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landinoandco · 3 years

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|Shutter Speed|

Chapter three : A hunger for comfort and affection

{Lando Norris x reader}

Summary: A photographer. A pair of F1 drivers. Triangles. A sticky situation of morals and fighting fate. What could go wrong?

Warnings: a hint to mature themes but only of you squint

Word count: 2.5 k

A/n: Here is chapter three of Shutter Speed, like last chapter if you would like to be added in the taglist drop me a message or comment :) enjoy

Previous chapters: Chapter one, Chapter two

“Oh Maisie.” Georgie cried, “It was the most embarrassed I think I’ve been in my entire life.” She took a long sip of her wine as she slouched into the sofa, the tv playing the medal ceremony of the England vs Italy game - Italy taking the victory.

Maisie wrapped her arm around Georgie’s shoulders, “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” She said softly.

“Not that bad.” Georgie screeched, her wine splashing slightly over Maisie’s legs. Hastily, Georgie tried to wipe it off, Maisie chuckled and pushed her hands away. “What I mean to say is, I’m sure Lando didn’t think anything of it.” Maisie corrected herself, shaking her head at Georgie’s apologetic glance.

“Maisie, I stood there like a fish.” She imitated a fish opening and closing its mouth.

“Take me through what happened again-”

“I’m Lando Norris. I drive for McLaren. As it turns out, you and I are about to attend the same meeting.”

Georgie stopped in her tracks, “You mean to say, we are now colleagues.”

Lando’s face dulled and he furrowed his eyebrows. “I suppose we are. Yes.” The pair stood awkwardly, Lando’s hand placed behind his neck looking up at the sky whilst Georgie had found something very interesting on the floor.

“Well I suppose I should-” Lando started as Georgie braved to look up.

“Yes, yeah, wouldn’t want to be late” She forced a chuckle, going to walk forward when they remembered - they were heading in the same direction.

Maisie cringed as her best friend recounted the story. “So what happened after that?”

“That’s when I bumped into you…”

Lando had given up trying to make small talk about 5 minutes ago - whatever he thought was there was now gone; for some reason he just couldn’t break the awkward air that seemed to be stuck to them. He looked over to her, face furiously red and her expression hardened. He swung his arms by his side and kissed his teeth - she made no reaction. Georgie was trapped in a battle of her own thoughts, she was sure there was a connection between the two of them; something she had wanted to act on but now… She looked behind her, in hopes of finding it strewn on the ground.

“There you are, Georgie.” A voice called out, immediately the girl’s face snapped up and she seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Hurt flashed Lando’s face but she didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve been looking all over for you.” Her words trailed off as she motioned towards Lando.

“Maisie, meet Lando - he drives for McLaren.” Georgie introduced Lando, stepping closer to him. Lando raised his hand up in acknowledgement, smiling warmly at Maisie. “Lando, meet Maisie - she’s my business partner.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Maisie said, opening up her arms to go to hug him. Lando accepted, wrapping his arms awkwardly around Maisie. Once she had returned to where she was standing before, she said: “Suppose it won’t be the last time we see you either.” She winked at Georgie.

Maisie clicked her fingers, “Oh yes, I remember now. So that’s why it felt so awkward walking up to you.” Maisie set her wine down and moved to face Georgie, a pained expression still painted onto her face. “Did you at least get his number?”

“As a matter of fact-”

Max Fewtrell looked at his watch for the fifth time in the space of 30 seconds. They were going to be late for the football match. He shook his head, scoffing at the irony of Lando priding himself in his punctuality. It wasn’t until he looked up that he realised Lando was only a few feet away from him, ambling slowly and staring at something in his hands. “Lando, mate. We’re going to be late” Max called out, however this wasn’t enough to break Lando out of his trance.

Storming up to him, it was only when Max was about to poke him that Max stopped and stared as well. In Lando’s hand appeared to be a business card.

“Why have you got a-” Max squinted at the cursive name at the top. “The little moments- what-” Confused was one word to describe how Max was feeling, so much so he almost forgot why he was so urgent for them to leave.

“I - uh - I met a girl.” Lando stammered, still staring at the card, his forehead furrowed.

“And that’s why you have a business card? Lando, football!” Max prompted, rolling his eyes and made to move forward when Lando added: “I think this was her trying to give me her number.”

Max turned back to face Lando, his face lit up, “What?” He chortled. Whatever trance Lando was in, he seemed to snap out of it and pocketed the card.

“You’re right, let’s get going.” Lando walked past Max, who was standing staring after Lando, completely dumbfounded.

“But - what!” Max followed hurriedly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Was she pretty?”

“Very.” Lando said.

“You gave him your business card?” Maisie doubled over in laughter, Georgie stared at her unamused.

“Well, if it wasn’t for you I would have given it to him like a normal person but you insisted on dragging me out of the Marquee.” Georgie quipped sharply.

“In my defence, we were going to be late for the-”

The pair looked at Georgie’s phone as it lit up and began to shriek the theme tune of ‘Downton Abbey.’ After Maisie’s incredulous look, Georgie went to pick it up, muttering under her breath: “I can’t work out how to change it back - don’t give me that look.”

The number wasn’t one she recognised, she picked up anyway, scrunching up her face. “Hello.”

“Hi.” A breathless voice replied, Georgie recognised the voice but she couldn’t quite place who. She must have stayed silent for longer than she intended because the caller added, “It’s Lando. Lando Norris.”

“Lando? Hey.” She stood up, her voice instantly softening. “How are you?” There was a beat of silence.

“I’m sorry I don’t know why I called-” Lando stuttered apologetically, Georgie felt her heart sink. She repeated herself, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. “Are you alright?”

“I - no. I just - I needed to - There was an incident and I’m on my own but-” Georgie cut him off, “Lando, where are you.” Her tone was now serious, Maise mouthed ‘what’s wrong.’ She replied by holding up her finger as if to indicate ‘one minute.’

“I’m at my house.” He replied simply, he sounded tired and in shock.

“Do you want me to come over?” Georgie asked, her heart in her throat - it was only a moment ago he apologised for calling her. Maisie stood up, throwing her hands in the air, mouthing: “what are you doing?” There was another beat of silence, she could hear his breathing, he was trying to steady it.

“Yes. Please. I’ll text you the address.” He swallowed thickly, just like Georgie, he wasn’t sure what made him call her or - even more - say yes to her coming over. It was like there was someone speaking for him, controlling all of his actions concerning her. He didn’t understand it. Lando had only learnt her name that afternoon but it felt like he had known her for months - their little coffee shop sighting felt like years ago.

After he hung up, he ran his hands through his hair. His heart was still beating as though he was about to race. He had already called Charlotte and explained everything that had just gone down after the match, he had told her that he wasn’t alone and that he had good company. Technically he wasn’t lying because good company was about to arrive. Lando wasn’t sure how long he sat in that position for, the silence of his house felt deafening until the doorbell broke his thoughts. He opened it to an anxious looking Georgie, holding the unopened bottle that her and Maisie were about to start on. “I brought us a bottle.” Lando cracked a smile, opening the door wider so she could come through.

“I’m not normally allowed but I think Jon will let me off.” He muttered, closing the door behind her. Before he could say another word, she had wrapped her arms around his neck - “You looked like you needed a hug.” He could just about make out. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer into him. In that moment of vulnerability he told her what had happened at Wembley and she responded by placing her hands on either side of his face: “You’re definitely in need of that drink then.”

It was some time later and they were both sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa in his living room, bottles of different sorts of wine sat empty on the glass table and Georgie was having to hold onto his shoulder to stop herself from falling over. Lando had just recounted a rather funny story - in hindsight it was probably only funny because of the amount of alcohol that they had consumed. Georgie had gotten drunk before, she was the type of drunk that never stopped talking but with Lando, all she wanted was to be close to him; as demonstrated by her holding onto his shoulder as soon as he said anything remotely funny, leaning across his body to reach for the wine. What she wasn’t aware of was the effect this was then having on Lando. He was completely in awe of Georgie, her ability to come in and sweep him off of his feet - he felt as though he could completely relax in her presence, as though nothing else mattered when she was there. He craved the warmth she was offering him, she wasn’t like all of the other girls Jon scolded him for meeting. Georgie was just as nervous and naive as he was - they both loved and craved the idea of comfort and affection from another human that wasn’t platonic but neither of them had any clue how. Perhaps it was more the fact that neither of them had met anyone yet that silently understood the troubles and tribulations that had led them to his point.

They were at peace with their thoughts, the alcohol fogging any sort of rationality. Lando looked over at Georgie, a content and easy smile sat effortlessly on her lips and a tinge of pink flushed on her cheeks. He shuffled closer to her so their shoulders were pressed against each other, “I’m glad I called you.” It was almost like the words shocked him as they came out of his mouth, as though he was airing his thoughts for the first time. The smile on her face only grew, Georgie moved her face closer to his so she could see every freckle and dimple and blemish. It was the first time she realised how beautiful he was - from the way his curls fell lopsided onto his forehead to his constant licking of his lips in an attempt not to shy away. She brought her thumb to his face, brushing it delicately.

“Eyelash.” She explained, his gaze transfixed on hers, he wrapped his hand around her wrist and blew the eyelash away. “Did you make a wish?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I did.” Lando answered, his hand still wrapped around her wrist, his touch burning Georgie’s skin. He inched his face closer to hers, his breath fanning across her face. She braved a look at his lips, tearing away from the battle they had once again found themselves in. “What did you wish for?” She asked, her lips brushing his.

“If I told you - ” He began, releasing her wrist from his touch and instead tucking a loose strand of her back behind her ear. “It wouldn’t come true.”

Their lips still hadn’t touched, millimeters separated them, their noses brushing as though they were the first to give in. It was like they were daring each other to make the first move, who was going to be the first one to break. Every nerve in Georgie’s body was telling her to close the distance - it felt right. It would certainly make up for that afternoon’s display. She knew that he had no obligations to kiss her and she knew that the hand now resting on her cheek was inviting her - almost taunting her.

“Lando-” She pulled her head away, his hand falling limply to his side. Georgie squeezed her eyes shut, hating herself instantly.

“I know.” He whispered, looking down at the floor.

There were many reasons why Georgie pulled away. The main fear that both of them had mutually agreed on was that if she had closed the distance and if she had kissed him - all self control on either side was gone and there was no stopping the inevitability of all mature relationships. It was something that - whilst both were desperate for - now wasn’t the time and it would lead to a series of unfortunate events neither of them wanted.

“It’s getting late.” Lando grumbled, getting up from the floor. He wasn’t mad at Georgie because he knew it was the right thing - he felt it himself but he was also aware of the large part of him that wanted to indulge, to forget about any consequences and enjoy the raw connection that they had found.

“Yes, you’re right.” Georgie felt a pang of guilt in her chest, as he refused to meet her eye. She stood there frozen, unsure where to go or what to do. “I’ll go call an uber.” She muttered, excusing herself.

“Wait-” Lando called out to her, “Stay.”

Georgie looked at him, confusion etched on her face. Lando took a step towards her, his jaw tightened. He knew come morning he was probably going to regret what he was about to do, it was like he was teasing himself - setting himself up for another heartbreak. But this time it had to be different. It had to be.

“Please, I don’t think I want to be alone.” It was raw emotion talking and a new side to Lando that Georgie didn’t think she would ever see. She knew come morning she was going to regret what she was about to say, it was like she was leading herself down a hole that in the end she wasn’t going to be able to get out of.

“Ok.” She gave a half smile and reached for Lando’s hand.

That night they stayed in each other's arms. Relishing in the comfort they gave to one another, both wishing that tomorrow would never come.

Taglist:

@mjuikoli @httplayer @phatyak

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technospotatoes · 3 years

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C!SAM - Redeemable Qualities Analysis (Dream SMP)

Hallo! I’m back with another brain rot post for ya’ll instead of doing my schoolwork :]

Recently, I’ve been doing some thinking and theorizing with some friends on discord following Quackity’s huge lore stream (if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you watch it). I woke up this morning with a head full of many thoughts about C!Awesamdude and where his story could take us. Seeing as how there is going to be lots of change in the future with the server, there must be changes in these characters as well-- evil to good, good to evil, and the like. With these changes comes my thought: “can these characters be redeemed?” Here are my thoughts on how this applies to C!Sam.

Please let me know your thoughts and theories, I’d love to discuss with you! As always, strap in, it’s gonna be a long one :]

I hope you enjoy!

Author’s note: I want to start this off by saying that all of the contents being discussed are fictional, and are from the Dream SMP universe. I do not support the actions of these characters, but merely have interest in analyzing them through a lens of psychology and for entertainment purposes. Content of this post will contain spoilers up to 3/25/21 of the DSMP lore. I will also talk about ATLA a little bit ;)

Content warning: mentions of torture, manipulation, death, possible psychological trauma

(pls be safe ily)

What makes a redeemable character?

Redeemable characters are some of the most pleasing and favored characters in modern media. Their stories are rich with emotion, and they can even evoke some form of catharsis within the most skeptic consumers. Redeemable characters are memorable and inspiring, and without one, a story can feel empty. Before we apply this character trope to the Dream SMP and C!Sam, we need to answer a basic question in order to fully understand the complexity of redeemable characters and how they are so universally significant.

