#putting their entire life's value in their own personal work. not themselves as a person. but their Work.

[datastate]

i really love mishima [said while focusing in on the worst years of his life]

[beta-therapy]

How to Deal with Sadness/Frustration from Rejection

We’ve all been there. We’ve all had a crush on a beautiful woman and wanted to give her the world, only to find out she has no sexual interest in us. Maybe she puts you in the friendzone; or maybe she makes it clear she wants nothing to do with you at all. It’s normal to feel frustrated in these situations, knowing that she probably has a vibrant sex life with other men, yet doesn’t have any sexual interest toward you.

When this happens over and over again, it can make us question our own self-worth: how come so many women have decided that sex is an activity which is off-limits to me? Do my sexual needs not matter? How come a woman can be salivating with excitement as she begs certain men to engage her in the most personal of ways—whereas with me, so much as asking if she’s single gets me permanently labelled as a creep?

As society becomes more and more accepting of personal freedoms, (especially regarding women) like allowing people to dress how they want, freely express themselves, do what they want in their own bedroom, etc., there indeed looms an increasing mental health crisis among those men who don’t get included in all the sexual fun. They can feel inferior and isolated. In this blog, I’ll discuss how to handle these emotions.

Although it might bring you feelings of shame, insecurity, and jealousy to find out that women consider you unsuitable for sex, it is important to understand that these feelings are rooted in misogyny. It is an outdated, oppressive idea that the goal of a man’s life is to acquire dominance, status, power, and wealth; and use this prestige to seduce beautiful women. This idea is so evil because it views women as beauty objects rather than equal human beings. Women are not trophies.

Women are full human beings with no less intelligence, leadership abilities, creativity, and dignity than the men who forced them to be quiet and submissive for all human history. A lot of men still refuse to acknowledge this today. They want to keep seeing women as less intelligent, less capable, submissive homemakers whose value comes from their sexual beauty.

That sexy woman you know probably does have a passionate sex life, but you should strive to admire her as a person: smart, strong, kind, witty, dignified. She can still have all these great qualities to her even if she has zero sexual interest in you. Considering her a “sexy woman” is—in and of itself—toxic masculinity at work. Why is “sexy” the first trait that comes to your mind when it’s clear that her sex life is off-limits to you? Maybe she is sexually submissive in her bedroom, but why should that concern you? She’s allowed to explore the “feminine” part of her existence in her private life without it subtracting from her value as an interesting, fascinating person in her public life.

You can still be a happy, nice, and fulfilled person even if all the women around you would prefer not to have sex with you. Just because the female community around you doesn’t want you as a sexual/romantic person, doesn’t mean you have been rejected as a person entirely. Sexuality is just one component of the human experience, and it’s very common throughout history for people to be deprived of it.

We have evolved for survival and reproduction, not necessarily to have good morals and be happy. For example, racism is part of our DNA. In prehistoric times, racism helped us stay away from warring tribes, so it was positively selected-for with respect to evolution. But in modern times, we can recognize that racism is a huge problem if we want an inclusive, happy society, and so we must actively denounce this artifact of our DNA.

Our sexuality is much the same way. Throughout history, the evil, abusive, tyrant was always better able to protect his children due to his status and wealth, in comparison to the poor, harmless, gentle, and caring man. That doesn’t mean the evil tyrant was a better person, but it does unfortunately mean that women would evolve a sexual attraction toward higher status, dominant men even if it meant overlooking their moral evil.

As a result, the things women are sexually attracted to are not necessarily the things that are good. You can take solace in this fact. Being sexually undesired by women does not mean there’s something wrong with you, it just means they see you as more harmless and submissive rather than powerful and dangerous.

[bet-on-me-13]

Culture of the Ghost Zone

SO! This is less of a full on prompt, and more of an opportunity.

I've been in this Fandom for over a year now and over that time I've seen so many little bits or lore and headcanons about the Ghost Zones Culture, but I've never seen a single post put them all together.

So, here I'll try to write down as many as I can think of, and anyone else can add their own Headcanons, or add to whatever I or someone else writes!

...

So! My personal Headcanon is that when a Ghost Passes on, it's a thing to be celebrated.

Ghosts are Immortal Beings, holding onto a desire or unfinished business that tethers them to the Mortal Plane. They live, because they are Unfulfilled, unable to accomplish the task that would allow them to Pass on, and be at peace with themselves.

So when a Ghost manages to fulfill their Obsession, manages to Pass On to the After? It's something to CELEBRATE!

Like when a Viking would die, you don't just mourn their death, you celebrate their Life! A Ghosts Passing On is much the same. When one of them manages it, there are parties across the Zone of people who knew them, or people who didn't but still want to celebrate! It's a Joyous thing when someone you know was able to find peace!

...

Ghosts socialize through Battle.

Ghosts are Immortal, Superpowered, and Stuck together for Centuries. They are going to fight, and they are going to love the thrill of it!

From the freshest of Newborns to the Oldest of Ancients, All Ghosts love the thrill of Battle. It's one of their defining traits! They have Centuries of nothing to do and energy to burn, and they devote it to the art of Combat!

And it's not just Brawls! Some Ghosts prefer to battle with Swords alone, others with their Fists and no Powers, others with their Powers and no Fists, there are entire communities of Ghosts who have specific Rules, or Customs for Combat!

In one part of the Zone, it may be common to Tackle any Ghost you see and instantly start to fight them, but in another? That would be seen as Rude, you need to throw down your glove in front of them to request a Battle!

Or in another section of the Zone you may be forced to battle without Weapons whatsoever, in another it may be Without Powers whatsoever, or with ONLY Powers!

The Fight Culture stretches far and wide, no two parts of the Zone are exactly the Same

...

Art is highly Valued.

Of course not all Ghosts are entirely focused on Battle, and even the ones that are like to focus on something else from time to time. Some of those Ghosts were Artists when they were Alive.

And they continued to make Art in Death. But this Art is Special, with all the Time in the World, a Ghost can spend Decades or even Centuries on their Magnum Opus! It would be their Life's Work, something they dedicated their entire Afterlives to!

So of course, it is respected. Ghosts know better than to ruin or destroy another Ghosts work or Art. Be it a Statue, a Painting, a Song, or a Theater Production.

...

I think that's Good for now, what do you think? Anything to add to the points I written down? Any entirely new points to add?

Go ahead!

[themisteriousentity]

"Golden Deer is boring though it's lackluster, the characters aren't as strong as the other paths there's less conflict-"

You fool. You absolute buffon. Golden Deer is perfectly designed. Not only does it feed into the whole "alliance" theme well by having the characters still work together despite their differences and feelings well before hitting those A supports, but it's ALSO the only route that actually puts the focus on YOU the player. Or, rather, Byleth themself

Black Eagle is about whether or not you can agree to Edelgard's ideals of acceptable sacrifice and perspective that there's only 1 way to do things. The branching happens when you decide whether or not you agree, but ultimately it just explores opposing or agreeing with Edelgard. Anything more than that is really just incidental to that main concept, whether it's Crimson Flower or Silver Snow, the entire time you're focused either on helping Edelgard achieve her goals or you're focused on showing her how wrong she is alongside the Black Eagles who think it's their duty to correct Edelgard's wrongs (and I have a whole separate thing in regards to how the cast acts in Crimson Flower verses Silver Snow). It works really well for characters designed around an empire, a domineering form of government where (usually) a singular ruler determines the course and focus

Blue Lions is focused entirely on working on past issues and learning to bring yourself into the present, but it's done almost entirely through the cast more than the player. The Blue Lions themselves all have their own traumas and deep-seated past issues that hinder or help progress. While both Blue Lions and Black Eagles have a lot in common when it comes to traumatized characters and ideology, the ideology is front and center, while in Boue Lions, their interpersonal conflicts are front and center. This shows especially in the final (non romance) scene, where Dimitri decides that his personal attachment to Edelgard and past memories still matter, and he reaches out a hand, despite her immediately trying to kill him. It's fitting for a route designed around a kingdom, which is usually built entirely on interpersonal dealings between the ruling class

Golden Deer, however, is designed very differently. Unlike the other 3 routes, the player, or more specifically Byleth, is put as the driving force instead of the Lord. And this is actually what makes Golden Deer such a good route and one with the best ending of all of them. Claude has ideals, but he isn't a person who wants to force others to follow his path like Edelgard. Claude has lived a life of strife where his past motivates him, but it doesn't chain him the same way it does Dimitri. Instead, he works on understanding everyone around him and working together towards agreed upon goals, while taking on stuff that isn't agreed upon onto himself. But more than that, while all the Lord's value your opinion, Claude is the only one who actually takes what Byleth wants (rather than just what they think about specific matters) into consideration for his plans. Repeatedly you tell Seteth in Silver Snow that you don't want to kill Edelgard, but he pushes that you have no choice. Pretty much the entire first half of Azure Moon is Dimitri ignoring you. And in Crimson Flower, you've all but completely submitted to Edelgard's will with a couple of exceptions (which actually proves my point because it's specifically in regards to the Golden Deer because you can fight the entirety of Crimson Flower while sparing all of them except for Judith). But in Verdant Wind, Claude doesn't hide that he has a problem with the church and wants Rhea gone. In Golden Wildfire, without Byleth, he's more than happy to just get rid of her without a second thought. But when Byleth is the protagonist, he goes out of his way to accommodate your wants into his plans and goals. When you express as the player that you want to reason with Edelgard and ponder if you can't walk the same path, Claude agrees with you and says he'll make it happen if he can, with the other Golden Deer mostly agreeing. When that,can't happen you both lament the fact that Edelgard gave you no choice together. He makes finding Rhea a priority, mostly because as curious as he is in general, he wants to help you find out answers only Rhea can give you. And all of the Golden Deer do this to some extent, with each other but also with you as the player. I think Hilda and Marianne's A supports with Byleth show this best personally, but that's a personal opinion. And it just works so well for a route designed around the idea of an alliance, people coming together and agreeing to work towards a goal bigger than themselves

And that's not to say the other routes aren't as good as Golden Deer, they're all equally well written, but it just makes me sad when I see people giving the Golden Deer route grief just because the characters aren't the same when it does its theme so beautifully

[balkanradfem]

Debunking the 'males follow reason, women follow emotions' myth

A woman makes a rational demand to a male, he denies her. She gets frustrated and upset, he accuses her of being overly emotional, and the reason why women can't make good decisions. It's a situation we've seen repeat over and over again, and we've gotten convinced. After all, m*n don't get emotional, they make rational decisions, they don't have that annoying trait of having to cry or care too much, they just do what is right in any situation, while a woman could never stand in their place.

