#and c) is really interesting even if i think it's the least likely option to be canon.

[valzhangism]

sometimes i wonder what exactly the zhang family business is... the only information about it (as far as i know) is that it's an "import/export business" but it's never specified what exactly they are importing and exporting. food? clothing? firearms? the idea of frank's family being this giant shady criminal company while he himself has no idea about it is kind of hilarious.

[lemonhemlock]

the reason why i don't think blood & cheese works without maelor is because it undermines the gravity of helaena's choice

in the books, as we all know, she has to choose which son to sacrifice. blood & cheese are going to kill one either way, so, whatever happens, if you want to get cynical about it, aegon will still be left with a male heir of his body. no, the horribleness of the choice lies not really in dynastic matters, but in basic humanity: which of your children are you willing to condemn to death? and helaena truly does try to make the best out of a bad situation, she picks not because she loves jaehaerys more, but because maelor is so tiny that she hopes he won't understand what's going to happen to him.

and she absolutely has to choose, because b&c threaten to rape her daughter if she doesn't. it's psychological torture. b&c just want to fuck her up in the head as much as possible and helaena tries her goddamnest to minimize the harm done to her family. to further compound on the tragedy, b&c kill the opposite child, so now she has to live out the rest of her days knowing that the son left alive is the son SHE herself marked for the axe. which is what understandably drives her to lose her mind

now, in the show, the "problem" blood & cheese have doesn't exist at all: that they can't supposedly tell the twins apart. but (as awful as it sounds, since it involves sexual assault) they could very easily check which child has male genitalia and be done with it. it's a "problem" that takes literal seconds to solve. they don't need helaena at all! it becomes irrelevant which child she points towards - b&c can always just check! she can't save jaehaerys in this situation no matter what she does, because b&c were never interested in jaehaera in the first place. in the books, she has the ability to save one child and this exact horrible "agency" bestowed on her torments her for the rest of her days. in the show, even had she pointed towards jaehaera, it would have been a narrative plot hole for the writers to have killed her without checking

likewise, in the books, she begs them to kill her instead, but, in the show, she offers them a necklace? you can't deny that the dramatic stakes are lowered substantially by making that change. which one of these options would have been more filled with pathos? personally, it just feels like this was phia's moment to shine and, while she did a good job with what she had, every narrative choice was somehow made to subdue this horrible event and left her only crumbs to work with. cinematically-speaking, this scene (as it was executed) does not even come close to the iconic moments that cemented GoT into the collective consciousness, which is very strange, as the subject matter is anything but mediocre

and that's not even getting into the rest of the plot holes that others have already pointed out, like:

- why are there no guards at helaena's door or anywhere else for that matter? not just on that hallway, but on many other hallways, she has to run quite a lot to get to alicent's chambers

- why is her room unlocked at the very least

- why is ALICENT's room unlocked, for that matter? she is having secret guilty sex with criston and she forgets to lock her door in a castle full of spies? anyone could have walked in

- not even getting into this whole thing just being one huge misunderstanding + minimizing daemon's and mysaria's roles :))

- NOT EVEN mentioning removing the trauma of alicent witnessing all of this, gagged and bound on her own bed, not being able to help or intervene in any way

i can understand the likelihood of these elements happening sometimes (maybe someone does forget to lock their door from time to time, maybe a guard does shirk their duties from time to time), but you can't write all of them at once without it turning all looney tunes. if you introduce too many aspects that defy logic in your story, it ceases to be believable and just becomes bad writing

___________________________________________

also, "they killed <the boy>"? not "my son" or "jaehaerys"? it sounds so removed, don't you think? helaena out there on her mother's floor dropping exposition for the audience 🥲

[geopsych]

Spring Treasure Hunt

(I know spring is only happening in some places so I'll make suggestions for people in other places a separate post.)

Time for the spring treasure hunt! Do as much or as little of this as you want. Feel free to add your own things or to include someone else so you can compare notes. Posting pictures or descriptions and tagging #Treasure Hunt is optional of course. The main thing is the looking! I love this time of year. So much. Try to get out on at least one sunny day. 🌞 [Edit: You might want to add the Night sky section from the alternate list as an additional challenge.] 1. First is flowers of course.

a. Find a garden flower.

b. Find a wild flower: this can be anything from a dandelion growing between cracks in the sidewalk to a rare native wildflower deep in the forest Just not cultivated.

c. Find a tree flowering.

~~~~~~~~~

Flower optional bonus points:

Learn the species for as many of those as you can

Find 3 colors of each

Sketch your favorite(s) or write something about it

If one has a scent try to describe it in words ~~~~~~~~~

2. Birds! a. Listen and see if you can distinguish 3 separate bird songs or sounds. b. Look for birds. Notice 3 different kinds. See if you can find out their names. c. 3 different times over the next couple months choose a bird and watch what it's doing. Is it eating? Chasing another bird? Carrying nest materials? Feeding a young one? Or something else?

~~~~~~~~ Bird optional bonus points: Notice where a bird nest is but don't disturb it. Using Merlin or just on your own get to know what bird goes with what song, do 3 if you can. Get it to the point that when you hear that song you know which bird is there. If you already know some, try to learn new ones.

