detailskustom-blog

[blackspies12]

Christmas Event Prediction???

So, with the ending of TWST's Nightmare Before Christmas event, it kind of implied that there will be a Christmas event; whether this event will happen next year or in two months is unknown. If it is in two months, that might explain why the Halloween event ended/started sooner than usual. I assumed it was for Book 7 Chapter 11 that might happen in November, but we'll see when the JP schedule drops in a couple of days.

Anyway, I'm assuming the Christmas event will have the remaining cast that didn't appear in the recent Halloween event, which is:

Deuce, Ace, Rook, Jack, Ortho, Floyd, Lilia, Silver, Kalim, Cater, Ruggie

And not gonna lie; it makes sense that these are the characters that would be in the Christmas event.

Christmas, other than the religious connotations, is also associated with family, gift giving, giving thanks, feasts, celebration and joy.

Silver and Lilia are the obvious ones. They are family so I wouldn't be surprised if Lilia is the SSR. This could be the chance for the father-son duo to express how much they mean to each other. I think these two would be very excited to embrace Christmas traditions. They fit the theming of family perfectly.

Kalim embodies the Christmas spirit the best. He is kind and isn't shy to express thanks or give gifts. He calls all the NRC students his friends and he is the definition of a good person. Kalim also has a very large family so I am sure he is quite acquainted with giant family reunions that Christmas is associated with.

Rook is in a similar boat. Admittedly, I am no Rook expert, but like Kalim, he gives compliments freely, and giving gifts would be no problem either. He would definitely embrace the Christmas spirit proudly.

The others are a bit more complicated or can be a bit of a stretch so bear with me.

From what little we know of Cater's family, we know that he has a strenuous relationship with his sisters and has never really been able to bond with schoolmates due to constantly moving. This event could be a chance to experience a holiday where people gather together and give gifts to express how much they mean to each other. He seriously needs to know that other people care for him and wonderfully all of the Light Music Club is here! A group of people he has wonderfully built a bond with.

Ortho and Floyd are kind of the odd ones out. I feel like they would both enjoy Christmas and the idea of it, but their family isn't in the event (Idia, Azul, and Jade). Still, I think they fit in with the mood and ambience perfectly. Floyd may be a bit chaotic but they both exude the childishness and playful aspect of Christmas.

Ruggie is here for the feast of course! But he's also connected to the theme of family. Ruggie has expressed multiple times how much he cares for his grandmother and all the children in his neighborhood. He gave thanks to his grandmother for raising and gives gifts to the children such as food. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the SSR too.

Savanaclaw is also very close; you can call them a pack, so Jack and Ruggie can be included as a family to one another. Jack also has younger siblings so if any children are involved in the event I am sure he will handle them well. Jack is also very loyal but is also very headstrong in his beliefs as shown by Book 2. If you read his vignettes and stories you would know how much he values what Leona and Ruggie think. (Family theming again).

Finally, we have Adeuce. This is the first event that will have them be in the same event banner. I would also bet money that Yuu and Grim like always will be involved in the event. Basically, I think this event will show how close the four are. It's no secret that NRC students struggle to express gratitude or "kindness," and Ace especially falls victim to this. Instead, he shows it by actions. I can see Adeuyuu and Grim giving each other gifts. Maybe they won't say that they are family but I'm sure the event will show how much they care for each other and also how happy it is they are finally all in an event together XD. How these four has built a sense of belonging since the beginning and how much they appreciate that bond. Grim will be especially happy about the Christmas feasts! Deuce isn't as reserved with showing his emotions and he will most likely be very onboard with the idea of Christmas.

Also I'm pretty sure that all of the combinations of Adeuyuu are all pretty popular ships so if you see their relationship in a romantic light, imagine a mistletoe showing up

This is a chance for them to show gratitude to each other when they rarely do. I can already imagine the shenanigans too.

TLDR; Found Family go brrr and Christmas is the perfect event to express that.

[sweet-beezus]

Take my hand one final time

Walk me to my ocean line

[thehistoriccemetery]

Hi!!! Absolutely love your writing :)

Idk if you’re taking requests but if you are:

Been having a tough time lately, would it be possible to have the female companions (plus Aylin+Isobel) comforting Tav/Reader during a panic attack?

Thank youuuuuu sending you all the love and good vibes

BG3 Ladies Soothe a Panic Attack

I was honestly unsure I’d ever able to do this prompt justice, especially given how differently every person’s needs are in such a situation. But I felt inspired to give it a shot anyway! I hope it’s alright!

I also send good vibes and well wishes to all my fellow panic attack having soldiers.

In the spirit of trying to keep it vague, this one is pretty short. But without further ado, here’s Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Karlach, Minthara, Jaheira, and Isobel and Aylin!

Shadowheart

Shadowheart knows all the clerical tips and tricks that are gonna get you through this you through this.

As soon as you’re in full blown panic she’s got an ice spell at her fingertips, placing her cold hands on your face especially around the eyes.

She kneels down next to you. “Alright love, I need you to breathe with me,” she commands, modeling the most effective breathing techniques.

She’s very soft, nearly whispering so you have to really focus on her in order to understand what she is saying.

She’s very liberal with her praise, telling you how good you’re doing with every breath you’re able to match.

When the panic subsides, she instructs you to rest. She’ll lay with you if you’d like, but you need to rest for at least a few minutes before proceeding with life as usual.

She brings you food and water, taking the opportunity to make sure you’re taking care of yourself in general. You have to eat and drink at least a little bit before she’ll let you go.

She also wants to have a little chat about the root of the issue. What are some of your triggers? What are some things that help you specifically?

Next time, she’s gonna be prepared.

Lae’zel

Lae’zel is not the gentle type when it comes to these sorts of things, though it’s not something she’s entirely unfamiliar with.

When she sees the panic set in, she’s the first to pull you up to your feet and have you do jumping jacks or something.

While any observers might think she’s being heartless or unemphatic, the adrenaline actually works pretty well to pull you out of the panic fast.

She doesn’t make you feel embarrassed about it at all. She simply squeezes your arms and nods in understanding. It happens to the best of us.

Lae’zel is, shockingly, largely unfazed. You get the sense that she dealt with this before. Perhaps she even dealt with panic attacks herself in her youth.

She thinks it’s best to resume normal activities immediately, though she’ll secretly be keeping a special eye on you the rest of the day.

Karlach

In seeing your unbridled panic, Karlach starts to get a little panicked herself.

She just doesn’t really have any experience with this sort of thing and is completely unsure of what to do.

Her first instinct is to hold you, but if you put up any sort of resistance at all she backs off immediately.

Whether you are in her arms or simply next to her, she whispering words of affirmation. But she’s unable to come up with much more than “it’s okay, soldier. It’s gonna be okay. You’ve got this.”

When you’re no longer gripped by panic, she’s still not entirely sure what to do. She’ll take your lead completely. Though she’s not entirely convinced that a simple “back to business” is the best course of action.

She’ll probably want to cuddle or at least hold your hand for a while just to make sure you’re truly alright. If she’s being honest, the ordeal gave her quite a scare. But she absolutely will not make this about her right now.

She’s going to be checking in on you pretty consistently over the next couple days. She may even get some pointers from Shadowheart on what to do if it ever happens again.

Minthara

Minthara’s first priority is privacy and protection. Anyone who isn’t her isn’t allowed to come anywhere close to you. Not when you’re this vulnerable.

After everyone is gone and out of earshot, she asks “Would you like to be held?” She speaks with the same tone and cadence she’s always using. Nothing about her softens.

If you say yes, she’ll silently pull you into her arms, allowing you to sob and heave into her chest until you recover.

Pretty much anything you need is fair game. She will not stop you from clutching at her clothes or skin, even if you accidentally hurt her.

If you say no, she’ll simply sit next to you in silence, occupying herself with a silent menial task. She will allow you some space, but she will not leave you entirely alone.

Either way, anyone who values their life will stay away from you; she’ll make sure of it.

You expect her to lecture you about such a blatant display of weakness, but she doesn’t. And anyone who would dare even mention it will receive a glare that makes them think better of it.

Jaheira

Jaheira’s first tactic is similar to that of Lae’zel. She tries to get you moving until the endorphins help you overcome your panic.

It’s honestly frustrating how effective it is. The height of your panic subsides quicker than it ever has before.

She is, however, quite a bit gentler afterwards. She has questions. Is this a frequent occurrence? What triggers your panic? How can we avoid it in future?

When you express to her your concern about your anxiety making you a weak link, she is quick to shut down any doubt that you are less valuable for this.

She’s raised enough children to know it takes all sorts of strengths and weaknesses to round out a team. Even those on the softer side have their purpose.

She eventually convinces to start taking more days off, especially when the task at hand has a high likelihood to push you beyond your limits.

Isobel and Dame Aylin

Dame Aylin pulls you into her arms. Even if you struggle against it at first, she just holds you tightly against her chest and gently shushes your sobs.

Meanwhile, Isobel handles the situation very similarly to Shadowheart, bringing her clerical knowledge in to support you.

She strokes your face with cooled hands, not minding the way tears pour relentlessly down her hands. All while a strong Aylin gently kisses the crown of your head.

Aylin shields you from the world with her wings, only allowing Isobel close. Anyone else will receive a gentle yet firm “Begone.”

When it’s over, Isobel tells you to rest. She’ll probably insist prefer you came back to/stayed at camp with her for the rest of the day.

