#but it's important to be able to examine something you feel doesn't /quite/ have the full picture; and figure out what data points you need

[the-moogle-of-your-nightmares]

tbh will never forgive radfems for appropriating 'why don't you think about why you feel that way :)' as 'do it until you're Fixed and don't feel that way anymore'--especially when often they use it for conversion therapy in particular 🙃--because as a genuine, good faith, open-ended question to guide a toolset of other questions, it has brought me not only a lot of insight but SO much peace in processing things my brain would eat itself over otherwise

[soapoet]

how are you, october?

+3 Taylor Swift songs each because she's striving and so should you.

like & rb if it resonates ♡

Soapy scribbles: I already did a general energy reading for this autumn season here, but there's quite a bit of energies at play this autumn, so I felt the need to look at October specifically as it feels very important.

01.

Shufflemancy: Taylor Swift ‐ Don't blame me, I did something bad, Red.

How long have you kept the light on? Sitting there, staring at the door, waiting for someone who never seems to come? The radio is on, playing two stations at once. The flower petals all say maybe, not he loves me, he loves me not. You are frustrated and confused, yearning for clarity but outside the sun just won't rise and the only light is the one lit outside your house. Have you given your time at a discount, or is the free trial still running? Someone needs to draw the line in the sand further from the waves that keep washing them away. You want more, and for love to not feel like agony. Red is the colour of passion, both love and hate. I see you wearing their white t-shirt, your heart bleeding and staining it red as you watch them sleep. Safe and sound, whilst you howl to the moon. You're growing territorial. A desperate act to ward off the wolves that prowl your prey. You saw them first, but they don't seem to see you.

It seems as though your thoughts and feelings are silly until somebody else echos them, word for word, and then they're liquid gold. You're not a ghost, but you feel your outlines blur. Where do you end and where do they begin? You haunt their halls, but they're fast asleep and never notice a bump in the night. You've felt powerless, like the quietest poltergeist, unable to move and shake the silverware, never able to rattle the cupboards or the picture frames. Somebody treats you like they would give you their last name, yet make no such commitments, not a single step in that direction. It is all up in the air, and you feel like the rug beneath your feet will get pulled at any moment. Is it not tiring to lie awake, watching the shadows, wondering what beasts may strike if you let your guard down in slumber? Without certainty, you're the one in fear under the covers, certain it wasn't just the wind. Because in your experience, it never really is.

Do not sign the dotted line without examination of the fine print. Better yet, do not sell your heart and soul to someone who will keep you on a shelf, saved for a rainy day, but will not puncture breathing holes into the lid and care for you truly. Do not let yourself be kept for a season, wings clipped and left to asphyxiate in a jar. You have given enough benefits of the doubt, but nobody is so daft, so oblivious, they would not embrace love they find worthy and good. Do not let yourself be kept as an option or as something good enough until something better, new and shiny, comes along. Close up shop and demand full subscription for your time and effort. If they won't pay the price, you'll find better in no time whilst karma chews them out. Especially if you feel like you can't do better, or have felt like love keeps avoiding you and you're somehow faulty and too broken to be loved, there really is someone around the next few corners who won't play you like a game or stick around only in fair weather but your storms too. So don't settle, you deserve better than okay and fine and good enough. For a select few, there really is love here, but may be drowning in addiction or fears of some kind. Remember that you can't help someone who doesn't want help, because change is made when they want change. This change may very well be coming up in the near future, and wrongs may be made right slowly. If this is somebody you love, whether romantically or platonically, even in a familial sense, make sure you keep your head above water and put your own oxygen mask on first before helping another. You can extend a helping hand, but do so when they ask, not because you're expected to do it because you always have. New beginnings in old relationships are possible if you want it.

Additional details: Amethysts, Ayurveda, moths, mixed signals, love languages, uquizzes and other such tests, purple, blue, red, bus rides, tattoos, job offers, writing, poetry, thesis, message in a bottle, missing an ex, addiction, healing, birds and squirrels, starting over, second chances, reminiscing, old photos or journal entries or ig posts, synastry charts, girl in red, Phoebe Bridgers, Noah Kahan, Bishop Briggs, YA book series, maladaptive daydreaming, BPD, lighters, short trips, parties or other get togethers, double dates, life path 8, birthdays, sanrio, studying, Scorpio/Aries/Virgo/Capricorn/Pisces, 3H/4H/5H/12H, Saturn/Mars/Uranus, Lilith/Chiron, 25/89/222/555.

02.

Shufflemancy: Taylor Swift - Gorgeous, Paper rings, I think he knows.

Luck seems to be on your side, or it soon will be. After a long drought, you have stumbled upon an oasis. Prayers whispered in the dark, sometimes choked out by tears, are now proven to have been heard after all. Endless night and harsh winter is over, even though seasonally speaking it's right ahead of us in the northern hemisphere. In your life, however, you're coming out of a very long and hard winter. You have felt cold and lost, sometimes frozen in place, as though your icicle bones and frosted skin wouldn't let your body decompose when you thought you were dead. You were stuck up to your thighs in snow. Every step was a challenge, and harsh winds threatened you like frail branches bending and snapping in storms. Now the snow is melting, trampled into slush beneath your boots and making way for spring flowers to bloom.

Forward movement is happening in many areas of your life. New beginnings are popping up like wildflowers in a meadow for you to frolic in. You're making changes and changes are making you. Immovable objects begin to roll down the hilltop where you've felt stranded like a lone celltower sending and receiving signals. You may have felt in your heart and soul that the winds are changing. Your intuition has been wide open and receptive for some time now, hasn't it? But rooted in place unable to move you have felt unable to take action. That is changing now as not only can you move forward, but things you have wished for begin to arrive like ships to your shores. You sowed and nurtured the seeds and it is time to harvest your crops. If you have dealt with mental terrors and grief, you should see those slowly begin to heal, circumstances improve, and help becoming available to you and you finally feel ready and able to take it.

If you've been engaging in some good old fashioned yearning, know that it's a case of mutual pining. Someone whose freckles, birth marks, or scars you have mapped out like an astronomer the night sky in stolen glances has stolen just as many of you. Either one of you, perhaps both, have been closing doors as of late, gone through endings and made space for the new and found the keys to the doors once shut and chained and locked. There is a distinct sense of leveling up here, like entering a new region in a game at last when the requirements have been met, and you're now free to explore new and unknown territory. I see unwavering eye contact where before it was a game of cat and mouse. I see a church, two people side by side in the pews sharing quiet confessions. Words previously only thought find a voice and get spoken, not to the moon but the heart they were meant for. There can be some secrecy involved, but less like the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet it's keeping something sacred between two souls, keeping each other like an oath. Sheltering a flame, for some of you one rekindled, between four hands and promising to meet in the woods at night. This secrecy is not one grown from shame, but one of dedication. A solid foundation, a home and sturdy fortress is being built or rebuilt in the dark of the night so its eventual beauty and intricacies may be admired by all in the sun. You may have manifested this, or simply known this was inevitable. All you really had to do was accept it as fate and wait for it to unfold. This is a cozy kind of love, but also devout like two souls looking upon each other in reverence. It feels as close as it feels free. There's something to lean on but also room to grow. You hold each other tightly, but loosen the grip as needed, and always ready to catch the other if they fall. For some of you this marks the end of a third party situation, an entirely new love, and for others this is reworking an existing or past love with a new set of rules and making magic together after tough challenges.

Additional details: Full moon, abundance, sudden income, lottery luck, gifts, receiving or giving flowers, dancing, swimming, guided meditations, listening to higher frequencies, therapy or counselling, lists and plans, entrepreneurship, editing, finishing tasks, cats, rabbits and ferrets or rodents, pancakes and waffles, sunflowers and dandelions, espresso, heavy rain, holding hands, nostalgic scents or environments, coughing, PTSD, neurodivergence, artificial intelligence, fidget toys or stress balls, colouring books, arts and crafts, dainty jewellery, body language, law of assumption, dreams, blue, green, black, glasses, kpop, punk, indie, Stray Kids, Ateez, Dreamcatcher, Daft Punk, Sabaton, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Virgo/Leo/Cancer/Aquarius/Sagittarius, 1H/3H/5H/11H, Jupiter/Moon/Mercury/Pluto, North and South Node/Ceres, 12/13/33/555/888.

03.

Shufflemancy: Taylor Swift - The archer, Mean, Anti-hero.

Narcissus and Echo, a tragedy of old. You may have been at the mercy of fluctuating between the two. This can be a dance between you and another, or you and your own reflection. You may have pushed someone away. A friend, a family member, yourself, or an authority figure of sorts. Demanding they leave you alone, left them on read or never bothered to open their letters at all, after so long of clinging to their every word. Certain of your independence, a need to put yourself first, desperate self love wholly unrequited. Or perhaps you fought viciously for yourself, but your voice was never heard. As though you always needed someone else to speak your words for them to be taken as right and true. Perhaps you were sent on a glitched quest, "ask your mother" only met with "ask your father", leaving you in the uncertainty of the in between, alone and filled to the brim with unanswered questions and no sense of direction.

You have sought help, asked for assistance, asked all the right questions and really pushed your own cart forwards though it has been uphill. And something or someone always cast stones on your path forward, shoved stick between the wheels to make the process feel so hopeless. There are wounds that you bear that have been left unhealed for years. Still raw and bleeding you dry whilst you try to keep yourself together like cupping water in your hands as it spills through your fingers. But though your path is full of traps and spikes and is uncertain and winding, you know the way forward all within yourself. Because you carry with you the only light you need to find your way. You may cross paths with kind advisors who unseathe their swords to fight for you, and some of them may already be in your life. Those who see the injustice and tear down the thicket ahead to make way for you and protect you whilst you stitch your wounds and ready yourself for battle yourself. Accept the help, encouragement, and follow these kind mercenaries when you get lost. Allow them to carry your burdens when as Atlas you need a break from carrying the world upon your shoulders. Soon you'll be strong enough to do what you need to do. Be better, stronger, healthier, if not for you right now then for those who need you and cherish you and want you by their side in the quests of life. Eventually your actions will prove to be the best for you, and a faint portrait of a future you smiles upon your present self for your decision to keep moving forward.