Notice where birds spend their time: notice one kind you usually see on the ground, one kind you usually see in trees and one kind, if your area has them, that you usually see zooming through the air, most often swifts or swallows. Do you have those?

~~~~~~~~

3. Insects

Notice 3 kinds of insects. Like ants, bees and butterflies. Even flies count and so do those odd little ones you see at flowers sometimes. Are any brightly colored?

4. Water a. Where is your closest stream or river? It's good to know. b. Where is your closest pond or lake? Or ocean? It's good to know.

c. When it rains or when there's dew take a picture of or just look at the drops on a flower and on a leaf 5. Directions This one is simple: if you haven't before, find out which direction each wall of your home faces. If you have a favorite outdoor place, find out where each direction is there. Turn and face north for a moment. 6. Observe Find, if you haven't already, a safe quiet (if possible) outdoor place to sit and sit there for 10 minutes without scrolling or messaging. Don't be afraid of boredom. Notice the sky and any nonhuman things or activities worth noting. Take notes, sketch, or take pictures or video if you want. What do you think you saw that someone who wasn't really looking wouldn't see? 7. Environments

As in the last treasure hunt, visit 3 kinds of places like high on a hill, down by a pond or stream, out in a broad field or plaza or somewhere in the woods. Look around and notice some nature thing that someone else might not notice. (stones, lichen and moss count.) You're awesome. 8. Signs of Spring

List 3 nature-type signs of spring that you personally like or find interesting. Anything. Mark the day you noticed it on your calendar to remind yourself to look for it next year. Because you never know. There could be a next year. <3

[47lake]

need me

synopsis: you’re on a road trip when you run into eva at a gas station, it’s getting late and she invites you to her place. things quickly grow hot and heavy as the magnetic stranger lures you in further.

‼��: dom!eva, sub!reader, manipulation, coaxing, smut, cursing, oral, fingering, controlling, praise, idk they’re fucking w/c: 2.4k

you scanned the gas station shelves, carefully eyeing over the small selection of snacks. you were stuck between some m&ms and some takis, a pros and cons list forming in your mind of each option. the question of ‘which would be easier to eat for another 63 miles?’ danced through your head.

you were deep in thought as the smell of warm vanilla ran through your nose. you turned around, scanning the store for the culprit.

that’s when you spotted her, her gaze already even with your own, like she had carefully handpicked you out of everyone in the small, crowded room.

her eyes held yours just above the shelves, her bright blue stare and blonde locks the only thing visible overtop the bright bottles.

you felt your feet leading you across the aisles, it was like she was luring you in.

once you got to her chosen aisle you stoped, now face to face with the captivating girl.

“hi.”

she turned away from the array of drinks in front of her.

“hey, what’s your name?”

her voice oozed with invitation, it was like she was pulling your darkest secrets out of your throat without the need to even ask. everything about her seemed so sweet, so warm.

your name left your lips before you could realize you had opened your mouth, your hand flew to cover it, like you could put it back somehow.

“what a beautiful name, you can call me eva.”

you smiled, scanning her over in an attempt to figure out why you felt so drawn to her.

she turned her back to you and made her way to the register, to no surprise you followed right on her heels.

“so, what brings you into town? i can see you aren’t from here.”

your eyes danced around the store as you took in her newly formed perception, looking for an answer that would pique her interest while also making yourself appear relaxed.

“just passing through, i’m on a road trip of sorts.”

she nodded along as she stepped up to the register, motioning for you to put your m&ms down next to her items.

“oh, you don’t have to..”

your sentence trailed off as she pulled them gently from your hand.

“i insist.”

her hand lingered on yours as you listened to the barcode scan.

“that’ll be 11.78”

her touch left just as quickly as it appeared, somehow you already missed her warm and soft skin.

you looked around the register, eyeing the extensive collection of magnets that came from all over, several countries and states with beautiful designs. each magnet unique in its own way.

“well, are you coming?”

you snapped away from the suddenly unimportant magnets and saw her waiting in the doorway, the bell over the door ringing out as it swayed back and forth. you told the cashier thank you and hurried out behind her.

“it’s getting a little late and there’s not any hotels near by, you should come stay at my place.”

you stopped in your tracks and met her gaze again, thinking it over, or you were trying to. it was hard to focus with her gaze seeping into your skin.

“that’d be great! ..unless you’re like gonna kill me or something..?”

she smiled and laughed as she fished your m&ms out of the plastic bag in her hand.

“i promise i won’t ‘like kill you or something’.”

she pointed down a winding road with dark trees lining each side, a street light flickered in the distance, she turned to be sure you saw her.

“i’m right down this road, just follow me.”

she walked over to her car as you got back into your own, gripping the steering wheel as you started it up.

were you really about to go spend the night with a stranger?

well, at least she’s a pretty stranger.

you watched across the small parking lot as she began to drive off, you followed closely behind her, per usual.

after a short drive you arrived a rather large house, far too big for just one person. you shrugged it off and parked, turning the car off and hopping out.

“this is all for you?”

she smiled and admired the grand structure.

“oh, no. i live with a few friends but they’re all away on a retreat right now, they won’t be home for a few more days.”

you nodded and gathered your belongings out of your trunk, locking your car as eva led you inside.

as your foot passed the threshold of the doorway you were greeted by a smell you couldn’t quite place, something sweet and nostalgic yet earthy almost.

you took in the spacious interior as your eyes danced around the open floor plan.

“follow me.”

two simple words, somehow silky smooth yet firm, in a way that you obliged without a second thought.

at this point she could practically put you on a leash the way you followed her around like a moth to a flame.

she gave you a simple tour of the place, the bathroom, the room where you’d stay, the kitchen, the whole nine yards.

you ended the tour at the end of a lined hallway, a dark oak door pulled shut, warm light peering just under the edge.

“this is my room, just in case you need something in the night.”

she pushes the door open and you slowly step inside, taking in the warm ambient lighting coating the off-white walls, the space somehow simple yet intricate. wood accents flowed throughout, perfectly contrasting the pale paint. greenery bloomed in corners, housed in beautiful pots and vases.

various art pieces were scattered around, each piece unique yet somehow on the same plane as the others. one wall covered completely by a dark bookshelf, housing dozens of novels and stories as well as vinyl for miles. an antique record player sat in the corner, it was something you could tell was personal to her.

“like what you see?”

you smile and turn to her, not realizing how enamored you had become with the space.

“sorry, i just love what you’ve done in here.”

she nodded and ran her hand over your shoulders, goosebumps now adorning your skin.

“i appreciate that, look as long as you like.”

her hand drops and your heart rate follows close behind, returning to a normal and steady pace.

you walk over to the grand bookshelf, eyes dancing around the colorful spines as you look over her vast collection.

“you can borrow one if you like.”

you shake your head, yet smiling at her offer.

“thank you, but i’m not a big reader, i envy people like you that are.”

that’s when you make your way over to her vinyl, this array somehow seemed larger than the previous one.

you could tell she took good care of her music, artists ranging from the beetles to tyler, the creator.

“this must’ve taken years to collect.”

your fingers run along the shelves as you take guesses as to just how many albums there were in front of you.

“oh yes, i’ve been collecting since i was a young teen.”

you nod along and start to head towards the door.

“i’m sorry for encroaching on your space, i-“

she places a soft hand on yours, cutting off your sentence, her other hand grasping your now rosy cheek.

“don’t apologize, you’re welcome any time, love.”

your eyes meet for a second, she only pulls her focus away to study your features, like she was putting a puzzle together in her mind.

“so gorgeous..”

the words as quiet as a whisper, just under her breath but loud enough for you to hear. her thumb gliding gently over the soft skin of your cheek. your face went hot as you fully understood what she had said.

“oh, shit. sorry, i didn’t mean to say that.”

her hand dared to pull away from your face at her realization, you brought your hand up quickly and placed it over hers, ensuring it stay in place.

“no, it’s okay.”

your eyes locked again, those blue eyes washing over you like warm waves in the evening sun. her light freckles painted her nose and her ever so slightly pink cheeks in perfect constellations.

that’s when your lips met, you hadn’t even realized you were leaning in until you felt her plump lips on your own. it felt as though you were unwrapping a present on christmas eve, timid at first, careful and cautious. quickly it became all you could focus on, filling your senses entirely. you wanted to peel back the layers and find out what hid inside.

your arms wrapped around her neck as hers found home on your hips, she quickly took control of the the kiss, you happily let her, of course.

the feeling of her touch, the way she smelled, the desperation between the two of you, it was consuming you entirely. you were drowning in her and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

her grasp on your hips became firm as she walked you backwards towards the bed, your knees quickly hit the edge and you fell back against it. your lips disconnected as you hit the comforter, she was now standing over you, a sly, proud smile painted all over her face.

“i’ve been wanting to do this since i first saw you.”

her lips melded to the sensitive parts of your neck, you tucked your lip between your teeth to keep your composure.

“you just seemed so sweet, so easy, like a lost fawn.”

her stamps of adoration traveled to your collarbone as she spoke, low and gravelly.

“i know you want this, that sweet face tells on you.”

your hands ran through her hair as she teased you. grasping for handfuls when she hit a sensitive spot.

her lips left your poor skin with a pop, she was now inches away from your face, eyeing you over like prey.

“tell me how badly you want me.”

her hand ran gently between your legs, eliciting a small gasp from your lips as she applied pressure.

“so bad, i want you so bad.”

she pulled your loose hoodie up over your head, revealing your bare chest. her foxy grin returning as she runs her fingertips gently across the exposed skin.

“so pretty like this, all for me, isn’t that right?”

you nod and squeeze the fabric beneath you as she rolls your nipples between her index and thumbs. shocks course through your veins like electricity, she was making you feel good and she knew it.

“poor thing, you would’ve been so lost without me, so lucky that i found you.”

wet kisses cascade across your chest, close enough to make you gasp yet far enough to make you whine.

you can feel her smiling into your skin, pleased with the mess she was making of you. slowly but surely she makes her way down, running her tongue just above the waistline of your sweats.

you push your hips up, eager for the relief only she could bring.

“patience sweetheart, you can take it.”

her warm fingers creep under the elastic and she pulls them down torturously slow, kissing your hips tenderly all the while.

once they were fully off a teasing, cocky smirk tugged at her lips. your impatience clearly collecting in your navy underwear.

“you’re doing so well, i know how badly you need me.”

her thumb pressed firmly against the puddle and into your core, your back arches off the bed at the contact, already aching for more. her fingers work slow circles against your sensitive bud through the fabric.

a loud gasp erupts from your throat at the sensation, the fabric giving you much needed friction. your hips rolling against her touch already, she can’t tear her eyes away from the sight.

she meets your gaze finally as she lowers her head down, biting the edge of the fabric and pulling it off with her teeth, her eyes never leaving yours.

“prettier than i could’ve ever imagined.”

she ran her tongue through the coating of need, pulling it away quickly, she was such a tease. she hummed in approval.

“so sweet, perfect for such a sweet girl.”

you huffed and angled your hips closer to her face, desperate for more. you whined and whimpered as she watched, her hands remained firm around your thighs, squeezing them tightly.

her tongue slowly broke you open, sinking deeper inside of you as you moaned out. her eyes remained locked on you as you squirmed beneath her, relishing in the pleasure she was giving you.

she pulled you closer as her tongue darted in and out, eager to see you unravel further. her nose hitting your clit with each stroke never failing to make you gasp.

she traveled up to your clit, running circles around it and taking it between her lips, basking in the loud moans as she coaxed them out of you.

she slipped one finger in, your slick desire letting her in with ease. you tightened around her as she moaned against you, slipping another finger in simultaneously.

“tell me how good i make you feel, i want to hear you say it.”

her fingers sped up as she waited for a reply, making sure your words would come out in between choked moans.

“feels, good.. you feel.. so good..”

you could hardy speak with the way she was pulling loud moans from you like it was nothing. you couldn’t think with how focused you were on the satisfaction she was so generously giving you.

“no one makes you feel this good, isn’t that right?”

her lips returned to your clit as she moaned against you, urging a response from you.

a long string of rushed ‘mhm’s came as you bit your lip, trying to keep your ever approaching release at bay. she pulled away again and instead brought her other hand to your clit, tracing quick circles against you as she applied pressure.

“very good.”

her pace suddenly became inhumane, the room became hazy and the world grew quiet as she fucked into you. she knew you were getting close and you could hardly hold back anymore.

“ev- i’m!-“

you heard her cocky laugh and then she spoke.

“i know, so precious, let it all out for me. you can do that can’t you?”

you let go and your orgasm rolled over you like a tidal wave, engulfing you entirely. you shook in her grasp as you slowly came down from your high. falling against the bed as you heaved, catching your breath.

“so .. good..”

she smiled as she laid next to you, pleased with your relaxed state.

“yeah? what do you think you should say then?”

“thank you, eva.”

hope you guys enjoy this !! 🖤

i think i’ve FINALLY escaped writers block thank GOD.

thank you for the req! send any requests to my inbox ! 📥

(i’ve been kind of slow with them but i promise they’re coming soon!!)

💋: @vharperr @brat-at-the-disco-deactivated20 @thechipbetweenyourcarseat @dollyvuu @greenbttrflyy @eilishslut @karaeilishh @moralesluvr @anna-geeeezzzz @certifiedwomenlover @asterisk-eyes @mseilishmwah @eeuni @ohdoyoustillcry @bilsdillldough @amara-eilish @chrissv4mp @vijaxx @drunkinyourbenz @adinda-eilish @bxllxebxtch @mybluebossanova masterlist taglist

[bbywriter]