As loathe as you are to miss out on a day on adventuring, Isobel’s company makes for the best afternoon anyone could ask for.

[suzukiblu]

WIP guessing game: "Robin"

Superboy has existed for about six months at best (five months, two weeks, and six days, but who's creepily spying on their fellow heroes and vigilantes? not Tim, for sure) and was created in a lab full of extremely niche genetic experiments whose creators very rarely bothered making look human, which is probably why he has some weird ideas about certain social norms.

Tim assumes that's why the guy just decided to drop a very annoyed Catwoman on him out of nowhere, anyway.

"The fuck?" he says, though through his vocoder it comes out more like the incoherent screeching of the damned. That being, well, the whole purpose of the vocoder and all. Superboy grins down at him from the nighttime sky all bright and sunny and weirdly adorable, for being a lab-grown weapon and a guy who is technically capable of disassembling Tim down to his individual atoms with, like, a touch and about two seconds' worth of thought.

Not that Tim has been creepily spying on anyone or said anyone's Cadmus files, again.

Also Superboy might not even know he can do that yet, so it's really not a smart thing to mention right now.

"Hey, man!" Superboy greets cheerfully. "She was breaking into that big museum a couple blocks over, figured you'd care about that. As opposed to, like, breaking into some rich asshole with insurance's penthouse. Figured you would not have cared about that."

"The museum also has insurance, for the record," Selina informs him sourly as she makes an art of getting off her unceremoniously roof-dumped ass while looking like being on this roof was her idea to begin with. Because, like: Selina. "And has not properly sourced the artifacts in their new Bast exhibit."

I know, that's why I was on my way to the museum to keep an eye out for you, is what Tim does not say, since Robin is supposed to be a splintered aspect of a mysterious all-knowing city spirit given human form and not just, like, a really dedicated teenager surviving on semi-legal energy drinks and conspiracy-board detective work and the occasional occult ritual to summon the Batman.

What he does do is jerkily cock his head and say, "Preyyyyy?", and let his vocoder horribly mangle the word into a sound usually best described as "unholy avian screeching". Superboy beams, which is not a normal reaction to hearing Robin's voice. Selina just rolls her eyes, but Selina of course knows about the whole "really dedicated teenager surviving on semi-legal energy drinks and conspiracy-board detective work and the occasional occult ritual to summon the Batman" thing.

Like she's never summoned the Batman for anything, geez. Or "Bruce", as an eight year-old Dick Grayson had once upon a time decided to randomly dub him. Tim still can't call the eternal and unsleeping eldritch protector of their city that without feeling like he's going to spontaneously combust, but it is in fact a thing that the Batman will answer to.

Might as well call Pennyworth "Alfie", though.

Jason was even worse at names than Dick, Tim is pretty sure.

"Yeah!" Superboy says, sounding still more cheerful and floating down the rest of the way to the roof to land lightly in front of Tim. Selina eyes him in a way that would end very badly for anyone who was not functionally invulnerable. "I mean, she seems cool and all but I dunno, figured the Bat wasn't big on Cats in his territory. And also the criming. Definitely also the criming."

"How . . . find Robin?" Tim asks. Superboy doesn't have enhanced senses, as far as he knows, so . . .

"Oh, I've been stalking you," Superboy explains. Tim blinks behind his unblinking mask and feels several ways about that statement. "That's what you Bats all do when you're interested in somebody, right? So I figured you'd like it if I did it back."

. . . Tim feels several ways about that statement.

[theemporium]

just clicked through your mv33 core and I feel like, since max didn't really have a rebellious teen phase, reader doing funny stuff with him? maybe skinny dipping or shotgunning all the weird stuff one tries as teen

why would you hurt me like this?? i am so soft?? oh my god?? this could be like a whole series🤠anyways thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

.

“This is stupid.” 

“It’s a pivotal part of teenage rebellion!” 

“Which teenager is stupid enough to do this?” 

“I did it when I was a teenager.” 

“I rest my case.”

You shot the boy a look, but he only grinned in response. 

When you were introduced to the world of Formula One, you had a million and one different people telling you what you should think of Max Verstappen. Whether it was journalists or paddock members or fans online, so many people were telling you what he was like. He was a villain, he was a cheat, he was everything bad with the sport. 

But when you met Max Verstappen, none of those words ever came to mind when you thought of him. 

He was blunt and straightforward with the words he spoke. But he was also undeniably caring and thoughtful. He cared deeply for the people close to him. He gave respect to everyone he met, regardless of their opinion on him. He was dedicated and hard-working, and it baffled you that this man was painted as the big, bad guy of Formula One.

The closer you got to the two-time world champion, the more you learned. There would be countless conversations where you would either find yourself on the phone to him or sat across from him on a hotel bed, legs crossed and smiles wide as you talking about anything and everything. 

When Max opened up about his childhood and lifestyle growing up, you don’t think he realised just how heartbreaking it was. He waved it all off, saying that was just how life was if you wanted to be a Formula One driver. But you didn’t buy it.

And you think, deep down, he knew that wasn’t very true either.

You wanted to change that. You wanted to give him back his years of lost childhood and teenage shenanigans, no matter how stupid or small and insignificant it may seem. You wanted to give him those memories, those experiences. And in all honesty, Max didn’t really care about it—but he liked having those experiences with you. 

“This just seems a bit pointless,” Max spoke up once again, his hands resting on his hips as he stared out at the dark water. “What do you gain from this?”

“An adrenaline rush and the thrill of hypothermia’s early stages,” you grinned back at him. “It never gets old, Verstappen. Skinny-dipping is a key experience everyone must partake in before they turn thirty.” 

Max narrowed his eyes at you. “Suddenly everything about you makes sense, Trouble.”

You grinned at the nickname. “Stop stalling, Max.” 

As much as he tried to avoid staring, he couldn’t help himself. His eyes were glued to you as he watched you pull your shirt over your head and dump it onto the sand beside you. Your shorts soon followed, and you were left in nothing but your bikini.

“Enjoying the view, Maxie?” 

His cheeks burned as he snapped his gaze away from you. He looked ahead of him, at the dark water. He could see the waves lapping against the sand, see the tide rise just before your feet before the water was dragged back in. But he couldn’t see the horizon any longer, not in the light of the moon and stars glittering in the sky.

Maybe that was what made it more thrilling. 

“Fine,” Max huffed before he pulled his shirt over his head. “Let’s do this.”

“That’s the spirit, Verstappen!” 

Max wasn’t even sure what he would feel. He almost imagined an epiphany would hit him the second his body was submerged in the ocean water, that the burning desire to make all the memories you spoke about would become stronger. 

Instead, he was just painfully aware that he was naked in the ocean, with his best friend a few feet away, also naked and grinning at him like he meant something.

“Don’t you feel refreshed?” You called out to him, your arms swaying back and forth to stay afloat. 

“I feel like you might have had a more boring childhood than I did if this is what you did for fun,” he retorted, his lips twitching upwards when he heard you laugh. 

“This is only the beginning, Max,” you said to him, almost like your words were a promise. “We are going to give you the crazy teenage life you should have had.”

His smile was more sincere. “I can’t wait for you to show me the world, Trouble.”

.

[honeymoonblues]

Gossip & Giggles

Professor Remus Lupin x Professor!GN!Reader

Summary: You've gone away for the day, and Remus feels like everybody is acting strange. (Gender neutral reader)

Word count: 724

A/N: Fluffy little thing. Is implicated that the reader and Remus are in an established relationship. Please, let me know if there are any spelling errors, English is not my first language.

“I give him 10 minutes at most.”

“I’d say at least until he walks through the door of the first class.”

“Have a little faith! I think he won’t go five minutes without noticing.”

A few professors were clustered in the entrance of the great hall, murmuring to each other. Remus thought that was a bit odd, but didn’t question it much, it was far too early, and his hunger was stronger than his curiosity at the moment. 

When his coworkers felt his stare, they quieted down, which was even more curious. Were they talking about him? Lupin wondered. But the hot tea in his cup was much more enticing than whatever they might have going on.

His gaze was fixed at a random point of his table, his mind lost in the haze of the cold morning and the memory of you saying goodbye. 

It was much, much earlier when your owl had woken up both of you by clawing at your bedroom window. It carried bad news for you. Thankfully, nothing tragic had happened, but the letter received demanded your immediate attention. That’s how, before the sun was out, you left the castle, not before hugging and kissing Remus goodbye, of course.

Breakfast passed without giving professor Lupin much time to raise his spirits, so he walked to his first class with his mind still elsewhere. 

The students were lively, in total disregard of the early hour or the freezing weather, as expected from the second-years. When he called for their attention, however, they fell silent ridiculously fast and started to whisper to each other in a way that reminded Remus of the professors in the great hall this morning. The nervous tic in his eye started acting up, he sighed and tried to make his student’s concentrate on the class once again. 

Overall, it was an all-right lesson, even outstanding considering Remus was fighting his neck pain, five hours of sleep, and the constant gossiping the students seemed to have going on through whispers and notes for the whole two hours. 

Stretching and comforting himself, Lupin thought “the second years always have some drama to murmur about anyway”. But his next class with the fourth-years was somehow worse! 

This particular group of hufflepuffs and ravenclaws was usually quiet, so much that he had to beg them to participate. But this morning, they seemed to not be able to hold their tongues, or keep their giggles at bay. 

“What’s going on with you today!” Even Remus had to chuckle at the unusual circumstance. 