If you need to put your foot down, do so in earnest. Shoo away guilt and shame, and let go of the idea that you must suffer in silence and weather unnecessary storms, speak when spoken to and follow another's commands so often not in favour of your own well-being. Fight your inner demons, but know you need not fight them alone. Dip a quill in ink and rewrite the rules. Break into the library which holds the book of life and black out that what does not serve you, and take ownership of your own story. If Narcissus treats you poorly, trample him under your foot on your way out the door. He is only a flower now and seasons change, and he will wilt and wither away as you no longer shine upon his petals.

Additional details: Violins, literature, art galleries, sisters and fathers, divorce, babies or children, psychotherapy, CBT, law, changing your name, lgbt+, jazz, classical music, Regina Spektor, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, borzoi, dog videos, playing instruments, writing a book, storytelling, unknown address, exotic animals, spiders, ED, OCD, teddy bears, squishmallows, studying for a test, doctor's appointments, funerals, chill covers/lofi, slowed/reverb/acoustic versions, subliminals, affirmations, lace, fuzzy socks or woolen socks, bruises, house plants, monstera, ivy, pothos, tea collection, cold hands, Taurus/Gemini/Libra/Scorpio/Capricorn, 2H/6H/8H/10H, Saturn/Pluto/Neptune/Venus, IC/MC, 17/23/95/11:11/000/444.

[bloomingdayswithyou]

hey , i just found ur profile and can i request a nsfw headcanon for haikyuu boys daichi kuroo and others (i don't know what number of characters are your limit) being very sexual frustrated bc their gf doesn't want to have sex with them? They think there's something wrong with them as boyfriends but they're more calm after they overhears that she is just too nervous to do it due to how big are , thanks if u accept it if not have a good day!!:))))

How would they react to you thinking they’re too big

Pairing: Kuroo and Daichi x f!reader (separated)

Warnings: nsfw themes, slightly suggestive (specially Kuroo’s), it turned out to be more fluff (specially Daichi’s)

Author’s note: it’s my first request! Thank you anon for requesting, I hope you like it! Just for the future, the character limit is 3 for now :)

Kuroo Tetsurou

Being quite self-assured, I feel that initially he wouldn’t think the problem lies with him, but over time, he would start to worry more. Nevertheless, he wouldn’t let you realize how he truly feels and would simply appear nonchalant about the situation.

However, one afternoon when you invited him to your house, you had to step away for a moment because your best friend had called you. During the conversation, the topic of why you didn’t want to have sex with him came up. Upon hearing his name, Kuroo couldn’t help but lean in and eavesdrop on the conversation.

“I really want to get intimate with him, but I get nervous because I feel like he’s so big.” Upon hearing those words coming from your mouth, a wide grin spread across his face. In that moment, a great weight was lifted off his shoulders, and he re-entered your room with a smile still on his face. When you finished the call and returned with him, he stood up and approached you. “Can I kiss you?” he asked, placing his hands on your waist. Surprised, you nodded and placed your hands on his chest as he leaned in to press his lips against yours. Though it began as a gentle kiss, it quickly grew more intense. When you pulled apart, Kuroo let out a soft laugh as he observed your slightly nervous and confused face, with your cheeks flushed and your eyes examining his expression.

“If that was the issue, you could have told me from the beginning.” Your reaction to his words was to open your eyes in surprise, noticing the growing warmth in your face. “Did you hear what I said? I-” you began to say, lightly hitting his chest, but you were interrupted when Kuroo embraced you tightly. “There’s no reason to be ashamed; it’s just that I’ve been thinking for weeks that it was my fault.” You returned his embrace, burying your head in his chest. You noticed how quickly his heart was beating. “So…?” you asked softly, squeezing your hands, which were gripping his shirt. “What do you say we give it a try?”

Daichi Sawamura

Just like Kuroo, Daichi is capable of remaining calm in difficult situations. Due to how much he cares about you, he is able to endure and respect your decision until the end. However, he can’t help but think that maybe he doesn’t appear as attractive to you, which is why you don’t want to take that step with him.

One game day, Daichi sees that you have come to watch him play. After the match, he goes to meet you, but as he approaches, he overhears a conversation you’re having with a friend.

“I don’t know what to do. I really like Daichi, but every time we try to take it further, I get so nervous because of his size,” you confess quietly, sounding worried.

Upon hearing this, Daichi is quite surprised. Although he shouldn’t have heard that, he feels the need to address the issue nonetheless, so he decides to wait until you are alone at his house to talk to you. “Can we talk?” he asks, coming closer to you and gently taking your hand. When you respond positively, he continues, “I’m sorry if I overheard something I shouldn’t have, but I want you to know that you are incredibly important to me. If there’s something that worries or makes you uncomfortable, I’m always here to listen. We can take all the time we need.”

Upon hearing this, you smile and embrace him. “Thank you so much. For everything.” You pull away from the hug and share a brief moment, pressing your lips together. “I don’t want to wait anymore, but I want us to take it slow.” At this, you notice Daichi’s sigh of relief as he nods in agreement.

.

.

.

[stroobae]

Okay so basically I got to do a presentation about chapter 30 from The Dream Thieves in my Creative Writing class and I got way to carried away writing a full analysis so I thought I'd post it here

I think this passage is so great because it's packed with symbols that completely encapsulate the character of Ronan Lynch. Firstly, we have Ronan’s tattoo, which holds a lot of significance in terms of its literal purpose and what it figuratively represents. We learn here that the literal purpose of the tattoo is to instill fear and intimidation among others. Ronan is a very damaged person, and uses his physical appearance as a warning sign for others to steer clear of him after his father dies. He has a shaved head, a permanent scowl, and most intimidating of all: a tattoo which stretches from the back of his neck all the way down to his waist. His tattoo has a lot of grotesque, frightening imagery in it, which is interesting considering its design is made up of “things from his head.” The fact that the dark imagery portrayed in his tattoo is from his head reveals the struggles and dark things that come out of his own mind. His tattoo is a literal manifestation of Ronan’s inner self portrayed in a scene on his back. He’s quite literally wearing his heart on his sleeve (or on his back rather). It’s also mentioned that Ronan has never been able to see the tattoo fully, because it’s on his back. It can only be seen by others standing behind him, and also, when he’s naked (which is something I’ll come back to later). I think that the placement of his tattoo specifically is a really important metaphor alongside the idea that Ronan’s tattoo represents his whole character and inner self. The fact that Ronan cannot see the whole picture of himself and only “bits and pieces” seems like a large indicator that Ronan doesn’t know fully who he is. In the prologue of The Dream Thieves, it’s stated that Ronan has three secrets, all of different natures; the nature of the second secret being one you keep even from yourself. So essentially, Ronan has a part of himself which he doesn't even truly understand, and I think that this is really accentuated by the fact that he can't see his whole tattoo (his inner self) because it's always behind him. However, others also can’t see the whole tattoo unless he takes his shirt off to show them. (BIG THING FOR LATER!)

In the epilogue of TDT you find out (along with Ronan himself) that he’s in love with one of his best friends, Adam. During this chapter, the reader hasn’t been told yet that Ronan is in love with Adam; mostly because the book follows his point of view, and he doesn’t actually know this about himself yet either. It’s made into a plot twist of sorts in the epilogue, and many readers said that they weren’t aware that it was coming at all. A lot of people felt that Ronan’s crush on Adam came out of nowhere. But if you’re me and love to look WAY too deep into every single line of a book, you’ll know that this isn’t the case at all. This dream is a dead giveaway of Ronan’s feelings. First of all, dreams–especially the way that they’re portrayed in this book–are a look into one’s inner conscience. Your dreams are able to display your deepest feelings and desires, even if you’re not consciously aware of them in real life. Ronan especially is a character who has walls built up, and doesn't verbally communicate how he feels to any other character. He doesn’t even allow himself to examine his own feelings/desires, and has a lack of self-vulnerability and personal emotional intelligence. So in his dreams, his most inner part of himself comes to the forefront of his mind and shows him things he didn’t even know he wanted. To validate this idea, we have the fact that Ronan can fully see his whole tattoo in this dream. His tattoo represents his inner self, and he is finally able to see this part of himself within his dream. The dream begins with Dream Adam tracing his tattoo, and in Latin (which I’ll unpack later) he says,“Scio quid hoc est” which roughly translates to “I know what this is.” Once again, returning to the idea that Ronan’s tattoo is a manifestation of himself, we have Adam physically touching it and telling Ronan he knows what the tattoo means. He understands its whole purpose; why Ronan got it, what it’s really depicting. Dream Adam isn’t intimidated by the tattoo like most people because of its gruesome imagery, but instead he knows that it’s really made up of things from Ronan’s conscience, that it’s a representation of who he is inside. What’s really being portrayed in this scene is Ronan’s desire to be truly known by someone, which is a common theme in the series. The fact that the person shown “knowing” Ronan in his dream is Adam specifically is really important as well. Up until this point, we know that Adam and Ronan are friends, their relationship is shown to be tense and is characterized by squabbles which are resolved by the end of the day. We don’t really know exactly how they feel about each other yet based on their surface level interactions. Therefore, this chapter is extremely important in developing their relationship. We now know partly about how Ronan truly feels about Adam. Not necessarily what their relationship currently is, but what he subconsciously wants it to be. Ronan wants to be known by Adam and believes that he has this capability, since it’s Adam who fills this role in his dream. 

