#and it was also the one where he talked about overcoming obstacles in their relationship

[redgoldblue]

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[natalchartnurtures]

PAC: What Greek Mythology love story would you and your FS be?

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[pile 1 to 3- left to right]

Just came out of a bone-crushing healing and shadow work period for my Kundalini Awakening going on right now T-T In an attempt to raise my spirits, I created my very first FS reading-

pile 1:

General vibe of your love story with your FS-

This is the movie pile. I see a full-blown movie arc in my mind’s eye for your love story with your FS. I see an opening at- you guys meeting, the middle act- your separation and individual trials, and the final act- the happy reunion! OBVIOUSLY, there's nuance to how all of this will unfold for each of y’all reading since it's real life we're talking about, but your story with your FS is the closest thing to a happily-ever-after if I've ever seen one.

It's like when y’all first met, y’all were young, or maybe some of y’all didn't know how to handle a relationship or didn't have the resources in the 3D (think money or a place of your own, something like that) to make this relationship happen? Maybe it was long distance for a looong time? And so, for whatever reason (along said lines) y’all had to let each other go or y’all couldn't be together. It's like y’all were shown a grand possibility to be together, and BOOM it was taken away.

Then you guys enter a separation period right after, and the length of this period will differ for everybody reading, anywhere between months to a couple of years. After having worked HARD on yourselves ON YOUR OWN to overcome your personal issues, traumas, and suffering, you guys come together. The key to really mastering your obstacles is in the day to day. You will have set routines to tackle your obstacles, such as say you’ve got anxiety or a dys-regulated nervous system, so maybe you'll always have a stress relief meditation scheduled in no matter how your day looks. So on and so forth, fill in the details of this period as it best suits your life. But the common denominator, I feel like, is that y’all really fight to be with one another. The love is so deep here, and that's what motivates each of you to overcome your personal hurdles, yk? And THEN, when it happens, and y’all reunite, it's sooo beautiful. It's like you guys will build a brand new life together where you can put the past behind and finally enjoy the fruits of your labor! Also, I see you guys growing and blossoming over time with your FS upon reunion 🥺✨.

So… which Greek myth sums up YOUR love story with your FS the best?

drum roll

It’s the story of Cupid and Psyche!

From what I’ve read about this story, Cupid and Psyche couldn’t immediately be together after they met. Cupid could only meet Psyche at night AND she’s not even allowed to see him! T-T This was part of what Psyche has to overcome- the challenges put forth by Aphrodite just because the goddess was jealous of Psyche. And poor Cupid had self-esteem issues from what I gather lmao. He didn't even feel worthy to show his mortal wife what he REALLY looked like (which, by the way, is GORGEOUS af?! Like who hurt you, Cupid?) They eventually overcome their odds and reunite. Eventually, Jupiter blesses Psyche with immortality, which allows them to live forever in their new life happily ever after. Ahhh… beautiful.

I encourage you to read the original story (or watch it on YT, do whatever you like :p) to pick up on any additional messages! Buuut that’s all I have for you lovely folks today.

Love and loads of light, sweet pea :)

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pile 2:

General vibe of your love story with your FS-

Reeeeally strongly coming in right off the bat, I feel like both you AND your FS will be turning a brand new leaf in your lives. Think a new job for one or both of you. A major relocation for one or both of you. A major relationship ending for one or both of you. You catch the drift, right?

It feels like y’all will be closing out a cycle and entering into a new era, so to speak. And in this new era, I sense that you'll keep mostly to yourself and aren't all that interested in anybody because you're still processing this BIG shift you just went through and you're reflecting a lot, drawing on your wisdom, staying in your lane. Ngl, you do feel vulnerable and raw too, which is probably why you seem to keep to yourself mostly during the time you might run into your FS. I sense the same from their end too.

You know what this is? Mutual healing. Your future spouse finds you at a time when you're in the dead center of healing and vice versa. You will both be the catalysts to each other's healing! How cool is that? And after y’all find stability in your journey together especially after navigating healing for so long… I see y’all being so comfortable and content and peaceful with one another 🥺 this makes my heart full!! Stop it! Ahhhhhh <3 The vibes are immaculate, it's giving 'comrades in the battlefield' kinda energy. Your FS will stick with you no matter what, literally. And that's the kind of loyalty many people only dream about. Love it 🤌🏾. Y’all will love each other's pain away 🥺😩. Ugh my heart can't take it anymore!

So… which Greek myth sums up YOUR love story with your FS the best?

drum roll

It’s the story of Odysseus and Penelope!

Now in the story of Odysseus and Penelope, both of them undergo significant changes and face major disruptions in their lives. Odysseus’s long journey home from the Trojan War and Penelope’s long period of waiting and dealing with suitors at home. BUT even in Odysseus's absence, Penelope remains faithful and focused on her own survival and household. Similarly, Odysseus endures many trials and tribulations. Both characters are found in a state of self-reflection in the face of personal challenges (in my humble opinion of course). Their reunion symbolizes mutual healing… both of our characters here show incredible loyalty and perseverance despite being apart for 20 years!

-Side note: on a completely different note, your story low key kinda reminds me of the story of James and Claire from Outlander >< shoutout to the Outlander fans hehehehe, I'm waiting for the 9th season to come out SO BAD ughhhh lmao-

I encourage you to read the original story (or watch it on YT, do whatever you like :p) to pick up on any additional messages for yourself! Annnnd that’s all I have for you lovely folks today.

Love and loads of light, sweet pea :)

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pile 3:

General vibe of your love story with your FS-

Ah.. my Pile number 3s.. you guys are afraid to love.. aren't you? You might be blocked off from your heart and as a result won’t be open to true reciprocal and healthy love for a WHILE. But then I see that the divine will enter your life in some way and shake you up in a big way to show you how you've been standing in your own way and keeping love at a distance.. I'm seeing the tower card in my third eye as I say this even though it hasn't come out for you today.

Ah, this is like a personal journey I see you taking before your FS comes in and swoops you off your pretty lil feet 🙃 tehe! Your energy seems quite mental to me. You love living in your head, thinking, planning, analyzing, and just knowing things. But this came at the grave cost of not being connected to your heart.. and when the divine intervenes and helps you connect to your heart again is when your FS comes in flying ✨.

Side note: Ooh.. suddenly I hear Lavender Haze by our queen Taylor Swift? Take that only if it resonates for you :]

But yea, I see you struggling and feeling out of control when all of this happens because you're used to being in control of things usually but now all of this has you a bit overwhelmed I'm ngl.. but you end up navigating this perfectly well! Yay! I'm glad haha 😅🫂👏🏾

So… which Greek myth sums up YOUR love story with your FS the best?

drum roll

The story of Pygmalion and Galatea!

Yup, just like how Pygmalion accidentally manifested Galatea, you kinda accidentally manifest your future spouse too (low key reeeal funny ngl). Because Pygmalion refused to love anybody, he sculpted out his perfect woman and fell in love with his creation. His deep affections attract the attention of you guessed it Aphrodite herself, and she decides to ahem intervene. She brings Galatea to life, which represents the transformation of Pygmalion's mental fixation (and emotional disconnection) TO emotional CONNECTION. How perfectly beautiful. Ugh. Love your story, Pile 3. Gosh.. who doesn't love their FS simply falling into their laps? Haha

I encourage you to read the original story (or watch it on YT, do whatever you like :p) to pick up on any additional messages! Soooo that’s all I have for you lovely folks today.

Love and loads of light, sweet pea :)

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[snapghoul]

Why Twisters is an amazing movie

Brought to you by snapghoul and their film degree

I really love analyzing films and I need to talk about this movie so badly. Get cozy, grab a nice drink because this is a long one.

Spoilers below

[ Part 2 ]

1) Disaster film - Human vs Nature

Disasters films are one of the most difficult movies to write and shoot because it’s human vs nature and people can only do so much. They are to remind us that we are very fragile, nature very dangerous, and a visual metaphor for the illusion of control. Making a film like this also requires a lot of CGI or a balanced mix of practical effects which in most films today is not as common due to budget.

When looking at films like San Andres (2015) or Day After Tomorrow (2004), both films are more action based. San Andres is written worse to worse before it gets better which is externally common in films like these, the earth quakes that lead to a tsunami and so on. The film also ends with the hopeful “we won” with the American flag and everyone recovering.

What makes Twisters stand out is the presence of the disasters are there but they aren’t what drive the characters solely, the tornadoes themselves are actually a subplot. It’s not tragedy after tragedy, like there’s an ungodly amount of tornadoes at once and people are dying left and right. And when people died it wasn’t graphic, I appreciated that very much that it was only people being swept away and not bloody. The tornadoes themselves only take up about 30 minutes of the 2 hour movie, which is very little compared to other storm films.

The main story is Kate working to overcome her trauma and relearning how to love chasing and being in the field again. They are an obstacle that do end being the “antagonist” towards the end of the film where Kate drives into the EF5 to stop it. Twisters is more written in a way to respect nature, to see the beauty and the power of the earth. Twisters also ends more ambiguous, there is the moment of triumph but it’s very short lived before the resolution of Javi, Kate and Tyler at the airport.

2) Kate’s Character & Relationships

Kate is one of the best written female protagonists I’ve seen in a very long time. Through the film she is struggling to over come a lot of trauma while also trying to juggle her crumbled friendship with Javi and her disconnection with her mother. Her struggles are very real, they weren’t played down or exaggerated, she had realistic response to being in a tornado again after the death of her friends. They also show her reliving that event many times, in the beginning we see a “ghost” of Jeb telling she’s okay, the moment she sees a tornado with Javi up close, she stumbles back and the voices of Jeb as they’re riding out the storm in the pool and how she grabs Tyler’s hand for a second to see if he was still there.

I personally loved that she refused to acknowledge her fear when around others because that is a very human thing, many people do it which makes her very dimensional and relatable. How she didn’t give Ben her last name, how she told Riggs she wasn’t scared. It’s such a real things that it makes me froth at the mouth because it such good writing.

As many people are upset that Kate and Tyler didn’t kiss, I actually agree on why they cut it out, it’s not about their budding romance. In movies there are many different subplots, in Twisters, Kate and Tyler are I would say around subplot C. Which I LOVED, i loved that they didn’t have all her problems fixed by a love interest or how his character downplayed her intelligence. In fact he elevated her character, Tyler is there to remind her the passion and fun of their field, he is also a blank slate with Kate, he has no preconceptions about her or history which allows her to open up and reignite her passion she had before.

And her hair symbolism! How we see it slowly gets more brown and less bright beach blonde that we see in New York.

Kate and Javi’s relationship I would also place at subplot B, Javi trying to get Kate back in the field but doing it in a not so right way. They have some unresolved issues between them regarding the trauma they share and it rears its head multiple times. The line “three of my best friends died while you were trying to land a big fat grant.” Was a real nail in the coffin for them but also it opened Javi’s character development up for the end of the film. Not only that but they and audience known that he agreed to getting the money at the beginning. So them splitting up was good because neither of them could get what they wanted or process anything when they were together. And in the end the come back together when they grow and change.

Also have to mention Kate and her mom, because it’s more growth for Kate, her mom comes in as the mentor character type, she refused to let Kate throw anything away and pushed her and Tyler together because she saw what he was doing.

3) Tyler Owens & The Wranglers

Of course I have to talk about our favorite tornado cowboy. His character is so interesting, he adds so much to each character, like a said above he only lifted Kate up.

But what I loved most about him was the infectious enthusiasm and passion he just oozed about weather. Even with the cocky YouTube personality he was having fun which was a contrast to Javi and Kate who were there on business. He is also very bright, instead of having a self taught chaser he had a degree, he knows what he’s doing and how to be safe while doing stupid stuff. The scenes where we see him showing her science side were some of my favorites, seeing him geek out over the storms and setting up models just showed he’s as much as a nerd and Kate.

His character is also very compassionate as well as the wranglers. We learn they sell merch so they can provide free food and water to survivors, that Tyler and Boone spent a while looking for a dog and that Lilly offered Kate food before she left. We see Tyler put himself in danger for the safety of others many times but not in a hero archetype way, he’s not a hero in any way, he’s a man who deeply cares, understands tragedy and knows how important friends and family are.

4) Music & Sound

Oh my god, the music in the film is phenomenal. Sound makes up a good majority of a movie, without good sound a film can flop. What I loved most about it was a lot of the music was diegetic: taking place in the world and can be heard by the characters. Seen(or heard) Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma playing through the speakers as the wranglers roll up, accompanied by a shot of the loud speakers on the motor home and the audio editing to make it sound like it’s coming from said speakers. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky blasting while they go to shoot fireworks, seeing Tyler whipping the truck through the field very recklessly also sets up that these characters are wild and obnoxious. Boone singing along to Dead End Road while loading flares, it adds another element of fun for them to interact with the music instead of it there so let for aesthetics.

If there was music for the action scenes, it wasn’t overpowering, in fact i barely noticed it until my third watch through.

The soundtrack is also really good, I’m not a huge country fan but my god did I by that OST vinyl so fast.

5) The Trucks

This is an honorable mention, but the red sped up dually ram was a character in its self. Once again showing the rugged and fun loving wranglers when put next to StormPAR’s pristine white trucks which is also a metaphor for Javi that we see it gets dirtier and dirtier as the film progresses and his character changes. But also how the red ram represents Tyler, he’s very safety oriented and the truck is a part of him and protects Kate during the final storm. She puts her trust in it and lets nature run it course instead of fighting it, something Tyler was trying to teach her. Not to run from it but to ride it.

But also Tyler ripping that rig through fields going 75mph is also just so funny to me.

I love symbolism.

I’m gonna stop it here before I write a whole essay about this which I might. But if you haven’t seen this movie I highly recommend it, it’s PG-13 so I suggest being careful watching this with little ones if you have them, the CGI storms can get a little freaky.

(Please let me know if you want more, I will gladly talk more)

[fury-brand]

Bizarre to me how unanimous the csm 167 tag is about interpreting this chapter as being SA and primarily about consent. I don't think it's either of those things.

Part 2 of CSM has had a lot to do with desire. The tension between Denji's desire for a normal life and his desire to be chainsaw man, and Asa's struggle to feel any desire at all, up to and including the desire to keep living at one point. A couple chapters back Denji talks about eating toilet paper and how it's impossible to go back. Part of what he's expressing and has been expressing is this idea that desire is ruinous. You can't go back to eating toilet paper once you've overcome desperation and been "ruined" by the desire for food. His desire for chainsaw man's violence has superceded his desire for a normal life and "ruined" it. Leading up to this he's saying his dick (his desire) has ruined everything.

But the answer isn't to cut off desire, the desire to be treated with dignity, the desire for a life where you are fulfilled, or sexual desire. Asa has been illustrating that. I think what's happening in this chapter is happening in the context of frustrated desire, both Asa and Denji's.

