#Does the sense of superiority guide us all?

[cake-bread]

With all due respect, Davey, I don’t know if I can fully believe you saying this

You wouldn’t touch them? Through all the time that passed between the beginner’s guide, we can hope you changed, but have you really?

Did Coda say these things about the flowers or did you assume the meanings for him?

(OOC: GAH SORRY I AM HAVING SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS)

1. You know only one part of my life. It's been 8 years since the release of The Beginner's Guide. If you'd look at yourself now vs 8 years ago, I think you'd notice some differences. Nobody is stagnant for that long.

But somehow, this is how I see people judge others. If I were to judge every my friend for what they've seen in their teenager or early adult years, I don't think anyone would tali to each other.

Do you know anything about me that I haven't let you see? Would you judge a book by the third page in?

I will not be able to prove it, even if I wish to. Because the one who deserved to see it , is no longer interested.

2. Yeah, he mentioned that once in the 2010s. And I asked him if he had a familiar stand still and he agreed with it. So yes, those are his words, a bit paraphrased.

[stephsycamore]

I think the most radical thing the hunger games does is tell young people that the most revolutionary thing you can do is have unconditional love for humanity. Katniss throughout the entire series is guided by a deep sense of compassion for the people around her. It is what causes her to volunteer, to bury rue, to mercy kill cato, its why she tries to save peeta, why finnick telling her to remember who the real enemy is works, and even though her compassion for the larger world falters when peeta is kidnapped, it comes back when she visits hospitals and asks for mercy for other victors and ultimately, it is love and belief in a better humanity that makes her kill coin. Through it all, she maintains an unfaltering belief in the fundemental goodness of humanity, which is diametrically opposed to dr gaul's and snow's worldview. Peeta is even more unwaveringly compassionate

So the series tells young people that the most revolutionary thing you can be is compassionate. Let compassion drive your politics. Let yourself believe in the fundemental goodness of people. And i think that's deeply important in a world that touts the superiority of pure reason or logic, to allow yourself to be guided by something as emotional as compassion. Katniss everdeen tells us that your politics should be rooted in compassion in a world that thinks detatchment or cynicism is intelligence and i think thats v cool

[ghostkennedy]

Read the camera series, and I had an idea 👀 what about a story where the reader is obsessed with Leon FIRST? Like, she watches him all the time and notices he kind of has an obsessive streak, and she likes him and decides that she wants him obsessed with HER. So she kinda leaves a trail of breadcrumbs to make him start liking her. She's sweet to him, does things for him, and makes notes of his preferences so she can match them perfectly. When he starts stalking her, she's all like "🥰 yay! Bf!"

thank you for your patience with this one <3

Perfect Subject

~Leon Kennedy x gender neutral! Reader~

Word count: 1931

Content warnings: shooting guns in a gun range, obsession, reader is a government agent, stalking, leon goes through your stuff and into your place without permission

!!!!!!MINORS DNI! GHOSTKENNNEDY IS STRICTLY 18+!!!!!

Leon Kennedy could never just casually enjoy things. You would never find him just appreciating a thing for what it was and then moving on with his life. Oh no. If he thought a song was good, he would replay the melody over and over again until he didn’t like it anymore. If he liked a movie, instead of him thinking, “wow that was a good movie,” and then watching another, he would replay that movie until he knew every little detail about it. 

This included his work as well. Anything he did, it had to be done perfectly. He crossed all his T’s and dotted all his I’s. When you were first hired on as a government agent, he was assigned to overlook your training. There were specific agents assigned to training fresh recruits, so he wasn’t training you directly, but he would always cut in if he felt your trainer was going too easy on you or wasn’t teaching you properly. 

One day, you were practicing in the gun range and couldn’t seem to improve your accuracy no matter how much instruction your superior gave you. You huffed and threw your head back in frustration when you failed to hit the designated mark again. You were desperate to succeed and be good at your job. You couldn’t focus on anything else in your life. Everything you did, you had to do it well, otherwise it would eat you up inside.

That’s when you felt a strong form firmly press himself into your back, his arms wrapping around yours and guiding your hands to aim the gun properly. He used his heavy boots to kick your feet out into a better, more grounding stance. He slowly adjusts your shoulders and elbows and forces you to tighten your grip on the weapon. He stepped back from you and you felt stronger and more confident in this new position.

You fired the shot and hit the mark exactly in the center. You shook your shoulders, relieving some tension in your neck before getting back into the same position. You fired a second shot and hit the mark again. You spun around with a smile on your face ready to thank your trainer when you were met with pretty blue eyes and a blond fringe. 

You stammered over your words, “Oh, um, hey Agent Kennedy! I didn’t know you were here.” You shifted your gaze up to meet his eyes, “Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.” 

“It’s my job. Thought that would work for your height and stature,” he said simply before walking out of the room. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sudden emptiness of the room once his overwhelming presence was gone.

And from that point on, you had become obsessed with the man. You wanted to know everything there was to know about Leon Kennedy. Once you discovered he had an obsessive streak that matched yours so well, you knew you had to have him. His face had those soft features, but still had a prominent sense of rugged manliness to it. The messy look of his hair, which you could see the effort put into it to give it that carefree look while still being just the right amount of tidy. 

Don’t even start on the muscles protruding from his body. It’s like he had been sculpted from angels themselves. You could see the outline of every ab through his tight shirts and the way his arms bulged against the fabric of his sleeves. His aura demanded attention and he always commanded whatever room he was in, he didn’t even have to try. You noticed the way everyone else stared at him with admiration as well. You had no right to be jealous, but you were hooked and anything standing in your way would have to be eliminated.

You’d spent a lot of time trying to overhear gossip about the man’s love life, but he was so private that there wasn’t much actual information to go off of. Everything was pure speculation at this point. But what you did know was how many people had struck out with him. He wasn’t easily impressed by the flirtatious gestures, shyness or boldness. He was a case that no one had been able to crack, but you loved a good challenge.

While the other rookies threw themselves at Leon, you had to feign indifference. He genuinely cared about his job and the “greater good.” So you became the best agent you possibly could, rising through the ranks and becoming the perfect success story. You remained as elusive as possible with all of your coworkers. If Leon wanted to know anything about you, he’d have to do the research himself or ask you directly.

You were so relieved when your plan actually started to work. You could feel his stare on you when you weren’t paying attention to him. You never attempted to make small talk either. You discussed your work and would always thank him for any instruction or help he gave you, but that was it. 

A significant moment you remembered was at a mandatory reward dinner. Every single employee was expected to attend, no exceptions. Of course, you had made sure to be sat at the same table as Leon while putting on the front of not caring about the arrangements. You had both remained relatively silent during the conversations about everything and nothing at the same time going on amongst the group at your table. You’d speak and engage when called for, but avoided the small talk and gossiping as usual.

“What about you? No hot date either? What’s up with that?” one of your coworkers nudged your shoulder. You snickered as you took another sip of your wine.

“Quite a few of us at this table don’t have dates either. Maybe we should go around and share all about our personal love lives. John, Sarah, Patrick, Leon? Anybody want to share some misfortunes?” you said nonchalantly and were met with mostly silence, except for Leon who was grinning and trying not to laugh. “Oh wow, the elusive mysteries continue,” you cooed at John who was giving you a dirty look.

“Sorry, I forget you’d rather die than engage in a friendly conversation,” he spoke and huffed out a breath.

“It’d be wise of you to never forget it again, huh?” you nudged him like he had done to you earlier. He rolled his eyes before a laugh slipped from him. 

The following Monday, about an hour before it was time to head home, John pulled you to the side to talk to you.

“Hey, you’re not going to believe this,” he said excitedly.

“Oh?” you raised your eyebrow skeptically. 

He nodded his head eagerly, “Yeah! Leon fucking Kennedy was asking me about you. He wanted to know what I knew about you.” You had to hide your excitement as you continued to stare at John. “I should totally set the two of you up,” he laughed as he grabbed onto your shoulders and shook excitedly. 

You laughed at him, “Wow, agent turned matchmaker? I’m super impressed.” You pulled yourself from his grasp and went to turn and walk around the corner, escaping from the little space John had pulled you into.

You yelped when you ran into a solid object, or solid person rather. Your eyes looked up and came into contact with Leon’s. John came out after you and his eyes widened as he realized Leon was within earshot of the conversation.

John stuttered, “H-hey, buddy. What’s up?” His nervous laughter had you fighting back a smile.

“Buddy?” Leon asked as his arms crossed over his chest. John continued to fumble over his words. Somewhere in the word vomit, there had been an apology. You slipped out while they were both distracted and didn’t stick around to see how their conversation would play out. 

After that encounter, you and Leon had built a bit of a friendship. You two were always joking around and helping each other’s workload as much as you possibly could. You took advantage of every conversation you two had and utilized all the information and observations you had of him. You’d bring him coffee when he started giving his sleepy cues. You knew his favorite places to get lunch and would conveniently eat at them regularly, always ordering too much and giving him the leftovers. He never had to run his own errands around the office, because you always offered to do them for him. You never ran yours either, he always jumped up and did your little tasks as well. 

You noticed him also adjusting himself around your preferences as well. He slowly switched coffee shops to the one you preferred, attempting to keep you from noticing. But of course you noticed everything. You stopped being assigned the work you’d always complain about and tell him how you dreaded doing those meticulous little tasks. He’d drop little references from shows you’d told him you liked occasionally. Always feeding you information on top secret topics you’d shown interest in. 

You were so giddy when you noticed he had upped his game when it came to you. You started to notice things on your desk not being where you had left them. Logging onto your computer and the tab you’d left open not being up on the screen like you had left it. Your heart swooned when you noticed things in your apartment disappearing or being moved without your knowledge. You even noticed him tailing you on your errands, him in his unmarked car staying a reasonable distance as you went to the grocery store or to pay bills. 

You noticed the unmarked car in your apartment complex’s parking lot early one morning. So, of course you went outside and lounged on the balcony in your short shorts and tank top that barely covered your chest. Biting your lip, seemingly lost in thought as you drank coffee and scrolled on your phone.

He started placing himself in your path as well. One Saturday, he coincidentally ran into you at the supermarket and you walked around shopping together. He’d jog past your place, waiting for the day you’d be outside and he could recognize you. You let this go on for a few weeks, before finally deciding to get your mail from the office at the exact time he always jogged past. After talking to him for a few minutes, you invited him for some water and a snack. You spent the morning together, before he finally left to continue his run. 

