#I’m obsessed with those images I think you might be able to think of them like immediately

[eemoo1o-animoo]

I agree with this post but.

That photo/art (there’s two, actually, I think?) of Grelle in a suit with Angelina in a busty dress… yes.

This will not make sense but Grell wearing a dress leads the dance while Angelina with a tux follows her

[writingforatwistedworld]

I'm so eager to see more from your amazing Otome AU. How about Riddle, Azul and Vil with a player that chooses to ignore the plot and choose them instead?

Otome au

I do not take any responsebility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, obsession, kidnapping, possessiveness, murder

Riddle Rosehearts/Azul Ashengrotto/Vil Schoenheit-Player ignores the plot and chooses them instead

FINALLY!!! THE DAY HAS COME!

With how excited he is he might as well just say that you two are egaged (we al know how much he values a married life)

Riddle’s thought process behind all of this is that he was born for loving you so… mhm you are not going to leave his side ever

But hey, maybe you can bring his tyranny to an end?

One day you were just playing the game, being dissatisfied with how cliche the thypical “good” and “bad” was being portrayed

And then you started a new chapter but… it looked different…

“Hidden route, chapter 1-Welcome to the villains world”

And suddenly you are thrown into a world full of betrayal, murder and obsessive villains that are all after your hand

Congrats! Now try to survive

But once you have reached the end of the now unlocked route of Riddle, the red “Queen”, the tyrant, you have experienced a long journey far more interesting than the normal route which is filled with the typical magical girl saviour complex

But damn was there a lot to unpack

But now everything is fine! The ending CG was so beautifull and… and… godness is it just me or are you getting sleepy?

If you thought that Riddles reign of terror would be ended just with that then I’m sorry but nope

He is determined to get you into his world, to play crocket with flamings and behead soliders who planted the wrong roses

Riddle won’t just turn into a good “Queen” who is a pacifist, no

He just wants you beside him now, and who is there to stop him? Defenitely not the Fairy of thorns

Say goodbye to everyone that matters because soon he will be the only one you will have real human contact with, believe me, silent servants aren’t a good thing for loneliness

I mean, it is already hard enough to even unloc the normal underwater routes but now you even want the hidden one?

Well congrats because you just did! Please enjoy “The merchant from the depths”

And look at that! It’s the two eels you shish kebabed in the normal route… thank goodness they can’t remember that… haha… ha… O_O

And that cave is also a lot more friendlier than shown before! Maybe you always just had a wrong image of the mersorcerer…

Azul is very kind as well. Before you know it you are one fourth done with his route because it is just so much fun

What you don’t know though is that behind the screen Azul is more than just happy that you finally found your way here

Finally he was able to break through the fate that was bestowed upon this world!

It is also such a sad and also beautifull route as well! Who would have thought he had such a connection to a certain ruler that was never mentioned before in the normal routes?

When you finally were able to bring to light that the supposedly royal family had in truth stolen their seat from Azuls family everything finally became better

The octopus was no longer shunned and hey, he looked geniunely happy! What else do you want?

Now back to that chapter with the hidden missions with which you could unlock the other hidden routes… why are you automatically back to his?

You really shouldn’t be that surprised. He finally got a taste of how true affection really tastes and you think he would just let go? Let you continue to the others?

I would recommend forgetting those cute CG in which he hugged you shyly. They are of the past

Now that you think about it… that trident would probably not something good in his hands…

But no need to worry! He will take good care of it. There is just one thing he will do with it for himself

I don’t know why you are suddenly getting sleepy. But maybe you should be more concerned about the… arms (?) closing around you…

Will say that he expected this to happen sooner or later (he didn’t)

Imagine, one day he was asking his most trusted reflecting surface what you were doing and the thing says you are right now nlocking his route

The poor thing expected for his king to do something damaging to it out of shock

And then suddenly Vil was thanking it with a singsong voice, dusting it’s frame free of nonexistent dust

Finally he finally had you! Almost… But still!

Whilst Vil is celebrating you are more in a “What the heck!!!” mood

Who would have thought that the man ruling this place had been an outcast shunned by the other Nobles who only looked at his brother, only his father looking after him

And what happened in the normal route made so much more sense now! Neige had always been pampered, skill and talent coming to him wiithout any effort

No wonder Vil had such a vandetta against him

It was also such a relief for Vil when he didn’t end like he was supposed to in the normal route, remembering how he felt the burn and how the world slowly turned black

Not only that, it was also nice for him to know that he wasn’t seen by you as some powerfull person but rather the ordinary person that he was deep down

And his after story was also one that was so heartwarming! Him talking to his raven about you, saying that he was happier than ever…

This is where I end the fluff and start to recommend tossing the game out of the window

You see, him talking to his raven was one of the red flags that wouldn’t be red flags in a normal relationship but are in the one you have

Did he just look at you instead at your avatar in the game??! Why was he so pricky? He was softer in his route…

Just at least try to stay away from the Shaftlands. There has been talk about their king looking into arts that are able to influence other worlds…

[hello-eeveev]

How to Rest Director's Commentary—Chapter 6

| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 |

It’s here it’s here! The big finale!!!

This chapter is arguably my favorite of the whole fic (though choosing between them all is a bit like choosing a favorite child). It’s just so happy. It makes me so happy. It’s just so full of love, and I’m really excited to talk about it!

(spoiler warning for the entirety of How to Rest)

A couple of things happened to Caleb on the way home from the market.

Don’t ask me why I styled the opening sentence of this chapter after the Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; I could not tell you. I have never seen it, I don’t know what it’s about, but I did spend my teenage years obsessed enough with musical theater to have heard its name floated about and I dunno I think it’s got a nice mouthfeel.

“A message from Zivan Margolin,” [Astrid] said. “Welcome to Soltryce Academy, Professor Widogast. We look forward to working with you this fall.” She paused for a long moment before continuing, her voice softer, more sincere. “Congratulations, old friend.”

Astrid is not Margolin’s messenger, but I think she would not be completely out of the loop regarding Caleb’s hiring, what with the historic connection between Soltryce Academy and the Archmage of Civil Influence, and would be able to work her way into being the one to tell Caleb of his hiring if she wanted. And I wanted her to because 1) I love her, and 2) I like giving Astrid a little space to be human and to try to have a friendly relationship with Caleb again. I wanted her to switch off her formal voice and replace it with a more genuine one. Because she took up Ikithon’s position almost immediately after removing herself from under his thumb, it is more than likely that she is still splitting herself in two, though at least she has more control over this situation than the last. But she is trying to be more than the Volstrucker Ikithon made her, and giving Caleb some good news and congratulating him on it is part of that journey.

And I know that 25 words—only 3 of which are actually her own—are not nearly enough to explore all of that, but she has been a background player in this fic and I wanted her to make an appearance and unfortunately, every time she comes up, I have so many thoughts about her. Here’s a post about that.

Essek stood in the living room, turned away. His hand rested on the back of the couch, and the edges of his travelling cloak rustled in the sudden shift of air. He looked over his shoulder at Caleb’s entrance. The early evening light shone over his nose and hair and cheekbone, casting the edges of him in gold. He smiled.  “Hello, Caleb Widogast.”

Look at that dramatic entrance! What an image he strikes!! Handsome boy!!!

But on a functional level, this is one of those visual tropes that I like in TV and movies, and I think it aids the pacing to have a moment to slow down and take in the scene—Essek’s clothing, the time of day, how recently he arrived—before they rush at each other. It adds a little drama, builds some anticipation, it’s a good time.

Caleb always prepared Unseen Servant on market days.

One fun part of this chapter was considering what magic Caleb might use in his day-to-day, and I thought that Unseen Servant would be great for a scrawny wizard who would like to put his groceries away quickly so he can get back to nerd business. Would that I could do the same.

As they moved through the narrow spaces between table and cupboard, they nudged past each other in with soft touches to backs and hips and shoulders, the routine of it hardly a thought while they chatted about what had happened since they had seen each other last.

More often than not, How to Rest is about the little intimacies and the ways in which Essek and Caleb are growing their lives around each other. Compare how monumental every little touch was in Chapter 1 to it being a passing mention here while they catch up and do chores. There is so much love in being comfortable with another person. Even though this chapter has other bigger moments of romantic love, moments like these are not to be discounted either.

He had a house that he had lived in for over a year now. He knew the quickest path to and from the market, which he took with little variation and without fear of being followed. He had a spell he used specifically to help him put groceries away.

Much of How to Rest is also about settling in, finding and creating peace within your life, because with that comes rest, which is what Caleb and Essek have been desperately in need of for years. Not just the kind that restores spells slots, but the kind that lets you breathe and live (hi my name is eve and i live up to its meaning)

For Caleb, I think rest is found in routines and rituals, in security, and in magic both awe-inspiring and completely ordinary. So that’s what I gave him. mwah. love you, buddy. 

He knew which cupboard his oats belonged in and how to operate the Vault of Amber where he stored his milk so it wouldn’t spoil.

To the two commenters who independently needed to talk about Caleb keeping his milk in a Vault of Amber: I love you. I love you so much. It will never not make me laugh that—out of everything in this chapter—this line I wrote in about two seconds and didn’t think about again was enough to warrant two whole comments. It is genuinely so funny and delightful.

But to give you a breakdown of my thought process for this detail:

Vault of Amber has refrigeration properties.

It requires five pieces of amber that merge into one upon completion of the spell.

Bruh, can you imagine a refrigerator the size of a pebble???

His heart swelled with an emotion too big to breathe around. It was warm and light, and it ached, insisting that any distance from Essek was too far apart. Just in the other room wasn’t close enough; Caleb wanted to be near him for as long as their scant few hours would allow, to hold him and enjoy his company until he vanished into thin air once more.

Even though Caleb has accepted and made peace with their weird long distance relationship situation, it doesn’t fully remove the longing that comes with being apart or the intensity of the reuniting. And right now, Caleb is having a moment of realizing that despite the brevity of his visits, Essek has incorporated Caleb’s home and life into his own and that when Caleb said he wanted it to be a home base for Essek, Essek took that to heart. To put it into words a little earlier than Caleb does, right now he is feeling how much Essek loves him and how much he loves Essek, and it’s kind of a lot.  

“Hello, dear,” he said. “Hallo.”

Me when the wizards say hi: 🥺

Caleb nodded and dropped a kiss between Essek’s eyes, delighting in the way Essek laughed and squeezed them shut. He hoisted himself up and over the back of the couch and lowered himself onto the seat beside him.

It’s fun to write some playful, unserious moments for them, too. Silliness is essential to one’s health. 

“It is well-earned. I am very happy for you. In fact, I have something for this very occasion.” He pulled away to reach into his component pouch, and with a flourish of his free hand, his arcane chest appeared at his feet. He opened it and pulled out a thick, square-shaped bundle wrapped in crepe paper and twine. He held it out to Caleb. “Here. This is for you.”

THE OUTFIT!!!! I thought harder about this outfit than I have about any outfit for anything I’ve written and probably anything I’ve drawn. Fashion is something I find very interesting when it is presented to me (Bernadette Banner’s youtube channel was one of my 2020 binges), but is not so much something I consider much of my own accord. But I wanted this outfit to have a lot of meaning. I wanted it to be built of things Essek picked up during his travels because he was thinking about him. Caleb mentioned once that he needed a new wardrobe for teaching and Essek took that on as a sidequest. I did a lot of research in Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount and on the internet to find inspiration for what each piece would look like and where in Wildemount it would come from.

I wanted the textiles to be mostly wool, cotton, and linen, but with a few silk details. More practical fabrics because they are, well, practical. And Caleb is the son of farmers. But some silk because he is allowed to be a bit fancy. Everything is of extremely high quality. It is what he deserves.

I didn’t want it to be reds, maroons, and browns because while Caleb looks great in those colors, he has plenty of them already. Something cooler would contrast nicely with the reds in his hair and bring out the blue of his eyes.

So let’s break down each piece (in order of appearance, not of purchase):

…a coat made from a dark forest green tweed and lined with silk […] and dark brown trousers of the same make as the coat.

Both of these pieces were commissioned and purchased in Yrrosa, which is a town located in a snowy part of the Zemni Fields. With this information, I figured that it isn’t a wild assumption that they might raise sheep there and use their wool for textile. While it isn’t the richest town, it doesn’t seem to be exceedingly poor either, so I imagine that Essek was able to find a good tailor with some fine tweeds to make Caleb’s coat and trousers.

…a white linen shirt with traditional Zemnian whitework embroidery on the collar and cuffs.

The shirt was the first garment Essek purchased once he got the idea. After that first date, he went down to Feolinn and bought a plain white linen shirt to be a staple in Caleb’s wardrobe. Later, whether it was through Caleb or his own travels, Essek learned of the style of whitework embroidery practiced in more rural areas of the Zemni Fields and decided to have someone embroider the shirt with that style.

There wasn’t time to describe the whitework in detail, but I was inspired by Schwalm whitework, which is a style of embroidery that originated in the early 19th century in Germany. I think it is so so beautiful and I really wanted to include it somehow. Here is an article that gives you an overview of Schwalm whitework and some examples, and here is an image of a men’s shirt that helped me place the embroidery.

…a waistcoat made of rich purple brocade.

The waistcoat is from Nicodranas. The Menagerie Coast and the Concord were not involved in the War of Ash and Light, so I imagine Essek feels a bit freer to commission something with a bit of Dynasty flair here than anywhere else. 

