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blackr23 · 8 months ago

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Esquire

Chain necklace, cushion-shaped Trinity ring used as a pendant and Santos de Cartier necklace, cushion-shaped Trinity ring, all Cartier. Cardigan Lierre by 10 Corso Como Seoul. Pants stylist’s own.

STYLE

Part 2. Hyunjin said that after meeting the fans, he fell asleep with a feeling of emptiness and pride at the same time.

|byOh Seong-yoon2024.09.23

Q- There was an aspect that impressed me while watching an old interview. Many people praise Hyunjin's dancing skills, but Hyunjin said that he actually thinks of himself as the one who 'suddenly' makes an impact on stage. I felt that it was a story about 'self-direction'.

A- I think I’m a person who has a greater passion for the stage than for dancing. Being good at dancing is the basic thing, but I’m more interested in the process of thinking about how to create and show my own thing, researching, and realizing it on stage. I feel like I’m who I am now through those things. I’m absorbed in something, creating a specific character, and acting it out… In fact, I know that the feeling I pursue is not ordinary, so it might seem a bit excessive. But these days, I feel that it’s important to just do what I want to do. It’s important to have my own thing. I think that if I continue to do this and cultivate my style, I’ll develop a popular aspect. So these days, I’m really doing what I want. (Laughs)

Q-I was curious about that. Hyunjin's style was really unique during 'Chk Chk Boom' promotions. If not Hyunjin, who would have done that? Was that Hyunjin's choice?

A- Oh, I asked for the costume. I had a feeling that I really wanted to try in the song 'Chk Chk Boom', but no matter how much I looked, I couldn't find a design that matched the feeling I had in mind. So I drew a picture on my iPad and sent it to the person in charge. I pasted my photo on it, and I expressed things like a red cardigan, tight leather pants, a flowing feel, and unique red sunglasses. Fortunately, the stylists understood and completed it well, and the timing was good, so it worked out. This time, I was a bit greedy in terms of style.

Q- In a previous interview, Hyunjin said that his art and his music career were completely separate things. I don’t know if I’m over-reading it, but I think those separate, strong affections sometimes unintentionally connect.

A- As you said, it wasn't intentional at all, but this time I just did my best to do what I wanted to do well, and it just happened to work out. Even now, I don't really have any intention of combining the things I like. I just draw covers of my own music? That's about it.

Q- You don't intentionally create contact points, but once a connection is made, you don't necessarily avoid it.

A- Actually, in my mind, creation is not divided into areas. It's all connected to some extent. When you look at a painting, there's text in it. It's the things the artist wants to express through the painting. That's why you can feel like you're reading a book while looking at a painting. Then, I try to express them through music, and conversely, I try to incorporate someone's words into art. In a way, it all comes from a person's life. 'The painting on the canvas is in a way the life of the person who painted it.' When I approached it that way, my paintings got better. I felt like I was studying life.

Cushion shape trinity necklace Cartier. Jacket Time Homme.

Q- Even though I'm busy, I occasionally draw pictures and post them on Instagram. In fact, for creative works like paintings, you can't work on them for an hour even if you're given an hour. You need time to immerse yourself in a state where you can work.

A- (Laughs) That's right. That's why I draw a lot of figurative paintings. It's much easier in that sense. Since my job is an idol, I sometimes feel burdened and afraid of presenting abstract works. That's why I respect people who do abstract works even more. Whether people understand it or not, it takes a lot of courage to express what you feel in the most appropriate form. Sometimes, when I see works, I want to give them a big round of applause. I can't do that, so I'm continuing to study figurative paintings, but I want to study art more and draw a lot of abstract paintings someday.

Q- If you look at your Instagram feed, you've been noticing some rather abstract works lately, right?

A- Let's try it little by little.

Q- A year ago, I said that I was afraid of the public's opinion about 'an idol putting out abstract paintings'. So I looked at Instagram and felt happy to myself. I thought, 'Even if you're scared, you're someone who takes one step at a time.'

A- I don’t think my thoughts have changed. I’m still afraid. But I like it so much that I’m trying to get closer little by little. For now, I’m thinking about the parts I can omit from my paintings. If I were to draw a glass with flowers in it, I used to want to express everything. How to perfectly express the glass, the details of the flowers… I wanted to show off my drawing skills. Now, I’m giving up on that and thinking about how to focus more on my paintings, but it’s not as easy as I thought. It’s harder to take away than to fill.

Q- Is closing the comment window on a picture post also a product of fear?

A- That's because I don't want to be shaken. There are many people who give me positive feedback, but I don't want to decide my color based on that. I think it's time to explore something inside myself and find my own individuality rather than accepting feedback. And I also don't want to be someone to artists. In any case, those who love me will love my work as well. However, if there's only positive feedback, it might be uncomfortable for those who have chosen art as their real career.

Cushion-shaped trinity ring with diamond setting on the ring finger, cushion-shaped trinity ring on the middle finger, and Love single earring, all by Cartier. Jacket by Ernest W. Baker by 10 Corso Como Seoul. Sleeveless top by Noyce. Pants by Recto.

Q- You are a very cautious person.

A- It's just how I feel. When I look at the works of artists I respect, I don't want to do anything that could possibly hurt them. I'm really serious about art, but if that sincerity is misunderstood, it can hurt some people.

Q- I'm so busy that 11 p.m. is considered early, but I draw, exercise, and even make time to communicate with my fans through live broadcasts.

A- I do it because I want to. There aren't many people around me that I can talk to. I mostly talk to Stray Kids members, but it's kind of hard to call them late at night. So now I turn on the live broadcast and chat with the fans. When it's time to turn it off, I'm the one who regrets it the most. (Laughs)

Q- At the end of your recent live broadcast, you asked your fans, “What do you think about when the live broadcast ends?”

A- Yes. I want to keep going, but I still have to sleep. I feel sad before turning it off, but when the live ends, I feel empty. That's why I thought that maybe the fans feel the same way. When I asked, they said yes. They said it's so quiet when the broadcast ends. So I thought about it. What if I do something like ASMR, like drawing something with a pencil, towards the end? That way, I can calm down a bit and the empty feeling will go away, and if I'm lucky, I might even fall asleep with it on. I'm trying various things.

Q- Oh my. I think this is the first time I've heard such heartbreaking fan love.

A- (Laughs) I usually meet my fans a lot, but I felt a lot of things during this concert in particular. When I see them at the concert hall, I can feel it in their eyes. How much they love me, how much they care for me. I think I kept turning on the live broadcast because I felt that so much after a long time. It's hard to explain in words, but I feel empty, but on the other hand, I feel very proud when the broadcast ends. I feel like I had a good time with my fans, and my fans had a good time with me. I fall asleep with that feeling that we've become very close.

Cushion-shaped Trinity bracelet, cushion-shaped Trinity rings on the index and ring fingers, Santos Dumont watch with yellow gold case and taupe grey dial, all by Cartier. Vest and top, both from the stylist’s own collection.

Credit

FASHION EDITOR YOON WOONG-HEE

FEATURES EDITOR Oh Seong-yoon

PHOTOGRAPHER AN JU YOUNG

STYLIST Kim Hye-jeong

HAIR Choi Bo-ra

MAKEUP Jeon Ji-won

ASSISTANT Song Jeong-hyeon/Song Chae-eun

ART DESIGNER Kim Dae-seop

#esquire #hyunjin #hwang hyunjin #stray kids

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dailyanarchistposts · 1 year ago

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Chapter 1. Human Nature

Aren’t domination and authority natural?

Nowadays, it is harder to make ideological justifications for the state. A massive body of research demonstrates that many human societies have been staunchly egalitarian, and that even within capitalism many people continue to form egalitarian networks and communities. In order to reconcile this with their view that evolution is a matter of fierce competition, some scientists have postulated a “human egalitarian syndrome,” theorizing that humans evolved to live in close-knit, homogenous groups, in which the passing on of members’ genes was not assured by the survival of the individual but by the survival of the group.

According to this theory, cooperation and egalitarianism prevailed within these groups because it was in everyone’s genetic self-interest that the group survived. Genetic competition occurred between different groups, and the groups that did the best job of taking care of their members were the ones to pass on their genes. Direct genetic competition between individuals was superseded by competition between different groups employing different social strategies, and humans evolved a whole host of social skills that allowed for greater cooperation. This would explain why, for most of human existence, we have lived in societies with little or no hierarchy, until certain technological developments allowed some societies to stratify and dominate their neighbors.

This is not to say that domination and authority were unnatural, and that technology was a forbidden fruit that corrupted an otherwise innocent humanity. In fact, some hunter-gatherer societies were so patriarchal they used gang rape as a form of punishment against women, and some societies with agriculture and metal tools have been fiercely egalitarian. Some of the peoples in North America’s Pacific Northwest were sedentary hunter-gatherers and they had a heavily stratified society with a slave class. And at the far end of the technological spectrum, nomadic hunter-gatherer groups in Australia were dominated by male elders. Older men could have multiple wives, younger men had none, and women were evidently doled out like social property.[13]

Humans are capable of both authoritarian and anti-authoritarian behavior. Horizontal societies that were not intentionally anti-authoritarian could easily have developed coercive hierarchies when new technologies made that possible, and even without a lot of technology they could make life hell for groups considered inferior. It seems that the most common forms of inequality among otherwise egalitarian societies were gender and age discrimination, which could accustom a society to inequality and create the prototype for a power structure — rule by male elders. This structure could become more powerful over time with the development of metal tools and weapons, surpluses, cities, and the like.

The point, though, is that these forms of inequality were not inevitable. Societies that frowned on authoritarian behaviors consciously avoided the rise of hierarchy. In fact, many societies have given up centralized organization or technologies that allow for domination. This shows that history is not a one-way track. For example, the Moroccan Imazighen, or Berbers, did not form centralized political systems over the past several centuries, even while other societies around them did. “Establishing a dynasty is next to impossible,” wrote one commentator, “due to the fact that the chief is faced with constant revolt which ultimately becomes successful and returns the system to the old decentralized anarchic order.”[14]

What is the factor that allows societies to avoid domination and coercive authority? A study by Christopher Boehm, surveying dozens of egalitarian societies on all continents, including peoples who lived as foragers, horticulturalists, agriculturalists, and pastoralists, found that the common factor is a conscious desire to remain egalitarian: an anti-authoritarian culture. “The primary and most immediate cause of egalitarian behavior is a moralistic determination on the part of a local group’s main political actors that no one of its members should be allowed to dominate the others.”[15] Rather than culture being determined by material conditions, it seems that culture shapes the social structures that reproduce a people’s material conditions.

In certain situations some form of leadership is inevitable, as some people have more skills or a more charismatic personality. Consciously egalitarian societies respond to these situations by not institutionalizing the position of leader, by not affording a leader any special privileges, or by fostering a culture that makes it shameful for that person to flaunt his or her leadership or try to gain power over others. Furthermore, leadership positions change from one situation to another, depending on the skills needed for the task at hand. The leaders during a hunt are different from the leaders during house-building or ceremonies. If a person in a leadership role tries to gain more power or dominate his or her peers, the rest of the group employs “intentional leveling mechanisms”: behaviors intended to bring the leader back down to earth. For example, among many anti-authoritarian hunter-gatherer societies, the most skillful hunter in a band faces criticism and ridicule if he is seen to brag and use his talents to boost his ego rather than for the benefit of the whole group.

If these social pressures do not work, the sanctions escalate, and in many egalitarian societies in the final instance they will kick out or kill a leader who is incurably authoritarian, long before that leader is able to assume coercive powers. These “reverse dominance hierarchies,” in which the leaders must obey popular will because they are powerless to maintain their positions of leadership without support, have appeared in many different societies and functioned over long periods of time. Some of the egalitarian societies documented in Boehm’s survey have a chief or a shaman who plays a ritual role or acts as an impartial mediator in disputes; others appoint a leader in times of trouble, or have a peace chief and a war chief. But these positions of leadership are not coercive, and over hundreds of years have not developed into authoritarian roles. Often the people who fill these roles see them as a temporary social responsibility, which they wish to hand off swiftly because of the higher level of criticism and responsibility they face while occupying them.

European civilization has historically demonstrated a much higher tolerance for authoritarianism than the egalitarian societies described in the survey. Yet as the political and economic systems that would become the modern state and capitalism were developing in Europe, there were a number of rebellions that demonstrate that even here authority was an imposition. One of the greatest of these rebellions was the Peasants War. In 1524 and 1525, as many as 300,000 peasant insurgents, joined by townsfolk and some lesser nobility, rose up against the property owners and church hierarchy in a war that left about 100,000 people dead throughout Bavaria, Saxony, Thüringen, Schwaben, Alsace, as well as parts of what are now Switzerland and Austria. The princes and clergy of the Holy Roman Empire had been steadily increasing taxes to pay for rising administrative and military costs, as government became more top-heavy. The artesans and workers of the towns were affected by these taxes, but the peasants received the heaviest burden. To increase their power and their revenue, princes forced free peasants into serfdom, and resurrected Roman Civil law, which instituted private ownership of land, something of a step backwards from the feudal system in which the land was a trust between peasant and lord that involved rights and obligations.

Meanwhile, elements of the old feudal hierarchy, such as the knighthood and the clergy, were becoming obsolete, and conflicted with other elements of the ruling class. The new burgher mercantile class, as well as many progressive princes, opposed the privileges of the clergy and the conservative structure of the Catholic church. A new, less centralized structure that could base power in councils in the towns and cities, such as the system proposed by Martin Luther, would allow the new political class to ascend.

In the years immediately prior to the War, a number of Anabaptist prophets began travelling around the region espousing revolutionary ideas against political authority, church doctrine, and even against the reforms of Martin Luther. These people included Thomas Dreschel, Nicolas Storch, Mark Thomas Stübner, and most famously, Thomas Müntzer. Some of them argued for total religious freedom, the end of non-voluntary baptism, and the abolition of government on earth. Needless to say they were persecuted by Catholic authorities and by supporters of Luther and banned from many cities, but they continued to travel around Bohemia, Bavaria, and Switzerland, winning supporters and stoking peasant rebelliousness.

In 1524, peasants and urban workers met in the Schwarzwald region of Germany and drafted the 12 Articles of the Black Forest, and the movement they created quickly spread. The articles, with Biblical references used as justification, called for the abolition of serfdom and the freedom of all people; the municipal power for people to elect and remove preachers; the abolition of taxes on cattle and inheritance; a prohibition on the privilege of the nobility to arbitrarily raise taxes; free access to water, hunting, fishing, and the forests; and the restoration of communal lands expropriated by the nobility. Another text printed and circulated in massive quantity by the insurgents was the Bundesordnung, the federal order, which expounded a model social order based on federated municipalities. Less literate elements of the movement were even more radical, as judged by their actions and the folklore they left behind; their goal was to wipe the nobility off the face of the earth and institute a mysticist utopia then and there.

Social tension increased throughout the year, as authorities tried to prevent outright rebellion by suppressing rural gatherings such as popular festivals and weddings. In August 1524, the situation finally errupted at Stühlingen in the Black Forest region. A countess demanded that the peasants render her a special harvest on a church holiday. Instead the peasants refused to pay all taxes and formed an army of 1200 people, under the leadership of a former mercenary, Hans Müller. They marched to the town of Waldshut and were joined by the townspeople, and then marched on the castle at Stühlingen and besieged it. Realizing they needed some kind of military structure, they decided to elect their own captains, sergeants, and corporals. In September they defended themselves from a Hapsburg army in an indecisive battle, and subsequently refused to lay down their arms and beg pardon when entreated to do so. That autumn peasant strikes, refusals to pay tithes, and rebellions broke out throughout the region, as peasants extended their politics from individual complaints to a unified rejection of the feudal system as a whole.

With the spring thaw of 1525, fighting resumed with a ferocity. The peasant armies seized cities and executed large numbers of clergy and nobility. But in February the Schwabian League, an alliance of nobility and clergy in the region, achieved a victory in Italy, where they had been fighting on behalf of Charles V, and were able to bring their troops home and devote them to crushing the peasants. Meanwhile Martin Luther, the burghers, and the progressive princes withdrew all their support and called for the annihilation of the revolutionary peasants; they wanted to reform the system, not to destroy it, and the uprising had already sufficiently destabilized the power structure. Finally on May 15, 1525, the main peasant army was decisively defeated at Frankenhausen; Müntzer and other influential leaders were seized and executed, and the rebellion was put down. However, over the following years the Anabaptist movement spread throughout Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, and peasant revolts continued to break out, in the hopes that one day the church and the state would be destroyed for good.

Capitalism and modern democratic states succeeded in establishing themselves over the following centuries, but they have been forever haunted by the specter of rebellion from below. Within statist societies, the ability to organize without hierarchies still exists today, and the possibility remains to create anti-authoritarian cultures that can bring any would-be leaders back down to earth. Appropriately, much of the resistance against global authority is organized horizontally. The worldwide anti-globalization movement arose largely from the resistance of the Zapatistas in Mexico, autonomists and anarchists in Europe, farmers and workers in Korea, and popular rebellions against financial institutions like the IMF, occurring across the world from South Africa to India. The Zapatistas and autonomists especially are marked by their anti-authoritarian cultures, a marked break from the hierarchy of Marxist-Leninists who had dominated international struggles in previous generations.

The anti-globalization movement proved itself to be a global force in June, 1999, when hundreds of thousands of people in cities from London, England to Port Harcourt, Nigeria took the streets for the J18 Carnival Against Capitalism; in November later that year, participants in the same movement shocked the world by shutting down the summit of the World Trade Organization in Seattle.

