#is this a condition lol i literally cannot think | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys · 5 months ago

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Actually, I think this does link in with a wider conversation that I have been thinking for a while Tumblr maybe needs to hear.

There's a common meme on this site now that no one here has any reading comprehension skills. The best one is, of course, the original "No offense but reading comprehension on this site is piss poor/How dare you say we piss on the poor" post, which gave rise to the nickname "pissing-on-the-poor website". There's also the "I like pancakes/How dare you say waffles are terrible" one. Both of these are great, because they're silly jokey ways to show two closely related phenomena that are probably the commonest ways to fail a reading comprehension check.

The first is someone reading certain catchphrases or buzzwords in the post, and based on their own biases or prior experiences or whatever else, their brain simply fills in what it reckons the poster is saying on the topic. Instead of reading the rest of the sentence and digesting it, the reader then just uses their assumption as the interpretation, and reacts to that.

The second is closely related, because it also uses biases and prior experiences to to interpret the post, but rather than ignoring what the OP is actually saying, it instead performs a series of gymnastic leaps to construct a whole new assertion on the OP's behalf that simply isn't there.

There's also a third, of course; that one is people being so eager to feel smug and superior over someone they perceive as Bad that they wilfully assume the OP is stupid or being serious when they're actually joking. And if the reader hadn't been so blinded by their desire to get to look down on someone, they'd have seen the very obvious tells, sometimes even including sentences like "Obviously this is a joke." (I think we have all seen examples of these. Also, in a bid to avoid as many reading comprehension fails here as possible, this does not include misunderstandings borne entirely of neurodiverse struggles to parse intentions; but, neurodiverse people are just as likely as neurotypicals to have ego play a part in their misinterpretation of others, and that is what this point is about.)

And the thing is... actually, we are all capable of any of these. I imagine a sizable chunk of people reading until this point were probably thinking "Lol, yeah, people are so stupid," but na, nage, I'm not having that. Literally everyone does these sometimes. And it becomes a particular risk when the topic under discussion is something that might brush against an issue that is a pressure point for you, like a social justice talking point that you are forever having to argue with internet strangers about, for example. Your brain holds schemas! And sometimes it likes to pattern match things before it deigns to tell you about its findings! And that can hit you right in the emotions, which if they are strong enough, really can shut down all rational thought.

But. This brings me to the real point of the post.

Because the thing is, we have all saddled up and gone to war under these conditions, or at the very least been strongly tempted to. And a vital skill that literally everyone has to learn, sooner or later, is:

Before you hit 'reply', double check the post to make sure you fucking understood it.

And that does not mean "simply re-read, confirm your bias, carry on." It means, "Is it possible to read this post from the point of view of someone who doesn't intend it the way I've taken it? If I put myself in the shoes of an innocent, could they still have written these words? Is there another interpretation for these phrases?"

And you do have to do this step. You simply do have to. Because if your desire is to 'clap back' and call someone a gargling knobskin made of garbage, fuck me sideways but you must see that it is imperative that you check if they actually deserve that kind of treatment first. You cannot spend your time claiming that we must all choose to be kind and then not bother doing your due diligence before screaming a person's various and assorted bigotries at them. If you misread it, and they were innocent - you are the raging aggressive cunt in this situation.

It does not matter that you reacted from an emotional place of normally having to defend yourself either, by the way. Sure, that makes the quality of your human soul better than that of the average Redditor who just enjoys anonymously hurting people, I guess? But it's also irrelevant. If you messaged someone and called them a misogynist because you performed several mental somersaults and landed on your own sore spot when they meant no such thing, you are the attacker. You owe them an apology. And yeah, sure, you can explain your over-reaction as the product of your normal experiences if you like, but that is only an explanation, not an excuse. You are still the asshole here. You still need to apologise and mean it.

And you could have avoided it if you'd done that due diligence, as you should have. If you're going to take a swing, make sure it's the right target. This was once described to me as donkey people - they don't think, they just kick. This is admittedly a little unkind to donkeys, who always do their due diligence, but I feel it's an apt metaphor.

TL;DR: If you feel moved to angrily reply to something, first make sure you've interpreted it right. Don't be a donkey person. And if you ask for clarification, people are innocent until proven guilty. Ask nicely. If they are a bigot, you can then smelt them for parts.

#I reckon anyway #mileage may vary I suppose #but this has certainly made my life a lot happier to stop assuming everyone was attacking me #and to stop getting into pointless fights with no good or satisfying ending #this has been this week's Gospel According to Elanor

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tthoroughfare · 2 months ago

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some random modern!abby headcanons as i Cannot think about anything else. NSFW in the latter half spit kink asf i’m not sorry

she’s chronically offline. has social media but does not use it — her IG has one photo from 3 years ago and the only other social media she has is a facebook account she made when she was 14. her entire page is just shit her dad tags her in; photos of her he’s taken while they’re on vacation, cringey middle aged humor, the Facebook Parent works

90% of the time only uses her phone for what a phone is actually for. probably has a super old one because she doesn’t see the point in replacing it; it’s somehow in like perfect condition though

texts in perfect grammar. before you got used to it you literally thought she was mad at you all the time. hasn’t got it figured out what emojis make sense contextually because she doesn’t really use them and occasionally sends you baffling messages like:

“Got off early. Can’t wait to see you. 😬” (was rushing and thought it was a smile)

but sometimes it’s also very cute, like a grandma who just figured out how to text:

“Do you want to tag along with Manny and Nora to a concert on Saturday? The people they were supposed to go with can’t anymore. 🎶🕺🎸”

the type of gf who will get you doing the most random activities. she’s constantly trying new hobbies and always wants you to be a part of it. she’ll decide on a sunday night she wants to pick up rock climbing, have you both signed up and in the climbing gym monday

or she’ll decide on a whim she wants to take you to a restaurant someone recommended even though it’s an hour and a half drive away

med student abby is canon abby…

she really didn’t want to be a cliche and go into it just because it’s what her dad does, but she was always encouraged to excel academically and found herself naturally drifting in that direction

she makes it look easy, but it’s really not. she gets stressed about everything a lot (particularly wrestling with worries about letting her dad down, which you reiterate she couldn’t do if she tried), but doesn’t really show anyone apart from you. you always make her feel better, though, just as she does for you with your problems

grew up well-off, but isn’t a dick about it. very generous with her money, always buying you little treats and picking up the bill despite your protests. takes you on weekends away wherever possible, or a bigger vacation somewhere tropical during the summer

honestly not the best cook… she’s just used to making food for herself, which tends to be pretty plain. gym bro meals ugh. however, has one or two incredible recipes she can pull out the BAG. makes them for you when she knows you’ve had a long day

would 100% be that post of the guy who set his alarm purposefully earlier so that he could wake up and cuddle his partner before he had to actually get up. she’s normally up before you, regardless of the day or time. abby’s an early riser; she loves the morning. you always stir with a warm drink on the bedside table, and either the sound of her pottering around the apartment or a text saying something along the lines of:

“Heading to the gym. Gave you a kiss before I left but you were still clean out, LOL.”

has extremely random and rogue music taste. same with movies. you figure this out not long into knowing her, when you’re talking about favorite films and she deliberates before carefully stating that her all-time top three are flushed away, interstellar and an old foreign movie you couldn’t pronounce if you tried

speaking of — loves movies! you guys frequent the cinema, but also like to stay in and have movie nights at home. you’ll watch just about anything together, taking it in turns to choose. when you stay in, you make it a Whole Thing. all the bedding gets moved to the living room, you buy snacks, she sits and lets you meticulously paint a face mask on her

sometimes, you’ll attentively watch the whole thing. sometimes, if you get halfway through and it’s not the best, she’ll allow her fingers to trail down from their position atop your upper arm in a manner she knows you’ll pick up on. dipping under your shirt and rubbing loose, gentle circles at your hip for what feels like forever, before nudging at your jaw with her nose and planting a light kiss. you turn to meet her, eyes flitting between hers and her lips; closing the gap and smirking against her mouth, “you’re not subtle.”

blowing air out of her nose and shrugging, she brings her free hand up to the nape of your neck, deepening the kiss. it’s slow and deliberate, everything from the way she moves her lips against yours, to how she steadily shifts you on top of her. she likes to take her time with you, gets off when you have to say please

segueing into nsfw… praise kink spit kink gentle domination vers dynamic hey now

loves it when you show her how desperate you are for her, through words or otherwise. while i can’t see her being much of a talker herself (not to say that’s at all), she encourages your blathering about how good she feels, how much you need her. bonus points if you throw her name in there somewhere

should the occasion arise will absolutely put you through the mattress with the strap, but much more so an acoustic girl. two finger tongue combo diva. for her, it’s all about feeling you. how you contract around her, the little signals your body gives her she’s learned so well

to her, that’s the main point of sex. feeling as much of you as she can, feeling close to you, showing you how much she worships you. it’s filthy, yet reverent and devoted. gets a little possessive sometimes, because you’re hers and only she can have you how she does

whether it be arched up, her fingers plowing into you as she kisses her way over your upper back, hand threaded through your hair. stopping to suck a mark where your neck meets your shoulder, murmuring to ask if you can take three (she knows you can, just wants to hear you say it)

or on top of her, legs slotted together and your hand firmly bracing yourself on her knee whilst you rut against her. hearing her get slightly louder and higher pitched, revelling in the way she looks up at you, brows drawn and eyes full. shared wetness pooling and mingling, her hands all over you like she can’t decide which inch of sweat-sheened skin she wants to touch more

or after you’ve eaten her out and she’s still coming down, you running a hand over the outside of her thigh then kissing over her stomach — making your way back up to her lips, allowing her to taste herself through the sloppy, open-mouthed kiss. licking into her dirtily, running a thumb over her lower lip and softly telling her to open. abby doing as you say; always does as you say. a glob of spit falling from your mouth to hers which she accepts gladly, breathing jagged as she swallows. spurred on, dragging you back in with fervor, moving a hand to circle over your sopping clit

she’s never been like this with anyone, never wanted everything of a person so badly. she’d do anything for you, to you, let you do anything to her

while she does like it to be languid, to last, sometimes she can’t help herself. it’ll be the morning and she’ll rouse, tired eyes dragging over your form. abby shifting closer and wrapping an arm around your waist, you’ll stir a little and groan softly, bringing a hand up to cup her cheek and pivoting your head to give her a kiss. both brains still foggy, operating on basic wants, it doesn’t take long for it to turn from an innocent good morning peck to a desperate mess of tongues. then, to her mouthing at your neck, sliding her fingertips over your bare torso to knead at your breast. you’ll tilt your head back, let out a mewl of her name, before remembering it’s a weekday.

“what time is it?” you’ll ask, freezing and subconsciously trying to look at the clock.

“don’t worry, we’ve got time,” she’ll respond against your skin without missing a beat, hand making its way between your legs and coaxing a sharp exhale from you, “i’ll be quick, i promise.”

she knows you well — she certainly can be quick. still has time to make you that coffee she always does, too.

