#and how they'll interact

[starliteonearth]

Tbh I feel like a lot of people who believe Lucy and Cooper will have a dad-daughter relationship are just placing the Joel-Ellie filter on them because they're another male-female apocalyptic duo and aren't actually considering the characters and where they are in their lives right now. Cooper didn't lose a daughter like Joel did. He has one, who he's currently looking for. There's no daughter-shaped crater in him that needs to be healed. As for Lucy, unlike Ellie, she isn't in need of a father figure in her life. She has a dad, who she had a great relationship with up until the truth was revealed. She is a well adjusted girlie, no daddy issues present. If anything, it's her mother that's the sore spot. Especially considering the fate she had.

[chiropteracupola]

"Are you finished with my portrait yet? Show me!" "Cipacton, I can't draw you if you keep moving!"

[shikai-the-storyteller]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

SO HE WASNT KIDDING WHEN HE SAID FEBRUARY WOULD BE BIG

[serpentface]

may i have the 10 wholly unasked for paragraphs of semen retention belief lore please 🙏

Ok

MEDICAL MODEL:

The philosophical core of Wardi medical model revolves around the universe’s primal dualism- it exists in between the extremes of Sea (cold wet dark female) and Sky (hot dry bright male). These forces are sterile and stagnant when separate, God emerged at their interacting boundaries as their synthesis, capable of creation. Life itself required God’s sacrifice of Its living spirit and the shedding of Its blood, which rendered sterile earth fertile and inhabitable and kicked of the perpetual death-rebirth flow of living spirit that maintains all life. The body is a reflection of this primordial state- it is maintained by the flow of living spirit (contained in the blood), and its core matter is an interactive mixture of primordial Hot Sky and Cold Sea, Warm in balance, with male and female physically differentiated by the presence of primordial extremes- the male has Hot testes, the female has Cold womb, the interaction of these extremes allow for creation.

(I promise this will have to do with semen retention eventually.)

Blood is understood as carrying the body’s living spirit, the animating force whose proper flow maintains life and health by balancing the body’s primordial extremes. Semen is a type of blood, given Hot nature by its isolation in the testes, and also carries the living spirit. It functions as the active seed of the living spirit. It is the Hot element planted in the Cold of the womb, the mingling of these forces allow for creation, and insemination with living spirit creates a living body that can host an immortal soul. (Wardi belief describes two souls- a living spirit that animates and maintains the body and an immortal soul that houses the mind).

Male gender designation revolves almost entirely around the testes, the Hot extreme of the body where semen is (assumed to be) produced and stored. In addition to its procreative functions, the testes are an organ whose function is to masculinize and strengthen the rest of the body. Each organ requires the proper flow of healthy blood/living spirit to function properly, and thus loss of this living spirit must be performed with great care- bloodletting in offering is highly controlled, bloodletting in medicine is carefully selected and done in accordance with balancing procedure. Since testes are regulated specifically by the living spirit in semen, semen should not be discharged with reckless abandon.

SOCIAL SEXUAL NORMS:

Cultural ideals for sexual behavior revolve around moderation and self-restraint. Sexuality itself is not demonized. There is nothing wrong with nonprocreative/nonmaritial sex in of itself (unless it is adultery on the part of a woman (male adultery is ostensibly bad too but is rarely treated as gravely), or a girl losing virginity prior to marriage, or it violates a litany of gender-sexual norms), but sexual RESTRAINT is an expectation.

Having an active but controlled libido is idealized, particularly in men. A man who is an absolute paragon of ideal masculinity has a libido, but is not ruled by it. He does not masturbate and rather seeks a partner for sexual release. He usually has a wife for this, and otherwise is capable of the patience and restraint to attain a quality sexual partner rather than finding the easiest release out of desperation. His partners are suitable to proper male interest, being good looking women or pretty beardless youths (going for 'unseemly' women or older, masculine men (so long as one performs the penetrative role) is not wholly unacceptable but suggests desperation and a weak control of libido).

This is an IDEAL and not strictly enforced- very few people will think you’re a weak failure of a man for jerking off sometimes or bragging about fucking some random tail, and hiring sex workers is entirely normalized (and will only be condemned if deemed notably ‘excessive’ and disruptive to a normal patriarchal role, or truly symptomatic of being unable to get laid without paying for it). Rather, if someone is already identified as a weak or effeminate man, ‘excessive libido’ may be cited as a cause or symptom, or rhetoric to criticize them.

