#i love how part of my goals for my future self is literally just to have a bunch of big sensory aids

[titan-god-helios]

alr so i’m bored and feeling very faggoty and trans so y’all are gonna see my transition goals right here rn yessiree

et voila

[starhvney]

HELLO on my hands and knees .... if you take requests for it, the fluff alphabet with vylad ? TYSM 🙇🙇🙇🙇🙇

𝐅𝐋𝐔𝐅𝐅 𝐀𝐋𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: mys vylad

𝐂𝐖: none!

𝐀/𝐍: i love vylad! i need to go back and update my older fluff alphabets because compared to this one they're a bit sad to look at lolll

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝐀𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, how does he show his affection?

it depends on how he thinks you want him to show it. he doesn’t mean to, but vylad sometimes falls into a people pleasing habit, something he picked up in his childhood. he always wants to show you affection, no matter what way, so he’ll kind of analyze how you’re feeling and act on that. feeling tired and sad? physical affection! complained your schedule lately was monotonous? flowers! and a new necklace!

𝐁𝐄𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐘, what does he find the most beautiful about you?

he finds you most beautiful when the two of you are alone, and you really feel comfortable and you don’t realize he’s watching. your facial expressions, the shape of your eyes and the way they tell everything about how you feel in that moment. he can’t get enough.

𝐂𝐔𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒, how cuddly is he? how does he cuddle with you?

vylad is pretty independent, so he won’t necessarily be clingy, but he will definitely never refuse when you want to hold on to him, either. he loves to bear hug you to him, tucking your head under his chin and either playing with your hair or rubbing your back. warning, though, once you start cuddling with him it will 

𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂, what is domestic life like with him?

perfect. he splits the chores, and will pick up on yours without saying anything if he notices you’re having a rough day or week. never leaves the toilet seat up, and even makes the bed every morning. when you had first moved in together, you thought it was part of the honeymoon phase. but no. he’s just very neat.

𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍, how vulnerable with his emotions is he with you?

vylad is super vulnerable with you. he clearly keeps himself pretty healthy with meditation and recognizing how he feels (he had to since no one else would), so he doesn’t usually ever struggle too much to be open with you. you’ll probably find that he’s the one trying to get you to be vulnerable with him than the other way around.

𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, does he want a family with you in the future?

he does, but he wants to make it to that goal at a slow, healthy, and relaxing pace. having one or two kids with you? sounds like a lovely dream to him. but he also wants some time to get comfortable with life alone with you before making such a big lifestyle change. 

𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐒, is he a gift giver? what kind of gifts does he give to you?

he’s not the biggest gift giver, but when he does, they’re so sickeningly thoughtful. flowers you offhandedly said you liked in passing, a piece of jewelry that perfectly encapsulates your style, a paid trip to the spa after you said you had been feeling a little stressed lately.

𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐒, what is hugging him like?

he doesn’t necessarily give hugs all the time, but when he does, it literally feels like a soft blanket got wrapped around you. garroth gives bear hugs, but vylad gives soft hugs that last forever. he’s never the one to let go first, and sometimes you feel bad when you pull away. but it’s been like five minutes and he’s shown no sign of letting go! you were trying to walk to the restroom!

𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒, what is he insecure about in your relationship?

vylad, like stated before, is very emotionally intelligent and self aware… but that doesn’t mean he’s invulnerable to moments of feeling insecure. sometimes, he feels like he’s not interesting enough or not good enough for you. the frustrating thing is, he knows he’s wrong, so he just needs you to confirm it with a little pep talk for him to realize he’s overthinking things.

𝐉𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐘, how jealous does he get?

vylad is probably the chillest dude in the whole mys series. he really is not worried about either of your eyes drifting away, so why would he get jealous. to him it’s a much more simple concept than it is for others. if someone hits on you, he knows it’ll be fine and he doesn’t even pay it any mind unless he can tell you’re uncomfortable and want him to intervene. 

𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆, what is kissing him like?

he’s a total soft kisser. most of the time. he gives a lot of kisses, and even uses them as a replacement for words once you two start to understand each other’s silence. greeting? kiss. goodbye? kiss. passing in the hall? kiss on the head. leaving the room? kiss on the cheek. 

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, who said “i love you” first?

he did. he was very straightforward about it, and when it came to the first time he wasn’t just saying “i love you”. he told you everything about you that he loved. his favorite things about your personality, how he loved your laugh, your jokes, your hair, your eyes. you were most definitely choked up if not crying by the end of his full on confession, so sweet. 

𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐓, who gets shy or weak in the knees more?

he’s had moments when he’s felt shy with you, usually with all your firsts together and when he’s feeling extra vulnerable. the thing is, though, he is so unironically chill and nonchalant about being vulnerable and loving with you that you find yourself feeling flustered while he’s standing there like “:)? what?”

𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄, does he use any pet names for you?

in some ways vylad really likes the old-fashioned style of love, like putting on your shoes for you, always holding an arm or hand out for you, holding the door… you know that good old chivalry that is sadly hard to come by. this translates into his nicknames for you, too. darling, hon, my love, dear, angel, and sometimes pumpkin if he feels like being extra lovey and corny. 

𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐒, what are some issues you have in your relationship? how does he handle it?

sometimes he can be so straightforward and observant that it’s frustrating. it’s not a bad trait, but sometimes when you’re frustrated or upset and you get a ramble of five different solutions and a breakdown of why you’re feeling that way it might not be the thing you want to hear in the heart of the moment. it’s otherwise really nice for him to talk you through it, but other times it just frustrates you more. it’s natural, and he knows that, so he learns your tells off when you need advice and when you just want to be comforted and listened to.

𝐏𝐃𝐀, how does he express his love in public?

he’s not super touchy, but he isn’t against hand holding or looping your arms together or occasionally wrapping an arm around your waist. that’s the extent that he’ll go to, usually. he’s not scared of showing that he’s yours and you're his, but he likes to keep certain aspects private for just the two of you. 

𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, how do you spend your time together?

time spent together is vylad’s number one love language. you both could spend an entire day together in the same room without saying a word and he’d be appeased. he likes doing other things with you that are peaceful to him, like going on hikes or spending the day by a lake.

𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆, what are his plans for the future?

he for sure plans on marrying you, but just like the process of you both getting together, he’s not in a rush. not because he doesn’t want to, but because he wants it to be perfect. he has a journal filled with his entire plan on marrying you, from what you’ve said about rings you like to the proposal and the perfect wedding venue. 

𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒, how open is he? does he keep anything from you?

he doesn’t keep many secrets if any. i think the only secrets he doesn’t really like to share are ones that aren’t his own that has to do with his family. he doesn’t just go around airing out the fact he was an affair baby to anyone, but he’s open about it with friends, and especially you. once you both are close he tells you everything. 

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄, how long did it take for you two to get together?

it took a while, but not in a painful slow burn way. you both were just really good friends for a long time before you both realized… woah… you both kinda wanna kiss each other too. and then you got together.

𝐔𝐏𝐒𝐄𝐓, what makes him upset?

despite being a bit of a loner himself, he hates feeling left out or not being in on a conversation or joke. not in a toxic or annoying way, but if you’re hanging out with a group of friends and he kind of feels like a drifter (like he’s always been), he gets even more quiet and a bit sad. 

𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘, does he do anything to spice up your relationship?

he makes use of his father’s money, and good use of it at that. He doesn’t often shower you in expensive gifts, but when he does gift you things it isn’t cheap either. while that’s one way he uses his money, he also travels. and once you two are together? oh he’s taking you across the world, visiting the most jaw dropping gorgeous places you didn’t even know existed.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒, how good is he at communicating?

like i said before, communication is basically his love language. he communicates with everything. literally everything. any arguments you both have he will sit down and have the both of you calmly explain your sides until you come to an agreement. he refuses for either of you to go to bed upset at each other. 

𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀, something random 

vylad is a total collector. he has a jar of cool buttons he’s found, he has like ten different jams he’s found and likes, he has a closet full of handmade blankets he’s collected from different cultures on his travels, and so many other cool things like that. this translates into your relationship when you both get together. he’s like a crow, bringing you little trinkets and pretty things that made him think of you when he saw it or he thought you would like.

𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆, what are they like when you’re gone?

this man doesn’t do anything but yearn. he romanticizes the fact that he does yearn for you. he presses flowers into his journal and sprays your perfume on it. he has pages full of words and poems about you, with polaroids and pictures stuck between them for him to read and smile at when you’re gone.

