#but like as life gets more complicated every year

[saikenakoego]

Said I was gonna do this later so here I am!!

I know nobody asked me but I'm gonna do it anyway. Because who's gonna stop me? Someone asking?

Hah!!

Im gonna do this with ALL my OC's. Because I can, and because I love all my little creations!

Starting with my currently favorite vampire gal!

Samantha Morales, a.k.a. Sammy Moors

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv This gal vvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

With direct answers from the girl herself, for extra cringe roleplay. My favorite.

1. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? If you have multiple, who's your favorite?

SM: I do sometimes. To try and remember what it felt to be human.

...

My favorite is my little green bunny. His name is Jacques.

2. Can you take care of a plant? What about a pet? Or a child?

SM: I can. But how well I'd do, can't tell. Being undead messes with your head a lot...

3. Can you describe your love interest?

SM: I could if I had one. Or if I could feel love. Or anything at all.

4. Do you look good in red?

SM: ...

SM: I prefer pink.

5. Speech, speech, speech! Will you give one? And what about?

SM: No. That kind of self-centered talk is for bloodsucker scum. You wouldn't catch me dead doing something as pretentious as that. They think they're so high and mighty, that they're superior to everything else. That they can take what they want and we'd never do anything about it. But they're nothing but insects, hiding away like cowards in the shadows while feeding off others like leeches. Disgusting and pathetic, weak little creatures unable to keep living by themselves. Parasites. Just the sight of them makes me want to rip them apart limb by limb, making them scream in agony as the life they've stolen leaves their body drop by drop, scurrying away and pleading for mercy as I crush their every bone to--

6. Who will you take advice from? And who WOULDN'T you take it from?

SM: I don't think anyone can really give me any advice that matters, but if I had to choose... Maybe Johnny. Kid's got a good head on his shoulders when it comes to the supernatural. Not like I need it though.

SM: But I'd never take advice from Silver. Too impulsive, and I already have me to worry about.

7. Describe yourself in three words

SM: Monster. Disgusting. Unsightly.

8. Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate you?

SM: I hate puzzles. Wastes of time.

9. Do you empathize with non-sentient things?

SM: More than empathize, I envy them. I'm already unable to feel anything, at least they get to not think about it either.

10. What age do you want to be the most right now?

SM: I wanna be 13 again. Go back to when everything was okay...

11. You won the lottery. Spend, or save?

SM: I dunno. Maybe spend? We do need more silver rounds...

12. Do you like romance in the books you read?

SM: I... I think I used to like it? I can't recall...

13. Name one thing your parents taught you.

SM: Family is everything.

14. Would you agree with the term 'guilty pleasure? Do you have any?

SM: I won't give in to it. I won't, no matter how good it smells. How delicious its crimson gleam looks. How it makes my mouth water at the mere thought of it, I won't. I won't. I won't I--

15. What would you consider a waste of time, other than school and work?

SM: Anything that's too complicated. I have all the time in the world, but every second I waste is another second they live.

16. If money wasn't a limit, what would you wear?

SM: I'n fine with my outfit. I think Silver would be someone better to ask this to.

17. Do you like children?

SM: No. They wound too frequently.

18. Kissing: Tongue or no tongue?

SM: No kissing. That's disgusting.

19. Do you study before tests?

SM: I haven't done any tests in 2 years.

20. What do you like that nobody else does?

SM: Rare meat in burgers isn't too bad... Don't tell Johnny I said that.

21. What would it take for you to break up with someone? What would be the last straw?

SM: Being a bloodsucker. Even if I can't feel anything, that's an immediate deal breaker.

22. Do you like being called pet names? Do you call others pet names? What's your go-to?

SM: I don't, but people have been calling me Sammy or Moors for so long that it feels weird when they don't do it. Old habits die hard, I guess. The only person I have a nickname for is Silver, and that's because he insists on being called Silver.

23. Stability or novelty?

SM: I've had my fill of novelty for a lifetime...

24. Honesty or charity?

SM: Honesty.

25. Safety or possibility?

SM: Safety.

26. Talent or effort?

SM: Effort.

27. Forgiveness or vengeance?

SM: VENGEANCE.

28. Would you date a fixer-upper?

SM: I'd rather not date anyone right now.

29. What recurring dreams do you have?

SM: The blood, it's everywhere... I'd rather not talk about it.

30. What would you do if you knew it would be forgiven?

SM: I... I'm not gonna answer that.

oc asks that reveal more than you think

Do they sleep with a stuffed animal? If they have multiple, who’s the favorite?

Can they take care of a plant? What about a pet? What about a child?

Ask them to describe their love interest.

Do they look good in red?

Speech! Speech! Speech! Speech! Will they give one, and what about?

Who will they take advice from, no matter what it is? Who won’t they take advice from, no matter what it is?

Describe them in three words. Now let them describe themself in three words.

Do complex puzzles intrigue or frustrate them?

Do they empathize with non-sentient things (dolls, plants, books…)?

What age do they most want to be right now?

They’ve won the lottery. Spend, or save?

Do they like romance in the books they read (or in the book they’re in)?

Name one thing their parents taught them.

Would they agree with the term ‘guilty pleasure’? Do they have any?

What would they consider a waste of time– other than school or work?

If money wasn’t a limit, what would they wear?

Do they like children?

Kissing: tongue or no tongue?

Do they study before tests? Practice before job interviews?

What do they like that nobody else does?

What would it take for them to break up with someone? What would be the last straw?

Do they like being called pet names? Do they call other people pet names? What’s their go-to?

Stability or novelty?

Honesty or charity?

Safety or possibility?

Talent or effort?

Forgiveness or vengeance (or…)?

Would they date a fixer-upper?

What recurring dreams do they have?

What would they do if they knew it would be forgiven?

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[a1ecmcdowell]

coincidence — rafe cameron x pogue!reader!

part of the short n' sweet x obx collection, found here!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤincludes, pogue!reader. cheating. sad!rafe :(. i promise i love sofia.

❛ what a surprise - your phone died, and your car drove itself from l.a. to between her thighs! ❜

you and rafe were a bit tumultuous. he loved you in private, and he loved you so much that it sometimes ached, like the sweetest form of violence. 

but in public, he could never manage to switch off the part of his brain that rejected every pogue he came across like he did when you two were alone. it was like he was more concerned about what his friends thought of him and his relationship than he did about your feelings. 

he was pulling back. you could see the signs of it in the ways he started having excuses to keep you from coming over, how his hand would subtly slip from yours when you were out together. 

and you couldn’t just pick apart his brain and fix whatever the problem was, because he didn’t talk to you enough anymore to let you in. 

you didn’t know if you were even still together, but he wouldn’t just ghost you a year into your relationship. he couldn’t. 

you’d decided the night before that you were just going to show up and demand an answer from him. it would probably be a fight, you knew; but what could hurt more than being with someone that didn’t want you any longer? 

that next morning was cloudy gray and speckled with misty raindrops. it didn’t feel like a very good omen about what was coming, but it didn’t slow your footsteps up his porch.

your hand raises to knock on the door at the same moment that it pulls open, and out stumbles — a girl. short brown hair, pretty glossed lips, wearing nothing but a pink bikini top and denim shorts. 

and behind the open door, strong hand wrapped around the edge of it, is rafe. smiling at her like he hadn’t smiled at you in weeks. 

the smile falls the moment his eyes lift to you, and the girl apologizes as she dodges running into you, and it all feels like a big fucking slap in the face. 

he’d been the best part of your life for so long. this hope that you could be more than the cut. and all of this time, he was waiting for the moment that he could dump you back off on your side of outer banks.

“why didn’t you call?” he asks, like that’s the first thing anyone should say when they’re caught cheating. 

you can’t tell if you’re more angry or hurt. both emotions feel like a hot, heavy weight sat right on your sternum. “you don’t answer anymore.” 

“because i���m busy.” 

there’s no remorse in his eyes. actually, you can’t even tell if there is, because he’s looking away from you like he’s already cut you from the picture of his life. 

“what, screwing other girls?” you snap, your voice biting and raw. 

his jaw flexes, tongue pressing into his cheek. “it’s complicated.” 

“i don’t think it is, rafe.” you shake your head, your lips pressed into a tight line. “you were cheating, and you’re mad you’re caught.” 

“oh, you think it’s that simple, huh?” he takes a step closer, his frame taking up the entirety of the doorway. “y’think overnight i just started thinking about wanting to fuck someone else?” 

you falter. no, he’s not going to get away with flipping this on its head and blaming you. making you apologize. 

“you can’t just blame me because you don’t want to take responsibility—” 

his fist slams against the wooden doorframe, and you flinch, because this really was going to be as volatile as you thought. you’d hoped that you were wrong, but you were right, and he was angry that you weren’t just some stupid little pogue he could manipulate. 

“i am taking responsibility. yeah, i fucked sofia,” he seethes through his clenched teeth, “yeah, i’ve been sneakin’ around, what the fuck else do you want to hear?” 

your arms wrap around your chest, and you have to resist the urge to stumble backwards. sofia, sofia, sofia. it plays in your head on a loop, the girl he deemed worth ruining what you had for. 

“why?” is all that you can manage to say. 

his eyes finally drop down to look at you. they’re so blue in the dawning sunrise that you wish, wish, things were different right now, so you could smooth the creases in the corners of his eyes. “m’not good for you.” 

“bullshit.” you spit it out before he’d even finished speaking. “if i thought that, i wouldn’t have stuck around as long as i have. i wouldn’t be sticking around now.” 

“you shouldn’t,” he says just as violently serious as the last, “i’m— i’m trying to push you away, sweetheart—” 

sweetheart. 

it shouldn’t affect you like it does, after how he’d just hurt you like this. but it does, of course it does, because you loved him like the sun loved the moon, and even when he was trying to break this, you’d always be in his orbit. 

“you can’t,” your voice is small as it leaves your lips, but your words aren’t, “i’m not goin’ anywhere. this is one good thing you can’t ruin. not on my watch.” 

he stares at you with that intense blue gaze of his for a long minute. the seconds tick by like hours while you wait for him to say anything. 

and he doesn’t — not with his words, anyway. his arms move from the doorway and encircle your waist, tugging you into a tight embrace. 

you’d known about how much he struggled with wanting acceptance, craving validation that he never got. you’d never expected him to be so used to rejection that he tried to cause it himself, just to be in that familiar place again. 