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kwanisms · 8 months ago

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Kinktober 「10:02」 — s.mingi

» ateez menu | mingi menu | kinktober masterlist «

➮ werehyena!Mingi × fem!reader wc: 4k summary: Y/N hasn’t been intimate with her boyfriend but not by choice. Every time she tries, he always ends up pushing her away and its starting to affect her confidence. After an argument, Mingi finally blurts out just why he's been pushing her away this whole time. genres/themes/au: angst/fluff/smut; supernatural, horror, thriller; non idol au, monster idol au warnings: adult dialogue, female reader, supernatural and horror themes, mentions of: food consumption, insecurities, past trauma, breakups; sexual content (18+ mdni), see smut warnings under the cut! taglist has been moved to reblogs join my taglists! taglist for kinktober is CLOSED. Strikethrough means I cannot tag you. MINORS WILL BE BLACKLISTED & BLOCKED. AGELESS BLOGS WILL ALSO BE BLOCKED.

a/n: i promise the next thing i write for Mingi will make him dom. I already promised @yoonguurt and i will keep that promise but here is some sub mingi for the sub mingi enthusiasts lol also, if anyone is curious, i'm using STRIPED HYENAS as a reference for his werecreatures. NOT SPOTTED. Spotted hyenas are fucking insane to learn about. seriously, if you're curious, look up spotted hyena reproduction. it's literally unreal. anyway, the next part is for Chris' birthday and includes our fave aussies from stray kids! notice how i said aussies 😉 stay tuned for that and as always, this is a work of fiction and all characters are not reflective of their respective irl counterparts. for entertainment purposes only.

smut warnings: teratophilia (aka monsterfucking), facesitting (m receiving), mommy kink, oral (f receiving), handjob (m receiving), sub!Mingi, dom!Reader, use of pet names (hers: mommy, ma’am; his: baby boy, sweetheart, etc), and I think that’s all but let me know if I missed any. kinks: facesitting + mommy kinkdialogue prompt: ❛❛ Sit on my face. ❜❜

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When you first met Mingi, you were intimidated by his presence, taking him as a very imposing and menacing but once you got to know him, you discovered it was merely in his looks alone. Standing at 6’1 with broad shoulders, he was a physically imposing man.

Adding to that aura of dominance was the fact that he wasn’t entirely human. You learned early on that Mingi was a werecreature. Specifically of the hyena variety. It was something you were new to, having never met another werecreature before him.

When things shifted in your relationship with him from platonic to romantic, Mingi was quick to let you know everything he felt was important about his condition. When he transformed, when his heat was, and what he usually did during his transformation and how long it lasted.

When his first transformation since making your relationship official happened, you had seen him the day before, making him a variety of meals for afterwards as you knew he would be too tired and weak to do it himself. His first cycle passed by without issue and soon it became part of your monthly routine to go over the day before, check on him, make him a week’s worth of meals and kiss him goodbye until you saw him a couple days later.

For almost a year, this was the norm for you. Something that had also unintentionally become the norm was not being intimate with Mingi. At all. Sure you’d kissed and even made out but as things got heated, Mingi always managed to push you away, trying to change the course of the evening or even leaving before you got a word in.

You’d never gone beyond a few lingering touches and it was slowly chipping away at your confidence and self esteem. It made you feel unwanted and unattractive despite being the center of male attention when you went out with your friends to the clubs once a month.

You didn’t want the attention of some random guy at the bar trying to buy you enough drinks to forget your own name and end up in bed with him only to regret it the following morning.

You wanted the attention of your boyfriend.

You’d tried speaking to Mingi about this, expressing your concerns but each time he managed to change the subject, steering it in an entirely different direction and avoiding the conversation altogether.

You didn’t expect sex from him. Of course he could have very specific reasons for not wanting to have sex with you but it was the fact he wouldn’t discuss it with you. All you wanted was a reason, something as simple as he wasn’t ready and you would drop it but you didn’t even get that.

And so, after being rejected all day on one of your rare days off, you wanted to find out why your boyfriend didn’t want to have sex with you.

You let out a sigh, keeping your eyes on the TV as you sat on the couch with Mingi sitting a cushion’s distance away, his massive frame taking up the opposite side of the couch from you. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye, noticing the way his eyes were wandering your body, focusing on the exposed skin of your thighs.

He often would look but never touch. You wanted so desperately for him to touch you in more ways than guiding you out of his way when he was trying to pass you or cupping the back of your head so he could kiss your forehead. You want his hands everywhere.

You heard Mingi clear his throat and you quickly focused your gaze back on the TV. You had no idea what was playing, having lost interest in it a long time ago as you were too busy fantasizing about your massive boyfriend’s hands all over you.

“I’m gonna grab a drink. You want one?” he asked as he got up from the couch, towering over you. “Sure,” you said softly as he nodded and moved around the couch to the kitchen behind where you sat. You heard the fridge open and close and a few moments later, he returned with two cold cans of cola, handing one to you and sitting back down.

“You don’t have to sit all the way over there,” you said as you cracked open your can and took a sip. Mingi turned to look at you wide-eyed. “Oh, uh I’m okay over here,” he said nervously. You set your can down, settling back against the couch, disappointment settling in your chest. “Fine,” you muttered, picking up the remote and changing the channel.

Mingi turned to look at you, taking in your profile as you flipped through channels until you exasperatedly tossed the remote onto the couch between you. “You pick something,” you snapped, not looking at him. Your tone made him recoil internally, wondering why you were upset.

He picked up the remote and flipped through the stations until he found something to put it on. He set the remote on the coffee table as an uncomfortable silence fell over the two of you. He could tell you were thinking hard, something bothering you but you were working out a way to bring it up.

Mingi hated this. He hated fighting with you. He hated the silent treatment. He hated denying you. Earlier, when he’d arrived and sat on the couch, you had joined him while dinner was finishing cooking in the oven. What started as a few kisses turned into more as you straddled his lap, kissing him deeply as you started to grind against him.

Mingi wanted more than anything to let you have him right there on the couch but he was reminded of his past experiences. His previous partners who became weirded out upon learning that a man so strong and physically large was so submissive. He’d never been one to be a leader or in charge of anything and that extended to his preferences in the bedroom.

His relationships in the past failed because of his inability to take charge in not only the bedroom but in the relationship as well. He wasn’t comfortable with it but he really, really liked you, possibly even loved you, and he didn’t want to mess this up. He’d forced himself to take charge in some scenarios but he felt so out of his depth.

And when it came to intimacy with you, he wanted more than anything to be intimate, to give into his more carnal desires but his past trauma held him back and he ended up pushing you away just like earlier. He’d quickly pushed you off him before things go get too far and luckily for him the timer on the oven went off and he was saved for a little while longer.

He knew it was no way to conduct things and that he should have a serious conversation but he just never seemed to be ready because he felt that things would end if he was honest with you. He was trying to prolong the inevitable.

“Do you not like me or something?”

Your question caught him off guard as your words hung in the air, waiting for his response. He turned to look at you, taking in your profile as you sat there, arms crossed over your chest, one leg tucked under you. “What?” he asked stupidly. He shouldn’t have done that. He should have immediately refuted your claim but he was just so taken aback.

“Do you not like me?” you asked again, turning to look at him. Mingi hesitated. Of course he liked you. He loved you. His brows knitted together in confusion. “Of course I like you,” he replied, turning in his seat to look directly at you. “Then why do you always do this?” you asked.

“Do what?” Mingi asked, knowing it was the wrong thing to ask. He knew what you were talking about. Your eyes narrowed. “Always push me away when we start to get intimate.” Mingi felt his stomach sink, the same feelings of anxiety and dread that he always got when this topic came up, rising into his chest.

It was starting to get hot in the apartment. He needed fresh air.

“I need some air,” he said getting up.

“No,” you said, getting to your feet and following your boyfriend. “We’re not doing this again!”

Mingi sighed as he stopped abruptly, making you run into him before he turned. “I can’t have this conversation with you, really,” he said. “Why?” you asked, feeling a pang in your chest when he turned and started for the door. Panic rose up inside of you as you watched him grab his keys from the counter as he passed it. You don’t know what came over you but you weren’t about to let this go.

“Song Mingi, if you walk out that door, we are through!!”

He froze, hand on the doorknob as your voice rang through the apartment. His shoulders visibly relaxed before he turned to look at you, a look of shock on his face. “You’d break up with me over this?” he asked softly. You threw your hands up in exasperation. “I don’t know what you expect me to do!” you all but shouted at him.

“I’m trying to have a mature conversation with you but all you’ve done is shut me down. I just want to know why you don’t want me!” you said, the corners of your eyes burning as you fought back tears. “I… don’t want you?” Mingi asked, sounding confused. “When have I ever said I didn’t want you?” he asked, walking back into the living room.

“You didn’t have to say it!” you countered. “Every time we’re intimate, you always push me away before it gets too far. I could understand if you would explain to me that you aren’t ready or it was something else but you won’t even entertain a conversation about it with me!” You blinked away the tears and turned away from him, not wanting to let him see you cry.

“What else am I supposed to think?”

Silence fell over the two of you, punctuated only by the sound of the TV, forgotten in the midst of your argument. Maybe it was better to just let him go, let this all go. Maybe you’d be better off. You loved Mingi, you really did, but you never signed on for all of this. You knew getting involved with him was going to be a learning experience after he revealed his nature as a werecreature but to you, that was nothing.

The silence was broken by the sound of Mingi’s keys being set on the counter and the floor creaking as he walked towards where you stood. You felt his arms wrap around you, warmth from his body enveloping you as he rested his head on yours. “It’s not because I don’t want you,” he murmured, finally speaking.

“I want you so bad I can barely stand it,” he added. “I just don’t want to scare you off.” You turned in his arms to face him. “How would it scare me off?” you asked, looking at him with a confused expression, brows knitting together. “Because,” Mingi started, his voice faltering. “It’s embarrassing,” he continued. “You thought I would judge you?” you asked. Mingi shrugged.

“It’s happened in the past. The people I’ve dated didn’t want…” he trailed off. “Didn’t want what?” you asked, trying to coax it out of him. He sighed, throwing his head back to look up at the ceiling. “Someone like me,” he blurted out. You reached up, cupping the back of his neck and forcing him to look down at you. “What does that mean? Someone like you?”

“I’m not very… confident,” he started. You snorted. “Now that’s a damn lie,” you retorted. “You’re the most confident man I know,” you added. Mingi shook his head. “Confident is the wrong word,” he admitted. “I’m not… I don’t like to be… in charge.”

Realization dawned on you and you let out a sigh. “You’re not dominant,” you stated. Mingi nodded, shutting his eyes and bracing for what you assumed was some sort of angry response. It nearly broke your heart that he felt he had to lie and hide this from you because of the reactions of his past relationships. You could understand his hesitation. But you weren’t like his previous partners.

“Mingi,” you started, grabbing the front of his shirt when he tried to turn away. “Yah,” you said sternly. “Look at me when I’m speaking to you!” the tone in your voice must have surprised him. You’d never sounded so commanding before. At least not to him. “Yes, ma’am,” he answered quickly.

“I wish you had just told me, instead of hiding it from me,” you explained, cupping his cheek. “If you had told me, we could have solved this a lot sooner instead of tiptoeing around it.” Mingi leaned into your touch. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I thought that if I told you, it might make you leave me.”

You pulled him into a kiss. “I almost broke up with you because I thought you weren’t attracted to me,” you said softly. “This is why we need to communicate,” you continued. “I’m not like your previous partners, you know this.” Mingi nodded, pressing another kiss to your lips. “I know,” he murmured. “And I never should have compared you to them. I was just…”

“Scared,” you said. “I get it. It can be hard to break that cycle of trauma.”