When Essek was in Nicodranas, I fancy the idea of him consulting with Veth (and maybe Jester if he catches her there?) about the gift, and Veth, knowing that Essek would have limited funds and always being willing to spend money on Caleb, decided to split the costs with Essek. Maybe she knows a good tailor in the city, or maybe she brought Essek to Marion to find one. Veth is probably the best chance at sneakily getting Caleb’s measurements, or at least getting them without suspicion.

I didn’t specify a design for the brocade, so nothing’s set in stone, but I think it could be fun if there were some geometric elements to it. Or even if it had the more naturalistic patterns most brocades seem to have, they could be grouped in a way that evokes a pentagonal shape, like the face of a dodecahedron. 

…a set of bronze cufflinks with an intricately carved dodecahedron on each face. […] Caleb held it up to the light, and as he turned it, the metal suddenly seemed to turn purple and a rainbow of colors shimmered across its surface, like oil on top of water. He rolled the cufflink between his fingers and watched as the color shifted—gold to purple, purple to gold.

Gwardan, my beloved! An elvish city in a temperate area near the mountains and not far from the ocean with a unique and beautiful artistic tradition!! I need to go there!!!

I took some liberty with the description of steamcast metal, as it is only described as having a ‘prismatic shimmer’ and I needed more detail for how close and intimate the narration is during this section. So I thought about prisms refracting light and creating rainbows, then about rainbows in oil slicks and how metal reflects light and color and lenticular prints and iridescence. Then I decided on bronze because I think it’s a beautiful metal and purple because it is the best color. 

Caleb shucked off his clothes and began changing right there in the living room. Essek shook his head and turned his gaze upwards. Caleb didn’t care if Essek saw him in his smallclothes, but he wouldn’t begrudge him his sense of modesty. 

Essek is not embarrassed, per se. He would have had to get over that pretty quick during their wizards’ Aeor trip, what with close quarters, infrequent privacy, and relying on each other for medical care. It’s really nothing he hasn’t seen before. 

But like, there’s a time and a place for getting undressed, and Essek doesn’t consider the middle of the living room one of them. And even if it were, what else is he supposed to do with his eyes? Close them? Stare? Awkward. 

Essek was still paying attention; once Caleb had put on his new trousers and buttoned his shirt up halfway, Essek moved in front of him and placed his hands in the path of Caleb’s. Instead of moving on to the next button, Caleb’s hands alighted on Essek’s wrists and followed them up as Essek deftly and delicately fastened each button. He turned the collar down and smoothed the fabric over Caleb’s shoulders and down his arms, then took Caleb’s hands and lifted them to chest level. He tapped his index finger against the back of Caleb’s hand, and a box floated between them.

Bruh 🥺

The closeness and the intimacy. This section is almost the entire reason for the non-sexual intimacy tag because it’s just so—

It’s not what I think of as obviously romantic, but that’s what makes it romantic. If that makes sense? Maybe it’s not even romantic at all. It’s just comfortable. Content. Caring. But it’s still intense and meaningful, even if it doesn’t have the same heart-pounding excitement of their early relationship. 

I have always loved the way writers, romance writers in particular, are able to slow down scenes and convey that feeling of tunnel vision that comes when you’re near someone you like. There has to be an attention to detail and a keen visualization that can be hard to achieve sometimes. You can’t fudge things or handwave them away like you might when the narration is quicker or more distant. Everything must feel deliberate but natural. It’s not always easy, but when it’s pulled off, it’s great. I’m very proud of the writing I did here. 

“In the winter maybe, when the semester is over, we can go and celebrate. If it is safe for you, of course.” Essek pressed a kiss to Caleb’s cheek. “I shall plan on it.”

Caleb is hedging around making a definitive plan, worried about pressuring Essek on accident and not wanting to set himself up for disappointment. But Essek is fully ready to make a plan because he knows where he’s going to be come winter and he’s dropping a little hint as to what his news might be (but Caleb doesn’t have any context for this and misses it.) 

but I didn’t miss it >:)

readers, you must know that every time I do a little foreshadowing or allusion or implication, I am tapping my fingertips together and ehehe-ing like the least threatening cartoon villain. this is enrichment for me. 

Caleb turned around and took a step back, holding his arms away from his sides to show off the whole outfit.

Modeling is a skill that Caleb does not possess. 

Essek looked him over from head to toe, his mouth pressed into a line as he considered. When his eyes met Caleb’s again, his expression softened, and Caleb caught a glimpse of his lower lip caught against a sharp tooth. “You look very beautiful.” Caleb’s breath caught, and heat crept from beneath his collar all the way up to his cheeks. He cleared his throat, glancing away for a moment to regain his composure.

Caleb was asking how the outfit looked on him, but instead Essek compliments his whole self, and it’s so unexpected and so flattering that Caleb bluescreens a little bit.

And if I am remembering correctly, this is the first time either of them have outwardly called the other beautiful, or any compliment of the like, even though they have thought it often. Essek has implied it, by complimenting his outfit in Chapter 1 and his hair and eyes in Chapter 3, but now he’s saying it directly and without shame. I don’t think Caleb is necessarily cognizant of of all that, but he has a subconscious understanding and definitely feels its impact. 

“Archmage Becke has insinuated to me that Ludinus has become engaged in a new project that has diverted his attention away from me entirely.”

This is great news for Essek! Bad news for Exandria because Ludinus decided that the moon and killing the gods was more important than his former co-conspirator who’s hardly shown his face in the last two years. 

I’m not sure if the timing works out (based on the little bit of digging I did just now, it doesn’t seem to), but I like to think that this is when Liliana showed up to the Ruby Vanguard and Ludinus’s plans really started to take shape. Uh-oh!

“For the time being, if I am careful, I am a free man. And I’ve grown rather tired of running from place to place.”

Essek: I’m tired. 

The Avatar: The Last Airbender super fan sleeper agent in my head, activated: THEN YOU SHOULD REST. A MAN NEEDS HIS REST.

“So…” He trailed off, his eyes searching Caleb’s—eager still, but brimming with an unspoken question. “If you will have me, I would like to spend the time I have here. With you.”

Essek is excited and he knows Caleb will be excited, which is why he feels comfortable showing up unannounced with the intention to stay, but he is still exercising caution. He’s trying to gauge if this is still something Caleb wants now that he is presented with the reality of it. It is. He’s not guaranteeing that forever is a sure thing, but for now, for as long as possible, he can be here. 

His vision was fixed on Essek, here in the living room with his back to the front door, as if he had just come home after a long day, and Caleb was sent reeling with the realization that maybe he had.

That’s right, a visual framing in this written medium!!! Positioning the POV so that the front door is behind Essek to reinforce the idea that he has come home. 

“Welcome home, Essek.” Essek’s eyes glistened. “It is good to be home, Caleb Widogast.”

HE’S HOME. THEY'RE HOME. TOGETHER! WITH EACH OTHER!!! I AM PUNCHING THE WALLS!!!

“I love you,” Essek said. “I hope you know that.” Caleb stilled. It was a held breath, finally released. The resolution of a chord.  I love you.  An expected ending—the natural transition into the next refrain, but no less beautiful for it.  I love you.

I love a music metaphor. I love music! You know when there’s a chord or a progression that has tension and you can hear how that should resolve? And then it does? That’s good stuff. And I thought it would be a good comparison to the feeling in this scene. As I said when I discussed Essek’s “oh” moment last chapter, I never intended for love to take either of them by surprise, but even so, it doesn’t lessen the impact of the realization. Good music can feel a lot like that. Like, of course that makes sense to the ear, but you still get chills or you gotta move your body because it resonates. Big fan of resonance. As a physical concept and as an emotional one. 

The feeling had lain dormant for so long, but now, acknowledged and given a name, it bloomed throughout Caleb’s entire body and reached for the light that was Essek. He followed it forward, nuzzling Essek’s cheek, catching the corner of Essek’s lips with his own. “I love you,” he murmured. Essek leaned into the touch. “And I love you.”

Caleb has loved Essek for a while now, but naming it and expressing it—and knowing that it is returned—he experiences it with more clarity. It’s not necessarily of a greater intensity than the moment near the start of the chapter, but it is a different experience of it. Instead of a longing ache or a yearning, he is filled with elation because Essek is in love with him and he is in love with Essek. He knows this now, and when he reaches for him, Essek will be there.

Essek was silent, his face still in a way that usually meant he was working through some new emotion. It occurred to Caleb that this was perhaps the first place Essek had had of his own, to do with as he pleased, since his towers in Rosohna. He stepped beside Essek and placed a hand between his shoulder blades. Essek took a deep breath. “This is wonderful, Caleb. Thank you.”

My purpose in giving Essek his own room as opposed to sharing with Caleb was initially to keep continuity with On the Nature of Attraction, yes, but then I had to think about why I made that choice in the first place, and it’s more than just narrative convenience. Essek is a known introvert, and in my experience as an introvert (with a generous helping of neurodivergence that I dump onto Essek without specificity), having a place I can retreat to where I can decompress without the presence of other people, even people whom I like immensely, is beneficial to my health and well-being. I’m sure Caleb enjoys that privacy and would want Essek to have it as well. 

Essek has been travelling from place to place for the better part of the last year, and prior to that, he was in charge of a very small outpost in the middle of nowhere. The lack of a place for himself and to himself is destabilizing. And with the fact that he must keep his identity secret everywhere he goes, there is a lot of importance in having a space that is not just where he can be alone, but that is representative of himself as well. I think that is key in making the house feel like Essek’s home too, not just Caleb’s. 

“It is no Tower, but it is permanent, and it is safe, and it is yours.”

I decided against the Tower making an appearance in this last chapter for several reasons. First, there is the practical: a room being reliant on you casting a 7th level spell every day will be inconsistent. The Tower is a luxury that I’m sure Caleb uses often, but there may very well be days where he uses up his high level spell slots or wants to save them for emergencies and in those cases, it is worth it to have a real, physical space that he is comfortable in. This leads me to the second reason, which is that part of the point of Essek creating a home here is for consistency and the security that comes with that. Can he have that if he is relying on Caleb to create and design his space on a daily basis?

“Are you tutoring tomorrow?” “I am.” A pit formed in his stomach.  “But you have only just gotten here. I can reschedule it, if you’d like.” Essek shook his head. “No need. I will be here when you return.”

Here, that instinct to make Essek the absolute number one priority, to the detriment of everything else, crops up, an understandable reaction to Essek popping in without much notice or time to spare. But that’s not the case anymore. Caleb will see Essek when he wakes tomorrow and when comes home after work. And the same will happen tomorrow, and for as many days as they are able. 

At the end of the hall, before splitting off into their separate rooms, they stopped. It was a scene that had played out dozens of times before, but now—instead of the pats on arms and short hugs of Aeor, or the bittersweet goodbyes before an indefinite separation—Caleb took Essek by the hand and pulled him close.

And here we are, bringing this story to a close by bringing it full circle. It is another parting, yes, but the angst of previous partings is gone. The separation is only a few feet and a couple hours. Lingering at the doorway is an indulgence they can freely partake in, without awkwardness or anxiety. They will go to bed and rest, safe in the knowledge that tomorrow, they will wake in a house that is theirs, where the person they love resides. 

asldfaslkdjfljskdfjlk How to Rest, my most dearly beloved! It has been such a joy to work on over the last year and a half, and I’m just… really proud of it. I had to talk about it because writing and wizards excite me and I wanted to share that excitement.

Thank you all who have read the fic and read the commentaries. I hope it’s been a fun journey for you as well!

[ambrossart]

I was wondering how you created Víctor Criss so well? ,

especially their way of being and their personality because I feel that there is more information about Patrick and Henry, data about their family and dialogues that show at a glance what they are like. In addition, those two are very striking characters that steal all the attention and make them stand out. easily due to its peculiarities.

On the other hand, there are not many things about Victor and during the movie Victor and Belch are one of the characters that are least shown, but it is true that in the novel there were very interesting descriptive fragments about him that left you a lot to reflect on how during the rock fight, so I was wondering that with the brief information about him, how you have done to decide what Victor would be like, I don't know how to explain it but Henry and Patricio are so canon and yet Victor is not, I have read several fanfics in the This character comes out and changes so drastically in each of them in every way, he is a shy and lovable boy or he is a bad boy among other things and on the other hand your character is the perfect balance so I was wondering how you have done to Being able to decide what traits characterize him as a character, what things Victor would do and what he wouldn't do, what scares him or not, what things he would say and what he wouldn't,

I feel that it is

A great character is as if you had filled in the blank spaces as if you had finished writing it completely, it is as if he were a drawing whose sketch is in black and white and you have given it color, you are great 😊

I actually love that there's so little info about Vic because it gave me a lot of flexibility while developing his character. And that’s why I’m so happy that he’s been received as well as he has. I worked very hard on my interpretation of him.

Honestly, the rock fight in the novel is what completely sold me on Victor and made me love him as a character. He didn't want to be there. He didn't have any emotional investment in that fight. But since he was stuck there, he figured he might as well do some damage. I love that, and I tried to keep that scene in mind while shaping his character.

With Paper Men, Vic's character developed organically chapter by chapter. I've said this many times before, but I wasn't intending for him to be a major character, and I was really struggling to find roles for both him and Reggie because, as you said, there's so little information about them. With Reggie, I decided to have him be Henry's closest friend (because that made the most sense to me), but I had no idea what to do with Vic. Initially, he was just supposed to be a classmate of Evelyn's, but then I became randomly obsessed with the image of Evelyn smacking him in the back of the head (like she does in Ch. 4) and I decided to run with it. I thought, okay, maybe they're not just classmates; maybe they're childhood friends, but that was too simple, so I thought, okay, maybe they were friends but they haven't spoken to each other in a while, and now they're slowly starting to rekindle their friendship. From there, I started to explore the reasons why they weren't friends anymore, and that eventually led to Jimmy. And I think once I had Jimmy figured out, I had a pretty clear idea of who I wanted Vic to be in this story.