THE SEMEN RETENTION:

Encouragement of semen retention/regulation stems out of both of these forces. Proper masculine social/sexual behavior encourages a limitation to discharge of semen, and medical thought deems it necessary for physical masculinization. A man who does not 'excessively' lose semen via an uncontrolled libido is thought to be physically more masculine- it is assumed to directly make the testes larger since they are Storing More Cum, but also to deepen the voice, assist in the growth and maintenance of the beard, and generally enhance strength, mental acuity, and vitality. Men are regarded as innately physically and mentally stronger than women, with the medical model slapped on as one of the means of explaining patriarchal norms (in addition to spiritual concerns of pollution and metaphysical vulnerability). Regulating semen is one of many behaviors that allows a man to stay this way.

This is also an element in why 'effeminacy' in men is linked to hypersexualization- there is an assumption that men who are physically or behaviorally non-masculine have exaggerated, uncontrolled libidos. Effeminancy or ‘softness’ in men is a failure to perform a wide set of behaviors and not strictly an accusation of receiving penetrative sex, but this is often an element- a man who receives is presumed so desperate and out of control of his libido that he will submit to debasement and shame for fulfillment (an un-masculine man who cannot be a penetrative partner could at least retain his dignity by having enough self-control to abstain entirely).

Some scholars, high ranking warriors, and politicians will (at least claim to) be functionally celibate and refrain from all discharge of semen in order to function at peak performance. This total abstinence is rare and NOT culturally mandated, and is often looked on with a little snide derision as a tryhard performance. More commonly, men will attempt to live a life with a controlled libido, and may temporarily abstain from sexual activity leading up to situations that require physical and mental acuity (combat, debate, sport, etc).

Of most concern to the average day to day person is accidental loss through nocturnal emission. While this is harmless every once in a while, it is cause for concern if it occurs frequently- your body is discharging part of its living spirit completely outside of your control, you are directly weakened by this and you don’t want this happening on a regular basis. Recurrent, frequent episodes may indicate polluted blood, or outright inhabitation by evil spirits.

The only level on which semen retention tends to be actively, directly enforced is with children. Teenage boys are typically discouraged from masturbating (especially during the early stages of puberty)- retention of semen masculinizes the body, therefore will contribute to a healthy and normative puberty and should be preserved at this vulnerable time. It is considered normal to chastise and punish a pubescent boy for masturbation. This is seen as preventing him from harming his health, and to teach him to regulate desire and exercise self control, one of many facets of shaping a boy into a proper man during this critical time. This norm does not contribute to children developing lingering psychological issues AT ALL.

Wardi traditional medicine is a holistic methodology of spiritual/physical treatment, using a base system of items (foods, animal parts, herbs, metals, stones) with Hot or Cold properties and individual Essences to manage imbalances in the body and it's blood/spirit flow and dispel evil spirits. This medical system (and related subdivisions of folk medicine) is commonly used to treat nocturnal emissions, and may also be used to lower libido and/or discourage teenage masturbation. These are largely medicines with Cold properties and noted anaphrodisiac Essence. Eels are a big one- given that eels, obviously, are sexless and emerge from river mud, their bodies are anaphrodisiacs and consumption of eel meat/eel based tinctures can lower libido (this should be done with caution, as it also lowers fertility in humans and animals). Medicines may be directly applied to the penis, this does not interfere with the intended function of the testes but subdues excess lust. Phallic amulets are worn regardless of gender and have holistic nonsexual protective properties, but may also help defend against nocturnal emission. Other medicines are worn in sachets that are tied around the hips during sleep, often weighted with lead. In very severe cases (mostly associated with other dysfunction), the penis or testes may be infected with polluted blood and should be bled.

---

Tangent: If the Wardi community had reddit you would occasionally see threads like "DAE eat their semen after masturbating so you don't actually lose any?" and most responses would be "no wtf" but there would be a decent number of people going "omg yes I thought I was the only one" "I mean that's kind of weird but I guess it makes sense if you really think about it" and then one very angry commenter ranting about how, No, eating your semen DOES NOT suffice as mitigation of the loss, this is why so many boys are SOFT AND EFFEMINATE these days, the men of old NEVER jacked off and NEVER ate their own cum and had MUCH FULLER BEARDS AND LARGER TESTICLES.

