#I like to think the original goal in getting him a dog

[farenmaddox]

I think a lot of Cas's feelings of being lost are because of how recently he kind of "gave up" on heaven and his identity as an angel who could lead the other angels back to their original purpose. Angels are supposed to protect and cherish humanity, and it was much easier in earlier seasons for him to feel righteous in his defiance because he was right that protecting people meant preventing the apocalypse and standing up to angels who disrespected humanity.

But the things that he did between seasons 6-9 in service of that goal were... not great. He always had the best of intentions, but it absolutely decimated heaven. He is directly responsible for a LOT of death. So even though he may still feel that humanity is worth protecting and even though he still adheres to that goal (and sees Dean as the primary embodiment of that), he's lost his perspective on HOW to do that and what his role in that should be. Despite how close he has become to humans and despite taking a human family, he still has a fairly cosmic concept of what protecting humanity should look like. This is what led him to being Lucifer's vessel in season 11, and I think the fact that this plan ultimately failed and that Dean was the one to save them all simply by being his beautifully human and compassionate self was really difficult for Cas to deal with.

It's extremely visible in most of season 12 that Cas is struggling to see his place in the world. He can't find/defeat Lucifer and he also can't seem to fit in with the family and be a hunter. He sees himself failing at everything he set out to do, and the fact that most of the primary antagonists in season 12 are just humans doesn't help. He loves humans, but he still doesn't really get them. He feels useless against the Men of Letters and the government and witnesses to the crimes they investigate, and it is a primary part of Cas's personality that he really needs and wants to feel useful. (Relatable!) I don't think it's a coincidence that there are multiple times in seasons 11 and 12 where someone refers to Cas as the Winchester's dog or pet (and it's also not a coincidence that Rowena's spell that nearly killed him gets called the "attack dog" spell). He's lost a lot of his sense of agency and it's being reflected in the words used to describe him (notice how he never argues when people call him this).

And then... Jack. The idea that protecting humanity means protecting this child is less complicated than the quandries he's been mired in for years now, and more uniquely suited to Cas's skill set. They have the Lily Sunder episode, where he has to question his previous stance on nephilim, not to mention it was killing a nephilim that helped Metratron pull off his spell at the end of season 8, something Cas is surely still beating himself up about, and the fact that Ishim and Metratron both lied and manipulated Castiel into it provides a really strong link between the two incidents. Protecting a nephilim instead of killing one must seem like a chance at a type of redemption. His own status as something caught between human and angel allows a certain feeling of solidarity, and of course there's the simple fact that Cas is one of the few things in the world that is both willing to do this and actually has a chance of standing up against the kind of threats the child might be facing.

There are a lot of implications at the end of the series that Jack wasn't what Cas wanted him to be, that Chuck won, that they never actually got to break out of the narrative and be free or happy. But it still matters that from Cas's perspective, this was his choice and that protecting and guiding Jack was both personally fulfilling (became a father, rediscovered "who he is") and was good for the world (because Jack is good for the world). It wasn't about "serving" Jack in the way he served heaven, because that wasn't how he saw it for himself. He was always the one who was quick to tell Jack that it was okay when the situation had changed and maybe Jack couldn't fulfill his "destiny." That he still loved him no matter what, that he was willing to protect him, even from the rest of their family. He was Jack's father, not his servant.

Cas says this, in 15x02: "Even if we didn't know that all of the challenges that we face were born of Chuck's machinations, how would we describe it all? We'd call it "life". Because that's precisely what life is. It's an obstacle course, and maybe Chuck designed the obstacles, but we ran our own race. We made our own moves. And mostly, we did well with that." Maybe that is hopeless naivete on Cas's part, but it meant he died happy and fulfilled. That's better than what Dean got!

forgive me if this doesn’t make any sense but… if the “one day” that “something changed” is supposed to be jack being born, then idk if i like the implication that, before then, cas had just always felt lost and purposeless. are we talking since he left heaven, all the way back in s4? like idk but i’d always thought it was pretty clear that even when cas is unsure and making mistakes and misguided, even when he feels lost at times, starting in s4 when he began to help dean, cas had chosen his purpose to be protecting humanity and protecting his family. and he never really stopped trying to do that, that desire never really gets lost, even if he takes a wrong turn at times ie s6. so like that quote is confusing to me cause imo cas’s vision from jack should have just reaffirmed his desire to protect humanity, but the quote implies that he had found a new feeling of purpose with jack? what purpose, if not loving and protecting humanity? which imo was always there?!?

sorry for the word jumble, but your comments on that quote, a quote i’d not really paid much attention to in the past tbh lol, got me thinking 😅

this makes complete sense!!! and you definitely got my brain wheels turning so thank you! no yeah absolutely, it's weird, and the more i think about it the weirder it gets. here is the dialogue we're referencing, btw. i'll give the benefit of the doubt here and say: there are a lot of days cas could be referring to. it could be the day of lucifer rising, for example, or the day he was resurrected from purgatory, or the day he was resurrected from the empty. it could be any number of days. i cannot conclusively state that any one day is "the day."

but here's what led me to assume it was a jack-related day: that since jack has been back, cas has been hitting the "jack's destiny" talking points hard, and that he ends the speech with "i found a family, and i became a father. and in that, i rediscovered my faith. i rediscovered who i am."

on jack's destiny: here are the examples i can find from s15, all from 15x12. there aren't any additional discussions involving cas about jack's destiny in 15x11, 15x13, or 15x14.

so this is what immediately sprang to my mind when i heard cas talk about purpose. that in season 15, at this point, cas believes his purpose is to help jack fulfill his destiny. he is connecting his worth to jack's "success" in terms of jack doing what he's "supposed" to do. he has faith in jack. he has faith jack will be good for the world. without jack he is lost.

and this actually echoes 12x19 the future. this is from the production draft shared by @spnscripthunt-inactive. notice the themes of feeling no longer lost, of having faith, of feeling "normal" "for the firt time in a long, long time." it may be worth mentioning that both 12x19 and 15x12 (where the above quotes come from) were written by meredith glynn and robert berens.

all of this together reads to me as: cas is defining himself and his own success by jack's success. and that changed on the day jack showed cas a vision of the future, a vision of "paradise" (according to cas). cas needs to believe his faith and trust in jack are correctly placed, that he is doing the right thing. he needs to believe he has a purpose, and he has decided his purpose is helping jack fulfill his (jack's) purpose.

and to thing #2 that made me believe the speech was about the day cas decided he was tied to jack: the way he closes the speech. "i found a family, and i became a father. and in that, i rediscovered my faith. i rediscovered who i am." finding a family and becoming a father are two separate things. finding a family happened much earlier. becoming a father is necessarily tied to jack (i'm not inclined to count claire here - not because she doesn't matter, but because i don't believe cas OR claire view cas as her father). and the way it reads to me is that when cas says "in that," he's talking about "in becoming a father." because it came later. i read it as "finding a family helped, but what really made me rediscover my faith and who i am was becoming a father." and that aligns pretty closely with what is said in 12x19!

so to your point (oh wow that was a long tangent, sorry). literally everything you're saying is spot-on to me. i think we can trace the roots of cas feeling lost and seeking a purpose all the way back to s4 - definitely! i think it's a huge struggle for him because he wants to have a purpose, he wants to feel like what he does matters, but it is difficult for him because he feels like he doesn't know what's right. prior to season 4 his purpose had been clearly spelled out for him (he's an angel, he does god's will). and while he no longer accepts that purpose as his own, i think he craves something as simple and straightforward as that purpose. it's really difficult for him in those s5-s12 years when he's bouncing around, trying to figure out what he should be doing! but i think you're absolutely right that the underlying theme, the underlying purpose is always protecting humanity, protecting his family. i'd add an element of "doing what's right/stopping evil" too. but yeah, cas DOES care about humanity. he DOES care about the little guy. he DOES want to prevent human suffering and misery, and to help relieve it wherever he can. it matters to me that cas cares about humanity because that's one of the things that makes him so different from the other angels. i think over time his tactics change to achieve the goal of protecting humanity, but the goal itself does not change.

so does being jack's father = protecting humanity? kind of. if we believe that jack will successfully usher in paradise, then yes, cas helping jack fulfill his destiny would make things better for humanity and arguably protect them (or reduce the amount of protection they need). but i don't think this has the same level of attention/care towards humans that cas has previously shown. it's about making sure jack succeeds so he can fix everything. it's not about making things better right now.

and this is where i get into opinion territory: i, like you, don't like the implication that cas has always felt lost and purposeless! lost, yes. unsure of his purpose, yes. but i feel like the framing here is that cas has just been aimlessly drifting about for all these years, totally incapable of finding a purpose. i do not think jack and god are the same but i don't see much of a difference between "i am an angel, i serve god's will" and "i am a father, i serve jack's will." especially because there is a chance, however slight, that jack was manipulating cas. that the vision jack showed cas was not a guarantee.

it feels to me like jack hands cas a purpose the same way god handed cas a purpose. and i thought the beauty of cas choosing free will was that he got to choose his purpose himself. this feels like it was chosen for him and he went along with it because it was easier to have a purpose selected for you by a being of unfathomable power. and i sympathize with that immensely! and i also think there was profound beauty in cas discovering his purpose on his own, even when it was a struggle.

[spookyboywhump]

I think recovering whumpees with pets is vastly underrated. Whumpee with their emotional support animal. Whumpee taking better care of themselves because they have another little life to look after now. Whumpees with service dogs. Whumpees with guard dogs to keep them safe from whumper. Whumpees deserve a little pet. As a treat!

[hasnomoxxie]

So, if the Smile Dip Dog swaps with Bill, did he still destroy his own dimension? A dimension full of colorful talking animals? Because I’ve gotta say, that already sounds even sadder.

Right on the money boss!

Here's how I think it'd go!

First off the zodiac, this initially was the way that the beast was split and banished to the astral plane.

Now that this is here, I can list out all the main swaps hoho!

Dipper ⇆ Stan

Mabel ⇆ Ford

Wendy ⇆ Lazy Jane

Soos ⇆ Manly Dan

Abuelita ⇆ Tyler

Pacifica ⇆ Fiddleford

Gideon ⇆ Bud and mrs Gleeful (little villain couple to rival the stan duo)

Robbie ⇆ Preston

THE BEAST ⇆ BILL CYPHER

The pups are silly and playful in nature, opting to try and make things as brightly coloured and 'fun' as possible. Though this usually results in freakish abominations that do things that really shouldn't be done. Though they're not stupid, they know exactly what they're doing and how it effects others- It's mainly just for their own enjoyment.

