#to the point i don't have much information and knowledge on my side as well

[tuliptic]

FS: but make it Financial Stability

I believe those who have trouble with finances may have thought about this, how to achieve financial stability, when will it happen, and more questions about this topic. Cuz, same, I still have trouble with my own finances, which was why I thought about this topic and to perhaps share some insights with y’all as well as myself.

Close your eyes, meditate on this topic and ask yourself the question. Breathe in and out, make sure your mind and heart is calm. Then, open your eyes to see which pile talks to you the most/draws you in the most. Once you’ve found your pile, scroll down to the respective parts to see what are the messages for you.

Pile 1    -     Pile 2

Pile 3    -     Pile 4

Disclaimer: This is solely for my entertainment purposes. Take only whatever that you feel like it. If it doesn’t resonate, it’s okay to just drop it. That aside, I do not consent to my work or images used here to be used by third parties on this platform or other websites.

Decks used: Luna Cat Tarot Deck (Major Arcana), Linestrider Tarot Deck, Sweet Dreams Oracle Deck, Starcodes Astro Oracle Deck, self made lyrics deck.

Pile 1

Overall theme of querent: The Hierophant rx

You’re someone who’s always thinking out of the box, trying new things and new ideas, despite the complaints and noises from others. You believe in your street smarts and they’ve helped you. What didn’t help you also helped you in a way, where you slowly become more grounded and think of the various outcomes instead of believing in one. Your spirit is full of energy and you work with it, reaching your highest good.

1. What is your definition of financial stability? Justice

You believe that financial stability is something critical and balance can be maintained. It’s like… There’s a balance of in and out, something stable. And they’re spent on things that are necessary. You do keep some aside for occasional leisure and luxury, but as long as your needs are fulfilled, you’ll be pretty satisfied with it.

2. What do you wish to achieve with financial stability? Five of Swords rx

You wish to stop feeling so defeated in life. You probably have been feeling defeated in terms of finance, maybe spending too much or things around you hadn’t been easy and you can’t save up for any necessary needs. So yeah, you wish to be freed from this feeling of despair, want to be freed from any fears of getting into trouble without the necessary finance capability. You also want to achieve that sense of peace you never had with financial stability.

3. When will I achieve financial stability? Strength

When you’ve regained your strength and have utilised them properly. I think you also should recognize your strengths, your plus point, what you’re good at, and to use them to your benefit. If you’re an artist, make sure you price your work accordingly; if you’re a translator, make sure your company pays you according to your skills. Something like this, recognize your strength and use them to your max. Have side jobs if you can. Work with your dreams, whatever you’ve dreamed of, and reach your highest good.

4. How should I achieve financial stability? Judgement, Ten of Pentacles rx, The Star rx

Be able to discern what is needed and what can be worked on. Do not let other people (especially your family) guilt trip you into giving them money. I’m seeing this guilt tripping a lot. Most of you probably have been giving your family too much to the point you have negative for yourself. This shouldn’t be the case. You should start nurturing yourself by rejecting any and every negativity in your life. Sure, family is difficult to say no to, it’s difficult to confront your family, but at least, set a clear boundary. What I’m speaking right now is gonna be difficult to digest, yet you know that you really need to take action. 

If there is anything that requires clarification (especially certain bills that you’re paying), clarify with the persons in charge. Who knows, you might be scammed. You also have The Star here as well, so there’s hope that things will be better. Dreams will not end, so don’t give up, work and walk towards them. All the best of luck in walking towards a new you, someone who’s financially stable in the future.

Overall energy: The Magician, The Sun, Five of Cups

You’re actually someone who’s hella capable of achieving your dreams, you’re also a good manifestor. You just need someone to bring some sunshine into your life, and you can generate good things with that solar power you’re receiving. Pardon my words as I’m running high on caffeine and low on sleep, but I hope you understand what I’m saying.

Yet now, you’re in a state of depression, of sadness, unable to escape the current phase you’re at. It’s stressing you out, it’s bringing you a lot of tears. You’re called to love yourself, to place yourself above everything. If things are difficult, try communicating with your loved ones. You may receive different insights.

Pile 2

Overall theme of querent: The Sun

There’s a new found hope in you that I’m seeing, where you’re reconnecting with your inner child through fun and play. You still give me a mature vibe, but you’re learning to appreciate your inner child’s curiosity and letting them run free in the meadows, by the stream and all. I’m seeing a lot of nature themed here as well, since there’s the meadows and all. Connecting to the earth?

1. What is your definition of financial stability? The World rx

You probably think financial stability is something that’s close to impossible to achieve. There’s so, so much to learn about finances, and paired with what inflation is like? It’s almost impossible to get the financial stability you craved for. However, you do try to learn about how and what financial stability is like, and how you can achieve it. There’s some air energy here where you are thinking a lot about how to utilise your finances.

2. What do you wish to achieve with financial stability? Nine of Wands

To be able to go through sudden tough times without much of a concern, that you have a fixed asset. I’m seeing that you have some worries about the future, wanting to save up for any possible emergencies. Yeah, that. You have been through some rough times and now, you’re probably working on ways to have a certain amount of savings to help you through sudden hard times. 

Know that sometimes, you can’t really rush things. Try to stay calm and take baby steps. Especially since finance is money related and money is earth related and earth themes are usually slow and steady. I hope I’m making sense here.

3. When will I achieve financial stability? Eight of Cups

I am feeling that there’s some sort of fear and self limiting thoughts here that you’ll need to walk away from. Also some sort of disappointment. See, there may be times that you’ve been disappointed. Maybe manifestation didn’t really work out well for you, or maybe you thought you’d get a certain amount of money but you got less than that. And since then, you’ve been having fears that you need a lot of money only you can be assured, but it only feeds more negativity into your brain. This is when you’re called to let go of those thoughts.

That aside, I’m also seeing a possibility of a community that will be helpful in assisting you achieving financial stability. Maybe by providing assistance or some community will be willing to pay for your services.

4. How should I achieve financial stability? Temperance rx, Five of Pentacles rx, King of Wands rx

You’ll need to regain the balance you’ve lost. The inner balance, the financial balance, etc. Every sort of balance, even to get back a balanced diet. Cuz once everything is in balance, a steady amount of riches can only come to you. 

This pile gives me the feeling of abundance. And some themes of partners. Y’all prolly have some 8H placements, maybe Venus or Jupiter in it or prominent Venus and/or Jupiter. You also give me the energy that you’d like to use your past experience to help out people who are going through a similar experience.

Overall energy: The Lovers, The Fool

There’s some form of romantic love that I’m picking up on, which I also mentioned in the previous paragraphs. The road to financial stability will be a long journey, so you’re called to let go of whatever burdens you’re holding, be kind to yourself and share the beauty of your journey with whomever you meet. It’s time to stop wallowing and questioning. Just plan and act. You’re acting on your passions and dreams on achieving what you want to achieve. Go for it, go get it.

Pile 3

Overall theme of querent: The Hierophant

I’m seeing you’re someone who’s somewhat traditional? Like… Following what has been taught in your household without thinking twice or even finding reasons to justify. I’m seeing themes of families here, but not in a very… positive view. It’s like the same toxic cycle that’s repeating itself again and again. You know you’re in that cycle but you can’t break out of it.

1. What is your definition of financial stability? The Magician

You believe financial stability is something… Where money keeps coming in (infinity sign). The Magician is a card of manifestation and you believe that money can come in by just manifesting, but just attracting them into your life.

However, you may have failed to see the other side of The Magician. This card is a card of alchemy. To gain something, another thing of equal value must first be lost. This is one part you’ve never seen, hoping for the cash to come in without doing any work.

2. What do you wish to achieve with financial stability? The Devil

I’m seeing addictive behaviours here. Some form of overspending as well. Like… With financial stability, you’d want to be able to lavish yourself with physical and material wealth. Not only for yourself, but also buying unnecessary things for your friends as well. Just… be able to spend money recklessly.

Of course, coming with this will be some discomfort and you may not be emotionally available when your friends come to you for help. There’s just… A lot of unsettling energy here in this. Remember, financial abundance is not financial stability. 

3. When will I achieve financial stability? Two of Pentacles rx

There’s some form of disorganisation I’m seeing here, lack of time management as well. You may think you’re working and doing your best to earn that cash, but you don’t notice you’re also losing some other forms of riches (love, connection, health) from overworking. It’s a sign that there’s too much movement, and you need to return to the roots, return to balance. Once you’ve done that, financial stability will come to you. You’ll see that you’ll welcome it easily and comfortably, instead of burning yourself out of whatever that’s remaining of you.

4. How should I achieve financial stability? The Hanged Man rx, Ten of Swords, The Fool rx, Five of Pentacles, Temperance

Stop delaying your rest, redefine what you wanted to achieve and come up with a realistic plan for it. Make sure your plans are sustainable and achievable. You may need to go through a significant ending that may be painful, may it be realising that your mindset is amiss, that there may be betrayals of any sort, and you’re called to acknowledge them and let them go. 

Stop being reckless with how you spend your money. There's some form of irresponsibility here that you are called to tackle. Remember to not be the Fool without any savings for emergencies. 

Also, remember that balance and moderation is necessary, spend on what’s needed, earn for what’s needed. Living honestly will make you stronger. You already know that you won’t be losing to anyone when it comes to feelings and determination, so get up again after you’ve fallen. Good luck and let’s go meet the new you in the future.

Overall energy: Wheel of Fortune

There’s a theme of divine timing and also actions that are needed to take from your side. Nothing will come to you if you don’t work hard for it, and now you need to align your view (spin the wheel) and head towards the direction you want to go. Remember to surround yourself with those who can support your new found vision and share your new found values. Structure is very much needed here and some of you may be Saturn dominant, or have prominent MC (maybe your MC makes some sort of aspect to your Sun or Saturn). You’ve wanted to be free, so reach out your hand to freedom.

Note: The energy here is very muddled, dark. It doesn’t feel as bright and hopeful as the other piles. The cards are messed, and they keep falling, like things are falling apart. I had difficulty breathing, as though there’s a weight on me, like… the energy is heavy.

Pile 4

Overall theme of querent: The World

You’re prolly someone who’s been working on yourself. A lot. I see that you’ve been through the various phases of life and you’re now assembling the pieces, assembling the lessons you’ve learnt. I’m seeing more tough and difficult lessons, but you’ve fought through them with grit and maybe, by pure spite. Still, you made it out. I’m so happy and proud of you for reaching where you are today.

1. What is your definition of financial stability? The Chariot

Financial stability is something that’s continuous. It’s like… Steady. Having a steady and continuous income so that your basic necessities are covered. I’m seeing it reaching at least the Love and Belonging stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (read up on it if you haven’t known about it). 

2. What do you wish to achieve with financial stability? Three of Wands

Freedom. This card talks about overseas opportunities and I’m seeing it as having the financial freedom to go wherever you want. Sometimes, we’ve been so focused on dealing with the necessities to the point we’re unable to enjoy the things we’ve always wanted to. In your case, travelling may be one of it, may it be travelling for a break, or travelling to see a friend. 

You may also want that financial freedom to help those who are in need. You may probably have been helped by others and now, you want to return the favour. Or go on a trip with your friends. I’m seeing a lot of friend themed messages here tbh.

3. When will I achieve financial stability? Two of Swords rx

You’re currently in a stalemate, having difficult decisions to make. There’s a need for you to investigate and compare the choices you have, to discern and make sure that you’re not being manipulated into making certain finance related decisions. In the end, decisions will still need to be made, no matter how difficult it is. 

Also, I’m also seeing a possibility that you’ll find a solution if you’re encountering troubles. It’s like the bandage covering your eyes is falling kinda feel. But be aware that there may be hidden difficulties that you can’t foresee. Make sure to keep any documents with you to avoid any possible dispute during then.

4. How should I achieve financial stability? Ace of Cups, Queen of Pentacles rx, The Hermit rx

I’m seeing artistic flow here. Maybe you can use your artistic skills to assist you as your side job? Open yourself to inspiration and watch creativity flow through you, allowing yourself to be free and create art as freely as water. It can also be healing if you’re doing it as a form of meditation. 

You need to change the distribution of energy, finance and time you have for other people in your life. It feels like a personal alignment change, where you need to discern who to have in your life and who’s feeding off you. Surround yourself with people you trust, a community you trust in.

Create your own peace, prosperity and joy in your life. This sounds hard but it can be done slowly by retreating and meditation. I feel that you’ve been so… Anxious and overwhelmed by what’s happening in the external world that you’ve forgotten to tune into yourself, to allow your heart to breathe a bit. Your abundance lies in how peaceful you are with yourself. I hope I’m making sense here. It’s like peace is one of your greatest assets, and it’s something you need the most, especially when times are difficult.

Overall energy: The Star, Two of Cups

Two of Cups, a card I associate with romantic love and trust. Basically the total combination of the cards here just talks about how you’ve been attracting love and hope that prolly comes with the financial stability. And there’s Taurus here, to cultivate and to work on whatever passion and love. Also maybe cuz I did this reading on Valentine’s day and there may be something going on during then. I no longer make sense I know.

[acid-ixx]

I have a question, well 2 questions to be exact that’s been rattling around in my head since I started reading platonic yandere batfam fics, why would reader stay in Gotham? I’d be sneakily stealing as much money as I could without getting caught as soon as I reach a “fuck these guys” mentality. Like, asking to have some money for groceries or something and just pocketing it so that I could get a bus ticket and leave the city. Would you do it if you were reader? It just makes sense to me “this place sucks, these people suck, I’ve gotten enough to leave”, this is with me assuming that reader has the means of course, if the reader doesn’t then okay, yeah that makes sense

And my second question, do you ever feel resentful towards Alfred when you read batfam photonic yandere content? I do sometimes, especially when the reader is neglected. I know this might sound odd but when I read these fics I recognize that Alfred could do more, out of everyone in the manner, I think Alfred’s word carries the most weight, especially with Bruce due to him raising Bruce. I also notice in some batfam fics that the reader doesn’t get mad at him due to him giving them attention, but idk it feels kinda like a slap to the face, knowing that I don’t have the power but he does and yet not exercising it until I’ve burned every last tie to that family.