So far, it’d been a few months of this back and forth. Running into each other, sharing lunches and coffee, spending more time working together, and you both suddenly were showing up to all work events. Neither of you ever rejected the offer to go out for drinks when invited by coworkers. You always stayed near one another, no matter the outing. You longed for the day something would finally happen between you two. You knew he was basically stalking you at this point and you made sure to make this job as easy as possible on him.

The longer the chase, the better the end result right? As long as you kept Leon right where you wanted him, you could keep this up forever. You imagined all of the ways he would finally make his move, finally bridge the gap between you two and mold you together where you belonged. Until then, you’d be his perfect and oblivious subject. 

~masterlist~

[ratllu]

ADHD TIP!!!!!! hw :,)

1. make timelapses on your phone of u doing your work. this helps so much i cant even BEGIN to explain. it feels like im a little youtube with my life together, and i love the idea/aesthetic of people having video diaries so. it also helps me stay on task because ik that id hate to rewatch my videos and see that i was super unproductive, so it’s almost like performance anxiety but in a good way and it’s satisfying to see !! if u want i will post some of them           

2. SEPERATE YOUR BROWSERS! i use opera for my fun stuff (it’s basically just google marketed “for gamers” and it kinda slaps ngl) and ive got a rule that when im on chrome, im not allowed to use any of my time-sucking things (pinterest, tumblr, quora).’

3. when writing an essay, change the font and line spacing consistently. helps my brain by adding variety and avoiding the thing where u gotta reread the sentence 8 times only to forget it and read it again only to forget it and rea

4. when you have a writing assignment (can u tell im doing my english final rn) START IT ON PAPER. u gotta sit down with your notebook and the intent to write the draft of the essay on paper. ive found that pretty quickly, my hyperfocus will kick in and my brain will catch the drift of what we’re doing, which ends up prompting me to switch over to my computer.  ive got so many pages in my book rn that are just the first paragraph of a paper that end  abruptly as i get into the flow of things 

5. when typing, wear fingerless gloves. it helps man, trust me. it feels like all of my typing and writing energy is stored in my hands and the fingerless gloves kinda contain that energy. does that make sense. do you guys get that. i feel like u get it 

6. templates. something i struggle with is not really knowing how or where to start things, which templates have seemed to help with. for example if im writing a biography about someone, ill google biography templates and there will be an outline that works as the perfect guide. this tip is pretty universal and can benefit everyone, but it took me a while to figure out pls. outline = good

7. work in the dark/at night- though im sure a lot of us do this regardless, working in a situation that imitates/is nighttime is genuinely helpful for us. for me, working at night feels like a choice that i made on my own and without instruction from superiors, which is motivating for some reason. people with adhd (i think this might apply to other forms of nuerodiversity but im only certain about adhd) have circadian rhythms that naturally skew later, so working later instead of in the daytime might be the most productive time for u. 

also, i get that it’s good to avoid doing work in bed because associating a place of comfort with an activity of strain is probably Not the best, but sometimes, working in my bed is just what works best for me. it’s important to know yourself and trust what you need!! 

[cursedvibes]

Two Types of Ultimate Strength in JJK

I wanted to take the time to break down the two types of The Strongest we meet in the story and the way these four people are representing them. In this case, "The Strongest" means: a person with the power to permanently change (jujutsu) society.

Raw Power

I struggled a bit with how to name the two categories, but ultimately settled on this. Raw Power refers to the people who get called The Strongest in text aka Ryomen Sukuna & Gojo Satoru. The strongest sorcerer in history and the strongest sorcerer of modern times. Their power lies in their attack strength and natural abilities. Their physical superiority lets them shape society and even affect things like the spawning of curses and the power-levels of sorcerers because the lethal threat they pose forces everyone to follow or die. In Sukuna's case there is basically only the option to die, although he did negotiate with the Fujiwara and they incorporated him into rituals and political plays (more like you would use an atomic bomb than him actively participating in discussions, I imagine), so he wasn't in kill mode 24/7. Gojo changed the behavior of curse users just by being born. He could kill the higher-ups at any point and put his own people in power to run society as he sees fit, nobody could stop him. He could block or instate any political system he wants. Recently it looks like that might actually be part of his plan.

Gojo and Sukuna have more differences though than Sukuna just being more destructive and forcing sorcerers to evolve or die. Gojo was special the moment he was born. Tengen literally designed him to be an indestructible weapon from a young age. He's smart too, but his physiology and innate technique already give him a huge advantage over anyone else and nobody besides Sukuna has even a chance at breeching that gap.

As far as we know, for Sukuna that wasn't the case. His cursed technique, Shrine, depends on taking other skills in and collecting them. Add onto that large reserves of cursed energy and quick learning skill. He has a strong understanding of cursed energy and the soul (without a physical advantage like the six eyes) and that is the basis for how he is able to perform techniques like an unclosed domain, turning himself into a cursed object and learning to regenerate his cursed technique after experiencing it once. It relies a lot more on experience and study than in Gojo's case, despite also having intrinsic advantages like his large cursed energy pool. He is also more adaptable than Gojo as his fight against Mahoraga shows very well. Gojo's attitude is more straightforward, but he also rarely gets challenged to do more than shoot his energy blasts very precisely and with a lot of power behind it. He rarely gets forced to rely on other skills or trickery. In that way, he's actually much more the brute force type than Sukuna.

Plotting

This is the category I made up for Tengen & Kenjaku. They aren't very physically strong, not in the sense that Sukuna and Gojo are. Actually they would very quickly die in a straight up battle against the two, but they are still more influencial than them. I mean, Tengen is the reason society exist in the way it does after all and Kenjaku is doing a very good job at breaking the system down. If Gojo and Sukuna are natural disasters that alter the balance of the world, Tengen and Kenjaku are the ones that guide the path these disasters take.

Tengen isn't a fighter, but she is still powerful through her understanding of cursed energy, huge energy reserves and mastery of barrier techniques. She created barriers around Japan to enhance the sorcerer and curse formation inside them (like a greenhouse for cursed energy). Society is dependant on her to exist as it is. If she's gone, all structure would collapse and curses would run wild. It would likely affect future generations of sorcerers as well. She is the reason Gojo even exist and Sukuna...well who knows what she did with him. She did all this "merely" through talking and building connections and subtly influencing people, like when she appeared in the Nara period and preached about buddhism and her vision for jujutsu sorcerers or how she facilitated the creation of the Big 3 and higher-ups and continued to guide them from behind the scenes.

Kenjaku is more of a fighter than Tengen, they know how to defend themselves, but it is not their first instinct and direct conflict is rarely their preferred plan of action. Due to having reduced their body to purely the brain, their physical capabilities rely heavily on the vessel they inhabit and even in the body of someone like Geto whose technique they use much better than the guy himself, they would still easily get killed by Gojo and they have to rely on Sukuna at the moment to not die to him. You can also see it in their fighting style. They rarely get close, instead prefer long-range attacks and tools. Their real speciality lies in using other people to let them do the work for them or enhance their plans in some other way. Even Sukuna and Gojo fall victim to that. Another specialty of theirs is the manipulation of cursed energy and the soul, only that in contrast to Sukuna they use it to create tools, recruit people and create barriers comparable to Tengen's (I think technically they could create the same thing Tengen does, they just lack the energy reserves).

However, both Tengen and Kenjaku get overlooked by history and their influence is pushed aside. Even when entire organizations criticize Tengen for very valid reasons, nobody takes it up with her or actually challenges her in a meaningful way because she is both illusive (the higher-ups are much more present) and also an integral part for the sustainability of everyday life. Take her away and society will crumble and most people don't want such radical change. Kenjaku wasn't known at all until recently except by selected "curse users", despite their clashes with the Gojo clan in the past (I blame Tengen for their late identity reveal). Their actions have great influence and at times even make it into the history books, but they aren't tied back to them personally, just their vessels.

TL;DR: Next to Gojo and Sukuna's very palpable, aggressive power, there is also a more subtle power represented by Tengen and Kenjaku that relies a lot more on manipulation and minimal, longterm actions than physical strength. All this can be seen in the way that both Tengen and Kenjaku often get overlooked, but have both influenced Sukuna and Gojo to a great degree and are even responsible for the rise and fall of jujutsu society.

Kenjaku and Tengen are both barrier users, a very defence-oriented skill, but furthermore heavily tied to mind & imagination and the manipulation of energy. The reason they are so successful is also tied to their experience. Gojo's and Sukuna's power allows them to skip the long game in most cases, while Tengen and Kenjaku rely on it to amass strength. I highly doubt Tengen was just born with the cursed energy reserves she uses for her barriers, she likely collected it over hundreds of years. Kenjaku's plans would also be barely effective if they only had one human life span to enact them. And the interactions with so many other sorcerers allow them to learn a lot more than the other two could ever hope to. Sukuna is kind of immortal now too, but if you take out the time he was just hanging around as a cursed object, he's actually pretty young compared to the Manipulation Duo.

Side Note: I think Maki and Toji could technically qualify too, they have the ability to facilitate change, but both haven't done anything with it so far, not on a larger scale at least. Toji killing Riko had major consequences, but he was ultimately a tool and a stepping stone for Tengen's evolution. I mean, isn't it a crazy coincidence that the people employing Toji have the same goals Kenjaku does? The Time Vessel Association also exists since the Nara period... either way, while Sukuna and Gojo are getting manipulated too, there is still purpose behind their actions. Both the Zenin massacre and Riko's death are more incidental. Their actions don't have the same consistency as Sukuna or Gojo, although Maki is still promising. She can still do something with her new powers. In terms of strength they don't quite measure up to the other two either. Maki might make it with a bit more training, but not based on what we've seen so far. So...I guess, they might be Type 3: unused potential.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Hello, let's say one would like to court a Gallifreyan: what would be the (general) best course of action and what is best to avoid.

Of course! Courting a Gallifreyan can be a bit of a minefield, so here's a general overview of pointers you may find helpful:

🧠 Be intellectually stimulating: Gallifreyans have brains bigger than their egos, and they adore a good intellectual debate. Your comprehensive knowledge of 21st-century reality TV shows won't score points, but a deep dive into the existential implications of time travel might just do the trick.