After destroying their universe full to the brim of brightly coloured talking animals, 'The Beast' was split into halves and banished to the astral plane. This meant their reality warping abilities was whittled down to being intense illusions and hallucinations, however they typically tend to use it to try and restore their original look when they are seen by people- though that only works for a short time.

Pretty much anyone could theoretically see the dogs, either through extreme meditation or having a suspiciously high amount of sugar in your system. Safe to say, a food company having a suspicious amount of complaints from parents saying their kids are now 'unresponsive', 'babbling gibberish and mysteriously disappearing' or were 'seeing God and He's a Dog' was enough to get the entire line of candy shut down. Mabel was unlucky enough to stumble onto some smile dip during a late night work session and met the pups. They quickly bonded and the pups were leading Mabel to the weirdness left right and centre, with the end goal of opening a 'weirdness rift'.

A portal.

Safe to say, Mabel couldn't do this on her own. She's smart but not- dimensional science smart. So she called on the smartest person she knew, her twin brother Mason. At this time, Mason wasn't really doing as well as he could have, being attracted to the extraordinary he was prone to being the laughing stock of his university- but a solid breakthrough. Money wasn't an issue, especially when Mabel's old friend Pacifica was willing to help lend a hand and be on site (despite lying about her financial security in order to help her friends). So- the three of them set to building the portal.

Due to unknown circumstances, Pacifica leaves the project. When Mabel finally realises the true intention of the portal and tries to shut it down, Mason is reluctant to do this- fearing that it may be sabotaging his last chance at being recognised for his scientific works and being slightly jealous that Mabel found all of the weirdness instead of him. Either way, a small fight happens, ending with Mabels disappearance, leaving her scrapbooks behind.

The project failed and the pups still aren't free, but it's a matter of time before someone eventually sets them free

I'm litterally figuring out the timeline as I write but some things are set in stone. I'm just figuring out how to show it all off- I did get alot of outsite help for this too ^^

How would y'all feel about comics? or animations? What particular scenes? I feel like tackling this bit by bit would be the most effective way to go about it, especially for what the world is like in this flipped version.

I dunno this is my first time doing something like this umm, if this doesn't make sense lmk and I'll revise some stuff

umm

bazzinga, thanks for yer question ^^

[zoloteh-volossya]

Some Thoughts on Minthara

A repeating theme of all of the Origin companions is that what they think they want at the beginning of the game is a result of their fucked up pasts and is ultimately bad for them. Shadowheart wants to be a DJ, but that cuts her off from the potential to grow beyond Shar and loss. Lae'zel wants to Ascend, which would obliterate her in her entirety. Karlach would rather die than go back to hell, but dying cuts off the potential continued life she may find thanks to that Infernal Forge. Astarion wants to Ascend, which locks him into a cycle of violence, power, and fear. Gale has two failures of goals - first to kill himself for Mystra's forgiveness, then to Ascend (which hollows him out of all the originally noble intentions he had going into it). Wyll wants to serve, no matter what the cost to himself - which would lead him to stay pacted to Mizora when freedom beckons.

All of these initial goals stem from the environments/abuses that the companions are coming from. And they're all understandable! But they're unhealthy and/or maladaptive, and so in order for every Origin companion to get to their best/happiest ending they need to change and grow away from what they initially thought they wanted due to the influence of their pasts and personal flaws.

Minthara, when we meet her under her own free will, has abandoned Lolth but not her attitudes. She seeks love, yes, but also seeks any sort of power she can get her hands on with a desperation borne of fear. She cares deeply for Karlach and Lae'zel and reluctantly for Astarion, Shart, and Gale, but is willing to enslave them all as she herself was enslaved if it makes her Top Dog. Her ideal ending is codependent evil power couple with you, controlling the brain - and I think that's her 'bad' ending, akin to Ascended Astarion or DJ Shart.

Basically, I think there’s two sides to her. There's the side that desires genuine connections and is willing to go to hell for Karlach even if unromanced... and the side that chases power even if it means doing things like enslaving Karlach. She wants purpose (per her dialogue upon leaving Moonrise), a home and friends (per her dialogue when leaving the party), and protection (per her dialogues with the player). I think if she was able to obtain those things through sources other than trying to conquer Menzoberranzan/the Sword Coast she might be able to express the former side of herself more.

We see a bit of that in her Karlach romance, where she throws aside all concerns of seeking power to go to hell for her girlfriend. She doesn't talk of conquering or ruling Avernus - her focus is purely on vengeance for Karlach. It's an interesting reevaluation of her priorities and also why I like her pairing with Karlach so much.

As a side character, she doesn't get a questline and arc like the Origin companions get. But I think that it is notable that her happiest ending seems to be staying in Baldur's Gate. In her epilogue dialogue with Origin!Lae'zel she confesses that she is not happy if she pursues reconquering Menzoberranzan, and harbors doubts about her ability to succeed.

Because ultimately - as Ascended Astarion shows - pursuing power and conquest does not actually make you happier or safer. It just means a life dominated by fear. Lolth's treatment of the drow - and thus the drow treatment of each other - has been compared by writers of canon D&D novels to an abusive relationship. And like so many other survivors of abuse, Minthy is out of the immediate situation but still carries that way of thinking worn into her psyche, like ruts in a road.

She’ll never be “nice” or even necessarily “good,” but I’d like to think that over time, in the right environment, she can leave behind most of the self destructive power seeking of the Lolthite mindset. Move on from the toxic patterns of her past, as the Origin companions get to do in game.

[strangerxperv]

Bunny hybrid Eddie x human reader x (golden retriever) werewolf Steve

( @werecreature-addicted inspired me to think outside the box for bunny hybrids)

I have some thots

Hybrids and Werewolves Oh My

Warnings:

Breeding, Steddie, ruined orgasms, possessive Steve, monster fuckery, scenting, Dom/ Sub, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT/NSFW

Everyone assumes that rabbit hybrid people are all submissive. They liked to be railed into the dirt by big strong beasts. Some do like that and you've definitely seen Eddie drooling while Steve fucks his ass.

Steve is a werewolf with the personality of a golden retriever, he's the top dog, so to speak. He's the alpha in your tiny three person pack. And you are the sweet little human woman the duo love to breed.

Which is one of the only things the boyfriends agree on when it comes to you. Eddie is a mean dom that enjoys making you cry. Whereas Steve thinks you need to be spoiled and doted on.

Eddie always fucks you first and it always takes multiple rounds for him to be finished. His calloused hands grip just under your knees where he leans. Pushing your knees into your bouncing tits and forcing your legs to stay open. His massive full balls slap onto your ass without mercy. Rabbit hybrid's are made to cum fast and keep fucking to ensure a successful breeding. Finally, once Eddie has his fill of you (or rather once you're full of him) it's Steve's turn.

Steve has to fuck you last because he always finishes with knotting you. Werewolves have stamina that can take multiple rounds to finish. But there is always a thirty minute refractory period. A knott keeps him tied to you and the cum stuffed deep.

Both men are breeders and they don't care who succeeds.

The goal is for you to become round with child and tits dripping milk.

That's not to say they aren't possessive!

Steve in particular has an intense jealousy streak that goes for both his partners. Most monsters or nonhumans can scent the three of you on each other. There are some that don't care and try to shoot their shot.

It drives Steve mad and Eddie lives for it...so long as they aren't hitting on you or Steve. If they flirt with him? Eddie will flirt back just to rile Steve up so he can get fucked hard. (Werecreature addicted is def right about bunny hybrids being brats).

Sometimes Steve will actually punish Eddie and he has you help him.

The last time Steve punished Eddie-!!! 😩🤤

Steve had you giving Eddie blowjobs and just as he starts to cum you pull off, ruining it. The original idea was for you to fuck him but you couldn't be trusted to stop. So instead Steve is knott deep in Eddie and he is balls deep down your throat.

The best part is Eddie a rabbit hybrid can keep fucking and you don't have to stop after he's cum. His cock jumping in the air as cum splashes across your tits and face. The rest of his orgasm drools down his large throbbing cock. It drips down his spasming balls to join the puddle beneath him.

Steve leaves deep bite marks on Eddie's pretty slender throat. The shapes of sharp canines pierced to leave bloody trails. Hickies on his strong shoulders that will make people ask questions. And amongst those marks are smaller ones, with blunt teeth.

But of course this didn't actually teach Eddie anything.

[skelebellie]

affections towards reader

nb!reader x meryl, vash, wolfwood, and knives

NSFW headcannons involved, minors do not interact.

(nsfw is in red, if you’d like to skip it)

this is my first time writing smut lol. if you’ve got any constructive criticism please let me know.

———————————

meryl

meryl loves physical touch. she will constantly hold your hand in public, and if your not walking then she will sit close enough to have your legs touching. if your comfortable enough then she will make the excuse of “needing to save money” in order to share a bed with you. it intentions are never sexual, just in the loving nature that she feels most safe wrapped in your arms.

she loves to offer her thighs for those short naps. she knows she isn’t the most well endowed but you knock out moments within laying down.

meryl also likes to show her love though acts of service. she might take over some of your work to lessen the burden on you. maybe she might clean your clothes after a rough day through a sandstorm, making sure to part out all the sand prior.

she’s the opposite in bed. she’s an absolute pillow princess, her back arched as her thighs pressed against your head as you eat her out for hours. your just trying to show your appreciation for her, you know?

being in bed with her is something sacred to her. its a moment of absolute intimacy and she wants to spend every part of it clawing and grasping your body, each shock of pleasure causes her to pine at you. you never leave the bed without a scatter of marks and hickies.

vash

this man is the biggest trinket collector in the entire world, and you are not safe from him. if he sees something that reminds you of him, its his. you have an endless collection of keychains gathering on your bag. “but it was so cute!! just like you!!!” its so hard to resist when hes giving you puppy dog eyes.

if he notices a hole in your gear or clothes, you’ll come back from a day of odd jobs to find something new on your bed, neatly folded and a small note laid on top of it. “i saw you needed new gear. dont pay me back :) “. if its something you have an emotional attachment too, he will wait for the perfect moment to snatch it from you. you will receive it back with an added patch, the color being practically identical. even if it means late nights and expensive prices, he will do anything to get it back to its original shape.

no one is safe from his nuzzling. if your really nervous or scared, he will rub his head against your head (or any available body part). when he pulls back his hair is messy and tussled in every direction. you think its a plant thing.