I know my thoughts are a more “well you’re on the outside looking in” type takes, but idk, it hurts my heart knowing that if reader stays in that city, it will be far more easier for the batfam to find them, where if they were outside the city, they’d have a fighting chance to make a new life for themselves

On a side note, I think we are underutilizing the angst potential of reader legally changing their name and the batfam not knowing until months or even years later when reader leaves. Like Bruce and the fam would just have to sit and realize that reader hates/dislikes/doesn’t care about them enough to legally change their name from Wayne to whatever reader chooses. Jason was Batman’s greatest failure, but Reader would be Bruce’s greatest failure, and what a delightful public failure it would be if the tabloids were to somehow find out that one of Bruce Wayne’s biological children changed their legal name

I’m loving your batfam content btw, like it makes me want to create one of those “screw therapy, I need to fist fight my dad” tiktoks and tag Bruce Wayne, that’s what I can phenomenal writing!! And sorry for making this so long! Hope you have a great existence!

slight spoilers for future chapters.

this is one of my favorite asks... anon, you are so brilliant because your two questions tie into the reader's character so well and the flaws that they (you) conjured from years of neglect, so i hope my answers would suffice (i am answering based on the perspective of the reader from my series: again & again with a bit of my own perspective). tysm for sending this in, i actually really enjoy long asks and appreciate it when people take the time to send me these things!

why would the reader stay in gotham?

chapter one wasn't all the detailed about why they stayed in gotham. firstly, their self-worth had them reason that in no way, shape, or form would their family that basically estranged them would come running to them, especially not when the only time the reader could even stumble across them is by some miracle of coincidence. this also ties into their lack of knowledge about their family. sure, they know that babs is the oracle but do they know just how much access she has across gotham? not really. they know tim, like bruce, has a tendency to collect information about other people, but they don't know that they have contingency plans to be creeped out enough to get away from gotham and from their reach.

"it's not like tim or bruce or barbara considered you important enough to be stalked. hah, as if!"

and the third point is, despite bruce being a billionaire of some sort, it was stated that the reader was too well-behaved and quiet. how does this make sense? as you've stated, they wouldn't simply have the means to get out. seeing as they were sheltered by alfred and never really explored the concept of traveling far away, they never asked for money; the only advantage of being a wayne is having quite a lot of things served on a silver platter.

they have this sort of toxic bond for staying with the people who have hurt them and it materialized to them physically staying despite knowing it would only cause more pain than anything else, and they don't know that. plus, they'd rather not have the wayne name associated with them and getting money from cheques or credit cards would be too risky for the reader's safety.

they've only realized just how shitty their family is after more than 10-13 years of staying in the manor, and saving up to move to an entirely different place would be difficult, alongside college and the jobs they have to take. so the next best thing they could do is rely on any means of advantage they could get whilst also moving on to the path of self-discovery and recovery.

but that doesn't mean they're staying in gotham forever, definitely not. the moment the reader realizes that dick gained some sort of interest towards them, they're booking it out of gotham. preferably to metropolis or central city or even somewhere far, far away— they're naive, but not stupid. sudden interest towards them means danger rather than anything else. and they're aware that alfred is capable enough to pull strings, so that's why spoiler alert: they have a secret stash of money hidden somewhere and like any children of bruce, they inherited the capability to be smart enough to already back up their contacts and everything on their phone, buy a burner phone and even change their entire identity in one quick go right after they move into an entirely different city or country.

gotham is merely their practice course.

do you ever feel resentment towards alfred?

quite frankly, yes. the reader in the fic feels resentment towards everyone for a reason actually, but alfred's part was stated vaguely as to not spoil a future chapter that focuses on his perspective. they know that he has the more power inside the manor more than bruce has. everyone, and i mean everyone respects alfred, and it doesn't take a genius to know that if you mess with him, you're messing with an entire family of crime fighters.

it's not obvious, but the reader's narrative in chapter one is them trying so hard to delude themself into thinking things can be better until it's too late. so in a sense, there's false narrative coming into play.

"alfred would be too busy sometimes to attend your school ceremonies because he had to assist bruce with missions. of course, you understood his priorities. after all, he tried his hardest to make you feel less lonely inside the mansion, it wasn't enough but he was there at least."

at some point in time, alfred had also neglected the reader emotionally with the same reasoning as the others; he was busy with their father. and this all could've been avoided if alfred had tried to confront the entire family about it. i'm not delving deeper into this to really avoid spoilers other than pointing out some details in the first chapter.

just know that alfred relishes in your newfound favoritism towards him, and that he may or may not have pulled some strings himself from helping you become closer to the family.

the part about reading changing their name from (name) wayne to (name) (last name) is what made me so drawn to this ask. you have pretty much predicted one of the chapters that explored (name) wayne to the public eye. they're not so much of an internet celebrity because of their rare appearances in public, but that's what causes immense curiosity about their identity to uprise in gotham, and their fame was one of the means to get to you.

there was one news article published that was the reason that made bruce distant towards you.

but let's focus on what yan! bruce would've felt once he turns a full 360.

because the first thing he would do once he has you in his grasp is to change your last name back to his. you are not the child of a (last name), you are a wayne first and foremost, bruce's third child and his greatest mistake, quite literally. you were a product of a one-night-stand, and because he was drowning in despair from jason's death, he had failed to notice you. all his years of neglect, and he doesn't even know a single thing about you, simply because he refused to acknowledge your presence.

and you rightfully hated him, he should've accepted that. but your diary entries and the way you innocently thought of him destroyed any sliver of hope for a peaceful reconciliation. he hates how you were experiencing the same type of despair as him when it comes to battling your own monsters— you truly are a wayne at heart. he couldn't afford to let you get away any further. just like dick, he needs to fix it now or further sever the already broken ties you have with him.

it's not batman now, but rather bruce. bruce wayne had failed to save another one of his children, not as a vigilante, but as a father.

knowing bruce, he's quick to take into action and search for you.

holy shit, this is a really long post but i hope it does answer the questions ! im so grateful that you like my writing enough to write a really long ask, and i hope to see your messages more once the new chapters are published <3

[zeevawyte]

Ok so, this is so far outside my usual stuff it’s insane, but this literally won't leave my brain and I don't know if I have time to write it so-

RadioApple fic idea under the cut:

TW: blood, mentions of cannibalism (it's Alastor, duh), semi-unsafe dom/sub (no actual sex), sub drops

Starts out your normal "stop interfering with my relationship with my daughter & you can have a snack whenever you want" kinda deal, with Alastor taking full advantage of the fact that he's got the most powerful being in hell at his mercy. Dude has a serious power trip the first time, & between that and the taste is hooked immediately.

And of course Luci isn't exactly complaining. Other than the occasional jumpscare via shadow, it hasn't been too bad. Kind of enjoyable actually, not that he'd ever admit that to the demon's face. And it's not like he hasn't been tied up or held down before either.

But then during one of their ‘meetings’ he ends up going into sub space on accident… and it keeps happening.

This wouldn't be a problem except Alastor (for obvious reasons) has literally zero information/knowledge about that sort of thing. And, being the dramatic asshole that he is, enjoys getting the last word and leaving without a backwards glance. Which means he's not there when Luci drops.

Hard.

But it's fine! He's fine! He's the King of Hell, he doesn't need some sinner to help him deal with the consequences of an arrangement he proposed in the first place. He's totally fine on his own.

Except he's not.

He is very much not fine, and it starts to show. It gets so bad that one day Charlie actually asks him if he’s ok mid-conversation.

Enter Angel Dust.

Now, by this point Angel’s like 98% sure the two powerhouses are going at it. Alastor has been in a good mood for months now (coinciding suspiciously with the two of them not being at each other’s throats all the time - at least in public) & he’s seen Luci coming out of a room straightening his coat and hat on one of the upper floors. Not to mention the down-right flirty undertones to any barbs they shoot back and forth.

Husk agrees that something is going on but heavily doubts it’s what Angel thinks.

Determined to prove that he’s right, Angel starts wandering the upper floors or heading up just as Alastor heads down (subtly, he’s not an idiot). Anyway, he’s up there one day being nosy when he hears a crash from one of the rooms. He goes in only to find Lucifer on the floor, having tripped over a side table and knocked over a lamp, disheveled and absolutely shaking.

He recognizes what’s happening almost immediately (fuck you very much Val) and gathers the little king up onto the couch, helping him calm down until he doesn’t look like he’s going to either spontaneously start sobbing or throw up on the rug.

Luci is understandably embarrassed and tries to offer him a favor for his help, but Angel waves him off saying he’s been there & that Luci doesn’t owe him anything.

The next day when Lucifer is off doing something else, Angel grabs Alastor and all but drags him into a side room.

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and short king, and frankly it’s none’a my business-”

“No, it isn’t. And if that really is all you wanted to speak with me about-”

“Shut up! I’m not jokin’ alright? I’m bein’ 100% serious. You’re fucking up big time, and I’m pretty sure you don’t even know it. So if you don’t want this whole thing to end in a big fuckin’ mess you need to listen to me.”

Cue a hilariously awkward conversation where an unusually serious Angel explains dom/sub dynamics and the effects/consequences therein to an incredibly-uncomfortable-but-desperately-not-showing-it Alastor.

It ends with something along the lines of

"And look, I don't know if you actually care about the guy or if it’s just about gettin’ your kicks, but honestly? It doesn't matter. You've got your whole gentleman thing right? Openin' doors for the ladies and shit?" *pokes him in the chest* "Well as a gentleman, you've dropped the fuckin' ball. Only self-centered dicks leave their sub to drop alone."

Now if there’s one thing Alastor will not abide, it’s a loss of manners. Being told he’s been unknowingly committing a social faux pas gets under his skin immediately. It itches at him. To the point that his smile almost slips. More than once.

He needs to fix it. As soon as possible.

He’s visibly twitchy the rest of the day.

Husk corners Angel to ask what the hell he said to Al, but only gets a vague, noncommittal answer about letting him know about some information he was missing.

And the next time he and Lucifer have a ‘meeting,’ Alastor stays.

[illubean]

Can you write a scenario/headcannons where the hxh characters have a crush on Zoldyck!reader? (I think reader would have such overprotective brothers, killua and illumi lol)

HXH with a crush on Zoldyck!reader

Characters: Kurapika Kurta, Leorio Paladaknight, Chrollo Lucilfer Type: Fluff?, Headcanons, Gn!reader

why is illumi the only one with eyebrows and a mouth in this photo

Warnings: none

Kurapika Kurta

out of his two older friends Killua thinks Kurapika is the better option

but he still doesn't like the idea of you dating anyone

like his dear older sibling is giving their attention to someone other than him? unacceptable!

Kurapika is a lot more reserved with his feelings than Leorio, leaving not much room for Killua to meddle

so the younger boy just watches from afar

he gives the blonde glares and intense side eyes, and when he feels he's getting too close he won't hesitate to swoop in and steal you away

Kurapika is pretty smart so he's probably found a few ways to get around your brother

after a while of you two talking without Killua's knowledge you eventually get together

one day he caught you two holding hands under a table at the diner or sitting at a bench

he actually screams

with erratic gestures to your guys' hands he's like "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN"

the boy is slack jawed

he thought he did such a good job keeping you separated

"watever just...don't hurt them or anything!"

Leorio Paladaknight

Killua's first reaction to learning this information is "No way, you're too old for my sibling!"

Killua babes he's only like 19

Leorio is by no means subtle with the way he feels about you even if he thinks he is

Killua makes it his life mission to keep you separated 💀

The group is splitting up and Leorio volunteers to go with you? So does Killua. He wants to sit next to you on the train? Aw too bad, your little brother is already sitting there

but if by some miracle you get away from your brother he doesn't waste a single moment in asking you out

after learning that his attempts to keep you separated failed, Killua gets a little pouty

"Seriously? You chose THIS guy!?" "What the hell is that supposed to mean you little shit!"

knowing you guys got together doesn't stop the boy from trying to get in the middle of things though

he's a pro at this point

he will find a way to crash literally any date you plan on going on soo you guys gotta be secretive about it

you probably had to come up with code words in order to plan dates 💀💀💀

Chrollo Lucilfer

the only way I see this working is if you were already part of the troupe so lets go with that

out of literally anyone on the planet he just HAD to have a crush on a Zoldyck

to say your family wasn't pleased would be an understatement

especially Illumi

the Zoldycks typically don't do -ships...like friendSHIPS or relationSHIPS so Chrollo pining for you is definitely an issue

and when two of your brothers end up joining the troupe after you

let's just say Chrollo isn't having the best time.

Kalluto is a lot less aggressive or opinionated on the matter than his eldest brother, but he still isn't fond of the idea of you ending up with the leader of the phantom troupe

he finds ways to draw your attention away from Chrollo

whereas Illumi isn't so passive

if he catches the head of the spiders so much as glancing at you he's going to stand in his line of vision with a stern "Stay away from my sibling."

and just to keep things easy on himself Chrollo heeds these warnings

well..until he's able to catch you alone

you guys are gonna have to date on the dl and be SERIOUSLY sneaky

dating while coming from a family of assassins is not an easy feat

In conlusion alongside being professional assassins, the Zoldyck boys are also professional cockblockers

[kiyosamu]

Cheater, Cheater. ♡

———— ♡ ————

Pairing: Rintaro Suna x Reader

Synopsis: Suna’s cheating on his girlfriend with you. He can’t help it. You’re just so… addictive. Something about you. He’s obsessed.

CW(?): Implied smut, not explicit. Reader is shameless and doesn’t really care that he has a girlfriend. Reader is into him, but doesn’t want anything more (and he hates this).

———— ♡ ————

“Why do you lie to her so much?” You ask, tilting your head. His fingers tighten into your hips as you sit on his lap. “What’s the point?”

Suna sighs.

“Because she’s my girlfriend and I’m cheating on her with you. It’s not like I can just come clean with that information.” Suna leans in, kissing your neck softly. “It's fun. I don't love her like I love you. I don't feel real passion with her. I don't feel like she completes me. When I'm with you, I get that excitement. That rush.”

Suna stops for a moment, thinking of his next response before murmuring against your lips. “I have fun with my girlfriend, yeah, but that's it—fun. You make me feel… alive.”

“So?” You ask in response, pressing your lips back to his. “Why are you with her?”

“She’s good company. She’s my friend. She’s… comfortable, I guess. I can’t just break her heart like that.” Suna looks into your eyes. “I might not love her, but I do care for her. She just doesn’t give me what I need.”

You hum softly, sliding your hand under his shirt. “And? What is it that you so desperately need?”