🍽️ Pick the right meal: Go for refined dishes or dishes that have historical or cultural importance. Gallifreyan taste buds are finely tuned instruments: a diverse range of flavours is welcome, while a chilli pepper apocalypse is probably not.

❌ Avoid mind games: Attempting strange human customs like "hard to get" with a five-dimensional being is idiotic. Not only could most Gallifreyans find these concepts primitive and pointless, but also confusing.

🫨 Don't be overly emotional or impulsive: A lot of Gallifreyans value control and stoicism over emotions. Engaging them on an emotional level is extremely rewarding, but it can take a while to get there. Trying to do this too early can scare them off.

🙏 Be forgiving: Gallifreyans, and Time Lords especially, can be insensitive and pompous. Their sense of superiority might slip out ('Oh, you still use linear time? Quaint!'). Don't take any of this personally, or else you're in for a very short courtship.

🌍 Choose good date locations: Your date's idea of a wild night likely involves a lecture on quantum entanglement rather than a rave. Keep your date locations less Ministry of Sound and more BBC4/PBS.

🤫 Keep it quiet: Don't pick overly crowded or chaotic places to go - a bustling environment might distract their telepathic senses, turning your date into a telepathic traffic jam where they're too busy listening to what all the drivers are saying to bother listening to you.

👏 Laud their achievements: Nothing warms Gallifreyan hearts like recognition of their brilliance, so remember to nod and say, 'ooo, you're so clever!' every so often.

🤲 Show respect for Gallifreyan traditions and customs: Even if you don't fully understand them, acknowledging and appreciating their cultural heritage can go a long way.

😍 Take it slow: Many Gallifreyans don't place the same level of importance on physical intimacy that some humans do. Make sure to build a foundation of mutual consent and respect before exploring that aspect of the relationship if you require it.

🔮 Embrace Telepathy: Just as some humans might require physical intimacy, for some Gallifreyans, intimacy might involve a telepathic connection. Don't shy away from this even if it's mainly one-way traffic.

Despite all of this, remember that every Gallifreyan is unique, with their personality traits, interests, and views. Tailor your approach based on the individual you're courting.

Hope that helped, and good luck! 😃

-------------------------------------------------------

》📫Got a question / submission? 》😆Jokes |🫀Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts 》📚Complete list of Q+A 》📜Masterpost If you like what GIL does, please consider buying a coffee or tipping below to help make future projects, including complete biology and language guides.

[lifephilosophys-blog]

"الشخص ذو النزاهة الفائقة لا يصر على نزاهته؛ ولهذا السبب فهو يتمتع بالنزاهة. الشخص ذو النزاهة المتدنية لا يغيب عن باله نزاهته أبدًا؛ ولهذا السبب فهو يفتقر إلى النزاهة."

هذا المقطع من كتاب Laozi Daodejing يصور بشكل جميل جوهر النزاهة وطبيعتها الجوهرية. النزاهة ليست شيئًا يمكن التباهي أو التفاخر به؛ إنها صفة موجودة بهدوء في تصرفات الشخص وشخصيته.

لا يشعر الشخص ذو النزاهة الفائقة بالحاجة إلى تذكير الآخرين بنزاهته باستمرار لأن أفعاله تتحدث عن نفسه. إنه يحافظ على قيمه ومبادئه باستمرار، دون الحاجة إلى التحقق أو الاعتراف الخارجي. إن نزاهته تشبه شعلة ثابتة تتوهج داخله، وتوجه قراراته وأفعاله بطريقة أولية.

من ناحية أخرى، غالبًا ما ينشغل الشخص ذو النزاهة المتدنية بإثبات نزاهته للآخرين. قد يبذل جهودًا كبيرة لإظهار نسيجه الأخلاقي، لكن أفعاله قد لا تتوافق دائمًا مع أقواله. ينبع هذا السلوك المتناقض من الافتقار إلى النزاهة الحقيقية، والتي لا يمكن أن تتألق إلا من خلال أفعال حقيقية ومتسقة.

النزاهة الحقيقية لا تتعلق بطلب الثناء أو الإعجاب من الآخرين؛ يتعلق الأمر بالبقاء صادقًا مع نفسه، حتى عندما لا يراقبك أحد. إنه شعور عميق الجذور بالصدق والأخلاق والثبات الأخلاقي الذي يوجه سلوك الشخص في جميع جوانب الحياة.

في جوهر الأمر، يجسد الشخص ذو النزاهة الفائقة الجوهر الحقيقي للنزاهة من خلال تمثله في حياته كل يوم، في حين أن الشخص ذو النزاهة الأدنى قد لا يدرك أبدًا أهميته حقًا لأنه يركز بشكل كبير على التحقق الخارجي.

يذكرنا هذا المقطع بأهمية أن نكون صادقين مع أنفسنا وأن نبقى ملتزمين بقيمنا، حتى عندما نواجه تحديات أو إغراءات. إنه تذكير قوي بأن النزاهة ليست شيئًا يمكن عرضه؛ إنه جانب أساسي من شخصيتنا يشكل هويتنا ويوجه أفعالنا.

وفي نهاية المطاف، لا تنعكس النزاهة الحقيقية في ما نقوله عن أنفسنا، بل في الطريقة التي نعيش بها حياتنا ونتعامل مع الآخرين. إنها قوة هادئة تتألق في تصرفاتنا وتفاعلاتنا اليومية، لتظهر للعالم من نحن حقًا في جوهرنا.

"The person of superior integrity does not insist upon his integrity; for this reason, he has integrity. The person of inferior integrity never loses sight of his integrity; for this reason, he lacks integrity."

This passage from Laozi's Daodejing beautifully captures the essence of integrity and its intrinsic nature. Integrity is not something that can be flaunted or boasted about; it is a quality that is quietly present within a person's actions and character.

The person of superior integrity does not feel the need to constantly remind others of their integrity because their actions speak for themselves. They uphold their values and principles consistently, without the need for external validation or recognition. Their integrity is like a steady flame that burns brightly within them, guiding their decisions and actions in a principled manner.

On the other hand, the person of inferior integrity is often preoccupied with proving their integrity to others. They may go to great lengths to showcase their moral fiber, yet their actions may not always align with their words. This contradictory behavior stems from a lack of true integrity, which can only shine through genuine and consistent actions.

True integrity is not about seeking praise or admiration from others; it is about staying true to oneself, even when no one is watching. It is a deep-rooted sense of honesty, morality, and ethical fortitude that guides a person's behavior in all aspects of life.

In essence, the person of superior integrity embodies the true essence of integrity by living it every day, while the person of inferior integrity may never truly grasp its significance because they are too focused on external validation.

This passage reminds us of the importance of being true to ourselves and staying committed to our values, even when faced with challenges or temptations. It is a powerful reminder that integrity is not something that can be put on display; it is a fundamental aspect of our character that shapes our identity and guides our actions.

Ultimately, true integrity is reflected not in what we say about ourselves, but in how we live our lives and treat others. It is a quiet strength that shines through in our everyday actions and interactions, showing the world who we truly are at our core.

[aella-targaryen]

ANALYSIS OF  HOUSE OF THE DRAGON SEASON 2' NEW POSTERS.

-DRAGONSTONE

 I love that the members of the  Team Black are at Dragonstone, this gives more legitimacy to the fight of the members of the Team Black since as we know that Dragonstone represents the essence and quasi-divine character of the Targaryens, it is the place where Magic manifests itself in a clearer and more powerful way, where magical rituals and the extraordinary births of multiple Dragons are quotidian events. But that is also their biggest disadvantage. The divinity and superiority of the Targaryens, although it inspires fear and admiration, also often inspires rejection and resentment. If the Targaryens didn't have their dragons, all the people of Westeros would see them as simple incestuous pagans. To the people of Westeros, the Targaryens represent power, but they also represent a wild and primitive force.The occupation of the  Red Keep offers greater legitimacy to the Crown in the eyes of the people, representing civility and a court faithful to the Faith of the Seven, the main religion of Westeros. That's why the Team Black is desperate to conquer King's Landing. If you want to reign over Westeros you have to establish your court in the Red Keep and that is the advantage of the Greens.

-CORLYS VELARYON.

Corlys is the member of the Team Black that is furthest from the others  and that makes sense, he was the one who best evaded the ravages of the Dance and the total ruin of his House. Yes, he lost his wife, but he managed to save his heirs and kept the Velaryon house strong after the war. Corlys has always managed to find ways to get out of conflicts. I think that is why Corlys is closer to the window, remember that the Dragonstone windows directly show the sea, his transportation and his escape route.

  - RHAENYS 

In the poster we can see how Rhaenys is closer to the conflict than her husband, with a less cautious and more courageous look. I thought it was a great detail that the sigil of the  Targaryen House is behind Rhaenys' back,like Daemon and Rhaenyra, because Corlys is  only an ally, a powerful ally, but he's not a Targaryen, he's not a dragon and that is why the walls of Dragonstone are only behind the backs of Rhaenys, Daemon and Rhaenyra. The walls of Dragonstone are made of stone melted by the magical fire of the dragons, those walls demonstrate the irracible and immovable character of the Targaryens, neither a window behind them nor an escape route, only a path to the fight. For them it cannot be any other way, either they win or they will die trying.

-DAEMYRA (It wouldn't be an análisis of mine  if I didn't add at least one paragraph referring to Daemyra )

I love Daemon's posture (Like everything he does) I don't think he´s in an attack position, I think he´s protecting Rhaenyra, as if he just unsheathed his sword to  defending her, we can see that his eyes are fixed on Rhaenyra (Although that is not strange, we all know that Daemon almost always remains watching Rhaenyra) it is as if he is waiting for her to give him permission to attack (Which we have also seen before) it´s Rhaenyra who commands Daemon, from Rhaenyra's posture we know that she´s the one directing the situation and that it's her will that guides Daemon's sword.

The poster shows us two couples: Corlys and Rhaenys and Daemon and Rhaenyra. We see that in the case of Corlys and Rhaenys, Corlys is next to Rhaenys, shoulder to shoulder they seem to be a couple on more equal terms and that makes their relationship and interactions more harmonious.

In the case of Daemyra we see how Daemon's not at Rhaenyra's side, he is behind her and he is even leaning slightly as if for him Rhaenyra's posture was more imposing and that image is a reflection of their relationship, her being superior to Daemon in every aspect and Daemon accepts it.

