here but he wanted you gone.

"Spence! It's been so long! How have you been?" You asked, ignoring the physical cringe Spencer had given to you using his nickname.

He collected his thoughts and replied with a short but curt answer of fine, then went back to drinking his coffee like it was the only way it could get rid of you.

The smile you had on your face couldn't hide the hurt that you felt. You thought after years of not seeing each other and maturing into adults that Spencer would at least come around to being nice to you or at least be polite. But Spencer was still the Spencer you knew. Childish. Though you'd never say it outloud it was clearly present for all to see once they got to see the dynamic between you two.

You were academic rivals growing up. You never met each other until high school but growing up you saw your names in the paper or during award ceremonies. You were always fighting for the top spot even if it wasn't the intention. Both of you were the same, no matter how much Spencer fought it. Both having the same IQ (187, to which Spencer would claim that you can't accurately quantify intelligence), and you both had an eidetic memory along with being able to read 20,000 words per minutes. You were practically the female version of him.

He hated you though. During elementary school and middle school, he enjoyed the competition. It pushed him to be better, but when high school came, it just got annoying. He didn't fit in to begin with and with teachers and students comparing the both of you together, it was a blow to what little ego he had.

You both finally came face to face during an awards ceremony during your highschool years. He remembered it clearly. You coming up to him before the ceremony, introduced yourself and then acted like you both were best friends and stuck to him like glue throughout the whole thing. Both of your families cooing at the sight of the both of you, a giant grin on your face while he scowled.

Spencer and you had ended up going to the same college- Caltech. He never told you where he was going but somehow on the first day of school, you came running up to him so happy to see him. All throughout his college years he couldn't shake you. Always making the same friends, always inviting him places, showing up at the same places he was. It annoyed him to no ends. You even forced him to attend a house party where you both partook in too much alcohol causing a lapse of time where you both have no idea what happened. You could later recall waking up next to Spencer in bed, both of you had no clothes on while you struggled to wake him up and get changed as the cops busted up the place. To which Spencer still denies since he can't remember a thing.

Three years before joining the BAU, you disappeared out of his life, which he was beyond grateful for. At first it made him nervous cause you just disappeared without a word to him, but then he eventually put his thoughts elsewhere and the thought of you never arose in his mind until now.

"Everyone, this is Dr. Y/N Y/LN. She's from NCIS. She works as a forensic specialist there along with a field agent." Hotch spoke to the group before him as he watched them eye you. "She's been assigned to our team to get more of an understanding with profiling for their team back at NCIS. She'll be working on cases with us for the next couple of months."

You smiled and gave a little wave to the team, a few waving back and all of them but Spencer smiling up at you. Hotch gave a small squeeze on your shoulder then climbed the stairs to his office.

An older gentleman came up to you first, introducing himself as Rossi, then the rest of the team introduced themselves. Your profiling wasn't the greatest but you could tell they were curious to know what was going on between Spencer and yourself. Your lips were sealed for the time being though, you could tell Spencer still didn't care for you and for the sake of your learning and the work environment you decided it best not to bring up anything.

You knew Spencer didn't care for you. As much as you were alike academically, you were the opposite socially. Your parents brought you up letting you enjoy being a kid, having you socialize with kids your age even if you weren't in the same grade at school. They wanted normalcy in your life since school was the exact opposite. Growing up, you had always wanted to meet Spencer. You saw his pictures and had developed a little crush on him which only grew as you got older. You thought he would appreciate a friend who could understand him, so you put yourself out there, always trying to be friendly and be there for him. Have him experience things that people your age where doing or things that college kids would attend or do. Nothing pleased him though. You made friends only to find out that they were friends with him which only made him dislike you more. You tried to pull away from him because you could tell he wasn't fond of you, but the universe kept pushing you together.

The only thing that got you two apart was the Navy. You enlisted and past all their requirements and you were given the opportunity to help build communities back up in the Middle East with new housing and building's and eventually helping with creating medication for underdeveloped communities that were affordable along with equipment and weapons that could help serve the Navy. You were doing good, but your heart still yearned for Spencer, no matter who you tried to get to replace him. You came to love Spencer throughout your college years, while he came to resent you even more. You wanted to tell him you were leaving but he never came the night before your enlistment date. Leaving you stranded in the park at night with a broken heart.

You had started at NCIS five years ago, you were a forensic specialist working side by side with Abby. You were both Ying and Yang to each other, best friends but the polar opposite appearance wise which you loved. While she wore black, you wore white or pastels. She called you her angel which everyone adopted into becoming your nickname.

When Vance came to you with a chance to learn more about profiling from the BAU, you took it. You were good as a field agent and even better with a weapon. It hurt to leave your family, but Gibbs assured you that the team you were working with was great. Fornell vouched for them too, and you were excited to meet the team. As you entered the glass doors, you were surprised to see Spencer there sipping his coffee, his smile setting butterflies off in your stomach.

"Hi, I'm Y/N, you can call me Angel though! It's really nice to meet everyone."

"Angel?" Emily questioned, as she took a seat.

"Um, yeah, my team calls me it back home because I wear a lot of white." You gestured to your all while jumpsuit and blazer.