Suna chuckles, his pupils slightly widening as your fingers softly trail circles on his toned abdomen. “I said it earlier—the excitement…”. He looks you in the eyes, his lips just barely an inch from yours as he whispers, “the passion… the rush.”

You nod, acknowledging his answer silently and resting your hands on your thighs. “Right, well. I gotta go.”

“Wait, no.” He rests his hands on top of yours. “Where? Why?”

“Relax, Rin. I have a final tomorrow.” You take his left hand and pull it close to your mouth, sucking on his index and middle fingers as you stare innocently into his eyes.

Suna groans, pulling his hand back. “You know that’s torture for me. Don’t do shit like that. Don’t look at me like that.”

You laugh softly, giving his cheek two little taps and getting out of his car. You lean in the passenger side window and continue your conversation. “I’ll see you later. Hopefully the sweet girl waiting up for you can take care of…” You glance down at his obvious erection. “That.”

“You’re such a bitch.” You smile wickedly as he says those words. “I like you, you know that?”

You roll your eyes. “You’ve told me once or twice. Bye, Rin.” Your smirk returns to your lips as you turn around, walking back through your college campus, swaying your hips with the knowledge that he was watching you.

——

Suna spends time idly pleasing his girlfriend by taking her for dinner and dessert. He couldn’t stand this. As much as he loved you, he couldn’t stand the sick thoughts running through his head as he sat across the table from such a kind girl. A good girl. Tall, blonde, athletic. They had so much in common. On paper, they made a great match. Perfect, even. But Suna was bored. She bored him, and he didn’t know why. She was safe.

You, on the other hand, were unpredictable. You didn’t fawn over him the way other girls did. Hell, he wasn’t sure you even liked him half the time. But when your lips met for the first time he knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop. Ever. It was like a hit of the most delicious high he’d ever had. He wanted you. Even if you didn’t want him, you were his.

Suna begins to think of you the moment he’s alone again. You didn't want him to call or text you very often, so he contemplated just popping by your dorm. He wondered if that would be too much, and if he should wait until the next time he was on your mind.

Suna shrugged, threading his fingers through his hair.

Fuck waiting.

——

You lazily opened your eyes as your phone buzzed and woke you from your half asleep state.

>> I’m coming over.

You laugh to yourself, typing back.

<< I ruined you, didn’t I?

The response was instant.

>> Yeah, you really did.

You get up and open the door as you hear his footsteps in the hallway.

“Hi.” You grin, trailing your gaze down his tall, muscular body as he comes in.

Suna gives a soft grunt in response, shutting the door with his foot and sliding his hands down your sides, squeezing your ass.

“You have a good evening?” You ask, looking up into his eyes with a false innocence. “Good time with your girl? Have a good fuck?”

He nods, looking back into your stare. “Yeah, it was… alright.” His voice is quieter. It’s almost as if he was on autopilot, he was barely even listening to your words. Something else was on his mind. “Can I kiss you?”

You nod. Suna smiles and leans forward, putting his lips to yours. Your lips were different than hers. So soft and sweet, so delicious, he could never get enough. He pulls back for a moment and looks at you, his eyes squinting slightly as his fingertips caress your face. “You're so beautiful.”

You smirk up at him, putting your hand over one of his. “You’re a sick fuck, you know that?”

A low moan leaves his lips as he kisses you again. “I know, I'm disgusting. But I can't help it.” He leans back slightly, looking at you. “I can't fucking help it, I need you. I need your lips… I need your hands on me.” Suna bites his tongue slightly and swallows. “And I need you so much that it hurts. I'm in so deep and I can't get out. My body needs you, my brain... God, I just want you so bad.”

“Hm.” You shrug. “It’s too bad you can’t have me.”

Suna slightly lowers his gaze and breathes sharply through his nose. “Why? Why can't I have you? I just want to feel you more. I just want to touch you more. To love you and to make you feel good in my arms.” He chuckles and takes a deep breath. “You're cruel, you know that?”

“I’m cruel? You’re the one with a girlfriend.” You shake your head, sliding your hands in the back pockets of his jeans as you continue to look up at him. “Plus, I don’t do relationships.”

“Of course you don’t.” Suna laughs quietly, “But you're just so damn tempting. You're so irresistible.” His fingers trail down your cheek and neck, stopping at your collarbone. “You could break my heart with the slightest touch.”

“Aww, poor baby. I’m sure you’d recover.” You tease.

He purses his lips in thought. “I'd never get over you. I'd feel the loss of you all the time.” He pulls away slightly and shuts his eyes. “But we could have... this. Just these moments, when we're with each other. Nothing more than that would be needed.” His eyes glance down to your lips. “You just tempt me so much. You're like a drug to me.”

You sigh, looking down. “So why do you even stay with her?”

“It's comfortable. I told you.” He frowns and looks at you. “I love her, I do, but it's never been like this with her. She'll never pull me in like you do. And fuck, you don’t even need to try.” Suna takes a deep breath. “I love spending time with her, but it's not the same. I love you so much. I'm so goddamn sick of her, even though I love her.

You lead him over to the couch, sitting next to him and resting your legs on his lap. “I’m sure you’re sick of me too, hm? Sick of how in love you are with me?”

He sighs and chuckles quietly. “So fucking sick of it. But God, I love it so much. I'm like... obsessed. With you. I swear, I think about you all the time. Suna shakes his head as he smiles at you. “God, I'm so screwed up. Look at me. I can't stop thinking about how much I want you.”

“I kinda like it.” You grin.

Suna bites his lip. “You do? You like seeing a guy obsessed with you? You like it when a guy wants to throw away his entire life and jeopardize his relationship all because of you?” He leans in again and kisses you, pulling you on his lap. “And to think you call me the sick fuck.”

You kiss him back, grinding your hips down on his. Suna lets out a low groan.

“You're so cruel.” He chuckles quietly. “I'm literally obsessed with you. I don't care about anything else. My grades, my team, any of it. I just want you.” He kisses you again, his hand slowly sliding down your back. “You really like seeing me lust after you this much?”

You smile against his lips, tangling your fingers in his hair and opening your mouth slightly. He moans softly, gripping your thighs tightly and grinding back up into you.

The two of you separate as you’re startled by knocking on your dorm room door. Your name is called, your best friend practically in hysterics as she calls for you. “Are you home? Please tell me you’re home. I think he’s cheating on me.”

Suna’s eyes widen. The last person he expected to interrupt the two of you was his girlfriend.

[teaboot]

Who is your OC that is the most fleshed out? Anything you care to share about them? What is a small detail about them that you rarely think about?

*Asks are sent for fun, no pressure to answer within a certain amount of time or at all.*

YOU TRICKED ME INTO WRITING AGAIN

BÁTARD!

There is an old rotting seat in the middle of the woods where a young man appears to lay dead. His face is pale, his skin is tinted with mildew, his old wool coat is moth-eaten and moldy. A layer of topsoil covers his lap. His hair, slowly greening, has been plucked at by birds.

A long time ago, a man won a single wish, and knowing that wealth was fleeting and power brought danger, wished for incredible knowledge.

The wish granted him understanding of machinery, of magics, of medicine and physics, and insight into endless possibility. So much information that he cannot stop thinking, making connections, processing it all, struggling to grasp it.

Always thinking, he found soon that he could not fall asleep. Medicines helped for a short while, but he was never truly rested, and through desperation or happenstance he found with some horror that he also could not die.

The story is that a point came where he brought upon himself some sort of curse, to sleep, and to dream, and to never be disturbed.

Excepting, of course, under very specific circumstance.

Not everyone can see him, but those who do have affectionately named him "Alexander".

(He is more or less a landmark, like an oddly-shaped rock by the side of the road.)

Nevaeh is The Daedalus. She has no idea what that means. She has never gotten lost, no matter how far she's wandered.

Her bus always arrives at the stop shortly after she does. When she rides her bike, there is never a roadblock or construction in the way. She isn't always on schedule, but even when she's late, she seems to arrive on time.

She loves her parents. She likes to bake. Her sister is a dork, but they get along fine. Life is good- things are normal.

(Things are not normal.)

Jessie's name is not Jessie.

Probably.

Jessie gives different people different names.

Nobody's quite sure if they're human or a fairy of some kind, but they seem to show up everywhere and never seem particularly fazed by what's going on.

They always seem to be upbeat and unconcerned, but not in an uncaring sort of way- it's more like they just have this unshakeable confidence that everything is always going to end up fine.

Jessie is at the party, holding the host's cat. Nobody knows who invited them. Nobody knows anyone who knows them that well. Jessie offers you a corn chip.

Jessie is at the town hall meeting, sitting in the back row with their feet resting on the chair in front of them. They don't ask questions or interject, but seem interested as they snack on rainbow kettle corn.

Jessie is at the sacrificial ceremony, deep in the bowels of the community rec center. As candles flicker around you and the sound of chanting voices grow closer, they tuck a hard candy into your pocket and tell you not to worry so much.

(Jessie does not untie you from the dias.)

----------

None of these guys are my main character, but they're probably my favorites!!! Thank you so much for asking, I need to get back to work on this! ♡♡♡♡♡ oh, I'm all excited again!!! Aadfgghhfjgdgsggffk ❤

[just-another-star-47]

I feel like Hogwarts Legacy has done a much better job in creating characters fitting into their houses. 😅

I know in the Harry Potter books it's about 'actions are more important than just character traits, but it feels weird, when Harry for example is very much a Gryffindor at his core in the first place - like he didn't really need to go against his traits at all. 😅

When it comes to the houses I always ask myself what the character would do in a stressful situation - I think that's always a good indicator of where they belong.

As Harry dreams about Sirius beeing tortured by Voldemort, his first reaction is to attack, to get into action, to find him, fight everone who stands in his way and done - simple, reckless, a little stupid Gryffindor logic.

Hermione on the other side (I know she's technically a Gryffindor, but that's the point right? In my mind she would have been better off in Ravenclaw), thinks in that exact same situation. She wants to make sure it's not a trap, thinks about the dangers that will await them and tries to prepare herself and the others for it.

I feel in Hogwarts Legacy it's much more clear.

Natsai is very adventurous, her first reaction to Rookwood and Harlow is to fight them. She throws herself in dangerous situations and just wings it from there on.

Garreth doesn't care what others think of him and just does his thing. Could his potions be dangerous to him or other students? Very much so. Does he care? Not at all.

I had my problems with Leander, but I really like now that they put him into Gryffindor because I think he shows the bad sides of the traits of his house very well. He's highly competitive (I think competitive and ambitious are different things) to a point were he becomes arrogant and annoying. He wants to fight and learn dangerous spells, to a point were he's rude to a professor. I don't think he's a coward, he's just not able to let actions follow his big words.

Amit loves knowledge just because of knowledge itself. He is easily fascinated by other cultures and probably everything around him and tries to understand it. He wants to know the 'how' and 'why' and is very creative when it comes to problem solving.

Poppy is brave, but always because of a reason, not for the adventure itself. She wants to protect and has a very soft spot for the weaker ones. If problems arise, she'll ask for help and has overall a very caring personality.

Ominis first reaction, when he catches MC leaving the Undercroft is to threaten her with his status and connections. A behaviour caused by the stress of feeling betrayed and a clear indicator of his house. 😅

And do we even have to talk about Sebastian? 😅 If there's a problem, his first reaction is to charm, to manipulate, to taunt and to gather information so that it's more likely he succeeds.

[bekolxeram]

During this hiatus, other than rewatching S7 for cute moments that we missed and coming up with headconons and new fic ideas, may I suggest going back to actually read/watch/listen to interviews with the cast?

Certain more dedicated members of the fandom tend to overfixate on one single sentence or even word the cast uttered and ignore all context around it. Sure, some of them might came into it with an agenda (like many journalists did sadly) and confirmation bias took care of the rest of it, but at the same time, who has time to read pages of disjointed chat with actors improvising answers without full knowledge of the production side of the show?

I've seen people proving Eddie's queerness by this quote from Lou's interview with the Hollywood Reporter in April:

This alone has been interpreted all sorts of ways, from Ryan not accepting this storyline (which doesn't make him homophobic btw, he could've simply not seen Eddie's story going this way, or he thought he wasn't equipped to do this storyline justice), to Buck's LIs not agreeing to come back because of scheduling conflict, to the writers just thought it was more appropriate for Buck to be queer.

I'm not here to speculate anything, I'm just going to point out earlier in the same interview, Lou also said he always knew this storyline would be with Oliver:

I don't know what's going on here, Lou might have insider information, but it also could be him just speculating over Tommy and Eddie's quickly formed friendship. To my knowledge, Tim has never confirmed that Tommy's queer storyline would be with Eddie before it supposedly fell through. In fact, Tim did say once it felt like Buck's story:

And then there's Lou's supposed dislike of filming make out scenes:

I do agree with him that gratuitous scenes on TV are unnecessary. I can't even count how many times I'm watching TV with my family when a graphic sex scene comes on unprompted, and my family members and I have to try our best to pretend we don't see it. But he also said that he didn't like it only when it didn't add to the story. Like we saw in 7x06, Lou gladly rubbed his face into Oliver's because this is how Buck came out.

There's also the part most people skipped through when Lou talked about the 7x04 kiss:

Lou (and everyone involved in the storyline) doesn't want Tommy to seem predatory. I have no idea if it's a reference to a possible earlier version of the script with an Eddie bi awakening instead of a Buck one. What I'm getting is that Lou and Tim tried to avoid playing into the stereotype of gay men hanging around knowingly straight men just to get into their pants.

And boy was Lou right. If they went for a full make out scene, the fandom discourse would've been so different. Naysayers wouldn't have been latching onto bachelor party costume or daddy issue joke. It would've led to much more serious allegations.

I'm happy it all worked out in universe as well. As we've seen from the past 7 seasons, Buck has no problem getting sexual partners. In the past he tried having physical relationships with women in hopes that it would lead to an emotional one, he also tried intentionally holding off intimacy just because he thought it would get in the way of boding with someone on a humanly level. This is the first time someone picked up Buck's (unintentional?) flirting, decided to break the ambiguity (landing it like a good pilot), gave him a brief peck to test the water, and then left to give Buck time to process his feelings.

Not only was it okay for Buck, it left him wanting more.