The most remarkable thing about this global resistance is that it was created horizontally, by diverse organizations and affinity groups pioneering new forms of consensus. This movement had no leaders and fomented constant opposition to all forms of authority that developed within its ranks. Those who attempted to put themselves permanently in the role of chief or spokesperson were ostracized — or even treated to a pie in the face, as high profile organizer Medea Benjamin was at the US Social Forum in 2007.

Lacking leadership, short on formal organization, and constantly critiquing internal power dynamics and studying more egalitarian ways of organizing, anti-globalization activists went on to achieve further tactical victories. In Prague in September 2000, 15,000 protestors overcame the massive police presence and broke up the last day of the summit of the International Monetary Fund. In Quebec City in April, 2001, protestors breached the security fence around a summit planning the Free Trade Area of the Americas; police responded by filling the city with so much teargas that it even entered the building where the talks were taking place. Consequently many city residents came to favor the protestors. Police had to step up repression to contain the growing anti-globalization movement; they arrested 600 protestors and injured three with gunfire at the European Union summit in Sweden in 2001, and a month later they murdered anarchist Carlo Giuliani at the G8 summit in Genoa, where 150,000 people had gathered to protest the conference of the eight most powerful world governments.

The Dissent! Network arose out of the European anti-globalization movement to organize major protests against the G8 summit in Scotland in 2005. The Network also organized major protest camps and blockade actions against the G8 summit in Germany in 2007, and helped with the mobilizations against the G8 summit in Japan in 2008. Without a central leadership or hierarchy, the network facilitated communication between groups located in different cities and countries, and organized major meetings to discuss and decide on strategies for upcoming actions against the G8. The strategies were intended to enable diverse approaches, so many affinity groups could organize mutually supportive actions within a common framework rather than carrying out the orders of a central organization. For example, a blockade plan might designate one road leading to the summit site as a zone for people who prefer peaceful or theatrical tactics, while another entrance might be designated for people who wish to construct barricades and are willing to defend themselves against the police. These strategy meetings drew people from a dozen countries and included translations in multiple languages. Afterwards, fliers, announcements, position papers, and critiques were translated and uploaded to a website. The anarchist forms of coordination used by the protestors repeatedly proved effective at countering and sometimes even outmaneuvering the police and corporate media, which enjoyed teams of thousands of paid professionals, advanced communications and surveillance infrastructure, and resources far beyond what was available to the movement.

The anti-globalization movement can be contrasted with the anti-war movement that arose in response to the so-called War on Terror. After September 11, 2001, world leaders sought to undercut the growing anti-capitalist movement by identifying terrorism as enemy number one, thus reframing the narrative of global conflict. Following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc and the end of the Cold War, they needed a new war and a new opposition. People had to view their options as a choice between hierarchical powers — statist democracy or fundamentalist terrorists — rather than between domination and freedom. In the conservative environment that followed September 11, the anti-war movement quickly came to be dominated by reformist and hierarchically-organized groups. Although the movement kicked off with the most widely attended day of protest in human history on February 15, 2003, the organizers deliberately channeled the energy of the participants into rigidly controlled rituals that did not challenge the war machine. Within two years, the anti-war movement had completely squandered the momentum built up during the anti-globalization era.

The anti-war movement could not stop the occupation of Iraq, or even sustain itself, because people are neither empowered nor fulfilled by passively participating in symbolic spectacles. In contrast, the effectiveness of decentralized networks can be seen in the many victories of the anti-globalization movement: the summits shut down, the collapse of the WTO and FTAA, the dramatic scaling back of the IMF and World Bank.[16] This non-hierarchical movement demonstrated that people desire to free themselves from domination, and that they have the ability to cooperate in an anti-authoritarian manner even in large groups of strangers from different nations and cultures.

So from scientific studies of human history to protesters making history today, the evidence overwhelmingly contradicts the statist account of human nature. Rather than coming from a brutally authoritarian ancestry and later subsuming these instincts into a competitive system based on obedience to authority, humankind has not had one single trajectory. Our beginnings seem to have been characterized by a range between strict egalitarianism and small-scale hierarchy with a relatively equal distribution of wealth. When coercive hierarchies did appear, they did not spread everywhere immediately, and often provoked significant resistance. Even where societies are ruled by authoritarian structures, resistance is every much a part of the social reality as domination and obedience. Furthermore, the state and authoritarian civilization are not the last stops on the line. Even though a global revolution has yet to succeed, we have many examples of post-state societies, in which we can make out hints of a stateless future.

Half a century ago, anthropologist Pierre Clastres concluded that the stateless and anti-authoritarian societies he studied in South America were not holdouts from a primordial era, as other Westerners had assumed. He argued that, on the contrary, they were well aware of the possible emergence of the state, and they were organizing themselves to prevent this. It turns out that many of them were in fact post-state societies founded by refugees and rebels who had fled from or overthrown earlier states. Similarly, anarchist Peter Lamborn Wilson hypothesized that anti-authoritarian societies in eastern North America formed in resistance to the hierarchical Hopewell mound-building societies, and recent research seems to be confirming this. What others had interpreted as ahistorical ethnicities were the end results of political movements.

The Cossacks who inhabited the Russian frontiers provide another example of this phenomenon. Their societies were founded by people fleeing serfdom and other inconveniences of government oppression. They learned horsemanship and developed impressive martial skills to survive in the frontier environment and defend themselves against neighboring states. Eventually, they came to be viewed as a distinct ethnicity with a privileged autonomy, and the tsar whom their ancestors renounced sought them out as military allies.

According to Yale political scientist James C. Scott, everything about such societies — from the crops they grow to their kinship systems — can be read as anti-authoritarian social strategies. Scott documents the Hill People of Southeast Asia, an agglomeration of societies existing in rugged terrain where fragile state structures face a severe disadvantage. For hundreds of years, these people have resisted state domination, including frequent wars of conquest or extermination by the Chinese empire and periods of continuous attacks by slavers. Cultural and linguistic diversity is exponentially greater in the hills than in the state-controlled rice paddies of the valleys, where a monoculture holds sway. Hill People frequently speak multiple languages and belong to multiple ethnicities. Their social organization is suited for quick and easy dispersal and reunification, allowing them to escape assaults and wage guerrilla warfare. Their kinship systems are based on overlapping and redundant relationships that create a strong social network and limit the formalization of power. Their oral cultures are more decentralized and flexible than nearby literate cultures, in which reliance on the written word encourages orthodoxy and gives extra power to those with the resources to keep records.

The Hill People have an interesting relationship with the surrounding states. The people of the valleys view them as “living ancestors,” even though they have formed as a response to the valley civilizations. They are post-state, not pre-state, but the ideology of the state refuses to recognize such a category as “post-state” because the state supposes itself to be the pinnacle of progress. Subjects of the valley civilizations frequently “headed for the hills” to live more freely; however the narratives and mythologies of the Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, and other authoritarian civilizations in the centuries leading up to World War II seemed to be designed to prevent their members from “going back” to those they perceived as barbarians. According to some scholars, the Great Wall of China was built as much to keep the Chinese in as the barbarians out; yet in the valley civilizations of China and Southeast Asia, myths, language, and rituals that might explain such cultural defections were suspiciously lacking. Culture was used as another Great Wall to hold these fragile civilizations together. No wonder the “barbarians” gave up written language in favor of a more decentralized oral culture: without written records and a specialized class of scribes, history became common property, rather than a tool for indoctrination.

Far from being a necessary social advancement that people readily accept, the state is an imposition that many people try to flee. A proverb from the Burmese encapsulates this: “It is easy for a subject to find a lord, but hard for a lord to find a subject.” In Southeast Asia, until recently, the primary goal of warfare was not to capture territory but to capture subjects, as people frequently ran for the hills to create egalitarian societies.[17] It is ironic that so many of us are convinced we have an essential need for the state, when in fact it is the state that needs us.

#anarchism #daily posts #communism #anti capitalist #anti capitalism #late stage capitalism #anarchy #anarchists #libraries #leftism #anarchy works

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batteredwarriorstillstanding · 2 years ago

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Interestingly enough, I did not discover Tumblr when, while chasing after my decades long crush, she made a clever, quick, u turn, and cut back, sprinted through previously unmapped social media content....the "previous unmapping" causing me to hopelessly lose her as I attempted to follow, look for clues concerning her whereabouts, WHILE IGNORING THE RACY CONTENT certain to slow me down hopelessly. Or....not so much. A few hours later, I was plodding slowly through the blog #Theanalintruder and hopelessly behind my beloved....although I was pretty sure I saw her in some pictures the previous night.....this makes a ton of sense, but is nowhere near correct.

I was able to ignore the first few emails. They detailed the antics of a group of heroin addicts in arizona (yep. Guilty as charged. There were 6 of us detailed in this particular bit of true/fiction, all OBVIOUSLY based on real people (interesting note: except for me, every other person the author turned into a character has either sobered up: 3, or died, 2 since 2014, when these stories were set. We ranged in age from early 20s to mid 30s. The emails kept coming. After a few, I began to see that, yes, in fact, the author was writing about our little H Coven and was, quite likely, one of us. I could not tell who, though. It was quite well written, and he or she gave no hint as to who she (another revelation...it, for sure, was not a dude...not even a gay dude) favored. She was remarkably neutral in her narration. ...until the 5th or 6th installment of the untitled tales of young junkies. The character that mirrored me often kept "lulls" in certain episodes from being too boring when he and a-ahem-STILL unnamed friend would get into arguments, which turned to insult matches, but, thankfully, whoever wrote this either was not privy to where these "disagreements" or "debates" tended to end up in reality, or just wanted to keep those areas of the blog from revealing what incredible assholes both of us were...almost certainly the 2nd option. No doubt, in fact. No portion of the blog that I ever read came close to revealing just how mean and intentionally hurtful to one another we both became. It's too long of a story to even summarize here, but I will say that though we both bore plenty of fault, I have to claim a bit more. First of all, I was the oldest junkie in the group (I think. Yeah...pretty sure) she was one of the youngest, 12 years my junior. There were plenty of altercations I coukd have ended...or prevented from exploding, as they did. Some times, I wanted a serious screaming match because I had plenty of mean shit to say to her and felt she deserved to have her feelings hurt. As I said. I was awful.. The strange (but not all that bad, truthfully...it was pretty well written) blog actually seemed to intentionally avoid sides in anything and focused content on shit I was pretty certain never happened, and other shit that did, but much earlier or later, than it claimed. Whenever half a dozen junkies plus add-ons have to struggle for money to pay life expenses, plus an extra $100 EASILY for heroin and other drugs, but none are employed....and learn to interact with one another, convince their out of state families of their sobriety etc etc etc there is gonna be plenty of material for anyone who wants to log it in a blog or journal (why anyone would choose that particular subject in front of all others is anither question, but...anywaaayy....moving right along...while the blogger displayed some talent, the first few installments were fairly bland and boring. I remember thinking that I would tell ghostbligger to focus on the more interesting shit (which I knew was present) and, to my absolute horror, she did exactly that in part 6.

Backing up a bit......beginning in about 2012, I developed an interest in a beautiful young woman I met at 12 step meetings (wait a minute!!!! Every whining ass mutual will shout via IM, I thought you were the guy who was beholden to the chick you barely knew for two and a half decades cuz blah, blah, a real connection and yabidah yabidah you will always love her!!! You're playing your tonsils, kid." Okay. Fist off...I had some minor flings and crushes during the 20 period I'm question. The vast majority of them (like every single one almost) occured between 2011 and 2016. During this stretch I was convinced, for reasons of my own, that under no circumstances would the long envisioned coupling with her ever happen, and I felt a tinge of desperation to replace her....I thought this would be tantamount to supplanting her in my thought hierarchy with someone else. Which, at the time, I very much needed to do. That should have been the first clue that I needed to consider this goal a bit more carefully and perhaps lend a great deal of respect to a source I did not feel like giving any at the time....my feelings for her. So, anyway...I initially met this girl when she was classified by me as a target of sorts. I was into her.

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robogart · 2 years ago

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*points THAT'S MY FRIEND*

I've been watching calico play BG3 while I've been playing on my switch and while I'm not even playing the game - it has been a second-hand frustration experience. There is honestly so little I enjoy in this game, the few things being the acting and mocap (for some, not all of the characters), some of the music tracks and, most importantly, the Speak To Animals feature. But nothing about the actual gameplay or the design of the game (both in interface and story) feels thought out At All.

And to see the amount of praise - and I mean, ABSOLUTE praise, with NARY A QUALM - has been so incredibly frustrating that calico and I look to each and are constantly screaming the aforementioned statement: "I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!!!"

How can a game, with SO many predecessors to look back on for structure, mechanics and story-telling (the most glaringly obvious being Dragon Age, but literally any fantasy RPG can do) literally ignore ANY good decisions and create something like this? It honestly makes me feel like the developers intentionally avoided or were Ordered to ignore actually implementing any sort of gameplay mechanic that could be derived from outside their studio. I was sitting and watching and just thinking to myself "if they want to have a map setup and keep it turn-based, WHY don't they just make the battle mechanics similar to Fire Emblem? Why not implement a grid system? Why the fuck is movement SO tedious? Why is that hotbar design SO unnecessarily complicated?"

And while the game is BEAUTIFUL and technically gorgeous to look at (the mocap acting and animation is lovely and some of the creature designs are really fun), the actual visual design choices of the game are really not good. There is just TOO MUCH on the screen. There is NO visual hierarchy. Directive composition is generally lacking (Where Should I Go Next? Couldn't Tell You It All LOOKS THE SAME). And another thing - there is simultaneously NO environmental storytelling and yet there is so much Stuff that you pick up (letters, items, etc) that literally do nothing and add nothing. No sidequest, no interest, absolutely nothing. Why does every single person I talk to need their own dialogue cutscene? What does that add? NOTHING.

Calico put this SO right when saying this is a maximalist behemoth (which feels like the state with SO many of these AAA/adjacent games) and for a game that loves to brag about it's 17,000 endings, it's ability to give the players so much choice - it does Nothing. There's absolutely no follow through, reward or consequence to any decision in this. It's just maybe an instantaneous outcome, if anything, and then it moves on to whatever it (the studio) wants you to do next.

Doesn't matter if you helped these guys, they're still going to get fucked up! "Well sometimes life isn't fair" NO! This is lazy writing!! It's shallow! So much of this game just feels like you're asking "but what does this actually add though?" and their response would be "but is has 17,000 ENDINGS what other game does THAT FOR YOU?" It's one-pump-chump energy. It reeks of no foreplay. If you need 17,000 endings to mark as a selling point of your game, it tells me you couldn't even write One Good Ending.

I feel like for any game with multiple choices, you can have 3-5 endings (even LESS) and that would be PLENTY. 17,000 is just EMBARRASSING. Maybe they should've taken all the time and actually committed it to writing out ACTUALLY fleshed out and developed characters. Everyone is SO flatlined, and the only reason these characters stand out at all is because of the actor's performance behind them. Their actual story? Their actual personalities? Paper thin. Disintegrating in the rain. The strongest character story in my opinion was Astarion - but again, so much of that is Neil Newbon's performance. But the story arc is tight, it's succinct and it's well delivered. Gale is also a pretty solid storyline (he doesn't feel as well integrated though at the moment here in Act 3, but there's also just TOO MUCH of nothing going on) and Wyll was set up to be So SOLID but I feel like he's just not given enough space? Drama for his story to unfold?? He should be SO much more involved in this game given his background at Baldur's Gate but there's just no setup for him. Why??? And I hate that I didn't include any of the women in here - but frankly their stories and personalities were just not well done. Shadowheart feels she's definitely given the most time, but she is still boring, unlikeable (and not even in a fun way), and her story is somehow overdeveloped and underdeveloped at the same time? And everyone else just feels tacked on and flat as paper!

Man, I definitely know there's more to yell about here but BOY is this game lauded WAY too much. I have to wonder if it's people who are being paid, gamer bros who just wanting to gatekeep and tell you it's a skill issue, or people who just simply haven't played another rpg yet to know what a good one is? I don't know. But anyways - yelling about this game! If you also feel like your taking crazy pills - you're in good company here! 👏✨✨✨

I can't be only one, right...?

I wanted to finish the game and then write this post but I gave up. I put in 100 plus hours and just could not go on once I got into act three. Maybe no one will hear my pitiful cry from the void, but I must scream for the sake of my sanity.

I was completely and utterly disappointed by Baldur's Gate 3.

It had huge maps like an open world game yet I had no desire to explore the settings despite their beauty. It had hours of dialogue as an RPG would and yet I found myself skipping characters' responses. The game mechanic structure was inspired by DnD, a story-telling game dictated by some rules, lucky rolls and the extent of players' imagination, yet I was strong-armed into fighting impossibly stacked battles. A story-telling game dependent on the players’ attachment to their and their teammates' characters and yet this game lacked any kind of narrative consistency or depth of feeling.

Larian wanted to make an open world RPG, based off of DND mechanics and somehow did the worst version of all three. The studio touts that Baldur’s Gate 3 has 17,000 possible endings and 2 million words, but to what end? What did this game have to say about what happens when people rise to the challenge and become heroes despite their circumstances or fall into the dark and become the monsters they were supposed to fight? What did it suggest might happen when fate deals you a bad hand but in doing so also helps you find true friends or love with the other? Ultimately, nothing.

BG3 is so large that it ends up being incoherent. No writing or game structure decisions were made to keep the narrative tight and on theme. It urges players to choose a moral alignment, but most decisions, good or bad, seem to end up having little effect in the end. To play the game at all you have to resort to save scumming and that in turn deflates the possible impact of so many plot points of the narrative overall.

