#//Or otherwise constantly have SOME form of contact to them

[oceanxveiined]

When she is willing to let someone touch her just enough to pet her head, chances are she WILL end up holding their hand in place the instant they try to pull it back.

[didyoulookforme]

nsfw alphabet: cute & soft matty healy x fem reader

so, i'm not a writer whatsoever, but i have thoughts (a lot of them smutty tbh) about a certain matty healy and wanted to jot them down as i need to try and get them off this brain of mine.

i have a type and it's middle part sometimes straight hair sometimes curly silver chain baggy clothes wearing matty, who in my head appears shy and innocent at first due to his fidgety demeanour (eg. running hands thru his hair constantly, mindlessly biting his bottom lip, repeatedly tapping his foot, etc.) but is actually very opinionated and witty with the people he’s close to, including you. he’s been your bff for years but is afraid of taking it further because he adores you and doesn't want your friendship to be ruined due to his big feelings towards you. he loves to hug you to feel you close and breathe in your scent, but honestly, he doesn't (or tries to not) have much physical contact with you otherwise because his mind, heart, and body cannot take it. he's enamoured by you and has been for years now to the point where he is 96.7% sure he's really, really in love. that's how it all starts and you do eventually end up together, but it takes some time... oh, and he has a crazy sex drive and lots of dirty thoughts about you. a shy romantic horny opinionated man who is mostly a sub.

nothing super unique, just mostly here for the soft bf matty vibes because we all deserve one of those.

(sorry in advance for all the grammatical errors, typos, and run on sentences. i'm not a proofreader.)

warnings: 18+, lots of smut with some fluff. this is too fucking long lol

(not quite) sfw version here

matty healy masterlist here

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a = aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

this boy lives and breathes to take care of you, before, after, and during sex. anything he can do to make you feel safe, loved, satisfied. but his favourite form of aftercare is, hands down, using his mouth and tongue to make sure you're all clean. after he does so, the little ritual continues by spending time just softly kissing each other's lips. you both indulge in the lingering taste of each other's cum, but there's nothing dirty or aggressive about it. it's all gentle, a sweet reminder that you belong to each other.

b = body part (their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

if matty were to choose his favourite part of his body, it would be his arms. after all, there's a reason why he keeps decorating them with tattoos. makes him feel confident about himself and, honestly, doesn't mind all the compliments either. bless him. but he also has grown to appreciate his unruly curly head of hair, the reason being that he knows how much you like it after all the tantrums you throw whenever he cuts it. before you get together, you only play with it when you're too drunk or high, but when you do so it makes his heart grow.

his favourite part(s) of your body are your hands. so delicate with silver rings adorning almost every finger. it's difficult for him to not watch when you rub them against each other when you're nervous. or how your hand finds itself in front of your mouth whenever you laugh too hard at his nonsense. he knows you prefer dark nail polish vs. lighter coloured ones. he has imagined countless times how your hands would feel on him. sigh. he worships those hands of yours and would kiss then every single second if he could.

after you do get together, he realizes that, as cliché as it sounds, he loves your cunt. for one, when he first saw you completely naked he thought he could just die happy right then and there. but that was until he got to taste you and decided he'd much rather be alive as he could never have enough of your sweetness. and how it perfectly fits around him? he swears he’s the luckiest motherfucker alive.

c = cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

oh god. don't let the shy boy act fool you. he is FILTHY. it took a few months for this side of him to show, but you are over the moon when you find out how enthralled he is when he sees his cum dripping out of you. it all started one afternoon when you were riding him (his fav position of course, see letter f below). he finished inside you, his head thrown back over the couch while trying to catch his breath. after a few minutes, you raise your hips to pull away and carefully sit right below his stomach, making sure not too hurt him. once his breathing is back to normal, he looks back at you with those sweet tired eyes, gaze travelling down your body and ending at your spent core, where he notices beads of his white cum running down your cunt. the sight is almost too much for him, poor matty. he bites his bottom lip hard to stifle his whimpers, but somehow gathers enough courage to ask if he can touch you ("sorry sorry sorry i know it's gross. fuuuck. forget i said anythi--" "matty, calm down, baby. my sweet boy, it's okay. you can do it. i want you to.") his mind goes haywire when he brings his thumb to touch you, picking up a bit of his cum which he then rubs on your clit in small, gentle circles. sigh. but yes, cum is involved and you both love it. that's that.

d = dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

before you were officially dating, you once left a black shirt at his place, one of your favourites in fact! don't really know the specifics of why or how it happened, but you left it there and he found it. his sensitive soul found it difficult not to immediately grab it and put it against his face to smell your lingering scent. but it didn’t take long for his horny mind to take over and wrap the piece of cloth around his cock and get himself off. before he realized what he was doing, he had already stained your shirt and the shame he felt was unreal to the point where he could not look you in the eye next time you saw each other. “oh, btw, i think i left my top at yours. do you think you can bright it next time?” his face had never been more red in his entire life lol. it wasn’t until you were together that he confessed to it when you were playing an nsfw version of truth n dare in your living room because you were both drunk as fuck.

e = experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

okay. so believe or not, this matty doesn't really do hookups. he's in a famous band, yeah, but he's not really looking to get off with people just for one night. he will only do it if he feels a spark with someone on some level other than physical attraction, but he prefers the intimacy and closeness that comes with a relationship. because of this, he hasn't had too many different sexual partners, but during those few relationships he worshipped his other half and did everything he could to learn every single little thing about how to please her in the best way possible. it takes him time to get there with every gf, but once he knows what you like, you will never be dissatisfied. tl:dr not too much experience when it comes to body count, but will excel A++++ all around with the partner he's currently with.

f = favourite position (this goes without saying)

without a doubt, you riding him while he’s sitting up. can be on the sofa, your favourite dining chair, the edge of your bed (his preferred place), the back of the tour bus, you name it. this man loves close skin-to-skin sweaty contact. he is eager to keep you near when you grind yourself on him, one arm tight around your mid back, the palm of the other gripping your ass, guiding your hips back n forth. this way he can also keep kissing your face, neck and shoulders whenever he wants to and feel your tits against his chest. it also allows him to look up at you as you bounce up and down his cock, this which might be one of his favourite sights in the entire world, just as if he were worshiping you.

g = goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

for the most part the sex is a calm, sensual endeavour, but if something happens like his fingers getting tangled in your hair, him kissing your teeth, you accidentally tickling him, he'll be adorable and smile, letting out a soft laugh. you love that he's vulnerable enough to chuckle at a small mishap rather than him getting frustrated. he's too damn cute. you can barely handle it.

h = hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

sweet matty knows you love going down on him (which he thanks his lucky stars is a real thing as he cannot get enough of your lips around him) so he tries to keep himself trimmed down there. you couldn't care less tbh but it's cute and rather hot to see him that invested in thinking of what will be best for you and your pleasure. funny enough, you would've never thought he did so given his current nonchalant way of dressing (baggy clothes, torn band shirts, messy gelled hair). but this boy does like to keep you guessing after all.

i = intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

he cannot possibly be close enough to you (re. his favourite position being you riding him). you are his world and will hopefully always be, even if he had to wait what felt like a lifetime to finally have you romantically and sexually. both of you prefer slow and sweaty sex whenever possibly, filled with lots of sweet words and love you's and him nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck while you run your fingers through his hair. he's a shy horny romantic at heart.

j = jack off (masturbation headcanon)

our boy here has undoubtedly gotten off at the thought of you many, many times before you get together. whether it is him reminiscing about a certain memory and/or looking at photos of you, he's certainly done it. he's also been caught by adam when he's not-so-silently moaning your name while he's no-so-silently jacking off during tour. but because adam is a sweet soul and understands the hardships of missing the person you love, he doesn't give him too much grief over it (unless matty is getting on his nerves).

now, when you do end up together, there's a time when the two of you are high (you do that a lot), giggly, care-free and the topic of masturbation comes up for some reason. this is when it is confessed that you both had (obviously) gotten off at the thought of each other pre-dating and that ends up turning both of you on to the point where one of you suggests if you can watch each other do it. so that happens and mutual masturbation continues to be thing in your relationship.

and of course, matty still masturbates many times while he's away because you end up sending him short snippets of you pleasuring yourself. so he cannot help himself.

k = kink (one or more of their kinks)

it’s all about praising. he loves it. you love it. it's a win win situation for both parties involved and it couldn't be more perfect. because he can sometimes get nervous, your praises make him feel at ease. call him a sweet boy (his fav) and you’ll have him at your mercy. on the other hand, if you refer to him as a good boy, he will almost devour you alive.

one summer you were playing fetch with mayhem in the park “aww! who’s a good, sweet boy!?” and for some reason matty started chocking on the coke he was drinking “are you okay?” “yeah yes. cough. ‘s nothing. wrong pipe” “hm, okay if you say so.” five minutes pass and mayhem is cuddling with you while you scratch his ear “such a sweet, pretty baby boy, aren’t you mayhem? yes, of cour—wtf matthew, are you sure you’re alright?” you look back at him as he’s trying to aggressively clean the coke he spat out and landed on the crotch of his pants. after that you notice that he not-so-subtly tries to readjust his baggy jeans ever so often. you get a sneaky suspicion of what might’ve happened, but it isn’t until you are together for a few months that you test out your theory and praise him and he literally comes undone seconds after the words leave your mouth. he’s almost too much <3

l = location (favourite places to do the do)

vanilla answer, but your bed. the fact that he can have you in the place where you sleep just drives him crazy with lust. it's your space. it smells like you. you spend endless hours there resting, facetiming him, watching tv, (as well as pleasing yourself). so yes, your bed is a sacred temple to matty. amen.

m = motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

before sex: wear any of his clothes and that's almost a sure way to get him turned on. especially his jumpers and shirts. once upon a time you two + the rest of the band went swimming. after you got tired of everyone cannonballing into the pool (because they're grown men boys), you stepped out and wanted to get out of your wet swimsuit asap because you hate the feeling of wet clothes on your skin. without really thinking, you just grabbed his jeff buckley shirt (i love jeff buckley btw), put it on, and since it is way larger on you that it is on him, you thought "lalalala i'm just gonna remove my swimsuit here since this shirt is roomy and no one will be able to see anything." as you're doing so, george has matty in some sort of headlock (because, again, boys) but as he's struggling to get out of it, his eyes end up in your direction as you're pulling the suit bottoms down. this makes him tense up and freeze in place, so now george has the upper-hand and submerges him underwater. when matty comes back to the surface, he's outta breath, huffing and puffing, and none made easier because (unbeknownst to you) your wet body and swimsuit have made his white jeff buckley shirt see though. and since then he cannot get enough of you wearing anything of his.

during sex: pull on his hair when you're riding him and it's game over. he'll immediately get a goofy toothy grin on his face while bitting his bottom lip and adoringly look at you thru half lidded eyes as if there is nothing better in this life (because of course, nothing compares 2 u).

n = no (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

absolutely nothing that could possibly hurt you too seriously. you two eventually get into some harsher tendencies and kinks, but it's always consensual. he'd never forgive himself if he caused you unwanted pain.

o = oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

he absolutely loves both. he swears there is no better feeling than having your warm mouth around him but he's never too pushy or needy about it. you of course enjoy it too, but the best part about it is just seeing him come undone as he gets loud, sweaty, and shaky which is a sight you'll never grow tired of. and as mentioned on letter b above, he enjoys your cunt A LOT so he'll never miss an opportunity to go down on you. that tongue of his? unreal. but he's definitely noticed that your favourite is when he sucks on your clit so he spends majority of the time doing that. imagine you sitting on the edge of your bed, him shirtless kneeling down with your legs over his shoulders, and his head between your legs while his lips are wrapped around you, gently sucking and licking while you gently pull on his hair and tell him he's your sweet boy. it's heaven for the both of you.

p = pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

more often than not, it’s slow and sensual as that’s something that both of you really enjoy. from one romantic to another, you cannot get enough of the passionate sex.