And lastly there's the allegedly "Tommy is just Buck's gay mentor to test thing out with" thing:

But earlier in the interview, it was established that Lou said it as a response to why the other shippers should still embrace Buck and Tommy's relationship. He didn't actually know what would happen in the future:

[itsclydebitches]

Though I adore the dynamic myself, it struck me as odd a few months back that fans were taking a "Monster loved for the first time" approach to Astarion. Part of the allure of a vampire (for me anyway) is the act of transformation; the horror and tragedy of having lost who you were before—including all those everyday, human experiences. There were debates about precisely how old Astarion was when he died and at the same time fans were screaming over him having his first hug, his first real romance, this is the first time someone has helped him without ulterior motives, etc. and I'm going, "How is that possible?" This is an elf who lived a life before being turned, even if it was short compared to what his race would normally experience. Astarion had a family. He had a job! Yet the fandom (and to an extent the game as well) treats Astarion as more of a Phantom-esque character: deemed monstrous from birth and blindsided by the simplest acts of love because he was denied them from the get-go.

Of course, it's easy enough to read everything through the lens of slavery and torture. Sure, Astarion had all this at one point but it's been so long and his life as a vampire has been so unimaginably torturous that it's eclipsed those earlier experiences. I get that... but time as the answer still didn't fully convince me.

Not until I started romancing him and hit this line:

"I... I don't know. I can't remember."

This is in response to asking Astarion what color his eyes were before they turned red. Can we just sit with that for a moment? He doesn't remember the color of his eyes. This line was a game changer for me because I can't even CONCEPTUALIZE that. Mirrors appear to be pretty common in Faerûn—it's not like this is a setting devoid of all modern inventions and Astarion, as a member of the upper class, absolutely would have had access to various ornate mirrors like the one he starts this scene with—so what does it take to make you completely forget such an ingrained bit of knowledge about yourself? 200 years as a dehumanized slave, obviously. Still, my mind continues to trip over the idea. I have blue eyes. That's a fact I've known since I had any real sense of self. If my eyes were to suddenly change tomorrow I can't imagine forgetting that they were originally blue. Even if I'd put it from my mind for an extended period of time I'd expect the very pointed question, "What color were they before?" would fire some old synapses and drag the information back. Obviously none of us have any idea what 200 years would do to a human brain (or, you know, an elf's) but it still feels firmly in the real of impossibility that I could ever completely forget something like that.

Yet Astarion has and this line more than anything else has sold me on his Baby Monster Loved For The First Time characterization, both in-game and in the fandom. He acts like he's never been hugged before? Of course he does! The guy can't remember his eye color and you think he's going to recall any probably-treated-as-casual-and-thus-didn't-solidify-as-significant-memories hugs while alive? When was the last time you were hugged? I'm not sure. I know I HAVE hugged recently but was the last one with family over Thanksgiving? Did I give my friend a brief side-hug before we parted? I'm lucky in that hugs are such a normalized part of my life that I don't give them much thought... which means that if you were to suddenly enslave me and keep me isolated for 200 years, yeah, I'd probably forget what they feel like too. Or that I ever had any at all.

(Self-hatred is going to play hell with memory too. Once you feel like you don't deserve something and it's continually denied to you it's easier to convince yourself you never had it to begin with.)

So yeah, Astarion acts like someone who was always the monster because he has, on a literal canonical level, forgotten what it was like to be anything else. Which just sets his relationship with Tav into such angsty, terrifying focus. Here's someone who has lost his previous identity. He (rightfully) despises the identity Cazador forced on him. Even if he didn't, Astarion is now miles away, the tattered remains of his self threatened by ceremorphosis. He stares into a mirror knowing he'll never see anything, but doing it anyway because he needs to figure out who he is—and that's precisely where most of us would start. What do I look like? What do others see when they see me? Is that the person I want to be?

Then Tav offers to be his mirror, just like they offered to sketch out the poem on his back. How exquisitely horrible for Astarion. He's being given precisely what he wants but he's in NO position to take it. All his sense of self placed in the hands of another? Asking, "Who am I?" and hearing, "I'll tell you. I'll be the keeper of that knowledge"? That's a far more intimate, potentially destructive power than anything else Astarion is looking to get his hands on AND he's trying to manipulate YOU at this point in the story! It just makes me crazy because Astarion is desperate to figure out who he is, but circumstances have ensured that, at this point in time, he needs to put his trust in someone else to begin answering that question... and the one thing he does know about himself is that he's a manipulative, mistrustful rogue who's only out to keep himself safe. Allowing someone else to take the reins with his identity (again) is probably the least safe thing he could possibly think of.

It's this messy tragic loop that yes, Astarion is working to break by the end of the game (depending on your choices) but in Act 1? Goddamn. No wonder he's trying desperately to maintain control of this relationship. No wonder—despite his best efforts—he's still undone by the simplest acts of kindness.

[comradeboyhalo]

What makes Bad and Foolish's relationship so fun to analyze is the fact that its built on familiarity. They know how to read each other, and that in turn allows them to choose when and how to trust each other.

Bad's trust in Foolish is not entirely rational, and he's aware of this. Bad is deeply distrustful of anything connected to the Federation, and Foolish has openly sided with them multiple times. And yet Bad constantly shares information with Foolish, entrusts him with Dapper, and makes no effort to intervene with Foolish's arrests. He's like this because he understands how Foolish's loyalties truly lie--how he enjoys playing both sides, how he likes to have fun. This even puts Bad above the Federation, who appears to take Foolish at face value. Bad can't predict if Foolish will betray him, but he has a good guess on how deeply Foolish will betray him, and shares information accordingly.

The reason Bad was upset at Foolish's first arrest of Mike and Pac was not because it was wrong (in his own words: "That's all you did? Why is everyone mad at you?"), but because Foolish had kept a secret from him. His read on Foolish was incorrect, since he had hoped Foolish would've kept him in the loop despite it all. Bad had never wanted to kick Foolish out of Ordo Theoritas, and anytime Foolish was threatened by another islander, Bad would play along but as a complete joke. This was one of their rare misunderstandings: Foolish didn't understand that Bad never truly wanted Foolish to suffer real consequences for his actions, and Bad failed to realize that Foolish wasn't as open to sharing personal information as he'd thought. This was why Foolish turned to Jaiden (someone who was clearly on his side) and why Bad turned to violence to get info (and did he ever do anything with that info? no, which is exactly my point. he just wants it).

On Foolish's end, he's very guarded around Bad. But while Bad is more open to showing his cards, Foolish is more outwardly caring. He folds to Bad whenever Bad's at his lowest, allowing him to live temporarily in his home and investigating his color changes stricter than anyone else. Foolish is also much more cognizant of his moral code than Bad is. He has a self-awareness that his morals are much more lax than others, and tries to compensate in return, like asking beforehand to arrest people. Bad, on the other hand, generally lacks a self-awareness. To be fair, he's better at masking than Foolish, but he usually needs to be talked down from his more violent urges, and he is routinely disappointed by those around him that they don't share his amoral compass. Foolish clashes with the other islanders because he finds it was just for fun a valid justification. Bad clashes with the other islanders because his scale goes so far darker.

What makes Foolish understand Bad, then, is the knowledge that he can do anything to Bad, and know that their relationship will bounce back. Bad says he doesn't want to get arrested? Well, tough luck, Foolish thinks it's fun and Bad will have to deal. He can bypass this moral clash he has with other islanders because he knows Bad understands what its like to just have fun with chaos. Foolish is a much more passive player compared to Bad; he loves chaos but it's rare for him to be destructive or violent. Foolish's desire to see Bad burn the world down (and cheer him on) is not because Foolish thinks Bad's reasons are good, or that Bad is the safest to side with. Foolish just wants a front row seat to insanity, and no one else seems to be serving! Foolish knows Bad has it in him to push the line, and he doesn't want anyone to get in the way of peak entertainment.

"Does your family trump all other families?" / "You're my family. And to answer your question, yes it does." / "Then I say go for it."

The one thing holding Foolish back from desiring chaos is his and Leo's safety. But this statement from Bad has assured him that not only is he and Leo safe, but he and Leo are safe above the world. That was the final piece in the puzzle to get Foolish's backing. Now Foolish can understand Bad's motives, and support him without fear of shooting himself in the foot. And he does this all while denying Bad the same assurance. But in Bad's case, he doesn't need or want Foolish's assurance. If Foolish betrays him, well, that'd suck, but Bad is hyper-paranoid and is aware that anyone can betray him. He doesn't care about mutual trust, he just needs someone who can look at his torture room, and get why he built it.

And finally: They've both been on this island for Too Damn Long. Metawise, Foolish and Bad have the most QSMP streamed days out of everyone, as og islanders who daily stream. They've tried to reel it in. They've tried to have cute, covert investigations. They're bored. They're impatient. They're upset. They miss their kids. Someone has to cross the line, and it might as well be them.

[insipid-drivel]

Horses: Since There Seems To Be An Even Wider Knowledge Gap Than I Anticipated

...And actually find it really exciting that I have a reason to expand and address some comments and questions from my first post!

This is a sequel/addition to my original post, "Horses: Since There Seems To be A Knowledge Gap". I want to address more horse-related knowledge gaps, common misinformation and mistakes made by well-meaning and very skilled creators that wouldn't know otherwise unless they worked with horses directly. You should not have to work hands-on with horses to learn some of this stuff, but the fact remains that horse facts and riding knowledge is often underdiscussed and usually only shared by other people that work with/around horses. A lot of this information should be within easier reach for writers and artists, too!

Before I begin, I'd like to thank all of you that politely reached out in the comments, tags, and my DMs/asks with your thoughtful additions to details I forgot/left out/hadn't even considered, and your brave questions posed to me personally that I was more than happy to answer. I'm truly thankful to all of you who contributed with a positive energy, or that had the courage to reach out to me - the OP - with questions my first post didn't manage to help you with. I will never punish, shame, or otherwise mistreat anyone who comes to me with an earnest question or correction in good faith, anonymous or not. If you're polite to me, I will be polite to you. I will try my hardest to answer questions I may not have much experience with, but I will still do my best to research the answers so you don't have to, and tag/cite/refer you to people, books, or other knowledge sources that have more answers and experience than I do if I can't.

So, what more is there to know about writing and portraying horses? I'll just get started off the top of my head with some of the most frequent additions other tumblr horse folk have been hollerin' at me about, and with good reason, because you guys were right to point out what you did and really got me thinking!

-Spurs: My Second Take. In my original post, I voiced my personal distaste for the use of spurs in riding. Spurs, for those who don't know, were traditionally made as sharp metal pinwheels that attached to the back of riding boots for enhanced communication between the rider and the horse, much like how riding crops are used. I, personally, have had a lot of bad experiences seeing riders misuse spurs to hurt horses that I cared for as a stable hand and genuinely loved, and so I've been very shut down about the topic of spurs for many years.

Several people spoke up in defense of spurs as riding and communication tools, and I honestly believe that you guys were very on-point and made some great arguments: Spurs are only as harmful to horses as the intent the rider has in applying them, and I didn't have enough updated information about the different types of spurs that can be used nowadays that are not designed to be sharp or uncomfortable for the horse! I always grew up around traditional Cowboy-style spurs, which are sharp, stabby, star-shaped wheels, and can wound a horse and draw blood if used too aggressively. Tragically, most inexperienced and newer riders will use spurs too forcefully and wind up hurting the horse, and it's largely because new riders are inherently scared of riding, and over-rely on tools like spurs and crops rather than trust the horse to know what it's doing and be intelligent enough to know how to care for a human rider's safety.

Now, I've since learned that there are spurs with rubber wheels, blunted tips like those on the ends of safety-fencing foils, round metal bumpers instead of spurs at all, and even spurs that sport rotating metal balls that just feel (to the horse) like someone rolling a large ball-point pen over their sides, and more! So, to those of you that spoke up in tags and comments, thank you for doing so in a way that got me to open my own mind and check myself and my bad memories. You guys taught me something really cool and valuable that genuinely changed my perspective and opinions, and that's a really good thing!

-A Group Of Zombies/Unarmed Humans Can Take Down A Healthy Adult Horse. This is specifically aimed at The Walking Dead, but... yeah, you know the second episode when Rick rides a horse into the zombie-overrun Atlanta and the only way he's able to survive is when the zombies are distracted taking down and eating his obviously-jello-and-rubber horse?

Yeah, no. That is not how it would happen. At all. I think any biologists in the audience would back me up on that.

See, horses are prey animals, and they are herbivores. We're often used to thinking of herbivorous prey animals as shy, retiring, vulnerable animals that will simply keel over and die of fright when cornered by a predator. In reality, the opposite is often the case! Predatory animals tend to be much more shy, and much more cautious with their physical safety and wellbeing than prey animals tend to be, and that's usually because predators need to be able to remain uninjured and able-bodied enough to hunt again later, or else they and their babies may starve to death. Prey animals, especially herbivores, have evolved to deal with being hunted, and inherently don't need to be quite as healthy and able-bodied as a predator in order to avoid starving in the wild. Grass and leaves don't run away or try to fight back (unless it's like, poison oak or something), so an herbivore can generally recover from more environmental beatings than a predator typically can.

When cornered, horses very often only understand one thing: Murder. That's why you need horse whisperers and stable hands that know how to "gentle" a panicked horse as essential personnel at boarding and teaching ranches. While a horse can absolutely love and adore even the smallest of children and never harm them (at least intentionally - accidents happen), they can and absolutely will kill in order to defend themselves if running isn't an option. Horses can kick with up to 2,000lbs/907kg of force with their back legs. That's enough to break bones, shatter skulls, insta-kill grown men, and if you're kicked in the chest? Cause spontaneous cardiac arrest. Horses kick so hard and so fast they can literally make your heart stop from the speed and force of the impact alone: not from tissue damage. Horses will also paw and stomp with their front hooves until the Threatening Thing is effectively a mincemeat pancake, bite hard enough to take off fingers and hands, and can even cat-jump into the air off all four hooves in order to kick outward with all four legs at once. Spanish cavalry officers traditionally trained their horses to cat-jump on command in order to prevent them and their horse from being surrounded by footsoldiers in battle.

Horses will also use their body weight to roll, crush, scrape, and flatten anything or anyone that they don't want holding onto them. They will use environmental objects like trees, fences, or the corners of buildings to scrape unwanted hangers-on off into bloody smears (my mom's horse actually did this to a guy twice and he wound up in the ER with severe lacerations, bruises, splinters, and worse). Basically: a horse will use its entire body and the weight that comes with it as well as the entire world around it to fucking OBLITERATE anything they see as an unavoidable threat to their safety.

