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disheveledtranquility · 5 months ago

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A little Eddie whump character analysis deep dive.

And defending symbrock while I'm at it and why I think movie Eddie was actually well thought out as a character and not just because "the stereotypical macho blonde asshole would not have been popular."

I'm exhausted so hopefully I didn't mess up the details too bad. Been a while since I read the comics.

Sprinkle in some of my ADHD so expect a bit of rambling. I added some gifs because I do love a picture book.

It's canon that Eddie Brock was abused by his father growing up. And the abuse was mostly emotional, lack of love, and lack of concern.

And gentle reminder that not everyone handles trauma the same, no matter which kind, and I feel like the way they wrote Eddie for the movies showcases another side to that trauma versus the comics. There's so many little details that even if it's just Tom being the amazing actor that he is portraying that side and not actually having those details written for him, it's still amazing.

Because Eddie's father was cold and emotionless after he lost his wife during childbirth. And of course Eddie tried everything to gain that love, just to be constantly subpar and never good enough for even a second glance.

After an accident involving drunk driving where Eddie hit a child, their relationship only got worse. And later in the comics, he disowns Eddie completely after he loses his job.

The movie version of Eddie is the broken version of that trauma.

He tends to shy away from situations where you'd assume he'd rush in to, like saving Mrs. Chen.

Trying to help or inquiring when he notices Maria missing. Anything that involves complex emotions. He's a reporter, yes, and he's cordial when he needs to be, but he seems to stick to his job and otherwise keep to himself. They don't exactly show that he has any friends, just Anne. So he's probably introverted because of the years of abuse and having to feel like he has to do everything alone with little to no strings attached.

Even simple things like getting into Anne's emails can be misunderstood. It's not malicious, but more misguided. He loved Anne. He didn't do what he did with intent to get her in trouble. But his poor decision making is probably also a part of not actually being raised and not knowing how to handle certain situations such as actually talking to your partner before you do things on your own? So much could have been avoided. And Eddie had good intentions of getting rid of Carlton Drake, but ruined his own life and Anne's as well because he didn't think things through.

He can't handle his emotions well (might also tie into the noises issue he seems to have that are not related to Venom, a possible trigger for him).

He has a lot of nervous ticks that also tie in with someone growing up in an abusive household. Emotionally stunted ticks. Like holding eye contact when someone he cares about is upset with him and he doesn't know how to fix it (because everything he does is wrong).

Even something you might think is simple, like apologizing, have had negative consequences as a child and might be why even though he's no longer in that situation, his brain isn't used to connecting any good emotions between them. He's probably not used to apologizing sincerely because doing so never meant it would change the outcome.

His mannerisms get worse when he's particularly anxious, like when he might have thought Venom didn't want to come back just as Anne when she left and never wanted to come back.

Again, because he pushed them away, just like Anne. Again, because he messed it up. And again, because he didn't know how he was supposed to fix it.

Because Eddie cares so much even though his head is always such a mess. Makes me think his dad had a say or two about Eddie constantly groveling for his attention and the way it might have made him seem weak, and Eddie in turn stopped himself from letting himself be so open and able to talk about these issues because of it.

His inability to form and/or hold any kind of positive relationship is a good telling sign.

He grew up vying for love without success. He doesn't know what a healthy relationship is supposed to look or feel like long term, even though he tries.

He probably just looks for some level on comfortable routine in his day to day with someone, assumes that's the best he's going to get, and hopes for the best. Any change and it throws him completely off center. He's not used to communicating in a relationship when he grew up talking to a wall.

Also why I think he handles being with Venom so badly. It's not the eating heads and it's not the whole 'alien living in my body' ordeal.

If something isn't obviously positive it feels negative to him in his mind, which makes everything worse. He's selfish in needing to keep his mental state positive. It no doubt contributed to his alcoholism.

He became a people pleaser. Not in the way of gaining attention, but because he's constantly trying to avoid any negative sentiments directed his way. He's already damaged. He doesn't want to have to feel worse.

Eddie is in constant fight or flight with Venom without knowing what the symbiote will do next and how he, Eddie, will be perceived. He becomes very anxious, and later, angry. He's always walking on eggshells.

But the relationship is different with the symbiote than it is with Anne. Even if Eddie doesn't explicitly say it, he feels safe with Venom. More able to let that rage out that he couldn't before. And because he doesn't feel like the symbiote is going to actually hurt him, when his stress gets to him he tends to lash out at it. It's a lovely little cycle of abuse and Eddie really needs therapy.

Venom didn't fully understand the layers of Eddie's traumatized mind yet in LTBC, which is why I think it lashed out as well. Like Anne had with Eddie. Again, it's different though. Venom understands enough to see through that mess and see that Eddie doesn't mean anything with what he says.

It never does damage with malicious intent to Eddie, comedic acts aside. Not even with the fight between them in LTBC. It breaks Eddie's nose twice just to heal it immediately twice, and doesn't leave him with any lasting damage at all.

Because it cares about Eddie. And because it was never meant to harbor emotions, it's probably going through the damn gambit having to feel everything through Eddie and feeling just as hurt by him.

This is also why I think Eddie is constantly complaining in TLD. He's again in constant fight or flight and too comfortable with Venom, so he's just lashing out. But you can tell the symbiote takes none of it to heart, sometimes even seeming to ignore his remarks completely.

Maybe after a year with Eddie it finally understands the pain underneath all that stunted emotion, anxiety, and anger. That, and Eddie no longer drinks his negative emotions away, which means he has less ways to calm himself when he gets too stressed.

Through everything, Venom is the only one who has the ability to see the issues that are deeper. It stayed through all that mess and decided that what was under the baggage was worth holding on to, without Eddie having to try and explain why he is the way that he is.

#symbrock #eddie brock #venom #brother if that ain't true love idk what is #don't get me wrong im fond of comic Eddie #but Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is *chef's kiss*#probably forgot stuff but i've been thinking about this all day #need to get it out my brain #so tired i forgot i got rid of the tw paragraphs but forgot to remove the tw LMAO

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ur-fav-pet · 1 year ago

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he is (not) your cousin

TW: sorta pseudo incest?, monster kylar, tentacles, gaslighting?

Characters: m! Kylar, gn! Reader

Notes: hnngh

He is not your cousin.

You have never seen him before. Your aunt and uncle are open about never wanting kids, and have stuck by that. They’re also rather young to have an eighteen year old son.

No, you know for a fact he is not your cousin.

So, why?

Why is everyone so insistent that he is, that you’re just being mean for challenging it?

They call him Kylar.

People not speaking doesn’t usually bother you, whether they are silent by choice or by circumstance, but his silence bothers you. Why does everyone act as if he speaks, when his mouth remains firmly shut and he makes no noise? He has not once opened his mouth that you have seen, and yet everyone responds to him as if he has spoken. They ask him questions and think he has answered.

They all know a shocking amount about him.

In fact, you’re pretty sure your own parents know more about this stranger of a cousin than their own child. The people around will act as if it is strange when you don’t know things, then tell you about him. You don’t always listen. You think he knows you don’t, and get the feeling it upsets him.

Kylar stares at you constantly. Every time you’re in the same room his eyes rarely leave your form, if at all. His eyes are a green that is all too bright, as if he is wearing contacts. They give you headaches when you look into them.

Some nights he stays over. You are forced to let him sleep on an air mattress on the floor of your room. Those few nights are the worst, as you feel him stand over your bed, staring down at you as you try to sleep. It is in these moments you notice he completely lacks the faint noise of a person breathing.

One day you catch him on your computer. His face is red as you him to leave.

The next day tentacles seem to sprout from his back, curling under his shirt and crawling around aimlessly. This is treated with such normalcy you start to question your perception of the world. This is the first time you take your consideration of his inhumanity seriously. You never need to question it again. There is no longer a way to make yourself think otherwise.

His tentacles wander, often towards you. Bringing up the way they touch you is always blamed on you. You are in the wrong for even bringing them up, citing that you know he is insecure about them, that you know he cannot control them. You are not sure how true that is.

You do not have a cousin named Kylar.

...

Your cousin is named Kylar.

He only speaks to you in quiet whispers. His voice is soft and almost pitchy, raspy in a way that suggests he hardly speaks. His accent seems to not come from any specific region or dialect that you can pin down.

When he started going to school with you, he made a social pariah of himself by doing nothing at all. You have become one as well, all for sticking up for him. He seems pleased, at least, that you are kind to him. He is happy that you are there for him.

You do not question when he calls you his.