𝐙𝐙𝐙..., how do you two sleep? when you’re apart?

he’s not the clingiest. but when he’s sleepy, and you’re both comfy and snug in bed? he’s got you tucked under his chin, arms and legs wrapped around you like you’re a tree and he’s a koala. If you get hot easily, he’ll begrudgingly let you go and let you both have your space. as long as you’re next to him, he can fall asleep easily. when you’re gone, he does some tossing and turning before he can fall asleep. he may or may not hug your pillow.

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

[kiisaes]

I still think it's really crazy that Horikoshi did Midoriya so dirty by having him murder the boy he wanted to save, and, now that he's lost his Quirk, is stuck being lonely for like eight years feeling like a husk of his former self, only feeling like himself again when he gets an Iron Man suit. I'm not a big Dekuhead, but I'm asking around to see what Deku fans think of the writer's choices concerning his conclusion. I'd love to hear your thoughts!! did you like this? did you not? why? etc

as a dekuhead, i agree that killing shigaraki was confusing and i still don't know what the thought process is behind that. like, saving him has always been deku's plan and everything was pointing towards shigaraki rehabilitation but then ... we didn't get it???

so yes, shigaraki should have lived (it aligns with deku's goals and the narrative's goals) and toga also should have lived for similar reasons. i also agree that deku's conclusion should have been expanded upon more — i really wanted to see how killing shigaraki, losing his quirk, etc. truly affected deku, and we were kinda left hanging. but also i sorta just equate that with lack of time / horikoshi being rushed to finish his manga

but i fundamentally disagree with the rest of your ask. it feels like you've developed this opinion based on the 430 leaks and not the actual official chapter; it's just misleading. which i don't blame you for, because the mha leaks scene is fucking awful and has ruined an entire reader base's reading comprehension, which has consequently been perpetuated by the fandom

"is stuck being lonely for like eight years feeling like a husk of his former self"

it's not stated if he feels like a husk of his former self or not. he lost his quirk, true, but he verbally says he's ok with it (ofa was like a dream that he got to live out), and never shows that he's particularly depressed or upset about being quirkless again. i feel like this specific idea is very fandom-coded. everyone was drawing deku sad as fuck for losing his quirk but canonically he appears at most wistful, and normally just neutral. it is what it is, yknow? after all he says himself that he was originally quirkless anyway, so not much has changed.

also he mentions feeling lonely, but i hate this idea that deku has been lonely for 8 straight years. people have twisted this into meaning his friends ghosted him after high school, but like ... how would that even make sense. deku's friends love him so much, will fight at the world's end with him, and he changed their lives for the better. they would absolutely not ghost him. they just canonically don't meet up much anymore, because OBVIOUSLY, when you don't live in the same building as your high school classmates anymore you are NOT going to meet up as much as before. this is just how adulting is. you have responsibilities and jobs and lives now. people hate to hear it but it's the most realistic part of this ending.

"only feeling like himself again when he gets an Iron Man suit"

again, we have no idea if deku didn't "feel like himself" when he was just teaching. and this idea that he's not is fueled in some weird anti-teacher belief that i'm seeing a lot of, now that deku pursued education in his future. in my opinion teaching is a very fitting career for him; he's been inspiring and helping his classmates as a student, and he loves quirk analysis and gushing to others about their quirks.

he's literally training a new generation of heroes, he gets to work alongside pros (such as aizawa), he's constantly learning more about new quirks ... why is this not the deku we've known and loved? what about this feels wrong? just because he's not a stereotypical hero on the scene, he's suddenly a worse version of himself?

mha has drilled into our heads so much atp that being quirkless doesn't mean you can't be a hero. deku was quirkless his whole life but he had the spirit of a hero, and even when other heroes quit during the apocalyptic era between wars, deku was still out there, doing what he could. he didn't need the money. he didn't need the fame. he didn't need the recognition or the credit, even. he just wanted to help people. and being a teacher is one of THE most directly helpful jobs you could take.

from what i can tell, people who complained about teacher deku and "peaking during high school" and "working a dead-end minimum wage job" were all from the western fandom. i have not seen a single japanese fan complain to this degree. it's definitely a cultural difference but also i think they just read better than us. UA is a prestigious school with crazy name recognition and all teachers there are registered pro heroes. even though deku isn't technically a pro, they recognized him as one anyway, which allowed him to work there in the first place. like hello. over everything we should be grateful he didn't become a cop.

the way i interpreted him getting his suit was that

his friends love him so much they pooled their money all in secret just to give him another chance at actual hero work, even though they know deku's content with his teaching job. probably also so they can see him more, now that their schedules might align better

even though he's quirkless, he is still symbolically — and literally — a hero. turning society's preconceived opinions of quirkless people on its head

it had nothing to do with making him feel like himself again. he was doing fine. the suit is just a (very expensive, labor of love) perk.

and before anyone complains about him "receiving handouts" and that "he just lazed around for years until his friends picked him back up with the suit", SHUT THE FUCK UP. he's done so much for them that they felt it right to return the favor, especially to the one guy they know who earned it the most. also - he deserved a break from all of the shit he went through; why should it Not take him 8 years? do you KNOW how much pain he suffered? that amount of trauma lasts a lifetime. all of you SHUT UP.

as a dekuhead, i think his conclusion as a teacher who also works as a pro hero is awesome and cool and i see no qualms with that. my main concern is that we should've gotten more of a conclusion to deku's ARC and its connection to the story, but regarding his future 8 years later i'm totally fine with it. he's living out his dreams, working with heroes, studying quirks, and keeping in touch with the ones he loves. that is epic as hell

[tree1138]

Astarion Contradictions and Breakups

Major spoilers for Astarion’s personal quest, The Dark Urge questline, and game endings. 

When I was trying out different paths for how Astarion reacts to the Dark Urge questline something that stood out to me was the wide difference in responses Astarion has, as well as the way he contradicts himself. This essay started as a way of trying to explain “why does Ascendant Astarion tell you to take over the world when he immediately becomes a thrall” from a Watsonian (in-universe explanation) vs a Doylist (out-of-universe explanation) and wound up being a focused on; why does Ascendant!Astarion react so differently to when you break up? 

There are 4 opportunities to break up with Ascendant!Astarion; 1) refuse to become his thrall immediately after the ritual you breakup and have a follow up conversation the next morning, 2) become his thrall and break up with him whenever before killing the Eldar brain, 3) break up with him on the dockside convo at the beginning of the ending, 4) in the last scene with him say you want to break up at which point he doesn’t let you: “You're mine remember? The tadpole is gone, which means your future is mine to decide. How lucky you are that I chose you as my consort. Chose you to help me take Baldur’s gate, then sit by my side as I rule it. There’s no backing out now - we’ll be together forever. I can promise you that…”.  

Comparing breakup conversations with Spawn!Astarion after killing Cazador, Ascendant!Astarion responds with so much more spitefulness and defensive anger across the board, even at Spawn!Astarions most angry (breaking up with him in the literal last conversation) it doesn't match the anger and cruelty in senario 1. To me it reads as him wanting to make the player character just as hurt and upset as he is after a very emotional day and the lines get really nasty:

He then won’t say anything but “why the hells are you bothering me now” until you do 3 long rests which stands out considering if you break up in any other non ending scenario he’ll talk to you pleasantly afterwards. 

That conversation days afterwards is really interesting where his “goal” is to get you to agree to be partners in crime together, and in doing so is the most honest he gets about how a romantic relationship would have been unhealthy:

In regards to love It's really interesting what Astarion will say about love during the conversation where he asks you to become his spawn:

If the pc expresses insecurity about being a spawn he’ll reassure them and say he loves them, in a way that deliberately parallels his Act 1 seduction conversation down to the way that he starts with a degrading pet-name “what can I do for my dearest pet” vs “here’s my little treat with their cheeks all flushed”.

Just like the seduction scene he wants the pc on his side and attached to him, but if you push back on him during this conversation its clear he no longer believes in love just power exchanges:

If the player stays together with Ascendant!Astarion a dialogue option is that he’s seem distant since the ritual, and he’ll imply it's due to his new powers but he does that looking to the up and right that others have mentioned he does when he lies. What makes more sense and is better character writings is the Watsonian answer of: killing all your siblings and 7,000 others (including people Astarion regretted victimizing and then had to look in the eye and condemn to death) will fuck a person up. He knows his hands are bloody so he has to believe he got everything he wanted, and he did really want this because if you leave it up to him he will chose to do the ritual vs just killing Cazador.  

