#a queen. both physically and metaphorically
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Elsa -> Costume Design (animation edition) DISNEY'S FROZEN • FROZEN FEVER • OLAF'S FROZEN ADVENTURE • FROZEN 2
do not repost/remove my username. Anna's version
#a queen. both physically and metaphorically#also a fashion icon#elsa#queen elsa#elsa disney#disney#frozen#frozen 2#frozen fever#olaf's frozen adventure#disney's frozen#disney animation#costume design#disneyedit#frozen edit#frozen 2 edit#frozen fever edit#olaf's frozen adventure edit#elsa edit#my edit#biromanticbarbieedits
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one of my favorite parts of strategy games like chess and advance wars is that feeling when you haven't quite won yet but the enemy has no real options so it feels like you're just sloowly wrapping around them like a snake. when all your enemy has is their king and you've managed to turn 3 of your pawns into queens, and all you've gotta do is get in juust the right position, and in the meantime all they can do is squirm. god, that's such a wonderful feeling. nothing quite like it
#incidentally i don't like it when versions of chess insist on enforcing a stalemate rule#honestly to a certain extent i feel like if your enemy has nothing but a king and you've got more than one queen that should just be an#automatic win. like exodia except instead of the individual pieces being useless they're all the most powerful monster card in the game#i think the favorite card i had as a kid was my five headed dragon. thought that shit was so cool. 5000 in both attack and defense???#it seemed unbeatable to my little kid brain. also it was a dragon. of course i loved it#i never learned how to Actually play yugioh of course. just what rules my stupid kid reading comprehension could understand#im pretty sure a monster has to be in play for you to be able to sacrifice it. i didn't know that so i filled my deck with nothing but#really strong monsters and i'd just sacrifice some directly from my hand to summon what i wanted#i stole a lot of yugioh cards as a kid from target. i'm comfortable saying this online because the statute of limitations has absolutely ru#out by now. i looked it up.#i remember for the first time i stole a box set that had exodia. i remember on my way home so i could open it... i genuinely felt like ther#was something mystical in that box. something ancient. there was something really special about that to my kid brain#i'd later steal quite a few more because i got the bright idea to fill a deck with nothing but exodia cards. i figured i'd always have a#first draw win. took me until actually trying to play it that i realized i'd often just get 5 left arms which obviously wouldn't work#so i took that deck and added some actual monsters to “hold me off”. it was pretty much just a normal deck with too much space taken up by#essentially useless cards. i don't think i ever actually won by drawing exodia naturally. what a shame#side note but i still get a bit anxious every time i go to that target. i haven't in years and i can basically guarantee they wouldn't#recognize Grown Ass Adult me as “that kid who stole a lot of yugioh cards”. it's been almost a decade if memory serves#i've grown a lot since then. both physically and metaphorically#i digress
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Hi, I would like to ask for a smut from Adam x fem Reader, his dear wife is going to pay him a visit at his work and in the end they almost get paid for lute
New Eve (Adam x Fem! Wife! Reader)
-SMUT AHEAD MINORS DNI-
Other warnings: Adam Being Adam
I hope I wrote this ask and understood it correctly! Adam is my guilty pleasure. I love men who are dumb as rocks and who are going to be absolutely leashed by even stronger women.
REQUESTS OPEN
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
There's a saying that all good things come in threes, Lilith, Eve, and you. Adam's final wife, who physically couldn't be swayed by Lucifer because Adam had met you in Heaven. When you passed through the pearly gates, you were greeted by none other than the first human himself. You were in awe for about two seconds until you quickly gathered the first man was a complete and utter dickhead. He seemed to falter when you walked past him to greet an angel named Lute, Adam's second in command. She tensed a little as you introduced yourself, ignoring Adam's protests that dubbed you a Queen Mega Bitch.
All this to say, it took about three months before Lute caught Adam sticking his tongue down your throat with you latched onto him like a koala. You made a distressed sound at being caught while listening to Adam laugh above you. You distinctly heard him call your mouth as good as a vagina while pressing a kiss to your hairline. "Adam!" You hissed, pulling on the horns of his mask as he let out a defiant sound, "Inappropriate."
"Ugh yeah, that's kind of my thing, sugar tits."
"You need to not make it your thing, or this thing doesn't happen." You drew your line in the metaphorical sand before marching out of the room, faintly hearing Lute argue about Adam's behavior behind you.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Two years later, you were Adam's new 'Eve' in heaven with two golden rings to prove the love that formed between the two of you...somehow. Did the both of you fight constantly? Yes. Did you want to wring his neck every time he opened the gaping hole he called a mouth? Also Yes. But did you love him...unfortunately. Even though he had a laundry list of bad habits, a vulgar mouth, and gross hobbies, he had his moments. He was protective, fiercely so, and despite his fuck boy personality, he only had his sights set on you. Lute often asked you what you saw in Adam, and you'd reluctantly sigh and give a tired grin, "He makes me laugh. Plus, with proper motivation, he's putty in my hand." Lute made a sound of understanding, nodding her head,
"Ah, yes. Use your feminine wiles to control those weaker than you, even if they may be physically stronger. We must use what we are given as women. Well, you must. I'm very strong without using that to my advantage."
"Yes, exactly," You snickered as Lute stopped outside Adam's office. "Which is exactly why Sera put me in charge of convincing Adam to meet with The Morningstar's daughter." You groaned, rubbing the bridge of your nose, "I'll see you back here later, then?"
"Yes, ma'am." Lute bowed, "I wish you luck...you'll need it. He's in one of his moods." before taking off into the sky and down the hall. You reached up with a stretch of your arms, fluffing up your wings to look extra pretty before knocking on Adam's door,
"Adam." You hummed, knocking on the grand marble door once before opening it. You leaned against the entranceway, wings brushing against the floor, as his head shot up.
"Sugartits!"
"Not my name!" You dodged Adam's hug with a flurry of your wings; he grinned, shoving the door closed with his hip. "Adam," you said in warning as he used his angelic magic to fly towards you and trap you within his arms.
"and what would you prefer I call you? My Bitch? Wifey?" He mused, peppering sloppy kisses against your cheek and down your neck. "We could go with Queen or Goddess, preferably." You shot back, dragging Adam down to sit in his chair; you hummed gently, removing his mask from his face. He leaned back, kicking his legs up on the desk as you slid down into his chest, straddling his hips. You hummed, running your fingers through his brown hair, and he melted into your touch, "My name works, too."
"I guess we can settle on Queen. Does that make me your King?" Adam preened as you scratched under his chin,
"Without a doubt...but we must talk about the Young Morningstar."
"Who?" He made a faux confused face which you raised an eyebrow back at in response, "Ugh, Lucifer's cunt daughter. What about her?"
"She's been begging for a meeting. I suggest you meet with her." Your lips began to trail down his neck, nipping at his skin as his body flushed.
"But that's so much work, sugar." He groaned, running his clawed hands through your hair, "Can't I just say fuck off back to hell we're gonna exterminate all of you regardless."
"Sera wants you to at least meet with her one time; she's giving you a lot of trust to handle this on your own."
"And if I do what you ask, what'll you give me?" He mused, eyes sparkling. You huffed, hitting him with the back of your wing, and he laughed, "Come on, you gotta sweeten the deal for me, mama."
"You're such a bastard." You huffed, moving to pull your hair out of your face. He moved his legs to the ground, and you could slide between his knees. "Robe off unless you want dirty," you commanded as Adam fumbled out of it quickly.
"I love you~" He leaned back with a sly grin, hand reaching up to move your head closer to his lip. Your fingers spread across his thighs, and you huffed softly, looking up at him.
"I love you more. If I do this for you, you promise to meet with young Lady Morningstar?"
"You can't just fuck me because you love me?"
"Bite me." You sneered, but there wasn't any malice in your voice as he stood up, picking you up off the ground and pressing your back against his desk.
"Oh, it would be my pleasure. I can't say your robes will survive, though I might need to get you some new ones." Adam popped the buttons on your robe, allowing your body to be laid bare for his eyes. He watched your breathing hitch as his long claw trailed down your neck to your chest. "Fuck I love these puppies, you know that?" Adam grinned, grabbing fistfuls of your breasts, squeezing and kneading to his heart's content. Your husband was like an oversized golden retriever. When he sees something he likes, he obsesses over it like a man deranged. His favorite playthings of yours were your tits and ass. "Any meetings?"
"None. I'm yours for the rest of the day. You can mark me how you'd like; I'm yours, my husband. Well, until you meet with the Princess."
"Fuckkkkk yeah, baby, come 'ere." Adam dove between your breasts, and he felt you suck in air through your teeth. He began to bite and suck on the supple flesh of your chest; you keened, arching into his mouth, hands tangling in his brown hair. You could tell from the way his teeth would graze against your nipples and your flesh he was doing everything in his power to leave marks on the skin.
"Adam...ngh." You panted, feeling his hand move down from your breast to slide down your stomach and between your legs. "Shit," You squeaked, feeling him tease your clit with his thumb and forefinger with a dopey grin on his face.
"There's my favorite girl," He flicked your nub skillfully; for being a massive asshole, this prick sure knew where to find your clit. One finger slid between your folds, and you tossed your head against the cold marble desk. "Damn, only one finger has you acting up? I must not be treating you good enough," He purred as another finger entered you, stretching you out to be big enough for, 'the first ever man god created.' Adam watched with delight as your wings spread out and trembled, glowing with a soft golden glow. "That's it, you're being such a good girl for me. Are you ready?"
"Yes." You panted, "Adam, please."
"God, you beg so nicely, you little slut," His hand reached up to grip your throat, causing you to let out a desperate whine, hips bucking into his fingers. "Beg Harder," He demanded, moving your hand to palm him through his trousers, stiff and aching. "Look at how hard you make me. How desperate. I need you to worship your god."