Without heavy-duty ropes, weapons, or tools, a group of adult, living, human men the size of football (the fake kind) linebackers wouldn't be able to successfully wrestle a fully-grown, panicked horse to the ground, much less a bunch of undead, mostly-decomposing zombies that only know how to bite and scratch. The horse Rick is riding on looks like it's probably a Quarterhorse, too. Quarterhorses are very sturdy, moderately-sized breeds that are also the iconic Cowboy Horse. They're tough, they're brave, they're hearty, and if they snap, they can and will kill both other animals and humans.

A horse's skin is so thick and tough that it's virtually impossible for a human to successfully bite or scratch hard enough to puncture through their outer dermal layers. As stable hands, a regular tool we use for getting mud out of a horse's hair is a literal metal wire brush that can rip open our skin if we try to use them, but the horses lean into them without even a hint of damage to their skin from doing so. There may be some tiny welts and a little bit of blood if a human tries to claw and bite at a horse, but horses do far worse to each other when they're just playing! Our fingernails and jaw muscles just aren't strong enough to do much damage to a healthy horse's skin.

-Horses aren't domestic animals.

...Yes they are. But just like other domestic animals, there can be wild populations of them that have had little or no human contact or intervention. Genetically speaking, however, horses are indeed domesticated. They're large domestic animals , but they are very much domesticated. Humans have been working alongside horses for at least 6,000 years. Domestic cats have only been domesticated for about 10,000 years. Truly wild horses in herds today, sadly, are pretty much 100% descended from domesticated horses. The recently-reintroduced-to-the-wild Przewalski's Horse is probably the closest genetic link to the original wild horses native to what are now modern Mongolia and Kazakhstan. Even the revered American Mustang is the product of domestication and planned breeding practices by both white colonists and Indigenous Americans over thousands of years, but Indigenous Americans were capable of maintaining a healthy balance between their personal horses and the essential need for herds of wild horses for the environment, too. White colonists did not understand this and intentionally stripped the North American frontier of its herds of wild horses, and are the primary reason the Mustang is only recently reappearing in wild herds in North America.

Sheep are domestic animals. Cows are domestic animals. Goats are domestic animals. Just because an animal has hooves and doesn't usually live in your house with you does not mean it isn't domesticated: You've just never had to live in an environment where they're essential to daily life or considered welcome companions, so they seem more like wild animals than cats and dogs. Hundreds of years ago, before modern building techniques created houses that could stay sustainably warm year-round, it was very normal for families to bring in cattle as large as horses and cows into their homes and sleep in the same rooms together for security and warmth, dookie and all (horse and cow poop doesn't smell as rank as dog or cat poo; they're herbivores, so it just doesn't smell as foul, and happens to make very good fuel for the fire). We don't do that anymore for health and safety reasons, and so horses, among other farmyard and "rural" domestic animals have become increasingly alienated from most people's psyches as being animals just as capable of being pets as your dog or cat.

-You can calculate how long a horse can run or work every day. This one is largely in response to some well-meaning questions I got from anons that seemed to want me to give them precise hourly work rates and mileage horses can tolerate. I was frustrated by questions like this, because it's a really cool subject to discuss, but not an easy question to answer. Horses are not machines, and "horsepower" is a unit of measurement derived from horses - not applied to them. "Horsepower" is a term used in machinery like tractors and cars. The total horsepower of your average horse is... well, 1, because that's how many horses a single horse can be without getting into some Welcome To Night Vale shit, which I'd love to do, but is a bit too far off topic for this particular post.

A horse's capacity to work or travel is heavily determined by outside factors, as well as organic factors in regards to the individual horse. How old is the horse? How heavy is it? How heavy is the rider? Is it also carrying cargo, like armor and camping supplies? Is it working on a farm and pulling a plow? If so, what quality is the soil? Has it been plowed before? Does the farmer own more than one horse? Is it hot outside? Is the horse going up and downhill? Is it fly season? Is the ground rocky? Are there burrowing animals in the area? Is there clay in the soil? Did it rain recently? How well-kept are the roads? Are there roads to use? What time of year is it- Aaaaaaah!

Ultimately, the answer is: A horse can work as long as it's willing to, and as long as its owner/handler judges is safe for the horse. A horse may be able to pull an old-fashioned plow through well-tilled soil for most of a cool morning before needing a break to cool down, eat, and rehydrate. It takes the judgment of the person commanding the horse when to call for a break or a full-stop to working for that horse by observing how tired it is (is it panting? Sweating? Slowing down? Are there any signs of strain in the hooves or legs?) or if it's in any way injured or in pain. The same applies with traveling long distances: It's up to the rider's judgment and how forgiving the environment is on the horse's body. In some cases, a riding horse may not be able to be ridden safely if the road is too treacherous or uneven for the horse to handle balancing its own weight and the rider's. In those cases, it's better for the rider to get off the horse and gently lead them through the bad terrain until it smooths out.

Also... horses can just... choose to quit. Some are quite sassy or very clear about their boundaries, and if they don't feel motivated or get too bored, they won't cooperate at all. The only way to deal with this is by letting them go do their own thing in the paddock until they decide they wanna cooperate again. Abusive people my try to whip or spur a horse into working past its limits, but humane people just let the guys take a break.

-Two adult people can ride on the same horse for a long time. GOD NO. PLEASE GOD NO. DO NOT DO THIS. PLEASE DO NOT EVER, EVER DO THIS.

Horses can only safely carry a maximum of about 30% of their total body weight on their backs without risking severe spinal damage, if not a broken spine altogether. A Thoroughbred - the iconic racing horse - typically maxes out at about 1,000lbs total in weight as an adult. Thoroughbreds are fairly tall compared to other fast, hot-blooded horses, like Arabians. That means that, at best, a perfectly healthy, not-too-old, not-too-young Thoroughbred horse would not be able to carry a total weight of more than about 450lbs, including the weight of its saddle and other tack, supplies carried by the rider, armor or other gear worn by the rider, and the impacts of gravity and the shocks of the rider's weight on the horse's back when it's moving at any speed. In the vast majority of cases, two adults cannot safely ride on the same horse for more than a very short distance before the horse enters the danger-zone for suffering severe and permanent spinal damage that can result in euthanasia. An adult carrying a baby or toddler is different, but two adults? Please don't. Please. Even if you're getting married and the owner of the super-huge pretty draft horse you're renting to take a gallant shared ride with your spouse with for pictures that reassures you it's fine, do not do it. Please just rent a carriage or pay extra for two horses. Please.

-A paddock with grass is all a horse needs to meet its nutritional needs. If that were true, horses would still be kept as pets more commonly around the world than they actually are. Unfortunately, to really thrive in the wild, horses need hundreds, if not thousands, of hectares of territory they can freely travel around in, while most paddocks are rarely larger than 10-20 acres when you're not talking about generational wealth or land. One of the reasons domestically-raised horses are almost entirely dependent on humans for food is due to the restricted spaces they're kept in. Grass only produces nutrition when the soil itself is fertile, and we humans don't necessarily have the natural ability to sense when soil is too nutrient-deprived for the plant life growing from it to be enough to provide just one horse with the vitamins and minerals they need on a daily basis to be healthy.

Another fact largely lost to history is that, back when most families had to farm to survive, farmers would store green leaves from various healthy and tasty trees and bushes in the boughs of other trees within their cattle paddocks and fields. By doing this, it kept large amounts of pests like rats from infesting the leaves, and keeping the cut branches and leaves stored within other leafy trees actually kept the greens fresher much longer than if they were stored on the ground or in a storage room. Horses would then graze from the leaves in the trees above their heads as well as the grass.

Stable hands and private owners keep rigorous dietary routines tailored to the needs of each individual horse. We're usually up and feeding the horses by dawn at the latest. The horses are usually given a few scoops of oats (not too much, because oats bloat up when they absorb liquid, and too much of that can give a horse colic), carrots and other vegetables for extra vitamins, salt licks (which are infused with extra minerals like a giant multivitamin), and even vitamin tablets/powder that goes straight into their dinner hay or alfalfa. Vets are essential for evaluating a horse's specific nutritional needs, so horses can actually get "prescriptions" for specific ingredients in their regular meals given to us from licensed large animal veterinarians, and not just a wealthy owner's best guess.

-Horses can throw up. Nope! It's not even physically possible for a horse to spit up food! That's part of why stable hands and owners have to be so careful in maintaining a regular, stable, healthy diet for their horses and keep their pastures and paddocks checked for toxic substances like poisonous plants that a horse may not know is toxic, or notice in the grass it's munching on.

Because they have such long necks and tall legs, horses need special muscles in their upper GI tracts in order to graze and drink water without constantly choking and fighting gravity. By having an esophagus that's one-way-only, as well as a muscle that clamps their stomachs shut at the top called a French Tie, horses hold down anything they swallow, even if it's enough to kill them.

-Horses are the best farm animals for a pre-industrial setting. Goodness no! Not at all! In fact, horses didn't start really replacing oxen on farms until the dawn of Draft Horses in the Victorian Era in the West. While many Eastern countries still retain the use of oxen for farming, Western European farmers fell prey to what we all dread: Peer pressure.

When Draft Horses started to appear in the scene in formal horse fancier associations, they were readily advertised as being excellent replacements for oxen (neutered male cows; so, a bull that has no balls). Oxen can be very stubborn, yet affectionate animals, and newer farmers often struggle more with handling oxen compared to horses. The Victorian Era saw a small boom in private farms, and so there became an increasing demand for "easy" farm cattle for newbie farmers to employ.

The other factor that played into horses replacing oxen in Western farming was clout. Horses are more expensive than oxen and generally seen as more prestigious to own. So, farmers often wound up "upgrading" from oxen to horses when their financial means allowed them to. The problem was that, in order to do the same amount of farm work with horses, you need more horses to replace exhausted or injured horses throughout each working day compared to how many more oxen you need to swap out throughout a day of heavy labor. But, nonetheless, horses took over for being "more trainable" and "more intelligent" than oxen (admittedly, oxen can be trickier to work with, but that does NOT mean that horses do a better job at hard field labor), and the Western oxen training industry has almost completely gone extinct.

Really, oxen do a lot better at extremely heavy jobs like tilling and plowing soil for growing crops and hauling large, heavy weights. Because oxen have cloven (two) hooves, they're a lot better at gripping the terrain and avoiding injury to their feet when they're working hard at awkward angles or on rough terrain. Oxen also pack on a lot more muscle and fat around their entire bodies, and so they have fewer vulnerable zones that can become irreparably damaged from exerting a lot of muscle power. Horses, only having a single hoof, can be rendered completely incapable of working or even running just from fracturing a hoof or stepping on a sharp object, like a nail.

-Any leg injury means instant euthanasia. No! No, no, no! There are lots of ways to treat a variety of injuries and illnesses that present in a horse's leg or foot. Especially nowadays, thanks to advances in all forms of prosthetics and 3D printing, horses are euthanized less and less for increasingly severe leg injuries courtesy of prosthetics and mobility aids! Some advances have been made so far that a horse that loses the lower portion of its leg can live a healthy life with a prosthetic!

Don't believe me?

Even in history, there have been treatments for leg and foot ailments for horses used before any talk of euthanasia is brought up. Remember: horses are often beloved service animals to people, today and a thousand years ago! Would you jump straight to euthanizing not only your best friend, but your primary mode of transport, as well as your extraordinarily-expensive ESA?

It's only in cases of severe breaks in a leg bone that injury-related euthanasia is discussed for a horse. Smaller fractures and hoof damage can actually be treated and healed, especially with modern veterinary science, and some fractures can be so successfully treated that a horse can return to riding and competing after recovering!

-Bits are cruel.

Look. There's one person that raked me over the coals in the replies for being ignorant in espousing bits as essential parts of a horse's bridle. I know who you are, and honestly, I feel the compassion you have for the animals... but you're still sipping a little much from PETA's kool-aid and did not convince me over to your side.

Yes, there are bridles that do not require bits to control a horse's head and communicate with it. Yes, there are riders that prefer them, and there are horses that can only be ridden with them due to bad experiences with bit-training or past dental problems. No, it's not cool to tut your fucking finger at me and call me ignorant when I assert that it's a very normal, standard part of tacking up and riding a horse, and the worst a bit can do is pinch the corner of a horse's lip or tongue if you are a jerk with your rein-etiquette. There are bits, just like I observed with spurs, that are specifically designed not to hurt or cause any distress to the horse, so if the person that dumped on me in the last post reads this one: Calm the fuck down and go take yourself on a walk along with your horse. Have an apple. You've clearly been in your stall too long.

As I was saying: Yes, there are different kinds of bits that are specifically designed not to harm a horse. Sometimes horses with smaller mouths or wrinklier lips (it's a thing) can have a hard time with specific bits due many of them sporting hinges where they wrap around out of the horse's mouth and connect to the bridle. This can be easily addressed by switching to a different kind of bit that's less harsh and more flexible for the sake of a horse's comfort, or getting rid of a bit altogether and swapping to bitless bridles. Ironically, I've met horses that actually stim with their bridles; they play with the bits with their tongues when they're excited before an event, kinda like they're grinding their teeth.

And yes, some horses can still have bad sensory issues with bits, and can need bitless bridles, and that's okay! The important thing about bridles in general is that they're the primary way a rider can communicate with the horse's head and show them where they want to go. As with riding, horses tend to go in the direction their heads are facing; they don't usually walk while looking sideways, but rather stand still to look sideways before turning back to the direction they want to go in to walk or run. A lot of riders are taught the phrase, "Head like a princess, hips like a whore," as a reminder to keep their hips loose and moving with the horse, but their heads focusing on where they want the horse to go, rather than looking at the scenery. Most riders, even those that are very experienced, can get distracted and accidentally put a little too much pressure on the horse's bridle and side in the direction of where they're looking, and that causes the horse to go off course, too.

