#but the only thing connecting them is the physical location of their bases

[existaantbeing]

I do find it moderately amusing when looking at the contrast between magical mountain's representation within the hermitcraft fanbase (especially early on in the season where it was absolutely everywhere) and its importance as a collective on the actual server (almost non-existant). I think people got really excited for a new boatem, but I don't think they've done anything as a larger group since day one. That being said, if you want to watch the actual successor to boatem this season- check out some of the hermits in the neighbourhood! They are always in each others business, have done quite a lot as a collective and are consistently hilarious whenever they interact. I feel like their relative lack of popularity is meaning a lot of hermitcraft fans are missing out on what in my view is the best grouping of the season, so if you were a fan of boatem, or similar close-knit groups, why not give them a try!

[feyclowns]

a look at magic and the core system

the core system explanation and my loose idea of what magic is. this uh. this got long. this is a longass post.

my thoughts on magic

i have this idea that mother nature, while creating her earlier lifeforms, used magic as a sort of bind-all, something modeled after the overarching powers of time and creation, etc- giving them extra powers and extending their life (like a kid making their first ocs). most of her older creatures are on planes higher up and function on magic. as she got better with her craft she began to appreciate the complexity of making all those bits and pieces stuff on earth has, and the faster ebb and flow of life AND death. humans are one of her favorite creations.

magic is inherently chaotic. it exists in multiple forms, on multiple planes. it's something that touches things in a biological way and yet obeys physical laws set before it. it can be stored and used up. it can create more of itself. it can corrupt things. when mother nature realized it was a bad idea to give near-unlimited power to beings when she was creating ones of lower ability on the planes below, she changed magic and the creatures that used it- gave them weaknesses, sometimes bordering on the ridiculous, compulsions too. things to keep them in check.

i also like to think you can't entirely 1:1 seelie to humans on even a biological cell-scale. they just fundamentally are different.

magic's function

the more pure magic is, the more powerful it is- magic comes in all colors of the rainbow, but different colors have slightly different attributes. one can never truly filter one color out of magic entirely, as it needs all its components to function.

with the True Fey nearly extinct, the only beings that can use raw magic without the assistance of a device or sigil are genies, and i'd argue they got quite the short end of the stick considering their compulsion.

fairies, fey and their subspecies primarily function on purple magic. this stuff is filtered, diluted, as "neutral" as one can get. if you create magic rather than consume it, and your species functions on filtered magic, you cannot handle it raw. like, your body can't handle the extra energy. physically.

magical backup is when a fairy has so much magic in their system they cannot filter the chaotic energy that magic produces and explode.

filtered magic is also, simply, on paper, easiest to use. as a third party, non-seelie magic user- use raw magic while unprepared and get evaporated while changing the laws of physics. use overfiltered magic without the correct sigils and nothing happens except maybe a bitter taste in your mouth.

onto the core system.

the core system

the neural core is where magic flows freely up towards- the filter strains clean, purple magic from the magic produced by the central core. conscious wishes are also made from the brain connected to the core here.

the central core is where magic is generated. the central core takes calories and nutrients from ingested food (fairies have a stomach that is right next to their core) and converts it into magic. the core membrane acts as a storage for filtered magic in both areas.

the core pools are located at the base of the wrists of a fairy, which are where excess magic flows and stays in anticipation of use. when a fairy exhausts the magic from their pools, they must wait until they begin to refill from the reserves in the core membranes.

the inner cores are the most important part of the system; if this part of a fairy is damaged they will die. this part also holds the data for the rest of the body- if worse comes to worse, the inner cores will maintain the body parts left and rebuild the core system before completing the rest of the body. this is in part why fairies are so gd resilient. no inner core, no regeneration.

magic threads are what magic travels along throughout the body. they are thick, wide tubes that extend through the torso and extremities. the central thread is also called a nervous thread. during pregnancy, the body creates a sixth thread (and sometimes seventh) to deliver magic to the developing child's core.

fairies produce raw magic in their central cores. they have two cores- a central and neural core, which are connected to each other through the nervous thread and extend to their magic pools and flow magic through the body by the four magic threads.

anti-fairies are where all that excess magic goes when fairies filter it out. anti fairies don't need to generate magic or filter it- they can handle it just fine. they have a simpler core layout- a thick core membrane to hold their magic and the excess chaotic magic swirling about in their inner core. this enables anti-fairies to grant powerful rule-free wishes. anti-fairies tend to have strange colored magic threads, generally aligning with the color of their counterparts' eyes.

pixies are quirky things. pixies have the same amount of cores as their fairy cousins but do not produce raw magic. they instead need to feed on magical creatures (or take their magic supplements, as provided by pixies INC) to keep their core systems afloat. another issue is that most pixies' core filters still work- which would be fine if they produced magic. pixies overfilter their magic, leading them to use a highly complicated wand (along with several binding contracts) to utilize the magic still delivered to their core pools. (it's also a phone. why not toss that in for free? Head Pixie was feeling really nice when he made that decision.)

pixies have a very large core filter and membrane in their neural core, with a small central core and large magic pools. their magic threads are thin.

[astroismypassion]

Astrology observations 🧡🧡🧡

Credit goes to my blog @astroismypassion

🧡🧡 If you’re a woman, your partner doesn’t really see you as Venus sign in THEIR natal chart. They see you as your Venus sign in your OWN natal chart. So your partner could have Libra Venus in their natal chart right? But you have natal Virgo Venus, resulting in your partner complimenting how good you just naturally look, how humble, grounded, down to earth you are. Your partners compliment you based on traits of your OWN natal Venus, not their this is my main point.

🧡🧡 The amount of Cancer over the 8th house and Moon in the 8th house people who almost prefer just laying next to their partner, resting their head on their chest, lap along with cuddling over sex is really quite something. They really crave the comfortable intimacy of laying next to someone.

🧡🧡 Meanwhile, Scorpio Moon can really love physical act of passionate, more aggressive sex, but could also switch and just prefer caressing, kissing and cuddling in bed as well. So I think they can go either/or.

🧡🧡 If you have Solar Return Aries Moon that year, it’s best to start a project that you only will have FULL control over it. This is also what helps Aries Moon stay MOTIVATED (because this is what they mostly struggle with), that of they won’t do it, no one else is there to save them or do it for them.

🧡🧡 Often that person who a lot of people get a bit intimidated by or always feel like this friend will go on and do great things in life that could be significant have Leo Rising or Rising at a Leo degree (5, 17, 29).

🧡🧡 Often in family relations, there runs a Sun conjunct Rising connection. You could be Scorpio Rising and your sister for example could be Aries Sun, have Sun aspect Mars or Sun aspect Pluto or Sun in the 8th house.

🧡🧡 I noticed also that in marriage people could not only go for Sun sign of their Jupiter sign, but also the OPPOSITE sign as well. For example: Virgo Jupiter could end up marrying Virgo Sun, but also Pisces Sun as well.

🧡🧡 I’m really starting to think that Aries MC, Aries over the 10th house, Mars in the 10th house and Mars Saturn aspect even can make you seem a bit like a “mean girl”. These people are often so compromising in their family relations and with their partner, but the public can too often “demonize” them or they make them see like the bad guy. This was well apparent in the media by the treatment of Meghan Markle.

🧡🧡 In Solar Return when you are unemployed or just starting your new job, there is often Saturn in the 6th house in that year’s Solar Return chart. But if you are employed, it indicates great duties and responsibilities that you are met with in the workplace, such as becoming a team leader or manager, supervisor. Not necessarily becoming boss though, since it’s located in the 6th house (subordinate position).

🧡🧡 Aries Moon people are so good at impersonating others, they get everything down to the smallest gestures or voice. But when they do it, people often get riled up because they do it confidently as well, so others often end up feeling like the Aries Moon person is mocking them.

🧡🧡 For creating more wealth and generating money in a particular year, don’t just look at Venus position and 2nd house. Check your Part of Fortune sign and house, degree. If you have Part of Fortune in the 1st house, start a lot of new projects, when you will experience new beginnings, when you are pioneering something that there’s a gap in or be spontaneous and decide to earn money, that is when you will find the most abundance.

🧡🧡 Also, another unique correlation I noticed you might earn more money on days the Moon is in the sign of your Part of Fortune. If you have Sagittarius Part of Fortune in the 1st house at a Gemini degree, you might earn more or have better opportunities to gain money when the Moon is in Sagittarius, Aries and Gemini.

🧡🧡 Libra over the 2nd house might not even be that great at cooking overall, but they are really good at baking and making desserts. Also these people really prefer is their spouse, committed partner cooks for them. They might not enjoy cooking on their own that much.

🧡🧡 Libra Moon and Libra IC, even IC at Libra degree (7, 19) needs to learn how to speak up in partnerships. They might postpone it for too long and not really speak up for themselves. But as soon as you notice something that seems to you as unfairness, not equal treatment, stand up for yourself. And even in friendships if you also have Chiron in 3rd or the 11th house along with that as well.

🧡🧡 I think when Hailey Bieber talked about how one of the best things being married to Justin Bieber is the companionship and being married to your best friend, this to me is peak Cancer over the 8th house or Moon in the 8th house energy.