“m’sorry, sweetheart,” he whispers into your hair, pressing his lips to the crown of your head and leaving them there. “don’t deserve you. i don’t.” 

“you will, and you do,” you push, your fingers curling tightly against his spine. “when you go wash her perfume off of you.” 

his laugh cracks, but it’s a laugh, so you feel better about this. about him. about where he’s at in his head. “of course.” 

“and delete her number.” 

his hands raise to your face, framing it between his large palms. “already did it, baby. but you’re real cute when you’re jealous.”

[aquaticmercy]

Not a request but just some thoughts! I don’t know how to explain it but:

Bucky: girl dad through and through

Steve: Boy dad (I love him so much but i genuinely feel if he had a daughter he would raise her like a son because he don’t know what he’s doing)

Sam: Both boy and girl dad, but the boy always turns into a carbon copy of him while simultaneously being a mama’s boy

omg thank you anon for these thoughts!

Enjoys these Dad! Bucky, Steve, and Sam blurbs!

Bucky Barnes

Bucky Barnes would make the best girl dad. And he’s the best girl dad precisely because everything he’s been through. Because all of the violence and trauma. It’s why he’s so gentle with his daughter, why he’s extra careful around his little girl. 

He spent years being nothing but a weapon, and now that he has the life he shares with you and your daughter, he is so scared of hurting either of you that he treats you both like you’re made of glass. 

He still has that 1940s mindset buried in there, though. Not because he’s a jerk— he knows better than that— but because it’s just there because it was drilled into him from a very young age. 

He catches himself sometimes thinking her daughter should be all dainty and protected and doted on 24/7, and he reminds himself that she has to learn how to be on her own someday.

Still, he treats his daughter like he’s her bodyguard, the way he does with you. He still opens doors for you, stands just a bit too close on the sidewalk. He’s got this invisible shield around both of you. He doesn’t even mean to; it’s just there instinctively.

So now imagine his face when his little girl starts ditching dolls and princesses for more  traditionally masculine things. 

Bucky is very supportive, although he has to manually override some of his 40s brain.

She loves the drums, and he’s all for it. He gets her lessons. He sits next to her during practice to catch all the sticks she drops trying to do complicated tricks. He high fives her whenever she does a sick beat. 

She’s also all about football (soccer). He notices it when she’s cheering for the women’s national team during the World Cup like her life depends on it. 

Bucky immediately starts looking at tryouts and academies. When she has a game, he’s out there on the sidelines, grinning whenever she does anything even remotely good, screaming encouragements when she loses the ball, and celebrating with her when she scores a goal.

But god, it’s hard for him to watch her take a tumble, all elbows and skinned knees. She hits the ground here and there and he winces every time, heart in his throat. He’s so adorably worried until she gets back up and gives her daddy a big thumbs up. 

And yet when she goes in for a not-so-great tackle, he’s the loudest one cheering on the field (and the first one complaining when the ref gives her a yellow card).

But then. Then she decides she wants to try Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She says she wants to be tough, like him.

This is where Bucky might draw the line. “There’s no way,” he tells you. Not his little girl, rolling around on some mat with kids twice her size, learning to choke people out. 

It makes him think of all the things he’s done, the things he was forced to learn, the violence he was engineered to deliver, and he can’t bear the thought of her going anywhere near that world. 

He wants to shield her from it, to keep her protected, untouched by any of that.

You, of course, see right through him. You sit him down one night and tell him, gently but firmly, that she’s her own person. 

That she’s got his strength. And if she wants to do this, it’s because she wants to be more like him. Because she looks up to him. Because she thinks her daddy is the best person in the world.

It takes a while, but he comes around. But not only because his little girl wants to be like him, but also because he sees so much of you in her. 

You both have the same spark, the same drive, the same way of nudging him to grow. To challenge his thoughts and beliefs.

He watches his daughter march into her first Jiu-Jitsu class with this fierce little smile, the kind he remembers seeing on his own face back in the day.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s terrified. But he’s proud, too. Because she's challenging him to be better, braver, just by being herself. 

And every time he watches her spar, he finds himself cheering—softly, at first. Soon, he’s the loudest parent in the room. His little girl, fighting her own battles, just like her dad.

-

Steve Rogers

Steve Rogers would be a fantastic boy dad.

He’d never admit it, but part of him always fantasised having that kind of relationship with his own dad—playing catch and putting on barbecue, doing all those white picket fence  father-son things. But his dad died when he was young, and even if he hadn’t, Steve would be too small, too sickly, to keep up. 

Now, with a son of his own, he absolutely craves bonding with the kid. And of course he’d love him no matter what, but there's just enough super-soldier serum running through his son’s veins to let him be strong and athletic.

And for a while, everything’s perfect. Steve takes his boy to baseball games, teaches him to throw a curveball, and they spend endless afternoons in the yard sprinting (Steve slows down a bit) and throwing frisbees. During the summer, you could hear them both laughing and talking from sunrise to sunset. It’s everything he dreamed about.

But as his kid grows, Steve starts to feel a distance.

His son’s childhood is just... different.

He’s popular at school and his biggest worries seem to revolve around sports day, acing his tests, and keeping up with all the clubs and extra classes he’s signed up for. His son doesn’t have to fight his way through the day just to be heard or seen. People listen to him. He’s the kid everyone wants to be around. His friends look up to him.

Steve can’t help but remember how different his own childhood was—every day a fight just to prove himself, to survive in a world that didn’t give a weak kid like him any breaks.

He remembers those long, lonely days where he’d sit at the edge of the playground, watching the other boys run across the field, laughing and tackling each other in games he could never join. Sometimes, he’d be nursing a bruised rib or hiding a scraped knee, feeling a bit isolated. He remembers how desperately he’d wanted to be a part of it—to have a world that embraced him instead of challenging him at every turn.

Now, watching his son grow up so different from that—so at ease in his own skin—fills him with happiness. Still, Steve feels a strange tug in his heart. 

Steve can’t help but feel like he’s on the outside looking in, wondering if he can truly understand this world his son is growing up in. He’s scared that him and his son wouldn’t have anything in common anymore.

One evening, after the kid’s asleep, Steve finds himself talking to you for hours about his anxieties.

He tells you how strange it feels, how he doesn't know if he can relate to the person your son is becoming. He can’t shake the feeling that, in some way, his boy’s growing into a world Steve himself never got to experience. A world he cannot help him with.

But you’re there, holding his hand, reminding him that love doesn’t need to look like a mirror. 

A few days later, Steve goes to pick up his kid from school, and what he sees, he will never forget. 

His son was on the playground, standing tall, facing down some older kid who’d been picking on another student— a little boy in a wheelchair. 

Steve’s son was defending someone who couldn’t defend themselves, just like Steve would’ve done back in the day— just like he always does.

When they get home, Steve’s got tears in his eyes as he hugs his son, barely able to say how proud he is. He runs upstairs to tell you what your son did. 

After that moment, all his worries vanish. Steve’s son might not have his struggles, but he's got his heart. 

And that’s all you ever really wanted.

-

Sam Wilson

Sam Wilson as a dad? He’s wonderful. 

You’ve never seen someone so comfortable just rolling with whatever his kids throw at him. 

His little girl has him wrapped around her finger.

When she drags him into one of her imaginary plays, he dives right in without hesitation. 

The two of them have this whole routine now: she’ll declare herself the “Queen of Cupcakes,” and before you know it, Sam’s transformed into her nemesis, “The Grumpy Troll.” 

He’s got a whole stash of masks and scarves just for these characters. He looks ridiculous in a pink tutu and tiara, but he’d never miss the chance to be part of her little kingdom.

But his daughter is not only about tea parties— She’s only eight, but she’s strong-willed and headstrong. She insists on trying things herself first, even if she has to wrestle with it. 

One time Sam reached over to help her open a jar, and she looked up with the most serious little frown, shook her head, and said, “Daddy, I got it.” And she did, after two minutes of huffing and puffing. 

Another time, Sam finds his daughter in the kitchen, a stool dragged up to the counter, sleeves rolled up, determinedly making her own peanut butter sandwich. She’s got peanut butter smeared from cheek to elbow, but she’s concentrating hard, tongue poking out a little as she spreads it just right. When Sam offers to help, she shakes her head without even looking up, determined to get it done.

Then there’s his six year old little boy, who’s gentler, in that way that Sam is. He’s kind-hearted and hilarious in a way that catches you both by surprise. 

After every mission, his son’s the one who toddles over and asks, “Daddy, are you okay?” like he’s got this radar for how people are feeling. He reminds Sam of himself, especially when he worked at the VA.

Sam even found him in the backyard last week, carefully placing a bowl of water and crumbs of bread on the grass. He said “The little bird with the hurt wing might come back, and I don’t want him to be thirsty.”

Another time, he offered his favourite blanket to his sister when she had a cold, even though he always sleeps with it himself. He just tucked it around her shoulders, giving her a quick hug before running off.

And just like his dad, your son is very clingy— very attached to you. If he sees you’re tired, he’ll nestle up on the couch next to you. And when you’re out of the house, he’ll carry your sweater around, or ask a hundred times when you’re coming back.

On the first day of school, your son’s practically clinging to your leg, not quite ready to let go. His eyes are all big, and you could feel how nervous he is without you there. 

Sam crouched down and starts giving him one go his famous pep talks. Before he could finish, his big sister steps in. 

She promises him they’d sit together on the bus and during snack and lunch time, and that she’ll teach him how to be “brave like Papa.”

Your son squeezes your hand one last time, then lets go, holding onto his sister’s instead as they both walk on the school bus.

“Did you see that?” Sam whispers, his voice full of pride. 

He wraps an arm around you, pulling you close. You lean back into him, watching your kids grow up in front of your eyes.

-end

[stardustedreams222]

Communicating with Your Ancestors

Something they’ve been trying to tell you but you’ve been ignoring

Samhain Edition

This is a collective reading, meaning there won’t be as much detail as if it’s a personal reading, so take what resonates and leave what doesn’t 🩷 If you’d like a personal reading on this, you can purchase a reading on my Ko-Fi Shop {You’ll need to be a Moon Member for $5 a month in order to purchase it 🩷}

Samhain is the perfect time to reach out and hear what your Ancestors have to say, with the veil between worlds being so thin. Today, the dead walk among the living. I wanted to do a Pick a Pile for everyone who wasn’t able to do the divination themselves during Samhain this year.