in bed vash is a man who dominates the “act of service” category. his whole goal while having sex is making you feel good, your pleasure is his and every moan you makes brings him closer and closer to orgasm. if hes having a rough day all he wants is to eat you out/suck you off for hours on end. if he had to spend the rest of life with his head between your thighs than he would willingly do so.

of course, mans is a switch. some days he craves your control, riding him as you hold his wrists together, preventing him from touching you. in times like this he doesn’t have to worry about the outside world, only how tight you are and your moans. on the flip side, he wants to pound you so hard you forget about whatever troubles may come. he wants to be the only thing you can focus on, you teary eyes unable to pull apart from his face as his hands roam your body, unable to separate himself from you for just a moment.

since hes so clingy, hes an enjoyer of cock warming. he feels amazing connected to you, and he loves to monitor you face to see how much more the both of you can take.

wolfwood

words of affirmation got this man redder than the two suns above gun smoke. and in turn, he loves to support you verbally. “you did great out there”, “we couldn’t have done it without you”, “your my everything”. on top of that, if you feel insecure or anxious about yourself be ready to hear wolfwood list off the 1000 reasons why he loves every part of you. don’t feel like your inconveniencing him, he would willingly tell the entire planet if you let him.

wolfwood loves physical touch, especially your body. his touch is much more intimate, but not necessarily sexual. he will spend car rides with you in his lap or his arm wrapped around your waist, him pulling you into his side. if you let him wander he will start kneading your love handles or the fat of your stomach. you cant go anywhere without this man giving a surprise ass grab. your his personal stress ball.

if you’ve got a muscular or skinny body, hes tracing patterns into your skin or letting his nails glide against you, sometimes causing you to giggle.

he also loves to hear you rant about things than interest you. he would spend hours listening to you rant about some new invention or fixation. it warms his heart to see you so fascinated with something. that glimmer of excitement in your eyes gets his heart pumping.

speaking of physical touch, wolfwood is a man dedicated to the act, especially in bed. he will keep edging himself over and over again because he just doesn’t want it to end. he doesn’t mind you cumming, in fact the more fucked out you look, eyes rolled in pleasure, the more he just wants to make the moment last. he will go a tantalizingly slow pace until your vocal enough to beg him for more.

wolfwood likes a bush. i said what i said.

fave position is you on your side, it gives him enough support to grab at you whenever he wants. when he cums hes got a death grip on you. your the only thinking grounding him from the amount of pleasure you give him.

knives (million knives/nai)

whether or not this emotionally constipated man realizes it, hes got a love language.

he craves quality time, whether that comes from a need to have you near him 24/7 in order to protect you, or that his mind races every time you leave, is none of his concern. he just feels more at peace with you by his side, or at most, with you in his line of sight.

he discovered he really likes bathing with you, its a moment of non-sexual intimacy he looks forward too. he take pride in cleaning every part of you to make sure you are his “perfect partner”, using only the highest quality in JuLai on your skin. the first time it happened he just kind of walked in on you, eyes affixed to your body as you missed a spot. “your not doing it right”, he muttered before stripping and getting in with you. he can always tell where to massage your body if you’ve got a particularly sore muscle.

he always wants you sitting in his meetings with conrad. even when conrad was initially against it. he wants you to see the paradise hes working for, how far hes willing to go for you to live in a perfect world molded just for you and his brotheren.

sex though? oh hes a physical man through and through. as much as he tries to be gentle with you and your human body, he cant help but fold you over in order to get a view of your pleasure ridden face. his thumb resting in your mouth so the only thing your full of is him.

its only natural for you to be under him, as much as he tries to involve you as an equal at work, he knows the perfect place for you is under him and worshipping the love he gives you. and the best time for that is sex.

hes got an obsession with cumming in you. having a part of him inside you makes you so much closer to him, much better than all the other lowly humans. he will keep cumming inside of you until you simply can’t hold anymore. it gets him hard knowing how much your filled of him, both physically and emotionally.

[babygirl-riley]

The Riley’s

You surprise a new Riley in the family.

“He’s a four legged tracking machine.”

simon x reader guide

simon x reader family edition

Warnings: swearing and fluff

You couldn’t resist, you were alone for two months now. Which is pretty normal for how Simon’s job is. So you went to a couple of shelters, animal shelters. Originally it was to check out what type of dogs were out there. Simon and you talked about it before, that if there was a dog present that it would not be some small yappy one.

Simon hated the small dogs, thought they were to tiny and he could squash them by accident when walking around. Which was fair, he was a large man in stature. So just looking for ideas wasn’t suppose to have the end goal you got.

It was a loud shelter many dogs barking and howling. It broke your heart to see them, some were cowering in the corner others up against the fence. You would look at the names Sparky, Jack, Velma, Cupcake. Really odd names. However there was one that made you stop in your tracks.

Riley. You looked into the cage to find a German Shepard, at first he was cautious on when you stopped. Glaring and still. “He used to be a military dog actually,” The woman said behind you. “We might have to put him down soon cause he is getting aggressive.”

You smiled and turned to her. “Can I walk him?”

She stared at you for a minute and shook her head. “I don’t know he isn’t for sale.”

You chuckled. “No worries just one walk and if he snaps then don’t worry about it.”

The lady shrugged and walked to grab a leash. You turned back to the dog who still hasn’t moved. Just staring, you kneeled down and looked at him. Tried to read his eyes. Curious was behind them yet cautious at the same time. “Hey bud,” You whispered. “It’s alright, I’m here to take you home.”

The dog stared unsure before sitting down waiting until the door opened. You watched as the lady cautiously took the dog and handed the leash to you. You grabbed it and he walked with you, he was next to you the whole time. When you looked at him he would look away but when you didn’t he sniffed you.

It reminded you of Simon, cautious and curious. When you both started to date Simon was standoffish yet caring at the same time. You knew nothing of him until damn near 2 years of the relationship. Didn’t know his family was killed until marriage. You could tell how similar the personality between Simon and Riley really was. You guess that’s what the military can do to you. Give you horrible things to twist your mind into think no one is trusted.

Not once for the hour you were with him he was aggressive. You pulled the lady aside and talked about taking him home. She explained that he doesn’t like children or other pets. Luckily for him neither of those were there, she explained that the personality would come out and she expected for him to be back.

You negotiated and bought him, he followed you to the car, hopping in normally. The drive home was nice, he sat and watched the world go by. “Ya know your new dad is military,” You spoke looking over for Riley to be laying down. “You two will get along just fine.”

Riley was to himself a lot of the time, you would feed him and taking him for walks. He wasn’t loving at first until 2 weeks later. He would play with you and cuddle up to you when it was time for bed. Would growl if he felt someone was too close to you when walking. Eventually you tested to see how trained he was. Learned he knew the basic things but also knew how to do protection tricks.

Simon didn’t expect when he pulled home to hear a deep growl at the door when putting his keys in. He wanted to surprise you if being home early, Simon even checked if it was the right house. The growl was deep, a warning. It was dark out, late very very late. So maybe he was hearing things, it wasn’t until he heard you tell something to sit.

“Simon!” You yelled swinging in for a hug. He hugged you back but all he could see is that dog. The dog that was glaring at him for a moment.

“What’s that?”

You turned smiling before biting down on his lower lip. “So I got lonely,” You stated walking over to Riley petting his head. “I wasn’t going to buy a dog but something ironic happened.”

Simon watched as the dog scooted closer to you. Still cautious of him, Simon was just a big man, he rarely wore his mask at home. Takes it off in his truck unless he was extremely tired. “What is it?” He said again.

“His name is Riley.”

Simon was shocked, you were joking, there is no way his name was that. That would be very strange and interesting. “Really?”

You nodded and grabbed his dog tag and his name was engraved. He was a beautiful dog. He walked up to the dog, at first the dog froze then sniffed his hand. Simon let it do whatever as he growled lowly before walking away. You sucked in your lips. “He will get used to you.”

Simon hoped it would be awful to have a pet that tolerated him. For the couple of weeks he was there, Riley slowly got closer to him. Riley followed him everywhere, bathroom, back hard when mowing, on the side of his bed. All of it. Hell Riley would watch football with Simon.

Riley and Simon started to do more training. Taught him how to search, would hide little things of yours, eventually you as Riley searched. Slowly Riley would leave with Simon to the base, slowly would not be at home.

You rolled your eyes humorously. “He hated you.”

Simon scoffed. “He was shy.”

You laughed placing the noodles on each plate. You frowned. “You promise you both come back safe? Intact?”

Simon frowned as well. He knew how you felt when you both talked about what would Riley do, stay at home. That was your only thing, he didn’t need to go out and fight anymore. He did it when he was younger. However Riley has been anxious been doing things that Simon noticed that the other canines would do. Especially when they retired.

Price watched Simon and Riley together on the base. Riley was a good tracking dog and really good at attacking as well. So Price pulled Simon aside and asked how he felt about Riley joining 141. Simon said he would love to but he would have to ask the Misses.

At first you walked away from him, angry of course. Simon knew not to follow you, that he got you that upset to retreat to the bedroom. So he waited. Until you came out and asked what Riley would do. He explained that he would only go on missions that needed the enemy to be found. Capture or kill.

You would listen sit and made tea for both of you as you both negotiated on what would happen. You sighed again. “It would only be for those missions. Some I will know ahead some I won’t. Just like normally.” Simon explained holding her hands. “Ya seen him. He walks around the house like he needs something. He just got into the planets last week.” Simon explained.

You looked outside remembering him bringing in a whole bush of flowers. Dirt and a fucked up backyard. Riley would start destroying things after one paw of his stepped into the base. He wanted more. Needed more. More energy. You frowned looking down at Riley. Riley wagged his tail looking up at you.

“Dogs don’t need to fight the wars Si.” You whispered petting Riley.

Simon nodded his head. “I agree lovie, unfortunately he has already been trained it wouldn’t be his firs’. He would be a good asset.”

You watched as Riley licked your hand. Like he was reassuring you, like he was telling you it was fine. “Alright, only for those missions. But I next time Simon I am getting a yippy and you can’t do shit.”

Simon shook his head chuckling lowly. “No I don’t think so sweethear’”

Simon thought you were kidding but three months later, you brought home a tiniest dog. Yorkie of all dogs. Simon now knows not to take the dogs with him to base. Well Riley fell in love with the little bugger. Eventually Simon did as well having both dogs near him.

You came home from grocery shopping and while walking in you saw the dogs and him sleeping. Riley laid at the end of his feet while Hallie laid on his chest. You scoffed, pulling out your phone, clicking the picture. You smiled as you sent it to Price stating you will have a drug locator too.