[sukibenders]

Intersectionality is something that, sadly, is often pushed to the side in Arcane discussions, specifically from a certain side of that fandom. They will go on and on about Viktor, as they usually do, talking about how he suffers from classicism and ableism within the show and fandom respectively (as they should as these are issues, but there is a catch when it comes to these fans as well), but when others in the fandom, especially Mel or even Sky fans, point out the racism and misogyny (misogynoir) that is often rampant in this fandom, particularly from said fans mentioned prior, all of a sudden its not possible or being overdramatized. Like they suddenly can't understand how some of their rhetoric includes or invites the same thing black fans have been calling out since the beginning, because how can you discuss the ableism and such that Viktor faces, but laugh or joke around with people who call Mel slurs or just denounce her to a trope? I thought you were for calling out forms of hate within fandom, or does your "activism" only stretch so far? And back to a previous statement, about the catch regarding those particularly fans----some of them regurgitate the same harmful rhetoric towards Viktor that they say they supposedly hate, just in mode subtle ways. How are you going to say you hate when Viktor is infantilized, but will be quick to forget he's a grown man who can defend himself (often when trying to pair him against Mel, framing her as the aggressor, and sometimes even Jayce too but to a lesser degree)? Not saying Jayce doesn't get equal amounts of hate, but his more so gets pushed aside along with his character to ultimately frame Viktor in higher regard, often making him ooc. It's like they pick and choose when the issues are prevalent, and when they aren't, and it's so frustrating.

[flowerakatsuka]

kuroba isn't the only person on staff at yotsubana florals, say hello to the other employees of the store!

[ txt transcription + more info under the cut! ]

NANA MIDORIYO ( meant to sound similar to " nanmo da yo, " a phrase meaning " don't worry about it " in the Hokkaido dialect )

~ 26 years old • she / her • 5'1" ( 154.9 cm )

One of the employees at Yotsubana Florals and a college friend of Kuroba's. Originally from Furano, Hokkaido. Dreams of starting a flower farm, works at Kuroba's shop to save towards that goal. Has a fiance back in her hometown named Azuma Shiraki, ( meant to sound similar to " azumashi, " an adjective from the Hokkaido dialect that describes something as comfortable or calming. ) Very sweet and care-free, a bit air-headed at times. Was one of Kuroba's fans back in college, but after a certain " karaoke incident, " she befriended them once she realized they were pretty down-to-earth and easy to talk to. A bit of a busybody when it comes to others' romantic lives, especially Kuroba's

Comes from a big family that runs an osen in Furano, youngest of 5 kids and grew up around a lot of her extended family.

Azuma was a friend of hers since middle school, but didn't confess his feelings to her until she came back from college. They've been engaged for a little over a year, he plans to move to Tokyo once they're officially married and go to school for agricultural economics, ( he wants to be helpful with Nana's dream. )

Kuroba calls her " Nanamo. "

HISOKA KIBATSU ( meaning " secret " & " unusual " respectively )

~ 17 years old • he / him • 5'8" ( 172.7 cm )

Another employee of Yotsubana Florals, a 2nd year student at Akatsuka Highschool and a friend of Kuroba's younger brother, Keshiki. He's a member of the school's Beautification Committee and idolizes Kuroba after finding a hydrangea care guide they wrote up for the incoming underclassmen years ago. Hopes to study botany in college. Comes across as a reserved and serious kid, ( if not a bit of a hardass, ) but is actually on the strange side and only really cares about plants. This extends to his grades, with Science being the only subject he does well in. Collects floral-themed socks and wears them according to the flower's blooming period.

Only child, raised by a single working mother. Grew up in Tokyo, but lives outside of Akatsuka so he commutes to school by train, ( usually with Keshiki. )

He met Keshiki in their first year of highschool, when the latter stopped by the Beautification Committee to check it out despite not wanting to join. Hisoka told him to get lost since he was wasting their time, but switched up real quick once he heard someone call him " Yotsubana. " Despite that rough first meeting, they actually ended up getting along pretty well and became close since then.

Popular with girls, but is extremely indifferent about it and shrugs them off. This kinda pisses Keshiki off, ( like be grateful, damn it, ) but he usually shuts up once Hisoka tells him he'd rather hang out with him.

Kuroba usually calls him " Hisoka-kun " or " Hiso-kun. " Hisoka is very keen on calling them " Sensei " in return, even though they'd prefer he'd not. Also, has called them dad at least once and is forever embarrassed about it.

AAAAND, for a little bonus : here's what they think of the shop's most loyal loiter and temp employee.

[souenkun]

I won't ever stop laughing at how sweet lance and lyra's interaction with ethan is... and then there's silver lmaooo 😭🤚 his seiyuu (yuki ono) nails this line!!! 🤣💖

For context, here' their translated lines with ethan:

Lance: with ethan, I can go all out!

Lyra: with ethan, no matter who the opponent is, I won't get scared!

Silver: ethan, you're coming with me!