Historically, m*n have been making a lot of these, rational, non-emotional decisions, so let's analyze how they've been doing. Historically, a lot of m*n have both started, and fought in wars. According to them, this is a logical, hard factual decision they've made, and they're proud of it, wars are integral to humanity, we have to fight if we want peace, and so on. So rationally, what do wars achieve for humanity? Mass destruction, mass murder, terrorism, mass rape, mass famine, intense trauma, destruction of environment, destruction of animals, destruction of culture and property, sea of corpses. But, m*n have decided that this is reasonable, because to the country that's been doing it, it can bring new assets, colonization of land mass, new natural resources to exploit. Massive damage to one part of the population for the benefit of another part, this they say, is rational.

If you're a male, it's rational for you to cause damage to countless individuals if there is some sort of benefit to you in doing it. This is presented to us as a reasonable, human and rational thinking. They've not only indoctrinated us to believe this, but put this into their laws. They've created laws that allow them to commit murder under the circumstances of war. They've made sure to give themselves a way to commit murder to get what they want, and not be punished. Again, this is presented as inevitable, cold hard factual thinking.

I would argue that the emotions followed here are greed, sadism, pride, and deep sense of egotism. Deluding themselves into believing that the entire world is turning around their personal needs and wants, and any amount of damage made for this cause is irrelevant. This isn't rational thinking, this is selfish, valuing themselves to the point where other human lives have zero value to them; it's irrational. A woman who puts herself before others is immediately informed that she is objectively selfish, irrational, unrealistic, self-centered, and deserves any kind of harm going her way. M*n have been operating like this from the beginnng of human life, and expect to be praised as 'rational and objective', by these same women they call selfish for not acting as free servants for a second.

Let's look at another 'rational' concept males have created and developed: capitalism. Cold hard logic is – if you can exploit other people to the very maximum, and take the value of their labour for yourself, you should get to do it, and if you can't, work until your health gives out and you die in pain. Again, a group of people gets power to exploit another, resources are given to those with financial power; those who do not have it, have to fight to survive. We know at this point it's caused deaths, sicknesses, mental illness, hunger and low quality of life to the majority of the population, we also know it's caused massive environmental damage, to the point where the climate of the planet is threatened, and animals under mass extinction. Was this a logical move? Was it a normal, rational system to build? Yes according to m*n, because they get to use their financial power to rape women they wouldn't otherwise get to rape.

I would argue again, that the emotions followed in this case are selfishenss, cruelty and greed. When a woman tries to exploit people around her for her own benefit, she is called the worst slurs and names imaginable, and no punishment is too cruel to inflict on her. While m*n have been doing this for centuries and apparently we need to acknowledge that this is in fact, smart, rational and reasonable way to live, and also inevitable.

So let's see what women have been doing on earth at the same time while m*n were busy murdering people in wars and inventing financial systems that bring destruction; women were creating the human population. We were making sure that everyone alive gets to eat, drink, clean clothing, care. We were putting our labour and our minds in taking care of our family members, and fighting for our human rights whenever the situation, or the information we got allowed for it. We struggled to stand up to power-hungry m*n in our life who would exploit us, we studied and invented, we found our ways in every trade, every school, every cultural institution that did good to the planet, and we outpreformed m*n almost immediately after we got in. We gave our lives to make sure the human race isn't erased by the amount of murder and terrorism going on. We put our efforts into protecting the environment, we figured out medicine and then got destroyed for it, we lost countless of our own to murder, rape and torture, we tried to keep safe the ones who got hurt.

While m*n 'rational' and 'logical' thinking lead us closer to destruction, we've been fighting to preserve life.

Having the creatures in charge who believe themselves more rational, but function out of a place of empty pride, absolute ignorance, endless hunger for power, endless greed and insatiable sadism, is not a reasonable way to lead the civilization. In fact, it's been proven over and over again, that this causes low quality of life for everyone, creates practices that allow and support cruelty and destruction, and deals massive trauma and pain to the most of the living humans.

What is 'reasonable' to them, is for them to ignore everyone else's emotions, well being, safety, even the right to exist, and follow only their own. The reasoning they follow has nothing to do with being rational, it has to do with being selfish, proud, ignorant, and I can't stress this enough, being incredibly and utterly stupid. They're destroying the land they depend on to live, and feeling proud and rational to do so, while calling women stupid and selfish for wanting human rights.

It's been enough of this. A rational male has not been born or seen on this planet. We need to assume that every time a m*n says something, he has absolutely no clue what he's talking about, and is likely attempting to cause some damage for his own benefit – in all cases we will be right. We cannot let someone with a track record like this to be in the charge of decision making, nor should we respect their decisions. They couldn't even make laws that protect human lives. They couldn't even base their own accomplishments on the things they achieved – they had to take credit for our achievements over and over again. They are irrational, power hungry creatures that stop at nothing, humanity means nothing to them, human lives have no meaning to them. But they do to us.

We can make decision that make sense, specifically because we care about not destroying lives or the environment. We are capable of making the 'tough calls' because we will make the call that will not result in mass destruction! The only thing they keep holding over our head is that we don't have experience – but we can get it. And experience never helped them make less destructive, less stupid choices.

Male emotions are based on self-delusions. They refuse to see any consequence of their action, and play ignorant to the very end. Their empty pride, empty self-importance, empty confidence and empty arrogance is based on nothing but the lies they've told to themselves. Even slight factual analysis and statistics that come from male decisions, make their reasoning crumble into pieces.

Women's emotions are substantiated by facts. In every case when a woman has been told off for being emotional, she's getting gaslit and turned away from the cause of her emotion, which is always factual. It is reasonable to be upset at being treated as less than a human being. It is reasonable to care about the lives of other human beings. It is reasonable to care about the state of the world, state of the environment. It is reasonable to stand against destruction and loss of human lives. And yet we get told off for having the most substantiated, reasonable responses to male violence and terrorism.

And then there's one emotions males love to use to pretend they're not emotional: anger. It provides them with enough threat to stop women from analyzing and pointing out the failure of males, it works to protect them from the realization of how useless, harmful and destructive they've been. Making horrid, harmful and selfish decisions and exploding in anger if anyone comes close to pointing it out, coupled with blaming everyone else for having an emotional reaction to being harmed, is their primary 'reasonable' way of managing life. And this is what we have in charge on earth. A creature who causes damage, and then uses emotion to hide the damage they've done, while pretending to be an ignorant little baby, blissfully unaware of anything he does having any consequences.

We're done believing their lies.

[thewallshaveeyes]

I took a stab at drawing the goat's narinder (pupinder? Naripup?) And came up with this. Him being a samoyed just feels right to me. But tbh? I have NO CLUE what to do with the bishops (random ramblings below the cut)

So like. Pup narinder, I imagine him as being the bishop of life and light, and being just super sweet. And the thing is, I imagine he says pretty much the same stuff Narinder does, but the way he words it gives it an ENTIRELY different meaning.

"I still have need of you" -> implies that the lamb is a tool for Narinder to use. He can't throw them away just yet, because there is still some use left in them. Defines them by their usefulness

"I still require your services" -> puts more value on the goat's abilities to act if that makes sense. Acknowledges that the goat is a being that is capable of making decisions on its own and puts trust in the idea that it'll use its abilities to help him. Defines it by its autonomy.

i also imagine him talking about sacrifice in a much different way. Instead of seeing sacrifice as cashing in souls like currency, I feel like he'd see it as a mercy. "Why allow your followers to slowly work themselves to death, living in pain and fatigue until they give out, when you can offer them a smooth transition into the afterlife?"

Also because of this personality swap, the idea of him betraying his siblings out of pride doesn't make as much sense. What do I propose, then? Easy! As the bishop of light and life, he couldn't stand to see followers suffering for any slight against his siblings, so he took those in who needed respite. He offered an oasis to those unfaithful to his siblings, and when that happened, his siblings got PISSED because they saw that as him stealing their followers. So, they tried to confront him and take back their followers, only for narinder to defend his followers by maiming his siblings. This caused the others to chain him up in the gateway and either sacrifice or convert the rest of his followers.

Now, with all of this, I have several ideas for the bishops but can't really use them all.

Idea 1: Domain swap. Everything stays pretty much the same except for their domains (and consequently their colors). Heket would be plague, Leshy would be war, Shamura famine, and Kallamar chaos. (Honestly zero clue what to do with the colors OR crowns for that matter. Keep the same crowns? Crowns change colors, too??? -\('–')/-)

Idea 2: Species swap. They turn into slant-variants of each of their species (which changes their colors, too). Heket could be a frog, maybe Leshy is an isopod or something, Kallamar would be an octopus (duh), and Shamura could maybe be a bat?? Centipede?? (Thinkin of something that lives in a cave maybe. Scorpion?)

Idea 3: Domain inversion. This could work in tandem with the previous one but anyways. Idea being that their domains invert (just like Narinder's) which causes personality changes. Leshy could be the bishop of order, causing him to be a MASSIVE control freak who panics when the goat comes back (making him more cowardly like Kallamar). Heket could be the bishop of gluttony, causing her to give the goat more of the benefit of the doubt (making her more understanding like Shamura). Kallamar could be the bishop of vitality, seeing the goat as nothing more than an insignificant worm and underestimating its power (making him more assured like Leshy). Shamura could be the bishop of stagnation/sloth, dissuaded and distraught by the goat's challenge to the old faith (making them more vengeful like Heket).

Of the ideas, I'm most attached to the third. Plus with the personality swaps, their injuries could also swap. Heket could be think no evil since she was the most open-minded, Shamura could be see no evil because they were ignorant to the world around them, Leshy could be hear no evil since he refused to give anyone else a voice, and Kallamar could be speak no evil since he was a loudmouth.

What are we thinking, chat? Thoughts? Comments? Ideas?