And so the introverted, guilt-ridden, self-loathing, stoner was born! 😂

In the novel, Vic appears to be more intelligent than the other members of the gang, so I wanted him to be good at school but not necessarily the academic type. Vic is naturally very smart, but he's also unmotivated and afraid of failure, so he doesn't try very hard to challenge himself academically. If he doesn't strive for success, then there's no risk of disappointing anyone... including himself.

In the movie, Vic hardly has any lines, so I knew I wanted him to be the quiet type, but I didn't want him to be just another shy boy because that doesn't fit the Bowers Gang. That's a little too cute. Instead, I wanted to approach it more like Vic is an introvert who gets extremely exhausted talking to people, especially stupid people like he encounters every day at school. Socializing is a serious challenge for him, but he doesn’t want people to know he struggles with it. Vic would rather be seen as a moody, aloof asshole than someone who’s socially awkward or anxious in any way (because that would make him a target for bullying; he learned this at a young age). I have no idea why I made him a stoner, but it seemed to fit, and once again, I just ran with it. He self-medicates with weed and occasionally alcohol to dull himself and ease his anxiety. Makes sense, doesn't it?

I’m sorry, I never know how to answer these questions. I feel like Vic was a happy accident. I started off with a few random traits and just kept building off those chapter by chapter. That's pretty much what I do with everyone, which is why all the characters tend to get more complex as the story goes on. It's like peeling an onion.

Okay, I'm rambling. I'll stop now.

[transmutationisms]

I’ve spent the evening going through your tags and vigorously nodding along with all of your analyses of Succession, specifically WRT addiction, drug use and the way drugs are framed throughout the show as performance-enhancing agents for life under capitalism (to sum it up basically, though certainly more nuance could amend that characterization which I think you have covered). Specifically with season 4 and eps 405-408, I’m thinking about the narrative reemergence of cocaine as the waystar universe’s primary “business drug” of choice- though where we would typically see this play out with Kendall’s arc, there’s been fascinating parallels with the Tom/Greg and Shiv/Mattson of it all in terms of their characters conceding to the drug/feigning the appearance of drug use to stay close to the seat of power. IMO next to Kendall, Tom may be the character shown to be most entangled in this inescapable dynamic between drug use and self-image/actualization/esteem; he seems preoccupied and obsessive about the effect of drugs on his personal and financial prospects (“I took the wrong drugs in the wrong order and can’t get happy”) and even moreso in the most recent episode with the whiteboard coke scene (played as a hard comedy scene which I find so interesting!!!)

Meanwhile, we have not seen Kendall explicitly use drugs anytime throughout the season, yet he admits (with a rather surprising candor and self awareness) in 401 that he knows what it’s like to “smoke horse” and therefore needs a business venture as readily able to consume his priorities, and through the season we see him shirking obligations to his family and other loyalties in a seemingly self-destructive spiral that might mirror a normative discourse of “the addict.” So that is just some braindump lol, this is hardly a pointed question but you’re such a thoughtful critic on these themes and I find myself similarly engaged by them as well. am wondering if you have made any similar/different connections or new themes WRT drugs and addiction you’ve seen this season!

yeah, so, tom's drug use is something i haven't really written about and should, because it's a really fascinating angle to his character as well as the portrayal of drugs on the show in general. for purposes of this post i'm just going to assume anyone reading is familiar with the reading of drug use on succession as an expression of neoliberal capitalist subjectivity, and with coke in particular as being a way for the characters to access and perform bourgeois masculinity. also, when i talk about masculinity and femininity in this post, i'm going by logan's definitions of those terms, where the masculine is rational, violent, dominant, and so forth, and the feminine is embodied, passive, submissive, &c. these are the rules by which these characters still live.

what's interesting with tom is that he speaks the language of masculinity and drugs, and therefore also masculinity-qua-drugs, differently than the roys. in 'prague', for example, he sees greg doing coke and tells him to "suck on those big white dicks"—the opposite of what coke means in the text when kendall uses it. for kendall it's a way of enhancing his masculinity, kill drive, &c, which is why his use tends to be SO tracked to his relationship with logan and the demands logan is making of him (for example, seeking it in 'no one is ever missing, using it in 'vaulter' after logan orders him to gut vaulter, or in season 3 when he's at peak patricidality). the fact that tom sees greg using coke as discursively equivalent to sucking cock tells us that tom simply doesn't understand how the roys perform masculinity, or what that means to them. in 'too much birthday' he makes a different mistake, trying to use coke to make himself happy. again, what we can see as viewers is that this is simply not how coke functions for the roys. it's not a party drug or a chemical joyride; it's almost utilitarian in how it's meant to make up for a lack of masculinity or business instinct. it makes kendall capable of functioning in logan's world, where the language spoken is one of violence. tom taking it for fun is kind of doomed from the get-go.

so, there are a few elements of the coke scene in 'america decides' that i find interesting. one is that, although tom actually is now trying to use coke as a performance-enhancing drug à la kendall, the person he's trying to live up to is cyd, who's been ousted. this implicitly feminises tom by suggesting his spectral role model in business is not even his father-in-law, but a woman. second, as plenty of people have noted, greg doing the coke off tom's hand is quite intimate, even tender, and suggests that for tom, coke is homosocial in a distinct way (gayer, to be blunt) than kendall allows it to be. third, tom pressures greg into doing it—again, suggesting he doesn't see it as some kind of competitive advantage but as a male bonding activity, where he wants greg's company (or at least wants someone's company, and uses greg instrumentally). fourth, as you pointed out, it's played for laughs. generally kendall's coke use is portrayed with more nuance: it's not flattering, and there are certainly moments of levity, but it's contextualised as both the ultimate embrace of the logics of capital, and as part of kendall's futile efforts to please his father. both of these elements mean kendall's coke scenes are usually played more seriously. for tom and greg to be hunched behind a whiteboard comedically doing bumps together again stands out, making both of them look a bit foolish and emphasising how tom's relationship to masculinity, coke, and coke masculinity is different to kendall's. both kendall and tom fail at masculinity, but in distinct ways; kendall tries repeatedly to use coke in order to make up the difference, whereas tom doesn't even understand consciously that that's an option.

shiv's refusal of matsson's coke to me parallels roman turning down coke with asgarov. roman and shiv do business and gender differently than kendall. although shiv instinctually identifies with a more masculine role (ie, she sees herself as dominant, in control, the smartest one in the room, &c), she doesn't have the wild insecurity that drives kendall to compensate using coke. shiv prefers to try a more deliberate strategy than the way kendall just goes in swinging his cock around, hoping he'll intimidate someone. meanwhile, roman identifies with a more feminine, coquettish role, which is precisely what logan always perceived as being so disgusting in him. roman's business strategy often reads as flirting, but without following through (inviting matsson to come piss with him, but then refusing to actually take his own cock out; following asgarov to the bathroom but turning down the coke; the lotion situation with mencken). so, shiv and roman have now both had scenes where they're directly offered the chance to try on kendall's overcompensatory masculinity for themselves, and they've both turned it down, telegraphing the way their strategies for surviving in the world of waystar diverge from kendall's.

kendall, of course, has been interesting this season drug-wise by negation. the heroin line is interesting, although unclear to me to what extent he was serious (and, even if he was serious, we have no idea whether he's talking about anything recent), so it mostly just suggests that this is something he and his siblings are comfortable acknowledging / joking about. whether it's a joke or not, the invocation of heroin specifically to convey basically immediate, overwhelming enjoyment / pleasure fits in with how the show distinguishes between uppers and downers, with downers being the drugs more likely to be taken in pursuit of pleasure rather than as tools for neoliberal self-improvement like coke / uppers. besides that, the past 10 in-universe days have essentially been a process of kendall deciding more and more baldly to pursue his father's ceo position once and for all. kendall's drug use is in response to both logan and the broader demands of capitalist masculinity, so i don't want to read too much into his non-use this season (& it honestly wouldn't shock me if we saw him do a bump or two in the last episode or something), but i do think that at the beginning of the season, we catch him at a relatively relaxed point, as he's been removed from his father and had his siblings nearby. so, the show is capable of portraying him spiralling out (as you point out) without using a drug narrative or conventional addiction arc to telegraph that, because his coke use means very specific things in relation to masculinity and capitalism.

[cavernsofdarkness]

Hi! I’ve been following your edgerunners story for a while and have been absolutely obsessed with it. Do you make the buildings yourself? If so, would you upload them? Because I’ve been searching for cyberpunk inspired lots for my own story/save, but had no luck, and I’m not much of a builder myself.

Hi! Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

I do build everything. Every set that you see in Edgerunners I make from scratch on an empty lot.

Specifically in the case of Edgerunners/cyberpunk, I don't think I would ever upload them. Those lots are made entirely of decor and the majority of the cool cyberpunk elements that make them what they are, are personal conversions. So, unlike other builds where even if you don't have the decor you still have the structure and can refurnish, my cyberpunk builds are nothing without the decor.

I've never considered myself a 'builder' I still don't, but over the last few years I've become one out of necessity. That being said, most of my builds aren't elaborate structures (they're often just boxes); it's all in the decorating. I would suggest searching 'cyberpunk' and 'cyberpunk art' on tumblr/google/pinterest, find an image that you like and try your best to recreate it (maybe start with a small room first). I have a few tags on my cc blog with publicly available cyberpunk cc that might be useful (1, 2, 3, 4), as well as a couple items I converted myself and was able to publicly share (1, 2).

Though I couldn't be much help with the actual lots, I hope this aids, if only a bit, your endeavor to bring cyberpunk to your game.

[laffy-taffy-creations]

DAY TWENTYYYYYYYYYYY

This fic was cross-posted on AO3 here

Shattered Worlds Shatter Hearts

Blanket | Found Family | "You will regret touching them"

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Words: 1,958

Warnings: Arguing, platonic break ups, kidnapping, implied manipulation

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, out of curiosity, what’s your guys opinions on MEQAT3?” I asked. I waited with bated breath.

There had been some leaked documents, spread misinformation, things that painted me as the bad guy. Who I used to be known as. I tried leaving that place behind.

“Oh, fuck no. They’re nothing but pure evil, cold-blooded killer, extremely dangerous, I just want to… punch them in the face!” Deku spat out.

Yikes. I knew the misinfo was that bad, but… this? From him?

“I think that’s a bit far, but… yeah, from what I’ve heard they sound like another villain. Probably someone up there with the ranks of Voltluxe and the LOV I’d bet,” Ochako said.

“Huh.”

“Any particular reason for that question?” Midoriya asked.

I straightened. “Well, I keep seeing a bunch of stuff painting them as a bad person but, like… has anyone ever actually seen them? I mean, they could easily be strawman, or someone who’s image has been… misconstrued, and manipulated to push a narrative just as easily as they could be someone to stay away from,” I explained. “Also, yikes, I dont think I’ve ever heard you use those words to describe someone Midoriya.”

“I’m sticking with what I said. Nothing but a heartless monster the way I see it.”

A mixture of fury, fear, and helplessness swirled in my stomach. “Have you ever actually seen them? Ever met them?” I tried.

“Have you?” he shot back.

He was so… sure of himself! He barely even listened to what I had said, falling for the propaganda so easily!

“It’s pretty hard not to have met my fucking self!” I shouted. Then recoiled. I realized what I’d said.

His expression fell. “You’re… MEQAT3?” he asked.

With a deep breath I nodded.

Then it morphed into one of disgust. “I cant fucking believe you. YOU’RE ‘MEQAT3’?”

Shock. “Are you kidding? You’ve known me for… how long has it been now? And you seriously believe that I would do that?”

“Well if you’re MEQAT-fucking-3 then I dont know what else you’re hiding."

“I wasn’t hiding anything! MEQAT3 is a name that has ties to a lot of trauma for me, I wasn’t fucking ‘hiding’ anything from you guys! You’ve seen me, I’m not like that!”

Uraraka sat back during the whole conversation, shifting nervously.

“Well I guess I dont know you then.”

“You know, your blind faith in your sources is so amazing I could almost forget that you just called ME a COLD-BLOODED MURDERER OF ALL THINGS AND A HEARTLESS MONSTER!”

“You dont even know my sources. I have others that aren’t from the fucking internet, OV. I’ve heard things. Dont try shit like that with me.”

“You know I have a good feeling I know who you’re talking about and I cant even believe that you’re willing to believe him over your own friend.”

“You’re no longer my damn friend.”

All Might. He was choosing to believe All Might over me on the things that happened to me.

“I cant fucking believe you right now,” was the last thing I said before storming off to my room before I did something I’d regret.

So much for his usual belief of ‘everyone needs a hero, everyone deserves to be saved’. He cant even get over his own bias for the sake of saving friendship. How does he think he’s gonna save actual people in danger? What makes All Might soooo much more reliable than us? What makes him so special?

[Calm yourself a bit Clovie]

Absolutely not! He’s willing to believe Him over us and not able to recognize literally all ‘information’ about us came from him! It turns into a he-said-we-said situation but he’s too fucking blind to that because of his own obsession!

[It’s not fucking fair, it was never fucking fair. But we cant blame him for his own false conclusions.]

He said he wanted to punch us Augs. He called us a cold-blooded murderer, and a heartless monster.

[He’ll come around in due time… hopefully. All we can do now is wait.]

I’m gonna punch something.

[Just dont punch him.]