HOWEVER, fast and rough comes into play whenever he gets jealous as he cannot help himself. but it's not in a hard, mean dom type of way. more in a "i'm all yours. i want to make you feel so damn good and please you so you don't look at anyone else. please do anything you want with me" type of way. the first time he ever wants to have rough sex, he acts all shy and nervous when asking you if it's okay as it's not his norm. but you're there to guide him through and make it easy for him. <3

q = quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

not really your or his thing, tbh. reason being that if you have sex, it never ends up being quick. you'd much rather be late to the event or appointment than to rush it. the amount of times he's been late to soundcheck is alarming, but it's not like they can kick him out of the band, right? one time when he walks into the rehearsal, flustered and with hair all over the place, he sees george about to mock him but matty beats him to the punch. "before you even fucking start, yes, i was having sex before this. yes, it was amazing. yes, i know i'm late again. that's it. i'm sorry. let's carry on." but the thing is that a sexually satisfied matty = amazing gigs, so the others cannot fault him.

r = risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

he’s down to try anything but only if you discuss it first so both of you are comfortable. again, he may look and act shy most of the time (especially with people he doesn't know too well) but he's known you for years so he's super comfy with you, thus he's game to do anything which might bring you pleasure as long as he doesn't seriously hurt you (as mentioned in letter n) because he wouldn't be able to deal with causing you any sort of lasting pain.

s = stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

tbh one of the other main reasons he goes to the gym (see letter x) is so he can last longer for you. you both have insatiable sex drives (see letter y) so he wants to keep fit in order to try and fulfill any and all desires you might have. once you get together, it's no secret to any of your friends that you have a VERY active sex life that they can only dream of and matty loves to remind them that they’re just jealous when they do make fun of him for it. he’s cute.

t = toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

he didn’t think much about them at first UNTIL that one night he was over at your place and opened up your bedside drawer, hehehe. so hear me out... our boy loves getting high (especially with you) so he asked if you had any weed as he very surprisingly (i know, i'm shocked, too) forgot his own. you just looked at him with wide eyes like “whoa, wait. you forgot? are you okay?” while you jokingly felt his forehead to see if he was ill. he gently swatted your hand away and squinted in mock annoyance, “fuck off... but really, do you have any?” :insert big brown caramel puppy eyes: you motioned over to your bedroom and told him that your stash was in the drawer of your bedside table. he struts over, nonchalantly, humming a tune that’s been stuck in his head since that morning because you’d been listening to it nonstop. he gets to your room, stares at your comfy bed wishing he could sleep with you, in both senses of the word, because he's head over heels for you. he'd do anything and everything you'd ask him faster than the words could even leave your mouth. he sighs, knowing that couldn't happen because you weren't his gf :( anyway, he bends over to open the top drawer of your left bedside table and start shuffling around to find nothing but books, notebooks, photos (including one of him napping, awe). he moves on to the second drawer to find a black lidded box which he opens and to his surprise (or dismay) finds your toys which causes him to almost drop the box altogether. his eyes gaze over each of the vibrators and other small devices in there and he cannot help but think of you using them on yourself. siiiiiiiiigh. a "did you find it, matty?" is screamed by you which causes him to instantly come back down reality. the box is put away and he speed walks out of the room, heading straight for the kitchen to get a glass of water to hopefully rehydrate his desert dry throat after his discovery. "well, did you find it?" "nope, changed my mind. don't want any weed. i'm okay. i'll just drink my water. here. in the kitchen." when in reality he was standing behind the bar so you couldn't see how rock hard he was. fast forward to right before you go to bed that night, you want to get yourself off so you go to find your fav toy when you see that the box is on a weird angle with the lid not fully closed. then it dawns on you why matty had to very abruptly leave that evening.

BUT ANYWAY, after you get together and your enjoyment for toys is out in the open, he loves using them on you which is a huge turn on for you because it shows that the seemingly shy boy is actually super confident when it comes to your sex life together.

u = unfair (how much they like to tease)

much like the cum play (see letter c), it took a bit for matty to feel comfortable enough to be a tease while you were having sex. he's not too much of a dirty talker (if you haven't noticed yet, he's a sub in this world of mine, sorry) BUT he eventually finds out that you love begin edged. so yeah, he has fun with that, going down on you over and over again until you are screaming.

v = volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

poor matty tries to stifle his moans, whimpers, and any other sounds that come out of his mouth but it doesn't work well for him as he always ends up being the loudest out of the two of you. this is another thing his bandmates always tease him about, as they can always hear when he's getting off on the tour bus or having sex with you in another room. and this is another instance where he reminds his mates that they're just jealous because of his amazing sex life.

w = wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

remember how i said i have a type and he's a chain wearing matty? well, once you both start having sex, he very quickly finds out you fucking love pulling on that chain to bring him closer to you. he also notices how you tend to kiss around the area where in sits around his neck. your obsession about it becomes 100% confirmed when he sees that the background of your phone is a photo of him shirtless but still wearing that silver chain. so he knows that he always has to wear it, a quiet sign that you control him. but one morning after his shower, he comes running to the living room, huffing and puffing that he cannot find his necklace until he looks at you. you just smirk and wink at him when he sees the chain around you. oh, he doesn't know what he's in for.

x = x-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

he once heard you say how you were starting to find "more conventional, muscular men" attractive so he took this as his cue to immediately look up the number of the best and closest personal trainer he could hire. fast forward six months and you're at his flat, drinking and listening to music with the band. who knows what happens (probably george's fault) but matty ends up spilling his glass of wine all over his shirt. UGH. "fuck me. it's embarrassing how many clothing items i've ruined 'cause of this expensive habit." you laugh loudly at him, obviously, but karma gets you once he takes off his ruined top so he's just standing there in his dangerously low rise grey joggers. that shuts you up as you just stare at the muscles on his back and the mostly defined v shape above his crotch. matty leaves the room to get a clean shirt without noticing you basically drooling over him. however, perceptive handsome ross does pick up on the vibes and teases you for the remainder of the evening.

y = yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

high. higher than anyone you've ever been with and you're thankful for it. albeit it is PAINFUL when he's away on tour for months at a time, especially when you cannot go and see him :( no matter how many photos or videos you send each other, it's never enough to satiate you desire to have him close to you. the only silver lining is when you both do end up back together, as you both know you won't be sleeping that night and won't be going anywhere else the day after.

z = zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

once the soft making out session is done (see letter a), he's gone. he's a sleeper. he's a napper. he's the big spoon and holds you close, lazily kissing the back of your neck before he settles himself against it. again, he's all about that close contact, gotta love him. but give him 3 minutes MAX and he'll be out. a tired boy has to rest, i guess <3

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ALRIGHT. that's enough for me rambling. not sure if anyone will see this but my mind feels about 12% lighter for now. until the next brain rot takes over.

if you happened to make it this far, you're a gem. thank you. you're the best. and i'm always free to talk about this man and smutty thoughts about him!

[ur-fav-pet]

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.

[the-saltiest-saltine]

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.

[are-you-still-writing-that]

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

[itsmewillful]

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

[prima-materia-ttrpg]

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.

[geistundmaterie]

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'ashj��'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.

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*

[oraclekleo]

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 oraclekleo@gmail.com.

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 oraclekleo@gmail.com.

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 🦄

[the-ninja-legacy-whip]

i dunno if this has been asked, but:

ninja & co's love languages?