What is a redeemable character?

Simply put, a redeeming character or characteristic counteracts or corrects something negative. From a storytelling standpoint, a redeemable character is someone who has roots in good qualities, turns bad, and has the ability to revert their wrong choices to become a better person.

Examples of redeemed characters in popular media include:

Zuko - Avatar the Last Airbender

Boromir - Lord of the Rings

Kylo Ren - Star Wars

Severus Snape - Harry Potter

Zuko, for example, starts his story off as the villain. He tirelessly hunts down the protagonist, and will stop at nothing to achieve his goal to please his father. However, as the show progresses, we learn that Zuko wasn’t always bad. He was only driven to his path of villainy because of his fear of failure, of his father (the firelord and true antagonist of the show), and of a greater punishment than what he had already received. With the help of his uncle, Zuko learned to push through and accept his past, while also making amends with his wrongs and coming to the realization of who the true enemy was; ultimately choosing peace and unity over destruction and fear. Zuko’s story is so appealing because it was drawn out. It was raw, it was real, and it was a genuine telling of how damaged people can heal, change, and come to accept themselves. Because he went through the process of redemption, he was not only able to be loved by those around him, but also by his audience-- And I believe that this can be the same case with any redeemable character.

So how does this relate to C!Sam? How could he possibly be redeemable if he is not evil?

C!Sam has become increasingly interesting to me in the DSMP lore, and he has shown how complex his character is-- in contrast to many first impressions that people have of him. Based upon his actions from the past, and his willingness to remain neutral in times of conflict, we can conclude that he sustains both “neutral good” and “lawful neutral/good” qualities. This means that Sam is a reliable character, driven by his own personal values, and is devoted to helping others (when he sees fit). Evidence of these qualities emerge…

When he sided with Pogtopia during the Manberg War to maintain good relations with Tommy and Tubbo.

When he saved Hannah from the Egg

Created Sam Nook to assist Tommy in building his hotel

Built Pandora’s Vault for Dream

Showed concern for Ranboo after one of his denied prison visits

Sam’s moral code is deeply rooted with good intentions; he keeps an eye out for his friends, maintains his relationships, assists in builds/projects, and also serves as a “stable adult figure” for some of the younger members of the server. In contrast to his logical outward appearance, C!Sam lets his emotions drive his decision making-- which can lead to many severe consequences depending on how he acts. However, recently Sam’s actions indicate that he is experiencing a flip in morals.

Below are incidents that have led to C!Sam’s recent change in moral code.

Incident 1: Trapped with the Egg

Many weeks ago, during the height of character involvement with the Egg lore, C!Sam was lured into a trap by BBH and Antfrost. He spent about a day trapped in close contact with the Egg, and after he was saved by Puffy and Tommy, he was clearly changed. It is likely that the Egg is behind these sudden changes in character motivation for Sam… similarly to how it corrupted BBH, Ant, and Punz. Whether this is the case with Sam is unclear.

Incident 2: Tommy’s death

C!Sam and C!Tommy’s relationship within the DSMP lore is one of my favorite things to talk about. After his victory over the disk war and finally landing his nemesis in prison, Tommy was left empty, without much to do. He decided to take upon a new project to incite a new era of peace, and was able to enlist the help of Sam with building his hotel. Throughout this process (and under the watchful eye of Sam Nook), Tommy and Sam were able to develop a bond with each other through their work, along with their interactions at the Prison.

Sam has made it clear that he intends to defend Tommy no matter what-- but after his untimely death at the hands of C!Dream, Sam was deeply wounded. He felt as if he failed his promise to keep Tommy safe, and he made it clear that the blame for the “security issue” and C!Tommy’s death should be placed fully on him. No matter how selfless and responsible this makes his character appear, this event will only serve as the basis for severe consequences in moral change in the future.

Incident 3: Confrontation with Quackity

Following the large emotional impact of Tommy’s death, C!Sam is very vulnerable, because he is still within the stages of grief. C!Quackity came to Sam for a partnership, to take advantage of Sam while he was low to gain the upper hand. It’s no question that Q’s character is a talented manipulator, we can see that clearly in his interaction with Sam. Q restates again and again that Sam failed, further cementing Sam’s existing guilt and desire for revenge for his failure. Sam gives in to the manipulation, and somewhat reluctantly allows Quackity to torture Dream to get information and to get payback for what he did to Tommy... which completely goes against what his responsibility of Warden entails.

As Warden, C!Sam is supposed to uphold the law and rules of visitation, but because of his leniency with Quackity (in breaking the rules) and because he is still emotionally raw, he no longer defends good from evil, but is now biased against it. C!Sam probably wants Dream dead, but as Warden, his opinion shouldn’t matter. Because Sam fully blames himself for failing Tommy, he's lost the "lawful good" in his character, meaning Warden Sam (as a set of morals) truly doesn't exist anymore.

Incident 4: Ponk’s mistake

To recap a stream briefly, Ponk did a prank on Sam a couple days ago, and stole a few of the expired keycards to Pandora’s Vault. Rightfully, Sam was very angry, and not only took back the keycards, but also imprisoned Ponk. However, where this interaction should have ended, C!Sam only took it to the extreme. (TW!!!!) Out of anger and frustration, C!Sam tortured Ponk for his wrongdoing by setting him on fire, and amputating his arm (END TW!!!).

This only proves my point from Incident 3. Warden Sam is fading, only bits and pieces of his morally neutral character remain within him for basic tasks. His encounter with Quackity had a huge impact on his psyche, not only is he allowing the torture of the prison occupants, but he is doing it himself as well. C!Sam is now starting to believe that pain and torture are the only solutions for punishment, which is the complete opposite of what he believed before Dream was imprisoned.

In short...

C!Sam is losing his grip on moral and mental stability because of his emotional insecurity due to his psychological trauma. Because of this, I believe that it is entirely possible for Sam’s character to explore the route of evil and unlawful values-- which furthers the possibility for a redemption arc. Even currently, Sam is eligible for redemption as well.

If C!Sam is willing to acknowledge his wrongs from today and improve himself upon them, he will likely become a more memorable, lovable, and even more human character than we’ve seen in the SMP before.

SIDENOTE!

IRL Sam recently posted in his discord talking about his character. Here are a few key things to keep in mind as the story goes forward:

“There is a LOT of things in the plan for me as a character and a very big change is coming about for me as the story moves along.”

I believe this change could be a villain arc, or a turn towards evil that incites the possibility for redemption.

“My character is playing a role that I think is VITAL for the server and a role that I like to think was a good one for me to pick up and accept.”

You can read the reddit post I referenced for this here (ty to my friend on discord for providing me with the link <3)

TYSM FOR READING!! <3 <3 <3

#dreamsmp #awesamdude #ponk #tommyinnit #tubbo #mcyt #captainpuffy #dsmplore #dream smp lore #dream #dream smp analysis #QUACKITY #my work

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hobbitsetal · 4 years

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HOBBS I wanna hear your opinions on the entertainment debate pls

Ahahahaha this brings me joy because @throwaninkpot said the same thing! Ask and you shall receive ;)

So. The entertainment debate. Is it sinful for Christians to consume media, particularly media that is not Christian, or indeed contains offensive content? Harry Potter is a popular target. Pokemon and Dungeons and Dragons had their day in the cross-hairs.

What I’ve seen floating around on Tumblr leapfrogs from “this media contains something I think is antithetical to Biblical teaching” to “THIS IS NOT 500% GOD ALL THE TIME SO IT IS SINNNNN.”

As a writer of poetry and fantasy, I cannot convey to you how immature I find this view. As a Christian raised with a healthy understanding of Christian liberty, I cannot convey to you how disgustingly legalistic this view is. But I am absolutely going to try, because this is important and I have seen beloved friends badgered and bullied into questioning harmless pastimes by these anti-gospel gatekeepers.

First and most key, I do not care what you’re watching, your salvation is not contingent on nor indicated by your media consumption. Your salvation is contingent on the love of God and indicated by Christ’s redemptive work and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 10:9-10 outlines the requirement for salvation nicely: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

There ya go. If you’re watching Game of Thrones, that doesn’t revoke your Christian card. It doesn’t un-sacrifice Christ.

But mentioning Game of Thrones does beg the question, are there things Christians should not watch? I say yes, and Ephesians and Philippians say yes!

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

That’s a giant block of text, so let’s break it down a bit. Before we are saved, sin doesn’t bother us. Sexually explicit materials, foul language, violence, depravity of every kind--we might personally not love it, but there’s no deep-seated moral argument against it.

After we have been saved, the Holy Spirit convicts us and reveals to us through Scripture how God wants us to live. Sex is holy and should be treated as an important thing. Foul language doesn’t build others up, so we shouldn’t use it. Violence is not loving, so we should not be violent.

How does this relate to media?

I would argue that it relates differently for different people, but that the effect of the media you consume on your spiritual life and your relationships with others is your best gauge.

I knew a young man who was deeply affected by music, so he was careful to listen to Christian artists lest he be tempted into sin by immoral lyrics. I don’t have that problem. I can listen to a song and not think more deeply about it than whether it’s a fun beat.

What about books? I do need to be careful here. Some people can read books with suggestive content and skip past those scenes, without temptation or without their imaginations being led astray. I can’t. So I don’t read romance novels. I would not glorify God with this.

TV shows, art, and movies are all similar: how do they affect you personally? I stopped watching the Battlestar Galactica reboot because the language and sexual content convicted me. But I watched The Witcher with my husband--partly because I’m at a different stage in my life and what stumbled me as a single adult is no longer as problematic now that I’m married, and partly because the subtle pro-life themes and the themes of good and evil and objective right and wrong outweigh the objectionable content.

Romans 14, to me, speaks most clearly to this:

“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

I would not watch certain movies with certain family members, but I would with others. This is not hypocrisy because I don’t pretend that I don’t watch those movies; I make a choice to respect my family’s consciences when they differ from mine.