You do not question when he nuzzles close to you on cold summer days.

You do not question when you wake up at night nude, with his tentacles roaming and touching you body, squeezing rhythmically.

...

Your boyfriend is named Kylar.

#kylar dol #dol #kylar the loner #kylar #kylar x reader #kylar degrees of lewdity #kylar degrees of lewdity x reader

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itsmewillful · 10 months ago

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Vox x shy!lust ring imp!reader romantic fluff headcanons?

I have never done headcanons before, but there's a first time for everything✨

Warning(s): Fluff, angst, and more fluff. I love some good ol' wholesome fluff. not proof read *sobs*

Word Count: 644

~A lot of people would assume being an imp from the Lust Ring would make you some sort of sex-obsessed whore ( to put it lightly, unfortunately)

~You were far from that. You had always been too shy of the idea of being intimate with anyone, to the point you were certain no one would ever want you because of that.

~That is, until you met Vox. Who was the exact opposite of you.

~You two met during one of his showdowns with Alastor, and you had mumbled just loud enough about Alastor being annoying. Vox immediately interested in you, and began to talk your ear off about him. He was pleasantly surprised, when you listened to everything he had to say, and not tell him to 'shut up.' The rest is history.

~Vox thought your shyness was adorable, and in fact, claimed that that was one of his favourite things about you.

~He would always tease you about your 'timidness' and it always made you feel all hot and bothered. But you both knew you loved it.

~Even though you weren't a sinner like your lover, Vox never had that get in the way of your relationship. In fact, it seemed to help strengthen it whenever someone of lesser authority questioned his choices.

~The day that Vox introduced you to the other two Vees is what confirmed that Vox truly and utterly adored you.

~Velvette didn't seem to care that you weren't a sinner, and in fact, actually enjoyed your presence. Valentino, however, thought so otherwise.

~He was practically pissed that Vox had replaced him with a 'low-life imp' from another ring, and you swore you never saw Vox get so mad in your entire relationship.

~To say that Valentino was alright after the conversation, is a huge lie. And you have never felt more loved in your entire life.

~You and Vox had this weekly movie night date, where you both would pick out a new 'topside' movie to watch, and debate whether or not it would be suitable to remake for Vox's own company.

~Vox constantly asked for your opinion on his new tech launches. Like what colour he should use and what apps you thought should be included. You loved that he respected your opinions enough to include them in his tech-built-empire.

~There was a time that he even gave you some prototypes of new devices just so you could give him some feedback on things you thought should be added or removed. You were always so nice and not to mention uplifting when it came to things you didn't like about the prototypes. That was perhaps one of the reasons he trusted you enough to try them out first. You would never mock him, or directly make fun of his things.

~Along with your shared compassion of technology, was your shared hatred of Alastor. You, of course, both had different reasons for hating him. But you mostly hated him because of his constant meddling with Vox's industry. At least, from what Vox has told you.

~Vox had never shown more appreciation to your support of his arch-nemesis, and you always just waved it off as you being a supporting lover.

~Vox's romantic gestures always surprise you. He is a complete hopeless romantic, and you weren't sure if it was because he was from the '50's or because he truly was just in pure utter love with you.

~He always gifts you new flowers for your shared kitchen table, and not to mention, new compliments and words of affirmation. And he truly knew how to use his words.

~Vox enjoyed any form of physical contact, but he was always respectful of any boundaries you set up. He loved to kiss the top of your head between your horns, which always made you blush. Hand holding was a common gesture when traveling around the busy and dangerous streets of hell.

~To say your relationship with vox was perfect, was an understatement. You relationship was the type all wanted.

i hope you liked it!

i have no idea what im doing ngl XD

-will <3

#x reader #x y/n #headcanon #vox hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin #hazbin hotel headcanon #vox x reader #hazbin vox x reader #vox headcanons

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girlygguk · 5 months ago

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girl what?

„as the pretty waitress walks away, you steal a quick glance at Jungkook, curious if he noticed the way she blatantly flirted with him. But, to your surprise, he seems completely unfazed, swirling his straw in his drink with casual indifference. Hm. He definitely noticed.“

why is she looking for a reaction when she’s sitting with her ex boyfriend and fuckbuddy on a table where said ex boyfriend constantly talks about their past relationship? that doesn’t make sense and shows absolutely nothing of her being „whipped“ for jk other than her being someone who’s childish and loves to keep someone at the side so she doesn’t have to worry about the outcome. she’s two timing meaning her ex should stay an ex and know his boundaries just like her meanwhile if she is apparently whipped for jungkook then why ditch him or better yet be so disrespectful the night of them sleeping together and then throw him out of your house just because your ex texted you? that’s her giving taehyung useless hope and treating jungkook as a side piece just because she can’t decide anything to save her life.

„you glance over at him, your brows furrowing slightly. He’s clearly frustrated, and you just blink slowly. You didn’t care about Taehyung’s comments. Why should he?“

„brushing it off“ or „I didn’t care why should he“ how would anyone know that she didn’t care when she has still contact to her ex, texts him, lets him speak about shit that’s in the past while staying mute to it and not say something like „hey you know what i feel uncomfortable talking about something thats already done and we have company thats not something anyone wants to hear“ knowing how the boy she’s „whipped“ for is tense and uncomfortable? the same goes with the hoodie incident why is she saying that she would normally wear it but can’t because it would piss jungkook off which then explains that she knows he he has some type of „feelings“ towards her and she’s aware of it so why act like you don’t know that he’s into you when you act dumb of not knowing why he would be uncomfortable sitting with your ex chatting about your past with him. it’s not jungkook who brings around his fuckbuddy and ex on a table to chat about his past when that’s her doing it i also don’t give a fuck about taehyung and junkook agreeing to it when they were clearly insecure and challenging one another when oc could’ve shut that shit down but didn’t and no it’s not a woman thing wtf 😂 it doesn’t matter if both of them see other people it’s just fucking weird to say you’re whipped for someone but your actions say otherwise and shows me how egoistic you actually are. nobody got time for that shit

gonna be dead fr i was abt to delete this ask because it’s 470 words and i don’t see a deposit in my bank account to beta read a drabble you wrote .. but i’m feeling charitable today so here we go !!

there’s a lot to unpack here 😟 and i’m in the middle of proofing a chapter for another fic rn, so i’ll just choose 1 of the 4 paragraphs you sent in to debunk.. but i hope the clarity i’m going to try and provide inspires you to inference a little in the future.. maybe read the fic again with a fresh outlook on life, baby?? because it’s giving woman hater and i just don’t know how else to put it 😭

like do i actually need to sit there and hold your hand the entire way through the fic… is that what you need...? 😭 i’m just confused how you managed to form such strong opinions on the story but missed every contextual clue and implication actually written in the text…

comprehension and interpretation skills 😞 an underrated and apparently sparse talent amongst the human race indeed 😞

"[1] why is she looking for a reaction when she’s sitting with her ex boyfriend and fuckbuddy on a table where said ex boyfriend constantly talks about their past relationship? that doesn’t make sense and shows absolutely nothing of her being „whipped“ for jk other than her being someone who’s childish and loves to keep someone at the side so she doesn’t have to worry about the outcome. [2] she’s two timing meaning her ex should stay an ex and know his boundaries just like her meanwhile if she is apparently whipped for jungkook then why ditch him or better yet be so disrespectful the night of them sleeping together and then [3] throw him out of your house just because your ex texted you? [4] that’s her giving taehyung useless hope and treating jungkook as a side piece just because she can’t decide anything to save her life."