🧡🧡 Every Aries Moon talks about their projects as “their babies”, like they just had a newborn. 😂

Credit goes to my blog @astroismypassion

[hwnglx]

oh can you please do a reading on enhypen member's ideal type, if you don't mind? thank you. <3

thought i'd include a short (.. ig?) summary of them as bf's. i recommend listening to each of the songs while reading through every member, i chose ones that i felt would really suit their dynamic with their lovers. (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ

enhypen's ideal types based on tarot and astrology, take it with a grain of salt

heeseung virgo venus

physical traits pagofw, char, 3ofw

youthful appearance. energetic and lively aura. athletic build. seems to be very open to all types of looks -> doesn't have a specific type.

personality traits 8ofp, moon, 3ofc, wheel

heeseung likes people who put a lot of effort into their relationships. he's very mature and knowledgable, so he's aware that commitments take a lot of work. he needs someone who shares that mindset with him. the type of person who's willing to reflect on and deeply think about their actions. his virgo venus makes him want to be able to have deep conversations with his partner that just flow. he needs there to be a natural understanding between him and his loved one. he needs someone clean and wise who adapts well to change, but can also have let lose and have fun sometimes. though he definitely wants his partner to have a sense of maturity so they're on the same wavelength, he doesn't like them being stuck up or uptight. he's attracted to people who are sociable and get along with others easily.

“i don't hate the way you keep me up your touch blurred my vision it's your world and i'm just in it”

him as a boyfriend 8ofp, kingofc

+ as i said, not only does he expect his partner to work hard for the connection, he's also more than willing to work on himself, in order to be a trustworthy, kind and respectable boyfriend. his venus in virgo makes him not only very loving and considerate, but also very attentive, observant and detail-oriented. he'll probably surprise you with how well he remembers the small things you told him about yourself. gift you things you talked about wanting very long ago, or take you to places that are uniquely special to you two only, like the place where you first met. a very understanding, devoted and thoughtful boyfriend. his virgo venus also makes him very selfless, so all his focus will be on serving and pleasing you. if you can, you'll chose the menu, you'll chose the date location, you'll chose the movie you two watch. you'll probably have to remind him to think about himself from time to time as well. - although heeseung will be very self-sacrificing, he's very selective over who he dates. virgo is a sign that's all about perfection so he has very high expectations and standards not everybody is able to meet. the 8 of pentacles (card of hard work and effort) coming out contiuously makes sense. also, he'll probably get surprisingly upset if things don't go after plan, like you not giving him the reaction he wanted to see or the date he planned for you two somehow not working out. he probably also will struggle showing his affection in a physical manner and be more reserved. he can easily overthink everything concerning your relationship and be overly cautious, since he wants nothing but perfection for you.

jay taurus venus

physical traits 10ofw, 2ofp, 10ofc, 6ofw

more mature look. balanced and harmonious facial features. very glamorous and attractive beauty. someone who draws everyones gazes in. so pretty that it's almost unrealistic.

personality traits highpr, 7ofw, 4ofp, 8ofp

jay is a serious man. so he needs someone mature and intelligent, who doesn't only take life just as seriously, but also devotes themselves to the relationship just as much as he does. like.. he'll literally give his all to you (heart, soul and money) so he would like that to be reciprocated, at least in an emotional sense. he likes the type of person who has a lot of inner depth to them and carries a sense of mystery with them. someone who is strong, has thick skin and is able to fiercely stand up for what they believe in. he likes people with a hard shell, who aren't very easy to figure out. he'd probably also really be attracted people who aren't afraid to challenge his opinions as well. although that could easily lead to him bickering with them, that's more or less his love language. he wants someone who has their own values and doesn't get swayed easily.

“the flowers still are blooming then leaves will turn again but time will be frozen for us”

him as a boyfriend kingofp, 7ofw

+ because of his taurus venus, he's all about sensual pleasures in relationships. so you definitely will get a lot of expensive presents, flowers, fine wines, dining at elegant restaurants with nice music or sleeping on expensive silk sheets. and he'd probably also take you shopping and carry all your gucci bags for you. his favorite date will definitely be you two only though. he'll also be extremely protective. definitely won't shy away from confronting other people who peaked at you for a little too long lol. very loyal. you will be his top priority. he'll make it his responsibility to not only stay faithful and devoted to you but also take good care of you at all times. god forbid you ever feel sad in his presence. - my god, is this placement stubborn. he'll probably have an hour long discussion with you over the most trivial things just because he wants to hear he's right. he'll also get jealous too easily and be overly possessive. that hour long discussion might come from him accusing you of hanging out too long with your male friend or something. or you not returning his kiss in the presence of others. like, it's just way too easy for him to get mistrustful of you. he'll also overcommit and hold on to you way too tightly. even if the relationship turned toxic, he'll struggle letting go of it. men with their venus in taurus definitely aren't the best placement to break up with.

jake scorpio venus

physical traits 4ofc, 2ofc, wheel

likes people from all over the world. classic type of beauty. gorgeous and dazzling eyes. symetrical features. someone who has many different sides to them -> can go from more casual and laidback styling to elegant and expensive looks.

personality traits pageofc, 2ofsw, tower, 3ofsw+moon&herm

jake really likes his partner to have a dreamy and romantic air to them. the type of person who looks incredibly sweet and innocent on the outside, but can unexpectedly change into a completely different person once he's alone with them. someone who doesn't put all that much of themselves on display for others. he'd want his lover to have darker and more sexy sides to them, that only he is able to see. he really likes the unexpected thrills in relationships, it seems. so he'd like his partner to surprise and shock him. he's also drawn to people who are almost too sensitive. i think he likes the thought of being able to fix and heal someone. since he'd want an emotionally deep connection to the one he loves, he'd want a person who's willing to share their past bad experiences with him and trust him fully.

“as long as you're with me, you'll be just fine nothing's gonna hurt you baby nothing's gonna take you from my side”

him as a boyfriend lovers, 8ofsw, emper

+ when jake loves, he loves intensely. you can definitely expect him to be all in with your relationship. not only is he a very affectionate and sweet boyfriend who's attentive to your needs and will probably surprise you with the cutest gifts, he also has an incredibly attractive and magnetic charm. since he very much knows that, he'll be very seductive and sensual with you. maybe even seduce you at the most random or most unfitting times lol. like.. scorpio venus men are irresistable and they know it. and tbh, really damn amazing at lovemaking. we're talking intimacy. but make no mistake, he can absolutely be a gentleman with great manners when he needs to be. he'll really enjoy taking charge of the relationship and lead you. jake would actually make a great family father, i imagine him really liking that traditional life. - honestly, he can just get too much sometimes. like he'll obsess over you, and some independent people can easily feel uncomfortable with that. he can also get manipulative, he'll play games and use tactics to test you sometimes. like make you jealous on purpose and test your patience, just to get a reaction out of you. he'll enjoy seeing the power he has over you a little too much. while at the same time, he himself will get jealous way too easily. his fear of losing you can make him too possessive.. once you date a venus in scorpio, you basically belong to them. it just ain't for the weak.

sunghoon scorpio venus

physical traits hieroph, aceofp, magic

more humble and traditional beauty. natural features. healthy and luscious hair. someone who isn't over the top with their styling but still has something intriguing to them.

personality traits 7ofsw, 4ofp, tower+3ofp, pageofc

sunghoon seems to really appreciate loyalty in his partners, which makes sense since his venus is also in possessive scorpio. like he actually gives me very possessive vibes. so i think he'd really want his lover to be someone who sticks with him, even during unexpected changes and challenging times. since he himself will devote himself to his relationships completely, he appreciates trustworthy lovers who won't make him question their faithfulness. he also likes it when his partners aren't too open with everyone and keep to themselves more, someone more on the introverted and reserved side. but also gentle and kind, someone who is in tune with their emotions and intuition. he doesn't want people who are superficial and needs a lover who's interested in developing close and deep connections to not only others, but especially to him.

“nervous, trip over my words you're so pretty it hurts baby, i'm yours”

him as a boyfriend strength, knofp, 5ofp&queofc, star, lovers

+ another scorpio venus, another very passionate lover. tbh, i always thought that this guy must have some scorpio placements in him, since there is a certain intense and darker energy to him. so finding out his venus and mars are in scorpio, makes a lot of sense. sunghoon will really want to be a strong and reliable existence for his lover. he'll be a boyfriend who can't stand seeing you suffer and will put his all into taking care of you, especially emotionally. his scorpio venus makes him want to feel like you're all his, so he will make sure you will comfortable and nurtured whenever you're with him. so, that you basically have no other choice than to be in love. like, he can actually get surprisingly affectionate when he's with his loved one. and really make you feel special. he'll love spending time with you alone, so he'll put all his effort into making the time beautiful for you two. - although he'll be very caring when it comes to your emotions, he'll probably prefer keeping his own feelings hidden away. i can really imagine it becoming a problem in the relationship, it'll be too onesided. like, he'll have his entire focus on you but you'll rarely be able to really talk about his inner world in an open manner. he'll also be unexpectedly moody and probably surprise you with how emotionally invested he can actually get once you two fight. he'll be very consumed by your relationship, but at the same time, not like being honest about that and making himself vulnerable.

sunoo gemini venus

physical traits death, queofsw, strength

mysterious and darker aura. looks more detached and cold from the outside. poker face with striking features. strong and intense presence. turns everyone's heads.

personality traits 9ofp, kingofp, 9ofw, fool, judg, magic

sunoo definitely seems to be attracted to mature and independent people. he really likes it when his partner is powerful and confident, the type of person that'll make him gaze in awe at them while explaining the amount of sht they've been through. since he himself is a very sensitive person, he needs someone who's very strong and better at handling difficulties. in a "been there, done that" kinda way. they have their know-how now. someone who can teach him to let go and trust in himself more. a reliable person he can lean on. he likes people who know their path and have a strong purpose in life. his gemini venus also makes him value communication a lot, so he needs someone who clicks with him very well when talking. the type of person he could talk to about everything for hours without it getting boring.