Close your eyes, Take a deep breath, and Pick the Pile{s} you’re most drawn to, to hear what your Ancestors want to tell you.

Pick a Pile

1 ➸ 2 ➸ 3

Content Warning: These are hard-to-hear messages and your Ancestors aren't holding anything back in this! Expect swear words and brief mentions of their time in slavery.

{I don’t know how but every pile has Ancestors from the East coast or South in the USA 🙈 and I feel a bit rude cos I didn’t expect this reading to just be for Americans but I think that’s just who wanted to come out in this reading. However they do wanna clarify that even though these are the places they’re showing me, there are people in this collective who are outside of the USA! But these are just the states with most relevance to the collective piles 🩷}

𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂

𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑂𝑛𝑒 ~ 𝐶𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑒

Your Cards: Empress. Page of Wands, King of Wands, Ace of Swords, The Magician, 4 of Cups, 10 of Wands, Lovers Reversed, Ace of Wands, Death

About Your Ancestors:

They have a southern U.S. accent, {Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama} and the one Ancestor that’s most prominent in this reading is of Creole ancestry, others are Black and Hispanic and a small few, {one or two} are white.

Your Message:

You have something inside you that you’ve been wanting to create and some of you’ve been putting in the work to create it but it’s still in the planning process.

This is an opportunity of some kind either an entrepreneurship or a non profit organization. It’s something so close to your heart that you feel so deeply connected to it.

It’s your baby, you can see it being your life’s work, but there’s been some issues in this. Things feeling too complicated, like there's too much on your plate to fully enjoy this. Lately, you’ve been feeling like “Is this even worth all this?” while you work on it.

You've been dragging your feet, not wanting to get out of bed. Feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, depressed or just indifferent to the work now. But there will be a breakthrough soon, where you’ll feel free again. Happy and excited again for this.

This breakthrough is something that will remind you why you started this in the first place. It’ll ignite that spark in your heart again. And it’ll wash away all the burdened, overwhelming apathy and hatred that’s been growing towards this. It’ll be the push and the change in your mindset that’s needed in order to help you fully create this in all its glory. 

The Channeled message as I heard it:

“It’s worth it. I know you can’t see that right now and you havent been able to for a while now, but child it’s worth it. Change is coming, breakthrough is coming. Don’t throw in the towel just yet. Give it some more time.

In the meantime, while you wait for the breakthrough, the ‘Aha’ moment, I want you to rest, relax. Act like you’re 7 months pregnant and your back is aching, your feet are swollen and your belly is rumbling.

Get a massage, take a bubble bath, put up your feet, take that nap, eat more and fuel up. Get your mind off this as much as you can.

You clock out of work, stop thinking about it. You’re home— act like it.

In this rest and relaxation you’ll come back to yourself. And at the end of it you’ll remember why you started this in the first place. You started to help people. You started to help yourself. So why are you forgetting to take care of yourself right now?

Because you don’t think you deserve it?

Bullshit!

The very reason for why you’re doing this makes you worthy of taking a break every now and again and I’m not talking a 5 minute break or a ‘30 second alarm on your phone’ break where you reward yourself with chocolate and a happy jazz hands dance and then get back to work. I’m talking about a real vacation kind of break.

A weekend, a week, a couple of weeks. You deserve time off to rest your body and especially your mind.

Now, I know this sounds harsh, I don’t mean it to come across that way, Child, I just want what's best for you, and working yourself into the ground like you are now, is not that. So do us all a favor and take a break. Drink your water too and start listening to us. We know you can hear us, it just pisses us off more when you act like you don’t or can’t. Yeah, we see you… and we know you see us too."

That was all they wanted to say... They do love you they just really feel like calling you out right now 🙈 So I’ma ask them for a nice message now cos I don’t like ending readings on a sour note 🩷

New Cards: World Reversed, 7 of Pentacles, High Priestess, Hermit, Sun, 3 of Pentacles, Empress

They didn’t wanna give this lol, and it took a while for any cards to come out.

Their Comforting Message:

“Fiine… Here. We know life hasn’t been easy.

The world wasn’t handed to you as a child, you’ve had to work for everything you have including the respect of other people. You know this, I don’t know why you need me to say it. But you’re also highly aware of what’s going on beneath the surface.

Call it the years of isolation, dark night of the souls, all the shadow work you’ve been doing. You’ve been doing good. Working up to your happiness and that’s where you are now: Working to make this dream come true.

We are proud of you… we’d just like some recognition for all we’ve done to help you through this shit hole too. A cookie would be nice, you know. Or some water at the least. All I feel is like we’re yapping up a storm, drying our mouths, and all you hear is the charlie brown teachers spewing nonsense ‘cause you don’t wanna hear us!

{I asked them to redirect and actually give comforting messages lol}

We’re proud of you for all the hard work you’ve put in. Digging up the weeds and breaking the foundations of concrete just to plant some pretty flowers isn’t easy to do. God knows I know that… You’re intuitive, child, you know you don’t have to keep doubting whether you heard correctly or not… or saw correctly. We admire how far you’ve developed your clairs and psychic abilities in such a short life.

It didn’t come easy and we know that.

We saw all the work you put in, we saw the isolation periods and we’re proud of you for sticking with it and getting through it. I’m sorry we’re a bit bitter… but a cookie or an offering would go a long way I’m just sayin’… {They held their hands up in innocence, lol}

Know that our hands are on this project of yours too, we’re looking out for it, just like we’re looking out for you too. But we are serious about you needing to rest.

Even we needed to rest when we were out in the fields. {She means when they were enslaved, working the fields. Others are talking about being immigrants and working on farms with horrible pay "slaving away."}

So you gotta rest too, even moreso because what you’re making is gonna help a lot of people, which means this is just the beginning of the hard work.

You gotta find the balance between working hard and fully shutting off your work brain. You gotta find that balance now, before things take off and you end up dropping the ball down the road when you get burnt out from running around like a headless chicken.

We love you, We’re proud of you. Now get some rest, there’s nothing you have to prove by working so damn hard.”

All right 🩷 Well, you definitely have some vocal and stubborn ancestors 😂 They seem sweet though, even through the harsh message and cussing, I could tell they really love you, they just feel ignored and neglected.

Some of them also really want a cookie!

I heard “A raisin cookie tell ‘em I want raisin!” 😂🙈 Yall have some really adorable ancestors! Overall, their message is to take a break.

You’ve deserved a nice long break for a while now. I know it can be tough setting your work down for a day or two… or even 15 minutes. I struggle with the same thing but rest is essential. Rest is necessary. And your ancestors see it as beneficial for you and your business / project.

I think if it’s really hard to let go of your “work mode” maybe do it in increments. It doesn't have to be a hard clean break from today to tomorrow where you take two weeks off. You can start small, take an hour off. Turn your phone on dnd, grab a face mask, hot tea {or hot cocoa with the colder months here now!} just do what you can with what you have right now.

Try to see it as a meditative practice, as time goes by it’ll get easier to add more time to your breaks 🩷

Also… they’re really adamant about that cookie 🙈 Maybe look into doing some homemade cookie recipes, taking the time to make them could count as your break from work 🩷 {And they really like the idea of a homemade offering.}

That's all for this pile, thank you for sticking around and hearing your ancestors out! They really appreciate you wanting to hear them out right now 🩷🫂

If you’d like a personal reading on this, to elaborate or ask them more questions, you can purchase a reading on my Ko-Fi Shop {You’ll need to be a Moon Member for $5 a month in order to purchase it 🩷 The reading itself is One Call Away for $8 or Family Meeting for $15}

Happy Samhain! 🎃

𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂

𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑇𝑤𝑜 ~ 𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘

Pile two is interesting because two sets of messages and Ancestors came out with the same cards 🙈 While they’re both essentially the same message they have enough of a nuance to them that I wanted to split them into groups to fully allow each set of Ancestors to be heard. So Pile 2 you’ve been split into Group A and Group B

please pick an emoji for your reading 🩷

🍯 Group A 🍯 🐝 Group B 🐝

Thank you 🩷 Please proceed accordingly 🥰

🍯 Group A 🍯

Your Cards: 4 of Swords, King of Pentacles Reversed, Page of Swords, Knight of Wands, 6 of Pentacles

About Your Ancestors:

They were really eager to talk. Their ethnicities are kinda hazy, I think this might be because it’s a collective reading and yall don’t share the same ancestry as the other members in this pile. Some are from New Jersey, may have moved to or from New York. Italian is prominent, but so is German.

Then some are venturing into Connecticut, Vermont, Maryland, Illinois, and Virginia. Michigan too but that's a small few.

Some of you are POC, Black and Asian being the most common after Italians and Germans. Some of you are really proud {as you should be 🩷} to have made it this far in an unfair world, not only for the discrimination against you but also because some of you have grown up on stories of what it was like in slavery. And a super small amount of you are born from a Freed Slave in the 1840's-1860’s who had a really rough time. I think they moved from the southern states to New York, and that’s where you grew up but now that you’re well established you moved down to the state they’re from in a way to prove your worth to everyone there. They’re really proud of you for that 🩷🫂 as am I ‘cause I don’t think I’d have the courage to do that especially with the Election coming up 🙈 

Your Message:

You’ve been searching for happiness when it comes to your wealth. You’re actually really wealthy this could be from your hard work or things have just gone really easy for you or a mix of both. For most of you, this is your hard work. 

Even though you’re rich and you can buy things that make you really happy you haven’t felt fulfilled. So you keep buying more and more in hopes it’ll satisfy that feeling, and it does for a little while but then that feeling fades again.

Your Ancestors are saying you have to start letting down your walls. You’ve been guarding your wealth as it grew {which is really wise!} but now that it’s fully grown and sustainable, you need to start leaving behind that mindset that this is only *your* money to spend. It’s not just yours, because your ancestors helped you reach this height of your wealth, they’ve been cultivating it too and the reason why is because they want to soften your heart towards the less fortunate. I know this is really hard for you to hear but you should look for places— credible organizations, shelters, charities— to donate to. Your ancestors are saying once you do you’ll find that satisfaction you’ve been looking for with your wealth.

However, there’s more. You should really do your research, go in person, and talk to the community and organization leaders to really understand their story and the cause you’re donating to before you donate because in this meet and greet you’ll actually learn the lesson your ancestors want you to.

Otherwise, you’ll just be giving money to different organizations still feeling unfulfilled and still searching for happiness and purpose.