"Yes, sir." You purred, "You're my God, Adam. I need you, I'd worship for your love, your touch, your dick." You dragged your hand up your chest, playing with the swell of your own breast, "Don't you want to make me happy, baby?"
"More than anything." Adam's eyes lit up in elation, "Stay with me. Don't go to Lucifer. You're mine." He snarled, hands around your throat, "Say it."
"I'm with you. Only you. Forever Adam." His entire body seemed to relax when you said that, pressing gentle kisses to your cheek and lips. "I love you, you annoying Dickweed."
"Love you more, Sugartits." He grinned cheekily before lowering himself to you with a hiss-like laugh. "Tight as ever, and that's why I love you,"
"If you keep talking nonsense while you're literally inside me, I'll cut off your dick,"
"Sounds kinky."
"Adam."
"Fine, Fine, you're so vanilla." He mused, albeit his tone was much softer, fonder than his earlier teasing. His hands grabbed under your knees and pressed you close with a snap of his hips. You both let out a moan, yours higher pitched and needier, bucking your hips, searching for more friction than he was currently providing. You always savored the way he was able to fill you up, he wasn't the longest but god was he thick filling you in all the right ways. Every time his hips snapped into you, you could feel just how deep he kissed your cervix. "Yeah, you like that?" He panted, "Like how deep I'm getting? From the way you're dripping, you're practically soaking through my table. Your vag is like a vice, babe, so tight for this big cock."
"Hm. Your words always know how to turn me o-ng-ff." You moaned out this end at a particularly sharp thrust of his hips. "Fuck you," You panted as he grinned down at you,
"Good news, wifey, that's exactly what we're doing-"
"Sir!" You let out a scream as Lute slammed the door of his office open, you climbed against Adam's body like an embarrassed Nun. He groaned, still inside you but having the decency to cover you with his wings.
"What do you need, Lute? I'm a little busy getting it on with my sexy ass wife." Adam complained, motioning to the top of your head, to which you made an embarrassed sound of mortification. "Can this be rescheduled or-"
"The Princess of Hell is here, Sir. She just showed up-"
"Are you for real telling me that the bitch Princess of Hell is seriously cucking me right now?!"
"...Yes."
"(Y/n) If I killed her for interrupting us, would you be pissed?"
"Beyond Adam."
"Fuck."
#hazbin hotel x reader#hazbin hotel x you#hazbin hotel x y/n#x reader#fem reader#adam x reader#adam x you#hazbin hotel adam x reader#smut#requests open#reader insert#hazbin hotel smut
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The Shocking Prize for the Raven Knight.
Summary: While attacking a Green camp, Benjicot finds the missing Targaryen!reader princess that the Greens managed to kidnap and frees her. As they return to Kingslanding, Rhaenyra surprises everyone with the choice of gratitude she wishes to bestow on the lord for saving her daughter.
Word Count: 2.1K
Masterlist
Benjicot led his men through the Lannister camp, going through the men like they were training dummies. Red and gold fell to his men, red and black proudly waving Queen Rhaenyra’s flag. Pathetic, he thought, these Lannister men were like their lord, a loin with no claws or bite.
As his men continued fighting through the Lannister, Benjicot focused on the second part of his mission. He was finding the lost princess. He received a raven about how Rhaenyra’s daughter was taken during the Battle of Gullet after Prince Jacaerys was killed. The princess's dragon died during the battle is killed, similar to Vermx, Prince Jacaerys’ mount. This forced the princess to be held captive and was going to be essentially sold as a prize to Prince Aemond. Luckily, the prince perished Under God’s Eye from Daemon. So the captive princess was held now as a war prisoner, trying to see how much they could get away before returning her to her mother, who grew more and more desperate to have her daughter back at her side.
As he weaved through the camp and tents, he got worried, not finding any Targaryen princess and trying to remember the appearance he described. Black hair with violet eyes. It should have been hard to find since Lannisters were known for their golden blond hair, not black, but no princess was still in sight. As he grew increasingly stressed about not finding a princess, he saw one more tent in a lone corner towards the end of the camp.
Quickly scanning his surroundings for any knight, Benjicot ran to the tent flap to see someone kneeing at the ground, their head covered by a veil. He knew from the structure that it was a woman kneeling. Walking towards the figure, he tried to be silent, not wanting to alert any knight outside. As he slowly reached her, he placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Excuse me, my lady-”
Benjicot was interrupted when suddenly the mysterious woman turned, reaching for his dagger. She tripped him as he tried to block her, making him fall to the ground. He felt a weight on his chest as he looked up. Seeing a beautiful maiden with black hair and violet hardened eyes glaring at him as she held his dagger to his throat. His breath was physically and metaphorically taken away from him. Queen Rhaenyra’s daughter was a force to be reckoned with.
Once the princess heard footsteps coming to her tent, she feared it was that awful Lannister lord or Aemond. She decided she would rather die trying to kill them and freeing herself than being taken by those dreadful men. As she attacked the knight and went to stab him, she was blocked, forcing herself to notice the red and black colors. Recognizing them as House Blackwood, the princess quickly stood up from his chest, allowing Benjicot to sit up as he stared at her with wonder.
“My apologies, my lord. I have wrongly mistaken you for a Lannister or Aemond.” She apologized, moving a hand to him and helping him stand off the ground.
Not releasing her hand, Benjicot assessed her for any damage to her body; seeing she looked healthy enough, he sighed. Queen Rhaenyra would be glad to hear her daughter was safe and sound.
Benjicot smiled, bowing and kissing her hand, “No, my princess. It should be I apologizing. Knowing that enemies are around this camp, I should not have sneaked behind you.”
The ebony-haired princess smiled at the lord, “Then, as long as we both accept our apologies, there should be no bad blood around us.”
As Benji was about to speak, they both heard a shout from the entrance, seeing Lord Jason staring at them red-faced. Huffing in anger, the Lannister lord yelled as he charged towards the young duo. Benjicot braced for him, raising his sword as the two began to duel with the dragon princess stalking around them. Benjicot grinned widely; this lord was clumsy in his sword fighting, quickly finding the upper hand as he slashed Jason Lanninser on his legs, causing the golden loin to yell in pain and sink to the floor. As Jason glared at Benjioct, he spat, claiming how his brother in Kingslanding would make House Blackwood pay for treason—going further in saying how he will have two beauties, Aly Blackwood and the princess. Making Benjicot stiffen in anger, but before the Lord of Casterly Rock could continue in his word rampage, he was cut off by a dagger slashing his throat. This caused the lord to choke on his blood, flopping down on the ground with a thud.
In shock and wonder, Benji raised his sight again as the princess sneered at the dead lord.
“He disgustedly talks too much; I have grown tired of his moronic speaking. The realm will be relieved to be rid of him.” stated the princess, using her trousers to wipe off the blood from the dagger as she returned it to Benji. The Raven lord grinned, shaking his head.
“Keep it, princess, you have a talent with the dagger; let it keep you safe on your journey home.” explained the lord, smiling at seeing the princess grin back at him.
As the lord and princess sneaked out of the tent, they saw that the Blackwood men were joined by the Stark men, leading to victory over the greens. Smiling, the princess greeted Cregan Stark, who clapped Benjicot for finding the princess and exclaimed that he was glad the princess was safe and sound. Aly Blackwood introduced herself to the princess, asking her to join her in her tent to refresh before they made their way to Kingslanding.
The princess furrowed her brows, “Kingslanding, why not Dragonstone?”
The trio paused, forgetting that the princess could not know how the war was transpiring.
Benjicot stared at the group before sighing as he turned to the princess, “Your mother, Queen Rhaenyra, has been able to take hold of Kingslanding from the greens. That is why Jason Lannister seemed desperate. He clings that his brother Tyland could lead a rebellion against your mother from the dark cells. He is wrong.” snorted Benjicot in the hilarious thought of the Lanniesters.
The Princess nodded, relieved her mother was well and finally able to reclaim her throne from Aegon and his green harpies. Grinning, she expressed her desire to travel as fast as possible to Kingslanding; she wanted to reunite with her mother quickly. As they planned, it was decided that Benjicot and the princess would ride together, seeing how battles still needed to be fought closer to the storm lands and crownlands. Traveling with a vast army would only cause a larger target on the princess.
The Princess changed her clothes to House Blackwood to try and become unrecognizable to any allies of Aegon. As she exited the tent, she greeted Benji, who once again had his breath taken away from her beauty, especially when she saw her in his house's colors.
“How do I look, my Lord?” questioned the princess teasingly as she spun around for him.
Gulping, Benji smiled at the princess, his cheeks heating up, “A true beauty, my princess, but may I ask for you to call me Ben.”
Laughing at his cheeks, the princess replied, “Very well, Ben, please call me by my name rather than my princess.”
The two leave in the cover of night, hoping to reach the red keep in a few days.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Queen Rhaenyra walked with Aegon and Joffrey, a servant quickly came and handed her a raven. Pausing, she quickly opened it once she saw the House Blackwood sigil on it. Rhaenyra gasped in delight. Her daughter was found safely and was in due time to arrive in her arms. Her darling jewel, she raged for days after hearing that Jason Lannister had her captive. She would finally be back to her side, grinning. Rhaenyra shared the news with her boys, laughing as the two young princes rejoiced at being reunited with their beloved sister.
The day after, Rhaenyra was waiting by the steps of the Iron Throne; the court was buzzing in, seeing the Queen glowing with joy as they eagerly awaited the princess's arrival. As the throne room doors opened, people gasped, seeing the dragon princess walk in proudly wearing House Blackwood clothes with the lord of Raventree Hall grasping her arms and leading her to the Queen.