Forcing players to save scum in order to progress through the game is terrible design in general. Statistically speaking the bosses make impossible critical hits again and again. I was playing in the game’s “casual mode” and found myself struggling to get through confrontations with bosses that were at a lower level than my own. If you are reading and thinking oh well you are probably not using tactics or spells well, etc., let’s do a little experiment…

Take your d20 (https://rolladie.net/roll-a-d20-die if you don’t have one in person). In the third act of BG3 I had an AC of 13 as a sorcerer with 100 plus HP. Roll your d20 ten times or more. How many times out of ten would your character have gotten to hit mine successfully? Unless an enemy is extremely lucky it should be unlikely that an enemy could hit my character every turn they get. And even if they do they would have to roll for damage which is only a single d6, d8, d10 or d12 plus a modifier at lower levels depending on your class. Again an enemy would have to have an extremely lucky roll to hit me every turn AND deal significant damage. During an in person DnD session that is just a bad night for my character. In a video game on casual mode that is significantly suspicious.

So what you might say. You've made and enjoyed the fanart, memes and etc. You got your $61 worth of playtime. So many other people were fine with the game, what is your problem?

I love video games. They blend so many artforms and tell stories in ways never done before. It is a medium unique to our current century and when historians look back they will view video games as an insight to our culture.

It frustrates me to no end that Baldur’s Gate 3 is considered the next gold standard. Too many games have done open world and RPGs in a fantasy setting far better for Larian (Swen Vincke) to have made the design and writing choices they did with BG3. There are so many podcasts and shows that have written better stories through the DnD format. I am embarrassed for the medium as an artist and frustrated as a player. Players and the industry deserve better than to have artists, actors, engineers etc. burn themselves out creating maximalist behemoths like this game. A game that is beautiful but basically unplayable, narratively, nihilistic and incoherent.

#bg3 thoughts #bg3 critical #bg3 spoilers #there are more thoughts I'm sure but ooof can't even conceive them right now laksjdf #to anyone else who is frustrated by this game HI THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE! 👏💖

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gay-dorito-dust · 2 years ago

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You noted the fatigue in your partner within moments.

You noted how heavy his eyes would become.

You noted the way he would sigh deeply before rubbing his hands over his face as though it would keep him somewhat awake to push on.

You noted the slowing of his pace.

You noted the way he began to banter less and less with you, Ashley and Luis to the point he was borderline silent. He couldn’t seem to even be able to summon the energy to quip about anything you came across either.

You noted everything about Leon, it has became a trait you’ve developed over the time you became partners. He never once spoke of his issues, his fears, his insecurities. Nothing; But his body often betrayed his veil of mystery. And right now? He was tired, extraordinarily so and was in desperate need of rest.

You, being the best partner that you are, we’re about to give him just that.

‘Hey.’ You said softly as you finally caught Leon on his own. Lately it had seemed that he was purposely avoiding this very moment by creating situations where Ashley and Luis were needed to be within the same room as you both. You knew that Leon knew about your inherent sixth sense when it came to him. So this was his way of throwing you off of his tracks. Was it a bit childish? Yeah. Did it deter you from helping your friend? No. Not even in the slightest.

‘Hey.’ He replied, not once looking to face you. You sighed at his stubbornness and moved so that you were in front of him, where your eyes softened upon seeing his exhausted face, that your hands came up to reach his face and ran your thumbs softly against the dark bags that hung below his eyes; It truly broke your heart as you bare witness to him practically melt into your hands.

‘You’re tried.’ You told him.

‘No I’m not.’ Leon’s words would’ve fully convinced you had they weren’t slurred with sleep; Yet not so that it hindered his ability to fight against you. ‘Yes, you are.’ You laugh humourlessly. ‘You’re practically melting in my hands here Leon. When’s the last time you got sleep. Proper sleep.’ You intentionally added the last part when you felt him about to open his mouth, which he promptly then shut not too long afterwards.

His guilty silence spoke volumes and once again you were left to sigh disappointedly. ‘Leon…’

‘I’m not apologising for wanting to keep you safe.’ He barked, the lack of sleep having made him more prone to lashing out. ‘I’m not asking you to apologise for anything,’ you replied shortly, ‘I just don’t want you getting hurt and collapsing on us whilst in a compromising state.’

‘I haven’t yet have I?’ Leon questioned.

You huffed, he was actually starting to get on your nerves a little as you spoke through gritted teeth. ‘No but I wouldn’t want to tempt fate.’ Your partner growls as he tore himself away from your touch, ‘why? So I don’t become a liability?’ Just as he was about to walk away from you, he didn’t perceive the step behind him and almost took a fall has you not acted and caught him by the waist; pulling him into you.

‘Don’t do that,’ you scolded, ‘I thought you had gotten hurt just now.’

‘I’m sorry.’ Leon said against you. ‘I just didn’t want to seem weak or incompetent in front of Ashley, in front of Luis, but most importantly in front of you…my partner.’ You cooed internally at his confession and smiled at him. ‘You could never.’ You told him truthfully. ‘We all think highly of you Leon but you’re just as human as the rest of us and Luis and Ashley worry about you. I worry about you. My partner.’ You grip tightened on him.

‘So please, put yourself first this time.’ Leon looked into your eyes for a few seconds before giving in, resting his head against your forehead, sighing in defeat. ‘Fine.’ He said. ‘I’ll go to sleep but as long as you promise to be there as I wake. I’ve got to keep my eye on you so that you don’t do something impulsively stupid without me.’

You scoffed, ‘how can I? You’ve taken all the stupid with you?’

Leon chuckles, ‘bitch.’

‘Jerk.’ You replied almost instinctively as you helped carry him off the bed, where you sat bedside him, holding onto his hand until he awakes.

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cozycottagetarot · 4 years ago

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Who's Coming In & Why? (General)

Here’s the thing… I'd love to tell you this is all love and friendships, but it’s not. It’s more of a who’s coming in to help you move forward.

Still, I’m posting it because it may still resonate with some people.

However, I will do a second reading of the same topic in the future focusing on love and friendships in particular.

Check out my Paid Readings ✨

PILE 1 — The Inspiration

Energy surrounding them: Queen of Pentacles

I see this as being some person you need to move you forward, be it a general mentor, someone with a career, or someone to get you motivated to get up and take action (the latter comes through strongest) . They could be well off, not necessarily lavishly rich, but more so in the sense of being a better situation than you. There could be a nurturing or gentle energy to them as well.

The vibes I get: Vision boards, goals, goal setting, power move

Why they’re coming in? The Empress, Judgement, The Tower (all reversed)

There may be some kind of disharmony in your life, particularly with you. You may be too much into your masculine energy (logic and material) and neglecting your feminine energy (nurturing, intuition). It could be a matter of self confidence and unhappiness with how your life is going. This person is coming in to put you back on track, and shift your perspective. Them entering your life will help you to face your fears and release any self doubt you may have. They may help you to avoid ending up in a bad place. Because all your cards keep coming out reversed (even though I didn’t want to take all reversals) I see it as a sign as well to don’t be afraid to start anew, instead of trying to situate everything exactly the way it was in the before. Like that quote/saying that goes something like-- "don’t be afraid to start over because this time you’re not starting from scratch, your starting from experience?"

How they'll help you? 10 of Swords, 9 of Wands reversed

The only place to go from here is up, but you need to stop being so stubborn about it. This person coming in is going to help you get your back you drive to 'fight' so you can pursue happiness/goals in a new way.

Potential Struggles? Knight of Wands, The Star reversed

Be careful your inspired action is not really impulsivity . You’ll have to do some inner work as well. You may compare yourself to this person and risk falling back into the same state again. You need to take responsible actions, get in tune with your emotions and work on your confidence and any anxieties you may have. Healing from the past as well, because your past isn’t your future.

PILE 2 -- The Therapist

Energy surrounding them: The Star

The energy surrounding the person coming in is one of calm and stability, and that is what they will bring to you. This person is going to help heal you, be it professionally (a therapist or psychologist) or unintentionally (someone who triggers our healing). This person is going to feel like everything will be okay.

The vibes I get: therapy, a guiding star, two people sitting and talking, letting your soul speak

Why they’re coming in? 6 of Wands reversed, The Moon, 6 of cups reversed

This person is going to help reveal the truth about a situation. Particularly if you haven’t had the best things happening a) in most of your life, or b) in this particular chapter or your life. This person will help you realise the things that weren’t your fault, the things you can change and the things that all come down to your beliefs. You may come to realise with the help of this person, that a lot of fears and limitations you have are self imposed. Not only that, but this person may help you figure out what your positive inner voice sounds like and help you to embrace it. Any dreams you’ve had hidden away (sleep dreams or goals-dreams) may also become more clear to you. After this you’ll be able to move forwards in live. The past won’t hold you back anymore. You’ll be able to move on or view these events that took place through a new lense.

How they'll help you? 3 of Wands, 8 of Swords reversed

The blindfold is going to come off. You’re going to be able to move forward in your life. The work you put in is going to help you move forward with a new found confidence and belief in self. You’ll be able to take your life into your own hands.

Potential Struggles? king of pentacles & ace of swords

You may struggle with the whole process of breaking through and envisioning a different future for yourself. Also, seeing your growth and how mature and stable (as in the different areas of your life) you may have become may take you some time or be difficult.

Pile 3-- The Sage

Energy surrounding them: The Emperor

The person coming into your life has a strong energy to them. They are most likely older than you or at the least has a very wise energy to them. They might not be the most emotional or expressive, but they are reliable.

The vibes I get: Someone with an otherworldly energy or wisdom. Someone established. You can't help but notice them.

Why they're coming in? 4 of Pentacles, The Chariot, Page of Cups

This person is coming in to show you how to find and build security in many aspects of your life the right way. You may be holding onto things that aren’t good for you and this person is going to come in and force you to ask yourself why. Also potentially isolation may be something you need to deal with. You may be currently playing defence. But once you allow yourself to let go, you may find new things, people, and opportunities come in, better than you image. You may find yourself becoming someone you really want to be as well as finding yourself in the beginning stages of tapping into your emperor energy.

How they'll help you? Strength reversed, Knight of Swords

They’re going to help you tap into your inner strength so you can take the necessary actions to help yourself. They’ll help trigger the arrival of big changes in your life.Things will finally start to flow.

Potential Struggles? Judgement, 6 of Pentacles

You may feel resistant at first, feeling as if they don’t know what they’re talking about and are just trying to bring you down. You may be hesitant to take their advice or trust that they have your best interest in mind.

** Gandalf. Gandalf came to me but I don’t know why as I know practically nothing about him. 😬 Maybe you do!?

Pile 4-- The Charmer

Energy surrounding them: 8 of Cups reversed

The person coming in is going to scare you, but not in a bad way. You may have this happy, “I’m put together” facade, and this person is going to be able to see right through it. They have the ability, literally or metaphorically, to bring you into something better and that may leave you feeling afraid.

The vibes I get: Someone clever and charming. Feeling flustered. Oh no, I have a crush.

Why they’re coming in? Temperance, 9 of Pentacles, 8 of Swords

They’re coming in to show you that if you stop allowing fear to keep you where you are, peace, balance, and contentment will find you. The situation you may be staying in may not be a result of your actions, and taking the steps to get out of it may be difficult, but this person is one hundred percent here to challenge your reasoning for why you can’t.

How they'll help you? The Magician, 10 of Swords, The High Priestess reversed

They’re going to show you magic. I’m feeling like you might develop a romantic or platonic crush on them. There’s just that vibe. They’re going to show you how amazing you truly are. They’re going to show you that you have the ability to make things happen. They’ll help you create that ending and see your new beginning.

Potential Struggles? Knight of Cups reversed, 2 of Wands

This person most likely isn’t going to stay long and that may throw you off guard. This all feels very fast paced so their quick arrival and departure may leave you feeling a little bit broken hearted. Be careful you’re not investing too much headspace and emotion in this person.

Pile 5-- The Cheerleader

Energy surrounding them: 3 of Swords reversed

This person has a very calm healing energy to them. I feel like if you’re going through a heartbreak in particular, the prominent pain of it is going to start disappearing. I actually redid your reading and the vibes I was getting before were not good ones. I felt like I was trying to shoo it away, and the reading felt like it was about someone leaving you who had hurt you so I think that’s what this could be. This could also be someone from the past. An old friend in particular.

**As for the person from the past, to help you figure out if this reading is for you— i was thinking back of the cards I pulled and this person felt emotionally immature and manipulative, though I’m not sure it’s intentionally. Were you trying to fix them? To make them feel better? But they were so stuck in their toxic habits/mindset that they just ended up sending your world into turmoil? Because that came through strongly just now.

The vibes I get: thank you, troubles disappearing, a sigh of relief

Why they’re coming in? King of Swords, King of Cups reversed, 4 of Cups reversed

This person is coming in to help you move on from the pain and worries that you have been in. You’re ready to get back to business and this person will be there for you. Cheerleading came to me as well, so that’s what they’ll be— your cheerleader. You’re also going to be stepping into a new chapter of maturity and level headedness. Any responsibilities or ideas you’ve been putting off, this person is going to help you with them.

How they'll help you? 9 of Wands, The Empress reveresed

Like I mentioned before, they’re going to help ease your anxieties, pain and sadness. With The Empress rx, ‘makeover’ came to me as well and I got super excited, so maybe that’s what you need and this person will help you with? They’re going to help you sort your emotions, make sense of everything and feel confident, attractive and capable again.

Potential Struggles? The World, Page of Wands

Setting your world back in order is going to take some work, but the results will be worth it. The only caution would be don’t rush your actions, without thinking about the consequences fully.

———

Disclaimer: I read tarot for self reflection and guidance purposes, but as always, this reading is for fun and entertainment purposes only. I may include advice for if you find a particular topic resonating, but it is in no way meant to replace any kind of professional advice. Any reading I post is in no way meant to act as or replace professional advice of any kind. You know yourself and what’s going on in your life best so I ask that you trust yourself above all else. Prediction readings are to be seen simply as a potential outcome. Finally, please take only what resonates from the reading which may be some of it, all of it, or none at all.

#pick a card #pick a pile #pick a card reading #pick a picture #ariesmoontarot #tarot reading #pac #pick a pile reading #pac reading

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rachetmath · 4 years ago

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Favorite (Characters)

Ruby: *barges in* RatchetMath!

Me: What is it Ruby?

Ruby: You’re showing favoritism.

Me: Okay. And?

Ruby: You need to stop. Why not draw us for once?

Me: Hm, maybe because I like Jaune more. Hell I like Penny and Neo more than you or your team.

Ruby: Why?!

Me: Because your team is horrible.

Ruby: So is team JNPR!

Me: Yeah, but only because they have to follow you. They have some individuality but we don’t explore that as much. Plus, your team would be dead without them. But you know what Ruby, I would rather draw Yang, Blake or any other character except Weiss than you right now.

Ruby: What?! But I’m-

Me: The main character that barely does main character things. Woman, Salem was in Atlas! Why was she not your top priority? Why was James your problem?

Ruby: Um well…

Me: Ruby, she knows your mother! She might know what happened to her! I get Yang was some levels your mom but shouldn’t learning what happened to your actual mom be just as important? Especially after that dark memory.

Ruby: That is true.

Me: You have silver eyes but you still don’t know how to use them. There was army of grimm around Mantle and that would have been good practice. And a better solution than Ren.

Ruby: But then I be overpowered.

Me: No. Ruby your silver eyes only work on one person. If someone sneaks up on you or doesn’t care about that light you give off then, you’re dead. Maria is proof on that.

Ruby: Um..

Me: Plus, the question that everyone in the audience could have an answer to is whether your silver eyes can even work on Salem. In all honesty, it proves the writer don’t keep track of the characters and their personalities to where they fit together in story. You know what I have been making skits, trying to be funny but… the jokes died. Look guys I-I’m sorry but… let me explain.

1. Ruby and Blake should have stayed in Mantle. Why?

1. Salem is the main villian. She knows Ruby’s mother. You know the same mother who left for a mission and didn’t come back. The same mother, who Ruby knows nothing about while everyone seems to have different perspectives of her. Or has a better clue on who she is, than Ruby herself. Plus wasn’t Salem after her too? She basically would be killing two birds with one stone by kidnapping Oscar and giving Ruby a reason to see her. That way Ruby isn’t assuming what happened to her mother. Let Salem antagonize Ruby. (Question: Can silver eyes work on Salem?)

2. Perfect training for silver eyes. Let’s face it, Ren proved to us he can mask a bunch of people without Jaune’s help. All he needed was concentration. However, Ruby is more effective because silver eyes seem to be able to destroy multiple grimm on sight. And with lives on the line that gives Ruby plenty of reason to start using them.

3. Ren calling Ruby out on her issues. Look I loved how Ren was willing to tell the truth, but him revealing Jaune cheated Beacon was… weak. Reason being it relates to Jaune’s character and Ren still follows Jaune’s orders. However, Ruby, who is supposed to be a prodigy because she came to Beacon two years ahead of her class, has not proven once that she is worthy of such praise. The only reason-The ONLY reason Ruby was enrolled into Beacon was her silver eyes. Ruby even in volume one has been nothing but liability. Initiations, she almost dies from a Stinger. Stake out, she almost got run over by a truck and it ended in failure. First mission, she gets kidnapped and almost destroyed a city block. Roman, a man with no semblance or aura continues to beat her four times in a row. And it gets worse. Ruby almost got her uncle killed. She was the first to get knocked out by Emerald. Almost dies by a robot and Godzilla. And the moment she arrived in Atlas her first move was to lie to James. She didn’t even try to stop Tyrian when she saw him. She had her gun with her too. Ren is not her sister, he might as well tell her the facts so she can do better.