In the dream, Dream Adam then transforms into Kavinsky, who’s the antagonist in this installment. Kavinsky is an adrenaline junky who’s presented to have an infatuation with Ronan. He gets him to do crazy things: dangerously drag race in the streets, take questionable dreamt-pills, and throw molotov cocktails at white Mitsubishis. He’s infatuated with Ronan mainly because of Ronan’s outward reputation and appearance, his mutual love for perilous activities, and the fact that they share the supernatural ability to take things out of their dreams. Kavinsky wants someone to enable him; who he can be an enabler to. Kavinsky thinks that they’re one in the same, and that Ronan is an exemplary candidate for a self-destructive partner. In Ronan’s dream, when Adam turns into Kavinsky, Ronan disappears entirely. He becomes only his tattoo, which gets smaller and smaller until it's simply a tiny Celtic knot. The notion that Ronan disappears and that his tattoo (all that’s left of him, a manifestation of his conscience) gets smaller when Kavinsky appears, shows that he literally feels small when he’s with him. Kavinsky belittles Ronan. He misunderstands who he is, and boils him down to his wildness and rash spontaneousness. He quite literally swallows Ronan whole in the dream; he destroys all that he is. Dream Kavinsky tells Ronan in Latin, “Scio quid estis vos'', which roughly translates to “I know what you are.” WOOOOOF. OH, IT'S SO GOOD. I GOT CHILLS. This could have SO many meanings. “I know what you are” could mean that Kavinsky knows that Ronan is a dreamer, just like himself, or it could also mean that he knows Ronan is gay (if we’re revisiting that idea of this dream bringing to the forefront parts of Ronan that he doesn’t know about himself yet). Adam and Kavinsky are complete opposites in Ronan’s dream, and furthermore, his life. The dream versions of the two represent what he wants, versus what he’s settled with. Currently, Ronan doesn’t think that he’s worthy of someone who truly knows and loves him. Instead, he’s resigned himself to a homoerotic unlabeled relationship with Kavinsky—who doesn't actually care about who he is, and only wants someone who he can destroy his life with. The exact phrasing of the things Dream Adam and Kavinsky separately say to Ronan are SO significant. Essentially they’re telling him the same thing: what they think they know about him. It's the words which they use to say this which makes these statements wildly different. Dream Adam says “I know what this is” about Ronan’s tattoo, meaning that he knows Ronan’s inner self. He knows this thing which he can’t normally see all of himself display of terrible things from his own mind. Dream Kavinsky says “I know what you are” which displays his assumption of Ronan’s outer character.  It’s a bold assumption and an incorrect one. The difference between Adam and Kavinsky to Ronan, is that Ronan wants Adam because he’s different from himself, and doesn’t want Kavinsky because he’s too similar to him. To an extent, I think Ronan fears Kavinsky because he’s who Ronan would be if he didn’t have Gansey or Adam in his life to keep him sane. Initially, Ronan does like to have someone to let off steam with, but he eventually realizes doesn't want an enabler to ruin his life with. He wants someone like Adam–his polar opposite–to know him, to ground him. He wants to feel alive, and awake. 

Another interesting element to this chapter is that Ronan’s dream seems to be erotic in nature; it’s a wet-dream. This is a little jarring for a YA novel, but I personally think eroticsm and sex used in literature as metaphors for conveying relationships and character vulnerability is really beautiful and clever. The significance of it being a sex dream is the fact that Ronan, as previously stated, isn’t someone who verbalizes his love for people. He shows it through physical intimacy and acts of service. Intercourse is literally as close as one can be with another person, and Ronan is completely vulnerable and laid bare in this moment. In it Ronan is naked, which we know because the dream begins with Adam tracing the tattoo all the way down his bare back. Remember, Ronan’s tattoo can only be seen fully when he’s naked, which adds another layer to this. Here it’s assumed that he had allowed Dream Adam to see his tattoo, because he had to have taken off his shirt to see it. Circling back Ronan’s tattoo placement, it’s something that not only can’t be fully seen by himself, but also can’t be fully seen by others unless he decides to strip naked for them. Here he allows Adam to see it and even trace the lines of it down his back. He felt comfortable enough to be vulnerable with Adam like that, and to inspect his whole being. The fact that Kavinsky then appears and the tattoo becomes smaller represents Ronan's uncomfortability with Kavinsky. He didn’t mean for him to see that part of himself and shrinks away in shame until Kavinsky devours the tattoo without permission. It really enforces the idea that Ronan wants and chooses Adam, but Kavinsky forces himself into his life and takes from Ronan without asking. Finally, Ronan awakes from his wet dream “euphoric and ashamed.” This could either be about the fact that it was a sex dream with not one, but other boys, or the confrontation of his true desires. He’s ashamed to admit what he really wants, and doesn’t allow himself to fully comprehend what this dream means. Ronan even thinks that he never wants to sleep again, which really means that he doesn't want his dreams to confront him with his true feelings again. This can tie into the metaphor about Ronan’s sexuality in terms of the fact that he got off to Adam and then Kavinsky, or that he doesn’t want to let his guard down and admit what he truly wants. 

It’s now finally time to unpack the use of Latin! Hooray! Throughout the series, we’re shown that Ronan is really flippant about school. He’s constantly on the brink of expulsion from Aglionby because he doesn’t go to any of his classes or do any of the work. However, the one class he has consistent attendance in as well as the highest overall grade is Latin—second to his proficiency in the language is Adam. They’re both in the same class, and are said to be able to almost fully understand and speak perfect Latin. The use of this dead language is a common theme in the series, and almost all of Ronan’s dreams are in latin. There’s an underlying meaning in that alone. A fun tidbit if we’re looking into the meaning of latin phrases we have the imagery of “claws and beak” described about the imagery of Ronan’s tattoo. The latin phrase “Unguibus et rostro” translates to “claws and beak” and is an expression about fighting with everything you have for something you want. It’s idiomatically comparable to phrases like “heart and soul” and “with all one’s strength” (thanks to ravenclawsandbeak on tumblr for sharing this finding with the fans).  In the final book in the series, there’s a short chapter which is essentially a call-back to this chapter, and follows the format in which it’s written pretty clearly. However, Ronan is awake this time rather than dreaming. 

This chapter is more or less a sex scene between Ronan and Adam, and is essentially the exact opposite to Ronan’s wet dream in TDT. Here, Ronan’s desires are no longer a fantasy that came to him in a dream, he finally has exactly what he’s wanted all along. in which they admit their feelings for each other, which is done indirectly and not through words. The fact that it's through a sex scene is significant because it's showing their intimacy. Intercourse between people is literally as close as two people can get. As a couple, Adam and Ronan rarely verbalize their feelings about each other, and so this intimate act is really them letting down their walls and allowing themselves to be completely vulnerable to each other. Here, we have Adam studying Ronan's tattoo in real life this time, just like in his dream (Something he’s only able to do because Ronan allowed him). He sees all the fine details in its design, and interestingly enough, speaks aloud this latin phrase “Unguibus et rostro” (This also begins a common theme of Ronan and Adam speaking in cryptic latin phrases rather than just actually telling the other of how they feel about each other, but that's a story for another time). This, as everything else does, has multiple meanings; it shows that not only Adam correctly interprets the imagery on tattoo, showing that now he does truly know and understand Ronan’s inner self. But also it reiterates the meaning of this phrase: that Ronan has appropriately fought with all he had for what he wants. He was able to reject Kavinsky and stay true to himself and his principles, and he realized his feelings for Adam, and was able to let his guard down enough to reach out to Adam and let him know how he actually felt about him. And similarly, he allowed Adam to love him back. 

So why did Maggie Stiefvater include the chapter in TDT? It completely breaks the flow of the main story, interrupts two other character’s POVs, and comes seemingly out of nowhere. It's not described where Ronan is, who he came to sleep, when it’s happening. It feels as if the placement of this chapter didn’t matter; it could appear anywhere and still have the same effect. My theory? I think that Stiefvater specifically placed this chapter here because she thought it was an appropriate time to learn more about Ronan, and she wanted the chapter to stick out due to shock value. Because it’s at such a seemingly random moment, and its content is brief and strange, it’s a stark outlier from the rest of the chapters. For me, this strategy totally worked. When I think back to this book, this chapter is by far the most memorable one. I remember it almost immediately when I think about any specific line/chapter from this book. Even though the dream seems random and complex, it has so much meaning packed into it about Ronan’s inner conscience and character. Stiefvater wants to reveal all of these things about Ronan previously analyzed without directly telling us. 

[ae-azile]

The Non-Newtonian Newborn: Chapter 5 Preview

“There is nothing in the code that would cause an intentional misread,” Arm says after looking over the program, “Since I am the only one who has done maintenance on it for the last few years, I have administrative access that is higher than the access the infirmary staff has. Even if there was someone higher ranked than me, I would be able to see any adjustments added to the code since each edit creates a new update. The last update was four months ago when we bought new digital microscopes for the lab.”

Porsche holds back a groan and tries not to grip his hair, “Okay, but what if they could hide the fact that they made an update to the program? Like, erase record of it or-”

“Each update leaves a blueprint. It automatically audits the change because you risk the program crashing if each change isn't documented and time-stamped,” Arm says, “If someone from the outside would do something to the code, the change be time-stamped and identified by the username or IP address.”

Porsche breathes in and out as Kinn puts a hand on his shoulder.

“What's this about?” Kinn asks, “I…I appreciate you trying to help and get answers for Kim, but the paternity was already identified. Looking at her, it doesn't take long to see the resemblance. And even though I don't understand it, Kim has come to accept it and he seems to really…I don't know, love her.”

“This isn't about Kim,” Porsche says, pulling away before pointing at Chay, who has just been gently and slowly spinning Achara in one of the stools - much to her delight, “Your pa just pointed a gun at my brother and accused him of being Achara's other parent!”

“It's because I am,” Chay says, “Korn was just feeling protective of Kim. The DNA results took him by surprise. Me too, but I feel so connected to her. And I think she looks a little like me! She's a little closer to my skin tone and I think she has my lips!”

Porsche tries to keep his breathing under control, then looks at Kinn once more.

“The results are wrong.”

Kinn steps closer again and cups Porsche's face. We’ll have them run Chay’s DNA against Achara's separately. Like they did with Kim. Just to check. Doctor Saelim is a good man…surprisingly ethical, considering he works for us. I don't think this is something he would lie about.”

Porsche exhales, “So it has to be a technical glitch. Right, Arm?”

Arm clears his throat, “...I really don't see how it would be-”

“Arm,” Porsche says in a warning tone.

“But we can narrow down the possible matches to you, Chay, and your mother and see if Achara shares DNA with you.”

They go down to the infirmary after that. Both Chay and Achara get swabbed and both tasks are carried out. The database is done by Arm himself while Porsche watches the nurse without blinking to make sure she doesn't switch out any samples. Doctor Saelim examined the samples manually.

It takes about an hour to get an answer to this. Porsche feels like he is waiting for the most important news of his life. Chay doesn't seem particularly bothered at all and is too focused on his baby-

The baby. She is NOT Chay’s baby-

“I have concluded that Chay is this child’s parent,” Doctor Saelim says coming out, before nodding at Arm, “The database gave the same response?”

Arm nods, not quite able to meet Porsche’s eyes, “Yes, Doctor.”