[akemiiya]

thinking abt an au where siffrin joins the party first before mirabelle gets to jouvente...

[qwainte]

So many Astarion fans will just... straight up lie or refuse to contextualize Wyll's interactions with Astarion in order to demonize him.

Say what you want about Wyll being arrogant or corny but Astarion is canonically evil (In DnD, alignments aren't a matter of opinion. Whether or not this is a good mechanic is not the point of this post so don't even bother). We don't get to see much companion/companion interaction outside of short barks, but we as players can infer that Wyll knows what type of person Astarion is.

Every time Astarion approves of the player character making a heinous decision or disapproves of a moral one, you're supposed to assume that Wyll and the other companions are right there observing. He has ample reason not to trust or like this guy, but Astaristans frame Wyll as petty and vindictive. They give so much grace to the 200+ year old vampire who can't muster up a modicum of sympathy for slaves that aren't himself, but can't give any of that to the ~24 year old monster hunter who has dedicated his life to helping those in need.

I'm not the one to usually assume someone is racist based on the sole reason of hating a black character, but the way they insist Wyll is secretly a bad person because he dislikes Astarion has me side-eyeing them so hard. It's hard not to feel this way as a black person, especially with how often black characters are held to much higher standards than white characters within fandoms.

Keep in mind, I love Astarion. He is probably one of my favorite companions in any RPG I have played, but I'm not going to pretend the way fellow fans of his talk about Wyll doesn't bother me.

[oxymoronicdumbass]

i will call myself autistic and people will think i'm just using it as a silly, chronically online, tiktok-diagnosed-me term, and then they'll spend a little bit more time with me and they're like oh

[wikitpowers]

[WARNING! TLKOF CHAPTER SPOILERS AHEAD] 🚨

WELCOME WELCOME! LET'S LOOK AT ASH MORGENSTERN BEING WHIPPED AS HELL FOR DRU BLACKTHORN IN TLKOF CH.1, SHALL WE?

genuinely i cannot even count the amount of times that we got protective!ash in this chapter, like i swear the whole purpose of him being there is to keep dru safe. “this shadowhunter is under the protection of my court now” okay, lover boy <3

no bc this scene makes me think he's just flexing his powers in front of dru (and tbh it works, my girl is hella impressed) he’s so extra~

oh oh no :') this man really 1) said her full name 2) admitted he remembers her well and 3) was genuinely offended when she went "who tf are u and how do u know my name?" HE IS JUST THE BIGGEST SIMP I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

just me or hint of jealousy here??? he's like who tf is luke???? and also he basically admits that nobody forced him to protect her from the goblins and yet! here he is! GET A LIFE, LOSER! 🗣️

"he took a step toward her" yeah really not surprising. he always wants to be close to her. but is it just me or did i get major enemies-to-lovers from this like her saying he doesn’t like shadowhunters and then him stepping towards her ooooo tension!!!

ash went "dad, stop! you're embarrassing me!" + i just know this man had a fucking aneurysm when dru said his name like he deffo swooned

SORRY BUT HE CLOSED HER FINGERS OVER IT???? AND HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO GIVE HER ANY PROOF OF FAERIE MAGIC LIKE HE OWES HER NOTHING, THEY DON'T KNOW EACH OTHER??? AND HE'S LIKE "TAKE THIS FOR UR SILLY LITTLE ACADEMY PROJECT"????? AND ALSO HIS TOUCH WAS WARM BC DUDE WAS BURNING UP FROM BEING IN HER PRESENCE :')

additionally, i'm convinced the reason his eyes were the last thing dru saw is bc he was staring at her intensely, wanting to remember her as she is now and their whole interaction (but also dru was for sure mesmerised by his sea-glass green eyes <3)

god this was super long but here is my post about dru being an equal simp for ash! <3

[the-way-astray]

alright everybody can we please stop tagging me/talking about me in the notes of pro keefe/sokeefe posts. i know strieefe has made it so that it's really funny to talk about how much i love him and how much i'm in denial when i say negative things about him under those posts (and that's all in good fun and not the problem), but we have to think about the fact that the ops are just trying to make a positive post and probably don't want a keefe hater in their notes /srs

[beloved-child-of-the-house]

i stand with you in the face of a defensive misunderstanding of what critique is.

i think understanding what a critique actually is is a skill that increasingly is not taught. i remember going through freshman art courses feeling the frustration that all negative, nasty, unhelpful, and missed-the-point-entirely feedback is so commonly conflated with critique, and then critique gets a bad name because everyone remembers the time someone said their painting looked like an asshole (true story, altho now i think i would take it as a compliment) instead of the time a teacher or friend or classmate helped them uncover a hurtful bias or think of new ways to explore the same idea or how to connect it to related ideas or how to look up and understand other people's ideas on the same topic.