In spite of that, he took advantage of the energy in the class, and used it to make an impromptu dueling class, which would have been impossible with these students any other day.

Sitting down for five minutes between lessons, he scratched his head, in an almost meditative state. Why was everyone acting strange? Is he missing something? 

While making sure he had a matching pair of shoes, and had not magically changed his pants for a multi-coloured kilt somehow, the seventh-years entered his classroom.

The older the students, the more tired they usually are, so this class went along ordinarily. They did seem to be smiling more, and Remus thought he heard one of them call him ‘cute’, but what were the odds? 

As the hours passed, Remus felt more worn out than other days, so every little bizarre experience in class or after it, he ended up attributing to his own tiredness-induced-paranoia. 

To his heart’s content, you were back to the castle just in time for dinner. With all these odd happenings, he felt like you were gone a week rather than just a few hours, but here you were, finally. 

The silly grin he had on his face when he saw you, rapidly faltered when he noticed how you giggled at the sight of him. Merlin, you too?

Blinking slowly, he felt your arms wrapping around him.

“Hello.” his voice was muffled against your shoulder.  “I missed you.”

“I can tell, darling.” Moving away from him, you looked into his eyes and took his face delicately in your hands. “Is that why you decided to leave my lipstick mark on your cheek for today?”

Then, he laughed heartily in realization, while you wiped his face to get rid of the remnants of your morning goodbye kiss.

(i hope no one minded the concept of the reader wearing lipstick, considering it's a gender neutral reader, but i think makeup is pretty genderless! even us they/thems have to wear lipstick once in a while!)

[windvexer]

Heylo! I wanted to ask about your experience post initiation if that's alright .i recently did a tarot reading and got told that to please spirits in order to begin a good working relationship, i must contemplate and be ready to be Changed. there were lots of signs that it could lead to feelings of isolation, and otherness but it will lead me deep into myself (sry if this is too long.) i want to know if u went through something similar, or something else, and is it worth it personally for you. I would also love some pointers as to what I'm supposed to contemplate about. I don't mind the isolation but maybe I'm not understanding some key aspect of it. anyway thank you and i love your blog it's an irreplaceable resource for me. :)

Hi :)

Spirit-lead initiation into witchcraft is a controversial topic, I think in part because it can be very uncomfortable to discuss.

I have been relatively open on my blog that my initiatory experience was extremely painful and required a level of sacrifice and transformation that I was too immature to comprehend at the beginning of the process. Even now it's not something I'm sure I could articulate.

For me it was a process that lasted the majority of a decade. I think this is a relatively average timeline - which I just bring up because I think it's useful to point out that if you are facing the same sort of thing that I faced, it's not just going to be over in a few weeks or months.

Was it worth it personally for me? I don't know. Right now, my answer is that I love who I am and I like my life, and I wouldn't be who I am or have this life if I didn't go through that process. I used to say I'd never do it again if I had the choice. Now, a few years after the fact, sometimes I say I'd do it again. Maybe in a decade I'll think it was worth it.

It's my belief that the sort of initiatory process I, and others, have gone through, isn't necessary for most people to form a good working relationship with the spirits.

I believe that if you have the choice, you should very, very carefully contemplate initiation and only agree to it after a prolonged period of reflection.

So, what's there to contemplate? I dunno. Otherness on the path to spirit-working was a major part of my trip, so if we are kindred, here's maybe something to contemplate:

You are a boulder. You are a very nice boulder in the wilderness. You're composed of many varieties of minerals and metals. You are a gorgeous boulder, glittering in the sunlight, hosting a unique map of inclusions and ore veins unlike any other boulder in the world.

You sit high up on a mountainside. A few meters behind you is a river. Below you is a dry valley.

The waters of the river are pressing up behind you. They rush past you, sweeping by, continuing their eternal circuit in the mountain-range, but rarely trickling into the dry valley below.

One day, you gain an interest - as some boulders do - in allowing some of the water to trickle past you into the valley below. The secrets of nature will allow you to sometimes let water to lap up over your sides, and through narrow crevices, to water the plants you find to be most beautiful, and provide drinking pools for the little animals you hold most dear.

Little by little, the valley beneath you begins to change as you apply yourself to learning the secrets of nature and letting the water flow past you.

After some time, the water begins to whisper in your ear. It appreciates your interest in its flow - it likes your focus on the river. A deal can be brokered:

The river will dissolve only some of the minerals and inclusions that run through you, creating hollow tunnels. Through these tunnels, the water can flow much more easily and rapidly.

But there are conditions.

The conditions are that whatever is washed away can never be returned. How could it? What force in the universe could restore the crystalline structure within you once the waters have carried it away?

And, the river chooses which inclusions will be removed. The river is very wise in these matters; it knows better than anyone how water can best flow through any boulder. It isn't up to you to choose what leaves, and it isn't up to you to choose the nature in which the water will flow through you.

Finally, if you use the secrets of nature to ever stop the flow of water through the new inclusions, you are at risk of crumbling away. The empty caverns within you will dry up and leave you empty in places that should be whole.

The river asks you to contemplate and return with an answer.

Of course it leads you deep into yourself. The river is going to run right through you.

[max1461]

I *think* the deal with Gödel's incompleteness theorems is that it's just a cardinality thing, it's like a pigeonhole principle thing (in spirit; it's not literally the pigeonhole principle). Like that's sort of what diagonalization arguments are, and Gödel has a diagonalization argument. If you set up some system of rules, there will always be consequences of that system that you can't prove because you're limited to "too few possible proofs". I think even Gödel himself said something to this effect somewhere but I can't find it.

It's like. Imagine some sentence in PA that's like ∀nP(n), right. Well it might be unprovable in PA. In fact, Con(PA) is of exactly this form: "∀n(n does not encode a valid derivation of a contradiction)" or whatever, and it's unprovable in PA. But from the outside ∀nP(n) is still true in the sense that, well, no matter how many numbers n you check, you'll never find one that doesn't satisfy P. In fact, any statement of the form ∀nP(n) which is unprovable must be true, because if it were false we could find a counterexample. But we can't make that inference from within PA, we have to make it "on the outside".

I find this sort of unsettling because...

Nevermind. I don't find it unsettling any more. I think it's normal and no big deal. There are definitely interesting issues around this but I think in itself it's kind of no big deal. Especially if you're like, a Curry style formalist and you think of math as the empirical study of the behavior of systems of rules and proofs as repeatable experiments (reducing math to metamath, and making it a science).

It's just all, all Gödel is saying is that mathematical systems are "too small" to directly tell you everything about themselves. Again, *I think*. It's like, no more mysterious than the halting problem, because it literally is the halting problem. I don't think the halting problem is that wacky either. Ok there's no algorithm that tells you whether other algorithms will halt. Sure, an algorithm for a decision problem is a pretty restricted sort of thing. It's not really a surprise that there isn't one that does that.

Anyway the upshot is I don't think Gödel forces us to be any more Platonist than we already are. Like in general, even without Gödel, if you want to be a game formalist, say... and you claim "I've proven φ from the axioms of PA", and you want that to be interpreted in roughly the same way as "I made the move ke4 in a chess game", or whatever... well, to interpret the latter claim, I have to ask questions like "what's a chess game?", "what does it mean to make a move?", and these still get me into the territory of ontology of abstract objects and semantics of claims about abstract objects. So game formalism doesn't save you from this sort of thing. And conversely I don't think Gödel produces any more issues of this kind. If I claim "∀nP(n) is true but unprovable in PA", the thing is it might be hard for me to know I'm right (because ∀nP(n) is uprovable, so I have to investigate empirically, à la Curry's idea), but if the trouble is over the semantics, well, I'm still just making a truth claim about an abstract object (the system PA), so it's like. We're semantically in no more dubious territory than with the claim about making a move in chess or the claim about a totally non-Gödelian proposition proved in PA. It's just that it's harder to establish our claim as true.

[stem-sister-scuffle]

STEM SISTER SCUFFLE: FINAL ROUNDS

GLaDOS (Portal) vs Ms Frizzle (The Magic School Bus)

GLaDOS is a Quantum Physicist and Behavioural Psychologist!

Ms. Frizzle is a Science Teacher!

Why you should vote for each contestant:

GLaDOS:

"i’m not sure how to explain this one. she’s an evil computer who makes a woman do fucked up tasks that all involve a portal gun in some way. evil computer woman i love you :3"

"She's witty, fun, they had to restrain her intelligence and it didn't work-"

"She should be able to kill everyone forever. Anyways she runs aperture she loves science so much it transcended lives and identity. It’s just what she does"

"she kills people 👍 shes cool and i like her"

"…. I mean she’s categorically not but it would be funny to include her. Again, it would be Very Funny"

"mad scientist robot representation with a complex emotional arc through multiple video games"

"She might not know what the point of her tests are, but she sure is good at making them. Bonus points for being hot"

"Managed a massive and highly advanced scientific facility in which she ran tests and experiments long after the fall of human civilization. Chell/GLaDOS <3"

"She’s GLaDOS"

Ms. Frizzle:

"*gestures at entire magic school bus series*"

"Embodies the true spirit of scientific discovery: barely-contained chaos."