[1] ok i won't lie... i put that line in there as a lil jokey joke to show oc’s real-time interest instead of just relying on reminiscing or implications. but... it seems even that flew over your head? 😭 sorry, baby :-( let me rewrite it, i just can't sleep knowing i had to make you read between the lines so hard. i should've been more transparent 😞

"as the pretty waitress walks away, your head snaps toward jeon jungkook—the disgustingly sexy football jock you've been in a casual friends-with-benefits situationship over the last couple years—and you glare at him while seething with rage. the waitress was flirting with him. how dare she? he’s your man… even if he doesn’t know it yet. 😠😡😤 why is he twirling his straw in his drink like he didn’t just order your food with that horny little smirk while he talked to her?? god, he wants to fuck her so bad. what a disgusting fuckboy. kim taehyung would never do this to you." hope that helps ❤️

and also - jk is the one who basically made her go to the dinner she didn’t want to go to in the first place... she went for him. whipped for jk exhibit c... but we’ve already established you missed out on tickets for exhibits a and b, so i understand 😔💔

[2] TWO TIMINGGGGGG AHHHHHHHHHSADDAFDA 😭😭😭😭 i nearly choked on my coke zero sugar limited edition oreo flavor when i read this oh my godd... howww did you gather that? 😭 there’s obviously going to be some sort of an explanation for why their relationship is the way it is in part two... like the first part ends on a cliffhanger?? the climax is literally still coming, was that not... obvious? 😳

[3] threw him out because her ex texted her????? how quick did you skim read the first fawking scene oh my goddd 😭 her phone wasn’t even mentioned until she was already pissed?? and even if she did receive a text from him, it’s literally clarified before they head to the diner that she hadn’t spoken to tae for three days. the night at her house was two days ago. the math... it isn’t mathing ur honor 😞😞😞😞

[4] giving tae hope and treating jk as a side piece?????? this. this is ART. your ability to read a fic and completely rewrite it into your own version is UNMATCHEDDD!! pleaseee drop the main blog @ because i just know you’d put every oneshot of mine to shame. how do i deactivate my blog???? you’ve clocked me. i’m done for. i’m jobless!!! i can’t possibly write another word knowing your talent exists 😔😔

#💌

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are-you-still-writing-that · 8 months ago

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Yandere!Shion Madarame Headcanons

Oh dear! Even though a request for the whole alphabet reached my inbox, I decided to cut it down to a few headcanons. Why? Because I´m actually not that confident in my characterisation of him, or rather I don´t have enough material to try to understand him.

Well, with that out of the way, here a few headcanons I have for that man.

He isn´t subtle. He wouldn´t even know subtle, if it hit him the face

Shion is just there suddenly and declares to you, that he is now your boyfriend. Resistance is useless. He won´t back down, no matter what you say or whatever arguments you try to use on him

The longer you talk about this – or rather argue, the more likely you are to discover, that his grin is actually rather unsetteling

You stop and just go along with

Especially, because you aren´t sure, if that blotch on his collar is dirt or something else, like his bruised knuckles imply

Shion is someone, that always has a hand on you, even if his attention seems to constantly wander. Somestimes you wonder, if he has some form of ADHD, when he trails off in the middle of a sentence, because something else suddenly caught his interest

At this point, you are sure, that the constant physical contact is to assure himself, as much as you, that he won´t just leave you standing there, when somethin inevitably distracts him again

Talking with him about anything can, very quickly, become exhausting

No, he does not want to talk about your feelings. And no, that doesn´t mean he wants to talk about his own either. Yes, do indeed drop that topic

Instead let´s talk about anything else. Politics, clothes – hell, if you want to talk about feelings you can even gossip with him about the love life of other gang members or classmates, but just leave your and his feelings out of it. Please and thank you!

Though he is still a jealous, jealous man. Because, while he uses overly nice idiots as punchung bags, seeing you respond to their so-called affections, would cost you your freedom.

When he mentions, that he does know a few places, where no one would ever find you, he says it in the same tone of voice he would use when talking about the weather. His matter of fact explaination on how and why, he would just let you vanish if it meant no one else would ever get to you, is terrifying.

Shion is likely, to be a bit too rough with you, though it´s rather unlikely that his hand will ever slip

Though he never minds a good fight, one with you wouldn´t even be that entertaining. Maybe if you were a member of a gang it could be fun to tussle with you, otherwise he is already bored by the idea of fighting with you

Fight for you though, that is a whole other thing. One that he adores! He loves it, when other people become a bit too comfortable with you. It just gives him the best excuse to knock some teeth loose

The best thing about all of that though: is your reaction! He loves it, when you look at him with wide eyes. Your eyes quickly settling in different places, as you trace the blood splattered over his face and his hands. Your hands fluttering around in the air, as you are visibly uncertain where to put them

He just grins, and licks the blood of his knuckles, and relishes in your full body shudder, as you watch him

Though he – in a strange politeness – doesn´t mention your reaction to you, when you get embarrassed about it

He just grins widly at you, as he gingerly, his hands slightly shaking from the adrenaline,wipes a few splatters of blood away from your face

You swallow, as you can see the madness in eyes shine brightly

There is no getting away from him. Or rather there is no one, that is willing to save you from him

#yandere #yandere shion madarame #xreader #tokyo revengers #tr #shion madarame #yandere headcanon #shion madarame headcanons #shion madarame x reader #yandere tokyo revengers #yandere tr

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geistundmaterie · 10 months ago

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Phenomenology of Mammon

Either what I’m about to write doesn’t make any sense and I’m slowly spiralling down into a state of madness, or I have managed to see the true essence of Mammon.

When one is fascinated by a certain character, it does not happen by a mere accident. Your unconsciousness responses to the seen images with different intensity, some things appearing especially meaningful to you. This text is not an analysis of the obvious allegories that were put into Mammon’s concept. Instead, I attempt to explain why his design and everything related to him “goes hard” and fascinates many at an irrational level.

Clowns and the Transcendence

Mammon is a clown and this fact is meaningful in itself. In human cultures across the globes, the universal transcendental reality is broken down into various local forms. Thus, "truth is one, the sages speak of it by many names". In other words, material reality consisting of concepts and forms is finite. By relying solely on it, one loses some of the possibilities that exist beyond the rational association with the world.

A symbol gives access to the deeper layers of existence which are otherwise inaccessible. For example, the rationally incomprehensible can nevertheless remain expressible in the artistic image. A clown, in turn, is the ultimate symbol of the symbolic expression in itself, as seen in its performances or playing of a role. It is an articulation of a desire to escape the human cerebral way of thinking. Clown’s intuitive trickster nature allows it to access the realm of existence that go being the conventional categories of reason. It exemplifies how a wordless intuitive artistic expression can compensate for the deficiencies of a language. Clowns playfully engage with the reality and lure us into a region of the spirit beyond any material or societal creeds. Thanks to their silly form, clown embodies a statement that point beyond themselves into the realm of everything instinctive and irrational.

In a letter to comedian George Carlin, Byrd Gibbens, a professor of English at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, wrote about the significance of the trickster in indigenous myths:

Many native traditions held clowns and tricksters as essential to any contact with the sacred. People could not pray until they had laughed, because laughter opens and frees from rigid preconception. Humans had to have tricksters within the most sacred ceremonies lest they forget the sacred comes through upset, reversal, surprise. The trickster in most native traditions is essential to creation, to birth.

Balancing between Chaos and Order

The Helluva Boss’ merch of Mammon depicts him in a dynamic and balancing pose. Any good clown is always balancing between chaos and order, not falling into the extremes of both.

One thing those depictions of Mammon instantly remind me of is the World tarot card. It usually represents the archetype of completion, achievement, fulfilment, sense of belonging, wholeness, harmony. This card has a dancing figure at the centre. The figure is constantly in motion, but it moves harmoniously, calmly balancing between opposites. Its expression of unity and fulfilment is eternal yet dynamic rather than simply static. One feels the cosmic rhythm and participates in it. There are four figures on each corner of the tarot card, representative of the four corners of the universe, the four elements, and the four evangelicals. Together, they symbolize the harmony between all of their energies. And all of them are is the dancer’s control. Mammon, in return, has four hands.

In fact, it is not a mere coincidence that The Fool and The World tarot cards both have a dynamic yet balancing figure at their centre: this state is the beginning and the end of all being, starting with unconscious wholeness and moving to its conscious experience. The clown is the perfect synthesis of Apollonian and Dionysian drives: it is a whim that has gained form and purpose. A repressive (Apollonian) society needs a mediator between it and a Dionysian element, a safety valve through which one can give a symbolic satisfaction to the antisocial tendencies. Without the latter, human life is misbalanced. One must experience what Friedrich Schiller called the play drive. It unites the infinite and the finite, instinct and reason, and life and form in the human experience. In order for the play drive to effectively mediate between the body and the mind, humans must develop passivity, practise intuition, and open up to the universe. They also need to practise using reason and active stance towards the world. When both are accomplished, a person can experiences a balance between two polar opposites of being at once; they feel themselves as ever-changing matter and come to know themselves as an eternal mind.

Artistic expression results from the balance and union of two opposed principles of rational and irrational. By being like a clown and engaging with life in a playful, symbolic way, you transcend yourself and become fully human.

Taken from the Shark Robot merch store, Twitter: zllm6

Spider Web and Mandala

Mammon is a spider demon. His territory is packed with spider web visuals, including “the lounge” he sits at during the performances. Spider webs are an unconscious but a meaningful creative phenomena, a beauty that is produced by an instinct. They also bear a striking resemblance to mandalas.