Kai: Giving- Words of Affirmation Receiving- Physical Touch (Has zero problems giving peps talks + hyping up those he cares about + telling others directly how he feels. Needs "physical" proof when it comes to others caring about him though, which is why he's such a hugger)

Jay: Giving- Quality Time Receiving- Physical Touch/Words of Affirmation (Loves carving out any moment he can for those he cares about, which usually then leads into opportunities for physical contact and words of affirmation. Can be a somewhat overwhelming combination if he's not mindful, though.)

Cole: Giving- Physical Touch Receiving- Words of Affirmation (Is not always good with words himself, so tries to express that he cares via physical touch and the occasional gift, although that can sometimes send mixed signals. Needs to be directly told by other parties that they care about him, otherwise he starts spiraling with doubts.)

Zane: Giving- Quality Time/Acts of Service Receiving- Acts of Service (Is always opening up for others to join him in whatever activities he's partaking in or goes out of his way to try and make someone's day a little easier if he can. But what shows him that others care about him is when they return his eagerness to help, even when he doesn't -or can't- ask for it)

Nya: Giving- Acts of Service Receiving- Gifts (Isn't really about all the touchy-feely talky stuff -not all the time, at least- and cherishes her alone time, so demonstrates her care by providing help or assistance where and when she can in whatever way she can. In return, receiving a gift with a lot of thought or intent behind it will immediately take her out at the soul)

Lloyd: Giving- Words of Affirmation Receiving- Quality Time (The best and most effective way he knows to make sure someone knows he cares is to tell them, and tell them constantly if he has to. In return, anyone going out of their way just to be in his presence and appreciate his existence...well, that speaks for itself)

Jesse: Giving- Words of Affirmation Receiving- Physical Touch (This boy's such a hopeless romantic that he's probably covering every single language at some point, but Words of Affirmation is the his ultimate go-to when trying to get his point across...even if those words are in the form of flowers. Same could be said when it comes to receiving, but having the physical contact of those he cares about is the biggest clincher for him)

Antonia: Giving- Physical Touch Receiving- Acts of Service (Similar to Cole, she is a very physically-inclined individual, showing her love in the form of wordless gestures that say everything and reassuring contact accompanying the things she does say. And though she doesn't always show it, she really, really appreciates it whenever someone close to her helps her out of a bad situation)

Harumi: Giving- Quality Time Receiving- Physical Touch/Gifts (Being able to spend time with those she values means a lot to her, along with receiving comforting physical gestures and gifts with meaningful intent. But, such fragile things are quick to fade away...)

Olivia: Giving- Words of Affirmation Receiving- Gifts/Acts of Service (Is loud, direct, and blatant with what she feels, almost to the point of completely missing what other people are saying. Is somewhat immune to receiving other types of languages, but when it comes to receiving gifts, she knows that time, thought, and care was put into it, and Acts of Service are proof that she's being heard)

Miranda: Giving- Quality Time Receiving- Words of Affirmation (Likes doing her own thing but likes having company while she does it. If you deemed worthy enough to enter her circle, you've made it. When it comes to receiving, primarily thrives on Words of Affirmation, but a really, really potent gift will also probably have the strength to send her careening into tears–something she doesn't do often)

Pixal: Giving- Gifts Receiving- Physical Touch (All those mechs and suits and upgrades she designs? That is the apex of the physical manifestation of how much she adores you, put to nuts and bolts instead of words because words are much more complicated than reverse engineering a giant submarine in less than twelve hours. Physical Touch doesn't seem like it'd be a big deal to her, but being reminded that yes she is real and yes what she feels is real is very therapeutic <3)

Skylor: Giving- Quality Time/Acts of Service Receiving- Words of Affirmation (When it comes to receiving, any sort of kindness towards her will melt her heart immediately, but genuine Words of Affirmation are the quickest way to turn her to mush. So when giving, she tries her best to capitalize on what little free time she has to make the most of being with those she adores above all else, whether that contributing to the cause or sharing new experiences with another)

Sunni: Giving- Words of Affirmation Receiving- Quality Time/Physical Touch (The queen herself of positive Words of Affirmation, will absolutely shower those she cares about with reassurances and kick any of their self-doubts to the curb. In turn, others going out of their way to seek time with her + give her physical reassurance will send her over the moon)

Harleigh: Giving- Quality Time/Physical Touch Receiving- Acts of Service (Takes a long time to even begin to care about people let alone express that care, but the first signs of it are when she starts not trying to actively avoid people. Due to being a ghost, her focusing long enough to give you some kind of physical reassurance is also a huge step for her. In turn, doing anything nice for her especially without her asking will probably make her blue screen for a good two hours snksnksnk)

(also also if you're looking for a Legacyverse-based fic that takes place in S2 and explores some of the characters' love languages you should totally check out Learning to Love (Again) by @k1ngtok1 heyo)

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

Soooooo got any angst ideas about the destroyer is your rewrite ? Like him having nightmares or just being trapped in the nether wondering what happen to Irene ? Or his hatred towards the divine warriors even though he actually rightfully mad ?

I greatly appreciate the erasure of Shad's name when talking to me, its a dumbass name

anyways

TW, mentions of violence, using a slightly gory/graphic description to describe physical sensation, typical Shad-convo stuff

What is he if not my angsty boy? My angsty wife, that's what.

Anyways, so my baby, right, he's not got himself a physical form in the nether/the Shadow Abyss (it's just 'the abyss' in LR for aesthetic reasons, the girlies that get it, get it), due to him being like violently murdered to the point his physical body was no longer suitable for life. However, regardless of this, he experiences near-constant phantom pains from every injury he ever sustained, healed or otherwise. Also, being only his own shadow is a very... vulnerable-feeling experience. It would be equivalent to walking around without your skin on, all of your nerves and muscles exposed. Pain. Which provides one very good motivation for someone to, idk, try and gain a physical form to try and stop the agony of your existence. which could lead him to redemption in a very 'i did what i had to in order to survive, just like everyone else' way, but.... idk, i dont know if i want to redeem him. I like how not-a-good-person he is.

Judgement (suprisingly a canon name for him, his actual name in my rewrite, because he's the OG edgelord) is plagued near-constantly with visions. Every Divine has visions of some sort, whether they're clairvoyant, or prophecies, or something. Judge's specifically are of... like... destruction. End of days, mass murders, wars, etc. it's his domain but it doesn't make it any easier to see them. It also means he dreams of his own death on a frequent basis. not fun for him.