Aside/edit: with idea #3 (which I'm more and more attached to as I write this), that could be interesting bcs it would recontextualize each bishops' patterns in their boss fights.

Take Kallamar for example. For the lamb, he is terrified of fighting them, which is seen when he pretty much just button mashes doing everything he can to keep that fuckin thang away from him. You can tell that he's panicking during the boss fight from how erratic his movement is. But in the goat's universe, Kallamar's fighting style could be indicative of his disregard for the goat's existence, moreso swatting him away like a pesky mosquito. Inversely, Leshy's fight with the lamb not only shows that he has no clue what the fuck he's doing, but that he doesn't think the lamb does, either. He doesn't even try to hit the lamb physically until well into the battle. For the goat, however, this could be out of fear. Leshy is terrified of the goat, trying as hard as possible to avoid it until he desperately resorts to smacking it around just to kill it. I know that none of this has any bearing on what we see of the goat in the lamb's cult, but it could help explain some of the confusion the goat experiences when it interacts with the lamb's bishops for the first time.

[cooki3face]

what’s going on in your friendships

message: friendships and close personal relationships have been a significant thing in my life as of late. I have the tendency to self-isolate in order to remain untriggered because I can't control my environment the way I wish I could when other energies are involved. I've never been super outgoing or social, I enjoy conversation but on my own terms and I'm highly selective about the company I keep and how I choose to share my energy with the world. But, you have to be a whole other level of healed in order to remain energetically grounded where your circumstances or environment are eating away at you. When I have close personal relationships they consume me because I am always so heavily devoted or emotionally involved and so they have the capacity to disarm me or put me in hard places when things go wrong or when something is triggering. I've decided to do this reading in order to give the collective insight on what's going on in their friendships and hopefully give some guidance on what needs to be improved or worked on. Enjoy.

-

I.

There's an energy here about either you or people you were friends with or are friends with carrying the energy of past resentment. In your energy there's an energy of friendship(s) being a touchy subject or something that you've separated yourself from entirely due to bad situations or experiences. In other energies outside of yours, there could be someone or even a few people who hold ill energy towards you or have negative perceptions of you based on a falling out or you outgrowing them. There's energy of betrayal or someone revealing themselves to you or double-crossing you and you having to turn inwards or go into hermit mode in order to recover and swearing off friendships or become more opposed or narrowing your scope for what is acceptable in your friendships. Someone had high expectations already but they're even higher now. I'm listening to the song "Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse. She says in the song, "I've died 100 times." someone has been burned a lot or has a very extensive painful history in close relationships both platonic and romantic that require trust and respect to be equal and held at high regard.

Someone had a friend who was troubled or had a tendency to mess things up for themselves or be deceptive or throw stones and hide their hands I'm hearing. Pile one you may have developed a thing for the underdog or in the past had a subconscious pull to people who had heavy trauma-filled backgrounds or carried with them a lot of karmic energy or karmic behaviors and cycles. This may have been a theme for the vast majority of your close personal relationships for the past couple of years. You constantly ran into people who didn't value themselves and therefore didn't know your value and people who would always have an internal tendency to not know what they'd lost until you'd walked away from them. You may have had to make a difficult decision here that resulted in you letting go of several friends and/ or lovers or significant people in your life that you carried on your back for the past couple of years. You learn lessons primarily through people and relationships and you eventually outgrew or broke out of karmic cycles and behaviors and you had to decide whether or not you wanted a new beginning or not.

You may currently feel a lot of grief or be in the process of mourning past versions of yourself or past versions of your life and the people who were in it although you're done with them now. There's healing that needs to be addressed regarding betrayal and heartbreak regarding your friendships and relationships. Right now you are in a state of recovery here, I'm seeing imagery of someone in a deep sleep or in a comatose like state like sleeping beauty or something, the body has the ability to heal or recover faster through sleep, you may feel somewhat unresponsive towards people coming towards you seeking friendships or companionship.

You're deciding what it is you want in a friendship and doing what you can possible to come into alignment with what that looks like, you've essentially had to start from scratch or build your life and yourself up again from the ground up. You have nothing left from the life you used to live. You've had to and are in the process of manifesting everything that you desire. You are no longer in a state of your life or on the chronological divine timeline where you are having to live with the cards you are dealt and make the best of it or learn the right lessons for what you are given. You have essentially aged out of and graduated out of the divine's guardianship over you as a spiritual minor. Now it's your choice what it is you get to have, what you get to make, what you wanna see, what you wanna put up with, and with whom.

-

II.

You could feel called to power through and carry on even though you could be experiencing or have experienced significant hardship in your friendships. You may have a tendency to suppress your emotions regarding loss or you have remained in survival mode for years at a time so much so you may be someone who is always in autopilot or doesn't stop too often to process loss in full even if you're a heavily emotionally driven individual who needs time for recovery and needs time to heal so that you can thrive. I just heard someone's a water sign but operates like an earth sign to keep up appearances or maintain a hard exterior or escape the symptoms that come with heartbreak or grief. like if you can imagine the spectral difference between Cancer and Capricorn as a moon sign placement. You may carry a mindset that the entire world has always been against you or that you're not a particularly popular individual wherever it is you reside.

People may make up stories about you, spread rumors, some people fear you heavily while on the other side of the spectrum others may believe you're a coward or deserve to be mistreated or beat down as much as possible. People don't know who you are or know your heart due to some circumstances that were outside of your control and some that were. By the time you'd established or came to terms with the fact that you wanted to be around others, felt isolated, or felt scared and mistreated it was too late because people already had such large negative perspectives and opinions about you. I just heard "you think I want to be like this?" someone has been alienated or is treated like an abomination or as though they are unacceptable. You may also find you have a hard time networking or accessing opportunities you feel you'd have rights to if not for your reputation, not even just work opportunities, social ones as well, people don't want to be around you or people have a tendency to reject you or you feel you aren't able to reach people you love fully due to a lack of self worth or a skewed perception of yourself.

You've lost hope of profound connection within your friendships (you could've had a close friend before that you held onto past a healthy point or even throughout their betrayal or mistreatment of you due to the fact that you felt like if you released them you'd face eternal loneliness. I'm hearing this person could've exploited you for your resources or used you or subjected you to some sort of abuse repeatedly and you didn't/couldn't hold them accountable only the two of you know about this or people know but it's not a well spread secret. I'm hearing this person could've also potentially r*ped, s*xually assaulted you or used you to experiment or fill the void of their own loneliness and desperation.) You could've also potentially lost a romantic connection or loss hope in prospect of love as well or you may have convinced yourself you'll end up unmarried or in short term surface level relationships for the rest of your life.

You could have this large tendency to be so resistant of change whether it's for the best or not or whether it's gonna be in your best interest or not and this has worked against you. You have wounds that have been left open and are gaping because you refuse to stop and get help or allow yourself to heal and recover. You have things that need to be said that won't ever be at your own hand. You won't allow yourself to have anything because other people decided you shouldn't have anything. You could be so happy and so free of spiritual and emotional burden if you would just allow yourself to heal and do the inner work. Return to any avenues and paths you've left unpaved or any loose ends you've left untied and clean up things in order to free yourself. You may have to come to terms with the fact that not everything can be mended, reconciled, or redelivered back to you in the way you want or within the time frame you desire though pile two. You aren't the only person on the planet contrary to your beliefs, the people who were on it with you who you shared your energy with or who you shared your energy with have their own reservations, their own stories or versions of what happened whether they are truthful or not.

-

III.

You have an unnatural allegiance to losers and it's unlike you. You may have a tendency to make friends or make connections out of necessity or out of fear of loneliness. You are what you attract, you may have a tendency to constantly fall back into karmic cycles or run around in circles in terms of life lessons. you're someone who takes a long time to learn things you need to learn. You could be an air sign or a water sign. You have the tendency to take a lot of short cuts or do things to try and make yourself have an easier time assimilating or blending in after years of rejection from personal places or have people and places that large significance in your life or things you spent a lot of time around, peers at school, parents, siblings, family. You can also have a tendency to be impressionable you might have picked up a lot of nasty habits or behavioral patterns or karmic ties due to the type of people you choose to be around and attract. There's something here about your spirit being young or you being someone who has a tendency to act out or has a difficult time making their own decisions including responsible ones or doing what's best for you when it needs to be done.

You have a parent or parents who play a huge role in the way you process situations and carry yourself in general. You weren't taught or raised up to be an adult or aren't/weren't offered the proper tools to build a sense of self that was adequate for someone who needed to navigate in this world. I just heard the words "hurt people hurt people" you may have the tendency to self destruct and in turn be destructive to others. You carry with you either a lot of guilt or on the far end of the spectrum a large lack of accountability and willing ignorance about the part you played in conflicts or how your actions may have effected someone or a situation. You're constantly feeling very stagnant, burnt out, drained or low on energy and a lot of this is reflective of some of your choices, your choices in company, your behavioral patterns, karmic cycles and even potentially addictions if you've picked up any vices that you should've stayed far away from.

You may be in a place in your relationships where you're at a crossroads about if you should trust your intuition and the divines organization of change and chaos and move forward or do the right thing and allow yourself to fully outgrow and separate from people, things, places, etc. you've carried with you or collected along the way for fear of loss. Behaviors and karmic cycles and habits as well. I say relationships instead of just friendships because you have a tendency to make bad decisions in both your romantic and platonic relationships and connections and your karma is coming at you from both ends. There's fear here though regarding letting go. The deeper issue or root cause of this need to collect things comes from fear of abandonment, being disliked or perceived negatively or not being able to control the feeling you may feel about not having anyone to fall back onto/into.

You could've lost a friend or a person of value that you pushed away or that woke up to something or had some sort of truth revealed to them about you and actions you may have had a habit of committing to behind their back in regards to them. This person won't reconcile with you or you know that anyone of value that you lost along the way or anyone who may bring you solace has walked away. But, spirit has set your revelation or your healing process or tower moment up this way for you so that you have the chance to fully and wholeheartedly see what is going on or what needs to be done. I just heard "you're so far removed from source." The only way out is through and there might be a lot of grief that you may have to receive or make your way through before you can come out the other end changed and in alignment with what needs to be done or what's in store for you. You need to heal or come back into alignment. I'm getting imagery of someone detoxing or withdrawal from drugs or alcohol. this could be something you may have to actually experience or a figurative representation of what the process of healing and recuperation may look like for you because there is a lot that needs to be purged.