4. Blake is Faunus. Mantle hates faunuses. Why not have Blake help them to prove faunuses are people too? Let Blake represent her people. I mean Velvet and Sun represent faunses more than she does her whole existence. Blake also can relate to Ren’s problem. How? Blake was a part of the White Fang, so there were expectations she had to fulfill. Especially when trying to measure up to Adam. However, she explains the longer she was in the White Fang, the more she found out how messed up and extremely bias it was. Including with Adam to the point she decided to leave. She even states she was lucky that Yang even forgave her after all the trouble she caused her. Blake challenged her bias nature, and it made her stronger for it. Blake would be basically telling Ren the more he tries to live up to someone else’s expectations, without seeing their flaws, the more he loses touch with himself and everyone around him.

5. Oscar shouldn’t have been able break out of Salem on his own: I’m sorry but… Oscar got beat up. Took a magic beam to the chest. Had to switch between him and Ozpin and mind you he had no aura to help him. He should be tired and unable to move. (In my opinion, this kid was given too much screen time. At first I was worried about him but now I’m wondering why was I worrying at all.)

2. Jaune and Yang should have gone to Atlas.

1. Penny is basically Pyrrha in the opposite light. Penny’s special because she’s a robot with a soul, a mind of her own and an attitude to prove it. She is just as human as everyone else, but no one seems to treat her as such. James only sees her as something of a weapon. Pietro treats her like child even though she’s more mature than the rest of the female cast, except Maria. And now with maiden powers, everyone is out casting Penny even more. Jaune is perfect for her because he has experience with this kind of issue. However, he would’ve had to take different route to the situation considering his failure with Pyrrha last time they had discussion on maiden powers or responsibilities (Destiny.).

2. Jaune already has been a part of maiden business since volume three. His reason to be with Penny would be make sure she doesn’t meet the same fate as Pyrrha or Amber. Not just for himself but for others around him. Especially since Cinder was in Atlas and is willing to hunt her down for the maiden powers. And James was willing to turn Penny into a soulless machine to follow his every command. (Actually, Watts is more a fault considering he hates Pietro.). James and Cinder are also opposite to Jaune in some ways. James earned his position and earned respect from his military. Jaune on the other hand cheated, and unlike James might not have everybody’s respect. Cinder treats her allies like tools. And with power she just consumes and gives nothing return. Jaune however treats his allies like family. And instead of just taking power he gives power to others around him. He’s the reason Cinder has maiden powers. So, him making it his personal mission to make sure Cinder doesn’t get more power only increases his resolve to protect Penny. (Especially since he already had to kill her in the canon finale.) In other words, James and Cinder purposed a challenge to Jaune. Can he pervert history from repeating itself? Can he really protect the maiden powers? Is he truly worthy of being a huntsman? What is he willing to risk in achieving his goal? (Also let’s be clear. Hazel beat Oscar down for the password to the relic. James shot the kid and was willing to let him fall to his death. Qrow intentionally punched the kid. I don’t care if it was for Ozpin, he still punched Oscar. Lion before even knowing Oscar was Ozpin reincarnation was already about kill him anyways. All Jaune did was push him to a wall. Yes, Jaune still would have hurt Oscar, but he didn’t. He walked away.)

3. A lot of the situations could’ve been avoided or mattered if Jaune was there. Don’t believe me? Well let me explain. Was Ruby the only option when sneaking pass Central Command? No, because they had Weiss, Nora and Penny. Weiss could have done a freezer burn like in her fight with Marrow. Or Nora could have thrown her grenades and Penny just shoots them before the hit the ground or damage anything. Both causing a smoke screen, so no one sees them. Plus, they were already caught by using Pietro credentials. Did Nora need to get knocked out for the team to escape? No. If she had Jaune with her they could’ve one caused an EMP wave being Jaune has gravity and Nora has lightning. Or two, if Nora still went through with it, Jaune would have healed her immediately. Penny lifting and keeping the arena in place. If Jaune and Weiss were with her then once Amity was in position, Weiss with Jaune’s assistances can keep it place so Penny can come back inside and the whole video could be played. Also, Pietro would know what was going on with his daughter and can properly explain how to fix her. (Better than Jaune healing her.)

4. Nora’s whole character is knowing who she is without Ren right? Then why not just have her lead the evacuation once she’s done with Atlas? Why not have her and Yang work together along with the happy huntress to evacuate Mantle? Especially if their friends disappeared to save Oscar. (And before ya’ll tell me they can’t do it….. Yang, blocked a punch from a mech, held off a Manticore, and has a semblance that literally lets her take damage and dish it back five times harder. Nora who literally crushed Weiss and Yang in a food fight. Knocked a giant horse down on its knee. And knocked Hazel away. Are you seriously saying these girls are not enough to take on a few little tigers? Come on!) If the whole point of Nora’s character development was finding out more about herself then let Nora try something without Ren. Let her call the shots. Let her take charge. Give her a character. (Hell don’t stop there. Have her interact with other characters. Like Jaune. Yang. Weiss. Or anyone other character than Ren. Let them tell her what they think about her. Let Nora be a solution to a character’s struggle. Ya’ll make it sound like Nora has no friends.)

5. All Yang needed was a break from Ruby and Blake. In all honesty Yang should have been the one to see the hounds face and kill it. Why? Well Ruby is Yang’s sister and only reminder of her nonblood related mother. And Blake is her girlfriend. And if we saw the hound’s face, we know it’s not just a silver eyed person. It’s also a faunus. This will give her a reason to protect both her loved ones because by seeing the hound she knows Salem intention with Ruby and want to keep her, and Blake from meeting the same fate of being turned into monsters. Yang should’ve been the 2nd to 4th member of team RWBY to fall. Why? One, a Yang vs Neo fight. Two, Cinder and Neo both wanted Ruby dead. So why not get rid of Ruby first? The fights would have been more thrilling and seeing the character, the show is named after, presumed to be dead would have added stakes and tension to the fight. (Also let me say this. Why is it, that the only great display of the maiden powers I’ve ever seen, was from Amber and not the maidens, as of now, Winter, Raven, and Cinder? The maiden powers are basically magic right? Why isn’t Cinder using any other element than fire?)

6. Weiss was completely useless. Look, as the saying goes, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family.” And when it came to Weiss and family, she has little to no clue of what it is nor deserves it. Weiss should have been more of an inspiration for Whitley to do right. How? By simply talking to him. What reason would she have other than Mantle? Simple, he’s her brother and she started off like him. Beacon, she was a brat. She was arrogant. And more importantly a jerk. Blake ran because of her racist attitude. Ruby literally had to impress her to prove she can be leader. Even though Weiss is not leadership martial herself. Plus, hearing May and how she and her family never resolved their issues should inspire Weiss to not repeat that mistake. And guess what, her mom, Willow, the drinker of the family, wasn’t wrong. Both her and Winter left Whitley alone. Klein wasn’t there for him either. All Whitley had was his father. So Weiss, actually acting like his sister and trying to help him allows him to feel less alone. Instead Weiss was complete Jacque through out the entire volume.

And that’s all. Look I know I should have seen this coming but I had to say it. Volume 8 could’ve been good. The problem was.

1. Characters are not placed well within the story.

2. We lost track of who said characters are.

3. The ships are in the way.

4. Being dumb for the plot. (Sometimes it’s necessary.)

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teawaffles · 4 years ago

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Louis and the Aquaria: Chapter 4

Three days after the angelfish had fallen ill. In total, it was now 11 days since the fish had arrived at the mansion.

Despite Louis’s devoted care, ‘William’s’ condition had not improved.

Its fins, once proudly raised upright, were now drooping. The shine of its scales had faded away, and even the way it swam looked quivery and uncertain. During mealtimes, it left virtually all of its food uneaten. In short, ever since its poor health had been discovered, its condition had steadily worsened.

An angelfish, drifting through the water alone.

Louis was watching over it from a chair.

He could do nothing, and chafed at his own powerlessness. On top of that, the cause of its illness might’ve been his own thoughtless actions — it felt downright unbearable.

Incidentally, the South American trees that were brought in the other day had now been moved to the end of the hall. It was a reasonable measure: after all, there was a fear that the change in environment might have affected the fish. Now, one would think the area would’ve simply returned to its former state — but after the trees that had exuded such a strange presence were moved away, the space around the tank now looked somewhat empty.

Only the mechanical noises of the aquarium equipment could be heard echoing through the hall. Then, the hall door inched open, and there stood Fred.

Seated before the aquarium, Louis hadn’t even turned to look at the newcomer to the room. Instead, he watched the angelfish in earnest silence.

Fred walked up to him quietly.

“Are you alright?”

“If you’re talking about the angelfish, then unfortunately, its condition isn’t good. But although my attention has been taken up by the care of this one, by no means have I neglected the others. You can be assured of that.”

“…………”

Fred had actually been asking after Louis’s own health; but from that determined reply, he could sense that Louis had intentionally avoided the topic, and so he didn’t press further.

Looking over the surrounding tanks, he could see that the other fish were swimming energetically. Just as Louis had said, it seemed he had avoided falling into the trap of letting one fish impede the management of the entire endeavour.

For several minutes, an uncomfortable silence pervaded the space between them.

From the side, Fred looked at Louis and ‘William’ in turn. As the careworn man gazed at the sickly fish, his face exuded exhaustion in waves.

Ever since he’d begun nursing the fish, Louis had been in constant attendance by its tank. After preparing everyone’s meals, he would shut himself in this room to watch over it alone. Occasionally, out of concern, the others would come in to check on him — but Louis stubbornly refused to leave.

When was the last time he’d gone back to his room? ——There wasn’t any bed prepared here, and from the state of his complexion, it was painfully obvious that he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

Fred dithered on about it. But eventually, he made up his mind, and asked Louis a question.

“Mr Louis. I understand how you feel, but you should still get some rest. If your body breaks down, everything will have been in vain.”

“I believe I told you everything’s fine.”

In contrast to his usual manner, the voice that struck Fred had been exceedingly cold.

It was clear that Louis did not want him to probe any further.

Fred nearly withered after hearing that — but no matter what he did, he couldn’t suppress the burgeoning question within him.

“——Why are you doing so much for just one fish? Didn’t you say it before: that they are just a means to carry out the plan?”

“…………”

Thinking back to his own words, he knew Fred was spot on. But he twisted his lips and looked down, as if he found it difficult to respond. In his lap, his hands were balled into tight fists — perhaps, that question had stirred up a conflict within him.

In the past, Louis and Fred had fallen out in the middle of a mission.

At the time, their task had been to punish the nobles who’d abducted children from the slums and forced them into cruel manhunts. During the operation, they’d been split on whether to help a child whose injured leg had rendered him immobile.

Fred had insisted on helping him, but Louis proposed leaving the child behind, as their objective to murder the noblemen came first. Although Fred knew that he’d said it out of concern for his brother, who was also on the same mission, he still found Louis’s decision rather callous.

In the end, Moran — who was like an older brother to them — stepped in and defused the situation. However, the fact remained that Fred and Louis had nearly clashed over their differences in opinion.

——Louis James Moriarty, was a man who could become as ruthless as necessary for his brother’s sake.

It was a fact that those who worked with the “Lord of Crime” knew all too well.

However, it was precisely because Fred understood his personality, that he was baffled as to why Louis would go so far to devote himself to a mere tropical fish.

It was but one fish out of three. And even if all the angelfish were to die, there were still tens of other species in the aquaria. There were plenty of replacements.

Then, why——.

“Fred. You’re right.”

Still looking down, Louis spoke in a grave, yet clear voice.

“It’s a tool to help my brother get close to his target. There are no further reasons than that. If it were any ordinary fish, I wouldn’t have gotten so invested. And if my brother ordered me to kill all of them right now, I wouldn’t hesitate to do so.”

Fred nodded. But at the same time, those words chilled him to the core. He would’ve done it himself as well, if William told him to — but he couldn’t understand how Louis was able to completely close off his heart to the living things he’d so carefully raised.

“Still……”

Louis tried to continue, but his voice was trembling ever so slightly, and Fred could not hide his astonishment. The man was normally calm and collected; but now, unlike his usual self, it seemed as though quivers of agony were wringing him out from the inside.

Seated on his chair, Louis slowly looked up at the angelfish before him.

“Still, for this one alone—— even though it was done half as a joke, it was given the name ‘William’, and so I must do everything I can for it.”

His voice was filled with determination.

“It pains me to say this, but what you said was true. It’s foolish of me, but I’ve grown attached to a fish that was meant to be nothing more than a tool. Of all things, I’ve ended up projecting the image of my brother onto a fish.”

“Mr Louis……”

He’d laid bare the emotions he had been suppressing with logic, and now, Fred understood just how much he’d been suffering.

——Projecting his own brother, onto an angelfish.

Perhaps, if one didn’t know the brothers’ background, one would find this rather comical. But as someone who shared their ambitions, Fred had no intention of laughing.

Louis devoted himself to their work without batting an eye. But having been with the two brothers until now, Fred was painfully aware that that cold-heartedness was, from another perspective, directly linked to his extraordinary love for William.

In that case, it was only natural that once something was given the name of the brother he so revered, Louis would begin to see it as more than a mere tool.

It was the complete opposite of what Louis had always said and done. But Fred knew that his words were backed by conviction, and thus realised that further persuasion would be futile. In fact, he could even sympathise with that selfless devotion to the fish.

Because to Louis, William James Moriarty was a figure more precious and important than anything else.

But although he understood Louis’s feelings, that didn’t mean the problem was resolved.

“Even so, there isn’t anything else we can……”

Though it was extremely difficult to say, it was also the unassailable truth, and Louis accepted it with bitterness.

“……Indeed. There’s nothing else we can do.”

The strength of one’s feelings alone, could not hope to fight a disease that existed in reality.

It was a cruel truth, and Fred’s expression clouded over. Although he no longer had any intention of stopping Louis, just like this, a wordless silence settled between them once more.

The room was engulfed in a heavy stillness.

“——It sure feels rather gloomy in here. Louis, Fred.”

Then, the voice of that man rang out.

The two of them looked at the entrance, and saw William entering the hall with silent steps.

Looking at his younger brother seated listlessly before the aquarium, William’s voice was mingled with sorrow.

“You don’t seem to be well, Louis. Although this is something I asked you to do, it shouldn’t come at the expense of your own health.”

“Nii-san……”

Louis rose to his feet, in an attempt to explain the current situation; but all he had were useless excuses, and he fell silent.

Instead, Fred stepped forward and tried to defend him.

“N-No, Mr William. He was, trying to help the fish——”

But William raised a hand to stop him.

“Fred, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I haven’t come here to lay blame on Louis; rather, I’m here to give him something important.”

“Eh?”

That was not what he’d been expecting. Puzzled, Fred stood rooted to the spot.

Then, William took a tiny bottle of liquid and a small piece of paper from his breast pocket, then handed them both to Louis.

Needless to say, Louis was perplexed.

“Nii-san……. These are?”

“——Medicine for the fish.”

At those nonchalant words, Louis and Fred were startled. Wide-eyed, they stared at the bottle in Louis’s hand.

“From what I’ve been told, this has been prepared using a solution of malachite green as a base. [1] Adding an appropriate amount of it to the water should do the trick,” William explained simply.

“Did you arrange for this, Mr William?”

A trace of excitement crept into Fred’s expression, and William nodded leisurely.

“I’d anticipated a situation like this, so I requested Herder to develop such a remedy. But because the fish-keeping equipment was the bigger priority, it seems the medicine was completed a little late. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Louis — these past few days must’ve been difficult for you.”

Hearing that, Fred found himself with a newfound admiration for William’s foresight, as well as Herder’s outstanding technical expertise.

With both hands, Louis clutched the tiny bottle as if it were priceless beyond compare.

“——Thank you so much, nii-san!”

In a pitch-dark situation, he’d now been given a ray of hope. Louis sank into a deep bow, and William responded with a smile full of warmth.

“Also, I have an update on our work: in five days, the fish will all be leaving the mansion.”

Slowly, Louis and Fred’s expressions grew taut.

“I managed to secure a meeting with Stapleton a few days earlier. As planned, he was lured in by the tropical fish, and invited us to his mansion in exchange for us handing them all over to him. After that meeting, I believe I’ll be able to judge if he’s indeed engaged in nefarious acts.”

“Understood,” Louis replied.

“I’ll report back once I obtain the results. Well then, I wish you all the best.”

With those parting words, William left the hall with a dignified air. Louis and Fred thanked him once again, then looked at one another.

Fred smiled. “The fish will surely get better once you use this,” he said.

But in contrast, Louis’s manner was exceedingly calm.

“I wouldn’t be optimistic,” he cautioned. “Since the drug was only just developed, there may be concerns about its quality, and we don’t know for sure if it’ll be effective in treating this particular disease.”

But Fred simply narrowed his eyes, and stared at Louis’s face.

“……What’s the matter?”

Fred pushed the corners of his own mouth up with his fingers.

“You’re smiling.”

“Wha……!”

In an instant, Louis hid his mouth with a hand. No matter how he tried to look unruffled, it seemed he was unable to conceal the sheer delight brimming within him.

“A-Anyway! Since this is something William nii-san and Mr Herder have prepared, let’s use it right away!”