"And you're a forensic specialist and a field agent and you wear white?" Morgan asked as he eyed you, with a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah, it's my colour. Plus, I know enough not to get too dirty." You laughed. You rummaged through your bag, pulling out a picture of the team back home and showed it to the new team standing before you. "This is my family back home. The girl in all black is the other forensic specialist I work with."

Rossi chuckled. "I think she would get along with our Penelope. She's got quite the wardrobe."

"I met with her the other day, she's sweet."

The rest of the morning was spent with getting to know everyone, Spencer alone at his desk annoyance written all over him as he watched his team, his family, surround your desk laughing and having a good time.

Weeks have gone by and the atmosphere surrounding Spencer and you was staring to become sour more each day. You tried your hardest to work well with everyone and bring as much as you could to each case in order to solve it, but Spencer hated that. It felt like with each case, you were getting better at figuring out the clues that he could. Each case seemed to get easier for you as you made your way through the evidence and what you were profiling. Your knowledge in forensics came in useful, he had to admit, but the team started relying on you more than they did him.

Hotch at first had paired the two of you up after the team found out that you and Spencer had a few things in common in the genius department after you went all out on your first case together. Now Hotch was pairing you with Emily or Morgan, even Hotch himself, once they saw you use a firearm and take down two grown man bare handed. It took him years to be comfortable with his firearm and here you were leaving him in the dust. You never boasted your intelligence or not fit in unlike Spencer. It wasn't so much you as a person he didn't like but how much of a blow it was to him to not be able to compete with you.

Spencer watched you as you looked at the deceased couple on the table before you. Hotch had sent the both of you together, hoping Spencer would finally come to his senses and maybe even try to like you. The sexual tension between you the two of you was clear as day to everyone but the both of you. Spencer kept his feelings in check by acting like he disliked you while you were always nice to him but tended to pour yourself into work whenever he was nearby. As intelligent as the both of you were, you weren't geniuses in the feelings department.

"I think we should let Hotch know, what we found out." Your voice bringing Spencer out of his thoughts. He nodded his head as you dialed Hotch's number.

"How do you know so much about autopsies?" Spencer questioned once you were off the phone.

You shrugged as you hopped into the car. "I watched Ducky and Palmer do enough of them throughout the years, so I know a thing or two about them. Plus, I took a few courses on it too while I was with the Navy."

Spencer didn't say anything, just nodded his head as he buckled in.

A few days into the case with no leads, everyone was going a bit stir crazy as the team got no sleep. You came in that morning with muffins and donuts along with a few jugs of freshly brewed coffee unlike the imposter that called itself coffee in the precinct.

"Oh, how I love you, my sweet angel!" Emily said as you set down the jug of coffee in front of her. You chuckled at her remarks and blew her a kiss before you turned around to see Spencer looking at you in disgust. You quickly looked away and turned to Rossi on the other side of the conference room.

"Coffee and a donut?"

"Yes, please!" He said with a smile.

You looked down at the pictures of the deceased that was in his hand. "Are those the crime scene photos of the last couple? I saw the bodies after their autopsy but haven't seen much of the crime scene. Can I take a look?"

He nodded and handed the stack to you. You studied each one carefully before you got to the last photo, your eyes growing wise and you stood up, running over to Hotch, the team looking at you questioningly.

"Was this crime scene gone over with forensics yet?" You asked hurriedly, bouncing on your toes with excitement.

"Partily but it was mostly blood, so they didn't get anything."

You shoved the photo at him and pointed to the small smudge on the wall. "Did they see this?"

"What is it supposed to be?" Hotch asked, squinting at the photo trying to see what you were seeing.

"It looks like a possible print. We need to go back there and collect it."

You heard a sigh behind you then Spencer's hand reached out from behind you and grabbed the picture. "It looks like nothing but a speck on a blown-up picture. The forensics team covered the entire scene, they would have noticed it if it was anything." He looked at you with pure anger in his eyes that it made you lean away, hands shaking. "I don't know what they do at N.C.I.S, but our forensic team does things correctly."

You felt your body stiffen and your eyes slightly water. All you were able to do was given a curt nod and nudge your way around him, as you made your way to the front bullpen. You didn't need anything, but you had to get away from the environment. Spencer was starting to get to you, no matter how much training you had to stay composed, he was just able to break down your walls and make you feel so small. And with this frustrating case and over a month worth of him belittling you, you were finally breaking.

Running a hand through your hair, you sat at a computer to check the forensic findings, no fingerprints were found but you couldn't be too careful. You headed out of the precinct and took one of the SUVs to the crime scene. You arrived at the crime scene quickly and walked inside to find what you were looking for. And there it was, right where it was on the picture. A perfect fingerprint.

"I can't believe they missed that." Jenn said, as the team was finishing up the last of their paperwork on the case back at their home office a few days after the team took down another killer.

"She was just lucky." You heard Spencer mutter from behind you.

You took a deep breath in and started to stack your paperwork. The room cleared out besides Spencer and yourself. Hotch came down and stopped by your desk. "The paperwork is being processed and they'll get you transportation back to Quantico. You'll have to do exit paperwork tomorrow but take the rest of the day and the day after for yourself."

You smiled up at him, not before noticing Spencer was looking over at the two of you. "Thank you for everything, I've learned so much."