But, after all of this, if you do the inner work, there is promised stability and alignment for you.

-

channeled song for this reading:

[aurae-rori]

Okay. So no pressure if you don't want to, but can you elaborate more on your headcannoning[?] Ratio having a savior complex? Your character analysis are really good so I was just wondering how you see this.

no worries, it's absolutely no pressure - i love talking about this! and thank you so much, i'm so glad that you enjoy my stuff, so let's get right into it.

a saviour complex is defined as "an attitude and demeanour in which a person believes they are responsible for assisting other people." this doesn't mean that people with saviour complexes are necessarily stuck up and believe that they are noble for doing what they do, it just means that they feel like they must help other people. it can stem from feelings like "if i can't, nobody can!" or, alternatively, "i have no worth if i don't help people, this is what i'm meant to do." in helping other people at the expense of the self, it can help the person with the complex feel valued, wanted, loved, and as if they have a purpose.

as someone who does have a saviour complex (and is working on it in therapy, so i'm doing fine - it's much better than it used to be), i can say in past experiences, this has led me to become a sort of mentor figure to other people in my life. although i will never regret becoming an older sibling figure for the people i care about, the reason why i became a "teacher" was rooted in both my own desire to help other people, and also in my need to be validated.

so basically, it all comes down to this - if i don't help other people, i have no value, so therefore, i am useless. this can quickly spiral into suicidal tendencies and should be stopped as soon as possible, but that's a different topic.

the reason why i hc ratio with a saviour complex is because i see a lot of my own behaviours in him. he became an educator to push people to their limits but also because he cares about humanity. being a teacher means bearing responsibility - the same responsibility that someone with a saviour complex will put on themselves. a person with a saviour complex will always place the needs of others over themselves, (choosing humanity over the gaze of an aeon). he seems to also be a perfectionist and berates himself for being unable to meet a standard (which can also reflect into relationships, where a person with a saviour complex will beat themselves up for being unable to help the person they were attempting to 'save'.)

upon failure of being able to help someone or solve their problems, i find that usually what i've seen is that people fall into spirals of depression and self-deprecation, blaming themselves for the issues of others. we don't know how dr ratio canonically feels about failing about 97% of his classes even though he calls them idiots, but he seems to genuinely care about his students and their education. so i like to believe that on some level, just like i used to, he blames himself when people cannot progress. that's not canon though. just a hc.

anyway, taking on massive amounts of responsibility (trying to cure the entire universe of idiocy) and attempting to further help other people through any means possible, even to the point of neglecting yourself (and although ratio says that a relaxation-working life must be balanced, i used to be a hypocrite about that so he can be a hypocrite about it too) and pushing yourself far past what you must.

anyway, i hope this clears up why i hc him with a saviour complex (from someone that unfortunately has one).

i also ask that people don't say 'are you okay?' if you read this post, because i am! you are absolutely allowed to ask me about my experience as a person who has a saviour complex (as long as you're not rude about it) and i will definitely drop more specific hcs about saviour complex ratio if you want to see more.

hope this was worded okay! :)

[mistressofpuppets86]

Fireworks of our own

Pairing: Present day James Hetfield x reader (NO USE OF Y/N)

Synopsis: You’re settling into life in a new town and a new state after a massive and massively unexpected inheritance. You become close with the highly recognizable and hot as fuck heavily tattooed… and somewhat recently divorced… silver fox that you learn lives across the street from you.

Warnings: 18+. There will be smut. Minors, fuck off. RPF. 1st person POV. 20-ish year age gap. Reader is early 40s, James is 60. Reader’s race is not mentioned or described, but is AFAB and female identifying. Due to the lack of female readers with my body type when body type is described/hinted at, reader is also short and somewhat plus-sized, and has small breasts. Unprotected sex. Public sex. Creampie.

Moving into the large expensive house I’d inherited in Colorado turned out to be one of my smarter decisions.  The house used to belong to my step-aunt and step-uncle.  I didn’t find out until after they were both gone that they’d made an agreement codified in their wills.  What it boiled down to was that their biological relatives were a bunch of greedy vultures who loved to squabble over anything of value, vying with each other for the best of whatever it was and only caring about what benefit there was for themselves in literally any situation.  It shocked me as much as anyone when I was the one named sole beneficiary of their entire estate.  I don’t know what would have happened had I turned it down, but turning down enough of a bank account to make me independently wealthy plus a variety of stocks and other investments that were continuing to provide income and a plush house in the ski town of Vail was not something I would do.  I never had to work again if I didn’t want to, and the house was entirely paid off.  It would have been complete idiocy to reject all that.  In further interest of not being a complete idiot, I also took measures as soon as possible to ensure my step-aunt’s and step-uncle’s wishes were respected.  In the event of my untimely death, ‘those people’ would still inherit nothing.  I used the same lawyers my step-aunt and step-uncle had to ensure my will was as ironclad as theirs had been, in case ‘those people’ contested mine as my step-aunt’s and step-uncle’s had been contested when I was named sole heir.

What surprised me was how friendly the rest of the residents were, and how patient they were in getting me integrated into the community.  Being autistic and having ADHD made social interactions feel weird and awkward to me when I was around new people.  Everyone in Vail was new to me.  I’d moved here alone and used a moving company to do all the hard work for me.  My friends were all online and lived in other states if not other countries so it hadn’t seemed like a big deal for me.  Especially since I was such an introverted type by nature.  But something about Vail put me at ease and made it easier for me to open up to people.  It helped that they were understanding of my differences and made an effort to work with them rather than treating me with pity or like I was something to be shunned.

The real shock was my across-the-street neighbor turning out to be James fucking Hetfield of all people.  Thankfully he’d been amused rather than weirded out by my reaction to seeing him and learning he was my neighbor now.  I didn’t hide that I was a fan, but I did at least try to keep things mellow in his presence.  It helped that he was super down to earth and generally a fun guy to be around.  It didn’t take me long to relax around him while we talked and got to know each other.  I definitely had my freak-out once I was alone in my house though.

That was months ago.  Now we’re at a local park for a Fourth of July community event.  I had worn a cute spaghetti strap lavender dress with white flowers on it.  The hemline fell to a little below my knees, and there was a slit from the hem to mid thigh on the left.  The skirt part was flared enough to mostly hide my chubby belly while the bodice was a little fitted to give me some shape, with lightly padded breast cups that flattered my small bust.  I’d paired it with black strappy low-heeled wedge sandals and my hair was brushed and twisted up in a claw clip.  I spritzed on some orange-vanilla-cinnamon body spray, and was ready.  I had never been a makeup girl so I didn’t even own any.  James had given me a look I couldn’t interpret when he’d rung my doorbell so we could drive over together, but he’d also offered me his arm with a playful grin.  I’d happily taken it, grinning back and trying to ignore the way my heart fluttered in my chest as we walked to his vehicle together.  He was looking especially good himself today.  Well-fitted jeans, a t-shirt that hugged his lean body just right and showed off his tattoos, and one of his many pairs of black boots.  One of his many cowboy style hats sat on top of his silvered head.  Normally that kind of thing didn’t have any special effect on me.  But when that sort of hat was on him, it made the song lyric ‘save a horse ride a cowboy’ come to mind.

He parked and we walked toward the entrance.  When I saw just how many people were gathered in the park, my steps faltered.  It was weird.  I’d had no crowd anxiety at the few concerts I’d managed to get to, but this made me hesitate.  Maybe it was because at concerts I was surrounded by fellow metalheads and felt safe there.  Even when I didn’t know them personally we were already bonded through the music and shared love of the same band.  That connection and feelings of belonging and community weren’t present here at the park.  I’d barely stopped walking when I felt James’s arm drape over my shoulders and pull me in close to him.  I looked up at him even as I leaned against him and wrapped an arm around his waist.  Instead of the irritation or other negative emotions I had expected to see in his face and eyes there was nothing but understanding, patience, and reassurance.  “We’ve got this, babe” he murmured, giving me a squeeze.  I smiled up at him and gave his waist a squeeze as my heart flipped in my chest at the endearment and his embrace.  Then we entered the park together.

Once the initial anxiety had dissipated I was able to relax and enjoy the afternoon.  James insisted on paying for everything no matter how much I protested and reminded him I had my own money.  He countered that it was the gentlemanly thing to do.  Having no answer to that, I gave up trying to prevent him from doing it.  What was even more surprising to me was that he didn’t end up mobbed by fans.  I was sure at least some people recognized him - especially with his tattoos so readily visible and recognizable - no one approached for autographs or photos or anything.  With as at ease as he was, I could only be happy for him that he could still go out in public and do normal things like anyone else.  

We both lost most of the carnival games we played, but James had a decent win at one of them and insisted I pick out the prize since he intended for me to keep it anyway.  I chose the plush possum - about the size of a housecat - as soon as I spotted it.  I tucked it into the tote bag I was carrying, positioning it so the fuzzy head was sticking up out of the top.  “So he can see everything going on” I joked, making James laugh.  

As night fell we found ourselves at the edge of the grassy area that had been set aside for fireworks viewing.  With the setting sun, the warmth from the day seeped away and left everything on the chillier side.  Enough that it made me glad for the two blankets we’d brought… one to sit on, and one to cover up with.  We ended up with him using the tote bag as a pillow, and me - at his insistence - using his shoulder as a pillow.  Not that I minded, of course.  His arm wrapped around me and kept me close beside his warm solidness.  Without thinking about it, I rolled onto my side and snuggled closer with an arm over his waist.  I felt him stiffen for a second and panicked that I’d overstepped, but then I felt him relax and his arm tightened around me in a brief squeeze.  “Comfy?” he asked playfully, his voice low enough only I could hear what he said.

I shifted my head to look at him and my heart skipped at how close his face was to mine.  It was difficult to see much in the darkness but I could make out the amused quirk of his lips.  “Very much so… babe” I replied just as softly and playfully, pointedly tossing his earlier endearment back at him.