He is older, stronger and more experienced than her but in Daemon's universe she's the sun and he's the earth. Without her, he has no direction, Viserys was also part of that sun but now only Rhaenyra exists for him, that's why he is more defensive regarding her, He failed to protect Viserys, he cannot allow himself to fail in  his duty to protect Rhaenyra.To protect her , he is willing to submit to her , allowing her to direct his life, because he could never live without her and even her rejection would shatter him.

I know, it seems like I'm exaggerating but didn't we see how Daemon lived in an absolutely miserable way when he was separated from Rhaenyra? Daemon spent the day drinking and almost never leaving his castle doing anything but reading, even as a father he was negligent (in the show) , however, Rhaenyra fought every day to retain her political power, she raised her sons efficiently and worked to serve the realm and learn how to rule it. Although Rhaenyra was never able to truly confront her enemies without Daemon, she handled the separation much better than him. Although they are soul mates, although they have many things in common, although their life experiences are very similar, although they are family, it's a deeply unequal relationship and we all know it, which is why their conflicts are deeper and have more devastating and significant consequences.

It is a beautiful, unhealthy and sad relationship for both of them, because literally Rhaenyra's rejection will kill  Daemon and Rhaenyra will be the one left alone to bear the future consequences of it.

-RHAENYRA, THE JESUS OF WESTEROS???

I like Rhaenyra's posture but I don't love it. Rhaenyra's makeup, costumes and hair have improved a lot compared to the S1, I love seeing her regal and stylized. No more tears on the queen's face, just pure determination, strength and thirst for justice, the only thing I don't like is that Rhaenyra is not looking at the throne. I have previously commented that Rhaenyra didn't want the Iron Throne or the power that comes with being the queen of the Seven Kingdoms,  what guides her is the fulfillment of the prophecy, which would be extremely interesting IF THEY HAD NOT DESTROYED THE ENTIRE PLOT OF THE PROPHECY IN THE LAST SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES...but, okay, let's say that despite everything the Targaryens (Rhaenyra's bloodline) helped defeat  the Night King.The prophecy was fulfilled, in a shitty way, but it was fulfilled.

Now, why is it a little annoying that all Rhaenyra wants is to fulfill the prophecy? Well because Rhaenyra doesn't show any interest in the Iron Throne. So far I have never seen her really excited about becoming queen, we have only seen her determined to fulfill the duty that her father imposed on her, to be the heir to the house of the dragon and continue Aegon's bloodline. As I have already commented in other analyses, despite Rhaenyra's rebellious nature, she has a high sense of duty and for Rhaenyra the throne is just the cross she has to carry for the good of everyone, it's not something she wants to conquer.

Rhaenyra's literally fighting to save the world, just like Jesus (In case you're wondering, no, I'm not a believer 💀💀💀, I'm actually an atheist), I know it sounds ridiculous but she is exactly like him. Rhaenyra knows a prophecy that announces the destruction of humanity, she couldn´t share that prophecy because, let's face it, no one would believe her. The other Houses would only think that it is a ploy created by the Targaryens to preserve the power, therefore she can only share the prophecy with the people most loyal to her.Rhaenyra will suffer great sorrows to protect the prophecy and If she dies in the war (something she knows is very likely to happen), let her descendants fulfill that objective. Rhaenyra will die at the hands of her enemies but the power of the prophecy will be transmitted to her descendants and It will be thanks to her sacrifices and her death that they will manage to save the world from destruction Isn't coincidence that in the poster Rhaenyra is shown as an almost divine being, shining in the midst of everything. Rhaenyra literally carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She is literally the Jesus of Westeros.

And I don't dislike that at all, but I would have liked Rhaenyra's character to be even more complex, that her desire to fulfill the prophecy was linked by her ambition to become a queen so powerful that no one could ever order her how to live her life and let her bloodline reign over the Seven Kingdoms. After all, Rhaenyra is not an angel (although she looks like one) and despite being a Targaryen, Rhaenyra is just a woman and all women have ambitions.

Now, there are also other opinions, some say that Rhaenyra is actually seeing Aemond and that Aemond is seeing her. I don't think Rhaenyra is seeing Aemond simply because she doesn't look furious in the Poster, her look doesn't show the anger that Rhaenyra feels for Aemond. So I don't think she is looking at him, but I could be wrong, I would love to read your opinions. Do you think  that Rhaenyra is looking at Aemond or not?

TEAM GREEN.

SIGNS OF USURPATION.

First we can see that Alicent is hiding the Targaryen sigil with her body, almost in its entirety, I think this is a fairly obvious allegory to the fact that the  House Hightower is the one that rules Westeros, although they call themselves Targaryens, they aren't Targaryens. They reject Valyrian culture, they don´t  see dragons as an extension of themselves but rather as weapons or horses that they  have a certain affection , they don´t respect the Valyrian legacy and therefore they don´t respect magic either and that's dangerous, we know that magic is still very present in Westeros, the Targeryans and all the descendants of Valyria have magic in their blood and the dragonfire is also magical. For the Targaryens, rejecting the magic and traditions of Valyria means rejecting power, and few things symbolize power better than the Iron Throne.

We know that the Iron Throne is a magical throne, this is because it was forged by the fire of a dragon, it could be said that the throne has a life of its own, I believe that the throne can reject or accept different people for different reasons, in this case the throne doesn´t recognize the Hightower as its conquerors because they don´t respect the ancient magic of the world.

What rules the world of asoiaf is not kings or even gods. It's the magic. Rejecting magic It's a terrible mistake and I believe that is why the throne rejects the Hightower and shows it by tearing their sigil.

AEMOND IS CURSED.

I think we could all notice how the banner behind Aemond is waived by an unknown breeze, it's almost as if the banner is facing away from him,as if House Targaryen turned its back on him.That was done deliberately because there is no breeze in the room because all the other banners remain still.

It’s not surprising that the luck is not on Aemond's side, he has committed one of the greatest sins, he has caused the death of one of his nephew, his own blood, that is why it seems that the Gods have abandoned him.

After killing Lucerys, Aemond's days were numbered, he was out of luck and that was shown when Aemond lost the Battle Above the God's Eye. Some say that no one won that battle because both Daemon and Aemond died, but that is not true. Aemond was killed by Daemon and Deamon died after killing Aemond, his enemy, and that's why Daemon won the battle. Daemon knew perfectly well what would happen if he jumped off his dragon to kill Aemond. Daemon chose the way he would die, Aemond didn´t.

Aemond's story is much more tragic, Aemond didn't continue his bloodline, he didn´t have legitimate children, all traces of him disappeared,  he died in an extremely abrupt way at a very young age. For Aemond death was a horrible surprise but Daemon welcomed death with open arms to defend his family. Aemond died without any glory fighting for a king who would die poisoned and without heirs.

CRISPIN, A FATHER FIGURE.

There’s not much to say about Crispin at the moment, he looks at Rhaenyra with fury and he is standing behind Aegon, probably whispering misogynistic shit in his ear at every opportunity.

In another analysis I have said that Crispin is the father figure of both Aemond and Aegon in a way that Viserys never was, he is truly the man who taught them everything they know and has been their role model since their childhood in a way or another and we must not forget the relationship that Crispin has with Alicent, I want to think that Alicent's sons are not totally stupid and that they have realized that Crispin is practically their stepfather in all aspects except the title.

Crispin not only taught the boys how to use a sword, he taught them to be cruel. I think Alicent's sons might not have become completely horrible men if Crispin had been a better role model. Why do you think Aemond believes it's acceptable to use excessive force to subdue rivals much weaker than him? That's what Crispin taught him. Why do you think Aegon has no consideration or mercy for children or the innocent? Because Crispin taught him that.

ALICENT, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU WANT TO BE A MARTYR?

We can say what we want about Alicent but we cannot deny that women have convictions, horrible and wrong convictions, but convictions after all, Alicent deeply believes that her ideas and actions are correct according to her religion and she’s willing to sacrifice everything but feels anger when her sacrifices are not rewarded. For Alicent, the sacrifices she made will make her rewarded and recognized by the Gods but so far that  hasn't happened but Alicent's sure that the only thing she must do is persevere and resist. That is why the symbol of the seven-pointed star remains above her head.

Deep in her soul, Alicent feels that she deserves to have a high status and that her son to be king because of everything she had to go through.

Imagine being in Alicent's place, imagine being a good daughter and then your father forces you to marry an old man, imagine dedicating your entire youth to a man who could be your father, satisfying his sexual desires, being used as a toy, giving children to him, giving him heirs, taking care of him in his illness... so that in the end that man never recognizes your efforts and doesn´t give you  a reward for it, he never names your son King and that he decides to choose his eldest daughter who has never dedicated her life to serving him and pleasing him. I don’t support any of Alicent’s decisions but we have to admit that it's not surprising that she became furious with the Targaryens and that she now decides to take with her own hands what she believes she has earned by her submission and her sacrifice.

In religion, a martyr is someone who suffers for her religious convictions, in essence the greater the sufferings of the martyr, the greater the power of her convictions and therefore the greater her virtue and superiority, being known as a saint worthy of praise. Alicent is determined to prove to the Gods, to Rhaenyra but above all to herself that she is much better than the others, that she is the strongest warrior of the Gods and that she deserves to be recognized , because if she doesn't prove it, her entire life and all her sacrifices would be useless.

Again,I don't justify anything that Alicent has done, I still believe that she is acting in the wrong way and should accept the consequences of her actions , Why? Because Alicent wants to make the wrong people suffer when the person responsable of all her suffering is her father, that's a truth that Alicent knows but refuses to face because  he is the person that she loves most in the world and she has a deep emotional dependence on him.

HAVING THE CROWN ISN'T IMPORTANT (TO AEGON)

I adore symbolism, I think they can be very important and powerful, that is why the movement of the greens to crown Aegon with the crown of the conqueror was extremely important, Alicent wasn't wrong when she mentioned that if Aegon possessed the relics of the Conqueror, his legitimacy as king would be strengthened and it’s true, Aegon possesses all the symbols that matter, the crown and sword of the Conqueror, the Iron Throne and a court in The Red Keep.

It is because of the relics that Aegon can look like a king and have an acceptable appearance before his people and his court, but Aegon doesn’t care about symbolism, he doesn't care about decorum, he doesn't care about rules or laws, this is symbolized by how Aegon doesn't wear the crown of the Conqueror on his head but rather holds it in his hand. What really matters to Aegon is having enough power to be able to do whatever he wants without anyone questioning him or giving him orders and to feel loved (not by his family but by the people of King's Landing).