Mandala can be found in all the ancient cultures and is a symbol of life’s innate interconnection and of the Self, a unification of the conscious and unconscious life of the individual. In terms of one’s inner world, it represents the inherent order of the soul in centre of which resides the God itself. A centre that unites all polarities and contains the essence of all that emanates from it. There is no linear evolution; there is only a circumambulation of the Self.

In the mythology of many Native American cultures, an important figure called Spider Grandmother (Hopi Kokyangwuti, Navajo Na'ashjé'ii Asdzáá) can be found. She has a central role in the creation myth as the Creator who spun the “Web of Physical Life”. It is upon the strands of this web that all life is interconnected, with each creature being a vital and integral strand in the cosmic web.

Hence, a spider web can be viewed as a symbol of the organised cosmos and primal source of everything.

Unio Oppositorum

Mammon at his core is a union of opposites. To begin with, he unites the classical dichotomy of matter and spirit in himself. He has animal features and is still a spiritual being. His concept as an “animal deity” also corresponds to the ancient tradition of depicting beings with a divine status as animal-like: Egyptian pantheon of Gods, some Babylonian Gods, three animals following the Evangelists, and so on. Even the Christ was attributed with animal features, being called “a lamb of God”, “a fish”, or being depicted as a snake on a cross. Both, the instinct and the spirit, belong to the wholeness of the cosmos.

Mammon encompasses numerous other opposites within himself: he’s both goofy and dangerous, he’s a “baby” or “a manchild” to some and a sugar daddy to others, he’s lazy and extremely energetic at the same time, he’s fat yet very agile and has a very good body coordination, he has teeth and claws yet reminds you of a teddy bear, he’s both the performer and the manager, he’s both “a rock star” and an traditional artist, he’ll take from you but also give you what you want, his theme music is a combination of a classical circus jingle, a tune from “Carmen” and electric guitar rizz. Despite all the opposites at hand, everything feels natural and balanced in Mammon.

Even Mammon’s black-and-white stripes in his full-demon form indicate the consciousness of the opposites in him: he is not just light or not just dark; he is a combination of the two. This detail of his appearance reminds me of Koshare Pueblo Clowns (sometimes called Sacred Clowns).

For the same reason Mammon’s dualistic patterns on his clothes are extremely fitting and symbolic.

The Double, the Trinity and the Quaternity

“One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.” Carl Jung, C.W. Vol. 12: Psychology and Alchemy

Mammon has two Fizzbots sitting beside him. Folk cosmologies commonly feature twins, who are typically engaged in an unending battle with each other. Reality consists of a multiplicity of things: the division into two was necessary in order to bring the ‘one’ world out of the state of potentiality into reality. Dualities coexist in an undifferentiated manner in their natural state. However, the tension between the opposites grows stronger as consciousness awakens. An irrational third, the transcendent function, manifests from this conflict and unites them.

The fact that the Twin Fizzbots look gender ambiguous is meaningful: they are in unison and transcend the sexual duality, with “the transcendent function” being Mammon’s wish to make them androgynous. For the same reason it is very symbolic that in the storyboard, Mammon had two groupies of opposite genders sitting beside him: it is a “the divine pair” of complementary opposites united through Mammon’s equal attraction to them.

In alchemy, a lot is revolved around the “Mystery of Coniuctio” (of the Conjunction, the Marriage of the Opposites). The conjunctio requires a medium for its realization. The fruit of this union is the “Philosopher’s Son”, the Mercurius. He is a trickster entity that balances between two opposites, and is the base and the end of all being, an integration of light and dark, good and bad. This alchemistical process expresses itself in a trinity, tria prima, related to the law of the triangle. The law of the triangle is natural law formed from the union of two opposite but complementary equal halves to produce a perfect manifestation. Consequentially, the Twin Fizzbots (having complementary outfits with patterns on opposite sides!) are joined in Mammon, with them forming a trinity together.

Mammon has four arms. Four is a culturally meaningful number and an omnipresent symbol of the cosmic balance, as expressed in four cardinal direction, the four "Holy Creatures" that bear the Divine Chariot, four seasons of the years, fours functions of the consciousness, etc. Quaternity represents wholeness and universality. Several Hindu deities are often portrayed with four arms. The iconography of four arms symbolises divinity and power, as well as dominion over the four quarters of the universe.

The Rhombus

Mammon’s current costume includes many rhombuses: a shape consisting of two triangles, one downward and one upward pointed, joined together. This geometric symbol represents the unification of low aspects with the upper. Because rhombus contains vertical and horizontal directions simultaneously, it expresses the concept of Unus Mundus that unites matter and spirit instead of treating them as two polar opposites that exclude each other. In other words, it’s a symbol of the Hermetic universal principle: "as above, so below; as below, so above", which is rooted in the ancient Egyptian mysticism and Hellenistic philosophy. According to it, the immortal and eternal realm of the inner world corresponds to the physical and mortal reality of the outer world that we all experience. With that, Mammon displays yet another symbol of a union of opposites.

The Value of Money

Mammon represents the sin of Greed in a physical embodiment. There is nothing he loves more than money, all his endeavours dedicated to making more and more of it. He desires the ultima ratio of all things worldly.

Aside from its economic function, money can be used as a driving force behind action, a benchmark of success or status, a means of expressing one's own value, a tool for exerting control over others, a means of achieving happiness, a solution to problems, a means of defining one's own worth, and a source of security. It is not inherently wicked.

Money also symbolises a storage of concentrated potential energy for later use, it links us to the material world. Soul needs money so it doesn’t fly off into some distant psychic reality. “Laying up treasures in Heaven, where moths and rust can not consume them” leads to disassociation from the material existence, condemning it to a degree it does not deserve. Before your physical death, you are forced to play by the rules of the world that put value on success and material gains. In Jungian school of thought, the first half of human life is dedicated to adapting to the outer world, planting your feet firmly on the ground and accustoming oneself to the conditions imposed on you, learning how to use the material restrictions to one’s advantage. It’s all about the expansion of life and conquering the environment you are inhabiting, which includes learning how to secure yourself and improve your life conditions by earning money.

Mammon is also the supreme patron of money. A demon who can help in accumulating wealth and attracting financial prosperity. So, next time you look at a Mammon standee on you shelf, think about that: could it be that you are creating a little altar to attract his favor? Maybe, on an unconscious level, you seek his blessing in terms of fortune, prosperity, and abundance? Could it be that Mammon keychain on your backpack is a magical charm you feel supported by in your earthly endeavors?

Taken from the Shark Robot merch store, Twitter: kstoooone

Colour Psychology

What are the positive features one could instinctually associate with Mammon’s colours?

In colour psychology, green represent health, life, and prosperity. Being a dominant colour in nature, green is associated with vitality, harmony, and growth. It is a harmonizing, balancing and calming shade. Green is also associated with luck: the Irish believe the wearing of the green brings fortune.

The gold colour is the colour of wealth, achievement, and triumph. Golden colour adds richness and warmth to everything that it comes in contact with. It illuminates and enhances other things around it. It is optimistic and positive, as well as being synonymous with divinity, wisdom and power in many religious settings. It inspires knowledge, spirituality, and a deep understanding of ourselves and our souls. For the alchemist, gold represented the source and end of all being, and the perfection of matter on any level, including that of the mind, spirit, and soul (the famous “Philosopher's Stone”).

Sometimes, purple colour can be seen in things associated with Mammon (his advertisement for Fizzbots, the interior of his concert building, etc.). Purple, green and gold are Mardi Gras colours.

Mammon’s merchandise usually feature lime green, a hue mixture of yellow and green. Lime green is a bright, electric colour full of vibrancy and energy. It is a colour closely associated with confidence, and is thought to promote feelings of liveliness and excitement. It is also a colour that is said to stimulate the mind and body, and to promote creativity.

In conclusion, Mammon’s visual appearance features colours that have a psychologically vitalising and positive effect on the viewer, making him a very pleasant character to look at.

KA-CHING!

The known laws of physics forbid the movement through the outer space of either mass or energy faster than the light speed. Mammon doesn’t care about that, he simply teleports wherever he pleases.