[rorah]

Dimitriverse here. And I'll use it as pretext to talk about Hopes. 'In this essay I will ☝️...'/j I must be one of the few - if not, the only one- (who's not on board with the anti-church propaganda |Just in case: I grew up in an atheist house| and not a Byleth hater either) who actually liked hopes because it supports and enhances houses narrative view (contrary to the common belief that it's the opposite).

Hopes shows a constant comparison between both games. And we know that this universe plays a lot with the parallels between different characters, and relationships. Both similarities and contrasts. Hopes is a contrast, seen from Shez's perspective.

It is established from the beginning that they only see the superficial positive qualities of the leaders, just like general tone presented of this game.

Here I'm going to focus mostly on AM's goal and its contrast in AG.

In AM Dimitri achieves redemption and benevolence through forgiveness and acceptance. These lessons he learns from Byleth - the teacher/ the guide/ the enlightened one (the class enlightened one is mea to alude that who have more knowledge and greater understanding of something, who also aludes to the original aspect of the game. Nirvana. The JP Byleth class) in an indirect way. Byleth in turn gets it from the goddess herself but also their life lessons/experience from GM, and the people surrounding them. WC is an important and crucial stage in Byleth's development, as is the interaction they have with the diverse students they tutor.

The role of Byleth goes beyond a mundane "self-insertion" of the player. Byleth is meant to be a bridge between that goddess and humans: the path to Nirvana.

Both forgiveness and acceptance are mentioned in the game but can go unnoticed due to the level of subtlety they are mentioned, but they are core elements in Buddhism such as compassion and wisdom that serve as a path to inner peace and freedom (specially for the leaders who rule over big factions of people), and breaks the chain/cycle of suffering, anger, revenge, resentment, among others.

And that reminds me of Arval's constant words: "the cycle of this world". What does Arval mean? The cycle of this world… said by an Agarthan "deity", whose only role in the game has been to generate constant conflicts between the inhabitants of Fodlan and beyond perhaps? so that they kill each other. I don't know Joe, something here smells weird -wink wink- (Not to mention it also emphasizes the qualities achieved through Nirvana)

It's Important to understand the importance of Forgiveness and everything involved in the act. Understanding forgiveness, as a spiritual practice, goes beyond simply letting go of resentment. It involves cultivating mindfulness and compassion towards oneself and others. Since the game has heavily references and basis from Buddhism you can grasp it from there (more than Christianity, I'm sure different faits have somewhat different or similar approach to some concepts). But need to mention the act is also applied from a physiological and neurological perspective (in case you're not much of a "fait" person like me. I still like the Buddhism take tho, from a philosophical standpoint💖).

Anyway, Dimitri AM manages to learn those lessons and is not just "to learn to live for himself", which is also important, but it is only possible to achieve it through the through the acts already mentioned: forgiveness, acceptance, compassion, etc. Acts that acts that are practiced externally towards others but which are mostly an act towards oneself. Compared to Dimitri AG where the path chosen is revenge.

Misfortune always dogs the steps of one who gives way to the desire for revenge.

Does he get the answers he thinks he wanted? Yes Did it satisfy him? A Dimitri fan knows it didn't. Can Dimitri's friends help him? No, because they're in a similar situation or under similar believes, and this game displayed it.

Sopilers: No, they won't get anything from getting revenge and certainly doesn't help to move on. Much less Dimitri, who's mental health has only been addressed at the end of a couple of supports. Is Shez a bad person? No! but they help no one and just goes along with whatever the leader says. Is Arval/Epimenides a bad entity? This is where I think, the original concept of the game is applied, the one mentioning. There's no good or bad, only a matter of perspective. But of course, that's something arguable and extense that deserves its own analysis.

At the end of all 3 routes, the war continues (despite having finished off Thales in AG) because the cycle continues. The cycle of anger, of suffering, of revenge, of prejudice, etc. And in my opinion, I think that's beautiful (the comparison, I mean). Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[fatratinatophat]

Promised you guys your Scraps and Goob headcanons since that poll won so here they are!

If someone wants to steal these, you're more than welcome to, I'd prefer getting credit if possible. If someone ends up using these for a comic or fanfic or something I'd love to see it so pls tag me or PM me I love reading my silly things :]

Scraps made Goob because she wanted a fellow Toon that would share her interests and hang out with her since the others weren’t really particularly crafty and didn’t share her interests

Goob just randomly showed up in Gardenview one day, both employees and other toons were extremely confused but the company decided to monetize on the free toon. His random appearance is also why he’s not on almost any posters

Goob was originally her height but he ended up growing a lot taller than her, Scraps is not happy about this development

His sharp teeth were also unintended, growing in randomly as he got bigger, Scraps was very confused

She originally planned to make his arms like the rest of his body, but underestimated the amount of fabric it would take to make him, so she improvised with long strips of rubber, poly beads (Makes them heavy) and red and blue felt to make his hands, which is why they look out of place (She intended to replace them, he wanted to keep them)

He couldn’t lift his arms for weeks because they were too heavy, eventually he figured it out

Dog and cat coded, you can guess who’s who

Both get zoomies cause I said so

Scraps WILL sit in boxes and circles on the floor, you cannot stop her

Scraps purrs and kneads when they’re both just hanging out instinctively

Goob is tall, Scraps is short

Goob is extremely clumsy, and this causes him to get rips pretty frequently, Scraps usually sews him up, whenever a spot starts to look too strange cause of all the sewing, she will cover it with a custom patch

Scraps is made of construction paper with her hands being Pom poms, her parts have to get replaced quite frequently, Goob helps her with this

Goob is usually very calm and non confrontational however, if someone is bullying Scraps and ONLY Scraps, he gets slightly violent and will slap whoever was talking to her rudely, this hurts quite a bit because of the poly beads in his hands. Nobody dares to say anything rude to Scraps when her brother’s nearby (Except the rare Shrimpo insult when he forgets)

He has ONLY ever slapped Shrimpo and various Gardenview employees

Scraps has mauled the employees on multiple occasions because they were mean to her brother so they try and avoid him whenever they’re together (Which is almost all the time)

The both of them get put in “time out��� whenever they get aggressive towards the employees, where they’re locked in a closet for a couple hours as a punishment. This does not persuade them, it just makes Scraps mad (If one of them is stuck in time out, the other will refuse to work until they’re freed so they never stay in there long)

Goob doesn’t get treated particularly well because of his random appearance (New toon to look after while you’re getting paid minimum wage who’s clingy) so the employees don’t bother taking proper care of him. Scraps hates this and has made it her personal goal to make the employee’s lives a living hell so Goob’s considered the “obedient” one (He’s still a good boy even though the employees suck)

The two of them are basically attached at the hip, rarely ever apart for long periods of time, let alone at all

Neither of them can feel pain because they’re made of craft materials, they can feel what’s happening to them though it just doesn’t hurt

When either of them lose all their hearts in a round, they don’t die they just simply are incapable of moving anymore (Ripped off arms/legs, etc)

Phew alright I’m done, might edit this in the future if I get any better ideas to add but here they are, all the headcanons I have so far for these 2. Can you tell I think about them too much?

Below is ur promised doodles (They’re very low effort they’re not good also do me a favor and pretend I drew Scraps’ head right in the first image, ok?)

[skipper1331]

Obsessed // Alessia Russo

Alessia and you were lying on the couch watching modern family. Well, that was the original plan, however Alessia had a different one. The TV shouldn’t have your attention. Alessia should have your attention.

"Lessi, what are you doing?" you giggled.

The striker had her hands on your sides, pulling you into her while peppering kisses all over your face.

"I‘m so obsessed with you, baby." Her eyes were nothing but full of love. Still, all these years later she made you feel like a lovestruck teenager.

Alessia often used that phrase. Because it‘s true. That girl was head over heels for you and has been since the moment she met you.

Many years ago

Alessia and her friends were playing football in the park.

And then there was you walking around with your little brother. Normally, you would be studying but your mother was still working so you had to take care of your brother. You enjoyed it though. Your brother was a little sunshine. Smiley, goofy, laughing. A boy who enjoyed his life.

"I want a dog, missy. You know? It would be so cool! I could play with him all the time. While I throw him his toy I would train my arm. So I can be like gramps." Your grandpa was an absolute legend in handball. The same passion he had, your brother has now. And to be honest your brother was quite good at it.

So the reason why you were at the park was to let him play. You knew there was a little goal which he could use. Nobody used it. You have never seen someone besides your brother use it.

As soon as he saw the goal he ran to it and threw the ball. "MISSY! HURRY UP!!!" he shouted while you walked (slowly in his eyes) to him. His shouting got Alessias attention. She and her friends a bit away. But not only Alessias attention, everyones attention. They all shared a look before they looked towards the both of you. When Alessia saw you her world stopped. You might think of it as a cliche but Alessia Russo had never seen a girl prettier than you. She watched the way you played with your brother, the way you would jump in the wrong way so the ball would go in, the way you played catch and throw.

The whole time while playing with her friends she couldn‘t focus. She was too focused on you. Too obsessed with you.

Her touch was sloppy. Her passes were sloppy. Eventually her friends gave up on having a good game. When they started their journey home Alessia thought about doing it too but she couldn‘t go home without knowing your name. She would regret it. Being bold in that moment she walked over to the two of you. "Wrong choice of sport, mate" she joked. "Hi, i‘m Al-" she couldn‘t even finish her sentence because your brother was so offended. "Excuse you! My gramps is a H-E-R-O in this sport." She didn‘t think that her choice of words would lead to this. She just wanted to get know you. "Scotty, be nice. She was joking." In that moment she could‘ve sworn that she was about to faint. Your voice was music to her ears. "I‘m Y/N"

And that‘s how your relationship started.

some years ago

Alessia and you have been a couple for about 2 years and you both couldn‘t be happier. But what Alessia was feeling right now was anything but happiness. Her day already started shitty and it only got worse. Last night she forgot to charge her phone so this morning it didn‘t have any battery. As a result she couldn‘t read your daily morning messages. In school she found out that she left her homework at home which were due today and training in general was just not it. The worst part of all was that she missed you. She wanted to be in your arms. They would make anything better. Immediately after training was finished Alessia made her way home. She knew you were at her house waiting.

You and her mom were sitting in the living room talking about the new recipe she tried a few days ago when a moody Alessia came home. She didn‘t even say hello. She just walked up to you, grabbed your hand and pulled you along with her. In her bedroom, she wordlessly laid you down on her bed and flopped onto you. Instantly your arms went around her. Her face was hidden in the crook of your neck while she inhaled your scent. "Hard day today, baby?" you asked quietly. You could feel her nod. You pressed a kiss to her temple and started tracing patterns on her back, so she would calm down. You didn’t know how long you‘ve been doing it but when you heard her sleepy voice say "I‘m obsessed with you" you knew she was about to fall asleep.

a few years ago

It was family trip time.