-Horseshoes are incredibly painful and must be replaced only when absolutely necessary. Not at all! A horse's hoof is basically like a gigantic fingernail. While the inner core of the hoof, which is typically concave with a V shape in the middle and needs cleaning by stable hands on a regular basis to keep gunk, debris, and dangerous stuff like nails out of their feet is vulnerable to pain and injury, the rest of the hoof is literally a giant fingernail! A ferrier specializes at grooming a horse's hooves and trimming them so they don't overgrow (which can happen if they spend a lot of time on soft surfaces like grass), and many ferriers also specialize at setting and replacing horseshoes. A horseshoe specifically sits around the outer edge of a horse's hoof - specifically where a hoof is least sensitive and most likely to split or become damaged while riding and lead to infection and pain later - where the horse has no nerve endings. The nails that go into the horseshoe to hold it in place are actually very short and narrow at the tips, and only go into the solid nail a couple of inches into that same nerveless outer edge. The shortest horseshoe nails I've seen used are only 1.5 inches, or 4cm, and the largest around 2 inches, or 5cm and the worst a horse feels when a shoe is being set or replaced is a dull thudding from the tapping of the small hammer used to set the nails. A horse can literally go right back to business after their shoes are fitted, although a ferrier may recommend having them spend some quiet time in their stall for a couple of hours to really make sure the shoes are set properly and the horse is comfortable if something like a trip caused the original shoe to come off (the technical term is "casting a shoe").

My evening meds are kicking in, so I'll stop this very, very long sequel here.

As before, feel free to send me asks with more questions. I'm sure there are even more things I'm too sleepy to remember right now, and this post is running incredibly long.

[fragmentedblade]

Can you expand more on Ratio's philosophical influences? You seem super knowledgeable!

I've been sitting on this for some time because I didn't know what prompted this message and thus I didn't know what to answer and how. I guess it may be the comment I wrote about him having a socratic but also a sophist air?

There are a lot of details in Ratio's overall design that point towards philosophical references. I want to draw attention to the fact that since this is a vague message on anon I don't really know what to focus on or what could I skip because it's information already known, so what I'm going to say is a very brief summary of many ideas, which of course makes such ideas but the shadow of an echo of themselves, so faint they almost become untrue. I fervently advise to look more deeply into any of this if something catches anyone's interest. And I also want to point out that the problem of knowing a little bit of something, even its existence, is that seeing turns to seeking, and an excess of seeing is also a blindness; what I mean by this is that I'm not sure how much of what I am going to say was intentional by the developers/writers and how much is just me suffering the blindness of seeing too much haha

However, I also want to clarify that I do think many of the things I’m going to say are present even if perhaps not intended by the writers/designers. This is due to the fact that Ratio’s main influence is platonism, and platonism is everywhere in western philosophy and in general western culture; once you see it you cannot unsee it. So perhaps I am reading too much or making correlations between things in his design that were not meant to be linked, giving a depth to the character that is probably incidental, but that I would say nonetheless exists because it pertains to a certain philosophical tradition in which the elements stem from each other. I hope this will become clearer in its development if it isn’t right now. 

Ratio has an Apollonian air. At first that and his mask made me wonder if he was going to be linked to the Mourning Actors, who alongside the Masked Fools for now remind me a lot of the Nietzschean Apollonian and Dyonisian dichotomy. This was conjecture on my side so I won't go on about this on this ask.

Ratio retains however the Apollo air. When I saw his splash art he reminded me instantly of the Belvedere Apollo, down to the strap under his chest like the sculpture has the quiver's strap. His sixth eidolon too recalls that sculpture, since it seems to be a mix of the pose in Michelangelo's David with the cloth in the Belvedere Apollo. Among other things, Apollo is a god linked to truth, medicine, archery and divination. The owl seems to be a reference to Athena, though. 

Ratio also has the laurel or bay branch on his head, which is one of Apollo's traits. Laurel on someone's head became linked to victory as well as academic and artistic merit (I know in Italy people still use it when graduating, for instance; I mean, that's where the word comes from). The fact that he has half of it is most likely due to an aesthetic choice, especially given how the character designs are pointedly asymmetric in this game; however, I think it works well with how, no matter how much he achieves and how hard he tries, Ratio is never gazed upon by Nous nor accepted by the Genius Society with the frustration, bitterness and questioning that brings both himself and others.

This last point, being ignored by something akin to a divinity, works also with his Apollonian air, I'd say. Given his Apollo look, his snake-like pupils made me think instantly of Delphi. Delphi was where a temple to Apollo was (linked to a mythological snake, and snakes thus became associated with Apollo in imagery), and it was famous for its prophecies. Socrates (the master of Plato and main figure in his dialogues) is said to have started the habit of questioning he is mostly famous for because a friend of his went to the temple in Delphi and was told by the Oracle that the wisest man in Athens was Socrates. Socrates was perplexed by this because he knew nothing, and started posing questions to supposedly erudite people about the matters about which they were experts, only to come out of that feeling unsatisfied with the answers. Thus, Socrates thought the Oracle may be right after all, but he was only the wisest man because he at least knew that he knew nothing. 

This works very well with Ratio because Socrates starts the journey by being distinguished among his peers, gazed upon, by a god (Apollo was supposed to possess the Pythia, or at the very least the prophetic power came from him), while Ratio never gets that recognition, and seems resigned to that already ("If this day I have not gained the recognition of Nous, it stands to reason that I never will at any point in the future" and "One day, I received a letter from the Interastral Peace Corporation (...). I could tell the solemnity of the invitation, so I excitedly passed it on to Mr. Ratio. Yet, he said nothing. I could sense his heavy silence even through the headgear. He then politely asked me to leave. The moment I closed the door, I heard a grim sigh followed by a self-deprecating laughter... Perhaps he realized he would never be accepted into the Genius Society..."). The mix of arrogance and humbleness, although enhanced in Ratio in a comical degree, is already somewhat present I would argue in the way Socrates talks in Plato's dialogues. Arrogance was also a trait Heraclitus, the author of the line cited in the name of his banner (“Panta rhei”), was famous to have.

So Ratio takes the position at the IPC. The Intelligentsia Guild is "often seen as a vendor of knowledge", and is looked down upon by the Genius Society. This is where I think the philosopher/sophist dichotomy comes in. Sophists were teachers, and were paid. They also were known to use rhetoric to convince (I would say there's a reference to this in one of Ratio's daily messages). In the political landscape of Athens, they were very useful for young men interested in politics. Some sophists became quite rich and famous. Usually philosophers, who didn't receive any money and did everything for the "love of knowledge" itself, looked down on them. At least in the texts of Plato that's often the case, although some sophists are portrayed under a better light even there; btw many of the things I've been saying come from Plato, but since this is an intricate subject on its own that isn’t directly pertinent to the ask I won't dwell on it right now.

Education in ancient Greece consisted of both intellectual and physical training. Intellectual education included music, poetry, mathematics, astronomy,... Physical fitness was held as something very important in a young man's curriculum as well. I think this is where the fanservicey choice of making Ratio so fit and pretty comes from. And I say “pretty” because beauty too is an important concept for Plato, and ancient Greece in general. It is also part of what linked the need of a young man to develop himself both intellectually and physically. Beauty is linked to harmony and order, both on an individual basis and cosmologically, often in some philosophical trends to a mathematical level; pythagoreanism has a lot of this.

Indeed I think pythagoreanism has to do somewhat with Ratio's design, considering his link to mathematics and geometry, and given his name ("Ratio" made me think of the golden ratio and in general pythagorean ratios even before it made me think of "reason" tbh), but in general the main philosophical reference in Ratio seems to be Plato, who was influenced greatly by pythagoreanism; this is one of the perhaps unintended indirect yet present links I mentioned at the beginning.

Platonism is very present in many ways in Ratio. It's noticeable even in his visual design, with how buff and handsome he is, arguably the references to Apollo and Athena, the geometry imagery, and even the sculptures he creates with his technique, but the influence is seen throughout his entire character, story, dialogue lines,... Part IV of Ratio’s character story, the way he talks with Roseth and what he says, has in my opinion an echo of platonic dialogues, as does his line “To spread knowledge, we must first make people realize their folly” recall Socrates. In the Trailblaze mission the main character had to argue for their innocence, which to me brought to mind the Apology of Socrates. On the other hand, the way this was done was very reminiscent of the socratic method, both in the discussion and counterargument mechanic of the game as, and especially so, in the use of memory. The main character had already the knowledge they seeked, yet they had forgotten about it, and had to retrieve it through memory guided by the intense questioning of Ratio; this, if applied to the research of a more essential knowledge instead of circumstantial, is the core of Socrates' maieutics. Maieutics is "midwifery". Socrates called by that word his method because he thought he was helping give birth to truths or knowledge that were already present in people's minds, if forgotten. It's what Ratio's skill, "intellectual midwifery", references. 

The fact that Socrates' method, the "intellectual midwifery" to put it in in HSR terms, works in platonic philosophy is because it is taken that there are eternal truths, something Ratio believes as well (“The beauty of truth is that it never changes, even when no one understands it. Well, that's true for me, at least”). This has to do with what is called the theory of Forms or the theory of Ideas. The world that we see is but the shadow of that other conceptual abstract world, of which we have but forgotten memories and that we can access only with the mind's eye. Our soul once saw/was part of that other world, which is why it can remember it. Plato was influenced by the pythagorean view of a sort of journey or reincarnation of the soul after dying, to put it some way. This is also extensive, it has to do with orphism, is at the core of a lot of philosophical and theological western traditions, and thus I will say only this, even though it feels very close-to-fake simplistic haha. To summarise, there’s the other abstract perfect world of which everything in this world participates from and is but the shadow of (everything beautiful participates on the Idea of Beauty, eternal and inextinguishable, but it’s never as perfect as that Idea, only but its echo). The idea that the world is but the shadow of the other world is present in Ratio's English line when he is ko-ed, "Mere flesh…" (in Chinese, though, if I’ve understood correctly he says “«Mediocre»… hah”, which is very different if still lore-heavy). This of course implies a strong ontological dualism. 

In this sense it is extremely interesting to me that Ratio’s banner is named “Panta rhei”, because Heraclitus is the epitome of the defender that all things were in constant change yet all things are One, the process of “becoming”, the constant struggle, at the core itself of reality (this too is harmony). He was pointedly monist, and is often contrasted to Parmenides, who spoke of eternal unchanging truths and beings. Both are cornerstones in the development of western philosophy and influenced Plato, but the choice calls my attention. In the Japanese wiki the line was linked/took to the buddhist concept of impermanence; while not necessarily related to that, this wiki suggestion made me wonder whether the choice of making “Panta rhei” the name of Ratio’s banner was done to further enhance another aspect of the many parallels between him and Ruan Mei, who also talks about life as something seemingly diverse and changing, hopes to obtain permanence, and talks about a something that transcends the multiple faces of life and that unifies them all (“Life is countless and varied in form. I firmly believe in that. Its beauty is like a myriad of flowers, and I want to pluck the one that never wilts”; “I wish to discover "the true essence of life," something that all individuals possess unknowingly, whether it is the materialism of their existence or an unknown entity beyond corporeal realms”; “The core of all existence is unity”). Even beyond that, in the context of everything else Ratio has going on, the mention of Heraclitus brings very intriguing food for thought to the table; yet I think this may be another instance of things that are, yet were most likely not meant by the writers.

Moving on, I’ll give a quick comment on the more explicit philosophical references we can find in Ratio’s traces, attacks and voicelines, and will dwell a bit only when I think they work well with the subjects and concepts I already commented Ratio plays with, otherwise this response will be eternal.

Summation (trace): in Chinese this is more clearly linked to the inductive reasoning, which in context it is obvious this is what this trace references; I don’t know why they chose to translate it this way. It is a method of reasoning that comes from the observation of particularities to generalisation, hence “summation”. It works well with Ratio causing more damage per debuff, and with the references to empiricism in Ratio’s attacks. The consequences in inductive reasoning are not truly ensured by the premises (the typical example is how you can’t ensure that all ravens are black by as many black ravens as you observe). 

Inference (trace): this baffled me because again it is more clear in Chinese that this is referencing deductive reasoning, but every language translates “inference”, whereas in the “deduction” trace the characters are exactly the same as the ones in the Chinese wiki for “inference”, but every language translates “deduction”. I don’t know what’s happening here, I wish I knew Chinese and found this less confusing, but at least both words are present in his traces. Deductive reasoning is the one that goes from premises to conclusion. It is heavily linked to logic and it doesn’t necessarily require empiric knowledge.

Deduction (trace): this is what is called “inference” apparently in Chinese (if someone knows about this I would love to know what is happening in Chinese in these two traces). Inferences are, well, the process of reaching conclusions. It can be either through deduction or induction (or abduction, some would argue, but that’s another can of worms).

Mind is might (basic attack): in latin this is “scientia potentia est”, and while at this point the line is very detached from its context, initially it was linked to Bacon and Hobbes. I honestly think this is just a very convenient name for an attack of a character following a philosophy/sciences/knowledge thematic.

Intellectual midwifery (skill): Socrates, and platonism. I talked about this before.

Syllogistic paradox (ultimate): Syllogistic paradoxes were one of my favourite things when I was studying. Syllogisms are a form of logic reasoning, which consist of two premises and one conclusion. Though the premises may be true, and though the reasoning may be sensible, at times contradictory or illogical conclusions may be reached. This is a syllogistic paradox. Why this happens is because of a myriad of reasons, like the differences between natural and logical language, or the development of theories (the paradoxes in set theory are among my favourite things ever). I personally like to draw a strong distinction between paradoxes and contradictions. Anyway, I have a lot to say about this haha In general, this is what the name of the ultimate is referencing. It works well with Ratio’s traces. It also goes well with some of the other subjects present in his characterisation, like platonism, Descartes and such; there are a lot of paradoxes that arise from many of the theories that play with such topics. I think reading Alice in Wonderland’s apparent madness through the lenses of logic makes us see that most of those incongruences are actually pretty logical; many of them iirc are syllogistic paradoxes. Carroll was a logician. I mention this because this, as well as many other ideas present in Ratio, work extremely well with Penacony.