Asa has been very touchy about sex so far. She thinks that it's gross, and thinks that Denji is gross for wanting it. It's an obstacle to realizing their relationship more fully. But she's also heartsick and lonely, and in the same way Denji erroneously filters all his desire for intimacy through a desire for sex, Asa seems cut off from her desire completely. What happens in 167 directly confronts Asa with her feelings about sex, both Denji's and her own. It seems like Yoru is actually acting on Asa's repressed desires, and perhaps the two are not as separable as we once thought. They start kissing as a direct result of her remembering that they have kissed already before!

And this is chainsaw man so the whole thing is messy and awkward and certainly a mixed experience, but I will be surprised if the characters' enduring feelings about this will be that they've been violated or traumatized. Asa and Denji are peers. Asa is explicitly contrasting with other women Denji has encountered, being squeamish about sex rather than willing to exploit Denji's desire for it for her own ends. Denji's sexual desire is as real as his desire for connection. And Asa's desires for love are real, too -- Yoru seems to be acting on Asa's repressed desires, which were even more deeply hidden from her by Nayuta (a far less ambiguous violation, by the by). Reading what's occuring between them as unambiguously non-consensual and disgusting makes less sense than reading it as messy confrontation of the barriers in their relationship that will need to be surmounted for them to make the connection they're circling and desperately craving.

Anyway, plenty of people have said chainsaw man is often about sexual assault and so what were people expecting, but they're coming up a little short:

Chainsaw man is also about sex. Not just in the context of trauma, not just as a narrative tool to abuse Denji, just sex and desire and the awkward teen years that demand the negotiation of both.

[ladyluscinia]

Ok, I think I might be exiting the "are you fucking kidding me?" period and ready to make a real argument, so lets talk about Three Act Structure!

Is OFMD S2 just the "Darkest Hour"?

A very common explanation I've been seeing for some of the... controversial... aspects of S2 is that it's meant to be that way. That the middle act is where the protagonists hit their lowest point. Where we get the big failure point. Where everything looks kind of shit.

S2 is supposedly just that point. It's The Empire Strikes Back. People have been making that comparison since before the first episodes even dropped, telling everyone to expect something that could be disappointing or unsatisfying - it's just a matter of needing to wait for S3 to pull it all together.

It's not a baseless framework to consider the show through - I'm pretty sure David Jenkins has mentioned it in interviews (or at least mentioned he planned for three acts / seasons) so it's certainly worth asking how he's doing at the 2/3rd mark.

So - quick summary of Three Act Structure:

Act 1 introduces our characters and world. It includes the inciting incident of the story and the first plot point, where a) the protagonist loses the ability to return to their normal life, and b) the story raises whatever dramatic question will drive the entire plot. Act 2 is rising action and usually most of the story. The protagonist tries to fix things and fucks them up worse, in the process learning new skills and character developing to overcome their flaws. Act 3 is the protagonist taking one more shot, but this time they are ready. We get the climax of the story, the dramatic question gets an answer, and then the story closes.

If you want examples, the Star Wars Original Trilogy is a very popular template. And, hell, he said it was a pirate story... the main Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy also does a solid job with their three acts.

Let's compare. (Spoiler: I'm not impressed 🤨)

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First thing I need to establish... Wait. Two things. First is that Three Act Structure is flexible, so we can't really analyze success or failure by pulling up a list of necessary plot beats that should have been hit in X order. Second is that if you tell me you are writing a romance with a Three Act Structure - where "the relationship is the story" - the first thing I'm going to do is ask you how you are adapting it. Because while there's not necessarily anything preventing you from applying this to a character driven plot, most people are familiar with it as plot structure for externally driven conflict.

Unless there's a reason the status of the main relationship is intrinsically tied up in the current status of the war against the evil empire, a standard Three Act Structure is going to entail either an antagonistic force that absolutely wants your main couple apart being the main relationship obstacle OR the romance aspect being a subplot to the protagonist's narrative adventure. None of those sound like how the show has been described.

So how is OFMD adapting it?

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Act 1

(Can't figure out how well Act 2 is doing if we don't start at setup.)

Right out the gate, OFMD breaks one of the main "rules" for a story where the Acts are delivered in three parts. Namely the one where the first Act is treated as an acceptable standalone story, with it's own satisfying yet open ended conclusion.

In Star Wars, A New Hope ends with the princess rescued, Luke finding the Force, Han finding his loyalty, and the Death Star destroyed. The Empire isn't defeated, the antagonists still live... the story is not over, but this one movie doesn't feel unfinished.

Similarly, Curse of the Black Pearl gives Jack his ship back, Elizabeth and Will get together, and Norrington has the English Navy let them all off the hook and give Jack and the pirates one day's head start.

OFMD's final beat of S1 being Kraken Arc starting is not that, even if Stede returning to sea is still a pretty hopeful note. Now... I don't necessarily think this was a bad call. At least, not if the story is the relationship. It's easy to close on a happy ending and then fuck it up next movie if the conflict is external and coming for them. Not so much if you're driving the story with your protagonists' flaws, in part because it should be really obvious at the end of setup that your main characters need development and can't run off together right now. I actually like that they were risk-takers and let S1 look at the situation clearly vs doing a fragile happy end, because it takes into account the difference between a character-driven and plot-driven narrative.

I think OFMD's Act 1 actually ends at maybe the Act of Grace? Well, there through the kiss on the beach, counting as our "first plot point" before everything goes wrong, basically.

At that point, they have setup the story and characters. We've been introduced to Edward and Stede's current issues. Signing the Act of Grace does make the intertwined arcs between them real - it's no longer a situation that either one of them could just walk away from like it was in 1x07 - and we narrow in on the (alleged) driving question of the show:

It's not about "Will Stede become a great pirate?" or "Will we develop a better kind of piracy for the crew?" - the show is the relationship and the big question is "What is Stede and Edward's happy ending?"

Act 1 ends on their first solution, being together and making each other happy and admitting it's more than just friendship. Act 2 starts, appropriately, by saying both of them are currently too flawed for that to go anywhere but crashing and burning.

Now... looking back, what does Act 1 do well vs poorly?

I think it's really strong on giving us the foundation for BlackBonnet's characters and flaws. We aren't surprised Stede goes home or Edward goes Kraken (or at least... we weren't supposed to be surprised. There are still a lot of holdouts blaming Izzy for interrupting Edward's "healing" despite how at this point in the story it doesn't make sense for Edward to have the skills to heal... but I digress). The relationship question is compelling at the end of S1, the cliffhanger hooks, and the fandom explosion of fics did not come from nowhere - the audience was invested.

I also think Act 1 does a great job of settling us in the universe. We understand the rules it abides by, from how gay pirates are just a fact of life to how there's no important organs on the left side of the body. Stede has a muppety force field. Rowboats have homing devices, and port is always as close as you want it to be. Scurvy is a joke. The overblown violence of pirate life is mostly a joke, but we are going to take the violence of childhood trauma seriously.

Lucius's fake-out death, while technically part of Act 2, works well because Act 1 did a good job of priming everyone to go "obviously this show wouldn't kill a crew member for shock value, and we're 100% supposed to suspend disbelief about how he could have survived getting flung into the sea in the middle of the night." And we do. And we get rewarded for it.

Regarding antagonists - a big focus of any setup - the show is deliberately weak. The one with the most screentime is Izzy, and he's purposefully ineffective at separating our main couple. Every antagonist is keyed to a particular character, and they function mostly to inform us of that character's flaws and development requirements. The Badmintons tell us about Stede's repression and feelings of inadequacy, and Izzy tells us about Edward's directionless discontent and tendency to avoid his problems. Effectively - the show is taking the stance this will be a character driven narrative where Stede and Edward's flaws are the source of problems and development the solution. No person or empire (or social homophobia) is separating them...

...which leads me to something not present - there nothing really about the struggle of piracy against the Empire. Looking at Curse of the Black Pearl... we see piracy is in danger. The Black Pearl itself is described as the last great pirate threat the British Navy needs to conquer. Hangings are omnipresent - Jack is sentenced to die by one almost as soon as he's introduced to the story, when his only act so far had been to wander around and save Elizabeth from drowning. OFMD tries to invoke this kind of struggle in 2x08, but there's no foundation. Our Navy antagonists are Stede's childhood bullies, and so focused on Stede the crew isn't even in danger when they get caught. The Republic of Pirates is getting jokes about being gentrified, not besieged.

Even the capture of Blackbeard by the Navy is treated as a feather in Wellington's cap but not a huge symbolic blow against piracy... because we just do not have that grand struggle woven into Act 1. You only know the "Golden Age of Piracy" is ending if you google it, or have watched a bunch of pirate shows.

Overall, a solid Act 1, well adapted to the kind of story they've said they were looking to tell - a romance in the (silly-fied) age of piracy, instead of a pirate adventure with a romantic subplot.

---

Now, Sidebar - Where is the story going?

The thing about the dramatic question - in OFMD's case: "What is Stede and Edward's happy ending?" - is that a) there's normally more than one question bundled up in that one + sideplots, and b) while you aren't supposed to have the answer yet, you can usually guess what needs to happen to give you the answer.

Back to our examples... Luke's driving question is "Will the Empire be defeated?" Simple. Straightforward. Also: "Will Luke become a Jedi?" The eventual climax of our story from there is pretty obvious... the story is over when Luke wins the war for the Rebellion in a Jedi way. That's the goal that they are working toward.

Pirates of the Caribbean is a bit more complicated. We're juggling more characters and have a less defined heroic journey, but there are driving questions like "Is Jack Sparrow a good man?" and "Is Will Turner a pirate / what does that mean?" and even "Will the British Navy defeat piracy?" They get basic answers in Curse of the Black Pearl, and far more defined ones in At World's End. Still, this is another plot-driven narrative. They've laid the foundations for the Pirates vs Empire struggle, and when that final battle turns into the trilogy climax then you know what's happening.

OFMD is not doing a plot-driven narrative. To judge how they are doing at their goals, we have to ask what they think a happy ending entails in a character sense.

Clearly it's not the classic romantic sideplot, where the climax is the first kiss / acknowledgement of feelings. They've teased a wedding in Word of God comments a lot, so that's probably our better endpoint. Specifically, though, a wedding where both of our protagonists aren't ready to flee from the altar (big ask) and where they've both grown enough that their flaws / mutual tendencies to run away from life problems won't tank the relationship.

In Stede's case it's still massive feelings of inadequacy and being too repressed to talk about his problems. Also he ran away from his family to chase a lifelong dream of being a pirate - "Is Stede going to find fulfillment in being a pirate captain, or will the real answer be love?" Edward meanwhile expresses a desire to quit piracy and retire Blackbeard, but we also find out he's struggling with massive self-loathing and guilt from killing his father - "Is retiring what Edward wants to do, or is he just running away?"

If they are going to get to a satisfying wedding beat at the climax of their story, what character beats do we need to hit in advance?

Off the top of my head - both characters need to self-realize their flaws (a pretty necessary demand of anyone who runs away from problems). They are set up to balance each other well, but also to miscommunicate easily. They have to tell each other about or verbally acknowledge that self-realization so it can be resolved. Stede has to decide how much being a pirate means to him. Edward has to decide if he's retiring and what he wants to do. They both need to show something to do with getting past their childhood traumas given all the flashbacks. Through all this, they also need to hit the normal romance beats that convince the audience they are romantically attracted to each other and like... want to get married.

Oh, and this is more of a genre-specific sideplot, but once they demonstrate a behavior that hurts the people who work for them, they need to then demonstrate later how it won't happen again. Proof of growth, which is kind of important in a comedy where a lot of the humor is based in them being massively self-centered assholes. Stede doesn't earn his acceptance in the community until he kicks Calico Jack off the ship, making up for causing the situation with Nigel in the first episode. A workplace comedy can get a lot of material from the boss as the worker's antagonist, but if you want the bosses to stay sympathetic you have got to throw them some opportunities to earn it.

All that sounds like a lot, but like - the relationship is the story, right? If we spend so much time on establishing flaws big enough to drive a story, we also have to spend time on fixing them. Which is where the turning point hits.

---

Act 2: How it Starts

This is where the full story reality-checks your protagonist. Glad you saved your boyfriend and embraced new love in Act 1, but his repressed guilt means he's about to completely ghost you, and your own abandonment issues and self-loathing are about to make his dick move into everyone else's problem.

Again, it's a non-conventional choice OFMD has this start at the very end of S1 rather than with a sudden dark turn in the S2 premiere, but it's still pretty clearly that point in the Three Act Structure.

In Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back opens with a timeskip to our Rebellion getting absolutely crushed and hiding on a miserable frozen planet. The Empire finds them as the plot is kicking off and they have to desperately flee. They get separated. Han and Leia try to go to an ally for help and end up in Vader's clutches. It's a sharp turn from the victorious note that A New Hope ended on.

Pirates of the Caribbean's Act 2 starts dark. Dead Man's Chest opens with our happy couple Will and Elizabeth getting arrested on their wedding day for the "happy end" escape of the last movie. Jack has not been having success since reclaiming his ship, and we'll soon find out he's being hunted by dark forces. As for the general state of piracy, we get a horrifying prison where pirates are being eaten alive by crows, and a new Lord Beckett making the dying state of piracy even more textual. "Jack Sparrow is a dying breed... The world is shrinking."

The key here is making a point that our heroes aren't ready. This is the struggles part - things they try? Fail. The odds do not look to be in their favor.

Now, OFMD apparently decided to go all-in on flaw exploration, especially with Edward. The first 3 episodes of S2 are brutally efficient in outlining Edward's backslide. In S1 you could see he had issues with guilt and feeling like a bad person. S2 devolves that into a destructive, suicidal spiral where Edward forces his crew into three months of consecutive raids, repeats his shocking act of cruelty with Izzy's toe offscreen (more than once!), escalates it with his leg, and finally they state directly that Edward hates himself for killing his dad so much that he fears he's fundamentally unlovable and better off dead.

Stede's struggles are subtler, but most definitely still there. He's deliberately turning a blind eye to tales of Edward's rampage, half from simply being too self-centered to care about the harms Edward causes others, and half from being unable to face or fathom that he had the ability to hurt Edward that much. Upon reunion he wants to put the whole thing behind them, not addressing why he left in the first place. Very "love magically fixes everything" of him, except Stede is no golden merman.

Interestingly, here, BlackBonnet's relationship dysfunction has very clearly been having a negative impact on the surrounding characters we care about. Make sense, since it's the driving force of the story, but that also adds a lot more relationships we need to make right. Like... Edward is the villain to his crew. The show focuses on their trauma and poisoned relationships with him. And then draws our attention even more to Stede taking his side to overrule their objections to him.

For a story where the conflict and required resolutions are primarily character based, and the setup had already given the main couple a good amount to work with, dedicating a lot of S2 to adding more ground to cover was... a choice. Potentially very compelling on the character end, certainly challenging on the writing end... but not a complete break with the structure.

Bold, but not damning.