You say that like we’d ever consider it as an option…

----《 ¤ 》----

Trapped. Captured. Brilliant. With the one person who wanted nothing to do with me.

The chains around me clanked while I adjusted my position. I was kneeling on the floor, trying to get a feel for the situation.

I vaguely knew this place. Clearly we were being held captive. I didnt remember much of my actual capture, I could only tell that it had happened because, well, I wasnt where I was meant to be and also in chains.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Midoriya asked. He’d gotten a lot more… distant at the very least. I wouldn’t call it hostile. It most certainly was hostile, considering this was Deku, but most people wouldn’t really pick up on it, and it couldn’t really be considered that hostile.

At the very least it was aggressive.

“I’m just trying to figure out what the fuck my options are, because I dont use my quirks to save us, then I’m selfish. If I do use them, then I’m a monster solely for having them in the first place because of their capabilites, so I’m just trying to figure out the best course of action so that you dont get more mad at me!”

He sighed. “Vee, I’m not mad at you-”

“You told me our friendship was over just because I’m MEQAT3.”

“MEQAT3 is a monster who killed people. You are OV. There’s a difference.”

“And how exactly does that work?!” I turned to look at him. “Whether you like it or not, I’m MEQAT3, that is a name that has been used to refer to me many times, we are not separate people, but the version you’ve been lied to about is!”

“And that real version of MEQAT3 is a monster who killed people.”

I just looked at him in disbelief. “Okay, firstly, I AM the real version of MEQAT3! Second, those people I supposedly killed attacked me first! They experimented on me for years, put me in a shock collar when I stepped out of line, funnily enough THEY were the ones that killed MY friends, the other experiments in my line! They killed my friends, kidnapped me- I have not seen my parents a single day since I was nine -and I only ESCAPED their clutches because of these powers, ones they forced upon me by the way. And third, I didnt even kill them. I should’ve! Especially considering all the shit they did, to me and my friends! But I didnt. They were in the infirmary for a few days at fucking most, recieving more immediate care than anyone else already in the damn infirmary!”

The villain walked in through the doorway. “Well well, you two fighting already? Dang, that didnt take long, wasn’t even my original goal! But I can work with this~,” they purred.

"Oh shut it, this doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

"No no, it doesn’t, please keep arguing,” they said with an amused smile on their face.

Deku tried breaking out of the chains with his quirk, but ultimately failed.

“Awww, trying rush to escaping? But I haven’t even gotten to the main part!” the villain said, drawing some sort of specialized gun from somewhere and charging him.

Well, they would’ve been, had I not put up a giant wall that ensnared them upon contact so they couldn’t get to him. “I dont fucking think so you lunatic,” I growled.

I snapped the chains around me and stalked towards where I held them in place. “You touch him I’ll make you fucking regret it.”

“Uhm… Vee?” he asked nervously from behind me. I turned. I assumed it would have been from seeing my powers actually in use for the first time, and it mostly was.

But there was also marks, running across what skin was visible, a few ever so slight slashes in his outfit.

My grip around the villain tightened. “Yeah?”

“What are you-?”

“I dont have the time for a sentimental moment right now, there’s a villain here but yes I’m saving you because like it or not I still see you as my friend.” I turned back to the villain. “And for you, since apparently you already had some fun, I will make you regret it.”

The place around us turning into some sort of void, a reality of its own, controlled by me rather than the bunker we had previously been in. The blurring of faded colors mixing with with a darkness far beyond was the only thing one could see in the environment, like something out of a video game. I ensured that me and Izuku were on a platform, safe from all else in the area while the villain got subject to plenty of horrors. Spikes, none deadly, choking to near suffocation, and finally when I switched us back to our reality, thrown against a wall.

“Hopefully you learn your lesson not to mess with class 1-A again, it’d be a pain to do that all over again but worse. Anyways, I’ll be taking this, bye!” I said before grabbing Deku by the shoulder and teleporting us both to the common room.

I didnt give him the chance to say anything, instead leaving to go get a blanket of sorts and gather my thoughts. Just a quick moment of decompression. Even when I did return, I didnt comprehend anything he was saying if he was talking at all. I chose to go on auto-pilot.

I would not be able to handle more verbal abuse. Not right now.

I settled him on the couch, healed up what injuries I could see, which was probably a new power he hadnt been told despite it being the first one forced upon me, which only proved my point about propaganda and slander, and then went to the kitchen to go make some food.

“If ever under an intense amount of perceived stress, you almost always resort to cooking.”

I froze.

“Aaaand your fear response is only ever freeze when something has to do with your past…”

“What are you doing?" I asked, going back to the food.

“Just…” He sighed. “Just starting over I guess. Going with what I know. They never mentioned that you had a healing power.”

I snorted. “Huh, I wonder why…”

“Shut up.”

“I told you from the first day. I’m not in control of my public image. The person who forced this all upon me is. And me having the capabilities to heal at all obviously would’ve been omitted, as well as all the time I actually spent caring for the others at the lab.”

“Whatever… Who even experimented on you? You mentioned something about that.”

“...okay, you’re gonna wanna stay sitting for this one. Snuggle up in that blanket, get nice and cozy, cause this is gonna be hard to take,” I told him, adding a few things to the stew I was making and putting a lid over it, lowering the stove temperature.

I turned around. He wore an expression of equal parts confusion and fear.

“There’s only one person popular enough to have made this much of a fuss about the old me, and it was a hero. And they would’ve had plenty of incentive to spread all that slander, to attempt and drag me down, keep me quiet and afraid. Would have worked, except that I’m not afraid.”

“...oookay?”

“Who exactly gave you all those first-person accounts about how ‘terrible’ I was?”

He thought for a moment, before his features morphed, and I could’ve pin-pointed the exact moment his entire reality shattered.

[jdgo51]

Why Is the Image of God So Important?

Today's inspiration comes from:

Rethinking Life

by Shane Claiborne

"'When I was growing up in the South, people often said to me, “You’re the spitting image of your dad.” I understood what they meant, but still, what’s a “spitting” image? Someone later explained that it’s slang for “spirit and image.” It refers to more than just appearance. If you’re someone’s spitting image, you have their charisma or mannerisms, the same walk or laugh or smile. That’s what people mean by spitting image — you remind them of someone.

Although I’m not 100 percent sure that’s the origin of this southern phrase, I am convinced it offers insight into what it means to be made in the image of God. We might say that human beings are the spitting image of God. We remind the world of God. We are able, at our best, to act like God, to love like God, to create like God, and even to smell like God. I once heard someone say that saints are simply those who leave the fragrance of Jesus in the world. Their lives remind others of Jesus.

God created human beings in God’s own image and then, over time, human beings decided they’d like to put their image on things too. Today, we call it branding. Think of millionaires or former presidents who build towers and plazas and casinos and put their names up in lights to spread their empires. Or think of Mount Rushmore or the faces of various presidents printed on our money. Every image is a reminder, an assertion of the image maker’s power, position, or authority.

The kings and emperors of the ancient world were no different. For example, in Jesus’ day, Caesar Augustus was obsessed with putting his image on everything. It was engraved on statues, on buildings, on war machines, on documents, and on coins. Augustus loved getting his name out there and branding everything he could with his imperial stamp.

But for Augustus and other caesars of old, stamping their image on things was more than just a narcissism complex. It was also about marking their turf and expanding their territory. Historians say that you can tell how far the power of a particular emperor reached by tracking the locations of the coins that had his image on it. As coins were used in commerce and war, they carried with them the influence of the person whose image they bore. Coins were a trail of crumbs that led back to those in power. They demonstrated how powerful the emperor was and how much territory his colonizing ambitions had amassed.

We are the living currency of God.

The Image of God on God’s Coins

Perhaps you can see where this is going. God’s image is too glorious to put on a coin or a statue, so God put the divine image on us.

God chose to make us in God’s image. We are the living currency of God. We are God’s coins, bearing God’s image, carrying God’s influence wherever we go. And we can see how far God’s kingdom extends — somebody say “amen” — wherever human beings find themselves. Where human beings are, God is. As the apostle John said,

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and [God’s] love is made complete in us. — 1 John 4:12

Wherever a human being is, God is; and whenever we crush a human being, we crush the image of God.

This is one of the big differences between Caesar and God. Caesar wanted to be seen but not known. And God wants to be known but cannot be seen. The image of God is too profound to carve into a stone or stamp onto a piece of metal.

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God said,

You cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live. — Exodus 33:20

Instead, God said He would shield Moses in the cleft of a rock and then pass by so Moses could see God’s back. Maybe it was like wearing those special glasses that allow you to look at a solar eclipse without going blind. God wants to be known, so God appears in ways that are both mysterious and miraculous — to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:1–5), to Elijah in the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11–13), to Abraham in the guise of three strangers (Genesis 18:1–2). In one encounter, God sends an angel to a woman named Hagar, Abraham’s mistress, whom Abraham had banished into the desert with her son, Ishmael. Hagar names God as, get ready for this, “the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13). That’s what she names God: “You-Are-the-One-Who-Sees-Me.” It’s a stunning reflection of God’s desire to know and be known.

The God who saw Hagar and Ishmael is the God who sees us and longs to be known by us. Finally, God puts on skin and comes to us with a name and a face in Jesus. But here’s the part we sometimes forget. Just as we see God in Jesus, Jesus tells us that God lives in us (John 14:17). We are God’s sanctuary. God does not dwell in temples made by human hands (Acts 17:24), but God lives in you and me (1 Corinthians 3:16). Every person on the planet is the holy of holies. That should cause us to treat other people, every person, as if they are God’s temple — because they are.

Caesar could reproduce his image in bronze or marble and mass produce his image on coins, but it was all lifeless. God chose to reproduce God’s own image in us, in living human beings. Perhaps that is why we have the command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28 NKJV). God is inviting us to broaden God’s Kingdom by filling the world with the currency of love. Wherever there are people loving one another, God is visible in the world."'

Excerpted with permission from Rethinking Life by Shane Claiborne, copyright Shane Claiborne.

[kibo-ichiro]

I got a bit carried away researching some stuff and this is a bit long, but I couldn’t help it. Enjoy! (Also please let me know if any images don’t show up)

•Peridot is often called “the gem of the sun” or “the gem of compassion” and those are definitely two of Shuri’s defining traits: she’s bright and warm and endlessly compassionate towards others, so she’s often associated with light/the sun.

Plus peridot is believed to help break bad habits and cycles, and that really speaks for itself doesn’t it? (Sidenote: I found like one article saying that peridot can also help give insight into relationships and help balance relationships, which I kind of thought worked with my idea that Jeremy giving Shuri the brooch was supposed to show how he did in fact want to treat Shuri like family but it’s not the strongest evidence so…)

•Blue roses aren’t naturally occurring in nature; you have to dye a white rose blue in order to get a blue rose. Because of this, blue roses are often used to mean an impossible or unrequited love. However, it can also symbolize uniting two lovers who have been separated. This works amazingly well for TL1 Nora, who could not ever tell Shuri of his love for her, and of his wish that burning the Empire to the ground might be able to bring Shuri back.

•Two of Richelieu‘s reflections look almost like wings at Theobald’s back; however, because of Richelieu’s robes and dark hair, those “wings” look more bat-like than feathered, which tends to be more associated with demons/the devil than angels. It shows that neither of them are truly the kind or saintly people they portray themselves as.

•Richelieu having specifically six reflections kind of stumped me admittedly. I couldn’t find a lot of mentions of the number six in the Bible, and sources were a bit contradictory on whether it was a good number or not. Some said that because God created the world and everything in it in six days, that meant it symbolizes being whole or complete, which could relate back to Theobald’s obsessive need for love. Other sources said that seven was actually the number meant to show being whole (which is why there are seven days in a week) while six was an incomplete number and why 666 is the mark of the devil. I don’t know, maybe I’m missing something.

•Purple roses symbolize royalty and pride, but are often given as congratulations on one’s achievements. My first thought was of Ludovika’s wish to become “the noblest lady in the Empire” by becoming Empress. Like, that was to be her crowning achievement (pun intended).

•Richelieu having one eye covered is interesting for a number of reasons. My first thought was the saying “an eye for an eye” meaning that whatever crime you commit, the punishment will be as equally severe. The full quote:

Which again relates back to Nora destroying the Empire for Shuri. But there is another quote from the Bible that could work here:

Two things to note about this quote: 1) This is speaking of controlling sexual desires specifically here, and it’s been made pretty clear that Richelieu desires Shuri, 2) that the original quote mentions plucking out the right eye specifically, and Richelieu has his left eye covered. Most explanations of this passage I read though agreed that this was said merely to get how serious this point was across, and that it didn’t matter which eye you were supposed to pluck out; the entire thing is just hyperbole. Though Augustine’s interpretation was interesting to me:

“…The right eye may be understood one who counsels us in heavenly matters, and by the left one who counsels in earthly matters.”