love is a stillness i never knew | c. sturniolo

series masterlist

summary: you meet a cutie in the sauce aisle of the grocery store.

pairing: christopher sturniolo x fem!reader

warnings: none. for context, oc is 22!

notes: was inspired on vday by sam smith’s new song and just got around to finishing the first part. this is literally all just context and set up and back story and nothing too exciting but i hope u still enjoy<3

word count: 4k

—

Every girl dreams of being in love.

Well, maybe not every girl. And maybe not in the same way you do—which was often and unrealistic. Delusional. For as long as you could remember.

It started the day you watched Cinderella for the first time. You were 4 years old. Naive and sitting too close to the TV, you were completely engrossed by the way Prince Charming refused to stop searching until he found the slipper’s perfect match. The movie ended, and from then on you wondered who was going to yearn for you like that. Like a prince does his princess. Would he also sweep you up in a carriage? Or fight off an evil witch? Maybe he would be Flynn Eugene Rider. God, you hoped.

As you got older, your wonder never left, but reality had reshaped your options into much less promising prospects. Would he be the one who baited you into a 6 month long talking stage—the one with no balls who said ‘I wanna be with you, baby, but I’m just not ready for a relationship yet.’ Or maybe it was the one your friends nicknamed Oedipus—mommy’s boy—who couldn’t drive and didn’t have a job and still needed her help to wipe his ass.

Maybe it was the one who cheated on you. Twice. Because you loved him. And after the first time, with an ‘I’m sorry’ note attached to the first bouquet of flowers you had ever received from a guy, you swore he changed. So you took him back.

And then he cheated. Again.

It was a devastating roster. And yet, through every disappointing experience, you clung to your dream of love. You kept searching. Kept trying. Kept running headfirst into walls that, in hindsight, had been plastered with red flags.

And just when you started to think maybe you were asking for too much—maybe love wasn’t meant to be the way you imagined—he came along.

The almost. The one you thought was going to be different.

He was tall and well-built and had his own business. He always opened the door for you to the passenger side of his Porsche. He cooked. He cleaned. He knew how to follow basic hygiene practices. Not once did he ever say, ‘One more game, I promise, we’re just about to rank up.’ He didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. He gave you flowers—and not ‘I’m sorry I cheated on you flowers’, but roses sent to your doorstep by the delivery man. He bought you a sparkly, expensive bracelet. Took you on extravagant dates and could hold a conversation if he was interested in the subject. Even your parents liked him.

In theory, he was kind of perfect.

But he was old. And serious. And never laughed at your tik tok references—not because they weren’t funny, but because he didn’t really get them. He was always busy with business meetings and corporate events he had to attend. Of course, he would invite you. But after going to the first one, and what to you, felt like a literal LinkedIn mutuals meet and greet from your own personal hell, you wanted to poke your eyes out. It was not for you. The empty handshakes and the overwhelming smell of weird cologne and the way everyone unironically said ‘noted’.

And the thing is, it didn’t stop at the venue. These things followed you into dates, where conversations felt more like networking than anything real. Where his hand never reached for yours, where his eyes never lingered. Where love felt like an afterthought.

Work first, always.

Love, if there was time.

Because that’s who he was—a businessman, through and through.

So you tolerated it. The ever-growing emptiness in your chest, the sense that something was missing, though you couldn’t quite name it. At least he treated you well.

It wasn’t until he sat you down one day, looked you in the eye, and asked you to move with him to Hartford, Connecticut—to settle down for his business, to maybe start a life together—that you laughed. In his face.

You hadn’t even meant to, but the answer was so obvious. You weren’t ready for that. You did not want that. He was great on paper, sure, but there was no spark. No connection. No love.

And so, with Mr. Old Fuck, your childhood dreams finally started to crack.

———

“—And bitch, he was actually serious. Like I swear this was genuinely the first time I’ve seen him excited to do something together since that first event.”

It hadn’t even been an hour since Businessman asked you to drop everything you had in LA and move to Hartford, and you were already on the phone with Val, your best friend, debriefing yet another failed roster pick.

“Literally the first time I think I’ve seen him have a thought behind his eyes while talking to me in the four months we were together,” you added, dramatic but, in your opinion, entirely accurate.

“And what did you say?” she asked, barely holding back a smile.

“Nothing. I just laughed.”

There was a beat of silence before she lost it, laughter splitting through your phone speaker.

“Bitch—”

“No because I thought he was joking! And then he didn’t laugh with me and I was like, ‘Oh fuck, he’s serious.’” You explained between your own giggles, the memory of the conversation still ridiculous to you. “So then I had to make up some corny bullshit like ‘I think you deserve someone who’s ready for that life with you right now.’”

“No way,” she gasped. “You laughed in his face? Oh my God, I wish I was there.”

“To be honest, so do I, like I actually feel kinda bad. I literally wanted to point at him while laughing—maybe you could’ve stopped me.”

“Absolutely not.”

She never met him in person—never got the chance to, since he was always at work—but the second you told her he was 32, she imagined the guy to have halitosis and already gone through crown balding. He didn’t, obviously. But she just never took him seriously. Even when he treated you well. Even when he checked all the right boxes. Because she knew, in a way you hadn’t yet admitted, that he wasn’t the one.

“Four months in and you’re gonna ask me to move states with you—before even moving in together, like are you insane?” you groaned.

“He was old,” she stated, like it explained everything.

You didn’t acknowledge her, too wrapped up in your disbelief to have actually processed what she said. “But what do you mean Hartford? Like what is there for me?”

“Nothing. There’s nothing for you in Hartford—probably just more old people.”

You sighed. “Exactly. And I mean, I get that he had his whole business thing, but what did he expect me to do there? Sit?”

She giggled at this. “Pretty much, I guess.”

You breathed a laugh through your nose. “Why would he ever think I’d want that.”

You heard her shuffling around, absent minded as she replied, “‘Cause he didn’t know you.” Her tone stated it like it was obvious.

Oh. A small crack splintered through your chest. It hurt to hear out loud what you’d been denying to admit to yourself for months. You opened your mouth to say something—to defend him, for some reason—but the words never came. Because she was right.

He did know some things about you; your schedule, your coffee order—except he always got it slightly wrong. He remembered the easy things, the surface-level details, but he never asked about anything deeper.

You exhaled. “But it just made sense, you know? He was kind of everything I ever wanted. To be spoiled and taken care of.”

Val didn’t hesitate. “But it wasn’t enough.”

The earlier amusement between you two faded, leaving something else in its place. A quiet frustration that never fully went away.

You sighed, rubbing a hand over your face. “I just don’t get it.”

Val hummed. “What? He was weird, you dodged a bullet, end of story.”

“No, but like—it’s always like this.” You exhaled sharply. “Like, it’s not like I chase these guys. I don’t throw myself at them. They find me. Literally normal dudes I think I can finally be on the same page with, and then boom—just kidding, I actually spawned from Satan's ass.”

Her laughter came back. “Yeah,” she admitted. “You do have the worst luck.”

“Thanks,” you said blankly.

She continued. “I mean it. The roster is insane, every guy you've dated is so… unique.”

“Fuck off, Val, I’m serious,” you groaned. “Like, is this just my fate? He was perfect and he still turned out to be a freak—like what the fuck.”

She tsked at you. “No, dude,” she started, “you’re just unlucky.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

Val sighed. “Look, you’re not doing anything wrong. You just keep meeting guys who think they want love but have no idea what that actually means. And because you’re normal, it just takes a while before their weird intentions start to fully reveal themselves.”

This was not the first time you were hearing this. After receiving this same advice for a second time post Oedipus break up—the first time being after No Balls—the words kind of lost meaning to you. You groaned again, turning on your side. “So what, is this it then? This is how it’s gonna be forever?”

“Stop. It won’t be.”

“But how do you know?”

Val shrugged, even though you couldn’t see her. “Because you wouldn’t still be trying if it was.”

When you didn’t reply, she softened. “Look, I know it feels like you’re just in this endless cycle of getting your hopes up just to be let down. And yeah, it’s awful and men fucking suck. But you’re not settling. You know what you want, and you know to walk away when it’s not right.”

You stayed quiet.

“And that means that when it is right, you won’t have to guess,” she continued. “You won’t have to sit there wondering if you’re forcing it or making excuses for them. You’ll just know.”

You let out a slow breath.

“You think?”

“No doubt.”

And for a while, that reassurance was enough.

———

Two months later…

It wasn’t some grand, cinematic moment. Just an aisle and a shelf of pasta sauces.

You were trying to plan dinner, caught in a silent debate with yourself over which jar to pick. Too many options. As you scanned the shelf, you reached for two bottles, one in each hand, and carefully read the labels to compare. Four Cheese Combo or Four Cheese Blend.

“What the fuck is the difference?” you mumbled to yourself.

It was only your third time at this store. After getting swept up in a New Year’s resolution and convincing yourself you needed to eat better, you decided to start shopping organic. Not that organic was the issue—you still ate terribly, mostly instant ramen and frozen pizzas. But now, they were from the organic store. The effort made you feel better.

Over your past couple trips, you’d noticed the actual health freaks who shopped here didn’t usually venture into ‘preservatives’ territory, so it startled you when a voice came out of nowhere down this normally empty aisle.

“That’s a good one,” he said.

Did he say that to me?

You couldn’t tell. You weren’t the type to initiate small talk with strangers. At the very least, you usually said ‘hi’ before speaking to someone. So, naturally, because you never would’ve said that, you decided the comment was meant for someone else, and pretended not to hear it.

When you didn’t respond, he added, “I mean, unless you like watery sauce, then go with the other one.”

Oh, he did say it to me. Against your better judgment, you turned to the voice that spoke.

You didn't expect him.

He was gorgeous—effortlessly so. Not in a way that demanded attention, but in a way that made you look twice when you finally noticed. His build was deceptively modest, swallowed by the loose hoodie draped over his shoulders and the baggy jeans hanging low on his hips. But as he reached for his own pasta sauce, his slow and steady movements revealed a quiet definition in his forearm. The way his fingers curled around the jar. The subtle flex of his biceps covered by nothing in his wife-beater. You blushed. Sexy sleeper build aisle 8.

“I mean, I don’t know much about pasta sauce, but my mom swears by this one,” he said, pulling you from your thoughts for a third time.

My mom swears by this one. You had heard those words one too many times from Oedipus. This made you want to leave him there 0 for 3 with no response. But you noticed he had beautiful blue eyes. That was one of your two weaknesses—the other being ‘guys who look like they can crush me like a bug’— and Sleeper Build checked one of the boxes, so you entertained him.

“Didn’t know they hired the pasta patrol here,” you finally replied.

This made him laugh. Not just a quick exhale or that obligatory half chuckle people do to keep a conversation going, but an actual, full laugh. It caught you off guard.

“Pasta patrol,” he said through giggles.

His demeanor had completely changed. The initial nonchalance he held melted into something weirdly charming. His sharp features were softened by a perfect smile. His beautiful blue eyes disappeared in the squint of his laughter.

You chuckled despite yourself, and stared at him a little awkwardly. Your response wasn’t even that funny to you, but his reaction was contagious.

"Sorry, I wasn’t trying to interrupt you,” he continued once his laughter finally subsided, “just overheard you kinda struggling.” He nodded toward the jars you forgot were still in your hands.

You returned them back to their places on the shelf, and at the same time, you felt his gaze flicker over the rest of your body. You couldn’t tell if it was out of curiosity or maybe, hopefully, out of interest. It lingered just long enough for you to notice and make your stomach flutter.

You tried to brush off the feeling. “I don’t know if I should be trusting a recommendation from someone with that cart,” you bargained. Both of you turned to his basket—premade pastry dough, a pack of pepperoni, some mozzarella, and two Cadbury cream eggs.

He smiled at you. “If you tried my Pocket Pizzas, you’d know it’s fire.” He set his sauce down with the rest of his haul.

Tried the what?— “Sorry, tried your what?”

“My Pocket Pizzas. Pocket Pizza pizza pockets.” He explained like the repetition somehow clarified anything.

You didn’t respond. Your lips parted slightly, brain catching on something that surely wasn’t what he meant. Except now, it was all you could hear—pocket pussy, pocket pizza. Same thing essentially.

Sleeper Build, oblivious, glanced toward your cart. “Better than that frozen stuff,” he said, looking at the pizza pops in your basket.

The grin tugging at his pretty lips voided any offense you should’ve taken. Instead it sent butterflies through your stomach. You still very obviously judged him through a face you made. “I think the name of yours alone makes yours worse, actually.”

“Not fucking with a Pocket Pizza?” He said it so casually that it took a second for the words to register. A beat passed before his expression shifted, brows furrowing and lips pursing as he crooked his neck back slightly. Pause. It was written clearly all over his face as his thoughts finally caught up to your own.

Laughter broke between you two.

“Don’t think I could if I wanted to,” you replied, no longer referring to the name of his homemade recipe but the sex toy itself. Your giggles lingered as you tilted your head. “Do you though?”

He chuckled. “I mean—” He started, then exhaled through his boxy smile, backtracking his words. “Actually you know what? Forget it.”

With anyone else, you would’ve just let it go. But you noticed a faint flush of red start to bloom on his cheeks, so you pressed on. “No, my bad. You were so confident about it a second ago. Keep going.”

He laughed a little harder this time, running a hand along the side of his jaw. “Yea, no, we’re moving past this.”

“No? Well I guess, your pocket pizza just can’t be that good then.” You hummed, and after a moment you finished, “Mine’s better.”

His eyes widened in subtle disbelief as he stared at you, his heart throbbing smile never leaving his face.

It wasn’t like you to be this flirty and direct with a stranger. Or it was, but usually the circumstances would be different—at the club or the bar, under the influence, and with guys you didn’t really find that attractive, because it was just easier to flirt with them when they weren’t that cute.