“It’s not weird though,” you continued, taking his hand and pulling him towards the bedroom. “I don’t mind taking control,” you added, smiling at him as you pushed the door open with your back. “How about you lay down and let me take care of you. How does that sound, baby?”

Mingi nodded wordlessly as you guided him over to the bed, turning so you could push him down onto it. He landed on his butt with a soft oof as you moved to shut the door and returned to him. “Let me take care of you,” you repeated, slowly kneeling in front of him, hand sliding down his chest to the waistband of his sweats.

You slipped your fingers under the elastic pulling it forward slightly before letting it snap back against his stomach, making him gasp. You chuckled softly as you grabbed the sides of the waistband and started tugging. He lifted his hips, letting you pull the material all the way down his thighs and to the floor where it pooled around his ankles. He sat in his underwear, waiting for your next move.

You could see he was starting to grow hard but you knew Mingi’s body, even if you hadn’t seen it fully. You knew that your boyfriend had a massive cock and from what you could see now, half hard, you were correct in your assumptions. You pressed your hand over the bulge in his boxers, making him his, a shudder run up his spine as his eyes fluttered shut.

“Does that feel good?” you asked, stroking him slowly, watching his expressions. “Y-yes,” he whined, hips starting to roll up into your touch. You could feel him growing harder and harder by the minute and decided to take it a step further. You slipped your hand into his underwear, pulling his cock free from the material. Wrapping your fingers around the base, you started to slowly pump your hand up and down.

“Fuck,” your boyfriend hissed. “Feels so good, babe.”

You let go, spitting into your hand and resumed stroking him, your saliva working as a lubricant and moving faster with ease. He was almost completely hard by this point. “Babe, please,” Mingi whined. “What is it?” you asked softly, your speed never faltering as you looked up at your boyfriend. “I wanna be inside you,” he whined, hips bucking.

You clicked your tongue as you slowed your hand for a moment. “No, baby,” you answered. Mingi whined again, shaking under your touch. “Please, mommy,” he gasped and you felt your cheeks burn. That was a new one. You’d never been called that before but you weren’t about to comment on it. Not when you wanted to focus on making Mingi feel good. You could discuss it later.

“Sorry baby,” you said softly. “Only good boys get their dicks wet.” Mingi whined, lifting his head to meet your gaze. “It’s literally wet right now,” he countered but you shushed him, stroking him faster and making him remove his shirt. He did as you asked, tossing the tee to the floor.

“Please, baby. I’ll be good, I promise,” Mingi begged. It was tempting to give into him but why the rush? “Not tonight, baby boy,” you cooed. “Maybe in the morning.” You continued to stroke him, his hips bucking up to meet your movements as you drew him closer to his high.

You felt his cock throb and twitch in your hand and you knew he was close. “Just a little more,” you cooed. “Be a good boy and cum.”

As if on command, Mingi let out a moan and you angled his cock away from you, watching as thin ropes of his milky white cum shot out of him, landing on his toned stomach, contrasting with his tanned skin. You continued to pump him slowly, making sure to squeeze every last drop out of him.

“What a good boy you are,” you said sweetly as you got to your feet, ignoring the gusset of your panties sticking to you as you climbed onto the bed. “I bet that felt really good, didn’t it?” you asked, to which he nodded. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” you said, starting to get up but his grip on you was strong. He muttered something that you couldn’t make out.

You leaned over to hear him better. “What was that, baby?” you asked. “You need to speak up.”

“I said,” Mingi started, licking his lips. “Sit on my face.” You let out a chuckle. “It’s okay, baby,” you said softly, caressing his cheek. “You don’t need to do anything. We can clean up and go again tomorrow if you really want to.” Mingi shook his head. “No,” he said, grabbing your wrist, moving to lace his fingers with yours. “Please, Y/N,” he whined. “P-please, mommy. I want you to sit on my face!”

You stared at him, nibbling on your bottom lip for a moment before you relented. “Fine,” you said. “But no cleaning or wiping your mess away until I cum, do you understand me?” you asked, leaning over to look into his eyes. He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

You got off the bed, tugging your shorts and underwear down and letting them fall to the floor, stepping out of them and then returning to Mingi on the bed. He waited eagerly as you straddled his chest. “Before we do this. You have to tell me if you can’t breathe. Tap my thigh three times if you need air,” you instructed. Mingi shook his head. “I don’t need air,” he replied. “I just need your pussy on my tongue, right now.”

You reached behind you, grabbing his sensitive, soft cock. He let out a whimper before nodding. “Yes mommy,” he said quickly. You let go and scooted forward until your knees were on either side of his head. Mingi’s hand moved up to cup your ass. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “Just sit down.”

You lowered yourself onto his waiting tongue and let out a moan as he immediately wrapped his lips around your clit, teasing it with the tip of his tongue, the room filling with lew slurping sounds. You reached down, combing your fingers through his hair gently. You felt him flatten his tongue against your clit, licking up and down slowly before he started to circle the nub with the tip.

You let out a moan, eyes fluttering shut as he continued to make out with your sex, ignoring the wetness that seeped from you onto his lips and chin. He could careless and lapped away at your core, fingers digging into the plush of your ass, pulling you down and close as possible.

His tongue traced down to your hole, teasing the entrance before he pulled you flush against him, his tongue wiggling into your pussy. You let out a gasp, feeling his nose bump against your clit as he tasted everything you had to give him. His tongue slipped out and was back on your clit, flicking against it in quick succession, each flick making your body jerk violently as he built you up to your climax.

Your fingers in his hair tightened as your hips started to move involuntarily. Mingi gently pushed you up slightly. “Yes, ride my tongue,” he murmured, slurring his words before pulling you back down on his flat tongue, letting you grind against him. You let go of his hair, leaning over to place your hands against the mattress as you started to roll your hips, grinding your clit against his tongue.

Your body shook, thighs squeezing his head as your orgasm washed over you, a wave of euphoria spreading throughout your body as you continued to ride out your high. Finally, you shuddered, feeling the effects of your exertion in the burning of your thighs but also in the sensitive bundle of nerves your boyfriend was still licking slowly.

You finally pulled away, lifting off his face and swinging your leg over to kneel beside him. The lower half of his face was coated in your release, shining in the low light of your bedroom.

“You are a mess,” you said with a chuckle before getting up and heading into your ensuite bathroom to grab a clean washcloth, wetting it with warm water and returning to the bed. Mingi held out his hand but you pushed it away and started wiping his face clean before wiping down his stomach, cleaning it of his release.

Once you were satisfied he was no longer sticky, you tossed the towel into the hamper as Mingi’s arms circled your waist, pulling you onto his naked lap and smiling up at you with a very tired and lazy smile. You felt his cock prod at your thigh and you chuckled, running your fingers through his hair before kissing him. “You’re hard again,” you noted between kisses.

“Mmm,” he hummed in answer. “I could go again,” he offered. “But I’m also very tired.” You nodded. “My thighs are burning,” you admitted. “How about we rest and then maybe later we can go again. Maybe I’ll even let you fuck me,” you said, pulling him into a slow, languid kiss that was messy and nothing but tongue. “Have I been a good boy?” he asked, perking up slightly, making you laugh.

“Yes,” you answered. “You’ve been a very good boy,” you added. Mingi pulled you into a kiss, grabbing your hips and pushing you down so his cock pressed against your clit. “I could go right now,” he said eagerly. “You won’t even have to do anything,” he added. You cupped his cheek, pressing a kiss to his lips. “If you promise I won’t have to lift a finger,” you said.

Mingi nodded excitedly. “I promise!” he said eagerly. You nodded, nose bumping against his. “Alright,” you replied, kissing him and pulling back, resisting the urge to laugh when he pouted, trying to chase your lips. “Show me what you can do, big boy.”

Keeping his hold on you, Mingi shifted from sitting to his knees and laid you back against the pillows before removing your top, dropping it to the floor and cupping your chest over your bralette. He kissed down your chest, pushing your bralette up and taking one of your nipples in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it before kissing down your stomach, moving your legs over his shoulders as he drew level with your cunt.

“Will you let me fuck you without a condom?” he asked suddenly. You reached down, brushing his hair back. “One step at a time,” you said. “Make me cum with your mouth and then we’ll discuss condoms afterwards. Sound good?” you asked. Mingi nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

You nodded, leaning back against the pillows. “Don’t worry about rushing,” you reminded him.

“We have all night.”

©️ kwanisms 2024 | all works on this blog are protected under copyright. Do not repost, continue, or translate my works. All graphics made by me.

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socksual-innuendos · 7 months ago

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"People have to be worth their titles. Don't you agree, nurse Anya?"

"....You did make it through nursing school, right?"

"Pony Express sure knows how to cut corners, if nothing else"

Fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you fuck you

Fuck Jimmy this line was so intentional, this game is too well thought out that this exchange had to be fucking intentional on another level.

I thought I was overthinking when I was bullshitting about what it would take to keep Curly alive post crash and lol. Lmfao. I am over thinking probably but Anya deserves more so yeet.

Jimmy probably dragged him out, crispy and mangled. Probably fat eyed and begging Anya to do something. She had to stop major arterial bleeds, perform rudimentary amputations WITH ALL FOUR EXTREMITIES (I can't tell exactly where the removal starts but it looks like partial removal of long bone in his right/both legs which is risky in the best, sterile conditions with a full and trained team), probably deal with adhesion, definitely had to deal with debridement.

This is assuming Curly wasn't in the worst condition during the immediate crash and response. Never mind if major blood loss was ticking the clock. That'd also be needing to stabilize BP, never mind if he'd need transfusion. Never mind if they had blood for the crew, transfusion kit, or if that shit was literal poke n pray.

This is all on a nurse btw, one who probably only dealt with GP settings. Oh, and Jimmy's comment about cutting corners was meant to be a dickhead comment to her but its true. They didnt intend to overshoot how much food would be needed for their crew's journey gone well. I cannot imagine what emergency kits they didnt have or what meds they didn't include to get Curly stable, to keep Curly stable, and then to ensure his infection risk from full body burns, injuries, and amputation didn't win in the end. Its a genuine miracle he didn't die, and if Anya is just familiar with GP settings she was no lesser than a god performing said miracle.

Jimmy probably watched her do this, probably was yelling at her that she wasn't doing it well enough (while he was barely a help and took orders from her), and still makes that shit ass comment.

#anya mouthwashing #mouthwashing #curly mouthwashing #itd be an all hands on deck situation for this too #rip curly and the likelihood that they had no anesthesia for them extremity removal #anyway get some respect on Anyas name i know the devs are just hoping that our suspension of disbelief kicks in but so much is intentional #in this game that i refuse to just let this slide

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michanvalentine · 2 months ago

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I was mentioned in a pro-Ascendant Astarion post with this quote: "Astarion does not have a well-developed sense of self, and by default, he also lacks many of the skills that a well-adjusted adult should possess." This is the post it’s taken from: click me!

No problem at all—it's public, and I don’t see why anyone shouldn’t reference it. Naturally, the post was in opposition to that statement—generally speaking, I mean—but that’s fine too. Everyone has their own opinion and is free to express it. That’s not the point of my upcoming ramble! xD

It’s just that rereading my own words got me thinking more deeply about the topic and made me want to explore it further.

Now, I’m not a psychologist, but I did study psychology. I took several exams at university and I actually did pretty well, lol. I didn’t complete my studies because life took me elsewhere—most importantly, my daughter was born—but the general knowledge I gained from psychology still follows me in everything I do every day.

