#rarest

[springs-hurts]

Arthur was born of magic and that's why he attracted all the magic users and creatures towards him🐣

[wondersinrain]

Connection vs Chemistry…

On of the rarest things you can experience in life is a soul connection with someone. A feeling of alignment and intimacy between two people that goes beyond just physical attraction, having fun together, surface-level conversations, or even intellectual similarities. They understand you in a way no one else can. Most people are lucky enough to experience it once in life time.

[buycrystal]

Natural colla Wood Massive Chrysocolla little azurite Opal Agate, geode.

[marsgoals]

Someone who takes the time to listen when we are at our lowest is rare and should be valued.

[dark-prncss]

Lil’ hustla and a raw ass female ♥️💸

[ohnoidontexist]

[andimahsong139]

#Honesty in doing #business is the #rarest good there is. ^^ https://www.instagram.com/p/CohmF98yAND/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[emmafrostyyy]

y'all sleeping on Astarion/Lae'zel bc this moment is so...the way the flippant demeanor drops and he doesn't hesitate to call her out for sticking with her version of Cazador like their relationship is so underrated fr...

sitting down writing this bullshit like let me peel it like an onion a bit and elaborate why this pairing is fascinating to me

It's really interesting how during the most cathartic, life-altering moment in Astarion's questline, the reactions of the other companions are more about the moral wrongness/guilt of sacrificing innocent lives. Lae'zel doesn't do that and instead relates to his hurt.

She knows what's he's feeling, the lack of control, the unfairness of being powerless for too long. This is a woman who just found out her entire life purpose was built on lies, discarded and hunted by her own people after outliving her usefulness, and groomed to basically die for an insane power-hungry lich queen. She knows all too well that power isn't always real freedom. Her first instinct is to empathize with Astarion to steer him away from his hate and resentment.

Astarion/Lae'zel is so interesting to me because they're such a classic "can we make each other worse or make a better person out of the other?".

They both have genuine appreciation for violence and respect each other's ruthlessness. Astarion was used as a weapon of seduction while Lae'zel was of warfare. Sex with people is meaningless and not real intimacy for them, and while both have little understanding/experience of interpersonal relationships beyond the physical, they still feel and love very deeply. They have no frame of reference for things like friendship and warmth, but they badly want all of that and more, even if they don't know it yet.

In-game they can sleep with each other, which is basically the foundation of the normal Tav/Astarion romance. Lae'zel saw him during combat and got horny, who knows. Astarion who's used to luring people with his charms, takes up Lae'zel's blunt offer because she's a strong hardened warrior that can provide protection and be a worthy ally, and he doesn't know how to say no. Navigating the complications between one who wants to be seen beyond as a sex object, and one who comes from a totally alien culture with no concept of love/family/connections and only sex is honestly really compelling to me. It's a transactional, mutually beneficial thing with no emotional expectations. Once you get past the skeevy rockiness of their early relationship, I really like the idea of them slowly seeing something past the exterior and realizing they may have harshly misjudged the other, an unspoken friendship blooms, and in comes the realization that they are essentially loners longing for kindness and a comforting touch in the most desperate of situations.

Lae'zel is prideful, direct, has no sense of courtship talk, and doesn't hold back her thoughts the slightest--she's not sweet/agreeable and what you see is really what you get, which I imagine would be disarming for Astarion who's used to vacuous flattery and has difficulty trusting others. But she's also insanely protective, passionate, loyal, and an initiator-- every romance scene is triggered by her first and she's always showing effort towards her relationships, which would mesh well with Astarion who does need someone to nudge him.

She doesn't purposely suppress her feelings, she's just simply at loss at how to express them sometimes due to her wildly different upbringing. She stops the sparring match you agree to and an easy vulnerability slips instantly out of her: "I don't want to hurt you. I want to protect you, and for you to protect me." and "Thus far I've taunted you, devoured you, battled you. Now I want more than anything to soothe you." are romantic as fuck and Astarion of all people really needs to hear that tbh.

Astarion is also someone who struggles with reinforcing his boundaries, and a key theme in Lae'zel's romance is that she encourages and wants you to challenge her and learn to stand your ground. It's not gentlest method, but hey, relationships are about having to make an effort to learn each other's language.

I think he also would take pleasure "educating her on the matters of Fay-run" (I believe there's a whole banter with him teasing her and teaching her pet names) and would get a kick out of coaxing Lae'zel out of her shell with her shyness at showing public affection, and making her blush. Also it simply would be fucking funny to see Astarion who's used to easy seduction, trying to pass a persuasion check just to get a smooch and generally having to work to earn regular kisses from Lae'zel lmfaooo

Lae'zel also initially struggles to see her chains as chains. When she learns about Vlaakith's betrayal, she copes instantly through denial and shuts it down. Astarion is NOT having it and calls her out, he knows her well enough to recognize that she would value blunt honesty above all.