---

Act 2: How it Ends

Now it is true that Act 2 tends to end on a loss. Luke is defeated by Vader and loses his hand, and Han has been sent away in carbonite. Jack Sparrow for all his efforts cannot escape his fate, and he and the Pearl are dragged to the locker.

But the loss is not the point. The loss is incidental to the point.

Act 2 is about struggles and failure, but it's also about lessons learned. There's a change that occurs, and our cast - defeated but not broken - enters the final act with the essential skills, motivation, knowledge, etc. that they lacked in the beginning.

Luke Skywalker could not have defeated the Empire in Return of the Jedi until he'd learned the truth about his father and resisted the Dark Side in The Empire Strikes Back. (Ok, confession, I'm using Star Wars as an example because literally everyone is doing so, but frankly it's a better example of formulaic Three Act Structure repeating within each movie because on a trilogy level - relevant to this comparison - it is a super basic hero's journey in a very recognized outfit and as such the Act 2 relevance is also... super basic "the hero tries to fight the antagonist too early" beat where he learns humility. Not really a lot going on. So, for the better example...)

Dead Man's Chest has a downer ending with the closing moment of the survivors regaining hope and a plan against an enemy now on the verge of total victory - a classic Act 2. But in that first loss against Davy Jones we get Will's personal motivation and oath to stab the heart, Jack finally overcoming not knowing what he wanted and returning to save them from the Kraken (being a good man), Elizabeth betraying Jack (being a pirate), Barbossa's return, and Norrington's choice to bargain for his prior life back. The mission to retrieve Jack from the World's End is the final movie's plot, but things are already on track to turn the tables back around as we enter the finale.

Now, relevant sidenote - one major difference between Three Act Structure within a single work vs across three parts is that Act 2 continues into Part 3, and only tips over into Act 3 about midway through. This is because obviously your final movie or season cannot just be the climax. That's why both movie examples start with a rescue mission. They have to still be missing something so they can get the plot of their third part accelerating while they go get whatever that something is.

But if you wait until the 3rd movie / season to get the development going at all - you're fucked.

Jack's decision in the climax of At World's End to make Elizabeth into the Pirate King goes back to the development we saw in the Pearl vs Kraken fight in Dead Man's Chest. So does Elizabeth's leadership arc. Will's whole arc about becoming Captain of the Dutchman gets built upon in the third movie, but it starts in the second. Not just as an idle thought - he's actively pursuing it. Already consciously weighing saving his father vs getting back to Elizabeth as soon as he makes the oath. Everyone is moving forward in Act 2. Their remaining development might stumble for drama, or they might be a bit reluctant, but I know that they know better than to let it stick, because they already faced their true crisis points.

I'm not sure we can say the same about OFMD.

S2 does a good job of adding problems, yeah, but there's not really any movement on fixing them. Our main couple stagnates in some ways, and regresses in others.

Stede opened Act 2 by running away in the middle of the night back to his wife without telling Edward anything. We know he did it because of feeling guilty and his core childhood trauma of his dad calling him a weak and inadequate failure. Now in S1 he actually speedruns a realization of his shitty behavior with Mary, but what about S2? Well...

He continues to not talk to Edward about... pretty much anything. My guy practiced love confessions galore but Edward only finds out about going back to his wife via Anne, and it gets brushed aside with a love confession. He seems to think Edward wants him to be a dashing pirate, or maybe he just thinks he should be a dashing pirate. Idk, it doesn't get examined. Regarding his captaincy, they give him an episode plot about Izzy teaching him to respect the crew's beliefs, but this is sideplot to a larger arc of him completely overruling their traumas and concerns (and shushing their objections) to keep his boyfriend on the ship so. That.

Stede kills a man for reasons related to his issues, shoves that down inside and has sex with Edward instead of acknowledging any bad feelings. At least this time Edward was there and knows it happened? Neither Chauncey's death nor his dad have been mentioned to anyone. He gets a day of piracy fame that goes to his head, gets dumped, and ends on a complete beat down by Zheng where he learns... idk. Being a boor is bad? He's still wildly callous to her in the finale, and spends the whole time seeking validation of his pirate skills. He reunites with Edward, kisses, and quotes Han Solo.

Where S1 ended on a great fuckery, his S2 naval uniform plan after they regroup is ill defined except to call it a suicide mission - and we don't get to see what it would have been because it devolves into a very straightforward fight and flee. And gets Izzy killed. Quick cut funeral (no acknowledgement of his S2 bonding with Izzy), quick cut to wedding (foreshadowing), quick cut to... innkeeper retirement? Unclear when or even if BlackBonnet discussed Stede's whole driving dream to be a pirate and live a life at sea, but I guess that got a big priority downgrade. Despite the fact he was literally looking to Zheng for pirate-based compliments in the post-funeral scene.

I guess he's borderline-delusionally dogged in his pursuit of love now - so unlikely to bolt again - but he's also got at least a decade of experience mentally checking out in a state of repression when he's unhappy. And he's stopped being as supportive and caring toward the crew in that dogged pursuit, while arguably demonstrating a loss in leadership skills, so, um, good thing someone else is in charge?

And if Stede is a mess, Edward's arc is so much worse.

As established, they devote the Kraken to making Edward worse. He literally wants to kill himself and destroy everyone around him in the process because Stede left, and this is fixed by... Stede coming back. That's it. The crew tries to murder him and then exiles him from the ship (and Izzy takes the lead on both, indicating exactly how isolated Edward has become), but it's resolved in half a day by Stede just forcing them to put up with his boyfriend again. Like they think he murdered Buttons and still have to move him back in???

The show consistently depicts Kraken Era as a transgression against the crew, but they also avoid showing Edward acting with genuine contrition. He admits he historically doesn't apologize for anything, and then mostly still doesn't. It's a joke that he's approaching probation as a performance (CEO apology), and then the only person he genuinely talks to is Fang - the one guy cool with him - and the only person who gets a basic "sorry" is Izzy - the guy he really needs to be talking to. Edward's primary trauma is guilt, but apparently he only feels it abstractly after all that? He's only concerned with fixing things with Stede, despite Stede being about the only person around who hurt him instead of the reverse.

Speaking of primary traumas, Edward hating himself doesn't really go anywhere after the beat of self-realization. Apparently Stede still loving him is enough of a bandaid to end the suicide chasing, but he doesn't like. Acknowledge that. Edward is maybe sorta trying to go slow so he doesn't hang all his self-worth on Stede again (you can speculate), but they a) absolutely fail to go slow, and b) he doesn't make any attempt to develop himself or another support structure. Just basically... "let's be friends a bit before hooking back up." And then we get the whiplash that is Blackbeard and/or retirement.

Kraken Era is Blackbeard but way worse, like no one who has known Blackbeard has ever seen him. In the Gravy Basket Edward claims he might like being an innkeeper, before destroying his own fantasy by having the spectre of Hornigold confront him over killing his dad. The BlackBonnet to Anne & Mary parallel says running away to China / retiring makes you want to kill each other - burn it all down and go back to piracy. Stede rightfully points out prior retirement plans were whims. Edward gets sick of the penance sack after a day and puts his leathers back on to go try "poison into positivity". But also claims to be an innkeeper (look - two whole mentions!) when trying not to send children to be pirates after teaching them important knife skills.

Killing Ned Low is a serious, bad thing that prompts ill-advised sex and then going hardcore into retirement mode - leathers overboard, talk about mermaid fantasy, get retirement blessings from Izzy, end up dumping Stede for a fishing job instead of talking about how he's enjoying piracy. The fishing job, however, is also a bad thing and a stupid decision because Edward is a lazy freeloader fantasizing about being a better person. We have an uncomfortable, extended scene of "Pop-Pop" weirdly echoing his abusive dad and then sending Edward to go do what he's good at - disassociate, brutally murder two guys, fish up the leathers, rise as the Kraken from the sea. He continues with comically efficient murder but also he's reading Stede's love letters and seeking to reunite with him so... wait, is this a good thing? Post makeout / mass slaughter he's trading compliments on his kills with Zheng so. Yeah. Looks like it. Murder is fine.

Wait, no, skip ahead and Izzy is dying and Edward suddenly cares a whole lot as Izzy makes his death scene about freeing Edward from Blackbeard. Now being a pirate was "encouraging the darkness" because Izzy - a guy who had little to no influence over Edward's behavior - just couldn't let Blackbeard go. Murder is bad again, and he is freed. Minus the little detail that the murder he explicitly hates himself over was not related to Blackbeard or piracy whatsoever, so presumably haunts "just Ed" still. Anyway he's retiring to run an inn with Stede now, as the "loving family" Izzy comforted him with in his dying moments sails away from the couple that can best be described as the antagonists of their S2 arc. Also Edward implicitly wants to get married. It's been 3 days since making out was "too fast". He's still wearing the leathers.

So most of the way through Act 2 and Edward's barely on speaking terms with anyone but Stede, who he has once again hung his entire life on really fast? Crushing guilt leads to self-hatred leads to mass murder and suicide, but only if he's upset so just avoid that. He's still regularly idealizing Stede as a non-fucked up golden mermaid person (that maybe he personally ruined a bit) because he barely knows the guy. His only progress on his future is "pirate" crossed out / rewritten / crossed out again a few times, "fisherman" crossed out, and "innkeeper ?"

Just.

Where is the forward movement?

It's not just that the inn will undoubtedly fall apart - it's that the inn will fall apart for the near-exact same reasons that China was going to at the beginning of Act 2, and I can't point to anything they've learned in the time since that will help them. I guess Stede realized he loved Edward enough to chase after him, but that was in S1! They should be further than this by now. You can't cram another crisis backslide, all the Act 2 development, and the full Act 3 climax into one season. Certainly not without it feeling like the characters magically fix themselves.

If they just fail and keep blindly stumbling into the same issues because they don't change their behavior, then Act 2 doesn't work. You're just repeating the turning point between Act 1 & Act 2 on a loop.

---

Where Did They Fuck Up?

Actually... lets start on what they did right.

The one consistent aspect of S2 that I praised and still think was done well in a vacuum (despite being mostly left out of the finale) was the crew's union-building arc.

With only 8 episodes and more to do in them than S1, side characters were going to get pinched even if the main plot was absolutely flawless. That was unavoidable. With budget cuts / scheduling issues, we regularly have crew members simply vanish offscreen outside of one scene, meaning cohesive arcs for your faves was not likely. Not to say they couldn't have done better - my benefit of the doubt for the TealOranges breakup and Oluwande x Zheng dried up about when I realized he was literally just her Stede stand-in for the parallel - but something like Jim's revenge plot from S1 was realistically not on the table without, like, turning half the crew into seagulls to afford it.

The union building works around this constraint really well. They turn "the crew" into the side arc, and then weave Izzy's beats in so that they aren't just about Izzy. The breakup boat crew working together to comfort each other and protect him turns them into a unit, and Stede's crew taking it upon themselves to address the trauma vibes while the captains aren't in the way solidifies it across all our side characters. The crew goes to war with Stede's cursed coat and wins, they Calypso their boss to throw a party, and they capitalize on a chance to make bank with an efficiency Stede could only dream of.

We don't get specific arcs, but Frenchie, Jim, and Oluwande are defaulted to as leaders in just about every situation, and Roach is constantly shown sharing his inventions with different characters. Individuals can dip in and out without feeling like the sideplots stutter. Any sense of community in S2 is coming from this arc - even if there are cracks at the points where it joins to other storylines (Stede and Edward, Zheng, etc.)

So why does it work? Well, because it's a workplace comedy, and you can tell they are familiar with working on those. They know where the beats are. They know where to find the humor. They know how to build off of S1 because they made sure the bones were already there - an eclectic group of individuals that start as just coworkers, but bond over time in the face of their struggle against an inept boss who they grow to care for and support while maintaining an increasingly friendly antagonism because, you know, inept boss.

OFMD does its best work in S2 when it's being true to its original concept... and its worst work when it seemingly loses confidence in its own premise.

"The show is the relationship," right? It's a romance set in a workplace comedy. The setup of Act 1 was all about creating a character-driven narrative. So given that... where the hell are we getting the dying of piracy and a war against the English Navy?

That's not a character-driven romcom backdrop, it's an action-adventure plot from Pirates of the Caribbean or Black Sails. It's plot-driven, creating an antagonistic force that results in your characters' problems. Once the story is about the fight against the Empire, the dramatic question becomes the same as those adventure stories - "Will the British Navy defeat piracy, and will our protagonists come out the other side of the battle?"

Forget the wedding. The wedding is no longer the climax of the story, its back to the happy ending flash our romantic subplot gets after winning this fight.

Except, of course, trying to pivot your story to a contradictory dramatic question near the end of Act 2 can be nothing short of a disaster, because either you were writing the wrong story until now, or you've completely lost the plot of the real one. I shouldn't even be trying to figure out if they are doing this, because it should be so obvious that they wouldn't.

And yet.

What do the Zheng and Ricky plots add to the story if not this? Neither of these characters have anything emotionally to contribute to Stede and Edward - they truly are plot elements. It's a hard break from the S1 antagonist model, but it also takes up a lot of valuable screentime. This was considered important, but still Zheng's personality and motivation only gets explored so far as it's an Edward-Stede-Izzy parallel with Oluwande and Auntie, and they only need the parallel for Izzy's genre-jumping death scene. Which follows a thematically out-of-left-field speech about how piracy is about belonging to something good (workable) and how Ricky could never destroy their spirits (um...?). And then David Jenkins is pointing to it and saying things about "the symbolic death of piracy" and speculating S3 might be about the crew getting "payback"??? An idea floated by Zheng right before our temporary retirement, btw.

Fuck, the final episode of S2 didn't have time for our main couple to talk to each other because it was so busy dealing with the mass explosion of Zheng's fleet and Ricky's victory gloat. We get lethal violence associated with traumatic flashbacks until they need to cut down enemy mooks like it's nothing, at which point we get jokes with Zheng. The Republic of Pirates is destroyed outright, and it feels like they only did it because they got insecure about their "pirate story" not having the right kind of stakes. Don't even get me started on killing a major character because "Piracy’s a dangerous occupation, and some characters should die," as if suspending disbelief on this aspect makes the story somehow lesser, instead of just being a fairly standard genre convention in comedy. Nobody complains about Kermit the Frog having an improbably good survival record.

Did someone tell them that the heroes have to lose a battle near the end of Act 2, so they scrambled to give them one?

Just... compare the wholly plot-driven struggle in 2x08 to Stede and Edward's character-focused storylines in 1x10 and tell me how 2x08 is providing anything nearly as valuable to the story. Because I can't fucking find it.

At best they wasted a bunch of time on a poorly integrated adventure plot as, like, Zheng's backstory or something, and just fucked it up horribly by trying to "step up" the kind of plot they did for Jim. In which case the whole thing will be awkwardly dropped but damage is done. Otherwise, they actually thought they could just casually add a subplot like this because they've done something wildly stupid like think "pirate" is a genre on the same level as "workplace comedy" and can just trample in-universe coherency while you draw on other media to shore up their unsupported beats.