"She is very knowledgeable about a wide variety of sciences, and uses that knowledge to further the educations of many people. Teachers deserve the world; they do so much for so little in return. (shout out to Mrs. Goates)"

"She loves science and loves teaching kids about science. I love her. Idk I saw she only had one submission and that made me sad so now im here submitting her"

"She is an icon and has cool earrings"

"SHE'S SO COOL!!! She's so smart and so fun and genuinely just an icon. ALSO she has a little lizard on her shoulder. I saw an ask abt the submissions for Ms. Frizzle and the sender was the only person who submitted her.. I couldn't let this go. ALSO one of my professors irl called herself the irl Frizzle and she's a doctor of biology so make of that what you will"

[masterofthewarcry]

no, no you don't GET IT. okay - so he's only a little kid when his dad goes off to war and dies, right? he doesn't know his dad. all he knows is that his dad was a great warrior favored by athena, and that he has to avenge him (IMAGINE a little kid sitting by his mother's feet while she spins wool telling him he has to avenge his father some day, imagine it). so he grows up a little, following in his father's footsteps to become a great warrior, and then BAM he gets thrown into full blown WAR at fourteen. it's epigoni time people. he's the youngest there, this is the first time he's ever experienced real battle, and its in THEBES where his dad (who's ghost has been haunting him the whole time) DIED. anywhere he steps on the battlefield could be the very spot where his dad died. but he makes it through. they take the city, sack it, go home.

and that in itself is enough to make a man a legend, right? but almost as soon as he gets home, there's trouble in calydonia (where his grandfather is supposed to rule, but he gets usurped by an uncle or cousin or something). so he fucks off to calydonia to sort that out and ends up having to fight in ANOTHER huge battle to reinstate his grandfather as the king. but again, he pulls through, makes it out alive and goes home.

he gets married to aegialia, who's significantly older than him and who he doesn't know all that well just in time for adrastus (the king of argos and one of the original seven against thebes) to kick it. now, i'm not saying that adrastus was something of a father figure to him, but i think it makes sense narratively. so adrastus kicks it, and he inherits the city of argos, again being very young and not knowing much about ruling. he doesn't really get a chance to learn though because BAM it's trojan war time baby!!

so he gets together all the able-bodied argives (which is a LOT, like he's bringing a significant portion of the greek force) and they sail to aulis to meet up with the rest of the gang. sthenelus and euryalus (two of his buddies from the epigoni days) come with him - i like to think that they're like older brothers to him; sources he can look to for advice and support. ANYWAYS everybody gets to aulis, he goes to meet the rest of the kings and as soon as he introduces himself, everyone's talking about his father.

but its fine - even though he's proven himself to be a more capable warrior than his father was already. hes not here to cause a scene (no, they have achilles for that - but they dont have him yet so hold that thought), hes here to do a job. and do a job he will, because someone has to go fetch achilles from hiding! better send the young guy who MIGHT be able to hold his own against the strongest warrior in the world if he decides to fight back. and odysseus, of course.

they couldn't be more different, he and odysseus. odysseus is older, he's not been in a battle like this before, he has a son, he's generally regarded as a good king. whereas all he's ever known is war, he barely knows his own wife (DEFINITELY not enough to have a son), and he knows next to nothing about being a king. yet they hit it off. odysseus is charismatic and funny and he's ENRAPTURED by the way he talks about ithaca. he's never known anything like that. argos is home, sure, but ithaca is EVERYTHING to odysseus.

they collect achilles, with some trickery, and the real trojan war starts going. ILIAD TIME it's been nine years. he and odysseus are buddy buddy now (athena boys in business fr), achilles is on the fritz throwing a temper tantrum (NOT in a useful way on the battlefield). agamemnon is talking about giving up. menelaus ALMOST got paris's ass but aphrodite spirited him away. he and odysseus are holding this operation together. he's putting all this previous war experience to good use absolutely KILLING IT on the battlefield. he's going after aeneas, and then aphrodite, and then ARES the GOD OF WAR HIMSELF. achilles has NOTHING on him at this point. but the whole army is still praying for achilles return.

but it's fine - even though he's single handedly running the show at this point. he gets shot through the foot by paris and odysseus pulls it out because THEY WATCH EACH OTHERS BACKS, they look after each other. NIGHT RAID TIME, he and odysseus hit the town (and by hit the town i mean kill ~14 men under the cover of darkness and steal their horses), common athena boys W. they wash all the blood of themselves in the sea together afterwards, classic bro activities. he's feeding himself with odysseus's stories at this point because the way he talks about ithaca really does make it sound like something worth fighting for.

achilles comes back- OOPS, we thought it was achilles but its NOT its patroclus in his armor and now hes DEAD. achilles comes back for real, and now HECTOR is dead. who's that up on the walls of troy with a bow is that-? BAM, achilles dead, shot by paris. things are looking bleak and good at the same time. the palladium needs to be stolen so they can sack troy? easy money. NIGHT RAID PART 2, stealing the palladium time. easy money until odysseus decides to try and stab him in the back. he's devastated - his closest friend, caught up in the idea of having all the glory for himself. they've switched positions, now he is the one who wants nothing to do with this war, and odysseus is the glory-hungry king. heartbreaking.

TROJAN HORSE, the time is finally ripe to sack troy. everyone's behaving badly, people are getting raped on temple steps, it's a mess. odysseus throws a baby off the walls of troy. he's one of the only ones who doesn't get caught up in it because he's tired. he's tired of war and he wants to go home, even though argos is nothing like the home he's built in his head. there is no wife and son to return to. he knows nothing about being king. the rocky coasts of ithaca do not await him.

troy burns. the war is over, the ships are loaded with spoils, he sets sail for home. he arrives to find that sthenelus's SON, his BROTHER's SON has been fucking his wife and usurped his throne. and for a minute, it looks like he's about to go to war again, but he's tired. he's tired and it's his best friend's son, and it's a woman he never really got to know or care about and it's a throne he never asked for. so he just leaves. he takes his spoils, gets back on a boat and leaves. for ithaca.

he doesn't know how odysseus is going to react when he shows up. but, as it turns out, he didn't have to worry about that because odysseus isn't there. but penelope is. wise, patient penelope who listens to him talk about the war at troy and odysseus and how he's so tired. penelope who says, stay.

so he stays. and he waits for odysseus. and he learns things that aren't war. he learns what it feels like to carry a little boy on his shoulders. he learns what it feels like to have dirt under his nails and a sore back after a long day's work at the plow. he listens to penelope talk about odysseus, and shares his own stories too. he learns that he likes penelope, a lot.

enough that when the suitors start pouring in, he fends them off as best he can. he won't marry her - he won't do that to odysseus, but he will help her unravel the funeral shroud she's weaving each night. he will hold her while she cries for her husband who is likely dead at the bottom of the sea. he will start teaching telemachus his way around the blade when he asks.

and when odysseus does return home? he almost gets stabbed. odysseus is FURIOUS that someone he TRUSTED would come to court his wife, but that's not what happened at all, he's been protecting her the best he can. teaching his son to do the same. he's been waiting for odysseus with them. it's a teary reunion, of course, and then it's a bloodbath and then all the suitors are dead. he washes the blood out from underneath his nails for the last time.

see? do you see? it's about being HAUNTED by the legacy of a man you didn't even know, and it's about EXPECTATIONS and it's about figuring out what YOU want instead of what you're 'supposed' to want, and it's about GROWING past being a warrior and learning to be a PERSON, and it's about LOVING someone in a way that's beyond platonic or romantic. do you get it now? do you get it?

[caitchercatlady]

Not Having a Good Time

-Savanaclaw Version

Leona Kingscholar

You had too many people yelling at you today, so you go to the only private spot you can think of: The Greenhouse. If the smell of the plants didn't help you relax, the quiet most certainly would. You don't expect Leona to beat you to the punch though. As disinterested as Leona may appear about you talking about your problems, deep down, he hasn't seen you so out of it before that it's slightly concerning, especially the part in which you reveal that you've been having insomnia lately due to your heavy workload.

"Hey, if you're having trouble sleeping, I'll let you come over here just this once."

Turns out that using Leona as a pillow was the greatest idea you had all week. Of course, Leona pretends not to like it too much, hoping that would deter you from doing this again next time. In secret, having a sleep partner ain't so bad either.

Ruggie Bucchi

You haven't been in such a talkative mood, and that includes texting, so you've avoided everyone, including those you care about. It's because of this that you end up being confronted by an unusually ticked off Ruggie, who is questioning why you've been ignoring his texts for the past two days. You have no energy to be confrontational, so you lay down the truth, which actually stirs Ruggie's stomach with guilt.

"Man, your fatigue is almost contagious. I'm sorry, Yuu...really. Hey, uh, did you have dinner yet? I wasn't sure if you did, but I bought you something anyway. Maybe it'll perk you up a little?"

He shows you the plastic bag of cafeteria food he retrieved and offers you the best of the goods. You guys go somewhere private for a tiny dinner picnic, and being away from the loud bustling of the school halls makes the experience the utmost relaxing.

Jack Howl

Jack doesn't get so antsy when you miss out on Saturday morning runs with him because things happen, but this Saturday was different. You would normally give him a heads up on skipping out, but when you send him the heads up text very late into the night previous, something about it made Jack's heart itch. When you wake up late the next morning, you have a text from Jack saying the following:

I'm sorry you weren't feeling alright. If you have the energy, meet me in the woods. Bring a blanket with ya.

You still are feeling off, but you don't want to skip out on Jack twice. You meet Jack out in the woods behind the school with the blanket in tow. Much to your relief, Jack is in good spirits when you find him. He takes the blanket, sets it down perfectly on the ground and asks you to join him at embracing the nature for a few hours. Not that he minds having you by his side or anything. XD

[creampuffqueen]

Something Nice

Yangvik Week Day 5: Cultural Differences

Summary: While the team packs for their next trip, Kavik has a surprise for Yangchen.