Alessias family had invited you to come with them to Italy. Of course you agreed. You have never been in Italy before and with all the stories Alessia told you about her nonna you were excited to meet her. Alessia loved Italy. How couldn‘t she? She loved everything about it. The food, the people, the weather, everything. And now the person she loved most came to the place she loved. She was excited. On the whole journey (the flight and car rides) to her nonnas she couldn‘t shut up about the things she wanted to show you. She was so enthusiastic and full of joy that you couldn‘t stop smiling (at her).

In the first week Alessia showed you around, took you on romatic dates and you, her and her family had almost every night a game night. It was perfect.

One night her nonna made dinner (she always did but this time it was different) she asked you if you wanted to learn how to make a real italian lasagna. You didn’t let that opportunity slip through your fingers. Her nonna showed you how to make the perfect lasagna and while she taught you it she also taught you some italian words and phrases.

Alessia was head over heels. She loved that her nonna liked you, she loved that you and her nonna connected so well. She felt special because you were special. Her nonna had never asked someone who was not blood related to help her make her lasagna. Not one of her brothers girlfriends, nobody. The only thing Alessia could do was watch. She watched you the whole time with big heart eyes. "You really love her, don‘t you?“ her brother asked, snapping her halfway out of her trance but not completely. “Yeah. I‘m so obsessed with her.“ she answered honestly, still with her eyes fixed on you. What she didn’t realize though was that her answer was in fact loud spoken. Not in a whisper like she thought. "I always knew you‘re obsessed with me“ giggling you pressed a kiss on her cheek. Her face turning a deep shade of red. "Look at the lasagna we made!“ you stated with so much pride in your voice. You were really proud of that lasagna, hoping it would taste good. "It looks almost as amazing as you“ your lover replied whilst smacking her arm around your waist. "smooth“ the other Russo brother laughed.

The rest of the night was filled with a delicious meal, laughing and enjoying each others presence. That night was one of the happiest Alessia ever had. She was in the country she loved, around the people she loved most. She was at peace.

present

"Still? Years later?“ you whispered against her lips, an inch away. ”Yeah“ she breathed.

With that being said she kissed you. She kissed you like there was no tomorrow. She kissed you like you were the only girl in the world (because for her you were). She kissed you like she would do it for the rest of your lives.

After all those years Alessia was still obsessed with you and neither of you wanted it any other way.

—————————

[brokenpieces-72]

I know that soap is closer to reader than some of the others, but I was wondering what her dynamic with the rest of the 141 is? - 🇰🇷 anon

Hey 🇰🇷 anon. In terms of dynamic it’s a few things for each person.

Johnny is the older brother who sometimes has to fill the dad role. He owns it too. While he doesn’t have a good grip of what being a jackalope hybrid that can shift into a wendigo is like he does what he can to at least make you comfortable. You are top priority, and it can become difficult to set aside your bond to get serious with you.

Kyle is your buddy. He looks out for you as does the rest of the team but if you just want to sit and not talk much or just chill he’s down. If necessary he helps keep you in line, while still being a bit softer about it. After hearing your story, he made sure to be close and watch over you, talking to your mores, encouraging you to be a teenager and try to make friends your own age if you can.

Simon at first thought you were going to be around for maybe a month tops. It’s been much longer than a month and he’s become your shadow. He keeps an eye on you from a distance. Simon lost his brother some time ago, over time he’s come to find a similar attachment. Simon doesn’t baby you, in fact it was his original goal to scare you off. He gives you the benefit of taking you seriously, especially after he learns you didn’t get to have much of a childhood.

Price is still trying to figure what exactly the dynamic between you two is. Not a man who spends too much time with kids and he originally didn’t want to have you on the team, you were an obligation. Some wild card that was being thrown in to the game because the rules said it could be there. Now he’s got a bit of a dad side to him, messing with you from time to time, keeping you in line and laying down the law when he has to.

Rodolfo is your mentor and friend. The dogs like having a younger human around and while Rodolfo might not be a dad he’s still a good teacher. Like Price he wasn’t sure how he felt about someone so young coming to the base, but it didn’t stop him from teaching you everything you needed to know or wanted to know. He likes having you around.

Alejandro is like your uncle, which means he gives you his opinion straight. There are still expectations he has and he pushes you hard, you don’t have limitations in his eyes. Despite this, he knows you can run low, and if you can’t go to Johnny then Alejandro will come to you. Rudy might show you the basics but Alejandro teaches you how to go beyond.

Horangi sees you as a stray cat that keeps coming by his back door. You’ll meow a couple times see if he comes around to greet you. Recently he’s started thinking about his own family, having distanced himself from them to keep them safe. Your habit of getting him to chuff in haetae form has made you into a bit of a brat in his eyes. You went from being the stray, to Horangi becoming the antisocial cat. He comes to you if he feels like, if he finds himself longing for that sense of family and companionship.

König is your big bestie. You’re each other’s safety net. You help each other every mission, and if either of you aren’t on a mission you wait patiently for the other to come back. You check in with him before and after, making sure he’s okay. If he passes out you come by regularly to see if he’s woken up yet. You tease each other, cuddle, and yes at one point you tried braiding König’s hair. König is intimidating in his size but next to you, he comes off softer.

Taglist: @yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @talia-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846 @graystorm444 @chibiduck @reaperxxxxzz @danielle143 @sobbingnshtting @cringeycookies @cryingpages @dcnocap207 @reaper-chan666 @bestbookfriends

[eldenringslut]

I feel like people are getting a bit too angry at the whole Radahn final boss thing. I’m not saying you have to like it, but I’ve been seeing a lot of rage that feels a bit misplaced in my opinion. Also as usual this is just my opinion so feel free to disagree with me.

In terms of gameplay, Consort Radahn has a new moveset and fight tempo that, despite calling back to his original fight with some moves, feels pretty distinct to fight in my opinion.

In terms of lore, I’ve also seen people saying that Miquella’s description of Radahn basically makes him reddit ‘Chadahn’. I disagree with this.

It’s important to remember that this is Miquella giving his personal view of Radahn, and that he is an unreliable narrator. Radahn still has all the same flaws and complexities as before, the evidence for that from the base game isn’t gone. The only difference is that we now know Miquella’s (in my opinion childlike) perspective of him.

Additionally, although we know that Radahn fought against becoming Miquella’s consort in the end, we have no idea if the vow was initially one sided or not. Maybe Radahn rejected it from the start. Maybe he initially agreed because he thought Miquella (as an Empyrean) wanted to become the Erdtree’s god rather than supplant it’s order. Maybe he jokingly agreed to Miquella’s childish request not realising that Miquella would never be anything but a child. We simply don’t know, and I personally think all of these interpretations are interesting in their own right.

Adding onto this, a lot of people seem to be hating on Miquella’s character for becoming the ‘villain’ of the DLC. But think of it like this. If Miquella is an eternal child who had always had the ability to compel love and affection, why would he see love as anything other than a tool. It probably doesn’t even occur to him that maniputating others with magic is wrong or sinister in any way.

This also explains why he so coldly abandons Malenia, despite his obvious affection for her. He does genuinely care for her, he just has an extremely skewed perception of what love and affection is. He probably thinks something like; “Oh, but I’ll be able to make her feel happy and loved when I come back so it’s fine that I’m abandoning her for hundreds of years 😊”. I personally really like what the DLC did with Miquella’s character, even if it’s different from what we expected.

Now that’s not to say I like everything about what the DLC did with the lore. In particular, I don’t like how Malenia’s motives in Battle of Aeonia is simplified. Instead of it being a clash of ideologies, a fight between two mighty demigods that deeply respect each other’s strength or a desperate attempt to free the stars from stasis, Malenia is reduced to a brainwashed attack dog. This also cheapens Finlay’s sacrifice in my opinion (although you could also see it as enhancing the tragedy of it all by making her sacrifice less meaningful).

I’m also still unsure as to why Miquella would embed himself in the Haligtree before making Mohg kidnap him. If that was his goal from the start why embed himself in the first place? He could have just gone with Mohg in his normal form?

One possible explanation for this is that he didn’t initially plan to get kidnapped by Mohg, and wanted to enter the Land of Shadow by using his Haligtree to form a counterpart in the LoS like the Scadutree? Maybe he switched his plan and brainwashed Mohg after being kidnapped? We know from the War Surgeon set description that Mohg already has a propensity for kidnapping so idk.

Anyway that’s enough rambling for now I think. As usual my reccomended lore youtuber is Smoughtown.

[naisaspalace]

Personal Nakshatras observations series: MULA NAKSHATRA part 1

2/27

nakshatra characteristics:

Translation: The root Symbol: A tied bunch of roots or elephant goad yoni: A male dog Presiding Deity: Kali or/and Niritti. Ruling Planet: Ketu Ruling Deity of the Planet: Ganesha Body parts: Feet & Left side of trunk. Nature: Rakshasa (demon) Mode: Active Number 19 Gender: Neuter or male (depending on the source) Dosha: Vata Guna: Tamasic Element: Air Disposition: Sharp and dreadful Bird: Red Vulture. Trimurti: Brahma/Creation. Direction: North Motivation/Goal: Kama. Downward Facing.

"The root star, origin star, foundation star"

Power to ruin, destroy, scatter things.

small overview of the nakshatra:

So Mula is the nakshatra that is opposite ardra and naturally, it's going to deal with opposite themes or at least is going to deal with the same matter but using another tactic

this time mula instead of simply cutting the problem right away now we are going to see an individual who will find the truth by digging into it.. digging into the roots to find the source of the problem.

mula its the "matured" state of ketu contrary to ardra which is the infant or initial manifestation of rahu

mula can be just as chaotic as ardra or even worse because this time there's not head only the body, ketu, and the challenge now it is to cut off only the part of the root that is sick or bringing problems.

this time instead of cutting the problem straight away we will go on a journey to see what happens when you decide to go after to eliminate the root of the problem and its consequences.

i also highly recommend that you check my previous post, that i will link on the end of this post, to be able to get a better understanding of the matter.

Pop culture mula representations:

Singers

Gerard Way (depression, singer and songwriter, fame, and art)

Gerard Way is a famous 00s punk rock vocalist of a band called My Chemical Romance. he has mula moon with mercury Bharani conjucted ketu Ashwini and just by looking at his placements we can already see that he has huge ketu energy on his chart.