But here you were, sober and very much attracted. Maybe it was his biceps. His strong sleeper build biceps and the way he was laughing at everything you said and the blush creeping further down his neck that was fueling you with the same confidence as a third shot of tequila.

His gaze flickered to your mouth for a second before he started shaking his head. “You’re a freak.”

You chuckled. “What?” Playing innocent, you reached into your cart. “Gourmet. Truly can’t get much better than this.” Finally steering the conversation back to actual food, you grabbed the frozen box and pointed at the packaging—Gourmet Pizza Pops.

He looked like he was about to reply when a voice called down the aisle.

“Chris! How fucking long does it actually take to pick a sauce?”

Both of you turned toward the source.

Two guys strode toward you, their presence effortlessly filling the space. Even from a distance, their resemblance to him, to Chris, was undeniable—same height, same sharp features, same easy confidence. Triplets, you assumed.

When they reached you, they dropped their items into the cart—a case of Dr. Pepper from one; a carton of eggs, Easy Mac, and a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream from the other. Guess you weren’t the only one making questionable choices at the organic store.

“I got it Nick, relax.” Chris replied, pointing to the sauce.

Nick—broader, a little older-looking—glanced down at the basket, then started shifting things around like he was looking for something. “What about the paper towels?”

Chris shrugged. “I haven’t gone yet.”

Nick shared a look with the third brother. You noticed this one had the same pretty biceps, but his were decorated with a sleeve of tattoos. He spoke this time. “So what the fuck have you been doing the past 15 minutes?”

Chris lifted a hand in question. He turned his head to look at you, silently asking ‘are they deadass’ through his expression. Not wanting to mediate what was clearly the start of a sibling debate, you just let out a quiet laugh and shook your head.

He turned back to them. “I was just getting other stuff,” he excused.

It was then both brother’s gazes shifted past Chris to meet yours. The slight annoyance in Nick’s expression instantly faded into something more attentive. You also caught the tattooed one’s slight eyebrow raise. Their stares were intimidating. They were all gorgeous.

You waved at them, pizza pops still in your hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hold him up.”

A look of realization flashed through Tattoo’s features, then he smiled at you. “Oh. No you’re good,” he reassured. He shifted his eyes back to Chris, “I know he was probably the one keeping you, anyways.”

“Matt, shut your mouth.” Chris’s chuckle cut through his serious tone.

Weak protest. Matt wasn’t done. “15 minutes, dude, you could’ve just said you were flirting.” His lips curled into a knowing grin that matched his tone as he teased his brother. Nick raised a hand to his mouth to stop the giggle that accidentally slipped past.

The way he said it, like you weren’t standing right there, made you want to pass out. Especially knowing that Matt was blaming the wrong person. But you weren’t gonna tell him that you were the one who instigated the pocket pussy conversation.

“What are you talking about, we were just talking.” Chris defended, even though all four of you knew Matt was right.

You assumed it was somehow through their magical telepathic triplet senses that they could tell Chris was lying, but at least the other two were oblivious to what you guys were just talking about.

Nick chimed in. “Right. So did you give her your number yet, or were we still getting there?”

Chris had his head turned away from you, but by the way his shoulders shook slightly, you could tell he started laughing again. “I literally hate you guys so much,” he said through his giggles.

Despite the second hand embarrassment—or honestly, direct embarrassment that you were feeling from the way they called out their brother, the three of them fell into a comfortable fit of laughter with each other.

Nick started again once his giggles subsided some. “You need to hurry up, we still need to film.”

Chris exhaled and tilted his head backwards for a second, recomposing himself before turning back toward you. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“No, it’s okay,” you said casually, matching their chuckles with your own to mask the awkwardness you were feeling from the whole situation.

He still gave you a sincere apologetic smile, then reached into his pocket for his phone. He scrolled through the device for a few seconds before offering it to you. “Let me make you a Pocket Pizza one time.” The phone was open to a new contact page. “Trust me, you’ll never go back to the frozen shit.”

You hesitated for a second. The forwardness of his actions, despite everything his brothers just teased him for, caught you off guard. “I’m not eating it if you’re gonna keep calling it that.” The three of them giggled at this, and you took his phone anyway.

You entered your number and handed the phone back, your fingers brushing against his. His touch lingered—a second too long—but his eyes never looked away from yours. The earlier tension returned for a moment, brief but just as intense before it was broken once again by Nick’s voice.

“It was nice to meet you…” Nick looked at you expectantly.

“___,” you filled in, smiling.

At the same time, Chris glanced down at his phone, reading the name you’d saved in his contacts. He quickly typed something before his brothers started pulling him away.

Matt spoke this time. “Lovely to meet you, ___.” He flashed you their boxy smile. “Sorry to rush things, but we still gotta upload.”

Film and upload. You had no idea what that meant, but there was no time to ask. You made a mental note to bring it up the next time you spoke to Chris and settled for a simpler reply instead.

“All good. You guys have a good night.”

Chris’s eyes crinkled in a smile as they met yours once more. “See you later, ___.”

You waved as they walked away, finally turning your attention back to the reason you were here in the first place—to pick a sauce. But before you could even reach for one, you heard them speak again from further down the aisle.

“She’s so pretty.”

“Dude, I know. She’s also so funny.”

Their voices were hard to distinguish. You couldn’t tell that it was Nick and then Chris who spoke, but the compliments made your stomach tie regardless. Unable to help yourself, you glanced back at them.

Your phone suddenly buzzed in your pocket—the two-minute-delay iMessage reminder taking back your attention.

Unsaved Number: ___ sounds way better than a pocket pizza

Unsaved Number: Sorry

Heat rushed to your cheeks instantly. You brought both hands to your face, letting out an “oh my god” before quickly remembering where you were. You glanced around, checking if they—or anyone else—had caught you losing your shit. The preservatives aisle was empty once again.

Chris grocery store: omg hahaha

Chris grocery store: sick freak

You saved the number and hit send, smiling as you reached for the Four Cheese Combo—his recommendation. Little did you know how much this sauce and this chance encounter was going to change everything.

———

hiiii! thank u for reading 🫂 i love sexy sleeper build christopher sturniolo. lemme know whatcha think ily<3

series masterlist

[bleedingichorhearts]

Hello, as far as I understood I can write write a request here. Is it possible for you to write the next part of "Fitful dance" (Emperor of mankind x reader) or something else with yandere! Emps? (Add hot kiss pls)

"Hello! I heed your call, do not worry. I remember. All keep in mind that I have other requests too. Patience is quality and key." - Ichor

Tagged - "@kit-williams, @egrets-not-regrets, @bispecsual, @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan, @sleepyfan-blog.”

“+@c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @marcela2000.”

TW: Yandere, Bulling Emps' For The Fun of It, Hot Kiss Acquired.

|°𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕥°| {Chapter II} - {Chapter IV}

The Emperor has not yet decided for you to be in his universe. At least, not just yet. He was more interested on... avoiding his duties for a while, and well. He can see the… undesirable consequences he could get from just snatching you up. Even if he really wants to. He's going to be... strategic about how he wants to take you in more ways than one. He didn't become a being of power for being unwise.

If he were to take you back now it would not doubt... frazzle you. You would be out of your element, not that he would be complaining. You would be more "satiable" to his advances, and you wouldn't know of his world that he plans to plant you in. So, that's another plus, but the only reason he hasn't taken you back yet is because of his own creations. His sons: Some would hate you, not that he would really care either, but others would... grow on you. He knows it, and it's not a thought he can particularly think through.

"So, uhh, how did you find my address?" Your question brings him back to this reality. His eyes not even blinking as he turns to look at you. A small, charming smile appearing on his face.

"Who would I be if I told you?" He answers you, and you're not amused by it. That sounded incredibly cryptic, potentially dangerous in all ways. For one: He could be some mafia boss. Two? A hitman playing as a charming prince. Three? A playboy trying to get on your nerves and your pants.

"Alright then..." You say, gathering your thoughts the best you can without freaking out of how in the hells he even found you. Your brain trying to make sense that he would be that of option 1 or 2 in a more likely way. "Let me rephrase: Who are you?"

"Hmm, smart one, are you?" He smiles a bit too brightly again, and you have an itch to tell him to stop smiling. "Many called me Anathema."

"Anathema?" You repeat his words, rising your brow. Disbelief written on your face. "That sound like a girls' name. At most, a sort of medical condition."

"Amusing, isn't it?" He laughs; it sounds forced. His long ass legs shifting their weight while he stands in the middle of your living room and you on your couch. "For your inquiry, it means monstrosity or a curse."

"Why would your parent name you that?" You let your mind speak for you, not at all regretful of them. This dude did just walk up to your house and won't tell you how he got your address. You deserve some recompense for that.

"Bold too." He more like comments, his tone going neutral, almost boring-like. His eyes looking you over as if he was debating something. Not answering your question.

"Well, you are not sunshine and rainbows yourself, clearly." You muse at the man, shifting yourself on your couch to sit up straighter. "You won't tell me how you got my address. Thats a red flag you know."

"Red flag?" He tilts his head a centimeter to his right, giving you a risen brow. "What do you speak off?"

"Seriously?" You match his expression, looking him over yourself as if he asked you a dumb ass question, and he practically did. "You all dressed up like you own thousands of corporates, dancing at parties, pulling random people towards you, and stalking me to my address is not alarming to you? Have you lost your logic? Your Common sense?"

He pauses to think on your words that would have gotten you killed for even questioning him and insulting him in all one go. His eyes seemingly going through you as he thinks upon your words. This "red flag" explanation you give is something that is... unsafe; dangerous, and well if he is thinking logical... he was one such in a way.

"You speak ill of me." He states, narrowing his amber eyes at you that seem to shift to a golden color for a split second. The smallness of such a reveal causing the hairs on your neck to rise.

"Yeah, no shit sherlock." Yet, you continue to use the foul words against him. Your world able to speak more freely than his world... Something that he misses but also hates at the same time. That freedom of speech, but also the restriction of it.

"You always talk to new bas- people like this?" He questions you, tilting his head to his left this time. His hands stuffed in the front pockets of his suit pants. "I do not recall you dismissing my dance so easily."

"To people that somehow have my address, yes." You nod, standing up from the couch and brushing yourself off. "And for your inquiry, that was not a dance nor an invitation."

"Really?" He challenges you, looking down at you even when you stand up. His hair waving as if a small draft was inside of your own home. "You were rather quite gentle in your... teachings."

"So, you did notice that I was silently teaching you something." You step forward into his space, looking up at him. His hands in his pockets itching to come out and grasp at you but holds himself still, for a moment. "Yet you cannot notice how coming to my home without an explanation is something you can't learn? Man, what did your parents teach you? Nothing?"

"My, you certainly have a tongue on you..." He comments, the area around you shifting to something darker, intimidating. A random breeze of chill going down your spine.

"I believe I have the right to be so." You huff, folding your arms over your chest, never faulting with the man. "You won't tell me jack shit-!"

One of his gloved hands fly out from his pocket and swipe forward, grasping a bit tightly at your neck and pulling you in close. The simple, hidden touch sending a shiver down his own spine while he kisses you with sudden roughness that it surprises you. Your hands only able to come up and settle on his chest to stabilize yourself. His form taller than yours as he makes himself to be that way.

You can feel how his lips press against yours. His tongue coming to pry them apart and slide through your teeth to taste your own tongue that doesn't recuperate back. A pleased hum escaping his as he tilts his head a bit more to shove his tongue anywhere inside of your mouth as he pleases, taking advantage of your surprise. His eyes a bit more of a glowing, golden color while he keeps you still within his grasp, making you stay in place just in case before he pulls away with that bright ass grin again, his tongue licking up the combined saliva as if it was a noodle. His hand on your neck moving to cradle your cheek with his thumb under your earlobe.

"Have anything else foul to say?" He purrs slightly, thumbing at you. His tongue licking his teeth inside of his mouth before his lips. His amber eyes watching you with amusement at how dumbfounded you look.

"Next time, I'm shoving a pencil down your throat." You threaten him with a growl, shoving him away, or more like pushing yourself off him as he stays in his place. His hands moving to behind his back.

"Oh? So, there is a next time?" He rumbles sweetly, keeping up that annoying ass grin. A few of your nerves breaking at his cockiness.

[ironunderstands]

Dr. Ratios predictions, theories and ideas I have for his lore BECAUSE SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED AND I AM INSANE ABOUT HIM AAAAAAA

‼️INCLUDES DISCUSSION OF LEAKS SO BE WARNED‼️

So, I’m sure if you like Dr. Ratio even a little bit or have kept up with what leakers are doing, you have heard of a little something.

That little something being our new planet in coming in 3.0 is Ancient Greece inspired 

Oh boy.

And oh it gets better, thanks Sparkle for playing genderbend Ratio during Cosmoddesy because 

Yup, this is his planet.

I’m well aware it will be like 7 months before we start getting proper leaks about this place, but for now, let’s do some speculation shall we, because if there’s anywhere we are gonna get his backstory/lore/a story centered around him, it will be here.

So let’s begin 

Whatever the hell I think is gonna happen during 3.0

A) He will serve as a guide for the Astral Express in navigating this planet 

I don’t think he will immediately go to them to help, or they will immediately seek out him, but rather coincidentally or through the connivence of circumstance he will end up helping lead us around, at least partially until we really get roped into a conflict.