“i'll tell you how i almost died while you're bringing me back to life baby you're my angel, angel baby”

him as a boyfriend 7ofw, temp, 9ofc, 7ofsw, aceofsw

+ not only is sunoo a person with almost scary duality to him anyway, his venus in gemini makes him have the same duality in romance as well. things definitely won't get boring with him as a lover. his love language can be sweet acts of service for you, like making you breakfast (i can just picture sunoo making the cutest little breakfast for his lover so well i'm in tears). but he'll especially enjoy having hour-long deep conversations with you, where you share your hopes and dreams and talk about life. he'll enjoy texting you all the time, probably send you the cutest good night texts and many lovey dovey heart emojis. he'll also be very flirty, adventurous and enjoy many different types of activities with you, just keep him stimulated at all times. - as i said, gemini venus people can be very two-faced. his cancer and aries combination makes him very hot and cold anyway, but his gemini venus can also lead to him suddenly acting differently according to who he's with, which can make him seem dishonest or ingenuine. like, it'll almost be him putting on different masks every time circumstances change. and you'll just be left there wondering where the ever-smiling and giggly sunoo from 2 minutes ago just went? he can also easily lose interest in people. if you aren't interesting enough to him, it won't be hard for him to just look for the next, more fun person. he's also very good at playing the victim. he knows how to use his charm and wit to get what he wants, which can get irritating.

jungwon aries venus

physical traits lovers, 4ofc, devil

extremely alluring and charming aura. looks unapproachable but very attractive. magnetic and deep eyes. darker and long hair. isn't afraid to flaunt their beauty. dresses in a way that shows it off. someone you can't avert your gaze from.

personality traits knofc, pagofsw, herm

jungwon likes his partners to be very confident and self-reliant. his aries venus makes him very energetic and passionate, so he needs someone who won't be imitated by his fiery attitude in love and can keep up with that. still, aries people can have a very childlike charm too, so although he doesn't want them to depend on him, he can't stand them being too stuck up as well. he needs someone who's easygoing and fun-loving. someone who won't be afraid to openly flirt with him and be direct and straightforward. he'll be attracted to people who aren't too shy to actively pursue him and be just as bold as him. aries venus people can at times be confident to a point of delusion. so someone who can boldly challenge that will attract and intrigue him for sure.

“cause every time you strip away my pride humble me down to my knees you're exactly what i need”

him as a boyfriend devrx+magic&knofw, 8ofw

+ don't be fooled by jungwon's sweet and innocent looks, because this boy brings the word passion to a different level when it comes to romance. if he is into you, you will definitely know about it. he's aware of how irresistable he can be, so he absolutely won't shy away from using his charm and making the first move. if he sees you at a party and is intrigued, he'll probably tell you how stunning you look right in your face, no matter the circumstances. aries venus people love the thrill of a chase for sure. he'll be very big on physical affection too, so don't be surprised to have him just pull you into a kiss out of nowhere, or insist on holding your hand all the time. still, he won't be possessive in an extreme manner, so you won't have to worry about him being too clingy. he'll like you to be independent as well and give you your own space to be your own person without depending on him. - aries people are the definition of impatient. you need to keep him stimulated all the time, otherwise it's way too easy for him to get bored in your relationship. it can be hard to keep up with his energy levels and fast-paced attitude for sure. he can easily get frustrated if things in your romance progress too slowly, he'll be all in from the very beginning. his frustration can also be expressed in an overly angry manner, aries people are very short-tempered and prone to sudden bursts of anger. he can almost become scary, so definitely not for someone very soft or weak-hearted. jealousy can also become a thing, if something you did somehow hurt his ego. since aries people can be a little too self-absorbed, he won't like the thought of you liking someone more than him.

since niki is still a minor, i don't think it's right for me to do romantic readings on him. hope you can understand and still enjoyed the read ʚ♡⃛ɞ

[atthebell]

i think one thing that's always been interesting to me is that people really believe/take for granted that the federation's goal is the islanders' happiness, when we really don't have any way of knowing if that's the truth. cucurucho says it a lot, claiming to care about islanders' happiness above all else, and it's been scattered throughout some federation lore (as well as being hinted at with the reset cinematics), but that doesn't mean it's actually true-- it could still be a smokescreen of what they really want. which, imo, is not happiness.

if it's all one big experiment, supposedly one of many, the idea that this one is the one that involves seeing what happens when islanders are happy is not a provable thing still, nor is it clear what that actually means to the federation. does happiness mean the islanders are content to remain on the island? does happiness mean building relationships and connecting with others? does happiness mean self-fulfillment (something deeply immeasurable)? it's not clear what it means to the federation, nor if that is their true goal. it could be that that has nothing to do with their goal, and is a complete misdirect. it could be that cucurucho's prime directive is the islanders' happiness (not that it's very good at that), but that's meant as a tactic to stymie islander curiosity/resistance. it could be any number of things.

and i think viewing it from a more meta lens of "we cannot tell what is or is not the truth; not only are all character povs biased but so is the larger narrative presented to us." i think comparing this framework to something like the good place is helpful, in that when you assume that what you're presented with is the truth and don't look at the setting critically, you will miss the fact that things presented to you as fact by any kind of source (including the framework of the medium itself or the established setting) are suspect and should be examined further.

i can even put it in a smaller way; there are ways within a limited character pov to present things as directly happening when they are not, and these are ways that mcrp creators have utilized. playing out an event that did not actually happen, canonical hallucinations, dream sequences that are not explained as such, physical representations of metaphorical experiences, etc. etc. are ALL things that mcrp creators of done. tricking your audience is an incredibly interesting and at times vital part of mcrp. so if just one creator within their own pov can do it, why can't the whole narrative? why can't you be convinced you're in a different genre, why can't you be convinced that the physical location your characters are placed in is someplace that isn't?

all this to say, i think a major issue in terms of analyzing media like this is allowing yourself to go along with assumptions without thinking about why you're falling so easily into them as truth. making all of your lore assumptions based off the notion that it is objective fact that the federation cares about and has the goal of islanders' happiness means you are going to miss details and fixate on others without looking at the full scope of possibilities. which i think was a serious issue during the height of investigation/mystery stuff-- people fell into the trap of "i KNOW this to be true" without considering the man behind the curtain. sure, cellbit found documents indicating that the federation was founded on isla quesadilla-- considering who sent him on the trail of said documents, who's to say that that's the truth?

i think bagi is a particularly interesting investigator when it comes to this kind of thing-- she's VERY good at holding onto a lot of different possibilites in her mind, even going so far as to act on a lot of them at once, and that means she doesn't take anything for granted. having all of the data in front of you, without attempting to skew it to a theory you already have in mind (which i admit is very difficult to do! humans are biased and are geared towards pattern recognition), is an important skill when it comes to any kind of data analysis or investigation.

anyway idk where i was going with this i just started thinking about like. what is involved in good theorizing and how focusing on something you believe to be fact can lead you in the wrong direction, and i think the idea of the islander's happiness as the federation's main goal is one of those very fraught assumptions people get caught up in.

[to-eat-laugh-love-in-peace]

Saw more people talking about Tonis and what his deal could be in S2 based on what’s already established about him during the first few episodes he was introduced in and that concept art of an older version of him Kenji Muto posted on his twitter a while back which, one, I’m so freaking happy about, this and the other concepts artworks he posted aren’t talked about nearly enough, and two, I have more thoughts to add on to it so let’s get into them.

With how useful the Wams are, besides the fact that they have strength in numbers and size and can either fly across the sky or travel underneath the sand, their abilities are especially useful in information gathering and sabotage, as they are able to mimic other lifeforms from birds (I like to think that the vulture-like bugs that hung around Vash in episode 1 weren’t a thing to begin with since the only other birds we’ve seen so far are Tomas which were confirmed to be biologically engineered by humans) to humans (seeing as Zazie looks so convincingly like a human kid that they were able to fool Meryl and the only thing that physically set them apart from humans when they assumed a human form was a buzzing noise that humans aren’t even able to pick up in the first place) and relay images (as seen with how Zazie summoned a swarm or bacteria-sized Wams that formed the image of the planet Earth and its wildlife during their talk with Meryl in July), they are able to telepathically connect and communicate to each other, and are able to administer poison as implied by the stingers that some of them have been shown to have that I think is what Wolfwood spat out after he plucked a Wam out of midair and ate it raw and the fact that they’ve been confirmed to be what’s in those cigarettes Wolfwood and Roberto have been smoking in place of tobacco meaning that it contains either nicotine or a toxic, addictive drug with both stimulant and depressant effects like it

(Kenji Muto actually talked about in this post depicting this piece of concept art of Zazie that their scarf is actually another kind of Wam whose stinger is very poisonous, making it good for both a means of attack and defense),

Knives and the EoM would surely find an alternative way to keep the Wams under their thumb now that Zazie’s (and the Wams as a whole) alliance with Knives is seemingly implied to have dissolved following what had gone down in July, what with them clearly panicking about the roots, vines, and flowers from Vash’s gate that were gradually covering the entire city and even just about the rest of the planet, so much so that Wolfwood commented on it,

and them saying how they didn’t understand the fact that humanity made Vash out to be the villain behind Lost July,

and one way that they could do that is include the Wams as another species besides Plants they experiment on in for their eugenics research.