Bringing us to the most infuriating bit...

---

"...end the second season in a kinder spot."

If this was the goal, the entire season was written to work actively against it in way that is baffling and incompetent.

The really ironic thing is that the reason that the Act 2 part typically gets a downer ending is because of the evil empire that OFMD did not have to deal with until they pointlessly added it. A plot-driven story has an antagonistic force - a villain - that the heroes need to defeat. Something external working against them. The story ends when they beat the thing, and it's not much of a climax if they do most of the defeating before you get there. Ergo, they have to be outmatched up to the climax. Ergo, the second part cannot end on them feeling pretty comfortable and confident going into the third.

The same rules do not apply in the same way to a character-driven arc.

We already established Edward and Stede declaring their love is not the end of the story. Nor, necessarily, is both of them confidently entering a relationship. Even once they've developed a bunch they will have to show that development by running into the kinds of problems that would have broken them up before and resolving them better.

David Jenkins keeps talking about this idea that S2 is getting a hopeful open ending and S3 will get into potential problems, and like... I don't see any reason why they couldn't have done that successfully. They didn't, but they could've.

If S2 grew them enough as characters and then had them agree to try again in the last minute of the finale, they absolutely could have had a kind and hopeful ending where you were confident they could do it. And then a potential S3 can show that. It's a bit rockier than they were counting on, but they have learned enough lessons to not break up. And then the overall plot can build to proposal (start of Act 3) and wedding (the romantic climax). It doesn't have to be a blow out fight to be emotionally cathartic.

(Hell, the main rockier bit that they overcome in the S3 Act 2 portions could be marriage baggage. I'm sure they both have some. It would work.)

In the same way focusing on our character's long term flaws and character-driven conflict makes an Act 1 "happy ending" more difficult, I suspect it makes an Act 2 "happy ending" easier.

Instead they wrote an Act 2 that failed to convincingly start development and got confused on its direction, and then presented a rushed finale ending in a copy of the predictable disaster from S1 as though it's a good thing. They yanked the story at least temporarily into an awkward place where a romcom is trying to sell me on a bunch of serious drama / adventure beats that it has not put the work into, and inviting comparisons to better versions of those same beats in other, more suited media that make it look worse. The need to portray everyone as reaching happy closure overrules sitting with a major character death and using it for any narrative significance, while still letting it overshadow those happy endings because a romcom just sloppily killed a major character with a wound they've literally looked into the camera and said was harmless.

If I'm being entirely honest, Dead Man's Chest ends effectively at Jack Sparrow's funeral and then cuts to the British Navy obtaining a weapon of mass destruction, and it still feels kinder and more hopeful just because I leave with more faith the characters are actively capable of and working toward solving their problems.

OFMD S2, in contrast, has half-convinced me our main couple would live in a mutually obsessed, miscommunication-ridden horror story until they die.

---

Additional Reading

Normally I link stuff like this in the post, but that requires more excitement than I'm feeling right now. Here's my alternative:

Where I thought they were going with Edward - really outlines the mountain of character development they still have unaddressed

Where I thought they were going with Izzy - touches on a lot of themes that might be dead in the water & also context that's still probably relevant to why Izzy got a lot of focus in S2

My scattershot 2x08 reactions

An ask where I sketched out the bones of this argument, and another where I was mostly venting about the fandom response

This one, this other one, and this last one (read the link in op's post too) about genre shifts and failure to pull them off

The trauma goes in the box but it never opens back up - the whole point of Act 2 is that they needed to start opening shit like that - and also they focus so much on needed character growth and so little on following through

They can't even carry through on character growth that we got last season???

Why Izzy's death feels like Bury Your Gays ran smack into shitty writing

EDIT: Oh and this post is REALLY good for outlining the lack of change in way less words than I did

[aurekiwi]

𝖇𝖙𝖘 𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖆𝖑 𝖙𝖞𝖕𝖊

𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐰𝐢 || 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝.

𝐑𝐌 Five of Cups, The Empress, The Judgment His ideal type is someone who definitely has their own faults but is mature and wise enough to recognize that and work through them. Someone who is well-dressed, well-groomed, has a nice figure, and works hard to lived a fulfilled life. He also likes someone who is nurturing, warm, and kind, as well as someone who may be quite good with kids. Someone reasonable with a level head on their shoulders so that he is able to talk out misunderstandings and arguments with them. He really values fairness and therefore would be attracted to someone who is fair as well. Someone who strives to be a good person and would be willing to help out those who aren't as fortunate. Someone he feels has a common outlook and drive in life as him. I think that mental and intellectual stimulation is very important for him. 𝐉𝐢𝐧 Nine of Wands, Temperance, Three of Cups, The Hierophant, Wheel of Fortune, The Emperor His ideal type is someone who is very resilient. He holds respect for those who don't complain and instead focus their energy on what needs to be done and what they want to be done. He likes someone who has a balanced and stable energy and aura to them. This also reminds me of someone who does not drink or smoke too much, they don't go out partying or clubbing all the time. They are reserved and polite, and they work to offer balance and stability in others' lives as well. He also finds it attractive when someone can truly be happy for the people they care about instead of getting jealous. In his general lifestyle, he might've faced a lot of scrutiny by people he considered as "friends" because of their jealousy for his success. He believes those who are able to truly celebrate others' successes and happiness are great people. He wants someone who has the same spiritual beliefs or mindset as him in life because if their personal ideals clash, he sees no use in trying to make a relationship continue when it clearly won't. I also think he believes in the idea of fate(?) or at least in some type of religious connotation surrounding fate where he believes the person he is meant to be with will appear to him one day and he will recognize that. He believes in providing and in security. He will lead and will most likely desire someone who is also willing to be led, but also has the courage to lead when the situation calls for it. He values maturity and mutual respect.

𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐀 Eight of Cups, The World, Ten of Pentacles, Two of Cups He says he doesn't much of a defined ideal type? But he does have some qualities that he would be attracted to in a person. He likes someone who is capable of understanding when to hold onto a situation and when to leave it, as in someone who isn't overly stubborn. Sometimes, when you're too stubborn and blind yourself from seeing the reality of your situation, you're just wasting your time and energy on something that just won't work out for you. Someone logical and understanding would be able to see that they might have to move on from something whether they like it or not, and he admires that ability because he still has to work on that too. He also likes someone who is stable and accomplished. Someone who is old and mature enough to have their own established career and has overcome their own unique obstacles. I think he finds people's personal stories very interesting and hearing about how a person has reached their own sense of fulfillment and completion will be something that amazes him and catches his interests. He also wants someone who is financially stable and is independent so that they are capable of managing their own finances. Also someone who he believes would be very fulfilling and nice to be with. He values mutual understanding, communication, and intimacy, as well as equality within a relationship. He will care for his loved one, but that doesn't mean it can be only him. He expects his partner to do the same for him in their own way. This might be something he pays attention to a lot. He has reached an age where he understand people's intentions and see their true core personalities. 𝐉-𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 The Lovers, Page of Cups, Queen of Swords His ideal type is someone who is very honest and open with him. He values people who are capable of being vulnerable. He wants depth and understanding because he is a private person and it takes him time to truly open up to someone. He would be attracted to someone who understands that and provides him space while also reminding him that he is not completely alone and can reach out when he needs support. He also really values trust and communication. He thinks that is the foundation of any relationship he would have with anyone around him. He is also attracted to people who are intuitive with their own creative side and outlet! As a dancer, dancing is his own creative outlet and he might find that he can truly express himself in his own artistic way. Observing someone else do that might be something he desires. I see him observing someone as they do something they love to do passionately and him just kind of falling in love with that person's love for what they do and their tenacity to keep at it. He might also be attracted to someone who might seem a bit cold, closed off, and detached. Someone who is wise and smart and would look through your bullsh*t. Someone who knows when to let things pass and when to confront. I'm sensing an overall very balanced person who would understand him.

𝐉𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧 The Emperor, The Hierophant, Knight of Wands, Five of Wands, The Lovers Jimin may want to be a provider within the relationship. He really wants to be a good person to lean on for those he loves. I get reminded of quality time and acts of service from him in this reading. Instead of what his ideal type would be, he instead focuses on what he is capable of providing to those he loves and whether someone would be compatible with that or not. Though he might not seem like it, he does like taking the lead when he has the opportunity to do so. He has lots of clarity on himself and what he wants to do. He likes providing lots of guidance to those around him, so a lot of times, he might find himself being the person that people reach out to for advice. I sense that he is a very passionate person and when he decides he likes something, he will go for it. I think he would be attracted to someone with similar qualities as well, where they're very passionate and free-spirited about life. If he feels trapped, then it's like his partner would be the one to remind him that the world is big and he is still small no matter how much he might feel he is big at times. I feel lots of impulsiveness, like going on random late night dates to the movies, lots of laughter- he envisions a type of fun and exciting relationship like that but doesn't really feel like it's a part of his reality at the moment. I think he has had pretty intense fights before and he doesn't hold back when he's extremely angry (he's scary when he's mad). He thinks it's a natural part of a relationship and would like someone who is capable of doing the same. Someone who is able to express their anger and talk about what bothers them to him. He wants balance, he wants honesty, and he wants to communicate. He wants to own up to his shortcomings and would appreciate it if people can just bring it up to him without feeling scared or intimidated about how he would react. He is an open-minded person and would therefore expect people around him to be the same way, or at least strive to be the same way. 𝐕 Six of Cups, Ten of Wands I had Stigma start playing immediately in my head as soon as I held my card deck for his portion. He really misses his childhood and specifically his childhood self. He was molded into who he is today by force. He had to cater to the opinions of those around him and thus his inner child has always been neglected and hurt. He would be attracted to someone who is positive, bright, and playful. He wants someone who unintentionally reminds him of his past self and what his younger self had to offer to the world. He is attracted to someone who can really show him they can be his forever because he is tired of working through things alone and tired of relationships failing for whatever reason. He want someone to see his soft side and appreciate him for who he is, not who he should be or who they want him to be. He wants to be heard and understood. He wants to be taken care of and showered with lots of love and support. He wants a companion who is lover. He wants to be care-free again like he used to be, but he understands that that is not possible now and he is learning to deal with it. I just feel lots of sadness coming from him and I honestly feel for him... it must suck sometimes.

𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤 Queen of Wands, Knight of Cups, Ace of Cups, Four of Wands The 180 switch up between Jungkook's and V's energy is absolutely insane! It went from Stigma soft and quiet to Standing Next You loud, fiery, and passionate. JK wants someone social, talkative, and fun to be around. Someone smart and sexy, enjoys life as it is rather than being conquered by hard moments. I don't know why, but I need to put this here- he is into someone who is a bit unconventional? This person wouldn't exactly fit into Korean standards. He likes a bit of weirdness because he's tired of standards and the insanity that he has seen of people trying to fit them. He likes confidence, a healthy body and soul. I see eyes and they're shiny and bright! Full of curiosity, excitement, and eager to see what's coming next. JK also likes it when someone is romantic, showers him with love and lots of cute words. He does this as well, so he would be attracted to someone who is able to reciprocate. Talented, artistic, and creative. Very intuitive. I think he prefers someone who has an artistic side to them whether that be music, art, writing, or something else. He really likes someone with the Ace of Cups energy- lots of love and creativity, lots of them to offer. Original, kind, soft, and warm. Lots of duality! The Four of Wands reminds me of joyful celebration and union. I think he believes in fate and union. He wants that feeling of "Ah.. this is the one, this is who I'm meant to be with." He fully believes that there is someone out there for him. I also keep hearing "four leaf clover" as well as a vision of a fresh four leaf clover growing in nature. I also hear Japanese Denim by Daniel Caesar, "You're my four leaf clover / I'm so in love, so in love." Not entirely sure what it means but I'll include it here.

[eww-y-tho]

But the way Cas' relationship with the other angels is so homophobic racist conservative christian family coded.

With how long this fandom has been standing, I know I'm just saying something this fandom been knew. I just needed to get my thoughts out before I exploded. Hopefully, it's a good read anyway, though.

ALLUSIONS AND REFERENCES TO LOBOTOMIZATIONS AND CONVERSION CAMPS W/ NAOMI IS A GOOD START.

"The very touch of you corrupts. When Castiel first laid a hand on you in hell, he was lost!"

Ever since Cas met you, he's gone against us, which is your fault for exposing him to that idea. Putting the blame on the other party for your family member's queerness, talking away their responsibility AND autonomy on those decisions.

(I'm not even gonna talk about the connotations underneath "touch.")

"Too much heart was always Castiel's problem."

Castiel was always off compared to other angels, more empathetic to humans, which only got stronger when meeting Dean because of the applied context of his love confession in 15x18. aka queer af.

(There are so many lines that follow/support the gay/queer interpretation, "spanner in the works," "love of humanity," etc. etc. etc; he's always seen as someone who doesn't fill the mold in a suspiciously rainbow-y way.)

"Who are you gonna believe? Your brother? Or this filthy ape?"

Ishim is probably the best example for the most overt racism, but most of the angels have exhibited some level of disdain, consider humans impure/lesser beings with microaggressions, or even just straight up racist terminology toward humans or other such kinds of discrimination and that's just real now. While this could also be read as homophobic, I think it's more applicable to racist ideation.

(The thing is, I can let Cas of the hook because it's conditioning that he grows out of, but it's clear this is a generally baked-in, cultural aspect to the behavior of angels. This quote also fits in with my next point!)

"It's us, or them," "We gave you our trust. Don't lose it over one man," "You draped yourself in the flag of heaven, but ultimately, it was all about saving one human, right?" etc. etc. etc.

Hammering home the concept that is Cas' driving plot of the series; where do his loyalties lie, and more importantly, that they are mutually exclusive. Because of the inherent nature of their groups, he has to pick one or the other. Angels constantly give him a choice, which is a rather passive aggressive tactic.

If the angels just changed their opinions, the Winchesters would gladly allow more angels in their group, but they chose to have this worldview and then demand that Cas follow it to be accepted in their society. You know what that sounds like?

Talk to me once you get over this gay phase. I'll wait.

"Lost," "pathetically weak," "human weakness," etc. etc. etc.

A general association between Cas' love for Dean as weakness/an obstacle to have to overcome. There are many lines that denote their relation under these terms, which indicates that they believe that Cas' love for Dean is actually damaging, which lines up uncomfortably well with Christian values of how being queer is seen as a sin, weakness if you will, getting lost and helping you find your way

(Which also ties into the conversion camp/lobotomy thing.)

And there is one aspect to this, which I think is the most fascinating, but is definitely not the only one left, I'm just kind of blanking right now.

Samandriel spitting just before his other line.

"There are some in heaven who still believe despite his... Mistakes, that Castiel's heart was always in the right place."

Indicating a sympathy we rarely see. As in, family who aren't completely against a queer family member.

That hate the sin, not the sinner,

and don't think it's reflective of his character, and are just "mistakes."