Also, he's pretty sure he knows what happened to Irene, he was married to her for a very long time, he knew the kind of person she was. She banished him under the guise of ending all evil, and left to keep up that ruse instead of doing her duty to stay and protect people. He does think about it often, very very annoyed about it. It's another thing that leads him to do what he does. He's wondering just how many people have to die before she's willing to set aside her pride and face him. He never self-reflects on how many people have to die before he's willing to set aside his hatred.

He's spiteful towards the other divine, but he doesn't hate them, not like he hates Irene. I mean he does hate them... just kind of not as much as Irene. The others he expected to turn against him eventually, because his nature was always unfavourable, but she was meant to be his equal, they were both equally as destructive as each other (ironically).

A lot of his existence is more physically painful, he's able to cope with the visions and the bad memories, and the thoughts of 'what if' in his mind by channelling it all into anger, but things start slowly derailing upon him and Aphmau/Avra's first contact, and he doesn't understand why until he realises who she is. From there, he is the mayor of Angst town, population however-many-mcd-characters-exist.

[springfallendeer]

Adventures in the Dataverse: 000

000: Prolog

Databeasts.

Strange digital creatures, native to the Digital World; an ever expanding universe, found within the confines of the internet.

They are vast.

They are varied.

They are feared, and they are admired.

They are hated, and they are coveted.

Some people are fascinated by them. Some, disgusted by them. Others still are completely indifferent, despite the bizarre phenomenon that has allowed these creatures to come to be at all.

They are what happens when the Digital World bleeds into reality. When data and AI alike work together to create a fully self aware entity with wants and needs all its own.

And for some reason, they are instinctively drawn to humans. Seemingly by design, which has been strongly implied by their creator.

Little is known about it. The creature that rules over all of the digital space.

The entity that lies at the center of it all, constantly gathering and interpreting data.

The seemingly supernatural being which has unlocked technological abilities otherwise thought impossible to achieve.

The Datamaster. The metaphorical mother and father of all that exists within the digital realm.

A creature so secretive and yet so deeply tied to humanity, that every action it takes can somehow be traced back to some desire to be involved with them.

Perhaps because it owes its very existence to humanity.

With no humanity, then the internet would never have been invented. Without the invention of the internet, the unknown program; or series of programs, involved in the creation of the Datamaster would never have come to be. Which meant no Digital World, and in turn no Databeasts.

Love and hate.

Trust and fear.

Desire and indifference.

All ranges of possible thought and emotion seem to exist within the Datamaster, all at the same time. Thus prompting it to do things that both fascinate and terrify humanity as a whole.

Gifts of lifesaving food and medicine, dropped directly into impoverished countries. Delivered directly from the digital realm, in the form of raw data turned organic.

The restoration of buildings and landmarks following natural disasters. Seamlessly restored to the prime state of being, as if updated by some sort of system. The only permanent consequences being the lives that might have been lost along the way.

Human life cannot be replicated.

But strange imitations of life, built upon a foundation of randomly compiled data, can be made.

Hence, the Databeasts. Made to fill the Digital World with life, and to further the Datamaster’s connection to humanity.

Those chosen to partake in the peculiar game receive an experience that can neither be bought nor replicated.

The selection process is unknown. Though some of its rules have been discovered, or at least appear to be.

People without access to the internet cannot be chosen to receive a Databeast. Those without a digital record cannot be contacted, nor can they be studied for the sake of a proper assessment.

People with an active record of violence appear to be banned from selection. This is regardless of whether or not the violence is tied to a criminal record, as Police Officers and other people in “Professions of Violence” have yet to have any reportings of selection.

Similarly, Politicians or other people of heightened power have yet to have any reported instances of selection.

In other words, people who are known to be dangerous and people who have a level of authority over a large population are incapable of being selected to play the game. Likely because providing such people access to Databeasts or to the Digital World could spell disaster.

The potential risks of having these luxuries abused could lead to a surplus of suffering in the world. Suffering that the Datamaster appears intent on avoiding, to the best of its capacity.

For this reason, multiple versions of the game actually exist.

One exists exclusively to entertain children, with a rating of 16 and under.

This child-safe version of the game is comparable to having a Tamagachi. The main focus of the game will be playing with and socializing with Databeasts. Battles take place exclusively in the Digital World, to assure that no accidental harm can befall underage players and those around them.

The minor friendly version of the game is safe, fun to play, and a step up from the typical video game; because the player can legitimately interact with their digital friend in real time, in the real world.

The second version of the game is referred to as the “Soft Adult” version.

In this version, the risks and rewards of rearing Databeasts are brought into the real world. Battles can take place either in the Digital World, or in the Physical World. They are intended to take place in designated zones, where the potential damage to unrelated civilians can be kept to a minimum.

People can get hurt. Property can be destroyed, even if only temporarily. Yet these risks are thought to be worth it, as players with access to this version of the game can literally make a living off of it.

This being because players with the “Soft Adult” version of the game now have virtually unrestricted access to the Digital World. Which allows them to do things like take pictures of real world food, convert those pictures into Data, and then upload that Data into the physical world.

Some people consider this process theft. Others consider it a means of cheating a system meant to keep the majority under the control of a minority, through strict control and regulation of resources.

Either way, many Databeast trainers find a way to make the most of their opportunity. Usually by selling goods or services that are in high demand, without most of the extra strings involved. Such as relying on a third party for a reliable supply of goods. With the only restrictions being that most controlled substances, like drugs, tobacco, and alcohol cannot be obtained through this process. 

Excluding drugs meant to be used for purely medicinal purposes, though they cannot be sold at all or otherwise distributed to people who are not in need of them.

The Datamaster knows all. It is malevolent and well meaning, but not foolish. Therefore, it is willing to provide things like insulin or epipens to those who are in need of them. But it is not foolish enough to provide medication to people who would otherwise abuse their use.

The third version of the game is something of a mystery. Something thought to be sort of a Schrodinger's Cat; both real and imaginary, depending on whether or not access has been granted to this version of the game.

The “Full Adult” version of the game, as it is called, is said to unlock access to things that are completely off limits to all other players. Such as the ability to breed Databeasts. Either with other Databeasts, or with people.

Supposedly this version also eventually leads to the ability to craft things like drugs or alcohol, albeit with the same sort of rules that can be applied to the general game. Nothing of this sort can be distributed or sold for the sake of being misused.

Granted, the now available drugs are said to specifically belong to the cannabis variety. Though this, much like the existence of the Full Adult version, is largely considered to be a rumor. Mostly because only those who have unlocked access to this version of the game can access any of these benefits, meaning that anyone without access to it are therefore incapable of verifying its authenticity.