I think Astarion has to believe he is better (which in his view means more powerful) than his past self as part of believing the sacrifice was worth it. In scenario 2 he’ll say this if you bring up his past self:

What’s a lot more interesting is if you bring up his past self in the morning after conversation of scenario 1 he’s genuinely shocked and caught off guard:

What I found interesting was Astarion talks in the same way about how the ritual was worth it and the cool new powers he’ll totally get as he does advocating for endings that are bad for him. If you become the Absolute leader Astarion becomes a thrall just like all the other companions whether you do it on your own or in Bhaal’s name. For all his talk about Bhaal’s army being “an unsurpassable dowry” and how he’ll command it, he can’t do jack shit if the player defies Bhaal and then either kills themselves or becomes fully possessed by Bhaal.The Doylist answer is Larian games just have a very limited amount of endings and the characters are forever stuck at lvl 12 , the more interesting Watsonian answer is Astarian is lying/exaggerating out of ignorance or because he really doesn’t have a clue of what to do next and is trying to cover for that.

The whole ritual plotline is very obviously Astarion continuing the cycle of abuse vs helping others, the abuse Cazador inflicted was akin to the abuse he suffered from Vellioth, down to Astarion commenting that Cazador’s rules came from Vellioth. It's also clear that Ascendant!Astarion has processed none of his trauma re: Cazador, after the ritual he says “I will not think about him. I don’t want to even say his name” and he shouts at you to be silent if you mention Cazador when you break up in scenario 2. I personally think Astarion sees you staying with him as a spawn degrading because he was degraded and abused when he was a spawn based on a line he has if the pc is cursed to go mad with The Dark Urge, where he relates too much to the character.

I think the DnD rules of absolute morality that vampires are extremely evil is a boring answer to why Ascendant!Astarion becomes possessive and controlling, especially since Larian has pushed against that theme throughout the game. Yes Astarion has an Act 1 line about how vampires don't turn spawn into full vampires because they don't share power, in my opinion that line falls flat when considering will have kind and supportive dialogue to the player in a number of other Act 3 quests. Whether the its the Watsonian answer that Larian wasn’t going to rewrite large chunks of dialogue when there are Act 3 quests with no companion reactions or the Doylist answer that he is just extremely possessive and has attachment issues about the threat of you leaving him is an interesting dilemma.

In regards to scenario 4 it's a fucking huge contrast to Astarion's whole character arc about learning to trust and being around someone who respects his boundaries and consent, where here doesn't respect the player's boundaries or consent. It's such a contrast to scenario 3 that happens right before it where Astarion says "We have served our respective purposes, we're free to go wherever we wish" and doesn't mind you breaking up with him as if your relationship was a strategic alliance. It's also the clearest contrast from his pre-ritual dialogue of "we're a team. If I become all powerful, then we become all powerful" because he's taken away all power from the player. The Ascendant romance is not subtle with most of the romance specific dialogue being themed around an extremely toxic D/s relationship where the Narrator explicitly says he’ll see you as degrading himself by being with him as a spawn which feels like it was added to remove any ambiguity about what Astarion feels.  From the way he says “on your knees” before he turns the player character, the way he calls you “bad boy/girl” if you fail the check to see his thoughts, and that infamous line about sitting naked on his lap.

Between the heavy message of power corrupts and how the rest of his ending dialogue is about how his evil future plans will be so fun, it's a clear callback to an act 1 conversation:

tldr: I don't think that corruption is as fun or as freeing as you thought Astarion, but he doesn't have to confront that fact if you're "lovers forever, until the world falls down"

[chaggie4ever]

Hello. Me again. I was wondering if you could make a post of how Charlie steamrolls Vaggie. I know it's a recurring flaw but I wanted to hear from you.

Of course. I’ve been wanting to make a Chaggie flaws post for a bit so this can be at least part 1 XD preface with I ADORE them (sometimes with a side of Lute/Vaggie) and flaws are part of any good relationship. My very gay wife and I have many but remain very happily married for over three years now :)

Also having just rewatched AGAIN this is fresh 😎 (#idontknowhowmanytimesiverewatchednowpleasesendhelp). So we immediately open into a Disney-esque song that Vaggie begs Charlie not to sing (in the original AND new pilots!) Charlie literally sings over her and runs down the street, annoying everyone in the pride ring. She ignores Vaggie’s commentary and (insider) advice. When she gets back, we see one of the rare cases that Vaggie IS NOT fully in tune with Charlie’s emotions and pushes her to watch the commercial before she can vent about the meeting. This may be intentional to cheer her up though 🧐

Ep2 Chaggie is cute and supportive and more involves Charlie steamrolling Angel and his emotions in favor of Sir Pentious.

Ep3 Charlie flings the whole trust exercise on Vaggie, who is very obviously uncomfortable with this. Ideally she would have given Vaggie a heads up before in front of everyone… or at least recognized that discomfort. But nope. Completely steamrolled. To her credit, Charlie is the first to volunteer and later DOES apologize for putting too much pressure on Vaggie.

But the rooftop. The fucking rooftop. Charlie interrupts the one consensual throwing into a turf war (Nifty REALLY wanted to be thrown XD). Then when Vaggie literally says that she is NOTHING if she isn’t useful, Charlie DOESNT CORRECT HER. Like dude. You don’t try saying “you do so much” in that situation. You tell your girl to fucking love herself dammit and that her self worth should not revolve around you! But it’s like Charlie doesn’t even hear this… she wants to put a bandaid on but she needs to stop the actual bleeding here. And doesn’t. She leaves. Yes Vaggie asked her to but sometimes you should persist a bit more imho. Instead we see an awesome power ballad (also her Assassin’s Creed climbs bro), where Vaggie sings about “it felt so good to be understood” after THIS convo XD I’m sorry I can’t. Gurl you are more than armor, please love yourself. Notably, Charlie IS NOT HAPPY even when the residents are bonding (her one goal right?), until Vaggie is ok. And this scene is very cute and sweet.

Ep4 is more Huskerdust focused, but we do get some cute supportive girlfriend talk and Charlie actually listening. The one time it backfires XD I AM glad Vaggie doesn’t put this all on herself when Charlie returns home devastated.

Ep5 is more Charlie+Lucifer but we get a cute intro to future father-in-law (guys. Why are they not engaged yet?? I was in like three months XD) good tour, minimal steamrolling that I can find. Charlie does completely miss Vaggie’s reaction to Lucifer talking about heaven sucking, but she was facing the other way and kinda focused on him. And she does not notice Vaggie’s very obvious fake enthusiasm over going to heaven at the end.

Ep6 - the BIG ONE. Charlie seemingly does not care about Vaggie’s discomfort going to heaven. Like dude, at least ask why? Maybe? Or do you even notice the VERY obvious hesitancy on every convo about heaven? Idk if she was assuming she knew or just was too excited and missed it. But this happens so many times this episode. Yes, Vaggie REALLY should have given Charlie at least a heads up about what she was walking into. But it helps when someone asks “what’s wrong?”… especially for those of us who are emotionally constipated and trauma-fueled…

Ep7 is frustrating - how long has Vaggie been on the couch now? A week? Their confrontation is so painful. Like can you think of a reason Vaggie may have lied or just not corrected you about this major aspect of her life? Girl has had your back for three years essentially without question. You need to talk. Not cry for a week. But again, Charlie comes first and Vaggie hates herself too much to combat this. Especially right now. Charlie can focus on nothing else all day until she finally learns actions mean more than words. Meanwhile Vaggie gets the shit beaten out of her and reminded to live for others. As much as I love this scene, I do NOT love having a person as a “reason to live.” I hope she develops beyond this but if this is what Vaggie needs to survive life right now so be it (I actually meant to type Lute instead of life but both work XD)

Their apology is super cute and I think there will be some great wing fun in bed tonight XD Vaggie IS steamrolled here again but this time it’s more legitimate imho. Charlie should not let her apologize after how she treated her today. They BOTH need to apologize dammit.