Or, it’s the other way around, where we kinda are left to our own devices a bit and then something happens and either by his own decision or something that’s forced upon him, Dr. Ratio now has to supervise from now on.

Personally I find the second option way more interesting and I think it has way more potential for angst so I’m going with that one let Ratio be dragged around by a malicious entity or his own experiences I’m so here for it. 

B) Something happens.

Wow, descriptive. 

Ok, what I really mean is that something bad happens like a prophecy comes true or the express breaks something or a stellaron comes to eat people’s grandmas and Ratio is implicated in it. 

And this is where the fun begins, as the nature of what this something is can completely shift the story in very interesting ways.

Perhaps he was prophesied to doom Amphoreous’s civilization with his presence or something, and was abandoned by his parents on another planet?

Perhaps he has connections to the leaders there who desired for him to be their puppet/tool, so he left to find his own path and now they are trying to force him back.

Perhaps he failed at a test of theirs when he was younger, some universal trait on the planet that he couldn’t live up to and was exiled because of it. Now that he’s back, they blame whatever bad thing happens on Ratio. 

I actually really like these particular theories as Ratio has a lot of themes about creating your own destiny, so seeing him resist one forced upon him would be compelling. Moreover, I feel as though an arc demonstrating how exactly he wanted to become a Genius/where he got all his insecurities and motivations from is not only necessary for his character but would flesh out the way we see the path of Erudition in general, even if I already really like the way they have gone with it so far. 

C) Resolution/Self acceptance 

I doubt they will permanently kill him, it just doesn’t suit his character at all.

However, do I think is he gonna get messed up by whatever that “something” is? Yes. 

If the story centers on this remains to be seen, honestly, I doubt it will considering we have the entire cast of the planet and its own lore to meet and learn about, but I do think Ratio will be a major player and I hope how he feels gets some of the plot’s focus as we have quite literally only have 1 full scene of him where we see who he truly is, and it’s all the way back in 1.6 (Ratio-Screwllum conversation my Roman Empire). 

Like guys I needed this man bleeding out screaming dying crying throwing up clutching his wounds looking up at the screen like a kicked puppy losing all hope in himself and others YESTERDAY 

I NEED SOMETHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO HIM FOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND BECAUSE RATIO IS SO HIGH STRUNG THAT ANY AMOUNT OF PRESSURE WILL CAUSE HIM TO SNAP SO PLEASE HOYO LET HIM BREAK!!!

He needs another scene where he’s being sincere, he needs a scene where he’s being vulnerable, Ratio’s marble facade needs to crumble to reveal the man underneath and I need that man to pick himself back up again knowing he can allow himself to be human as well AAAAAAAAAA

His connections to Acheron 

If you have seen my other posts I have already talked about this at length, however the brainrot for this particular detail is all consuming so let me just demonstrate:

Dr. Ratio has the same philosophy as Acheron, an emanator of Nihility.

Look.

Essentially, they both believe that only in desperate situations will humans reach their full potential and begin to truly live for themselves. Moreover, they also both try and offer the tools to help people save themselves, Ratio with knowledge and Acheron with destroying the dreamscape, and that even if people can only become their true selves through struggle, it is the guidance and love of other people that will allow them to pick themselves up. 

Interestingly, pre-2.2 I also believed Ratio was walking the path of Nihility, due to how he engages with knowledge. That very viewpoint spawned from the 1.6 conversation I just showed you, as Ratio demonstrates to the audience that he does not care about knowledge in of itself, but rather the value it can bring to people.

Now, this sets him apart from the Genius Society members, who believe knowledge is inherently valuable and that it is what brings the universe meaning to them. Every person Nous has acknowledged has expressed this belief, which is why they were acknowledged and Ratio isn’t.

Before you say it, no, it’s not that he isn’t smart enough, quite the opposite actually.

Screwllum himself acknowledges his genius and time and time again are Ratios myriad of accomplishments brought up. In universe plenty of people believe he should have been instated into the society by now as well:

These are just the ones that implicate the society directly, as so many of Ratio’s character stories also mention just how accomplished he is.

Moreover, in 2.3 we are getting a new Sim Uni update made by Ratio himself, centered on humanity because of course it is, therefore he’s even smart enough to do the same things the GS members do, even collaborating with Screwllum to work on their favorite pet project.

So, what does this have to do with his lack of acknowledgment, and the path of Nihility?

I have established Ratio is smart enough and that he doesn’t view knowledge in the same way the other member’s do. Therefore, this difference in mindset is why Nous has never acknowledged him, because as much as Ratio thinks he is walking the path of Erudition, his personal philosophy and behaviors have never aligned with that, even if he thinks they do.

I mean, the man says it himself, even if he doesn’t realize the implications of it:

“The Path of Erudition has neither reason nor logic. While geniuses wander among the stars, the ordinary can’t even trace their footsteps.”

That is the path the Genius Society members walk, the path Ratio is criticizing in this sentence, the path he refuses to travel along himself, because what defines Ratio is that he will never leave the ordinary behind to stumble alone.

That is the path of Erudition.

And Veritas Ratio does not follow it. 

So what does he believe in?

Finding your own path. Forging your own future, in the face of a meaningless universe, that is the only thing we should do, the only thing we CAN do. 

“even a life marked by failure is a life worth living”

That’s what Ratio believes.

It doesn’t matter if the masses cannot escape their mediocrity, if they will never be geniuses, if their efforts will go unacknowledged, because the universe doesn’t care, therefore they shouldn’t either. There is no grand test, no final destination, no perfect goal people must attain.

Destiny is uncertain, and people’s fates are theirs to choose. 

Dr. Ratio believes people can still improve themselves, and that it doesn’t matter if people cannot reach the ceiling of knowledge, as they should still push themselves off the floor and stand up. 

He doesn’t think anything confines people from bettering themselves, and that it’s pointless to deliberate over whether one can achieve perfection or not, they should strive to improve themselves regardless and live their best lives because why not? Sure there’s nothing saying they can, but there’s also nothing saying they can’t, and in the face of a meaningless universe, devoid of purpose, one must create their own, and he dedicates his life to aiding others in realizing this.

Ironically, Ratio does not take his own advice. He can recognize the merits of the masses, but he cannot appreciate his own. Ratio is forever walking forward, but he cannot see the path ahead of him, or appreciate the lengths he has gone, the distance he has traveled, and the lives he has improved. 

Ratio spreads knowledge across the universe, believing that is what Nous desires, what the Erudition means, or rather should be, which is partly why he views himself as mundane, as a failure. 

Not just because he is as ordinary as any other person, but because Ratio thinks he hasn’t succeeded in his goal without Nous’s acknowledgement. I think he believes that he hasn’t done enough, that he isn’t smart enough, that he will never be good enough, therefore no matter what has happened, Ratio is doomed do be as mundane as everyone else, and his accomplishments will never be worth the gaze of the entity who inspired him to help others in the first place, as that’s what Ratio believes they would want.

However, helping others is not something Nous cares about, it’s something Dr. Ratio cares about. Even if he doesn’t understand or acknowledge it, Ratio’s accomplishments are meaningful, and he has walked his path further than most ever have. 

However, that path just isn’t the path of Erudition, it’s the path of Existence. 

Initially I believed it to be the Nihility, and in a way I’m not wrong, considering one must cross underneath the shadow of the Nihility to find the Existence, so in a way he is still approaching them.

However, as always, Acheron clarifies everything.

The Nihility envelops all, therefore it is meaningless. And before our final ending, our predetermined destiny (death), we have so many choices to make, therefore we should make them, as it makes both our life and death develop a completely different meaning.

As I have stated, this is what Ratio believes in, even if he attributes it to the Erudition, rather than the Nihility.

Ratio’s entire goal in life is to help others bring meaning to their lives and guide them in the right direction so they can begin to choose for themselves, using knowledge as his means to do so.

Which is exactly what Acheron does, “on the still waters of oblivion, I guide the wandering souls,” isn’t just a line she says because it sounds cool, rather, that is her goal as well. An emanator of Nihility, whose goal is to help others find their meaning in the universe. 

But Acheron doesn’t just want that. She is looking for the Existence, and to kill the Nihility (meaningless) forever.

Which is significant, because if Ratio believes the same exact thing she does, and is walking the same path as she is, then like Acheron, he is heading towards the Existence, not the Erudition.

And Nous will never acknowledge him, not because he isn’t smart enough, but because he never followed them to begin with.

In fact, we know what Ratio is, or rather, what he might end up becoming.

So far no Doctors of Chaos have succeeded in their goals, but perhaps Dr. Ratio, Dr VERITAS Ratio, will be the one to do so. After all, who else could it be but him?

How fitting that the man named after truth would be the one to find it.

That fuckass owl 

Glaux I want to throw you into a blender 

This is Professor Glaux, one of the figures from the Hanunue-Clockie Era of Penacony who did some things like bring the stellaron there, was a scholar of the Intellgenica Guild, became the first dreamweaver, inspired the paper birds, did some shit with the Nightingale Family and presumably died.

I know, horrible explanation, especially considering I haven’t even done the quest this guy is from, but hopefully that’s all the information you need for now so I can introduce you to this theory (which I did not create, sadly I don’t remember who did but it was someone on twitter somewhere so shoutout to them)

That being… Dr. Ratio is Glaux

I hate it I’m sorry. But I will attempt to explain where it’s coming from.

A) Glaux has very similar references to Ratio, aka they are both associated with Greek culture, wisdom and owls 

Glaux is the Greek word for owl and they are heavily associated with Athena, the god of wisdom.

Now Ratio has extremely obvious owl, Greek and wisdom association if you have looked at him for any longer than 2 seconds so I’m not gonna bother to demonstrate it, they have similar references, moving on.

B) The Intelligencia Guild + their titles 

They are from the same faction, and both are referred to as Professors (ratio gets called that more in the CN version I think), and at least Ratio dedicates his time to spreading knowledge, which I think is something Glaux shared.  

C) This occurrence in Gold and Gears

You know, the one where a student kills themself because Ratio thinks they are an idiot.

Well, it’s complicated because apparently the story told in Gold in Gears takes place a long time ago?? 

How long I don’t know as my brain melted in my skull when trying to piece it together, so please do correct me if I’m wrong, I’ll try to make sense of it later.

Moreover, this is also complicated by the fact that this particular occurrence was used by Herta to teach the trailblazer some mechanics of the sim uni, which makes me thing it’s not a part of the lore/timeline in it in general, and just something funny she added in anyways. Continually, there are also occurrences from characters like Argenti and of the Genius Society members themselves, so I don’t think every event is set in the distant past.

However, I think this idea comes from the other person in that occurrence, Dr. No5, but he also kills himself in it, and I can’t find anymore information on it, so I doubt it. (also apparently in the Chinese version the Ratio they refer to isn’t in the way they refer to Dr. Ratio/the one we know so idk)

Either way, what this means is that if this occurrence did take place a while ago, then Ratio must be super fucking old and he must have been part of the Intellegencia Guild during that time, like a certain owl aka Glaux, who was part of it.

D) Ratio’s weird origins

By weird origins I mean we know jack shit about his past (although we finally know the planet he’s from!) and for all we know the man could have spawned in one day, with some other theories even coming to that conclusion, like the infamous worm theory.

Essentially, if you put this all together, Ratio was once an owl-humanoid named Glaux who was from the Amphoreous, and then became part of the Intelligencia Guild a while back, which is when that occurrence happened. He then went to Penacony, did some stuff, faked his death and like came back as Dr. Ratio on that planet again, which is why we don’t know anything about his origins.

Can you tell why I hate this theory as a concept.

I find it to be dumb, nonsensical, a waste of potential and just straight up random as hell. However it is also objectively valid and could have happened within the plot of the game which is why I hate it so much because please hoyoverse do not go in this direction I will skin you.

However, I do not think Ratio has nothing to do with Glaux.

Rather,

A) The stuff Glaux did on Penacony is meant to parallel how Ratio acted there, as both served as a guiding figure for people on their respective timelines 

B) Ratio is the same species as Glaux/ they are from the same planet (Amphoreous).

Now this I fuck with heavily. Yes, Glaux is way more owl looking than Ratio is, however more human versions of his species could exist, and Ratio could just have the ability to like shift forms or something.

He also looks extremely similar to the owls on Ratios design, which I now deem it appropriate to show to you the metric fuck ton of owls in Ratios design.

(there’s a few more btw I just couldn’t fit them due to the image limit LMAOO)

Why do you have so many, and why is it the same fucking owl, same culture, same goddess referenced, same symbolism???? 

Like even if I hate the 1 : 1 Glaux-Ratio theory, they are clearly connected, and this is no accident on behalf of the developers. 

Therefore, I would keep an eye out for Glaux mentions in the future, especially on the planet coming in 3.0, as I 100% believe that they are from the same planet. There’s no way they can’t be connected in some manner, and if I am right about this I will be annoying about it for the rest of time. 

I can’t believe owl Ratio might actually be a reality. 

So uh, let’s put this all together.