The emotional strain it causes Cas is palpable. You can see how this scrutiny affects him on a deeply personal way that I relate to on a deeper level than any other character as a person living under similar circumstances, and I think a lot of people share this sentiment, which is why it almost feels TOO on the nose sometimes.

Mayhaps...... Intentional.

ANYWAY,

Of course, context is vital for these scenes, and Cas has done some pretty awful things to the angels in the past, but the way these scenes are framed/phrased can be EASILY read this way. It lines up startling well.

Thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

[queerespresso]

✨ Kant & Bison ✨

How I perceive their relationship so far. There’s for sure s*xual attraction..lots of it. That was apparent from the moment they interacted at the bowling alley. They were both very okay with it being a ONS. So I don’t perceive their night as a ‘love at first sight’ scenario.

Kant day dreaming about Bison felt like he was reminiscing on a very good night 😏 + maybe a bit of fondness for Bison’s personality. I was talking to a few mutuals about it and I shared in similar feelings that Kant is intrigued by the honesty and push back from Bison. Maybe he isn’t used to it?

♨️💭 The same can be said for in the bedroom. Kant may see Bison’s ability to put him in his place as an indicator that Bison may be capable of meeting that intimacy desire. I’m not sure how much experience Kant has had with his submissive side or if he’s consistently been relegated/more comfortable dominating or not partaking at all in SM with others (which fair if so, as you need trust).

Bison on the other hand, like I said in his personal post, he wants to be seen for himself. Not as an assassin. I think he’s probably lonely. When Kant gives him attention and is clear about wanting to be his boyfriend, that was appealing to Bison. He’s not clueless though. Kant is too smooth with some of his lines which is why Bison rolls his eyes or teases back. Kant is also consistently encouraging intimacy (maybe with multiple motives). It’s possible for Bison, he’s testing to see if Kant’s affection is real by holding off on more intimacy.

Now is Kant’s affection real? In my perception, sometimes. I feel like he’s a bit too smooth and thought out with the lines. I (personally) tend to trust people who fumble a bit more. It is entirely possible he really is just that smooth and confident without preconceived thought. But when he is quick to offer a relationship title to Bison without knowing him well, while having the police pressuring him to find information, it’s hard for me as the viewer to know what’s genuine or not.

For me, the moments where their foreheads are close to touching seem genuine (could be me being a romantic). Like they’re both overcome with their affection, even if it’s a crush or attraction at the moment.

While Bison IS having his “he likes me 🥹” moment right now, it could partially be a reaction to the attention or a crush. He doesn’t have consistent friends with their constant moves and is used to ONS after all. Bison also didn’t leave his phone number after the ONS and he was worried when Kant initially came to the dinner instead of simply happy so I think he’s not totally gone. He only started showing more openness once Kant made his intentions more clear. But of course that means the brat/teasing side came out to play.

I think Bison’s love will grow slowly as they build trust through moments where trust naturally grows: intimacy, trying to win over Fadel, persistently pursuing in spite of the obstacles, prolonged contact, revealing vulnerable information, etc.

I think it’ll be an internal struggle for Kant as he’ll sometimes forgets his mission and slip into his emotions. I truly think Kant will ‘fall’ in love and have oh sh*t 😳 moments. He’ll be very far in eventually and realize f*ck…I love him.

*Disclaimer: I am a bit of romantic but I tend to overthink various perspectives. No worries if you perceive their romance differently 🫶

[ilikekidsshows]

I'll never forgive this show for how outright emotionally toxic they made Marinette. She's like an abusive boyfriend who tells his girlfriend to always tell him if something is wrong and then makes everything about herself and tells the gf what to "truly" feel because HE is so "mature and experienced" unlike the gf

Didn't Marinette do exactly that with Shadybug when she dared to say that Marinette has a great life in comparison to her? Marinette outright told her "you're wrong" and acted as if she's kind for invalidating her opinion and feelings because she thinks SHE KNOWS BETTER and doesn't have anything good in her life

Anyone who thinks they know pain thats bigger than Marinette's is "wrong" and Marinette a kind martyr for telling people how to be and what to feel to be "correct like her". I despise how Marinette treated Shadybug, but no one talks about that. Marinette as good as bullied Shadybug into giving in jn shame and do whatever Marinette says is the next right thing for her to do and be to be "better". Marinette should have a restraining order against her, she treats people like playdoo in her hands to validate her hero and victim complex.

That's all Marinette ever does in s4 Ladynoir too. When Chat speaks up about not liking something Ladybug "teaches" him that his feelings and perspective are wrong and petty and that he has to get over it cause she's right and a benevolent goddess and he's just some pathetic cat who needs to be taught how to exist "right" cause she cant ever be truly in the wrong. Didn't she scream in his face in Glaciator 2 as Marinette that HIS feelings don't exist, and it's all about her? That's textbook definition of emotionally abusive. Telling others their feelings and perspective doesn't exist and it's all about you. It's crazy that Marinette is being supported for this by the fandom, I hope her fans aren't in relationships...

Or in Revelation, Marinette decides for the whole class that Chloe doesn't get to have a chance and effort anymore because SHE says so due to HER experience. And the others were made out to be naive backstabbers for not instantly falling in line with Marinette making it her class president speech to make support now conditional on HER opinion of the person. Cause that's not fucked up at all, no no no. Let's hope she's never truly angry with a friend cause she might just decide that they're unworthy of the whole support system she rules "cause she says so" (funny, isn't that what she did to Chat?)

She did not ask anyone WHY they think Chloe still deserve a chance, she just decided that SHE knows better and must teach everyone what to feel and think again.

And then she was pissed when that didn't work.

---

It all boils down to the same thing I keep saying: Marinette is always the one whose problems are the most important, and her minor grievances are more important than whether or not other people die. Of course she's going to tell Shadybug she has it just as bad as her, if not worse, just because she doesn't instantly get everything she wants every day of the week and sometimes some ineffectual mean girl says bad things about her. The most popular girl in school with all the local super celebrities as her friends and a loving, well-off family, who's also a superhero with a 100% approval rating sometimes has to be inconvenienced and she isn't constantly macking on her desired boytoy, so she's just suffering so much, it's unbearable for her. We should feel sorry for her.

Marinette is the icon of any dissatisfied little girl with no real problems who's just frustrated at still being a kid with little freedom and takes it out on her friends by giving them the silent treatment because they didn't agree with her over something. Marinette is the fantasy of being the single most special and important person in the universe, where everyone else is little more than an NPC that exists to praise you or serve as a minor obstacle that you can easily overcome in order to feel good about yourself. The thing about this kind of fantasy is that you have to be completely uncritical in order to enjoy it, the instant you start to wonder if perhaps someone else deserves some glory too or if the other characters should get to have priorities outside of the protagonist's wants, the game is lost. That's why Marinette stans only think about her actions in terms of how they can excuse them. It's about enjoying the power fantasy.

A lot of power fantasies get defended with the claim that such protagonists aren't meant to be emulated, that it's purely cathartic. But kids try to emulate everything they see on TV, sometimes even when it's something they “should know” shouldn't be applied in real life. This is why you don't see punches connect in children's cartoons, the impact shot instead gets cut away with a jump cut or replaced with an impact graphic or flash. Kids will see the characters they relate to punch people and it being a good thing, and the next thing you know they'll be punching someone for real as part of a game of make belief. There's a reason kids' power fantasy media usually involves harmless scenarios like your belief in the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost saving the world from the Boogeyman and not the kind of stuff you see in an isekai harem anime or the stuff you'd expect from the villain of a school story.

Marinette constantly treats the people around her as unimportant, and she really does act and talk like she thinks their concerns are nonexistent in comparison to hers. The one time Marinette can be bothered to think about others it's when she has nothing going on first, and even then she just forces her ideas on what others need on them like, you know, a power fantasy isekai protagonist. She also does act as the leader of the friend group. I know she's the class representative, but that doesn't mean she should be giving orders to her friends and telling them what to think, but, as of the retool, that's exactly what she's doing. She's literally the Queen Bee archetype, and it shows in how she gets away with committing a literal crime at school in 'Confrontation'.

I don't think a protagonist for a kids' show should be shown consistently treating the people around her like shit, simply because showing and addressing such a storyline over several seasons takes so much time that it makes it harder to connect cause and effect. It's just a hard lesson to teach in such a format. Kids would see something being shown uncritically/as not that bad for potentially years before the show turns around and says it’s bad, actually. The fact that the narrative doesn't even go for this, but instead expects us to side with Marinette is more annoying, though, than if they’d just been that incompetent. Now the actual point is to be uncritical of Marinette’s self-centeredness.

This is why the target audience for Miraculous being so unclear annoys me so much. Do they expect the audience to see Marinette as a role model or is the audience meant to see that what she's doing is actually bad in real life but to also enjoy it as a fictional fantasy of being the most important, specialest person ever? You can expect the latter kind of more complex thinking from teenagers, who enjoy power fantasies possibly the most out of any demographic, but that means that Miraculous’ target audience jumped from preschoolers to middle schoolers because they decided they’d rather be uncritical of Marinette’s personality flaws. But the biggest part of merchandising for this show is still toys aimed at preteens, and even the toys reflect the new “The New Adventures of Ladybug and Ladybug Alone” approach of the show with the latest, insanely overpriced, Magic Heroez Transformation Surprise toy line being nothing but Marinette with the other characters’ Miraculouses. “If you like any hero other than Marinette, fuck you, you stupid kids!”

[djuvlipen]

When my father found out I am gay, he beat me brutally, but today I help other LGBT+ Romani people

Patrik Kotlár's coming out was not easy, encumbered as it was by discrimination and his own family's incomprehension. Instead of giving up, though, he decided to overcome those obstacles and use his experience to aid others.

He established the nonprofit organization Romany Art Workshop 13 years ago, offering arts workshops, educational programs to develop community activism and leadership, and sports activities in Tanvald, Czech Republic. He also collaborates with the ARA ART organization.

In November 2023 the two organizations opened a community club in Jablonec nad Nisou and will open another in Frýdlant. These clubs will become places for members of the LGBT+ minority to meet each other and give each other support, as well as places for Romani people from excluded localities to gather.

Patrik (36) is inspiring to those who want to overcome such obstacles themselves and become the voices of change. “As a schoolchild I myself was not aware of my sexual orientation. My schoolmates told me what they thought, though,” he starts his story.

The insults he endured were unpleasant and he believed his friends were absolutely crazy. He did not begin to realize what his sexual orientation was until the age of 16, as a high school student studying social work.

He did not decide to come out until two years later, when he began his first partner relationship. He met his then-boyfriend on a train.

It never even occurred to him that anybody around him might take a negative view of his being gay. “While I had been raised my whole life in the Christian spirit of a man belonging to a woman, I never worried about that for myself. I accepted my orientation as a fact and I never thought that it was supposed to be wrong,” he admits.

He began visiting a gay bar in Liberec after fully realizing and admitting his orientation. He and his friends enjoyed going to the disco there.

One day, however, a group of Romani people who knew his father saw Patrik leaving that bar and immediately informed his father. “Dad was unable to stomach it and he beat me brutally for it,” Patrik says, adding that it is still difficult for him to talk about what happened.

Being outed to his father by others was the beginning of the end for him, and he found himself in total isolation, cut off from contact with most of his family and former friends. The suddenness of the situation also had a negative impact on his studies because he was forced to drop out just before graduation.

“I was afraid my father might even kill me unless I left Liberec,” he says. He was on the run from his father’s aggression for more than a year, hiding in various locations all over the country, but his father always managed to track him down.

“Whether I hid in Plzeň, Brno, Pardubice or the capital, my father always found out where I was at the time. It was exhausting, I lived in constant fear that he would find me and harm me. In his eyes I had caused the entire family unreal shame. However, nobody else in my family reproached me for my orientation and accepted me without any problems,” he said.

A childhood without a mother

When Patrik speaks of his family, he does not mean his mother, because he got no support from her as he was growing up. His mother abandoned the family when he was nine.

Patrik says his mother was an alcoholic and, after disagreements with his father, who wanted her to stop drinking, she always left the family for some time before eventually returning. She never gave up drinking.

One day she left for good and the family never saw her alive again. “My childhood was sad without my mother, to this day I say I basically never had a childhood,” Patrik recalls.

“Dad was older when we were born, and he raised us with a strict hand. As children we were never allowed to go anywhere besides school and music lessons, we had no personal space,” he reminisces.

Patrik never managed to re-establish contact with his mother. He heard from acquaintances more than once that she was homeless in Košice, Slovakia, and another time that she was in Bratislava, but when he and his sister went there, they were unable to find her.

One day an older sibling who had long since flown the nest let them know they needed to meet in Brno and immediately head for Slovakia because their mother was dying and wanted to see everybody one last time. They did not hesitate and set off after her at once.

Patrik’s father’s health was also not the best. Since they had last been in contact he had developed symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

“He asked my sister to send a message to me to come home and that he wouldn’t do anything bad to me. I obeyed and our relationship actually improved. It took a while for him to reconcile himself to my orientation and get used to my boyfriend at the time, but he didn’t shout abuse at either of us or attempt to harm us in any way. Ultimately my sister, my then-boyfriend and I took care of my father in his most difficult moments. He died nine years ago today,” he says.

Aiding others is the priority

His personal experience of discrimination in his family led Patrik to establish the Romany Art Workshop nonprofit organization 13 years ago. The organization concentrates on aiding adults and children grappling with social exclusion.

The NGO prepares primary school pupils to apply to high school, offers recreational activities and summer camps, and holds arts workshops which will be transformed this year into an academy for talented youth. The academy will concentrate on the arts and music and its instruction will be comparable to that of an arts school at the primary level.

The main aim of the NGO, however, is to lead local Romani people to emancipate themselves with the aid of community activism and leadership training. Patrik is convinced it is important to show Romani youth the opportunities that exist to engage in public affairs and to create new activities in the places where they live.

Patrik says he believes individuals can contribute to the better integration of Roma into society through such engagement. He himself is an example.

Before establishing the nonprofit, Patrik led Bengale Manusha, a professional, three-generational ensemble, for two years. On the sidelines, his NGO is working with the LGBT+ minority in the Liberec Region, the members of which are turning to them more and more often.

The decision to fully dedicate the organization to the subject was made after Patrik learned of a tragic event – one such 17-year-old Romani youth took his own life because nobody understood him. “I realized that even though we have personal experience with this, we lack deeper expertise,” he admits.

For that reason, he decided to collaborate with the ARA ART organization, which has long concentrated on the LGBT+ subject. Thanks to their collaboration, they were able to open a community club in Jablonec nad Nisou in November, where their volunteers had previously been working.

People from neighboring towns like Tanvald or Železný Brod seek out their services. Soon a club will also open in Frýdlant.

As in Jablonec, that club will provide expert counselling to LGBT+ Romani people. A psychotherapist is also available there to aid clients not just with coming out, but to also answer parents’ questions when they want to learn more about the LGBT+ minority.