(Sidenote, I also like to think that Zazie made it clear to the EoM they were no longer on their side and would no longer do any favors for them when they were asked to locate Vash, which of course the EoM would do, seeing as it wouldn’t be all that difficult for them to do, what with them even having gone so far as to refer to themselves as the planet itself, only for them to refuse to do so, maybe in part as a sort of thanks to Vash for saving the planet and almost everyone on it back in July by letting him rest and relax and recover as much as he could for as long as he could with Lina after everything he’s gone though and in part as a sort of precaution seeing as since he’s seems to have lost his memories and is in no condition to leave Lina’s hometown and live on his own, much less get himself into trouble, then that means he’s out of the way for the time being.

Also, that just makes me think that they may have a part in Vash being found and brought out of hiding since with the incoming arrival of Chronica and Project Pieces of Earth fleets and possibly rumors of Knives being brought back from the grave might force them to reveal Vash’s location since he was the one who put a stop to the shit another Independent Plant pulled two years ago so he might be the only one who can put a stop to whatever either of these two plan to pull this time around two years later.)

Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if Conrad has tried or will try to do something like that since Wams are the natives species of No Man’s Land, at least the only ones we know of so far, so they’re more than capable of withstanding the harsh environment of the planet without the help of Plants. Actually, I kind of wouldn’t be surprised if Zazie was kind of interested in that kind of thing, since they’ve shown a genuine interest in seeing why and how they can coexist alongside Plants or humans, and agreed to allocate a couple of Wams to him for this reason.

Now onto Tonis, now that I think about it more I could see him getting roped into the EoM, seeing as Jeneora Rock has not only lost its’ Plants but also was cut to pieces by Knives, leaving him and his mother and the rest of the townspeople not only heavily injured from the collapse of his hometown, with him being down to one arm, but also homeless with little to none of the basic necessities they need to survive left, and then there’s also how, assuming his mother hadn’t suffered from a miscarraige during or after what went down in Jeneora Rock, his mother would not only have to take care of and provide for him and herself, but also his soon to be born younger sibling. That’s a lot to deal with to say the very least.

Baby supplies are expensive and babies themselves are a lot to deal with as is, but buying baby supplies and raising a baby when they both lost their home, lost people, were suffering from PTSD, and were suffering from major injuries ON NO MAN’S LAND my god, that’s just-that’s SO MUCH. And it sounds like the perfect set up for him to fall right into the hands of the EoM, I mean, didn’t Wolfwood in Trimax go with the EoM thinking that he’d be building churches for them in exchange for being able to provide for himself and the orphanage, so Tonis could be led to follow the same thought process.

Besides that he just looks so much older in the concept art compared to his first appearance in S1 that I saw some people wondering just how long the timeskip would be, but there doesn’t need to be a long timeskip for him to look that old, he just needs to be subjected to the same or at least similar experiments Rollo, Livio, and Nico had been subjected to and he’ll end up looking like that in around six months and then with the EoM having access to lost tech they could hook him up with a prosthetic arm similar to Vash’s which could be why they share a similar silhouette.

Also, Zazie’s 98 counterpart was a normal human kid who happened to have a device that allowed him to hijack worms to do whatever he ordered them to do, and their Trimax counterpart was a human who happened to have their body hijacked by worms and did whatever they wanted them to do, so maybe Tristamp could pull something similar with Tonis.

And and, there are a couple of spots on the GHG so to speak with EG the Mine and Monev the Gale out of the picture, now they could have just done that to allow for more room to focus on the remaining GHG that haven’t appeared yet like Midvalley, Hoppered, Dominique, Leonof, and to an extent Livio, Legato, and Elendira, but they could also have done that to come up with new members to fill those empty slots, they did it in 98 with Caine, then again they didn’t bring in Livio and Elendira but still.

Not to mention, someone on twitter here pointed out how Tonis is repeatedly shown time and time again with something that has to do with catching Wams in his hands, like the cage filled with Wams he shows off to Vash and then to Gosef in Rosa’s bar, and the net he’s seen holding whenever he’s on his own like when he encounters Meryl and Roberto in the cliffside, which while it could just be something to show how much he’s into Wams, and maybe to foreshadow how Wams make for a really good alternative resource in place of Plants as addressed in episode 4, it could also be foreshadowing a potential confrontation between him and Zazie.

I still like my previous theory about Tonis where he got his prosthetic arm from Father Nebraska as thanks for pulling Gosef out of the rubble and sparing the both of them some medical supplies as seen in a quick shot of them being one of the injured near the end of episode 3 since it looks like Vash’s prosthetic arm if it was made out of scrap metal instead of lost tech by a No Man’s Land resident than a first generation SEEDS crew member, Father Nebraska was even seated right across from Vash in the table which I’m sure would be able to afford him a good view of his arm, not to mention, he could have also seen him showing off his cage full of Wams to Gosef in the background, and Gosef’s arm was mentioned to be designed to catch Wams so he’d put two and two together and figured it’d be fitting especially since Tonis wasn’t as squirmy with Wams like Gosef was and Zazie possibly taking him under his wing for whatever reason but I’ll admit I’m quickly growing attached to this new theory and when it comes down to it I’m just really excited to see what going to go down in S2 when its finally released. @tristampparty

[atsadi-shenanigans]

What Shall We Become 19 - Temptation

The rogue rolls an insight check.

On AO3.

On the morning of the third day, they depart. He’s up and moving even better than before they entered the Underdark. And if he ever so much as has to think about drinking from fish again, he really is going to vomit.

His most charitable leader still hasn’t taken any potion of tongues. So she has no idea that the kuo-toa are detailing the blood sacrifices they intend to make in her absence. He ought to tell her. Then he wonders if there’s a reason she doesn’t want to know (her continued avoidance of them all when she’s normally quite murderous towards cults in general). He decides not to.

Their finned followers hail them as they make the steep ascent out of the wretched camp. He can’t know for certain the state of their lodgings, only that they reeked of fish and algae and vaguely of mold, and he feels confident in making several deductions.

But all of that after his most glorious leader requests he secure directions. Because they’re on a lake that connects to a much, much larger one, but only through a long series of completely underwater tunnels. If her theory on the wizard’s location is accurate, that lake is their best shot at finding a waypoint stone, the others, and then fixing his godsdamned eyes.

So now he’s once again roped to an infuriating puzzle of a woman. And Astarion has no proclivities at all for puzzles. He can’t even try to needle her, as she’s still keeping her potions in reserve (which yes, alright, that’s sensible). But it means he’s bored. And he gets fidgety when he’s bored.

He goes over more Chondathan with her. It’s harder without that potion for him to explain—he’s gone over all the physical items he can touch (mostly) or point at (in the general direction of). He’s even gone over spacial directions: up, forward, right, left, and all of that. She even catches onto the subtleties that mark “right here” from “near” from “over there” remarkably easily; foreigners tend to botch that up.

Until that grows tedious as well and they fall into awful silence.

That’s another strangeness (she keeps doing that to him; she has no business just…just making him…experience things). He can somewhat bury the way his neck muscles draw tight in her poor language skills. It’s not his fault he can’t currently charm her, if she can barely understand a word out of ten (it’s less than that). There’s nothing he can do to win her at the moment. He can’t be punished for something so wildly beyond his control (that has never stopped a correction ever). All he can do is follow along after her and tap around with her staff.

That she still gave to him after all that happened and all that she now (has always) knows.

His neck hurts more. The base of his skull aches. His muscles creak from the tension with every movement. And still, she ambles on, guiding him as she’s been doing.

He wants to snap at her. Shout. Curse. Bare his fangs. Make her flinch, make her crack. Force her to drop the insufferable mask he knows she’s wearing. Make her reveal the seething resentment he knows she hides. The anger and the disgust. Despite all her baffling words, she’s angry with him. She must be. The very second he thinks himself safe, she’ll turn. That’s how it always, always works.

And as he’s thinking on this, she makes a breathy sound and the barest hint of a scent reaches his nose and it’s as if he plunged his hands into a bolt of lightning. The buzz races along his skin and shivers to his bones. The beds of his fingernails ache as his fangs suddenly hurt.

Blood. Hers. She’s not injured. He didn’t smell it before. And it’s not just the scent of her blood. There’s something else mixed into it, a change in her usual scent. He pauses so long the rope almost tugs at his waist, and he belatedly realizes he’s just been scenting the air like some animal and has to hurry along to catch up.

Which draws her attention. She says something that he guesses is a form of “are you dying” or “hurry up” or “why are you sniffing after me.”

She’s bleeding. Of that he’s certain. But if it’s not an injury…

When it finally dawns, he feels an utter oaf. Dearest leader is a human. And he knows she’s got a cunt (he felt it that night in the woods) and humans have a moon blood.

And then he realizes she has a moon blood and almost trips over his own feet.

Gods. She’s not the first he’s come across in such a condition. Living in the crush of a city means being overwhelmed by the scent and, frankly, stink of thousands of other people. Some of them bleed regularly. He’s always wondered what that would be like. What it would taste like. Dalyria, Aurelia, and Violet—as undead creatures like himself—no longer bled, and all of them were forbidden from drinking from thinking creatures. But that didn’t stop them speculating. Dal in particular had theories. As did Petras, but that man was an idiot and no one gave his ramblings much weight at all.

But never has Astarion been in such close proximity to someone on their cycle and been off the leash, so to speak.