The trickster archetype is a “boundary-crosser”. They violate principles of social and natural order, playfully disrupting normal life and then re-establishing it on a new basis. They will dismantle, construct, manifest themselves, move, and perform tricks that seem to bend all notions of causality, normality, and sense. All your prior knowledge and assumptions will be casually thrown out the window by these entities. They excel at manipulating reality to their will and breaking the laws of physics. The strangeness of Mammon does not end there. Where does the „ka-ching“ sound and confetti come from? What are those voices of cheering kids? Mammon is a reality warper and uses his abilities in the most childish yet endearing way possible. You are confronted with something that blows up your categories of judgement and does not give you a coherent explanation for anything you saw. These are just facts you need to somehow integrate into your established picture of reality.

The Jester and the Death

There could be a very profound symbolism behind Mammon’s skeleton suit.

The medieval understanding held that the root of all foolishness was the denial of God (logos, ratio). Any detachment from human reason, or the instinctive, irrational, and impulsive behavior that prioritizes desire over purposeful thought, was referred to in this context as "foolishness." Foolishness and sin were set on the same level. Those who denied the existence of God were doomed to eternal death after their life on Earth had ended because they rejected the idea of an immortal soul (and, instead, lived a life of an irrational desire-driven “animal”).

The Fall of Man brought death into the world. Adam and Eve lose both paradise and immortality when they choose to follow the serpent instead of God. The Old Testament provides an explanation for the two greatest mysteries of human existence: first, the imperfection of man and, second, the temporal limitation of his existence. If original sin is the reason for death and if foolishness has the same meaning as the original sin, then foolishness should also have a causal connection with death. This was, in fact, the conviction of people in the late Middle Ages.

The fool and the death are believed to have a kinship relationship in the Dance of the Death frescoes. The death appears in numerous depictions of it dressed as a jester. During the turn of the Middle Ages, there are actually a lot of visual arts examples where death and the jester are viewed as counterparts (window niche in the monastery of St. Georgen in Stein am Rhein; choir stalls of the church of St. George in Nördlingen, collegiate church of Öhringen in Hohenlohe, etc.).

The other implied connection is the fact that the Carnival (“carne vale”) is followed by the Ash Wednesday (“remember man that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”). Two aspects of man’s limitations (flesh and death) are thus seen as affiliated with each other in the liturgical year.

The Devil, the Jester und the Death are the Unholy Trinity of Christian visual art.

Truth is One, One is All, All is One

Cultural similarities across the globe underline the facts that, despite things being expressed in different ways, our psyche tries to communicate the same truths. All cultural manifestations have their unique features, but within their areas of action one can recognize the same archetypal patterns. Jungian analysts and mythologists pointed to the plethora of tricksters around the world.

Firstly, Mammon reminds me of the Laughing Buddha (Budai or Hotei) from Eastern cultures. His well-fed appearance represents abundance. When you observe the most popular form of the laughing Buddha closely, you will notice that he is always carrying a cloth bag that is filled with many precious items such as food, candies for children, and other riches. According to the belief, he will collect all your sadness and misfortune, put it in his sack and leave you with abundance and positivity. The sack also represents wealth and good fortune.

The most popular colour for household Laughing Buddha sculptures is gold. Even though it is a Feng Shui sign, Vastu Shastra experts also advocated for the placing of Laughing Buddhas in the home. To them, the smiling Buddha is comparable to Kubera (the god of wealth). Lord Kubera, celebrated as the Supreme Lord of Wealth and revered as the Treasurer of the Gods, stands as the epitome of affluence in Hindu mythology. Business owners and shopkeepers, seeking to accumulate wealth, turn their devotion toward Kubera.

Lastly, Mammon’s affiliation with the wealth and his jester nature draw parallel to the Roman God Mercury. He is a trickster and the god of commerce. His name is related to the Latin word merx, from which we get the English words merchandise, merchant, and commerce. It may also correspond to the Latin word mercari (to trade). Mercury often served as a mediator between the gods and mortals, including being a guide to the people who descended into the Underworld. Considering the fact that “the Underworld” is a symbol of the unconsciousness, this perfectly correlates with the previously mentioned ability of a clown to perfectly balance between rational and irrational state of being.

As stated above, the alchemy symbolically views Mercurius as the resulting “child” of the Union of Opposites, the restoration of the original undifferentiated state of the cosmos. The tria prima of alchemy needing for the achievement of this state consist of “sulphur, salt and mercury”. Sulfur, the "soul", is the masculine principle. Salt, as the "body", is the feminine principle. Mercury, as "spirit", is equivalent to "mind". Hence, the mystical trinity is: Soul, Body, Mind. It is, however, important to consider that the mind has two aspects (conscious and subconscious, left and right). This is metaphorically expressed in the balancing act of Mercury. This is why Mercury is often depicted with wings, he literally "flies between the two worlds". In the “In the mountain of the Adepts” engraving from Stephan Michelspacher's “Alchemia”, one can spot Mercurius at the top centre, being depicted as a playful, jester-like figure, standing in the same balancing pose like the Mammon standee.

Taken from the Shark Robot merch store, Twitter: kstoooone Conclusion

Mammon provides us with a plenitude of symbolic insight into the topics that continue to stay vitally relevant. Seeing Mammon is enough to feel like coming in contact with a primordial deity. You are confronted with something greater that yourself and experience “mysterium tremendum et fascinans”. Mammon is undoubtedly the best character ever created by the Western civilization.

*gives his cheek a smooch*

#helluva boss #helluva boss mammon #mammon helluva boss #hb mammon #helluva mammon

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paulmccartneyswagdotcom · 21 days ago

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thank you for the tag @keenbugg ❤️

Do you make your own bed?

yeah, every morning, otherwise i feel like i'm unprepared for the day

Favourite number?

i love number 9 for no particular reason. i also like 27 because it's 3x9. it's pretty neat

What's your job?

i'm an english teacher in a small language studio, i teach people of all ages. i'm also a private tutor and i have a degree in translation but i'm not particularly good

If you could go back to school, would you?

no way lmao. i was very confused and unsure of myself and i didn't know most of the people i'm close friends with at the moment, i was drinking quite a lot and generally being a teenager sucks

Can you parallel park?

i don't know how to drive 🙏

Do you think aliens are real?

i would like to believe so! i think they certainly are in some shape or form. i really want vulcans to be real...who else is waiting for the first contact date to happen in their lifetime ☝️

Can you drive a manual car?

can't drive

What's your guilty pleasure?

gossiping i guess...i like to talk shit sometimes...it gives my life meaning

Any phobias?

besides the crippling fear of terminal illness and sudden death of my loved ones...hmmm...i hate ladders and escalators, i am always afraid i'm gonna fall, especially when i have a suitcase with me! i always panic and i'm afraid of riding long escalators by myself. i also don't like heights ofc

Favourite childhood sport?

i loved diving and swimming as a child, i did roving professionally for a couple of years too. i also enjoyed and still enjoy riding a bike

Do you talk to yourself?

yeah, in english usually (which is not my native language, as you probably can tell). i have to talk and/or sing to myself almost constantly, especially when i'm alone at work

Tattoos?

i have nine! albeit not really big ones. i have three different bugs, bats and mushrooms on my left shoulder, the smiths quote with a candle on my ribs, a quote from a mcr song on my left calf and a harlequin and a revolutionary girl utena tattoo on my right calf. i'm planning to get more in the future! my last one was the harlequin - it was the biggest one and the most painful because it's in colour, so i'm gonna choose the next place carefully.

Favourite colour?

i looove orange 🧡 and yellow 💛 and blue 💙 and brown 🤎 i have so many things in orange these days and people always give me orange things...i have a manicure now and it's two different shades of orange...

Do you like puzzles?

i don't feel any particular way about them...paul mccartney's sexuality puzzles me constantly though

tagging @fleetn-crab85 , @oedipuscomplexes , @pansyeight, @dancingsunbeams, @foxantoine , @shisnotdead, @nerolikestowander6 , @madof, @ayuamarca25 and anyone who's interested <3

#tag game

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serendipitousseapen · 6 months ago

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Inscryptober: week 2, Elements.

The scrybes of limbo.

Halfway between an element swap, this cycle of scrybes carry traits of two elements within them, while also becoming something completely new.

A little looser with the prompt again, but I like how they turned out, even if it don’t count.

Individual renders, ideas, and possible gameplay below the cut

Leshy, Scrybe of Monstrosities

(Between beasts and undead)

The most brusque and solitary of the scrybes, Leshy resides in the untamed, twisted, wilds of his island. Instead of a temple, he merely has his scavenging grounds, not even the disciples who have devoted themselves to him ever know where he is. Your best bet is to find a dead carcass, watch if something starts eating it, and look for the glint of his inscrybing lens in between the trees and brush. If you’re lucky, the troll might come out to feast himself.