I believe that at the end of S1 Aegon realized that as king he could give free rein to his debauchery and his terrible actions, he could be the most despicable man in the world and still be praised by everyone because it is the duty of the people praise him.

That is why he doesn´t make an effort to act like a good king because no matter what Aegon does, his family will do whatever it takes to keep him on the throne and profit from it, Aegon knows perfectly well that his family is using him and now he is trying to figure out how he can use his family members or even how he can get rid of them if he wants to. After all, to them, he is the king.

Thank you sooo much for reading this analysis💕💕💕💕💕🥺💞💞💞 I hope you liked it or at least found it interesting, you can leave your comments and opinions and you can also ask me anything.

[oreganosbaby]

What are some notably bad takes you've seen on the Dick Pic incident?

Ok my biggest frustration with Dick Pic Incident takes are that most of them tend to take it as a very conventional #metoo sexual harrassment narrative. This flattens their characters and their relationship so much. Within this narrative, Roman is the predator and Gerri is the victim. Imo, the people who have this take are more likely to see Roman as being a sex pervert and are not the type to see Gerri as being predatory or as betraying him. I don't agree with literally any of those takes, obviously.

I feel like the whole narrative of Gerri as victim and Roman as predator completely misunderstands the intention of the dick pics proper because they are unable to let go of the socially normative idea of what an unsolicited dick pic is for. So, people tend to assume Roman intended to impose his will over her, to sexually threaten her, humiliate her or undermine her. This also leads to a misunderstanding of why the dick pic was so fucked up for Logan and why it was the final nail in the coffin for Roman. The idea that Roman was doing this with aggression goes against his entire deal as being the inverse of his father’s masculine ideals. Roman sent those pictures out of this hysterical overflow of psychosexual anxieties regarding the possibility of genuine emotion without the pretense of business. It parallels his anxieties about his mother’s wedding wherein he identifies with his mother and his anxieties about Logan’s feelings toward him. It seems people are forcibly decontextualising the incident so as to make it fit a particular narrative since that's the only way they can make sense of this or they're misinterpreting his character entirely as someone who is far more proactive and by extension, masculine than he actually is.

The other element is people misinterpreting Gerri's feelings about the dick pics. Like, she's not traumatised and she doesn't feel threatened by him. To some degree, Gerri legitimately sees herself as superior to Roman and able to control him to some degree. With the dick pics, he was getting out of her control but, I still don’t believe she understood this as him asserting himself or sexually threatening her. To Gerri, it was him being hysterical and clingy because if he really were asserting himself, he’d be able to act more independently and he clearly isn’t. His attachment to her is really the crux of her problem with this. What she wants is for him to let go of this libidinal attachment to her because she sees it as weighing her down and for him to learn to manage his libido so he could use it for more productive ends. Roman is unable to do this because his libido is what has guided every major career decision he’s made; it’s the libido that goes first, not the professional goals. She didn’t fully understand this and this is also why she thought their interests were aligned.

I think that both have a hard time situating themselves in relation to each other within the hierarchy. Within their “special conference calls” it’s simple but, in business, it isn’t. Roman assumes Gerri sees him for him-- that she sees him as impotent but, Gerri doesn’t see that and she expects him to “mature” out of this and advance himself. Both understand that regardless of her expectations, Roman’s power does largely come from his relation to Logan. The dick pics were obviously a huge liability to Gerri and she understood Roman as getting preferential treatment because he’s Logan’s son-- after all, that’s why she’s stuck with him in the first place. I think Roman can’t calculate the weight this has so, while he’s aware that this matters and it’s why she’s stuck with him, he likely didn’t expect his father to even suggest killing Gerri in favour of him. I think that a lot of people miss the complexity of the power dynamics here and don’t understand how Roman sees himself within the hierarchy.

[reverieaa]

I need your guidance, i am a college student. I have been in loa tumblr since 2021, and i have been dealing with this problem since then. 

you see, i am manifesting a completely new life for myself where i am not in uni anymore. But to make a state dead is to turn your attention away from it, how can i do that when i have to deal with uni everyday? how can i do that when i think of exams, homework, attending classes blah blah blah.. 

i used to be really good at studying and get extremely good grades when i did not know about the law. why? because i desired to live a different life for myself away from this home and the only logical to do so was to push myself in school. due to that, i am now in a major i absolutely hate because it was the best thing available to start a career with a steady income. 

why am i mentioning this? because since i found out about the law my grades started getting bad. I do NOT want to push myself anymore. why would i? i absolutely CANNOT stand studying anymore, why would i push myself and put hours upon hours onto something that won’t matter anymore when i manifest my dream life…? 

that was the “logical explanation” i told myself every time i got a bad grade. but the thing is.. my dream life hasn’t “manifested” yet. 

consequently, i was extremely DESPERATE back in 2022. i tried everything under the sun to manifest my dream life whether that was in summer break before uni, i tried time crunches, working on my self concept, the vo*id.. i even deleted subjects because everything was so overwhelming so i deleted them to focus on “my manifesting journey”… 

i feel like this ask is all over the place. but everything i mentioned was to better explain my situation. you may ask “if you’re manifesting your dream life and that doesn’t include being in uni why are you worried about your grades…?”  because i am afraid. what if my grades become so bad that it do irreversible damage to my GPA while i still haven’t manifested my dream life????? I CANNOT turn my attention away from uni but at the same time absolutely hate it. I cant do it. so it makes sense why i would become so desperate and focus on time so, so much. I cant let go of time.

please, i am asking you help and guide me. 

If it's one important advice I'd have to give, is do not ever ignore the 3D. I know it must be hard for you right now, but what you do in the 3D does not matter if u satisfy yourself within.

When Neville was in the army, he said he didn't want to be there. He wanted to manifest getting out and going home to his wife and daughter. He applied to be deployed but was denied, his superior told him if there's one person he'd like to go to war with it's him. What do you think Neville did?

He did nothing. He didn't break or accept that he was never going to make it home. He continued training and slept in a room full of other military men, In a small bed.

But in his mind he was not there, in his mind he said he was at home, with his wife and daughter. He accepted with no reasoning that he was already released and at home. He said in his mind he was in ecstasy, happy and relieved even if he knew physically he was in tbe military bc he was trained there everyday.

Soon after his superior called him to his office, and asked him if he really wanted to leave. Nevielle answered yes, and his deployment was approved. He packed his things and went home.

Do not ignore the way you feel, but do not accept ur 3D circumstances as the end. Go within you mind and stay there, to yourself u are the person u desire to be, afe u not? Who's going to say what u are and aren't in ur imagination.

The only way to satisfy yourself is within, nothing is going against u and the faster u realize that, the more power to you. To me it doesn't matter what the 3D shows, if I'm feeling good within bc that is what u desire. Your oiter reality is only a reflection of your mind and it's contents. Do not sabotage yourself and ignore the 3D and what's given to you in it, that only worsens things for u.

It's not your responsibility or business for things to show up in your reality or when. U need to learn how to be observant of your 3D rather than a reactor of it, it is possible.

I wish you the best, not only with loa but school in general. Please don't just completely ignore ur 3D and view as sth going against you or as bad, it is a gift for u to enjoy your manifestations. I hope this helps and that u don't stress yourself so much. There's time for everything.

[witchofthesouls]

I've had prime predacons on the brain, do they have mating habits? Do they lay eggs? Since predaking is the leader of the last 3 predacons does that mean he gets first dibs if a lady dragon/predacon shows up or would it be a battle of suitors? Do predacons make good parents even with the fact they're technically clones and only have vague genetic memories of their culture to pass on?

I got sooooooo many thoughts about Predacons and their influence on Cybertron's modern-day frame-schematics, especially with that throw-away line about Seekers. Like I'm running away with it~!! 🏃‍♀️

Seekerkin can trace their frame and coding quirks back to the Predacon species that delved into the Rust Sea. Unlike their exclusive land and air kith, the sea hunters were able to escape the catastrophic radiation by diving down into the depths.

These particular subspecies of Predacon passed many traits to their descendants, including but not limited to: the sexual dimorphism of larger, powerful femmes to agile, brightly-colored mechs, the trine-protocols and flocking mechanisms, multiples in carriage, prey-drives, and superior senses akin to beastformers and mechanimals.

The Wilder tribes still use vocalizations and have behaviors that can be traced back to their ancient kin and kith via oral traditions from Keepers. This leads to a lot of tension with the Seekerkin city-states that try to erase and rewrite the history of their frames.

While Vos is framed for their trine-protocols and being a strange breed of aerials onto itself, Praxus refined the hunting tactics and flocking behavior, and Polyhex's wetlands and underground labyrinths kept polished the traits that made them formidable sea predators.

The Predacons eschewed Prima's Call and his Guiding Hand for the established city-states to remain in the Wilds. Capable of speech and sharp intelligence, Predaking's kith were the apex predators of the sky, hunting down others for food, and were terrors to the young mecha prior to T-cogs.

This is due to claims of superiority. Unlike the other frames, they didn't require the immediate protection of the Primes. On top of their massive size and strength, flight and fire capabilities, advanced nanite colonies, thick armor, and heightened senses, the Predacons have a very unique quirk: collective unconscious.

Predacons are proud of their closeness to nature and beastly frames. In their opinion, they are the second closest to Primus, outside of the Thirteen, because of it. "A gift," they decree, by the Creator to give them such wild frames suited to the planet with the capabilities to shape it.

In the oral traditions of the Wilders, it's said some of their ancient kith could bend "cold fire" aka lightning. And that's why certain landmarks in the Wastelands still stand in defiance of Time and Prima's "Forceful" Hand. It was also said that they often crossed with "the Shadow of the Light" and the "Lord of Beasts."

Out of all the Primes, they respect the inescapable strength and spirit of Megatronus, Solus' forging and might, and Onyx for his understanding of their kind as he, too, ventured to the edges of extremes. "Lord of Beasts," indeed. They are creatures suited to an untamed Cybertron.

The social structures of the land hunters are very loose and minimal. Adults are mainly solitary creatures with exceptions to mating season, child-rearing, and seasonal gatherings to collectively mine volcanoes for minerals and guide massive storms to ignite new Energon nodes- preparations for the lean portion of the vorn.