And he cannot ask for one, little taste, because she’s angry at him, and he with her, and gods. Humans bleed for days, don’t they? He’s going to have to plod along behind her, pretending he doesn’t smell that feast. Pretending he doesn’t know that she hates him.

He wishes he’d had the fortune to have landed next to the wizard.

***

They break after what must be hours. Astarion settles himself on a boulder and nearly rips his bag open in a frantic search for a blood bottle. His hands shake, and he’s practically salivating. Delectable leader makes some inquiring sound, but he doesn’t answer as he finds said bottle, rips the cork out with his teeth, and downs it in one. Still stinks of fish. But that doesn’t matter, because it’s blood, and now it’s down his throat and he doesn’t feel the urge to scream anymore.

Not loudly, anyway.

His maddening leader says something about “water” and “far over there.” Over the sound of his own internal shrieking, he catches the heavy lapping nearby—echoing strangely and he thinks they’re in something of a small, tight valley in the rocks. He waves her off. And finds the bottle of wine.

Still taste of vinegar.

He makes sure to swish it around in his mouth before swallowing.

He can’t do this. This is a form of torture that bastard would have been proud to have come up with. Oh, he’d done very similar: taunted Astarion or his siblings with animals, with guests; hells, that woman isn’t the first one to come to the palace on her cycle. But she isn’t some victim or rodent. She’s…she’s her. And she was his first. And that’s done something to him, something magical or cursed—he’s not sure which—

…humans know when this is going to happen. Or they have an estimate, anyway. He’s neither human nor a woman, but he does know there are precursors. Symptoms. She had to know it was going to happen. In the days at the fish camp, she didn’t smell like this. It started only today, the day she decided to head out again.

They could have stayed longer. They had food and water—he had plenty of nasty blood. Shelter and safety. Yet she chose today to leave.

Is…no. No, she can’t…is she doing this on purpose? Is she tempting him? Baiting him?

He thinks back on it. When he first found her down here, she’d offered herself. She said it was to help him restore his sight—and he’d agreed to follow her afterwards leashed like a dog. Then she’d offered her wrist as he lay filleted open—offering him what he craved most at his most vulnerable. Now this. Forcing him to trail along behind her as she bleeds.

…the little minx.

Oh, she’s good. She’s done this to all of them, hasn’t she? Proposes to help some disgusting beggar for what she explains is mere practicality, but always manages to work in her favor. Has made her quite the upstanding do-gooder to those in their party prone to such nonsense. Has pulled the cleric into a silent gaze conversation. Hells, she’s even won over the gith by deliberately showing her weaknesses and letting the overgrown frog devote her attentions to improving their yokel.

It’s damned clever.

It’s godsdamned underhanded.

And she’s using it on him. That’s what’s been confusing him, muddling his thoughts and making him feel strange. She’s manipulating him. Has been the entire time. She clocked what he needed and molded herself into that.

Even her little speech about, ugh, forgiveness was simply to get him to lower his defenses.

But he’s well-fed and free for the first time in centuries. He’s not the best at planning, but Astarion is no stranger to manipulation and he’s finally seen beneath her mask. Uncovered the real heart of her.

He’s almost impressed. She nearly had him.

He snorts into his wine bottle.

Nearly. But he’s onto her now. And two can play at that game. Oh, he’s not going to confront her. Let her think she’s winning. Let her lead him around. Now that he’s identified the game, he knows how to bend the rules in his favor. She’s not bad, but he’s far more practiced, and he’ll show her how this game is played.

He polishes off the last of the wine and tosses the bottle over his shoulder. Leans back and crosses his arms. It’s going to be difficult following her around when she smells like that, but he understands, now. The confusion plaguing him finally melts away. He’s got this.

And it’s then he registers two things:

The distinct lack of footsteps returning.

An odd, choking noise.

The two other heartbeats.

“Oh shit.”

[crimsondestroyer]

Ryu Number: The M.C. from The Under Presents

Alright. I've done a few Ryu numbers in the past, but none as elaborate as this one, so for once, I figured I'd make my own post explaining the... elaborate, to say the least, path I took to get here. Several dead ends and a couple weeks of research later, here we are.

So. To those of you who don't know anything about the Under, hi. I'm crimsonDestroyer. One of my many hobbies is playing VR games, and one such game is The Under Presents, by Tender Claws, a game I play somewhat often and speedrun periodically. A while back, I wondered in passing if I could figure out a way to connect any of the Under's characters to Ryu, like, say, The M.C. This seemed like a simple question at the time, but, well, let's see.

To start off with, there's a fairly simple Limited route. One aspect of The Under Presents in the past was its live actors, in-game characters played by real people who would interact with mute player characters in the game's multiplayer areas. Unfortunately, the actor run has since ended, and though there's been brief returns of actors here and there, it seems to be mostly over. However, one such actor-played character was a skeleton going by the name of Amelia. As Amelia's lore would later highlight, she is, in fact, the one and only Amelia Earhart, prior to her death and entrance into the Under. There are many hints around the game's world that Amelia Earhart was in the Under in the past, but she herself is nowhere to be found - except for this live actor. Given this was, by its nature, a time-limited occurrence, this would give the M.C. a nice, clean Limited Ryu Number of 3.

However, Limited Ryu Numbers are lame. Can we do better?

One of the many locations you can visit in the Under is the Crob Pit. There, by solving a puzzle with some fellow players, you can summon a massive crab monster who will eat you, sending you to the Den, inside him. There, you can find an assortment of crab bones and other gruesome things, in addition to one peculiar fixture.

This is the only intact human skeleton in the entire game, within the stomach of an enormous crab. Now, given the fact that Amelia Earhart is mentioned excessively by props around the setting of the game, with items such as her plane and a banner for a show featuring her scattered all over the place, her physical absence within the Under is quite suspicious. Additionally, the actor-played character was created after the game released, and it's implied that the actor characters have some degree of the supernatural to them, meaning the existence of the actor in no way means that the character's physical body cannot remain elsewhere in the Under. Given the popular theory that Amelia Earhart's body was never found in real life because it was eaten by coconut crabs, this seems... intentional. If you consider this to be Amelia Earhart's body, the M.C. has a Ryu number of 3.

However, given the complete lack of any verbal confirmation or hints to this skeleton's identity, and this being solely based on context clues, I'm not confident calling it for certain, so let's keep digging.

One feature of the Under is the scripted stage shows, which play on loop on the main stage in the game's theater area. One such show features a man by the name of Sal Sisyphus. Sal's act consists of him rolling a boulder up a hill while giving a motivational speech that inevitably descends into nonsense after he slips and drops the boulder back down. That sounds quite a bit like traditional Sisyphus - endless torture, endless repetition, endless suffering, pushing a rock up and down a hill forever. Plus, as far as I can tell, the mythological Sisyphus has no second name given, so who's to say Sal isn't his first name? If you buy into that, the M.C. also has a Ryu number of 3.

But this one DEFINITELY felt pretty sketchy to me, so I went back to the drawing board once more.

Finding a way out of Tender Claws is... hard. See, Tender Claws has made three big commercially-released VR titles: The Under Presents, Virtual Virtual Reality, and Virtual Virtual Reality 2, all of which can be linked without much issue. A sentient skeleton named Tina works in both a stage act in the Under, and her namesake bar, Tinas', in VVR2's setting, Scottsdale. And, as a sequel, VVR2 features numerous returning characters from the original VVR. All you need is to find one character, just one, across those three games, and you have an out. There HAS to be something.

It was at this point that a friend mentioned that Elon Musk is in Virtual Virtual Reality 2, and I had to do a double-take.

Meet Elon. He's a talking onion. More accurately, he's an AI upload of a human consciousness who takes the form of a talking onion in the digital world. Between his name, his personality, his mannerisms, the fact that he was the second human to ever upload himself (after an extremely important character from the first game), and the fact that VVR2's virtual worlds are referred to as "metaverses", the implication as to who he is seems to be pretty obvious. I didn't know he existed, because I never finished VVR2 due to some technical issues. Regardless, here he is!

With a proper pop-culture figure in our hands, we can finally find our way out of Tender Claws. Elon Musk is still a relatively modern person, so there aren't many games with him in them yet, but with some clever googling and the help of TV Tropes, I tracked down an obscure little game called Good Pizza, Great Pizza, released for mobile and later ported to PC and Switch. In this game, you make pizza for an assortment of customers, real and fictional, which just so happens to include one Mr. Musk. From there, it was just a matter of tracing the rest of the way to Ryu from one of the other noteworthy characters who appear in the game. There was a tempting Dracula connection, but unfortunately, he's exclusive to a time-limited Halloween event. How ironic, that the first and last dead ends would both be time-limited characters. In any case, Albert Einstein will do the job of giving us our final two jumps nicely, passing through Mario's Time Machine, and finally bringing us home.

The M.C. has a Ryu number of 3/5, and a Limited Ryu Number of 3.