Word Count: 2440

(will be posted to ao3 later)

~~~~

Yangchen finds that packing supplies is a rather cathartic experience. 

As an Air Nomad, gathering up her own possessions is relatively simple. After all, she owns almost nothing. All she really needs is her glider and a pack with some clothing.

But she has a team now. A team that travels alongside her wherever she goes. The thing about a team is that they need a lot of resources to go anywhere. 

The others are still busy packing up their personal belongings from their Taku safehouse. Yangchen, getting finished early, has opted to keep herself busy by packing up the rest of the supplies they’ll need.

It’s calming, in a way. Even her past lives find it so. Humans still need the same things to survive as they did centuries ago. Bedrolls, food, medicine. Yangchen makes sure to pack extra ginger root; Jujinta gets seasick when out on the open water for long stretches of time. (Not that he’ll ever admit it).

Yangchen and her team are preparing to set sail for Port Tuugaq, and if everything goes well, they’ll be there for the better part of the winter. Former Zongdu Ashoona, on the edge of retirement already, has been by far the most receptive to her plans to reform the shang cities. Hopefully the long winter stay will be enough time to get things in motion, and convince the rest of the shangs and zongdus to follow suit.

Finishing up with the food, Yangchen makes her way to the common area of the safehouse, preparing herself for the most tedious task of all: packing away all of the paperwork.

The table in the middle of the room is littered with maps, records, reports, and more. Stacks of paper are piled haphazardly on small side tables. A bookshelf on the wall sags under the weight of an untold number of logbooks. 

It all has to come with them. The other cities don’t stop needing her guidance just because she’s not living in them. Yangchen takes a deep breath, steeling herself. 

“You look like you’re having fun,” A voice from the hallway calls out, snorting with laughter. Yangchen glances behind her as Yingsu enters the room, hefting a pack on one of her broad shoulders. The firebender unloads her luggage into the pile of already-gathered supplies, heading further into the kitchen. 

“Not particularly,” Yangchen replies with a sigh. She starts gathering up the papers from the table, doing her best to keep them orderly. “But it has to be done.”

Yingsu appears again, leaning against the wall as she bites into an apple she’s produced from seemingly nowhere. “Fair enough, I suppose. Need any help?”

“Thank you, but no. I’ve got it.” The papers are sorted into neat piles, and Yangchen moves to start picking up all the logbooks. It won’t take much longer. 

“I don’t mind helping. I’m all finished with my own packing, anyway.”

“It’s alright,” Yangchen assures her again, “I can handle it.” The stack of books in her arms has grown so tall she can barely see over the top of it. From the corner of her eye she spots Yingsu’s doubtful glance, though the woman says nothing. 

It turns out that the spirits have a sense of irony. While she was looking at Yingsu, one of her lemurs darted beneath her feet. When she next steps, she trips over the tiny fuzzball with a shriek, heading directly for the floor. She only manages to save herself from face-planting by dropping her stack of books and bending the air beneath her, sending her back in the opposite direction until she’s upright once more. 

Hysterical laughter comes from her periphery. Yingsu is doubled over, clutching her stomach. Ignoring her, Yangchen dusts herself off, gathering the dropped books. Pik, the culprit of the tripping, climbs up her robes to cling to her back, chittering as if in apology. 

“You’d think you’d have learned by now that we don’t mind helping out around here,” Yingsu chastises. She discards her half-eaten apple on the center table and grabs some books. 

Yangchen doesn’t answer. 

Standing from the floor with books in her arms, Yingsu wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. “But if you won’t listen to me, I suppose I can just let your pretty waterbender do the convincing. Since it seems like he’s the only one that can ever get through to you.”

“I don’t know if I’d refer to Akuudan as ‘pretty’,” Yangchen replies primly, “I think ‘rugged’ describes him far better.”

“Describes who far better?” Jujinta walks into the common area, brow knitted in concern.

Yingsu grins. “You-know-who.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think I want to listen to this conversation.” Jujinta adds his bag to the pile and turns on his heel. 

Yangchen shoots a glare at the other woman, face warming. “You’re twisting my words.”

“Only because you’re trying to play games with yours.” Yingsu finishes placing the logbooks on the table and goes to grab more. 

Yangchen doesn’t get a chance to reply, because Tayagum and Akuudan choose that moment to trundle into the room, laden with more bags. 

Seriously, how do people manage to accumulate so much stuff?

“I think that’s the last of it,” Tayagum says, wiping his forehead. 

“Don’t put it down yet; we need to start bringing everything to the boat,” Akuudan reminds his husband. 

“We’ll be finished with this soon,” Yingsu adds, “Then I’ll help haul stuff out.”

Yangchen pauses, glancing around the room. “I don’t think Kavik is done yet. He hasn’t brought his things out.”

The three others share a glance between them. For some reason, it makes Yangchen feel oddly flustered. 

“He was still in his room, last I checked,” Akuudan offers. 

“Maybe you should go check on him. See if he needs any help.” Yingsu’s voice is too even. 

Yangchen pins the others with a glare. “Why do I feel like you all know something I don’t?”

Tayagum and Akuudan start grabbing bags and heading for the door. Yingsu has found the sudden need to make sure all the papers are evenly stacked. 

Unfortunately, Yangchen’s interest is piqued. Besides, as team leader, it’s her responsibility to check up on everyone and make sure things are running smoothly. She can’t have Kavik delaying their departure, can she?

Ignoring the looks of the rest of her team, she heads down the hallway and makes for Kavik’s room. 

He doesn’t answer her first knock. Or her second. For a moment, she wonders if he’s actually in his room, as she raises her hand for a third knock.

The door opens before her fist can land, just wide enough for Kavik to stick himself halfway out of the room. “Oh! Yangchen. Hello.”

His greeting is oddly formal. It makes something in her chest feel weird.

“Are you almost finished packing? We need to leave soon.”

“Yes, I’m almost finished.”

He doesn’t say anything else. He just stands there, as if waiting for her to leave, blocking the entrance to his room. 

Kavik has never minded her seeing his room before. 

“Why are you acting so weird?” Yangchen asks bluntly. “Are you hiding something?”

“I’m not acting weird!”

“You are,” She insists. She attempts to peek over his shoulder, but only catches a glimpse of something… orange? Before Kavik steps fully out of the room, shutting the door behind him. 

Why in the spirits’ name would he have something that shade of orange?

Yangchen crosses her arms with a huff. To box her out of his room, Kavik has stepped closer, the sudden lack of distance enunciating their height difference. He isn’t much taller than her, but this close, she has to tilt her head up to look him in the eye. 

She swallows, her mouth feeling oddly dry. “I thought we agreed to stop keeping secrets from each other.”

Kavik’s lips curl into a pout, and she can’t help the way her eyes dart to look at them, just for a second. “It’s not a secret, it’s a surprise. There’s a difference.”

“A surprise? What for?”

Some kind of internal battle seems to wage behind his eyes for a moment, as if weighing his options and deciding the best move forward. Wordlessly, he opens the door again, stepping into the room to let Yangchen see what he’s been guarding from her view. 

“It was meant to be a surprise for you.”

Laid out on his bed is a garment in the same shade of orange as her usual robes. Brown and white fur trims the hood and sleeves, with delicate beading decorating the front pocket. She recognizes what it is - she sees him wear something similar often enough. 

A kuspuk. In her colors.

The room suddenly feels too hot. “Kavik…” 

“I noticed that you don’t have a lot of warm clothing,” He starts to explain, quickly, nervously, red coloring his cheeks. “And since we’re going to be in the South Pole during the winter, I just thought, you know, you might want something a bit warmer -”

“In my colors? You must have gotten it custom made.”

“Handmade, actually.”

Her jaw falls open. “Kavik, you made this?” She draws a hand over the kuspuk, feeling the soft fabric beneath her fingers. The tiny beads on the pocket are forming swirling patterns, mimicking the design of her wooden prayer beads. And the fur…

“Where did you get bison wool?”

Kavik gives an awkward chuckle. “Remember when I went to visit my parents?”

She does. Some time after their plans to stay in Port Tuugaq were finalized, Kavik had asked for some time to visit his parents, saying that he wanted to see them before they spent several months on the other side of the world. Yangchen had of course granted him leave, though she spent the few weeks he was gone missing him terribly. 

Not that he needs he know that part. 

"I might have made a slight detour on the way back and stopped at the Northern Air Temple for a night.”

“You’ve been working on this for that long?”

“Well, it’s a bit of a long process to make one.”

“No, I mean - you’ve been keeping this a secret for all this time? So you could surprise me with it?” She doesn’t know why the idea is so hard for her to fathom. Or why it’s making her heart beat in such a quick rhythm. 

Kavik blinks at her slowly. “You deserve something nice. You work hard enough for it.”

The force of his gaze makes her face warm. She has to look away. 

“Can I… try it on? Or is it not ready yet?”

Kavik nods. “Yeah, you can try it on. Make sure it fits; I had to eyeball all of your measurements.” 

A heartbeat later, his face flushes even redder as he realizes the implication he’s just made. “I mean - I had to, uh, guess all the measurements. I wasn’t…”

Yangchen hides her giggle behind her hand, amused with how flustered he looks, even as her own face heats up. Leaving him to stumble over his words, she slides the garment over the top of her robes, admiring the craftsmanship. 

“I didn’t know you could sew.” It fits her well, though the hem goes a bit far past her waist.