The organizations currently have 200 clients, 50 of whom are LGBT+. “The community center is not intended just for LGBT+ people, but also for Romani people from socially disadvantaged environments. We provide various recreational activities and because they come here regularly, we believe they like it here,” Patrik boasts, adding that in addition they are endeavoring to build up mutual dialogue in a natural format about overcoming obstacles and creating a safe space for all.

“I am surprised by how the times are gradually changing and how the Roma are more open to same-sex couples or to people who are transitioning from male to female and vice versa. What has contributed to this are the different reality shows with gay people as the main protagonists, and we know figures like Jan Bendig. He speaks absolutely openly about his orientation and thousands of Roma from all generations follow him,” Kotlár believes.

Nevertheless, he does perceive differences between the various towns. In Jablonec nad Nisou, which is approximately 14 km from Liberec, Romani people are not disturbed to see two men dancing together during a social event.

In Liberec, on the other hand, there are many gay people who are still in the closet because they have the feeling that those around them are not open toward them. “We will do our best to change that for the better, step by step,” Patrik concludes optimistically.

[ageofwagner]

Clone a Jake

pairing: Jake Kiszka x fem!reader

summary: Jake surprises Y/N with a special gift to keep her fulfilled while he's away on tour.

warnings: 18+ MDNI!! oral m & f receiving, sir kink (kinda), explicit language, slight overstimulation, use of sex toys, slight degradation, bad grammar. (lmk if I missed anything!)

word count: 5.2k+

a/n: hey guys! I've had this idea for too long and I just had to write it for all my Jake girlies (gn) <3 since this is the first one I’ve done, any feedback is greatly appreciated! also, let's not talk about the research I had to do about cock molds <3

masterlist

The beginning of the Starcatcher World Tour was just a couple weeks away and while Jake was eager to get back on stage and do what he loves most, he was torn about having to leave his love behind once again. Though Y/n has been there by his side since the beginning, it never got easier having to part ways when he had to leave for months at a time while touring the world.

Y/n was always supportive of Jake and the rest of the band, who she considers to be just like her own family; she joins them on the road when she can, though it isn't nearly as often as they had hoped. While the two are together, they are inseparable in every sense of the word, it's as if their souls were designed from the same stardust; a perfect match.

The nature of their relationship came with its fair share of obstacles, between the differences in time zones and long days, it was difficult, yet the two of them always found time for each other. Communication, while long distance, was an obstacle that could be easily overcome, but the one thing that Jake felt he couldn't remedy was the physical aspect of their relationship.

It was no secret that Y/n and Jake were usually all over each other, often times Sam would make a point of loudly gagging at their PDA wherever they went. It's safe to say that, while apart, the lack of intimacy was something they both hated. There were always other ways for them to recreate some semblance of intimacy, and relieve each other despite the distance, but it never came close to the real thing. Suggestive texts and late-night facetime calls got the job done but the lack of physical touch was hard, and Jake hated leaving his girl alone and unfulfilled. The two of them were no strangers to experimenting with toys in the bedroom, but Y/n had always insisted that it could never match the feeling of him stretching her, no matter what she tried while he was away.

Jake kept mulling over the idea of how he could keep his girl satisfied while on the road, knowing how much she loves the feeling of him filling her up. Keeping what Y/n had said in mind, Jake thought of the possibility for him to create a personalized dildo for her to use while he was gone, that way she could still be full of him no matter where he is. He did some research, seeing how he could pull it off, and quickly discovered there are several kits available for you to customize your own sex toy. Selecting the first website, he laughs at the title 'Clone-a-Willy' He finds exactly what he was looking for, adding the item to his cart and selecting the fastest shipping option available, eager to give it to his girl.

~

Jake anxiously waited for the package to arrive and hoped that Y/n wouldn't accidentally open it thinking it was one of hers, or ask him what it was. Thankfully, the package arrived while Jake was home alone; he didn't have much time so he quickly opened the package, read the instructions, and began mixing the molding powder with water. He ignored the initial feeling of embarrassment before prompting himself to get hard, just thinking about Y/n using a replica of his cock had him rock hard within minutes. He filled up the cylinder with the molding mixture and carefully inserted his cock, holding it there for two minutes. After removing his member from the mold, and piecing the remnants of his dignity back together, Jake got to work mixing the silicone and skin color powder before pouring the mixture into the mold. Finally, he carefully inserted the vibrator which he had added as a little something extra to make his girl feel good. The dildo needed to sit for 24 hours so Jake decided to hide it in the back of the closet in his office until then.

The next day Jake was eager to check on the mold, he had less than two weeks left with his girlfriend before he had to hit the road again and he wanted to test it out on his girl before leaving. He carefully peeled the mold away and found that it turned out perfectly, much to his relief. While attempting to ignore how bizarre it was that he was holding a silicone replica of his cock, he hoped that his girl would love it almost as much as she loved the real thing. Jake couldn't keep the secret much longer, so with a crooked smile on his face he pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to Y/n, cluing her into the gift he got for while he's away on tour.

~

To say that Y/n was intrigued by this was an understatement. She knew that they had less than two weeks before he would be leaving for a few months, and though she always insisted that he didn't need to get her anything, Jake loved planning small moments together and would surprise her with things like these more than usual in the months leading up to a world tour. Y/n stared at the clock urging the minutes to go by faster, it seemed like hours before it finally hit 6:00 and she eagerly made her way to her car, shooting Jake a quick text letting him know she was on her way home.

Y/n walked through the front door to find that there were lit candles throughout their home, a vinyl quietly playing from the living room, and the smell of Jake's homemade pasta that she always said she loved so much. She smiled to herself while kicking off her shoes and padding through the house to find Jake with his back turned to her, quietly singing along to one of her favourite songs, this man really does not miss any detail she thought. She slowly crept behind him wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing his shoulder causing him to jump at the unexpected contact. She giggles at him "Hi honey" she says sweetly, he turns around and melts into her embrace, gently cupping her cheek before placing a kiss in her lips, "Hi" he smiles, turning back around to finish the dinner he made for them.

Y/n moves to stand beside him, studying him carefully "So..." she begins, he raises an eyebrow at her urging her to continue, "What's the occasion?" he smirks at her "Who said there had to be an occasion? I just wanted to spoil my girl" he says, winking. She feels her face heat up, despite being together for 7 years, Jake still made her blush like a school girl with a crush for the first time.

~

After finishing dinner and a bottle of wine, Jake popped open a second, topping up their glasses as they moved to the living room, lit up solely by candles, the soft hum of a new vinyl playing in the background. He moves to sit next to Y/n on the couch and she turns to face him, perching an arm on the back of the couch, resting her hand on her palm as she looks at Jake, noticing he seemed to be lost in thought.

Jake finds himself suddenly apprehensive about the whole idea, how was he supposed to bring up the surprise? Would she hate it or think it was stupid? What if she took it the wrong way? What if- "Hey, did you hear me?" he blinks a few times, not realizing he spaced out, "Sorry" he chuckles. She inches closer resting her hand on his knee, "Is everything okay love?" he meets her gaze, sighing "Yeah, it's just" he pauses trying to find the right words "I got you something, the surprise I mentioned earlier, and I'm worried you won't like it" he looks at her nervously. "This," she gestures to the dining room and candles "Wasn't the surprise?" he laughs "Of course there's more, I'd give you the world if I could. You know that" She leaned forward, tightly clasping his hand in her own, "First, you didn't have to get me anything" she gently scolds "and second, whatever it is, I'm sure I'll love it, especially since you put so much thought behind all of this" she assures him "It's a bit unconventional" he admits making her laugh softly "I've never been one for what's conventional" she smiles "C'mon Jake, you won't scare me away" he studies her for a minute before standing, collecting their wine glasses and placing them on the table, he extends his hand for her to take, "right this way then" he winks, all nerves temporarily dissipating her her reassurance as he leads her to their shared bedroom.

~

Y/n stands by the edge of the bed, waiting for Jake to make the first move. As if he could read her mind, he steps closer moving her hair from her neck and tucking it behind her ear as he leans in to trail kisses from her jaw down her neck, grazing his teeth and biting gently before kissing over it again. He pulls away to see her biting her lip, and he makes a noise of disapproval, "You know the rules" he scolds, leaning in, he takes her bottom lip between his own, biting softly. "I want to hear every noise that comes out of that pretty mouth of yours, understand?" he pulls away, waiting for her confirmation, "Yes sir" he smirks at her already seemingly fucked out state, the lust clear in her eyes "good girl"

Jake slowly moves them backward until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed, she lays back as he slots himself between her legs, taking his time biting and kissing from her neck down to her navel at an agonizingly slow pace.

She whines at his teasing, squirming under his touch as he places a kiss on her clothed heat, making his way up her body and taking her lips in a searing kiss. He drags his tongue across her lips asking for entrance and quickly takes control as she wraps her legs around his waist, fumbling to undo the remaining buttons on his shirt. As she pops open the last button he pulls away, both breathing heavily, she looks up at him, a mixture of confusion and frustration painted across her face as he gets off the bed.

He turns to face her with a smug look on his face, "you ready for your surprise?" she huffs at him "I just want you." she moves off the bed, standing inches in front of him before whispering in his ear in a sultry voice, "can the surprise be your cock?" she takes his earlobe between her teeth, pulling slightly. "I've been a good girl, sir" his breath hitches as he leans in, their lips barely brushing before he orders "Go lay down, I'll be right back" leaving her with a light smack on the ass.

Jake makes his way to his office to retrieve the gift from its hiding place, feeling reassured by her desperation for him, maybe she would love the gift after all. He walks back into their bedroom to find his girl in nothing but one of his shirts, groaning at the sight of her with her legs spread just enough to see she had removed her underwear as well.

He sits on the edge of the bed gesturing for her to join him, she bites her lip in anticipation as Jake pulls out a black gift bag "Close your eyes" she does as he asks with a giddy smile on her face "now give me your hand" he takes her extended hand, directing it towards him so she can hold the bag, "use your other hand and slowly reach into the bag" she can feel her pulse quicken, hesitating slightly before carefully sticking her hand into the bag.

As she pushes past the tissue paper she feels something long and firm, wrapping her hands around it she feels ridges on it, wait it almost feels like-"What does it feel like?" she heard him whisper as she continued to examine the item; she trailed her fingers up to the top and instantly knew what it was. But why did he get us another one? They already had a collection of various toys to experiment with. "I don't-" she cut herself off, trying to organize her thoughts "Jake, you didn't have to get me another, we already have" he started fidgeting with his hands, worried that she didn't like the gift.

Trying to keep his nerves down he instructs, "Keep your eyes closed for a minute and focus on what it feels like" she obliges, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration as she examines the item with her hands. She pulled the dildo out of the bag, wrapping both hands around it, trailing her fingers underneath the length of it she gasped quietly. Jake held his breath in anticipation as she repeated the motion, feeling his cock twitch at the sight of his girl stroking a replica of him.

Y/n knew what it was as soon as she felt the underside of the dildo, it felt exactly like Jake's, it was unmistakable; she had always loved running her tongue along the underside of his cock, the prominent vein that would throb as she gave him head. Her mind was swirling with questions as she repeated the motion, Jake's eyes were glued to her every movement, only tearing them away when she began to speak again, "I don't underst- how did you...is this you?" she stutters out, unable to sort the thoughts racing through her mind.

"Open your eyes" She opened them, her gaze immediately falling to her hands, examining the personalized toy carefully, "how did you do this? It looks and feels so real" he shot her a smile, "I'll answer all your questions later, right now I'd like to test it out, just to make sure it works"

Y/n looks at him with a smirk on her face, "So you're telling me I now have two of my favourite cock, to use however I'd like?" hearing her say that made his cock twitch yet again "anything you want. Tonight is all about you."

She sat up straighter, thrumming her finger on her chin, feigning contemplation, "strip," she demanded, though it sounded like more of a question; Y/n was rarely in charge as they both loved when Jake was in control in the bedroom. He smirked at her as he stood, slowly slipping the already unbuttoned shirt from his body, letting it fall to the floor as he moved to undo his belt. She felt her wetness pooling between her thighs as she focused on his hands sliding his pants down and stepping out of them.

She quickly slid from the bed and perched on her knees, already working to remove his boxers when he grabs both her wrists, scolding, "Babe tonight is supposed to be all about you" She sat back on her heels as she looked up at him "so we'll do anything I want, right?" he nods in confirmation, she inches forward pulling his boxers the rest of the way down before looking up at him through her lashes.

"Good because I really want you to choke me with your cock" Jake's gaze darkened as he called out her name in a warning tone "It's what I want" she replies sweetly. Jake's demeanor shifted "Then you know what to do, ask nicely" She grinned up at him in victory, "Can I please suck your cock, sir?" he smirks "Such a good girl, go ahead."

Y/n wasted no time wrapping her hand around the base of his cock, she pumped him a few times before running her thumb over his reddened tip, collecting his precum. She looked up to find him staring intently at her as she put her thumb in her mouth, making a show of slowly licking it clean, "no teasing" Jake gritted out between clenched teeth. She pumped him a few more times while holding eye contact, challenging him.

Leaning closer, she licked a bold stripe on the underside of his cock from base to tip, coaxing a shuddered breath from him. Unable to wait any longer, she took his cock in her mouth, swirling her tongue around the tip as Jake moved her hair out of her face, holding it in a makeshift ponytail while Y/n worked to fit his length down her throat, inch by inch. He made sure not to hold back his moans, knowing how much it turned his girl on when he let her know how good she made him feel.

His head fell back, a deep moan coming from his throat as Y/n took him all the way down and swallowed around his length, trying not to gag. She took a second to adjust, focusing on breathing through her nose as she moved back, almost releasing him from her mouth before deepthroating him again. Jake tightened his grip on her hair, holding her against his base, groaning as he felt her swallow around him again, gagging.

He released his hold allowing her to breathe before she took his full length down her throat once again, a surprised moan falling from Jake's lips as she looked up at him with pleading eyes. He quickly understood what she wanted, adjusting his grip on her hair, he moved to thrust his hips into her, "Does my little slut like it when I fuck her throat, hm?" She let out a broken moan in response, the vibrations making Jake's cock twitch in her mouth, causing him to abruptly pull out.

Y/n took a few deep breaths as she glared at him "I wasn't done" he smiles at her as he extends a hand to help her up, "As much as I would love to cum in that pretty mouth of yours, I'd much rather cum in your pretty pussy" Y/n could feel her face heat at his comment, subtly trying to relieve some tension by rubbing her thighs together. Jake noticed her movements, a cocky smile on his face as he taunted, "I bet that pussy is weeping for me, isn't she?"

Pulling the shirt she stole from Jake over her head, she climbed on the bed, propping herself against the pillows and spreading her legs, "Wanna find out?" Jake stood there admiring her, his eyes exploring her body as he joined her on the bed, "that's my girl" he stated proudly, slotting himself between her spread legs.