Louis said that in an especially loud voice, in a bid to hide his embarrassment; then, following the instructions on the piece of paper he’d been given, he added the liquid medicine into the tank.

“Now all we can do is hope it’ll work.”

“It’ll be fine, for sure,” Fred said brightly.

For once, Louis did not argue back.

Footnotes:

[1] Malachite green can be used as an antimicrobial in aquaculture (Wikipedia). But it is toxic and potentially carcinogenic(!!), hence it’s been banned for this purpose in many countries today.

#moriarty the patriot #yuukoku no moriarty #yuumori #english translation #a study in scarlet #illustration insert

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piduai · 3 years ago

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tsurumi and koito are opposites in how they deal with people, in the sense that tsurumi commented himself on the balance between honne and tatemae and one of koito's core traits is his straightforwardness. i think it's a confusing concept if you didn't get to experience it or didn't grow up with it. everyone knows about fake niceness and the customer service voice, except here it's not a negative thing. and it's a bit different.

japan being a collectivist society, teamwork, the interests of the many, conformity and a strong understanding of hierarchy are valued. everyone should work together towards making life easier for one another. it is important that everyone gets involved, and it is important to help each other, to not hurt each other, to not create conflict, and to not create problems. in these circumstances it is encouraged to keep your private feelings private, to be polite with strangers, and to avoid any social faux pas. which is what tatemae is for. it's important to be nice and polite with other people regardless of what you feel towards them, because you're in the public eye and you must behave. strangers do not need to know about your true feelings.

honne is what you reserve for yourself and your loved ones. it's where you can drop pretense and be sincere and show your true face and your true feelings. it's the private side of you reserved for the closest circle.

he's actually using the words tatemae and honne here verbatim though of course it'd be very convoluted to translate that as such. and while he's trying to emotionally manipulate asirpa here, he's also making the parallel between himself and wilk and hints at the fact that he understood wilk and his motivation to act the way he did. ultimately wilk cut kiroranke out of his "honne" circle because he knew that they drifted away and couldn't see eye to eye anymore. and kiroranke didn't like being "tatemae"d by someone he considered a friend and with whom he came to a new country.

back to tsurumi though, the line between his honne and tatemae is very, very intentionally blurred; he even comments on it himself in the page above. it doesn't necessarily mean that your private feelings can't be the ones you show to the world, except he definitely doesn't. he keeps other people at a distance while simultaneously manipulating and using them, which makes him a very cold and calculated person, and others can instinctively sense it - tsukishima most certainly did. that was one of both his and koito's biggest problems with tsurumi. it's difficult to earnestly follow someone who is intentionally insincere and never lets their guard down. tsukishima did, of course, but that's because he had his own issues.

anyway if you're brought up in this environment, straightforwardness is a rare trait, and one that defines koito. tsurumi comments on it when he breaks 14 years old koito's stick and says that his technique alone is straightforward and beautiful, tsukishima comments on it in the last chapter. because he's straightforward, koito couldn't abide by tsurumi's mind games; all he wanted was a bit of honesty. tsurumi does love beating around the bush and engaging in complex schemes. for someone as direct and determined as koito i guess that's even harder to deal with than the reality of having been lied to. which he addresses in the volume additions; if tsurumi were more direct and stated clearly what he wants, koito would have no problem following him. except tsurumi can't do that because he's not that kind of person.

in the end i guess tsukishima's biggest, hm, development was changing masters from someone treacherous and manipulative to someone straightforward and honest. that's something, i guess

#maybe a bit of tinfoil and god knows i don't like bringing cultural relativism into this kind of stuff #because a) it's not relevant most of the time #and b) i feel like it's not my place because i'm an outsider but in this instance it makes sense #this trio is so deeply uninteresting also. like the koito and tsukishima duo is so fucking boring not even tsurumi's neverending charm #and ability to escalate everything in a nanosecond is capable of giving it any spice. sad!

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illusory-torrent · 4 years ago

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Why I prefer the Genshin Impact fandom to the RWBY fandom.

I'll start off by saying what many of us are thinking. It's sad that the ships are nearly the only thing the RWBY fandom talks about because the plot leaves so many in a state of dissatisfaction. I've seen so many RWBY fans and non-fans alike say, "Oh, I don't care about the plot, I'm only watching for [insert ship here]" or "I'm going to drop the show if [insert ship here] doesn't happen". For those who doubt me, please believe me, it's a thing.

Now, when I say that the RWBY fandom only really cares for shipping, you might ask, "Is that not what every fandom does though?"

Well... yes! You're right. However, I think the RWBY fandom takes it to the next level.

First off, the theory-making side of the RWBY fandom has completely died. I remember there being videos theorizing if Yang was part-dragon Faunus or Ruby being a fox Faunus. These days, the fandom's theories boil down to, "What's up with the void that Team RWBY fell into?" due to V8's ending, but back during V5-V7, there were hardly any theories being posted. Most people just don't care anymore.

Second off, Miles and Kerry struggle with writing characters outside of pairs. Not just romantic pairs, but pairs in general. Most characters only have interacts with their team partners, their love interests, their familial relationships, and... that's it. Blake is a prime example of this. Her best interactions are with Yang (her team partner), Sun (her former love interest), Ilia (another former love interest), and Adam (her ex-boyfriend). Her worst interactions are with Ruby (her team's leader, whom she hardly interacts with) and pretty much everyone else. Even her interactions with Weiss are few and far between. Another example would be Penny. Prior to Volume 3, Penny's best interactions were with Ruby. Penny hardly interacted with anyone else in a meaningful way. She dies and Ruby's tearful reaction is focused on. Why? Because she's one of the few characters Penny actually had a relationship with! Penny comes back in Volume 7, and she still only really interacts with Ruby. Her only new relationship that's developed is with Winter... and we find out why. It's because when Penny is killed by Jaune, her maiden powers are transferred to Winter, the rightful owner.

Miles and Kerry being unable to write outside of pairs is why we only have each of our characters only interact with certain other characters. Before Jaune helped kill Penny, did he ever even have a real conversation with her? We'll never know! Has Blake even talked to Jaune before? No idea! Did Yang even care that Pyrrha died? Probably, but we viewers literally never see the two interact prior to Pyrrha's untimely demise.

This type of writing (whether intentionally or unintentionally done) promotes shipping culture. Characters interact primarily with their love interests (who may or may not also be their team partners). This is why RWBY's fandom is so focused on shipping. Hell, even Blake's VA tweeted at Clover's VA with a joke regarding this.

Clover's VA: Has anybody heard of this thing, “shipping?”

Blake's VA: Welcome to RWBY.

[Photo for anyone who needs proof, in case these Tweets are deleted in the future.]

Blake's VA even once had to make a post saying, "Y’all, you know I love my Bees, but not everything is Bee related. Some is just RWBY hype in general. Calm yo’self.". The fact she even had to clarify that not everything she posts about RWBY is related to a ship is astounding. Imagine having to tell your audience that not everything you post is related to a fictional pairing.

The RWBY cast even had an segment on The Ship-It Show where, you guessed it, they talked about their favorite and least favorite ships. Their tagline even was that "Shipping is a creative expression, so don't limit your creativity!", which went over with the fandom about as well as one would expect.

Finally, Miles Luna recently posted a Cameo video where he stated, "Just remember: shipping is fun and pretend, and it’s just supposed to be a good time. Don’t be one of those people that attack other shippers and get real mean and toxic. We’re all just here having fun with wonderful make believe characters and make believe worlds, and I think that is a beautiful activity, as long as you’re doing it responsibly and kindly."

So as you can see, shipping is a big part of the RWBY community. I'd venture to say that shipping is the most important part of the RWBY community. And that's fine! Shipping in itself isn't a bad thing. It's only when it gets completely out of hand where it becomes a problem. And I feel it is becoming a problem in the RWBY community. Rooster Teeth, if you need your show-writers to remind the fandom that shipping is supposed to be fun, you have a problem.

Well, how does Genshin Impact avoid that problem? The fandom itself is large and the game is quite popular, so how does it handle not becoming a complete shitfest shipfest?

For starters, Mihoyo doesn't confirm any ships at all. This is for profit reasons, the game is a gacha game designed for players to spend money on their "waifus" and "husbandos". Characters have outfit customization for this exact purpose. Mihoyo benefits from keeping characters canonically single. This is why, while people think soon-to-be-released characters like Ayaka and Tohma are dating, many people also believe these same characters to be single.

Second off, VAs are unable to give their opinions on certain ships and on lore. For example, the VA for Lumine, the main female protagonist, confirmed that Lumine was 15, before apologizing and deleting her comments. The VA for Childe signed some Childe x Lumine artwork to sell, but blatantly stated that he only really shipped Childe with Childe. The VAs avoid discussing unconfirmed ships/lore and, in this way, Mihoyo avoids controversy.

Finally, Genshin Impact only recently came out. This means that the theorizing part of the fandom is still alive and well. There's plenty to theorize about since there's so much us players don't know about the story. Lore tidbits are celebrated by lore junkies, folks who want to theorize on the characters' backstories or on the protagonist's journey to find their twin sibling are more than welcome to do so.

So while the Genshin Impact community engages in tons of shipping, none of the ships are more canon than any other. A Zhongli x Childe shipper might argue that their ship is canon because Zhongli gifted Childe some chopsticks, but a Zhongli x Ningguang shipper could easily argue back that Ninguang is a reincarnation of Zhongli's former friend/partner Guizhong. And of course, a non-shipper could look at both of these arguments and believe them both to be false.

I think this allows shipping to remain a fun and lighthearted activity in the Genshin Impact fandom. You can ship what you'd like, or you can just enjoy the plot and lore like a normal gamer.

So where am I going with this? Well, my thoughts are that no matter what the fandom, there will always be shipping. There's always gonna be some degenerates (like myself) who see two cute characters and want them to get together. However, it's up to the creators themselves to decide where to go with ships or to even entertain them at all. Mihoyo, in my opinion, handles the Genshin Impact fandom's shipping craze much more successfully than Rooster Teeth handles the RWBY fandom.

So what are your thoughts? If you're in both fandoms, which fandom do you prefer and why? Let me know!

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snicketstrange · 4 years ago

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Rereading The Chapter 14 (The End)

I believed that in ASOUE's universe, chapter 14 was apparently written some time after the rest of the book. But I abandoned that idea. Lemony wrote to the editor that chapter 14 could be found at the end of the same manuscript.

We then have the epigraph of Le Voyage. It's an excerpt that portrays the moment of death, and perhaps the acceptance of death. But I don't think this means that Lemony is completely certain of the Baudelaires' death. I think it means he's pretty sure he won't write about the Baudelaires anymore. I think the right question is "why did Lemony decide to stop writing at this point in the story?" "Why did he plan to write more and then stop writing?" I think Lemony didn't promise to write the entire story of the Baudelaires. He promised to write the story of the conflict between the Baudelaires and Olaf. So when he was sure of Olaf's death, and that was only with the additional information he had probably had access to through Beatrice Jr, Lemony realized that the research might be over. The certainty of Olaf's death was the event he determined when the narrative came to an end. So, it makes us wonder what kind of promise Lemony made. Apparently he promised that he would clarify the facts surrounding the charges the Baudelaires went through, as well as the contexts in which these events took place. That's why it was so important to get this information out to the general public. Because it involved the honor of the Baudelaire family. Furthermore, this explains why he could not rely solely on the account given by the Baudelaires themselves: after all, they were being accused of being lying criminals. Lemony needed to clear their name, proving, so to speak, that the facts reported by the Baudelaires were real, and it was not enough just to record what he read in the island book.

I think this is the most sensible explanation, and as a theorist I will defend it. But as a fan willing to come up with slightly bizarre ideas, I feel like imagining Lemony realizing that his own death was close to happening. It would be interesting to imagine that Lemony's research took so long that he was an elderly man when he was publishing The End. And the reason Lemony finished his work at this point would be his physical limitations. That would explain shocking secret #13: "he's finished." And more than that: it would even explain the title of the book: "The End of Lemony Snicket". And furthermore, this would explain Lemony's dedication to Beatrice in chapter 14. After quoting the words of Charles B., in which the poet compares the hour of death with the setting off of a ship, Lemony claims that both he and Beatrice are like boats sailing at night, but especially her. Both were on a dark and lonely journey, but she was already dead. "

Beatrice's last words recorded in the book were really emotional to me when I first read them, and they still are today. Especially after I watched the Netflix series, it's now possible to imagine a very specific face when I picture Beatrice. And it's possible to think of a specific soundtrack when I read this.

About the baby's name, on my Headcanon Violet is the name of Mrs. W, who was presumed dead around the same time as Lemony. And in my Headcanon, just as Lemony didn't really die, she didn't either. I still like to think that she was the mystery woman on TGG, and that's the real reason Quigley used the name Violet in the message he sent to submarine Q.

I think this is the first time I stop to think that the Baudelaires ate crab. This is unclean food for those who practice Judaism as a religion, isn't it? I even thought the roast lamb was a reference to the Passover celebration, but they wouldn't do that by eating crab. Or is it that in a book in which Daniel Handler implicitly criticizes religion, he did so on purpose? I think it's unlikely, but still possible. But, albeit unintentionally, the Baudelaires rejected the religious customs of their ancestors in a book in which religious customs are questioned and this is significant.

"The baby had heard about danger, too, mostly from the register of crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind from which the Baudelaires read out loud each evening, although they had not told the infant the whole story. She did not know all of the Baudelaires' secrets, and indeed there were some she would never know."

The above excerpt is important as it reveals that Lemony has information about Beatrice Jr's future as he was writing this chapter. This explains how Lemony knows what happened in this chapter: Beatrice Jr told him. Lemony did meet her, and he realized that the Baudelaires hadn't told her the whole story.

A detail that has always pleased me in this book is to notice that after 1 year, Sunny stopped babbling words and has a more conventional and extensive vocabulary. I find this compatible with the fact that 1 year has passed and it's also compatible with her character development arc. One of asoue's themes is "how some children are forced to mature too quickly because of tragedy". Sunny, for example, needed to learn how to cook and convince herself that she loved doing it and that she was good at it in a few days. And all this before she learned to speak English properly. She needed to help with a birth long before she fully understood issues related to human procreation. But in chapter 14, she finally had the opportunity to develop without tragedies forcing her to skip important steps in life.

"Do we take this?" Violet asked, holding up the book from which she had read out loud.

"I don't think so," Klaus said. "Perhaps another castaway will arrive, and continue the history."

"In any case," Sunny said, "they'll have something to read."

Please realize how important this dialogue is. Daniel Handler placed this dialogue here to make sure the reader understood the source of information Lemony had access to: the island book. The children wrote about their own story in that book, including their thoughts, feelings, and private conversations. The children shared some details about ancient events, about when Sunny wasn't even born. In the book, Lemony found details about some events that took place on the island before the arrival of the three Baudelaires.

"I want to make sure these life jackets I've designed will fit properly."

Well... It's good to know that, even though the boat sank, the Baudelaires had lifeboats. Their chances of survival really increased a lot. And knowing that Beatrice Jr managed to survive a shipwreck, it's quite possible that they did too.

The Baudelaires watched her approach, wondering what the next chapter in this infant's life would be, and indeed that is difficult to say. There are some who say that the Baudelaires rejoined V.F.D. and are engaged in brave errands to this day, perhaps under different names to avoid being captured. There are others who say that they perished at sea, although rumors of one's death crop up are often revealed to be untrue. But in any case, as my investigation is over, we have indeed reached the last chapter of the Baudelaires' story, even if the Baudelaires had not.

Lemony just reports here what he heard. Although Daniel Handler intentionally wishes the ending to be left open, and I will respect his decision, I will speak my opinion. They didn't die at sea, though. Note that Lemony directly relates the baby's future to the future of the three Baudelaires. The way Lemony wrote here suggests that the baby's future is as uncertain as the future of her adoptive parents. But we TBL readers know the truth about Beatrice Jr.'s future. Beatrice is alive! So the most likely situation is that her parents are also alive. ( And who knows other characters that we thought had died there on TBB... could it be that at least one of them could also have survived?)

But the question is: if Lemony knows the baby survived, why did he hide this information from the reader? Certainly to protect his niece. Lemony didn't lie, just omitted some details.

The baby paused, and looked at the back of the boat, where the nameplate had been affixed. She had no way of knowing this, of course, but the nameplate had been nailed to the back of the boat by a person standing on the very spot she was standing—at least as far as my research has shown.

Lemony once again dismantled specific knowledge through research, which could only have been done through information provided by others. Beatrice Jr needed to tell Lemony exactly where she was at that moment and Lemony needed to compare that with the information Beatrice Sr and Bertrand wrote in the island book. And then, on visiting the site, Lemony was able to ascertain the most likely position for those descriptions. While Lemony is a bit mistaken, the research process must have been like that.

Finally, she uttered a word. The Baudelaire orphans gasped when they heard it, but they could not say for sure whether she was reading the word out loud or merely stating her own name, and indeed they never learned this. Perhaps this last word was the baby's first secret, joining the secrets the Baudelaires were keeping from the baby, and all the other secrets immersed in the world. Perhaps it is better not to know what was meant by this word, as some things are better left in the great unknown. There are some words, of course, that are better left unsaid—but not, I believe, the word uttered by my niece, a word which here means that the story is over. Beatrice.

Oh... How I love this ending. That's when I felt my head explode for the first time in my life, and I'm still picking up the pieces.