Were some friends to express dismay that I play Dungeons and Dragons or read Harry Potter, I would explain to them why I’m comfortable with that media, but I wouldn’t shove it in their faces.

~~~

This is dreadfully long already, but I can’t just stop with explaining our liberty in Christ to enjoy media and art.

We are made in the image of God. God is the Great Artist, the Supreme Storyteller, the Maker of Music. We were made to create art, to tell stories, to make music! This is part of how we glorify God! This is what we will spend eternity doing! Do you think Tolkien has stopped writing because he’s in Heaven? or Lewis?

And what is the greatest joy of a creator but sharing? God created us to share Himself with us--not out of need, for He needs nothing, but out of joy and the fullness of His Divine nature! And we, who are needy and who are made to be social in reflection of the Trinity, how much more do we want to share and rejoice in sharing!

As a writer, I love having people read what I write. And conversely, I love hearing my friends’ music and seeing their art.

Those who consume media are taking their rightful place as Audience. Those who create media are taking their rightful place as Sub-Creator.

And those who claim that media is sinful are cramming God into a pitifully tiny box and trying to limit human experience to the blandest existence possible. God did not craft sunsets and constellations and the whole of human history for us to look at each other and say, “Better not enjoy this, it’s probably sinful.”

As Martin Luther allegedly said, “Beer is proof God loves us.”

Enjoy stories. It’s what God created us to do.

#theology #Christianity #Christian liberty #long post #I'M NOT DONE RANTING #I MIGHT JUST WRITE A SEPARATE POST ABOUT STORYTELLING AND GOD #BECAUSE HOT DANG DO I LOVE IT

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victorromeofox-blog · 4 years

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VRF Website and Community

VRF Website and Community - Soft Opening Coming Soon!

I've been a little less active here in the last little bit, but have been working behind the scenes to build up the VRF website and planning around community-building. I'm just about ready to start opening the site to semi-public access and start inviting trusted people to the Discord within the next week! There is some information below introducing some of the content and features of the site and Discord server. Please contact me (Ask or email preferred) if you would like access - I recommend reading the rest of this post before you do, but it is not required.

If you’re looking to better understand BDSM and kink, participate in a community of rational, respectful, and conscientious kink practitioners, and contribute to protecting, uplifting, and helping others - while still enjoying some fantasies - you are exactly the type of person who would be a great fit for this space.

If you’re “just here for the porn”, this website and community are not going to be what you’re looking for. They are specifically a pushback against that very mentality, and the rampant toxicity and problematic discourse in the online BDSM/kink space, especially CNC kink, and your needs will be better met elsewhere. Same goes for those who are just out to get nudes, roleplay online, organize hookups, or find a submissive - there are other spaces geared toward that.

In the meantime, I'd like to explain what this all means to me, where VRF is headed next, and what factors I'm taking into consideration as I continue. This is going to be a fairly reflective post - almost like a letter of intent - but I'm putting it out there primarily for transparency and also for those of you who want some insight into my thoughts and process.

VRF - A Quick Recap

When I started VRF in 2015, I didn't really have a goal. I was just looking to curate the kinds of porn I enjoyed the most on Tumblr and occasionally added some captions that came to mind as I did - and accidentally cultivated a sizeable following. As the blog grew and began to have more interactions with others on the network, I realized that I couldn't stay in-persona all the time - not without sending a potentially dangerous message - so I started answering asks and giving advice out of character, as myself. These "real" interactions, as well as the reality checks that kept rolling in, set the tone for what VRF would become - and made me feel much more comfortable with running a blog featuring questionable content.

I stepped away from the blog and went on hiatus in 2016; I saw a sharp rise in hateful, bigoted, and violent voices online and no longer felt comfortable that my posts would remain firmly in the realm of fantasy for the majority of readers. Although the original @violent-rape-fantasies was terminated in 2019, I made a fairly complete backup of the entire blog before it went down. I returned in late 2020 to start again from scratch, try to rebuild my following, and reconnect with the community - that effort was terminated by Tumblr in 2021, leading me to the two blogs I currently have (@VictorRomeoFox-blog / @violent-rape-fantasies-2) and to create a self-hosted website containing the original VRF archives with major quality-of-life improvements to the Tumblr experience.

This process made me consider what my goals are for VRF, how I want to achieve them, and what promises I make to the community as part of that journey.

VRF - Mission and Values

VRF's mission is to be a safe, inclusive, and collaborative space that promotes affirmative consent, healthy relationships, and conscientious kink, where consenting adults can explore their kinks, enjoy fictional fantasies, and uplift one another without overbearing guilt or shame.

Let me quickly break some of this down:

safe: I want people to feel comfortable consuming and interacting with me and my content - not only the kinks and acts depicted in the fantasies, but in the entirety of the space that VRF projects, including knowing that their personhood, privacy, anonymity, and emotional safety are important to me.

inclusive: although I focus primarily on male-on-female scenarios, people from all walks of life are welcome so long as they are good citizens of the community and conscientious kink practitioners. This also means rejecting hate, bigotry, and willful ignorance.

collaborative: VRF is discursive, both in-persona and out-of-character; the content and direction I take is often influenced by the conversations I have with followers, the asks and submissions I receive, and the state of the community as I see it. I want to always be in conversation with the community to understand its needs and goals so that I can better meet them.

affirmative consent: as discussed in a previous post, I highlight affirmative consent because it centers around positive action as opposed to consent, which can be a passive state. I believe this is critical for conscientious kink.

healthy relationships: the relationships we hold shape who we are, who we become, and how we interact with the world around us. I believe that healthy relationships build healthier, happier lives - this concerns all relationships, from friendships to families to romantic or sexual partnerships. I have seen less emphasis in this community on relationships, and interpersonal interactions in general, and think that this is a major oversight.

conscientious kink: kink can be dangerous or harmful when not practiced with care and consideration - not just for physical health, but for mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It requires reflection, introspection, and communication in order to form intentionality - the understanding behind what you do, how you do it, and why you do it.

reducing guilt: this is one of the concerns I get most often from followers - how to reconcile their guilt for enjoying consensual non-consent, and whether it is morally wrong or an indication that something is wrong with them. I believe that CNC, like most kinks, can be practiced in a conscientious way to reduce and mitigate the potential dangers, but that it requires consistent effort, education, and research.

Aside from these, I identified values which are important for me to maintain in order to meet the mission. Some of them are:

transparency: I try to be as transparent as I can, while maintaining my privacy and anonymity, so that people know that I have nothing to hide. I cannot build a safe space without building trust, and I can’t build trust without being honest and transparent.

leadership by example: if I am positioning myself as a resource and giving advice to others, I must embody the values I put forward and lead by example, not by words; otherwise, what I say is worthless and lacks substance.

data- and research-driven: I want to provide people with a deeper understanding of themselves and their kinks; while anecdotal information can at times be helpful, I want the things I posit to have weight and justification behind them. This means an intersection of data, research, and analysis around all of the factors involved, including moral philosophy, psychology, sociology, and biology.

care and patience: these kinks are difficult and hurtful to some people, and confusing or conflicting to others. I need to be caring, considerate, and patient in order for people to feel comfortable engaging with my content and interacting with me.

contextualized: these kinks and fantasies don’t exist in a vacuum and must be contextualized in order to remain conscientious of the relationship it maintains to the real world. This means that I don’t want fantasies misrepresented as reality or reality misconstrued as fantasy, and the onus is on me to ensure that followers are seeing both sides of the equation.

quality over quantity: I have a limited amount of time that I can dedicate to VRF work, and want to make the best possible use of that time. I want to focus on high-quality content, both in-persona fantasies and out-of-character advice, research, and resources, without worrying about how much or how frequently I’m posting. It also means that I care far less about the number of followers and viewers I have, and much more about whether I am cultivating the kind of followers that match my vision for VRF and its community.

There are other factors and values as well, but these are the biggest ones for me. They drive how I present myself, how I interact with the community, and what kinds of content I put forth.

VRF Website - Content and Features

What does the website allow me to do that I couldn’t on Tumblr?

No censorship, frustrating filters, or threat of termination - I can focus on my content without running into blockers at every turn, or worrying that I’m going to lose all my work without warning.

Better content controls, organization, and layout - I can group posts logically and have different ways for users to access and view them instead of being one monolithic stream of posts.

Tagging and search - I’ve tagged my archive with kinks, features, toys, actions, positions, locations, and more to make it easier to both find content that you want to see and avoid content that you don’t. The VRF site features granular search controls, including tag combinations, so you can engage with the site how you choose.

Random Post/Random Caption - sometimes, you’re in the mood to mix things up. Instead of seeing a temporally-sorted feed of posts, you can go to a random post or caption from the menu bar.

Clear disclaimers and view control - instead of my content being blended into a sea of posts, which creates difficulty in carving out that safe cognitive space for engaging with these kinks or necessitates rapid context-switching, all of my posts will be in one central repository with clear disclaimers where I have control over how things are viewed.

The VRF Archive - the content from the original @violent-rape-fantasies blog have been restored to the VRF website.

There are some downsides, of course - like the lack of network discovery, limited server space and resources, cost, maintenance, and effort. But the benefits greatly outweigh the additional overhead.

VRF Community

What’s the VRF Discord community all about?

This is a new idea I’m playing with - I’m not new to Discord or community management, but combining that with VRF is a new endeavor for me. Since I’m going to be shifting my focus from Tumblr to the VRF website, some of those network and community interactions from Tumblr will move to Discord instead, such as interacting with followers, taking requests, feedback, and suggestions, and delving deeper into kink philosophy, fantasy, and practice.

I’ve set up the Discord in a way that different sections can be partitioned - like general discussion, BDSM/kink discussion, CNC fantasies, member content (submissions), and so on. The different sections are accessible to different levels of membership and verification to maintain that safe, inclusive, and collaborative space. For example, agreeing to the rules and guidelines gives you access to the general discussion section; verifying your age gives you access to BDSM- and kink-related sections; and being an active and trusted member who contributes to the server over time gets you access to the private sections.

This will also be a much easier way to get in contact with me, and keep the majority of my interactions with the community in one place, instead of hunting across Tumblr messenger for both my accounts, Asks, Twitter, Discord DMs, Telegram, Kik, and email.

VRF - Next Steps and Future Work

In the next few weeks, the VRF website and Discord community will soft-open and move toward general opening. This is a new direction for me, but after assessing my priorities and goals, it is the solution best suited for what I want to achieve. I will continue to use Tumblr, but will likely be focusing the majority of my time on the website and Discord.

The mission and values I’ve identified leave quite a bit of room to explore various ways to express these kinks and share knowledge. I’m not hard-set on VRF being a blog with porn and captions, and could see changes or pivots in the future. I would love for this work to be able to generate some modest revenue in the future in order to cover basic operating costs, support survivors of abuse as well as kink education and safety, and commission custom content. As an aside, if you read all of this, please start your request for access with the word “potato” in all caps to let me know you got this far.

I also want to move toward a more ethical and sustainable model of captions and fantasies. My first step toward this is in creating gifs myself and fully crediting the source, which I started doing when I returned from hiatus. Concurrently, I am working with my partner, who is an artist, to develop illustrations and animations to accompany captions instead of commercial pornography - we’re still in the R&D phase for this, but hope to share some early content soon (including a fantasy and sketch that we’re working on to accompany a follower submission). Ideally, we would be able to collaborate with submitters and sex workers to create fully original, credited, and compensated content - but that’s a huge stretch goal for the future.

We are also considering other formats for fantasy and knowledge delivery, including a visual novel format or interactive media (i.e., games) if the art development turns out well and proves sustainable. We’re both fairly busy people in our personal and professional lives, and in situations where we have to maintain a fairly strict separation between kink involvement and our everyday lives, so carving out time for VRF work is challenging at times!

I look forward to seeing folks on the VRF website and Discord community soon!

#vrf #blog #website #community #about

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lilyths-blog1 · 5 years

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♦ : ^ ). You can set this in our normal verse or write that lil scene I told you about that coulda happened in America.

Intimacy Meme. — (( @rinadealga

♦: Slow dancing.

The ear numbing cacophony of overzealous shouting, singing, and overall merriment echoed throughout the halls of the White House; sounding so strongly within the now mess hall that the walls quivered. The atmosphere was electrified with excitement and anticipation . . Only causing the crowd of celts to grow louder and more rowdy by the second as the aura gradually grew stronger.

They were celebrating; Celebrating the final approaching battles, completely assured that with the power of a grail, their beastly king, and his newfound magus that the said battles were already won. A grave mistake, perhaps, for any other battalion . . But even SHE knew that they were not overestimating themselves. It was entirely possible that they would win . . Against Chaldea, the savior of humanity, and likely every battle to come after that. They would win here, and the world she’d left behind would end in flames.

Rubied hues stare out, over hundreds of exclaiming, joyous heads . . Scanning the groups and crowds below her balcony perch as a realization hits her. It does not strike her with force as it should have . . It is not the mind shattering, gut wrenching thought that it should have been. It’s subtle, and simply put, and by the time it even becomes a true thought, she’s already accepted it.