[apollos-boyfriend]

my main beef with matpat was the kris/frisk/chara misgendering and the indie dev thing what the fuck did he do?????

like outside of those things you mean? here's the ones i'd listed/instantly came to mind. a lot of things people rag on him about are like OLD old (early 2010s, like the whole "basing pyro's sex off of weird pseudoscience), which is why i won't be listing Every issue i've had because i want to assume he's grown and changed since then, at least with those things. anyways

has a weird tendency of equating video games to real-life murders. the first time i can remember him doing it was with the first ever fnaf theory, where he said it was about the actual murder of chuck-e-cheese employees and that you played as the murderer rotting in hell. which is. weird enough. but that was 2014, nearly 10 years ago, shit happens. however. that was the only time he's done this. it happened again in 2017-2019 with petscop, equating the game to the murder of a 10 year old girl. and, to his full defense, the creator of petscop ALLEGEDLY said that he did start basing his game off of that case, but that he severely regrets it and regards it as an extremely stupid decision. that doesn't make matpat's actions any less weird, because if you realize a game is Actually tied to the killing of a real-life child, just. don't fucking comment on it. it's weird and even the creator regrets his decision to do so.

on a theory about what i think was a alleged fnaf arg, he asked for his followers to help him "discover more clues" by asking them to physically call/visit locations in the real world he believed were connected to this so-called arg. (from my knowledge, this arg doesn't exist btw.) at NO point during the writing, producing, recording, editing, etc of the video did he manage to connect the dots that, hey, doxxing real-life locations for my fans to swarm to is a Bad Fucking Idea, meanwhile every other major fnaf community rushed to shut it down the SECOND his video came out, with large reddit, twitter, etc accounts imploring for fans not to listen to him, and that similar incidents have happened in the past and led to nothing (to the point where scott cawthon himself has had to step in and tell people to knock it off). i can't remember exactly how long it took for him to take it down/call off the masses, but the fact that it even got published in the first place is honestly just inexcusable, both for him and for his team (this was june of last year)

he blamed etika's suicide on cancel culture and has never apologized. the tweet is still up, for some insane fucking reason, although multiple people both close to matpat and close to etika corrected him on completely erasing the issue of mental health (this was 2019)

and lastly, while i've heard rumors of him stealing theories for years now, the only first-hand i've seen was his hermitcraft theory. the original creator of the theory can be found here [link], alongside all his theories, evidence of theft, etc. she has never been properly credited for this, and those who tried to comment on the video to properly do so had their comments instantly deleted. (this was late 2021)

[crydentialzz]

PART 2 HERE hi hii hello!! twiddlefinger has been rolling around in my nbrain like marblses soo have my take on the disease :3 - oh also if u like this consider taking a peek at my fan species i made for the nuggets of the max design pro universe here - idrk what warnings specifically would fit this since this is more like a breakdown of the virus itself, but just be warned there are itty bitty mentions of blood. lmk some suggestions for the warnings tho, would b very helpful ^w^ - (i based this off of being a opposite (kindof) to hanahaki disease since they r both emotion related and hanahaki is probably one of the most popular forms of "illness-due-to-feelings" which i thought was cool. oh also b aware that this is all copy-pasted from a doc i wrote up at infrequent times at night when motivation was high. i went through the entire thing and made sure it was coherent, but i doubt i caught all of it so apologies in advance for any parts that may be weirdly written or phrased, feel free to ask questions to clear stuff up. if u guys like it ill probably post more. this in parts since its so long, this 1 is the introduction and first 2 stages of the illness. aaaaanyways enjoy!!!!)

Inquies cupidinem or it's nickname “Twiddlefinger” is a parasitic disease that hijacks the dopamine system in the brain that activates when in love, causing an intense obsessive drive to keep their partner with them by any means.

Instead of illness being borne of unrequited feelings / love, Inquies cupidinem is from requited feelings and its connections to obsession, greed and or desire for a partner (these all vary in intensity). It can also be created from requited yet repressed feelings yet to be expressed to an established partner (or partners), or even from an intense fear of their partner leaving.

The disease manifests itself as a type of parasite, often located in the Jugular Vein or hidden in the arteries and veins in the lungs, and appear as black, oily growths. Its placement in veins and blood vessels is due to the disease hiding in blood cells to travel around the body and infect their host fully.

Stage 1 The disease will start out small. Little things like a temporary sore throat, cough, lower / higher body temperature, and will last a few days (3-5 days). Slowly as the illness grows, the host’s physical appearance may begin to change in a variety of ways, most notably being thinning fur around a certain region or fur patterns changing color to become muddier / darker; for those with dark fur this will be the opposite, patterns will become lighter in color / washed out. This begins about 2-5 weeks into having the previous infrequent symptoms, mental health is stable, but the patient may experience moments of memory loss, fuzziness / brain fog or deja-vu. The infected may also start to have odd behavior around their partner such as stealing / hoarding items owned by their partner or asking excessive questions about things their partner likes (these actions all act towards getting closer to their lover which temporarily satiates any need for their partner the patient may experience early on). Stage 2

Thus begins the second stage in which the internal decay rapidly increases. The body is stuck in an internal fight, the physical constantly decaying and losing mass while the infection wants to keep growing, increasing mass and keeping the body alive with its growth and amplification of muscles (this overall leads to odd looking body variations, oftentimes looking somewhat muscular and dangerously thin at the same time). The host will get strong instincts / urges to keep their partner close, even escalating into violent overreactions when said partner interacts with others. This is controllable for the most part, but the feelings will only grow stronger the longer they are unaddressed or ignored. The sickness increases, now comparable to an elevated high fever; constant shaking, occasional dry heaving / throwing up large amounts of infected blood, high irritability and intense muscle spasms most commonly occurring in the hands and fingers (the brain will send signals to grab their partner and keep them close, think something similar to alien hand syndrome but a little more controllable as this command can be averted with other stimuli). In terms of physical symptoms, the thinning fur will have targeted one area at this point, covering it in the oily substance of the infection. The muscle and tissue underneath may begin to rot away as well, leaving exposed bone (if it doesnt rot immediately, it at least is very loose, barely connected to the host and has high chances of simply tearing away if injured or touched too much). This stage is usually where contact with the patient will be limited as, against their instinct and drive to be around their partner, they will most likely try and lock themselves away from the public in fear of harming loved ones, or depending on the patient's situation will spend less time around family / their partner often opting to cover the area temporarily and distract themself. At this point mentally, brain fog has increased; the patient will find it difficult to get their mind off of their partner as they slowly grow more obsessive, even revealing some OCD symptoms (notably “Pure-O”, “Real Events OCD” and “Relationship OCD” mix). Symptoms such as repetitive rituals, replaying events over and over / flashbacks, intense overwhelming feelings of shame / guilt / fear / embarrassment, worrying that actions have caused others harm, thinking they dont deserve their partner (or idolizing / putting their partner on a pedestal), and much more. The infected will also often experience Hyperthyroidism + Polyphagia symptoms as the obsession grows from just a want to a physical (carnal) need. This will occur directly after or in the middle of the 2-5 week time-frame for the second stage is up as the disease quickens its spread.

[madamlaydebug]

{MerKaBa}

(sometimes spelled merkavah and, or merkabah) is a vehicle of Ascension. It was believed in ancient times, and even written about by the Hebrews, that the merkavah could be turned on by certain principles in meditation. This involves breathing changes, and mind, heart, and body changes that alter the way a person perceives the reality. A fully activated MerKaBa field enables you to turn your body into a ball of light and bring it with you as you travel from one dimensional world to another.

{Sacred Geometry and The MerKaBa}

The key to understanding how to use the MerKaBa begins with a basic understanding of sacred geometry, which in turn, will enable you to locate an electromagnetic field shaped in the form of a Star Tetrahedron. That field is around our bodies. A Star Tetrahedron is made up of two interlocking tetrahedrons in a manner that resembles the Star of David but three-dimensionally (Fig. 1). The two interlocking tetrahedrons represent male and female energy in perfect balance. The tetrahedron facing up is male, and the one facing down is female. There is a Star Tetrahedral field around everything, not just our bodies.

Figure 1: The Star Tetrahedral fields around our bodies

There is also a tube that runs through the body. It connects the apexes of this Star Tetrahedral field. Learning how to breathe through this tube, combined with rotating the fields, produces the merkaba, a vehicle of ascension. We have a physical body, a mental body, and an emotional body, and they all have Star Tetrahedral shapes. These are three identical fields superimposed over each other, the only difference among them being that the physical body alone is locked—it does not rotate. The merkaba is created by counter-rotating fields of energy. The mental Star Tetrahedral field is electrical in nature, male, and rotates to the left. The emotional Star Tetrahedral field is magnetic in nature, female, and rotates to the right. It is the linking together of the mind, heart, and physical body in a specific geometrical ratio and at a critical speed that produces the merkaba The word "Mer" denotes counter-rotating fields of light, "Ka" Spirit, and "Ba" body, or reality. So the Mer-Ka-Ba then, is a counter-rotating field of light that encompasses both Spirit and body and it's a vehicle----a time space vehicle. It's far more than just that, in fact there isn't anything that it isn't. It is the image through which all things were created, and that image is around your body in a geometrical set of patterns. That image begins at the base of your spine as small as the original eight cells from which our physical bodies first formed. It moves out from their first forming a Star Tetrahedron, then a cube out at your hands, then a sphere, then back to back pyramids( known as an octahedron) then an icosahedron, and then a dodecahedron. The field extends out a full fifty to sixty feet in diameter, depending on your height. It looks like a flying saucer (Fig. 2). That field is an immense science that is being studied everywhere throughout the cosmos. How well someone understands the MerKaBa, is usually in direct relationship to their consciousness level.