#asoue #asoue theory #lemony snicket #a series of unfortunate events #asoue theories #beatrice baudelaire #snicketverse #beatrice snicket #beatrice jr #violet baudelaire #sunny baudelaire

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tata-is-the-name · 5 years ago

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Witcher of the Night (Chapter 23)

THIS IS MODERN ERA READER WHO WOKE UP IN THE DIMENSION OF THE WITCHER.

CHAPTER 22

WOTN MASTERLIST

Characters: Geralt of Rivia x small!Naive!Reader

Summary: You only needed a little push from the Druid to blurt out what is needed to be said out in the open. It was time to finally recognize such feelings you have for the witcher who is out to hunt for the witch that will set you free. Thus, making you yearn more for him when you're currently still in a fight with the man himself.

Warnings: I've customized Kolby in this story of mine. He talks a little. Heh. Derogatory attitudes and words. No Still, no Geralt yet. Full blown Geralt perspective on chapter 23.1! (Not 1st POV) It will be posted earlier in Wattpad. Hehehehe.

Words: 6k

A/N: Updates might be a lot slower than usual when September starts because it's the start of our online school. 😊 That's why I'm doing my effort in posting updates as much as possible. Feedbacks will be so nice to receive especially for an author. 😊 Also, CAN’T THEY JUST MAKE-UP ALREADY? I MISS WRITING FLUFF FOR THEM?!

TAGLIST IS STILL OPEN FOR THIS ONE! Heehee! Don’t forget to REBLOG, COMMENT OR GIVE FEEDBACK IF YOU DID LOVE THIS CHAPTER! IT’LL MAKE ME SMILE! Sorry for the grammatical errors and such because English isn’t my mother tongue! PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK AFTER READING, BB! I apologize for errors!

Disclaimer: PNG’s and pictures used in edits are not mine even the GIF’s too. Character development and personalities are based from my understanding and how I want them to be. I only own my original characters in this fanfic.

MY WORKS ARE NOT NOT NOT NOT NOOOOOOT TO BE POSTED ON ANY OTHER WEBSITES. My official username in Wattpad is “TATATHEPOTATO” and that’s the only other site I have for writing aside from Tumblr. Thank you, Tater tots!

(I know that ain't a Hirikka. Just looks like one. Hehe. It's a Madagascar Lemure to be specific. So cute. Literally looks like a Hirikka or Kolby but a smaller version! 😍)

By your sudden reckoning after days of physical torture, you deserve a reward for having your hypothesis correct. The palace guards has taken you all close to a stock still riverbed; stagnant and utterly too tranquil to begin with that it has given you doubts over how safe it is. Living with the witcher has made you more cautious over your surroundings, thinking that there would always be monsters hiding around or beneath the dark stream of water where minnows constantly waggled along your toes as you tried to test the temperature of the water.

The river curved gently through the forest, your eyes scanning all around and wary for any beasts to surprise you out of the blue. Every women began to grab onto a pile of dirt stained clothes scattered on the dry, rocky ground as you were calf deep within the rivers, looking through the trees while you stood on your place---seeing for any broken branches looking like it has been eaten or moved by a gigantic beast.

Remembering the witcher's knowledge about monsters, giving you some of the basics. He'd told you about foot prints seen on the ground as it could also be a hint that monsters may be wandering around the place.

You've felt a hand shoving your shoulders forward to disturb you out of your thoughts, the mild splashing of water coming from your stumbling body as you heard the voices of one, ill-bred castle guard, "It's safe. The servants have been washing clothes in ere' since before you even feckin' arrived," he curtly spat with no remorse. Drops of his saliva watering your face like rainfall which has made you scrunch your nose in disgust.

"We shouldn't be too sure," ambivalent of the whole place, you uttered in complete hesitance.

The castle guard boastfully crossed his arms in front of you, tilting his chin high to show how he was pressing on his dominance over a servant slash prisoner he believed you to be---his judgement being also based upon your connection with a witcher which has made him more repellant and hateful.

"Stop blathering, witcha's whore. Do your job."

There was no use to that especially that every man and woman surrounding you began to rudely stare---criticising your shilly-shallying and thinking that you were doing it to lessen your work time. All the tension was adding stones to your chest because you sincerely didn't want to do any of it at all.

One begrudging sigh and a glum frown was all it took for your feet to leave the rivers, carrying the heavyness of being trapped and controlled by people acting like they owned everything of you.

This was probably how peasants were back in history and it was humiliating to be under their jurisdiction when you have been used to freedom back in your dimension no matter how depressing it can be to be alone and a commoner.

You sat on a big pile of rock around the river bed, your knuckles turning beet red from how you have been scrubbing all clothing, under garments, any type of fabric that has got you feeling as if muscles would build up around your shoulders and arms from how thick and thin they can become. Minding your own business and wanting to finish the chores as soon as possible---being secluded from the group of chattering servants who were a few meters away from you that their abrupt jests and teases haven't been heard by you. One tall, slim maiden managed to stroll along your way, through the riverbed as she loudly called which has gotten giggles of mischievousness from the women.

"Oi! Witcher's tramp!" she loudly spoke whilst the cold wind passed by, "---I heard you're damned just like the butcher,"

Your movements have been ceased by her blatant pillory. But, you went on scrubbing the clothing on your hands while lowly murmuring a tired warning.

"Leave me alone."

Cold sweat began to drip on your temples and neck. The healing bruises on your back slightly feeling sore and you couldn't help but stretch your back upon sitting down on the rocks. Once the maiden was up close as you've seen her shadows nearby, giving her a plain gander; your memory washed through when you've seen her face.

Drishti. She was the woman who looked to be in a close relationship with the senior servants who seemed to also be mocking other women as a playful jest.

Though, you doubt yours have just been playful teases.

She swiftly turned away to crouch beside you, grabbing onto the finished fabrics that were already clean. The giggling woman dropped the wet bundle of clothes over your head that has made you breathless for too much frustrations going to your head, intentionally ruining your work and mockingly stating her apologies when some of it went straight down the waters, soiling them again.

"The queen wants it squeaky clean. No tarnishes. Leave er' out until your knuckles are bleedin'! I've seen dirt with your work---wouldn't want the queen to scold us now, don't we?"

Otker has just been watching the whole scene before him with a frown etched on his face. He didn't want to involve in such problems that women try to stir with each other especially that other knights and sentinels actually came with them. But, seeing you being bludgeoned for their entertainment was giving himself more guilt while hearing more of what they were saying.

The others began to saunter towards where you both were. Mischievous grins curling their lips as they prowled closer to where Drishti was and stopping beside her with their hands on their hips, wiping their wet hands on their aprons.

"I doubt you would be able to wash all these clothing by yourself," Drishti stated, proud of ruining your work and seeing you submissively peeling off the clothes covering your head one by one in a lethargic manner. No words spoken by the witcher's tramp that they have been calling you since the day you've seen them.

"You seem to be in a moribund by how pale ye' are! Definitely the witcher's bride!" the other maiden noticed as she crouched near you, her face closely in a few inches from yours. Yet, you didn't give her your attention and continued to ignore whatever they were doing. Fed up by all their oppression about being Geralt's whore. The label quite affecting you more and more each day as they try to make you realize that it was all your worth to him.

They weren't helping after the fight you had with him as it was still fresh inside your head, stressing you out with a want to claw anyone in your way.

"Your stupid witcher killed my knightly hombre for a floozie like ye'!" Drishti snarled, raising her foot to kick you on the side before seeing her in your peripheral vision and blocking her assaults with a shove of your hands, pushing her calf away from your body.

"---Not. My. Stomach. Bitch."

The bitchy maiden squinted her eyes, guessing as to why you seem to be in a flurry and protective state over the stomach you've suddenly held dear. She tilted her chin, comprehending what was keeping you all guarded rather than accepting their tyrannizes just like how you've been days before.

You were acting like a pregnant woman, she thought in the back of her mind. Now, Drishti knew you were basically fucking the witcher---and you were too naive to know that he was sterile.

Though, they never know anything at all besides that.

"Feisty and defensive, aye! Ye' growin' a cub down there? I doubt!" she scoffed from the idea and how you were avoiding her eyes, guilty from being caught, "---you've gone doolally if you ever think the witcher gots you pregnant, harlot!"

Drishti was about to tug onto your hair when your guarding has been on the low, choosing to ignore her. Like a shot, an uninvited whisk of a wind passed by. The gasps and yelps of people around started to begin again with buzzes of incoherent gossips. Their fingers pointing towards an undesirable visitor who can never be accepted by people in their land.

A familiar growl vibrated beside you, making you turn your head to see your Hirikka standing for safeguard. His fangs shown towards Drishti who was now sitting upon the riverbed, her bottom drenched in her own clothes from being shoved by the beast you call your own, looking like she has seen her own fears appear before her.

"Kolby?" sweetly called by you, gasping afterwards by feeling the relief wash over, "---Kolby! I thought you were gone,"

Upon the de trop invitation of the Hirikka, pandemonium started to arise for his presence. Wary of the sound of swords unsheathing from their covers and gallants suddenly coming forth towards the both of you.

It suddenly made you stand up in defense, hiding Kolby behind whilst you fought for his life.

"Kill it!" Roger, the head guard suddenly started his upheaval. Marching towards you with his sword on his side, paranoid over the monster that they're seeing.

"Stop! he's harmless! Just feral because you are using your swords on him!" Their actions made you shout at the top of your lungs, making them cease their steps when Kolby swiftly turned to change position and stood in front, safeguarding you from everyone he sees peril.

One sentinel huffed in abhorrence, his face shadowing outrage for the brute trying to protect another human. Disbelief written inside their eyes as Kolby continued to loudly howl in the middle of the forest and riverbed.

"That's a feckin' monster you gots there, you foolish woman!"

You reached for the Hirikka, softly petting his head which quickly have him calm down in the slightest, leaning his muzzle closer to your face as he purred. Noting his particular stench that he had from being away for days and out in the forest.

"Kolby is harmless! I can even pet him! He will prove you all that this Hirikka is harmless for anyone. Would you do the honors, Otker?"

The forest green eyed man suppressed all his opinions to himself as he observed what was happening. Reveling in his own silence, his name was abruptly called out of the blue, snapping from his own dwam as Otker surveyed the looks of everyone who were scattered around him, their defense up and alert whilst they hold their weapons.

"M-Must it be me?" he stuttered and tweeted, his weight shifting from one foot to the other while his foot tapped on the ground. Otker seeming to be reluctant from your suggestion when he'd given Kolby a scan of his eyes as the Hirikka barred his teeth dispassionately, distinguishing to be a smile that caught the chevalier in surprise.

"---He's harmless, lads. Unless you're keeping his master in danger then he'll bite,"

Nobody believed him. That wasn't new to a newly employed knight who hadn't reach years of working for the kingdom.

One Kaedweni scout yelled his hatred over your monster out in the open, "Slaughter the beast and behead!"

They've all taken one step forward. Their stance never capitulating no matter how much convincing was ever told. Kolby vehemently yowled and barked in the middle of their pussyfooting till they could reach you both. It sounded like a howl of a wolf who was calling for its kind. Their obstinacy made you squawk out of nowhere, rattling the quietude of the forest as you felt your heart pounding faster and louder against your chest. Your temples thumping in torment because your head was starting to ache from the stress they were trying to give and for also feeling your other half's current state.

Your screams made them jerk back, the maidens clearing their throat and subtly stepping back from your sudden outrage.

"I'd like to see you try before I tell him to rip your head first while I feed your balls off to fuckin' Ghouls!" you shrieked and panted, feeling another gist of a panic-attack about to happen. Your emotions were starting to be a squall before a hurricane, utterly ferocious and turbulent because of the pent-up aggression kept for days long.

"---Just leave me the fuck alone for this once! You're all insane for annoying the shit out of me since the moment I got here! I've been doing everything you wanted! Wasn't all the drubbing enough?! Call me the witcher's whore, tramp, harlot, his sex-doll for all I care! I know my face shows how I'm always thirsty for Geralt's dick but you don't need to know that! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" pause. "---FUCKING ASSHOLES IN THE MEDIEVAL ERA! YOU'RE STRESSING ME OUT!"

You were a towering rage set in a small body of a woman. Your face wild and vicious---in the verge of crying and wanting to bring back the time where you have never drowned in a lake you hardly remember; for it to have the power of never transporting into another dimension that was staring to take a toll on you, never wanting to have met Geralt along the way so you wouldn't have love him too much just like how you do now.

Thinking about his whereabouts every single day despite of being thoroughly upset over him, still caring for him even knowing that he didn't even loved you.

Tears were being squeezed from the eyes who have already cried all night and day. But, it seemed like it decided not to give the people in front---the taste of your desperation for peace and happiness especially without your anchorage who happened to be breaking the chains for you.

Roger took a step back, hearing growling from afar and not just from your Hirikka. His head snapped to where the noise where coming from when he was suddenly standing stiff from where he stood, eyeing a dozen of wild Hirikkas grouping themselves from the other side of the river. Grimy and nasty looking more than Kolby; taller, bigger and some were buffed like a bear. Their teeth barred for everyone to see as the monsters were scanning them one by one with their wild golden eyes.

The kaedweni sentinels seen it all, even the maidens who were silently panicking from seeing such monsters prowling away from them, standing to watch what was happening as if Kolby was their alpha. They all looked at Roger who begrudgingly sheathed his sword, ignoring your dispute with a single nod of his head for his men.

"They're everywhere. The beast must've called for reinforcements," he exhaled a breath of exasperation, taking a gander to give you a glare.

"---Stand down, lads."

All at once, they've yielded their weapons. Some shaking their heads at what they were witnessing. However, most were sending crude remarks over your relationship with a monster they believed and had profound repugnance over its kind.

"You're...You're a feckin' mutant too! Get your feckin' monster out of ere' before we kill ye' instead!"

Nevertheless, as each hour and days pass by. It seems like their ridicules sound like a normal thing to hear now after a ton of shameless monikers coming from them whenever they were seeing you. Becoming numb over what humans think of because you were simply associated with Geralt of Rivia. A witcher in their world. Catching more undisputed names that you hardly know as he seemed not to be the only witcher that people knew.

Hushed words were buzzing through the air whilst everyone tried hard to go back to their chores. The guards being more wary and defensive especially that the Hirikkas on the other end didn't leave the rivers after raising the white flag. Servants couldn't look you in the eye now after the commotion or particularly because Kolby was crouched beside while you went back to sit on the large stone.

He was breathing out large breaths through his snout while you scrubbed the dirty laundry again that Drishti has ruined, hearing a primal murmur of an animalistic whirr of his lungs.

"Ger...Ger...alt...Gwenn...bleid,"

Your eyes simply went wide at that, quickly understanding what words he was trying to form. Blood seeming to be pumping faster through your heart like you were hearing the first words of your child, excitement and curiosity rushing all around.

"You talk?! Are you curious as to where Geralt is?" Kolby gave a wince of his muzzle, snarling to himself like his sudden talking was making him hurt. You've quickly reached out and scratched the back of his long, wide, sharp ears that made him bark in felicity.

"He's not here though. Geralt is probably out in the woods hunting for the witch to get me out of this castle. Then, after that...I'm probably going back to where I came from because we had a fight,"

Kolby's doe eyes stared straight to your soul, whimpering as if he understood what you meant. The Hirikka subtly shook his head, making you furrow your brows from his peculiar gestures.

"You don't believe me?" only a loud sniff of his nose was given as an answer. He made a noise at the back of his throat that only he could do---sounding like a purr and a growl. Kolby sniffed another on your apron, across your stomach before promptly sitting up straight. His eyes as wide as the sun was shining above you whilst he suddenly screeched in a high-pitch tone for three times. Pausing in every yelp that got you covering your ears for how loud it was.

You were about to ask him what was wrong when he stood up on his paws, his teeth chattering like how cats are whenever they're on a hunt. The other Hirikkas loudly howling before Kolby sprinted beside you and paved away for the second time.

"Kolby! No! Come back! Not again!"

Your Hirikka was the only precious warmth you could remember like how a home can give. But, now; even Kolby was running away from you just like how Geralt chose to disregard the warmth you sincerely felt for him.

"Can't I have one day of rest?"

The exhausting day finally came to an end. Your chest feeling more and more heavier each day---probably having more weight than what you usually hold on to when you're upset. With Geralt's feelings overflowing yours and combining with the disappointment you had for him.

In the deepest part of your heart, there was still the obvious yearning to be in the arms of your witcher as days went on. The curse of the djinn being also somewhat a connection of souls you had with Geralt. Combination of feelings being stronger each day but never knowing what it truly was. Undisclosed secrets never been told to each other which heightened more of the weight on both of your shoulders.

With your back towards the door, the druid stood upon the threshold with stuff on his feeble arms.

"Wear this," Eanraig took several steps closer, placing the basket of womanly essentials on the side table of your bed. He slowly lowered the dress on the foot of the mattress before you rolled on your back with a whimper of your sore muscles.

"---The queen has set you a gown for a feast,"

"Is this the day I die?" you deadpanned, staring at the ceiling, "---this happens in the movies. They become good to me for one day because I'm dying the next. I'm naive, but not entirely stupid. Thanks, Eanraig."

Lifting yourself up on the bed, your back leaning against the headboard. You've maneuvered on all fours, crawling towards the lacy gown displayed along the golden sheets of the mattress. The color of the dress singing praises over the hues laid upon. Raising quite a heavy dress saluting back at you was a raven painted renaissance dress dangling over the bust part of a woman's body with a thin, see through fabric that fell along the arms like a sleeve to cover them up.

It was beautiful since black was a color you've always opted to wear back in earth. The color being basic and not difficult to match up with accessories. Yet, the whole gown seemed to be a planned outfit because of how gothic it looked, like the dress was meant to wear for something else.