And finally ep8 - very minimal steamrolling I could find! They are just adorable and perfect in every way. Wow that ended up long XD sorry and you’re welcome? XD

[mxtxfanatic]

Book of the Week: Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage

Author: Qian Shan Cha Ke (千山茶客)

Genre: ancient setting, josei

Rating: M (very mature, dark themes but not too graphic of depictions)

My Synopsis: What happens when a girl gets tired of being nice and decides to go apeshit? You get Shen Miao, our adorable 30+ year-old protagonist recently stuffed back into her 14-year-old self and ready to eat the flesh and drink the blood of her enemies! Using this new lease on life, she’ll methodically and maliciously ruin every antagonist’s life using the tools in her versatile skillset, including: knowledge of the future, a psychological understanding of assholes, weaponized gender stereotypes, and men. And lest we forget our love interest, Xie Jing Xing: the boy/man (cause god forbid the author know how old anyone BUT Shen Miao is…) who thought he had it all figured out until he discovered that Shen Miao is a horny drunk. See just how far they’ll go to bathe in the blood of their enemies while keeping their loved ones safe in this very long but extremely satisfying novel.

My Actual Review: It’s so satisfying to see a previously downtrodden character scheme her way into a happy ending, and Shen Miao fucking deserves it. Some reviews that I’ve seen have claimed that the LI eventually takes over her revenge schemes, but I didn’t see it. They just partner up and she uses his manpower to do what she wants. There are also places where their separate goals intersect, so it just makes more sense for him to do the cleanup. The thing about Shen Miao is that she has no issues with letting others do the work for her, especially if it’s against people she wasn’t invested in putting work against to begin with. It’s the empress in her, I fear. As for the main pair as a couple, I loved their every interaction, and their descent into romance felt natural and gratifying. Greatest thing about this romance is the fact that it truly kicks off because Xie Jing Xing did not know to guard against horny drunk Shen Miao lmao!

The translation is pretty good outside of some clunky grammar, but once you train your eyes to glaze over the the five-millionth time the translator inserts directly into the story to complain about how often the LI is described as hot (unlike every other character, I guess???) as if this book is their early 2000s fanfic, it gets even better! Another thing that may or may not be here nor there is that this author is really weird with age consistency. Like, “MC is forever un-aging while everyone else ages 2 years every few months” weird. Shen Miao is forever 14 until the time skip in which she is forever 16, while Xie Jing Xing goes from “the same age as the students” to “17/18ish” to “vaguely in his 20s” during the same course of time where we literally never see Shen Miao acknowledge a birthday in any year. As for more serious content warnings, this story involves underage relationships (including non-explicit sex, marriage, and pregnancy), rape as a weapon, (assumed) incest between cousins, child abuse, and described but not explicitly shown torture. Though there are some humorous parts, this is not a lighthearted story. Read if you want something dark with an ultimate happy ending.

Translation: complete

[acourtofquestions]

— Incorrect quote conversations I think will happen sometime in KoA —

Rowan: Your self-sacrificial tendencies are infuriating!

Aelin: My tendencies? You're the one ready to jump in front of an arrow or a gods wrath at any moment!

Rowan: You SOLD yourself into slavery TO MAEVE!

Aelin: Well, NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS!

Rowan: Oh, ha ha ha! Hilarious comeback Princess!

Aelin: Oh, yes, you’ve called me that before: Please elaborate PRINCE?! WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?

Rowan: IT MEANS YOUR A ROYAL PAIN IN MY ASS!

Aelin: ONLY WHEN I’M SAVING YOUR ASS!

Rowan: If you really wanted to protect me THEN PROTECT YOUR-MY OWN HEART!

Aelin: THEN LISTEN AND TAKE YOUR OWN DAMN ADVICE!

Rowan: I WILL NOT LISTEN WHEN YOU ASK ME TO ABANDON YOU! Aelin, YOU LEFT ME, after OUR WEDDING, AND THEN EXPECTED ME NOT TO TRY AND COME FOR YOU! — You didn’t even TRY to protect yourself, just happily plotted your death! — And left to your own devices, created a plan to die, lie, & then have me MARRY YOUR COUSINS GIRLFRIEND!

Aelin: I WAS TOLD BY THE BLOODY GODS THEMSELVES THAT I WAS DESTINED TO DIE! I DIDN’T HAVE CHOICES! And was just trying to ensure that SOMEONE, ANYONE, would survive long enough to keep AN ENTIRE KINGDOM ALIVE! — THAT YOU would SURVIVE — SOMETHING YOU MAKE INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT AND I WOULDN’T have to plot for IF YOU STOPPED TRYING TO SAVE ME!

Rowan: I MAKE IT DIFFICULT? — You were literally dying AFTER LETTING DORIAN STAB YOU! — If anything it’s always YOU trying to save ME! YOU WERE WILLING TO BURN AN ENTIRE CITY ALIVE FOR ME! YOU SET AN ENTIRE CITY ON FIRE-TWICE-FOR GODS SAKE! You saved me from the truth of my past when YOU DIDN’T EVEN TELL ME IT WAS YOU; MY SOULMATE because you saved me from the truth EVEN when that was YOU! AND THEN WHEN YOU KNEW, YOU LIED TO TRY AND SAVE ME FROM THE FUTURE, YOU DIDN’T SAY A DAMNED WORD! Just because we said “till death do us part” DOESN’T MAKE THAT THE GOAL!

Aelin: I’M ALLOWED TO WANT TO SAVE YOU! AND GUESS WHAT? I’D DO IT AGAIN, WORLD BE DAMNED! I WILL DO IT EVERY. DAMN. TIME. BECAUSE I WOULD RATHER DIE THEN SPEND A DAY ON THIS EARTH WITHOUT YOU!

Rowan: WELL, SO WOULD I! YOUR MY WORLD FIRST & FOREMOST FOREVER! I'LL KEEP YOU ALIVE OR I'LL DIE TRYING! BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!

Aelin: I LOVE YOU TOO!

Rowan: THEN WHY ARE WE YELLING?!

Aelin: I. DON’T. KNOW!

[modernidolater]

Neewollah

Trickster Halloween (Aug. 31st)

Long story short, I'm celebrating a variant of Halloween on the 31st of every month that has a 31st.

See here for a Wheel of Halloweens Explainer regarding what the fuck this is about.

Neewollah Inspiration

Right, so off the bat, I do not care for Lammas or Lughnasadh. No hate, but no resonance.

There is, however, a Roman festival in August called Portunalia that honors Portunus, a two-faced counterpart of Janus, both gods of doors and portals, both symbolized by keys. Portunalia is celebrated by throwing keys in a fire while being very sad and upset.

Simultaneously, I have always been fascinated by Lying Contests and ritual obfuscation, and Portunas is literally two-faced (yes, i'm applying modernity to classicity, it's a choice), and we got ourselves a theme.

Neewollah Rituals, Rites, & Traditions

The Two Faced Mask

For Neewollah, and possibly workings of similar nature going forward, I'm going to want to create a mask that gives me two faces. Ideally, I would like this to be a permanent tool/icon/idol in its own right, but for now I'll be making temps.

The plan for the moment is the classic comedy/tragedy dichotomy, but when I create the permanent idol, I'll probably dive deeper into warring duality.

The purpose of the Duality Mask is to take on a trickster guise, saying one thing to manifest the opposite on the principle of, "anything that can go wrong, will." Essentially, I'm going to feint in one direction, then run like hell for the thing I actually desire.

The Seven Trickster Keys

To manifest my desires, I'm going to create Seven Trickster Keys. One for each of the seven major senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, movement, and self.

The Keys are meant to be destroyed, and will be made specifically from paper. In the future, I may go for really ornate ones, but simplicity is also fine.

However they're made, I'm going to write on one side of each key a good thing for that sense I want to call, and on the opposite a bad thing to banish.

Burning The Keys

My goal is to hit a liminal time, sundown or midnight. I will, one at a time in the above listed order, burn the keys. As I burn them, I will loudly talk about what a shame it is to lose the thing I want to banish. Just, making a big deal of it going away. Big show. Lay it on with a trowel.

No mention of the good stuff yet.

Once they're all burned, I'm going to begin talking about the things I do want, but in the same terms.

"Gee, how am I going to handle all this financial success, however will I cope with finding true love, how even can I stand having stability, gosh that new car is gonna be really a big responsibility," and so on.