Chay leans forward slightly to look at Porsche, “See, Hia? I told you she is my baby!”

Porsche finds himself jumping to his feet to pace, “You're a kid, Chay! You can't be a father, and you didn't even do anything reckless to make this happen! This isn't fair to you! You're just going to be-”

“Stop talking so loud!” Chay hisses, trying to soothe a now crying Achara, “You're scaring her!”

“She's the one who is scary! She came out of nowhere, knows how to teleport, and has latched herself onto two random guys!”

“She's my baby! Don't talk about her like that!” Chay says as Achara cries louder. Porsche can't think.

“We don't know what she's capable of! We don't even know how she got here! She-”

Before Porsche can finish his sentence, Achara disappears out of Chay’s arms. Chay jumps up, lets out a panicked sound, and points a finger at him.

“Look what you did!”

Porsche doesn't know how he made a baby teleport, and yet he feels so incredibly guilty.

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

Kim used to swim a lot more when he was younger. Something about the water soothed him, and swimming laps was always an exercise that felt more like self-care than actual work, despite it working all of his muscles. It provided a way to clear his mind of all the stress of living at the compound. When he moved out, he didn't need to utilize swimming as much, but he forgot how much he missed it. He loved swimming with his mother and brothers the most, but as he got older, he appreciated having the pool to himself so he could enjoy the peace and quiet.

He hasn’t had much of that the last few days - although moments of peace and quiet were few and far between before that, especially in his head.

And while he's still concerned and anxious over how this is all going to play out with Chay, something about this situation makes him feel better about his life. It was like something was missing for so long, and now it's so much better.

As Kim goes under the water, he stays beneath the surface and lets himself sink to the bottom for just a moment. When he was younger, it would feel like time would just freeze every time he did that.

Yet when he comes back up for air, it feels like he has anything but time. His heart stutters in his chest when he sees Achara appear at the very edge of the pool, the left side of her body dangling halfway off and over the deep end as she cries hysterically. His brain is still trying to catch up when gravity works against her and she topples over, plunging into the depths of the water.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Trimax Thoughts Vol. 3 Pt. 1

Some more miscellaneous thoughts. I realized it's actually more convenient to do these before any analysis because. Well. I actually haven't read this manga before. Why was I trying to do full analyses before just letting myself read it. Why am I a dumbass.

Anyways.

It's the repression my dude

(Ok but can we talk about how Wolfwood doesn't really lie and his eyes convey his emotions whether he wants it or not and he still feels strongly because that attachment keeps him going and then how Vash has had to withdraw and shove everything into a box somewhere deep inside him because he always has to maintain a distance and always has to leave aughhh)

Ohhhhh that part where Vash is able to tell exactly how many strikes are incoming... I love how he becomes really precise and calculating in a fight. It's a really great way to show the severity of a situation and his skill and experience! (Bonus points: he does this in Tristamp too - I still cannot get over the way the animators chose to have him move right before he pulls out his gun in ep 1 - I went on an unhinged ramble about that. He's always fluid and grounded. I adore those animators they did a fantastic job.)

!!! I think this is the first time we've actually seen Knives' face since the Fifth Moon Incident! ...there's something to examine in this.

Feral Wolfwood <3

Yikes. If we wanted more emphasis on the way a lot of people around Vash do not stop to consider the severity of death. The violence is so typical in this world it's treated as a scene from which one can be detached. Vash's honest distress and compassion as entertainment :(

Hey. What the fuck.

The baby with the gun would be a lot funnier if I didn't know what Leonof had to do to people to make his puppets.

SICK AND TWISTED. WTF.

Ok say what you will though but Leonof so far has been the only one of the GHG that I think actually understands the assignment. Like. Yeah, this sure is the way to fucking break the guy. What the hell.

Oh, Vash knows him? Maybe that's why Leonof knows how to hurt him so well...?

AUGH he had puppet Doc, who vouched for Vash earlier to Brad, call him a demon!!! This also means he was killed! WTF

AUGHHHH wolfwood :(((

Meryl and Milly I love you so so much

Whjfhbdsjfbhv??? Girl??????

Vash: *starts blaming himself* Luida: "no." Vash: "oh, ok." :(

Hair down Vash <3

I really love the way we find out a bit more about Vash in this chapter. Him taking Meryl and Milly to a special place that helps him relax and heal and feel closer to Rem, even if he doesn't quite tell them that's what it is. Meryl knowing it's important somehow anyways and feeling like she can see him a little more clearly. Wolfwood freaked the hell out by the idea that Vash is immortal, but instead of leaving it at his assumptions, he still goes to talk to Luida and ask questions, who immediately proceeds to emphasize how lonely yet kind he is. We learn a lot about Vash in this chapter without him actually revealing anything about himself directly - all through other people, and the impact he's made on them. And I like how even though we find out more and more the differences between human and whatever Vash actually is, we circle right back around to confirming what we already knew about him from the beginning - he's fundamentally a kind man with a lot of pain in his heart who always makes the active choice to be nice. Just. Agh.

Wolfwood, running while carting his stupid IV pole over his shoulder: "oh fuck I need to protect women (and Vash)"

Softest look I've ever seen. What.

But ohhh does this make me happy. Because he's spent this volume thinking Vash has no survival instinct because he's immortal, etc., which terrifies him because he cannot understand not fighting to survive. Vash's smile makes a comeback here, but he now understands that it's not just a mask, it is the way he fights to survive. That smile is Vash's struggle to live in the same way the violent struggle is his, and Wolfwood I think/hope is starting to realize again that the gap is not so wide between them. He's calmed enough to remember that he actually likes this guy. Augh.

[miraclesabound]

Accessory to Murder

Summary: Reader has hit a creative wall, and not even Morpheus's love for her can help. Maybe it's time to go to the actual source.

Pairings/Characters: Slight Calliope/F!Reader, background Morpheus/F!Reader

Notes: Reader isn't a professional writer, but her stories are still important to her. Set after Season 1 of "The Sandman". Even though she doesn't say it directly, Reader has a bit of a crush on Calliope. Also on A03.

Warnings: Within Reader's story - description of injuries, death and medical procedures, realization of murder. Main story - creative frustration, heavy self-doubt, especially painful writer's block, Morpheus accidentally making things worse, cathartic tears

Tags: @ineffablepspspscal @insomniamamma @blueeyesatnight @yayforawesome @whovianayesha @oonajaeadira @depressedswampwitch @heybluechild

When you see your beloved's ex-wife in your living room, all you can do is sigh.

"Morpheus shouldn't have called you, my lady." You love your Lord of Dreams - in some ways, he even TAUGHT you how to love. That said, he has a tendency to overreact when you're stressed, and you suspect that he's the reason that the Great Muse is currently making use of your couch.

"If I'm intruding, I'll go," Calliope says.

Your cheeks burn; you hadn't meant to insult her. "No, please feel free to stay - do you like tea?"

The beverage break seems to be just what you need - after you're done, you're more confident showing Calliope what's been troubling you. "I've got so many orphaned bits here," you tell her as you pull up your scratch document. Seeing your most recent one, you roll your eyes a bit. "This one's the perfect example."

John Glass was no relation to the county medical examiner, Dr. Angela Glass – they wouldn’t have let her do his autopsy if that were the case. She’d heard his name before – he was the pyrotechnician who designed amazing summer fireworks shows for the local baseball team. Unfortunately, his work had caught up with him, according to the police report she’d received. After a game the previous night, John hadn’t returned home – and when his daughter June went looking for him, she had found him dead behind the outfield with a horrific chest wound. He’d been right next to the launch site, and even if he could have called for help, no one would have noticed with all the noise and light and smoke. Angela’s heart twinged for the man laid out on her table. In her years as ME, she had seen her share of ironic deaths, but this one was especially brutal. She could only hope that the mortar that took his life had killed him instantly. Taking a chance to steady her breathing, she activated her recorder and started taking her notes. In the first hour, John’s results were straightforward. The chest wound was obvious, and Angela wasn’t surprised at all to find bits of shrapnel scattered throughout his body. However, at minute 74 of the autopsy, Angela noticed something odd about John’s heart. There was no debris in the muscle – at least not the large pieces that had cut through his limbs and stomach – so Angela didn’t understand why she was seeing cuts on the heart. Furthermore, the cuts in question weren’t jagged like you would expect – they looked almost surgical. So what had caused them? A horrible thought occurred to Angela, and she spoke it into the recorder before she lost her nerve. “The wounds on the heart are more consistent with a stabbing than an explosion. Cause of death may need to be revised to homicide.”

"See?" You gesture helplessly at your screen. "It's all nonsense! I don't even know the murderer or their motive, and everything online says you have to know that first. Plus which, I thought I was being clever with that "not quite family" bit, but now I think it's me being fake-deep."

You can tell you're building into a rant, but you're not sure you can stop yourself. "And every idea I've had lately feels this way!" you tell her. "I haven't been able to write a proper story in months!"

"If this is hurting you, why not try other art forms?" Calliope asks.

You sigh. "Because I did try," you say. "And I'm crap at all of them. Writing's all I've got - or at least it was..."

"Morpheus didn't say this, did he?" Calliope has seen the thawing of her ex-husband's heart, but she knows he can still be callous.

You shake your head. "No - and he even tried to help! He offered to let me find my story in the Library...but that felt like...artistic cheating I guess..." Tears start stinging the corners of your eyes. "What if...what if I can never write again?"

"....there's something else going on here." Calliope's voice makes it clear that she's making an assessment, not asking a question.

You nod, and the tears flow more freely. "I'm so scared, my lady! If I can't write, I have nothing to offer, and if I can't offer anything, then I'm going to be alone..."

The Muse does a double-take. "Wait, you think Morpheus would leave you?"

"Why wouldn't he?? He isn't just a man, he's a foundational power of the Universe! If I can't bring something to the table for our relationship, if I can't MAKE something, then...then...I'm...just another human..."

Calliope cups your face, making you look her in the eyes. "Don't speak that way. I see how he loves you."

"But is it enough?" you ask. "He loved you too once - you had a family together, you have a royal lineage, you inspired Homer - and he still left! What chance do I have!?" Calliope pulls you into a hug, and you break into full-throated sobs. For several minutes, you cry into the fabric of her tunic, and she holds you with the strength of ten thousand years in her arms.