His cards are all kinds of scavengers; whether more natural, or more cryptic, sometimes humanoid, creatures. His card’s Flesh costs give them an almost built-in corpse eater; being playable when a certain amount of creatures have died between rings of the bell. His side deck is comprised of mangled corpses: 0/2, decomposing (deal 1 damage to itself each bell ring).

Grimora, Scrybe of the Abandoned

(Between undead and technology)

All the Scrybes are old, but Grimora is the only one who sees that as being for a reason. She has taken it upon herself to curate history, preserving what others deem “obsolete”, and “worthless” within her museum-like home. She uses a cassette tape recorder to hear an object’s voice and inscrybe it into a card. She knows all the objects within her custody as old friends, and her and her attendants do not take kindly to those who disrespect them. She has recorded far too many that hold hate in their soul from past owners.

As previously stated, her cards are all abandoned old objects; with a card’s value coming from its emotional attachment rather than its physical strength. All her cards cost neglect, the amount of turns that a lane has not had any cards played in it. Her side deck is comprised of dust, 0/1 cards with undisturbed (instead of resetting the neglect a lane has, instead adds 1 to it.)

P03, Scrybe of Constructs

(Between technology and magicks)

P03 is the most showboating Scrybe of the 4. He’s constantly at work in his foundry trying to make the most broken combos and the biggest chain reactions “legally” possible. This, coupled with both his smugness at winning and his anger at losing, makes the other Scrybes avoid contact with him at all costs (some say he’s the reason Leshy is so reclusive), usually pushing his deck testing onto his own foundry workers. They see it as an honor, being able to aid him beyond their normal duties; sadly, they couldn’t beat a deck of pure rabbit pelts. This makes it that when he actually faces off against a worthy opponent, he gets beaten miserably, causing him to go back to his foundry and come up with a whole new elaborate strategy, and starting the cycle anew.

P03’s card subjects are, at first glance, sculptural. They are mostly made of carved, bent, or otherwise artisan materials, they range wildly in shape and abstraction, and often seem so badly constructed that, should they move, they would fumble around like a 1-legged mole. That is how they are in the first few steps of the foundry. When they eventually come to P03 to be finally made into a card, he imbues them with some of the energy from his own body; breaking them apart, filling in gaps, and allowing for them to become powerful cards when that energy is taken back and inscrybed. His cards start out pretty useless, but have a leveling mechanic that allows them to activate and grown into more powerful for forms when beside his side deck cards, imbuers (0/1, channeler, levels up the card next to them at the start of each turn)

Magnificus, Scrybe of demons

(Between magicks and beasts)

When you Approach or have a conversation with Magnificus, you can know that he’s devoting his mind to 3 things: 1. The social interaction at hand 2. How you may play at cards, and how he can beat you and 3. How you could be best used to further his plans. Magnificus has the most ambition of any Scrybe, not only being aware of the world beyond his, but always finding ways to affect it. This isn’t to say he is a being of pure manipulation, for once you get closer to him, he will work with you and slowly start trusting you with more both him and his plans. The closest to him are his students, who know more than anyone else, and far more than they should. His best tool is using cards to gleam knowledge of a person, as it is your best tool to know what’s under his brooding exterior.

Magnificus’ s cards are all demonic entities, taking offerings (attributed sacrifices) to be played. Magnificus inscrybes them in deals, with a card forming and being painted by Magnificus whenever he bargains with one for knowledge, power, health, or anything more. His side deck is full of offerings (0/1, ___ offering) for his demonic allies, with side deck cards playing around with factors such as card per deck limitations to diversify offering value. This also works with people, with deals made between the master and his apprentices being prized components in Magnificus’s main deck.

#later again #but still #in the weekend #it counts #I just like the funny card-people #art #inscryption #fanart #inscryption au #card game art #card game design #inscryptober #i wanna see more of these guys #but that’s just me

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the-saltiest-saltine · 2 years ago

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Enjoy this heartwarming fic about the importance of having reliable nondescript friends in the face of a scary situation. You and her can totally fight off a prospective attacker together, you’re sure - after all, you’ve got the power of friendship!

Yan!Chrollo x Reader

Word count: ~ 1.9k

Warnings: Yandere, stalking, implied voyeurism, implied torture

You’ve got a stalker. You know this for sure.

Wherever you go, you can feel a gaze.

Your train rides and walks through some of the dodgier parts of the central business district after a busy day have always had their fair share of sketchy characters - it’s been a near-daily part of your life since you first came here several weeks ago - but this feeling was different. It wasn’t some junkie looking for a punch-up, no. It was specific. It was targeted.

What started as a feeling of slight watching in public, became a metaphorical spotlight in your apartment, blinding and irritating. You keep your windows shut and locked, not wanting the biting chill of the smoggy winter air to creep its way inside your residence. This doesn’t stop you from constantly coming home to find your kitchen window wound open, all these stories up. You know it’s definitely impossible for a regular man to get up here from the outside, since your front door is always locked and there’s no balcony.

You wish he’d leave you alone at the library, at least. It’s nice and relatively quaint, a much-appreciated juxtaposition from your otherwise industrial setting, and the least your stalker could afford is some privacy so you can enjoy it to its fullest.

The stare is intense, filled with neediness and darkness. You’re sure the eyes of whoever is creating it are a void, the most unusual colour of emptiness and depravity. You can’t pinpoint any particular reason why this is happening - generally, you’re pretty quiet and unassuming. You have no rich family to pay a ransom, and your organs wouldn’t be worth much. Simply put, a person like you is not worth the trouble.

Your best cure for this feeling so far has been to simply sigh, and open up your latest novel, indulging in a few chapters. The feeling subsides after a little while. Perhaps he gets bored of watching you partake in an activity so unappealing to an outside viewer. Perhaps he grabs out his own book and indulges himself, though you doubt that’s the case (-but that would be a nice thought, wouldn’t it? Imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery).

Tonight, you found a card on your kitchen bench. By the looks of it, it’s not a parting message, rather the opposite. The intricate red pattern on it is almost enough to be considered romantic, but you’re hardly feeling the charm. It’s unsettling, to say the least, but you can’t even bring yourself to be scared.

If anything, this issue annoys you now. It’s been a long, exhausting day at work. It gets uncomfortably cold if the window's left open. If someone’s going to kill you, they might as well just try already. Being stalked is so tiresome.

You don’t have enough tangible evidence to file a police report, simple sensings of a watcher not nearly enough proof to have police aid you. Funnily enough, this takes the bottom rung on the ladder of reasons why you can’t contact them. You can almost laugh at the thought of even trying. If this persists, you’ll call your friends instead.

Unfortunately, your welcome to this city has been anything but warm.

Luckily, you’ve got one modicum of hope.

There’s a woman in your life.

She’s beautiful, inside and out. Her smiles are a breath of fresh air in this wretched city. You can’t say you’re exactly dating yet, but whatever tier below it you’ve got now is certainly better than whatever was there before. Something like gratitude, as much as you’re naturally inclined to overlook it, hits you like a truck whenever you’re together.

Unlike you, she’s not new here. She’s been a great tour guide so far, introducing you to practically every street corner, every Indian restaurant, every speck of dirt and faeces on the wrecked footpaths that the slimy Mayor neglects. It’s hard to worry about a stalker when you’re being bombarded with random questions and consumed by her laugh, echoing between the skyscrapers and into comforting mugs of hot chocolate.

The time you spend with her is precious, sacred even. You won’t let the mystery man get in the way of that.

Long before that card made its way to your residence, you did call a friend, the friend, about your problem, getting a response within two rings. You told her about your stalker, sniffling and regularly hiccupping, telling her about how you think there’s someone after you. She was practically frantic, demanding that you come over to her apartment right that instant, barking out her address without hesitation. It’s only fifteen minutes away, she assured. You got there in seven.

She flung open the door at the first knock, saying your name with relief and letting you in. You spared her most of the details as you sat on her couch, not wanting her to put herself in harm’s way. Despite your shaky insistence that you’ll be fine regardless, she gave you some pepper spray to help defend yourself, and some tips on how to hold your keys between your knuckles most effectively.

I’ll protect you if anything happens, she says, her support of you positively admirable. You know she’d try and fight him off if you were together when he strikes.

You’re certain that your combined forces are enough to fight off a fully grown man, you declared in response - and you meant it. In fact, you added, scratch that, you’re absolutely convinced that your cumulative strength - consisting of four arms, pepper spray, and her high-pitched scream - is enough to fight off a bodybuilder pumped full of anything and everything you can get in the alleys behind the city’s numerous smoke shops. She laughed at that, but you know she still worries for you.