I imagine he also despises her lack of self-preservation, the way her entire identity is tied to duty and being in service of others, and doesn't understand her desire to still help/liberate the people that want her dead and are hunting her down. He wants to make this duty-bound soldier realize that looking out for herself, and putting herself first may not be the worst thing in the world.

They're so similar to each other but are also polar opposites in some ways that make a more equal, balanced romance I think. It's not a simple, one-sided, feel-good "she/he can fix her/him" fantasy because both of them have to earn each other's love, actually cut through the other's flaws, and actively motivate each other to be better versions of themselves.

They're not at all the other's ideal guiding hand. It's rough, jagged, and imperfect, but that's how healing goes. It's so far from being the healthiest relationship -- but even if their belief systems differ, their moral compass does often align. I imagine it's a slight relief for them to have a partner where there would be less shame and judgment when they expectedly, occasionally slip up and fall into their bad habits.

Also, man, the "You showed me the betweens and beyonds. Beyond war and peace, beyond passion and obsession, most importantly, you showed me freedom.", "First you were my wound, now you were my cure.", "But you saw something else in me - someone else I could be. Someone who could break the cycle of power and terror that started centuries ago.." lines really hit hard when applied to them.

Of course, they can also make each other worse, feed into the other's negative traits that will bring out the worst part of themselves. It's this duality of their pairing that is very interesting to explore, the way it can steer in either direction because it's an intense, fraught relationship at its core.

[gayancgm]

Gahno Spinel | 1.32 ct | Clarity : VVS2 | Code : 3-1221 Spgh101B | 6.61 x 6.57 x 4.04 mm |

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#gahnospinel #ghanospinel #Spinel , #尖晶石 #spinello #スピネル #шпинелево #espinela

[motherofscorpions]

Oiled up and ready to go 💤

[adobe-outdesign]

love how most of the teacher requests are either stupidly easy to complete or you'll complete them naturally as you play the game. but then you have this one (1) teacher who asks you for sweet herba and gives you a slowpoke cup in return. that's like someone asking you to get them the holy grail and in exchange they give you a half drunk cup of soda from McDonald's

[muffinlance]

Tentative writing plans:

Finish Little Zuko (it's so close guys, I have two chapters I haven't posted yet and 2-3 more to write and then that's all she wrote, literally)

Start poking at Cheating At Pai Sho; get at least to the "Season One Toph" part because Season One Toph is a MENACE the likes of which you cannot fully imagine. You think you can but unless you're imagining The Gaang's raw terror of her (and Zuko's complete obliviousness to said terror) then you cannot.

Blind Zuko story outline is currently with my sensitivity reader, and posting shall begin once applicable edits are made

Priority will of course be with book three of Fox's Tongue, aka The One That Pays My Grocery Bills, but that is where we're at for broad plans just now

[lesbian-sunshim]

see art up to the day before or leave a tip!

rare pairs for your consideration - applejack x carrot top

[smolbean-17]

how much do you want to bet that these flowers will be placed on one of her brother’s graves in the end

and what if, instead of a bunch of pink ones, there are dozens of pure white ones

[ryttu3k]

Playable clans by game, Justice and 'Bloodlines 2' update.

Current game total: 12 (Redemption, Bloodlines, Coteries of New York, Shadows of New York, Night Road, Parliament of Knives, Out for Blood, Sins of the Sires, Bloodhunt, Swansong, Justice, 'Bloodlines 2')

Ventrue: 8/12 (Bloodlines, Coteries of New York, Night Road, Parliament of Knives, Sins of the Sires, Bloodhunt, Swansong, 'Bloodlines 2')

Toreador: 6.5/12 (Bloodlines, Night Road, Out for Blood (ending only), Parliament of Knives, Coteries of New York, Bloodhunt, Swansong)

Brujah: 6/12 (Redemption, Bloodlines, Coteries of New York, Night Road, Bloodhunt, 'Bloodlines 2')

Tremere: 5/12 (Bloodlines, Night Road, Sins of the Sires, Bloodhunt, 'Bloodlines 2')

Malkavian: 4/12 (Bloodlines, Sins of the Sires, Parliament of Knives, Swansong) Nosferatu: 4/12 (Bloodlines, Night Road, Parliament of Knives, Bloodhunt) Banu Haqim: 4/12 (Night Road, Sins of the Sires, Justice, 'Bloodlines 2')

Lasombra: 3/12 (Shadows of New York, Night Road, Parliament of Knives)

Caitiff: 2/12 (Night Road as biological Caitiff, Sins of the Sires as ‘unknown clan’ Caitiff) Gangrel: 2/12 (Bloodlines, Night Road)

Thinblood: 1.5/12 (Out for Blood (ending only), Sins of the Sires)

Hecata: 1/12 (Night Road) Ministry: 1/12 (Night Road) Ravnos: 1/12 (Night Road)

Tzimisce: 0/12

Society has progressed past the need to play as a Ventrue let me play a Tzimisce.

[hollowtones]

Is that good