Your mouth fell into a gloomy frown, realizing what this whole jet-black look was giving.

"A death dress. Wow. I'm impressed."

Eanraig couldn't help but scratch the nape of his neck, avoiding your callous guise and the idea of what you said, "If you still want to live or see the Witcher and give him his progeny then you must attend the feast that was planned for you---somehow, it is."

Dropping the dress back on the sheets, your mouth was set on a thin line as you speak, "---and pretend I'm happy like they didn't beat the shit out of me?"

There was a beat of silence that filled the chambers he was in. Eanraig unconsciously scratched his whitening beard, sitting on the side of the bed beside you, "Just remember to stay low and never create a scene,"

"Tell your knights to not touch me then,"

A long deafening pause lingered between you. Eanraig's grey eyes filled with dread from what he misunderstood over what was said, quickly thinking about your witcher when he knows you have been 'touched' without your consent. Geralt would never get to tranquilize his savagery regardless whether a sorceress, wizard or any of the royal family stood before him when you have been abused for more than what was expected.

They've promised not to touch you. The witcher wouldn't take such broken promises without having their heads sliced from his hands.

"Were you..." the druid uttered and was lost in his trepidation, suggesting that their assaults have been more to that.

You were quick to shake your head firmly, swallowing that uncomfortable feeling down your throat from even just thinking about it. Knights and guards never did touch you in that way because of how they've loathed your relationship by being the witcher's tramp---thinking that you were one disgusting human they can never tolerate to try and bed you. Somehow, you were thankful that they've found you disgusting rather than appealing because you didn't know what to do nor have the energy to live on their world knowing that they have paved their way to have you.

Your spine felt the cold prickle, making you shiver and grabbing a hold of yourself by placing both of your palms on either side of your arms, more hopeless without any comfort around you but yourself.

"No. Not in that kind, Eanraig." pause. You've quickly changed the topic, "---I've never had any sleep since the moment Geralt left."

It's definitely not comfortable to be sleeping in a huge castle where memories of men beating you up shadowed on the four corners of the room. Frigidness completing your night where you have done nothing but stare from a distance, waiting for the moment where it was finally time to leave. The jocular memories filling your evening with nothing but the smiles of Jaskier, Cirilla and Geralt, excruciating when it came to reminiscing in the exact moment where Geralt had you in his arms by night, shushing you to sleep when he wasn't out to kill actual monsters and he was just there to protect you from yours.

"Having no proper sleep may harm the baby."

A sardonic laugh filled the room. The baby inside you was giving more complications upon staying in the castle, knowing that Ingrith hated you for it and for what the child was capable of. If only she could slice your throat, she probably would have done it in your sleep. Yet, the sorceress seemed to be like a person who held a name where she couldn't do any obvious wicked schemes that will harm her status.

"It's not like this castle isn't dangerous 24/7. You think I can sleep knowing that Geralt would actually leave me alone and I raise this child all by myself in a world I hardly know about?"

Now, Eanraig had the chance to skip the topic to something else, trying not to stress you more because he knew that a pregnant woman shouldn't be in distress from any begrudging news or complications. In due course, he was finally understanding that you overthink about such things where it could be affecting your mental state no matter how sooner or later, you'll be muttering how Geralt could sip tea with his monsters then sobbing afterwards because you were mindlessly missing to stay at his home. All away from the troubles that everyone was giving.

"I am unaware of women's essentials. But, I have brought you what I have retrieved from Cynthia. She has adviced for you to doll up being pretty as a princess," he was caught up in his own thoughts, pointing at a basket laid beside the bed. An unfamiliar name of a woman that he hardly ever mentioned until tonight.

With the ends of your lips raising into a smile, you couldn't stop the teasing gaze given to the druid which made him throatily chuckle while crawling to take a peek inside the basket, "It's...make up. This Cynthia you call, is she your wife?" unconsciously, your brows wiggled to goad over how timorous he suddenly became.

Even the magical so called 'druid' had his own rocky relationship with a woman.

Love. What's in it for you between Geralt? was it the affection bound to be felt for him?

You were reading the signs---his signs as if he was being hot and cold. Push and pull. Jumping and then taking a step back whenever he was swimming too deep, hesitant over such that you may never know until he tells.

"I'm afraid so, Little woman. But hardly my betrothed." the scholar chuckled and shook his head, turning his head to see you shuffle under the sheets, slipping in and hugging the blanket over your body longing for a witcher's touch regardless of being in a fight with him.

"Not official then. Hmm."

"You are starting to be the same as your witcher,"

A brow was lifted as you heard him acknowledge the fact that you were catching onto Geralt's habits of humming, your mouth forming a tight thin line as if he was sharing that you were slowly becoming one with him.

"Thanks for the dress and make-up, Eanraig. I just want to leave this castle for good already." you sneered, promptly laying down on the bed. Your back away from the druid which got him raising his brows because of your never ending worries.

Well, if you weren't living in a world like theirs and accidentally transported to their dimension with the lore of monsters---he certainly would go crazy just like how you were deeply pondering over circumstances.

"Back where you came from? Or back in your home with Geralt?"

"I...don't know,"

The bed squeaked as Eanraig shifted against the mattress, scooting closer to prove the witcher's understandable logic, "You know he didn't mean to say that. If anyone knows more about him in this castle, it must be you, Little Woman." he stated as a matter of fact, leaving no arguments on the latter part of his sentence.

Though, feeling attacked over pointing the blame on you felt like wildfire.

"He called me pathetic and wanted me to shut up, Eanraig."

"He's been called more than just displeasing names if we were to talk about his experiences. Geralt has created barriers over people that sometimes slips in between moments like this," he paused for a beat of second, continuing to provide more assurance and knowledge over his perspectives.

"---Maybe, you must have upset him too---hurt him in such ways which made him defensively talk back,"

Your lower lip quivered from the horrid truth that Geralt's friend managed to let out for you to think through, saving the best reason for last about the motives why you were acting snappy and cranky from the start.

"He doesn't love me,"

The scholar couldn't help but lowly chuckle beneath his breath, sounding like a scorn or derision that made you curl up like a ball under the sheets that was thrown over your head.

"But, he's out there finding a witch that is difficult to find. Correct?" pause. "---Even had killed men for you that no other men could do in the continent. So, how sure are you to say that his feelings aren't love?"

Another dreading beat of silence came after. The constant pauses being a fear for receiving more hurtful truths that kept you whining throughout the night.

You kicked your foot inside the sheets, facing front against the bed like a plank. Your voice sounding muffled through the soft fabric, "He...was searching for his lost lover before I came around."

"Before you came around," he repeated in a sing-song tone, "---Is he still searching for her whereabouts?"

"I...don't know. People have been telling me that he isn't meant to love another,"

Eanraig smiled to himself, his palms slapping his knees whilst he stood with a persuasive tone, "Then, you don't have enough trust and faith for him when you are giving him doubts. You are just like other people who sees him as the mutant that they all tell---a witcher who has no emotions nor is capable of having,"

The latter turned his back away. Deciding to leave you alone after pushing your hesitance through the limits. You just needed a push over actually trying to be the matured one---a mind of a mother who would only care for her child or family than herself. He knew it was in there, the femininity after knowing from Tybalt that you have begged to be taken rather than for Geralt's child of surprise to be kidnapped, including the humble bard whom has received beatings from the army.

As he stood, Eanraig heard a quiet sob followed suit and a hiccup from keeping everything too long to yourself---even kept everything from the witcher because you didn't have it in you.

"I-I don't! I don't see him as that! You don't get to judge me!" another hiccup resonated in the room, your stuttering making the druid frown from how small and fragile you instantly seemed to be. Knowing that one of the reasons why Geralt has been protecting you with all the risks included.

You were certainly like a bread before it has even been baked. A dough that appeared and felt to be soft once touched, your characteristics needed to be molded to make you stronger in their world. Sensitiveness being a sole weakness and he knew Geralt would've seen it with one look. Unless, the witcher must've loved how vulnerable and helpless you are---your naivity and innocence over lots of things has Geralt keeping you closer to his side.

Maybe, the witcher doesn't want you to change at all.

The druid knew that because even with Cynthia, he loved all her attributes and personality with all his heart. Accepting her imperfections and weaknesses as a part of her that makes her...human.

"---I love him, Eanraig. I love Geralt. I genuinely fell for him before I even know it and this child we have isn't helping when I know he would only ever love me as a woman that will eventually fade when she comes back around!"

Sobbing under the sheets was better than bawling your eyes out for another man to see. You went on in sobbing and curling into a fetus position, hearing Eanraig sigh but never seeing the regret in his eyes by triggering you into becoming this sobbing woman who would cry the night away.

"I'm sure he knows how you feel for him, Little Woman. Tell him before it's too late," he scratched his beard with his thumb, seeing you shift under the blankets and turning half away but not actually seeing your face as you were still hiding inside the sheets.

"---No matter how deep he's fond of you or not because you both have created a bundle of joy who is bound to walk through the continent. I am sure she has been made with love," Pause.

"Regrets won't get you living in happiness because you'll always come back to the moment where you hope to have confessed," Eanraig gave a small smile you never saw as you continued to wail. The bond that the Djinn has cast you both in gradually making you suffer from its yearning it was having for the witcher who was not there for you to hold nor talk to. The scholar knew it has given you both such connection that won't be easy to break.

"---Geralt's not entirely inhuman. You both have shared a bond together that nobody can ever experience. Never fear for the witcher who has captured your fragile heart---who knows, you might have captured his since then.Yet, he doesn't give candor due to his brooding persona. Don't let fear conquer the love you have for him,"

Sorry for the typos and errors! I've edited this all in my phone. (via Wattpad) Spare me an error please? HAHAHAHAH! COMMENTS OR FEEDBACKS WILL MAKE MY HEART TWERK! GO DO IT, BB! Tell me your guesses as to what will happen when it's finally the night of the feast in the castle! 😉🙈

Taglist for WOTN: (Strikethrough means your blog can’t be tagged. Please check your settings, bb’s! Thank you.) @alyxkbrl @himarisolace @barkingbullfrog @ayamenimthiriel @hellodevilslittlesister @turkish276 @spookypeachx @grungelovebug @fangirl-inthe-us @nympeth @amirahiddleston @gabethelobster @dreaming-about-fanfictions @uncoolcloudyhead @melaninstylezz @psychosupernaturalhero @missjenniferb @dance-dreamer @marvelousell @kingniazx @angelias134 @tapismyforte @chook007 @butterpumpkinscotch @deadlydemon @cheesecakeisapie @angelofthor @carrieannewaywardson, @plantingmum, @stuckupstucky, @shesthelastjedi, @a–1–1–3, @gutfucks, @raynosaurus-rex, @britty443, @suhke3, @shadowclawstudio88, @ruthoakenshield, @just-a-sad-donut, @gxrdenr0se, @singeramg @friendlyneighbourhoodweirdo, @alexwinchester23, @naturalthrone22

Overall witcher taglist: @pizza-eater-i-ate-the-pizza, @crazybutconfidentaf

General taglist for any Henry Cavill fics: @agniavateira, @iloveyouyen, @rahdaleigh, @silverkitten547, @henrythickcavill, @kaatelyyynn, @marvelousell, @madelinelina, @summersong69, @raynosaurus-rex, @fckdeusername, @evansislife

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mrs-hatake · 4 years ago

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Dearly Departed

Pairings: Kakashi x F!Reader, Onesided! Dabi x F!Reader

Warning: ooc characters, mentions of blood, dead body and major character death.

A/N: reposting this since tumbler wouldn’t let my posts appear.

this is what happens when you watch the scene of Carla’s death on repeat and listen to Eren’s YAMEROOO!!

also, I intentionally wrote dabi with his white hair and kept his chosen name.

as always, big thanks for the lovely @runeterrankhaleesi for proof reading this fic!

The Sunday market was buzzing like a group of honeybees in their hive despite it being so early in the morning. The people were cheery and had a smile as they presented their products, selling or trading it with their clients.

Y/N was looking at a basket of black berries, trying to determine which one looked the juiciest to purchase for her infamous black berry cake, when she felt a heavy arm snake itself around her shoulders.

“Morning, doll.” Greeted Dabi with a sleazy smile, his body reeked of alcohol and sweat.

Rolling her eyes, Y/N shrugged the arm off her shoulder and pointed at the pile of berries for the farmer to bag up for her. “Two dozens please.” She politely requested.

After she had paid and placed the bag of berries into her basket, she made her way to her next destination. “Whatcha baking today?” asked Dabi as he hooked his finger around a lock of hair that managed to fall out of Y/N’s bun and twirl it around his finger.

“Black berry cake.” She replied, seeming unaware of the finger in her hair as she glanced at the pile of wild mushrooms.

“For me? Awwww, you shouldn’t have!”

“You wish.” snorted Y/N, “It’s for the bakery. You want it? Then you have to pay for it.” She had a cheeky smirk as she held out her open palm to Dabi.

“Oh, I’ll pay.” A wicked grin grew on his lips, “But not in money.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Y/N immediately punched his chest.

“Be glad Kakashi isn’t here, otherwise he would’ve offered you to the Titans.”

It was Dabi’s turn to snort, “Please, what can a teacher do other than lecture me to death?” He then rolled his azure eyes. “Besides, he won’t stand a chance against someone in the Garrison Regiment.”

Y/N just scoffed as she continued shopping for her bakery and what she needed for dinner later that night.

In the middle of their banter, someone from the Garrison Regiment with blonde hair and kohled eyes waved Dabi over for a quick game of poker. The blue eyed young man waved back, pinched Y/N’s cheek despite her being older than him and stole an apple from her before running off to play a couple of rounds with his buddies. No doubt getting shit faced again.

Y/N shook her head. Although Dabi had the honor to work with the Survey Corps thanks to his father’s high ranked position and insane amount of power that he held, Dabi turned down his father and signed himself up with an easy going, albeit lazy, department.

Though, Y/N didn’t blame Dabi. His father was a horrible man and was the reason for most of Dabi’s burns on his body. He resented his father due to his mistreatment towards his family, especially Dabi’s mom who ended up hanging herself after unbarring the guilt for pouring boiling water onto her youngest child.

Kakashi and Y/N had known Dabi most of their lives, what with Dabi being Kakashi’s former student about ten years ago, they knew that Dabi was attached to them even though he refused to admit it.

Though, in recent years, there was a strain in Dabi and Kakashi’s relationship due to the younger of the two developing a not-so-innocent crush on Y/N. He couldn’t help it. She was kind, strong and brave. She was one of the few people who stood up to his father, Enji had tried to drag Dabi back to Wall Sina after he found out that Dabi turned down the Survey Corps’ offer after all the strings he pulled through.

Having had enough, the trio had all moved to Wall Maria and settled down in Shiganshina district.

The trio’s bond grew stronger with each passing day and they almost resembled a dysfunctional family. However, that bond almost broke when Kakashi had finally managed to propose to Y/N and Dabi had stormed off, falling off the radar for days.

Kakashi and Y/N had searched for him in all of the places they thought they could find him. It took them almost an entire week to locate his exact location and the first thing Y/N had done when she spotted Dabi’s white tuft of hair sprawled on some woman’s breast inside a small bar that reeked of vomit and phlegm, was to give him a well-deserved slap.

The tears which had gathered in the corner of her eyes did not fall as she glared at him.

“How dare you.” She spat.

Before Dabi could have the chance to apologize, Y/N turned and stormed out of the bar. Not wanting to hear any of Dabi’s pathetic excuses.

Dabi’s blue eyes met Kakashi’s grey ones. “I’m sorry.” Was all that he could offer to the older man who Dabi once saw as a man he could respect and admire.

Kakashi just sighed and nodded with his head to follow after Y/N.

“Just know that she barely managed to get two hours of sleep each night and had to close the shop the past week to go look for you. You owe her.” said the silver haired man. Dabi just lowered his head in shame.

Hours later when Y/N had served dinner for everyone, Dabi stared at her with hopeful eyes as he wanted to take advantage of dinner time to apologize to the one person he loved more than himself, seeing as she had been avoiding him throughout the day.

Though the hope in his eyes diminished when she didn’t sit at her usual chair, instead going up the stairs.

Casting a questioning glance at his former teacher, Kakashi simply grunted. “Roof.”

Y/N was leaning against the edge of the rooftop, her head tilted upwards to gaze at the million stars littering the ink black night sky.

In the years that Dabi had known Y/N, he never knew that the older woman would be at the rooftop whenever she was upset. Guess there were a lot of things to learn about Y/N, and that Kakashi and Y/N were meant to be together.

His mind had told him, repeatedly, that he wasn’t right for Y/N. That he didn’t know much about her, other than the fact that she was his savior. He had just followed her around like some lost puppy and clung to her like a child would to his mother.

Now that he thought about it, the two never had any instances which allowed for their love to blossom. Y/N protected him. Y/N was kind to him. Y/N supported him but she didn’t love him. At least not the same way she loved Kakashi.

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” Dabi apologized with a quiet tone of voice as he hesitantly approached the older woman and stood a few feet away from where she was standing.

“I was wrongfully jealous-of Kakashi and of the love you both had for each other.” He then ran his burnt fingers through his white hair. “I guess I always thought that I would be the one to marry you. And I thought the feeling was mutual but I was wrong.” sighed Dabi.

Y/N, however, said nothing as she stared down at the village below.

“It was childish of me to run away, I admit that. But I was hurt and felt betrayed. I wasn’t aware of how you felt for each other. I did sneak my way into your little world, after all.”