When you're able to catch your breath, she strokes your hair, still letting you rest on her shoulder. "I can't control what Morpheus does," she tells you. "But there are two things you ought to know."

"Oh?"

"Morpheus didn't leave me - I left him. And he wasn't the one who called me here tonight - it was all you."

"What? But how?" you ask, looking up at her. "I made no altar, I possess no scroll."

"My dear girl, your fire for creation existed long before you met Morpheus...I have known you for many years." She smiles and your heart swells. "That passion is still there, and it's what called to me - I wouldn't be here if you didn't have some spark left."

"Then...what do I do now?"

"You make your request of me," she tells you, stroking your cheek. "How formal you wish to be is up to you."

You kneel on the ground before her - if your eyes don't deceive you, her beauty becomes even more dazzling. When you speak, you don't know where the words come from.

"O Gracious One, O Chieftaness of Song, hear the one with aching heart and stopped tongue, and grant relief however you see fit, by inspiration or by other ways."

Calliope offers her hands, and you kiss the knuckles with appropriate reverence. She helps you to your feet, pulling you into another strong embrace. "Don't hesitate to call more purposely if you need me, my dear."

"I won't," you promise.

After she leaves, you feel no sudden burst of desire to write - but you do feel calmer. Perhaps, you think to yourself, Calliope is not only the Muse of Wordcraft, but the Muse of Catharsis.

[animehouse-moe]

Ranking of Kings Season 2 Episode 8: Kage's Yearning | A Great Mother

This is a filler anime. This is a filler anime. I have to remind myself of that. That this season is just back stories and side stories that flesh out the world. But it's out here literally changing entire art and animation styles for the sake of an episode. Absolutely incredible. And I want to talk about it.

Now I don't want to be mean or anything, but the first half/A part of the episode is sort of "as expected" in comparison to the second half. It's story isn't bad, nor is its direction or storyboarding or animation poor either. In fact, it ties in wonderfully with the latter half, as both stories examine the importance of parents and dreams, though in different forms.

The first part is all about Kage wanting to grow up to being a law abiding and pure hearted knight. However, due to his clan's history he's unable to experience that joy and excitement with other kids his age, instead he's left to hide in corners as they play knight and chase him down (a bit of a grim callback to his mother's death).

However, that bitterness doesn't stop Kage from dreaming, and I really love this scene where you can see the stars reflected in his eyes. Feels like a bit of symbolism for how full of life and potential kids can be.

Anyways, push comes to shove and Kage ends up standing up for someone else at in important time, like a knight should, and he gets rewarded by a knight stepping in to save him. It brings the story full circle and allows Kage to express his desire to become a knight to his mother. It's a really endearing moment, and carries strong emotions as his mother's overwhelmed with how strongly Kage wants to be a good person in spite of his clan's nature and past.

Which in turn leads to this last piece from the first part, which was just so amazing. His mother is staying up late at night working away on creating a toy horse for him to play with, and it's just so full of warmth and heart alongside her wish for Kage growing up.

Anyways, onto the B Part!

Man, this was incredible. Right off the bat the art style change is noticeable as they go for that style that pins pieces together to create movement through rotation. A very typical style for telling fairy tales, and I absolutely adore it.

Now, this second part follows a sort of similar story to Kage's A Part. Though, rather focusing on the child, it focuses on the parent. Namely in how Bosse and Shiina want to change and grow as people as they've found a new reason to get stronger in their son Bojji. I think it's really great to see them relinquish their pursuit of violent strength for something more constructive, and it's a really easy allegory for the importance of using strength for others rather than yourself.

Anyways, in terms of specific stuff I liked from this part, I loved this two shot piece of Bosse and Bojji. Originally, Bosse feels guilt and remorse for the curse placed on his son, and for his own violent ways, so he shies away from making contact with Bojji. But down the road Bosse does the right things, attempts to rectify his character, and in doing so finds the courage to be able to show his son how much he loves him.

Also, I really like how they use scale through both halves of this episode. With each you get a lot of low and high angle shots that establish the scale of each character in comparison to their environments, and it flows quite well from one episode to the other.

And last but not least, I love this scene from Shiina and Bosse about Bojji. The amount of love that parents exhibit in this episode is just so heartwarming. The utter faith and confidence they have in their children achieving their dreams and living how they want is so inspiring.

So there you have it. Incredible cute and incredibly important episode about the love that parents share for their children, and how experiencing that love can shape both parent and child alike. WIT continues to kill it with each and every episode, putting on a clinic for what the standard "filler" episode should be.

[snow-system-wol]

With Menphina starting to study healing more in earnest, S'ria grapples again with the fact that he should really be able to do the same.

Ao3

"I don't want you to have to keep sitting here in pain, maybe we should… give up on this for now. You should heal it yourself."

G'raha raised an eyebrow. "Ria, 'tis quite literally just a scratch, I hardly feel it. You can try a little longer, if this is important to you."

"It is important to me." S'ria's voice sounded already very fatigued. "That's why this is so frustrating. This is so simple, I just need to…heal it." His shoulders dropped. "I have no idea what I'm doing, it just doesn't click. I don't know why Menphina can but I just can't."

"You just need to channel your aether. It should feel easy and natural, like when you attune to aetherytes or the flow of aether currents – so try imagining that sensation and working from that."

S'ria's hands fell from where they were hovering over G'raha's arm to rest flat on the floor. "...is it supposed to feel 'easy and natural' to do those things? I thought it took everyone a lot of effort." He willed himself to not start crying. "I see."

G'raha shifted to sit next to S'ria, leaning gently into his shoulder. "You do not need the aid of magic to be a formidable ally. There is no one I'd rather have in a fight. And besides, there are plenty of people who cannot properly channel aether, such as –".

"Garleans. Such as Garleans." S'ria's voice was flat, but there was a deep anger just below the surface.

"...such as Thancred, was what I was going to say".

S'ria sighed and forced his posture into something less tense. "That is an easier comparison, yes."

"Given the cause of Thancred's difficulties, might you have some sort of block or stagnation – even if it's just psychological? I'm afraid that 'tis beyond me to properly check, but there are others. Mayhap we could have someone, a specialist, take a look at you –"

"No!" S'ria immediately leaned away from G'raha, ears flat against his skull. He looked confused and alarmed by his own reaction. "No… no doctors, no evaluations, no one looking and testing and..." S'ria cut himself with a grimace.

Several questions formed and died on G'raha's tongue, none of them feeling the right level of delicate or respectful to speak into existence. Why not? or. Is there something I should know? or. Did He do something that created an association? He let them all go. Knowing the cause of the fear wasn't important unless S'ria actually wanted to work through it. Avoiding the topic of S'ria's younger years, there remained one question that he could not help but ask.

"Have you ever been medically examined for the sake of your health any time in the last decade?" He said it as gently and nonjudgmentally as he could.

S'ria shook his head miserably, looking as though he feared G'raha would be upset with him. G'raha could not say he wasn't concerned, with all that S'ria's body had been subjected to in the rather brutal last several years. (Good gods, mayhap that should've been a priority after the Light was poisoning him for months). But...

"Ria, 'tis all right, I shall drop it. We can cross that bridge if it becomes necessary, and you may always consult my medical knowledge first if that's more comfortable."

S'ria nodded, hesitantly lifting his hands to hover over the scratch on G'raha's arm. "Can I just…keep trying? For a little longer?"

"May I ask why you are so set on learning? Is it truly so bad if Menphina hones her skills instead? As you've said, she's always been quite responsive, and able to help you heal without even displacing you fully."

S'ria sighed. "I'm not…unwilling to kill, Twelve know I've done plenty of it – but I'd like to be able to help someone in a way that doesn't involve violence. Surely the Warrior of Light can be more than just that?"

G'raha gently took S'ria's hands in his. "Look at me?" S'ria half-complied. "You do help people in other ways. When we rescue people that try to flinch away from your touch, I've seen the care and empathy you afford them, the way you try to reassure – and before you say that's Menphina, I know you do it too."

S'ria looked at G'raha, confused and not much comforted. "I mean – how could I not? Isn't that the bare minimum, if I understand what their suffering is like?"

G'raha squeezed his hand. "No. It is not the bare minimum, and that you even believe that is a testament to you caring. It's easy to rid people of a problem – less so to help ease their hearts once the dust has settled."

S'ria leaned down and gently bumped his forehead against G'raha's. "Thank you, I appreciate you saying as such, even if I'm not fully convinced. I'll let this go for the moment, before I exhaust myself." He drew back with a determined look. "This is not me wholly giving up on the idea."

G'raha chuckled fondly. "I would not dream of presuming that."

[anarkittyuwuuniverse]

Actually let's talk a bit more about that vegan to eco-fascist pipeline post and how it doesn't make any sense. Firstly it's a pipeline that I've personally never seen any real life examples of, like what is this weird leap from "if I can go vegan so can you" to "humans are responsible for climate change we need to decrease the population" like am I missing something here? People who believe in population reduction as a solution to climate change tends to be people who believe that humans are inherently detrimental to the environment and can't actually live on the earth without damaging it, which is why it turns into a number's game rather than a question of changing societal structures. But this hypothetical vegan apparently believes that anyone can go vegan so clearly they believe that humans are capable of changing their relationship to the land and that there therefore are other ways than decreasing the population. So what's up with that? Many vegans specifically argue that veganism is what we need to transition into in order to have a growing population, because it's way less land and resource-intensive, so to argue that there is any threat inherent to veganism related to population culling is nonsensical. In fact, anarchists like Peter Gelderloos criticize veganism exactly because capitalism wants a growing population, just like it wants everything else to constantly grow, so veganism is easily co-opted for that purpose (this is not supposed to be a universal criticism of veganism btw, this is just one of the many ways it can be co-opted, not something inherent to the ideology). Besides all that I also find it a little bit worrying that people on this website seems to think that the definition of eco-fascism is just believing that overpopulation is the source of climate change? Of course that's a big part of it and of course eco-fascism isn't really a coherent ideology, but there's just so much more to fascism in general than that? Other elements you often find in eco-fascism are pastoral romanticism, notions of a ethnic groups having a mystical connection with the land that makes up their nation, the introduction of any other ethnic group to that land as some sort of pollution in itself (like an invasive species), a general connection between racial purity and environmental purity. If you wanna talk about veganism and vegetarianism's role in this I think you'll get further in examining diet culture and diet woo, looking at the people who make connections between bodily purity and keeping out "toxins" and not consuming meat. There's of course also completely bonkers Hindu neo-nazi Savitri Devi who was an actual animal rights activist and vegetarian, and her ideology (while terrible) is extremely interesting (and is almost a complete religion of its own, give "Hitler's Priestess" a read if you wanna learn more) but still very much quite far from the ideology of modern veganism. Eco-fascism is a really important subject to learn about especially now as we'll probably be seeing more and more of it the coming years and it's good to be able to recognize patterns. That's why I think it really sucks that the conversation about it has to be watered down just to alleviate people's feelings of guilt about their own consumption habits as if the worst thing fascism could do is to tell you not to eat whatever you want when you want it.