Richelieu believes that he was saved by God from drowning; afterwards, he dedicates himself to the church because he’s “seen the light.” He starts a Holy War because he believes himself to be chosen by God. He has his left “earthly” eye covered because he thinks himself above everyone, that only he knows the true grace of God. Though in an almost ironic twist, it’s often believed that the left eye is actually the one connected to the heavenly/spiritual plane. In trying to be a good servant of God, Richelieu ended up blinding himself to God and was left with his own desires and wants. (Could probably word that better but I’m tired. Hopefully you get my point. Also I’m not religious so I hope I don’t offend anyone; please let me know if I have or if I got something wrong)

•I agree that it looks like Jeremy on the cover with Ohera, though the gem looks a bit like how diamonds are usually portrayed. Diamonds are usually associated with engagement rings, and as such tend to symbolize love and commitment. Makes sense as Ohera and Jeremy are betrothed, even if they never got married in TL1. But Ohera’s mom also has some interesting dialogue in chapter 57:

She compares herself to a glittering gem, and even calls Ohera her gem. Maybe the original Korean is more specific about what kind of gem, I don’t know, but Ohera being associated with a gem that means love and commitment when she has such heavy trauma surrounding those very things is brilliant. Also herkimer diamonds are thought to help people let go of anger, pettiness, and childhood issues/trauma. Ohera lying to Shuri to get her away from the wedding is one big trauma response.

wanted to ask about asm physical volumes covers they have a lot of signs and Symbolism especially Richelieu's cover , any thoughts abt them ? i love your analysis + btw i noticed an Eagle flag behind leon in the Vol.5 cover , is that the streife flag ? and who do you think will be in the next cover ? personally i think it would be ali

sure! let's get into it! but first, for my vol. 8 cover prediction! i'm also pretty inclined to think that ali will be the next cover. he's the last one on the roster for our main cast, so it's preeeetttty likely. unless Orka throws us a fastball and gives us a Letran cover for whatever reason... (i'm nervous for the day we'll get a johannes/ludovika cover)

Annnyways! So far we've got the korean/english physical releases of ASM vol. 1-6 (7, if you include Orka's teaser for vol. 7 featuring Ohara). for the sake of the length of this post, i won't be covering the japanese edition covers (they're mostly all the same, just simpler)

i'll be deep diving below the cut! Spoiler warning! be warned! it's a lot of text! (at the least, check out my vol. 6 richelieu analysis!)

Vol. 1 features our protagonist Shuri in all of her beautiful glory! This cover is so beautifully... generic (as it was meant to be) so we don't get a lot of info but.... here's what we got

The golden lions crest: I'd like to think that the family crest is symbolic of how her newfound family will come to back her up in the first volume.

Jeremy, his siblings, and Nora: The framing of the Neuschwansteins on the left and Nora on the right is both foreshadowing to their early conflict and a way to show that they're all watching over her shoulders. Whether in judgement or in protection is what new readers will come to find out.

The peridot brooch: We all know the implications of the brooch and it's connections to Shuri's death in the 1st timeline. It's a looming warning above Shuri's head, but also behind her, just like how Shuri's death is a memory that she can't seem to shake.

The red ribbon: It's the red string of fate that links eeeeeverything together. And it's also the symbol of the Empire. The red petals are a symbol of romance and violence, something that sums up ASM quite well.

Vol. 2 features a young Nora holding his sword. This is where the fun starts and Orka sneaks in more narrative symbols. The cover is bathed in blue, Nora's key color and his family's color symbol.

Broken peridot brooch: On the leftmost frame, we see Shuri's peridot brooch shattering in a pool of blood. It's a violent red flag on an overwhelmingly blue cover. It's a direct reference to Nora's investigation of Shuri's death in the 1st timeline

Knight's armor: On the right, we have a suit of armor, stoically framed in glowing blue light. Becoming a knight for the Imperial Family is the fate for Nuremberg nobles.

Shuri's portrait: In the back is a frame of Shuri as the Spider Widow. Her head is cut off ominously, another reference to her death. There's a small spotlit corner of the portrait flickering behind Nora, like he's always thinking of her.

Blue roses: Blue roses are a mysterious symbol. Shuri also happens to meet Nora under mysterious circumstances and doesn't even learn his name until their fateful second encounter.

Vines: The wrapping vines in the background are a fairytale symbol for danger and fate.

Overall, my take here is that Nora must choose between the three framing elements, aka Streife (the Brooch), Love (Shuri), or Family (Nuremberg Knights). Shuri was never a choice for him in the 1st timeline, but her ending isn't over just yet! So maybe Nora will finally get to explore his 3rd choice.

Vol. 3 features Jeremy in a much simpler setting. This volume is almost completely centric around Jeremy's trial and the cover reflects that. His pose centers focus on his right hand (the hand he almost lost) as he unsheathes his sword.

Chains: Jeremy's imprisonment. that's it

Golden Lions and the Peridot: We've gone over this. If you see a peridot, it means Shuri. She's what is holding together the Neuschwanstein estate.

Shuri and Johannes: There are two silhouetted busts of the current and former head of the Estate. Johannes, in white, has passed on his burdens while Shuri, in black, inherited the burdens of the estate. The Neuschwanstein manor is overlayed on top of the two, as the real subject at stake during the trial.

Lilies: White lilies symbolize purity and rebirth. Jeremy believed he would lose his hand that day, and knowing that Shuri was going to sacrifice herself for him was Jeremy's rebirth. The trial was reshaped the trajectory of Jeremy's entire life, which had been written from birth.

Vol. 4 features Elias and the twins. From this point forward, I don't own any of the physical volume copies, so I can't be 100% certain about it's contents... but it's a bright cover for a new season and kicks off new arcs and new characters, but i'm not sure if it includes the epilogues.

Golden lions crest: of course we can't be without the crest again. I don't think it needs any more explaining.

Streife: The eagle on the left is the Streife symbol, the Empire's secret police force. It may be in reference to Streife reporting Shuri's death but i'm honestly not sure of the relevance here, especially when i don't know which chapters are in this volume.

Golden amulet and Safavid: On the right we have a golden amulet hovering over a bird's eye view of Safavid. It's a little teaser for when we finally get Ali's first appearance

Devil's trumpet and bellflowers: The white devils trumpet flower symbolizes danger and power while the bellflower symbolizes calm. You could say that it's the calm before the storm. Season 2 introduces itself with Leon returning from boarding school. Everything seems happy and cool until Shuri reminds us that political strife has risen over the 3 year timeskip.

Vol. 5 features Theo in a sinister red, gold, and purple palette. I should note that the Japanese releases are behind from the Korean/English releases. Specifically, Vol. 5 includes the missing epilogue episodes that were not included in Vol. 4. However, the Guardian arc and the Family Trip arc (included in Vol. 3 of the english release) are included in the Japanese version of Vol. 5. TLDR, I'm not sure which arcs are included in the official Korean/English Vol. 5 volume.

Violet roses: The violet roses are a symbol of Theo's mother, Ludovika. In the Japanese version, Theo's childhood flashback appears in this volume and we get some insight on Ludovika.

Mirrors and Richelieu: There's a strangeness in the way Richelieu, who appears a surprising 6 times, faces away from the audience. Mirrors should mean self-reflection, but Richelieu faces away from the mirrors. He's so focused on enforcing his beliefs on others and in the process, becomes the greatest sinner. He's aware of this, but he doesn't seem to care.

Cherubs: Two twin cherubs frame Theo, as they seem ready to stab him with their arrows.By season 2, Theo has already fallen for Shuri, in a toxic obsessive love.

Upside down crown: A flipped crown can mean a lack of authority or a change in power. Richelieu manipulating Theo strips away Theo's power as a royal. It also foreshadows Theo's depleting support pillars (Nuremberg and Neuschwanstein)

Vol. 6 features a young Richelieu. Like Vol. 5, the Japanese volume contains the flashbacks of Richelieu's past, which is the only main moment we see a young Richelieu. Anyway, there's a lot here.

Richelieu: This exact depiction of young Richelieu never actually appears in the manhwa (his forehead is bandaged, not his eyes). But there is significance in him being "half blind." Not to mention, there's a huge glowing iris on fire behind him.

There's a saying "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." It's about a seeing man who comes across a town of blind men. He attempts to preach his seeing knowledge to the town, knowing that he is a tier above the people. However, the town cannot understand the meaning of sight and peck out his eyes, because after all, "the king must be of his people." Richelieu's seeing eye (in the background) is going up in flames in the same way. Richelieu literally calls himself a "king" in his youth, fully aware that he is cut from a different cloth. On the cover, he sits on a throne with a divine halo behind his head. Exemplary of how he feels "chosen" by God to strike punishment onto sinners. There's even meaning in the way he is holding his book. In art history, hands on a book in this specific manner is an allegory for great power in knowledge (think Aristotle).

Wolffe: I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure of Wolffe's significance in the cover, but wherever Richelieu is, Wolffe follows.

Apple: Another symbol of knowledge. Adam's first sin was eating the fruit (apple) of knowledge.

Raven: Ravens are a symbol of transformation, prophecy, and intelligence. I've gone further into Richelieu and his connections with ravens here!

Windows: The windows in the background reference Richelieu's divine awakening. To the moment he woke up from his coma after drowning and the window light shone onto the church pendant on the wall.

Bubbles: The bubbles reference his drowning and eventual "rebirth."

Dogwood Leaves and Thorns: The red leaves can be likened to blood, sure. But did you know it's believed that the Cross of Jesus Christ was made of Dogwood? Richelieu believes his self-flagellation is a form of early repentance for his future sins.

The Vol. 7 teaser features Ohara, but it's highly filtered (for good reason) but we can soooorta only make out some things. There's a jewel? and what looks like Jeremy? I can't say much yet, but let me know what you think?

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Sarcophagus time! 

We all know the scene. Jake is trapped and can’t get out. 

But why? This is PRIME Jake time. They are in so much danger and Jake isn’t there to help. Why is Jake locked away? 

Let’s rewind. 

This is the afterlife according to Marc Spector. This is Marc’s life story. This is Marc’s scales getting balanced. This is Marc’s pain. 

Opening in the afterlife, we see Marc seeing skewed versions of Steven’s life. Marc is alone and feeling lost. He is looking for Steven. Perhaps he’s scared and confused. The last thing he felt was probably intense fear for Steven. An intense protectiveness. Getting killed was what Marc thought he wanted. He wanted to fail a mission. He wanted the supposed peace that he thought would come with it. 

Yet if you look at the images of him getting shot, his face goes through so many feelings. I think I’ve rewatched that a billion times looking for something that I suspect is there and maybe I’m missing. Or I’m just an obsessed crazy person looking for something that isn’t there. 

Marc is fighting. He knows he is outnumbered, he knows he doesn’t have the suit to protect him, and he knows Khonshu isn’t there to revive him…. But he also just had his worst nightmare played out in front of him. Layla knows his secret. She knows he is a murdering monster like he feared. She’s angry with him. She walked away. Marc doesn’t care what happens to him in this moment. He is angry at himself most of all and he doesn’t care if he has a chance, he’s going to fight. 

When he gets shot, you see his face in utter surprise. There’s a struggle. A lot of people suspect that Steven briefly flashes there, feeling the pain and surprise, before Marc forcefully takes over and tries to get back up and gets shot again. 

But where is Jake? I think Jake was there too. I think maybe if I look hard enough maybe one of those expressions might belong to Jake before Marc again is there, as he sinks into the water. Maybe it’s Jake that tries to get back up to fight before he’s shot again. Maybe it’s Jake that pushes them back into the water to prevent a third shot out of hope that maybe they make it… 

Either way, Marc is the one that closes his eyes and drifts away. He’s pushed Steven down in an effort to protect him. He doesn’t want Steven to feel this. He’s locked Steven away. In death, Jake is locked away and prevented from helping Marc. 

Marc doesn’t want protection at this point. He doesn’t think he deserves it. 

Yet when he wakes up in the hospital without Steven, this is the first time since he was just a scared boy that he’s been alone. He knows he needs help, but most of all, he is afraid of what may happen to Steven. 

When he finds the sarcophagus, there are a few BIG bangs. Heavy punches. I mean BIG rattling punches. Then it results to gentle banging and tapping and him screaming to be let out. 

Marc is alone. He’s scared. He’s vulnerable. He is just a boy running away. He’s hiding from them. He can’t fight back. Those bangs? Steven is not conscious yet. This is Steven trying to surface. This is Steven trying to front to protect Marc. When that doesn’t work, Steven wakes up and cries for help, letting Marc know it’s him. 

This is where Marc makes the choice to let Steven out. To welcome him into his version of the world. Steven is now able to see things as Marc sees them. To see his memories. To go on his journey. 

Marc had to welcome Steven in. To let him see him. To let Steven be there for him. It was the first step. 

I’d be really curious to know what is written on Steven’s sarcophagus and if someone wants to let me know I’d be so happy… 

Because I’ve heard that the next Sarcophagus we come across has words of “Protector” written all over it. 

Jake’s sarcophagus is upright. He’s ready to run out. He’s ready to go to action. It’s standing. He’s always there and ready to step in. Steven’s was laying down and almost peaceful. Resting even. Like a true sarcophagus laid to rest. Jake’s looks like it’s already rocked halfway across the room. 

The door is open. Inviting them in if they should choose. Again, you hear the banging. This time it starts quieter. There’s a few bangs and rustling. He’s trying to get out himself. LIke he doesn’t want to attract attention. Then as Marc looks into the room, the banging gets louder. 

Jake has never been perceived before. He isn’t sure if he’s ready. He isn’t sure if Marc is ready. But Marc is in danger. But not a danger that Jake can handle. Marc’s soul is in danger. And who is the protector of that? Steven is the protector of the spirit and soul. 

Marc maybe has always sensed Jake there. Somewhere in the background. Missing time he knew wasn’t Steven. A voice trying to calm him down or lift him up when he’s at his worst. But Marc does not want to know. Much like Steven who thought he was talking to his Mum all this time on the phone. Steven has set himself into a delusion to protect himself. Marc’s delusion is that he does not and is unable to perceive Jake. Knowing Jake would be forcing himself to know just how self destructive he really is. 

“Marc has no idea how truly troubled he is.” Because that would be to know Jake. To know Jake is to know that he needs protection from himself. 