anyway i think you're great.

ahhh you're so kind to me!! i appreciate your support, and i think you are great also.

i have experience with giving and receiving critique as a student myself, and i think it was the best part of my degree! i majored in creative writing in college, and critique was just a generally accepted part of learning to become a writer. i don't even remember people being especially worried about receiving critique on their work. we had guidance on what kind of feedback was useful, but we were still at liberty to give it as we saw fit as like messy 19 year olds. the standard was that we gave it both written on printed copies of the work AND aloud in front of the whole class, and the writer receiving it was not permitted to speak during the critique. understanding how people are perceiving your work is important!

i don't have any particularly negative recollections of the critique process, although once in a high school writing class, the boys in the class told me that my male characters touched each other too gently and real boys are more rough with each other. in particular, they took issue with me writing that one boy nudged another. nudging is too soft. nudging is for girls. that was more than 20 years ago, and i still think about it sometimes because it was such an interesting perspective! i did not take their advice, though.

i should dig up that piece and see if it reads queer in any other ways. i think that's what they were getting at. (actually i once had a non-fiction class tell me i was in love with my roommate after reading an essay i wrote about her)(i did not listen to that advice either, but having 12 acquaintances tell you that you're gay in 2006 before you realize it yourself is Truly Something!)

i think people have conflated criticism and critique and think that being more openly analytical is the same thing as being negative. but analysis is so fun to me! analysis is why i joined fandom in the first place, and it's why i write fic! can we trust each other to be respectful and to speak in good faith even when we're not singing each other's praises? for me fandom would be better if we could.

oh i also want to clarify that i don't think it's impossible to demonstrate that you've thought deeply about a piece of fanwork while remaining completely positive. people do it all the time and do it very well!

i know i sometimes have tunnel vision wrt my own perspective. in a lot of situations, i wish it were more acceptable to be more direct, and i know people sometimes find the way i express myself to be kind of shocking. i know a lot of people like to be spoken to more indirectly than comes natural to me, and i don't mean to imply that my perspective is the only correct one or that there's no good reason to err on the side of gentleness/politeness in our responses to amateur art and writing. i just think that at a certain level of circumspection, it feels like we're all holding each other at arm's length.

i think for people who can't bear to feel exposed, making and sharing art is always going to be painful and difficult, and maybe too painful and difficult to enjoy the process unless they're sure of a soft landing. but like. the rewards of being loved only come after the mortifying ordeal of being known, right?

[the-voldsoy]

Ethics Town: Ship's Theseus thoughts<3:

the title is making me so excited I love the ship of Theseus

DAVID AULTTTT

holy fuck brain transplants ?? I love fictional unethical science experiments<33

diversity win! the man about to commit medical atrocities is gay! 🏳️‍🌈

HE KNOWS ??? whaugh ??? ? ???? ?????

oh God.

[maiuoart]

I will always say that US and SFR Papyrus' will be royal enemies...

Honey/Stretch/Carrot for the pure fact he could see that if he took a wrong turn, if he grew up in a different sense of time, he would turn out to be such a killer, a menace, a creature of habit... Glad He turned out how he did. Thankful to those who helped him along the way.

Mutt/Russ/Pup would despise such an easy goer, how he looks down on him despite all the hardships he's gone through, all the difficult aspects he had to push through just to survive- To make sure his family survived...

There's reasons why Stretch calls Mutt a Packmule- It's because the dude does all the heavy lifting, does everything he's told, absolutely sees him as nothing more than a being who listens to orders...

And there's reasons why Mutt calls Stretch a Pandsy- Can't take a hint, takes everything too close to the soul, can't appreciate the good in life, doesn't even take responsibility for his own actions...

But in the end; At least they can say they were there for their little brothers. At least they both can get along with the other- Stretch might hate how sassy Black can be, but he can see how fun it is to tease him. He's extra- He shows a side like how Blue does when being teased but so much deeper. And Mutt sees that Blue needs a shoulder sometimes- That he needs to be told he isn't alone, he's cared for, he's watched over, even if he feels like he isn't sometimes.

Mutt teases his little brother; But not to the extremes like Stretch pulls.

Stretch is there for his little brother; But tries to quickly to cheer his brother up when he really needs a shoulder to lean on like Mutt can provide.

[keeps-ache]

there is nothing that will grow your ego faster than a little dog following you around instead listening of anyone else. my puppy now