Kavik takes a step closer, eyes roaming over her form. Yangchen takes a deep breath, reminding herself that he has to look at her in order to make sure it fits properly. 

“I’m still not the best at it,” He says quietly. “I had my mother give me a crash course while I visited. We did nothing but practice stitches the entire time I was there. And Akuudan had to teach me how to do the beads; he’s surprisingly good at detail work.”

Ah. So the others knew about this. Yangchen absent-mindedly strokes the fur of one of the sleeves. “And which Air Nomad did you wrangle into giving you some of their bison’s wool?”

“It’s from Mingyur’s bison. He was happy to donate it.”

Yangchen’s chest seizes, hand freezing where it touches the wool. Fengbao’s wool. Wool from Nujian’s older sister. Her eyes fill with tears before she even realizes it, breathing coming in sharp gasps. 

Kavik’s face falls. He reaches for her hands. “What’s the matter? Was that not okay - oof!”

Yangchen bypasses his hands to throw her arms over his shoulders, dragging him in for a tight hug before her tears can start to fall. He flails for a second, surprised, before his hands come to rest gently on her waist, returning the hug. 

They hold each other close for a long moment until Yangchen is able to reign in her sniffles. Even after she calms, a small part of her wants to stay there forever, held in the little bubble of Kavik’s embrace, safe from the needs of the world. 

Alas, her wish is futile. Kavik breaks the hug first, though he doesn’t go far. He brings his hands to her shoulders, smoothing them down the orange sleeves of the kuspuk. “Are you okay with the length of the sleeves? I can tell it’s a bit long; I’ll go ahead and bring the waist up a little.”

“It’s perfect, Kavik. I love it.”

His smile sends a wash of warmth over her, a balm to soothe away her sadness. “I’m glad.”

Yangchen reaches for his hand. She twines their fingers together, squeezing. Words don’t seem like enough to express her gratitude for him. She hopes he can see it in her eyes.

Kavik looks like he wants to say something more. He swallows, squeezing her fingers back. His eyes meet hers, pupils so dark they could swallow her whole. Yangchen’s breath catches in her chest.

He’s so close to her. If she reached up, just a bit, she could…

“Are you two nearly finished? We need to leave.”

Jujinta’s monotone cuts between them, startling them apart. Kavik steps away, glaring at the young marksman standing in his doorway. “Jujinta, do you mind?”

Juji looks decidedly unimpressed. “The Avatar has a schedule to keep, you know.”

Yangchen shakes her head, attempting to clear her head from… whatever that was. “Quite right. Come on, we need to head for the docks.”

Kavik gestures to the kuspuk she’s still wearing. “Do you want me to hem that?”

She supposes he may as well. Though she hates to part with it so soon; it really is warm and cozy.

Still, she slips it off over her head and passes it back to Kavik with a wink. “Give it to me again when we get there. I promise I’ll pretend to be surprised.” 

[rrenzwrld]

GIRLY hear me out 😩!!

tattoo artist connie x shy black reader

it's like a her first tattoo and connie is her artist.

i wasn’t sure if i should’ve written a fic or just hcs but i wrote a fic! and if you want some hcs lmk! <3🤭

It was your 18th birthday and getting a tattoo was the first thing that came to your mind since you couldn’t think of anything else. Due to your low pain tolerance, you questioned yourself as to why you didn’t think a bit harder when your parents asked you what you wanted for your special day.

“A tattoo? You can’t even get flu shots without crying.” Your mom joked which sent your dad laughing a bit.

“Okay I know, but I don’t know what else to do.”

“Well, you already know what you wanna get?” You nodded as you pulled your phone out to show the sketch of some flowers that you drew. “Aww that’s cute~ You gettin it on your arm?” You wanted it on your thigh because you thought it looked better there.

“On my thigh?”

“Your thigh? You sure you can sit there for that long?” Your dad commented. He exchanged looks with his wife before their eyes said everything else for them. Your parents were a bit strict so you were shocked that they even let you get a tattoo. “And you already made the appointment?”

You nodded. “It’s someone Tiera knows.” Is what Tiera told you when you mentioned the tattoo birthday gift to her. You didn’t know this person but you trusted Tiera. She even offered to be there with you but you made it your mission to go to the place on your own. All your parents did was give you the money so the tattoo would be a gift.

After talking it over with your parents, as you’ve done for majority of the choices in your life, you get to the tattoo parlor that Tiera was talking about.

When you get there, there’s a tall guy with a buzzcut and tattoos littered over his arms and a few piercings on his face. He looked up and instantly smiled when he saw you walk in. The tattoos and piercings made him look scary so his bright smile towards you eases your spirit.

“Hey!” He comes from around the counter to greet you. He looked to be the only one there at the moment it it was early so you figured whoever else worked there didn’t come in yet. “You’re Y/n, right? Tiera told me you were coming.” You nodded your head and internally thanked your friend for being the reason you didn’t have to speak too many times today.

“First time?” You nodded again. “You don’t talk much, do you?” You shook your head. You didn’t really like talking unless you really really wanted to. You didn’t know this guy enough to try to talk his head off.

“Aww man, we gotta fix that. C’mon.” You followed him through the place to the secluded area he’d be working at. He was giving you small directions while he made sure he had all his stuff together.

“What’s your name by the way?” You felt silly.

“Oh, Connie.” He smiled again and you could almost melt into a puddle.

“Is that short for anything or..?”

“I don’t like telling people my real name. I hate it.” The two of you were beginning to have a conversation when he was cleaning your skin and everything. “Anyways, Tiera already sent me the flowers you wanted and everything,” He showed you the sketch of the flowers you wanted. Connie’s drawing was a lot better for what you wanted for the tattoo than you thought. “You like it?” You nodded excessively which was a big stamp of approval from you. “That’s good.. before I go ahead and get started, you got any concerns or anything?”

“Is it gonna hurt?” You said quietly. He laughed a bit but he didn’t mean to.

“Yeah, maybe.” Was an understatement for someone with a low pain tolerance. “You like shots?” You shook your head and he chuckled again. “That’s okay, once we get to talking, you’ll forget all about it. It’s gonna be quick, okay?” You nodded. You were obviously in good hands so you didn’t know why you were so worried. And plus, Connie was a cute guy so you didn’t mind that addition to the experience.

In a way, the experience was quick. Once the two of you got to talking as he was inking your skin for the first time, the pain didn’t mean a lot and you were slowly coming out of your shell with Connie. The conversation started off with simple things, then it went into more personal topics and before you knew it, he was finished.

You giggled “So why don’t you like your real name? Are you a Carl or something?”

“No.. my real name is Constance—“

“That’s a pretty name.” He looked at you like he thought you were lying.

“I doubt it but your name is pretty. You are also pretty.” Your heart dropped to your feet even though it was for a good reason.

“You’re just being nice..”

“Nah, I’m for real,” He said as he was wrapping up your tattoo after he showed it to you. For your first tattoo, especially on a place you wouldn’t expect to get it, it was absolutely beautiful. You would definitely be coming back her to get another some other time. “I’m bout to ask for your number right now, you cool with that?” He smiled at you for another time that day with those alluring hazel eyes. You didn’t even notice how well his small freckles painted his face. It was your favorite part about it so far and you internally beat yourself up for beginning to fall into him so quickly.

“I guess, but don’t you have a girlfriend?” He furrowed his brows in confusion at you once he finished up.

“I don’t, yet.” All you could do was hum as you wondered if his flirting was genuine or if it was normal thing he did.

The two of you sat in silence before you spoke when you were getting ready to go back up to the front to pay. “Thank you, Connie.” You smiled warmly.

“Of course, pretty girl.” You started to hand him the money until he stopped you.

“Nah, you good.”

“What? No, here—“

He laughed. “It’s fine, Y/n. I’ll get you next time.” He must’ve really liked you if he missed out on money from just meeting you today. But you didn’t like not paying people.

“Okay..” You put the money back in your purse.

“But I know how you can pay me though if you want.” Your head instantly shot up.

“Hm?”

“That number?” You eyes widened. You didn’t think he was serious.

“You were for real?”

Connie chuckled. “Yes, yes I was.” He slid over a piece of paper and a pen. “Whenever you’re ready.” You fought back a smile before writing down your number and sliding it back to him.

“Thank you~”

“Bye, Connie Springer.”

“Bye, pretty girl~”

[jadeleechsupportgroup]

Jk.

I am just here to beg for the Rui crumbs once more

*bangs my tin can against my prison bars*

Plz I am but a poor

Bartenders have been famous for lending a listening ear and a friendly smile since the first time one person handed another a drink. Rui thinks about this a lot. He hears it all from his fellow students: classes, exams, training, missions. Largely complaints.

He serves them all with a smile, exuding a confidence and flirtatious demeanor that masks a hollow, lonely darkness underneath. What he wouldn't give to go to class without worrying about someone dropping dead if he brushed past them in the hall. What he would do to have the chance to take an exam and fail it and commiserate with his classmates about the professors and the cafeteria food and lamenting the fact that all the cute girls were taken.

Rui wants to say that he would even take up regular missions again, if it meant his curse would be lifted, but that thought gives him pause. It's how he'd gotten into this sorry state in the first place. He was the answer to 'What's the worst that could happen on a mission?'.

Rui sighs and polishes the next glass.