Marc does not open the sarcophagus. He isn’t ready to let him out. He is not ready to face this too. With Steven at his side, he can face the first part of his journey into healing. He can learn to accept that he is not the monster. That he didn’t deserve all that pain. Steven is there to heal his soul. 

Steven points to the sarcophagus and tries to point it out to Marc but Marc has already moved on. Steven is not meant to let Jake out. If he had tried to open it, I think he would have found it locked. 

Maybe next time, Jake will be let out and he will wrap his arms around Marc and tell him to stop hurting himself. He doesn’t deserve it. But that isn’t something Marc is ready for yet. And I think Jake knows this. As Marc walks away, the banging stops. 

I like to think that he can sense their journey through the Duat. That he can sense Steven helping him. He can feel Marc at peace and then he can feel him coming back for Steven. Perhaps he imagines Marc eventually coming back for him too someday. Perhaps he imagines himself as the hero, lifting Marc out of the sand and through the gates. 

And then they are back. They are alive and he can hear the communication suddenly happening between Marc and Steven. He can see them working together and he’s happy for them. He’s hopeful. 

But the next time we see Jake? When Marc goes down and is being blasted by Harrow. As Marc’s eyes roll back his mouth twists into a sneer. The look on his face is pure rage. And I am not imagining that one. Cut to skipped time and that place looks like a bomb went off. 

Jake might be locked away, but when he steps out… No one shoots his system and gets away with it. He will not fail to protect them again. He will not be left helpless to watch them suffer in doubt again. 

[1bringthesun]

okay i do NOT know how tumblr works so i’m making this new post bcuz someone commented about the Mori comment i made last post so basically i’ll go over a crash course on why i don’t think he’s a pedo!

1) he calls Elise his wife

yup, he says this in an omake of bsd. however, the word he uses in this context is 妻 (tsuma), which is used to mean wife NOW, but meant something more along the lines of “lifelong partner” in the past. he’s being a screwy bastard and trying to toy with Fukuzawa by using a word that means either “wife” or “partner,” but basically he’s trying to see how far he can take it. calling a kid your wife is strange, sure, but calling a kid your partner could really mean anything.

2) he sees Elise naked

tbh i’m not really sure why this one proves anything. he’s trying to put clothes ON her, not take them off. he doesn’t look aroused or anything. actually, he looks… no thoughts brain empty. there’s not a single thought in that head of his at this moment, much less any sexual comments about Elise’s body.

3) Elise is based off of Yosano, Mori was obsessed with Yosano

once again, there’s nothing inherently sexual here. he abused Yosano (not with the intention to hurt her, but with the idea that her mental and physical well-being were a worthy sacrifice for the hundreds of thousands of other lives on the line), he didn’t prey on her? he canonically feels remorseful over Dazai’s lack of will to live, so it’s not too much of a stretch to say he has regrets about Yosano as well. in that case, Elise would represent the petulant and innocent attitude Yosano could have developed instead of her hardened views of the world. i think he sees Elise as a daughter, and i think he regrets not being able to treat Yosano as one either

4) “i prefer those 12 and under”

i’m foggy on the details, but he says something to that effect in a conversation with Kouyou. The context is that she’s calling him a capable boss, to which he replies, “i prefer my subordinates to be younger” (or something…). once again, this isn’t something that strikes me as inherently pedophilic. he likes young subordinates because they are weak and impressionable, and that sort of docile attitude just so happens to fit in well with his pastime of mansplain manipulate malewifing the yokohama underground. anyway, it’s nothing sexual. his organization literally human traffics, and he’s never once stepped in to do strange things to the children on their way to be sold. he couldn’t care less about them, he just wants smart yet dependent and naive underlings. also anyone who read this scene as them flirting is very ill-read in my opinion. they are not flirting. stick your shipping agenda back into fanon interpretation of characters. Mori and Kouyou are girlbossing the entirety of the port mafia together, but they’re not girbossing each other.

5) his character sheet

his character sheet does indeed have “young girls” in the likes category, but let me amend this- the words used are 幼女, aka “maiden.” you might say, “tai, japanese doesn’t differentiate singulars and plurals,” to which i reply, “have we seen him even interacting with woman out of his job?” the answer is no. he basically speaks to Elise and Kouyou, and there’s his female companionship. he’s married to his job, guys. he doesn’t have the time to frolic around with young women. but anyway, it doesn’t say “young girls,” it says “maiden(s)” so just take the plurality in the translation with a grain of salt. it could be referring to one single girl (Elise cough cough) (his daughter cough cough). also please ignore how astoundingly high res this image is.

6) Mori and fukuzawa’s argument

who’s surprised at this point when i say that this was also a mistranslation? not me! Mori says something to the effect of, “are you still fawning over stray cats?” to which Fukuzawa replies “and are you fawning over that girl still?” it was translated, for some inconceivable reason, as “only as much as you fawn over young girls” (or something) which i just don’t understand. yenpress, look me in the eye, this is not you. anyway zenki soukoku beloved.

7) letter to nathaniel

Mori plans on killing nathaniel and margret in the guild arc, right? so he has absolutely zero reason to lie when he sends them a letter saying “i want your ship and also you guys’ lives. thanks uwu” right ????? in the official translation in that letter, he calls Elise his child. idk how much more specific you can get there, chief. Elise is Mori’s daughter, your honor.

is this all i have to say? absolutely not. i could talk my head off about why Mori isn’t a pedo for ages, and i can connect it to “vita sexualis,” “the dancing girl,” Asagiri’s own opinion on Ougai’s legacy as an author and general, the irl Mori and Yosano’s relationship in comparison to the bsd version, and also the opinions of the fans in different languaged-fanbases. unfortunately, it’s way too early for my brain to function, and i now depart to feel the warm embrace of my very own Yoshiko chan. goodbye, tumblr, and i hope you agree with what i’ve said in this long-winded message~~

[safetycar-restart]

ugh anonymous wont add fucking images but omg the one of charles and carlos on the back of a truck during the drivers parade and charles’ shirt is like blown up and u can see his boxers like making me drool. idk if uve seen it but its all i can think about.

anyways sensory deprivation. yay. slay.

ok so maybe it’s poly!piarles au and pierre has decided ‘yk what, i wanna sub as-well tonight’ and obviously that’s fine. except bunny is still so horny and leaving him alone in that state is a bad idea. bunny wants to stay with you and pierre tonight and pierre honestly doesn’t want to be alone either but bunny wont be able to handle seeing pierre be handled so roughly. so an idea pops up. like a lightbulb moment. you tie them both to the bed, close enough that they can hold hands. and bunny has a blindfold on with earplugs as an option if he doesn’t like hearing pierre groan, and pierre also has a blindfold. you treat bunny the same as usual, being nice and caring and letting him come as many times as he needs to when he wants to, whereas you call pierre degrading names and pour hot (body safe) candle wax on him and bruise him. eventually u untie bunny and let him ride pierre until he comes and pierre isn’t allowed to.

eventually u have two happy, tired and satisfied boys who just want a bubble bath together and charles kisses all of pierre’s bruises whilst u tell them how much u love them 🫶🫶

🍁

Oh god I’m obsessed with this. This is absolutely genius.

There are definitely days where Pierre doesn’t just want to sub, but wants to be taken apart properly. And sometimes those days are the same days that bunny is desperately horny.

Usually, Charles is happy to leave the room for a while and let you dom Pierre. But sometimes, he just feels so vulnerable and desperate that he genuinely might start sobbing if he has to leave?

At first you really don’t know what to do in these situations, because you want to help both of your boys and it hurts you so much to think that one of your boys will left wanting in order for you to help the other.

If only you could just blindfold bunny….

Wait. You can. You absolutely can.

And honestly they both love it so much??

Charles is more than happy to be blindfolded next to Pierre, to be able to hold his hand and hear his whimpers and whines and begs.

And Pierre actually feels so comforted? He loves holding Charles’s hand, and loves hearing you praise Charles.

I also think that Charles would feel like such a good bunny in this position? Because he feels like he’s helping Pierre as well? He doesnt mean hearing Pierre beg, because he can hold Pierre’s hand and comfort him.

Charles really is the best bunny, comforting Pierre while cumming as many times as he can.

And fuck hot wax on Pierre? Incredible. The slight burn combined with Charles shaking next to him drives Pierre absolutely insane he loves it so much.

And of course charles is gonna kiss Pierre’s bruises when the scene is done!! He’s a good bunny!! That’s what good bunnies do!!

[chroniconic]

I’m also autistic and physically disabled, and I talk in long infodumps at the doctor’s which is basically like a timestamped history of all of my symptoms, without pause.

And I realized only after 10 years of going to the doctor’s with my physical health issues that they won’t listen to 99% of the infodump.

That’s true for most people, really, but if you’re autistic and have autistic friends who also speak in infodumps alone, it might come as a total surprise that this would be overwhelming to everyone else and all they will hear or see will be “obsessive personality” or “probably needs anxiety medication or something” which should not be the case, however, it might be a factor.

I did meet a couple of wonderful doctors who somehow listened to all of the infodump, took down notes, and made suggestions based on the details. I suspect they were neurodivergent themselves though, which is why it’s so rare.

Another pitfall autistic people might have is taking things directly when it comes to experiencing symptoms.

When a doctor asks you “do you feel/experience this all the time?” and if your brain goes “I guess there are some minutes, seconds or hours where I don’t feel it, maybe one day per month where it’s okay?” so you reply “no”, then the doctor thinks you have symptoms just periodically. Just a couple of times per month maybe. Or maybe it’s not a whole-day thing. That’s what they’ll think, because we’re really bad with those questions.

The way I started overcoming those issues was by making a list of all of my symptoms: when they started, how frequent they are, how long do they last and what they prevent me from doing, what medications and supplements I’m taking, and whether e.g painkillers or other medications work or not (also whether it has side effects).

Then, before talking, preface the whole conversation with “I’m here because I experience X, Y, Z symptoms <insert frequency here>”, then go into more detail for each symptom gradually.

The doctor might ask you questions inbetween: make sure to have your piece of paper with the symptoms in front of you so you won’t forget to tackle all of them as they move on.

If the doctor asks you questions about whether something is a daily occurrence, or severe, or anything that your brain takes literally, just tell them how it is like for you even if it sounds weird: if you have pain every couple of minutes, they’ll mark it down as “relentless, daily” because a non-autistic person would just say “daily”. Don’t make an assumption beforehand, though, just try to say it how it is like for you.

Pain severity is another hard one, especially if you’re used to constant pain. So I usually describe how it feels like for me. How it deters me from doing things, how I need rest or support, and what is my reaction when it occurs.

For example, if you get out of the house for 2 days every week and those aren’t perfect, pain free days, that should be mentioned as well. Always fatigued? Tired when waking up? That should be mentioned too.

But there’s another caveat with infodumps: do not mention what diagnosis you think you have, because that sets off alarms and frankly, there are so many issues that have the exact same symptoms and your particular situation might be something entirely different.

However, if they diagnose you with something and it doesn’t seem like a perfect fit for any reason, you should definitely ask them about that. A good doctor should be able to explain their reasoning and I hope that you will get to a good doctor.

Try to not be discouraged too much from X-rays that come back negative — you still should keep fighting to solve the issue. Most long-lasting chronic illnesses don’t show up on imaging, because it’s done to rule out mechanical issues, fractures, bone fragments where they shouldn’t be, tumors, etc.

And sometimes you need more imaging after. But chronic joint pain and fatigue could be anything from hormonal issues, sleep apnea, rheumatoid arthritis, etc and unfortunately needs lots of trial and error with medication and tests. It’s just one example though and it sucks, I know, and feels terribly discouraging when tests come back negative and you’re left in limbo.

At this point it’s expected that maybe it was something minor after all so it will heal by itself and you won’t come back, I think. This is where you should still continue pushing, because you’re still experiencing all of the symptoms and it doesn’t mean it’s a nonexistent issue. I hope things will get better for you!

chronically ill/physically disabled people, how do you deal with doctors appointments? what do you say/do to advocate for yourself? im autistic and not diagnosed with a chronic illness yet and i really struggle to know what to say to get them to listen to me and understand so that i can get the help and care i need. even if i bring someone with me, they also need to know what to say and i don't know anyone who understands well enough to explain to the doctor for me, which means that i have to tell them what to say before going. but that's the problem since i just don't know.

i have chronic joint pain that ive had for years but has only gotten worse over time. i also have hypermobile knees which are the worse they've ever been right now. i'm chronically fatigued and barely have the energy to eat and do basic hygiene. i have a few friends that i talk to fairly regularly and im very thankful for them but i still struggle so much with maintaining a social life when i cant even maintain my own physical wellbeing. i only go outside when i absolutely have to/when my pain is low enough and i have enough energy. on average i probably leave my house about once or twice a week, usually to go to medical appointments, to an internship i have once a week or to go grocery shopping. i usually try to do both at the same time if i can (like going grocery shopping after my internship) but most of the time i have to ask my parents to get me groceries since i dont have enough energy to. all i want is to be able to go outside just to take short walks and enjoy nature and the fresh air but i can't do so without the right treatment/a mobility aid. everything im doing right now is bordering the line of too much. im constantly tired and overwhelmed and everything feels like a struggle, even the smallest tasks most people do everyday without thinking twice about it.

i have almost only had bad experiences with doctors and other medical professionals like physiotherapists, which has given me a lot of extra anxiety on top of my already pretty bad social anxiety. i really struggle to make appointments and even more so to go to them, and when i bring myself to do so i really struggle to express myself and explain how i feel and how i want them to help me. i almost always get shut down and offered no actual help with any of my problems. i just don't know what to do anymore.

if anyone has any advice i'd really appreciate it. i know that i can't give up because my life right now without accommodations is too miserable, but i also don't know how to move forward.

sorry if this was hard to understand. i really tried my best to explain but im having a bit of a hard time expressing myself right now due to feeling worse than usual.