Her mind had wandered for a moment, and now as it returns, she brushes her fingers along the balconies marble rails before walking from it; Leaving the bustling main hall behind her as she walks into the somewhat darkened presidential suite.

The heels upon her feet click softly as she moves to take a seat upon the side of the bed, reminding her of the dull ache they’ve caused upon her soles. With a sigh, she reaches down and removes them, bending down and placing the pair to the side . . As her head raises once again, a glint of silver catches her eyes, and she pauses.

Slowly sitting to her full height, a satin gloved hand reaches out, fingers gingerly curling about the chipped music box on the nightstand. Staring down at it for a moment, her free hand reaches for the small key about her neck . . It had never worked before. Clearly broken when they had found it during their excursion . . A peace of junk with no use to anyone any longer, left to ruin along with the building about it as the war raged on. Naught but fancy scrap metal now . . And she had only been allowed to keep it back then because she had promised to keep her mouth shut.

It had never worked before, just a small chunk of wood and metal that shouldn’t have been able to bring joy to anyone anymore; Completely useless. So . . There was no point in trying to play with it anymore. Her free hand drops back to her lap now, eyes dimming as she stares down at the music box, thumb idly pawing along its sides.

No . . No. She should try again. Maybe some sort of miracle would occur and this time it would work? Her hand once again reaches for the key, removing it from about her neck and sticking it into the music box’s keyhole. With a deep inhale, Selena twists the key slowly . . Around, and around, until she hears a soft ‘click,’ indicating that it could be turnt no further. Holding her breath, she slides the key from the hole . . Soft mechanical whirs come from within, and her eyes light up seeing the top of the box slowly lift open . . Revealing a miniature ballerina upon a spring. A singular musical note resounds from the box, and the ballerina begins to turn. Ah, was it actually going to—?

But no. It falls silent after that. Excitement immediately dissipating, Selena places the music box back down upon the nightstand with a defeated exhale.

The sound of the door opening behind her alarms the woman, though she knows by the sound of the footsteps that follow that she has no need to be startled. With her eyes glued upon the music box, she waits for him to speak.

‘It was your idea, remember? So . . Why aren’t you out there?’

It had been her idea; Some sort of get together . . One last, large shindig of sorts to raise morale . . And it had certainly worked judging by the ever present buzzing from the main hall. It was a party, and everyone was enjoying it, except her. So, why wasn’t she out there?

Sighing, Selena puts on a half-smile, glancing back at the mad king over her shoulder, “ . . And YOU’RE their king. Shouldn’t YOU be down there too?” When had she grown so bold? How could she sit there and speak to carnage made man with such cheek? She didn’t remember when the feelings had shifted . . But she did know, that had she been anyone else, she wouldn’t have been sitting there intact for much longer.

Meeting his gaze, they’re silent for a moment and the quiet fills the room, her eyes returning to the music box, “It was my idea, yeah. But, I’m not much for crowds, honestly. They make me queasy.” She was lying, partly. She had no problem with crowds, but . . She WAS feeling queasy. As for why? It was easier to know and accept than explain. This seemed to be the one time a fib of hers had actually been convincing judging by the berserkers tone (tinged with worry so faint it would be unnoticeable by most,) when next he spoke.

‘Then rest. You’re going to need your strength tomorrow. I’ll go get some water—’

He must’ve seen the way she was shaking her head because he paused there and waited, “No. I don’t need it.” Silence consumes the suite once again until, at last, the magus stands. Walking about the side of the bed, she makes her way to stand before the man before extending a hand . . A soft smile taking its place upon her lips.

“This is a party, isn’t it? I don’t know about you guys but, at OUR parties . . Theres usually dancing. And since I don’t see anyone else up here, I guess you’re just going to have to dance with me.”

She watches with slight amusement as a wave of confusion washes over his face . . Though it’s soon replaced with resignation before her hand is engulfed in the claws and scales adorning his own. Slowly raising her opposite hand, she moves closer so it can gently grasp his free hand and place it upon her hip before it trails its way up his arm to perch upon his shoulder.

And as the first step of their waltz is taken, just as her now bare toes land against the floor; The music box begins to play.

Eyes now fixated upon her partners, she grips his hand firmly as she leads them both about the room in gradual circles. The white noise of the main hall suddenly forgotten as she focuses in upon the gentle melody filling the room. It was strangely peaceful considering what was happening . . As if the world outside had gone and poofed away for the moment. No party, no celts, no war . . Just her, and him, and the music box.

And when at last the music stops, and feet along with it; She decides. No, she’d already decided, from the moment those command seals had appeared on her hand . .

Her eyes fall to the ground now, though she doesn’t let go of him just yet.

“ . . Tomorrow.” A pause as she inhales, “Tomorrow is it. Tomorrow is our last fight . . At least for now.” And now her gaze rises again, “We’re going to win. And when we do, you’re . . Really going to be king around here.” Theres blatant confusion on his face now . . And she understands why.

“I must sound really fucked up right now, right? After all, this was all a mistake. I was never supposed to be here to begin with . . And then you locked me up, forced me to make a pact with you . . Made me fight against the people I was supposed to be fighting to save. Not to mention you pretty much forced yourself on me multiple times—” She pauses, shaking her head, “Yeah . . I’ve gotta be screwed up in the head or something . . But that’s okay. I’ve already forgiven you.”

“ . . I’ve . . Never been able to do anything for anyone. Never once have I ever felt that I’ve been of use to anyone no matter how hard I tried. No matter how desperately I strived or how much I pushed myself . . I’ve never been useful, I’ve never been enough.”

“I poured years of my life into training . . To become a magus actually worth a damn. I gave up a normal life . . So that for once I could be useful to someone. And thats why I went to Chaldea . . Because surely they could make use of me there, right . . ?” A quiet, sorrowful laugh escapes her after this, “But, of course not. In the end, Fujimaru was the only one they cared about . . And I ended up being nothing but a bother they pushed grunt work on so they wouldn’t feel bad because I had nothing to do.”

“Then I come here, and I become your . . Master. And god I hated you. I should STILL hate you, you know? You’re my enemy . . You’re my WORLDS enemy at this point, you are what stands between a future of prosperity, and one that ends in fire. But . .”

“But you’re the only one who could make use of me . . you’re also the only person who’s ever NEEDED me. And after years . . And years of searching for that, to find it here of all places . .” Her voice gradually turns whisper like as she speaks . . She’s shaking now, it’s barely noticeable but . .

Selena lets go now, stepping back . . And when she raises her chin, tears have begun to stream down her face, “Please . . Just say that, after tomorrow, you’ll still need me. Even if it’s just as a mana source . . So long as you continue to need me . . “

“Then, I’m content staying here with you. Forever.”

#rinadealga #°【IC #°【Asks #❣【 ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴍᴀʏ ʙᴇ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀsɴ'ᴛ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ — CúLena #Long post #//Under a readmore for length #V: E Pluribus Unum

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kae-karo · 6 years

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I'm having a hard time figuring out how to be nice/respectful and shippy/enjoy demon moments. Sometimes I wonder if analyzing DnP interactions so closely might be crossing a line. I'm not coming after anyone, I just respect you a great deal and think you'd have insight into how to have fun with shippy stuff and also respect them as people. What are your tips?

hey b! i think a lot about this honestly, like probably more than i should tbqh but here’re my thoughts (i’m enjoying the fact that this is apparently a valid contraction lmao)

first and foremost: being a demon means we inherently exist in a morally grey zone. i don’t want to stand here and say ‘oooo yeah we’re pillars of morality bc we say we’re being respectful’ like we shouldn’t ever get in the mindset that there’s nothing wrong with being demon (the term is what it is for a reason....we ain’t callin ourselves angels)

here’s the thing. and i talk a lot abt being respectful of dnp, so like. idk search ‘respect’ on my blog or smth i have lots of opinions lmao. but to me being respectfully demon means

not purposely/directly bringing relationship/shipping/etc stuff to the attention of dnp. it exists, they know it does, but it’s rude and disrespectful of us to throw it in their faces or give them them impression that all we care abt from this vid or that is ooooh dnp you were sitting so close and ooh the heart eyes dan you’re so in love with phil etc etc (examples: it’s disrespectful to ask if phan is real! esp during liveshows! or to @ mention dnp on phanart - the phan kind - that isn’t yours!)

enjoying the cute moments - so long as that’s not all we care about! i think this is where things get tougher, bc we love their relationship and we enjoy doing these little analyses (or big analyses) but we should always be checking ourselves: is the reason we’re here/posting this thing/reblogging this post primarily bc we like to overanalyze their relationship? or is it bc we enjoy their content, and looking at their relationship is a bonus? (examples: this is harder, but it’s more an internal thing and thinking abt why you loved a vid/piece of content - was it purely bc they almost touched in that one part? bc there were a lot of heart eyes?)

acknowledging that dnp aren’t stupid. they’re quite aware of the things we harp on (heart eyes, touches, innuendos, etc). within their videos and the non-live content they choose to post, i firmly believe they know when they’re including smth that might catch our attention. maybe not every time, or every thing, but some of the big stuff, and they’re choosing not to cut it out. i’m not saying this is express permission for us to pick apart every vid without care, but again, there are ways to be respectful and enjoy these moments without letting them take priority over the entire vid/content ahem trying to live my truth (examples: the pizza thing in the google feud vid! they chose to keep that in, so if we talk abt it being adorable and domestic, nothing exceptionally harmful there!)

being cognizant consumers of phanfic - dnp are well aware phanfic exists, and it’s been years since they’ve felt the need to actively address it, but that doesn’t mean we should assume they don’t care. it’s really really important to remember that phanfic is fiction. even the hcs and blurbs and stuff like that, they are not dnp. if you’ve not watched it, i highly recommend pj’s vid on fandom (x) as it hits some v good points about fandom in general and this specifically (examples: watch the vid srsly but apparently people have left him angry comments abt things he as a character did in a fanfic? it’s important and healthy to regularly go ‘yep okay that was a phanfic/hc, not reality’ and take time to ground yourself - esp with hcs, we sort of fill in the blanks from stuff we don’t know in their lives, and it’s really easy to forget that we don’t actually know)

being cognizant consumers of dnp-related content - we see funny posts cross our dash all the time, some more demon than others, and it’s important to encourage the behavior we want to see and not encourage the behavior we don’t want to see. we can police ourselves, ofc, but there will always be phans out there that take things too far, and we can have an effect on toxic or problematic behavior by not giving it the same attention we give to other more positive/respectful dnp-related content (examples: i mean i honestly just straight up unfollow people who post too much stuff like that, but really it’s just a matter of taking a second and assessing your reaction to a post and going ‘okay, is this smth that might be a bit much?’)

checking ourselves regularly - and i know this is smth i need to work on myself sometimes, as it’s very easy to get drawn down the rabbit hole on something and not realize that we might be digging too much, taking things too seriously or too far. fandom is meant to be fun, if we’re getting in an argument or too involved in discourse, it might be time to take a step back and consider whether this is something we should even be discussing, or something that we should be discussing in such detail (examples: discourse, esp about coming out or sharing a room or who tops or their behaviors with regards to a relationship together or w.e and i’m trying to minimize it on my blog - although i do want to get through everyone’s asks - bc, while i want everyone to be able to express their opinions, there are def times it goes too far and, bc we exist in a grey zone, it’s hard sometimes to realize when we’ve wandered from the light grey to the dark grey)

not taking anything too seriously - this sort of goes along with the last one but we want to enjoy being here! we love dnp, we love their vids, we love the friends we’ve made and our fave blogs, our fave writers and artists and gif-makers and edit-makers and content creators, so we shouldn’t take anything too seriously (and we should be able to tell, or be on the lookout for signs to indicate, whether a blog is posting something good-naturedly/jokingly or posting something in order to cause a stir/be disrespectful) (examples: someone makes a really dumb shitpost that we think is hilarious but is also very clearly a shitpost with no serious meaning? cool, probably not immensely harmful to reblog it. someone makes a post that seems to be seriously commenting on smth that might be a bit too private/personal or we think is taking things a bit too far? leave it alone. unfollow the person if we feel they’re going too far too often)

moral of the story here: we aren’t perfect angels, but there are ways to be mindful of what we’re doing/saying, mindful of what we’re consuming, and mindful of how we’re interacting both with dnp and with other phandom members. we should try to be cognizant and aware, ask ourselves if something might be propagating something that could be harmful to dnp in some way, and regularly ground ourselves in reality - because, at the end of the day, dnp are real people and, while it’s fun to take things out of the realm of reality for a bit, we’re fans of the real dnp and we definitely want to show that!

#dnp #dan and phil #phan #dip and pip #respectfully demon #wow this ended up being v v long #but i hope it helps?#i know i'm still working on some of this stuff #but we can always improve #and it's always good to take a step back and asses how we're doing #if we're being respectful #and if we're enjoying their content in a respectful way #that doesn't prioritize their relationship over the actual content #anon #ask #kt

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seokkgenie · 7 years

Text

Star-Crossed (two)

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Genre: soulmate au, smut, angst

Words: 5.3k

Warning:Mature content ahead; mentions of death

one | two | Epilogue (coming soon)

You shifted uncomfortably in the bed, the scorching heat from the sun’s rays finding themselves onto your eyes, burning you. You groaned as you opened your eyes, rubbing them. You managed to sit up and reach out to the window to shut the blinds. You lay down again to fall asleep but memories of the events of the previous night jerked you awake.

You blushed remembering the sex, but it wasn’t long until you were also reminded of what you had dreamed of and what Jungkook had muttered after that.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

You look around the room and breathed a sigh of relief to not find him there. The last thing you needed was to deal with the consequences of a one night stand. You had barely gotten any sleep last night. Hearing his sleep talk had startled you and, actually, scared you quite a bit. You had lied down staring at the ceiling long after he had stopped murmuring and no matter how much you had tried, you couldn’t get yourself to sleep. Your mind was filled with questions and the sound of his breathing made you hyper aware of the fact that he was sleeping on your bed, next to you, barely wearing any clothes.