James let out a quiet bark of a laugh.  “Shit.  And here I thought I’d gotten away with that” he joked, the tip of his nose brushing against mine.  I knew he could feel my racing heart but he said nothing about it.

“Mmm… you kinda did, in a way” I murmured, rubbing my nose against his in turn.  “Clearly I didn’t mind you calling me that since I didn’t raise any protest.  And I certainly wouldn’t be laying like this with you right now” I pointed out even as I felt him roll onto his side facing me.  He murmured a quiet agreement, his lips close enough to mine I could feel his breath as he spoke.  Then his lips were on mine, tentative and testing at first then with more confidence and assurance when I responded eagerly and kissed him back.  A soft moan left my throat and my leg slid over his hip, my own hips pressing against him.  I felt the rumble of his moan too and his strong hand spread over the curve of my ass, pulling me even more tightly against him.  Tight enough I could feel his hard cock through his jeans.  I rolled my hips against his and deepened the kiss.

Carefully, James slid my dress up over my hips to my waist and my own hand tugged his jeans zipper down, fingers delving into the fabric to free his length.  I could feel exactly how thick he was too, my hand wrapping around him and stroking until his hand gently took hold of my wrist.  “Gonna bust like a virgin boy if you keep that up” he growled softly in my ear.  “And I wanna be in you when I bust” he added with a nip that made me whimper in pleasure as much as his words did.  I let him take control again, his long fingers tugging my panties to the side and guiding his tip through my slick folds.  “Holy fuck you’re soaked” he murmured as he sank into me.  I made a noise of need, and he quickly smothered the sound with another searing kiss as his hips slowly rolled and he thrust into and out of me.

The way he filled me was absolute perfection, and each drag and push of his cock would have had me moaning loud enough for us to be caught even over the noise from the fireworks show starting had he not kept his mouth on mine and my tongue busy with his.  It was bliss and torture at the same time that he kept his pace steady, his movements small but intense so we could both finish but hopefully not have our activities noticed.  “James… getting close” I murmured against his lips, my pussy fluttering around his cock as he brought me closer to my peak.

“Good.  Cum for me, my love.  Cum all over this cock” he murmured back.  The command in his tone, him calling me his love, and the way he was fucking me sent me over the edge.  He kissed me hard to keep my moans muffled, grunting softly and bucking into me hard as he followed me over that edge, his hot seed shooting deep into me and filling me to the brim.  We lay there in each others’ arms after, his cock still buried inside me, kissing slowly and languidly for a short while.  But then the finale of the fireworks happened and we knew our cover would be up soon.  He withdrew from me and tugged my panties back into place before his cum could leak out onto my thighs.  Then he kissed me once more and rolled onto his back to tuck his cock back into his pants and zip up.  We pulled our arms out from under the blanket to make everything look innocent just in time for the end of the display and the other attendees to start packing up to go home.

“What did you two think of the show?” a man around my age with a woman who looked to be about the same age at his side asked us as James helped me to my feet and we started folding up the blankets and gathering our things by the light of cell phone flashlights.  James and I exchanged a mischievous look and grinned.

“It was great” I replied, my voice even.  “Best display I’ve ever seen” I added.

“I was just telling my girlfriend how much better the show was this year than last year” James added, his eyes and smile full of mischief.  I felt my cheeks heat but I grinned back and made a comment about how I was glad to have been part of it.  Warmth blossomed in my chest at him declaring me his girlfriend.  The other couple seemed a little surprised but continued the conversation and didn’t seem to be judging either James or I over the obvious age gap between us.  I couldn’t tell if they knew who James was and accepted it as a general celebrity thing or if they were just chill like that.  Either way worked for me.

James draped his arm over my shoulders again and I put my arm around his waist as we walked back to the parking lot, each of us carrying things as we had done coming in.  His cum slowly leaked out of my hole and soaked my panties as we walked.  When we got to the vehicle, I reached for one of the blankets to put on my seat for the drive home.  He raised an eyebrow in question.  “If I don’t put down a barrier, I’m going to leave a wet patch on your seat from your cum soaking through my clothes” I said bluntly, leaning in close.  He smirked at me and held me close with his hands on my hips.  My arms went around his neck and he kissed me gently.

“Mmm… worth it though” he teased, making my cheeks heat again.  He kissed me once more and gave my ass a double-handed squeeze.  “Now let’s get home so we can get fully naked.  I wanna taste your pussy before I fuck you properly and have you screaming my name while I fill you with my cum again” he growled softly in my ear.  I shivered and made a needy sound that brought a grin to his lips.  When he released me and went to the driver side with long strides, I wasted no time getting into the vehicle and closing the door, buckling my seatbelt.  My panties were wet with more than just James’s cum, and I was eager for not just the rest of the night with him but the rest of our lives together.  I knew, somehow, that we belonged only to each other now.

[iravinirattu]

ik im late but im playing through kaveh's hangout event and. the haikaveh brainrot is real

since these losers can't do it themselves i am here to offer my translation services ‼️

al haitham you liar. we are in a library using our indoor voices you did NOT hear us.

and even if you did mr. "i hate small talk" why'd u walk over hmm?? hmm??

"dont mind if i ignore you, i've got my earphones in" <- applies to everyone except kaveh

"okay now that i've gotten him distracted tell me what's wrong so i can discreetly fix it"

mans literally sent kaveh away to boost his confidence a bit + find out if he was okay.

"you annoted those books with such long and beautiful notes that eveyone hated lolol anyways check out those shelfs where there's a book with someone appreciating ur notes"

i can't get over how many exceptions al haitham makes for kaveh. he's not heartless and cruel in the way i often see him portrayed... but at the same time his entire demeanor is "i respect you as a person but won't go out of my way to do things for you unless it benefits me"

like he's one of the only characters who isn't super super close with the traveler, at least that's how i see it in the voicelines! he respects them as a friend, would consider doing things for them if they asked, but that's about it really!

but KAVEH. for someone who enjoys a peaceful life and has such a rational and efficient way of working it theoretically makes no sense for him to do all the things he does for kaveh.

like sure "maybe the cheering up kaveh is just to avoid having to deal with him drunk later", but that's too roundabout of a demeanor to be al haitham's style. plus, if he really didn't want to deal with a drunk kaveh, he could just kick him out.

but he doesn't because he cares, and kaveh does not understand that because he has created a vision of what he thinks al haitham is in his head, and in that vision he, kaveh, has no value so why would haitham have him around?? clearly he's got ulterior motives.

and they won't move further until kaveh lets go of that vision, and he can only do that if he truly realises his own worth, and until then haitham's gonna have to keep pushing him towards that from the shadows.

"he overworks himself, it's not healthy. he forgets the practicality of his ideals when he starts something, thinking he can pull through it, but reality hits him halfway. he can keep his ideals, that's fine, but i wish he was a bit more realistic about them."

"and despite all of the above, despite wanting to uphold his artistic integrity, he still puts everyone's needs before his own."

"his approach is too contradictory, and hence people don't see his talent. there are those who's resolve is so brash they are seen as confident and unshakable; and yet he who is more talented than them all falls behind because he's so easy to take advantage of."

al haitham taught me two new words today lol

irascible - someone with a quick temper

paragon - something viewed as a standard

"if he wants things to change he needs to find a balance between compromise and resolve. there is no way to please everyone, but instead of accepting this, he thinks he can nullify it if he takes all the burden instead."

kaveh's altruism stems from his own self-hatred, moreso than his desire to help others. and while doing a good deed puts a smile on his face, the melancholy guilt that trips him when he doesn't is far greater.

"if they are his ideals then i have no right to say anything about them. but he hurts himself so much as a result of that and i wish he would love himself a bit more."

al haitham has a great deal of respect for kaveh, not just as a scholar but as a person. and it's hard watching someone like that dig their own grave, and there's nothing you can do but wait in the sidelines, because they won't believe anything you say.

al haitham is constantly bickering with kaveh to get him to feel a little, challenge his ideals, find a way to make them work without sacrificing himself in return.

"at this poing talking to him is no use, he's convinced himself that his life only has purpose if it's in the hands of others. all people face hardships in life, but he seems to believe he deserves all he gets and more"

and then after kaveh is back he gives him space to talk about things that make him happy, and more importantly, appreciate himself.

how to tell kaveh i want to listen to his silly lil rants without sounding like a sap - al haitham's brain, probably

al haitham knowing all of kaveh's little buttons, and pressing the right ones after determining his mood, so he can show kaveh he loves him but still sound like a bitch.

"you did so well. i am so proud, and i hope you are proud of yourself too."

and sometimes he does click the wrong one, but then immediately goes back on it, becomes soft(er than usual), offers reassurance, changes the topic, and so on

we saw this in the parade of providence event, when kaveh got legitimately upset at one of haitham's remarks and he immediately went into I HAVE UPSET MY BF recovery mode.

and what i love the most in all this is KAVEH'S DUMBASS IS SO OBLIVIOUS TO THIS LMAOOO

but also it's sad because the reason he's oblivious is because he doesn't think he's worth being cared for like that.

haikaveh's whole vibe is "i love you, but i'd much rather you love yourself first" and "i'm your one and only, your only exception, the one you'd break all your rules for" and i love it.

[contentloadingandstuff]

Could you do more parent headcanons but with miko and ningguang

Parent Headcanons - Ningguang & Yae Miko

Genre: Fluff

Characters: Ningguang & Yae Miko

A/N: Reader is a long-lived yokai in Miko's part. Miko has a lot from a fox in her. Mentions of sex.

A/N: Thank you for the ask, anon. I hope everyone likes it! :3

Ningguang

She's always had an eye for priceless treasure. And you were possibly the best find in her life.

If Ningguang has a dream, she will pursue it. Whether it be building a new Jade Chamber, expanding Liyue Harbor or having a family, you will be there to help her, no?

Her child's gender is of no importance to her, but she does understand the challenges they would face depending on it. A son would be most likely crushed under societal expectations brought upon by his mother's status, and a daughter would be facing a tsunami of suitors, desperate to marry themselves into the goldmine that is your family. Whatever the challenges will be, Ningguang will always support her little ones.

She will likely want a single child. Not only will they have her full attention, but their upbringing will be easier to reconcile with her work.

The Tianquan will be another one to take her time with having a child. There is no need to hurry, and she wants to have everything in place beforehand. This is not a matter to take lightly.