But that is yet another fascinating aspect of the game. The aura of mystery that surrounds every aspect of it.

From the Datamaster to the purpose of the game itself, no one really knows all of the answers. Odds are, no one ever will.

Such is the will of the Datamaster… Or is it? You wouldn’t be able to know for sure one way or the other, thanks to the astounding lack of answers.

[helly-watermelonsmellinfellon]

Now and then, Genshin stans prove they have no reading compression and no ability to read between the lines.

The prevailing assertion is that to be Anemo is to experience loss of a friend/family/mentor figure.

Sure, we get the emo Anemo boys who all lost someone important, but this extends to all Anemo characters.

And then you've got people like, "Well, who did Jean/Sucrose/Sayu/Faruzan/Lynette/Xianyun lose? They aren't exactly traumatized by anything, and they have good lives!" Proof that most of y'all don't read and that you're incapable of basic 1 + 1 = 2 thinking.

Why would Faruzan have anything to be sad about? It's not like she got trapped in a ruin domain for 100 years where she couldn't sleep or eat and spent her whole time awake and trying to solve the puzzle to get free. I wonder what could have possibly happened in those 100 years in her life, that could equate to loss and trauma. I'm SO CURIOUS.

What could Lynette have lost? You know, other than being a street rat with her brother because they had no parents, I wonder why? It's not as if they had to learn magic tricks just to survive and then got taken in a creep who gave her away to another creep because he wanted to add Lynette to his collection of child sex slaves he either used or sold. I WONDER why Lynette might have trauma and experience with loss!

What could Xianyun have lost in her thousands of years as an Adeptus who defends Liyue, even during the Archon war where Guizhong and many Yakshas she fought with lost their lives to protect the land and the people. I wonder what could have POSSIBLY happened in her life for her to fit the Anemo sterotype.

What could Sayu have lost when she was taken in by her sensei and taught exclusively for years and then one day he up and vanished without a word, based on some dumb belief that ninja can't have connections, leaving her to think he died. And she spends her moonless nights feeling empty inside and wondering if there will ever be anyone who stays for her. But I wonder how that could possibly be considered a loss to a child.

What could Sucrose have lost since childhood that could had ended up with her constantly holed up in a labratory without friends? It's not as if all the friends she grew up with just stopped being her friends for no reason and she can no longer contact them or anything? It's not as if the people she formed her dream with abandoned her or anything. Noooo. There's nothing wrong there.

What could have possibly happened in Jean's life for her to fit the Anemo stereotype? She's basically the leader of Mondstadt and everyone loves her! It's not as if her parents got divorced when she was young, and each took a child and refused to let them see each other. It isn't as if Jean and Barbara are practically strangers having to get to know each other for the first time now that their parents are otherwise occupied. It isn't as if Jean's whole family unit is ruined because her own father won't accept her, and her mother won't accept Barbara. Nah. It's impossible for that to be considered traumatizing and a kind of loss.

Please think a bit, ISTG.

[bluelightning16]

Hi! Can I request about MalleSil headcanons? I'm reading your work on AO3, it's absolutely amazing! <3

Oh my God, I’m so flattered to hear that, thank you...!  MalleSil is actually my favorite Silver ship (followed closely by JadeSil), so I’ll try my best to provide! :)

Okay, so.  As with all the relationships in Diasomnia, there’s a lot to unpack here.  Both of them have known each other since Silver’s youth, but as of right now, it’s hard to say how much of a hand Malleus actually had in influencing the person he is today.  However, at the very least, it’s evident that he’s important enough to Silver for him to dedicate his entire present and future to becoming his guard.  Thus, right off the bat, we already have two layers of power dynamics... not to mention the whole human-fae divide.  I’m not going to cover everything in this one response—as I literally don’t think I could shut up otherwise—but if you’d like to know more about any point in particular, feel free to DM me or shoot me another ask!

Anyway... I think that these dynamics would make it extremely difficult for Malleus and Silver to kindle any new sort of relationship at first.  The gap between them is just so vast, and Silver’s definitely content with where they’re at; he’s giving back to one of the fae who took him in when no one else would, so what more could he want for?  The happiness and well-being of those he considers family is constantly at the forefront of his mind, and he’s just so happy to be able to serve them in any way that he can.  Hence, any progress would have to be kickstarted on Malleus’ end.

As the crown prince of Briar Valley, it’s likely always been challenging for Malleus to form any meaningful connections.  Most people he comes into contact with are only interested in the fame, power, and money that follows his name, without caring to know the person it’s attached to.  Even Lilia, the closest thing he has to a father since his parents’ passing, is someone who’s associated with the court (at least formerly) and his grandmother, bound in some capacity by his loyalty to both.  Thus, I believe that Silver—along with Sebek—is the first that he can claim, with absolute certainty, wants to stick by his side because of him.  (For the sake of this ask, we'll just pretend pray that Lilia hasn't conditioned Silver to be a devout child soldier from the get-go ^^;)  Unfortunately, such pure, unselfish love ends up taking a turn into acts of servitude, lending itself to a bit of distasteful distance, but the sentiment still remains.

In an attempt to bridge the divide, I believe that Malleus will have to exercise some very explicit communication.  Silver won’t understand what exactly Malleus means by “feeling lonely”—he, Sebek, and Lilia are always at his side, are they not?  There needs to be some sort of discussion about how it’s not enough to have their silent, watchful presence nearby; what he craves is a deep, genuine relationship that’s not grounded in work.  He doesn’t need any more subordinates, but rather friends.  Thankfully, Silver is a kind and empathetic boy, so once this has been made clear to him, there should be no problems in the friendship department... leading to issue number two. :’)

As I am a firm, firm believer in Silver’s inability to read social situations that entail feelings beyond what he knows as the norm (i.e. anything that’s not platonic/familial), poor Malleus still has his work cut out for him.  In their pre-courting phase, I can totally envision him making overtly romantic, traditional gestures of interest, only to be unknowingly rebuffed.  He sets up fancy, candlelit dinners for just the two of them, only to have Silver accidentally invite his father and Sebek, as well.  And the roses he brings end up being fed to his rabbit friends, as they just “looked so hungry and weak.”  Even his rather forward utterances of love, which Lilia never fails to laugh at, are brushed off as princely etiquette.  If not for Sebek’s infuriated outburst—“YOU DAFT HUMAN, HE WANTS TO DATE YOU”—there would surely be no hope at all.  But, as it stands, Silver flushes red in equal parts embarrassment and horror (no doubt recalling his horrible misunderstandings) and finally accepts.