Your Channeled Message:

“Let me- Lemme speak first! I can speak for all of us when I say: We know the hard work that went into you getting your bank account where it is now. It was hard work we won’t diminish that! But you gotta stop thinking that everyone everywhere can get where you are now by just putting in the hours and hard work. Some people can, but others just really can’t and they need a helping hand. And I know you wanna roll your eyes and huff but you didn’t do this alone either.

We all helped you. You put in the hard work, but we supplied the opportunities, sprinkling the good luck— {another ancestor interrupted} Dumped! We Dumped the good luck!! Don’t *sugarcoat* it.— That money isn’t just yours and I know, I know you hate this but you know deep down it’s true.

That’s why you’re not happy because you’re *meant* to be sharing that money with people. Spreading the joy and the serenity that that money can bring. We blessed you so you could bless others. But this will only work if you do this out of compassion, being truly moved by the causes you’re giving to. So you gotta go out there get your hands dirty and look into the organizations yourself, don’t get someone else to do it for you ‘cause that won’t work for you.

You’ll still be bitter and feeling lonely in that big house {They showed a mansion with a stone driveway and a cute cultivated garden with columnar shrubs, square bushes and a sculpted bush} with that fancy car {They showed a Porsche and a BMW and they said Lincoln too} because you need human connections and a real purpose to back yourself up in your happiness.

We know how you feel about sharing your money… but you have to let go of thinking ‘I worked hard for this life, for this money! Why should I have to share it with people who can’t even balance their checkbook!?’

You also gotta give people a chance to surprise you, not every poor person with a sob story is just out for a good con. Not all of them are.

You did good, making good on the opportunities we sent you and— I know that struck a nerve but calm down. We sent them so give us some credit.— working hard to get where you are now. And you don’t have to listen to us, but we’re just telling you what will make you happy and fill that hole in your heart and life. You can take our advice or not, it’s up to you. When you’re ready, though, we’ll help you find the right places to send money.”

They care about you, they definitely have a hand in your life even though that seems to upset you but they don’t mean for it to be an insult, instead a testament to how much they care and look after you. I think they’re really sweet for not wanting to push you to do things their way, some Ancestors I’ve met before have been really stubborn and persistent so I think yours are really level headed and kind for this.

I also get the sense that they were business folks when they were on Earth too, in law firms, stock brokerages, and corporations, {whether that job went anywhere or not for them is unclear.} because of how well they worked around the business side of things to help you land deals, get promotions, and i also saw they helped you get your first big job interview.

They also know the lingo for businesses but they have a somewhat informal way of talking to you, {or to me to talk to you.}

Overall, it was a hard pill to swallow but they just wanted to say they’re proud of you but if you wanna stop searching for happiness, this is a surefire way to do that and they’re highly encouraging it. Of course, the decision is yours to make.

That's all for this pile, thank you for sticking around and hearing your ancestors out! I know it wasn’t easy 🩷🫂

If you’d like a personal reading on this, to elaborate or ask them more questions, you can purchase a reading on my Ko-Fi Shop {You’ll need to be a Moon Member for $5 a month in order to purchase it 🩷 The reading itself is One Call Away for $8 or Family Meeting for $15}

🐝 Group B 🐝

Your Cards: 9 of Wands Reversed, 8 of Cups, Queen of Cups, Knight of Pentacles

About Your Ancestors:

I smelled the ocean and then a chlorine pool. I think you or some of your ancestors may have been avid swimmers, swimming competitions seem relevant but also summers and holidays at a lake or beach. 

Indiana and Kentucky are prominent along with West Virginia. You may be from there or live there now, or your ancestors are from there/lived most of their lives there. You have some red haired ancestors, fair skin that burns easily. Blue eyes are common but there’s one Ancestor with Green eyes that’s really important here. Like piercing green emerald eyes.

It feels like you were born into wealth but that you also take your work seriously or enjoy working hard, to maintain that wealth, but that money also isn't "everything" to you.

Your Message:

They see that you want to be charitable but that you’re not sure who or what to give your money to. They suggest talking to more people and taking an active part in looking for causes or people in need. Researching charities online, going in person to local shelters and children’s organizations, you’ll find a place/cause/person to donate to really soon after doing this. Being in person will help you gauge the intentions of the organization and bring clarity on where you should share your money 🩷

Your Channeled Message:

“We know you’re bored, and looking for something fun to do. We’ve talked it over and we agree that donating to a good cause will benefit you. That being hands-on will be what you need to feel alive and excited and fill that need to be involved in something worth a damn.

There’s a few good ones but you’ll need to do your research, call them up, email them, set up a meeting with the campaign organizers and really ask them why they do this and how they use the money.

You’ll be able to gauge— we’ll help you to know— who is right for you and who is shoveling bullshit into your ears. There’ll be some that excite you and they look perfect from the outside but once you sit down and talk to them you’ll see they aren’t what they appear to be.

Be prepared to get your hopes crushed with the ones you think are good. It’ll be one of the places you didnt think twice about that will actually be the right fit for you. So just be prepared to be disappointed a lot before you find that one that lights your soul up.

Also be smart when you do find them, don’t write them a big check right away, do smaller donations first.

{I asked them why.}

Because you’ll be the first {or one of the first} to believe in them and their cause and a large donation will inflate their egos making them veer off course.

You gotta be subtle with your support— and ask to be part of the overseeing committe to track how they use the money. It sounds harsh but they’ll need you to keep them honest and on track. It’s not that they’re a bad organization, it's just that they live in the real world. Where bills and unexpected expenses pop up and they are just starting out so they kinda have their thoughts all over the place. They’re focus is on 20-50 years from now when it should be on this month, next month, this year.

With a large donation they’ll get ahead of themselves and start working on projects that shouldn’t and can’t be supported right now. Just stick to the plan and help them stick to it too. Small donations, regularly sent until we tell you to go bigger.

We love your heart. How much you want to give money away and share it with the world. We wish we were more like you when we were there {on Earth.}

We’re proud that you abandoned our thick skulled ideas and we’re proud to call you our grandson/granddaughter. {Most of you are male but a few are female so they said both 🩷}

We’re sorry we weren’t more supportive of you before, but we see the truth now and we’re here to support you in whatever you need now. And excuse our language some of us are still learning to behave more politely.

We love you. Ask for our help, we’ll do it. We really want you to talk to us more, and we wanna talk to you more. Bridge this gap that’s here ‘cause of me. {some mean from being in the Otherworld and some mean from their “bitter stubborn pig-headedness” —their words lol— while they were here on Earth.} I hope that we can make some kind of arrangement for that. Maybe go out for some tea or something.”

Overall you’re very pure hearted when it comes to your wealth. You don’t take it for granted and you love helping people but your Ancestors are concerned about you giving money to the wrong people. Almost like naivety but it’s just optimism and they understand that 🩷

They aren’t concerned because they think you can’t handle money on your own they just know that if you give money to people who misuse it and you find out down the road you’ll be heartbroken and it could lead to you putting your guard up when it comes to donating later, and they don’t want that.

To protect you, they’re recommending that you become mentally and physically invested in the organizations you support financially.

And they do have deep regrets for how they behaved here with you in the past. Some of you have ancestors that you knew here before they ascended, others only know stories— especially from the people in your hometown, they hold “grudges” towards your Ancestors because of how they behaved. So this could also be a small town thing 🩷

That's all for this pile, thank you for sticking around and hearing your ancestors out! 🩷🫂

If you’d like a personal reading on this, to elaborate or ask them more questions, you can purchase a reading on my Ko-Fi Shop {You’ll need to be a Moon Member for $5 a month in order to purchase it 🩷 The reading itself is One Call Away for $8 or Family Meeting for $15}

Happy Samhain! 🎃✨

𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂

𝑃𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 ~ 𝑇𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑝ℎ𝑜𝑛𝑒

Your Cards: Hanged man Reversed, Queen of Wands, Ace of Pentacles, Heirophant, Emperor, 9 of Cups, Strength, Justice Reversed, Death Reversed, 10 of Wands Reversed, 4 of Cups Reversed, 2 of Cups, 6 of Wands, Knight of Wands, King of Swords Reversed, 7 of Cups Reversed

About Your Ancestors:

Your Ancestors couldn’t wait to speak! The cards just started flying out so they definitely feel passionate about this.

Delaware is prominent. Appalachian is also important. Then it’s Missouri, Iowa, Ohio, North Dakota, Arkansas.

The Ancestor that was most prominent was an older lady, she was sitting in a dining hall or an old tea house {where they serve tea and cucumber sandwiches and the ladies dress up in vintage attire and hats.} She is white but the other Ancestors here are not. She was just the one that felt more confident speaking. She isn’t someone you’ve met in this life, she’s either an Ancestor from centuries ago or she ascended while you were too young to remember her. There are Hispanics here, Indians as well, a few Blacks, a handful of Natives from both America and Canada. 🩷

Your Message:

You’re avoiding an opportunity here because you’re afraid of the responsibility that will come from it and you’re afraid of being seen in a public way. Some of you feel like imposters and like if you become famous you’ll end up in lawsuits because you’ve seen it happen to people you adored and your role models ended up being problematic later on and you’re afraid of that happening to you.

{Can I just say Ditto!! 🙋🏻‍♀️ So I totally understand where you’re coming from!}

However, your Ancestors are saying that will never happen to you! You are the embodiment of pure love, kindness and compassion, even if you do have anger and hate towards some things or some people, you are still pure at heart and this is your reward.

This is your prize for being an amazing and beautifully kind person. It’s time for you to stop being afraid of being seen and being famous. It’s time for you to see yourself as you are and not who you’ve been telling yourself you are all these years.

This opportunity for you is something you will use to influence necessary change in this world. Laying down foundations and tearing up outdated ideas to build a more stable, respectful and focused world. This is something you’ll be partnering up with the Divine to create. It’s an incredible thing and they don’t want you to be afraid of it.

You’re worried you’ll lead in a cruel and ruthless, judgmental way but you won’t. You’ll lead with a vision for a better future for everyone, and people will see that 🩷

As for feeling overwhelmed and like there will be too much to carry, you’ll have help. From the Divine and in people, you’ll have the ability to share the load with others so even though you are the “face” of this and the leader, you won’t be leading alone 🩷🫂

Channeled Messages as I heard it:

“Child, you’re wonderful. Incredible, beautiful and kind. Why are you so worried about this turning out badly for yourself? You’re your own worst enemy, you know that, right?