She will certainly flaunt the ring you gave her. She could be in a meeting with some rich businessman, whose attempts at flirting are as subtle as Inazuma's fireworks, and all of a sudden she lifts her left hand to twirl her hair, showing off her occupied ring finger to the guy. Their reactions are always priceless.

The ring was enough to cause quite a sensation amongst the entire population of Liyue. Imagine what her growing belly would have done, especially that your wedding was held high in the sky, away from the public eye.

She would cut away at her work hours significantly. Important meeting past the ten hour mark? It can wait, independent of how whiny the other party is.

Ningguang had a rough childhood to say the least. She had to mature quickly, facing with the threat of poverty every waking second. Sure, it shaped her into the person she is now, but it's not what she would wish for anyone, especially her child.

Good thing she has a lot of spare money to use.

Unlike her back in the early days, they will be wearing the finest silk and eat the finest, healthiest meals money could buy.

All of this spoiling won't mean they will be free to idle around the Jade Chamber however.

Not having the privilege of education in her childhood, and having to teach herself with books bought with Mora earned through blood, sweat and tears made her value it much more than the average person, so it's only natural that she will put much weight on it. Her child will not only learn disembodied theoretical knowledge, not at all in fact. They will have to attend meetings and take lectures from her once they become old enough to get practical experience.

She won't force her heirs to assume the same role as her. All the luxury and prestige aside, it's hard and ungrateful work most of the time. You are faced with a lot of criticism on a daily basis, and not everyone has the guts to bear it. If her child doesn't feel adequate for the spot of a Qixing, she's fine with that.

Her expectations will be high, so your child will be under a lot of stress. You get that she wants only the best for them, but remind her to relax once in a while.

Bold of you to think anyone would dare to pick on her little one. She wouldn't even have to move a finger - as soon as the parents of the perpetrator get the memo, they will come crawling to her on their own, begging for forgiveness. And she will revel in their horror.

Mother Ningguang? 8/10. She is loving, but often too demanding.

Yae Miko

Most of her yokai friends are dead by this point, so finding one she actually loves, especially a fellow kitsune, will be a huge emotional boost for her.

Despite her teasing attitude and somewhat care-free nature, she is quite lonely and most likely struggling with depression. Being surrounded by people who can't really understand you, having only memories left of the people who could and being abandoned by her best friend for several centuries certainly affected Miko, regardless of her power level or status.

As such, the opportunity of having children is not one she is willing to sleep on.

Even if that means having 4 to 6 of them. It will require a huge amount of time and effort from the both of you, but it will all be worth it in the end for her.

Miko doesn't really have a say in how many children she wants to have - her biology doesn't really care about her opinion. She has no preference in their gender as well. Having 5 children of the same sex would be really unlikely. Even if that's the case, she would be more happy than not to get so lucky.

When your relationship will reach the point of you both being ready and willing to build a home for yourselves, she won't wait. Why would she? She is the Guuji, for Celestia's sake. It's as if anyone was bold enough to speak out against her, anyway.

She will, however, wait with the whole 'making of' for when her (and yours too, if you're a kitsune) heat comes in. Since she already got it back after centuries of repressing it on the account of lacking a partner, why not use it for all it's worth? Good luck getting out of your shared house for a month straight - Miko will make sure there is no way she won't be expecting children after that.

Miko will assign an acting Guuji for a whole year, most likely. A storm is coming, and it will surely use up all of her energy. Also, she doesn't care about her job enough to waste her time when a moment of this magnitude is just around the corner.

Honestly, seeing Yae Miko with her children would be the best thing ever.

The little ones will rely on their instincts to function at first - one of them being to snuggle with their mother at any opportunity given.

You'll just find a sleeping pile of kitsune in various spots around your house. When you join them, Miko will whisper in a sleepy tone about how it's the best place to be in. It's what gives her the strength to keep going.

When the kids get their walking privileges, they will be an absolute menace. They'll hang around the house, play fighting, staring out the windows at any birds flying by or just running around, destroying anything they come across in the process. Damage control will be hard with 5 little marauders to keep track of.

It will also be an opportunity to see Miko drop all of her acts. She will just be herself. No smug comments, no teasing, no sneaky plots to make you flustered. Just genuinely smiling, laughing and doing silly things.

When they grow up, Miko will join them in being a headache for you. Her mischievousness will grow exponentially, leading to a lot of small, but annoying consequences to deal with. She will never let it go too far, though. She values your patience greatly.

Pictures, pictures, pictures. Everywhere around the house. Pictures of her and her children sleeping, eating, playing, going on walks or at the beach will occupy every piece of wall you have in your house. She will never get tired of her litter. And her husband, of course.

Ei will be happy for Miko, very happy indeed. She saw Makoto interact with mortal children, and wishes to try it herself. But do not, for any reason whatsoever, leave her alone with the pink-eared creatures. She has zero babysitting skills to speak of, and her 'attempts' will most likely leave your house a smoking ruin. One child would be a lot for her to handle, but FIVE? Absolute nightmare for her.

Miko will not force her offspring into any positions or jobs. Life is meant to be fun, isn't it? She'll let them pursue whatever makes them happy, unless it involves the Shrine in any capacity.

Bullies? No. Just no.

Miko is the absolute best parent of Inazuma, and maybe even the whole Teyvat. 10/10.

Thanks for reading!

[heavens-moonlight]

𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 | 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀

𝟬𝟭 : 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘

Hiding deep affection for someone is one of life’s most difficult games to play: secret glances, hesitant conversations, and heart-pounding moments filled with anticipation.

Or so you thought.

But when a school trip takes a turn for the worse, you and your fellow classmates find yourselves entangled in a chilling mystery under the guise of a mafia game orchestrated by an elusive creator, the stakes for victory become just that much higher.

With tension escalating, friendships, loyalty, and concealed sentiments are put to the test as secrets unravel, forcing everyone to their limits. Faced with the option of life or death, just how far will the desperation of human nature push against the borderlines of morality?

Authors Note: I didn’t think I’d be back to writing for another series in full so soon, but clearly, I have a love for high school-themed horror stories so here we are once again. There is a face claim (Jung Da-Bin) as well as a name (Han Seol-Hwa) for those who don’t like to imagine themselves in place of the main female lead while reading! This is a story where you don't have to watch the show beforehand to understand (as long as you know how the mafia game is played!) Here’s to hoping this will be a fun ride for Night Has Come fans, Kim Jun-Hee enthusiasts, and lovers of green-flag characters ♡

𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓

It is necessary to issue a warning regarding the upcoming horror and gore apparent, as this genre can provide an exhilarating and thrilling experience for those who seek it, yet caution is urged in proceeding further for those who wish to avoid it. Viewer discretion is advised when engaging with this work, for content will include the darkest recesses of human nature, graphic violence, visceral descriptions, and unsettling themes such as bloodshed, dismemberment, psychological torment, death, and explicit language that may be disturbing to some readers.

This book is purely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are entirely products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, persons, living or dead, is absolutely coincidental. All credit goes to the creators of Netflix's Night Has Come and the webtoon it's based off of by the same name for the characters, plotline, and overarching flow of events. I do not own anything aside from the creative license of elements that deviate from the original works including, but not limited to, dialogue, characterization, narrative, and reader-insert.

Understand that this fictional narrative does not condone or glorify criminal activities nor any form of violence. The portrayal of mafias and their actions is purely for dramatic effect and storytelling purposes. It is essential to approach this story as a work of fiction that should not be taken as an accurate reflection of real-life situations or individuals. Moreover, the depiction of high school characters should not be misconstrued as an endorsement or encouragement of any behavior that may create fear, discomfort, or harm among individuals in educational settings.

As is such, readers are advised to engage with this story responsibly, keeping in mind its intended entertainment value while differentiating between fiction and reality.

PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE, TRANSLATE, DISTRIBUTE, OR UPLOAD MY WORK ELSEWHERE AND CLAIM IT UNDER A DIFFERENT NAME.

𝟬𝟭 : 𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘

[loveemagicpeace]

Sun & Moon Combinations🌙🌞

💥Aries Sun & Scorpio Moon -this person will be many times more mysterious, secretive and reserved. Many times person will not show emotions, but it will look as if the energy is directed to something else entirely. It will be seen that the person has a fiery approach and way of expressing himself. Emotions will often show through anger. I also notice that they often sting people on purpose.

🏹Libra Sun & Cancer Moon- the person will have a lot of understanding for the people around them. The feelings will be deep but beautiful. Although a person may have a side of themself that sees things through emotions and depth, person has the ability to see things from a different perspective that does not involve emotions. Many times these persons have a very beautiful way of expressing and showing love. They can be very cute if they want to be.

🧃Scorpio Sun& Aquarius Moon- this person may at times feel as if they have to have everything under control. But the moon helps them relax more and move forward more calmly. Their way of showing emotions can be quite cold and strong. The person may not want to show their vulnerable side. This person may also feel that they wants to do things on their own way and follow things that others do not follow. You can be rebellious when it comes to things.

🦋Scorpio Sun & Libra Moon- This person has the ability to express themselves through a deep but beautiful way. They can change the dark in the light. They see beauty through dark things. Many times they make you feel wanted and will never put you in an uncomfortable position. Their way of getting involved in society is very nice and pleasant. They know how to get into deep topics, but still know how to express themselves through poetry and love. All the words and emotions are expressed so uniquely and beautifully.

🫧Aquarius Sun & Pisces Moon- These people can be surprisingly emotional if they want to be. Many times they tend to run away from their emotions. Or they feel that they want to have someone but at the same time they want to be free. Emotions can be a little confusing or incomprehensible at times. Sometimes they don't know what they want or how they want it. They can be very emotional and will show a lot of compassion. On the other hand, they can be cold and untouchable.

🧸Libra Sun & Taurus Moon- These people can see beauty through material things, money, value, music, food, luxurious things. They always balance their life with material things and not material things. They know how to be very persistent in love and at the same time stubborn. Sometimes they can see love through money. You can be very attentive and careful to the people you love. Many times touch is important to them. I think they are very caring and stable when it comes to love. I notice that they really like hugs (they remind me of teddy bears).