As the duo paused before the queen, Benjioct released his princess, moving back a step as he bowed to his queen. Rhaenyra grinned in gratitude at him as she embraced her daughter, whispering how much she missed her. The Princess nearly returned her mother’s embrace, finally letting herself relax. She was safe, and she was home, all thanks to Ben. As they separated, Rhaenyra called for the court's dismissal. She invited Benjicot for a luncheon but did not allow him to decline, so she walked away, dragging her daughter out. The princess rolled her eyes as she turned back to him.
“Come on, Ben, join us, please,” pleaded the princess, grinning as she saw him following.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I wanted to thank you again, Lord Blackwood, for bringing my daughter back to me safe and sound,” the queen praised, grinning as she saw him flush red.
Benjicot could feel his cheeks heat up again, not used to being praised by a queen and princess.
“I would gladly do it again, my queen; it is my honor to serve you.” he shyly spoke, blushing more as both mother and daughter giggled at his shyness.
“Isn’t he the sweetest mother? Instead of puffing his chest in pride, he is humble in his actions, becoming nervous from praises.” teased the princess, laughing when Ben turned to her with mock betrayal, playfully glaring at her.
Rhaenyra smiled at the sight; it seemed her daughter and the raven lord had grown close to each other. As the Luncheon continued, she grew more intrigued seeing how easily they spoke, jested with each other, leaving to each other's company. Not only that, but she also saw how he treated her sons. Aegon and Joffrey took a liking to the lord, asking him questions about battles and his sword skills, which the lord happily indulged the young princes every time.
As the luncheon finished, the Queen stated she needed to think about specific events and that she would see everyone later at court. Bowing, the princess saw her mother leaving with her brothers. Turning to Ben, she grinned, enjoying that she would spend more time with him alone.
As the two walked around, joking and teasing each other, they did not notice a dragon queen staring. Seeing their ease in each other’s company, she grew confident in her decision, turning away from the window. Rhaneyra allowed herself to become excited about the news she would share later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, the court was gathered in the throne room. Rhaenyra noticed her daughter finally switched from Blackwood clothes to her Targaryen gowns. She grinned, seeing how Benjioct stared at her daughter with a particular look in his eyes. Facing back to her people, she greeted them.
“My good people, it is with great pleasure that we celebrate the return of my daughter, your crown princess, home safely.”
The crowd cheered and clapped joyfully as the princess bowed to her mother.
Rhaenyra raised her hand, asking for quietness as she continued to speak, “But if it were not for the hard works of Houses Stark and House Blackwood, our princess would have been still lost in the hands of the greens and their allies. Lord Blackwood, please step forward.”
The crowd again cheered as the young lord stood infront of his queen, kneeling respectfully.
“Lord Benjicot Blackwood, thank you for bringing my daughter home safely. House Targaryen will always be grateful to House Blackwood… to show my gratitude, I have decided to honor you in a great alliance.”
The crowd quietly gasped, wondering what alliance and prize would the queen bestow the young lord.
Smiling, she turned to her daughter for a second before returning her gaze to Benji, “I am proposing, my lord, to create a strong alliance between our two houses in the form of marriage. It is my greatest pleasure to propose my daughter’s hand in marriage to you and you to be her future prince consort.”
Both princess and lord snapped their eyes to the queen, widening in shock as the crowd gasped—marriage…. a marriage between the raven lord and the beautiful dragon princess.
Slowly, the princess smiled bashfully, turning her head to Ben, who turned to her, staring and smiling at each other… marriage, they wouldn’t mind marrying.
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other people have worded it better then me, but inej's assertion about having kaz in the without armor scene was clearly not just about emotional vulnerability. it’s a powerful line in the books and a nice metaphor for emotional intimacy, (something inej deserves from kaz) but let's not shy away from the fact that she also made it clear she meant physical intimacy, as her words were "fully clothed, gloves on, head turned away so our lips can never touch"
this nuance is important to consider, as it reflects the depth and complexity of her feelings at the time. it’s ironic that for people who apparently care so much about inej’s boundaries, the fandom rarely pays attention to what she says. inej has flaws and virtues, some affected by different experiences she's had, and that affects her choices. her words aren’t any less hurtful because of this. she got kaz in a vulnerable moment and said something cruel. later she reflects on this and admits she shouldn’t be holding kaz to standards she can’t meet herself, and she likely said that to him in the first place because she lashed out about something that’s personally a trigger for her and she’s vulnerable about. they both have a lot of issues surrounding physical intimacy.
that’s one reason why kanej is such a good ship- one of the most healthy, beautiful and nuanced relationships ever between two children who have been through horrific things, exploited, abandoned, and put in danger every day, who have found safety and friendship and understanding in each other. they aren’t going to be speaking super politely and using sensitive, respectful, inoffensive woke therapy speak at every second because that’s not their situation or their relationship and their interactions are raw and real. sometimes they make mistakes (kaz calling inej an investment, inej saying kaz wouldn’t be able to have her if he couldn’t touch her, etc) but they recognise and admit when they do and work through that. the beauty of their friendship lies in their imperfections and their capacity to learn from each other. the bare honesty they share is a testament to their growth, even when it leads to moments of pain or misunderstanding.
to suggest that holding inej to a higher standard and not acknowledging that her words could be perceived as hurtful is akin to ignoring the very human aspects of her character. it’s essential to recognize that she is capable of making mistakes or risk turning her into a perfect fandomised queen incapable of fault. her character's journey is not about being infallible, but about growth, self-reflection, and the courage to confront and overcome her fears. strong and resilient, yet also capable of causing harm, even unintentionally.
there’s a phenomenon in fandom spaces but particularly the grishaverse where fans have an opinion of something and then deem everyone else’s as bad or wrong, going so far as to make posts calling out other people for having different analysis. literary discussions should encourage an environment where different interpretations are welcomed and discussed respectfully, not minimised and devalued for a more popular fandom take that’s often incorrect when compared with the text of the book anyway. it’s okay for inej to make mistakes and learn from them, just as it's okay for readers to have varied interpretations of their interactions.
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2600’s amazing Hackers on Planet Earth con may go down under enshittification
Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.
It's been 40 years since Emmanuel Goldstein launched the seminal, essential, world-changing 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. 2600 wasn't the first phreak/hacker zine, but it was the most important, spawning a global subculture dedicated to the noble pursuit of technological self-determination:
https://www.2600.com/
2600 has published hundreds of issues in which digital spelunkers report eagerly on the things they've discovered by peering intently at the things no one was supposed to even glance at (I'm proud to be one of those writers!). They've fought legal battles, including one that almost went to the Supreme Court:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS
They created a global network of meetups where some of technology's most durable friendships and important collaborations were born. These continue to this day:
https://www.2600.com/meetings
And they've hosted a weekly radio show on NYC's WBAI, Off the Hook:
https://wbai.org/program.php?program=76
When WBAI management lost their minds and locked the station's most beloved hosts out of the studio, Off the Hook (naturally) led the rebellion, taking back the station for its audience, rescuing it from a managerial coup:
https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786
But best of all, 2600 gave us HOPE – both in the metaphorical sense of "hope for a better technological tomorrow" and in the literal sense, with its biannual Hackers On Planet Earth con:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_on_Planet_Earth
For decades HOPE had an incredible venue, the Hotel Pennsylvania (memorialized in the phreak anthem "PEnnsylvania 6-5000"), a crumbling pile in midtown Manhattan that was biannually transformed into a rollicking, multi-day festival of forbidden technology, improbable feats, and incredible presentations. I was privileged to keynote HOPE in 2016:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1D7APjmVbk
But after the 2018 HOPE, the Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished to make way for the Penn15 (no, really) skyscraper, a vaporware mega-tower planned as a holding pen for luxury shopping and empty million-dollar condos sold to offshore war-criminals as safe-deposit boxes in the sky. The developer, Vornado (no, really) hasn't actually done all that – after demo'ing the Hotel Pennsylvania, they noped out, leave a large, unusable scar across midtown.
But HOPE wasn't lost. In 2022, the ever-resilient 2600 crew relocated to Queens, hosted by St John's University – a venue that was less glamorous that the Hotel Pennsylvania, but the event was still fantastic. Attendance fell from 2,000 to 1,000, but that was something they could work with, and reviews from attendees were stellar.
Good thing, too. 2600 is, first and foremost, a magazine publisher, and these have been hard years for magazines. First there was the mass die-off of indie bookstores and newsracks (I used to sell 2600 when I was a bookseller, and in the years after, I always took the presence of 2600 on a store's newsrack as an unimpeachable mark of quality).
Thankfully for 2600, their audience is (unsurprisingly) a tech-savvy one, so they were able to substitute digital subscriptions for physical ones:
https://www.2600.com/Magazine/DigitalEditions
Of course, many of those subscriptions came through Amazon's Kindle, because nerds were early Amazon adopters, and because the Kindle magazine publishing platform offered DRM-free distribution to subscribers along with a fair payout to publishers.
But then Amazon enshittified its magazine system. Having locked publishers to its platform, it rugged them and killed the monthly subscription fees that allowed publishers to plan for a steady output. Publishers were given a choice: leave Amazon (and all the readers locked inside its walled garden) or put your magazine into the Kindle Unlimited system:
https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/arp/B0BWPTCP4K?deviceType=A1FG5NAKX0MRJL
Kindle Unlimited is an all-you-can-eat program for Kindle, which pays publishers and writers based on a system that is both opaque and easily gamed, with the lion's share of the money going to "publishers" who focus on figuring out how to cheat the algorithm. Revenues for 2600 – and all the other magazines that Amazon had sucked in and sucked dry – fell off a cliff.
Which brings me to the present moment. After 40 years, 2600 is still at it, having survived the bookstorepocalypse, the lunacy of public radio management, the literal demolition of their physical home by an evil real-estate developer, and Amazon's crooked accounting.