So it’s second nature for me to analyze characters from the media I consume through that lens—Astarion included. Of course, this is just my perspective; I can’t say for certain whether the developers intended this for his character or whether they did specific research into his psychological development.

That said, today I feel like going off on a little tangent about this beautiful science. Still in reference to that heart-stealing vampire spawn that I’m aaaaabsolutely not obsessed with.

Let me also add a disclaimer. The concepts mentioned are just examples and cannot be applied literally, as every person is different and reacts differently to situations and stimuli. Likewise, the brain is plastic—neural connections change and adapt, and there is almost never a fixed or definitive condition. Above all, I’m not making any kind of diagnosis! That’s not within my competence! Keep these ideas well in mind!

So, why do I say that Astarion doesn’t have a well-developed sense of self? Let’s take it step by step and talk a little about the concept of the "self". I'm copy-pasting something from another post, lol. Rewriting it from scratch is too much work! xP

The self is quite a complex concept with many facets. Briefly put, it’s shaped by various internal and external factors and reflects a conscious image of "me." In psychology, it’s key to building the Ego of an individual—the capacity to act, understand, organize, and interpret experiences. The Ego provides a sense of uniqueness, coherence, and personal continuity since the self encompasses many "faces." All this forms the personality of an individual, which naturally develops (and changes) throughout life.

Particular attention in the formation of the self is given to sensitive periods, such as early childhood. The self determines the level of self-esteem based on an individual’s assessment of their worth and competence in the characteristics they attribute to themselves (Real Self), their future aspirations (Ideal Self), and what they want to avoid (Feared Selves). The greater the discrepancy between these aspects, the lower the level of self-esteem. Social support and approval, as well as competence in domains deemed important to the self, obviously contribute to perceiving oneself as a person of value.

Astarion, as we know, has had his sense of self fundamentally undermined. For him, the world is divided between those who have power and those who don’t, with the former always being the "winners" in his eyes. The magistrate he once was is long dead, along with his moral compass and the life he used to live—especially after 200 years of servitude to Cazador.

As vampire spawn, akin to a newborn in some respects, Astarion learned to exist solely within Cazador’s world, revolving around Cazador, for Cazador.

There are lines of dialogue within the game that highlight this in a painful and terrifying way. For example, when Tav/Durge directly confronts Cazador, or when Cazador ends up on his knees in front of Astarion after one of his brothers or sisters dies during the ritual. Cazador says: “He [Astarion] is afraid. He’s afraid because all he has ever knows is you and me. And without us, he is nothing.” Or: “And then? What will you be without me? A shade? A specrte in the shadows, devoid of all purpose.”

It’s a terrible thing, but it’s true. Cazador represents everything—Astarion’s entire world—and when he dies, he leaves behind a void that’s even more frightening. And let’s not forget that, in the real world, it takes very little to completely erase a person—and two hundred years in the hands of an abuser is an overwhelming amount of time, a detail that too often gets underestimated or completely forgotten.

The whole matter becomes even more disturbing and painful when Cazador suggests that without Tav/Durge, Astarion would have come crawling back to him with his tail between his legs. To his fucking tormentor. And sadly, it's a painful concept because it really happens in real life—when you have nothing and no one, when you have no means of your own and are completely dependent on another person, no matter how terrifying they are. Cazador is certain that Astarion will return to him, even if it means dying. And it's a concept with a devastating impact.

So Cazador was the domineering father figure, and vampire society functions under strict rules handed down by vampire lords. In this hostile context, without any room for self-expression or choice, Astarion developed a fragmented and damaged self-image. Constantly belittled by Cazador as an individual (small, weak, useless, incapable, all words he uses in the game), always pitted against his brothers and sisters, and degraded from a magistrate to a prostitute (this is important because it’s the only skill—or "talent," as he calls it himself—that Astarion believes gives him any value or power, forming the basis for his self-image). It’s easy to imagine just how high his self-esteem must be, right? Most importantly, he never developed the skills to navigate life as a free individual—at least not in a healthy way.

Good Lord, he thinks that in order to receive support, he has to sell himself to Tav/Durge and offer his sexual services—otherwise, he has no hope of survival! And that’s why I say he doesn’t possess all the skills of a well-adjusted adult. Other glaring examples of this—so glaring they hit you like a punch in the eye—are his inability to say no and to recognize his own limits. And shall we talk about the infamous question: What do you want? The first time, he deflects, and essentially gives the answer the player wants to hear. The second time, he states it plainly: he doesn't know. He doesn't know how to make decisions, he hasn’t done it in 200 years, and the very idea terrifies him to his core. These are all skills that a well-balanced person possesses—let’s not kid ourselves.

Like any mature and well-balanced adult, one knows how to recognize their feelings, define them, communicate them, and most importantly, not fear them. Astarion, on the other hand, is unable—after 200 years of pure shit—to understand what he feels for Tav/Durge, and he won’t be able to until the end of the Pale Elf’s quest. “I don’t know—but isn’t it nice, not to know? You’re not a target, nor a victim, not just one night it's better to forget. But then... whatever in the world could you be?”

So, even if reluctantly (and despite his fear), he ends up leaning on Tav/Durge. He needs a guiding figure to help him figure out what to do because making decisions and acting independently don’t come naturally to him. Especially outside of his talents, sex and survival. He needs to be rehabilitated, re-educated, and to achieve this, he requires a safe and healthy environment where he can experiment and grow, perhaps developing other faces of the self on which to base a new evaluation. Like, I'm not just a slave or a whore: but I'm also a companion, a friend, a lover, a hero and I'm able to listen, to help, to learn, to collaborate, etc.

And let’s not forget that when the fateful confrontation with Cazador is brought up, Astarion explicitly asks Tav/Durge for help. “I need to take the fight to him. And I need you to help me,” he says. How to help him—whether to ascend or not—is up to the player and how they choose to play. But the fact remains: Astarion needs support.

Meanwhile let’s take a look at some of the consequences of low self-esteem:

Difficulty opening up in social settings and communicating one's emotions and needs

Extreme self-criticism

Devaluing or ignoring one’s own qualities

Tendency to constantly apologize and feel guilty for things that are not actually one's responsibility

Tendency to appease others due to perceiving oneself as inferior to one’s peers

Use of negative words to describe oneself

Difficulty making decisions and maintaining personal goals over time

Negative and self-blaming internal dialogue

Belief that success is due to luck, with difficulty attributing accomplishments to oneself

Not believing compliments that are given to them

And now, let’s look at the most common causes for the development of low self-esteem:

Being raised by extremely critical and demanding parents

Being heavily devalued by parents or other authority figures

Being ignored or ridiculed during childhood

Being a victim of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse

Achieving poor academic results

Experiencing episodes of bullying or mistreatment in the workplace

Suffering a financial collapse or a significant breakup

Being subjected to a prolonged period of stress

Suffering from a chronic and persistent medical condition

Suffering from psychological disorders (e.g., anxiety or depression)

Does this remind you of something? Or maybe someone in particular? Does that person, by any chance, have red eyes and pointed teeth?

Naturally, these are just examples, and everything varies depending on the individual, but I believe these points still manage to convey the concept.

They especially give the idea of how much events—and especially the context in which we live—impact our psyche. For example, thanks to neuroscience and increasingly detailed brain imaging, we know that brain areas change according to the factors mentioned above; they train like muscles, so to speak, becoming larger and more reactive every time they are activated.

So, if someone is subjected to chronic stress, the brain areas responsible for managing it will become easily activated, bringing with them a whole series of consequences that affect performance, behavior, perception, thinking, and so on.

Likewise, the more the “right” areas of the brain are activated, the more the brain itself will develop in a healthy and balanced way, forming neural connections that support the tools (perception, thinking, etc) mentioned above.

Meanwhile, other areas—such as those related to stress responses—will remain small and more difficult to activate. (Obviously, brain areas don’t literally “grow” or “shrink” in size, but the connections between neurons (synapses) are strengthened or weakened depending on how much they’re used. This is a principle known as “neural plasticity”: what you use becomes reinforced, what you neglect becomes weaker.)

A curiosity: even our mood influences how we perceive people and the world around us—and consequently, our thoughts and impressions too! xD

This image is heartbreaking, because these brains belong to two three-year-old children—and the differences are significant.

The brain on the right is missing key areas that are present in the one on the left. These missing parts impact the abilities of the child with the smaller brain:

this child will likely be less intelligent as an adult compared to the one with the larger brain,

will be less capable of empathizing with others,

and will be at higher risk of becoming addicted to drugs and involved in violent crimes.

Additionally, the child with the smaller brain is more likely to remain unemployed and dependent on social services, and may develop mental health issues or other serious health problems.

The large difference in size and development between these two brains is not due to illness or injury, but rather to how the two children were treated by their mothers.

The child with the larger, more developed brain was loved by their mother, who was consistently present and attentive to their needs. The child with the smaller brain, on the other hand, was neglected and abused. It is precisely this difference in treatment that explains why one child's brain developed fully while the other’s did not.

Of course, our favorite vampire spawn isn’t a developing child—but the point is that certain environments and experiences have a profound impact and shape many aspects of our lives, making us more or less equipped to face challenges.

At this point, I’d like to focus a bit on the reasoning process in general. It’s easy to believe that when humans think, make decisions, and reflect on a problem or task, they do so in the most rational way possible. And that’s where we go wrong! First of all, the cerebral cortex — the part of the brain responsible for complex cognitive functions such as thinking, awareness, memory, attention, and language — is located in the upper region of the brain. Most stimuli, in order to reach the cortex, must pass through all the lower areas of the brain, which often trigger behavioral responses even before the stimulus reaches rational thought. For example, the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for danger responses. A silly example: how many times have we jumped out of our skin before realizing that the loud, scary noise was just a window slamming shut? First comes the fear response, then the evaluation of the stimulus follows.

As if that weren’t enough, the brain plays other little tricks on us — without us even being aware of it — because that sneaky thing does a whole lot on its own, especially when it comes to thinking and making decisions.

So... Astarion has a very limited perspective—mostly the one offered by Cazador. As we said earlier, the world is divided into those who have power and those who suffer it. Period. But we all know that in between there are infinite shades of gray, and that can’t be denied. In the same way, Astarion believes that Tav/Durge is the exception to the rule—the only kind person in the world, the one and only for him. But as much as it flatters our ego to hear that, we know very well that no one is that special. It’s always Astarion’s perspective that’s extremely limited. And in fact, here too, Tav/Durge has the opportunity to broaden his view, to point out that the world is full of kind people who would care for him if only he opened himself up and showed kindness in return. This narrow way of thinking and seeing things, this resistance to noticing alternatives, fits perfectly into the category of cognitive biases.

Let’s start with the premise that the human brain needs to be both effective and efficient. That means reaching a result in the shortest time and using the fewest resources. Therefore: when we think and make decisions, we don’t always do so rationally. We use heuristics—mental shortcuts—often following patterns we've used before. A silly example: if I have to cook a dish I’ve made a hundred times, I don’t sit down to rethink how and why I should cook it—I just switch off my brain and do it the way I’ve always done. Many heuristics are good and useful—others, not so much. And when they fall into the latter category, they become biases.

There are many types, but let’s look at one that we all, even us Astarion fans, share. xD Confirmation Bias!