🩸✉️Capricorn Sun & Sagittarius Moon- serious but fun. They can be very optimistic and take everything for granted. But they can also be very independent and independent from others. Usually the desire to do everything on their own and do not want the help of others. They usually express their emotions through humor so you never know what they really feel. Throughout life they may face stability, hard work and on the other side fun and spontaneity.

🛁🎈Virgo Sun & Leo Moon- Charismatic, precise, generous, hardworking. On the one hand, they want to stay in their comfort zone and not show off too much. On the other hand, they need a lot of attention - especially emotional. They can be insecure in themselves but do not show it outwardly. They cover their emotions with their self-confidence and ego (with which they often react). But they are very caring for the people they love and do a lot for them.

-Rebekah☁️🧚🏼‍♀️🏹

[hwnglx]

Can you do Aespa all personality? Thanks

i focused more on tarot in this post and didn't incorporate as much astrology as usual. but the cards really showed me a lot.

aespa as a person - green + red flags

based on tarot. i do not know these idols personally. energies are always changing. what i say is NOT straight fact. pls take it with a grain of salt!

karina aries sun cancer moon

queofp, just, tow+queofc, 6ofp, kingofp&7ofw

+ karina is an incredibly compassionate, nurturing and emotionally mature person. someone who isn't greedy or selfish, neither in a materialistic nor in an emotional manner. she's the type of person who values fairness in everything she does, and will always stand for what is right. karina is the one friend who, if she believes in you, would have your back, even if the entire world was against you. very caring energy. she has this innate ability to take care of the people around her, and make them feel understood and comfortable.

there's also a sense of calmness she can bring to situations of chaos, due to her empathetic nature. while her cancer moon makes her very sensitive to people's needs and makes her easily recognize when someone is in need of assistance or guidance.. her aries sun can give her a very fierce and assertive side as well, someone who will fight for you if necessary. i can definitely sense the balance between her intuitive water moon and passionate fire sun in her personality.

2ofsw, 5ofp, lov+9ofp, death&8ofsw, empr

- as caring as karina is, there can also be a surprisingly cold and detached side to her. she's the type of person who, if you do her wrong or treat her unfairly, will absolutely not hesitate to cut you off very harshly and not really consider your feelings anymore. like she either cares a lot, too much even, or she doesn't give two shts about you. she values herself highly and can very easily, without realizing, drive herself into loneliness, because she puts so much importance into her own independence.

karina is someone who can be so stuck in her ways and stubborn, especially when it comes to her own life, that it holds her back from transforming and developing as a person. even if someone gives her advice, in her mind she's still the one who knows it best, so she won't even consider your words. like a "what do you know about what's good for me? 😐" thing. funnily enough, she herself can be overly smothering to the people she loves. like nag at them, tell them to do things differently because it's better for them.. a bit like a (respectfully! love you mom) annoying mom. you gotta follow her advice, but god forbid you ever tell her what to do.

giselle scorpio sun sagittarius moon

hangm, emper+9ofw, 3ofc, pagofw&pagofp+8ofp, 10ofp

+ giselle has a very calming and laid back quality to her. also very non-judgemental. she's the type of person who isn't extremely stubborn and very accepting, in a way where she's open to other people's views on things, and won't make them feel uncomfortable about just being themselves. there is this very sociable and friendly vibe to her, where you just feel safe and accepted when you're with giselle. she's easy to get along with. she's the person who, if she noticed someone in the group being more reserved and wary of speaking, will ask them if they're alright and encourage them to engage in the conversation more. or the friend who will wait for you to tie your shoelaces while everyone else continues walking.

she can also have this attitude of a humble student, in a way where she's aware of her shortcomings, and things she still needs to work on in order to improve. giselle is also very loyal, thinks a lot about the future of her group. probably one of the members to confidently bring in her opinion on aespa's trajectory and how things should be moving forward.

3ofw, tower, 6ofsw, dev, 9ofc, 10ofp, 10ofsw&knofprx

- giselle's "worse" side can come out once you do something to provoke her. if you manage to fire her up, she's likely to turn into a pretty ego-centric person. like this woman can get angry. i can see this 180° turn surprising people in many ways, since she can switch on you very quickly. i can see her holding onto old grudges and suddenly confronting you about things she never seemed to have cared about before.

there is an impatient quality in her as well, where if she doesn't do well while working on something right away, she'll easily get discouraged and just give up. a little lazy. she will put in effort at first, but stop just too early for her to improve. like working out and having to do 20 reps, but stopping at 18 right before the muscles burn. she isn't someone to put her words into action sometimes. she'll be like "yeah, i know i should practice..", but you still won't catch her actually practicing. i can see a lot of this stemming from her ego being bruised, like she feels kinda silly putting herself in the position of someone who's still lacking. she wants to be at level 10 immediately without going through the gruesome levels before that.

winter capricorn sun pisces moon

queofw, pagofswrx, 5ofw, temp, 4ofw, 8ofp

+ winter is a warm and passionate person, someone who's very truthful and sincere in her actions. she's very frank, not the type to gossip or talk behind your back at all. she values honesty a lot, what you see with winter is what you get. she's a girl who has this very nice balance between being confident and self-assured, knowing what she can do and who she is, while still remaining kind and considerate of the people around her.

although she's aware of her value, she isn't someone who'd rub it in other people's faces. she carries a lot of quiet but powerful confidence inside of her. she's excellent at dealing with challenges and possesses an abundance of inner resiliance. a person who really puts in the work and thrives off competition. she's the type to quietly beat you at your own game by working twice as hard as you. meanwhile, she's a genuine and sweet girl, who can bring a lot of joy into any situation. someone who's very tactful and polite, always making sure she doesn't overstep any boundaries, and treats everyone with the respect they deserve.

fool&star, 4ofc, death+7ofwrx, devil+6ofp, 2ofc

- winter can easily see the world in a pretty delusional way. the fool together with the star is giving this deluded and unrealistic way of thinking, where she sometimes doesn't see things for the way are, but rather for what she wishes they were. always wearing these rose-tinted glasses and struggling to acknowledge the more brutal reality of things. since it can drive her into a state of dissatisfaction, she knowingly choses not to acknowledge certain realities sometimes, in order to escape the negative emotion that would follow. she feels very deeply, and can get a little scared of that.

although she's much stronger than people know, there's also a more naive quality to her, which makes it easy for people to walk all over her without her noticing. she sees the good in people before the bad and seems to be the type to trust more easily, which can make her very vulnerable to getting hurt later on. i can also seeing her sucking up to people for her own gain sometimes, like being extra nice and sweet with more selfish motives. the type to smile extra prettily at teachers in order to get the better grade.

ningning libra sun taurus moon

moon, kingofw, 4ofp, kingofsw&8ofsw, world, knofsw&death&6ofp

+ ningning is someone very self-aware, who knows of her own worth. she's really giving this boss 💅🏻 energy. a person who's introspective and reflects a lot on things, whether that's her own actions or other people's behavior. this gives her a lot of knowledge on how the world works, i can sense a lot of maturity beyond her young age. she's someone who can break barriers by using her intelligence, the type of person who can outsmart anyone. very clever girl with a sharp mind and quick wit. ningning is a woman who's constantly striving to fulfill her own expectations, continuously striving for perfection.

she's always conscious of how she presents herself, what parts of herself she reveals, how much she lets people in. someone who knows how to make the best impression on people, and use that for her own gain. i can see her make an excellent business woman in the future. and despite this very self-assured side of her, she can actually be a total sweetheart too. she isn't the type to get very harsh and merciless with her words, she can surprise you with how nice she actually is once you get to know her. very giving and supportive of the people she loves. i can see her being the friend who puts extra effort into every gift she gives.

2ofsw, knofp, hangm, 7ofw, devil&pagofp, 3ofw

- she's veeery stubborn. absolutely not a person to care about your view on things, her opinion is the only right one. she'll be like "cool that you think that way, but i don't really care." she actively blocks out others. ningning is also a big "my pace" person, where she will only do things in the way she believes it works for her. she will not accept anyone trying to intervene, and will do things according to her own rules.

in additon to that, she isn't someone who will sacrifice her own gain for anyone else's needs, especially financially or career-wise. she's willing to fight tooth and nail for every opportunity she's given, even if that means getting mean and insensitive sometimes. she can get immensely materialistic as well, like she can never get enough and is never truly satisfied. the type of person who could be a millionare but still won't sit back, and constantly hunt for opportunites to make even more money. she's always looking to expand her horizon and doesn't seem to set herself any limits at all, which can make her seem pretty greedy at times.

[askmerriauthor]

Pokemon S/V - Story Themes: Failure and Abuse

Something I actually really like about Pokemon S/V, which is somewhat ironic given the state of the game itself, is that its underlying story theme is about how the adults of the setting have utterly failed the younger generation.

General discussion and rambling about Pokemon S/V after the jump, as there's sure to be spoilers. This is a long one, so buckle up.

Throughout the many stories Pokemon has told over the years and its iterations, the role of adults in the series and how they relate to the kids - ostensibly, the Player themselves as well - has varied wildly. They've been mentors, friends, allies, enemies, or even just odd folk we encounter. But, for better or worse, they've always been fairly direct in a What You See Is What You Get sort of way.

Pokemon S/V subverts that a bit in that all of the adults - even those we don't meet and only hear about through dialogue - have completely failed the children of the story. The results of those shortcomings range from very mild to absolutely disastrous, but nobody is untouched by it. Even the Player isn't spared.

Right up front we've got the Friendship Trio: Nemona, Arven, and Penny. Being the core to the story, they're the biggest examples one has out the gate. Common themes they all share are that they're each left without support from their families or peers, and that they're each desperately lonely as a result. Nemona is a star pupil, a battling prodigy, and daughter to a wealthy, powerful family. But despite all her talents she's left adrift without aim or goal. Her younger sister is the one being given control of the family business and Nemona's own talents set her apart from other students, meaning she struggles to find peers. Her family seem all too happy to focus on the younger sister, while Geeta from the Pokemon League and the academy itself happily makes use of Nemona's skills for their own ends. Nemona is constantly eager to please, always looking up to powerful people like Geeta and Professor Turo/Sada, but admits that she's just sort of floundering without any anchor. The people she looks up to only see her as a tool to be used and immediately discarded until the next time they need her.