This is 2600, circa 2024, and 2024 a HOPE year:
https://www.hope.net/
Once again, HOPE has been scheduled for its new digs in Queens, July 12-14. Last week, HOPE sent out an email blast to their subscribers telling them the news. They expected to sell 500 tickets in the first 24 hours. They didn't even come close:
https://www.2600.com/content/hope-ticket-sales-update
It turns out that Google and the other major mail providers don't like emails with the word "hacker" in them. The cartel that decides which email gets delivered, and which messages go to spam, or get blocked altogether, mass-blocked the HOPE 2024 announcement. Email may be the last federated, open platform we have, but mass concentration has created a system where it's nearly impossible to get your email delivered unless you're willing to play by Gmail's rules:
https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/10/dead-letters/
For Emmanuel Goldstein, founder of 2600 and tireless toiler for this community, the deafening silence following from that initial email volley was terrifying: "like some kind of a "Twilight Zone" episode where everyone has disappeared."
The enshittification that keeps 2600's emails from being delivered to the people who asked to receive them is even worse on social media. Social media companies routinely defraud their users by letting them subscribe to feeds, then turning around to the people and organizations that run those feeds and saying, "You've got x thousand subscribers on this platform, but we won't put your posts in their feeds unless you pay us to 'boost' your content":
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first
Enshittification has been coming at 2600 for decades. Like other forms of oddball media dedicated to challenging corporate power and government oppression, 2600 has always been a ten-years-ahead preview of the way the noose was gonna tighten on all of us. And now, they're on the ropes. HOPE can't sell tickets unless people know about HOPE, and neither email providers nor social media platforms have any interest in making that happen.
A handful of giant corporations now get to decide what we read, who we hear from, and whether and how we can get together in person to make friends, forge community, rabble-rouse and change the world. The idea that "it's not censorship unless the government does it" has always been wrong (not all censorship violates the First Amendment, and censorship can be real without being unconstitutional):
https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/04/yes-its-censorship/
What can you do about it? Well, for one thing, you can sign up for HOPE. It's gonna be great. They've got sub-$100 hotel rooms! In New York City!
https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv
If you can't make it to HOPE, you can sign up for a virtual membership:
https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv-virtual-attendee
You can submit a talk to HOPE:
https://www.hope.net/cfp.html
You can subscribe to 2600, in print or electronically (I signed up for the lifetime print subscription and it was a bargain – I devour every issue the day it arrives):
https://store.2600.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals
2600 is living a decade in the future of every other community you care about, weird hobby you enjoy, con you live for, and publication you read from cover to cover. If we can all pull together to save it, it'll be a beacon of hope (and HOPE).
I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/19/hope-less/#hack-the-planet
#pluralistic#2600#hackers#magazines#publishing#kindle unlimited publishing#kindle#enshittification#monopoly#end to end#competition#events#nyc#hope#hackers on planet earth#amazon
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since it's out i can finally post my piece for @hws-anthology as well as the timelapse for it. as is arguably all my hetalia work, it's a love letter to my friend @pyrrhocorax 's fic Sendlingur og Sandlóa - i'll ramble a bit about how much it means to me, as well as the symbolism i wormed into this piece below the read more :)
i originally had two pages planned for this piece, potentially more - the fic is a good 74k words long and certainly not light on scenes i could and wanted to pull from, but various things led into other various things and one page was all i could manage, so i tried to cram in what i could, so here's that (in a rough, somewhat arbitrary order of focal points)
the opening chapter! the car is a framing device for the piece as much as it is for the journey the characters will take following that first chapter, so i wanted to use the car window/shapes as a literal framing device in my drawing
joi, shaky at best in his sense of self, sees no reflection in the window, instead there's a silhouetted raven to signify the search he must go on to find it
while not perfectly transcribed by virtue of wonky (plus an extra) line(s), the notes coming from joi's headphones are the opening to the song sendlingur og sandlóa, the fic's namesake, which a loved one kindly transposed by ear for me for the purpose of this piece
in a similar vein, the stickers on joi's suitcase are of a purple sandpiper and a ringed plover, the birds after which the song is named - here they are as transparents and in their original colours
i wanted to create a sliiight impression that joi is the one knocking over the chessboard, representing his repeated rejections of it (both physically, and the things it represents)
the chess pieces were also chosen specifically! originally i was going to use a black rook and a white pawn to match chapter 41, but for the sake of having alternating colours and the rest of my metaphors working (iirc) i swapped those colours around. that, and i wanted to match chapter 13's white king and black pawn - the black pawn stuck, the white king was colour swapped for colour cohesion reasons like the other's. (visual contrast was important to me, but the white queen blending slightly into the sky was okay for symbolism reasons) (there was also black king, white rook from chapter 3, so it all worked out anyway - there's a lot of chess in this story and i only had space for so many pieces and colours, basically)
speaking of which, the black pawn is for joi (chapter 13), the white queen is for halle (someone who, from joi's perspective, can go anywhere, vs joi's pawn, someone to be used -> see chapter 35 and perspective).
the king piece is falling (but hasn't quite fallen) between halle and henrik (chapter 3, 7, 13, though i most clearly thought of 19)
the person in the top right corner is eduard! i desperately wanted to include him because i think he's deserved it, and i considered a lot of ways of working him in, but i think an ambiguous silhouette that isn't Quite part of the main picture works better narratively
note also that he's separated from the other's through a red curtain, to represent the iron curtain (naturally) i wanted it to match ber + tino's part in some way, to sorta emphasise their similar foundations despite being split apart across places
the flowers at eduard's window are placed and chosen purposefully as well! orange/red zinnia's outside (for familial ties, steadfastness, friendship and remembrance) for what eduard puts out in to the world, then lily-of-the-valley for tino and cornflower for him inside to show what he wants to hold close :)
halle and joi are the only characters with their eyes open - halle looks towards the viewer/author/reader/joi, while joi looks away all together. if you've read the fic (which i assume you have because i can't imagine this is interested to read otherwise) you probably don't need me to explain why that reflects their roles in the story
similarly, every character apart from the brothers is turned towards another in some way (eduard does not count when his flowers do, and his role in the story is based around that disconnect partially anyway) tino towards ber and eduard (and hana, i guess), ber towards tino, henrik to halle, halle to henrik (though he looks away - his values are elsewhere even when they are together). joi, at best, looks at his own reflection in the window
the colour scheme, while arbitrarily picked from gradient maps based on what i felt "fit" has been approved by the author as being very "SoS core"
finally, the poem on the note, chapter 46
all that being said, i can and will now talk about my personal relationship with SoS, so unless that interests you i imagine the post is done now! thank you for reading :)
the first comment i posted on SoS is dated 2nd November 2016 - logging into my old account i can see i bookmarked it on the 31st August that same year, so i can safely assume i first read or at least found it then. a month after my first comment, i posted another on a different account, pouring a few bits of my heart out and the author responded! we went back and forth a bit and eventually talked (i think) via tumblr for a little, but the majority of our conversations were via skype for whatever reason (we didn't call, just texted). it was a lot of me looking for writing advice, insight to their work/process/skill, talking about The Brothers and talking about psychology/the brain on a general and personal level. i think if i read our conversations back now i'd cringe, given that i was an awkward, fumbling 16 year old, but i dont think anything else wouldve been fitting given the subject matter. eventually our conversations fizzled out and we stopped talking for years, but i'd go back to SoS routinely and cry.
in may of 2021, i posted another comment during what in hindsight was definitely another relatively minor mental health episode - i think it was half trying to emphasise how important the work was to me on the off chance pyrr saw it, and half a bid for connection since i had no idea if they even remembered us talking. i assumed nothing would come of it, and for about a year that was true - until pyrr responded after all in february of 2022 - i'm happy to say we've been talking consistently on discord since then. i feel a little weird speaking too intimately about our friendship as it is now since it's not just my story to tell (though pyrr, if you're reading this) (i'm sure you are at some point) (you're welcome to talk about it however, i just didn't want to without consulting you) but i can say with some certainty that it's at least a little bit my fault that we have a sequel now - cementing my place as official number #1 fan and validating the me from almost 8 years ago in a way i don't think either of us processes well.
it's here that i feel the need to talk about my other dear friend, @hws-lceland , who i'm grateful to have met through the zine's discord server. i'm sure they're reading this too, and a lot of what our relationship means to me is stuff that's probably a bit too vulnerable for either of us to speak publicly, but i *can* say that i love them very much, and i'm really grateful to have someone else to understand, and that he read SoS for me. i thought he needed it, and i hope i was right
sendlingur is...endlessly important to me. i'm aiming to not write an essay here (a goal i think i've already sorta shot in the foot) but i think it's important for me to talk about some of this a little loudly, all the same. my writing has changed because of the series - remeeting with pyrr and showing them some of my more recent work was interesting since it was apparent even to them the influences i'd taken (to be fair, in one section i explicitly asked and did borrow a format of theirs, but this goes beyond that). when i was 16 i asked my mum to read the fic in a desperate bid to be understood. i've cried reading the fic many, many times. i've signed off letters and poems with my switched around version of i'm sorry / thank you / i love you (i swap the first two around) many, many, many times, including in a close friend's wedding gift. SoS has very sincerely changed my definition of love. the name halle is a part of my abstract mindscape. id already considered changing my name to johannes anyway and this fic certainly didnt help. i've gained a friendship of 7 and a half years through it. i've gained another newer one now, too. i am not well. i wasn't well then, reading it, and it hasn't fixed me (i am worse, now, arguably), but it healed something, or at least made me feel understood. i could go on, and maybe sometime i will (there were so many things i wanted to include in my piece and pay homage to!), but for now i will thank anyone who took the time to read all this (again), and say that i look forward to experiencing the sequel
as always, i'm sorry, thank you, i love you
#hetalia#hetalia nordics#hws iceland#hws norway#hetalia iceland#hetalia norway#hetalia denmark#hetalia sweden#hws sweden#hws estonia#hetalia estonia#hetalia finland#hws finland
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Elayne's time in the circus learning the actual practice behind all the theoretical queen qualities she's been taught was probably the most pivotal aspect of her succeeding in taking the throne. One huge theme Jordan likes to play with using his leaders is the gap between a person who knows how to do something and a person who has done something. Have you ever had a boss who couldn't do your job, but thought they could? Sucked ass, right? Same applies to a monarch.