You had wanted to ask him why he had called you ‘yeonhee’ right after you had a dream in which that was your name. You couldn’t find any rational explanation for it and you obviously didn’t want to wake him up and question him. He would have probably thought that he had slept with a crazy person and regretted the whole thing.

You looked at the small digital clock. 8:17 am. You willed yourself to get out of the comfortable bed and head into the shower. You had been so tired the previous night that you had failed to realize how sticky and gross you were after the sex.

As the hot water hit your body, you sighed, the hangover caught up to you and you had a throbbing headache. But, that didn’t stop your mind from diverting itself towards thinking about how your so called rest days had been turned into this mess.

It’s okay, you thought. It was a coincidence. No. I heard it wrong. He didn’t say what I think he did.

It’s okay. I’ll probably never see him again.

That thought was supposed to make you feel relieved. But, your heart sank knowing that he had left without saying a word. You tried again to convince yourself that you were thinking too hard. This is how one night stands worked and you should be glad that you had initiate yourself into the casual hookup culture.

When you got out of the shower, you took an aspirin and decided to order some hangover food that Korea is famous for. While you waited for your food to arrive, you decided to call Hoseok. He had left around ten missed calls and double that amount of worried messages.

“Hello?” he answered after just a few rings. Too few, as far as you were concerned.

“Hi. Wow. How long had you been staring at your phone, creep?” you asked, smiling. Just hearing his voice made you feel a little less disoriented.

He ignored your question and said, “Why have you been mia since last night?”

“I was out. And then I was busy. No biggie.”

“Do you know how worried I have been? Holy shit, I was about to call the cops.” He yelled.

“Calm down, Hoseok. I’m alright. Except for this raging hangover and shame.” You almost whisper the last line.

He paused. SO you ask, “Hello? Hoseok? Are you still there?”

“Yes.” He replied. “What do you mean shame?”

You sighed. “Hoseok, promise me you won’t judge me.” You bit your lip, hoping to hear a favorable reply from your friend. As soon as the words had left your mouth, you regretted saying anything. The last thing that you needed was to have the only person whom you trusted in your new life to think badly of you.

Luckily, him being the ray of sunshine that he was made you feel like you could tell him anything. “Y/n, you know I would never judge you. I’m your friend! You can tell me anything.”

“Hoseok, I….” you took a deep breath and massaged your temples with your free hand. “I met someone last night. I.... and I slept with him.”

Hoseok didn’t say anything. The worry was back and you wanted to punch yourself for being an idiot who cannot keep any secrets.

Suddenly, your ears were filled with loud cackling. You tilted your head in confusion.

“Are you serious?” he asked. “That’s great! I was beginning to think that you were a hermit.”

“Shut up.” You heaved a sigh of relief. “So, you don’t think I am easy and slutty and gross?”

“Oh, come on! After all the feminist rants that you’ve put me through, how can I think like that? In your words, a woman’s worth is not measured by the weight of her sexual choices.”

You laughed along with him. “I’ve taught you well.”

“But, who is this guy? How did you meet? When are you seeing him again? Do you want some recommendations for nice date places?”

“Slow down, dude.” You interrupted him. “I don’t think I’ll see him again.”

Every time you admitted it, you felt the same sinking feeling, but you shake it off. “It was a one night stand.”

“Does he have your number?” Hoseok asked.

“I think so. We exchanged numbers at the bar.”

“Do you want to meet him again?” He seemed to be interrogating you at this point.

The question took you off guard. Did you want to meet him again?

“I think so. But it’s a little complicated.”

“What’s the problem?”

You were quiet again. There was no way to explain it to Hoseok, or to anyone else why you were hesitating, at least not without recounting your recurring nightmares. That most definitely meant exposing yourself to the danger of being termed as crazy.

“It’s a long story, I’d rather not speak about it right now.” You replied, hoping he would let it go.

“How about you take some time and think about it for now? We can talk about this when I get back. Alright?”

You sighed. “Okay. I’ll see you on Monday?”

“Unfortunately.” He replied making you smile again.

“Shin!” you call him out. You were standing on a balcony. The walls made of grey stone and the marble floors were pristine white.

He looks up at you from below. He smiles and your heart almost leaps out of your chest. You both didn’t care about the dozens of eyes watching you. Behind Shin, his brother enters the foyer in which they stood and he asks the soldiers and servants to give you privacy. You move your eyes away from Shin and onto his brother.

“You came too, Yoon Orabeoni!” He smiles up at you.

He nods and replies, “Of course, I did. My brother needs all the moral support that he can get.”

You laugh, agreeing with him. With Lee Yoon here to support you, there was no way your parents wouldn’t agree to Shin and your request. When the future King of the land wants something, he probably gets it. You stubborn father stood no chance against the King who’s army he headed.

You run downstairs eager to catch up to the brothers.

As soon as you burst through the doors, you run towards Shin and wrap your hands around his neck and he reciprocates by placing his hands around your waist and lifting you up slightly and turning around in a full circle. You giggle and say, “I missed you.”

“I love you.” He replies and you blush, the words still make your heart race. The first time he had said that, you had been dumbstruck for a full minute. Having your childhood friend say that to you was not something that you had imagined.

“Save this for after your father agrees to let you marry Shin.” Yoon says and you both look at him.

“Everything will be okay, right. Orabeoni?” you ask, nervously. Shin weaves his fingers into your’s.

Yoon moves forward and gently touches your shoulder. “Don’t worry, Yeonhee.” He then looks at his yonger brother and gives him a reassuring nod.

You say in a soft voice, “My father wants me to marry you.”

“I know.” Yoon says. “He wants you to be the queen.”

“No,” you reply, sensing Shin’s uneasiness next to you, brought on by this topic and you hold onto his hand a little tighter. “He wants to be more powerful. Nobody cares about what I want, or what we want.” You stress on the ‘we’ to indicate how much out of your control all of your lives had been since you were born to royal and noble households.

“I care.” Yoon says, then after a pause he starts again, “Trust me, when I’m king, we’ll all be happier.”

Yoon hadn’t known back then how wrong his words would turn out to be.

After that night with Jungkook, you didn’t wake up in the middle of the night due to the nightmare, but you had other dreams about the same people. You saw the same places and felt the same emotions. It was as though a story was suddenly unfolding and somehow you felt like you were an integral part of it. You felt kinship with the people that you dreamed about and you felt miserable thinking about the fate of their story that you were all too familiar with.

You spent all of your time thinking about your dreams. You piecing together the story that was playing in your mind while you were deep in sleep. You spent the first few days in a daze, doing the bare minimum and setting up a routine for yourself where all you did was go to work and then home, refusing any plans that Hoseok tried to involve you in.

Hoseok was adamant, “Come on, Y/n! Please!”

“Hoseok, please. You know I don’t like crowds.” You replied. Over the course of your friendship he had noticed that you seemed to hate crowds. He didn’t know that the fear was instilled in you when you had dreamt about a different realm for the first time. Crowds reminded you of the one in tour dream-surrounding you pitifully, looking, judging and consuming.

“I’ll be with you the whole time! It’s the Cherry Blossom Festival, y/n. We just have to see it!”

“Shouldn’t you go there with a date?” you asked, sighing.

“We can go on like a friend date thing, okay?” he pouted.

“That’s not a thing.” You sometimes hated how stubborn he could get. He looked at you, a sad expression etched on his face. You had no choice but to give in. “Fine.” You agreed and his face lit up, his heart shaped smile making you want to mirror his expression

“What are you doing?” he asks you and you look up at him. You don’t reply, still angry from the events of the day. You had a knife in your hand, it’s handle made of bronze with intricate drawings on it.

“Yeonhee” he calls and you groan. “I don’t want to fight.”

He sits down next to you and you sigh, “You don’t want the crown.” You state. Earlier that day the King had announced that his first son, Prince Lee Yoon would become the next King. The ministers then warned Shin what this meant. Once a new king ascends the throne, the first thing he did was eliminate any threat to his throne, and more often than not, that included blood relatives.

“No, I don’t.” he replies. “Hyung knows it too. So, don’t worry. There won’t be a fight.”

“I know Yoon Orabeoni won’t try to kill you. But, I’m still scared.”

He nods. You trusted Yoon, of course, but having grown up around the royal family as the daughter of their chief of army, you also knew the kind of manipulation that went on behind the scenes. Even the kindest of men became monsters once they were possessed by power and greed.

Your friend reassures you, “The crown is my brother’s. He can have it. He can rule the kingdom. He can be rich and powerful. I don’t want any of that.”

“What do you want, Shin?” you ask.

“I want……” he trails off. Then he removes the knife from your hands and puts it down beside him. “I want to leave. I want to love and I want to be happy.”

“Love?” you ask, scoffing. “When have any of us ever had the chance to find love?”

“I did.” He states and you whip your head to look at him.

“W-what? When?” you ask, annoyed that he had never mentioned any of this to you before. “Who?” you ask, your voice hoarse.

He lets out a small laugh. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

You hit him playfully on his arm. “Fine. Don’t tell me. Don’t come asking for my help when people find out that you fell in love with someone that you aren’t even engaged to.”

He just laughs and you roll your eyes, looking away from him. You stare into the distance wondering why you felt so annoyed. You were envious of anyone who said they had fallen in love, because you knew that with your family background, you’d probably never get a chance to feel true love in this lifetime. But, this feeling was more than just envy. You felt like you were sitting on the shore, looking at the ship that you were supposed to take sail away, leaving you behind feeling helpless and desperate.

You failed to notice the boy sitting next to you looking at you with a sad smile on his face. His eyes sparkled as though he were looking at the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen, but it could never be his.

You didn’t know why, but you couldn’t seem to forget Jungkook. You would be sitting around doing nothing and suddenly you would think about how warm he had felt that night as you slept next to each other. You would be working, your face frowning in concentration, but suddenly you would remember how good he had felt inside of you and your cheeks would heat up. You would sitting in meetings, concentrating on the speaker and out of nowhere, you would have this intense desire to see him, feel him sitting next to you.

You missed him.

It was ridiculous. You barely knew the guy and yet here you were acting like a total love stuck maniac. You looked at his contact on your phone, but didn’t message him. You had some pride left. If he had been interested, he would have never left that morning without saying a word to you.

You called Hoseok instead. “Hey, I’m almost at the festival. Have you left?”

“Don’t yell at me, y/n, but stupid Manager Park gave me this file that have to assess and make a report about it. I have to send it to HR tonight.”

“You’re still at work?” you yelled into the phone. “I can’t believe you, Hoseok!”

You stopped walking and turned around “I’m going back home.”

“No, please!” Just wait for 30 minutes. I’ll be there!” he pleaded.

“I cant.” You said, “you know I’ll have a panic attack if I get stuck in the middle of a crowded place.”

“Just wait outside, okay? I’m almost done. I’ll come over directly.” He cut the call, ready to finish his work fast.

You walked towards the entrance to the fair. The gate was an archway decorated to look like cherry blossoms, you could hear the buzzing of people walking around enjoying the spring air.

You stood and looked around. You could see a glimpse of the fairy lights inside the park and you smiled. As much as you hated Hoseok right now, he knew exactly what you liked.

He was right. It wasn’t crowded outside, so you could breathe without the anxiety of having to face the crowd. You had forgotten about a slight detail which would change the course of the night for you.

You suddenly heard the faint sounds of drums and the traditional Korean horn, Nagak. You didn’t know why you recognized the music from these instruments that you were yet to see.

Suddenly you had goosebumps and you felt a lingering sense of dread surround you. There was a staged parade today. Hoseok had mentioned it. Something to do with remembering old traditions and culture. They were going to mimic a royal parade that used to take place centuries ago.

You stood rooted in your spot as the music got louder. You felt like you were in a trance. You were snapped out of your daze when someone shoved you from behind and you stumbled. “Sorry!” they apologized and you looked around you as you regained you balance to see hundreds of people around you. They were waiting for the parade that was nearing, but suddenly you felt like they were watching you. The music was still playing in your head and it intensified your anxiety for some reason. You wanted to run away from there, but you felt like you coudn’t move. You were breathing in and out quickly, the short breaths making you feel suffocated.

Your eyes were filled with tears now but you didn’t bother to wipe them away. Your eyes wandered around again, but this time you saw something different. You were back in the first dream that you had ever had, except you has not fallen asleep this time. Grass was under your feet again and outlines of mountains behind you. You were on your knees now, hyperventilating, but no one seemed to care. You looked up to see an all too familiar scene again. You saw him lying in front of you. Shin. You wanted move forward and prevent the sword from crashing down on him, but you couldn’t get your legs to budge. You just stretched your hand, trying to reach out to him. You watched as the sword went through his body again and your hand was stained with his blood. You gasped as his blood flows, marking the grass underneath him crimson.

You looked up at him, to meet his eyes and a small whimper left your mouth. You were crying now. You knew this man. You loved this man. You recognized this man.

“Jungkook,” you whispered as you lost all sense of your surroundings. Your tears were now fogging your vision.

You suddenly feel strong arms engulf you, holding onto you and picking you up. You stood, holding onto the arm from support as they maneuvered you out of the crowd. They gently pull you down onto a bench as you hyperventilate.

“No…” you said in between breaths, “No”

“Hey, It’s okay. You’re safe now.” You heard, but you’re unable to stop crying. You tried to regulate your breathing, breathing in deeply and letting out air slowly.

You felt a comforting hand rub circles on your back, trying to help you calm down.

“I couldn’t save him.” You whispered, you voice breaking.

Right then you knew. You understood why you were plagued by these dreams all your life. They were memories. They were remnants of a life that you had lived long ago. You were finally aware of your purpose. You knew why you could remember everything. The Universe had given you another chance. This was why your soul had come back to live this life, connecting you with all the experiences that you had had along the way. You were here to not let him die again.

You said it out loud, just to make it seem more concrete and real, “I have to save him this time.”

“Save whom, love?” you looked up at the owner of the voice this time. There he was. His hair was a lighter shade of brown since the last time you had seen him. It was styled to form the shape of a comma on his forehead. He was tall, towering over your slumped figure. You finally realize what a mess you had been. You used the back of your hand to wipe your eyes and look up at him again.