As I do, I'm going to take a bit of the ash and tap it on the forehead of the mask to capture the knowledge of how to gain what I desire, the backs of my hands to grasp it, and the tops of my feet to set me walking the path to my goals.

Once I have very thoroughly assured the universe that the best way to screw with me is to give me those good things and steal away the bad things, I'll gather the ash for future use in ritual, unmask, and either dispose of the temp, or when I have a permanent duality mask, return it to its place.

The Backhand Bowl

Wouldn't be a Halloween without candy, but Neewollah is not about just having things. I've checked and I'm definitely on my own for the Keys unless my twin joins in (obfuscation rituals being uncomfy for my partner), so the Backhand Bowl may also be me on my own unless one or both choose to partake in this part.

Either way, the idea is that to take a candy, you must ask to take a candy and be told no...while the person telling you no gives you the candy. This is actually a joke in my circle, of dramatically refusing a request while performing it, so I'm not fussed about this one.

But assuming solo practice, in my case I will likely just announce that I don't want a piece of candy while I eat that tasty lie candy.

Food, Drink, & Celebrating

Neewollah is largely about the Trickster Keys, so there's nothing I have planned for ritual feasts or drink at this time. First year, first time, so I may develop traditional Neewollah foods later.

I do have the idea that, if I find myself in a place to celebrate with others, I'll probs see about games like Two Truths & A Lie, Never Have I Ever, or a Lying Contest.

Obviously, though, I may still have like, pizza and a couple drinks, it's a Halloween, after all.

Anyway, that's Neewollah, the Trickster Halloween!

Wish me luck, play along if you choose, and if you take this on, let me know!

[96percentdone]

Every time my old post expressing bafflement at 'anti player theory' undertale and deltarune fans gets a note, I go through the war again. Maybe some of them are normal, but like every post from these people that I have ever seen is never content to just have a strictly in universe read of the text. They gotta assert that believing a video game has meta elements spits in the face of craft and storytelling, and no video game could ever draw attention to it being a video game as part of it's thematic identity. They have to debunk the concept of metafiction just to be right, which is hilarious because they end up overwriting the thematic craft they claim to be the only real supporters of.

Undertale is about war, and violence, and hate and how we respond to it. Most monsters don't really want to fight, half of them are just hanging out, so they're happy to be friends if you are, but the memory of the war between monsters and humans lingers. Whether they don't entirely understand the war's true essence because of their purehearted natures make them antithetical to it (Papyrus, Monster Kid), or use the narrative around it as a prop for their personal goals and are forced to contend themselves (Alphys, Mettaton), or try to teach its horrors with its methods (Toriel), or are convinced that the only way to escape the shadow of the war is to win it (Undyne) even if they don't really want to wage war at all (Asgore), the history of that war informs it all. Flowey is who he is because that violence ravaged Asriel, a small child, SO hard his grief and anger are now everyone's problems. He cannot feel love because the cycle of violence stole his ability to believe in it. Every genocide boss only fights you to stop you from carrying out your own. They know that if the entire underground is so easily destroyed, there is no reason humanity wouldn't face the same fate, and this cycle must end, even if they are powerless. The ending is determined by whether you perpetuate war. The genocide run is a grueling, unfulfilling, deliberately difficult challenge as punishment for enacting war for nebulous gain, while pacifist ending brings about the best future, where everyone including Asriel is saved, and it is the most fun to play, because is one where you commit to kindness and understanding. They both are in service to the thesis statement that "love and compassion are good and the key to rectifying all wrongs."

Hbomberguy and NezumiVA have made videos on the same lines, but Undertale's meta because it's about how we engage with video games as a medium. It's about completionism. It asks whether mining a story for every possible scrap of information is worthwhile. Chara's true name is literally a derivative of player character, you are meant to name them after yourself, and project onto them and Frisk until the game seperates them from you because you are a real human being, not a character in a video game. You only learn Frisk's name by the end of pacifist, the best possible ending that you should be satisfied with as a means of separating your ties, and you only meet Chara when you go way the fuck out of your way to get the worst possible ending because of vague hints that there is one. Undertale uses the vibe and aesthetic of old turn-based rpgs to draw you in, get you comfortable, only to use it's characters to ask why are you doing any of this? Is this why you like stories? Are video games merely arrangements of lore to be logged into a wiki until you run out of data to sort, or did you like Undertale and other video games because its characters and ideas resonated with you emotionally? The text has a lot of compassion for Alphys and her fan hobbies, and it only criticizes her when she treats the real world as a self insert fanfic, and it's meta thesis for you is similar. It's fine and good that you love your favorite games, but what are you getting out of engaging with the medium in this way? "Don't you have anything better to do?"

But Deltarune is where they really start to lose me. It is not finished, things could change with later installments, but from what little we have, it follows up on Undertale's commentary about the cycle of violence, and brings it back to suburbia. Violence here is interpersonal abuse and neglect. It is adults caught up in the myriad problems of adult life they do not notice, or fail to support, or do not care about the children suffering under those same systems. Kris is a child who lives in the shadow of their older brother. They befriend Susie, who eats garbage and doesn't seem to have parents (or at least not any that give a shit), and they have a childhood bond with Noelle, who has lost her sister, her father is in the hospital, and her mother is absent and otherwise not great. Even Berdley has a whole complex about needing to be smart thanks to his upbringing. Kris opens this portal themself, literally escaping into a fantasy land where they, children, are the most important and powerful, unbeholden to adults and their baggage. They get to be agents, not subjects, and yet the dark world still has those same anxieties. Lancer is afraid of his father, Queen is an overbearing mother, Rouxls is an opportunist most concerned with himself, King struggles in vain to liberate himself from being a subject while forcing his subjects to adhere to his agenda, Spamton wants to escape his chains and is the incarnation of a spambot, Seam gives up, and Jevil escapes into his imagination. Kris can abuse Noelle into the snowgrave route, and Susie and Berdley are bullies because kids are just as capable of hurting one another as adults are. Darkners may say shit about not wanting to fight anyway, and Ralsei might regurgitate Undertale's lesson as truth like it's his full time job, but even he re-evaluates by the end of chapter one. In the real world things cannot be as simple they were in Undertale.

Agency obviously relates back to the meta, as Kris' is literally overwritten by the red soul you are asked to give your own name in a dialogue that once again separates you from your fictional vessel, a player character, then goes even harder when they slam dunk that little guy you made into the trash because "No one can choose who they are in this world." You can't either. You can get Kris to abuse Noelle into killing people, carry out the abuses that made these kids desperate to escape in the first place, even if they don't want that, but understanding the player solely as a force that strips agency, much like understanding Undertale's player as a comment on real world morality, is incomplete.

If Undertale critiques completionism and datamining as a valuable ways to understand art, then Deltarune reuses its cast and critiques is thesis as part of a its meta to showcase the it's real value. It is a story that even in universe is about fiction. The dark world and its inhabitants are palatable reflections of Hometown. Kris and Susie keep going back because it is freeing, and allows them to grapple with the their complicated feelings about their world. They can come out more confident in themselves, with a healthier mindset, or Berdley can fucking die! Violence in the dark world comes back out of it because the dark world is a mirror. Video games aren't real, you don't actually kill monsters or darkners, but war is real, and violence is real, and abuse is real, aren't they? Isn't that why you get sad when characters you like die? How often do we use analogies and metaphors to explain our feelings, or complicated ideas? Fiction is just a tool to understand the world. What are the stories you love saying to you?

If the meta doesn't compel you, it's not what you find value in, or how you interpret the text, I don't care, even if I think it's strange. What you get out of these games belongs to you, and you deserve to have your reading as much as I or any meta proponent does. But anyone making claims about what fiction must be, just to deny the a meta angle is possible? That's anti-intellectual bullshit. It denies metafiction exists as a tool altogether. It shits on not just Undertale and Deltarune, or meta video games, but stories written across every medium that have ever used their work to comment on itself, its genre, its medium, or art as a whole. If you denigrate a whole artistic convention and the work of countless artists just to validate your hot take? You don't deserve any respect.