Overthinking and worrying about what people will think of you, worrying about how you’ll mess something up unintentionally. Stop that! {She smacked your hand away from your mouth as you went to bite your nails lol}

Grab some tea {others said water} and pull yourself together. We didn’t raise you to be like this, worried and insecure about your self.

So look in the proverbial mirror and fix your hair and makeup {this is still a genderless reading but this Ancestor is prominent right now and speaking to a makeup wearer 🩷} Stand up straighter, keep your chin up and know who you are. You’re {They said some names lol like actually first middle and last names of people so for privacy reasons I won’t be sharing those.} for christ’s sake!

You are kind, compassionate, intelligent and meant to be seen as a leader in this world!

Don’t shy away from it because of other people’s missteps. I don’t care who your role model was, and quite frankly I do nOt care what they did to screw up my child’s view of themselves but you do not get to shy away from what this world has to offer you, what *I am* offering you, just because of someone else’s dirty laundry getting waved around in town square! {She huffs and straightens herself out as she pulls on the hem of her fitted blouse as she reins in her frustration.}

Now… I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m sick and tired of saying this to you and me not being heard. So pardon my lashing out but this had to be said because you my dear, are wonderful and you deserve every good thing this life has to offer you and I will make damn sure that you get it!

So get off your damn tush and start putting yourself out there because not only is it good for the world but it’s good for you and your happiness. And after all the hell you’ve been through, you deserve a bit of happiness in your life. So take it. ‘Cause it’s right there for the taking.”

She’s definitely passionate about this and I think her swearing is adorable, it made me laugh a lot during the channel 🩷

Although she was the most prominent Ancestor to come through, the others all agreed with her. It felt like when I asked for them to speak they all looked at her and she knew she got appointed with the job to speak for everyone.

I think she also might be the oldest of the group of Ancestors to come through but as I typed that they corrected me 🙈 There are older ones in the group, they appointed her because she has been around long enough to feel their frustration and hope for all of you to “get your act together and put on the best show of your lives” {their words} so they let her speak for all of them.

Plus they knew I’d enjoy her company and energy 😂🩷 They’re all so adorable. This is definitely my favorite pile for this reading because of her!

As for her message, I think it’s definitely something I relate to so I can understand the fear and holding yourself back to protect yourself but the cards and the Ancestors were very clear and adamant that you will not fail.

Something that might help is knowing that: your Ancestors and the Divine will not give you something amazing and push you to do it if it led to your humiliation or detriment when they know it’s something you’re genuinely terrified of.

I know it can be scary, I dealt with it when my spirit team told me to start doing readings online, I’ll prolly share my story later but it was really tough to push through that fear.

I recommend learning about and healing your solar plexus, heart, root, and crown centers {also inappropriately called Chakras} because that’ll help you open up to the possibility of entering the public eye and help nurture and solidify your perspective of yourself.

It might not be an easy road to heal these but if you need help, my asks and DMs are always open!! 🩷 And your Ancestors are also very willing to help you themselves so if you feel comfortable talking to them and asking them directly for help I definitely see that as a great option for you in your journey! 🩷✨

That’s all for this reading 🩷

I really enjoyed doing this!! It did take a lot longer to do this pick a pile because of all the different Ancestors in each pile but it was genuinely so much fun!

If you’d like a personal reading on this, to elaborate or ask them more questions, you can purchase a reading on my Ko-Fi Shop {You’ll need to be a Moon Member for $5 a month in order to purchase it 🩷 The reading itself is One Call Away for $8 or Family Meeting for $15}

𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂 𐐪𐑂

If you have any questions or want me to elaborate on something in this post please reach out, either with my “Pigeon Messenger 🕊️”, comments or DMs. 🩷

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With Love, Astrid 🩷✨

[im2tired4usernames]

When you marry the live of your life and try to start a family but have complications and IUI is no longer a thing so you have to give up on that dream of children and remember according to who you voted for a marriage is only "husband wife with children" making your marriage void and a shame in the governments eyes you picked that for yourself

When your grandmother dies because she can't afford her blood thinner medicine because they've cut Medicare you did this

When your son gets diagnosed with type one diabetes and dies a slow agonizing death because you can't afford his insulin you did this

When your neighbor dies from an unknown illness because they can't afford doctor visits because Medicaid was cut you did this

When your diagnosed with cancer and you have to choose between your chemo or food, rent and utilities for your family you did this when you realize you can't even take work off because your dying you did this

When you realize your required to work 70 hours a week and overtime pay is a thing of the past you did this

When your neighbors are all rounded up and deported even though they came here legally and have all the paperwork to prove it "America is a country for Americans" right? When your 79 year old mother in law is deported will you hold your father in law's and wife's hands while they cry or will you tell them that too what do you tell the kids?

When your friends and coworkers have their marriages annulments what do you say to them? You know he's said he's not just coming for gay marriage but interracial marriage too in fact he's also said if you don't have biological children your marriage is void so?

When your daughters class mates are killing themselves because they're not seen as people because they're health care is void what do you tell her?

What do you say to the history books that you felt like certain people should not be allowed to live? That you felt like "gas prices" the cop out I've heard everyone say was more important then human lives?

When you finally learn what a tariff is and the taxes on every thing goes up by fifteen when it costs you thirty dollars more to buy that pair of shoes for work you did this to your self

When you find relgious freedom is not a thing and Christianity has taken control making it so you can't watch your favorite shows or movies you can't read those books anymore they've been deemed ungodly what do you say to everyone who doesn't have the same convictions? You think it's ok to drink beer on Sunday well the Christans in charge don't so. Your relgious freedom is forcing everyone regardless of their religion or lack of to learn it in school.

When you children come home from school, if they're lucky and you realize they haven't taught them much of all and your horrified your 14 son has no clue on state history remember you chose for them to uneducated

When your son n you fight because he wants to read a piece of fiction that the government deemed "to not have family values" remember when your child screams at his much he hates you you are the one who chose this

If the unthinkable happens and your child is shot in his classroom remember you chose this for your family.

When your wife is raped by her coworker and becomes pregnant then miscarriages and is put in prison for "murder" you did this

When four years are up and they've rewritten the constitution like they said they would changing the president terms and giving him complete power above the law, and made himself into a dictator remember when you can't vote anymore you did this.

What are you doin to say when history looks back on you because it will what do you say when the books paint you as an evil when they teach this in history when your grandkids go "wow grandad how could anyone vote for him didn't they listen didn't they hear all the warning signs why did someone chose hate and control why didn't someone stand up" what do you tell your grandkids that this is what you wanted that you were one of the nutters in their history books that chose violence and bigotry in exchange for your rights? You did this.

Do not be surprised when everyone else is dead that they come for you too.

To the men who voted for Donald Trump today:

When your girlfriend gets pregnant, and you’re not ready to become a father, and you’re forced into a position that cripples you emotionally, financially and irreversibly, remember: you did this.

When your sister’s pregnancy turns out to be ectopic, and she can’t get the life-saving medical care she needs and dies a completely pointless, preventable death, remember: you did this.

When your 12-year-old daughter is raped by her soccer coach — after he’s legally allowed to strip off her pants and peep at her genitals, because the existence of trans kids terrifies you — and she steals your shotgun and kills herself in your garage, remember, first and foremost: you did this.

Hundreds of thousands of people are going to die because of the decision you made today.

You did that.

[hillbillyoracle]

When I talk about the situation for marginalized folks in the South being dire, I want to be very clear that the biggest threat is from legislators.

I think this is a concept that a lot of urban and northern folks struggle to grasp but conservatism exists on a spectrum. I live in a rural southern area. There is no way to avoid knowing, working with, or being friends with conservatives.

Let me give you an example of how it's complicated here.

My partner and I are moving into a new house (renting from my parents) in the same neighborhood. The house previously belonged our neighbor of over 20 years before he passed, a conservative Catholic man. His long time girlfriend, also a conservative Catholic, specifically wanted to sell the house to my Dad since he helped during our neighbor's cancer knowing that he was going to rent it to my partner and I. She even met us both and showed us the place.

Several times when we've been out in the yard working on it, people all up and down the road have come over to introduce themselves and get to know us. Every single one of them has voiced relief upon finding out that it's two quiet lesbians with a connection to the neighborhood moving in. One of the last people to move in, a loud MAGA conservative who regularly shoots loud rifles and hosts loud parties is near universally disliked and we are considered far more preferable.

I cannot count the times I've been over to people's houses with my partner and they've sheepishly confessed they've started voting democrat but don't want people to know. They're incredibly fed up with the culture war bullshit. One woman I know who's been loudly conservative my entre life left a position with a job placement nonprofit when they dropped a woman from the program upon finding out she lived with her girlfriend. She was livid with them and has actively worked against them since.

What I'm trying to say is that the biggest threat to me and my partner are often not the people I live around. It is the people in power. Those that would ban HRT for my partner - something a lot of conservatives I've talked to actively oppose because it opens the door for more government in medicine. Or those that would ban queer community spaces - something a lot of conservatives I know oppose because it opens the doors for states to decide who gets constitutional rights like the right to assembly.

TL;DR: Southerners are not a monolith. The reason we're in such a precarious position are the legislators and their funders. Actual community interactions are often super nuanced.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Is there a reason Marinette’s lying to Adrien about Gabriel doesn’t make sense to you from a character-standpoint? She’s lied a fair bit in the show for reasons other than keeping her identity or crush on Adrien a secret, and her love for Adrien has consistently created a blind spot for her in terms of her “general” morals/behavior.

Is there something more specific to Marinette’s pattern of behavior that indicates how her lying about Gabe would be OOC, or is the lie something you believe Canon!Marinette should recognize as too egregious to take part in?

(The closest alternative explanation I’ve seen thus far is that she shouldn’t have any reason to lie for Gabe because they share zero good will, but if we interpret it as lying for Adrien, then I’m not sure if that explanation fits.)

I have, admittedly, not gone through the show and tracked every lie that Marinette has ever told to see if I can weave together a pattern that backs Marinette's behavior at the end of season five. It's possible that there's a lie that I'm forgetting that would totally change my stance and, if you think that's the case, then feel free to respond to this with a comment or an ask on that topic! My "this is BS" stance is based on the overall story of the show and the ways that I've seen people try to justify the season five lies as those are the arguments that I've thought through and found lacking.