Cogito, ergo sum (talent): this is a line by Descartes, a rationalist. This too is something that fits Penacony incredibly well. Descartes starts doubting knowledge, ends up questioning pretty much everything, establishes inspired by mathematics and logic a method of acquiring the truth, and in the research of true knowledge he starts doubting everything with a methodical doubt to be able to tell what knowledge stands after being hit by doubt, and why, and try to reconstruct knowledge from there. Ratio’s lines about “seeking answers with a negative hypothesis in mind”, “When one is immersed in academic research, scepticism comes more naturally than belief” or “Pursuit tinged with negativity is still pursuit, and it is capable of leading us to the right conclusion” reminded me of Descartes’ method. One of the steps in the process is doubting one’s own existence, but since I (pardon the “I”, but the first person is very important in Descartes) doubt, then I think, and since I think, then I exist; cogito, ergo sum. This is closely related to platonism in some senses, and while Descartes’ philosophy comes in part from a criticism of scholasticism, it still has ties to it, but Descartes was a massive breakthrough in the history of Philosophy. I also won't dwell on this, but this is fascinating imo haha 

Anyway, Descartes’ doubt about the existence of reality, of the world, is heavily linked to dreams, because in dreams we believe things are real but are not, so equally we could be at every moment in a dream and not be aware of that; only the existence of oneself is clear of this doubt (Zhuangzi’s text about the butterfly plays with this too; I comment this because butterflies have appeared in Penacony and the Zhuangzi’s text seems to play in an interesting way with the concept of “I”, taking it a different route than Descartes, which is a very intriguing idea but I don’t know much of Chinese philosophy at all). The concept of simulated realities, Matrix-like settings and such, all are strongly linked to this conception of Descartes, even though similar things existed previously (such as Plato’s allegory of the cave), and this works very well with Penacony again. Obviously, Descartes’ theory is strongly dualist, and it’s even established a body-mind dualism. The idea of the ghost in the shell also comes in great part from Descartes. Descartes’ view of the body was not too unlike that of a machine. 

This was in a time in which clockwork and automatons were quickly advancing and fascinating people. Physic theories started to look (even more) like clockwork, with the universe as clockwork and god as a watchmaker that put it into place and then let it run its perfect course, needing or not (depending on the theory) adjustments from the watchmaker from time to time. I said before that harmony was linked to both the cosmos and the body, with the body in part being a reflection of the cosmos, and even linked to it by the harmony of the spheres. This new way of approaching the cosmological and human issues and developing Physics still has echoes of that. Newton, who is referenced in one of Ratio’s idle animations, is one of the epitomes of this concept of the universe as clockwork. Again, I don’t know how much they’ll do with these ideas nor even if they were written on purpose, but it all works so well with Penacony it would be a pity if they did nothing with this.

Another thing I want to note about Descartes is that besides mentally detaching himself from everything while doubting in his deconstruction and construction of knowledge, seeking undoubtable truths, he famously did so physically as well for some time when he first started thinking about the matters in his Discourse on the Method one night: “having no diverting company and fortunately also no cares or emotional turmoil to trouble me”, while he “spent the whole day shut up in a small room heated by a stove, in which I could converse with my own thoughts at leisure”. This reminded me a lot of Ratio’s head and how he uses it: “with the headpiece on, isolated from my five senses, i can think without interference”, “he put on a headgear to keep away all external distractions and completely focus on thinking? Who else in the world could manage that?”.

Mold of idolatry (technique): this links mainly again to the theory of Forms of Plato, with that representation of something else that is what is real. The name of the technique and what it does works well also with the idea of idolatry, especially of idolatry of false gods, idols or even falsehood in general, and how Ratio criticises people’s blind infatuation with geniuses. It also reminds me of Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols, or, How to Philosophise with a Hammer. Among other things, Nietzsche heavily criticises platonism and platonic philosophy, and mostly all western philosophers (he has kind words for Heraclitus, for instance). 

Wiseman’s folly (ultimate’s effect): the idea that knowledge or beholding the truth brings to something similar to madness or ends up leading to foolishness is a very common one. Many of the Ancient Greece philosophers were said to have been extravagant. Diogenes the Cynic and Heraclitus were two such examples. Democritus was said to have plucked out his own eyes. Empedocles is said to have killed himself in a volcano. There’s Nietzsche, Georg Cantor, Kurt Gödel. It is the idea of the wise ending up being very much like the fool, but also the idea of the wise ending up losing sight of basic truths I believe, in that alienation from the world.

Know thyself (eidolon): this is what was inscribed in the temple of Apollo in Delphi I spoke of before. This is linked to Heraclitus, Socrates, Plato and platonism, of course. I think when it comes to Ratio that’s it, really. But this maxime has had a lot of implications and interpretations in different contexts and at different times. It could be seen as just a salutation, recommending temperance, the idea of knowing oneself and one’s limitations as key to succeed when approaching subjects or problems, the first step of getting to know anything at all, humans and the world being closely linked and even reflection of god so studying one helps studying the other, etc.

Vincit Omnia Veritas (eidolon): the translator says this means “eternal truth” in Chinese, which would play way better with the philosophical ideas and concepts present in Ratio while still playing with his name, “Veritas”. I won’t dwell on this because I’ve already talked about the link between eternal truths and Ratio a lot, and besides I can’t even confirm this is the true meaning because I don’t know Chinese.

Eidolon “The divine is in the details” seems to be a reference to a Chinese idiom that comes from a book. I don’t know if it has greater significance, but if anyone knows I am all ears. The other eidolons obviously work with Ratio, but I don’t see obvious philosophical influences so I’m skipping them.

Esse est percipi (ultimate line): “To be is to be perceived”. This is a line by Berkeley and linked to his philosophy. He criticises both dualism and materialism. The core idea is that the world’s existence is entirely dependent on the mind, that things don’t exist unless they are perceived and thought. His justification for one’s own existence seems to come from this perception, as Descartes’ came from thinking: “I do nevertheless know that I, who am a spirit or thinking substance, exist as certainly as I know my ideas exist”. Parmenides has a similar idea in his poem. I don’t think this was intended to be read too much into when it comes to Ratio, but I think it fits nicely with the other topics he has going on, and the dichotomy they often entail. It also works well with Ratio’s plaster head, with how he says “I don't have to set eyes on stupid people. Of course, they don't want to see me either”, with how he uses it to go unnoticed or unrecognised in both Herta’s Space Station and Penacony, and I think it could be overread or taken to more exaggerated levels in a juicy manner reading this under the notion of nothingness, mediocrity and being disregarded by Nous. 

One of the listed researched achievements of Ratio is in the field of epistemology. Epistemology is the field that studies knowledge. Although studied in particular at times, it is of course often linked to ontological conceptions; all the philosophical theories I’ve stated carry with them epistemological implications as well as ontological. In one of Ratio’s character stories there’s a mention to epistemic logic which is, speaking broadly, a logical approach to the analysis of knowledge. 

Another one of his listed achievements is in natural theology, which is the study of god through reason and logic instead of things such as transcendental experiences or revelations. This is very common in philosophy in general. It often has to do as well with the world as a harmonious whole, god as watchmaker/the universe as clockwork, and teleology. I will mention Newton and Darwin here because Newton is referenced in Ratio’s idle animation, and Darwin because he broke up with the teleological tradition when it came to the world. Ratio’s work is named Aeons: A Natural Phenomenon, and the title and its description, how its “Aeon non-theism”, makes it seem to me like he wrote of Aeons as if they were just another form of life or something that pertains to nature itself and not detached from it, which although very different from Darwin’s ideas did remind me of how he dismissed teleology in nature. This also clearly links, in my opinion, to Ruan Mei.

Other than that I also want to note Ratio’s final speech to Screwllum about inspiring doubt and scepticism when it comes to established ideas and geniuses. It reminded me of Socrates, how he was said to have “perverted” youth inspiring all that questioning among other things. It reminded me of Nietzsche, how he fervently encouraged individuals to use critical thinking, question dogmas and preconceived ideas they could have, and come up with their own conclusions that does not mean necessarily negating absolutely everything they held true before the questioning (this exchange between Screwllum and Ratio: “Screwllum:  «You wish to uproot the researchers' blind worship of geniuses».  Dr. Ratio: «I am only laying out my questions».”). It also pointedly reminded me of Kant's “Sapere aude!”, “Dare to know!”,  and his text What Is Enlightenment?, in which among other things Kant talks about the lack of courage, not of intellect, of people to think for themselves, how humanity lives in a constant immaturity or adolescence of the mind, and urges them to get out of that state, to dare to know. Kant was greatly influenced by rationalism but said to have awaken from the rationalist slumber thanks to empiricism; the plays on rationalism and empiricism, deduction and induction, and the presence of idealism in the rest of Ratio’s writing as well as this fervent push for people to snap out of their lack of criticism and dare to think for themselves are what made me think of Kant here.

There’s more things to talk about Ratio, like his view on mediocrity and geniuses, and how that view is constructed and described in traces through fragments in his lore, the character stories, snippets of conversations; how he seems to be so similar in character and drive to geniuses, but never accepted as one, and how he is regarded as very different and eccentric by “normal” people, even in the Guild. In short, how he is detached from both the “normal” people and geniuses, like suspended between both states without being either completely, and how it makes so much sense in this context that he tries to breach the rift between both. I couldn’t help but mention this, to avoid forgetting this aspect of his characterisation in the future, but I won’t dwell on this because it isn’t really directly linked to any philosophical influence that I can think of.

I think this is it. Hopefully I didn’t forget anything important. And I’m sorry it is so long, but I really tried to summarise. As I said, I may well be reading too much into some of these things, but I also think that since Ratio plays with many of the core authors and concepts in the history of western philosophy, some things I expect were not intended by the writers still are present somewhat, because mentioning this or that thing alongside this or that other thing ends up having implications if you know a bit of the context. 

I hope this was clear enough. However, I can try to explain myself better or further if I wasn’t. Philosophy may look unapproachable and dry at times at first, but it really isn't, it just needs one to get accustomed to some basic terminology, and it becomes fascinating and beautiful, and lifechanging haha. I would love it if Ratio is making people get a little bit more invested or interested in it, or open to explore it. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a good place to check the main ideas, texts and authors that may spike someone’s interest if anyone wants to read further about anything I've said or compare sources, but tbh I think even Wikipedia can be useful with getting a first feel of some basic ideas to know what to look for.  And although I am not an authority or the most trustworthy source at all, I will help as best as I can if someone reading this has any further question. I recommend reading the texts firsthand though, with historical context in mind and footnotes perhaps if possible, and making one's own mind about everything.

[descendant-of-truth]

So, these two pages from chapter 88 have been causing a lot of confusion due to inconsistent translations, and I've decided to set the record straight as best I can with the knowledge at my disposal.

Starting with the first page, this is where Mitsuki says that he and Eida are similar. In the next panel, he says: 「どうしてカワキを好きなのか。。。その理由が自分で分からない」

This is the first point where fan translations and the official VIZ translation differ. Fans generally seemed to agree that he's saying he doesn't understand why Eida loves Kawaki, while the official version has him say that he doesn't understand why he himself loves Kawaki.

And unfortunately, both of those are understandable translations. The first part of the sentence contains no indication of whether he's talking about himself or Eida; the most literal translation I can do is "Why is Kawaki loved... that reason, [I/you] don't understand."

The reason it's "I/you" is because he uses the word 自分 (jibun), which depending on context, can be equivalent to either "my" or "your." It's not really the same deal as 僕 (boku), Mitsuki's primary first-person indicator, which makes it extremely annoying to translate.

So, which is it? Well, as vague as it is, my best guess is actually based on the dialogue of the second page.

Thankfully, this one is much easier to answer. In the largest panel, Eida says: 「あたし達。。。超恋バナしてるね」

The conversation around this line seemed to be, "she clearly said they're talking about romantic love!" "No, she's just using a slang term akin to 'girl talk,' so she only means that they're bonding!" And guess what? They're both right!

I consulted a friend of mine who speaks Japanese natively on Eida's word choice, and he said that while "girl talk" is closer on the basis of it being a casual/slang term, it's gender-neutral and is more about people "talking about their love."

In other words, "we're both chatting about love" or "we're having a love talk" would probably be the most accurate ways to translate it.

At this point, I want to bring attention to Daemon and Mitsuki's reactions to what Eida just said:

Daemon is flabbergasted, only able to say "Huh...?" while Mitsuki blushes for a second, then turns away and says "Well... I guess it didn't matter."

What exactly would Daemon be surprised about, if not the implication that Mitsuki loves someone who isn't Eida (and a guy, no less)? Why would he be showing that surprise now, instead of when Mitsuki allegedly announced that he loved Kawaki a few pages ago?

Likewise, while Mitsuki blushing around Eida isn't unusual, he actually spent the vast majority of this conversation remarkably composed. He only blushed for a single panel when he first noticed Eida was in the area, so having it come back after he's basically called out for being in love (real love, as it was already established that they both knew his feelings for Eida are fabricated) is a very deliberate choice.

While Mitsuki doesn't always emote very much, we can assume he was taken a little off-guard here - and again, if he was already confident enough in his love for Kawaki, why this reaction? Why all the talk before now about how he wasn't sure he'd know what romance felt like without Eida's ability?

The only conclusion I can make is that, in the first page, he's not saying "I don't know why I love Kawaki" like in the VIZ translation. It's much more likely that he's saying "I don't know why you love Kawaki." That's the only way that Mitsuki's feelings for Kawaki can be treated as a reveal, to both Daemon and himself.

And given that his love for Kawaki stems from his love for Boruto, due to the memory swap... yeah, if his side of Mitsuboru wasn't canon before, I think it's safe to say that it is now. Now excuse me while I go be extremely sane and normal about this information

[veronica--blog]

There's going to be a huge post here about my complaints about magic in TDP and why I find it horribly inconsistent....

1. Arcania, as I've realized for myself, is the concise essence of magic. Its foundation. Whereas in the case of the ocean it is something metaphorical, in the case of the sky it is something physical. Why?

Well, let's accept the fact that the arcana of sky = contain air. Why then do the arcana of water ≠ we also have "water" flowing through us? Too hard to relate something to other elements? Then create metaphors all over the place.

2. How did Aaravos create something that doesn't work according to general laws? Ok, you have sources of magic, you need to conceptualize them in order to use them. Why isn't there such a thing with dark magic?

There's nothing stopping you from leaving out the "drug" connotation, just make it work according to the laws you've created. If the source of DM is the life force, then Arcania is the meaning of life.

Why then is DM harmful, you ask? Because not everyone is able to realize that the meaning of life is an illusion we create with our desires. Or take a step: arcania DM=life has no value. Or let it be something like "life has no meaning at all, it's just an illusion", and then it will become clear why mages are so crazy about it.