We go to Ratio’s planet in 3.0, problems happen and we learn both his past and his connections to that owl species Glaux is from which likely causes even more problems. Bbg probably gets his ass handed to him in 3.0 and 3.1 and gets to make up for it in 3.2, ending the arc off more fulfilled as a person, and perhaps making some realizations about himself including that he isn’t actually following the path of Erudition. Then we skip all the way to endgame when the trailblazers are fighting Nanook and him and Acheron come in with the steel chair hopped up on Existence juice to give the trailblazer enough of a will to live as to not succumb to the Nihility because oh my god how can you defeat the embodiment of Destruction. We somehow win and Dr. Ratio gets married to Aventurine and they ride off into the sunset roll credits we all cheered. 

So, yeah.

If I’m even a little bit right about this I will be the most insufferable person on this planet. Anyways I hope you enjoyed reading this, and even if these theories don’t end up being true I do still think the speculation gives a lot of insight into his character.

[v0idhaert]

scott smajor with number 7 for your spotify asks?

omg anon sorry it took me so long to get to this, but here: Scott smajor with number 7, Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance!

textless and bgless under cut, as well as really long ramble caption vvvvvvv

I hope this is alright! If nothing else, I’m so so proud of drawing hair braiding, that took. So. Long. lol, anyway yeah I also really like how Scott’s hair came out, and I’ve never made a third life Jimmy design before so I came up with this on the fly and I really like how it looks. But yeah, I saw which song it was and thought of them immediately, Scott was so distraught at Jimmy’s death in third life, (prepare for ramble that is mildly unintelligible if you are not really geeky about MCR lore lol. The main stuff you need to understand is that mcr has four albums, I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, The Black Parade, and Danger Days: The True Lives of The Fabulous Killjoys, and all of them have a lot of lore) like they are so demolition lovers coded, especially because of the whole back from the dead thing where Jimmy is alive and well in later seasons but Scott is still grieving him and the memory thing with winners remembering which means Scott remembers third life and Jimmy doesn’t, reminds me of like (from my understanding of the story, which is different from other peoples because MCR lore is very vague) the inner turmoil of the lover from the three cheers lore who went to hell, and his lover is in heaven and on one hand he wants to reunite but on the other he knows his lover doesn’t even know he’s alive (-ish. Not sure how much his situation qualifies as “living”) and feels guilty, thinking that she probably won’t even want to see him again, because he’s killed so many people and he doesn’t want to ruin her paradise (I mean she misses him too and wants to see him again but he doesn’t know that, and also he rightly recognizes that he is an actual sociopath. I’m not saying c!Scott is crazy (well, as not-crazy as you can be in life series death games. Everyone is at least a little bit off their rocker. Woah, parentheses within parentheses, what is this!?), but I am saying the guy demolition lover absolutely is. I am also saying that c!Scott has self worth issues. At least in my headcannons. I also have a similar headcannon for Joel. Maybe that’s why they hate each other, their mad that they can’t sacrifice themselves for each other and then decided a murderous rivalry was the only option/j ) but yeah so the torturing themselves over a lover who is both dead for them and also at the same time alive and well but unreachable and in a better place than them and wanting to be with them but holding back for fear of hurting them which ends up hurting them anyway (which is also a theme in the black parade, so ig you could also kinda compare Scott to The Patient, but patient always felt more Joel or Pearl coded to me. Also yes I know I already made a post about smalletho demo lovers au, but idk I can have both smalletho and flower husbands demo lovers I just like projecting my interests onto,,,,also my interests ig lol) is something Scott and the sinner demolition lover have in common. Also this song makes me cry. So much. Could barely even draw this through the tears lol/silly, and I’m exaggerating but less than you’d think. Unfortunately I am a crier. I also cry at Summertime from danger days, pretty much all of three cheers but especially I never told you what I do for a living, demolition lovers from bullets (btw for non MCR fans these are album and song names. Also the demo lover’s story starts in bullets with the song titled for them, and then is continued in three cheers for sweet revenge) as well as I don’t love you, wttbp, the end, mama, and famous last words from black parade. And those are just the MCR songs, not counting all the other sad songs from other bands. I am a CRIER lol. But yeah, thank you sm for the ask anon I really enjoyed drawing this!

[childrenofcain-if]

As much as I love Elias I can't wait to explore the angst of their relationship and potentially, or most likely, ruin the relationship between him and my MC.

I hadn't thought of this before and it's all because of that swimming scenario you wrote. After reading it I took my MC aside and started to try and get a read on how they feel about how Elias cheered them on.

The result? My MC is in the mindset that Elias treats them like a walking, talking trophy case, waiting to be opened when he wants to have their accomplishments sang to Mount Olympus and back.

Meanwhile after the race itself C's mother treated us as what we were: a kid. That soft gaze, the warmer, friendly smile? That's what my MC remembers most from that swimming content.

Which is why I hope MC can spend the holiday with C and their mother. They want to be treated like a person, and I think C's household is where they'll get that most genuinely.

it’s very interesting how a lot of people interpreted that swimming ask as tbh, and i can see how it might feel like elias sometimes uses MC as some time of trophy to be paraded around.

i want to assure you that that’s not the case and even if MC was the world’s biggest loser, elias would be proud of them for even the smallest of achievements. but maybe i’ll add an option for MC to misunderstand that type of attention and pride for something that they have to earn.

louise, while being a good mother, isn’t the most affectionate ngl. like yes, C is emotionally repressed mostly because of their dad, but louise isn’t the best at showing emotions either and that really made C stunted when it comes to processing their feelings.

however, y’all will still get a chance to spend at least one christmas at your ROs’ place in the game, and that includes the lacroix household!

[coffee-and-tea-time]

𓆩♡𓆪 ｢better that sleeping pills｣ 𓆩♡𓆪

Hi! Coffee being delusional speaking! This time I was wondering

How did you deal with your sleep problems, dear?

TW: stalking, yandere behavior, delusions, insomniac reader, sleeping pills mention, somewhat willing reader, light paranoia?

Yet again another night dealing with insomnia, being told over and over that you should stop using the phone at night and, instead, pretend to sleep, that eventually dreamland will come to you like that. People that don't know what it is to be alone with thoughts and exasperation. But once again, you try to do so, hoping that maybe this time it would actually help.

tik tok tik tok tik tok

How much time has passed? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? You try to keep your mind on blank but it's impossible at some point.

An unexpected sound catch quickly your interest although you can't really recognize it, trying to dismiss it, thinking must've an hallucination or something outside, in the silence of the night, people tend to be more perspective to any sounds, right?

And just like a bad plot, once your body relaxes, you hear that sound again. . . Unconsciously welcoming the return to old habits, covering more with the blankets and turning around with the eyes still closed, as if that will make a safe shield.

Alright, this isn't your first rodeo, your brain's favorite hobby surely is playing tricks to scare the hell out of you. Taking a deep breath to relax once again, choosing to be delusional to forget everything has to be the best option right now.

What about if the sounds are because a stalker helplessly in love with you just broke into your house? A good night kiss on the forehead sounds lovely, maybe the dark romance or Tumblr posts are affecting your brain already but why care? Cuddling to sleep with someone that loves you unconditionally sounds like a perfect situation, you wouldn't really mind your sleeplessness if you could have that.

Although the normal will be calling the police, why do so if it's not a threat? In your mind, you picture your perfect obsessive s/o, no need to worry about being cheated on if the only thing in his eyes is you, no need to worry about being too much, no need to worry about his feelings ever fading away, isn't that perfect? Yes, it may come with some disadvantages like everything, but nothing you can't handle, you just need to love them, and they will be happy on a daily basis.

As you smile because of your silly fantasies while looking 'asleep' on the outside, you hear an even more unexpected sound. . . a whispering.

“oh, are you having a good sleep? It worries me how long it takes you to sleep every night, it's gonna end up being awful for your health. Maybe it will be better if I start using sleeping pills on you? You always do so much, you need a good rest, my cherry”

You stay still, unable to think what to do, a light but sweet smell invades your nostrils. Does this count as manifestation? Why is he already calling you by a pet name?

“My lovely cherry, my heart ache when I think about how exasperating must feel to hear the constant naging of those who don't really care about at least try empathize, if only I could help with something, I won't think it twice”

Feeling a gentle caress on your hair makes you wonder, this doesn't feel bad at all. Common sense screaming that you need to worry but the warm feeling of his touch disperse that though faster than you're willing to admit.

“Mmm, maybe my desires are taking over my brain already? But I think a perfect medicine for you will be if you snuggle in my embrace, I promise to have the right temperature for you to be comfy all night… if you just let me kiss that addictive face of yours, it will be enough payment for even my soul if you wish to have it”

His voice… sounds familiar, do you know him? 

Even if you recognize that self-preservation should be a top priority, it's hard to care when his voice is this honeyed, using the exact words that attract you like a bee as if he can read your mind. As you feel a faint kiss on the top of your head, you start to ask yourself…

Is bad manners not to reply when someone speaks to you, isn't it? Or maybe it's better to keep pretending to sleep to see what he usually does?

Decisions decisions…

➤ keep pretending

➤ Say something

sorry for any misspellings or weird sentence structure ❣

images from pinterest

[lunarsights]

Can you do how TXT feels about a foreign poc thanks mamas :3 - 🧁 anon

𝙏𝙓𝙏 𝙤𝙣 𝘽𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨

i asked this in terms of nationality and ethnicity based on members' backgrounds (ie. not counting white people and to an extent americans for hueningkai)

Yeonjun

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“Best Friend” by Saweetie (feat. Doja Cat)

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

King of Cups, Five of Wands (Rx), The Moon, The High Priestess. King of Wands, Three of Swords

Final Answer: Ten of Swords (Rx), Page of Swords (Rx), Death

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

the king of cups in tarot of the divine in connected to a chinese tale of the dragon pearl where a boy is faced with a famine in his land, but discovers a magical pearl that enables everyone to eat; in this tale, someone from the town becomes greedy and steals the pearl, and the boy eventually turns into a dragon forever in order to serve as a protector, so no one can be greedy over the land ever again. 

yeonjun could feel similar to this story when it comes to the idea of being romantic with foreigners; there could be set expectations for yeonjun when it comes to dating but especially in regards to carrying on family lineage in some way. with five of wands present he’s come to some sort of compromise with whoever is making him feel this way (maybe his parents? other older family members? even society itself could be the reason), but it’s kind of hidden with the moon being present. intuitively, it feels like a situation where maybe he’s allowed to explore with dating only, but when it comes to marrying he could be expected to only be with someone who’s korean or “heavily approved by [his] family”. yeonjun himself may be the type of person who “goes with the flow”, and he could usually (or currently) be described as the page of swords upright – someone who’s curious about those who are different from him, and he could want to interact with foreigners, but is in a state right now where that may not be possible. he could push back on this later on though because the image of a sunflower came through which can represent growth and possible happiness when everything is said and done. 

TLDR; he seems interested and might explore dating a foreigner, but not currently thinking of marriage due to restrictions

Soobin

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“Bye Bye Brianna” by Nicole C. Mullen

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

Eight of Cups, Seven of Wands, Four of Cups (Rx), Knight of Wands, The World

Final Answer: Two of Swords, Four of Swords (Upright and Rx)

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

one thing soobin could be opposed to is dating someone within his own industry. with eight of cups and seven of wands together, soobin could have experience approaching people who are korean and not really receiving or being in relationships he’d actually like to be in. he could feel a little bored with the dating scene there, so being romantically involved with foreigners sounds “interesting” to him. he could already be exploring this option (at least with flirting – not sure how far things have gone) and could be in the mindset of  “love can be found anywhere.. with anyone”. the song “Mrs. Right” by Mindless Behavior comes to mind, and that song basically describes the singers being willing to “travel all across the world” to meet the person they’re meant to be with; this could be soobin’s thinking.

  TLDR; maybe; currently interested

Beomgyu

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“Crew” by Goldlink (feat. Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy)

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

Ace of Swords, The Fool, Temperance (Rx), The Moon (Rx), Queen of Wands (Rx), The Emperor (Rx), Queen of Swords

Final Anwer: The Hermit (Rx), The Empress

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

beomgyu also seems to find foreigners intriguing; he could feel as if being around them gives him new ideas and new ways of thinking. “a whole new world” comes to mind and although this captivates him at one point in time this could’ve made him reluctant to interact with them. he might’ve wondered whether or not he’d be compatible with foreigners or if they’d feel some type of way about him being famous (possible worries of them being jealous, having bad intentions, etc.). there’s an idea present in korea that foreigners are fun for temporary “relationship” things, but not so much long-term, so these thoughts might’ve clouded his mind; it seems his view was more maybe being told foreigners wouldn’t want to settle down with someone who’s korean as opposed to he shouldn’t settle down with a foreigner (although that might’ve been present too, but didn’t bother him as much). he eventually might’ve realized this isn’t the case, but he could still be a little worried about being rejected by foreigners. 

TLDR; interested, likely yes

Taehyun

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“How Great” by Chance the Rapper (feat. Jay Electronica and Chance’s cousin Nicole)

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

Knight of Cups, Page of Swords, The High Priestess, Page of Wands, King of Swords, The Star (Rx)