{The Heart Meditation}

In the AWAKENING THE ILLUMINATED HEART workshop, we will introduce you to ancient esoteric teachings that illustrate for the left brain how there is truly only One Consciousness, One Spirit, and that we are all part of that Oneness. After your mind understands this concept, we will then teach the proper prana flow, and along with its' companion, the Unity Breath Meditation (which will also be taught) will allow you to feel and experience this Unity of Being. As you become more adept in the practice of entering the sacred space of the heart, your life will change profoundly as your inner eye opens to the unlimited potential of the human spirit. The ascension process is accelerated through the remembrance of the MerKaBa, a crystalline energyfield in a specific geometric structure extending around the body for 55 feet.

[nat-of-personifs]

Okay but like. What if we whumped personified places

(This isn’t directed towards most of my follower base so that’s why I sound different)

I say ‘whumped’ but they could fulfill pretty much any role. Of course there’s the usual stuff about sensitive issues and whatnot, but also, royal/political/iron curtain whump (@dresden-syndrome) are already established things and so is the existence of multiple fandoms dedicated to personifications that contain HEAVY angst. Countryhumans may be a cautionary tale but hers is not the only one we should tell.

She/her is the default for personifs who are not primarily located on the internet (such as fandoms), and all personifs accept being referred to with she/her by humans, regardless of their gender(s).

Personification as Whumpee:

-countryspirit trying to survive under the rule of a monarch who is incredibly oblivious to her needs, or a paranoid dictator carrying out purges of her best at random and leaving her confused and disoriented.

-Personif bodies are composed of the feelings and memories of the people they, well, embody. Removing a memory is removing a physical part of themself. Enter a dictator trying to rewrite history.

-environmental whump, as the victim of a natural disaster. ‘fire season fic’ is a whole ass genre in Welcome to the Table and it absolutely decimated me, go read When The Fires Burn by TWolf_XD on AO3 if you haven’t already.

-eternally, conquests and invasion.

-the personification’s own people persecuting her as a witch, or similar undesirable.

-cityspirit of fame struggling to keep up with the cameras.

-personification completely dependent on one person. extra spice if it’s the founder. (shameless plug for my Ira and Aaron series)

-unrecognized personification suffering under the weight of not being considered real.

-cityspirit in the process of being demolished.

-the victim of sacrificial rituals. they are the whole life of the community and can be beheaded as many times as is necessary, as they will not die, at least permanently.

-their ruler-to-be’s whipping boy (gender neutral).

-places where the government and society are conceptualized as a family—with the absolute monarch as father.

-personification forced to marry her despot. capital cities were once considered the wives of their patron gods.

Personification as Whumper:

-eternally, conquests and invasions.

-exploiting exchange with her leader to the point where they collapse from somatic burnout.

-laughing at the miseries of those she has outcasted.

-the ‘mother country’ and her ‘children’.

-the private torment of the ruler-to-be.

-cause of environmental whump; leaving her least favorite people quite literally out in the cold.

Personification as Caretaker:

-the entire concept of the mother/fatherland. she will be there, welcoming you home.

-the anger of a personification when you hurt someone she loves is *not* something you want to be in the way of.

-cityspirit becoming surrogate mother to an orphaned child.

-countryspirits sending aid to one of their own.

-personiftranslate Operation Yellow Ribbon.

-countryspirit taking care of her wounded ruler-to-be, providing them with solace and a window to the lives of the common people.

-personification literally just existing in a space where she is needed. she is made of the feeling of belonging the way we are made of connective tissue, so long as she accepts you.

-human finding a fandomspirit and answers to why they are the way they are (me).

I just finished a book about SA during wartime and I have Brainrot but I’m not sure if I should elaborate.

[sanctaignorantia]

A few things I've been thinking about and find subtle links to Death Stranding

Chakras and Death Stranding

This text has content that I took from a book of Reiki handouts that my mother has, so the view of Chakras here is from the viewpoint of Reiki practice.

Chakras are round energy centers and in the East they are seen as whirlpools of energy, little cones (funnels) of spinning energy. They are large, shiny and translucent and, in normal human beings, have a diameter of five to ten centimeters, reaching 20 centimeters in diameter in spiritually developed people.

The size of the Chakras varies according to our energy and spiritual development and can vary according to the individual's energy (positive or negative energy). And each Chakra resonates with a color that derives from its vibration frequency. Each one vibrates with a sound or mantra that corresponds to a musical note and also relates to a natural element: earth, water, fire, air and ether.

In the Oriental view, each Chakra is represented by petals like flowers, depending on the complexity of each one. Ancient writings mention that we have up to 88,000 Chakras throughout our bodies, in other words, we have countless energetically sensitive points, but most of them play a secondary role.

But let's just talk about the 7 main Chakras through which the human aura is connected.

source

The Chakras are responsible for the energy flow in the human body and their main function is to absorb prana, which is the energy coming from the Sun, metabolize it, feed our aura and, finally, emit energy to the outside.

Knowing this, let's talk about Death Stranding, we know that Sam, when he dies in his baby phase, is repatriated by Amelie in his Beach. Amélie "seals" Sam's body with a mark and brings him back to life, causing Sam to gain a peculiar scar and live around without a navel. We're talking about the Umbilical/Sacral Chakra here, and according to the Reiki view this is the second Chakra.

We're going to talk about the other two Chakras that, for me, were also "affected" by the repatriate/shot mark, but let's start with the Umbilical Chakra first.

Name: Svadhishthana Location: Navel area Color: Orange Auric body: Emotional Element: Water Music note: D Mantra: Vam Number of petals: 6

This chakra is for the propagation of the species, in other words, reproduction. Its correct activity makes us love life. It is the Chakra that concentrates the qualities that have to do with sexuality, curiosity, the creative search for material pleasure, a taste for beautiful things, art, emotions and relationships with other people. This chakra is the seat of fears, ghosts and negative fantasies linked to sexuality and behavior towards another sex. If it malfunctions, it can turn life into a small personal "hell" which ends up being reflected in the people we live with and relate to.

Blockages in this Chakra usually result in physical symptoms such as illnesses related to body fluids (larynx, lymph, saliva, bile). Blockages in the sexual center often result in mental symptoms such as fear of physical proximity and disgust for the body, a mania for cleanliness, incomprehension, a mind that is too focused on reason, an excessive emphasis on impulsive feelings, rhythmic disorders, isolation, frigidity, impotence, lack of sexual appetite, fear of falling.

This Chakra together with the first are important and if they function incorrectly the other Chakras won't be able to function properly either.

I could say that due to the size of the damage caused by the shot, not only the Umbilical/Sacral Chakra was affected, but also the Base Chakra(#1) and the Solar Plexus(#2), because all three are located exactly in the center of our body's balance.

So let's look at a basic summary of the other two Chakras (first and third) to complete the analysis.

-> Basic Chakra (first)

Name: Muladhara Location: Base of the spine Colors: Red and black Auric body: Etheric and physical Element: Earth Musical note: C Mantra: Lam Number of petals: 4

It lies between the anus and the sexual organs, on the line of the pelvic girdle. This chakra is open downwards and represents the human being's connection with planet Earth, with the material and physical world. It is linked to our earthly existence, our survival. The more open and elevated this Chakra is, the higher our physical energy (disposition) will be.

-> Solar Plexus Chakra (third)

Name: Manipura Location: Mouth of stomach Color: Yellow Auric body: Mental Element: Fire Musical note: E Mantra: Ram Number of petals: 10

It represents the personality and concentrates the qualities of the rational and personal mind, vitality, the will to know and learn, the action of power, the desire to live, communicate and participate. It is the point of connection with other people. This Chakra is the one most closely related to our ego and therefore absorbs a lot of energy from the first two Chakras.

In summary, I find it interesting how I could find a little sense in the location of the Chakras in relation to Sam's injury, and in relation to what the mark of the repatriate represents for him. I don't know if Kojima did this consciously, but there is something that makes sense, for sure.

The center of the human body (CORE)

One of the funniest things for me was realizing that they chose Sam, a guy who doesn't have his "center" complete because of a brand. In other words, metaphorically speaking, Sam has no "balance" at all because his center has been "affected", and yet he is the Man Who Delivers, the guy who stacks things and needs to have good balance and core strength to do what he does.

How to "close the body" to negative energy

In my religion we say that if you want to go somewhere or meet someone and you want to protect yourself from any negative energy that the place or someone might inflict on you, you just have to wear an adhesive plaster on your navel, so this symbolic action will protect you from negative energies, because that's where we receive and donate energy, so it's an open field. There is the possibility of something or someone sucking this energy from us consciously or unconsciously, just as we can lose this energy unconsciously too.

This doesn't literally mean having a closed body, because the expression can mean another type of ritual that leads us to literally close the body, something much more complex than just "covering the navel", but technically it can be said that this is closing a door to things that can affect us.

[daydream-cement]

Stately Sequoia Ch. 13

GUYYYSSS. Even though it is finals week, I am addicted to this storyline. Things are beginning to escalate between our characters and their stalker. 

Please keep leaving me comments and replies! I love reading all of your thoughts! 

“So I found the common name for Prunus laurocerasus, it’s Common Laurel. Does that have any significance?” You sat by the fire in Larissa’s office as you two shared afternoon tea. 

Larissa’s blood went ice cold and she bit her lip. She was terrified. Could it be her? It would all make so much sense. In the letter that arrived to her room yesterday, it read: I know you remember me. You should remember I’m the one that knows all of your secrets. Don’t think I can be replaced so easily. Signed, Prunus laurocerasus.

She played it off nicely, however. In all your months together, Larissa had never told you about her death or Marilyn Thornhill or the monster in the woods. “I can’t say that I do. Maybe the initials of the person is actually PL?” She suggested with a smile. 