[fizzyxcustard]

Covert Eyes (4)

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Fandom: Spooks

Pairings: Lucas North x OC (Amy Holland) eventually

Warnings: Stalking behaviour, anxiety, language, sexual references.

Summary: Lucas takes notice of a young woman, Amy, but his obsession and want to get to know her begin to spiral out of control. In the previous chapter, Amy invited Lucas to come and spend an evening with her at her flat. However, he was called away, and left Amy with a question in her mind from an earlier comment. Has Lucas inadvertently revealed that he is watching her? Now Lucas is adamant to make things up to Amy for leaving so suddenly in their last attempt at a film night.

Comments/Notes: If you wish to be tagged in any of my tag lists for fics or characters, please let me know, and stipulate what you want to be tagged in. The above image was located on Pinterest, with no link back to the original source.

Amy lay in bed later that evening, thinking about Lucas. The fact that his comment eluded to him knowing what Jonathan looked like was still bugging her. How could he have known? Maybe it was purely that Lucas had seen Amy earlier in the evening and hadn’t come over to intrude. But he’d seemed startled when he saw her leaving the pub. Why would he act startled?

It took a while for Amy to become settled in bed and drift off. In fact, she decided to put on an ASMR video from YouTube and listen to someone’s whispering. That always sent her to sleep fast.

Her dreams were vague, like a painting that she was viewing through a telescope. Miles away. Some of the images remained with her as she woke, and then disappeared.

Her phone chimed.

I’m sorry about last night, love. Will you let me make it up to you?

Amy decided to try and let things continue on as they were and hide her suspicions away for now. There probably was some logical answer for how Lucas knew what Jonathan looked like. Not every man was out to break hearts, and she had to keep reminding herself of that fact. Some men just wanted to be happy, and love and be loved. Hopefully Lucas was one of those men.

At the café, Amy felt her lips curl upward and a spring develop in her step. Lucas was in his normal place – back right of the room, sat facing the glass front of the shop.

“Morning, love,” he said. “Brought you breakfast.”

Amy looked down, as she approached the table, to see two mugs of coffee and two bagels.

Amy and her bagels, Lucas had chuckled to himself upon ordering them.

“Why do you keep doing this?” Amy asked, placing her shoulder bag down on the table. “I feel guilty now. Please let me pay for tomorrow. I can’t keep letting you do this.”

“Only if you let me come round again tonight, and this time I’ll make sure that no one disrupts us. Our time keeps getting cut short; normally our mornings are only an hour at best. I can always bring food with me.”

“You’re sweet, you know that?” Amy giggled. “It’s rare nowadays. And I did want to ask you something.”

Lucas leaned forward in his seat, clasping his hands together. “What’s up?”

“Erm, you said last night that you thought I was out of Jonathan’s league. How do you know what he looks like?”

Lucas sighed and then rested back in his seat. “I didn’t want to mention this before as it might have seemed like I was trying to make him seem like a bad guy, but I recognised him when he was stood in front of me in the queue. Then when you said his name, I instantly knew it was the same guy I was thinking of. I’ve had to book him a few times for drug charges. He’s definitely not a nice guy, or someone you want to associate with.”

Inwardly and Amy breathed a sigh of relief. Of course there was some reason for it. It was just me being suspicious, as always.

Lucas noticed Amy’s shoulders ease back a little. Shit! I almost blew my own cover there. You dumb arse. There’s no way that she’ll consider contacting him again with that story. A seasoned intelligence officer like Lucas should have been able to keep his cool and know the drill by now with a watertight cover story. But with Amy, somehow some of his sense was lost. Because she was becoming so personal to him now, and that want to be in her life was building, Lucas was losing his focus.

Amy spoke a little about her plans to see her family during the summer months, and mentioned her nephew, Thomas. Lucas watched her eyes light up as she talked about the boy, who was almost nine now. “He absolutely adores his dad, Matt. And keeps saying how he wants to be just like him.”

“What does your brother in law do?” Lucas asked.

“He’s a vet. Thomas wants to make dogs and cats well again when they’re sick, so he says. He loves watching nature documentaries with David Attenborough, and even said if he couldn’t be a vet then he’d want to take Attenborough’s job.”

“Kids, eh?” Lucas chuckled. “They all have such big dreams. And then when you become an adult, it doesn’t quite work out the way you wanted it to. What did you want to be as a kid?”

“I wanted to work for Disneyland and dress up as Cinderella.”

Lucas laughed. “You know, I could imagine that. I think all you’d need is a wig for your hair to be longer. But you’re definitely beautiful enough.”

Amy looked down at the table and blushed. “I don’t think so, but thanks.”

Lucas couldn’t help but feel saddened by the expression on Amy’s face. It was almost as if memories had re-surfaced somewhere, bad ones. She sighed and looked to her left, again, looking as though she were recollecting something.

“Are you okay?”

Amy finally looked up. “No one has ever said I’m beautiful. Apart from my mum, of course. I mean, parents have to say that, don’t they? They made you, after all. It’d be a failure on their part if they admit you’re ugly. Anyway, I’ve got to get going now.”

“What time shall I see you tonight?” Lucas asked. There was no way that he was going to let her slip away without some kind of arrangement to see her again. One way or the other, he would kiss her that night. He would show her that she was beautiful.

“Is seven okay?”

“Perfect.”

Amy couldn’t stop thinking about Lucas’ words as she signed claimants on to receive their payments. Some of them had to clear their throats to remind her that they were there. Her mind was topsy turvy, in a constant state of Lucas North.

On her lunch break, she decided to head into town a buy a little make up. Just some simple foundation, mascara and eyeshadow. Maybe it would lift her confidence somewhat and help move things along with Lucas. His words now all seemed to be indicating that he was interested in her, looking past their friendship to something more. He genuinely seemed to want to know about her, cared, and found her attractive.

A colleague, a middle aged woman named Debbie, sporting an awful fake tan and dripping in gold necklaces and rings, saw Amy’s shopping bag and enquired about the contents. Once Amy had told her, albeit quite grudgingly, Debbie’s face lit up. “I sense a man is involved here.”

“Maybe.” This time Amy couldn’t hide her true feelings and smiled, blushing vivid red.

“Oh, sweetheart. What’s he like?” Debbie had always played mother hen to Amy, taking her under her wing for support, guidance and friendship.

Amy took a deep breath and began explaining what she knew about Lucas. Both women were sat opposite each other on a small table in the staffroom. Other colleagues came and went, practically ignoring the two women who were gushing about Amy’s blossoming friendship with Lucas.

“He definitely sounds like he likes you. And the fact that you keep seeing each other at the same café. He’s obviously going there on purpose.”

“How do you mean?” Amy asked.

“The local police station is about three miles away. It’d make sense for him to get to his workplace first and then have coffee, or at least move around. He likes you, lovely. That’s very plain to see, and I don’t even know the bloke.”

The rest of the day passed by slowly. Amy was constantly watching the clock, hurrying claimants through their appointments, and not asking all the questions that she should have. By half three, Amy took her last break and checked her phone. Lucas had messaged her.

I promise that you will have my undivided attention this evening.

Amy rushed home and showered, then made sure that her flat was neat and presentable. She paced through each room, even her bedroom, checking for anything that may have looked out of place, dusty or in need of a clean. Everything was perfect.

Finally, Lucas arrived.

As he entered, he seemed to be looking at her for longer, his gazes sinking right into her. She could feel that pull, and a shiver of anticipation raging up her spine. But there was something on the tip of her tongue, something that she wanted to ask him.

The two of them sat in the living room, only a foot apart. The air was alight now, an electricity charging. Static was swarming around them both. Lucas’ gaze was still locking on her for longer, and this time, Amy thought, fuck it. She went with her gut instinct, and that was he liked her. That question though would still not leave her alone.

Lucas looked at her, and he could see that she had put a little make up on. Not too much, but just enough to let him notice. Her sweet perfume smelled divine, and he could see her cleavage just slightly peeping from under a long sleeved, hippy style tunic. Those large, green eyes were even more beautiful, highlighted by dark shadow.

The question was deafening now, and Amy had to ask. “What makes me so special, Lucas? I mean, you could have any woman you want…” She trailed off.

“And what makes you so insecure about yourself? What makes you think that you need to go on dates with people like Jonathan Simmons, who are known drug addicts?” Lucas, by now, had his eyes locked on hers. The two of them were staring at each other from across the very small gap. “What has made you lower yourself to such….”

“Look at me,” Amy exclaimed. And then tears fell down her cheeks. Nothing special. Only mediocre.

Lucas shifted across the sofa, whispered, “I am,” and then took her lips against his in a hot kiss. Both of them lost their breaths, becoming so caught up in the passion in that moment. Their tongues met and gradually, Lucas pressed back against the sofa, his legs open. They were still kissing hungrily. Lucas was sure, right then, that he had never been kissed like this. It was needing, wanting, a desperation. However, he still felt that the rest of her body was holding back, avoiding contact with his. “Let go,” he whispered, breaking from the kiss for a second to look her in the eyes. “It’s okay. Let go, and go with it.”

Amy shot into another kiss. This time she moved, lifting herself into his lap where she straddled him. She listened to him groan as her hips ground against his, beckoning more arousal.

Lucas held her tight and let her take the lead. There was something so majestic that was caged inside her, and he needed to free it. A passionate soul, full of expression. A lover. He felt the sincerity in her movements as her lips brushed down his face and onto his neck.

They kissed for a further couple of minutes, before Amy moved away and let her breathing settle.

“No more talk about you not being beautiful, okay?” Lucas chuckled.

As the two of them got settled, putting on the TV and then ordering a pizza, they felt a weight had been lifted. The wall between them had been pulled down, the questions that had been in their minds now answered. The gap between them was completely closed; Amy rested herself in the crook of Lucas’ arm. She felt warm, accepted, wanted. For the first time in years.

They kissed, ate and drank beer and cider. Lucas had agreed to Amy putting on a couple of her Disney films, starting with The Little Mermaid, and then changing to The Sword in the Stone. However, most of the films went unwatched as they ate and kissed.

By the time it had turned half ten, Amy began questioning in her mind whether to ask Lucas if he wanted to stay. But she was conscious of that appearing as if she were easy, prepared to give him sex on their first official date. However, Amy knew she wanted to have sex with him; she’d been celibate now for so long and yearned for touch. Her ex had never satisfied her; she felt Lucas would be different. Firstly, Amy was very attracted to Lucas, and in a way that she had never been to any other man. Surely sex would be an entirely different experience.

“Do you want to stay?” she asked.

Lucas was aware of what this meant and got to his feet. “I should go. I’ve enjoyed tonight,” he said, and for once there was an awkward reluctance in his tone. He wanted her, probably more so than she imagined at that point, but Lucas could not force their relationship to go down this route too early. Amy, so he had seen and felt, was a woman who did nothing by half measure. She was all or nothing. Sex would not be something that she easily flung herself into. That self-control was fraying at the edges.

As Amy got up, he curled his arms around her waist and drew her in towards him. They kissed again, igniting more heat. And the longer they both kissed, the more they knew that Lucas would not be leaving that night.

***

Follow Forever tag list: @i-did-not-mean-to @lathalea @middleearthpixie @xxbyimm @meganlpie @linasofia @knitastically @sketch-and-write-lover @msjava1972 @guardianofrivendell @lilacpulse @spidergirla5 @asgardianhobbit98 @rachel1959

Richard Armitage tag list: @cryptichobbit @eunoiaastralwings

Covert Eyes tag list: @glimmering-darling-dolly

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Athena

So. I have to deal with the virgin goddesses… By mythos, there really shouldn't ever be children of Artemis, Hestia, or Athena (yes, Athena was a virgin goddess). PJ got past that by making it canon that Annabeth and her siblings were born from cracking open Athena's skull (yes, that's also more or less the canon explanation). They gloss over it real quick but I remember, Rick. I've always remembered and that mental image has haunted me for years...

I can't, in good conscience, ignore the history around Athena's worship (call it an academic restraint) but I REFUSE to do the skull thing. So, since I make the rules here, I'm going with magic adoption. They still get magic powers, they're just more human than demigod. Cool? Cool.

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Athena

Lucifer

The human that popped out of the portal seemed to have enough sense not to attack everyone in the room for a change, but even Lucifer could tell that was more of a strategic choice than for lack of ability...

Their very existence was highly unusual… and quite worrisome. He wasn't even aware Athena could have "children" of her own, but apparently she had been taking in some particularly bright humans to raise and train like her own...

Unbeknownst to him, a surprising amount of human scholars, diplomats, and generals have her to thank for their trade… and that alone should speak to the level of intrigue at play here. 

Was this an accident or Athena's attempt to plant an Olympian spy in the Devildom too…? Either way, he didn't trust them from the get go…

Look, Lucifer isn’t stupid. Athena is a goddess of Wisdom and War and war happens on more than just the battlefield… 

Since they've shown up records have been going missing, official documents keep getting misplaced, and he swears that there's some kind of bug in the student council room...!

It's infuriating watching the MC suck up to Diavolo when he's almost certain that they're running their own agenda behind the scenes! And he can't prove any of it!! They cover their tracks too well!