The circus arc, made more potent by Tanchico before it, was an extended sequence that forced Elayne to reckon tangibly with everything she didn't know how to do, try to learn those things, and accept what she couldn't learn. She was surrounded by people with very specific, hard-to-learn skills that she had to watch others respect or be impressed by, and for the first time in her life, those skills were not centered around the acquisition or exercise of power.
(late addition edit) The mastery of tightrope walking, and the fact that as time goes on, she relies less and less on channeling to do it, is also a major factor here. She masters a very physical skill that forces you to be very in tune with your body. Once you do that, you can never again disrespect others who have done the same. It does double duty as an actual lesson for her and a great metaphor for how she sees herself as above others and has to slowly teach herself how to actually keep herself above others using only her own innate power.
To put it really simply, Elayne learned deep, to-the-marrow humility for the first time from the circus arc. There's "being humiliated", which happened plenty before that, but the circus arc taught how to be humble. Being humiliated doesn't make you humble; respecting others' expertise does. She and Nynaeve both go through this similar curve where they're forced to recognize people like Thom/Bayle/Juilin, Luca, and the circus performers as unique agents who have skills beyond their own. That's step one; step two is that they accept that and actively seek those people's help when it's relevant.
Now, of course, calling Elayne "humble" at any point in the series is... uh... not correct. But from this point on, she's actually constantly aware of the fact that there are people in the world who are good at things she'll never even begin to approach. She always knew there'd be stronger channelers or fighters and more knowledgeable politicians, but she didn't understand how to respect the skill of someone who can, say, tame an animal. After the circus arc, she does understand that, and without that understanding, she would never have been able to spread her power base widely enough to succeed in the succession.
When Elayne asks someone to come to her aid or back her, they can see in her eyes that she's asking them because she understands that she is not wholly better than they are. They can see that she's not trying to put another body behind herself for the numbers; she picked them because they have assets, skills, knowledge, or connections that she doesn't, and she respects that difference. It's a completely qualitative difference that's entirely subtextual, but it's there.
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Explaining Dignities: Exaltation
The reason why I want to talk about them is because I've actually seen dignities play a big role in readings, as they do describe how well or adverse certain matters can play out for the querent...so here's a little analogy to understand them better!
Context: In Hellenistic (traditional) astrology, exalted planets are said to be like the favorite guests of a given sign (host), so the resources they have at their disposal are equal or even greater than the host's. In other words, imagine a queen or king being invited to a neighboring kingdom, they will be treated with the greatest of honors and commodities! In a practical aspect, this means that the qualities of that planet (the guest) will be able to shine at their maximum, making that particular area of life (house) easier or more fortunate for the owner of the birth chart.
*Mind that below I’m speaking metaphorically of “house” as the SIGN the planet is exalted, and not the astrological house as such (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). *
Sun in Aries: Sun is a friend of Mars, as both rule fire signs and are leaders by nature. Mars is delighted to receive his royal friend, as he’s anxious to show him how noble, honorable, brave, and pioneer he is, and just how much he has achieved on his own. His job is to win wars for the kingdom after all! He’s thrilled to share his best tactics and borrow his friend his most treasured weaponry. The Sun feels comfortable because he has all he needs to command freely in this household, as his creativity, charisma, leadership and authenticity are praised by his friend. Together, they come up with solutions and strategies to conquer whatever they want! They are not afraid of competition or enemies, as both are equally ambitious and powerful in their own ways. Mars trusts the Sun, as he believes nobody is as visionary and talented enough to lead as he does. The Sun, in return, feels even more driven and powerful to accomplish his goals, as he has access to an incredible arsenal and his mission is thoroughly supported by his friend’s energy and fiery ability to execute his plans.
Personality keywords: high self-esteem, passionate, entrepreneurial, courageous, independent, self-reliant, proactive, resourceful, inspiring, competent, combative, non-stoppable.
Moon in Taurus: The Moon feels really welcomed in one of Venus’ places, as both value beauty, security, domestic life and emotional closeness. They speak the same language, as both love to connect and celebrate relationships. They allure through tact and sweetness instead of brute force as their counterparts (the Sun and Mars) do. The Moon loves Taurus’ palace since she’s fascinated by beautiful art, exquisite food, overgrowing nature, dreamy romance, and abundant wealth… she’s just so inspired and fulfilled with this kind of luxury and magnificence! In here she has firm and solid grounds to step on, so her moods and emotional needs are stable as well. The Moon is able to relax and enjoy life effortlessly as she becomes more in tune with her physical senses and the things that bring her genuine pleasure. With Taurus’ gentle and grounded approach, the Moon lets her love flow naturally in all directions without the fear of being judged, ridiculed, or getting hurt. Like her friend, she is moved to become the glue between the people she’s fond of and attracts what she desires through her feminine and gentle nature. The Moon is so pampered and taken good care of that she’s able to channel her emotional depth and excellent organizational skills towards the growth and embellishment of her relationships and surroundings in a lasting way.
Personality keywords: soothing, calming, relaxed, adorable, loyal, possessive, down-to-earth, practical, trustworthy, maternal, cozy, warm, gentle, nourishing, wealthy.
Mercury in Virgo: Mercury is always eager to pay a visit to Virgo´s realm, as he feels productive and useful here. As the guest, Mercury has all the mental and practical resources to give his thoughts structure and build all the great things he imagines into reality. Virgo gladly grants her friend access inside her huge library so he can explore his wide range of interests and gives him the key into her laboratory and workshop, places where he can experiment and practice all his learnings and become an expert on what he chooses to. She knows how anxious and critical he can get when he doesn’t rest or when things don’t go his way, so she also allows him to use her gym and provides him the best doctors and nutritionists to ease his stress. Virgo is pleased to see that Mercury quickly understands the importance of wellness and health, as she knows he cannot get his job done without proper self-care. Once relaxed and restored, he feels inspired to be of service, as he believes his quick wit and knowledge are put to good use. Mercury, thus, is motivated to grow, upgrade himself, achieve mastery and share his gifts with the world to make it a better place thanks to the wisdom, tools and care her friend borrows.
Personality traits: methodical, skilled, expert, wise, smart, discerning, perfectionist, high-standards, inventive, detail-oriented, practical, productive, industrious, quick wit, self-made.
Mars in Capricorn: In this sober and ancient residence, Mars is forced to cool down a bit and think before he acts. He understands that there is no one to conquer or outdo but himself. As guest in other households, Mars, as explosive, impatient and ambitious as he is, sometimes can get lost in the way, initiating projects and strategies that he later on drops because he gets bored quickly or doesn’t get the immediate results he wants; he also throws tantrums and whims when this happens, and his anger makes him do reckless and foolish things at times, something other hosts find puzzling or repulsive, where they either encage him or make him submissive, something that irritates and demotivates him even more. Capricorn, his patient and wise host, on the other hand, knows just how impulsive and enthusiastic his friend gets, so he kindly but firmly teaches him the art of discipline to achieve his goals, explaining him that violence is of no use here, but instead, self-control and resilience. After many trials and tests, Mars sees how his dedication pays off, and finds out that with constancy and practicality, his immense passion and drive can get him to unimaginable heights! Capricorn teaches him the required organizational and leadership skills to leave a renowned legacy well beyond his years. With his inborn initiative and fiery spirit channeled into the material realm, Mars is ready to raise an empire if he wanted to!
Personality traits: ambitious, self-made, responsible, go-getter, director, powerful, resilient, pragmatic, dedicated, strategist, organized, efficient, problem-solver, relentless, strong.
Venus in Pisces: When Venus enters the sacred and watery temple of Pisces, she is mesmerized by the enthralling type of beauty she finds in here. His generous and candid host takes her for a walk throughout the entire temple and reveals to her the mysteries of the universe. He grants her access to his secret chamber, where he teaches her the art of magic and spiritual healing, and lectures her about ancient and mystical knowledge, long forgotten to humankind, but very present and real nonetheless … these are wonders she didn’t knew existed before! Pisces knows how to inspire her soul in the most delicate and virtuous ways by reminding her of her true nature, that of divine precedence. Venus cannot help to spill what’s in her heat, so she asks her friend the tools to create beautiful music, paintings, and poems so she can share them with the world. Magnanimous and wise as he is, Pisces grants all her wishes, but also shows her the secret suffering that people are burdened with, and how cold the hearts of men have become before this pain. Awed and deeply touched, Venus’ empathy and understanding grows, and she starts to see the veil between the material and spiritual realms dissolve before her. She’s never felt such calling before! She knows her mission is to spread beauty, compassion and kindness, and she does this with unconditional love and devotion.
Personality keywords: romantic, good-natured, fair, balanced, connected, spiritual, creative, artistic, imaginative, warm, gentle, generous, understanding, devotional, forgiving, tolerant.
Jupiter in Cancer: When Jupiter enters the sanctuary of Cancer, he becomes even more lucky and faithful in life. He radiates joy and candor! This is because Cancer teaches him that without love, good-will alone is not enough to make himself and others truly happy. Jupiter is aware of this, but he sometimes can lose himself in fantasies and utopic scenarios, where he wishes things could be different instead of trying to build them into reality. He dreams and preaches, but he can sacrifice practicality in the process. When Cancer has him over, she shows him how to extend the bridge between good intentions and actions, as she’s amazing at ordering her surroundings and making a heart-felt home wherever she goes because of her innate gift for nurturing. She also helps his friend to tap into his intuition and use his common sense to tame his emotions, which can be boundless at times. She does this by treating him with praise, understanding and acceptance, so he can practice them with himself and others. Jupiter finally feels a sense of belonging, as his good intentions are not abused, misunderstood, or minimized... they are used to make good things happen. Through accessing his more feminine side, Jupiter is compelled to give selflessly more of himself to others, and since he’s in a house that governs creation and karma, what goes around comes around multiplied. By practicing morality, ethics, charity and unconditional love without expecting nothing in return, as Cancer does, he finds out that he attracts the best of fortunes.