Confirmation bias manifests when we tend to search for, interpret, or remember information that supports our pre-existing beliefs, ignoring anything that contradicts them or isn’t completely aligned.

Once a certain mental imprint forms, new experiences only deepen that groove, without any willingness to explore other interpretative modes—in fact, they tend to further crystallize internal beliefs.

We can say that the person is cherry-picking—in a complex set of data and information, they pick out only what resonates with a belief they already hold, which, in some way, is convenient for them.

The reason is easy to see: if I don’t challenge a belief—even if it’s irrational—I’ll save time, create less friction, and reduce internal and external resistance to a given situation.

Because confirmation bias shows up when a person selects only the evidence that supports their point of view, it easily becomes a self-sustaining system, keeping them locked in an interpretive and experiential microcosm that risks becoming increasingly stifling—a self-built prison.

Astarion is stuck on tracks he’s known inside and out for centuries, forcibly carved into his mind—and for him, it’s all too easy to filter everything through that lens. And this cuts him off from a myriad of possibilities, in a completely unconscious way. It’s like throwing a wrench in your own gears. So Tav/Durge represents an opening to a different value system, one that could replace or at least expand our vampire spawn’s worldview. Not without resistance, of course—those brain connections will get you!

So, to conclude, let’s go back to the beginning and to the statement in question.

"Astarion does not have a well-developed sense of self, and by default, he also lacks many of the skills that a well-adjusted adult should possess."

Yes, maybe out of context it might sound bad. I certainly don’t see Astarion as half a man, incapable of thinking or choosing for himself. But I do recognize that he has serious vulnerabilities that need to be treated with care and taken into account. Not when we're playing—when we play, we do what we like and have fun—but when we analyze him as a character. When Astarion, at the end of the Pale Elf quest, in the good ending, thanks us for saving him from himself, what he means, in my opinion, is exactly this: thank you for supporting me when my vulnerabilities, my fears, my blind spots, and my narrow perspective were getting the best of me. Because, let’s be honest, Astarion’s story is also about this—about rediscovery, about learning to live again, about changing, improving, growing, developing relationships, new abilities and skills. Not as a rogue or as a vampire, or within game mechanics—but as a person.

The point is: Astarion has come out of a horrific situation, one that has to have left marks, wounds, infected pus festering beneath the skin. A situation that never allowed him to understand what he liked, what he wanted, who he really was—simply because he couldn’t express himself, couldn’t think about his own needs, couldn’t say no. Couldn’t develop his sense of self in peace and safety.

A situation that left him unable to face the world and the people in it in a healthy way, unable to identify and express his own feelings, unable to say that damn "no" or to make choices. To decide, yes. And in fact, every time he’s asked what he wants to do, his answers are vague—or he says he doesn’t know, or admits that he’s afraid of those damn choices. He’s afraid of freedom, of consequences, and of everything else beyond the four things he knows—the four fucking things Cazador drilled into him, all around power and control.

And I’m really supposed to believe that the one choice he’s absolutely sure about is Ascension? Hell no. Just like he's not sure he doesn't want to ascend!

References

Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin. → A foundational text on the concept of the self, self-actualization, and congruence between real and ideal self.

Winnicott, D. W. (1964). The Child, the Family, and the Outside World. Penguin Books. → Explores the importance of a safe environment in the healthy development of the self.

Bowlby, J. (1969��1980). Attachment and Loss (Vols. 1–3). Basic Books. → Describes how early attachment figures shape our internal working models and sense of security.

Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and Society. W. W. Norton & Company. → Introduces the theory of psychosocial development across the lifespan.

Herman, J. L. (1992). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence—From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. Basic Books. → Explains complex trauma, victim-perpetrator dynamics, and the long-term effects of abuse.

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking. → Offers neuroscientific insight into how trauma reshapes the brain and affects emotional regulation.

Siegel, D. J. (2010). The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. W. W. Norton & Company. → Discusses neuroplasticity, integration, and the development of a coherent sense of self.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. → A deep dive into heuristics, decision-making, and cognitive biases like confirmation bias.

Malaguti, E., & Morganti, P. (2014). Psychotraumatology: An Integrated Model for Trauma Treatment. (Translated from the Italian). FrancoAngeli. → Addresses the psychological and neurological consequences of prolonged trauma.

#astarion #astarion ancunin #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate #astarion bg3 #baldurs gate 3 astarion #baldur's gate astarion

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kanmom51 · 6 months ago

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Jikook came home

God, how I missed this.

How I miss them!!

Before getting into the whole JM post followed by the cute-flirty interaction that followed, I will take this opportunity in congratulating both JM and JK for their MAMA awards achievements.

JM winning Daesang fans choice of the year.🎉🎉

JK winning top 10 fans choice, best male artist and best dance performance (SNTY).🎉🎉

JM being the sweetheart that he is came to us with a lengthy post to thank Army for voting and receiving a Daesang.

There are a couple of nuanced differences in some of the translations, but all in all, they are pretty much on the same page.

The main difference I've seen is the translation of this part:

벙벙 벙벙 벙벙벙벙벙

Being it "dumbfounded" or "stunned" or "bemused".

I think this probably captures it best:

And then we had JK....

Who was most likely sitting there right by JM's side, the speed of their back and forth being one of the indications to that (we are talking within seconds here), not to mention patterns of past behaviour with those two.

Do we discuss for a second the Weverse translation of the discussion?

Like wtf? 🤣🤣

Ok, so the actual translation would be:

Insert the word of bemusement of your choice I guess, lol. But basically we have JM telling us he's stunned/dumbfounded and mainly happy and then that back and forth between those two right in front of our salads.

Oh, and can someone explain the @JK to me please? I mean, I get JM @JK -ing when posting his replies, but why the hell is JK @JK -ing when posting his replies to JM?🤣🤣

The way those two keep doing this shit (in such a good way, may I add) is just absolutely and utterly hilarious.

This whole exchange gives me these vibes:

And Idk why, but this interaction came straight to mind as well when I saw this back and forth between them...

Take those two and combine them and then picture that in mind with this back and forth going on:

Oh, and do I mention that obviously they had access to Internet, enough to have this back and forth between them, while both in the same place, and JK preferring to flirt in our faces with JM rather than post himself about his wins, which I can assure you he knew of. You know how it is when you don't want to take away from your boyfriend's thunder...

Maybe we'll hear from him later on maybe not, but this was about JM, his win, his moment, his post, his excitement.

And JK CANNOT miss out on a little teasing-flirtatious banter with his man, now can he?

Let's back track for one moment, because I do want to talk about JM inserting JK into his post. I do believe this is going to be a new standard/constant/reality. You know, the "me and JK"/ "JK and I" or "me and JM"/"JM and I". That very natural way of inserting one another in their interactions/conversations with us. Now, don't get me wrong, this is not a new thing what so ever. They have been doing this since forever. But I do think that it's going to become more of a constant and less of a "OMG, he mentioned JK/JM" moment for us. They have shown us for years, but more so over the past year, just how important they are to each other, but even more so, just how intertwined their lives are with one another. They literally could not even part ways to do their military service!! Choosing to spend those 18 months together, even if it meant having to endure much harsher conditions and a much more difficult service as a whole. All to be able to be together. With each other. What I'm saying is that I do think we will be getting so much more of "US" from those two.

Openly and proudly.

US.

One last thing, and again this is either Jikook coincidence or kismet or maybe not too much of a coincidence and more of a conscious decision, but JM's post yesterday, 23 Nov 2024, was posted on the year mark of Jikook leaving for their oh so very special and emotionally charged Japan trip, 23 Nov 2023.

💜💜💜

Coincidence or not, we got Jikook back then, and after radio silence from those two for such a long time, we got Jikook yesterday again!!!

#Jikook #Kookmin #Minkook #JunJi #Jungkook #jimin #JK #JM

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enoughslices · 10 months ago

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okay i just rewatched the pilot clip where mulder and scully first meet ✨FOR SCIENCE✨ (to confirm a minor throwaway detail in a fic i'm working on, why am i like this) and

mulder is such a dork (affectionate) lol, like,,,,

this is the early 90s, before google. scully has only found out she's being assigned to the x-files literal minutes before she meets mulder. we see her getting the assignment. they tell her to contact him shortly, then it cuts to her going to find him.

mulder probably has his ways of getting early information within the bureau but he can't have known about this for too long, and yet he has procured her senior thesis (!!! - again, this would have been much harder to do than it is now and i feel that the lone gunmen may have helped with this), read it, and - and i cannot emphasize this enough - prepared a slideshow. his whole initial encounter with her gives the impression that he rehearsed it in the mirror, many times. mulder, basically: ":gleefully turns off lights: hey dr. scully, think you know SKIN CONDITIONS!? :clicks to next slide: think you know CHEMISTRY?!? :clicks to next slide: here are several more bodies!!!! in various locations!!!!! :click click click: this is where i will confront you about bureau policy on unexplained phenomena, which is definitely above your pay grade! :sardonic stage whisper: do you believe in 👽ALIUMS👽??? :ironic chuckle: Of course you don't! :jumps on table, not actually but spiritually: NOW WE WILL HAVE HEATED DISCOURSE ABOUT WHAT IS FANTASTIC!!!!! couple's trip to oregon, scully, btw we are married now, see you tomorrow morning!"

scully:

she loves him, i love him, you love him, we all love him, he gets an A on his rehearsed monologue, theater kids staying winning.

#txf #the x files #x files #txf pilot #fox mulder #dana scully #msr #mulder and scully #x files pilot #love how he's like “i have a new nemesis i am ENERGIZED i am READY” and she's just immediately like “aww can i keep him?”

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skyrages · 6 months ago

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Dumb things about the definition of psychopathy and ASPD

Did you know that the only recognised test for psychopathy (PCL-R, and yes psychopathy is actually a scientifically used term as well as ASPD, which are technically separate things in practice but also supposed to be the same thing, but ASPD is diagnosed mainly on the factor 2 impulsive and socially deviant traits) is copyrighted which is why you cannot actually find a proper description of the traits and how to differentiate them? Even though it’s a medical disorder supposedly and facts shouldn’t be copyrighted? And the creator got royalties from it and sued people about stupid things?

Also many of the traits are external behaviours (manipulation, irresponsibility), which you can argue may or may not be part of the core of the disorder (you could argue that behaviours are just as much evidence of personality as thoughts and feelings), but if that is not enough, it is often things that literally are society’s reaction your behaviour (many types of crimes, revocation of conditional release, juvenile delinquency, which if you act and think the same way as someone else but don’t have a history with the police you are suddenly less of a psychopath lol) which are indisputably not personality traits, and it’s not a diagnosis based solely on patterns of thinking and feeling like some people pretend it is?

And did you know that the definition of the traits of the disorder is controversial beyond the PCL? Like the fact that people keep mostly failing to prove (only connection exists when the definition itself requires it, which is rare, and because it’s unconnected to the usual traits and sometimes that doesn’t even work) that psychopaths don’t suffer from emotional distress? What about the fact that tests for the emotional part tend to have poor internal consistency and not correlate especially with each other? Or whether or not criminal behaviour is a trait (although those people also think that for example manipulation is a trait even though they are both behaviours and equally related, and think that irritability isnt a trait so the argument those people use about behaviour doesn’t really make sense to me, which is a shame because I could see the argument of making it just about the internal part or something to simplify it).

And it makes one wonder if it’s even an independent thing and not a bunch of random shit that gets put together inconsistently?