Lucifer has one of those corkboards covered in newspapers and string in a secret wing of the Castle - 100% dedicated to just tracking the MC's activities…. The longer they're there, the more obsessed he becomes...

He swears between Simeon, Solomon, and MC he feels like a shepherd wondering why the sheep are growling… The Devildom has never been in more danger than it is right now... Send help.

Mammon

To be honest, he kind of thought that they were just going to be Satan 2.0 but that's not really true.

They're more than just a book sponge! Though they do read, like a lot. Let’s just say from one schemer to another… Game recognizes Game.

They come up with plans and ideas soooo fast, it’s insane! Honestly, there are times where he has a new money-making plot and he just brings it to the MC first to run it over. 

Nine times out of ten, not only do they sniff out any problems but they have a solution for him in a matter of minutes! His scheme game has been on point since they’ve shown up!!

They’re also even better tutoring than Satan is, so he’s even managed to get a couple A’s for the first time in his life! Lucifer actually told him he was proud (which he secretly recorded and now uses as a ringtone much to his brother’s regret...)

So yeah, he likes them... buuut that doesn’t keep him from thinking they act a little weird sometimes... 

Mammon: *points to a unused tower close to the RAD building* Over there is the Tower of Sorrow. We use it for storage.

MC: Ah. Interesting… *starts writing in a notebook, muttering* It may need a few minor tweaks but the location is defensible...

Mammon: *stops* Ya say somethin’?

MC: *looks back up* Nope! Say, you’ve been to the Castle a lot haven’t you? Do you know any good ways in?

Mammon: Uhm… Why do ya want to know that…? *starts looking around for Lucifer*

MC: In case of emergencies. I like being prepared. 🙂

Mammon: Look, I don’t know what Lucifer might’a told ya…

MC: I’ll pay you a thousand Grimm for it.

Mammon: Well shit, ya want those maps with or without color?

... Yeeeah, that’s pretty weird… But it’s probably fine. I mean, as long as they keep giving him money, who’s he to complain? 🤷‍♀️

Leviathan

Also thought that they’d be a lot more like Satan but was pleasantly surprised that they were into more than books.

What else did they like exactly? Military strategy!!

It’s been a looong time since he’s been able to talk to someone who’s actually interested in all the battles he’s fought, both in the Celestial Realm and the Devildom, and their curiosity is kind of flattering...! Not a lot of people take his strategic prowess all that seriously anymore...

Plus, they are the BEST partner to have any turn-based strategy game. Hands down. He once got stuck on a level of D-COM for weeks until the MC walked in and mopped the floor with the AI!! They have a serious head for probability and tactics.

The House once made the mistake of letting these two be on the same team during a Hell Game and they absolutely demolished the competition. Mammon didn’t even get a single shot off before half his team was lost to a rigged paint grenade… It took a whole day to clean up… 

However, Levi’s also noticed some odd things about the human… He likes that they’re interested in his past but maybe they’re a little… too interested?

Levi: -and that’s how we defeated the Four Horsemen before they escaped from Purgatory. 

MC: Wow, Levi that’s seriously impressive!! *furiously scribbling on a notebook*

Levi: Well t-thanks… 😅 But, uhm... are you writing that down…?

MC: Hm? Oh no, just doodling. *they lift up the notebook to show a bunch of cute little sketches on the page… and not the magic-based invisible ink all over them…*

Levi: Oh you draw too? Can you do fanart???

MC: Eh, sometimes. But say Levi, can you tell me about your naval ranks again? I’m still really curious… *gets the pen ready again with a smile*

Satan

Oh, it's been a long game of cat-and-mouse between these two… and unfortunately, it’s been pretty addicting too.

He honestly had every intention of tricking the human into making a huge mess do he could bother Lucifer, but at every turn they proved just a hair too clever for him...

He once gave them a cursed book to “lend” to Lucifer, but they saw through it the moment they touched it and lifted the spell before handing it over.

He rigged a podium to spray glitter during one of Lucifer's speeches but the MC disconnected the trigger mic before he even got on stage. It was pretty dang frustrating...

At one point he got so desperate that, just as a test, he tried to trap them in the House's Music Room. Fortunately for them, it only took a few minutes to work out an escape. They even passed by him in the hallway with a wink!

It's confounding! It's infuriating!! 

...and it's so damn sexy... He should be furious but he’s just in awe!!

Add on that they know their art, literature, and multiple different crafts thanks to the tutelage of their adopted mother and that’s it. He’s finished. This boy is in love.

Truthfully though, a part of him is 90% sure that they’re also gathering state secrets… Like, they’re watching Barbs and Diavolo far too close for comfort - but he just can't bring himself to care. 🤷‍♀️

The MC could walk into his room one day and say, "Hey, do you want to help overthrow the monarchy with me?" and he dreads it because deep down he knows that he wouldn’t say no…

Take some notes, kids. Some bad influences get you to drink or do drugs. Others pull you into a centuries long conspiracy to destabilize and topple rival realms from within… But he has fallen for their brain hard. Devil help them all…

Asmodeus��

They’re pretty clever, he’ll give them that, but uh… Are they a little off to anybody else?

Asmo is a charmer by birthright so he has a bit of nose for when someone’s just a liiittttle too nice… Not much of a nose mind you, because he can be thrown off by compliments himself, but enough to think that the MC might be a little too… “kind” for their own good...

First off, who wants to spend that much time with Levi?? They don’t even seem that interested in anime! They just keeping asking him for old war stories…

Then all the sucking up they do to Diavolo and Barbatos? Look, he gets it. Diavolo is a delicious piece of man-hunk and his butler could give him a lesson or two in sweet-talk (and he has), but they seem to be just a little too… nosy.

Of course, Asmo’s suspicions disappear pretty quickly after they start to spoil him with spa nights and beauty secrets they picked up from “casual research” into the subject.

And you know, get a little Demonus in Asmo and start massaging his back? Oh, sweetie he’ll sing like a bird!! … with gossip. Singing with gossip.

Asmo: So I’ve heard that Lucifer has been spending more time at RAD than usual… His whole club is talking about it, they think he’s meeting with some witch!

MC: Hm, is that so? *works on a knot near his shoulder blades* What do you think?

Asmo: Ooh~! Right there, MC! *purrs and lays his head on his arms* Well come on, this is Lucifer we’re talking about! I’m sure he’s just working.

Asmo: Hmm... though come to think of it, I think I heard him asking Barbatos for the spare keys to the Tower of Sorrow…

MC: Oh really? Huh. *works out the knot and gets up* I just remembered that I left some papers with Satan... I’ll be right back.

Asmo: You’re going already??

MC: *waves him off quickly* I’ll be right back, Asmo. *hurries out the door to do totally on-the-up-and-up things… surely*

Beelzebub 

Honestly he doesn't like this one… But not for the reasons you'd expect.

He agrees with everyone else that they seem a little shady, but Solomon and Simeon are too so it's not like that's anything new... 🤷‍♀️

No, no. He dislikes them because they're the person who FINALLY figured out how to keep him from eating all the food in the kitchen!!

Turns out that the trick was to put a teleportation charm on the fridge door that would send all the food away if it’s opened after a certain time of night… 

And where does it go? The Purgatory Hall fridge. And where does the Purgatory Hall food go…? The HoL fridge…

It doesn’t sound so bad until you remember that it means half of their fridge is now Solomon’s leftovers…. 🤢

After they put the same kind of spell on the pantry, it was all over… He couldn't get midnight snacks from the House anymore… Everything was contaminated by Solomon…

The MC is a nice enough person, he doesn’t have a lot of complaints about them, but he wants them to leave. Now. This is inexcusable… He’s so hungry… and he doesn’t want to die by “goulash” or whatever Solomon calls his latest culinary catastrophe… He’s still too young for death… 😓

Belphegor 

In a way, he absolutely could not have asked for a better person to help him get out of that attic.

… In another way, he got one of the worst possible people to try and kill... Like. They saw through his scheme sooo fast…

How was he supposed to know that the human had training in body language and sniffing out lies???

Getting the door open was a piece of cake for them. They knew enough magic to undo the seals and just rummaged around Lucifer's stuff long enough to find the key to the door. He could not have found a more competent individual for a break out, really.

It’s just… well he didn’t expect to go from locked in a room like a prisoner to tied up in enchanted rope, still like a prisoner but now mobile. 😑 

They even used his own hug ruse against him! They caught his wrists when they got close and tied him up before he could shake them off...

Admittedly, it wasn't exactly the best look for them either - what with walking Belphegor downstairs to the others like a one-man-prison-caravan but they're as silver-tongued as they are sly so they talked their way out of it beautifully… 

And like hell was he going to trust them after that!! And not even Beel liked them so something had to be up...

Well, you want a detective? Look no farther than Belphie (no seriously, it’s in the canon). He can put things together pretty fast when he puts his mind to it and watching the MC for a while gave him enough proof to work off of...

He always knew that, humans were bad news and the MC just proved it to him all over again. They are bad news, bad bad news and they’re going to-!

Overthrow… Diavolo…? Is that what he is getting from them…? Huh…

Wait a second, MC. You might just have him interested… 😏

[plague-of-insomnia]

You’re free to believe whatever you want, but your information is completely unfounded.

As to your first point:

1° the human mind in most cases cannot differentiate fiction from reality, this is not something that applies to everyone, but people with tendencies can aggravate certain unhealthy fetishes.

The information about the mind not being able to interpret fiction from reality is based on the incorrect interpretation of MRI brain flow studies that showed the areas of the brain connected to smell or movement can be triggered by reading alone. This does not mean that the brain sees them as the exact same thing or that participants couldn’t distinguish reality from fiction. Distinguishing the two is something children learn at a young age (usually by age 4), and adults should definitely be able to do under most circumstances. (War of the Worlds scenarios and certain mental illness conditions aside.)

In fact, a recent study even evaluated how the brain might tell the two apart by something they call a “reality threshold” — in other words, the brain evaluates how vivid or real something is and decides if it’s reality or not.

Some various quotes from diff sources on the topic:

One of those alternative hypotheses says that the brain uses the same networks for reality and imagination, but that functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans don’t have high enough resolution for neuroscientists to discern the differences in how the networks are used

We still don’t understand fully how the brain distinguishes the two but it absolutely does:

What is clear is that the brain must be able to accurately regulate how strong a mental image is to avoid confusion between fantasy and reality.

Yet even when we are completely immersed and emotionally engaged within these worlds, we have little difficulty in leaving the fictional landscapes and getting back to the day-to-day of our own world.

There HAVE been studies that show people who are incredibly lonely and obsessed with fictional worlds can see the line between fiction and reality blur (this would represent quite a few people active in fandom), and perhaps this is also what you may be thinking of in your completely unsourced statements above.

“When we analyzed brain patterns in the MPFC [region of the brain], real people were represented very distinctly from fictional people in the non-lonely participants,” Wagner said.

“But among the lonelier people, the boundary starts breaking down. You don’t see the stark lines between the two groups.”

The findings suggest that lonely people may turn to fictional characters for a sense of belonging that is lacking in their real life, and that the results can be seen in brain, Wagner said.

While this study might explain why so many people in fandom seem to conflate reality and fiction, or why they defend fictional characters as if they were real, this still does not mean that brain cannot distinguish reality and fiction. Especially when the resolution of MRI imaging is so poor and all we’re looking at is nerve activity/blood flow and trying to interpret what it might mean.

I’m also pretty sure most of the “articles” claiming the brain cannot distinguish reality from fiction are not scientific but rather inflammatory, but you’re welcome to forward legitimate sources to the contrary.

I could continue on this but I’ve gone on long enough and haven’t even addressed the second part of your statement, that “people with certain tendencies can aggravate them through fiction” or your second point.

Some studies (though I couldn’t find any primary sources for this) found that some people with paraphilias could be led to offend if they consumed too much related material. But other studies have shown people can actually avoid offending by turning to fiction. This is probably just like how many survivors find fiction therapeutic and a safe way to work out their trauma, but for some people it can actually be more harmful for them to do this than it is for others.

Still, you would essentially argue that because some people might have a worsening of their … let’s say, shopping addiction by reading about shopping, others may be able to avoid the compulsion by focusing instead on fiction instead. And banning online shopping isn’t going to magically cure or stop anyone with a shopping addiction, who already make up a very tiny part of the population. Nor is it the stores’ responsibility to make sure that this very niche group isn’t harmed by their content that is fine for most people to be exposed to.

[ x • x • x • x • x ]

Now for your second point:

2° Many real pedophiles introduce themselves into fandoms that involve this precisely because they feel comfortable, which makes everything worse and unfortunately it happens because I saw it.

I doubt there have been any scientific studies on this, and it feels like a very personal and hyperbolic conclusion. I have seen far more antis being charged with sexual crimes in my time in fandom than I have non antis (I think I’ve only seen one, CielStar, in fact). And I would argue that anti communities create an environment ripe for grooming and abuse by predators than most non anti ones.

Antis often have “safe” adults and openly invite minors to participate; most non-anti communities are 18+ and strictly avoid interaction with minors. I’m not trying to belittle your own experience, but your statement is inflammatory and without any real basis.

(For example, I have heard multiple cases of antis sharing actual CSEM with one another, and have never once heard of this happening in non-anti spaces.)

I’ve had dealt with some abusive assholes in my time in fandom, including ones who tried to push me out by spreading false rumors about me and my motivations, but I wouldn’t say fandom is made up of, or exclusively attracts assholes looking to abuse people.

In the end, censoring fiction is not going to protect or save anyone. Abusers and predators can always find ways to target and groom their prey.

Trigger warning: mention of CP (child porn)

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