Personality traits: kind, compassionate, loving, caring, sympathetic, cheerful, charisma, altruistic, supported, rooted, lucky, fortunate, cozy, happy, benevolent, comprehensive, soft, guided, protective.
Saturn in Libra: When Saturn is in Libra, his sobriety and coldness start to wash off and trade for diplomacy, elegance and a profound pursuit of justice and fairness. In the friendly home of Libra, Saturn feels the need to connect, as her host reminds him the importance of friends, allies, and partnerships. After all, he cannot get ahead in life alone! Saturn’s industriousness and wisdom are channeled into building loyal and lasting relationships, where all parties get what they need equally. Libra knows his reputation well, and although she recognizes that his friend can be a bit stubborn, stern and gloomy at times, she loves to lighten him up and remind him of his noble character, and how it can create enduring and strong bonds. She gives him the mission of justice and impartiality, as she knows nobody is better suited than him for his seriousness and sense of responsibility. Saturn protects and respects Libra and feels empowered because she realigns him with balance and high ideals. He does not feel rejected or lonely anymore. Libra teaches him to relax a bit and to seek pleasure from the warmth of social interactions, and in consequence, Saturn learns to apply his maturity and discipline to persuade others into creating a kinder, fairer and wiser world.
Personality traits: noble, just, dignified, committed, loyal, elegant, eloquent, responsible, diplomatic, mature, moral, impartial.
That's all! Thanks everyone for reading!😘
Book personal readings here: https://starintuitivehealing.etsy.com
Written by @soberpluto
#astrology#astrology observations#astrology community#astrology notes#birth chart#astrology signs#12 houses#astro community#astro observations#exalted planets#dignities#hellenistic astrology#ancient astrology#traditional astrology#sun in aries#moon in taurus#mercury in virgo#venus in pisces#mars in capricorn#jupiter in cancer#saturn in libra
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It's very interesting that both Allura in this episode and Essek in 2.124 frame the Luxon as a pre-Founding entity that has been in Exandria since before the Primordials or the pantheon, because it really does complicate the idea of gods as a single unified classification. Discussions around, say, the Raven Queen's ascension and Artagan's godhood are interesting of course, but lend themselves to a hierarchy of being and power—mortals and archfey must be elevated to a higher position to reach a place among the gods—but the Luxon throws a wrench into the hierarchy itself.
Fandom discussions around the Luxon referring to it as an entity tend to feed into this hierarchy as well, even when framing the Luxon in a positive light, by placing the classification of god or deity as a literal higher power in a contemporary and very sociopolitical conceptualization of "power," positioning anything in that role as inherently oppressive, and I think this also does the conversation a disservice. A better metaphor, in my opinion, is to compare deities to the fundamental forces of physics.
The way that dunamis has been said to intertwine with reality on a minute level and the Luxon's extension of divine power without direct communication suggests to me that its power in relation to other deities is somewhat akin to gravity itself—gravity is the weakest of the fundamental forces, but much farther reaching, and therefore it exerts a massive influence on the cosmos in spite of that lesser strength.* This echoes the complexities of trying to rely upon a hierarchy of being in this discussion, because such hierarchies are always constructed and imposed, not inherent. Sometimes they are constructed by those positioned at the top, and other times not, but from any angle, regardless of field, they tend to be used to justify some moral stance and standing.
This is utterly negated by the Luxon's existence. Whatever can be said about it as an entity, it seems to be an inherently amoral being—it does not seem to concern itself with moral questions, and very possibly has no capacity to do so. At the same time, dunamis seems to be enmeshed within the reality of the Material Plane and the Weave itself, perhaps even the Skein of Fate—as described, dunamis may well be the very particulate matter comprising the choices of everything in the cosmos and how those choices intertwine.
The Raven Queen, as an ascended mortal, can look upon the individual heroes of the story and acknowledge them, validate them, but the Luxon has no inherent position from which to look, and as such evades any positionality within the constructed hierarchy upon which the questions of this campaign hinge.
*Complicating this metaphor is the fact that gravity's weakness means it doesn't exert significant influence on a micro scale, but I do not ever purport to suggest that dunamancy is a one-to-one mirror of the realities of quantum mechanics, not least because Matt is definitely no more a physicist than I am.
#the return of the meta footnote#very important honestly#anyway all systems of classification are constructed and discourse would markedly improve if people actually recognized that#also I'm not gonna lie. the brevity of this already long meta is a fucking miracle. I nearly went looking for crit theory to quote.#I could've gone on WAY longer about both the constructedness of hierarchies.#was about to open up my book on the theory of taxonomies.#cr meta#cr spoilers#luxon blogging#critical role
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LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 3, Wave 2, Poll 6
A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.
Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.
Eda Clawthorne-The Owl House
Qualifications:
She has a magical chronic disorder which has flare-ups, is mitigated by taking medication (potions), and has similar side effects to many real disorders such as fatigue, greying hair, and physical impairment (drains magic, a natural ability of *most witches). Unlike in other stories however, her condition is NOT ever completely cured. It does evolve and become more manageable over the course of the story, but she still experiences symptoms from it. Eda also loses one of her arms later in the story. She does get a replacement hook, but it is never shown whether she has a functional prosthetic or not. Most likely, she only has one fully functioning arm after this. As for being queer, she is in a relationship with a nonbinary person and is all but confirmed bisexual (has a secret box with the bi flag on it seriously why else would she have this). Also the owl house has a Lot of queer characters in it and I mean. just look at her. I would be surprised if she wasn't queer somehow.
Bisexual, and has a curse that affects her day to day life
Bi & lost arm and has a chronic illness metaphorically
Propaganda:
Has canonically dated both men and a non-binary person. Her curse affects her ability to use magic (and at one point outright stops it), which is very important in witch life. Said curse also causes her body parts to fall off sometimes. Many have said her curse is like a metaphor for depression but really it's more like a magic version of a physical disability (although I wouldn't be surprised if she actually also had depression).
Uuuuh she’s great and stuff idk I can’t propaganda well sorry
Ballister Boldheart-Nimona (Flim)
Qualifications:
He has a boyfriend (and then they have a sort-of-breakup but they're back together by the end) and he has a prosthetic arm.
He’s gay and missing an arm.
He’s explicitly gay, in love with a man. He loses his arm then builds himself a prosthetic while on the run like a badass.
His boyfriend cut his arm off :( he uses a prosthetic now.
His arm got chopped off after being falsely accused of killing the queen, he spends the rest of the movie with a prosthetic metal arm. His arm was also chopped off by his lover, Ambrosius Goldenloin, during said false assassination.
His boyfriend cut off his arm
Canonically has a boyfriend and built his own prosthetic
Qualifies by both being canonically disabled (amputee) + canonically gay
Propaganda:
Please plz plz vote for him
His boyfriend cut off his arm. He made himself a prosthetic. He used his arm to block someone’s sword. He kissed his boyfriend. He has sad wet cat eyes, which isn’t relevant but still. He has them.
He’s so GOOD even though he’s having like the worst day ever (specifically talking about movie but webcomic also applies). He has the biggest wettest eyes how can you not root for him????
People love him! He kinda looks like a sad, poor little cat. A real soggy wet kitten man.
Let's see. He and Ambrosius are lovers, or at least boyfriends, from the moment they're introduced. Ballister gets his arm chopped off by Ambrosius during the false assassination. Ballister spends the rest of the movie trying to convince Ambrosius and the kingdom of his innocence, with a metal arm replacing his missing one. It originated the phrase "Arm Chopping is not a love language!" Did I mention he's a main character too?
Is a science nerd, built his own prosthetic arm with his non-dominant hand, accidentally adopted a trans chaos demon of a 1000yo being
A knight, Nimona's best friend and father figure of sorts, but the plot mostly revolves around him- Ballister is framed for murder and has to hide while trying to figure out who framed him and how to prove he's innocent. Nimona becomes his sidekick (he didn't want one, she just showed up at his place one day like a very chaotic stray cat) and together they form a great duo against the corrupt government. This is complicated by Ballister's ex Ambrosius, who accidentally cut off Ballister's arm and is a bit brainwashed by government propaganda. Oops. You should watch Nimona it's great 💞🦈
The qualifications and propaganda paragraphs correspond, @foulfirerebel is the fifth submitter, and there were at least 7 others.
#polls#poll#disability#disabled characters#lgbtq#lgbtq characters#id in alt text#lgbtq dcs round 3#lgbtq dcs r3 wave 2#eda clawthorne#eda the owl lady#the owl house#toh#ballister boldheart#nimona film#nimona
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PAC | Your 2024 In A Nutshell
Disclaimer:
This pac is for entertainment purpose only. I am not liable for any actions or decisions taken or made based on the information presented in the reading. The interpretations and insights are subjective and open to individual perception. Please use your own judgment and intuition when applying the messages to your life or situation. Thank you!
Pile 1
Cards: 6oP rx, QoW, 2oC
With the Six of Pentacles in reverse here, I'm seeing your financial situation hitting rocky roads in 2024. You need to reassess your generosity or be cautious with resources. Refrain from spending or investing thoughtlessly. And most importantly, do not lend money. To anyone be it family or close friends.
Moreover, with the Queen of Wands I see you embodying a strong, charismatic energy, hinting at your ability to take charge and make bold decisions. This is particularly great if you're looking to move out or start a new venture. Or maybe start a new course? Degree? College?