#aspd thoughts #actually aspd #aspd #cluster b

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vaguely-concerned · 10 months ago

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...the 'almond room' thing in the unwanted guest IS a reference to/play on words on amygdala, right? (amygdala comes from the greek word for almond!) I didn't read that wrong? it is stupid sexy Ianthe coyly inviting Palamedes into a different chamber of her brain, as it were?

(also the pieces of meat -- the feeding or kissing, it's hard to say which of it all -- being present right from the beginning... ianthe DOES know exactly what has happened to her, doesn't she. palamedes is just cutting his way through her layers of denial and repression all merciless and scalpel-like to get her to admit it. or, she knows subconsciously at least -- each person comes in and feeds her something that she's helpless to stop from becoming a part of her even in her coffin, with bloody kisses. oh baby love is feeding me bad meat and I have no choice but to swallow it down. like yeah I suspect that is how human contact can feel when your sense of self and boundaries developed to be a specific kind of Fucked Up lol. that shit could make a person dream of being a diamond in a glass of wine; perfect, inviolable, untouchable, eternally separate and safe. In the words of Andrea Gibson in Prism:

They say the womb is where we learn love is knowing the cord that feeds you could at any moment wrap around your neck

that is quite literally ianthe's first introduction to love -- her sister, a cord around her neck. Corona is Ianthe's other self, a second soul running around outside of her body, and she seems to consider herself as responsible for (and entitled to) the preservation of Corona's soul as her own. the way this mirrors that growing up, Ianthe had to be two necromancers in one body to let them stay together. (twins and ghosts all the way down I guess.) she's still just trying to do the same thing, I think, she's simply put on some bigger boots about it. the central problem of lyctorhood, self vs. connection/love, rears its head once again -- Ianthe existentially wants total self-contained self-sufficiency, perfect control, sovereign sway and masterdom over her soul... but she wants that at the same time as being in uninterrupted (uninterruptible!), eternal and indelible intimacy with her sister, whose soul also cannot be allowed to change. which, you know. freedom and love don't coexist the way you want them to, Ianthe, no matter how clever you are there won't be a way to get what you want. (especially not with a sister whose idea of what love is seems to go more towards being consumed, made one, by whatever violence necessary -- 'she could have taken me'.) man. Ianthe is a spectacular and ongoing piece of work, but sometimes it's hard to see how she could ever have turned out otherwise considering the conditions she was born and raised under haha.

the two-way street of the horror of digestion, whether you're the devourer or the devouree. part of you in me, part of me in you, whether either of us likes it or not we're both changed by this. bad news: you can't get out of interconnectedness by finding the cleverest loophole around it, ianthe. nice try, though)

#the unwanted guest #the locked tomb #ianthe tridentarius #re: the amygdala thing -- that's what I thought when I first read it but I was listening to a podcast that didn't mention anything about it #and now I'm gently double-guessing myself harrow style haha #I think the greek word also means tonsil (thus the tonsil stones in bloodborne)?#the amygdala does a lot of shit around emotions and emotional processing which like. ok interesting ianthe wtf!#god. what a weird day it's been. you think you're at rock bottom and then you're having wild unhinged thoughts about ianthe tridentarius #my brain feels like it's filled with stinging nettles idk if this is even coherent. but I need it out of my neurons lol #the locked tomb meta #I could not recommend 'prism' enough btw it's a beautiful poem and has a lot of the same themes as tlt!

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catboysooyoung · 4 months ago

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Speaking of!!

I honestly think about the Fox Counselling Room all the time. It's a very interesting "benefit" that the company provides for its employees. I also feel like it's some of the most insight we are provided on Kim Soleum and his character as a whole. Some points.

The fox counselling room is a ghost story. Similar to the dokkaebi workshop in the bureau, it's a ghost story that's considered to be "safe" enough to be used semi-regularly by trained employees, who are high up enough the ladder that they can be considered to be competent enough to use it, so long as they adhere to the guidelines. It's interesting that "contamination" by ghost stories can be treated in this ghost story. As the contamination seems to be supernatural in nature, it seems that only a supernatural guidance can provide the proper assistance. I guess it's sort of like getting a ghostly vaccine in a sense. However, as it is still a ghost story, using it is not without its own risks of contamination. I guess it's not that odd, given that regular medicine also has their own side effects if the rules of use are not followed, or if the sufferer has pre-existing conditions that can interact with the treatment.

The method the counseling room adopts is to have the "fox" imitate the subject or object related to your trauma, and "create a scenario where the situation is resolved". Kim Soleum mentioned that most people "who immerse themselves deeply" felt some sort of emotional catharsis for this. It seemed to work as a sort of simulation for them to vent out their frustrations and work out their troubles. The way he worded this is interesting though, does he not immerse himself in his emotions? He even wondered if the therapy would have any effect on him, since he "already knew everything", when we clearly know by now that KSE is pretty avoidant when it comes to his own feelings & bodily awareness. Beyond what's necessary, he just pushes it to the back of his mind. Makes him a great employee, but very vulnerable to contamination. Everything is A-Okay until he crashes and burns.

Unsurprisingly, the fox imitates KSE himself, or more accurately, the truer version of himself. Here, fox counselor!KSE looks somber, tired, and much more disheveled than KSE considers himself to be. This gap unsettles KSE, most likely because he's made aware of his...glaring lack of awareness of his own state. After dodgingly answering a few questions relating to his well-being, it's revealed that he was carrying a contaminated object (the rule book) the whole time, thus confirming the fox's initial claims...

Is Kim Soleum really not contaminated anymore? He felt better after having the contaminant taken out, but the way he worded it was funny. He claimed he was then "just another weary, exhausted office worker", which cannot be more untrue. He's still in denial. He was no longer just another tired office worker like in his previous world. I don't believe he's fully recovered. I mean, I've met Park Moondae. DS. Back's protags are the same. The lizard boss also confirmed my suspicion by literally saying it to KSE's face lol I love him.

Kim Soleum's... Family? This is the real kicker for me. By the end of the session, the counselor told KSE that he's lucky to have family and friends who care for him here. Friends, KSE could understand to be his close coworkers/squad mates. But family? One of the most notable things that happened to KSE in the early chapters is that his family's contacts disappeared from his phone, only the contacts he got from college remained, and he seemed to have been transported back in time to when he was struggling to look for housing after graduating. But still, why would that erase his family's contacts? Does that mean his family is not in this world? Strangely enough, KSE did not dwell too much on this back then. Could be the effects of the Ghost Story World or he's just not that close to his family. The only other time he's mentioned anything relating to his family is when he met Agent Bronze/Ryu Jaekwan and "explained" how he got the silver heart badge. Here, he took advantage of the misunderstanding that his parents are "not in this world" / "watching from the heavens", likening the merch box to "family". He also mentioned that his parents had warned him not to go into the financial sector (side note.. KSE was a finance bro?). But that's it. So this brings the question... What did the fox mean by "family"? He pointed to the Socius tattoo, which was given by our dear Yongyong (the blue dragon mascot). Does this mean... Yongyong considers him family? Or is there another explanation? Come to think of it, KSE has been very... Casual about the mention of family. It could be that he, again, just wasn't that particularly close to them. But usually, unless they have particularly bad blood, isekai protags would often reminisce about their old world, their original family included, thus laying the emotional foundation for their goal to go back.... So again, is it just the usual emotional distance, is it a protective mechanism, or is he more impacted by entering this new world than we thought?

#long post #괴담출근 #gsgw #kim soleum #just saying shit tbh #mild spoilers for ch 60-70+ i think #talk

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sauronianer · 7 days ago

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The Mind of Sauron: Control, Deception and Manipulation ( A meta )

Introduction: Why I Wrote This (aka Why I Spiraled into the Mind of a God with Control Issues)

Look. I didn’t plan to spiral into a 7,000-word psychological breakdown of a millennia-old demigod who literally forged evil into jewelry. But here we are.

I spent a bit of time on it. I had to pick out the interviews and could have written so much more, but sometimes less is more. Anyway!

What inspired this? A toxic cosmic control freak. A crying god. A tear. A lie. A forge. A moment. A thousand manipulations. And the absolute audacity of Charlie Vickers’ performance and the showrunners’ layered writing that screamed: he believes his own lies.

I’ve always found Sauron fascinating – not because he’s “sexy evil” (though, let’s not lie, Annatar is stupidly hot), (or that he is my favourite character) but because he’s terrifyingly consistent in his need for order, control, and self-deception. He’s not evil because he wants to burn the world. He’s evil because he loves the world – conditionally. As long as it obeys.

This meta is my attempt to understand him. Not to redeem him (lol no), not trying to pacify Sauron but to peel back the layers of arrogance, delusion, manipulation, and deep-rooted trauma. To trace how a being born of Aulë’s light ends up crying over a dead smith he just murdered, then walks away like nothing happened. (moron)

It’s also about how no one – not Celebrimbor, not Galadriel, not even Sauron himself – is immune to the trap he lays.

So buckle in. We’re going deep. Into denial. Into power. Into darkness. Into that moment he said, “You’re going to give it to me.” Because this isn’t just about villains. This is about the villain who believed he was the hero.

And just to be clear:

I’m not saying Sauron is some “emotionless dark void of doom who just vibes in Mordor.”

Quite the opposite. He feels. He hates.

He is angry, arrogant, obsessive, manipulative, wounded, brilliant, relentless — and yes, sometimes he even cries. (what a loser)

Sauron is not a flat villain. He’s a canonically complex, terrifyingly consistent, three-dimensional character — and the show (for once) treats him like it.

This post is for everyone who looks at him and goes:

“Wait. He’s not just the bad guy..“ (well actually he is)

I don’t need people to like him.

I just need them to understand him.

LET GET IN:

I. The Self-Deceiver

One of the most psychologically compelling elements of The Rings of Power is the portrayal of Sauron not as an overtly malicious force, but as a deeply self-deceived being — someone who truly believes he is saving the world. His evil is not born of hatred for Arda, but from a warped, twisted sense of love: a conditional love that demands obedience, perfection, and control.

“He’s in denial, but there’s probably a little element of him that realizes that. […] There’s an element of him that would have that self-awareness, that would be, ‘I’ve gone down this rabbit hole now.’ But as much as he realizes that, he’s trying to crush those feelings as he goes and advances forward.”

— Charlie Vickers

Sauron’s denial is not simply a facade for others — it’s a lie he tells himself. He is emotionally intelligent enough to deceive with precision, yet emotionally fractured enough to believe his own performance. He is not unaware of his fall, but he represses that awareness, knowing he cannot afford to pause and reflect. To do so would risk collapse. He marches deeper into tyranny, clinging to the idea that it is all necessary — that it’s still for a greater good.

“He thinks Middle-earth could be beautiful — if everyone just listened to him.”

— Charlie Vickers

Therein lies the tragedy. His vision of peace is absolute order. His concept of healing is domination. His desire to “fix” Middle-earth is rooted in a compulsion to remake the world in his own image — and he believes he has the right, even the duty, to do so.

“I think that there’s that inherent side of him that it’s just like, ‘I’m going to control and heal and fix Middle-earth because it’s in my nature.’”

— Charlie Vickers

This is not new. As the showrunners remind us, even Tolkien described Sauron as “not evil in the beginning.” His desire for order, for structure, came from a real place — but it festered, darkened, calcified into tyranny. His denial is what shields him from recognizing that he has become the very thing he once sought to correct.