"No, thank you for all your help with the past cases. I look forward to working with you again." He held out his hand to you and you shook it before standing up and giving him a large hug, Spencer's eyes growing big at the affection you gave to Hotch. "Oh, and remember, dinner tomorrow night at Rossi's."

"Wouldn't miss it." With that said, Hotch smiled and walked away.

You started packing up the rest of your desk items then grabbed your jacket to head out, ignoring Spencer's watching you with curiosity. You nearly made it to the elevator before you heard your name being called out. You turned around to find Spencer standing only a few feet behind you.

"Can I help you?" You knew how it sounded, snappy and short, but you didn't care, you were finally done with Dr. Spencer Reid.

"Um..." He started to take a step forward but thought better of it. "You're leaving? You still have a few more months left here, though. Why are you leaving early?"

The elevator dinged behind you as it opened, and you took a step back into it. You couldn't help the short laugh that escaped your lips as you shook your head. At this point, you didn't care what answer came out because you would never be seeing Spencer again. Your breath shook as you breathed in as the doors started to close, Spencer worriedly looking at you. "Because of you, Dr. Reid."

[pureastrologywisdom]

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔏𝔲𝔪𝔦𝔫𝔞𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔦𝔫 𝔄𝔰𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔶

There us something rather special about the luminary signs or Cancer and Leo. We can see this from the fact that they are the only signs not to share a ruler. They are here to shine, just in slightly different ways. That is what I will be writing about today.

Let's start by stating that the luminaries have a spacial skill for shining a light on people. Both Leo and Cancer are great at making people feel special and seen. Often Cancer is credited with this a little more than Leo, But in truth they both do this, perhaps just in slightly different ways. They also help people discover the 'good' and 'bad' with themselves.

They bring this awareness to us in different ways. Often Leo more through the ego, compared to cancers which help us get in touch with our emotions.

LEO

Leo is ruled by the sun. The sun is all about projection. It lights us up and brings clarity. Leo s are incredible motivators. They are brilliant people to have around you for encouragement and motivation. Often they do this through access to the ego. We are taught the ego is wrong, which can be the case if overinflated - as is seen in undeveloped Leo Placements.n Hover the ego in healthy doses bring us confidence and drive. It's also a tool to see what we want. Leos are great at instilling optimism in people, as Leo is all about looking forward, think about looking to the sun for clarity or direction when lost. It's about inspiring the future. Leos are great at different forms of expression, and help others around them find this too. It'd about finding those things within us that brung up vitality.

Often Leos are labeled as self centred or attention seeking, while this can be the case - once again undeveloped Leos - often thesis other people projecting their own insecurities onto them. They confidence and ability to take up space with no fear leaves people threatened. This is why they can be great teachers around this subject.

CANCER

Cancers on the other hand are ruled by the moon. The moon is about reflection, cancer help you reflect upon things. This is also why they have incredible emotional intelligence and are wonderful at helping others with their feelings. In ways they can absorb how you feel as they are very receptive, and they can almost process your feelings for you. This is why often they need to have that hard exterior layer and learn to develop boundaries as this can be incredibly draining for them.

This space they hold for emotions is also why people project the label of cry baby or being too sensitive onto them - undeveloped Cancers mostly. Often they reflect to others the neglect for emotions they have for themselves, hence why seeing Cancers so comfortable with emotions can be uncomfortable.

With this theme of self reflection you can also see this theme of the past coming up. They help you look back and understand things in order to move forward. You can see how this can be the opposite approach to Leos sometimes. There is this polarity of looking forwards vs backwards here. You sometimes cannot go in the right direction without self reflection.

Thank you for reading all,

I have spaces for reading available so dm me if you want any part of your chart read.

PureAstroWisdom x

[thesweetestdevotion]

hi there! Could you analyse Jackson wangs’s birth chart and what his future marriage & career might be like? His full birth details are available!

birth details: 28 March 1994. 04:00 am, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong

thank you!

Jackson Wang Birth Chart Reading:

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disclaimer: this is a SIDEREAL interpretation

General Observations/opinions:

He is a Hasta nakshatra Moon. I've noticed Hasta men tend to be very sweet and kind, especially to the opposite gender. This is a lunar nakshatra, also ruled over by mercury because of rashi (sign). It is symbolized by the hand, and it is known to give ability in craftmanship and manifestation of desires. This tells me that he is very diligent and hard working, especially toward his crafts and career. His moon is in the 9th house, giving him luck in cultural affairs (language, knowledge, education, etc...) and in foreign lands. With it being a hasta moon, it shows his ability to garner success from foreign lands by sharing his abilities. Hasta people in general also have a very fair and delicate appearance (here for more), I personally think he really fits this description lol

His moon opposes his sun in Uttara Bhadrapada nakshatra (3rd house) meaning he was born on a full moon. This could be positive or negative depending on the positions and aspects to both planets. In his chart, he has easy aspects on both his moon and sun meaning this opposition is bringing a more positive energy to his chart. At it's most intense, this aspect could cause a difficulty in balancing the ego with the emotions. Especially with it in the 9-3 axis, this can show him having difficulty reconciling his public vs private persona, even more so when you add in the detail of foreign places vs. home country. He may often feel like he is pulled in both directions, but this aspect is very easy and positively supported so I infer it mostly gives him luck in both spheres. He may find equal success in both foreign lands and his homeland. This is a truly blessed placement for him lol, he's a lucky guy!