Final Answer: Eight of Swords (Rx), Queen of Coins, The Tower

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

taehyun could be someone who wants to be like a “knight in shining armor” when it comes to romance. he could be interested in entering the talking stage with foreigners to get a true feel for them; it’s almost like he still doesn’t have total concrete thoughts on how he feels about approaching them romantically. he could find foreigners interesting to talk to and engage with on a higher level (ie. talking about education, talking in order to learn more about one another, there’s a sense of ninth house energy in relation to astrology, but the dating aspect he’s still exploring. although he’s enthused and willing, it seems he thinks at the end of the day things wouldn’t work out. there’s almost like an air of insecurity when it comes to approaching foreigners – maybe he thinks he’ll be rejected? he could be working on this mindset though and having a tower moment where he’s building up his courage in order to approach anyways

TLDR; maybe, likely to try to approach at some point

Hueningkai

𝐒𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲:

“Partition” by Beyoncé

𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬:

The Hermit, Six of Swords, The Magician, Seven of Wands, Nine of Wands, Seven of Coins

Final Answer: Knight of Swords, The Sun, Two of Wands (Rx)

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠:

hueningkai might be on a break when it comes to involving himself in romance; he could be more focused on his career right now with seven of wands coming out, but in regards to who he finds attractive it seems he’s looking for “originality”. the taboo associated with being with foreigners romantically may not be a thing that he cares about. he’s attracted to people who are themselves and other personality traits not related to ethnicity, nationality, or other things like that. he could have an idea that love is something you’re willing to experience some discomfort for if you truly love the person. there’s an idea you’ll work through anything if that care is really there. above all, he wants to be happy and because of that he’s willing to withstand possible backlash in order to experience the love and ideas of partnership that he has. this could be an idea he’s developed overtime - maybe seeing his parents’s relationship and the way that was viewed or something along those lines, but he’s pretty strong in his ideas as a result. 

TLDR; likely yes

[verysium]

I’ve been seeing some discourse around twitter about the blue lock boys and whether they’d be a loyal bf or not 😭 Curious to know who do you think would be more inclined to cheat or who just wouldn’t at all!!!

I saw someone say sae would 100% cheat like whattt I feel like he wouldn’t even bother looking at anyone else if he already has someone (Cuz I mean dating him would likely mean you actually mean something to him) but I digress

ok anon you had me pulling up a whole argumentative essay here cus WHO TF SAID SAE WOULD 100% CHEAT??? 😔 that mischaracterization is so painfully inaccurate. twitter really took the whole emotionally unavailable itoshi archetype and ran with it. let me just clear the air here because my man deserves some explanation.

sae itoshi would not cheat. as in capital N and capital O. he took nearly an entire decade off his life just to work on his own issues and finally form a functional and healthy relationship with another human being. and you're telling me he's just going to let all that wash down the drain for someone else? 😒 twitter logic really be showing its illogical side here. apparently a man can be loyal to a professional sports career for eighteen years, but he can't be loyal to his significant other.

i think this misunderstanding probably happened cus of shidou. people read the manga and saw that sae dropped rin for a bug-eyed freak and automatically assumed he was disloyal. 😑 let me just say two things here:

(1) sae and shidou's relationship is strictly professional. imagine being stuck in an god awful corporate office with coworkers who bore you with their weaponized incompetence and a boss who annoys the living shit out of you. and then one day, the company hires a new recruit who is probably the most unhinged and debauched creature known to man. you're probably left wondering how he even got hired in the first place. but then you find out...he's useful. he takes risks and gets a high return on what he invests. it's impulsive and stupid, really. but at least it's unconventional and outside-the-box. he has your interest piqued. that's basically sae and shidou in a nutshell.

(2) just because sae gave shidou his number after the u-20 game does NOT mean he would do the same to any other person who would try to encroach on your relationship. and let's be real here. sae would get one text from shidou and block his contact.

anyways, here is my analysis on the bllk boys in general. introducing the anti-cheating to pro-cheating spectrum:

(A) cannot cheat under any circumstance (as in they already hate the fact that they live on a planet with 8.1 billion other people who are not you):

itoshi brothers (atp they don't even have the physical or mental capacity to entertain a third party), ness, reo

(B) cannot cheat due to physical incapability (literally cannot pull anyone within a five-meter radius to cheat with):

ego, igarashi, raichi, bachira (not that he's in any way unattractive...it's just...i feel like he would purposefully act weird to drive off people who aren't you)

(C) could not cheat (basically option A and B but less problematic version)

yukimiya, barou, kunigami, noa, loki, gagamaru, chigiri, niko, hiori, karasu (baby boy literally felt inferior cus his crush was the cutest in his class), kurona (head empty, just you)

(D) would not cheat (on you but everyone else is not included)

isagi (unintentionally a homewrecker to others but would never let anyone homewreck his relationship with you), leonardo (idk why but i just don't trust him entirely)

(E) could cheat (depends on what they get out of it):

kaiser, shidou (honestly what did you expect when you willingly dated a blonde man...)

(F) would cheat (either proven by canon or they accidentally fucked up somehow):

otoya, oliver, nagi

[phoenixyfriend]

Hi, I saw your addition on the soap post and thank you for the heads up 🙏 I’m traveling to Japan for the first time next month and now hand soap sheets are definitely going on my packing list.

are there any other tips like that you could share? I’ve never really traveled so far before (I’m from nyc) and I don’t know what to plan for lol

General advice:

Japan-guide was my main source for the vast majority of my planning (until I pulled in google maps).

They give you things like transit times from the city, hours of operation and days closed, ticket prices, and approximately how long you want to spend there.

The website also gives instructions on regulations for luggage sizes on trains/what the different kinds of tickets are/how to use the passes, and also explains the several different kinds of discount railway passes.

If you're arriving at Tokyo through Haneda or Narita airport, there are rail options to get to the city fast and sometimes you can get a 24/48/72 hour subway pass at a discount included: - Narita: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2027.html - Haneda: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2027.html

Japanese review apps skew HEAVILY towards a three average. Don't need to look for the highest rating possible, a Japanese 3.1 is basically a 4.8 or whatever in America. 3+ on Google is plenty good enough.

I basically just picked a food I know I usually like and then just went wherever was in my price range and had at least three stars. I did go to a few hole in the wall places. A lot of them really liked it when I tried to order in Japanese, even if I flubbed it VERY often

Download the google translate app. It has photo and audio functions and was incredibly useful.

As mentioned: BUY HAND SANITIZING WIPES AND MAYBE SINGLE USE SOAP SHEETS. A lot of bathrooms, for some insane reason, do not have soap.

Carry cash. A lot of places in Japan do not take card. And it costs like $5 per transaction to withdraw from an ATM (you can find ATMs at most 7-11s).

You can use card at most big chains (the various convenience stores, shopping malls) but anything that looks like it might be small and family-owned? Almost definitely cash.

If traveling with shopping, most train stations and some museums or other major attractions will have coin lockers available where you can leave your stuff, safely, for a fee. Big luggage is 500-800 yen, a purse or a shopping bag like 200-300. I had mixed luck with finding coin lockers via sites or apps before, but that was partly because I went to some smaller towns and cities than most tourists.

City-specific from when a friend asked about Tokyo and Kyoto recently:

Tokyo: Akihabara is the anime zone but Shinjuku and Shibuya are also big draws.

Tokyo I think is honestly best for Contemporary Japanese Culture things (urban stuff) but they have a really interesting historic shrine that's worth a visit in Asakusa, called Sensō-ji.

Personally I love the Kyoto railway museum but I'm a very specific nerd.

If you like sightseeing trains/boats, you can take the Sagano sightseeing train out to Kameoka, and then the Hozugawa River Cruise back to Kyoto.

Kyoto has a "food alley" that I went to that was amazing, called Nishiki Market. It's about five blocks of street food (along with fresh fish markets, some chopstick stores, and a few cafes)

For a more specific restaurant, I'd love to suggest Tsujiri Uji Main Store, which is near Byoud-in (pretty far south), where I had like ten different matcha desserts.

Even if you don't do Kiyomizudera itself (one of the fancy old shrine complexes), I would suggest doing a trek up to it along one of the shopping streets from Kiyomizumichi or Gojozaka station, then down along the famous steps (Sannenzaka and Ninnenzaka) to see the historic Higashiyama district, and then you turn left at Maruyama Park and it takes you to Gion, which is another famous historic district (be VERY respectful, they hate most tourists) and recently opened up a really cool museum about Geiko and Maiko where you can see a 15-minute Geiko (Kyoto-specific Geisha) dance. I can't remember if it was Gion or Higashiyama but I'm pretty sure one of them has a Ghibli cafe.

[worriedvision]

Promoted to a character - Wanderer

This was an idea I kinda wrote some small imagines for but not a fully fleshed kit fic and I figured why not now. Gender neutral reader, reader is an NPC and it's in an AU where the wanderer is confirmed to be dating them, and it's an aware au where everyone kinda knows they have a script whenever someone logs in. This is DEFINITELY gonna be multiple parts I'll be honest...

--

Your boyfriend really did his best to break out of the script, you could see how dejected his eyes looked whenever the traveler suddenly teleported in front of him to initiate a dialogue with him, forcing his body to turn completely away from you. The traveler was more unfortunate than anyone else, being the players sprite so they were controlled entirely by the player as opposed to being able to at least guess what their next move would be. Off-screen, the traveler was a normal person who you found pleasant - at first you think they would have been arrogant like other popular characters, but they genuinely just wanted to be away from all that when they could.

When your update came - the boyfriend ark with Wanderer - you saw the traveler run towards you, before changing into your boyfriend, or Mona, or Nahida - anyone really - and they would proceed to attack your sprite. You didn't get physically harmed, but your hands did fly up to your face to protect yourself out of instinct.

'Basic NPC, lucky you getting him!' the travelers voice would yell out. 'Anyone else would be better'.

You couldn't do much, other than read your script. Once they got past the story quest and the dialogue option is unlocked, they'd sprint over to you and ask you about your boyfriend. The dialogue you had to reply to?

A) What's his type?

B) Why didn't you reject him? He's dangerous.

C) What's interesting about you?

They'd span through the options to get as much info as they could, and you'd be forced to respond the following way:

A) "Oh, I think you would be his typical type!"

B) "...I don't really know, but I ought to fight to keep him."

C) "Oh, I'm just an NPC."

All of those options were terrible, and you dreaded the idea of these players using your image poorly. You'd sometimes see them pull out your boyfriends sprite and take pictures of him walking away from you, hearing a stupid audio playing. Typically it would be something along the lines of "It's not me it's you" playing as he'd walk before they'd rush to your boyfriend to take more thirst pictures.

The traveler felt really horrible about it, every time the player logged off they would run to you as fast as possible before hugging you, apologising profusely for the way the player treated you. You return the hug, reminding yourself that the traveler does not agree with the player.

Your boyfriend, however? He didn't see much of a problem, he knew the fans could be a bit much, but he only experienced the positive end where they'd shower him with love. Still creepy, but he knew it was just because of his looks.

--

The next major update, the developers received so much backlash for your development in the story that they made you and the wanderer break up. It wasn't amicable at all - the traveler rounded the corner with Paimon as you were seen on the ground, laying on your side as you rush to crawl over to your boyfriend to plead with him for one more chance.

He cackles in your face, kicking you back harshly as he smirks down at you.

"You hold me back from my potential, vermin. You were lucky you got the chance to warm my bed, you admire my face without repercussions." He laughs, a hand reaching the tip of his hat as he tilts his head away from you, your trembling figure trying and failing to run after him as more NPCS come out of their homes and shops to witness it all.

You couldn't even see a glance of guilt from the wanderer, but for some reason the player didn't talk to you like they typically did. The cut scene ended with them running over to you, sitting down next to you as they place a hand on your shoulder, Paimon doing so on the other side.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" The traveler asks, no hint or malice behind the camera either as you hear an 'oh my gosh' before responding with a brushing yes, getting up before walking to the adventurers guild to get your daily commission.

You get assigned a task your ex-boyfriend does. For some reason, he told Katheryne that he had too much to think about, and you had to take over. After the concern over you having no vision, he just gives a 'if they die they were never enough'. Not that you needed to be told that, he had told you the exact thing right before the traveler turned the corner.

You take the commission with shaky hands, knowing you weren't going to be able to do this alone but also knowing you couldn't ask your ex to help. Your character sighs shakily, heading towards the commission site.

--

Fast forward a bit, and your character falls into a trap. The ground gives out from underneath you, and you scream and look up as you see a terrified looking Paimon yelling for the traveler before you land on a wooden box, breaking it and hurting your back. The adrenaline from the fall causes you to get up, not feeling the agony as you push forward to get to a safe way up.

The Fatui were behind it. You didn't really get why, but quick glances of notes brought you to the idea that somehow, someone had been writing notes on how suspicious your ex-boyfriends background was. He didn't have any family, no knowledge before around the time you started to date him was known. Unfortunately, you got tied into the whole thing by association.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." You hear a Fatui agent chuckle, several sets of footsteps surrounding you slowly as the pain begins to set in and you recognise you were likely alone at this moment. Sure, the traveler must know you're down this hole, but you can't rely on them to get there on time. You don't even know if the traveler knows about you - perhaps the story was Paimon seeing you minutes before you died, allowing your ex the grieving lover trope.