“Jungkook?” you asked, cautiously. You felt like you didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t anymore.

“Hey.” He said. “Are you feeling better?”

You nodded slowly, unsure of what this situation was. “Are you really here?”

He tilted his head to look at you. He bit his lip and said, “Do…Do you want to get some coffee? I think we should talk.”

“Umm” you said, dumbly, “y-yeah. Sure.” You wanted to hug him. You wanted to kiss him and tell him you remembered him. You stopped yourself, trying your best to rationalize even in this situation.

“Can you stand up?” he asked, reaching his hand out for you. You hesitated before slightly holding onto them and using all your strength to stand up. Your legs still felt a little wobbly, but before you could stumble, his palm touched your lower back, and supporting you, helping you walk.

You went to the nearest café and sat down. Jungkook offered to go buy something warm and you waited at the table.

You felt numb. You didn’t feel like yourself anymore. You felt confused and wanted to scream out loud in frustration.

I’m Yeonhee. No. I used to be, you thought.

He was Shin. We were in love.

We died.

You felt like a madwoman who had let a delusion get the best of her. But you were aware of the fact that this was not a delusion. It used to be a reality. Maybe, it still was.

Jungkook returned, interrupting your thoughts. Seeing him made your heart ache. But, you tried not to let it show. The last thing you needed was to scare him away.

“I hope you like hazelnut latte.” He said, placing the drink in front of you.

You nodded and took a sip, letting the hot liquid calm you down.

He sipped his coffee. “Do you feel better?”

You nodded again and give him a weak smile. “Thank you for helping me out today.”

“What happened back there?” he asked, leaning forward.

“I just….don’t like crowds.” You said.

He didn’t pry any further. You pulled out your phone in the silence that followed and texted Hoseok that you had left.

“I’m sorry.” Jungkook said and you looked at him. “For what?” you asked. You felt really peculiar speaking to him. Just a few minutes ago, you had watched him die. You had to keep reminding yourself that this was a different circumstance, for all you knew, he was a completely different person now. He was not your Shin.

“I shouldn’t have left without saying anything that day. I just….freaked out.” He said, looking guilty.

“Freaked out?” you asked. You wanted to ask him if he remembered what he had said that night and why he had said it. He had called you Yeonhee even before you knew that it had been you.

“I……..” he paused, and then sighed. He ran his hand through his hair and said, “I have this problem. Ever since I was little, I get this dream. It’s actually more of a nightmare. There’s death and blood and gore. I won’t bother you with the details. Its not pretty.”

Your blood ran cold. You wanted to say so much but you didn’t know where to begin.

He continued, “It’s always been that one dream. I see this girl getting killed right in front of me. Then, I feel this pain shooting through my back. It felt so real each time.”

He stopped and looked at you, hoping to hear a response. You cleared your throat, then said, “Was her name Yeonhee?”

His eyes widened. “Y-yes.” He replied softly. “How did you know?”

You take in a deep breath, ready to let him know, “You called me by that name that night.”

“Oh.” He said, simply. He then stared at his cup of coffee, deep in thought. “I’ve been having other dreams since that night. They have the same people, but they’re happier in these.”

You really wished that he knew what you did. How were you supposed to explain this to him? How do you tell someone that you used to be in love before you died and were reincarnated, without sounding crazy?

How do you tell someone that they’re your soulmate?

You decided to try. If you never tell him, you knew you would regret it. Hiding this from him felt like you would be lying to him. If he called you a lunatic and left, you would deal with it later.

“Jungkook.” You started, “I think you should know something.”

“Yes?” he asked, looking into your eyes, trying to find an indication of what you might want to say.

“I know what you mean.” You said and he raised his eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.

“I know what you mean about the dream. I have had the same dream since I was a child too. I always woke up crying from it.”

His mouth was shut tightly and you could see his jaw clenching.

“I know I sound crazy right now.” You continued, “But ever since the night we spent together, I have different dreams. They aren’t as painful to watch as this one. But, they are with the same people. I’ve seen their story. I’ve pieced it all together.”

“Y/n….” he said, monotonously.

“And today,” you said, without giving him a chance to continue and without letting yourself back out of this confession last minute, “I felt like I was there. In that nightmare. I saw it happen in front of me. To me. It was surreal. But, I also realized that these were real people. Yeonhee, Shin, Yoon.”

“Real people?”

“Yes. People who used to be alive. Back then. A thousand years ago.”

“Hold on,” he said, gesturing you to stop with his palm. “Why do you think that?”

“Because we were them. I felt it back there. I remember it now.” You felt better after saying it out loud to him. You felt like a burden had been lifted from you. “Remember how you felt like you knew me when we first met?”

He didn’t reply, he just stared at you without any expression on his face.

“Maybe we did know each other. Just…not in this lifetime.”

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He stood up abruptly. He said, “This was a mistake.” He said and you panicked. “I think I should go.” Tears were threatening to spill from your eyes suddenly as your chest tightened in pain.

“Please don’t go,” you managed to croak out.

“I’m sorry, Y/n,” he said, “But this is crazy.” He began walking out after sparing you one last glance. You sat there watching his back as he went further and further away from you. You sat there fiddling with your hands and staring at them. A few hours ago, you were a practical woman who had a stable life, but now you were the girl who believed in reincarnation and soulmates, who felt this intense attachment to a man she had met just twice and believed that he was hers in another lifetime.

You stood up, wiping your tears for the umpteenth time that night. You knew you couldn’t blame him. You did sound insane. But, hell if you were going to let him walk away like this. You ran after him.

You saw him standing at the intersection waiting for the signal to walk to turn green. You ran as fast as you could, but he began crossing the street. Suddenly, you panicked. You knew this feeling. You had felt it multiple times before. You had felt it that day centuries ago when you both had died.

You were almost there when you heard the horn from the car heading towards him.

It was exactly like a scene from every drama that you had ever watched. Jungkook stood, shocked, frozen in place, his eyes wide and staring at the oncoming mammoth of a vehicle. Everything seemed to have slowed down.

You yelled his name and he looked towards you, you were close enough now to see tears pooling in his eyes and flowing down slowly. You feel an instinct take over you and you hold onto his back and push him. You saw him fall down away from you before the light from the car blinded you and you felt something hard hit your torso and a sharp pain shots through your body as you fell down. You hear Jungkook yell your name, but it sounds very distant.

You see your mom looking at you. She had the most beautiful smile and then you see yourself, the ten year old you run up to her and hug her. You dad joins you both and you hold his hand pulling him way, running towards the waterfall.

You see your first day of high school when you met your best friend. Then you see both of you giggling, sitting down on your bed back home. The scene changes and you’re walking down the stage, taking your degree.

You see your college room, your roommate and you decorating it. You see your first boyfriend, you see your tears after he broke your heart. You walk down the stage again, this time to receive a college degree.

It was like every important event in your life was being played back to you at this moment. Quickly and painlessly.

Next you see Hoseok, his bright smile making you smile and you hold his hand silently thank him for being in your life. Then, you see Jungkook. He’s kissing you on the bed in your apartment. It reminds you of the night that you had met him.

Then you see him again, but from a different time. He kisses you and whispers, “I love you.”

You smile.

You had done it.

You had saved him this time around.

He groans as he pushes inside you. You buck up your lips, taking in more of him. He thrusts slowly, so slow that you whine, “Shin” you moan, “Faster”. He chuckles bringing his lips to yours and kissing you. “So impatient all the time” he says. He increases his pace and looks at you as you gasp as he suddenly hits your sweet spot. “You’re so beautiful,” he says and you blush.

He starts peppering kisses on your cheek, over your jaw and moves down to your neck. You could feel your stomach tightening and with a few more thrusts, you’re squirming underneath him, your orgasm hitting you.

Then you stiffens and you feel him release warm liquid inside you. He buries his face in the crook of your neck as you both ride out your highs. Once you’ve both calmed down, he moves away from you and lies down next to you. You turn to the side to face him. He moves your hair away from your face.

“I love you” he says.

“I love you too” you reply.

You move closer and bury your face in his bare chest and he kisses the top of your head, hugging you.

“Promise me something,” you say.

“Anything.” He replies and you smile. You look at his face and say, “Promise me that no matter what happens you’ll always remember me.”

He laughs at your unusual request. “I could never forget you.”

“Shin~!” you whine.

“Okay. I promise. Even if I forget, I’ll try my hardest to remember you again.”

You smile in satisfaction and kiss him.

Masterlist

#bts imagine #jungkook imagines #jungkook smut #jungkook angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook au #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #bts scenarios #fanfiction

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the-foxwolf · 7 years

Text

A Treatise on the Nature of the Planeswalkers

I’ve talked at length now about The Nature of Planeswalking and The Nature of the Planeswalker Spark. But what about the Planeswalkers themselves? Are you confused as to what the differences are? Let me clarify.

“The Nature Planeswalking” = A study of swimming. A study on driving itself as an action.

“The Nature of the Planeswalker Spark”= A study on the water itself. A study on the car.

“The Nature of Planeswalkers” = A study on the swimmers. A study on the drivers of the vehicles.

This article is about the final and third part of this study. In here, I will talk about who the planeswalkers are and what makes them special.

As always, this Treatise is founded upon the collection of knowledge from years of studying the source material and through a look at the story telling itself. I ask myself, if I were telling this story, how would I do it? What explanation could I propose that would withstand all the exceptions and possible criticisms? This article takes my findings and presents them.

Gather` Round! It’s Story Telling Time!

Who Can Be A Planeswalker?

What is capable of bearing a Spark? Xantcha gives us a small taste of an answer. I’ve used this quote several times in this series now. Only because there is just so much storytelling contained in such a dense cluster of words!

“Urza had the planeswalker spark…Xantcha had been, and remained, an unwelcome interloper... The planeswalker spark was something a mind either had, or didn’t have. Xantcha didn’t have it; Urza couldn’t share his.“ -Planeswalker

Interesting: “...something a mind either had, or didn’t have.” This phrase implies that potential planeswalkers must have a mind. In my other articles, I have referred to this “mind” as a consciousness. A word choice I made very specifically, based upon Xantcha’s assessment about the number of species in the universe. (Click -->here<-- for more information).

Trying to define what “a mind” or “a consciousness” is becomes a ethical, moral, scholarly, and theological mess. So instead of me trying to attach my own meaning to the word, we’ll simply use empirical evidence to see what a “mind/consciousness” has been revealed as. The following is a list of species we have seen to have a Spark.

Humans

Elves

Dragons

Leonin

Goblins

Vedalken

Merfolk

Kor

Moonfolk

Gorgon

Satyr

Tibalt, Tevesh Szat, Ob Nixilis, and Sorin are all humans. Cruel, Spite, Hate, and Salt flavored humans, but humans nonetheless. I talk about this in “A Treatise on the Nature of the Planeswalker Spark”.

Karn is unique but they gained their Spark under extremely unique circumstances (also spoken of in depth in the article linked above). That said the only other exception we need address is the demonic leviathan that Bolas fought long ago. I explain this with the fact that shapeshifting was common practice among Old Walkers. Tevesh Szat switched between demon, dragon, and human form. Urza changed his physical appearance’s age according to his mood. That Bolas fought the demonic leviathan is no indication of the true species of the leviathan.

So that said, we’ve got all our species and even our exceptions covered, leaving us with the 11 member list of known species capable of holding a Spark. With this in mind, we have an idea of what Xantcha means by having a “mind” by looking at the mental attributes of these species.

So far. Our two requirements for bearing a Spark are a mind and to be one of the listed species above (I know we’ll have more over time. But I’m fairly certain the consistency and general content of the list won’t really change.)

Ability to Draw Mana

Planeswalking is a difficult process. It’s exhausting and time consuming, something that has been expressed by Post-Mending Planeswalkers time and again. I will venture to say, with 100% confidence, that in order to planeswalk, a Planeswalker must be able to draw upon mana. What does this look like in application? It means that even if you weren’t aware you had magical capacity, you must be able to actually be able to draw upon and use mana.

Here is where I will speculate some.

Many of the magical animals and creatures and beasts out there cannot draw upon mana. They exist with mana reserves that recover over time. But I do not believe that those magical creatures have the capacity to draw upon the world around them for mana. We don’t have proof for this, technically though. However, I find it really hard to believe that a Burnished Hart has the ability to think: “Huh. I’m getting tired. I should take a moment and pull some mana from the world around me.”

(Burnished Hart: Theros) (Art by Yeong-Hao Han)

Planeswalkers Must Have A Natural Birth

The word Wizards Employees use instead of Natural Birth is that a Planeswalker must have “a soul”. Which is in itself another moral, ethical, philosophical, and theological mess to think about. Instead, I considered the attributes all known Planeswakers share and extrapolated concepts that do not fit within the currently presented limitations. In many instances, Wizards Employees themselves have told us directly that the following entities cannot have a Spark.

Constructs

Artifacts. Angels. Demons. None of these entities are born naturally. Each of them is a creation of another species or are incarnated from belief and faith rather than flesh and blood. (Not that demons and angels don’t have both, but that it was not how they were born. They are physical manifestations of mana.)

We can say with certainty that these entities are incapable of bearing a Spark unless extremely unique circumstances happen. Not only has this been confirmed multiple times by Wizards Employees through their various media outlets, we also know this because these three entities do not fit the parameters of currently established Planeswalkers. Exceptions to this rule such as Karn and Ob Nixilis have already been cleared and explained to be exactly that. Exceptions, not Precedence.

Undead

No.

Phyrexians

To paraphrase Mark Rosewater, “There is something about the nature of the Planeswalker Spark.” This was in response to a question about why Phyrexians haven't infected a Planeswalker. This I will attribute to narrative convince. At least until we get a straight answer from them, I’m going to be a little frustrated with how easy of a solution it was for them. But there are other reasons that Phyrexians cannot be Planeswalkers.

(Glistening Oil: New Phyrexia) (Art by Steven Belledin)

Phyrexians haven’t been born naturally since well before Xancha escaped Phyrexia. In Bloodlines, Planeswalker, and Invasion, we learn that when the Phyrexians grew too dangerous to be incubated in a womb, they started being created in birthing vats.