[hungeringheart]

heyhey!! i was wondering if i could get a session analysis? we have a heir of blood (P), knight of space (D), thief of time (D), page of light (D), prince of life (P) and a mage of void (P) !! thank you!!!

Oh, hello! As always, it's a joy and a pleasure to see people asking me for my opinions about things. It really makes me feel something quite nice, maybe a sense of interpretational authority, maybe just the fondness of being able to do something for a community. Thank you for taking the time, and especially thank you for going to the trouble of including these characters' moon sways, they help quite a bit!

You've waited a long time and I don't want to keep you longer, so I'll try not to be too longwinded. Still, let's dive in and see one among the many ways this could go!

Dramatis Personae

PROSPIT

Heir of Blood

Prince of Life

Mage of Void

DERSE

Knight of Space

Thief of Time

Page of Light

The Lay of the Land

This is sort of becoming a habitual heading, isn't this? Thank you for bearing with my search for a good conventional formatting.

First, let's examine our Prospitian heroes - the characters whose relationship to the game itself is accepting and passive, though not strictly always positive.

Insomuch as Blood has an Heir,

Blood in this game is strong but in decline, and for this player it is their natural element. An age is waning, a time is drawing to a close -- an age of unity, of suffering, of bonds, of obligations, of nobility. Among some other things. The Heir has no reason to question or be unhappy with this outlay at first. But will that last?

On a personal level, if you put a gun to my head and said, M, write an Heir of Blood, I would probably literally make them an inheritor of responsibility for some kind of awful crime against humanity in addition to being an heir literally.

No one has to my knowledge ever looked into whether Blood (as suffering, as family, as intimacy, as caste, as bonds) is fundamentally a human or a troll cultural concept -- the derivation of the concept seems human ("the blood of the covenant..."), but the trolls' society is based (not with much fidelity; that would be beside the point) on an American Protestant imagining of the society in which Jesus lived, which also produced the thing it seems like, as seen through the lens of Hussie's own culture. (He isn't Jewish, so it's understandable that he chose this Pharisaic sort of concept to pair with the imagery of modern and forecasted capitalist America for Alternia's vibes, since it is very important textually for Karkat's development and character that Kankri is Troll Christ).

Terezi is vaguely practicing Troll Jewish by joking WoG, but everyone counts if you want them to -- and the reason I bring this up is that as funny as the implication of Rabbi Terezi is, it's worth noting that within the comic's universe the trolls have no idea that they're sort of Animorph Pharisees/Sadducees (insofar as someone not Jewish from Detroit could use them allegorically). They could very well have the concept of elemental Blood in a totally different derivation, in universe, from how the kids think of it, and they may or may not also have the dual concept of blood as store of life, blood as that which is avenged, blood as pollutant and also blood as purificant. Blood could well imply something genetic when seen through a human lens that I don't think it would for trolls.

In fact, if we read Blood and bonds as an elemental force the way we read Rose's Light, in light of there not being any human Blood players, we very quickly encounter the fact that trolls seem to once have been eusocial, and so for them blood may also have a spiritual or ritual element it doesn't for humans -- loyalty to hierarchy and to the inevitable way of things, since in a eusocial species all of a hive is a direct relation of the queen.

Alternia is a terrible place, but it seems their distant ancestors had a properly bee or ant or indeed humanlike concept of community, which they lost, possibly through violent social reform...

But that's speculation, and the Blood your Heir inherits and grows up protected by can, as always, be whatever you'd like -- reinterpreted across contexts or not.

If it were me I think I would take Blood in-game in a Breeze sort of direction; perhaps there's a Final Fantasy-like Lifestream, not necessarily literally made of gore -- gore can be fun, but have you heard of trees' equivalent of blood? Actually, Aerith's thing is pretty explicitly based on a Japanese game dev's reading of Kabbalah. Xylem and phloem, and more intriguingly, the intersection of blood and mycelium...?

This is getting a bit unfocused.

In that there is a Prince of Life,

Life is perhaps in peril, or about to make a turnabout. I haven't written before about the importance to my classpecting of Ursula le Guin's personal cosmology, and especially of her conceptualization in Always Coming Home of cycles or spirals of alternating polarities striving for balance, separated and joined by a hinge.

In that the Prince is a destroyer class who destroys with or destroys their aspect, they can be interpreted as acting at the time of such a hinge, in a way that turns it decisively towards or away from the next phase of life.

Whether they're anathema to the current way of things or fiercely uphold it, this is a vigorous and interesting player to have in this game! But we've established that this game occurs at the end of something - so, what does that mean for the Prince?

Your call as usual -- but let's return to that concept of the Lifestream. A Prince needs something significant to marshal or destroy; I think that on this one's planet, the Something could be a dying spring, which they can choose whether to nourish and restore or to let die. Or it could be the sea -- that's a very timely anxiety, I think, the sick and struggling sea.

I think people neglect the element of the Prince's arc where they have to sort of grow into it, or turn into something worse trying -- in relation to Life in the balance, I think this is probably especially concerning... but surely as a Prospit player this Prince understands that!

In that there is a Mage of Void,

Void is something to be approached with curiosity and understood. That seems to actually fit quite well with our nascent theme of change and reaction to change! A Mage traditionally is read as someone who understands for their own benefit, but I think that "their own benefit" here might be somewhat tempered by their Prospit sway, which means they are not struggling or rebelling, and they're more likely to share their findings with the team, even if the learning mostly benefits them.

There are a lot of Voids in this game, lots of mysteries and unsaid things -- what are the party going to do with their very concept of society, given one of the themes is Blood - bonds, struggle, revolution, mutation, change?

What's the situation with Life, where's that going? What's happening with the Furthest Ring?

A mage may ultimately be able to see these things and choose to act on them. But for the most part, I think, here, they may not do so for a while.

But they can't wait forever. As this is a time of change, our friends the living nightmares of the Furthest Ring are stirring; the hard drive must be wiped and the universe must turn.

Perhaps the Mage is here as a sort of canary in the coal mine. Or is Void a kinder thing here, curious in turn about bright matter and the other side of being?

On, anyway, to Derse.

Given that Space has a Knight,

We're beginning to see some complications in our narrative.

Space, you see, probably shouldn't have a Knight and no one else - the Knight assists in the creation of the frog, by convention. But whom does this Knight assist?

If a Knight has Space, which is to say if the aspect of creation, room to live and physical dimension is assigned to someone who doesn't really create but only encourages and keeps safe, maybe that means another player who should have been there is not. Maybe that means they have to make do with what they have, even if they're not as talented, not as capable, not supposed to be doing all this.

If Space has a Knight, maybe that means it's in need of a champion - but how good at that could the second fiddle be?

The answer is obviously 'good enough', although as a Derse dreamer and a possible victim of the intended Hero of Space haunting the narrative, our knight may struggle with believing or growing into that; their struggles in life may blind them to their own potential.

Of course, old strictures and definitions of potential are easing up here. Things are changing. Times are new. Maybe now it can be different.

I really like this concept, but as always... your story is yours to tell, gentle reader.

Concerning the Thief of Time,

People with free and reasonable access to a resource are generally not possessed to steal. It therefore follows that this session's Time-supply is ... compromised, perhaps declining or already at a serious low. The world these players come from is one void of a sense of life milestones, poor in tradition and rootedness to the past and future, in desperate need of an understanding of cycles. And of course the players have a shortage of actual time -- eldritch forces are in motion.

The Thief of Time understands and fights this situation by stealing Time or from Time for themself -- they might begin by wanting to steal from their Denizen, and being a quite talkative kind of person who likes to waste others' time. They're probably quite an annoying teammate at first -- someone who enjoys wasting time and loafing around, someone unserious and quite blasé.

But all of that is about to change. Oh yes, that's about to change.

Nothing like a few hundred supremely tormentous time loops featuring the terrible fates of all their friends to set a body straight!

And, of course, if you like - but only ever if you like -

He is always already here.

Perhaps our Thief might eventually be induced to do something in response to that. Something quite terribly irresponsible.

And on that cheery note, what the dawg (Page) doin?

Happily (or unhappily) for everyone, they're a Page of Light, so even though they hate they life (they hate they wife) et cetera et cetera, not actually much.

A Page of Light means the session has a low supply of Light that needs to be built up, understood and utilized over time -- there may be a very dim effect overall, visually, but also no one knows anything (thus the Void Mage) and no one seems to be having very much luck or clarity.

The Page themself is comically unlucky at first, but hopeful and curious, which is also a fine and lovely thing to be in a session where the most immediately dangerous thing is the dumbass Thief of Time and the Horrorterrors will probably wait their turn if and when the Mage asks nicely.

But watch out, the Page and Thief share their ill luck, and the Page begins naive, weak and vulnerable, just as the Light begins dim and tightfisted. All it takes to lure this person - and Luck and Light with them - into a misguided grimdark spiral that might take everyone else with them.

This too, however, is SBURB.

Where do you think new Horrorterrors come from?

Oh, but it's probably not going to get quite so dire. They'll all probably manage to talk the Thief round.

Probably.

Might have to fight an army of alternates of them, but probably, indeed.

Unless...?

A Vision: Possibility

Six friends play a game. Let's pretend they're human, although they could easily not be.

One of them, an eager but dim young sort, entices the others -- a trust fund baby, a paladin player, a lorehound, a struggling and not very talented artist, and the friend group 4channer -- into playing this sick new game that's totally not a virus, yes they got it off of the world's seediest website but come on you guys !