He is a Taurus rising with mercury-ketu on his 12th, exalted rx venus on his 11th with the sun. The 12th house is the house of liberation, salvation, losses, and things that are hidden from us and the 11th is the house of earned gains and social networking.

(i use astroseek to see the carts so i believe that might be some differences although i don't think his nakshatras change regardless)

I am going to discuss the lyrics of his albums that, according to him, are very personal.

his second band album was launched in 2004 and it is called "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge"

okay lets just start by looking at the cover because i just found out that i was inspired by "bonnie and clydes kiss" and i just checked and clyde, just like Gerard, he have exalted venus (but gerard have retrograde venus and its at revati and clydes is at purva bdp),and they have their lagnas on the same nakshatra the difference is that g's is at taurus mrigashira and clydes at gemini

meaning that sad mula emo boy took inspiration on a couple of murders to make his band's debut album and to be even more coincidental is the fact that he have strong synastry with the man meaning that

"In the drawing, you can see a small white heart on the male character's forehead. It is the only spot on his bleeding forehead, as it represents the couple's bulletproof love."

and on this album there's a music dedicated to his dead grandmother, called Helena.

I will not elaborate further on this album because the focus of my analysis will be on the second album of the band, but this first observation is here to show that Gerard's way of dealing with his pain, alongside drug use, was to write songs.

my main focus will be in the bands second album, where through the lyrics, we can see his mother's issues, his fear of abandonment, and more of his personality.

the third band's album is called "the black parade" and the band recorded this album in a haunted abandoned house where the members lived for a while only to be able to record the album. The members spent 2 months inside a haunted mansion isolated and said to have experienced supernatural stuff.

It is a rock opera and concept album centered on a dying man with cancer known as "The Patient". The album tells the story of his apparent death, experiences in the afterlife, and subsequent reflections on his life.

in short, the man died and saw his life in the form of a parade, hence it was called the black parade, it was a place where he reflected on his life choices after arriving at the afterlife.

now lets go over the album songs in a quick overview to see the story (the tracks are listed according to the order.)

"The Black Parade" focuses on the journey of a man known as "The Patient", diagnosed with cancer, as he reflects on his life and impending death. The album begins with "The End", where The Patient prepares for his funeral without expecting much mourning. In "Dead", he faces the reality of his imminent death and regrets not living his life fully. In "This Is How I Disappear", he realizes he will be forgotten and faces the consequences of his actions. "The Sharpest Lives" explores his toxic behavior and substance abuse after his lover leaves him. In Welcome to the Black Parade, The Patient recalls his father's advice to help others. In I Don't Love You, he breaks up out of self-hatred. House of Wolves sees him mocking fake faith. Cancer shows his fear of being remembered at his worst. Mama reflects on a mother's love despite her son's actions. The Patient learns that his family's love remains, like the mother's in the story. The Patient in "Sleep" faces internal turmoil and regrets, viewing himself as a monster unworthy of sympathy. Memories of his heinous acts torment him in death. The theme of disconnection from society, as portrayed by teenagers, reflects his warped perspective. "Disenchanted" portrays his wasted life and fear of death. In "Famous Last Words," The Patient finds hope for a second chance at life with his lover after facing his fear of death.

(I got this explanation from Reddit. tumblr didn't allow me to post the full explanation so please go to the post and read for yourself to see the detailed version.) (the explanation will use the detailed version of the track story explanation.)

in my personal opinion, Gerard was just as personal on this opera as he was on the song about his grandmother. This time we got to see mula's form of trying to fix the problems that disturb an individual's mind.

the lyrics feel way to personal, especially knowing that mulas tend to have mother issues, as we can see on the track mama where the dying man is begging for his mother for help and he feels desperate and looking for love and care, following the "welcome to the black parade" track where the man is remembering the words of his father and that to me portrays his rising ruler, Revati venus rx at 11th conjuncted his sun, the internal feeling of wanting to save people and to do good for others

In The Sharpest Lives, he says "he promises that if he has her back he will give up all of his addictions, as her light would be so bright in his world that the sun would be ashamed", the nodes are eclipsing the sun(Rahu the artificial sun) and the moon (ketu artificial moon), here I believe he meant that by facing her without the drug addiction he would be have no choice but to actually face his shadows because he uses the drugs to run from reality to run from his head demons.

he have rahu libra ruled by his rising lord, venus 11th that is conjuncted with his sun, libra = relationships, rahu fake or artificial, the artificial sun is ruled by exalted venus and pieces also deals with addictions, maybe the sun that he mentioned is the artificial sun, the one who would be ashamed, as his soul and venus are together.

everyone wonders what happens at the afterlife and no wonder he wrote this opera..... and by last the fact that he wonders through the whole album if he wasted his life away and desires to have his lost love back, again coming back to venus and union of two souls.

by he i was talking about gerard, who i truly believe mirrored himself on this punk opera as a way to express his mental tortures and transform into art. in the end the dying man and Gerard can be the same they sound the same.

differently from ardra, mula expresses his soul pains in a way more artistic to be able to find out what is wrong with him why does he feel so much pain in his life and regardless of gerard knowing or not those pains were put in his life as a test to achieve his soul liberation, something that I believe years later he find peace.

gerard said on a interview on 2022 :

-“The triumph of the human spirit over darkness was something that was kind of built into the DNA of the band from the beginning,” he explained. “The self-actualization, the triumph of the spirit and things like that, getting through really hard things. “There’s darkness in the world. And I think overcoming that darkness, that darkness externally and internally, is a beautiful thing. It’s a challenging thing, but it is beautiful if you can do that if you can kind of triumph over that. So that’s a theme that’s definitely in ‘Black Parade’, the song, and it’s in my work.”"

Billie Eilish (singer, famous star)

Billie is a famous pop singer that has mula sun-mercury-ketu 11th, 12th shravana moon, jupiter ardra rx - rahu mrigashira 5th, with lagnaand mars at purva bdp aquarius ruled by 4th rohini saturn rx.

where we got two famous singers with big saturn (gerard have cancer saturn i forgot to mention) ketu and Jupiter Energy that they channel to create their arts, but this time is billies brother who writes for her or co-writers with her (depending on the source you use).

finneas (her brother) have jupiter rx capricorn, leo stellium (mercury, venus and rahu) , mrigashira gemini moon and saturn pisces.

billies moon conjuncts her brothers jupiter and his moon conjunct her Jupiter-rahu and his ketu conjunct her first house lagna and mars so i truly believe that they are very close to each other and can understand each others internal mental battles to me they channel together, funny because one of the symbols of gemini is the twins.

also his sun conjuncts her saturn which should bring discipline to their work.

this time we got to see how mula operates under the umbrella of rahu, mula stellium ruled by jupiter ardra. In other words, we are going to see how, through an intellectual lens, Billie channels her inner mental torture and expresses her unique yet common emo mindset to make a career out of her pains.

she have her 10th ruler at 1st, 10th jyeshta venus ruled mars aquarius, this explains why shes very famous and why we are able to see her channelized expression of herself. 10th planets are what is exposed to the world, our reputation.

the 10th house is oposite the 4th, where the fourth house is the most private house of our chart and her chart ruler is at 4th, Rohini Saturn. Wealth is what, usually a rohini wants but its ruled by a jyeshta very public venus, venus does not like to be that public (exposed) and definitely had a hard life, two things that a rohini doesn't like at all.

just like Gerad, Billie displays mommy issues within her artwork, alongside her social difficulty, ketu = detached and is with sun-mercury meaning having a harder time with her mind.

her debut album called "When We Fall Asleep Where Do We Go" was inspired, in part, by lucid dreaming and night terrors. again two common nodal themes. According to her, night terrors and lucid dream is what happens when you fall asleep.

the album talks about hopes and fears surronding drug addiction, heartbreak, mental health, and suicide.

even tho the themes are and can be very personal billie said that she and her brother like to write as if they were someone else, meaning that she often likes to separates herself from the artwork this mimics the relation with herself, the 5th house is the natural house of the sun, the ego, and its located at the 11th, the house of social gains.

so this time, the idea of being a separate persona makes way more sense to her instead of gerads, because she really feels detached from all of these matters, mercury 11th with ketu.

yet she have 4th saturn and its said to be the worst house for saturn, i truly believe that they (the siblings) channel their bad mental experiences that they had as a child to write her music because her 12th moon is ruled by 4th saturn, and a Capricorn moon is also said to experience mental anxiety and problems.

this time she might actually feel separated from the art but the art, once again, truly mimics the inside of our hearts.

so as we can see in order to heal, these two mulas use their pain and transform into art and by doing this they liberate their heads from the pain and eventually, even if takes long they find some kind of peace.

in 2021, billie launched her album called "Happier Than Ever" and this time the inspiration was the covid 19.

this time billie was more, just like the rest of the world, isolated and said that the album creation felt very natural and she also mentioned that was able to feel more confident on her work.

she further adds that self-reflection was the biggest muse behind the record and she mentioned that wrote the track "male fantasy" by herself which helped her realized some unprocessed feelings she previously had.

and just like gerald, with the help of isolation came the biggest form of inspiration.

END OF PART 1.

hi thank you so much for reading until the end i hope you enjoyed and were able to learn something ;).

please feel free to request any suggestion of themes you would like me to talk about and share you personal feedback :))

contact info.

ardra nakshatra p1 analysis.

[blorbocedes]

In his own words: Christian Horner on world champion Max Verstappen

Verstappen won another world title on Saturday.

written by: Christian Horner, originally published on The Independent, 08, October 2023 [x]

I remember raising it to Helmut Marko – Red Bull’s motorsport consultant – that this kid looks the real deal. Helmut watched him at the Norisring in Germany and he was convinced.

There was interest from Niki Lauda and Mercedes, but Red Bull could take him to Formula One immediately. So, he came to us a very young age. He was 16. And I remember in his very first outing for us – a demonstration run in Rotterdam – he took the front wing off the car! But you could tell in the seat fitting the confidence he had for a young guy was exceptional.

All of the drivers that came through the junior categories learned their trade out of the spotlight, but Max became the youngest driver in Formula One ever. He was only 17. Every move and every mistake he made was scrutinised.

Jean Todt, who was the FIA president at the time, changed the regulations to ensure someone as young and inexperienced as Max could not enter F1. There will never be a driver that moves so rapidly from karting to F1 again. But the way he dealt with it mentally made him a standout character.

It was obvious in his first full F1 season when he drove for Red Bull’s sister team Toro Rosso, that he was an emerging talent, and at the beginning of 2016 he was performing beyond the capability of the car.