I will add additionally to this that Compleation entirely replaces the original material form. Unlike Ob Nixilis and Tibalt, who simply added to their material form, Phyrexians replace every single cell in a body with a Compleated version. I suspect that even if Phyrexia managed to capture a Planeswalker, the process of Compleation would strip the Planeswalker of its Spark. While we don’t have evidence for this particular speculation, I feel pretty confident about it.

Undead

Much like constructs, these entities are animated by magic. Not life. Not intelligent enough, alive enough, or able to draw mana. Therefore, not capable of holding a Spark. I’ll go no more into this subject.

I hate zombies. With a passion you do not understand. Not just talking MTG zombies here. I’m talking all zombies. I block out and filter out Liliana’s zombies because I love her. But they don’t exist to me. I. Hate. Zombies. With a capital “H”. I’ll speak no more of this subject. Don’t ask.

Eldrazi

The very idea that an Eldrazi could hold a Spark is ludicrous. The Spark is a shard of reality, a slice of the Blind Eternities, enveloped in material form and consciousness. The Eldrazi’s “bodies” are not real. Those “bodies” are merely 3- dimensional representations of their extra dimensional forms. The Ulamog that ravaged Bala Ged as not actually Ulamog. But rather, it was simply a physical manifestation of its existence. I have had to explain this to people so many times now that it’s become an annoyance.

The Eldrazi, from the Spawn and Scions up to the Titans themselves are all manifestations of the Titans’ influence. Imagine you are holding a sheet of plastic in front of your face. Then, press your face against the plastic while holding the plastic firmly in place. If you were to look at the other side of that plastic sheet you would see two little depressions where your eyes would be, a sharp jutting of your nose, an elevation of your forehead, etc. That is what the plane-bound Eldrazi are. From Spawn to Titan, the Eldrazi do not actually have a corporeal form. Not in the sense that we are capable of comprehending.

(Eldrazi Conscription: Rise of the Eldrazi) (Art by Jaime Jones)

Suggesting that an Eldrazi could wield a Spark is like asking: “Do you think that you could find a drop of water in a shark swimming out in ocean?” That is the exact question you are asking when you ask if an Eldrazi can hold a Spark.

Even if this logic doesn’t convince you enough, then consider that the Eldrazi don’t within the established parameters of all currently known Planeswalkers. In fact, they aren’t anywhere near close to the establish parameters.

Intelligence

To be a Planeswalker you must have sufficient consciousness to be able to impress your will upon your Spark. As Psychologist, let me tell you that as of now that humans only currently known things capable of that level of intellect.

I’m not talking wit here. Not book learning. Not talking cleverness. Or even ability to learn. I’m talking about true intelligence.

“An intelligent entity must be capable of higher order cognitive thinking.”

This automatically excludes anything not capable of at least human level thought. While elephants and dolphins have shown some level of lower level cognition, they are excluded as well. They are capable of cognition not cognitive thinking. Big difference. Being able to recognize that something is happening is a far stretch from being able to create, invent, or think of something. Without the intelligence to act upon a will, a thought, they would not be able to planeswalk even if for some reason they held a Spark.

Every known Planeswalker has been capable of higher order cognitive thinking if nothing else convinces you.

Xenagos and the Spark

What about Xenagos? Was he still a planeswalker while he was a god? I am going to claim that he was not.

(Xenagos, God of Revels: Born of the Gods) (Art by Jason Chan)

The last time we saw creatures and Planeswalkers interact was with the transform Gatewatch Planeswalker cards. They started as creatures and transformed into Planeswalkers, representing the Ignition of their Spark. Those Planeswalkers were incapable of transforming back into creatures. Before that, we saw Nicol Bolas as a creature. Since then, he has only ever been a Planeswalker. Not a creature. None of our Planeswalkers have ever been represented as a creature after being printed as a Planeswalker, other than Xenagos. This provides some evidence that he may not longer be a planeswalker.

Much like the Phyrexians, Xengos’s body was so drastically altered, he could no longer hold onto a Spark. His body became an enchantment as much as Phyrexians Compleat people into artifact flesh.

Also, consider that the gods of Nyx cannot exist without Nyx. They are literally constructs of faith found in another realm. If their connection to Nyx was severed they simply wouldn’t exist anymore. No, we technically don’t have proof of this, but it stands to logic.

Conclusion

That’s all I have for today. If you liked what you read, hit that “Reblog” button. For more stories and articles from me at Story Telling Time, hit that “Follow” button.

Feel free to send Asks! I’m happy to chat.

I only tag blogs for my articles that I feel merit it. If any of you find this practice in any way improper, let me know. I use this judiciously and only for my biggest works, so I hope it is no mistake of mine to do so. Let me know if you feel otherwise. I am tagging the Vorthos blogs I know, my biggest fans, and most of the people I follow.

@askkrenko @confused-phyrexian @actualborossoldier @vorthosthewillis @gatewatch-central @sarkhan-vol@sheoldredsecrets @vorthosjay @flavoracle @kytheon-hero-of-akros @chelsea-beleren-vess @hopelessly-vorthosian @magic–the–memeing @mtgfan @the-gitgud-toad @jori-en-ruin-diver @yawgmoth-lord-of-sin@bobstropajo @obi-one-drop @odric-master-swagtician @zomburai @klarel25 @brandnewera @celestialtyrant @animar-smol-of-elephants @dovinbanned @commandtower-solring-go @hereitsallalright @gryffns-nest@ecurps @iamafireplace @randomtmbl555 @mazes-end @augur-of-colas @avacynthepurifier @wizardsmagic@elspethknighterrant @wizardsofthecoast-magic

#Premiere issue #treatise #special issue #mtg #magic story #storytellingtime #story telling time

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sigurdjarlson · 7 years

Text

We need to talk about Kevin fandom (tw: rape, abuse, pedophilia mentions)

this discourse gets me so pissy so here’s a vent post

(1) "They're coping mechanisms are unhealthy’ it's only unhealthy if it harms them or someone else. Ask any decent mental health professional.

(2) you don't get a say in someone's mental health. Maybe it is unhealthy for them but unless they're causing REAL harm to someone or they ask your opinion it's none of your business. You are not their mental health professional

(3) using abuse/rape in fic to cope has been proven beneficial for many survivors. It's a way of taking back the power they've had taken away. There's a lot more to it as well.

(4) "you can only do this if it's for coping" how do you plan to enforce this rule? Force every single person to talk about their incredibly private traumatic experiences just so you seem whether or not it's okay for them to do something? I'm sorry that's disgusting. That's absolutely disgusting.

(5) You do not speak for all survivors even if you are a survivor yourself. Your experience is not universal. Everyone's experience is different and everyone copes and reacts in different ways. I am one and I don't speak for all of us..

(6) it makes you uncomfortable? Okay!! That's alright. Totally understandable!! You want to police others because it makes you uncomfortable? No!! Not okay.

(7) you have the responsibility to take care of yourself. There are steps you can take to avoid this kind of media. Trigger warnings, tags, summaries, blocking systems..those are all there for a reason. Please make use of them.

(8) "think of the children" this could be used for any kind of adult content. "Violent video games cause violence!" First off no they do not and also they come with ratings that blatantly say it's not for children. Its properly rated. It's not the creator of the game's fault if a child gets hold of it. To sum it up: that's the parent's job. I read erotic fic before I was 18 and it's not the author's fault lmao.

(9) "people will act it out" oh my god oh my goddd I can't stand this. No!! They won't. If they do? They already had very severe problems to begin with. It was not caused by this "problematic" piece of fic or art. Do NOT take the blame off the people that actively choose to hurt others by saying ~they read some problematic things so this must have caused it uwu~ you know what caused it? Them choosing to do the act. Most people have a healthy distinction between fiction and reality.

(10) "this happened to me" I'm sorry you went through something like that. I truly am. But you still don't have the right to tell other people what they can and can't do. Take steps to protect yourself. No one else can do that for you. Your mental health is your responsibility and yours alone. You do not have the right to put that responsibility on complete strangers. It's not their job. The world cannot nor should it have to cater to you..

(11) "this thing makes me uncomfortable so therefore it must be bad and if it's bad the person writing it must be bad" is the logic here and it's incredibly faulty. Once again. Your experiences are not universal. Something that makes you uncomfortable might not make someone else feel uncomfortable. For things that have a tendency to make a lot of people uncomfortable there are these things called trigger warnings and warnings in general.

the person is not bad. They are not supporting or normalizing this behavior just by writing a fanfic. Are they saying "it's okay to rape people everybody should go out and do it"? No? then no they're not.

(12) fanfic, fanart, etc are such small medias that they don't effect or influence society In the way something like say "50 Shades of Grey" would. That's the stuff we should be concerned about and focused on criticizing. It's blatant misinformation.

(13) if half the effort people put into these crusades against ships was used to help actual survivors..there would be a lot of good being done in the world. These are fictional characters. We joke around a lot but you don't have to protect them. They are not real. Real people are more important than fictional ones. So, please if you spend so much time and effort on these things, channel that energy into something good and positive instead of harassing and harming real people on the internet over /fictional things/.

(14) “Fiction effects reality.” You’re right it does. However it does not directly cause these bad things. It’s what people choose to do with fiction that matters. Choices. Choices. Choices.

(15) Fiction does not have to be pure. Fiction has always been a platform where people can explore the darker things in life. It’s interesting to some people. Personally I like a lot of dark shit because it’s interesting. It’s so incomprehensible to me that people can do these awful things that I find it interesting to explore why these people may have done them through fiction.

(16) Liking something in fiction does not mean you support it. I’d hate most of the fictional characters I absolutely adore if they were real.

(17) Some of the kindest people I’ve ever met are part of problematic fandoms and some of the worst are the people who scream that they’re trying to protect the world from that problematic fandom. You see there’s no correlation between what you like in fiction and what kind of person you are in real life. You know what is a great indicator of what kind of person you are? How you treat real, live people and the choices you make.

(18) I get it. These things elicit very strong emotions in people and for very valid reasons but that does not mean it should not be allowed to exist. Like I said it is your responsibility to create your own safe space. Blacklist/block/unfollow do whatever to keep those things out of your space. And...Don’t go looking for these things god damn it? If you see (tw: rape) and then go into the fic anyway and get upset? That’s not the author’s fault. They put the proper warnings in place. You ignored them.

If there isn’t a proper warning. Perhaps consider kindly asking them to put some up? Maybe they forgot. It happens. People make mistakes.. If they refuse to do so they’re kind of a dick but it’s better to just ignore/unfollow/avoid/block that person and move on.

(19) Lets make a summary.

You are responsible for your own safe space and taking care of your mental health.

Fiction does not CAUSE bad things to happen. People who choose to do those bad things do.

“This upsets me” does not = “it’s bad and shouldn’t exist and the person making this thing is bad” your logic is faulty m8

If something is properly tagged and has the proper warnings then it’s not the author’s fault if others ignore it and get upset. They did their part.

Fictional characters are not real. You don’t have to protect them. Harming real people over fictional ones is absolutely reprehensible.

It’s no one’s job to parent other people’s children. No, children shouldn’t be looking at this content but it’s the parents’ job to keep their children away from those things. (proper warnings, tags, etc are important too but that itself is not a guarantee)

Liking something in fiction does not = supporting it, condoning it, normalizing it. It just means you like something in fiction. Most people have a healthy distinction between fiction and reality. If someone does act on it..they already had very severe issues to begin with.

Survivors are never obligated to reveal their personal experiences in order to be “allowed” to consume or make certain things.

A coping mechanism is only unhealthy if it’s hurting the person or others. (it’s not hurting anyone by existing) It might not be healthy for you but that does not mean it’s not healthy for that person. AND it’s not your job or place to decide whether or not something is healthy or unhealthy for a person unless you are their mental health professional. Stay in your lane.

People don’t have to be using it as a coping mechanism! Maybe something really is just their kink. Maybe they find it interesting or whatever. Who cares as long as they’re not out doing it in real life. Who cares as long as they have a healthy distinction between what is okay in fiction and what is okay in real life. Mind your own business honestly.

I think some of these people really do have good intentions. They think they’re helping the world or others somehow. But having good intentions does not mean you are right. Be aware of what you’re doing and how it’s effecting others. Channel all the energy you put into hating things into doing something good in the real world. Or use it to create and enjoy things you do like or enjoy. Why focus on the things you hate?

And some of these people don’t have good intentions. For some it’s just a self righteous circle jerk. It makes them feel better about themselves. It’s a “I’m more morally enlightened than you” contest. These people don’t care about the issues they claim to care about or the people involved. They just want to make themselves feel good by making others feel bad. And that? That’s horrible.

They’re just using serious issues as buzzwords (which takes away the impact that word makes and THAT is a bad thing) Rape, pedophilia, abuse, etc. These are very, very serious issues.

When people roll their eyes when they see someone claiming “pedophilia’ because there are people on here seriously accusing people of being pedophiles for shipping a 17 year old with an 18 year old or shipping some characters with an age gap?

(which for the record. Talking about people who are of age and with a partner that’s significantly older than them. it’s untrue that all relationships with an age gap are unhealthy. is there a possibility for it to be unhealthy? certainly but that’s not a guarantee that it is. Your experiences are not universal. Every situation and every person is different.)

There’s a problem because you’re making people take these things less seriously. Have you ever heard the story of the boy who cried wolf?

You do that and sadly no one will listen when you actually find something to worry about. Is that right? No. But it’s the truth. No one will take you seriously.

You don’t accuse people of these things willy nilly. You can ruin people’s lives. Are they doing those things in real life and hurting real people? Do you have solid proof that they are? Yes? (Fictional media is not proof unless they admit to doing something) By all means step in and get the authorities involved. That’s absolutely awful. Is it just fiction? Take a step back, block/unfollow/blacklist and move on.

What people do in real life matters. That’s it. That’s the key. Stop harassing people over fictional crap because THAT...shows what kind of person you are and it’s not a good one.

#nerd ramblings

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personalfn-blog · 6 years

Text

Why Getting Married To Your Mutual Fund Investments Is Foolish!

#Case 1

Shrinivas inherited 10,500 units of ABC mutual fund about 5 years back. The scheme has miserably underperformed not only the comparable schemes but even the broader indices.