Leaning in, he trailed kisses down her neck, biting harshly just above her collarbone and placing a kiss overtop the forming bruise. He continued until he reached her chest, taking time to pay extra attention to each of her nipples, sucking them into his mouth, biting slightly as she tangled her fingers in his hair, moaning his name. Jake continued kissing and caressing his way down her body at the same agonizing pace, he shifted lower down the bed so his face was hovering directly above where she needed him most.

Looking up at her with a teasing smile, he blew cool air on her soaked core, making her squirm. Her voice was dripping with desperation as she moaned his name, wiggling her hips toward him, begging him to relieve the building tension. Jake would normally punish her for using his real name instead of 'sir' but tonight he loved hearing her so desperate for his touch in the way she begs for him and how her body responds to his slightest touch.

Desperate to taste her, he licks a bold stripe from her entrance to her clit, swirling his tongue around the bud before sucking it into his mouth. Y/n let out a breathy moan, reaching her hand down to lace her fingers in his hair, pulling him deeper into her core. Jake moaned at the sting, the vibrations causing her to squeal and clamp her legs closed around his head. He pulled away, slapping her thigh, "Spread your legs and keep them open, I'm not done tasting you" She spread her legs wider giving him the opportunity to spit on her pussy, watching it run down to her entrance as he dove back in, collecting as much of her wetness as he could on his tongue, shaking his head side to side making Y/n scream out his name, tightening the hold on his hair.

Jake began rutting his hips into the bed, trying to find some relief for his aching cock. The taste of her combined with the noises she was making was almost too much for him, but he was determined to make his girl cum at least twice before he would allow himself to.

He could tell she was getting close as she began frantically grinding her hips into his face and tugging his hair harder while he devoured her. He flexed his tongue, teasing her entrance before sliding his tongue fully inside her. She arched her back repeating his name like a mantra as he continued to fuck her with his tongue, moving his hand to rub circles into her clit.

She whimpered "Fuck Jake, I'm so close" he hummed in response, speeding up his motions as she bucked her hips more frantically into his face until her orgasm finally came crashing through her. The force of the orgasm had her legs trembling as Jake continued to lap her up until she attempted to close her legs, signaling her overstimulation. He pulled away with a cheeky smile on his face, glistening with her release.

Eager to get him closer, she pulled him up crashing her lips into his, moaning at the taste of herself on his tongue, "I need you, Jake. Please" He kissed her again, reassuring her "I'll take care of you, don't worry" He reached for the toy that was temporarily forgotten about at the side of the bed, "do me a favour and get this all nice and lubed up for me, okay?"

Bringing the dildo to her mouth, he tapped it on her lips twice, she opened her mouth sticking out her tongue as Jake slid it in. They maintained eye contact as he slowly worked the toy in her mouth. The action of thrusting the dildo identical to his cock into her mouth made him feel like he could cum right then and there. After another minute he pulled the toy from her mouth seeing it sufficiently lubed up.

Jake ran the toy through her folds slowly, teasing, until finally pushing into her entrance. His jaw slacked as he propped himself on his knees between her thighs, watching the toy stretching her easily. His eye flick up to find his girl with her head thrown back, one hand massaging her breast, the other gripping the bed sheet and allowing her moans to flow freely.

Using his other hand, he rubbed soft circles around her clit, her hips jerking at the added stimulation. A combination of his name and curses spill from her as she nears the edge of her second orgasm.

"Jake-fuck I'm gonna cum" she whimpers breathlessly. He speeds up his movements, adding more pressure to her sensitive clit as he plunges the toy inside her, eager to see her fall apart by his hands once again.

She cried out his name as her orgasm washed over her for the second time, Jake slowed his movements, "that's it baby" he praised as her thighs began shaking.

Carefully removing the toy, Jake looked up and smiled at his girl's fucked out state, he shot her a wink before leaning in and capturing her lips in a kiss, "now that was a great investment" she breathed out making him laugh, "Oh baby we're not done with it yet" Y/n pouted at him, "Jake, I love the toy and don't get me wrong, it'll be my best friend while you're gone. But right now I need you" Jake feigned hurt as he responded, "You didn't think I was gonna neglect my girl, did you?"

Jake took his aching cock in his hand, stroking it a few times before lining up with her soaked entrance and sinking fully inside of her in one thrust. Both of them let out a loud moan; Y/n had missed the warmth of him as he stretched and filled her, and Jake had to fight hard not to cum too quickly as he had been edging himself for the past hour.

He kept a steady pace as he grabbed the toy again and put it in her hands, "I want to see you gag on my cock while I fuck you" She felt herself clench around him at his words, "If it gets too much you can stop okay?" she nodded at him before relaxing her jaw, taking as much of the dildo down her throat as she could.

Jake felt his cock pulse at the sight, groaning a string of curses as he tightened his grip on her hip with one hand, using the other to apply pressure to her oversensitive bud. The unexpected stimulation caused her to jolt, gagging on the dildo, she pulled it out, a string of saliva falling down her chin as she took in the sight of her boyfriend over her.

The toy had been long forgotten as she pulled him by his shoulders so their faces were just inches apart, "I'm gonna cum" he grunted as felt her walls clench around him, "Fuck baby, you want me to fill you up?" she whimpered in response, "Fuck, yes Jake!" determined to make her cum before himself, his thrusts became more erratic as he got lost in the feeling of his girl wrapped around him. "Let go baby" he encouraged as she came for the third time, he buried himself deep inside of her, feeling his release fill her up.

He remained seated inside her as he caught his breath, both of them basking in the silence, completely blissed out. After a couple minutes Jake slowly pulled out, making Y/n wince at the loss. He dipped his head down between her legs as she attempts to clamp them shut, "Babe no I'm too sensitive" he looks at her with pleading eyes, "Just a taste?" she lets out a laugh but obliges, letting her legs fall open.

Jake drags his tongue through her folds, collecting their shared release. His goal wasn't to get her off again, but instead to clean up the mess he had made. He loved the taste of them together, something that was completely unique to them. He repeated the action a few more times before moving to hover over Y/n once again, "I'll never get enough of tasting you and I together" he says before crashing his lips onto hers; she moans into his mouth at the taste of their shared release.

Pulling back, he stares at her with a loving look in his eyes, Y/n becomes very aware of how fucked out she must look, "I know, I'm probably a mess right now" She shied away from his gaze, he shook his head, "Beautiful," he corrected as he peppered her face with kisses making her giggle.

Jake stood up begrudgingly to grab a towel, soaking it in warm water and making his way back to clean up whatever mess was left. Before getting back into bed, he grabbed a new pair of boxers for himself and a fresh shirt for Y/n, both cleaning up before cuddling in bed once again. Jake put his arm around her as she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he rubbed circles into her back, both exhausted from the day.

"I love you so much," Jake says, pressing a kiss on the top of her head, she craned her neck to look up at him, "I love you more" he shook his head, a smile on his face as he leaned down to press a kiss on her lips.

"Jake?"

"Yeah love?"

"What made you think of getting this for me?"

Jake thought for a moment before replying, "I know it gets hard when I'm away for so long. Obviously, it won't fill all aspects of our relationship that are affected by me being away but I figured at least this way you can feel me, even when I'm across the world" he winks at her before his expression turns more solemn, "It kills me that you can't be there experiencing it with me"

Y/n took a moment to process what he had said, "It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, I didn't even know you could do that" She laughed before continuing, "It is hard when you're gone but knowing that you're living your dream makes it worth it" she smiled at him, "plus, you already know that I will be coming to any show that I can" She moved to straddle his lap, lowering her voice, "After all, I have to show you what you're missing when I'm all alone with nothing but a silicone copy of you"

Jake groans, "I don't know how I'm going to manage, just think about you using that toy, feeling me, while I'm away" She giggles at his exasperation, "Seriously! I might have a permanent boner this tour! I could give Josh a run for his money!" they both burst out laughing.

"Did you really think I would use this gift without sending a little something for you? This was a gift for the both of us" he pulled her further against him, eliminating any remaining space between them, "I love the way you think, woman" he chuckles, placing a kiss on her temple"

"Okay one more question," she tries to conceal her laugh by clearing her throat, "so...how exactly did you make this toy?" she questioned with a knowing smirk.

Jake looks away, his face twinged pink with embarrassment as he clears his throat, "I'd rather not talk about that" she laughs, "it was worth a shot"

After a few more moments basking in each other's embrace, Y/n wiggles from his grasp, scooting to the edge of the bed, Jake questions "Hey where are you running off to?" She peeled the shirt from her body once again, "taking a shower, wanna come?" she asks in a suggestive voice "Hmm, round two?" he suggests hopefully, "I love the way you think...sir" she winks before running to the bathroom.

Jake quickly follows her lead, coming up behind her and circling his arms around her waist, "Oh, and one more thing I forgot to mention" She turned to look at him, a curious expression on her face, "it vibrates too" he smirks.

Y/n groans in response, "You, Jacob Thomas Kiszka, will be the death of me."

Thanks for reading <3

[tyrantisterror]

No Small Feat Art Pt. 5 - Little Girl Lost Arc

By request, I'm gonna show off some of the artwork for No Small Feat, a Midgaheim story my friends and I told through the TTRPG system Fabula Ultima. I drew a lot of characters and monsters for it, and my friends - in particular, @dragonzzilla, @scatha5, and @dinosaurana - helped line and color them so we'd have cute little sprites to use on our online battlemaps, which really helped sell the whole "we're playing an oldschool turn based RPG" vibe that Fabula Ultima's system is going for.

In this part, we're gonna look at the many NPCs introduced in the campaign's third arc, Little Girl Lost!

The titular little girl of the arc was Dora Raine, who one of my players described as "the saddest girl I've ever seen." Dora had a tense relationship with her mother, and after a fight where her mother regrettably said "Sometimes I wish I wasn't your mother!", Dora was spirited away to Fairyland, kicking off our plot.

Our heroes were already set to meet Dora's mother, Countess Maelys Raine, because of a rumor that she might hold one of the crown jewels. Unfortunately, she told them that said jewel was in the necklace Dora wore, and thus was trapped in Fairyland with Dora. Our heroes volunteered to rescue the girl, leaving the two crown jewels they had with Maelys in case they didn't come back.

Dora's kidnapped turned out to be another countess, albeit of the Seelie court rather than Engelsex. Countess Vespidi claimed she had a right to take custody of Dora, but after a brief discussion (while guarded by her army, of course) agreed to allow the heroes to try and convince the girl to return with them if they first proved their worth by overcoming the obstacles she'd lay in their path on the way to her palace. So our heroes went on a jaunt through Fairyland.

Along the way they had encounters with various soldiers in Vespidi's court - troops of hobgoblins, goblins, pixies, and orks.

A wrinkle presented itself when they met one of Vespidi's chief enforcers, Big Bubba Bugbear, who was very talkative during their fight - and, in particular, was vocal about wanting to keep Dora safe and happy because, according to him, she'd spent so much time crying recently. Bubba had been watching over Dora on Vespidi's orders for a while, you see, and he clearly thought that the fairy Countess had Dora's best interests at heart.

There were some unrelated monster encounters on the way, too. The Deofolskein had nothing to do with Countess Vespidi's plot, it was just very insistent (but polite!) about asking the PC's to let it eat their eyeballs. They're its favorite dish, you see.

Our heroes also met Four Elemental Spirits - a salamandral, a gnome, a sylph, and an undine - who gave them their first sidequest: seeking out the Four Elemental Masters in the mortal world, who would test our heroes' knowledge of the four elements of magic and present them with great boons should they prove worthy. These four just really love teaching people about magic, you see!

At last our heroes got to the court of Countess Vespidi, where they faced on final fight against three powerful enemies: a Bandersnatch, a Jubjub Bird, and a Jabberwock. Defeating the three champions of the fairy noblewoman, they were finally allowed an audience with Dora, where they learned some very important facts.

First, Countess Vespidi wasn't just any fairy, but specifically Dora's Fairy Guard-mother, and a close friend of Dora's father and her birth mother.

Second, Maelys wasn't Dora's birth mother, but rather her stepmother. And you know how stepmothers act in most fairy tales, don't you?

Third, and most horrible, Dora didn't have a crown jewel in her necklace.

Our heroes, backed by Countess Vespidi and her forces, returned to the mortal world to demand answers, only to find that Maelys had already left with the crown jewels in tow.

The campaign's main villain had duped them very, very well.

[followingtheladyofthesacredflame]

"I Can Carry You" Spell for Protection and Wellbeing

Inspired by a post I saw talking about the line from JRR Tolkien's Return of the King:

“Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go.”

This spell is designed to offer support and protection to a loved one deeply struggling with a personal burden that only they can resolve. It should be performed for someone you care very much about and have a strong relationship with.

Components:

A small personal item from the intended target of the spell

A small dish

Salt or black salt (protection)

Rosemary (protection)

Oats (health, peace, rejuvenation)

Calendula (healing from grief)

Black tea (peace)

Dandelion (overcoming obstacles)

Process:

Fill the small dish with your herbs.

Place the personal item into the dish (if need be, set a small piece of cloth as a barrier to protect the object from physical harm or discoloration).

Take the dish in your hands. While holding it, consider your relationship to the target of the spell and the problems they're having. Focus on your love for them and the intent of protecting them from harm while they find the peace and strength they need to come through these troubles.

While holding the dish, recite the following:

Come, [Name]. I cannot carry your burdens for you, but I can carry you and it as well. I offer you the strength you need to bear your burden. I offer you protection from harm and pain while you bear it. I offer you healing and peace when the burden is done.

Alternatively, for those who work with spirits/deities:

Come, [Name]. I cannot carry your burdens for you, but I can carry you and it as well. [Intended Power], bring [Name] the strength they need to bear their burden. [Intended Power], bring [Name] protection from harm and pain while they bear it. [Intended Power], bring [Name] healing and peace when the burden is done.

5. Return the item to the target of the spell.

6. Take practical steps to support the target of the spell as much as possible.

Optional: After casting, transfer the herbs from the dish to a small bag or jar with an included taglock or intention paper for continuous working.

Optional: Can also be adapted as an herbal bath (maybe leave out the salt or use only a small amount). Use caution if pregnant or nursing, test on a small patch of skin first.

[sailingfireshipz]

“I will say that I feel like we are witnessing a shift in the Stellaride dynamic in relation to their growth & development.” What do you mean by this?

Ooooh, I'm pissed because I had my thoughts typed out & it just disappeared, so I'm going to try & recapture them.

So we've gotten to see Stellaride through several different "eras" so to speak. It feels like this era of them is the most grounded both individually & collectively. They've always been there for each other in some capacity however this season so far just feels different (to me at least & in a good way)

Their communication has been immaculate. They know when to push & when to pull. Stella knew her husband needed to be consoled in 13x03 & we saw her give him the space to be vulnerable while also her verbalizing her needs. This episode however you see her be a little bit more firm in how she addresses him because ultimately she knows her wants to talk to Damon but that he needs that push to stop avoiding it & go see him. The same can be said for Kelly with Stella. He was firm in his communication when he told her she wouldn't gain any favor by challenging Pascal yet soft when she was sad about losing Boden as a leader, father figure, etc.