Daniil Kvyat was struggling, and there was a lot of interest in Max. We made the decision to move him to Red Bull at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Mercedes did their thing when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg crashed into each other on the first lap and Max, who started fourth which was already stunning, made the one-stop strategy work to win in his first Grand Prix with the team. He became the sport’s youngest ever winner, aged 18. It was a fairytale. Max had arrived.

He won races in 2017 and 2018, and in 2019 he became the team leader following Daniel Ricciardo’s departure to Renault. He grew up, and it was a transformative year for him.

In 2021 we had a car and an engine that could take the fight to Mercedes, and that season will go down as one of the most competitive sporting duels the sport has ever had.

From the first race in Bahrain through to Abu Dhabi, Max and Lewis were like two heavyweights going up against each other. Max was a dog with a bone. He wouldn’t let it go. And you couldn’t script that they would head to the final race tied on points.

Max was very cool. He put the car on pole, and we took our opportunity under the final safety car. Max had one lap to get the job done. I don’t think Lewis expected Max to attack in the corner that he did, and people overlook that he still had to beat Lewis. He still had to win the race. It wasn’t about two unlapped backmarkers. It was about Max reacting to the circumstances and getting the job done. And under the most intense pressure he did just that. He sent it down the inside and the whole place went bananas.

To see him and his father, Jos, celebrate was a very special moment because it was the culmination of all the effort that his father had put into him at a very young age. Max achieved his goal, and anything after that was the icing on the cake, because for him, it was all about becoming a world champion.

Max has still got all the tenacity he had when he got in the car as a 17-year-old, but he now marries that with experience. Outside of the car, he is a normal guy, too. He has his feet on the ground and he hasn’t had his head turned by fame and fortune. He still loves racing, and he has got good, grounded principals.

He is competitive and wears his heart on his sleeve. He is very honest. He will give you everything, but he expects everything in return.

He can go on to achieve so much more. We are riding a wave at the moment, and we want to continue riding that wave for as long as we can.

Will Max be in Formula One for a long, long time? I don’t think so. He has ambitions beyond F1 and beyond racing. And at 26, 36 seems a long way away.

We have a long-term agreement with him until 2028, and he has always said he will be happy to start and end his career here, but motivation will be a crucial factor.

[max1461]

Ok, I have a lot of people who read my blog and are (rightly) very skeptical of generative syntax. For my linguistics mutuals this is usually for somewhat subtler reasons, but for my non-ling-readers the reasoning is generally something like "well, it seems like a bunch of bullshit".

This is a very good instinct! I personally think that most of what gets published in generative syntax is a bunch of bullshit. There are very deep problems in the field, which basically everyone who is not a Chomskyan is in agreement on. But I do think people should understand, if they want to critique generative syntax well, what motivated the whole thing, what Chomsky was trying to explain, and why it's a genuine puzzle. Without that I think you're swinging blind.

I'm assume that anyone reading this will have at least some passing familiarity with the basic concepts of linguistics, but I'll try not to assume too much.

Right, so, one of the basic goals of linguistics, the thing you have to do before positing any deeper theory of the mind or linguistic cognition, is to be able to write down descriptions of existing natural languages. This descriptive task is where modern linguistics got its start. You want to look at a language, collect a bunch of data from speakers, and answer structural questions like "how can the words in this language be ordered? How can the sounds in an individual word be ordered? How do smaller pieces of words (morphemes) combine to make bigger words? Etc.". That first question, "how can the words in this language be ordered?" is the domain of descriptive syntax. Theoretical syntax (which really starts with Chomsky) attempts to find broader principles which govern the order of words in all languages, syntactic universals. Furthermore, the hope is generally that finding such principles will tell us something about the way language is generated and processed in the brain.

The first thing I want to talk about is, basically, what was already understood when Chomsky came onto the scene. I'll use modern terminology and notion (and bring a modern, computational lens to the question), but I'll describe the basic state of understanding at the very beginning of the generative project.

Let's get back to that original question, "how can the words in this language be ordered?". For the specific language we are trying to describe, let's take English. We know that some orderings of words produce valid English sentences: "the dog went to the store and bought a meteorite". We know that other orderings of words do not produce valid English sentences: "him the went dog store meteorite have bought". We would like to write down some rules or principles that characterize which sentences will be valid and which will not.

The first thing we can do is abstract away from individual words and start thinking about syntactic categories. We notice that certain words seem to be able to be swapped out for each other without affecting the validity of a sentence: if I can say "the dog went to the store", I can also say "they man went to the store". If I can say "I saw the dog", then I can say "I saw the man". Of course these sentences don't mean the same thing, but the point is that if one of these sentences with "dog" is valid, the corresponding sentence with "man" is also valid. We say that "man" and "dog" have the same syntactic distribution in English. The set of all words with a given syntactic distribution is called a syntactic category. In this case, "man" and "dog" are both nouns.

In school grammar, you might have learned that a noun is a "person, place, or thing". But in syntax, we want to understand a noun as a class of words with a particular syntactic distribution.

In fact, simple categories like "noun" and "verb" are too broad; in order to describe English grammar we need more precise categories than this. But we will keep running with these for now. If we want to be precise, we can think of "noun" and "verb" as classes of categories having similar-but-not-identical distributions. We're already at an important empirical observation—every language appears to have noun-like categories and verb-like categories, and this is interesting. But we won't dwell on this.

So we can view a sentence as a sequence of categories. "The dog went to the store" might as well be "D N V P D N" for all the syntactician cares. Here I'm using standard abbreviations for these categories: D is "determiner", N is "noun", P is "preposition", and V is "verb". I'll also use A for "adjective" later. But at this point we can abstract again. Look, there are two pieces of the above sentence that have the same shape: "the dog" and "the store" are both D N. Hmm. Let's look at another sentence. "The red dog goes to the store". Now here, the sentence starts with something shaped D A N, in place of that first D N. What about this: "the big red dog goes to the store". Now it starts D A A N. And we could have said "the dog goes to the big red store", D N V P D A A N. So it starts to look like anywhere a D N can go, a D A N can go, or a D A A N, or D [any number of As] N. These are sequences of words that have the same syntactic distribution as each other, and thus can be freely swapped out for one another. If we can describe the internal structure they have, and the positions they're allowed to go in, we can describe the syntax of the whole language.

Thus, the idea of describing syntax with trees. Sentences consist of parts nested inside other parts. These parts are called constituents or phrases. Each phrase has a particular syntactic distribution, just like individual words do. We can test what the constituents of a sentence are by trying to swap them out for one another (and for other things, like pronouns) and seeing if it works. Then we can diagram a sentence in terms of the way the constituents bracket: [[the dog] [went [to [the store]]]]. And we can represent that as a syntax tree, like this

I won't explain the concept of "headedness" right now, but the basic idea is that in some constituents, certain words play a special role, and these words are called "heads". A constituent whose head is a noun is called a noun phrase (NP), one whose head is a verb is called a verb phrase (VP), and so on. That's what the labels in the tree mean. The labels on the leaves of the tree refer to syntactic categories of individual words, and the ones up inside the tree are phrase types. The important thing is that each phrase is a subtree, and each phrase type has a specific syntactic distribution. Additionally, any individual word can be seen as a one-word phrase.

What we are building right now is called a phrase-structure grammar. If we want to describe the sentences of a language this way, we specify some abstract symbols for phrase types (NP, VP, N, V, etc.), and some rules that say what shape these phrase types can have. We know from the examples above that a DP can have shape D N (as in "the dog"), D A N (as in "the big dog"), etc. We could write this rule as DP -> D A* N. The "*" after A means "any number of As". Actually, that notation is not quite what a linguist would use, but I'm using "*" because I think it will be familiar to a lot of people already from computer science.

A phrase-structure grammar is a list of syntactic rules like this, that describe the valid shapes of different phrases. Once you do that, you need only specify what the different vocabulary items of the language are and what syntactic categories they're part of, and you've fully described the syntax.

But, wait... does that actually work? Can this system actually describe all of natural language syntax?

No!

Enter Chomsky. The term "phrase-structure grammar" was not around at the time, but diagramming sentences as trees in roughly the way shown above was not new. Chomsky wondered "is this sufficient"? In trying to answer that question, he came up with the Chomsky hierarchy. The Chomsky hierarchy is a hierarchy of different types of "formal language" (sets of sequences of symbols, like our sequences D N V P D N etc.). The hierarchy is ordered by what kind of computation apparatus you need in order to describe the given language type. Phrase-structure grammars like we constructed above are, mathematically, only able to describe languages at the "context-free" level in the Chomsky hierarchy. Are natural languages context-free languages, under Chomsky's definition? They are not.

Consider, for instance, English question words: who, what, when, where, how. Words of this type are known as wh-words, because most of them start with "wh" in English. Yes, that is as Anglocentric as it sounds. Anyway, where can they go?

Well, they usually go at the beginning of a sentence. "What did you see?", "How are you doing". Notice that in these sentences, there is something that looks like a constituent with a gap. We know already that English transitive verb phrases (VPs) have the shape V DP, where V is a verb and DP is a determiner phrase, described above. So verb phrases will be things like "saw the man" or "ate the rice". But in "what did you see", the transitive verb see doesn't have a DP after it. In fact, if you try to put the usual DP after it, then the sentence with what becomes ungrammatical: *"what did you see the dog".

(By the way, putting a "*" before a sentence is what linguists use to indicate that speakers judge it ungrammatical. Another helpful bit of notation: "?" before a sentence means speakers aren't sure if it's grammatical or disagree, the sentence is of dubious grammaticality.)

So, ok, you can put a DP after a transitive verb, unless the sentence starts with what, then you can't. Is that it? Well, not quite, but let's run with that for now. Check this out: the above rule still works no matter how far away the wh-word is from the DP gap:

"What did you see?"

*"What did you see the dog?"

"What did you tell me the man saw?"

*"What did you tell me the man saw the dog?"

"What did you tell me the man told you he saw?"

*"What did you tell me the man told you he saw the dog?"

This situation is called a long distance dependency, and it is impossible to describe them with the kind of context-free phrase-structure grammar we came up with above. Thus, context-free phrase-structure grammars are insufficient for describing natural language syntax.

So what do we do about it? Well, it's certainly the case that phrase-structure-grammar gets close to describing what we want. Lots of sentences can be diagrammed as context-free syntax trees just fine. And thinking about language in terms of constituency is very useful in a bunch of other contexts that I haven't mentioned here; phrases are the bread-and-butter of linguistic description. Chomsky's solution was to take a good old context-free phrase-structure grammar and augment it with a mechanism called movement, turning it into a context-sensitive grammar (a higher position on the Chomsky hierarchy, capable of describing long distance dependencies like that above).