His Lagnesh (ruler of the rising) is Saturn in the second house. The Lagnesh is an important planet in the chart. With Saturn here, this could mean he grew up in poverty or lack. It could also just mean that he values money greatly, and in a more literal sense, that he makes money off of himself (1st house ruler in 2nd house). I think he's very disciplined as well. Especially with conjunct mercury, he may restrict his speech a lot and be very thoughtful with the way he comes off. He is also going through his Saturn return right now. I actually went back in time to when transit Saturn entered into Aquarius (tropical Pisces) back in 2023. I looked up if he experienced anything publicly during this time and he did have some political controversies. This does not surprise me at all! The second house is the house of personal values, including morals. He has Saturn conj. Mercury there, which shows karma from communication/opinions. Saturn returns bring in controversies and issues, especially for celebrities, but for Jackson it's even more prevalent because that Saturn rules his rising and aspects his 10th house of reputation/career. His Saturn return is almost over, they usually last 1-2 years. This is a normal process, it allows the native to learn and grow from the things they have done, although for some it can be more destructive than others.

His Arudha Lagna is Pisces in the 3rd house. The AL is basically a calculation done from the rising sign (more on that here) It shows how someone is publicly perceived, separate from how they actually are. It is also about status, achievement, fame, success, and wealth. He has his Pisces 3rd house with his Sun, it denotes communication, siblings, originality, cognitive intelligence, and one’s area of interest. Going even deeper, his 3rd house is ruled by a Swati nakshatra Jupiter. Swati's are known to excel in business, music, diplomatic activities, sports, and many more things (see here). He could be know for such things (well duh music) by the public, and finds success and wealth from them. Especially since his Jupiter is in the house of reputation and career. The Sun in his AL also tells me that he could be very proud of his local community, and it is a big part of his personality.

About his love life: He has his Venus in Ashwini in the 4th House. It is also the lowest degree planet (DK) and it is not aspected by any major planets. The DK is a major signifier of the spouse in Vedic astrology. It being such a lonely planet in his chart and also in a low degree tells me that in his past life he closed out a cycle relating to love/marriage/spouse. In this life, he will have to learn a lot about the issues relating to relationships, think of it as him coming into the world with a blank slate. This can be both good and bad for many reasons. It's good because he approaches relationships in a very pure and unrestricted way, he could be very interested in relationships due to this. But it can be bad because an open slate also has immaturity and ignorance towards the issues. This will be a lifelong lesson for him, doesn't mean he won't marry or anything. It just tells me he is going to learn a lot and it will be a process to get there, and throughout relationships too. As for his spouse, I think it will be someone familiar (4th house) perhaps even same homeland or they have similar backgrounds. Although his 7th house ruler is in the 9th as well, so this could show a foreign spouse. Perhaps the 4th house talks more about comfort and familiarity from the spouse rather than location.

Basically his chart is kinda great and I'm kinda jealous (loll) he's highkey blessed!

Okay I think I'm done! I went over the most significant things I saw in his chart, but do let me know if you have questions or want to know about a something in his chart that I didn't go over.

Hope you liked it! xxx (request more of these cuz i like doing them hehe)

[shocked-collar]

We’ve got Ren, we’ve got Law… Now could we get advice for writing Strade? Thank you in advance!!! Love your writing so much!!! :33 <3

YOU GUYS ARE LITERALLY GONNA MAKE ME EXPLODE.

erm. cough. ung.

im actually not that. happy or confident in the way i write strade. idk what it is, so,,,, take this one with,, a LOT more than a grain of salt.

AGAIN, OBVIOUS DISCLAIMER, I'm not Gato and only she truly knows her characters and I am just throwing out my personal interpretation.

Strade, unlike Ren and Lawrence doesn't have many rules at all. In fact, he only has three, MAYBE four when I write him.

First one being that he's impulsive and does what he wants when he wants. It really is just that simple for him. He has preferences though, so that means he's predictable if you know him and therefore less terrifying. He can also be easily swayed into a different direction, but his mind can change just as quickly.

Second one is that he's very, very smart, but not intelligent. He's so incredibly egotistical and prideful that thinking of flaws in his system isn't even an idea to him. He would know this structure is flawless! He built it! Additionally, Strade's often too caught up in the moment to actually check on your restraints, but it's not exactly hard to miss them either. It's up to fate, essentially. This goes for your wounds as well! Good luck!

Third rule is dedicated to Strade's ego. He values his sense of self above all else. He'll do anything to anyone and will try pretty much anything once, unless it puts him in a submissive or small position. Embarrassment is a feeling that man can NOT stomach. It makes him flee as soon as he possibly can- though embarrassing him is not easy to do as his pride is stronger than a steel wall.

And I said MAYBE four rules because this one can be included in the first one, but- Strade acts on impulse. Whatever he wants he gets, and that is sometimes something kind. He can be kind. Absolutely not in large amounts and it's not common, but it can happen! Sometimes he gets fuzzy and feels his sad little captive needs a shower, or perhaps a sweet treat to raise those spirits. Aside from treating his captives, he's also a pretty sweet guy when out and about. Does favors for his neighbors because he has the skills and likes the validation. He also gets off on being a good person in the eyes of strangers because he knows that they don't know what happens at home.