Unbeknownst to them, it's much worse than a virus, but at first everybody takes it all in stride. Big deal, isekai forever no miss no dodge! They've read all about it.

At first they stick to their delegations -- Mage researches the game itself and the consorts, Prince tries to make some friends and get some material basebuilding done, Knight wikicrawls a dubious ingame wiki to try to grasp how frogs work, and Page attempts to be useful.

Thief does nothing. At first. But then an experience they have in a dream sets them down a dark path, and several progressively odder loops in, they begin to look at the situation somewhat unlike the rest of their friends... and their Denizen, and perhaps a patron Horrorterror with unusual plans as to how to stop the unspeakable and inevitable, the inexorable, the irresistible, is all too happy to help.

[bluemountainspainting]

Tips To Choose The Best Exterior Paint Color

Exterior painting is an important aspect of your home as it can help significantly enhance the curb appeal of your property and present an inviting look to your family and guests. When you might search for Exterior Painters Near Me, choosing the right color for your home exterior can be a daunting task and here are a few tips to guide you through choosing the best exterior paint color for your beloved home.

Explore your surroundings

Much before you start the mission of painting your home exteriors, step outside and examine the hues of the homes in your neighborhood. The two approaches to learning from the neighborhood are here. You may either want to blend your home color to match with the pattern of the majority of homes or you may want your home to make a stunning difference from other homes. Linda Hayslett from LH Designs gives a tip, "If there are a bunch of white and gray homes, then a navy blue could be a nice color to stand out. That way, you don't look too similar to other homes in your area." It is also a good idea to blend with the nature around your home by choosing colors appropriately.

Check your interiors

In addition to exploring your neighborhood, you must also check your interiors and your exterior paint is what will set the narrative. To learn from your interiors, the tip Linda would give is, "It's nice to have a cohesive feel with the interior when it comes to an exterior color. If you have dark greens throughout your house then considering something in that family will make your exterior really feel homier."

In some cases, you may be able to see the exteriors from your indoors and you will not want the results on the whole to clash with each other. Therefore, choose the colors that will look fine from vantage point.

Test the swatches and go for a mockup

It is prudent to commit to an exterior color only after giving it a test run. IDCO Studio’s Anastasia Casey remarks, "Exterior paint colors often appear several shades lighter when applied to the entire house. Make sure to test paint swatches and check them throughout the day as the sun shifts."

It will be highly useful to create a mockup that will project your exterior paint before you actually paint the home exteriors.  Lauren Sullivan of Well x Design explains, "Seeing everything together first in a small section makes it much easier to visualize and make adjustments—rather than after you've had your entire home painted in a color that doesn't quite work."

[drmonadarra]

Understanding About Eye Doctors

Nevertheless, your eye health is an important part of your overall health as it doesn't only determine how your eyes are functioning but also detects systemic conditions before you may even know the symptoms exist. For this reason, you should be getting an eye exam every other year at least.

Choosing Amongst Eye Doctors

There are several things you'll want to take into consideration whenever you're looking for an eye doctor, including:

1. Experience is important, especially if you're already experiencing any eye problems. Herein you'll want to know where the doctor went to school and how long he's been working in this profession.

2. Cost is imperative because insurance doesn't typically cover the cost of corrective lenses. For this reason, you need the cost to be affordable for both the exam and the products too. Best Eye Hospital in Kota

3. Customer Service is always important, no matter what you're dealing with. In the medical profession it's especially important but it's difficult to respect someone who is called a professional and yet is both rude and mouthy whenever they're dealing with you. So, make sure to find somewhere that puts you first as a customer. This may require you to make some unannounced visits at various offices before deciding upon the 1 you like best.

4. Reputation is also an important consideration. This will require you to do some research or, if time is of the essence, you should be fine if you simply choose a doctor who's with a major chain. Regardless of where you go, it's important to find a professional who's good at what they do. However, do keep in mind that even if you go to a high end office something could still go unnoticed or even get overlooked.

What to Expect When Visits Eye Doctors

Obviously, a lot of what to expect will depend upon the type of problem you're having but there are some things that should happen at all visits, including:

1. Your pupils will be dilated so that they can be very closely examined. This procedure involves putting drops in your eyes and then waiting for 45 minutes. At that point lights will appear brighter and your vision will become blurry. You won't be able to drive home afterwards and may feel more comfortable wearing a pair of sunglasses. This could last for up to 24 hours. Eye Hospital Kota

2. Your medical exams will be thoroughly reviewed. This is especially true of your ocular medical history records, which may include things like photos, angiograms (the blood flow within the arteries that are located inside of your eyes) and visual fields. For this reason, eye doctors will oftentimes request that you bring records from previous eye exams and surgeries with you if you're a new patient.

Getting Fit For Contact Lenses

Whenever you find that you need to be fitted for contact lenses, there is a very specific type of eye exam that you will need. This may actually require you to visit your eye doctor's offices several times. Each of these appointments may actually be quite lengthy too so you'll want to make sure you have plenty of time in your schedule for these appointments. Also, upon arrival, make sure that you tell the receptionist that you are there to be fit for a pair of contact lenses and not to get a regular eye exam as there is a definite difference in the procedure to be undertaken here.

Some of the things that will need to be done to properly fit you for contact lenses include:

1. A keratometer will need to be used to measure the curvature of your cornea (the front surface of your eye). Sometimes this area will need to be mapped to understand the area's various contours.

2. The doctor will need to determine the size of both your pupil and your iris (the colored portion of your eye).

3. Tests will need to be done to ensure that you make enough tears to keep your contacts moist and well hydrated. This is an important part of ensuring that your contacts will be comfortable.

Conclusion

Now that you have this information, hopefully you'll feel much more comfortable whenever it comes time to choose an eye doctor and to actually attend an eye doctor appointment.

[gay-jesus-probably]

unpopular opinion: a lot of the LGBT encanto headcanons are bad actually (an accidental essay)

I've decided that actually y'know what I WILL talk about my thoughts on Camilo Madrigal, specifically the Encanto fandom's incredibly bad takes on him. I am so fucking sick of having to see people cheerfully talking about how 'well this shapeshifter turns into men AND women sooo obviously they must be genderfluid, and definitely can't use just the one set of gender pronouns they have in canon'.

I don't know how to explain this to you, but insisting that a character is genderfluid specifically because that character can become biologically male or female at will? Not the progressive statement you think it is. Actually taking us back a few steps there.

You know what's a lot more interesting? Camilo being a cis guy who has no problem shapeshifting into women, because gender is a lie and biology only means what we want it to. The world isn't divided into 'trans people' and 'people who are physically unable to examine their gender identity'. Why the fuck isn't anyone writing about Camilo as a boy that's been able to shapeshift since he was five, and has the perspective to see that his physical form changes nothing about his identity, and he is a boy because that's how we feels, not because he's AMAB? Am I the only enby person that actually WANTS cis people to examine their gender identity and decide that biological sex isn't very important and their assigned gender being correct was just a happy coincidence?

And again, cannot stress this enough, while I understand why the idea of being able to shapeshift away from your dysphoria is appealing, and you want to project that fantasy onto a shapeshifting character, declaring a character genderfluid because they are capable of shapeshifting into men and women has some incredibly fucked up implications, and you should probably put some more thought into that.

Look, if it was just Camilo, I'd give the fandom the benefit of the doubt, but I fucking see how Mirabel and Luisa are the only other characters getting trans/enby headcanons. Especially looking at you, people who saw a character that's very tall and muscular with a deep voice and decided she must be a trans woman, all of you are fucking banned from making gender headcanons until you get your heads out of your asses. And I've definitely noticed the suspicious absence of nonbinary Isabela headcanons, that's not a great look for y'all. The 'Mirabel is enby' team doesn't seem to have quite as much blatant transphobia behind it, but also I do kind of get the vibes that y'all latched on to her specifically because she doesn't qualify as beautiful by eurocentric standards, and I'm not super comfortable with how that ties into the idea that brown/black women don't get recognized as women unless they can perform femininity at a standard that white people deem acceptable, but that's. Not really something I'm qualified to talk about.

And of course all of this ends up coming back to the main problem, which is that this shit is being done by white people whose understanding of intersectionality is shaky at best. So I'm honestly not sure how much of the white Encanto fandom understands that the characters being latine means they will have a different relationship to their gender/sexuality, so things that are progressive in white characters might carry unfortunate implications in brown characters.

Being queer isn't just a white thing of course, and having queer headcanons for non-white characters is great. But a different culture is going to have a different queer culture as well. People aren't getting mad about LGBT Encanto headcanons to be homophobic, they're getting mad about it because white people aren't writing queer latine characters, they're writing characters who read as queer white Americans that happen to live in Colombia. The writers are projecting their own experiences and culture on to the characters, and completely ignore all but the superficial details of their actual racial identities. So yeah. That's why latine people keep yelling at you to stop headcanoning Encanto characters as queer and/or neurodivergent. It's not because they're homophobic/ableist. It's because you don't know what you're doing, and keep whitewashing the characters so you can project onto them.

Fuck, I've seen a genuinely disturbing amount of white fans who assumed a detail in the movie was about them, got informed it was actually a Colombian/latine culture thing, and decided to argue with them and appropriate it anyways. For example, the part in What Else Can I Do where the plant pollen Isabela's throwing around forms a Colombian flag on her dress, which white people have been outright arguing was actually just a messy take on the lesbian flag. The people arguing that like Isabela and can relate her to her exploring who she is and celebrating her sense of identity. It's just that those people can't relate to connecting to their race and culture and finding a defiant joy in celebrating that aspect of their identity. But instead of realizing and accepting that that specific detail isn't meant for them, they're just... twisting the moment to try and make it belong to them anyways. Because acknowledging that the experience of being a white lesbian and the experience of being a brown woman share some similarities, but are ultimately completely different? That's not super fun, and makes it hard to project onto Isabela. But ignoring and twisting the nuance to interpret the character as an extension of yourself, oh, that's both fun and easy, no uncomfortable feelings required! Or how white fans hold up Bruno's habits of knocking on wood, throwing salt over his shoulder, and holding his breath as evidence of him having OCD. But those aren't abnormal behaviours; they're common, socially accepted actions for bringing good luck in Latine culture. The only significance they have for Bruno's character is highlighting that he's very superstitious. He also has a habit of crossing his fingers and avoids stepping on cracks, but those are never brought up as proof of him being neurodivergent, because those aren't considered strange to the people making the headcanons, so they don't register; that just looks like a normal, harmless bit of superstition that just brings a little peace of mind. And again, these headcanons are from white people with OCD who saw a character performing strange rituals to ward off bad luck, and saw themselves in him. But they're missing the wider context, which is that Bruno's actions aren't personal, compulsive rituals that look strange and unnecessary to the people around him, he's just making casual gestures that other character see as being on the same level as crossing your fingers for good luck. They see a character doing things they consider weird, and feel a connection to him, without realizing that they're just projecting their own values onto a different culture.