We'll start by discussing the two lies people use to try to back Marinette's behavior at the end of season five: the scarf and Chat Blanc. Then I'll talk about the story's lead up to the season five lies and why it makes for a horribly unsatisfying story in my eyes. If someone gave this to me, I'd be suggesting some major edits to make it work on a technical level.

The Scarf

For those who don't remember, the season one episode The Bubbler sees Marinette make Adrien a scarf for his birthday. She drops the scarf off at the Agreste mansion with a note for Adrien and the hope that this will get him to finally notice her. Nathalie then takes the scarf and uses it as a gift from Gabriel instead. Marinette learns about this during this exchange at the very end of the episode:

Alya: Yo, nice scarf, Adrien. Off the chain. Adrien: Yeah, can you believe my dad got this for me? (Marinette looks surprised) it's so awesome. He's been giving me the same lame pen for three years in a row.... Alya:(to Marinette) You gotta tell him you were the one who knitted the scarf. Marinette: But he seems so happy about his dad. I don't want to spoil it for him. Alya: Aw, Marinette. (they hug.) You're amazing, girl. You know that, right? And someday Adrien will figure it out too. Promise.

I can see why someone would look at this and call it a setup for the end of season five. There are some parallels here. The problem is that there are a lot of massive differences, too. Differences that make this a really crappy setup:

Marinette does not lie in this scene. She simply overhears a lie and doesn't correct it. Remove her and Alya from the scene and nothing changes. The lie still exists. Meanwhile, without Marinette, the season five lies would never have come to be.

Marinette knows about the scarf lie for about a minute on screen. She hears about it and tells Alya to let it go within the same scene. That's a gut reaction, not a carefully planned and considered deceit. Once again, wildly different from what season five gives us.

Adrien and Marinette aren't shown to be close friends in season one. They rarely talk to the point that I didn't even know that they were supposed to be friends until we got to Origins. That complicates correcting the scarf lie. How does Marinette approach a random classmate and explain a situation that she doesn't even fully understand herself? That's very different from Ladybug telling a lie to a civilian or Marinette lying to her boyfriend.

Season one Marinette has no idea how messed up Adrien's home life is. All she knows is that Adrien liked her gift, but that he thinks it came from a different person. She doesn't even know that a lie was involved in this confusion! As far as she's aware, this could just be a minor misunderstanding that she'd rather let go because does it really matter who the gift is from? This is extra true because the scarf never comes up again, meaning that this is not an ongoing or damaging lie as far as canon is concerned.

That last point and the issue of Marinette never actually telling the lie herself are probably the biggest points in Marinette's favor. If Adrien wore the scarf all the time and used it as a comfort when he was fighting with his dad, then you'd have a solid case for Marinette needing to say something because the lie is arguably doing actual harm. This is especially true if you let Adrien say things like, "I wear this to remember that my father loves me," to Marinette. But that's not what canon did.

As far as canon is concerned, the scarf lie exists for all of a minute. A minute in which Adrien expresses delight in the gift, but gives it very tepid weight in terms of what it means for his relationship with his father. (Adrien's room is full of nice gifts, I don't think a scarf was going to make-or-break their relationship.) After that, the scarf never comes up again, meaning that Marinette's gut reaction to not immediately destroy Adrien's happiness is all we get. That's hardly a great setup for her being the source of massive ongoing lies about Adrien's personhood and the truth of his father's abuse.

I'll also remind you that this all happened at the very start of the show. The Bubbler is one of the first episodes people see. If this is your best argument for Marinette's behavior five seasons later, then we have a major writing problem on our hands. You should not have to dig back to the very start of the show to justify a major character beat like this. There should be more relevant material. We'll circle back to that problem in a minute. First let's quickly touch on lie two and why it also falls flat.

Chat Blanc

Another thing people point to as foreshadowing for the season five lies is the fact that Ladybug kept Chat Blanc from Chat Noir and, if Chat Blanc was actually affecting her, then I would agree with this take. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. The official story is that Ladybug's actions in season four had nothing to do with Chat Blanc. It was just guardian stress! If that's true, then I don't think she should tell Chat Noir about Chat Blanc.

Why?

Since when do we tell people about all the awful things they did while they were akumatized? There's no point to that. It's cruel. Do you think that Ladybug also needs to walk him through everything he did while under the control of various akumas like Dark Cupid? If no, then how is Chat Blanc any different? What's the value in telling Chat Noir the gory details of what will happen if he ever has a moment of weakness and becomes akumatized? He already knows that it will be bad! Why tell him exactly how bad it will be? I can't come up with a single good canonical reason.

Ladybug has no idea what caused Chat Blanc, so she can't warn Chat Noir what he needs to avoid. You can't even use the "he should know about Bunnyx" argument because that wasn't Bunnyx's debut. Canonically speaking, the only reason that Ladybug should talk to Chat Noir about Chat Blanc or any other bad thing that he's done while under the power of an akuma is if it's effecting her or their partnership and it's apparently not! That's why Marinette never reacts to Chat Noir getting a white makeover (see: the Paris special & Jubilation) and why Chat Blanc is never discussed in the show outside of that one brief nightmare callback in Sentibubbler.

To be clear, I think that's an asinine choice as Chat Blanc's memory hurting Ladynoir would have been semi-decent foreshadowing for the season five lies, but the writers decided to go another route. They also let Chat Blanc haunt Adrien even though he doesn't know about it, which I don't even know how to dissect because it's such terrible writing! If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the official explanation for why Adrien couldn't make it to the final fight. The reason for the white-and-blue Chat Noir that haunted his nightmares:

Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

Quality writing here folks. Quality writing. At the very least have season five Adrien be freaked out about the fact that he cataclysmed a human! That would make this make at least a little sense, but we don't get that. Instead we get Adrien almost cataclysming several akumas like it's no big deal while having nightmares about a thing he's never even been told about (see: Derision and Jubilation and probably other's I'm forgetting.)

The Events of Season Four and Five

As you can hopefully see, we don't have a great, ongoing pre-end-of-season-five lie to point to as proof that Marinette would decide to tell the massive lies that she does. That's a pretty big writing flaw, but it's not a show stopper. A lie like this could still fit her character if the story sets it up right.

The problem is that the story doesn't do that. It actually sets Marinette up to be primed to want to tell the truth.

For all Miraculous' nonsensical and wacky writing, the season five lie still comes at the end of two seasons with relatively clear messages. Those messages were to trust others and avoid lies. Let me show you what I mean.

While season four's writing is an absolute disaster, we cannot ignore the fact that the stated lesson in Strikeback is that Marinette learned to trust others, give up control, and stop lying:

Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost ALL the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian EVER! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you, I lied to you, I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of EVERYTHING! (continues sobbing)

This is what Marinette says to Chat Noir directly after losing the Kwamis. This is the lesson that she supposedly learned. The end note of the season. The word of god meant to be internalized by children everywhere. The show even goes so far as to have Ladybug give Chat Noir more responsibility in the first episode of season five (Evolution):

Cat Noir: Catch, m'lady! (throws the Rabbit Miraculous at Ladybug and she catches it) Only the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous can open a time portal. Ladybug: (contemplates shortly then places the Rabbit Miraculous on his chest, smiling) You do it, kitty. Cat Noir: You want me to control time? Ladybug: It's you and me, remember?

Really driving home this idea that Ladybug is going to be more trusting and open with others moving forward.

The meat of season five sees Marinette and Adrien start dating. During this arc, Marinette learns to be more open with her feelings around Adrien while also being confronted with the reality of just how messed up Adrien's home life is. Marinette and Gabriel clash with each other over Adrien with Marinette fighting for Adrien's freedom and Gabriel trying to control everything:

Gabriel: I don't think you understand, child, so let me put things differently. Life is like fashion. You think you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of choice. And I decide what choices are given to you. Marinette: You're wrong! (Shows Gabriel her sketchbook.) Fashion is about listening to people, it's about understanding who they are, what excites them and creating the clothes that will help them express their inner world. Help them connect with others and make their dreams come true.

This conflict means that Marinette and Gabriel do not have a single positive interaction in the entire season outside of maybe the final. We also see Adrien defy his father more than ever before. This is not the kind of setup you write if you want Marinette to tell Adrien that his father was a hero. Why in the world would she think that he'd want to be told that kind of lie? Why would he even buy it after all of the things that Gabriel has done? The final literally sees Adrien locked in a padded prison cell!!! Writers, what are you doing??? Why did you write this???

There's also the fact that season five has a major theme of lies = bad. It's the season where Lila's lies are finally outed, but only after they almost cost Marinette's friends their futures. For those who need a reminder: Lila tried to mess with the forms that stated where everyone wanted to go for lycée and would have succeeded in pulling off that harm and blaming it on Marinette were it not for the lies being outed.

On top of that, we also see Adrien keeping the plan to ship him off to London from Marinette, ending in this exchange:

Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien! Adrien: (voice breaking; in tears) Marinette, I should've told you sooner, but... up until the last minute, I thought I'd find a solution. I tried everything, I swear. Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien, what's... what's going on? Adrien: I have to leave Paris. (his voice breaks) I'm not worthy of your love. I feel terrible for hurting you.

Adrien kept the truth from Marinette to try to keep her from being hurt and ended up hurting her more than he otherwise would have because they don't even get a proper goodbye.

None of this is a solid setup for Marinette turning around and lying to Adrien about his father. Why would she do that after all of the harm lies and Gabriel caused in season five? Between this and season four, she has not been setup to want to lie to Adrien. Season five needs massive rewrites to make that choice work! (Note: I have yet to see the London special, but based on everything I've heard, I think it's just going to cement my annoyance at Marinette's wishy-washy writing by continuing to ignore the plot of the seasons leading up to the final and the special.)

Final Thoughts

I don't think that Marinette lying to Adrien about his dad is a terrible idea. It's a believable struggle! It just doesn't fit her character's journey. They've failed to have her tell that type of lie before and they had her tell this lie after two seasons where the main lessons were how much lies have hurt her and the people that she loves. If she hasn't gotten the message that you shouldn't lie by now, then when exactly is she going to learn it? It's incredibly hard for me to get invested in characters that aren't allowed to grow and learn from their mistakes and Miraculous has made it abundantly clear that it will not let these characters grow if growth messes with the plot that the writers want to tell.