[brb-on-a-quest]

Day Fourteen Day Fifteen Day Sixteen

im SOOOOO SORRY that I left you guys hanging those two days! *cries* the first one I genuinely forget, and the second I was too busy to do it- and I think that this is not the first time this might happen, since the farm (oh yeah, if you're not one of my regular followers, you should know I'm a farmhand lol) is picking up steam, during my down time Im trying to do more physical rest for my body to recover. which means unfortuantely, Ive been spending less time on here in general, and that my longer posts that take more time to write have had to pause for a while.

so, I'm sorry to say but this is the last day i'll be able to do this for a while, but maybe forever. I've had so much fun with it and loved to see everybody's different answers, and how we've all connected!! but for at least a few days/weeks, I need a bit of a break lol. if anyone wants to pick up this game again, with the same list of people I've given already or different ones, you are more than welcome to! and I'm not leaving Tumblr, I'm just not going to do this particular ask game anymore.

our final question: what is something that you you want in your life, and what can you do to achieve it? what steps do you need to take to earn the life you see yourself living?

thank all of you so much! I hope to return again maybe sometime! I wish you all the best :)

Awww no worries gracie! take care of yourself first. Def appreciate all the work it must've taken to come up with good questions. I'll be sure to haunt your inbox soon with hopefully some equally thought-provoking (or not) questions.

ok, actual question: our final question: what is something that you you want in your life, and what can you do to achieve it? what steps do you need to take to earn the life you see yourself living?

To be honest, this question has haunted me for the past...well since before high school. (has it really been almost 10 years since I was a baby highschool freshman?). To be also perfectly honest, my depression and anxiety were so bad I was never convinced I would make it as far as I did... which allowed me to put off answering the question for a long while until the Hour of College Applications approached.

Well, against all previous conceptions of my future, I am still alive and about to graduate in December (literally how) and set to walk across the beautiful stage in May to get my undergrad diploma with some kind of academic honors (I forget the Latin for it). Definitely not the highest GPA, but I am relatively proud of myself considering the effort and, for lack of a better phrase, blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into this. So, steps that need to happen in order to graduate

Pass classes (Preferably with A's but I'm also in a position where hopefully my self-esteem won't die with a B or 2).

Write and Finish my thesis (shaking crying throwing up I don't have enough capacity for this even if it's only 15 pages in Spanish)

Study and hopefully pass a GRE (graduate school readiness exam I think? 'cuz I'm told it's a good idea for master's school applications I can not stress enough how much I hate standardized tests and am so anxious about this that I haven't even opened my books yet, I've just been throwing myself into thesis research instead; I 'know not all schools require this but I'm going into something that's not my major, so I feel some kind of need to prove myself).

Apply to graduate schools for counseling!

Only four things... it shouldn't be so bad.... one would think... (can I please just skip to the part where this is over why do people call college the best years of my life).

The other thing I want to work on is just being a better person and in particular a better friend. My goal is therapy, particularly pediatric therapy because it's such a neglected area where I'm from and also in general I think because there tends to be stereotypes of "oh children can't have mental health problems." but doing that means I want to develop more compassion, friendliness, and patience and gentleness and actual listening skills while being assertive...yk an environment that nurtures personal and other's growth. Which is really hard. Progress has been made but still more to go.

[metalmewtwo-kxb]

Pokemon story/art/ask-blog for Benta the Mewtwo

Set in an apocalyptic future where most humans have disappeared and only pokemon remain. And the world is not as it had once been.

Benta, a pokemon who has existed for a long time now, has wandered the crumbling cities and empty roads looking for others who might share his ideals of rebuilding what is left of the world. Perhaps even track down the humans, if there are any left. However, the pokemon all seem to be at odds, more focused on hoarding land and food for survival. Many more are feral and vicious.

As others may find out, he is no ordinary mewtwo, and he might very well be the only one of his kind in a world full of ghosts. But is he the only wanderer? Or are there others?

And is it possible to save this future?

⚠️ Under Construction ⚠️

⚠️ Comic Pages 9-12 In Progress ⚠️

⛔️ NO NSFW ⛔️

General Itinerary (in no particular order) :

🧩 rp reply (if/when I have any)

- Thinking I'm gonna limit myself to one a day with these (or as often as I can manage) since I'm a very tired goose with limited internal motivation lol. I love role-playing! It just takes some thinking and energy. If I ever have more than one thread at a time, I'll make a weekly schedule 📅

✏️🖍 asks and/or art responses

- the art side of these can take anywhere from a day to a few days, depending on what I do exactly style/complexity-wise. Obviously can't do art replies all the time, but sometimes I could get inspired to do something other than text replies! 💕

🎨 comic art

- For the main story! The style for this is different and more uniform than what I'll be using for asks, so it definitely takes longer. I don't typically post until I'm done with a illustration/page set, so it can take a long heckin time. If one part one is 8 pages, I'd say it would clock in at two or three months before it's posted (as long as I'm not sick or somethn). I'm okay with posting peridoic snippet updates from my favorite panels though!

Temp. Edit: I've lowered the number of pages in each part to 4 since I need an easier goal to reach at a time. There's still 24 total! I just need simpler intervals. :T 🖼

Beyond this I have work and need me time, but always thank you, and I appreciate the interest! Benta is one of my comfort OCs so I'm treating this blog about the same. I want it to be a fun and cozy space while I build the apocalypse story lol.

#️⃣ tags

This is a list of tags to search on my blog for my art (which will update as they come up):

- ;mun - my general babble, updates, and so on

- ;poké art - all posts involving pokemon sketches and drawings

- ;pokedex - posts pertaining to the story's pokemon and their lore. These pokemon are usually "new" species, not those that are already well known. However, sometimes special pokemon characters will make an appearance

- ;rp - written replies to roleplays. Kind of recommended since some lore will likely only appear in these, and they can be a fun read for those that like to do so (the rp partner's name will also be included in the post's tags) 👍

- ;response - ask responses! Chances are they contain art and scribbles. And maybe not, depends on how I feel

- Benta - self-explanatory, posts containing content of my mewtwo OC Benta (this does/should include roleplay threads and asks, so it's more generalized and not very concise)

- ;UntilTheEnd - the comic and main story for Benta and other characters that we'll meet along the way! (Set in an alternate universe, so don't expect very much anime/game continuity lol)

- ;drabbles and chapters - more written content that can either have something to do with an established AU or with context of the main story. Typically smaller snippets, but potentially a longer chapter set. I'm a faster writer than a drawer, but I enjoy both- so this is just another means of keeping up fun content 🫶

💬 About the mun:

Age: 28

Pronouns: she/her/they/them

Occupation: A menace to modern society :V *cough* artist/writer/author *cough*

Hobby: Literally just bothering my sister and siblings like a sneaky little gremlin.

Pokémun-sona: Zoromun. Info post -> here

More is tba!

Thank you for the visit, and have a wonderful day!

(main -> @ draconic-hydra )

[capriciousleo]

OKAY GUYS, IT’S HAPPENING!! While I totally love Genshin and the Harbingers, I still am an astrology and tarot account, which means... I will be combining these two and share very interesting series and posts with you all, my lovelies!!

∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴

Part 2, 3

So, my first post in “Fatui Harbingers Natal Charts” series shall be:

𝑫𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑬’𝑺 𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑨𝑳 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑻

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

Sun- Gemini

Moon- Capricorn

Mercury- Cancer

Venus- Aquarius

Mars- Capricorn

Rising- Leo

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First of all, I would like to say that this man gives heavy earth energy for some reason that I didn’t expect😭. He’s very duty-and-goal-oriented, and you can rely on him to complete his job. Even his short phrase — “Jester, I have completed the task you gave me.” gives very Capricorn vibes. Also, agreeing to the negotiation for killing off his segments for a Gnosis... a pretty frosty Capricorn move — Capricorns will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, and their methods may be shocking to people because of how cold and sharp their decisions can be. And the experiments he makes??💀💀 This man doesn’t feel anything, and it’s also his Venus to blame. But we will get there. Also, the way he hates his time being wasted and he clearly voices this out is another trait of Cappies. However, this doesn’t mean they won’t invest in something that should bring harvest in the future.

It was difficult to pick between Aquarius or Leo rising, but you guys see my verdict lol. Yes, he may come off as disturbingly weird and innovative, but the way he holds himself commands awe and respect — his tone, speech, body motions. Wherever he goes, he takes up the space. Remember his behavior and body language in Sumeru in the scene where he manipulated the citizens — he’s very prideful. He is confident in his abilities and this feeling oozes out of him.