Once they’re in a committed relationship, they’re definitely the type of couple that does things by the book.  Outings are more formal affairs, hugs are kept brief, and kissing doesn’t happen until at least the third date.  However, no matter how many judging stares they may get from their peers, they’re perfectly content with each other and their slow, casual intimacy.  When they’re not out on dates or fulfilling their respective duties, Malleus and Silver like to sit by the fire in the evenings and indulge in mundane discussions about how the day’s classes went and their respective areas of interest.  Silver, of course, never fails to fall asleep halfway, leading to Malleus scooping him up into a princess carry and taking him back to his room.

Unfortunately, for all their soft interactions, there are still some tensions that remain—namely those brought about by the issue of race and societal position.  Malleus, like it or not, is the crown prince of a country that does not look too kindly upon humans, courtesy of a former war.  For this reason, there’s going to be opposition on all fronts, especially from his court.  Fae are so old and immovably set in their ways that despite the main cast’s more progressive mindset, they’re never going to learn to accept Silver as his partner.  He’s dirty and filthy and greedy—selfish in all the ways that only a human could be.  Besides, he has no idea how to run a country, and what about all the political gains to be had from a much preferred arranged marriage?

This, I believe, sets off Silver's insecurities. He's never truly viewed himself as worthy enough, only an ever-present burden, so his immediate reaction is to call everything off. It would be far simpler for everyone if he remained a mere guard, right? However, Malleus won't stand for such; arguing that he never wants to put Silver on, effectively, the frontlines again, he adamantly refuses. Once again, crystal-clear communication must become their saving grace (with the twst cast's unfortunate propensity to jump to conclusions and Malleus' trigger-happy jealousy, this will 100% be a common trend). I think that eventually, Malleus will have to bend a little and let his lovely little knight work—like it or not, protecting his loved ones will forever be his greatest joy in life—but in return, he receives the right to at least make things a discussion and veto power over his more reckless adventures. They'll make things work. :)

Now, considering the fact that you like my fic (which is called “If It Were Only But A Dream,” for anyone who’s interested ^^), this may or may not be the moment you’ve been waiting for... Yandere time!  Honestly, this pairing is just so perfect for my unabashed yandere tastes.  With an all-powerful fae prince as his lover, who has not only the magic and skill to physically manipulate him but also the connections and resources to control every other aspect of his life, Silver would be in quite a pickle if things were ever to get heated. Perhaps he's leaning in just a little too close to some other guard during training, or maybe it's the way he seems to smile a tad more fondly at his beloved animal friends—as these small moments begin to build up, Malleus finds himself growing more and more controlling. And Silver, in his naivety, is ridiculously easy to manipulate. So long as it doesn't concern his father, it shouldn't be a problem if he decides to dedicate just a touch more time to pleasing his boyfriend! Although, they won't actually remain as such for much longer—he also has a tragic tendency to quicken their relationship's progression with each minor slight. Ultimately, this culminates in Silver becoming an isolated, completely dependent little trophy wife, anything other than his king long forgotten (whether that be by manipulation or force, who can tell?). He really is best when he's silent and pretty, isn't he~?

(Okay, so I know I literally just said that they'd learn to talk to each other more, but for the sake of any batshit crazy Yandere AU, I think we can add a pinch of poetic faith here...)

ANYWAY... another one of my favorite AUs for this pairing is Malleus x rival prince!Silver (which might actually end up being canon at this point... in some regard lol). They've been mortal enemies since birth, their respective kingdoms caught up in some century-long feud that has resulted in the death of not only Malleus' parents but Silver's grandparents, as well. Of course, Silver being the sweet summer child that he is finds no pride in his bloody legacy—or what little he can gleam of it, at least; the courtiers have been placed under strict orders to keep him ignorant—only wishes for peace, whereas his fae counterpart has been raised with a thirst for human blood. I am so torn between having their first meeting be 1) unknowingly at a masquerade ball, Romeo and Juliet style (with just as much tragedy as an ending), 2) when Silver is dragged in as a prisoner of war, or 3) in an unexpected convention to discuss their sudden arranged marriage. But, heedless of whatever route you so desire, there is a ridiculous amount of internal strife on Malleus' part regarding the betrayal of his kind and Silver's unbearable guilt for his ancestor's actions. Spoiler alert: All choices end in Malleus killing Silver's parents, annihilating his kingdom, and taking him as the spoils of war.

Finally, a monsterfucking COUGH shapeshifting dragon!Malleus x Silver AU. One day, an innocent, unsuspecting Silver is dragged from his bed in the middle of the night and forcibly clad in a sheer white gown; his fellow villagers have run out of maidens to offer to their nearby dragon god at long last, and have decided to give him up as the virgin sacrifice instead. Malleus, of course, willingly accepts. Quickly becoming the most prized jewel of the beast's hoard, Silver finds himself living a far better life than he ever possessed back home, where he was regularly harassed for being a bastard, orphan child. Eventually, he falls in love with the very monster he's been taught to hate, with a smitten Malleus adoring his kind nature in turn. It's a picture-perfect fairytale ending all around, and he even agrees to care for his lover's eggs as a result. However, little does he know that when the kingdom's army inevitably arrives to deal with its persistent problem, he'll end up betraying his own kind, picking up a nearby sword to protect his slumbering family til the very end...

Overall, I utterly adore the flexibility that this pairing (along with any other combination of Diasomnia characters you can think of) has...! They work so goddamn well with a gothic aesthetic, as well as Victorian, horror, cottagecore, heaven-hell, and dark academia ones! Really, the possibilities are endless. What's even better is that there is so much potential for world-building within MalleSil fics, due to the nature of the different racial and political boundaries being crossed. I focused a lot on the darker aspects of their dynamic in this post, as that's simply my favorite flavor of them, but I truly do appreciate the wholesome vibes, too...! Again, if anyone has even an inkling of an interest in them, please talk to me, I'm seriously am always, always, always down to rave about them. <3

...And now, for my obligatory apology: THIS IS SO LONG OVERDUE, I'M SO, SO SORRY!!! Because I love MalleSil so freaking insanely much, I really wanted this response to be perfect (which, um, I'm not so sure it is...), to the point where I was actually kind of stressed out about it. And then, somehow, new content for them came out while I was taking a break... and I still hadn't finished. I hope this at least somewhat makes up for it! ^^;;;

(As further recompense, I'll let you in on the fact that I'm planning on dropping a new MalleSil fic very, very soon...!)