You dodge attacks, not much of a fighter against a group of people, and the more you think of it the more you knew your boyfriend knew about this setup. He was the planned target, and you were the person that fatui would be the happiest with taking as a hostage. This was just for him getting time, or maybe he wanted you to die down here.

Then, the music started.

You grit your teeth, feeling an icy sensation running through your blood at you steel your nerves.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" An agent laughs, walking towards you before getting stopped by a smarter agent who senses the cold around them.

"My ex got me into this position, huh?" You tut, hands clenching as you get familiar with this cold feeling radiating out of you. It felt...somewhat right. "I'm just an NPC in this story, what's your interest with me?"

The agents look around the room, realising they're trapped down this hole until they somehow knock you out - a task they knew was going to be difficult, as the music grows with more instruments, and you get steady on your feet. Icy sounds trickle in, and they look to your body for a reason.

"Nothing I do in this story will ever be enough for you idiots, yet you insist on trying to ruin me?" You look up, your eyes now having a cool blue aura around them as you unclench your hands, an icy haze immediately starting to grow out.

"Well, I've had enough of being nothing. I'm not going to go down without a fight!" You screech out, sprinting towards your enemies who have now slowed down significantly because of your ability. They seem to be moving slower, but you spee duo knowing this won't last long.

The music builds into it's climax as you knock all of them unconscious, before you feel a surge of electro in your body as you fall unconscious, passing out as someone carries you. You don't hear much around you, other than the sound of the agents being detained by some people. You fully relax into the mystery man's arms, not caring about the situation anymore.

--

Waking up in an unfamiliar room, you see Paimon and the traveler sleeping by your bedside. They look especially tired, they must have been concerned about you.

"You're awake." A voice rings out, causing you to jump as you look at the man across the room, someone you didn't even notice. "Don't worry, you're safe here. I have some questions, but you need to recover."

"...Sorry, can I ask you for your name?" You ask, the man across from you showing a hint of amusement.

"I am Cyno, the General Mahamatra." He nods, you splutter before looking away bashfully. "I had to shock you to stop you from going overboard with your vision. With the adrenaline and breakup, you were especially capable of causing harm to yourself."

"Ah...Sorry." you rub the back of your head. "...Oh, you heard my dialogue didn't you? Gosh, that's so embarrassing."

"It happens to everyone." Cyno shrugs.

Meanwhile, the traveler has heard the entire conversation along with Paimon and pretended to remain asleep. They smile at each other, relieved that you seem to be getting along well with Cyno.

That, and he is stopping himself from his jokes.

[danbensen]

I’m trying something new here, which is to write off the cuff, with little editing, and press the “post” button without much thought. I’m doing so because this is the first spare moment I’ve had to respond to 

Bassoe’s response to my review of C.M. Kosemen’s soon-to-be published book All Tomorrows, and I don't want to let this interesting conversation wither on the vine.

If you had trouble following that last sentence, it’s enough that you know this: we’re talking about the evolutionary future of humanity.

The Machine-God Scenario

Bassoe talks about “machine-gods...obsessed with tending to the well-being of an inferior species” where “the only remaining selection pressure is desire to reproduce.”

Another selective pressure would be to make ourselves adorable to the machine-gods. Perhaps the gods have a template for what they consider to be human, in which case we'll only be able to evolve in ways that don't deviate from that template. I'm reminded of a Stephen Baxter story (Mayflower II) in which humans on a generation ship turn into sub-sapient animals, but they still press buttons on the control panel because that behavior is rewarded by the ship's AI.

The Super-Tech Scenario

But I agree that even without a super-tech future where all our material needs are met, the availability of contraception means that there's a selective advantage to people who don't use contraception. There are many ways for evolution to make that happen. An instinctive desire for babies or an instinctive aversion to contraception are two such ways. I remember a Zach Weinersmith cartoon where he jokes about future humans with horns on their penises that poke holes in condoms, but of course any such physical adaptation won't be able to keep up with technological innovation. We will have to *want* babies.

Another option is (ala Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos) that future humans aren't smart enough to use contraception.

The Artificial Womb Scenario

In this case, I think the most selected-for humans are the ones that are most efficiently produced by the artificial wombs. Maybe it's easier to pump out limbless grubs, which are fitted with cyborg arms (see John C. Wright's Myrmidons in his Count to the Eschaton Sequence). The form they take will depend on the parameters of the machines' programming. (see also Vanga-Vangog's The Endpoint)

The Collapse Scenario

I think this scenario is unlikely. If "life, uh, finds a way," then intelligence finds even more ways. When one resource runs out, we find another. The mere fact that you don’t know what the next resource is just means we haven’t found it yet.

But say for the sake of argument that there's a hard limit to technological progress (ala Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky) or science really is like mining, and it takes infinitely increasing resources to make the next marginal gain in technology. In both cases, you'd expect the graph of human advancement to look like a population when it hits carrying capacity. Exponential growth (we're doing that now) followed by a cycle of die-offs and re-growths, converging to a horizontal mean.

With no ability to innovate, natural selection would take over from technological progress. Once we’ve eaten all the meat and potatoes, there will be strong selection for people who can digest grass. I would expect humans in this case to diversify until our descendants occupy nearly every niche, absorbing most of the matter and energy available on Earth (at least). Whether these people are intelligent or not...probably not. @simon-roy seems to be hinting in this direction with his masterful comic series Men of Earth.

But I don't actually think collapse is likely. I bet that our population (and technological advancement) will not hit an asymptote, but will instead as progress according to a power law, as with the bacteria in Lenski's Long-Term Evolution Experiment.

The Mogul Scenario

Bessoe asks about a future in which “our cultural norms stick around indefinitely, those who generate more profit reproduce,” which I very much doubt.

In 20th century America, the more money you made, the fewer children you had. Now, it seems there's a saddle-shaped distribution, with the very poorest and the very richest women having the most children per woman. This is sure to change again, and faster than evolution can keep up. Perhaps you could say that if contraception pushes us to evolve an instinctive desire to have more children, and rich or powerful people will be in positions to gratify these instincts, then whatever traits make someone rich and powerful will be selected for.

Maybe, but now's a good time to go back to the Reich Lab's "Pervasive findings of directional selection," summarized here by the illustrious Razib Khan.

In comparing ancient to modern DNA, the Reich Lab found evidence for selective pressure in humans in Europe since the end of the Ice Age: increased intelligence, increased height, decreased organ fat, increased walking speed, decreased susceptibility to schizophrenia, increased immunity to many diseases, and, funnily, increased tendency to home-ownership and university education.

Obviously people weren't going to college in the Chalkolithic, but whatever traits make someone likely to go to college now have been selected for since the arrival of agriculture in Europe. You can paint a plausible picture of the sort of people who were most reproductively successful in the past six thousand years, and there is even some evidence for selection in the range of 1-2 thousand years. Aside from obvious things like immunity to smallpox and Bubonic plague, Europeans have gotten paler and blonder, and more of us are able to digest lactose than in Roman times.

But the 21st century is very different from the 1st, which in turn was very different from the pre-agricultural -70th. Maybe you can say that being smart, strong, and disease resistant have always been good, and being tall and baby-faced gets you some sexual selection (almost everyone seems to have evolved shorter jaws and lost their robust brow-ridges in parallel). So we can imagine future humans who just all look gorgeous.

read on (and see the pictures)

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Hi! That talk ab what does and doesn't fit in ur personal canon (idk if that's the right word for it?) made me realize that I don't think I've ever seen you talk about Sandy on here! I lowkey forgot she was a character lmao. Where does she fit for you? (Does she fit? And if she does, could u give us some hcs on what you think her relationship with Soda was like?)

HI! Omg ok, this might be kind of long because I have LOTS of thoughts!

So in my head I have two sort of versions of my personal canon, and one is what I think actually would align with canon, and one is what I wish/gaslight myself into believing would work in canon.

I will say that I don't like Sandy as a character- but then again, as readers we're not supposed to. That said, I think she's an important character, and the fandom trashes and discredits her without really thinking about a) what she adds to the story, b) how realistic and common her plight of an unplanned teenage pregnancy that occured out of wedlock in the 60s was and what the consequences for her would be, c) keeping the last point in mind, how decent of her it was to not lie to Soda about the kid being his and to not accept his proposal when he insisted he didn't care (keep in mind that canonically Soda was so in love he was willing to marry her anyway). In a sense it can be argued that Sandy saved Soda in a way, or at least saved his future. I'm not saying she's a great person, of course she isn't but she cared enough about Soda to tell him the truth and not to trap him in a marriage with a baby that wasn't his when that was an option and her alternatives weren't great (the book says she went to stay with an aunt in Kansas or something- whether you believe thats actually where she ended up or not is up to you, personally I think it's likely she ended up in a religious led birthing house where she gave birth and the baby was taken away from her and adopted out, or alternatively kept her baby and lived as a social pariah while her child was looked down on for being a bastard) . I think too that it's important to keep in mind that Ponyboy's narration- PARTICULARLY about his views and portrayal of Soda- is biased. Ponyboy is fourteen. He and Soda are close, and he knew Soda loved Sandy but he clearly didn't have a good understanding of their relationship (for all we know, Soda and Sandy could have been going through a rough patch) and Soda may have loved her but might not have been a great boyfriend (we know Ponyboy puts him on a pedestal). Again, I'm not trying to excuse cheating, but Sandy is a character who was in a really tough situation and did the best she could considering, and I think people like to hate on her because they like to pretend that teen pregnancy isn't a real and prevalent issue in underprivelidged communities (and because Hinton's writing shows a lot of internalized misogyny but that's a rant for a different post) because it takes some of the 'fun' out of the greaser world- but Sandy is an important character because she forces readers to acknowledge that hard truth, and sit with it, and be uncomfortable, even if they hate her. It's interesting too, because Steve says that Sandy either had to go to kansas and dissapear or get married and her parents wouldn't let her marry a seventeen year old kid. But Sandy herself was a seventeen year old kid. Yes, it's good Soda didn't end up marrying her, but it's bleak that that was even considered as an option for her. Marriage at seventeen- even if she (and her parents) did accept Soda is a huge commitment, and likely would have ended with them resnting each other and living life barely making ends meet. To me, it's likely had Soda and Sandy ended up together, that they would have turned into Two-bit's parents (one ran off, one working to death) or Steve's (cyclically resentful, violent, and remorseful by turns). To me, the whole Sandy situation was a shallow echo of showing cycles of poverty and abuse in a novel that is so preoccupied with conflicts taking place in the moment. So yeah, I don't particularly like Sandy, but I think she is an incredibly important character in the novel, and I wish we'd got at least one scene with her actually present- then again, hearing about the whole issue through Ponyboy who hears it secondhand is an important framing device for how we see and interpret her character, and an interesting narrative choice. (Rant over lol)

In my fun little universe that I wish was canon, Stevepop is a thing, but Soda only realizes his feelings for Steve once his relationship with Sandy ends. In this universe, things go down the same way, but Sandy was never as interested in Soda as she feels she SHOULD have been, so she tried to force herself to like him and it just didn't work, and she ended up cheating as a way to ensure things would end and she'd have a good excuse, because Soda was always willing to talk through fights and if she broke up with him without a reason people would think she was crazy. At the time, Steve and Evie were an item, butweren't actually into each other (I will push my Steve and Evie as each others beards agenda until the day I die, because Steve is gay and Evie is aroace even though she didn't have terminology for that in the 60s, and they cared about each other.) ANYWAY in my canon, Sandy goes to Kansas and Steve and Soda figure their shit out, and Evie is so happy for Steve and offers to keep fake dating him so he and Soda can avoid suspicion, but Steve says no thanks so they stage a super elaborate breakup mid class one day because neither of them studied for the history test and this was as good a strategy as any to get out of it. Once Evie storms out of the class in fake tears, she calls Sandy (because that girl is still her friend and Evie doesn't turn her back on friends) and find out Sandy had a miscarriage, but she's found a job as a hairdresser in Kansas and she doesn't want to return to Tulsa and the rumours she know will follow her around, but she's as happy as she can be given the circumstances. Evie gives her updates on the town gossip, and promises to visit if she gets a chance. Sandy doesn't ask about Soda and Evie doesn't bring him up, and there's a silent consensus that they never will. Meanwhile, Soda hardly thinks about her at all anymore except with an occasional bittersweet smile that Steve knwos from a mile away and also knows how to distract Soda so that he isn't think of hher anymore. In the end, Sandy is just someone Soda used to know, and Soda is a stranger Sandy met once. The end.