“Nothing is evil in the beginning, even Sauron was not so.”

— J.R.R. Tolkien, quoted in the show and emphasized by the showrunners

By Season 2, this denial has begun to erode. He lashes out, loses control, and in moments of failure — like Celebrimbor’s resistance or Galadriel’s rejection — we see the cracks in the mask. But even then, he doubles down.

“He is falling deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole.”

— Charlie Vickers

He cannot stop. He cannot change. Not because he’s incapable, but because he believes that to change is to surrender — and surrender, to him, is the ultimate failure.

At the heart of Sauron’s denial lies something deeper: a near-divine perfectionism rooted in his origin as a Maia of Aulë — the Vala of craft, logic, and structure. Sauron was not bred for chaos. He was born from the very impulse that seeks symmetry in the world. And that instinct has metastasized into an obsession.

After all he was a pupil of Aulë. His nature is to build and refine and create order. But eventually, it becomes: ‘If it’s not perfect, it must be corrected. If it disobeys, it must be reshaped.“

This isn’t just about power. It’s about needing things — people, systems, entire civilizations — to align with his internal blueprint of harmony. That’s what makes his manipulation so dangerous: he genuinely believes he’s fixing a broken world, even as he breaks it further.

And in that way, he doesn’t see himself as a tyrant. He sees himself as a craftsman… who simply uses people as raw material.

II. The Manipulator: Weaponizing Truth

Sauron doesn’t conquer with brute force — at least not at first. His greatest weapon isn’t a blade or a ring — it’s the truth, carefully tailored and strategically delivered. His manipulation isn’t built on deception in the traditional sense. What makes him truly dangerous is that he tells the truth — just not all of it.

This is what the showrunners of The Rings of Power emphasize as central to their interpretation of Sauron:

“He doesn’t lie. He just tells the version of the truth that serves him best.”

— Patrick McKay

This philosophy is what allows him to infiltrate others so effectively. He listens — deeply. He identifies not just your weaknesses, but your wants. And then he becomes the answer to them. This is not manipulation in the crude sense of flattery or flimsiness. It’s methodical. Clinical. Intimate.

“He sees you completely—not just who you are, but who you want to be. He can be the answer to all your wishes and all your problems.”

— J.D. Payne

This quote reveals the core of his strategy. He doesn’t force himself into someone’s trust — he makes them want to believe him. Whether it’s Galadriel’s grief, Celebrimbor’s hunger for legacy, or the desperation of Men, Sauron studies his target until he knows exactly how to slip past their defenses.

We see this most clearly in his conversation with Galadriel in the Season 1 finale. He never denies who he is. Instead, he reframes it — “You’re not seeing what I’m offering.” It’s not a lie. It’s a recontextualization. And to someone emotionally vulnerable, it almost works.

“The way you beat your enemies is to figure out what they need and figure out how to give it to them. Help them master their fear, and then you can master them.”

— Sauron (as Halbrand)

This line is more than a tactic — it’s his entire doctrine. He believes people are ruled by fear. And if he can offer them control over that fear — whether through power, guidance, or clarity — he earns their loyalty. Their trust. Their surrender.

Why Sauron’s Manipulation Feels So Intimate

What sets Sauron apart from other villains is the emotional precision of his tactics. He doesn’t try to break people with cruelty — not at first. He breaks them with hope. With gentleness. With honesty.

He knows that the truth, when framed correctly, is far more persuasive than any lie.

“You can tell someone the truth — and still keep them exactly where you want them.”

That’s why his conversations always feel layered. Even as Halbrand, every word he says carries a double meaning. Whether it’s “Looks can be deceiving,” or “I’m sorry about your brother,” the viewer is left wondering: is this genuine empathy, or is it another trap?

“Is he saying something because he believes it, or because he’s trying to get something? Or both?”

— J.D. Payne

And therein lies the horror — the answer is both.

In Season 2, Sauron’s manipulative tactics become more pronounced as he exploits the vulnerabilities of various characters. His interactions with Galadriel, Celebrimbor, and others showcase his ability to present himself as a benevolent figure, all while orchestrating events to his advantage.

“We saw in season one that Galadriel… her pride and her PTSD were a crack that he could get into and manipulate her to get everything he wanted. Now he’s going to do that with everybody.”

— Patrick McKay

Sauron’s manipulation isn’t just about achieving his goals; it’s about reshaping the very fabric of Middle-earth. By exploiting the cracks in societies and individuals, he aims to mold the world into his vision of order and perfection.

“What is going to be happening over the course of season two is, every single one of these societies and heroes that we set up in season one, are now facing serious cracks in the foundation that Sauron can exploit.”

— Patrick McKay

His manipulative prowess is further exemplified in his relationship with Celebrimbor for example. By presenting himself as a knowledgeable ally, Sauron gains Celebrimbor’s trust, guiding him to forge the Rings of Power, instruments that ultimately serve Sauron’s desire for control.

“He’s trying to manipulate him. He’s trying to get Celebrimbor to do something.”

— Patrick McKay,

Sauron’s manipulation is a testament to his deep understanding of psychology and human (and elven) nature. He doesn’t force his will upon others; he makes them believe it’s their own choice, their own desire, that leads them down the path he has laid out.

Sauron is a shapeshifter not just in form, but in meaning. Every line of dialogue is a crafted instrument, playing multiple melodies depending on who hears them. And that’s what makes him so dangerous: he doesn’t just deceive you — he lets you deceive yourself.

III. The Cosmic Connection: Sauron and Galadriel

The relationship between Sauron and Galadriel in The Rings of Power transcends traditional notions of good versus evil. It’s a complex interplay of shared experiences, mutual recognition, and a profound, albeit unsettling, connection that binds them across time

The connection between Sauron and Galadriel in The Rings of Power is not a romantic entanglement—it is a clash of titanic beings, bound by power, purpose, and paradox. As showrunner Patrick McKay stated, their relationship explores “the idea of a non-romantic, cosmic connection,” one that is “pregnant with possibilities.” They are equals only in the sense that they are both other—not ordinary, not bound by mortal limits, and burdened by destinies too large to carry alone.

Morfydd Clark, who portrays Galadriel, acknowledges this unique bond:

“They’re both magical, powerful beings, and I think there is something lonely to existing in that kind of sphere that they both are in. But yeah, there is some sort of cosmic connection.“

— Morfydd Clark

This “cosmic connection” is not rooted in romance but in a shared understanding of power, isolation, and the burdens they carry. Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, elaborates on this psychic link:

“I think they’re connected, if not by proximity then by their psyche. They’re higher beings so I’m sure it runs deeper than being in the same place together.”

— Charlie Vickers

Yet, this connection becomes a battlefield. Vickers explains that the final fight between Sauron and Galadriel in Season 2 is nothing less than an attempted execution—stripped of illusion, full of wrath:

“He starts off very economical with his movements and it’s effortless, in deflecting, and then he requires to give more and more to the fight, in order to try and kill her.”

— Charlie Vickers

Their interactions are marked by a tension that oscillates between mutual respect and ideological opposition. Sauron’s offer to Galadriel to rule beside him is not a gesture of equality but a manipulation, an attempt to bind her to his will. Galadriel’s rejection of this offer is a pivotal moment, asserting her autonomy and moral compass.

In that moment, Sauron abandons even the façade of alliance. There is no “we.” There is no “partnership.” The door to any form of union has been slammed shut—and he knows it.

The psychological impact of their connection is profound. Galadriel is haunted by her association with Sauron, grappling with the realization that she was deceived by someone she considered an ally. This internal conflict adds depth to her character, highlighting the complexities of trust, betrayal, and resilience.

In Season 2, their dynamic culminates in a climactic confrontation. Director Charlotte Brändström drew inspiration from iconic duels, such as those in The Duelists and Zorro films, to choreograph their intense sword fight. The battle is not just physical but psychological, with Sauron employing shape-shifting tactics to destabilize Galadriel. Brändström explained that Sauron’s shapeshifting during the fight was a response to feeling weakened after Galadriel managed to knock him down, prompting him to reassert his power and destabilize her. (mocking)

This confrontation underscores the fundamental opposition between them. Galadriel embodies the light, resisting Sauron’s darkness and manipulation. Their relationship is a manifestation of the eternal struggle between good and evil, with Galadriel emerging as Sauron’s primary adversary, reflecting Tolkien’s portrayal of their roles in the broader narrative.

Final Note: The Severing of the Cosmic Bond

If their connection once held a strange, terrible allure—something that could have become an alliance, a merging of opposites—then that possibility dies the moment Galadriel jumps.

Charlie Vickers describes that exact moment of disillusionment for Sauron:

“He’s convinced in that moment that she’s giving [him the ring] – he can’t see any alternative because he’s so arrogant and thinks he’s the man, and she’s giving him the ring, and he’s like, ‘You’re going to give it to me, you’re going to give it to me.’ And then she resists him and jumps off the cliff. It’s just like he could not fathom that was possible. So I think he’s dealing with that, and also he knows she’s not going to die.”

— Charlie Vickers, interview

This isn’t just rejection. This is repudiation. It’s Galadriel choosing death over him—not metaphorical, not political, but literal. She refuses him in the most final, unforgiving way imaginable. And that breaks something.

Morfydd Clark confirms that interpretation from Galadriel’s perspective:

“I think it was her severing the tie between them, and her also choosing that it’s better to be part of Middle-earth, kind of dead, than be alive by his side.”

— Morfydd Clark, interview

This is the collapse of everything Sauron built—the illusion, the potential union, the fantasy of control. And that is where the hatred solidifies. That is where Galadriel becomes, not just an obstacle, but the incarnation of defiance. The living proof that his order is not irresistible. That his will can be defied.

He does not love her. Not even like her at all. But respect her in a deep way.

He cannot understand her. But he will remember her.

Because in choosing to jump, Galadriel did what no one else dared:

She said no to a demigod and meant it.

And that is how a connection born of power becomes a war born of rejection and deep hate.

IV. The Craftsman — Celebrimbor and the Rings

Celebrimbor, stands as a pivotal figure in the forging of the Rings of Power. His collaboration with Sauron, under the guise of Annatar, marks a significant turning point in Middle-earth’s history.

Sauron’s manipulation of Celebrimbor is a masterclass in deception. Presenting himself as a benevolent figure, Sauron appeals to Celebrimbor’s desire for knowledge and legacy. This relationship is not merely transactional but deeply psychological, with Sauron exploiting Celebrimbor’s vulnerabilities.

“You want to set (Celebrimbor) up so that he’s ready to receive what Annatar brings, as in he’s got to be at a particular stage of vulnerability or uncertainty to be a juicy bit of prey for the predator.”

— Charles Edwards

The forging of the Rings, particularly the Nine for Men and the Seven for Dwarves, is a testament to Sauron’s cunning. While the Elven rings were crafted without his direct influence, the others bear his mark, designed to ensnare and corrupt.

“The rings that were created for Elves… were not influenced by Sauron… However, new rings that are now created in Celebrimbor’s forge… are slowly poisoning the minds of the individuals who carry them.”

— JD Payne & Patrick McKay

Celebrimbor’s tragic arc culminates in his realization of Sauron’s true identity and intentions. This revelation is not only a personal betrayal but also a catastrophic event for the Elves and Middle-earth at large.

“The way that Celebrimbor fights back is great. There’s an episode towards the end, the way Celebrimbor starts to see what has been done to him.”