Also, their growth as individuals. Stella recognizing that she did come at Pascal wrong & she wouldn't have done that with Boden. Kelly recognizing that he messed up in lying & coming clean regardless of the consequences. Him not allowing what Damon said in anger to make him question his growth as a man, husband, friend, brother & potential father.

I say all of that to say this. They are showcasing that there is space in relationships for there to be conflict, tension & issues that arise but that with healthy communication you can overcome those obstacles without a major blowup that festers like we saw in S11 or even the uneasiness they had at the beginning of S12 where it felt like they were tiptoeing around the issue.

Out of ALL of their ERAs, THIS is the one that i want to see them bring a baby into & raise a child in. Stability, love, healthy communication, conflict resolution skills, all of it makes for an environment in which their kid will have the childhood they never had. Ultimately, that's the goal, right? Give our kids better than what we had.

[ladypiscesmoon]

LAST PART MATT BOMER/JONATHAN BAILEY/questions part 3

This is the last part of the q&a for Matt and Jonathan. Sorry it took me so long, but I was a lot of work.

Tomorrow I will put the list of readings on here, so everyone can see what to expect in the coming weeks

*alleged/for entertainment purposes*

22. Hey dear i've got questions for Matt & Jonny reading😘: has jonny become reluctant to be with Matt or show him affection?

Answer: Four of cups reversed, the chariot, ace of coins

No, not at all. He will always hold a torch for Matt. But Matt knows what Jonathan wants. He is not going to push him to make a decision. he knows what the relationship could be and focuses on his own career and life.

23. i somehow think Simon(matt's husband) is a male equivalent to Lizard chambers(armie's evil ex wife)! He kinda gives me weird and sly vibes?

Answer: I pulled six cards: two for the past, two for the present, two for the future (Pantheon deck, telepathy oracle cards): past: goal, observe/present: triumph, moment/ future:inducement, confusion

I don't get the same vibes from Simon, like I get from Elizabeth (Armie's ex). But I have been feeling him trying to be in control. Past Simon was also goal oriented and like to stay in control of his emotions, but without a shadow of a doubt, he loves Matt. At the moment he relives very much a lot of good memories and likes to remind Matt of those special moments as well. In future he will understand he's got to talk about the difficult stuff if they want to go forward together.

24. Saying this,will matt ever have the courage of letting him go or getting a divorce?

Answer: I think I have answered that a few times. I did not pull for it again. The energy changes all the time because they have not really talked about stuff and they have a long history and Matt goes back and forth in his mind. Earlier this year I thought for sure Matt was going to end it and I still think this is heading in that direction. There's love, but they seem to have lost the sparkle and the connection and he feels that connection with Jonathan instead.

25.do you think during the recent campaigning in NY did they like had any intimate moments off screen obviously? Or they just tried to be just friends?

Answer: panther oracle: perseverance, friendship, overload, cosmic insights: give it time, they'll be back

definitely know both they don't want to be just friends. At the Emmy's there was a lot going on, so other than the things we saw I don't think they could have a moment, but a quick word here and there. But I do strongly feel they are in contact often and hold less back in their affection than when they're in public.

the picture below is for question 22-25

26. do/ will they miss eachother as strongly as they did?

Answer: telepathy oracle cards; observe, enlightenment, confusion, link

Yes, they do. The feelings are not fading, but Matt is confused sometimes and they have to overcome obstacles

27. do you think they've ever talked about their feelings for each other? (Off screen i mean) Thank u😘💕

Answer: I have pulled for this before. Yes, they have. Especially Jonathan has been very vocal about what he wants.

28. Isn't every time they're gonna meet super hard for them?

Answer: I feel overall a lot of joy when they meet, but Matt is the one that needs to be reassured, he's very afraid to lose everything and Jonathan too in the process of things. But Jonathan is not going anywhere if Matt wants him to stay (picture below needs no explanation in my opinion)

29. Could you pull out a card if you see Matt Jonathan working again with Ron nyswaner(writer/showrunner of fellow travelers )

Doesn't seem so at the moment

30. Matt 2/3 days back liked this video on Instagram also confirms that all is not like before and he’s really really trying to make the connection work. Where do you see this marriage heading??? Will Jonathan’s presence strongly influence his decision coming months?even though Jonny lives in another country! Becoz seeing this video⬇️ Matt liked only makes your reading (old one)true that he’s the one holding on to the marriage(and the honour gala for them as a couple next month only puts pressure to hold on that image)

Link : https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_cglQgN1UN/?igsh=ZTR3aTYxNmYzb24z

Answer: I think I have answered your question already by pulling cards for similar questions. And because this post took a while, I'm not sure if the liking of the video is really relevant anymore.

31. Do you see wedding/engagement for Jonathan with someone else (without that person being Matt?)

Yes/no oracle cards: No (heavy energy, blocked, weighed down by worry), situational oracle deck: date, cut down, death

At the moment: no. The energy felt really blocked around this topic. I think that's because he is not thinking about someone else at the moment. But, I said this before: he will not wait forever, so when I asked for some clarification I got date, cut down and death. He will date again at the least if things are not working out with Matt. but not at the moment

32. Jonathan Bailey is on the rise . JW rebirth stills and storyline came out and even the haters are shocked by how wrong they were to have judged him for being part of the movie.Literally him waiting for 35 years is all coming together now. do you think this superstardom will effect his friendship or whatever the term is to describe… with Matt or it will only make it stronger? Will he forget Matt or will Matt always be super special to him? what does cards say🙏

Answer:confession messages: learning, insecure, new beginnings, transparency

I don't feel he will leave Matt behind, he admires the man fervently. IIf anything he's sometimes insecure about being enough for him. I will not forget Matt, he feels like he has learned a lot from Matt and that Matt sees right through him.

33. Jonny’s health and then matts health . How is it going to be in the coming months ?

Answer: Matt: the empress reversed, ace of swords reversed, three of coins reversed

He seems to take poor care of himself. This mental tension is not good for his health, he may have symptoms like headaches, migraines, and an inability to focus.

Jonathan: knight of cups reversed, ace of cups reversed, four of cups: he seems to be a bit moody, maybe he was turned down for a role or something other that has to with work. He may feel emotionally a bit drained. Could be because he's working so hard.

34. as Jonathan is distancing himself do you think he will just give up and distance him from Matt completely just to protect his heart as times just going by fast?

Answer: Like I said in a previous answer, he will only "move on" if there's no chance of Matt choosing him. And this doesn't necessarily mean that he doesn't love the man anymore, just that he will back off if Matt asks him.

35. Do you ever (through the cards) Jonathan taking that huge step in wanting this relationship to go beyond this as hes been restraining a lot (the death card you posted in your last reading) and hiding it all in which is unlike him. Or he wud never ? Since that person is in a marriage. but according to your readings so far you did say they will eventually one day get together. The cards cud have said a FLAT NO but so far your readings said they wud but not anytime now.

Answer: I feel like I have answered this before as well. I can only pull so much and get the same answer. They're not in a relationship at the moment, because Matt is married. The feelings are there, and yes they're strong because they're soulmates and they could make it work. But unfortunately, sometimes loving someone is just not enough.

36. Are their feelings still the same?🥺 Do they still want eachother or just want to cling to this "just friends/brothers" thing?🥲(which is really lame cuz they've never been just friends,they've been waaay more than friends since they met)

Answer: I think I have already answered this through all the readings I have done for them. They don't think of each other as brothers, but yeah, would you say anything else if you were married to another man?

37. Jonathan baileys biggest pillar of strength is his grandmother. hope you cud take cards on how she’s doing health wise …

Answer: justice, the chariot reversed, six of wands

She may have had some setbacks or problems, but she is recovered or recovering. She has to take her health seriously though.

38. is Jonathan Bailey and Hugh skinner (British actor) dating? Becoz I see him everywhere with Jonny everywhere. And there are strong rumours as well. Could you take out cards on that?

Answer: No, they're not dating, they are friends

39. Matt just spoke in an interview for Emmy’s about Jonathan . The words he used were so emotional and too profound tbh for Jonathan and then he ended by saying “we are bonded for life because of this experience “ and suddenly as if he didn’t want ppl to take it in a romantic or shipping way he said “as brothers” and it felt really awkward coz if we’ve seen nothing looks like brothers offscreen as well. so cud you take cards on if he meant as brothers as in soldiers in arms which is understandable. Coz no one look at a brother like they way these two do offscreen. Could you take cards on this statement of him pls.?

Answer: From the blocks to love oracle: complaining, people pleasing, anger

Someone, or multiple people have complained about the way he behaves around Jonathan. He didn't want people to be angry, he doesn't like it when people are angry with him. He's a people pleaser at heart

40. has the distance made the heart grow even more fonder and stronger in this case (for Matt ?)

Answer: not necessarily fonder. His strong feelings scare him also. He's afraid that Jonathan could leave him if they would be together. He also fears the judgement of his inner circled fans if he leaves his husband (aren't they a sort of an icon?) I think he has abandonment issues or something like that, because he has some things from his past he has to resolve.

the picture below is for question 39/40

41. Who will tell it to the other that they are in love with the other person between Matt and Jonny.?

Jonathan has been very clear about his feelings for Matt:

42. how is matts relationship with his kids. Sometimes it feels like it’s becoz of them he doesn’t want to give up on the marriage?

what does the cards show regarding ⬇️⬆️

Answer: the hermit, the sun.

I think him being the calm, more retrospective parent, is good. Their relationship with him seems good, it makes me feel warm inside. (hence the sun, maybe?)

43. do you think the kids will be supportive in matts decision and do you see Matt finally choosing to walk away.

Answer: queen of cups, the magician, ten of cups

Should he get a divorce, they will understand in the end and be supportive because they love him very much.

44. yes you’ve said matts marriage is the obstacle for Matt Jonathan but do you think it’s how the kids wud react is what he’s most worried about in all this or it’s just the societal facade that wud all start crumbling down (coz they as a couple are kept on a pedestal in the LGBTQIA + community)

Answer: Think I answered this above. But I have to say I can feel it's one of the factors. Matt doesn't seem to take a decisions lightly anyway. but yes, breaking up a family isn't something you should take lightly. I understand why he's afraid.

45. Matt has been vocally thanking Simon his husband during his awards even now. But do you see (the cards) marriage sustaining the next year? Who do you think will finally take that step to be vocal that it’s over?

Answer: Would be really strange if he wouldn't support someone he has been with for the last decade or more. Anyway, I don't think Matt doesn't love his husband. It is possible to love someone but the relationship could have run its course. Anyway, I pulled a card from the mystical moon oracle. I've said this many times before: Timing is difficult in Tarot. So do with it what you may.

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Could you do some Seven x gn!reader headcanons? Pretty please?

Seven! X Gn! Reader headcanons

(killer seven/scissor seven)

Warnings: mention of killing, some toxic relationship dynamics. Please remember that in canon, Seven is literally described as ‘ugly’ by a few characters. Just want to put that in because someone might be unhappy with it.

---

. He’s an annoying little shit. And not exactly… ‘attractive,’ but that was fine. You wouldn’t be with him if you thought looks mattered anyway. It was the first thing you would tell others if they dared to ask why you had a thing for him. You liked him. It was simple as that – did there need to be a reason.

. Going back to him being a little shit… he’s horrible, really, a pervert who sometimes tries to catch you half-naked. It took a punch and a very lengthy, very serious conversation for Seven to finally understand that hey, peeping on people is wrong and horrible. But that’s mainly for/if you two haven’t done the deed yet. If/once you do, depending on your attitude, thoughts, and feelings on the matter, you can expect our resident pervert to catch a glimpse or two.

. Seven has a lot of stuff to unpack, stuff he’s shoved down and to the back of his mind. It’s repressed, something that hits him out of nowhere, sometimes. When it resurfaces, he has this habit of keeping to himself. Sometimes it’ll be for a day or two, or just a few hours. Now, he’ll still be flowers and sunshine, smiling like an idiot (a loveable one) but you can tell he’s not fully there. It’s up to you whether or not you’ll try to help him through these times. If you decide that you want to – will – please keep in mind that sometimes, just like everyone else, Seven needs time for himself.

. The same goes for you – Seven will be there for you, always. He’s not the best with words, so please don’t hold that against him. But he is good with actions, proving that he does care about you – that he loves you, even.

. Seven is also the type of guy who would rather show you how he feels with actions rather than words (remember that episode where he was tricked into thinking he was going on a date with Thirteen? Man was a simp). Small dates, cook your favorite food, put on romance movies (I think he has a poster of one in his room), and just overall, spend time with you. It doesn’t always have to be something grand; it can also be the simplest of things that would remind you why you fell for this man to begin with.

. Also, you must be okay with his job – being an assassin. Granted… he sucks at his job. Seven has this ‘bad’ habit of emotionally connecting with his ‘target’s’ – failing to take out the panty ‘pervert,’ didn’t kill Cola once he found out her situation, and so on. It’s adorable, really, until you remember why he took on the role in the first place. Earn enough money to make a trip to Stand, and hopefully get his memories back.

. But what then? You try to keep that question out of mind, pretend it doesn’t matter. But it does. And Seven knows this too – what if he was a different person in terms of morality, back then? What if he goes back to his old ways, current personality turning into dust? It’s unsaid between you, but you’ll cross that bridge when you get there.

. Oh, and good luck with getting alone time with Seven. Dai Bo is an obstacle you need to overcome. That bird thinks you’re nothing but a hindrance, in the beginning. He won’t talk bad about you, but he’ll sneak in a petty remark or two occasionally. You both mean a lot to Seven, so he’ll try his best to make sure you could at least stand each other. But with time, the two of you would make a great time for making Seven stay on task. Usually.

. Now, if you were an assassin, you’re either good at the job or horrible at it, like Seven. How else would you meet the guy? Maybe you were sent to kill someone on Chicken Island, someone like Mad Dog or even some regular civilian that unfortunately messed with the wrong person. If that’s the case, then Seven must have showed up at the ‘right’ time – halting you in your tracks. Regardless if you’re good or not, a fight will break out between you. Either the fight ends with some blood drawn and a few bruises – and humiliation if you’re better than him – or it’ll end in some life realization for you.

. On the other hand, if you’re just as bad – or worse – then you might be the one on the ground. Another life and self-realization. And after that, you may either quit the life of an assassin altogether, pick another, mondain job, or lay low for a bit. Just a bit.

. Seven won’t be the best boyfriend. He’ll make mistakes and he will have his flaws. But so do you. He won’t be a bad boyfriend. And you won’t be a bad partner. But it will be a relationship that takes work, just because of who he is and who you might be.