All of the fcked up weirdness, innovativeness, being open to possibilities... I believe it comes from his Aquarius Venus. He enjoys and thrives to learn and experiment on something new. His methods were unacceptable and out of the norm, for which he got expelled from Akademiya and thrown out of Sumeru and he’s still salty abt it lmao. He’s also very detached, which combines with his Capricorn. ‘Emotional intimacy’ is not in his vocabulary — don’t even bother, he will call it ‘silly’, and this being the lightest word I used.

NOW. His Mercury in Cancer... it’s DARK. OKAY?? And I’m sure it’s at a very high degree. I was originally thinking to put Cancer Mars cuz it also fits him, and this placement is completely FCKED UP (many many serial killers have this exact placement and that’s something I found out myself). All of his experiments??? The Underground Arena??? All of the plots and manipulation of literally everyone and everything??? Literally the whole plot revolves around the aftermath of his actions that always affect everyone in Teyvat. And guess what? He is not going to stop nowhere soon. The way he made Scara unlikeable both for regular ppl AND the Fatui members on PURPOSE just so Scara is dependent on HIM AND HIM ONLY. ‘Oh, look, Scara, I am the only one who didn’t turn their back on you and can keep up with you. You have only me.’ Ofc, Dottore needed Scara’s powers. That’s an unhealthy Cancer placement for you. He knows where to press where it hurts the most, and with his Capricorn placements? Oof. He damn knows how to use his words and combine emotions and logic in his manipulations. Dottore is literally a walking “The Traumatizer-3000” machine.

Sun in Gemini is pretty self-explanatory. He is witty, intelligent, unconventional, and enjoys learning and has great oratory skills.

P.S. Share your takes/ thoughts in comments if you wish! I’d love to discuss tee hee💛 And now, I’ll go watch Zydrate edits of him since they flooded my tiktok fyp fhsksksk. Also, excuse if my writing seems kinda funky and hard to understand, I was writing this at 2 am🤠

[thisisnotthenerd]

Neverafter Episode 14: Daughters of the Crown thoughts and musings. Spoilers Ahead.

Well, I got my wish for a gerelody reunion, almost verbatim.

I’m glad that it wasn’t cut-and-dry. That both of them had the opportunity to say the things they needed to say and had the time and space to process a reunion. I think a truer aspect of Gerard’s curse is coming forth--that the ratio of frog to man isn’t really dependent on Elody and how much she loved him, but more on his own sense of self and what defines his nature, after having lived so long as a frog.

Elody got into the meat of her issue with the world, being that the simplest parts of her life are the only things being preserved in story. That the person she is and the struggles she has experienced beyond that aren’t worth remembering. I think her motivation there is definitely closer to the party than it is to the princesses, but who knows how that will change.

As for the princesses, I’m concerned about the next action they will take. The suicidal nature of their mission to destroy and restructure the Neverafter is unsettling and speaks to a lack of regard for stories and people other than themselves as well as a deeply sad reason for their mission. They all want a better future for themselves by whatever means necessary; at the very least, those that have been in on it the longest don’t have a regard for other stories and/or people if they stand in their way. Emily hit it on the head: we didn’t know if they were right or just young, hot, and good with magic and weapons. Now we know their interests diverge, and a fight with them will not go well for the party.

The prehensile hair on Rapunzel is terrifying, and only knowing that her persona is performative on a nat 20 perception check tells me that there’s a lot more going on under that hair of hers. Also, they know that Cinderella is more of a frontlines person, but have no idea the extent of la Bête’s power, and Snow White literally has an army. Elody and Mira are newer--not Twice-Upon-A-Time. I think they’re unlikely to do battle against Destiny’s Children unless they’re heavily coerced. They’re hostages, whether they’ve realized it or not.

However, Destiny’s Children has been collecting power and information in a way that somewhat destabilizes them; each party member has something they could do to dramatically change their course of action.

From a terrestrial perspective, while Gerard and Elody aren’t in a perfect place, I have a feeling that a proper conversation with her could deeply influence her perspective on the princesses, especially if the party is advocating to get her out. Rosamund’s first loyalty isn’t to the princesses; if she refuses to commit to the plan, and Elody or even Mira choose not to as well, the princesses are going to lose their advantage in numbers and probably seek to take them back by force, which detracts from their greater goal.

On a multiversal scale, four of Destiny’s Children are working with a power set was specifically granted to them by a higher power, greater than the princesses or fairies. Ylfa has the blessing of Death on her--my theory being that if the Wolf was not saved, she was being unknowingly set up to take on the role. He wanted her to live even when she was killing herself before him. There’s a little inconsistency in that she didn’t gain a greater awareness upon consuming the Wolf the way the Baron of Bricks did, but that could come down to a few things: he wasn’t boiled down the way he was in the soup, she was still confined to her original story and thus could not become aware immediately, or even that he simply wanted to preserve her remaining innocence with regard to the Neverafter, when she had already lost so much.

Pib, while technically only functioning with the memories of a Twice-Upon-A-Time, is fundamentally a trickster archetype. Theory time: he may not have the power that the BBW or the various Geese do, but being an archetype grants these characters a certain amount of power and perspective that the ‘protagonist’ characters don’t have. Pib has been the one to make discoveries on a wide variety of fronts--he got the true books out of the Lines Between, which gave the party a major advantage in terms of figuring out the Neverafter and gave Pinocchio the opportunity to seize his own destiny. He can make big swings without compromising his role and thus isn’t as constrained as the other party members. We know that the Stepmother, who gains from consumption of other stories, is a powerful threat; however, though she was a warlock patron, I don’t think she’s quite on same axis as the bigger players like the BBW, the Geese, or the Baba Yaga. She doesn’t have a universal awareness. Pib could theoretically take that on.

Pinocchio, on the other hand, is the boy of destiny. He’s wielding his story like a weapon. There is a great deal of power to that--I think he’s one of the party members they’d try to control immediately aside from Timothy. He can call on parts of his story that are actively dangerous i.e. il Terribile Pescecane--maybe not consciously, but it’s a risk they’d have to take with him around. For all that Pinocchio suffered in his tales, there’s a lot that could come out of that book.

Speaking of books, I think Timothy is going to be in a tight spot after this. Knowing that all they have to do is get the ink to him, I think the princesses may be gunning for him as a tool. There’s no way he would put it down, but I’d be willing to bet that the prehensile hair would be in the room while he’s sleeping, just waiting for an opportunity. Also, if they know he’s on his last wish, the idea may be to trigger that into killing him and then just take the book for themselves. The princesses are certainly ruthless and I wouldn’t put it past them, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel especially, to do that.

[sukirichi]

Hihi random question but what do you think about the haikyuu characters in their time skips? Ughhh for me it makes me sad because I realized that they're no longer high schoolers who plays volleyball together😔

oooh their timeskip selves, i have sm thoughts!

i actually haven’t finished the manga so i can’t share my thoughts on everyone, but seeing everyone in their timeskip makes me feel so bittersweet tbh. it’s like, a part of me is so happy and proud of them to have achieved their goals + dreams, while others have realized other passions and realized for themselves the things they want to do. for me it makes them feel more like real people, instead of just volleyball players that we see on screen. it really goes to show that many unexpected things can happen, you can be an entirely different person years from now, and the friends you once spent every day with are now a thousand miles away. idk, it’s !! something about haikyuu itself, its story and its struggles, is so motivational.

it shows passion and grit, and i think that’s something great, yknow? it’s not everyday you have something you love sm that you end up chasing after it. that’s why i adore hinata sm - despite his differences from what is considered a ‘standard’ in the sport, you’ve really seen him grow and overcome each hurdles he’s faced with. his passion and dedication to the sport makes him a literal sunlight in my eyes, and his story is so inspiring, too. especially his timeskip self aaah.

he took risks, gambled, but he never gave up. he knew what he wanted, and he loved it so much he would do anything for it. his love for volleyball is such a gift in his life, i think <3 but i am a lil sad that he and kags are apart in the timeskip, but also i am so so proud of our setter for playing in the olympics at age nineteen 😭 i honestly could go on rambling about the complexity of oikawa (hard work) and kageyama (talent) bcos i think about it alll the time. like they work equally hard ofc, but you can see how their differences had a great impact in the trajectory of their lives. like oikawa not playing with his friends anymore and (iirc) he’d become an opponent to his country. that’s not an easy thing to do, and i often think about the things oikawa had to leave behind in order to move forward. i remember this quote that goes ‘i’m not where i wanted to be, but it’s where i needed to be’ in reference to the nostalgia of playing with his team, and now he’s apart from them. idk its my roman empire honestly. but overall i feel very nostalgic with all of their timeskip selves, and i’m so happy that some of them are still close + the other players becoming closer in the future like msby !! i think all of them have reached so far n i am so so proud to see them all grow into their careers <3