The sea hunters are smaller and slimmer than their land-counterparts, so they have strong social ties of multiple generations to maximize the survival of their young, resource efficiency, and hunting tactics.

The mating behaviors of Predacons differ by their type, but there are similarities. Do they do not feel shame over cycles; heats and ruts are simply a fact of life. Much like beastformers, Predacons have reproductive heats.

There's courting gifts of fresh kills, raw ores, and chunks of minerals as well as showing off skills.

If there's an uncourted or unclaimed female in heat, then a Dance or a Mating Hunt will occur after competition has been bullied to back down. Females in heat are highly temperamental and incredibly aggressive, so those who wish to remain single and unmated would either cripple or kill persistent hunters.

Among the sea hunters, males show off their bright colors and hues to demonstrate health and virility as well as attempt to groom or nuzzle a female of a different pod/flock. It's common for a binary or triad of males to mate-nap a female from elsewhere: proving their tactics against her and her extended kin.

Whereas the males of the land hunters will show off strength by battling other males in the vicinity to prove their worthiness among his nearby neighbors before battling her for breeding rights.

If a female Predacon (or Seekerkin) was discovered, then Predaking would bully the other males to establish dominance before stepping up to plate to fight her.

Child-rearing is a shared responsibility. Nest building and bulking it with supplies. Keeping out intruders since baby Predacons cannot properly fly until they reach near mechling stage (adolescence).

Males can't produce sparkling-grade, so females are stuck in the nest until the newsparks gain their sight and actually climb out.

Mechs do help with a special tank in their frames that reguitates a melted slag of nutrients that helps boost the newsparks' systems.

Once the sparklings can eat more solid, the sire and carrier will take turns hunting and caring the nest.

Sea hunters have an easier time as child-rearing is more communal. Newsparks and sparklings are defended and supported by well-established adults guarding the shallow nursery reef, while hunters support the pod with an influx of food.

[genericpuff]

Hey I’ve questions to the word “Infantilization” sense into thrown out there willy nilly (in my perspective) I want write/read webtoons and comics and im asking what something to watch out for in characters especially when age isn’t confirmed

Ouu, this is an interesting question/request!

So obviously I'm just one person and can't identify every sign of infantilization myself, I still find myself falling for stuff that was subliminally problematic (which is often the point of the people writing it LMAO) And of course the points I'm about to make, you may disagree with! So take this with grains of critical salt.

I'll try to keep it focused around Persephone and Hades as an example but note that a lot of what shows up between them shows up between other Webtoon couples as well (such as Sam and Charles!)

Identifying infantilization does take context. A lot of what I'm about to include as examples aren't inherently wrong on their own - many writers are legit just trying to write a "cute" character or spicy drama - but when put in conjunction with one another or dialed up to hyperbolic degrees, can absolutely play into subconscious and conscious infantilization of characters that can become easy to internalize especially for the younger audiences these types of works are marketed to.

So let's get on with it!

The character has traits that render them dysfunctional unless they have someone to guide them - and are often exaggerated for the "laughs" or to make them seem "cute". Take Sam from Let's Play, for example - she's got anxiety from previous health scares and asthma, which is amplified and viewed by others to the point of comparing her office booth to a "crib". Now, this does make for an interesting plot point wherein Sam's friends and family are actually enabling her lack of independence by shielding her (which is one thing I do like about Charles, that he pushes her to be more assertive and independent) but oftentimes Sam's lack of assertiveness and independence is played off as "cute" for the audience and their favorite ships when in fact, her character has some serious issues going on that stem back to her anxiety that dick can't solve.

But of course, characters like Charles take full advantage of that and are still offered as the "solution" to their problems.

The character is often pursued on the basis of "purity". Often times the characters themselves will call out how young/innocent they are, for better and for worse - and if it's to judge the main characters' preferences, the romance is still pursued in defiance of that, as if to "prove them wrong".

Think Persephone, a virgin Goddess of Spring, being pursued by Hades, a much older and more sexually experienced man who bases most of his relationships off sexual attraction, who she ends up working for in an office environment as his intern. Or Sam, who is both the daughter of the overprotective CEO and dating her own superior, Charles, who isn't looking for the kind of relationship she's looking for - he's in transactional sexual relationships, while she can barely look at porn or hold another boy's hand without freaking out. She's 22. Persephone is often drawn being objectified by Hades, while Sam has been drawn as the "sheep" in the relationships with the "big bad wolves" around her.

Now I know drawing a character 'small' or in absurd ways like this can be used for framing whenever the character feels small against someone else, but the extent it's done to with characters like Persephone and Sam is often under the guise of "framing" when it's more often blatant characterization. Sam rarely feels like she's actually growing as a person, she's assertive when the narrative needs her to be but regresses right back to being an "uwu baby" as soon as it's deemed funny enough to do so. Persephone never changes between the end of the trial and the events in S3, she still acts and is written and drawn like a teenager.

I know this is a hilarious example, but all I can think is when people call Persephone a "sweet cinnamon roll" or Sam a "precious Bunty". Sam and Persephone are both adult women. And even when Persephone was 19 people still defended her relationship with Hades because "she's legally an adult and can make her own choices!" But then Rachel will often her like, well... this.

The character is often "stuck" between their love interest and a parental figure. Again, this one on its own isn't the worst thing in the world as it's a very real conflict that happens in real life, but it's a common thread that comes up in the stories often criticized for infantilization because the relationships these characters are in aren't ideal in the first place and the parental conflict is used as a way to drive the romance and tension instead of actual romantic chemistry. Think those Lore Olympus banner reel ads featuring Persephone "trapped" between Hades and Demeter; or in Let's Play, Sam being "passed off" between her father and her superior who is the love interest.

These things would be fine if they were making some kind of point about marriage culture but they rarely ever are, it's usually only ever to resort to "haha overprotective parent bad!" (even when the MC is in a relationship they really shouldn't be in) or to serve as a punchline which ultimately just, again, objectifies and infantilizes the character as someone who can't function on their own without a man making the decisions for them.

When you take these spicy drama tropes out of the story - the overprotective parent, the boss/employee relationship, etc. - there's really nothing going on in these relationships that's all that interesting. It's just two horny people trying not to be horny for each other.

The other people the character depends on are typically in higher positions of power than them but often hide it under the guise of "romance". Often times this makes the character directly subservient to the love interest. These power differences often serve as the driving factor in the romance itself rather than any actual chemistry. Hades, Charles, sound familiar?

I know I've talked about LO and Let's Play a lot on this topic but it's literally just because of how egregiously similar they are, Let's Play may as well just be Lore Olympus but with real people (esp when you consider how little the "god" element matters in LO when it comes right down to it). And they're both series that are flagship titles, at the forefront of the romance genre which is one of the most widely read genres in webtoons/webcomics. The fact that two of the highest earning webtoons both push this kind of infantilization in their comics that are pushed on a young audience... it's not great. Even if it were an adult audience it would still be problematic, like I'll give kudos to mongie, she left when she knew WT wasn't the right platform for her work, but I don't know if I'd still enjoy Let's Play off WT either because it's still just a mess of a comic. Still stronger than LO - at least the main character spends a decent amount of time having a life outside of their love interests - but I don't know if being better than LO is really a compliment at this point.

And outside of webtoons, I read A Touch of Darkness recently after being told by people that it's "much better than LO" but y'all it SUCKED. It's shitty p0rn with a shitty plot and Persephone is just as lacking in brain cells in A Touch of Darkness as she is in Lore Olympus.

It's ironic how a comic that claims to be a "deconstruction" of purity culture really feeds right back into it anyways because the creator seems to be a product of purity culture and male gaze media who hasn't actually addressed it or unpacked it.

Anyways, I think that's all for now? If I think of anything else I'll def reblog and add more but I thiiiink that covers the majority of the points that typically come to mind whenever I'm reading stories like this. It's definitely one of those "once you start seeing it you can't unsee it" things that even female writers like Rachel and mongie aren't immune to writing.

[bettsfic]

bg3 build: beast priest (shadowheart respec)

i'm playing around with some new builds! after scrounging the internet for good build guides, i didn't find any that i thought were interesting. in my current playthrough, i'm trying to respec all the companions to be the classes they would have chosen without their various traumas.

the beast priest is my respec for shadowheart. if you haven't noticed, shadowheart's basic build isn't great. when you find her, she's already level 1, which means the game chooses her subclass for you: trickery domain. and that doesn't make sense at all, narratively or for the stats she's been assigned. so to make her a good trickery domain cleric, you would want to respec her anyway just to fix level 1.

but i don't want her to be a trickery domain cleric. i don't even want her to be a healer. i want her to be an emo bird girl. the Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way of bg3, emphasis on raven. by endgame, we learn that shadowheart loves animals and nature, and she's a bit of a rebel (my graffiti queen). without having been kidnapped by the mother superior, i can see her either noping off into the woods or staying in the city to be the type of person who accidentally acquires really a lot of cats. so my goal is for her to have lots of animals, do a fuckton of damage, and fight off the darkness with lots and lots of light.

you can find the full build on eip. more detail and a level by level breakdown under the cut.

the beast priest build involves taking 6-7 levels of beast master ranger and 5-6 levels of war priest cleric. you start off as a ranger, because rangers have great early game damage and are also imo the easiest class for beginners. you stand in one spot and you shoot stuff. you can also get Harold (crossbow) pretty early on and it can be your main weapon through most of the game. it does insane damage and casts Bane.

i'm not familiar enough with armor and weapons to include recommendations in this guide (beyond Harold. get Harold). that is too much for me to keep track of, and i swap things out a lot. use whatever you find most helpful and/or looks the coolest. you probably can't use this build for lone wolf tactician or anything, but i do think it's very fun for an explorer or balanced playthrough, and it fixes a lot of the problems in shadowheart's base build.