You can come with me anywhere if you’re uncomfortable, she said. Really, if you’re worried, just call me up. I can leave work early if you think you’re in danger, honestly. My manager is flexible enough.

Appreciation swirls around you in waves again. Naturally, you have your scepticism. It’s almost too generous, too forward, something you’re certainly not accustomed to. But alas, you’ll firmly grip whatever opportunities present themselves. She offers you what she can, and you don’t hold yourself back from accepting it with open arms.

You’ve accompanied her to the bar, to the library, to her favourite café. It’s pleasant. It’s peaceful. You’re still being watched for certain, but the ability to have a brief moment of levity whilst in her presence, something to help you forget about work and responsibilities and stalkers, is something to be treasured.

She’s so calming, so sweet, so caring…

And so, so oblivious.

You’ve accompanied her to the bar, to the library, to her favourite café. However, if you were to ask, she’d say with the utmost conviction that you were never there (and that she’d love to show you). You’ve accompanied her on her commute home, made cups of tea in her kitchen, folded dog ears in the untouched novels on her bookshelf, hoping she’ll note the romantic scenes and lines you’ve kindly bookmarked for her.

She’s promised to protect you. She never questioned why your little whimpers died down so suddenly after she gave you her address. She never questioned how you got there so fast. If she’d been wary enough to use the location services on her phone, she would’ve been able to see that seven minutes was actually a while to arrive, considering you were a twenty-metre walk down the hallway when you’d called.

She simply ate up your little performance over the phone, and in her apartment. And, soon enough, she’ll be coming to yours.

Yesterday, she told you about the new exhibit at the city’s museum - she went to get a glimpse of it the other day, and it looks promising.

You went to get a glimpse of it too, twenty metres behind her.

The day before, she told you about how she ordered a new drink at a café- it was absolutely to die for, and oh, by the way, did you know that café is her favourite in the city?

You inferred that much from her frequent visits there, following her routine so effortlessly that it became your own. You tried the drink out too, taking sips in time with hers, admiring her profile as she scrolled through her phone. She was so pleased to finally have an afternoon to herself, after a week of hectic shifts.

Something unfamiliar stokes inside of you as you make your observations. Perhaps it’s comparable to a parent seeing their child grow and develop, or a botanist seeing rare flowers bloom, or an astronomer observing the most uncommon and exquisite of meteorological events. It’s something like happiness, something like attachment, something like wonder, something like pride.

On the other hand, you must admit, you’re a little disappointed. She lied to you.

She didn’t tell you about the man she slept with from the bar last week. Technically, you never asked about it, considering that you weren’t supposed to be there, but you’re a man who considers lying by omission to be on an equal plane as wholehearted deception. She promised to never lie to you, but now she has. What should she have to do to earn your forgiveness?

Although, perhaps this encounter was no matter, the sounds she made being enough fuel for your frantic stroking outside her bedroom door, her whines teaching you what to do when you would be in the stranger’s place, a point in time that won’t be too far from now. For the sake of equality, though, you’ll let this one slide. After all, you didn’t tell her about the man’s fate after that night, about your other friend who’d assisted you, about the teeth scattered on the cold basement floor, about the strips of flesh that hung from his back and how you’d apathetically tugged on them.

She’s a very good source of information for you. Truly, you hadn’t expected to spend so long in this city, nor had you expected for the museum to open up again so quickly since your heist two months ago only a few towns over, locked down for precaution (a laughable concept, really). Without her, you wouldn’t have anyone to debate the validity of the Old Testament, the extent that Raskolnikov can be justified, or theories on what happens after death. Also, without her, you wouldn’t have found out about the museum’s new exhibit of Goya paintings so soon, teasingly left out in the open, ripe for the plucking mere minutes away from your penthouse. It’s a temptation you’ve never bothered resisting.

Despite being a Nen user, whoever’s stalking you doesn’t care to hide himself properly. His perfect Zetsu is rendered useless from his other behaviours. You can hear his footsteps outside of the window, see his shadow in your periphery, hear his heavy breathing and salacious groans as he watches you.

If you were more dramatic, you’d roll your eyes. With Skill Hunter available on command, you have no doubt that this fool would lose to you in a fight. You’ve been observing his patterns, feeling his aura, preparing yourself for the inevitable.

You’ve been doing the same for your friend, however loosely you may use the term.

Whatever the man following you wants, you’ll take from him tenfold. You pick up the playing card from the bench, a queen of hearts, and regard it between your fingers.

You’ve got a stalker. She’s got a stalker too. But, unlike you, she won’t have the means to counter his next move.

#yandere chrollo #chrollo #chrollo x reader #Yandere chrollo x reader #hunter x Hunter #hxh #hxh x reader #hunter x hunter x reader #yandere chrollo fic #yandere hunter x hunter

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prima-materia-ttrpg · 10 months ago

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Alchemy and Magic

Well it's about time I talked about the core idea of the setting. There are a few different kinds of magic that exist in Prima Materia, all of which stem from some mastery over the titular substance that makes up everything. I'm mostly going to be talking about Alchemy because it's the main form of magic that most players will be coming into contact with, but there are several disciplines that exist.

Gods like Patek do magic innately, they've mastered the art of pulling prima materia from the fabric of the universe and willing it into what they wish. Some people can also do magic innately, usually with the help of something else: Vessels have a quirk of their soul that attracts certain metaphysical beings able to live there, and often offer their services to the Vessel as 'rent'. Magi use alchemical roots (I'll explain those in a bit) to inject themselves with prima materia and sling crude elemental spells with their will. Some animals evolved patterns in their skin or incorporate alchemically conductive metals to do certain spells, like the Urd trees in the western forests of Falbhia that can grow up to 1000-1200 meters tall because their bark grows in such a pattern that channels magic to make them lighter than they would be otherwise.

But, the primary way people on Patek tap into magic is with alchemy.

Alchemy in the modern setting is a field of study and scientific undertaking, though cultures on Patek have been practicing alchemy in various forms since the dawn of civilization. All that's needed for a basic alchemical spell are its components; a sigil, a root, and a focus. A root is made from an alchemically conductive material, and etched into the root is a sigil. Some cultures also raise the sigil from the material, though since metallurgy has developed that's been more rare. The focus is also made of an alchemically conductive material, and is shaped in such a way that the raw energy from the sigil and root are funneled in a particular way to get the desired effect. A root and a focus are also not usually distinct parts in most places on Patek, as utilitarian spells are used constantly. Some examples of these spells are clay carvings that emit an odor to lure certain animals, and Koura nets laced with silver whose shapes cause them to emit warmth for particularly cold nights or latitudes. People on the Atiyeret peninsula have been making magic bowls for thousands of years, meant to capture a person's soul after they die and place them in a mausoleum with the rest of their family; something that warrants its own blog post later.

Outside of its nearly infinite utilitarian uses, there are of course military ones. The military use of alchemical spells goes almost as far back as the utilitarian uses, and is just as varied. The Entari create staffs from Urdwood and carve them with sigils, allowing their priests and knights to call down lightning or create strong winds as they will. The Narud in Makeret incorporate sigils into their bows to make them stronger, and most industrial nations have alchemical weaponry such as guns that create flying spikes of ice and cannons that create and spew greek fire. In the past, some alchemists have captured angry ghosts and bound them to machines for war, though this is largely frowned upon and the people who did it are known in history as the world's villains.

Military things are not the only effects under alchemy's purview of course. There are sigils made to accelerate tissue growth for healing, though not without side effects. There are also sigils used explicitly for the making of tinctures which have various effects, such as imbuing strength unto the imbiber. Industrial nations have factories that make near-instant acting healing tinctures like any other medicine out of aqua vitae, honey, activated charcoal, and the effect imbued by the proprietary sigilry they use. There are even some alchemical power plants that use sigilry and machinery to make electricity, though sigils that make electricity directly can be finicky so most of them create power by boiling water.

How do players interact with this though?

Well, there is the Alchemist profession which is the most obvious, but mechanically, alchemy hasn't been entirely written. There's a skeleton for it, involving grades of quality for material and certain shapes and sigils that a player can use to make various different spells. The goal is to put the player in a sandbox and let them build whatever they want within the limitations of what their character can do and the materials available.