“Y/N…Please, I’m so sorry.” Dabi pleaded and slid his hand to cover Y/N’s smaller one.

“I’m not mad.” She finally spoke. Her voice sounded rough, an aftermath of not speaking to anyone throughout the day, not even to Kakashi. She sounded tired and Dabi bit his charred lip, well aware that he was the cause for her distress.

“I’m just disappointed of how you reacted.” She faced him and Dabi’s breath caught in his throat at the expression on Y/N’s beautiful face. She looked frightened, troubled and on the verge of crying. Dabi wanted to punch himself.

“You took off without saying a word. I waited the whole night for you to return and when you didn’t, I went to look for you because I thought you were in trouble!” She choked through the tears.

Dabi wanted to inform her that there was no way any harm could come his way as he was very strong and could protect himself but the inner voice in his head advised him against that, and instead, opted to listen to Y/N’s teary rant. He was itching to hold her in his burnt arms. He longed to bury his nose into her hair to somehow sedate her and ease her anxieties. He wanted to do whatever he could to earn her forgiveness.

“Promise me.” She said through clenched teeth. “Promise me that you won’t ever do something stupid like that ever again! Promise that you won’t leave me.”

Staring deeply into her eyes, Dabi’s expression became serious as he whispered. “I promise.”

Dabi had expected that he was forgiven, that he would receive a hug from Y/N but all that he had received in return was a nod of her head and a soft, “Good night, Dabi.” Before she made her way inside.

He watched her go and he wasn’t surprised to see Kakashi standing by the doorway.

“I’m holding you to that promise.” The teacher stated with an air of finality after he followed after his fiance.

And ever since that incident, Dabi and Y/N were stronger than ever. Even Dabi’s respect for Kakashi was rebuilt from the ground up and his admiration for his former teacher had returned. Though, the cheeky bastard would still tease the silver haired man about stealing Y/N the second she grew bored of him. His jabs didn’t phase them. They knew that they loved each other too much to ever grow tired of the other person.

Even on their wedding day, the love they had in their eyes were exclusive for themselves and nobody else. Dabi was there, in the distance cheering them on and ignored the throbbing ache in his heart as they exchanged vows and kissed. Perhaps that was the reason why Dabi grew addicted to playing poker and drinking. Y/N, naturally, did not approve of such a lifestyle but as long as he returned home then it was all right.

“That’s all for today?” asked the fisherman when he spotted Y/N make her way towards the exit of the Sunday market as he washed his fish to place on display.

“ M’fraid so!” She giggled at the old man.

“Better let me know when you’re done with that cake! My wife’s been on my back nagging me to buy her one since last week!” He imitated the way his wife spoke and Y/N smothered her laugh behind the back of her hand, gently shaking her head at the old man. She wondered if that’s how she and Kakashi would be like when they were older.

“I’ll see you arou-”

KRAAAAAAKK!

A sudden crack of lightning appeared which illuminated the sky into a blinding yellow color that was then followed by a gust of wind that was unbearably warm.

Y/N had fallen into the ground at the sudden commotion, her groceries scattered around her.

And as instant as the lightning had appeared, a dark shadow hung above them and Y/N tore her eyes from the scab wounds on her hands that protected her fall to stare at the giant wall in front of her. And what she saw stole her breath away. Literally.

There, in the distance, stood a Titan. It’s expressionless face gazed down at them. Although its face was void of emotions, Y/N could’ve sworn that it was silently judging them. As if to determine which punishment was suitable for their crimes. What crimes had they committed? She didn’t know.

Within seconds, the Titan’s fist came down on the wall and life returned to the village as screams of anguish filled the open air.

Y/N stared with unseeing eyes at the madness before her.

Living in the inner walls, she never really feared the Titans, almost didn’t believe in their existence due to the tranquility of her village. But ever since she had moved to Shiganshina and had seen groups of priests preaching about their demise and humanity’s downfall, she would toy with the idea that they might be attacked by the monsters one day- just to humor herself. She never believed that that would actually come, especially so soon.

It was the crash of the boulder landing on the market behind her which smothered the screams of the shop owners and buyers, did Y/N snap out of her daze. Turning around, she was greeted with the horrendous sight of blood splattered all over the ground, limbs and intestines could be vividly seen.

Y/N’s eyes rapidly filled with tears as she covered her mouth to prevent the scream from erupting.

Just as she stood up on her wobbly feet, she heard someone screech that the Titans had breached the wall.

Horrified and having a difficult time believing what was happening, Y/N quickly steadied herself and ran towards her house. She had to go and save Kakashi. She had to let him know that the wall had been breached and the Titans had invaded. They needed to take all their required documents to return to their home village. They had to-

Coming to a slow stop, Y/N was stupefied at the sight before her.

What once used to be a row of two story houses was nothing but a pile of wood and stone.

“No.” She heard herself whisper.

And in a daze, as if being pulled by a magnet, she made her way towards her house; the third building on the right with a sandy colored brick wall.

But her house was no longer where it stood.

Brick, debris and fallen clothing that she had personally hung this morning before heading to the Sunday market all lay on the ground, covered in blood and dirt.

Cautious and frightened, she slowly made her way to the biggest pile and began to dig, praying that she won’t find the dead body of her husband, her beloved, Hatake Kakashi. He had to be alive. They had a long journey ahead of them. They dreamed of having children of their own, of opening a school for those unfortunate children of fallen soldiers from Survey Corps. It’s ludicrous to even imagine Kakashi dead, his lifeless eyes staring at her.

“Y/N.”

The scratchy call of her name urged her to dig faster and deeper and her heart dropped to her stomach when she spotted Kakashi’s grey hair covered in dirt. Hurriedly, she removed most of the stone and debris covering his upper body but she could do nothing about the wood that had fallen on his legs.

“Y/N.” Kakashi rasped again and she desperately tried not to break down and cry in horror.

“Go.” He coughed. “Save..yo-yourself.”

But his words fell on deaf ears as Y/N perilously tried to pull Kakashi out from the pile of wood.

In the distance, a large looking Titan was making its way towards their house but its presence was only acknowledged by Kakashi as Y/N was busy trying to get him out. And he felt his heart sore at her dedication and loyalty. At her unfaltering love. But there was no way that the two of them could survive the Titan that was getting closer by the second.

Kakashi had woken up that morning by playful kisses from his wife that turned into a quick session of love making before she had to bathe and head to the market to buy the ingredients she wanted for tomorrow’s bake sale while he stayed at home to grade his students homework.

He was in the middle of complimenting a rowdy and loud child who had convinced himself that he was not suitable for school and would be better off joining the military when Kakashi had heard the sudden crack in the sky. His house rumbled and his teacup crashed to the floor. Just as he was about to lean down to retrieve it, the walls around him crumbled.

When he came to, he was nauseated by the dead bodies and blood splatter that covered his neighborhood. Gone were the colorful flowers that him and his neighbors had spent years growing.

And when Kakashi spotted his wife with terror written on her face, he already knew of his fate. His legs felt too numb and his abdomen burned, his mind screamed at him that he was a lost cause but his heart had a small flicker of hope to survive. But that was pushed to the back of his mind the second he heard something snap in the distance and he weakly turned his head and spotted a Titan coming towards them. Its hideous flesh was an image that Kakashi could never forget.

“Y/N, STOP BEING SO STUPID AND RUN!” Snapped Kakashi in desperation.

“NO! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? I’M GOING TO SAVE YOU!” screamed Y/N as an endless waterfall of tears streamed down her dirt-caked cheeks.

Kakashi would’ve growled in frustration at Y/N’s stubbornness had he not been so weak. He loved his wife dearly, even when she was being hot headed as they were about to die.

“Y/N.” He choked. “Please.”

And, as if becoming aware of her surroundings, she stopped what she was doing and spotted the Titan that was just down the block. And Kakashi knew. Kakashi knew that Y/N was conscious of the situation at hand; she either had to save herself and leave Kakashi behind or they will both get eaten by the Titan. And knowing the love of his life, Kakashi knew that Y/N would choose the latter.

“Kakashi.” She called for him and his heart skipped a beat, “I love you.” she gave him a broken smile and he wanted to cry in anguish. If only…

“Have no fear, your hero is here!” And in came Dabi, zooming into the area with his ODM gear. And, for once in his life, Kakashi was grateful for his appearance.

“Dabi!” Y/N cried, as if an angel had descended from heaven to rescue them.

He ruffled her hair as he smugly approached the fallen house to help Kakashi from under the rubble.

“Go.” Kakashi whispered. “My legs have been crushed and I’ve bled too much. I’ll only hold you back.” And as if to prove his point, Kakashi coughed and a splatter of blood landed on Dabi’s boots.

“But,” Dabi, who was just as stubborn as his wife, frowned at him, almost glaring. “How could you leave her?”

“Remember….Th-The promise.” And Dabi understood what Kakashi meant.

Kakashi had to leave Y/N but Dabi couldn’t as he made a promise to the both of them and he never broke a promise.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered through held back tears. He was scared to lose someone he considered a father figure. Even when he snatched Y/N away from him, Dabi never truly hated Kakashi.

“Don’t be.” Kakashi coughed. “I’m the…one who’s sorry.”

“Please hurry!”

With the final exchange of a silent message through their eyes, Dabi promising to take care of Y/N and Kakashi telling him to remind Y/N how much he loves her, Dabi took off.

“Let’s go.”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Y/N yelled indignantly, “What about Kakashi?”

“Let’s go, Y/N. He’ll only slow us dow- ” He was met with a slap.

“Fuck. You.”

Y/N bypassed Dabi to rescue Kakashi herself when she froze in place.

The Titan had arrived and it was digging through their house. Its mouth began to water when it spotted Kakashi’s disabled body and eagerly picked it up.

Time moved slowly as Y/N silently watched as the Titan brought Kakashi towards its wide open mouth, ignoring as Dabi tugged at her arm for them to escape.

When Y/N didn’t budge, Dabi was left with no choice but to pick Y/N up and sling her over his shoulder and run.

Despite the distance, she could spot the wetness on Kakashi’s cheeks and the small and apologetic smile that slowly stretched across his lips. “I love you.” He mouthed.

And, in a blink of an eye, the Titan’s teeth chomped down Kakashi’s body.

He didn’t scream because he refused to give such pleasure to the creature.

Kakashi could see through his hazy eyes as Dabi continued to run with Y/N slung over his shoulder. He held out until Dabi was able to use his ODM gear to carry them out of harm’s way and into safety.

“Take me with-” And the Titan’s teeth closed down on his neck, ending his words and his life.

#kakashi x reader #dabi x reader #kakashi imagine #dabi imagine #crossover

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niceandspicehotel · 4 years ago

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Kyra Ocs!

❝Oh! Hello there, would you like some flowers?❞

『Basic Info』

↬ Name: Lily

↬ Age:23

↬ Sexuality: Pansexual

↬ Likes: Baking, flowers, painting, her friends

↬ Dislikes: Rude people, burnt food, when people won’t leave her alone even when she tells them to, people who think their opinion is the only one.

↬ Pronouns: She/Her

『Get to know her!』

↬ An absolute sweetheart with big mother energy. Never fails to see the good in people.

↬ Lily is a social butterfly who loves getting to know people no matter who they are. She believes that no one is truly evil therefore people think of her as naive and carefree.

↬ She will always make sure you’re alright and will do anything to cheer you up if you’re ever feeling down. The last thing she ever wants is for her friends to feel sad.

『Random facts』

↬ She grew up in a foster home and loves her family.

↬ A people pleaser and perfectionist, she has a need to be perfect around everyone in her life, therefore, developing atychiphobia (fear of failure).

↬ She tries to avoid smoking and drinking but will do so when highly stressed.

↬ She loves drawing flowers especially carnation as it is her favourite flower.

↬ Food fanatic, will go to a completely different state and maybe country just to try the food there.

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Tw: Mention of abuse, guns, hurting people and gangsters. Please skip Rose’s character section if you feel uncomfortable with these topics ^^

❝Hm? Oh, you wanna talk? Didn’t think I was an approachable person, have a seat. ❞

『Basic Info』

↬ Name: Rose

↬ Age: 22

↬ Sexuality: Bisexual

↬ Likes: Action movies, fantasy books, coffee

↬ Dislikes: Assholes, people who insult/hurt her friends, bugs, messy places, hookers

↬ Pronouns: Doesn’t care

『Get to know them!』

↬ Had a neglectful father and her mother left when she was young so she only saw her brother, Cane, as her actual family.

↬ She spent a lot of her young years with gangsters around her area making her well known among the community.

↬ Despite it all, she’s loyal and can be sweet if you’re nice. Once close to her, she will protect you and hurt anyone who does anything remotely bad. The person better hopes they didn’t piss her off until she can put them in a hospital for a long time.

『Random facts』

↬ She wears red colour contacts because she likes them for an aesthetic purpose.

↬ She developed a scar around her neck when she got into a fight with one of the gang members who wrapped a rope around it. Luckily, she defeated them quickly.

↬ She’s a gun enthusiast, always studies guns and practice it (in safe places ofc) whenever she had the chance.

↬ Has an extremely short temper, she will try to control herself but if she doesn’t and gets angry at a friend, she will feel bad and apologies multiple times alongside buying them something nice.

↬ Dislikes hookers because she found out her mom was one and it was the very reason why her mom left her family.

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❝Were you staring? Don’t be afraid, I don’t bite.❞

『Basic Info』

↬ Name: Cane

↬ Age: 27

↬ Sexuality: Homoromantic Asexual

↬ Likes: Making music, clubbing, fashion

↬ Dislikes: People taking advantage, shallow people, beer

↬ Pronouns: He/Him

『Get to know him!』

↬ Unlike his sister, Rose, he spent his time making music with whatever he had at that moment, whether it’s a couple of beer bottles or just the table.

↬ Extremely laid back and chill, he just tries to enjoy as much life as he gets. He does still take care of his health though.

↬ Will take you to the lots of hidden gems in the city as he likes enjoying things with someone else. Does his best to make sure you have the best night of your life by taking you to all kinds of places.

『Random facts』

↬ He dyed his hair magenta as a dare but ended up liking it and keeping it that colour ever since.

↬ He refuses to have any kind of beer as it just reminds him of back home so he tries to avoid bars if he can.

↬ Has a soft spot for animals plushies, has a bed full of them. If someone gets him one, he will forever love them.

↬ Sucks at remembering things so don’t ask him to do you a favour that involves trying to remember to turn off the stove or something as that person might have their house burned down or worse.

↬ A hardcore party person since he often does gigs at clubs and will get his friends to drink as much as him causing them to possibly vomit or faint. Will take responsibility but might tease them the next day.

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❝Oh hey! Name’s Jasmine, hope you’re awesome- Wait no I don’t mean it like that, I bet you’re already awesome- Imma just stop talking❞

『Basic Info』

↬ Name: Jasmine

↬ Age: 24

↬ Sexuality: Omnisexual

↬ Likes: Cafe, writing, jogging

↬ Dislikes: Loud places, discrimination, dogs

↬ Pronouns: She/Her

『Get to know her!』

↬ Clumsy af, most people make sure to steer her away from dangerous objects so she doesn’t hurt her or anyone in the place. She truly doesn’t mean it she swears! She just has no idea how she can trip while walking normally.

↬She’s extremely cheery and optimistic, no matter how much shit life throws at her, she’s somehow standing up great as ever. People look up at her due to that.

↬Major crackhead energy, she is the type of person who will make you laugh if you’re down whether intentionally or not. She likes seeing her friends smile so she doesn’t mind a bit of humiliation every once in a while.

『Random facts』

↬She doesn’t like dogs cause she thinks dogs will bite her the moment she puts out her hand. Plus she pissed a dog off once by accident when she was small and the rest is story.

↬ Actually doesn’t like her freckles and tries to cover them up with makeup sometimes.

↬ She enjoys going to the park especially after it rained as it is cold and the aftermath rain smell is wonderful to her.

↬ She can’t cook or bake which is why she often spends her time in cafes. Lily has been trying to teach her to bake and still hasn’t given up ever since despite the bad attempts.

↬ Noises distract her a lot therefore she avoids a lot of noisy places.

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❝Sorry? Oh! Hi. I...am not sure what to say...nice to meet you..?❞

『Basic Info』

↬ Name: Iris

↬ Age: 25

↬ Sexuality: Lesbian

↬ Likes: Relaxing, watching romance films, staying in bed

↬ Dislikes: Large crowds, people overtalking her, confrontation, small conversations

↬ Pronouns: She/They

『Get to know them!』

↬ With Iris introvert and shy personality, they find it hard to make friends and often stick to people they already know.

↬ She spent most of her life away from people as she often experiences social anxiety if things get too overwhelming.

↬ At first, they will be quiet and not say much but the closer you are to her, the more she will speak and tell you about her interest. They are great at listening and will always be there to listen to your rants or problems.

『Random facts』

↬ She is actually very curious and is willing to learn new things every day.

↬ Watching the sunset/sunrise is one of their favourite activities. Bonus if someone they is comfortable with watches with them and they both have chocolate drinks on the table.

↬ When people compliment her, she gets extremely flustered and will try to change the topic.

↬ Found out she likes girls when she was dared to kiss one guy and one girl and ended up liking the girl kiss.

↬ Scatterbrain, always somehow loses their stuff and finds it at the most obvious spot after an hour of searching.

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I will add more characters in the future when I can <3

#my ocs are my babies #ocs #writing #original character #lgbtqplus #lgbtqia #lesbian #gay #omnisexual #pansexual #nonbinary #bisexual #homosexual #asexual #story character

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