3. Why were the elves so panicked about DM? Is she scary? Well, humans are scared of her too, but they're more scared of you. Is she dangerous? Well, without her, you're dangerous to humans. What is the point of this hysteria anyway?

If a person can get magic by realizing its essence, well, give them the opportunity to achieve it themselves. You're born with it, and people aren't all prodigies. You're still on the plus side! Ah, yes, xenophobia. And after that, Viren has a sensitive ego? Ridiculous

(I note in advance that I am willing to admit the inappropriateness of this statement in the context of elves as a species, for humans manage to hate members of their own species as well. Let's refer this to the Star Council).

4. How the hell did Viren fail to comprehend ANY of the arcanum? If it's all about understanding the higher meaning, then couldn't the experience of previous generations and his own research help him with that?

According to the available canon, he may well have been a user of a lunar or celestial source. Oh, and Claudia isn't stupid if you don't like a character that advances the plot that much. And since elves are so set on monopolizing.... Are you saying they actually kill everyone who has mastered magic? Is that why there is so little information? That's why Callum is the only one - was he just lucky enough to fall under the patronage of the archdragons around the time he mastered magic? Or is the problem with the DM?

Then perhaps you could show that? Why, if the DM interferes with arcane knowledge, does Callum have no problem with sorcery? Is he just that special? Sarai had an elf in his lineage and that asshole passed enough on to him?

Speaking of Sarai's lineage.

5. How many seasons have to come out before we get an answer to the question about Ezran's ability to understand animals?

6. Okay, what if there's something beyond our elements? Some unfathomable higher magic, the very essence of it, and that's what helped Ezran, that's what helps Callum, then.... doesn't it all make sense? Why these arcanums then, why this division? Why can't an elf of one species understand the arcanum of another at least on a basic level?

Perhaps in the future I will continue this story, supplementing it with questions and reasoning. For now... for now, I just want to express my opinion.

[kuni-is-daddy]

scaramouche argument fic but "make up? more like make out"

Wanderer x lessor lord reader.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT.

WORD COUNT: 1.1K

Scara masterlist lessor lord masterlist

Where it last left off your once eternal enemy, Shouki no kami. Has erased himself from irminsul. After running into you 'by chance'. You treat him out for tea at your house because of the "mysterious" aura he had. Mild teasing leads to you two building a "intimate" connection and you remembering who he truly was, Kunikuzushi.

It was the middle of a cloudy afternoon in sumeru city by the time you got back from the "date" you and Kuni went on. You knew you had many other things to attend to but that wasn't important. You wanted to make it up too him once you two got back. "Kuni... please talk to me." You sped up to him and caught his hand. He looked down on you with a look of disgust while flicking his hat up. "I thought today was going to be about you and me Y/n. But.. Unfortunately, your too busy playing as the 'god of wisdom' right now to care...about..me." he sighed. "It's not like that! I'm sorry, I just had to figure this out. The talking hydro fungus, apep and the forbidden knowledge and many more things that happened today.. I didn't expect nor want all of this. I know we we're supposed to go on our date but-" he cut you off "But what? You told me you had time and didn't care about the circumstances. Yet here I find you in the same fucking spot we are now. At the gates, walking around into the forest with some stupid creature. Simple as that. I dont expect much from you over my sins y/n but if you cant take out time for me that isnt 'doing errands' and being more a 'human' then why are you even here? Why did you even save me?" He jerked your hand away and continued walking away. "Kuni! Don't you get it though? If this was left unchecked and apep stayed this ill. All of sumeru could've been in danger. My people.. and even life all across teyvat. Of course, i love you, more then anything. But..Im still an archon." You ran Infront of him once again, stopping him in the middle of his steps while he now had a completely irritated look on his face. "That's all it's about 'god of wisdom'. Your 'people', this self-righteousness you have. Don't you hear yourself? 'life all across teyvat' more then half of it is not your concern. Who cares about the rest of fake world. Your trying to hard y/n, Just move out of my way." It was humiliating, others around the city turned their heads. Watching as their god pathetically tried to chase for forgiveness. At this point, you truly wondered if you had to pick between him or sumeru, your nation of wisdom.

--

Kuni... That's all you could think about while sitting behind your desk in your bedroom. 'Your too busy to care about me.' those words echo'd through your mind. Making your heart sink with every breath you took as you picked up another inform. 'acting grand sage alhaitham has filed to resign immediately. States: 'it is not the future he wants to entirely devote his life too' you folded up the inform and placed it in a folder. "if only I could do the same." You leaned your head against the desk. Watching as the rain poured down your window, coating the now blurry view of sumeru city. remembering the countless times kuni would sit by your side reading those forms as well, proposing more "suitable" ways to punish scholars. You smiled, Remembering all of the fun moments you and kuni had, Even though in some ways you two we're complete opposites it was a blessing to have him around. A tear streamed down your cheek as you closed your eyes. Falling asleep to the sounds of the rain.

Hours later you awoke to the sound of thunder, scratching your eyes you got up from your desk and headed to the kitchen. Setting up the first bag of tea you saw glimpse your eye. Leaning against the counter you sat in silence. 'That pain in my chest is still around... maybe the tea will help me relax.' You took your cup and poured the tea, blowing on it to cool it down. Taking a sip realizing a unfamiliar taste. "Bleh- what is this? So bitter.." Shifting your vision back to the tea bag, you frowned at what it was. 'Bitter black tea.' Kuni's favorite. "..maybe I should call him over so we can talk." you said while looking back down at the cup, witnessing your reflection. However, your zone out was cut short by a knock at the door.

"Hmm?" You put the cup down and walked towards the front door, scratching your eyes. Opening it to be greeted by Kuni standing in the rain. "Oh. So your here." he said casually. "K-kuni?! Why are you out in the rain?? Your going to get sick." You grabbed his hand and gestured him into your house. Already running to fetch him something new to put on. "Y/n. About earlier." You ran around your kitchen. Brewing more tea and handing him clothes. "This is the largest size I have.. i think it'll fit you right? We are the same age after all." handing the close to him, you turned your attention back to the tea. "Y/n... Cut it out." You tilted your head at his words. "What do you mean Kuni? I dont even know how long you've been out their! what if your sick" He chuckled, sat on the couch then took off his hat. "Im a puppet. You expect me to get sick? or is that what you want?" You followed him to the couch while rolling your eyes at his remark, Placing his tea on the table. "Earlier. What happened with our date. I wanted to say sor-" Kuni stuttered while speaking. "Hmm? Say what Kuni?" "Sorr-eee" you gave a dumfounded look.

'is he struggling to say sorry?' it was a little cute but sad how he isn't familiar with being apologetic. Or showing remorse "fuck. this human emotions stuff is so aggravating. Look. 'He took a deep breath' Im..sorry alright. I know I have to own up to things and your trying to help me and...I guess I shouldn't have brought up sumeru like that, it kinda was amusing going around the desert, seeing some old dragon and killing some hilichurls. Its just that..You've been the only one in my life to really care... Even after how I touched you in my past life. I Just wanted some alone time with you. Not just being your prisoner and running errands now." "Kuni..." Your eyes started to water. "Ugh. Why are you crying... I thought that was the right thing to say" He grew closer to you, cupping your cheek with his hand while wiping away your tears with a cloth. You then held onto his wrist, Sinking into his touch. "It was Kuni, just haven't heard you ever say something that nice." he chuckled. "Well I'm sure theirs a more. Suiting way for you."

Kuni pressed his lips onto yours, you moaned into the kiss while wrapping your hands around him "K-kuni~your so rough" "Mmm...but you like it that way don't you? Who ever thought the god of wisdom was such a slut for my touch" your tongues intertwined as you both exchanged each other's tastes. "Hah..fuck y/n.. cmere.. mmm sit on my lap." You sat on Kuni's lap. Slowly beginning to grind on his cock as his hands shifted down to your ass "Yeah baby, just like that. Grind on daddy's cock~" "Kuni I love you~ I..I want you.. please" you felt his hard on through his pants. "Yeah? what does my little slut want." The way his cock pressed against you would make your body shivers at how erect it was getting. You pulled him into another kiss. The both of you gasping for air. "Kuni...Kuni.. please~ cum in my mouth. I want it~" "shit keep saying my name like that y/n.. get on your fucking knees and open that slut mouth of yours" you climbed off of Kuni and onto the floor. Tugging off your shirt. "Fuck yes. Gonna take your shirt off for daddy too? Want me to cum all over your chest?" He took his cock out, pumping it more then pushing the tip into your mouth. "Hah..your mouth is so fucking warm." Kuni roughly pushed his cock down your throat, making you choke and let out a squeal. "Oh fuck~ yes. Take daddy's cock." You never heard Kuni moan so passionately before like that. The way he'd praise your mouth and chase his high "Fuck~ Ah..yes..m' so close.. daddy's gonna cum." he thrusted hard into your throat. Practically fucking you. "Hah..hah...Yes..OH FUCK M GONNA CUM~" ropes of his warm cum shot down your throat. "Open that fucking mouth of yours." He Pushed your head back and stared at you intently. Making sure you swallowed all of his cum. You did, tongue hanging out as you gasped for air.

"Fuck..Your so addicting y/n. I love you."

[gioiaalbanoart]

MIXED FRIED WRITING SHARE

(last line,writing share, friday whatever day share, etc)

💗 Thank you @aintgonnatakethis (X) @wyked-ao3 (X) and (X)

@kaeru483 (X) + @the-golden-comet with this open tag 💗

You know what? I'M TAGGING YOU BACK (np) and adding in the mix : @saturnine-saturneight, @davycoquette @cowboybrunch and @tragedycoded

+ open tag of course and a much needed drink 🍻 🍻🍻

****

It's so hot here that I can't even think, light edited because meanwhile I'm melting 🥵🥵🥵

Wip The scarred angel under the cut. There is a tag list for it let me know if you want in 👇

......

"To answer your request" Herrera cuts Morales little play off, or maybe he just had enough of everybody at this point : "I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, Miss Salinas."

Chief's fingers drummer on the little space left free by paperwork on the desk.

"I mean, you can stay few more days, of course, join again my men on patrol if you wish. But I can't let you get lost in the middle of hell. Don't take it badly, I'm afraid you're not experienced enough and I wouldn't take this responsibility."

The tone is adamant enough to let little to not opening for discussion, makes Amy clenches her teeth. 

Of course doesn't take a genius to understand she's a fish out of water but he's definitely giving her a different side of the defeated and overwhelmed man she has seen until know, not that Amy  knows him well.

She find it irritating enough though and doesn't want give up yet so she goes for a blind shot : "What about Ashley Knox then?".

Herrera narrows eyes : "Look, I really don't have a clue where she hangs out...."

"Let's not forget that she fucking smuggles" Morales interrupts again, clearly wanting to have his saying.

At least the fucker lets knowledge slide, Amy will give him that.

She arches a brow at that last bit of information  : "Is she into smuggling drugs?"

"Minor stuff." Herrera waves a hand as to minimize the fact, goes even to move a stack of documents on the desk uselessly from one spot to another, clearly not too keen to go any deeper into that subject.

Then, whatever it's because Morales is tsking again or Amy's mute question showing on her face he grudgingly breaths the answer out : "We busted her with weed last year."

"And you let that slide with no charge !" Morales points out with an accusatory tone.

"She was just carrying and we were busy with other problems." 

Amy notices the chiefs apologizing tone and finds that curious at the very least. 

Is he apologizing to Morales for a questionable decision or he's apologizing for admitting that Ashley was in fact accountable of charge?

"We just never caught her selling, yet! " Morales insists.

"I'm pretty positive she doesn't." Herrera retorts.

While the two men bicker Amy leans her gaze at the notepad still on her knees, she didn't write a word, of course.

Her fingers fidget with the pen while considering what she could say next and find her options pretty close to none. She also thinks that even if Ashley Know were smuggling they wouldn't be able to catch her and she couldn't explain why she's so sure about it.

Noticing the silence Amy lifts eyes and catches Herrera observing her with a curious look, as if he's internally debating.

So that he does startle her when, after the millionth sigh of the day, he finally tells the story.

"Last year, about same period, we were investigating a human smuggling network that operated in large parts of southern US" Herrera's facial expression darkens : "One of many".

"We had a tip about a repurposed water tank that was suppose to be crossing the Colombia bridge. You can imagine those people held inside...."

Again, Amy doesn't want imagine, she just hopes for Herrera getting to the point, whatever that is.

"As Morales here just pointed out." he glares toward the man an edge in his voice : "Smugglers trafficking networks and cartel fear nothing and have no shame whatsoever. But even for their standard that kind of move is bold. Probably they managed more than once..."

Amy senses a shadow of shame coloring the chief's words and she can relate to that, feeling ashamed is something she's used to. 

Herrera carries on : "The tip for finding the people came from Ashley. Until then she was nowhere around to be seen and we never knew how she got the information in the first place, of course. Except she was the one leading exactly to the one tank packed with the illegal immigrants. The conditions in which they were held were, well, awful. Not all of them made it out alive."

"And then we busted her too!" Morales stubbornly points out again and Amy debates in her head if the man speaks out of passion of the law or if he's just acting as an asshole because some other reason on which she can't put her finger on.

She would, not objectively, opting for the latter option.

This time Herrera almost rolls eyes voicing Amy's thoughts : "Detective, leave that go, would you?" he blurts out : "She had less then two ounces of marijuana, for heaven's sake, against twenty five people that were held in the fucking tank!"

Morales settles lips, scorn still all over his face : "Whatever" he mutters, not daring Herrera further but still wanting to place the last word.

"She didn't even try to hide the weed! " Herrera scoffs, almost talking to himself and implying that as a point of honor. 

Amy is eager to ask for more but doesn't feel comfortable to do so with Morales there.

Almost as he was playing mind reader Herrera surprises her again : "Detective, I'm almost finish here with Miss Salinas" his gaze is intense.

"I know we have matters to discuss. Go refresh yourself a little and come back to report then, I'm sure you can use a little break."

Morales stares at his chief definitely not happy about the proposition that is actually 'an order' and sounds more as a betrayal to him.

He almost puts hands on his hips as to underline what he's about to counter but acknowledging Herrera's face darkening decides against it, for once. 

Probably his first wise decision for the day.

Amy feels a spurs of gratitude towards Herrera and almost cheers internally when Morales actually turns and takes the door to finally fucking leave. 

......

🔪💗🔪 TSA tag list : @wyked-ao3, @tragedycoded