There are a lot of different forms of movement, and proposals for what its limits should be, but the basic idea is that movement allows you to take something from one node in the tree and move it to another node, under some set of conditions. Generally the node it moves to should be empty; you sort of have to imagine trees like the one I drew above as having valid nodes at every possible location specified by the phrase-structure grammar, even if most of them don't have words in them. The ones without words are the empty nodes. Every syntactic theory with movement is based on some phrase-structure grammar, which determines what trees exist in the language. Movement is then allowed to apply to this set of trees generated by the PSG, shifting constituents from one node to another. In most theories, movement is only allowed to be upward (that is, things can only move to strictly higher positions in the tree). Other limitations may be put in place as well: heads may only move to other head positions, complements may only move to spec positions, movement cannot progress across certain barriers in the tree, etc. It all gets very technical.

The ideal generative theory is a PSG and a set of conditions on movement that allow linguists to describe all and only the possible syntactic structures of natural human language. This is where the term "generative" comes from: a grammar (of a specific language, in a specific theory) generates possible sentences, and a theory generates possible grammars. A bad grammar either overgenerates (predicts ungrammatical sentences) or undergenerates (fails to predict grammatical sentences). This makes it an insufficient description of the language. On a meta-level, a bad syntactic theory either overgenerates (predicts impossible grammars) or undergenerates (fails to predict possible grammars).

Anyway, back to movement. Why is it an appealing mechanism? Well, it unites a bunch of related phenomena under one description. First of all, let's notice something else about those long distance dependencies in English. There are a bunch of them: "what did he see", "where did he go", "how does he feel", etc. In all of them, the syntactic category of the gap corresponds to the question word you use.

"What did he see?" ↔︎ "He saw the dog" (DP)

"Where did he go?" ↔︎ "He went to the park" (PP)

"How did he feel?" ↔︎ "He felt good" (AP)

We might like to say that certain types of phrase are allowed in the highlighted positions in the sentences on the right, and this includes the corresponding wh-words. Then, the wh-word moves out of that position and up to the front of the sentence. This allows us to describe what sorts of wh-words pair with what sorts of constituents without having to "say the same thing twice" in the grammar. Many natural generalizations present themselves by simply specifying what is allowed to go in the position where movement starts, and then specifying where things can move to.

Here's another compelling reason to posit movement: sometimes, things don't move. Above, I said that it was a simplification to say that wh-word always show up at the front of the sentence. For example, when multiple interrogatives are present in a single sentence, only one of them can be fronted. If I say "Stacy went to the store and bought apples", and later you forget what I told you and want to ask about the details, you might say:

"Tell me again, who went to the store and bought what?"

Here, who has is in its fronted position but what is not (linguists call this wh-in-situ). Where does the in situ wh-word appear? It appears in exactly the position of the gap that must be present when it is fronted! This makes it very tempting to say that it "started there" and moved. This even provides a natural explanation for why it fails to move in the above sentence: if we suppose that words can only move to empty positions, then the position it would like to move to is blocked by the other wh-word who, and so it must stay were it is. This is fairly parsimonious.

Positing other limits on movement explains other phenomena. There are certain syntactic positions out of which wh-words can't move. Such positions are called islands. In English, wh-words are not just used for questions but also for introducing certain subordinate clauses, for instance "I know what the man saw". What if you try to move a wh-word out of a subordinate clause itself introduced with a wh-word? For example, suppose someone says "I know what Jim saw", and you later forget they were talking about Jim. You might like to ask who they were talking about. But you cannot say:

*"Who do you know what saw?"

This is an island. The most standard analysis of such islands follows from positing that movement must be local: items must always move to the closest valid syntactic landing site before they can move anywhere else. Our wh-word who would like to make it to the very front of the sentence. But that position is structurally identical to the one in the subordinate clause in which what already sits. This follows from the basic phrase-structure grammar: subordinate clauses are merely sentences-within-sentences. So, locally, the "front of the sentence" for who is the front of that subordinate clause. But what is already there! So it can't move, it can't get out.

Locality conditions and movement blocking explain a fair number of really weird, really arcane phenomena in natural language syntax, which is enough to make movement seem to me at the very least a compelling idea.

There are a bunch of other island effects that are difficult to even really talk about without the vocabulary introduced by generative syntax, at least, like subject islands:

"That John went home is likely"

*"Who is that went home likely?"

And left-branch islands:

"Susan likes Fred's hat"

*"Whose does Susan like hat?"

Which appear to be constraints on movement out of subtrees of specific shapes.

I don't consider these to be evidence for movement, but they are easy to phrase using movement, and they are essentially impossible to phrase without reference to tree structure and long distance dependency.

So, this is what the Chomskyans are seeing. There is a lot to be understood about natural language that you cannot even start asking about without looking in a pretty fine-toothed way at trees, natural language sentences, and the kind of rulesets that can generate them. I don't think there is a way to address these concerns without at least meeting generativism where it's at on some level, unless you are entirely disinterested in describing this aspect of natural language.

Where do I think generativism has failed? Well, I said that all these phenomena make movement a compelling idea, but that's a far cry from the generativists having a good scientific theory. And, in fact, I think that they don't. I think formal syntax research is marred by a thousand problems big and small that make it difficult to progress on turning their compelling ideas into good scientific theories, and I think Chomsky's personal approach to the research program has had a large hand in making things the way they are. But that's all a topic for another time. What I wanted to convey here is just... why, why are we talking about this? Why are these ideas important to think about to begin with? And I hope, even to the generativism-skeptical, that I've demonstrated that somewhat.

[wordsandrobots]

Huh. Actually -- since I'm stuff home sick and my brain refuses to shut up and let me sleep -- apropos of reblogging @superhelltubedotsys' post citing Barbatos Lupus Rex's status as a werewolf Gundam, I'm now thinking about the significance that has within Iron-Blooded Orphans (some spoilers follow).

Because Barbatos the demon has no association with wolves in the Ars Goetia. The nearest applicable part is "He giveth understanding of the singing of Birds, and of the Voices of other creatures, such as the barking of Dogs", which is fitting for Mikazuki and plays into the comparison between mobile armour Hashmal and a bird, but pointedly does not imply 'appears as a giant fuck-off wolf monster with a knife-tail'. That description would seem more appropriately applied to Amon, the immediately prior demon, number seven: "He appeareth like a Wolf with a Serpent’s tail, vomiting out of his mouth flames of fire . . ."

But of course, Gundam Barbatos' steady revision towards the Lupus Rex form is a drift away from its initial design. Exactly how much influence the Ars Goetia descriptions had on the Gundam project and how much they were just used as a naming convention is a little up in the air. Some do seem to be applicable (Zagan being a 'bull with gryphon wings', Flauros switching between the forms of a leopard and a man, etc.). Others . . . well, Bael is supposed to appear as either a toad, a cat, or a man, or all three at once, and while that has some applicability to McGillis' whole deal, it's not really a match for Gundam Bael's angelic form. Nor do the Gundam's abilities evoke demon!Bael's power to render someone invisible. However, I think we can safely conclude that, in-universe at least, the goetic demons are only pertinent to the Gundams' initial appearances and capabilities.

Barbatos' revisions throughout Season 1 are instead a gradual cannibalisation of various different sources of technology and weapons to get it back into fighting shape (Teiwaz technically restores it to its original appearance, but that doesn't last past the Dort arc; thereafter, we're back to bolting on any spare armour going). Barbatos Lupus then represents a significant step towards redefining it in line with the Chief's goal of creating an 'ultimate' version based on Mika's battle data, with Barbatos Lupus Rex being the end-point for that progression.

Put simply, Barbatos gradually becomes more and more tailored to Mikazuki, specifically. To digress for a moment, this forms a big part of my reasoning that Mika being able to use the katana properly at the climax of Season 1 represents the influence of Barbatos' original pilot; after this, he ditches that kind of weapon entirely. Even while fighting Hashmal, he reaches for the biggest club available (technically, a broad-sword, but so ridiculously huge nobody could call it a precision weapon). It's another interesting detail that Mika can't beat Ein in their final face-off by fighting like himself, which comes back around again as the back half of Season 2 kicks into gear.

Anyway, my point is this: being a werewolf is not inherently part of Barbatos' deal. Rather it represents Mikazuki's growing influence -- as you might thematically expect for a union with a character named after the moon (crescent moon, specifically, though I can't imagine the association wasn't intended given Tekkadan are wolf-coded in the text). And that's fascinating because as I've written about before, Barbatos and Mikazuki are the most blatant example of a devil's bargain in the show. The kid literally sells and arm and a leg (and an eye) for the power Barbatos can give him. And yet, the bestial aspects Barbatos takes on are rooted in Mika.

There's an echo of Gundam Wing's 'Gundams are a curse' refrain in IBO. These machines bring bad luck to everyone who pilots them, as a function of representing humanity subsumed by war. The inherent gamble of the Alaya-Vijnana, the overwhelming nature of the conflict they were built to end, the fact Gundams are never sufficient on their own to change the world -- it forms an unspoken counter-argument to McGillis' zealous faith in their status as symbols of transformation that is actually very in keeping with the demonological tradition from which they take their names. What they offer is costly and potentially damning, while also largely illusory when it comes to anything other than utter destruction. Indeed, Mikazuki is a living testament to how 'cursed' their pilots are.

It just happens that he was able to curse Barbatos back.

Because that's what Barbatos Lupus Rex is, isn't it? Put side by side with its original form, this is a clear degradation of a proud warrior into a savage beast. The same design elements persist, of course, yet by the end, it's near impossible to picture Barbatos as an elegant fighter making precision strikes with a honed sword. It has become a true berserker, tearing into its opponents with teeth and claws (well, claws and knife tail). As Tekkadan in general tend to, Mikazuki strips away the affectations of nobility and 'honourable' warfare in favour of brutal reality.

The detail of the Lupus Rex form merging parts of a mobile armour into a Gundam only heightens this. Weapons are weapons, whoever they serve and whatever guise they wear. Mikazuki is always honest about that. His awed response to Hashmal is of a piece with how easily he fits within Barbatos. He sees himself as equivalent to them -- has, in fact, constructed his entire identity around being so.

Thus, the lycanthropy he inflicts on Barbatos is of a kind that merely reveals the truth lurking under the skin. It was always an instrument of devastation. Now it looks the part.