A lot of Players joke about how battle obsessed Nemona is toward the Player, or how yandere jealous/possessive she becomes immediately upon meeting us. She even stands up to Geeta - who she absolutely hero worships - about our attention being poached. But can you really blame her for realizing there's finally someone who not only matches her skill, but seems dedicated to following a route the game itself states virtually nobody else in the region ever comes close to achieving? Nemona is not only the youngest Champion ever, but the only Champion in years, until the Player shows up. Regardless of what the person holding the console feels toward the Gym Challenge, in-context of the story the Player is proving through their own actions that they value Nemona as a friend/rival and are putting in genuine effort to meet her. When you defeat her, especially at the very end when she goes all out in a way she's never been able to with anyone else, she's thrilled. To Nemona, it's got to be the most amazing validation she's ever had in her life. Why wouldn't she hold on dearly and enthusiastically when nobody else, let alone her own family, are able to keep up with her or offer her the validation she needs?

Arven is just absolutely wrecked by his parental failure. His parent (Turo or Sada depending on which version you're playing) was so obsessed with their research in Area Zero that they threw away their entire family. Their spouse left them and took Arven, leaving the boy growing up constantly feeling the void of that missing part of their life. They keep hearing about the things their Professor Parent has accomplished and how well-regarded they are, but that's always just a reminder that the parent put more effort into their work than into being with their child. When Arven tries to go into Area Zero to find their parent himself, his Mabosstiff (his beloved Pokemon companion he's had literally his entire life) is near mortally injured as a result and Arven spends the rest of the game desperately trying to save it. Later, it's revealed that the Professor's work is endangering literally the entire ecosystem and stands to destroy Paldea itself, leaving Arven with the knowledge that not only was he abandoned for the sake of research, but that research was both ultimately harmful and pointless.

By the time the Player reaches the depths of Area Zero and meets the AI Professor, they find out a few things about the Professor. Namely that they're dead. It turns out that the Box Legendary they brought through time killed them years prior and the person the Player - and Arven - has been interacting with all throughout the game is just an AI replica left behind. While exploring the Professor's various labs, the Player first finds an empty picture frame that had its photo removed and, when in the final lab in the heart of Area Zero, they find the photo pinned to the Professor's work board. A photo of Arven as a tot with his beloved Pokemon (still an unevolved Maschiff at the time). This yields two big realizations. One is that the Professor still absolutely harbored love for their child and family, but allowed their drive - or possibly insanity - to overcome them. They were lying to themselves all those years saying "I'm doing this for my family" while outright ignoring said family entirely. Second is that the Player is the only one who learns outright that the Professor was killed, which means they - albeit off-screen - were the ones to break the news to Arven. Even in death, with the AI Professor's remnants of its creator's memories showing love for Arven, they failed him again and again. It's always up to Arven himself to carve his own way through his parent's wake, relying on his own abilities and the help of his friends, to struggle through the mess his parent left him.

Penny is failed on multiple fronts and to multiple degrees. She's a complete introvert and clearly suffers from a fair level of social anxiety due to the bullying she endured during her time at school. She's not shy, per say; when it comes to interacting with the Player and others, she's actually rather outspoken once she feels comfortable. But there's absolutely a wall put up that she doesn't let anyone past until she's ready, controlling her level of exposure and interaction through mediums like only communicating via phone or intentionally restricting her in-person time behind excuses.

At the most basic level, Penny is failed by her own father who doesn't understand her. She mentions that he's always doting, giving her childish nicknames and basically fawning over her. That sounds great on its face - exactly the sort of thing Nemona and Arven crave - but it shows that her father doesn't understand his daughter. Penny doesn't enjoy or respond well to that type of affection and it's being forced on her, causing a wedge in her home life. Next up are Penny's friends, the bosses of Team Star. They gained that rank and gang affiliation because of Penny; she's the one who set it up as a means of rallying all the students who suffered from constant bullying to stand up for themselves as a unified resistance. By that point she was so emotionally battered that she couldn't even stand to be in the company of other people directly, isolating herself and communicating only through phone calls. The Team Star Bosses and Penny all considered each other to be the closest of friends, yet they had never once met her face to face. While it's not explored as much (criminally so, I say) each of the Team Star Bosses show that they're in a similar state as Penny; they rely on each other for support but also self-expression and validation. It's shown throughout their stories that they're let down by the systems they trusted and their families, not able to find what they need from those establishments and instead turning toward one another.

As it's revealed through the events of the Team Star story, the previous administration of the Paldean Academy allowed a brutal level of bullying to go on at school. So much so that it resulted in the targeted students dropping out, falling to truancy, and literally forming a gang just to protect themselves from their aggressors. When Team Star finally did put their collective foot down (peacefully by both intent and action), they were wrongfully branded as the villains of the story and stigmatized. Team Star was shown that not only would adults not protect them, but would actively punish them for protecting themselves. The school admin at the time - who were fully aware of the whole situation - not only allowed it to happen but then actively attempted to cover it up for the sake of protecting their own asses. They were content to sit by and allow their own students to suffer, ultimately leading to drop outs and expulsions, just for their own sake. This led to both the admin and the entire teaching staff to resign and be replaced by the staff we see in the game, and Director Clavell starts to fall into the same error as his predecessor.

When the Player gets involved, Clavell is about to expel all the Team Star members for good (and there's a TON of them). But, hey, credit where it's due; Clavell really puts in the work and goes to considerable lengths to uncover the truth of what happened. He puts into motion the start of healing those wounds by setting aside not only his time, but his own ego for the sake of understanding his students, protecting them, and rectifying the mistakes of those who came before him. There's a part at the very end where Clavell outright apologizes to Team Star for the abuses they suffered at the hands of the previous Academy staff and deeply bows to them. That may not seem like much on its face, but one has to consider the context of this being a Japanese game. A major authority figure like Clavell bowing and apologizing to those younger than himself, let alone those he's an authority over, is a MAJOR demonstration of genuine regret.

That's not to say Clavell is perfect though. Far from it; while he succeeds in this area, he fails in others as he readily allows Geeta to use both the Academy and its students as she pleases. Geeta outright takes advantage of the students for unpaid labor - the Player included - even though none of them actually work for her. The teaching staff themselves, while all good people who are trying their best, show similar failures to varying degrees. Saguaro doesn't show who he really is because he's afraid of disrupting the image students have of him. Miriam - beloved by students for her skills and nature - languishes unable to fulfill her desire to be a teacher because the credential testing (presumably set by Geeta, who establishes similar needlessly exclusionary tests) keeps knocking her down. Hassel is endlessly harangued by his family to give up his passion for art and teaching to take the lead of their House.

It continues with the Gym Leaders and Elite Four as well, given how Geeta readily abuses her position of power to her own ends. All the Gym Leaders readily discuss their dislike of Geeta, how she holds them back or interferes with them, and the various shortcomings of their lives due to structural failures in their society. People like Larry, Brassius, Grusha, and Iono are wholly at the whims of capitalism in a region where the economy itself is tied directly to the Pokemon League they work for. Larry and Hassel pull double duty as both a Gym Leader and Academy Teacher, as well as members of the Elite Four, further showing how much Geeta is intentionally intertwining all these systems together into a narrow, unstable medium. Poppy, a LITERAL TODDLER, is somehow a member of the Elite Four - when Geeta doesn't even pay adults a living wage to be Gym Leaders/Elite Four and also readily takes advantage of students for free labor, you cannot possibly tell me Poppy isn't an overt case of child labor abuses. Seriously, who are this kid's parents and where the hell are they? Later in the game, Geeta calls the Player on their phone out of the blue and one of the responses you can give is "How did you get my number?". She replies that because you're a Champion, she has access to your personal information. Information you did not consent to give her, that she used her position to look up and privately contact you - a child - for work, without the consent or awareness of your parent. Geeta has set the Pokemon League in a way that best suits her desires and warped the entirety of Paldea around it, endangering and weakening other institutions as a result.

There's actually a lot more to this scattered throughout the game, such as a student who's languished in the Academy system for twenty years without graduating because he's constantly failing. Or everything that has to do with History Teacher Raifort. But this has already gone on long enough of a ramble. In summary, Pokemon S/V has some honestly interesting explorations of institutional and personal failure from the past and how it impacts the future. Themes of generational trauma wasn't what I expected out of a Pokemon game. I hope to see it expanded on in the coming DLC content or, even better, in the upcoming anime series.

[haunted-xander]

Thinking about how Thancred and Ryne's respective behaviours affect their dynamic and each other's behaviour in regards to said dynamic and how neither of them is actually directly caused by the circumstances, just exacerbated.

Thancred is reticent and guarded as a product of his enviourment and all his training and work as a spy, where vulnerability is a weakness and is like to get you and your loved ones hurt or killed. He's never had an opportunity or need to be open and vulnerable with people, as everyone he was close to either didn't need it as badly (like Minfilia, who had F'lhaminn as her primary source of emotional support, and could already see just how much Thancred cared for her even if he couldn't actually show it properly) or worked close with him and knew that this was necessary (like the Circle/Scions).

Ryne values everyones thoughts and feelings over her own because she was raised by Ran'jit, who viewed her more as an object of his repeated losses and grief of those he couldn't protect before her. She's more a memento than a person, and so she's been told her entire life that her feelings and opinions don't matter in the slightest. She never got the chance to learn they mattered either, because she spend the last 3 years almost entirely alone with Thancred who never indicated either way.

And when these two are put against each other they end up feeding the root problems. Thancred's emotional distance makes Ryne assume he doesn't care about her and by extention, her thoughts and feelings. Ryne's over-valuing of his words make him even more reluctant to speak up because he doesn't want to sway her any given way, which is exactly what would happen because she values his feelings so much.

It's an endless and terrible cycle that neither are really able to break out of on their own. It's not really either one's fault but it still falls to them to deal with it. They can't break it themselves but they also can't have it broken by anyone else either. They have to both be confronted about it and realize that this is never going to work. Thancred needs to learn he can't just keep saying "not today" and Ryne needs to learn that regardless of her view of herself she can't let other's feelings decide her life for her. Vulnerability isn't a weakness nor is self-destructive sympathy a strength.