I will openly admit that I think that Marinette's lie was a last minute retcon to make there be a cliffhanger to season six, but let's ignore that and give a quick three-point plan of how you could make this ending work:

Really lean into the negative consequences of people knowing the truth about things. Nino knowing Alya's identity outing Alya. Luka getting shipped off to Brazil. Make the truth hurt Marinette at every turn. Basically remove all lies = bad consequences and have Ladybug see losing the miraculous be the result of trusting others because she trusted "Adrien" and lost, leading her to keep pushing people away

Don't let Lila be outed. Have Lila be a good president and make that part of her big plan for the next season.

Have Gabriel and Marinette get along. Gabriel has said that Adrien is like Emilie, let Gabriel see himself in Marinette, leading Gabriel to trust Marinette to be Adrien's support should the worst happen. Let the final fight be a heartbreaking moment between two people who have an actual relationship built around loving Adrien. Have Adrien going to London be a "convenient" trip to get him out of the way on the day of the evil plot and not a prison sentence so that Gabriel doesn't look cartoonishly evil. Make it feel like he cares! Sell the redemption!

Do that and, yeah, I'd buy Marinette's choice even without setup lies because you don't need setup lies! Setup lies don't matter anywhere near as much as selling this lie and the writers simply didn't do that. I don't believe for a second that Marinette would lie for Gabriel or think that this was what Adrien wanted based on the relationship season five gave us for those three characters. It is so glaringly obvious that this is nothing more than a stalling tactic that has nothing to do with Marinette's character and everything to do with the show's rule that "there must always be a secret between Adrien and Marinette." I genuinely struggle to understand how anyone sees it as anything else.

[xanderjkz]

Knox Overstreet- Fixing the problem of a kind boy

I like fucking love the concept of Knox's character and the message he portrays but holy shit they really fucked up when it came to the execution. Both in the movie AND book (ESPECIALLY there). This fandom takes its time to reconstruct his character to be likeable. But how would this actually play out in a better-constructed storyline for this dude with girl problems?

Well, that's the answer I would like to answer today

Knox in the official dead poets media

Like every poet in the movie Spotlight, Knox comes from a family that's enforcing the path of a lawyer. His father is one, which is how his storyline even starts. He is invited to the Danbury's because his dad helped the only responsible and well-mannered dude in the house. And in that same scene, they literally tell us that people expect him to be a lawyer. So there's this kind of pressure.

But not really because we never get to see that side of Knox in the movies where he clearly states that he doesn't like the path people chose for him. All he has is girls problems.

Which is sad considering that he could be so much more

But then we'd have to extend the movie by about 1 hour and that would make it unenjoyable because this movie is perfect because of the pacing they chose. It's fast and yet slow and kinda counts down to Neil's suicide in a way that gets stuck. Because he is one of the main characters and most scenes should be with him. Not with Knox considering if his life expectancy is okay.

So is there any extra scenes in the book?

...yeah no

"But how do we solve this issue with knox's awful storyline?"

Rewrite the book and hope for the best.

Since I'm an author myself I know that writing often gets complicated when your creative streak is gone but since I'm an author I'd solve it this way:

Keep the Chris storyline

Let that boy be problematic, let him make mistakes but not once that deeply traumatises someone like SEXUALLY ASSULTING someone. Knox is the message bringer of the bad side of carpe Diem. Sometimes seizing the day will make things worse because you didn't think it through. That's a great message to bring across, I mean how many 16-year-olds make mistakes that we thought were okay? A lot, and he is the one who made the mistake in the story.

"So how would you change his mistake?"

The storyline reinvented

He meets Chris like usual

Look he didn't fuck up here in the slightest. I too would be stuttering if I met a beautiful girl. And him meeting her through the Danbury clearly shows the problem he has to date Chris. It's classic anyway

Cut the bike scene and use his sister instead

From what I gathered his sister goes to the same school as Chris (can be mistaken but for this story she does! ) so he uses her to kinda pry into Chris's life and find things out. It is problematic if he literally implies stalking her but c'mon, at least someone in the Overstreet family has common sense and only observes in the distance...right? Besides who doesn't use their siblings for their advantages? Plus it brings depth to that mean. Seeing how he treats his sister could indicate his behaviour with people extremely close to him.

Let him attempt the party but be extremely obnoxious

That's what he's best at

His nickname is literally knoxious. But what the hell do I mean by being obnoxious? Let that boy not leave Chris's side. Why? Because that sets up his mistake. Being attached to someone's hip can be extremely uncomfortable and with Chet's provoke able (?) ass this can go wrong fast. (Also we can't forget that Chris is the one being played around like an object in this and this should be his biggest mistake as we do not treat anyone like that, especially women!) But what would be the breaking point for CHRIS and Chet and the thing where he decides that "carpe diem" is good to use (even tho it's not)?

HE DANCES WITH CHRIS

Okay, instead of him being an ass and kissing Chris, he's an ass and dances with her. He was under the influence when he made both decisions which isn't an excuse but something that pushed him towards it. Because Knox in his most sober self wouldn't even talk properly to her.

So, some lame-ass song from the 50s is playing and he grabs her hand. Maybe she danced with someone else and he stole her. Considering that the tension between Chris and Knox is already uncomfortable, this would bring it to the maximum. Chris (as the beautiful woman she is) would try to use this moment to finally talk about his behavior so he lets her go. And the moment he finally talks chet comes in.

This small synopsis is weak but let's be honest, no one would read a whole ass script abt this.

Anyway

Chet comes in, the situation becomes way out of control and the only person getting extremely hurt is Chris. As she was toyed around by Knox and Chet. So she leaves the party prematurely (as she should, take care of yourselves) and Knox returns to Welton with the same bloody nose as in the movie

He goes directly to her house

Him doing so is a direct response to his failure. Between the party and them talking he needs to reflect on his failures and feel genuine guilt. It sucks that he can only do so once he gets punched but at least he has the mind to realise that.

But Chris isn't that easy to talk to. Obviously, this whole thing made her feel weird and sad so she avoided both of them. When he goes up to her house and gets rejected? He talks with Keating.

Mentor Keating

Not only would this solidify his last scene in the movie more but it also gives them a connection more than Keating humiliating him. Okay, but can we fit this into the movie? Not the conversation but he could easily fit it into the scene where he returns to Welton after talking to her.

"What would Keating tell him?"

The same thing he told Neil. Honesty.

Fate decides itself in the decisions you make and Knox knows that lies won't wrap her around his fingers. So maybe honesty carries them to a state where they can be friends.

So his masterplan gets made and it's the most trope-st shit you can think of.

Throwing a rock in the night at her sweet sweet window

Why did I think of this? Well, do you like the scenery of how he originally apologised and made everybody look at her?

At least it's at night so fewer people look and it would show us the skills he earned from sneaking off bc of the poet's meetings. Thus showing the audience more connection to the group. Plus at night people are mostly at their most vulnerable time and it would get Chris to talk.

But what would they talk about?

Considering that he finally saw the wrong parts of his obsession with her, he would give her the space to express her discomfort to its fullest after he of course apologises. But I think Chris wouldn't even express herself to the fullest because she has sympathy for him. She understands that loving someone can make you sick and twisted when you're a teenager but she is still her flesh and mind who clearly didn't want it to cause her relationship to break.

She might not express the worst anger that comes with something like this but she still expressed her sorrow in this mess. And Knox listens and sees the wrong in his actions. He doesn't need to justify himself because no justification could make this play in his favour. And when all is said and done, she forgives him for being so damn obnoxious.

But she doesn't like him in the way Knox wishes her to feel. And knox needs to learn to accept it. Like we all do

The story progresses without knox getting what he wants

Through this whole story he went through, we as viewers get the message that even if you apologise, it's up to the victim of your actions to give you what you want. And throughout the film, I never even got the notion that Chris has an interest in Knox. Hell, they don't even talk that much to build a conclusion on their goddamn relationship before he kissed her. He sets the message of a "Carpe Diem" gone wrong. After that, he is a reminder of us humans and our way of going through those problems you cause.

There are probably better ways of doing his arc, heck give him a different one. I mean he has potential. Maybe he's better off once the group splits or maybe he isn't.

But the way he is in the movie is a horrible portrayal of romance. I get it, the script is from the 80s but c'mon you're allowed to admit that it's bad.

Well, there's nothing we can really do, the movie in itself is an art and should be viewed as it. It fits into the zeitgeist of past generations and our present ones. I love the movie but if I had to change one storyline it would always be Knox oversteet's

Btw can be talk about how stupid his fucking name is? Who names their child Knox? With the last name OVERSTREET

[katerinaaqu]

It's hard talking about the disrespect to Greek mythology and religion when every argument people brings to the table is "look at this original novel that is adapted into a movie that is turned into a tv show that didn't follow the original plot" as if the Greek culture is on par with fictional story instead of a tradition and heritage of real life people.

A media that is broadcast to the public and make accessible to everyone that erased the values and lesson of a cultural story still can do harm when it feeds misunderstanding and misinterpretion of the culture it originated from.

Greek people has the right to be upset when their culture keeps getting misrepresented, doesn't matter the good intentions behind it, why must it be at the expense of Greek culture?

You can create arts that is so beautiful and so praises by many, and years from now you could look back and see what an amazing experience and community you have created out of it. But at the same time you also continue feeding the distorted ideas and flawed understanding about a culture as a whole.

All because you took from a culture and want to tell your own story.

Retelling is telling back the story. Any addition or new ideas you bring is when there's part in the original story that is vague or open for interpretations. Even then, when you elaborate, you follows the already presented ideas that the original story already established.

If it so beloved to you and so meaningful to you, why couldn't you be faithful when adapting and retelling with the talents you have?

Shouldn't it be better if you created an original story inspired by it? If you feels that the values and standards are not to your taste, but you so loved the stories and could related to it, isn't it better to create original characters and settings with your own voice and narrative with the story inspiration as the backdrop?

At this point, what is greek mythology and lore to you? That makes you so passionate so inspired, that spark your imagination that encourage you to be creative but it is at the ruin of old age history that is meaningful for the Greek identity. Do you really appreciate the values and moral that you gained from the stories, or did you forget yourself along the way?

I couldn't have said it better! I agree to all that because that is exactly my sentiment as well! On one hand of course I am proud that Greek mythology contnues to inspire and people want to create stuff on them or that even now there are people who think the values of Greek Mythology are universal and they are!