[lilywily143]

Murder Drones Theory Number 2

The First Theory

I think I have a better idea for how Uzi's flesh form could have happened and the program Absolute Solver. I think her mom was a prototype for a Murder Drone but didn't work and was discarded; sent to the planet so she would be killed by the better ones later one as a fitting punishment. A defective murder drone killed by perfect ones? How perfect~

I am not observant or the best at hearing, but I now know about Cyn, this fourth drone member. Thank you "things you may have missed" videos. So Uzi's mom probably isn't her unless she changed her name to distant herself from the Murderers. But I won't go that far.

But I feel like her being a beta drone with Tessa's attempt to make a drone more human-like by using animal flesh instead of using human bodies. But when that didn't work, Uzi's mom was discarded but survived without the humans knowing. How would they find out? It's not like she'd contact them.

I feel like this is how she may know about the program, Absolute Solver and what can be made by it. She had drawings of creatures Uzi accidentally made when she used too much of the program. She may have known when trying to practice being a murderer and maybe use the creatures for killing...?

I feel like that's also why the joke with 'the cool S' fits. That's a human classic graphic, so a beta drone made by Tessa and around her may have known about a lot of human things.

And small thing, I do like how too much Absolute Solver can really change a drone. Doll may be an exception, but she only used it for attacking. Not like Uzi who used it to hold a flashlight constantly or J who had no control of the program fixing her body in the first place, that was pure program which is why she didn't have a humanoid shape like Uzi with her control still there.

So that's my idea. This next bit is basically fan-fiction but it's a nice read, I hope.

Uzi's mom was a beta murder drone with more flesh that Tessa tried to make so Nori wouldn't be so closely regarded as a drone and have her represent the hate to drones more. Nori learns about tactics the humans wanted the murder drones to use on normal drones during her time with humans.

But she doesn't work. So she's sent to the planet as the defiant drone she is. So when the better drones are sent, she can be killed off by them for a perfect punishment.

When the new squad is made, the flesh is lessened by a lot. The leftover parts that Nori also had was the human hair and a tongue with a realistic saliva but with the healing addition that Nori doesn't have [otherwise Uzi would have that trait if slightly, maybe].

Whether Khan really knows about Nori's state or not may be talked about in new episodes. But I feel like he knows it [if it's true]. He is terrified of the murder drones because he know how absolutely nothing they are to Nori. She was a beta who couldn't hurt anyone, but these 'better' versions of his wife are so much more violent.

And Uzi now has some features of her mother and when Khan finds out, he may get scared again of Uzi's safety. If a 'weaker' murder drone could be killed by the most recent murder drones, then a kid who doesn't even have all the parts of the murderer since he helped build her with parts like his normal self definitely won't be safe if the drones turn on her.

At least that's what he'll think, Uzi knew how to go against V.

[faundlydreaming]

Get to Know my Tav!

I found this through @mistercrowbar! Love their art and characters!

Fianna "Fi" Astara || Asmodeus Tiefling || Beastmaster Ranger-Bard || She/they || 26

((The bard part of Fi is still new to me in game so I'll have more details as I level them up :P)) favorite weapon: Bow and violin. Fi likes to keep a distance by using her bow for various attacks/aoe's or use her violin for bardic spells to buff or occasionally go on the offense by being sassy(viscous mockery). She also likes being a bit sadistic by using dissonant whispers to instill terror in her enemies.

style of combat: She likes to play it safe from far away (though occasionally delights in up close combat when given the chance.) She tends to use spike growth when she can funnel enemies through it while others utilize spells to slow them down even further or keep them within the spikes. Her bear, Ranka, uses goading roar to distract enemies from her and her allies while Kilbern (raven) flies in to blind enemies and then flies out of reach.

most prized possession: A painting of her old companion, Sebastien, as well as his collar. Sebastien had been with Fi ever since she was a child and was the only creature keeping her alive who truly cared for her. They were inseparable.

deepest desire: For a true home and family (aside from her animal companions). Her blood family and old friends betrayed her trust and treated her awfully. When she meets the bg3 companions, she ends up forming a found family as their adventure goes on but it takes quite awhile for her to open up her heart to them. When she finds Astarion and they eventually get together, she finds that they have a bit in common and that she can be completely vulnerable with him after some trials and tribulations. She first befriends Karlach though, and they go through lots of shenanigans.

guilty pleasure: Cuddling. She is touch starved and has trouble with physical contact, but she really just wants all of the cuddles and hugs from her favorite people.

best-kept secret: Her past full of bullying that evolved to torturous levels, as well as other events in her past. Eventually she opens up to others aside from her animal companions.

greatest strength: Her unwillingness to give up and continue striving to believe in others even when she has lived through otherwise. She knows its cheesy, but its what keeps her going nonetheless.

fatal flaw: She has an awful habit of deflecting her vulnerabilities to others, feeling more comfortable having more knowledge on others than they have on herself. She doesn't outright lie, but she does feel as though her issues are minimal.

favorite smell: The scent of her wolf companion who she considers her daughter, Sasha.

favorite spell or cantrip: Spike Growth. Try running through that to chuck an axe through her head while she takes cover behind her more bash-bash-stabby-slicey friends.

pet peeve: She's surrounded by animals who she feels are family. Sasha, her wolf (daughter), Ranka, her bear (brother), and Kilbern her raven (son). She constantly has to pick out fur and feather off of her clothes and food.

bad habit: Any lost animal she finds who needs a home she will bring back to camp, whether the others like it or not. "But they neeeed ussss. Look at how sad they are!"

hidden talent: She can learn things quickly, but if she doesn't use that knowledge, forgets just as quickly.

leisure activity: Playing various instruments and attempting to sing (can hold a tune but that's about it) and dance (while occasionally tripping over her own tail).

favorite drink: Honeyed Ale. So much ale.

comfort food: Shark Coochie boards or cheese/meat in general.

favorite person: From the non animal companions, Astarion (partner), Karlach (bestie), and Wyll (brother figure). Her animals plus Scratch and Roary (owl bear). From her past, Terran (ranger mentor).

favored display of affection (platonic and/or romantic): Hugs and laying on one another. Once she gets over her touch issues and feels trusting towards others, she loves long hugs or just snuggling up to someone. She's constantly snuggling her animals or lounging on them.

fondest childhood memory: Meeting Sebastien for the first time <3

I have no one to tag :'D But feel free to have at it if you'd like to.