"You're quiet tonight, Mickey."

Rui's façade never lasts terribly long when Romeo is his only company. The effervescence that makes his drinks so pleasant does not linger in his faded ruby eyes. He looks over at his friend and sees Romeo twirling the stem of his wine glass between his two fingers.

"Just thinking," Rui says with a sigh that is downright morose.

"About?"

Romeo is content to let the question hang for as long as Rui needs it to.

Rui pushes the glass aside and sets the cleaning cloth next to it. "The things people take for granted," he replies. "You know, little things, like...sitting next to strangers on a train. Getting boba with your friends after school. Going to the movies." His heart feels heavier just voicing the words he constantly thinks but never says.

Romeo nods to acknowledge him. "I can understand that," he says. "I took much of my life for granted until the incident that landed me here." He takes a generous sip of wine. Romeo's eyes are another pair of gemstones, twin flashes of deep, fiery purple and scarlet. They flick over to meet Rui's. "We're not alone in this feeling, though. Everyone experiences it, at some point."

"I'm not sure if that's helpful or not." Rui can't help but smile a bit anyway. "I can't imagine what you were like before Darkwick, Romi."

Romeo gives a light shrug. "Does it matter? That man is gone."

Rui's smile softens, becoming a little less spirited and a little more real. "Yeah. For me too, I guess." He chuckles a little, staring into the bottom of the freshly-cleaned glass to glimpse his reflection. "You'd be a good bartender, y'know. You're good at listening."

Romeo takes visible offense to this. "Please. I would shoot myself before I would listen to these people gripe and moan. I'm honestly not sure how you do it."

(Romeo's compliments were really something.)

Rui finally brightened a bit. He reached for the bottle of prosecco he'd made for Romi and topped off his friend's drink, then poured himself a glass and raised it in a toast. "It's not too bad, really," he said as they clinked their glasses together. "I've had a lot of practice."

[moon-goddess-posts]

Play Fighting

dom! rhea ripley x sub! reader, degration/praise kink, overstimulation, strap on (reader receiving), rough fucking, oral sex (reader receiving), reader sucks rheas strap lol

it’s done guys 😁 also requests are open if you wanna suggest prompts or story ideas. I still need to update my request list tho so after i do that i’ll pin it

“Rhea Ripley! I challenge you to a match!!” You yelled jumping on to the bed. You put your hands on your hips and gave Rhea a wide grin.

“Oh do you now? You think you’ll win?” Rhea was teasing you as she got on the bed as well but you stood your ground.

“mhm! I’m one hundred percent!” you said smiling. Rhea just laughed.

“Ok but if you lose you’ll regret it”

“yeah yeah yeah I don’t care, TAKE THIS!” At full force you swung your right leg trying to aim and Rheas face. Now you were in no way a fighter or had any experience in fighting besides self defense. So expectedly, rhea caught your leg in a swift motion.

“Oh.” You froze and then gave rhea a nervous look trying to get her to free your leg, but she pulled you down and you plopped on the bed. From there she started to pin you down with you struggling to still win.

“And you said you were a hundred percent huh?” Rhea looked at you still struggling and she just snickered.

“ugh you suck” in the middle of struggling you saw an open point right in front of you, rheas stomach. You smiled and rammed your foot into it and Rhea was taken aback, letting you go. You ran away giggling and she was not having it.

“cant catch me!” you laughed only for it to be cut short when two big arms wrapped around your waist.

“noooo let go of me!” You felt yourself being put over rheas shoulder and you slumped in defeat.

“nice try darling, don’t be a sore loser now” She teasingly spoke. You crossed your arms pouting but at least you could enjoy the view in front of you.

“nice ass” you grinned. Rhea just rolled her eyes and ignored you making you laugh even more. Rhea then took you off her shoulder to throw you on the bed. She pinned you once again and you were throwing a fit.

“I refuse to lose!” you yelled.

“dont resist love, once i’m done with you i’ll make sure you’ll never think about challenging me.”

“yeah right!” you bit back. After that you felt hands grip the sides of your neck and you whimpered staring into rheas eyes.

“you wanna fucking try me whore?” rhea forced you to look at her and that finally got you to stop struggling. However you tested her enough today and it was time to face the consequences.

“you sure have a fighting spirit for someone who claims she’s not a fighter” rhea chuckled

“whatever, you never let me win”

“I like the look of you losing to me, now because you lost you have to do anything I say for twenty four hours” rhea smiled

“what! twenty four hou-“

“that means you ask to speak and only do so if I say you can.” rhea squeezed your neck again to get you to stop talking. you nodded your head

“good girl, now you can talk”

“Twenty four hours is too long…” you spoke quietly

“that’s too bad, I know you can do it I won’t make it too difficult for you.” you knew that was a lie, rhea makes things like this difficult on purpose. But you enjoyed it anyway and she knew that. You wrapped your arms around your girlfriend and pulled her into a kiss. Rhea grabbed a hold of your face and intensified the kiss making sure you knew she was in control.

“Rhea please..” you spoke gasping from the kiss

“aw does my little whore want somethin” you nodded your head while lookin away.

“well, you don’t get to ask for things” Rhea was softly touching your waist making you get goosebumps. Pulling away, rhea got up to get a few things for what she wanted to do with you.

“On your knees.” she was demanding and you followed, slowly kneeling down in front of her. rhea pulled out her strap and put it on, then aligned it to meet your mouth. You looked up at her with puppy eyes as you slowly wrapped your hand around her strap.

“don’t give me that look darling, you know what to do,” she caressed your head and you leaned into the touch. Your mouth got to work, licking and sucking her cock. Rhea let you go at your own pace with only sometimes pulling your hair to go deeper or faster. You loved the feeling of being used, small droplets formed in the corner of your eyes.

“yeah just like that love, you’re so good using your pretty mouth like that.” She praised you making get even more worked up. The heat between your thighs was unbearable, you needed rhea to touch you where you so desperately wanted. Drool driped down your chin still sucking on rheas strap. Your hand wandered down to touch yourself but rhea caught you

“Did i give you permission to touch yourself?” she grabbed you by the hair and pulled you off of her cock.

“N-no” the pain from having your hair pulled sent shivers down to your core.

“So what made you think you could hm?”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help it, I just wanted you to touch me” you whined

“You’re such a fuckin slut, you can’t even wait for me to do it?” She pulled you up and threw you on the bed. You were laying on your stomach, ass propped up for her to see.

“Count with me, or else i’m starting over” A harsh slap landed on you. You gasp struggling to speak

“one!..” Another slap.

“Ah! two!” this time it stung more than before. But you were enjoying it, juices now flowing down to your thighs. Rhea made you count 8 more times, by the time she was done you were crying and your ass was now a light shade of red.

“You’re doing amazing love.” She rubbed your sore cheeks and gave you a kiss.

“please…please touch me” you said through sniffles. Rhea laughed and finally started to touch your dripping pussy.

“You got this wet from me spanking you? I could slip two fingers into you so easily now. Maybe three?” Rhea whispered in your ear teasingly. You pushed your ass into rhea desperately and she grinned.

“I wanna feel your fingers, I need you so bad Rhea” you begged as she rubbed quick circles into your clit. Shortly after you said that, rhea swiftly inserted two fingers inside of you unexpectedly. You couldn’t contain the noises you made as she kissed your neck slowly.

“I think you can handle another finger, right princess?”

“o-oh oh fuck…it’ll be too much!” You were lying, you wanted to see how much you could take, you wanted her to push you to the max.

“You’re such a bad liar, love” Rhea added a third finger, stretching you out. Pleasure washed over you as she continued fucking you. You were close to release and rhea could feel it.

“Are you cumming princess?” you nodded your head babbling nonsense as your whole body tensed up. You shouted rheas name as you released all over her fingers. Rhea flipped over your exhausted body so you could lay on your back.

“Look at the mess you made.” She kissed your thighs lowering herself in between them. Your hands clenched the sheets.

“wait wait i just came!” You huffed.

“I never said we were done, i’m far from done with you angel.” She forcibly held your thighs open so you couldn’t resist. You felt Rheas hot tongue on you, cleaning you up and moving in a circular motion on your swollen clit. Your nerves were burning up as you were being overstimulated. Rhea moaned into your pussy making you become even louder from the vibration. You were close once again but rhea stopped.

“that’s not fair, I was so close” you wailed

“quit your whining, love” you let out an annoyed sound while looking away, until you felt something hit your entrance. You quickly looked back to see Rheas strap. Before you could protest, she gripped your hips and started to enter you. You whipped your head back cumming on rheas strap as she now slammed into you.

“look at what a slut you are, cumming from just entering your little hole” you were breathless as she fucked you hard and fast, fucking you past your orgasm. You were twitching uncontrollable. Rhea placed your legs over her shoulders, aiming to go deeper into you which you didn’t even think was possible. Her strap was bigger from the usual ones, the thought of it going deeper into you made you close again.

“f-fuck rhea you’re going to..ugh! break me!” You held on to her, leaving scratch marks on her back. Rhea groaned, her hand now around your neck. She was hitting all the sweet spots within you, the pleasure made you dizzy and dazed. Watering you down to a moaning mess.