It's all about moods. Strade doesn't have some secret dark-side, it's all the same dude. Like when I sit down to draw vs sit down to write, I'm still me, I'm just writing or drawing. This is his ideology. That being said, Strade likes to live as one whole unit when he has a captive unless he's in a specific mood to be a big bad guy. He'll come down and ask how you're feeling sometimes. He'll bring a plate just to sit with you and complain about his day, or fucking Janice from the store, thinking she gets ALL the baby-pink yarn. He doesn't even knit, he just knew she was hogging it all so he took a skein. You wanna skein of baby-pink yarn??? Boom, you have one now. I'd say he's a pretty decent guy when you don't have his target on your back, which makes it all so much sadder.

Furthermore, he almost never feels bad about his actions, but there is a single night perhaps once every year where he'll stare at his ceiling wondering if he can be fixed. It is very quickly snuffed out by his fucking NEED to defend himself TO himself, but the seed is planted there nonetheless. What's the point of living if you're not enjoying the gift of life? It's not a privilege, it's a right, and if you wasted yours by finding yourself in his basement, oh-fucking-well. That's on you.

[room-surprise]

IS LAIOS A FURRY? AN ANALYSIS.

(Laios imagining himself transforming into a wolf in Marcille's mindscape.)

(SPOILER WARNING FOR THE ENTIRE MANGA! This is an excerpt and elaboration from The Essay about cultural and linguistic references in Dungeon Meshi)

WHAT IS A FURRY?

The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes can include human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes, but not all of these traits must be present at the same time. Warrior Cats, The Lion King, Zootopia and Sonic the Hedgehog all have huge furry fandoms, to give a few examples.

Many furry fans feel a deep connection to these characters and desire to “become” one through designing their fantasy alter-egos (a furry persona, or fursona), making artwork, role-playing, and if they can afford it, building and wearing costumes called fursuits that allow them to dress up as their fursona in real life.

(Laios' ultimate monster design, you could argue this is his fursona that he's been dreaming about, and refining since childhood.)

Ryoko Kui self-identified as a furry on her blog a long time ago, saying that she “was a furry in high school.” I’ve been unable to track down the original artwork or blog post that states this in order to cite it properly, but I think by looking at Kui’s extensive history, interest, and skill in drawing animals, monsters, and anthropomorphic characters, one can clearly see the “furry” influence.

She has a very clear interest in the intersection between humans and animals, several of her characters are furry characters, and a lot of her work appeals strongly to furry fans in ways that work made by non-furries often does not. She even makes an extremely specific joke about the Japanese furry subculture in a comic about Lycion and Laios arguing about authenticity, which I will get to in a moment.

But whether or not Kui has ever considered herself a furry, I think it’s safe to say that she’s on the internet enough that she must be aware of the subculture, and so it’s possible that she wrote Laios with that in mind.

Laios’ intense desire to become a monster, the way he repeatedly fantasizes about being a dog or wolf, his fascination with all animals (but especially monsters), his skill at drawing animals (and lack of skill in drawing people, or anything else), his interest in becoming a beast-man, and his desire to visit a kobold country because they look like dog-people, all paint a very vivid picture of his interests, and his experiences match up astonishingly well with the experiences of many people who identify as furries.

Western fans often call Laios as a “furry,” or a “monster fucker” mostly as a joke, however I think this should be taken as seriously as interpreting him as asexual or autistic, which are other labels fandom commonly applies to him in a more serious manner… And, incidentally, there is a great deal of overlap between the autistic, asexual and furry communities, so if Laios is one of these things, it’s also very possible that he’s some of the others, too… Even if Kui didn’t intend it, and simply modeled Laios after “some people she’s known” without realizing they were furries, autistic, or asexual, or any combination of the three. This happens frequently in fiction.

I think the most accurate broad labels for Laios would be “therian” and “monster fetishist,” because I believe these two terms encompass the canonical behavior we see from him in the manga and extra materials in a way that I think “furry” and “monster fucker” do not.

JAPANESE FURRY FANDOM: KEMONO VS. KEMONOMIMI

Japanese furries use the terms kemonā (ケモナー) to describe themselves, or kemono (ケモノ) to describe the characters they create and love. Both words mean “furry,” as in, covered in fur.

In the What-If comic where Lycion and Laios meet, Laios awkwardly says that Lycion isn’t a real furry because turning into a beast-man didn’t change him into a wolf on the inside.

“Isn’t that just like wearing a pair of animal ears on a headband and saying you’re a beast-man?” Laios asks, to which Lycion derisively tells Laios that he is just a “beast-man wannabe” or “poseur.”

This is a direct reference to one of the major conflicts in the Japanese Kemono fandom: are characters who are mostly human, but have animal ears and tails really kemono, or do they not count? The general consensus in the fandom is that ears and tail alone are insufficient; these characters are called kemonomimi, literally “beast ears”, like the headband Laios references. Most “cat-girl” characters fall into this category.

A real kemono character includes a muzzle instead of a normal human face and/or an animal-like appearance on the body surface, such as fur, scales, or feathers. According to researcher Inokuchi Tomohiro, this is due to the recognition that "disconnection from humans" is a crucial factor that distinguishes between kemono and non-kemono. He then defines kemono as "an animal that is depicted as a non-human being, but with the potential for mutual understanding/communication with humans.”