But as you said it pains me to no limits when stories that were literally created from people based on their culture and religion to pass on messages are not only distorted beyond recognition but also to a degree where nowadays most people of Greek mythology liking spectrum know only how terrible villains some men are (in actual mythology they are complicated personas) and how weak women are (there are literlly figures in Greek mythology that are so strong personas that honestly I am shocked. See Helen for example how she is the most projected persona as a pretty face that does nothing when Helen literally taks back to Aphrodite, she is the only one who sees through Odysseus's disguise, she has knowledge of medicine and so much more for once) Mythology loses all its meaning, all its allegory and all its cultural spectrum because as you said people do not use it to retell the story, they use the word "retelling" as their excuse to just tell a story that fits them by using the popularity of greek mythology and yes as you said why cannot they say their original stories while using inspiration from Greek mythology?

Honestly I have nothing to add! You said it all dear Anon!

[originalaccountname]

happy new year!!!! when you answered my last ask, you said this:

“Asagiri is always going on about how ~mysterious~ Dazai is when he's not that complicated.”

i was wondering if you've made other posts about this, or if you'd be willing to expand on it… i love reading Dazai analyses & i’ve been doing a deep dive trying get to the core of dazai’s character motivation & inner conflicts/personal struggles, so i love hearing other people’s interpretations & ideas :)

break him down for me please!! (if you wouldn’t mind <3)

I had this plan of collecting all the interviews of Asagiri saying Dazai oh so complicated and talking about it but I ran out of steam and then.... well you saw how this ask started. The most recent Asagiri interview/talk delved into it again though!

What makes Dazai tick "hasn't been revealed" and Asagiri seems to be/think to be in the dark about it too. But to write a character with depth and consistency, you must know how they work! But not every micro detail has to be accounted for, and sometimes they might surprise you by revealing their true colours despite yourself. I get the impression that Asagiri hasn't worked out the fine details of why Dazai is the way he is, but rather how it shows and what can trigger it.

The character of Dazai was based on his namesake's struggles and his namesake's semi-autobiographical story of a character struggling with society, living and (probably) depression. I think on some level there might be a fear of intruding upon such a personal experience by giving our Dazai a definitive reason behind his own struggles, since he's so closely linked to his inspirations. However, I mostly think Asagiri's writing style makes it so leaving that part up to reader interpretation is purposeful and more fulfilling to both Asagiri and us.

Altogether, I think when Asagiri talks about Dazai being unknowable and mysterious, it's both about how he is written to keep an arm's length between himself and everyone else, and because Asagiri, as the one writing him, is keenly aware of how much of Dazai isn't shown. I believe it when they say Dazai is a tricky character to portray. Arguably, Dazai is, this way, the character that's most written like a real person, with a rich inner life that, as an outsider, you can't pretend to fully know, and that's the point.

There's a passage in 55 Minutes about how nobody has managed to understand Dazai's struggle with life. Atsushi outright asked him, and yet he couldn't remember what Dazai had told him. That was the author telling you "it's not that this issue is unaddressed, it's that you're supposed to fill in the blanks yourself".

The scariest monster is the one you can't see, and the most visceral struggle is the one you can project onto.

So Dazai is supposed to be up to reader interpretation, however he has to have some consistency and patterns and quirks to be recognizable as himself to the audience. We may never be able to say with certainty why Dazai is, but we can all come to a semblance of how Dazai is, because we're reading a story about a fictional guy written by a real person. Fan interpretations may vary, but the canon story is static. Dazai might be ~mysterious~ by design, but he's not that complicated.

[rosecentaur1916]

TW: Death and Suicide @rosencatholic Number one: I'M AMERICAN. Number two: Shit did happen!

Wake up, Princess and smell the coffee!

There have been countless women who have died since the overturning of Roe v. Wade because they can't get treatment for legit reasons other than traditional abortion that can't get a Dilation and Curettage (D&C) due to pregnancy complications and their doctors being afraid of persecution. There have been countless women who died because they had to go outside of their home state due to the over turn of Roe v Wade. Babies and death are NOT punishments! Babies are blessings so before you spew that bullshit. There have been countless deaths and suicides because of harassment, homophobia and transphobia thanks to that man. A trans man I followed back in 2022 on tiktok committed suicide because of all of the transphobia he was experiencing. His family didn't even respect his pronouns or his chosen name. There have been countless deaths of black people due to rampant police intimidation and bullying which got *worse* under your emperor with no clothes. Like oh... I don't know: George Floyd and Breonna Taylor plus countless other people of color! May they rest in Power! These are just *some* of the things that happened that I can think of off the top of my head. Sources: Mama Doctor Jones is not only a influencer. She is a board certified OBGYN originally from Texas and a mother of four:

Milo: Along with showing you Milo (He's on the right hand side) you'll see a cause he was working towards and it got rejected:

A memorial video for Milo because he took his own life:

All the black people who have died from police violence as of 2020:

A brief history of black deaths due to police imputiny:

13th about the 13th amendment and how it effects black folks, black men more disproportionately than white folks

So these are just *some* of the people that were effected by your emperor with no clothes. This is not *all* of them. I wouldn't be able to get all of the names and groups of people he has harmed. There is blood on 72,560,841 peoples hands for the lives we're going to lose in the next 4 years. I am LGBTQIA+, I was assigned female at birth. I am a part of the 67,878,826 who voted for Harris. I am a champion for the poor, marginalized, sick, and those who can not speak or fight for themselves. I fight for my child and his future in this world. That they may grow up in one that is loving and compassionate and won't hurt them or spurn them for their loving heart. I didn't even mention the effects that all of this will have on the poor! And I'm part of that demographic! We'll lose crucial health care protections because he wants to recall Obamacare. We'll get less aid to be able to feed our children. Children who are just like yours or the ones that aren't yours that you hold dear. I don't wanna hear your bullshit about "well you shouldn't have had them if..." Put a cork in it. You lost the right to say that when you supported and cheered the overturning of Roe v Wade. Then the children! I didn't mention the children. Children are going to be effected because you know he's not going to do anything with gun control. I support the second amendment, but *not* when it could get my child killed! You care more about the child I could carry in my womb than the one that sits in a classroom every day! How can you call yourself "pro-life" when you won't protect the lives of people that are already around you? But you'll protect a patch of cells that has a small chance of becoming a child. Did you know that 10 to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage? Did you know that number is likely higher due to unknown pregnancies? Not all sacks of cells become babies. According to the NIH a babies brain doesn't start working until the end of the second trimester? (Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234146/) If my father can be called "brain dead" (He died from a motorcycle accident where he was severely shaken and developed what is called Diffuse Axonal Injury and was declared brain dead by the hospital before we pulled the plug) and that's why he's no longer a living person, than a baby is not a living person before their brain starts to work. The body and heart aren't a person, their brain is. But that patch of cells is more important that my living, breathing, learning and loving kid? The one who loves to draw and paint? The one who loves to build things out of cardboard. That loves Five Nights at Freddy's and Gravity falls and Owl House? The one that cuddles me still, even as big as they are? The one that still insists he sleeps with me at night even though they should stay in their own bed? My child who could get killed by a school shooter because "You'll have my gun when you pry it from my cold dead fingers." OH! And I'm also a single mother and left an ABUSIVE relationship that your emperor in no clothes wants to shove me back into. No way. I will not go back. I will not take my child back to a bad environment because of your so called want for a traditional family system. All that does is perpetuate abuse. I have lived experience. MY life and the life of MY child are lives that are going to be affected and all you care about is the price of milk and bread. How do you sleep at night? Before you answer, that's rhetorical. Watch and educate yourself *before* you reply to this. If you don't watch, and watch *completely* I will not reply. You're not worth my time. Sit with yourself and your vote for a better price at the gas pump that was more important than peoples lives. For "less immigrants" that are *people* just like you. That have families and loved ones just like you. Sit with the fact that you condemned people for your own convenience.

Don’t understand the dramatics. People, we already had Trump for four years and nothing happened to you. You’re fine, it’s not the end of the world. Stop scrolling through social media and turn off liberal media channels. Go get some fresh air.

[cloudbends]

I feel a bit wary saying this because it doesn't feel quite real yet, but! had my last week of college classes last week. I still have to get through my last exam period but it's very odd to think this degree is almost over and done with. many thoughts about it in general.

[thesixthstar]

For young people who have never Done TaxesTM and are nervous because it sounds intimidating and complex and you don’t know what to expect: if you are like many young Americans and don’t own any stocks or property, and you don’t have like Dependents and such, your taxes will probably be dead simple.

Assuming you have a job where you’re just an employee (as opposed to freelance/contract work which is considered self-employed) your job will send you a form called a W2 that says “this is how much money we payed you this year” and “this is how much you asked us to withhold from your paycheck for taxes” (you told your employer how much to hold back when you signed the paperwork to Get Employed).

You go to the IRS websites free file page and pick out a website from their official list that will help you file your taxes for free. You put in a bunch of personal info on that site, plus the numbers from the W2 form. (OPTIONAL: if you’re paying back student loans, your loan servicer might send you a tax form saying how much you paid. If you upload this info to the tax site, the government will tax slightly less of your income.) Tell the site to send all that to the government. Done. Taxes = filed.

If you had your employer hold back too much from your paycheck this year, the government will owe you money, and will pay it a little while after they get your taxes. If you had them hold back too little, you will owe the government some money. Usually if you got the withholding options right, the numbers owed will be relatively small, but if you end up owing quite a lot then maybe consider telling your employer to hold back more.

That’s it. You get a form or two with the info about your earnings, you type that info into another form, you send it in and sometimes money changes hands at the end.

And as mentioned above, if you fill things in wrong, they just send you something about “hey can we get this fixed plz”.

For people with anxiety about filing taxes, here’s what things that happen when you make a mistake on your tax return:

- it gets corrected

- you get a letter in the mail either asking for some additional information or a letter showing the adjustment

- you pay the amount (there’s options for payment plans too!) or get a refund

Things that do not happen

- you’re “in trouble”

- you are charged with fraud

- you go to jail

I know that most people are probably just joking/exaggerating when they say a mistake on their return means they get thrown in jail but when I worked with the public I always would encounter people who believed that would happen and they would be panicking about it. So I like to put this out there every year because if I can even prevent one person from feeling that way, it’s worth it

[arolesbianism]

I’ve been having a rough few days, but I’ve been feeling a bit better so I decided to make some lil thingies for some spiraling upwards kitties :3

[zemnarihah]

man

[timelord-of-the-moon]

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