“Come on princess, one more time for me” Rhea’s hand moved from your neck to your clit. Rubbing it while she was still deep in you, messing up your insides. You felt her pull out almost all the way, and was about to beg her to keep going from how close you were until she snapped her hips right back into you. You screamed and felt your body convulse, orgasm now approaching. Only a few more sharp thrusts were enough to get you over the edge one last time.

“Shit!” your hands grabbed onto anything in proximity, it was too much for you to handle. Rhea gave slow thrusts through your orgasm, turning your legs into jello. You finally calmed down, body now limp as your breath slowed.

“Such a good girl, have i tired you out?” Rhea pulled out of you, rubbing any sore spots on you.

“mhm…” You felt exhausted, but you still managed to cling yourself onto your girlfriend.

“can you kiss me please?”

“of course angel” she kissed you slowly and passionately as you drifted off to sleep. Rhea left and came back to get a towel to clean you up, admiring your beautiful body in the process.

-end

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

ToA Theory 1 - Apollo's Waking Visions

First official theory post, here we go! :D

Alright. So. After rereading The Dark Prophecy, I started wondering about something. In TDP, Apollo experiences waking visions, where he conks out for a bit and has prophetic visions.

I found this interesting because, well...isn't Apollo supposed to be cut off from prophecy? With Python back in control of Delphi?

Because think about it. Python controls Delphi, the root of all earthly prophecy. This would include Dodona, Trophonius, Herophile, and Sibyl - sure, they aren't strictly connected to Delphi, but it's pretty heavily stated that Delphi just straight-up Makes The Future. It's prophecies are The Big Deal and you Should Listen.

Meanwhile the other Oracles seem more guiding and "beware!" instead of "this is how it's gonna be".

(sidenote: found out there are MORE oracles and I wanna know WHERE THEY ARE IN RRVERSE CANON because I want my boy Branchus okay??? Okay. Branchus's oracle was second only to Delphi let's give Apollo's first boyfriend the attention he deserves!)

So of course, like all great members of this fandom, I started thinking.

Let's do a little family history first. ;)

Buckle up. We go down a deep rabbit hole 😎

Apollo and Artemis are twins, born to Leto and Zeus. Zeus's parents are Kronos and Rhea. Leto's are Koios and Phoebe.

Rhea has connections to Dodona, as we learn in-series, but she doesn't really seem to be all that involved with prophecy.

Her siblings, meanwhile...ho ho ho, they are a WHOLE NOTHER STORY!

Let's start with Phoebe. Phoebe, like all first generation Titans, is the daughter of Gaea and Ouranos. She married her brother Koios. Her children consist of Asteria, Lelantos, and Leto. As well as Artemis and Apollo, her other two grandchildren are Hecate (Asteria) and Aura (Lelantos).

Her name means "bright" and is the root of Apollo's most famous epithet - Phoebus. She is often described as "golden-crowned" and is the Titan of bright intellect, the overseer of Earthly Prophecies, and is the second guardian of Delphi, after her sister Themis. She gifted Delphi to Apollo for his birthday after he defeated Python.

Classic grandmother move.

Anyway. There's a bit of Phoebe lore. Time for her elusive husband :3

Koios. His names means "question" or "questioning", probably because he's the Titan of inquiring intellect. He's also the overseer of Heavenly Prophecies, and has an oracle up in the North Pole guarded by an earth-dragon - you'd know this serpent by the name of Draco, the constellation btw. Additionally, Hyperborea (where Apollo goes in the winter times) is part of his domain.

eyes

Unfortunately, we have very little mythological lore on these two, and even less in the RRverse (I cling to that one (1) Koios scene) which sucks because I love them already BUT it does give me lots of legroom to mess around with canon >:)

Back to the theory now. As you may have guessed, I'll be taking us in a direction concerning Apollo's mysterious grandparents. But what does this have to do with Apollo's visions?

Well. Remember when I mentioned that Delphi is the root of all earthly prophecies?

...look at Phoebe's paragraphs. She's the overseer of Earthly Prophecies, right? So it makes sense she's been affected by Python's takeover too.

(if you've read my fics you'd know this already lmao)

Asteria, Apollo's aunt, is a little trickier. She, too, has a hand in divination, but mainly through the night/stars and dreams. <-will come back to that later.

Koios, again, is overseer of Heavenly Prophecies, and is heavily implied to be able to commune with Ouranos's spirit. This is, apparently, a Big Deal because nobody else is mentioned to be able to do this.

...Except...remember this throwaway line in The Hidden Oracle?

^Apollo can see Ouranos too.

Within this theory is a sub-theory, so to speak - that immortals with the gift of prophecy can see Ouranos, since they can see what cannot be seen. This would include Phoebe, Asteria, Koios, and Apollo.

And it'll make sense why they'd keep it to themselves. Kronos wouldn't have been happy to hear his dad was still around. Neither would Zeus, for that matter.

So here I was. Contemplating. Wrote a few fics based around this idea. And one in particular got me thinking (fic in question being When The Stars Align), and a little ways down the road I realized something.

If Phoebe, the overseer of Earthly Prophecies, would have been affected by Python's takeover...was Koios? Could he even be affected?

Because here's the deal: Koios is the overseer of Heavenly Prophecies. Prophecies from the Sky.

Phoebe's are of the Earth - the Earth that Python has taken control of. And Delphi is the root of Earthly Prophecies - not Heavenly.

That would be Koios's oracle, up in the North Pole with Draco.

...So that means Heavenly Prophecy must have still been in business during ToA.

But then comes the question: If it was still within the gods' control, why didn't they use it?

Well...Draco's there, for one. He's probably the Python-equivalent of the North, and clearly he's still there since no myth has spoken of his death (that I know of).

If you ask me, I just think the gods are too nervous/afraid to try Koios's oracle. They were too scared to face Python, after all, until Apollo arrived. I think they'd be scared of a serpent who comes and goes from the stars as he pleases.

And as for why Apollo hasn't done anything about it...well, I think his fight with Python left him rather scarred, don't you think? He probably went "yeah grandma's oracle is enough" and the only time he ever got close to Koios's was during his time in Hyperborea.

So getting back to the main theory now. (So many rabbit holes to dive into with this post. The ADHD Urge is real)

Since Heavenly Prophecies is still active, but Earthly is in Python's control, I conclude Apollo's visions come from the Heavenly source.

Could they have come from the now-working Dodona? Maybe. But Dodona's all about those windchimes and trees. It doesn't have the Vibe, so to speak, for granting visions.

And remember. Trophonius, Herophile, and Sibyl aren't destroyed/freed yet. They have Zero connection to Apollo at this point because Python cut him off from them.

...but he didn't from the North. From Koios's divine power.

Because remember. Apollo is the god of prophecy.

Not of Earthly Prophecies, like Phoebe.

Not of Heavenly Prophecies, like Koios.

Not of nighttime divination and dreams like Asteria.

Of. Prophecy.

Prophecy as a whole. The entirety. The whole enchilada.

Every part of prophecy he's the god of, be it tarot cards to the Oracle of Delphi itself.

In my opinion, I think whatever Koios's Oracle is, it has just as must power as Delphi. The only problem was that...everybody just left it be. Nobody considered it because:

1) scary dragon

2) scary titan ruled the place

3) honestly at this point I think it's just straight-up forgotten about. Like Branchus's Oracle. I think at one point Apollo himself mentions there are other Oracles besides the ones in-series, but there's so many that his mortal brain cannot comprehend how many.

If the Grove of Dodona nearly faded into obscurity, then I think it's entirely possible Koios's Oracle was forgotten about (or so we think...I'm gonna be chewing on this for a while.)

Coming back round to TDP...I think this is a reasonable explanation about Apollo's visions. To summarize:

Apollo is cut off from Earthly Prophecy, his usual source of foresight that he gets from Phoebe

The unused, near-forgotten-about Heavenly Prophecy side of Apollo ignites to steer him on the right path

This is possible because Apollo is the god of prophecy itself, and not a single subset of prophecy, so he's not limited in the same way Phoebe is

Koios's Oracle is still out there and kicking and I will die on this hill

One problem. What about Asteria? She can interpret the future from the stars...aka the Sky. Like Koios. So couldn't she provide some insight to the future, since she, too, is connected to Heavenly Prophecy?

This is where things get a lil' tricky. And where I really slap on my tinfoil hat and start headcanoning my way through lmao

Basically, I think that since Asteria became the island of Delos (long story) a good chunk of her power is ingrained there. She's not as strong as she used to be, so her foresight isn't as strong.

This, in turn, I think could also serve as a reason why Koios's Oracle is "asleep" so to speak and nearly lost to memory in the RRverse - in fact, I think Asteria and Phoebe are the only ones who bother to remember its existence.

And Leto, of course. But I don't think she wants her son to know of another Oracle with a giant snake guarding it. She's had enough heart-attacks, thank you.

(Same with Lelantos, tbh.)

Canon is my sandbox and I am making some sweet sandcastles out of it XD

TL;DR

Apollo's visions in TDP stem from Koios's source of Heaven Prophecy because Phoebe's source of Earthly Prophecy (Delphi) has been taken over by Python. Koios's source firmly knocks on Apollo's mental doors and decides to kick back into gear to help its titular patron's grandson out. Because Apollo is the god of prophecy itself - every bit of it.

Extras:

I find it fascinating how magic and prophecy are both part of the same family tree (Hecate & Apollo).

and yes. You should expect a fic concerning Koios's Oracle at some point. but no promises on when :3

Thank you for coming to Insane Theory Time With Alder. I hope there will be more lmao

Websites you can look into:

Koios (Theoi)

Phoebe (Theoi)

Hyperborea (Theoi)