By this definition, Izutsumi in Dungeon Meshi is a kemono (furry) and not a kemonomimi (cat-girl), since her body is covered in fur, and she doesn’t have human breasts, but a more beast-like torso. The Winged Lion, the Goat, Kuro the kobold, and possibly the orcs are all kemono (anthropomorphic animal) characters as well.

IS LAIOS A THERIAN?

Though the terminology is very modern, and wouldn’t exist in the Dungeon Meshi setting, it’s possible that if Laios existed in the modern world he might identify as a type of Otherkin known as a Therian. Otherkin and Therians are sometimes part of the Furry fandom, but the two subcultures do not overlap completely.

Otherkin are a subculture of people who identify as nonhuman. Some Otherkin believe their identity derives from spiritual phenomena (such as possessing a nonhuman soul, reincarnation, or the will of God), ancestry, symbolism, or metaphor. Others attribute it to unusual psychology or neurodivergence and do not hold spiritual beliefs on the subject.

Therian refers to people who identify specifically as a real animal of the natural world. The species of animal a therian identifies as is called a theriotype. Therians mainly attribute their experiences of therianthropy to either spirituality or psychology, and often use the term "species dysphoria" to describe their feelings of disconnect from their human bodies and their underlying desire to live as their theriotype. The identity "trans species" is used by some.

Therians may seek out opportunities to perform species-affirming acts like wearing costumes, adopting animal-like behaviors such as making species-specific noises, eating species-specific foods, or moving/performing actions that their theriotype would do.

For example, someone with a horse theriotype may experience joy from snorting and neighing, pulling a cart, stomping their feet, or having a vegetarian diet. Someone with a shark theriotype may want to swim every chance they get, or enjoy eating a lot of raw fish. They may have special accessories they like to wear that make them feel connected to their theriotype, like animal ears on a headband, an actual animal’s tail or a symbolic tail hanging from their belt, an animal tooth necklace, or even just a t-shirt that has an image of their theriotype on it.

In Laios’ case, we know that he likes to imagine himself as a wolf, and in the real world he enjoys/is proud of his ability to bark and move like a dog. He’s practiced and performed this dog impression so often and so well that Falin thinks it’s his most noteworthy and amazing skill. He clearly holds hunting dogs in high esteem and admires them, and says that he learned many important life lessons from spending time with them. He enjoys playing with leftovers from monsters they kill (bones, skin, seeds, fur, etc.) and sometimes tries to collect them for either practical or sentimental reasons… And at the end of the manga he takes the pelt of his ultimate monster form and chooses to wear it as a cape, something that he continues to do for the rest of his life, possibly just because he likes to wear it, or because wearing it eases the pain of no longer being the ultimate monster.

It’s also possible that he’s only wearing it because he thinks it is a pragmatic, politically expedient move, but I think Kui very clearly communicates to us that Laios likes his monster cape, and it is the one thing he immediately thinks of when he wants to try and be king “on his own terms.” He’s willing to accept being king… if he can wear his monster cape. Whether or not it’s a good idea to wear it is secondary to the fact that he wants to do it.

Otherkin and Therian are of course both modern names for this phenomenon, but the concept of people strongly identifying with and being fascinated by animals is as old as humankind itself, so it isn’t impossible that Laios may feel this way, since so much of his behavior overlaps with things a Therian might do or feel.

MONSTER FETISHISM

In English, the word fetish originally described an object believed to have supernatural powers. Fetishes are often used in a spiritual or religious context. However, over time the word fetish has been used so frequently as a euphemism to describe a type of unconventional sexual interest that “sexual fetish” has become the primary meaning of “fetish” in English.

Fetishism is a sexual fixation on an activity, inanimate object, living thing, or human body part that is not normally involved in sex. The object of this interest is called the fetish; the person who has a fetish for that object is a fetishist. The current medical consensus is that sexual fetishes are very common, and as long as they do not negatively impact a person’s life, they are harmless.

Like the English word fetish, the Japanese word 趣味 (shumi), has multiple meanings, such as “hobby”, “interests/tastes”, but it is also used euphemistically to refer to “sexual taste, vice, or fetish.” What meaning is intended must be intuited by the context surrounding the word. I believe the other words used to discuss fetishes are the loan words フェティッシュ (fetisshu) or フェチ (fechi), but these are extremely blunt and direct, and shumi is preferred in situations where polite euphemism, ambiguity or plausible deniability is desired, or is perhaps even necessary in order to make a joke.

Shumi is used throughout Dungeon Meshi to describe various people’s interests, including Laios’ interest in monsters.

Meanwhile Namari’s interest in race-specific weapons and gear is never explicitly identified as shumi as far as I’m aware, but she is called 武器マニア (weapon maniac) in the World Guide, and in the Bicorn chapter, Chilchuck labels her as 武具フェチ (armor/weapon fetishist), and uses the English loan word フェチ (fechi) which is very unambiguously “fetish.”

(The official English translation from Yen Press changed this to “armor fiend.”)