this build does a few things:

uses war priest weapon buffs to increase ranged damage

minimizes concentration spells to prioritize ensnared strike and hunter's mark

backup heals (unfortunately this means either respeccing another companion to take on main healing duties or building a main heals tav. i'm working on a bardadin build for this very purpose. there is also always halsin, but he takes a while to acquire)

it's very beneficial to astarion that the bird can blind enemies near him so he can gain advantage to sneak attack (i'll share my build for him too eventually; he is also part ranger)

toolkit against undead (guardian spirits is a must)

important team utilities like guidance

what this build can't do:

be the "face" of your team, by which i mean initiate dialogue. we have no charisma or proficiency in anything related to talking to people. we are a gloomy emo girl sequestered to the back of the group and we shoot stuff and hang out with our bird

steal shit, disarm traps, lockpick. i mean, you can, but you'll probably have another character better equipped for it. we'll be wearing medium armor or heavy armor (optional), so we'll have a disadvantage on stealth anyway

here's how i've broken down each level:

initial build

if you're respeccing shadowheart, you won't be able to change her race or background, which means she'll remain an acolyte and have proficiency in insight and religion.

if you're making your tav a beast priest, you should choose whatever background and race makes sense for your character's narrative. the caveat being, as stated above, stealth and sleight of hand are kind of useless here, as well as dialogue proficiencies like persuasion, intimidation, deception, performance, etc.

what *is* helpful is having proficiency in the things you walk up to and go "oh shit, what's that?" so survival and perception are pretty important. folk hero and outlander are therefore both good background choices, but again, what's important to me in a build is that the story makes sense.

note you will not need investigation because we'll be taking bounty hunter as a favored enemy.

level 1: ranger (1)

proficiencies: survival, nature, animal handling (see above for more explanation; really just take whatever you think will be useful)

favored enemy: bounty hunter

bounty hunter gives disadvantage to enemies hit by ensnaring strike. very helpful for astarion and your companion. however, it's sometimes difficult to choose when to use hunter's mark versus ensnaring strike.

natural explorer: beast tamer

all of these are kind of useless, tbh. but i chose this one because early game, your companion dies very easily and this way you'll be able to bring it back without using a spell slot.

from my understanding, in EA you could either have your summon pet OR your companion out, not both, but in full release you can now have both summons out at once.

level 2: ranger (2)

fighting style: archery

we are going to be very far away from our enemies and Harold is going to be very dear to us.

spells: hunter's mark, ensnaring strike (ranged)

both spells require concentration so you can only pick one. ensnaring strike gives disadvantage to an enemy but hunter's mark does more damage, and your companion does more advantage to it as well. for cc situations, i'd choose ensnaring strike; for taking down one big dude at a time, hunter's mark. hunter's mark can be recast as long as you maintain concentration.

level 3: cleric (1)

deity: any (if you're respeccing shadowheart, your deity will remain shar)

domain: war domain

cantrips: guidance, sacred flame, light

the only one that's important here is guidance. the other two can be whatever your party needs most. the reason we're taking one level of cleric early and the others later is because guidance is a must. if someone else on your team has it, or if you have a bard, you can stay as a ranger until 5.

level 4: ranger (3)

subclass: beast master

spell: cure wounds OR speak with animals

for shadowheart's respec, i would say cure wounds so that she can start subhealing. however, if you don't have anyone in your party who can speak to animals yet, that's pretty important. the strange ox you meet in the grove provides a lot of endgame help, and it's fun talking to the owlbear and scratch.

level 5: ranger (4)

feat: resilient (wisdom)

taking resilience in wisdom gives us a proficiency in wisdom saving throws, which we'll need for both cleric and ranger spells.

level 6: ranger (5)

spells: anything that would be most helpful to your team.

you probably already have somebody who can cast longstrider as a ritual spell. enhance leap is helpful although this is pretty late in the game to be getting that. i try to avoid concentration spells because of hunter's mark and aoe spells because astarion and karlach are always in the thick of it and i don't want to hurt them.

what's important this level is that your companion's AC and damage increases, and it gets an extra attack.

level 7: cleric (2)

you get turn undead and guided strike this level. both are very useful, particularly guided strike. nothing to choose though.

level 8: cleric (3)

new spells! these can be prepared based on what you think you'll need for a given scenario. lesser restoration is a must if you're letting astarion bite you every night. but if that's the case you probably already have it.

level 9: cleric (4)

cantrip: whatever's most helpful at this point

feat: ability improvement (1 in wisdom, 1 in dexterity)

if you have auntie ethel's hair, then you might want 2 in one or the other.

level 10: cleric (5)

here's where you get guardian spirits, which is the single most important mid-game spell you can have (although in this build you get it pretty late). make sure when you cast it, you have as many movement speed spells and potions you can get. you're going to cast it and run around like mad killing everything.

level 11 & 12: ranger OR cleric (6 & 7)

here's where you have a difficult choice to make. your last two levels can be ranger 6 and 7, which will give your companion a huge buff. or you can choose cleric 6 and 7, which will give you war god's blessing, which gives you a +10 attack roll to give to someone else on your team.

you an also do cleric 6 and ranger 6, which will grant you war god's blessing AND allow you to take ranger knight as a favored enemy, which gives you the ability to wear heavy armor (if you want that). you can also gain resistance to cold, fire, or poison, but since you encounter all of those things in pretty equal measure, i never know which to choose.

i think it'll depend on what sounds more fun to you. personally, i think seeing my animal companion destroy everything is very fun. but if you enjoy reactions and buffing your teammates, i can also see wanting to stick with cleric through the end.

unlock to level 20

you might be thinking it's not worth it to only take two half classes instead of one whole one and lose out on late game spells and abilities. and i agree with you completely. my favorite part of beast master is when your companion gets two special abilities at 11. if you're playing completely vanilla, this is the major sacrifice of multiclassing. you're prioritizing creativity and cool combos over fancy spells and abilities.

but if you install a mod that lets you level to 20 (no class can go beyond 12, but you can multiclass to 20), you can take 11 levels of ranger and 9 levels of cleric. level 11 of ranger maxes out your animal; level 8 of cleric gives you divine strike, and level 9 gives you flame strike.

i didn't find anything from 10-12 in cleric very helpful. there's divine intervention which you can only use once in the game, ever, and i used it at a very integral time and it didn't do enough. heroes' feast is helpful but halsin has that too. heal, which should be the best healing spell in the game, is currently bugged and i don't know when they'll fix it.

you could also do level 12 of ranger for the extra feat if you don't have both wisdom and dexterity to 20, and stay at 8 for cleric.

if you do unlock to level 20, i would download the double xp mod (although i haven't gotten mine to work yet) so you can get to 20 at about the same pace you get to 12 in vanilla. this obvs is extremely unbalanced and makes you very very OP but that makes the game more fun for me. and anyway, if it gets too easy you can always play tactician or honor mode.

i hope you found this helpful! i'll probably be tweaking and updating it as i go. i'm working on respecs for astarion, karlach, halsin, jaheira, and wyll right now. gale, lae'zel, and minsc i'll be able to look at once i play around with them more. i haven't used them much yet in my teams.

if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to send me an ask!

[elysiansparadise]

I just love all your analysis, there is something heartfelt that always resonates. Can you do sun in 9th 🏠?

Thanks for the love, I'm glad to know it resonates. And sure, I can.

Sun in the 9th house

Here we find extremely curious natives with a desire and ease to obtain different types of knowledge. They stand out for their intelligence and enthusiasm when it comes to diving into topics that they are passionate about or like very much. They have an incomparable sense of humor that arises from their social charisma, they are very witty and are capable of lighting up the humor of a site. It is very important for them to project themselves as a capable and intelligent person and they do not like to be fooled. Their pride and self-esteem often lies in the level of intelligence they have or want to have. Something for which they are not usually given the credit they deserve is their unmatched creativity, bordering on genius, they can be people who have that facility to do things that others do something unique by putting their own touch on it. Many of them have a talent for languages, becoming bilingual or speaking more than two languages, this of course depends on many factors, but here is the potential. There is also a potential for esoteric abilities, they are people for whom their beliefs are important and can be very devoted to them, they can develop intuition and other abilities that help them delve into esotericism.

In them there is a desire to be able to enjoy life, either because they feel that they have not been able to fully enjoy it or simply to satisfy that curiosity. They are very interesting people, because they are the classic person who relates to others in an incredible way (perhaps not being very emotionally expressive, but being kind and friendly) easily captivating with their appeal and charm, however, they are also very important for them to have that time to themselves. Introspection is very important to them, as well as getting to know each other from head to toe. Many of them find it difficult to bring out this stereotypical adventurous and incredibly sociable side that is assigned to natives with this placement, but it is a matter of feeling that they are with the people and in the right place. Something that is very faithful to them and I already mentioned a little is their fascination for travel. They love the idea of ​​seeing different places and exploring other things beyond what they are used to seeing. Your mind needs to be constantly stimulated, besides it seems to be a place that you will never finish visiting, and a place that keeps random data in every corner that you don't expect.

These natives are quite observant, becoming very capable of learning important lessons through contemplating the mistakes of others, they do not judge, rather they take what they see and learn. They possess a wisdom that makes them perfect candidates to be the counselors of their friends and acquaintances, who may see them as superior in some way. It is not surprising that they can mentor and guide others (the sign and the degree can give us more clues as to what they can guide others, along with conjunctions or other tight aspects). This placement shows that the natives can be very successful if they decide to complete their higher education, having enough prestige or at least a great reputation. It is likely that some teacher, tutor or guide has greatly impacted and influenced them. Another of the sectors in which they can be very lucky is travel, where fortune, good experiences and happiness augur them. The theme of the father can be quite varied, the native may have a foreign father who was born in another country than the native's place of origin. Other chances are that this is an academic, intelligent man or who works in the education or law sector. Or a father who does not usually see much physically.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[uraharasandals]

This is for @3rdgymbros, who got me thinking about Shinji's relationship with Momo after he reassumed office as the 5th Division Captain. Just some silly little fun headcanons because we all need some silly little fun in our lives.

HIRAKO SHINJI AND HINAMORI MOMO’S CAPTAIN-LIEUTENANT HCS

Momo isn't sure what to make of this new Captain of the 5th Division. She has heard whispers of who he is, of course, along with the two others who took up the posts of the Captains who had ultimately turned their backs on Soul Society. She knows within herself that everyone has been lenient with her - more than enough time has been given to her to heal, and some of the other officers' gazes have turned from understanding and sympathy to a mixture of impatience and pity. Even Nanao, who is usually so wonderful, seems to feel a slight sense of exasperation for her. But she doesn't understand - none of them do, not even Hisagi and Kira, who have lost Captains themselves. How could they, when the men who turned their back on them did not treat them with the same kindness Captain Aizen had? How could they, when the men who scorned their services didn't lay dead and mangled in front of them, so lifeless as opposed to the gentleness and patience he had used to guide her ever since her days freshly out of Shin'o? Small wonder she gazes upon Shinji with a sense of exhausted weariness. She still keeps her head bowed respectfully, of course, but she knows he can't close up that gaping wound in her chest that stretches open still with the strain of running her Division alone, with stares and whispers following her despite her subordinates' loyal subservience.