There are four distinct kinds of alchemist, and alchemists aren't the only ones who can use alchemy. There are Dunamists, who are more akin to chemists and make things like alchemist's fire and dynamite. Homunculists create constructs that can do a wide variety of tasks, or memorize lists and instructions to repeat back to you. Eternalists are just Humonculists without borders; instead of making a body they dig one up, and some may become obsessed with the idea of immortality. Philosophists are the most in-line with what alchemists are in the real world, they make alchemical spells and tinctures, and try to complete the "final work," the pinnacle of alchemical prowess to philosophists, the creation of the philosopher's stone. State alchemists in Eastern Atiyeret know the recipe and use it to great effect, but that's a heavily guarded secret.

Players who want to be alchemists can go down one of those four paths, or mix and match different philosophies, perhaps in an attempt to create something like a Golem with sigilry on its arms to spray water on burning buildings, or acid on foes.

Anyway. I need to go back to reworking ranged combat. Thank you for reading all this, next week is up to chance. I want to write the species highlight for humans, but we shall see, it depends on if I can playtest ranged combat this week.

#indie ttrpg #ttrpg #long post #cw long post #indie rpg #worldbuilding #fantasy world #prima materia #primamateria

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levaagrace · 6 months ago

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Cicada days test

Context: This and ‘red flags fade to white (give up)’ are the same actually. Basically the usual ‘time travel to season one’ AU with only Jon going back and Jon does. Nothing. He doesn’t do a damn thing :)

It was a bit funny, truth be told, how he did not expect this intervention.

He had maybe three interventions in as many years, was constantly being scrutinized for any perceived misstep, and his change in how he ran the archives was practically overnight. Even with his carefully laid out plan. It should not have been surprising, that the three of them all but cornered him in his office to lay out all the ways he was fucking everything up. Again.

“You’ve not been yourself,” Sasha – the real Sasha, he can hardly believe it – says amicably.

“We’re just concerned is all,” Martin says. It is a familiar phrase said in a familiar cadence.

Tim says nothing, but the look on his face is nothing but genuine compassion.

For a moment Jon contemplates thinking about everything he had put under lock and key from the moment he realized his situation. He thinks about the act of having a discussion, not any specific one, with the three of them. Then he thinks about Elias. Elias thinking him incompetent, nothing else. With those thoughts carefully examined, he draws up his walls.

“Is this supposed change affecting your jobs?” He asks, as void of emotions as possible.

They exchange what he expects are looks of displeasure. He is purposefully not looking at them.

“Not… really…” Tim says. “I mean, to be honest, it’s been less stressful… for us,” he admits, the implication that it has only been less stressful for them because it has been more stressful for Jon.

While not an untrue or true examination of the situation, it still rankles something in Jon. He purposefully ignores that reaction, even as he lets is color his next words.

“I do not see the issue then,” Jon says flatly. “If there are any issues regarding how I am professionally, please let Elias or HR know. Otherwise, I think you three should go back to whatever you were working on.” He is still not looking at them, nor whatever reactions they may have to his words. He can guess, however, that they are all some form of disgust and annoyance.

After a moment, Jon can hear them start to leave. It is only then, when they have turned their backs, that he looks at them. It is only then that he allows one single stupid choice.

“Martin, wait,” he says evenly, and they all stop to look at him. Of course. He only addresses Martin, though. “I appreciate your organizational efforts on that one section of statements. Excellent work.” He does not smile or even make eye contact and he does not receive one in return. “That is all.”

Martin, in fact, looks as though he’s fighting off a grimace of irritation. Its not the first time Jon had made that same stupid choice. To complement Martin. He’s allowed to try and make amends over all the awful things he’d said and done. Maybe this was one too many, if it was starting to grate on Martin. He resolves to stop but knows he won’t.

He never did have a good grasp of moderation.

#tma #the magnus archives #my writing #he just gives up #also #this is just one version of it #hence the test part in the doc name #I have like three or five other versions in it #if ya want another

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oraclekleo · 1 year ago

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Wanted: Brainstorming Buddies

Hello, my dear followers and occasional visitors to this blog.

Recently I have realised I would like to communicate more directly with people. My intention is to enlarge the little group of friends I talk to on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. I’m not a super sociable person but my interactions fall onto the shoulders of a few close friends and they kinda carry all the weight of my hectic brain functions. I love them and that’s why I would like to enlarge the list of my regular social contacts in order to spread the burden more evenly.

And naturally I thought of you guys, who are my support and sunshine for months and years here. So my first appeal is to be posted here. This is my plan A. I do have plans B, C, D, E, F, G and H but if it works out, I might not need to use them.

I have created a Discord group chat, which I would love to use to communicate directly with a larger group of friends. It’s not only tarot and astrology focused, I have many interests and I would like to share them all.

You can join the Discord by contacting me directly through DMs or my email [email protected].

Before you do, you should read the list below.

Why you SHOULDN’T join this group chat:

I’m an INTP MBTI type and it comes with some challenging characteristics. You can check the YouTube video 8 Weird Habits Of An INTP Personality Type for reference. I’m not always the worst case scenario of these but it gives a pretty good sum up.

I question EVERYTHING! Systems, rules, customs, traditions, beliefs… I’m not a religious person myself and if you present me with a problem with some rule, I will question the existence of the rule in the first place, I will probably bend it or find a loophole. I respect all beliefs but if you tell me that you have a problem with certain aspects of your belief, I will question why you stick to it. 😂 You can always tell me to move on and forget about the topic, though. I question my own opinions, rules and habits just the same so it’s not like I’m being unfair.

I’m not a shoulder to cry on or a hugging type, not even virtual hugs type. I’m a problem solver. If you share your worry or struggle or issue with me, you also have to add what reaction you want from me. If you don’t provide this information, I automatically switch to solving mode. You can tell me you just want to rant without me suggesting anything. You can tell me you want me to take your mind off the topic and cheer you up or entertain you or whatever. Just make sure you let me know what you want me to do with your issue because otherwise I will present you with one or more solutions. 😜

My mind is constantly open and I have a great respect towards diversity and freedom but I really don’t tolerate hate in any form. If you want to go for hateful rants or serious nasty complaints about people, this might not be the chat for you.

I like to keep the conversation flowing. If you are the type of person who prefers to only listen in and you are happy this way, not wanting to step outside the comfort zone, this is probably not the chat for you. If you are usually quiet but would like to start using your voice more, feel free to join, though. Effort counts with me.

I love dark sense of humour and sarcasm is my first language and I’m so fluent in it. If you are a very sensitive person, you might have a hard time with me. I’m not deliberately rude to anyone but I will test the waters and make brutal jokes now and then to observe the reactions.

I’m an adult person and I do include adult topics and language. If that’s something you feel uncomfortable about, you should avoid joining the chat.

I’m not a big fan of drama and overreacting. I can deal with occasional emotional load from my friends but if you are the type of person who truly goes nuts when it comes to emotions, you might find me cold and unfriendly.

I love to discuss a vast variety of topics and link them with each other and find patterns. It’s how my brain works. It can be confusing sometimes so you might need to bare with me.

Why you SHOULD join this group chat:

Because of me - there are not many people like me and you might actually discover some of my more intimate sides I don’t show on the blog

Because of yourself - you might want to start socialising a tiny bit more but you don’t have just one interest, you want to talk about anything and everything

Because of the fun - I have many negative sides to me but I’m not a dull or boring person and I will do my best to keep the chat alive and entertaining.

Because of the brainstorming - Are you a creative person yourself? You might need brainstorming buddies! I surely do need some. And when you brainstorm with me, I’m more than happy to return the favour and brainstorm with you.

Because by exploring and communicating our minds, hearts, souls and spirits grow and become more vibrant. This is your opportunity to take one small step towards personal growth.

Because you can leave anytime - if the chat isn’t your cup of tea, you can leave. My feelings won’t be harmed, I respect that each person is different and I don’t have many feelings to be hurt in the first place. 😜

If you have reached here with the reading, you might as well want to join the group chat. Feel free to contact me through DMs or email [email protected].

You surely understand that I don’t want to share the invitation link publicly as I would like to avoid trolls and spammers joining your little soul family.

I’m looking forward to your reactions and I’m gonna be delighted by your interest if there is any.

P.S. Brainstorming helps me to stay motivated so once I have my little circle of buddies, I’ll feel more eager to return to tarot readings and other fun activities for you. Just saying. No pressure! (Only I might feel motivated enough to open free readings and I mean all the readings, including fun tarot spreads like the Path of the Dragon and others 😉)

Thank you for reading this far.

Kleo 🦄

#oracle kleo #writer kleo #tarot #writing #adulting #intp female #group chat

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