— Charles Edwards

The dynamic between Sauron and Celebrimbor serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of unchecked ambition and the seductive nature of power. Their relationship, built on manipulation and deceit, underscores the central themes of corruption and the loss of innocence in Tolkien’s legendarium.

In a poignant moment, after Sauron kills Celebrimbor, he sheds a tear. This act is not born out of remorse for Celebrimbor’s death but rather a reflection of Sauron’s own internal conflict and recognition of his descent into darkness. As Charlie Vickers explains:

“I don’t think he wanted to kill him in that moment, but he lost control, which is very Sauron… the tear (he cries) is probably more about his own reflection on himself, what he has become, and his history with Morgoth.”

— Charlie Vickers

This moment underscores the complexity of Sauron’s character—a being torn between his desire for order and the destructive path he has chosen. The tear signifies a fleeting glimpse of self-awareness, a recognition of the cost of his actions, and the irreversible path he has embarked upon.

The Parallels: Celebrimbor and Galadriel — the Price of Wanting More

In the end, both Celebrimbor and Galadriel are not simply victims of deception — they are the perfect targets. Not because they are weak, but because they desire. Because they long for more.

Sauron doesn’t dominate with brute force — not yet. He infiltrates through dreams.

Celebrimbor wants to craft something immortal. Something beyond even Fëanor. A creation that would outlast time.

Galadriel wants to end evil. Having her own realm in a way. To create peace. Her peace. Even if that peace demands conquest.

And Sauron? He offers both exactly what they long for.

To Celebrimbor, he whispers: “With my help, you could craft the greatest work the world has ever known.”

To Galadriel, he promises: “Together, we can make a realm of our own.”

He knows precisely where to press.

“They could have done really great things together. Celebrimbor could have been an amazing tool, but he killed him. And I don’t think he wanted to kill him in that moment, but he lost control, which is very Sauron.”

— Charlie Vickers

“He’s convinced in that moment that she’s giving [him the ring] — he can’t see any alternative because he’s so arrogant… And then she resists him. He could not fathom that was possible.”

— Charlie Vickers

In both cases, his downfall begins not with brute defeat, but resistance. When Galadriel refuses. When Celebrimbor sees through the illusion.

But the true horror lies not only in what Sauron does — but in how easily he gets in.

He does not kick in the doors. He walks through them, invited.

No one is safe.

Not the wisest.

Not the proudest.

Not even the best.

Because Sauron doesn’t corrupt the wicked — he seduces the noble.

Afterword: Yes, I’m Still Thinking About Him. No, I’m Not Okay.

So. If you made it this far: congratulations. You now know more about Sauron’s emotional damage, tactical manipulation skills, and god-tier self-denial than most of Númenor ever did.

(And look how they turned out.)

We’ve cried with him (well, watched him cry and immediately questioned it), yelled at him through our screens, side-eyed him in Eregion, and maybe — just maybe — found ourselves whispering “okay but the Annatar aesthetic was kinda perfect.”

But let’s be serious for a hot second:

This was never about redeeming Sauron. Or feeling sorry for him. Because there is nothing to feel sorry for.

This was about understanding what makes him terrifying.

Not his power. Not his armies.

But his ability to walk into your city, your forge, your trauma — and offer you exactly what you didn’t know you were desperate for.

He doesn’t take control.

You give it to him.

That’s what makes him dangerous.

He doesn’t want to be loved.

He wants to be right.

And if the world has to burn for that to happen —

well. That’s just unfortunate logistics.

So yeah. I’m not okay.

I overanalyzed a god with a superiority complex, projection issues, and weaponized charisma.

I saw myself in him and then had to go sit in a field for three hours.

And I’ll probably do it again.

Because that’s the thing about Sauron.

He gets in your head.

Even when he loses.

Especially when he loses.

Thanks for reading

PS:

If you’ve made it to the end (first of all: you’re a champion), I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts!

Did something resonate with you? Do you disagree with something? Want to add your own spicy Sauron theory or just scream about Annatar’s hair with me?

My ask box is open, my reblogs are sacred, and my brain is permanently occupied by one manipulative Maia with boundary issues. Feel free to add things as well!

Let’s talk.

#sauron #the rings of power #rings of power #annatar #halbrand #my meta #i sat on this for some hours but whatever #jrr tolkien #middlearth #tolkien #meta writing #the lord of the rings #lotr

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melodic-haze · 1 year ago

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YOOO IMAGINE USING THIS ON ARLECCHINO….

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7wl0BoxVVM/

I stared at my screen for like a fat while because I was thinking about it oh my gkdddddddUGHHHHHH this might be bad bc I'm kinda eepy but like bare with

NO CUZ imagine teasing her, edging her with it, changing the settings to what you saw fit and alternating the speed as you pumped the toy in and out inside of her. Tying her up as well would make it so much better bc realistically what CAN she do while her hands are literally tied? She can only take what you give her :3

OH and not to mention that she's SOOO obedient for you that if you wanted to. Hear me out; you leave the dildo inside at a certain setting, letting it hit that sensitive spot inside of her as the toy sucks onto her clit as well, and tell her—COMMAND this scary Harbinger—NOT to close her legs and let herself get played with. She'll obey you completely, forcing herself to keep her legs open as the toy drags her to the peak of euphoric bliss

BUT she can't cum!! Oh nooooo 😋😋 and it's all your fucking fault as well LMAO her devotion comes with the conditioning, both from you AND from herself, that she cannot cum wirhout your permission........along with the fact that she doesn't WANT to cum like this unless you tell her to. That greedy voice inside her's saying that she wants YOU, not some fancy stand-in toy, as feature-blessed as it is. But obviously she wants to be good for you, PLUS the fact that she still considers the toy and its usage on her as a gift from you, so her protests and complaints simply come out of her in the form of uncharacteristic whining, like some bitch in heat

Whether you take it out and finish her off yourself or make her cum on the toy alone is up to you lol. OR secret third option do both, one after another :3

Either way moral of the story is I love love LOVE messing with Arlecchino 🥰 and with THAT right there??? Oh yes please 😋

#hazy samples!#hazy explicits!#arlecchino x reader #arlecchino smut #sub arlecchino #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact smut #sub genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin smut #sub genshin #genshin women x reader #genshin women imagines #genshin women smut #sub genshin women

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4dbarbie-archive · 2 years ago

Text

4dbarbie remix: You're dreaming from memory

4dkelly notes: This could be a good introductory pointer for those new to non-dualism. Probably my last remix for a while because they always start off as a fun or great idea that ends up taking way too much time and mental energy lol. Also I know it says 4dbarbie remix and it's because I extracted all the text from her posts but almost half of this adaptation post is made with direct or adapted excerpts from the book I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj as she often incorporated his words into her posts so it might be more accurate to call it a 4dbarbie and I Am That remix. I've marked extracts that are from the book with an asterisk (*). My highlight colour key: key concepts are in pink, action points in purple, really important points in red, my notes (which are minimal) in blue

There is nothing that exists. Only you do. 1 The only thing you know for sure is: 'here and now, I am'. Remove the 'here and now', the 'I am' remains, indisputable. The world exists in memory, memory comes into consciousness; consciousness exists in awareness and awareness is the reflection of the light on the waters of existence. 2*

The person is a very small thing. Actually it is a composite, it cannot be said to exist by itself. Unperceived, it is just not there. It is but the shadow of the mind, the sum total of memories. Pure being is reflected in the mirror of the mind, as knowing. What is known takes the shape of a person, based on memory and habit. It is but a shadow, or a projection of the knower onto the screen of the mind. 3*

You (Self) are projecting this very moment live. Nothing is happening to you, I mean literally. Nothing is out there. 4 Everything you see and experience is only a mental condition, a dream-like state, easy to dispel by questioning its reality. It's you imagining it as real and fighting it with all your might that keeps it alive. In this dream, you imagine yourself to be a process, to have a past and future, to have history. In fact, we have no history, we are not a process, we do not develop, nor decay. 5*

When you sleep at night, you think the world you're dreaming of is real. You wake up in the morning and you go on living in a different world, which you also think is real. But while you were in the first dream you had no memory of this world, did you? You come into the waking state and forget all about that dream (because you dismiss it as unreal & imagined so you have no reason to care once the experience is over). You're present in a second dream, and you deal with this one because now that's "what is real". But there is no difference between sleeping and waking, awareness is the background of both. You just think the waking state more real because you've dreamt it over and over and reinforced your belief. They're equally imaginary. 6

Each and every moment is projected on your consciousness but in reality, there is no link or cause between them. Memory gives the illusion of continuity and repetitiveness creates the idea of causality (e.g. I have blue eyes because I take after my mom). When things repeatedly happen together, we tend to see a causal link between them. It creates a mental habit, but a habit is not a necessity.* Drop it. You, now, even if recreated completely from memory and appearing the same, are still doing the creating/projecting live. It is all memory carried over into the now. You never move, your mind does. You don't arrive anywhere, you've always been there. You don't become, you already are. 1

Memory seems to being things to the present out of the past, but all that happens does happen in the present only. It is only in the now that phenomena manifest themselves. Thus, time and causality do not apply in reality. You are prior to the world, body and mind. You are the sphere in which they appear and disappear. You are the source of them all, the universal power by which the world with its bewildering diversity becomes manifest. 7*

You recreate the world every day from memory. There is no yesterday but your memory of it. There is no tomorrow but your thought of it. You are moving from now into now, and nothing has reality but in your mind. In deep sleep you are no one, no thing, you are not aware of being anything. You are just aware of being. There is no world, no one, not even 'yourself'. 8 In the absence of the mind, even the sense 'I am' dissolves. There is no 'I am' without the mind. All experience subsides with the mind. Without the mind, there can be no experiencer nor experience. 8*

Consciousness creates the mind which projects the world, built of memory and imagination.* You create a world, then you create an ego in it that is desiring some thing - look at it, you are doing that now. Stop the urge to create and recreate worlds of desires. 1 You don't have to live by memory. You can see the world as it is, a momentary appearance in consciousness. 7*

See all as a dream and stay out of it. While it lasts, the dream has temporary being. It is your own desire to hold on to it that creates the problem. Let go. Stop imagining that the dream is yours. 5*

Realize your true being, all else will follow and take care of itself. You will no longer feel the need to manifest or get things, because you see you are the one imagining the things. You already are, and if you want to observe yourself as 'something', you can. After you rid yourself of your belief that you are the ego, you no longer feel compelled in any direction whatsoever. You do not feel like you need to be the body you imagine you were born with (because you were never it in the first place), or watch Sandra's from afar. You’re free to do or not to do whatever you want; you are dreaming, and you know you are dreaming, there is nothing to fear or fight, because all is yours. The thing to do is to establish that permanently, for all time. Then you can play any part you so desire, and be totally unaffected by it. 3

Free from memory and expectation, you are fresh, innocent and wholehearted. Needing nothing, you are unafraid. Whom to be afraid of? There is no separation, we are not separate selves. There is only one Self, your Self. 1*

Become aware that the waking state is just a dream and life will forever be a breeze. 6 When the world is real, it is heavy. When the Self is real, the world is light. 3#

References

4dbarbie posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

* Text excerpts from I Am That by Nisargadatta Maharaj

# from Keys to The Ultimate Freedom by Lester Levenson

#remix #4dbarbie #nonduality #non duality #nondualism #non dualism

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