That is, until the blonde man brushes aside her attempts at etiquette away impatiently. Ya can call me Shinji if ya want, yer know. At least within the Division. When she protests weakly against this, he insists again, and refuses to take no for an answer. Momo accepts this - after all, Shinji is still her superior. That doesn't mean she lets herself call him by his given name though - it'll always be Captain Hirako to her. Not because she doesn't want to be close to the man, or form a bond with him - but past experiences had taught her a lesson in being too intimate with someone. Especially someone she thought she knew for a long time.

It wasn't until she manages to connect the dots (and timelines) that Momo realises Shinji was the 5th's Captain before Aizen, which means Aizen was his lieutenant during his tenure. Now that manages to put things into perspective for her, and she starts to open up a little to the blond man. Shinji doesn't push the relationship after their first initial meeting, because he doesn't want to put too much pressure on the girl, so he had sort of established a professional working experience with an open invitation to be closer (As lieutenant and captain, ya know? This sorta thing gets easier if yer friends. Trust me.). But she truly and actually takes him on his invitation one afternoon when she brings him his tea (with one of those Real-World snacks that Kuchiki brought back from one of her countless missions there) and paperwork. Momo lingers hesitantly, before asking for help about some of the paperwork she'd been struggling with. Now Shinji isn't exactly a huge paperwork man (that sort of thing has always been Kensei's schtick, and even Lisa's - god knows Kyoraku isn't the one doing paperwork in his division), but he's been in the post long enough that in pre-Aizen times he does his own.

(Are we talking about pre-Aizen times now? Forget that actually happened)

At any rate, that kind of served as a bridge between their relationship, and bit by bit Momo started to regain some of her past personality. Toshirou and Rangiku even remarked that she gained a sense of confidence that they hadn't seen in her for a long long time - she doesn't smile at this, she beams. Toshirou blushes.

The 5th starts lightening up as well, like a wilted flower that was given some water and sunlight. They've always been kind of wary, a little unsure - it always feels like one wrong step out of line could break the lieutenant beyond how much she's already broke, and no one wants that for the Division. But with Shinji's arrival, the squad members started to be more lively, and it becomes more of a home, rather than a shell. They find it easy to talk to Shinji, and his jazz records constantly playing in the background, though ultimately came with death threats (as a joke), made the mood of the entire division lighter and happier. Not for those who'd stuck around when he was previously captain though - there was a collective groan in the veterans' pantry when the vinyls played again (even if everyone does collectively agree Shinji coming back was the best thing to have happened since he left, after realising what a backstabbing liar Aizen was).

Captain, what happened to your long hair?

Shut yer trap, Harada. What happened to yer teeth?

Fair point, sir

Anyways, with the 5th being happier and Momo herself also being happier, the relationship between her and her captain significantly lightens up and becomes more cheerful. There’s a lot more playful banter now that Momo knows he’s not really serious half the time, and she even scolds him a little when she knows he’s slacking off. After all, despite her soft exterior, Momo is still a sticker for rules, and she’s not as comfortable in her position as some other lieutenants (Oomaeda, Rangiku, Rukia etc.) and the captains are to give herself leeway in her work. But that could be a good thing too, because you need someone to balance out the strictness and adherence to rules and someone to be flexible with them. 

Captain! You should really start working on the paperwork, we need to get it in to the 1st Division by tomorrow afternoon.

Aww, Momo-chan, give it a rest! The Captain-Commander ain’t gonna bust a vein over some missing sheets from the 5th. Yer becoming like Nanao-chan over there now

L-lieutenant Ise is much more efficient than I am, Captain Hirako. I don’t think I can compare to her yet.

*mutters* I should hope not

They have weekly tea sessions - but after they become more comfortable with each other, that turns to bi-weekly, then monthly. During these sessions, they get to know each other more, and Shinji becomes something of a mentor to Momo. Shinji often jokes that these are free therapy sessions for her, and Aizen-ranting sessions for himself. Yes, they end up destroying Momo’s vision of the perfect Aizen, but let’s be honest, it’s good for her mental health and stops her from doubting herself. She seems like someone who definitely would blame herself at least once for Aizen turning evil (even though it’s absolutely not her fault), and after hearing Shinji’s stories, she realises that it was just who he was the whole time. It wasn’t even Gin’s fault, as much as she thought that was the case. Momo is absolutely horrified at the stories of Aizen cutting Shinji’s hair when he sleeps, but even more when she hears about the Hollowfication incident that turned the Visoreds into what they are. She has more sympathy and understanding for them after hearing the actual story from him (because you can bet Soul Society sanitised it and erased that history from its books). 

After all that time Shinji spends in the Human World, it��s understandable when he refuses to take on any assignments there - not just because he lives in perpetual fear of a sandal flying at his head, but also because he really doesn’t want to revisit those memories, at least not so quickly. When Momo is assigned there, she gets a whole talk from Shinji - where to go for the best foods, what to buy and what to see. He nearly forgets to tell her the best hiding spots when she’s in danger, but everyone knows Urahara is in town and Kurosaki Ichigo can step in whenever anyone is in trouble. He secretly slips her a list of stuff to buy from the Human World, and reimburses her himself - after all, just because he doesn’t want to go there anymore doesn’t mean he misses those CDs any less.

Shinji might not show it, but he absolutely does treat Momo like a daughter. After living in a commune (...of sorts) for 100+ years, you start viewing relationships differently and have a different concept of intimacy and a whole new level of paranoia. He doesn’t keep tabs on her exactly, but he does look out for her in that weird way of his. That much is obvious in those tea sessions I mentioned earlier, but he also insists on her taking time off whenever he sees it, and tells her to accept those chocolates left on her desk by a secret admirer (and no, he did not send those). After taking on his last lieutenant because of suspicions, he tries to let himself look after his new one. They both need to heal from Aizen’s schemes and manipulation.

On her birthday, he gets her a peach plushie. It’s moderately sized, but still dwarfs her when she curls up next to it. Momo may or may not have a story to tell about the time Hitsugaya came over and her needing to use Tobiume to get rid of the icicles that formed on it afterwards. Shinji got a good laugh out of it afterwards and got her a plum one next time, for her zanpakutou. 

Momo absolutely did cut her hair because of Shinji. He didn’t plant that idea in her head, but he definitely did encourage her to do it. Not only is short hair easier to manage, they’re also matching!! To which Momo replied her hair is definitely prettier than his. Shinji sulked for a whole three days and she got the mountain of paperwork on her desk to prove for it. Still well-deserved, though. 

[vs120shound]

And on the Seventh Day, the Good Lord created Laura for all mankind afflicted with SF to admire and to cherish and to worship! And the Lord gave Laura all the tools she needed to smile down upon her subjects with exhaled smoke from Marlboro 100s and VS120s!

AND THEN THERE WAS LAURA TO CELEBRATE!

SHE ARRIVED SPORTING BANGS, MAKING THE SF WORLD YEARN!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ + | Five-Plus "Stars"

From gomerianworld | ★★☆ (7 total: L)

Tri-Media 10-Post, 44-Pack Megapost!

LAURA WITH BANGS 🚬 IS REVENGE FOR 🚬 WHAT AGAIN EXACTLY?

Laura carved out her niche during her time with R.S. in her own inimitable way . . . attacking the Greater SF World Community scene with her unique mix of great natural beauty -- cute, pretty and handsome -- ultra-seductive ways, teasing-playful-edgy personality all accentuated by her creative and glamorous sense of style and fashion with her hairstyles, makeup, jewelrey, accessories, outfits, footwear and outerwear (Dear Goodness, did we not mention lingerie?)! Yes, some undergarments were visible on her from time to time but always in an appropriate and tasteful manner. No slut here. Laura was all about the look and with "Snaps Random," the look always featured cigarettes, often Marlboro 100s or Virginia Slims 120s Luxury Lights (now Gold Pack). . . . and until seeing this video for the first time within the past 24 hours, we had never seen Laura in bangs. She does indeed rock it with bangs, too, but she's more remarkable without them, we claim!

. . . well, Laura, or "LauraA" -- to which she was sometimes referred -- was always meticulously put-together for her shoots, with that highly-refined fashion drive guiding her to the selections she made to accentuate her appearances, which always brought out the true character and beauty of her femininity, grace and elegance. She was the consummate SF model/actress package. In large part, that's how she landed the No. 1 slot for the "unofficial" official Top-25 all-time favorite SF models list published on vs120shound in January 2023.

Our Centerpiece video is from a post by gomerianworld, a new tumblr SF-content blog/vlog/webpage born on October 18, 2023. It had 16 positive notes of likes or re-blogs in the first 18 hours after this video's post was uploaded to "Gomer's World's" page.

Previous Posts of Laura on tumblr and on Our Network!

A GIF from georgetyerbyter, re-blogged by smokingslutcartel and qwerty53421 each on November 2, 2023 . . .

From vs120shound's Pinned Post on November 17, 2023 . . .

Photos of Laura from the self-de-activated Mega-SF website based in Australia!

(All three photos from that defunct host website, R.S.!)

NOTE ON RATING OF POST'S SOURCE: gomerianworld, which in four brief weeks of existence shows great promise towards becoming an outstanding tumblr SF-content hot-spot, received a rating of ★★☆ as this post's content source that might appear low or punitive at first blush. But that's not the intent; please do not misconstrue. tumblr SF-content pages that have been around much, much longer with a long-standing proven record of delivering high-quality content on a consistent basis, as well as YouTube webpages and authors/contributors/uploaders of experience and consequence over on Smoking Fetish Kingdom (SFK), those folks would get better ratings, in the ★★★☆ to ★★★★★'s range. gomerianworld is on track to reach that threshold, as is thelibrarian120. smokingscholar, which came out near Jan. 1, 2023 has moved up in ratings by the nature of its superior longevity when contrasted to "Gomer's World" and "The Librarian." Just give those two some more time out at it before their ★'s begin to improve and to grow.