You shrug in response, “Perhaps. You know more people associated with this school than I do.”

You had no clue how much Larissa had been keeping from you. The principal thought she had been protecting you, but she was putting you in more harms way than she could ever imagine.  

------

“Dr. Rogers! Come quick! Ajax isn’t feeling too well.” Yoko called out behind you, she and him had been working in the greenhouse. 

You had been working with Bianca on an creating a bioactive terrarium for aquatic plants. The advanced botany class was based on projects selected by each student, making this specific class a bit of a hectic one. 

You hand off the tools to Bianca, making long strides to get to the greenhouse. When you entered, Ajax was supporting himself with a hand against the wall. His head was slowly lolling back and forth and he looked somewhat disconnected from this plane of reality. 

“What happened? What did you touch? Which plants were you working with?” You were talking to Yoko, as Ajax was verbally nonresponsive. You put your shoulder under his arm and guide him to a sitting position. 

“We were working with the Lamiaceae family, mainly mints and herbs. But a window broke earlier, Ajax went to check it out and when he came back he was like this.” Yoko stated the facts quickly allowing you to assess the situation. 

“Thank you, Yoko. Please go fetch one of the nurses. Take Divina with you and have her get Principal Weems.” 

You lightly slap Ajax on the cheek, trying to get him to come out of his hallucination so he could tell you what happened. He makes light eye contact with you for a moment, acknowledging that he can hear your words, “Ajax, what did you touch?”

You were assuming that he made physical contact with a sap of a poisonous plant as all of the students knew not to eat anything out of your greenhouses. 

“There was a note attached...” He mumbled, eyes rolling back in his head and you had to catch him as he leaned forward, almost falling off the chair. 

Typically, you tried not to use this part of your ability, but you were realizing whatever ointment or salve had been applied to the object that broke the window had accutely poisoned your student. With your connection to plants, not only could you give your energy to them for them to grow, you could pull energy from them. Pulling pure phytotoxins out of people was the easy part, it was only afterwards that created more of a problem for you. 

Taking Ajax’s hands in yours, you focused on trying to locate the toxins within him. Belladonna is what had poisoned Ajax. Otherwise known as deadly nightshade. As your own focus came in and out of view, you saw a very worried Ajax in front of you. The phytotoxin was now attacking your own body. The reaction would subside, but for the next 5-10 minutes you would feel the  hallucinations, lightness and the sensation of flying typically associated with dermal poisoning of nightshade. 

Larissa arrived to the greenhouse before the nurse. Divina had found her in the hall. You tried to maintain your grip on reality, but you stumbled, catching yourself on the table. 

“Ajax and Divina, please go back to the classroom. Don’t let any students enter.” Larissa ordered, trying to think as Principal first. Those students didn’t need to witness this. 

“Fern. Fern, look at me.” Larissa was at your side in a flash and held you steady.

You felt your eyes close for what felt like forever, your head lolling to the side. Now you were experiencing exactly what Ajax had, only you weren’t handling it as near as well as he. 

You felt your legs give way beneath you and the world went black. 

----- 

You weren’t out for long, coming back to in a few minutes when your body had neutralized the poison. A concerned Larissa had your head in her lap, her eyes wide with fear, “Oh, Fern! Are you alright?”

You blinked away the last of the blurred vision, your head was throbbing and your mouth was dry. You felt absolutely dreadful. Before you requested to retire back to your bed, you needed to find whatever broke the window and the note attached. 

“I’ll be fine. I need to get up.” You reached forward, focusing hard on engaging your core so you could grab the leg to the workbench. 

“Fern, what are you doing?” Larissa scolded. 

“Dear, you should probably lay down.” The nurse offered in agreement. 

“Help me up.” Your tone was harsh and serious. Larissa immediately helped pull you upwards into a standing position, holding most of your body weight in her arms. You felt lightheaded in the new standing position so you gladly accepted Larissa’s help, “Where is the broken window?”

Larissa glanced around the room, helping you even though she was confused by your domineering and insistent requests, “There is one over there by the palm, but what does it-” 

You took a stumbling step towards where she had gestured, Larissa followed closely behind, helping you towards the hole in the glass. Larissa called over her shoulder to the nurse, “You can return to your station. If Dr. Rogers needs you, I will bring her to you myself.”

As you made your way to the opposite side of the greenhouse, your footing became more sure with every step, not needing Larissa when you reached the broken pane of glass. Now you frantically were looking everywhere for the object Ajax had dropped. 

“I mean, honestly, Fern. Are you okay?” Larissa was standing with her hands on her hips, remaining on the pavement of the greenhouse, not willing to dirty her heels walking into the soil filled sections. 

“Grab me some rubber gloves off the shelf.” 

“Fern. I swear to god.” 

“Larissa, please.” 

You hear her breathe out loudly, sharing her displeasure with you. 

Finally, you found it. A blackened round stone, about the size of your fist, wrapped up with brown string, a white note attached beneath the wrapping. You squat down to take a closer look without touching it.

“Okay, fine. Here are your gloves.” Larissa offers them to your outstreached hand and you them on quickly so you can pick up the stone. It is slick with the phytotoxin. 

You pull on the bow that kept the note secured, allowing the string and stone to fall to the floor. As you look at it closer, the writing is on the backside of a photo taken of you and Larissa. In the photo, you were kissing in her living room, clearly the photo was taken outside the front window. You flip over the photo, quickly reading the words, I hope this finds you well. I’m watching you too. This is just a sample of what’s coming. -PL

Your eyes look up from the note, making eye contact with your lover, holding up the photo as evidence, “It seems like our friend PL is sending me a warning. We are being watched.”

Link to Chapter 14

[attn-pls1]

𝐌𝐲 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦

My waiting room is a mall with an infinite number of stores. The mall is located on a beach in a world completely devoid of humans and animals. It has moderate weather and never experiences any intense storms. There are maps throughout the mall and I am able to add or change anything about the mall from there.

There is a speaker system that plays music throughout the mall and I am able to change it from my phone or the mall maps. It can play any playlist I have created or “my mix” which includes every song I like and some songs I don't know but would also like. It always plays a song I would want to hear at that moment. The mixes can also be based on people from other realities.

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 -- Things I Scripted

I am immortal in this reality and stop physically aging somewhere in my late 20s/early 30s

There is a small self driving train on every floor. If I am ever lost or just don't want to walk I can call it with my phone or at a map and it will take me where I want to go

Anything I order online immediately appears next to me. I can order anything from any reality

Electronics are always fully charged and have amazing internet connection and speed

Nothing within the mall ever breaks or gets lost

It decorates itself for different holidays and seasons. The plants will change to one's that fit the season best

There is a store where I can call anyone from any reality at any point in the timeline. I can also invite them to my wr for a bit

There is a movie theater where I can rewatch memories or "what if" scenarios about my drs

The food court has a bunch of my favorite restaurants and a pick up section where I can order anything I want, even recipes I see online

There is a pool area that's essentially a mini water park and takes up a majority of the downstairs

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 -- Visuals

General Appearance :

My Room :

Food Court 😍 :

Pool Area :

Outside :

Decided to elaborate on my wr since I've only talked about the food court 🫢

I'm so excited to shift here I can't wait to not have to worry about anything and finally just relax for once 🙏

°•°☆°•°

[journey-to-the-attic]

Are the chronodae a concept that you came up with yourself for this story, or is there real life myths behind it? It’s a really interesting concept, so my mind is hyper focusing on them 😂

you can definitely trace its influences from doctor who, and the idea of a 'time demon' is based on barbatos' existence in-game - but i didn't (knowingly) base it on anything directly! as a race they're just something i made up haha

but!!! since you're interested, i'll share another bit of lore! the chronodae are a primordial race, from which the modern demon (those born in the devildom, like diavolo) is descended

when chronodae die, they decompose into 'dark matter', which makes up the nursery layer where new demons are born. at some point, new chronodae stopped being born; the ability to manipulate time was lost, and so the modern demon came to be

demons and angels share a common ancestor, which is why fallen angels ('disgraced' angels) become demons, while reapers come from the same evolution line as chronodae

here's a little diagram (that might just make things more confusing):

now what the heck are the 'strange creatures'?? this is a sort of transition species that comes from the decay of the 'overseer' species. the overseers' corpses formed the physical celestial realm and nether realm (where the devildom is located) while the 'strange creatures' shaped these realms into what they are today

the ability to mess with time is an instrument of chaos, thus only the chronodae could do it; the proto-angels, under their father (who may not actually be an 'overseer', and might just be a 'strange creature' playing god, but who knows), are agents of order, and instead gain the whole light-exuding, holiness and blessings thing

note the 'weird link to humanity' - what the link actually IS is unknown, but it's why all these species ended up having human-looking appearances - the 'strange creatures' were shapeshifters, and early chronodae and proto-angels were also more monstrous-looking

this link is also why reapers can observe human lives with their candles, why demons can form pacts with them, and why angels can bless them

reapers are born from vivus wax, which is essentially a mutated version of the dark matter that demons are born from. since reapers arose from a 'mutation', they don't share the same connection that angels and demons do

there are no proto-angels still alive - reasons unknown - and the surviving chronodae are the last of their kind. all except one overseer is gone, and strange creatures died out as well, since the current state of the three realms is no longer conducive to their survival

(don't ask me what the ? in the reaper line is i haven't figured that out yet ; - ;)