Honestly, this sort of thing is an especially serious problem for white American fans; they're used to a very self absorbed culture that places America as the default option, the center of the world, so trying to understand another culture just... doesn't come naturally to them. Meanwhile literally everybody else has experience having to put up with stuff that assumes they're American, and therefor gets frequent reminders that other places exist and have different cultures. Like, if I'm writing a fanfic set in another country, I'll do a little bit of research about what their normal is, and I'll try to make sure that stuff I consider standard doesn't slip in unless it's a thing there too. Meanwhile I've seen Americans write fics where prom night is an important high school experience in South Korea, fics where a badly injured Canadian is terrified of the medical bills pilling up while he's in the hospital, fics where going from Denmark to Sweden involved passports and border checkpoints, fics where gun ownership was treated as normal for average civilians in Japan, and fics where Russians living in the city while also owning a second house for vacations in the country was only for crazy rich upper class people. There's just this sort of built in idea that Americans have where the every modern civilization must be just the USA with some cosmetic differences.

I mean, cultural blindness/appropriation is global problem, anywhere you go you'll find people who think their idea of normal is the universal standard. But it's especially common in Americans, and they're the most resistant to accepting that they can connect to the similarities they find in stories from/about other cultures while still acknowledging and respecting the differences.

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Deuce Spade Apprentice Chef Personal Story: Part 2

"Master Chef"

(Part 1) Part 2

[Kitchen]

Master Chef – Deuce Version ～Let's Make Mackerel Curry 2～

Deuce: Oops! The mackerel is slipping!!

[slips]

Chef Ghost: If you lay it out on a cloth or paper, it'll slip less. Hold the fish tightly with your left hand, and focus.

Deuce: Yessir!! …Whew, this is hard…

Chef Ghost: Watching you work so hard like this, Deuce-kun, I can only think that your mother will be so overjoyed.

Deuce: That would be nice… Sigh.

Chef Ghost: ? What's wrong, did something happen…?

Deuce: The other day, my mother came down with a cold, and apparently was bedridden for a while.

Deuce: But when I learned of it, she had already become well again…

Deuce: I understand that she didn't want to worry me, but I kinda wanted her to be able to rely on me when she's not feeling good like that.

Deuce: That's why next time I go home, I want to cook her food and show her that I've become more reliable than I was before!

Chef Ghost: Aw… You're such a good student, so devoted to your mother…!!

Chef Ghost: Alright, then we'll have to work harder than ever! Next, lay the blade down against the fish and make an incision along its back.

Deuce: Uhh, so I have to firmly grasp the tail, and… slowly slide the knife… Ah!!

Deuce: Shoot～ It tore off midway. The slice is so thin and floppy.

Chef Ghost: Everyone's like this in the beginning! You must be patient. Gently move the blade without using too much of your strength.

Deuce: I understand!! I'll try once more from where I tore it!!

Chef Ghost: (He's a very promising young man. I am sure he'll learn so much while taking this class!)

[Cafeteria - Judging Venue]

Sebek: Now then, since I have been chosen as an evaluator for this Master Chef program, I am curious as to whose cooking will be presented to me...

Deuce: So, my judge is Sebek. Good to see you.

Sebek: Oh, so you're the one who made the dish I am to eat. I won't hold anything back. I'll make sure to thoroughly examine your creation.

Deuce: Yeah, give me your honest opinion! This is the mackerel curry that I made.

Sebek: Hm… I give the looks and smell of your dish a passing score. Now, as for the more important factor, taste...

[bite, chew, chew] …

Sebek: Mm… This is quite…

Deuce: (He's just eating without saying much. That's good. His reaction doesn't seem to be so bad…)

Sebek: Hm? What is this thin slice of mackerel…? This is an odd way to cut it.

Deuce: Aah… That's my first attempt at slicing mackerel. It tore while I was trying to filet it.

Deuce: It's really difficult to work with fish. This was my first time, so it didn't really go well at all.

Sebek: Heh, I bet it was.

Deuce: Hey, you're looking down on me with that laugh just know, aren't you? You saying you know how to work with fish, Sebek?

Sebek: I've gone camping and fishing in rivers with my family. I'm familiar with how to handle fish.

Deuce: Urgh, I can feel how inexperienced I really am…

Deuce: I'll continue to try my absolute best, and one day I'll be able to be great at cooking fish!

Chef Ghost: That's right, that's the spirit! As long as I there are determined students, it also motivates me as your teacher～

Sebek: If you need any assistance in procuring fish, I can take you fishing if you'd like.

Deuce: Chef, thank you very much for your continued help. And thank you too, Sebek!

Deuce: Alright, I'll give it my very best and work harder than I've ever done before!

(Part 1) Part 2

[therealvinelle]

Hi! What do you think would have happened if in New Moon,Bella moves to Florida and Victoria is killed by some rando gifted vamp while in the South( gifted coz to counteract her evasion thingy) and Bella like doesn't completely move on or anything but still gets better with time and then Edward comes back a couple years later and Bella is supposed to be happy but she's like very confused about it and kind of creeped out by the age difference since Edward is still very much seventeen. Sorry for the rambling, I just wanna know how will this adult Bella interact with Edward &Co. Is Bella/Carlisle a possibilty here if Edward goes ballisticmus and has a visit to strop central coz Bella's not vair interested anymore ? Happy ending please. (i.e, no eating/mercy killing- you always do that, it's not very nice)

I think, anon, that it sounds like you should just write this fic.

And I feel the need to point out that Victoria already had a vampire counteract her gift, his name was James. Victoria’s gift lets her know when and where to flee, James’ gift lets him know where to find his prey. Their horrifying love story is that he hunted her (in case anyone needed further proof this guy is a goddamn psycho: he decided to hunt this random woman who didn’t even have blood he could drink, just for the sake of killing her.) but never could get his hands on her. In the end, he became intrigued by this woman who kept evading him. Sensing that she wasn’t in as much danger anymore, Victoria slowed down, and they became an item.

Point being, your rando gifted vamp will need more than to just counteract her gift if he wants to kill Victoria.

But let’s assume Victoria’s not a problem because reasons. Maybe she ran into dimension portal vampire, and he put her in the shrimp dimension. She’s surrounded by an awful lot of shrimp which I hope is therapeutic for her, and more importantly she is now very much out of the picture.

Bella, meanwhile, didn’t move to Florida because she was able to convince her father she was getting better. Charlie has to lose his faith in her if he is to send her away.

Which could be easily enough accomplished, he just has to hear about what she did in Port Angeles with Jessica.

So alright, Victoria’s in the shrimp dimension and Bella is in Florida.

I happen to agree with you, I think Bella would get better albeit not bounce back entirely. At least, not given such a short timeframe. Her zombie mode wasn’t just because Edward left, it was because he ground her self esteem and identity to dust beneath his heel and took away the world he’d brought her, the future he’d let her imagine.

Old Bella has gone out for cigarettes, and she isn’t coming back anytime soon. (A sentence best read if you imagine it’s Jensen Ackles narrating.)

It is this Bella that Edward returns to. You specify a couple years later, which makes her 20. She’s a college girl, living in a dorm and more likely than not working on the side. The hole in her chest is still there, she still has nightmares, and she still can’t bear to even think his name, but she is making do.

Then one night he wakes her up.

She at first thinks it’s a dream, but he manages to convinceher it’s not.

He’s even more beautiful than she remembered, more perfect than any recollection could do justice.

He tells her why he left, how much he suffered, how he still loves her, the whole shebang. And Bella takes him back, though she can scarcely believe this. It’s like the Titanic unsinking, Lazarus rising, this love she thought lost, that she only had a fleeting taste of in high school, is back again.

The first few days are surreal, like stepping back inside a childhood memory. It’s a rose-tinted dream she missed like anything, and indeed Edward and the Cullens are just as glamorous and beautiful as she remembered.

But perhaps that’s the problem, that this is so unreal.

Bella isn’t going to address this of her own accord, she’s not as much as going to acknowledge that anything feels off. She has Edward back, it’s a miracle and she’s not going to rock the boat.

Even as she finds Edward is... well, he is young. I imagine it’s something she notices a bit gradually, little bits and pieces she ignores because she doesn’t want to examine them, up until one catalyst or another. There comes a point where she realizes this guy is seventeen, and she just can’t unsee that.

There’s another issue.

The Cullens left because Bella was human, now they return because... well, she’s still human.

Carlisle speaks with Edward about this, but gets nowhere. Eventually he decides to go ask Bella what her thoughts are on this.

Bella still wants to be a vampire, of course. Only she has realized that she has outgrown Edward by just a little, and now the world’s greatest timer is above her head. She can turn now, and they’ll make do with their little age difference, it might require Bella looking the other way and plying herself with just enough denial so that she doesn’t see her lover too clearly, but it can work damnit.

But if they wait, and Bella turns 21, then 22, 23...

She’ll lose Edward.

Bella tells Carlisle without further ado that she wants to be turned, ASAP.

Carlisle nods, agrees, and they agree to bring this up with Edward separately. It won’t do any good if he feels like they’re ganging up on him.

Bella goes first, informs Edward of what she wants and lets him know that Carlisle will turn her even if he refuses.

(That’s another damning sign of maturity: Bella no longer needs it to be Edward who bites her. The important thing for her is the end result, which is vampirism. Besides, this more mature version of Bella reasons, turning humans is painful to vampires so it’ll be nicer to Edward if she does it this way.)

Furious, Edward goes to confront Carlisle, who confirms it. He’s turning Bella.

And then-

Well, anon, you make it quite clear that you don’t want any eating or mercy killing.

I think we’ll say that Edward sends Bella to go to live on a farm.