It seems odd to me that Namari’s interest in weapons and gear is identified by most readers (though not Yen Press) as a fetish, but Laios’ interest in monsters isn’t always, when their behavior around their special interest is shown to be the same in the manga:

Both Namari and Laios blush while talking about their respective interests, and get embarrassed and/or excited about the subject. In the post-canon comics, Laios blushes, hides his face, and has to be prodded to confess to Yaad, Kabru and Marcille that he wants to have his body eaten by monsters when he dies. He obviously finds the idea embarrassing and titillating somehow, and is too shy to admit it out loud until they force him to do it. He also blushes on several other occasions in the manga while thinking or talking about monsters.

I think this is because having a “weapons fetish” is normalized: many people have a fetish for weapons or armor and find it sexy. However the idea of a monster fetish makes people uncomfortable because in a story were monsters exist and are a type of animal, they assume Laios having a monster fetish must mean he wants to participate in bestiality.

This is not necessarily true. A fetish of this nature can (and most often does, for reasons of morality and safety) exist entirely in the realm of imagination, and the sexual fixation may not even involve the act of having sex with the fetish object.

WHAT IS A MONSTER FETISH?

In a world where monsters exist, a monster fetish could involve a sexual interest in the sight, smell, sound and feeling of a monster (looking at or creating artwork of monsters, observing monsters in the wild, wearing a monster costume, or owning monster pelts or body parts that can be safely touched, smelled, etc.), the experience of hunting monsters, eating monsters, the fantasy of being a monster, or the fantasy of performing sexual acts with or as a monster.

The fantasy element could be Laios simply wanting to be a monster, and that giving him sexual gratification without any further scenario being necessary, or it could be imagining himself as a human having sex with a monster, imagining himself as a monster having sex with another monster, or imagining himself as a monster having sex with a human.

All of these possible scenarios would fit under the “monster fetish” umbrella. We know Laios canonically does at least six out of these eight things, but we don’t know whether or not he derives sexual pleasure from them… However, we do know that talking or thinking about monsters makes Laios blush in a way that interacting with other human beings does not, and blushing is often a sign of intense emotion or sexual arousal. Kui’s meaning is intentionally ambiguous, but both meanings should be acknowledged: Laios might be emotionally excited, or he might be sexually excited and Kui is leaving it up to us to decide which it is.

This is, specifically, why I think “monster fucker” isn’t an accurate label. We don’t have enough evidence to assume Laios wants to have sex with monsters, or for monsters to have sex with him. All we can tell is that he becomes excited by the subject of monsters, and often times it is specifically the idea of eating them or being eaten by them that gets him the most excited.

VORAREPHILIA

Because so much of Laios' interest in monsters revolves around eating them and being eaten by them, and Dungeon Meshi's plot revolves around the very concept of eating and being eaten, let me make a brief side-bar to discuss the extremely popular, but niche furry sub-culture of vorarephilia.

Vorarephilia is often used as the butt of jokes on the internet, and very poorly understood by most people, so I felt taking a moment to explain it would be beneficial. Most people are probably not even aware that a fetish like this exists, and therefore aren't able to identify that the things Laios is interested in are something he shares with an entire subculture of real people.

Vorarephilia is a fetish that revolves around the fantasy of devouring or being devoured by another person or creature. The prey can either be swallowed whole and alive, or killed and then eaten... But the former is vastly more popular, and most fetishists imagine themselves as the prey, not the predator.

The fantasy of being eaten or eating someone else is just an extreme form of power exchange. Since vore is an impossible fetish in the real world, it exists entirely as artwork, writing, or verbal role play.

Like in most sex practices, the majority of people want to be the submissive partner, and have someone else do the work of pleasing them. You could compare the "predator" in a vorarephilia roleplay session to a "dom" and the "prey" to a "sub" in BDSM. Incidentally, most predators identify as women, and the vast majority of prey identify as men.

Kui's personal work seems to involve some themes that are similar to vorarephillic art.

And Dungeon Meshi features a lot of content which appeals to vorarephiles.

Meanwhile, the many tiny Laioses being eaten by the Ultimate Monster is a classic example of Macro/Micro, another niche furry sub-culture that sometimes overlaps with vore... A giant monster eating mouthful after mouthful of tiny humans is a classic theme.

The vore fandom is extremely diverse, some of them are furries, others are not, and the exact element of devouring and being devoured that appeals to every one of them can be totally different.

What the demon does to Mithrun and Thistle, and Laios does to the demon, is specifically a fetish called "soul vore", where someone's personhood/soul/awareness is eaten and (usually) destroyed by the predator via some kind of "digestion"... Often while the prey is conscious and aware of the process.

For many, the fear and pain the prey experiences while dying is essential to their enjoyment... And remember, most people want to imagine themselves as the prey!

The art on these pages is indistinguishable from things you would pay thousands of dollars for if you hired a furry artist to draw them.

It's also very important to note that on the other end of the spectrum, some vore fantasies revolve around the prey wanting to be loved by someone so much that they would devour them completely, so that they can absorb the prey and keep them with them forever.

Sometimes it's about wanting to become part of something greater that the prey admires or idealizes… the way Laios admires monsters. He explicitly states that when he dies, he wants to become a part of the food chain… While blushing furiously.

And although it isn't about Laios, I think it's important to note that Mithrun's desire was for the demon to finish eating him. A key part of his depression is the fact that he felt he wasn't good enough to consume, that the demon didn't love him enough to want to eat all of him.