I'm seeing you getting out of your comfort zone and taking charge for doing things that you've been scared till now. Most of y'all might be introvert or would turn 18 this year?
The Two of Cups here indicate deep connection, possibly in relationships or partnerships. Again, I'm seeing you start something new where you'd meet new people and collaborate with them. If you're a student, you'd enrol in college or if you're looking to start new business or anything for that matter. But in my humble opinion, you're gonna find your soulmate this year. It can be a best friend or lover? But you'd surely click with this person like nobody else.
To sum up, in 2024, you may encounter financial fluctuations, urging you to find a balance between giving and receiving. And so, it's highly advisable to approach any challenges with confidence and passion, embracing your leadership qualities. You may as well end up making meaningful connections which are going to last a lifetime. Be it professional or personal.
Stay attuned to your financial choices, ensuring fairness and caution. Embrace the Queen of Wands' boldness to overcome obstacles. Nurture connections, fostering collaborations that bring joy and fulfillment. Remember, balance and confident decisions will be your allies in shaping a rewarding 2024.
Pile 2
Cards: KoW, 6oS, 7oS
In 2024, you're likely to embrace the leadership qualities of the King of Wands, making your way through any situation with confidence. The Six of Swords points to a journey, both physical and metaphorical, indicating positive movement and growth.
However, be cautious of potential challenges or deceptive elements as the Seven of Swords are telling me there are people who are going to backstab you or feel jealous of your growth. When you're growing, and acing it all with confidence and grace, it's natural to attract envy of anyone. Be extra wise and careful with people you keep close. Not everyone has your best interest at heart.
In a nutshell, your year is likely to be a balance of bold decision-making, adaptability during transitions, and a discerning eye to avoid pitfalls. I must say, 2024 is gonna be your year pile 2. Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the ride. You're gonna enjoy this one.
Although, it's advisable to trust your instincts always, in the face of your problems and in your connections. Sometimes it's important to keep your guards up against certain people. Regardless, you indeed have what it takes to overcome obstacles and lead yourself towards positive change.
Pile 3
Cards: KoS, 5oP, QoS
In 2024, you're advised by the King of Swords to approach challenges with logic and clear thinking. The year ahead requires you to use reasoning over emotions. Because situations would require it with the five of pentacles here. There may be temporary setbacks, a lot of rocky roads throughout the year, but nothing that can't be managed. You may feel often than once that it's too much. You can't bear it. Or that things never go as you wish. Well, they won't. If I'd be honest. This is why you need to stick to reasoning over emotions, to address financial or emotional concerns better. Just because things aren't going the way you want them, doesn't mean they're going to hit a dead end. There's always a door that leads to a better outcome than what you imagined or wished for. Just stop resisting the best by insisting for good. Because that'd lead you to settle for worse.
The Queen of Swords is here for you to guide you with her decisive and perceptive qualities to cut through any confusion and make informed choices. Take this message to your heart and make your mind right now. You won't give up. You won't complain. You will keep pushing! Because things will get better. And you will get the best if you stop resisting what universe has in bags for you.
Overall, be patient and practical in 2024. The year may not be your best year, but it'll indeed be a stepping stone to the best years ahead. Have faith! Don't be a quitter. Be a fighter.
You can overcome any obstacles with a combination of intellectual clarity and emotional resilience. Utilize your analytical skills, address challenges systematically, and make decisions with a discerning mind. Maintaining a sharp focus and clear communication with yourself will be essential in navigating the year successfully.
Thank you all for taking the time to read my pac. I hope the insights resonated with you and provided some guidance. If you found this helpful, I'd be grateful if you consider following me for more spiritual content and future tarot readings. Wishing you all love, light, and positivity on your journey! ✨
- With love, Snow ❄️
Enjoyed the reading? Tip me here~
#spirituality#tarot#tarotblr#tarotonline#pac reading#pac#pac tarot#pick a card#pick a picture#pick a pile
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。+゚☆゚ LINKS: - DEMO - PINTEREST (TBA) -
[ this is a secondary wip! my main project is Unwilling Souls on @unwilling-souls-if ]
Spring Panic is an interactive story about a talented and affection-depraved spellcaster, with elements of slice-of-life. Navigate through ancestral feuds and familial pressure in a colourful magic world. You'll have to deal with extremely serious matters, such as choosing the meal of your talking cat or what flowers to grow in your garden.
Follow and shape the Main Character from birth to early adulthood, and become the best witch this world has ever seen (or don't. Maybe you'll crave something else 🌟)
TW: The game contains depictions of emotional neglect (of the MC and their brother), (optional teenage) alcohol and drug comsumption, references to bullying.
。+゚☆゚ CUSTOMIZABLE PARTS:
~their name
~ gender identity with separate pronouns, and the ability to transition between childhood and teenagehood, or during teenagehood
~ general physical appearance
~ most relationships
~ magical preferences
。+゚☆゚ SET PARTS:
~ emotionnally stumped by anxiety and pressure
~ their love for their little brother and their best friend
~ sensory issues and overloads
~THE FAUNEUS FAMILY— yours. [ detailed post here ]
~GATSBY. Your familiar. He's a talking black cat. And a prick.
~SANEM. A tired spirit that haunts the woods of your middle and high school. They're bored and sardonic, but at least they're like that with everyone and not just you.
~THE COUNCIL. [ detailed post TBA ]
~THE VYPERLYN FAMILY— the one your family hates. [ detailed post TBA ]
note: the story follows the MC's life. Some ROs are met during their childhood, some later.
note pt2: detailed character sheets will be posted later for each RO.
。+゚☆゚ CERISE. (she/her, only romanceables by f!mc and nb!mc)
tropes: childhood friends to lovers, idiots in love
-Character sheet-
Cerise is the daughter of a witch and a fairy. The both of you had no friends. What started as a tentative first-try at friendship quickly became an unbreakable bond. Cerise wiped your tears more times than you could count, and you held her hand during hard times.
。+゚☆゚ BARTHELEMY "Please-don't-call-me-Barty" VYPERLYN (he/him)
tropes: academic rivals to lovers, possible one-sided ennemies to lovers, Romeo and Juliet/ stars-crossed lovers
Barthelemy has been made your rival by your families, your schoolmates, and the council. When they come back from a childhood abroad, they immeditaly snatch the first place that you occupied. Oddly enough, he's one of the few people that treat you with respect.
。+゚☆゚ DAPHNE (she/her)
tropes: enemies to lovers, ice queen, forbidden love
Daphne is a fairy. More than that, she's the fairy that everyone loves and fawns over. She smiles and backstabs like she breathes, and she has dug her nails in the metaphorical throne of Amaranth Institute. She wants you out of her way, but you recognize in her the familiar cracks caused by unbearable pressure.
。+゚☆゚ ASPEN (they/he)
tropes: golden child x troublemaker, secret relationship, player in love
Aspen is walking 'danger' sign. Toying with laws and rules, their sticky fingers always seem to 'borrow' the wallets of the wealthy. They are a hero to the kids of the city, a pest to the authorities, and a mystery to you. They keep theri cards close, and you sometimes closer.
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Okay, I've finally made a list of most of my Sleep Token lore and analysis posts! Divided by categories under the cut, with improvised titles and brief descriptions for each.
Posts are listed in reverse-chronological order per category, except for crossovers.
The catch-all hashtag for these is #aqua's offerings, in case you prefer to look through them that way.
Longer Form Posts:
Duck Into Deep Blue Safety - Comparing the composition of Drag Me Under, Atlantic, and Fall For Me as to how solos are used to describe physical isolation, separation, and the spectrum bridging spiritual wholeness and estrangement.
Show Me What Wounds You've Got - On begging, emotional vulnerability, and our agency as audience and character.
If a Man Falls, and Nobody's There to Hear Him... - An addition-by-reblog to this post by @melit0n about Fall For Me, continuing the exploration of silence and vocals and the implications of Vessel's isolation and actions in the song.
So He Gets To Die A Saint - Martyrdom and the desire to save and be saved, but the uncertainty of who is saving who, and to what end.
Something Was Between You and I My Dear - Musings on the theory posited by @a-s-levynn that separates Vessel as his masked self and as his unmasked self into two separate characters, and what that means for a potential reading of the events of the trilogy, particularly its ending.
I Would Turn Into A Stranger In An Instant if I Could - A deep dive into DYWTYLM with themes of identity loss and the effects of a long-term yet one-sided relationship.
Flood Me Like Atlantic - An examination of the metaphor of being dragged into and under someone's love throughout the course of the discography, and how it reflects in the shifting characterization of both Vessel and the character being sung about.
Would You Invite Me In Again? - A look at cycles of union and disconnect, of love as a melding of body and soul in addition to a rending of body and soul, and the cyclical nature of this dichotomy, primarily through the lens of Drag Me Under and Blood Sport.
So Let's Play - A look into how the language of games and winners and losers is used and evolves throughout their discography.
With My Love as Your Garden - Exploring the lyrics regarding flowers and gardens, of upkeep and of fire, and how it relates to the relationship between Vessel and his lover, described here as Sleep.
Welcome Me In, Deep Into You - Side-by-side examination of Vore and Drag Me Under and their language as it pertains to consumption and consummation, and the respective tones those carry.
Drag Me Under AGAAAAAIN - An addendum to my second Sleep Token x TDH crossover post (linked further below) that brings Drag Me Under into the fold of Atlantic and Telomeres, as requested by @moonchild-in-blue. Elaborates further on the entwining of Vessel and Sleep, of their love and the idea of inevitability.
Duet - Proposing and elaborating on the concept of the song Give being a duet between Vessel and Sleep with alternating POVs.
Other Other Eye - A look at Ascensionism, particularly the lines regarding eyes and attention and conflicting desire. [note: written very early into my posting theory/analysis, somewhat outdated]
Catching a Falling Knife - Using the metaphor of "catching a falling knife" and the general stock market as lens to examine the power dynamics between Vessel and Sleep.