[dnangelic]

dai being immediately forced to turn into dark whenever he enters a dream isn't necessarily canon, and by that i mean in canon rather than any immediate, guaranteed switch it's more like his bodily state turns extremely vague and flimsy and he usually ends up getting suddenly forced to turn into dark one way or another anyways generally for psychological horror jumpscare effect, ie satoshi saying dark's appearance was proof he sold his soul or risa embracing him and asking why he couldn't be just dark, or the snow queen in the 2nd LN forcing him to transform in front of riku and describing dark's appearance too as his 'true' form. canon uses dark, again, first and foremost as a scare-tactic in plenty of situations; daisuke's worst fears have always initially involved dark as his own individual presence (rather than just a part of his own self despite dark's insistence of the fact!) stealing away everything important and desirable to him (his love, his life, his future, what little was left of his confidence,) without anyone ever knowing that 'daisuke' himself had disappeared, but that's not how it works between them, at least anymore, and definitely not always in my hc/writing.

'a dream without dark isn't a dream of mine.' dark has legitimately developed into this: daisuke's ambition, the sort of goal he, deep down inside, actually keeps in mind for himself and his future alongside becoming an artist and surrounding himself with art. daisuke legitimately wants to be dark, being compared positively to dark and likened to the 'great phantom thief' makes him incredibly happy. dark too is never a legitimate person before he's a concept, a live mask and secondary identity the niwa inherit, wear, and have passed down, and for as much as daisuke tried to reject being dark at first, the matter of the fact was he just wasn't confident in donning the literal and metaphorical mantle; he was afraid of it, and likewise dark, more often than not. dark also understands the inhumanity over his own self and the sort of burdens he imposes on his tamers, which is why he also gives them more or less free reign over what to do with his appearance--- 'when you turn into me, i'll just do as i like, because i'm you.' nothing matters to dark because he's both helpless and beholden, because he is, ultimately, a 'thing', an inanimate object, a sentient performance act, a curse and frankenstein product that was inherently, intimately born of and belongs to strictly his hosts, who he's typically desperate to be accepted by / unified with and to likewise 'become.'

in the daytime, in what daisuke and ordinary human beings recognize as 'reality,' dai does in fact serve as dark's daytime dream and mundane disguise; dark's consciousness often sleeps and daisuke lives his (shared) life as an ordinary human being, 'himself,' haunted or otherwise by his hidden truths over being dark. when realities change or when anyone visits daisuke in his sleep, whether it's daisuke willingly or suddenly dragged into any sort of dream world (ordinary worlds too, needing to be crossed and bridged by the dream-passages of works of art for the two in particular,) then daisuke's body transforms and dark's gets dragged out. dream settings are the only places where they can separate from each other, but they rarely do: dark can't leave any of these places without reuniting with daisuke's body, daisuke himself is protective and possessive about dark being with him, and daisuke, if separated and isolated from dark somehow, can't last long in a dream as an ordinary human being all by himself.

tldr??? if daisuke is still primarily the shared 'heart' of the two then dark is primarily the shared 'dream.' this is where my musing tags come from. therefore no duh during any dream shenanigans i'm going to have dai stuck looking like dark, in sleep he sang to me in dreams he came!!!!! daisuke doesn't ever dream about being himself; he isn't himself in his dreams, he's dark!

[willel]

Since I've been getting a few asks about it btw, I wanted to make my position clear. I don't discuss relationships in the show a lot and you probably only see me speak negatively about some aspects so some clarification might help.

I'm not against the general idea of romance in shows.

When done right, I think a romantic subplot in a show or movie or game can be really good. It can tie together all the themes while not distracting from the main plot. Sometimes even when it's distracting from the main plot, it makes sense and is worthwhile and adds to the main plot.

If you've known my blog for a long time, you'll know I'm not exactly an avid tv show watcher. I still want to provide an example of what I mean though so I'll reference one of the manga I've been reading since I was a teenager.

It's called Skip Beat! I honestly don't know if it's considered popular or niche but I'll give you a general synopsis. The main character, Kyouko Mogami was a girl from the countryside who was basically a glorified maid for her childhood friend, Sho Fuwa. Due to her harsh family circumstances, she grew up in Sho's home and from what we know about their lives, she was being trained (groomed???) to be his future wife. She was fine with it because she loved him.

But Sho wanted to be a star, so against his parents wishes, he took Kyouko with him to the big city to make it big. Which he did and it gave him a bigger head than he already had. He tossed her aside in favor of his new life in a pretty cruel way.

Kyouko vowed vengeance upon him. She would become an even bigger star than him and run him out of town. She vowed to never fall in love again and closed herself off. I know I'm writing this as if it's a sob story, but when I say it's a vengeance plot I mean that literally.

From there, the plot revolves around how far she'll go just for her vengeance. But, as the plot moves along, you can start to see how her icy heart is melting for someone else and how much anguish that brings her. The main plot is about her becoming a star, but the part where she learns to love again (someone else mind you) is a crucial part in all that.

I would suggest you read it butttttt it's the slowest burn in the history of all histories so you might suffer just as much as I have.

I really appreciate how this story might have a big romantic sub plot but it ties in nicely with her goals of self improvement and wanting to be a star, moving on from all her pain and being happy.

When it comes to Stranger Things...... I just do NOT feel that way at all.

Skip Beat! has a love triangle. Honestly at this point, it's more like an octagon and yet it doesn't bother me. There is a lot of "Will they won't they" but it still doesn't bother me.

It may be that Skip Beat! just has a more interesting subplot so the little baby half baked romantic drama in Stranger Things is just boring for me?

Maybe it's that I feel like the romantic drama and tension in Skip Beat! is actually leading somewhere and leads to character development while the romantic drama in Stranger Things feels played up for audience reaction and fandom discourse?

Like sure, Skip Beat! has some fandom discourse but everyone is pretty much on the same page or can, for the most part, respectfully discuss their preferences. With Stranger Things, if you so much as comment on a ship in the wrong way you'll have a gaggle of people harassing you over fictional characters.

To summarize,

I think romantic stuff in tv shows and movies and all that can be really fun, interesting, heartbreaking, all the entertaining things one could want.

I, personally, feel none of that when romantic stuff is happening in Stranger Things. Maybe in the first and second season but beyond that...? For example, while I wouldn't exactly call myself a shipper, I am and was rooting for Jopper from the getgo. (I say that because I think a shipper would be much more invested in the pair. Like fanart, fanfiction, following dedicated blogs etc. I don't really do that)

If the show writers decided to reintroduce Lonnie into the plot and then acted like he had a legitimate chance to get back with Joyce because she starts wavering between Hopper and Lonnie.... do you really expect me to freakin' care? Am I really supposed to care about this love triangle introduced? You actually expect me to get invested in such lazy writing? I just cannot.

My interest in Jopper would probably be eradicated to be honest because they just wasted time with a love triangle instead of developing them as a couple. All that wasted time could've been spent developing the main plot which in turn would've given them more opportunities to write them a s couple working together, protecting each other, etc. You know, substance.

See what I mean? I just... cannot care about Stranger Things ships. It's great if you can though, there are so many reasons to watch a show. Maybe for you, love triangles are the bees knees and the best thing since sliced bread so you'd be eating up another triangle like nobody's business. But that's not me.

I would much rather they focus moving the plot forward, which would naturally create moments between the characters we all care about.

Fandom behavior factors into a bit of this as well of course. Kinda hard to care about or get invested in a relationship if all you see all day is people arguing about canon (which at the end of the day doesn't matter) while also doxxing and harassing each other. Not to mention taking the worst possible interpretation of characters possible just because you think they're in the way of your ship. Dunno how anyone can care about or enjoy a shipping fandom like that.

SO yeah. That's it. Romance is stuff is fine and all, but I just don't jive with how Stranger Things rolled out it's romance stuff so I prefer to think about other things.