But Shrinivas doesn't want to redeem it and switch to a better option because he feels it's his father's gift to him.

While such emotional attachment is obvious, it isn't intelligent always. After all, his father would have never appreciated his wealth getting destroyed year after year.

#Case 2

Rahil invested in a mutual fund scheme for last 7 years through Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) to finance his son's higher studies.

His son has fared well in the entrance exams and has started applying at premier colleges. The markets are near all-time high now and look overvalued.

Rahil is making good 15% compounded annualised return on his investments, but he is still reluctant to liquidate them thinking why kill the goose that lays the golden egg?

Instead, he prefers to take up a loan at 12. He believes by doing this he's making a straight gain of 3%.

#Case 3

Shalini had terrible experiences with most of the investment advisors she dealt. Most of them mis-sold her financial products.

Thankfully, her nephew started his financial advisory about two years ago and suggested her a few mutual fund schemes.

But soon after he got lucrative work opportunities abroad he shut his shop back home and accepted the job offer. Now Shalini is in trouble again. I am not going to sell anything from my portfolio unless I need money. At least I am sure what my nephew recommended me are good schemes.

Last month a scheme in her portfolio announced some fundamental changes in its attribute. Ideally, Shalini should have reviewed her portfolio; but Shalini did nothing.

Moral of all stories

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(Image source: thebluediamondgallery.com)

Hence, the best time to sell your mutual fund investments is when:

You have met your financial goal

This is the primary reason why you should sell your mutual funds. If your equity funds delivered better than expected returns, you may end up reaching your goal before the target date.

On meeting your goal before the target date, you can redeem your equity mutual fund units and put it in low risk assets such as liquid funds. This will retain the value of the portfolio until the time you need to withdraw it to fund the goal.

If you have not set financial goals, here's how to do it:

You may also need to dip into your mutual fund portfolio when there is an emergency. At such times, it would be prudent to redeem funds from low risk assets first, such as liquid fund and short-term debt funds, before moving on to riskier equity funds. Because during an emergency if equity markets are at a low, you may end up withdrawing at low returns and miss the potential of higher returns in the future.

You need to rebalance your portfolio

You may have set an asset allocation based on your risk profile, investment objective, and time horizon.

Let's say you maintain a 70:30 (equity:debt) portfolio. Over the quarter or half-year, your equity funds run up considerably. This may skew your asset allocation and your portfolio may have an equity weightage of over 80%.

This is when you may need to redeem the investment and reinvest in debt. Conversely, if equity markets don't perform as expected, you may need to move from debt to equity to meet the targeted asset allocation. You may also need to alter your asset allocation as your goal draws nearer. As the target date of your financial goal approaches, you may need to switch from riskier assets to low risk assets.

To chart an Ideal Asset allocation for your financial goals, view this short video:

You may also need to alter your asset allocation as your goal draws nearer. As the target date of your financial goal approaches, you may need to switch from riskier assets to low risk assets.

Similarly, if there is a change in your risk tolerance, you may need to sell and reinvest your mutual fund investments to meet the desired asset allocation. Growing older diminishes your risk tolerance , hence, you may consider shifting from high risk to low risk assets.

Your mutual fund scheme underperforms

There is a change in the fundamental attributes or investment objective of the scheme

You find a better alternative

We all make mistakes. Your mutual fund investment may not live up to your expectations because either you made a mistake to start with, or a genuinely good mutual fund started deteriorating in performance.

At times, even a carefully selected mutual fund may underperform. The fund manager's investment bets may have not yielded the best returns.

You need to review the performance before dumping the mutual fund scheme. To get your portfolio back on track, you may need to sell your funds and invest in better-performing, diversified equity funds.

Returns of market-linked investments are volatile and may not always give you the returns you expected. So instead, compare the returns of the scheme to its benchmark and other peers in the category. Continue to hold on to a scheme, if the performance fared comparatively well.

However, if the scheme has underperformed compared to its peers and the benchmark , it may be indicative of an underlying investment issue, and you could sell your units.

The mutual fund industry is under constant change. As seen recently, the regular mandated proper categorisation of mutual fund schemes. Only one scheme is allowed per category.

Hence, to meet these guidelines, the fund house may need to alter the schemes investment objective or merge the scheme with others. Such amendments may induce you to sell. However, before doing so, you need to judge the long-term impact.

At times, a change in fundamental attributes may rarely necessitate any action. For example, after the regulator allowed mutual funds to invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), certain schemes altered the asset allocation mandate such that it specifies an allocation to REITs as well. However, this amendment just provides an enabling power to the fund and may not necessarily translate into investments in REITs.

But if the fund is moving from an aggressive asset allocation strategy to a conservative one or vice-versa, this is a reason to worry. This happens mostly with scheme mergers. In such cases, you need to review if the revised asset allocation or investment strategy meets your risk profile and investment objective. You can always seek the assistance of a financial planner in such cases.

A change in fund manager, too, needs to be examined carefully. However, you should note that the investment process involves an entire team. Therefore, if a fund manager quits, the investment team may be equally competent to meet the investment objective of the scheme. Therefore, you should give the new fund management time. If after a few quarters or more, the performance of the scheme fails to live up to its performance mark, sell it.

You may have started your journey with mutual funds through tax-savings schemes such as Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSSs). However, now that the three-year lock-in period is over, you are unsure whether to hold or redeem it. While some tax-saving schemes have turned out to be top performers, giving open-ended equity diversified schemes a run for their money, most other schemes have fallen short (even though they may rank among the top in the ELSS category). Thus, you may consider switching your investment in an ELSS to better performing equity diversified schemes.

In the same way, if you can bear the additional risk, you may want to sell your investments in a balanced fund to reinvest in a large-cap fund or even a mid-cap fund based on the long-term wealth creation potential of such schemes.

The market constantly goes through short-term phases of euphoria or panic. But historical data shows, over the long term, it has always moved up. This is why you need to base your buying and selling decisions not on the whims and fancies of the market, but on your financial requirement, your goals, and the underlying performance of the scheme.

Sell your mutual fund units only if your reasons include the five highlighted above.

Buying and selling mutual funds employs a complex decision-making process. This may be extremely tedious and time consuming for the average saver.

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Yes, Certainly!

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Author: PersonalFN Content & Research Team

This post on " Why Getting Married To Your Mutual Fund Investments Is Foolish! " appeared first on "PersonalFN"

#MutualFundInvestments #mutualfund #SIP #financialgoal #ELSS #roboadvisory

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mitigatedchaos · 8 years

Text

@remedialaction

I would argue that your use of the word meaningfully is a concession in and of itself, because property would exist, it merely would not be ever in contention under these circumstances. However, you’d still own yourself, and the results of your actions and the like, and should another person ever come into being, it would be then possible to determine ownership.

Except that no, it does not make sense within that context. There is no one to exclude, therefore the idea of property does not even apply.

Furthermore, since all matter within the system (if you insist on using this method as a crude hack) would belong to the original agent, it would imply that the first agent owned the second agent’s body, or at least literally everything they needed to survive, and could therefore coerce them virtually at will.

I disagree, property and self are intimately linked on a fundamental level, the very fact that you use possessive terms to indicate the person you are speaking to and attribute statements (really, actions) to is, again, a concession of this very fact.

It isn’t a concession, it’s a linguistic construct.

The principle of self-ownership is intrinsic, and its because of that fact that property, as a concept, exists.

It is not. In the one-agent system, the concept of direct physical control over bodily tissue would exist, but this is distinct from the concepts “ownership” and “property”.

How do we know this? Because you said the body-hijacker parasite doesn’t have a valid claim over your body. This is extra information which is not included in physical control of your body. If “property” and “direct physical control over body” are identical, then this extra information would be encoded into the universe and the parasite’s actions would be impossible, even though both you and I know it is physically possible to hijack nervous systems.

It is no less intrinsic, though; it follows naturally and necessarily from physical reality.

It does not. You have failed to produce an ought from your is. You can control your body. Why should you be able to?

In short, even if I was a pure materialist, I still can argue the necessary existence of property as a, well, property of reality.

You have not shown this. Property is not a property of reality. It does not exist in the same sense that minds do.

This is silly, because unless your end argument is that there is no such thing as an individual, following your argument here to its conclusion ends up hardly where you want.

Oh yes it does. Borders in some sense exist, but like the boundary between “chair” vs “stool” it’s more of a statistical effect describing a cluster that has real implications than a hard, solid line.

Individuality, too, is blurred rather than solid, more like a cluster of points than an opaque sphere. You argue that you have control, and therefore, absolute rights to property. You have no absolute control, and therefore, no absolute property, even if we run by the fiction of human rights.

Of course, you’re missing the point by attempting to appeal to outside exceptions or missing the actual core of the statement. My consciousness, and my conscious actions are my own, and only ever my own. You are attempting to obfuscate that.

Your actions are not purely your own. If they were then they could not be influenced by outside factors. And probably, weird stuff with minds will show up later in human history with transhumanism (could be 50 years, could be 10,000), so your moral system should be able to withstand that if it’s a true objective morality.

They influence your behavior but the behavior and actions ultimately are, again, your own. It is not an outside agent controlling you, it is an outside agent using means to manipulate you; they are not controlling you as one might a character in a video game.

Absolute responsibility is a crock. If they can manipulate you, then they have some share of control of you. If they literally have no impact whatsoever on your actions (a far cry considering just how potent some drugs can be), then it doesn’t even count as manipulation.

Such a hypothetical organism would not be able to do so any more than my seizing of your car makes it my car merely because I’m the one driving it. The organism would not have any claim to the body.

Why? It was your exclusive control that you said established the claim in the first place. Establishing exclusive control through a nervous system was the method by which the claims were established.

The simple fact is you do control yourself, and the results of your actions.

Let me know if you ever develop an executive functioning disorder, so we can talk about how that’s a bunch of baloney. You want absolute responsibility to be applied to agents. That requires absolute control. Absolute control doesn’t exist.

You acknowledge this as an implicit fact in your recognition of me as an independent entity, which you do each time you address me, and respond to my statements.

This implies a perfect binary of control is required. It is not.

The principle of self-ownership is logically necessary for us to even converse this way.

No, it is not. Distinctness from self precedes property, and is recognizable even in a single-agent system in which property is nonsensical.

Furthermore, you have still failed to derive the should for a principle of self-ownership which can make moral claims, independently from the fact that you have some level of control over your body.

To branch off, the funny thing is, even if it wasn’t the case, it would still be ideologically necessary to commit to supporting self-ownership and the right to property, because otherwise, you end up being arbitrary, and morality cannot be arbitrary, even if we were merely inventing it for the function of society.

Recognizing the personhood and utility of others, both of which precede property, is not arbitrary. The choice of property is arbitrary, which is part of why you have failed to convert your is to an ought.

either you have a right to keep all your property, or you can’t really argue that you have any property at all, and we fall into merely utilitarian claims and that’s hardly a road I think you want to fall down.

Oh ho, I do want to go down the road towards Utilitarianism, because Utilitarianism correctly recognizes that property is merely a tool to be exploited for the benefit of people, and both utility and personhood precede property.

To which the actual response, which I’ve stated, is that folks will invent new jobs that we never could have thought of now, and resolve the problem,

This is based on market faith. If machines are better than humans at literally everything, then there is no reason to ever hire humans. I’m not going to believe these jobs exist until their first instantiations are actually created.

to say nothing of the fact that this theoretical world of hyper-automation still needs consumers, and you seem to be running on this idea that production drives consumption, rather than the other way around.

This role is fulfilled by the owners of capital. Those without capital are the ones really in trouble there, as they need the capital owners’ property to exist, but the capital owners do not need them.

Given your supposed solution to this imagined crisis is essentially a rehash of socialist central planning, I feel more or less sound in dismissing it as an attempt to push that under a new guise,

The funny thing is that markets throughout the world manage to have some regulations like “don’t dump so much waste that the Cuyahoga river lights on fire” (where does that even fit into your framework, where someone could presumably claim water after it has evaporated?) which are “centrally planned”, and yet still produce enormous amounts of wealth. There’s a continuum, or perhaps some scale even more multidimensional than that, and the optimal point isn’t what you think it is.

yet that guise passed away already when your plan seemed to have very little to actually do with the supposed problem of this oncoming hyper-automation.

It’s actually a medium-term solution intended as a flexible response for the time period between “soon” and “all human economic labor whatsoever becomes obsolete.” There is the potential for a lot of unnecessary human suffering in there - much of which your system lacks the ability to morally condemn.

Long-term would probably be something like just cutting a check for some % of the output of the economy, but while an initial experiment in Canada was not a failure, there are reasons to believe such a policy is not suitable yet and should still be limited to much smaller experiments than a whole country.

#pihlosophy

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