Mini Musings:
Rain Can't Wash Away the Tar on the Inside - Consideration of the lyrics implying Vessel has been trapped by tar and subsumed in it both from the outside and from within.
Keep an Eye on the Road - A quick talk about visuals of crashing cars and mentions of various roadways, and being trapped in untenable situations.
The Vicious Cycle - Cycles and the breaking thereof within the discography.
My Puppet Queen - The dehumanizing language used towards Vessel, specifically as a toy or object.
Glitches in the Code - Considers Vessel as a literal algorithm, and how that reflects in his vocals and degeneration throughout the narrative and what it would say about his relationship with Sleep.
Mirror Talk - Notes on mirrors and both outer and inner reflections.
Are You Watching Me? - Different ways eyes are described as it relates to prey and predation, and Vessel struggling with human nature and humanity.
A Different Harbor - Musing on the peculiar use and otherwise of language regarding boats, harbors, and anchors.
You Want Someone To Be - Concept post about a more literal take on lovers entwined, to both want to become the other, and the loss of understanding of what it means to be yourself without them.
Crossovers:
TDH x Sleep Token #1 - Love as a crashing wave, questions of fate, choosing love despite the clear doomed nature, using The Dear Hunter's Waves as a frame of reference.
TDH x Sleep Token #2 - Uses The Dear Hunter's Vital Vessels Vindicate as a lens to provide a different perspective through which to examine Vessel, death, and what it means to choke and suffocate underwater.
#if you dont want to be directly tagged in this one lmk!#just quickly made up titles for these posts for simplicity's sake. don't take them too seriously ^^''#i know i have more xover posts but i can't find them soooo i guess they're lost? or i privated them and thus dont show in my searches#the drag me under agaaain title was a placeholder bc i was like ''how much have i written about this song omg'' but it was funny sooo kept!#if i can find a way to list these w/o titles i'll do that but have these for now lol#save tag#sleep token
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WARNING: Spoilers for The Vampyres, Dracula, and "Clarimonde" below the cut.
Also a bit of knife-twisting of the metaphorical variety. (Not that it hurts any less than steel.)
Rather than throw myself into another scribbling digression to take a break from other scribbling digressions, I’ve scratched a story itch via the sketchbook. This is the result.
I’ve gotten questions about what happens to ‘Quinn Morse’ aka a certain knife-swinging solicitor who God, the Devil, and Death itself won’t let die after the events of The Vampyres. The obvious answer is: dude’s still doing the job appointed to him by the Powers That Be. Poor guy is stuck paying a Faustian due of wiping out the predatory undead before he can ever put down the blade and hop in the grave himself.
Enter Clarimonde, from Théophile Gautier’s short story of the same name (also “La Morte Amoureuse” “The Dead Leman” “The Dead Woman in Love”) who’s still out here breaking hearts and ruining sleep schedules. The girl’s an undead party queen and a romantic hedonist, but is so terrible at the vampire part of vampirism she regularly drops dead(er) from being too hesitant about taking blood and/or conscripting. She takes barely a drop of blood when she does get to it; though that sin was enough for her own heart and physical form to get broken with betrayal. She got better—corporeally, at least—and carried on.
Until she crossed paths with Mr. Tall Dark and Sold His Soul for Love. And vice versa, our good friend the ex-Victorian psychopomp has finally run into a vampire it would be immoral to slay just for the sake of erasing another undead ‘to-do’ off the list…even if she’s temporarily the only one in the world. And therefore the only barrier between himself and finally getting to rest with his loved ones. He doesn’t even have the impetus of killing to save someone’s life as an excuse. Damn it.
I won’t say I’m not thinking about fully scribbling out the bizarre/sweet/likely doomed companionship that could exist between these two love-powered angst machines. The idea’s got teeth, pun intended. Plus there’s definitely an itch to be scratched regarding my old headcanon that Clarimonde was the Pretty Girl in Piccadilly that Mina and Dracula nearly broke their necks trying to get an eyeful of once upon a time. There’s some loaded ammo there for Clarimonde to really test her safety by mentioning, ‘Hey, your wife would have wanted it. I know, I read her mind that one time. We can break out a Ouija board and confirm.’
But I am trying to reserve the bulk of my writing juice for the current Big Project, so it’ll have to be something to poke at around the corners for now. Just wanted to share the concept with folks who might be interested.
Also, some deleted dialogue:
Clarimonde, posing in her sheerest funeral veil: “So, what are your thoughts on casual intimacy?”
Jonathan, sharpening the kukri: “I’m a big admirer of the praying mantis’ approach.”
Clarimonde: “The male’s or the female’s?”
Jonathan: “Either.”
Clarimonde: “So no romancing unless it’s to pull some psychosexual chess master mess on a villain?”
Jonathan: “Supposing the villain in question used said intimate betrayal on their own victims, yes. Also, they’d know something was wrong if I was ‘immune to their charms’ and—what’s this?”
Clarimonde, handing over several centuries’ worth of letters: “Documented evidence from members of aristocracy and clergy that I am a nefarious succubus in need of punishment for my preying on the morals and hearts of pious citizens. Look, they even included illustrations of how they’d do it.”
Jonathan: “…And were these documents attached to deliveries of jewelry or just sacks of gold?”
Clarimonde: “Both. On account of my evil coercing them into it.”
Jonathan, handing the letters back in a portfolio: “I’m afraid your villainy does not qualify for my services at this time. You’ll have to reapply with one or more proofs of murder and/or predation upon mortal innocents at a later date.”
Clarimonde:
#this has been chewing on my brain for a bit so I had to get it out#the vampyres#c.r. kane#clarimonde#theophile gautier#dracula#the vampyre#my art#my writing#quinn morse
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Abbreviate
PAIRING - Oikawa Tooru x Reader WC - 0.7K GENRE - Angst SYNOPSIS - He started to say: 'love you' instead of the whole phrase. You could tell he didn’t mean it anymore by his need to abbreviate. He dropped the 'I' and you knew what that meant. Subtle changes tend to indicate the beginning of the end.
PREV PART | MASTERLIST | NEXT PART
Looking back on it now, you saw it coming.
For months you could feel the distance between you and Tooru growing. The distance between the two of you. A silly phrase. Not talking about physical distance. But in reference to the to the metaphorical distance... miles apart while his body was pressed against yours.
You tried to ignore it, the subtle difference. The first time you noticed it.
Tooru had dropped onto his side of the bed, rolling away like he did every night, turning towards your side with a sigh. He'd pulled your body comfortably into his like usual, your front pressed to his, your head tucked under his.
You'd pressed your kiss to his throat like you always did and mumbled words sincerely. "I love you, Tooru."
He'd hummed, pressed a kiss to your sweaty forehead and mumbled back. "Love you, baby."
It was impossible to miss the pang that hit your heart in that moment. Your brain immediately tried to convince itself that you'd overthought the misspeak in that split second.
When he tilted your head up, pressing another soft kiss to your lips and whispering against them, "care to join me for a shower, my queen?" You were convinced to ignore it. To write is off as an effect of his exertion.
But in the middle of the night, when it was silent and you had nothing but time to think, you'd think of it again.
Had that moment really been the first time? Or had you missed another moment before that?
It was a constant battle of back and forth in your mind. It meant nothing and it meant everything. Both at once.
And then it happened again.
"I'll see you tonight?" His gym bag was thrown on his shoulder as he was headed off to classes and you smiled as he pressed a kiss to your cheek when he passed you in the hall on his way to the door.
"I'll be here." You joked back, knowing that you were in for a full night of catching up on school papers. You called when he reached the door, "I love you!"
"Love you, y/n!" He closed the door before the pang in your chest could fully settle back in.
And again.
"Are you going to be home for dinner tonight?" You called into the front of the house, leaning out of the kitchen just enough to see where Tooru was.
"Practicing late tonight." Tooru replied as he pulled on his shoes at the front door. "Probably shouldn't wait up."
"Okay," it wasn't ideal but it also wasn't unusual for him to practice late and come home after you were asleep, "don't push too hard okay?" He chuckled at the worry in your tone. "Then I love you, goodnight baby."
"Night," he called back as he stood up, "love you too!" He'd left before you could even fully process the hollow feeling settling in your chest and you'd spent the rest of the night convincing yourself it meant nothing.
It was unintentional. When it happened the first time. And the second. And the third. Then it was unintentional when you began to count the amount of times he dropped the "I" at the beginning of the phrase. As you noted his refusal to say the whole phrase.
Something in my mind had told you to pay attention. But each time it happened you pushed that little voice down. Chalked it up to your own insecurities. That he probably didn't even realize what he was saying.
The two of you always had the problem of you 'reading into his words too much' as he would say. He never meant them in the ways that you said they could be taken. You refused to bring it up, to push it more. Refused to start a pointless argument just in case you really were only hanging on by a threat.
But you knew. Deep down you knew what it meant. Thinking back now, the subtle change. An indication.
When you were staring at him now, watching him put physical distance between the two of you, not just metaphorical anymore. When you finally heard him put the 'I' back into his statement. You weren't happy to hear it then.
"I love you, y/n. But I'm done. I can't do it anymore." I. I. I.
You should have known. That night lying in bed with his body against yours. The first time the 'I' was dropped. I should have known what it meant.
The beginning of the end.
a/n thanks for coming to the free therapy of fictionalizing my irl breakup experiences. based on an unreleased song by @/leannafirestone on tiktok
TAGLIST - OPEN @all-in-the-fandoms @pearl-blue-musings
#oikawa angst#oikawa toru angst#oikawa x reader#oikawa toru x reader#oikawa fanfiction#oikawa toru fanfiction#haikyuu x reader#hq x reader#𓇻 Desiderium
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