I won't go further into vore or macro/micro, because I want to keep this post as simple as possible, and it's already quite long... But if one wanted to dig even deeper into what specifically Laios' interests are, beyond the very broad umbrella of "monster fetishism", I think vorarephelia would be worth considering.

DO OTHER CHARACTERS THINK LAIOS HAS A FETISH?

Characters frequently notice that Laios gets very excited when he’s talking about monsters: he talks louder and faster, his pupils dilate, he blushes, and he forgets what he’s doing, where he is, and what the appropriate behavior for his situation is. This behavior almost universally causes other characters to react with intense scorn, disgust and disapproval.

I don’t think it makes sense for everyone in the manga to react as negatively as they do to Laios’ behavior unless they think there is something off-putting, unsavory, or creepy about it. Their reactions mean they must think Laios’ interest isn’t innocent. It isn’t just a hobby, but of course none of them will say this explicitly, it would be much too direct and rude, and also it wouldn’t be funny if they started accusing Laios of wanting to participate in something as horrible as bestiality.

Part of the joke Kui is frequently making is that nobody says what they’re thinking out loud. For example, at the end of the manga, Kabru gives Laios a disgusted look and warns him to “not talk about your hobby (shumi)” while addressing the participants of the feast. I think we can intuit that hobby/shumi in this instance is probably meant as a euphemism for fetish, otherwise why would Kabru have such a disgusted look on his face? If he just meant hobby, his expression would probably be much more relaxed. Shumi being a euphemism is the joke.

Another example is the fact that Chilchuck frequently calls Laios a psychopath, sick in the head, etc. Those are extremely harsh things to say if he thinks Laios has a completely innocent interest in monsters. He doesn’t call Senshi a psychopath, even though Senshi is equally interested in eating monsters… Because Senshi doesn’t engage in any of the other, suspect behavior that Laios does. Senshi’s interest in monsters is perceived as innocent, while Laios’ is not.

For clarity’s sake: I am not arguing that Laios’ interest in monsters is canonically a sexual fetish, I am only arguing that there is evidence that it is, and that other characters in the story perceive it to be a sexual fetish, whether it actually is or not.

DOES LAIOS THINK HE HAS A FETISH?

People who have fetishes, especially extreme fetishes that are not normalized, often try to hide them. They do this out of fear of social disapproval, and feelings of shame, because they feel guilty for having abnormal desires. This is true even though the majority of fetishes are completely harmless, and morally neutral.

Most people also know that things which provoke sexual excitement are supposed to be kept private, and it’s not acceptable to express those feelings in public spaces, so even if they see something related to their fetish while in public, they will repress their sexual feelings about it.

Laios, who has difficulty understanding social rules and nuance, is aware that his interest in monsters is socially unacceptable, even though there are many other social things he is not aware of.

Laios has spent most of his life hiding his interest in monsters as much as he can, and it is only during the events of the manga that he starts to express himself openly, because his monster knowledge has become useful for their survival, because Senshi encourages him, and because Falin isn’t there to act as a social buffer for him.

But Laios knows people won’t approve, he knows something about his interest in monsters and the way he expresses it will cause people to react negatively, like in the post-canon comic where he doesn’t want to tell his friends about his desire for his corpse to be eaten by monsters, and the part of the finale where he is hiding in the woods, too ashamed to let people see him because they now know that his greatest desire was to become a monster, and not reviving Falin, which he thinks is the "correct" desire that he should have had.

(This of course ignores the fact that the desires the demon preys on are unconscious, and cannot be controlled by the victim.)

This likely means that Laios has encountered negative reactions to his interest in monsters so frequently, and they have been so intensely negative, that it has trained him to conceal his feelings. It is one of the social rules that he has learned.

Laios thinks there is something shameful, wrong, and inappropriate about his desires related to monsters so he thinks it is something he needs to hide.

IS ANIMAL/MONSTER FETISHISM ANACHRONISTIC?

Some may feel that being a furry, a monster fucker or a monster fetishist is something only modern people do, and therefore anachronistic for Dungeon Meshi’s setting. However humans have been admiring, dressing up as and pretending to be animals for rituals (including fertility rituals) since the dawn of civilization, and continue to do so in the modern era every time someone dresses up in a “sexy cat” costume for Halloween, or wears a multi-thousand dollar fursuit to a furry convention.

There are many instances throughout history of people wearing pelts, masks and tails in order to “become” animals, poetry and art of people fantasizing about either becoming a beast/monster (modern werewolf erotica), or having a beast/monster ravish them (the many, many times artists choose to depict Zeus turning into an animal to have sex with women), or coming of age rites that involve animal sacrifice and the adoption of an animal-like persona as part of the process of becoming an adult.

The stigmatization of this behavior, where “sexy cat costume” is normal and “fursuit” is weird, most likely originates from the disappearance of religious and social context for it. In the past, the admiration, imitation and idealization of animals by humans was part of many cultures, but the modern dominance of religions that forbid the worship of anything other than one, immaterial god has left no room for such things, and so society can only view it as the deranged behavior of abnormal people, who have something “wrong” with them, rather than a harmless, common human impulse to admire, fantasize about, and imagine themselves as animals.