#but i think that's just because i have strong opinions on everything i cannot be normal about anything

[monstrsball]

thinking about that time i saw someone hc iwaizumi as a swiftie... you're so wrong. that man does not like pop music, i know this to be a fact.

[byuno-o]

RETROGRADE PLANETS IN NATAL CHARTS.

NOTE: PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS. HENCE, MIGHT NOT BE APPLICABLE FOR EVERYONE. ONLY FOR ENTERTAINMENT. HENCE, DISCRETION IS ADVISED. DO PROVIDE FEEDBACKS, I LOVE IT. :)

MERCURY IN RETROGRADE

If you have mercury in retrograde in your natal chart, you might deal with aversion when it comes to verbal, direct communication. Putting your ideas and thoughts into clear sentences might not be your forte. However, I've read somewhere that people with Mercury Rx, have really good intuition. I can vouch for this since my brother has this in his 11th house, and boy has he saved himself from bad influences countless times purely because he could sense BS right away. People with Mercury Rx, however, possess a unique way of communicating their ideas and thoughts. They don't necessarily use art, but just different words and their brains are often configured differently. They might see logic in things that others can't, and somehow, everything works fine for them. These people also tend to be profound thinkers and internalize their life philosophies instead of using those philosophies for other, unlike forward mercuries. People with forward mercuries-even the ones with debilitated mercuries use their words and ideas in order to help others. while retrograde mercuries wants the betterment of self. Hence, seeing other perspectives can be difficult for them, and finding balance between conscious and callous communication can be hard. Retrograde mercuries have hard-hitting sense of humour which can be the result of unique communication style. Forward mercuries can choose their words carefully, but retrograde mercuries often cannot, for this is their lesson for their present life.

2) VENUS RETROGRADE

I see people with venus in retrograde having issues with their sense of self, which can be seen in their communication style and sense of humour. Overcompensating outwardly for lack of sensing lack of style and panache that forward Venus tend to possess, even the debilitated ones. yet they can't see their own unique flavour which goes against the conventions. A friend whose venus is in retrograde has the wildest love life in my group. Her standards are high, which stemmed from dealing with problematic, almost karmic relationships. There can be confusions regarding one's own opinion about self, likes, dislikes, and there can be a tendency to see oneself through other's judgements. Finance can be a hard to deal with, overspending can be a problem. Their lesson for their present life is to accept themselves the way they are, and love themselves before looking for love and validation elsewhere. The root cause of almost all of their problems is the lack of sense of strong self and self-validation which come first and foremost. That is the only one they can see their own uniqueness, and leverage it for their benefits.

3) MARS RETROGRADE

These people can deal with heavy procrastination, and lacks efforts when it comes to their dreams and goals. There can be a push and pull effect regarding their individuality. A cousin of mine has mars retrograde, and despite having his mars in Scorpio, he loathes adventures, and risks--and you can also add changes. while people with forward mars can be very courageous--even the debilitated ones, although they need immense pressure to make them feel agitated, people with mars retrograde rather suffer in silence than assert themselves. For them, action-orientation, and assertion can be the lessons for their present lives. However, I also think Mars in retrograde can make one very diplomatic and can make the person possess mercurial qualities. That same cousin have debilitated mercury, yet he sounds the most critical and logical among us when we have to fight for our food rights (jokes) against our grandparents. Rather than have a individualistic nature, these people can harness excellent group qualities. They can suffer through sex related traumas.

4) JUPITER RETROGRADE

People with Jupiter in retrograde may be raised with issues regarding self, religion and higher knowledge. Their viewpoints are very different, and may often come off as illogical. They care very cautious when it comes to voicing their opinions. However, they can possess a very twisted kind of luck. Since I have this, I can vouch for this. I may never get what I want, but what I need always finds me, Unlike people with forward Jupiter who may get what they want just like that. my brother has forward Jupiter in Cancer, and I have never seen a person as lucky as him. Brotha is protected by angels and our family. One order, and the whole family scrambles to obey him. While in my case, I just work hard and get the bare minimum, but the things I get always helps me at times. Getting higher knowledge is especially harder for people with Jupiter in Rx, and may deal with confusion regarding the validity of knowledge. People with jupiter in Rx also deal with lack of mentors and teachers needed to shape their personality and inner world, hence they become vagabonds when it comes to knowledge. It is only them they can rely on for a strong sense of self, hence they may go through hard time alone. It is not like they don't look for help, it's just help never comes, but rewards are worth the pain. There's always a tendency to question everything which may lead to paranoia and overthinking. Yet, they are overly self-righteous, causing relationships to falter. Their main lessons are to have faith in them, and build their unique perspectives.

5) SATURN RETROGRADE

People with saturn in retrograde tends to introspect a lot. The limitations they bear are often internalised. they tend to have problems with authority and authoritative figures, such as father and teachers and boss, yet there is a deep sense of responsibility and lack of discipline. I also have saturn retrograde in my natal chart and well, it is a blessing in disguise. to be honest. I do tend to disregard authority, but there were times when I was asked for help by some authoritative figures. Although I have a deep sense of responsibity, I lack the courage, the strategic mind and the general effort I need to fulfil my dreams, which is why this saturn retrograde is proving to be immensely helpful. There is a strong fear of failure, and the person's success is always delayed. Trust me, I know. While I work twice as hard as my friends, I am often the last person to taste any success. Same is happening with job hunt. I have read that this retrograde is strongly related to past life karma, and I think I might be deal with lessons regarding finance and material gain since I have Saturn in Taurus in 2nd house. These people often deal with loneliness, and the lack of communication from their side only add salt to injury.

6) URANUS RETROGRADE

While Uranus deals with rebellion and one's uniqueness, Retrograding Uranus may often lead to these aspects being internalised by the person. There may be a strong sense for rebellion and forging one's own path, but the person may lack the spine to do so--often relying on others to validate their uniqueness. Changes may come like tornados, ruining their very sense of being, and forcing them to refine everything again and again, until there no sense of old self is there. Unlike Pluto, Uranus retrograde often forces the person's outer world, and outer relationships to change. These people have heightened intuition which not only scares the outer world, but also force it to alienate the person. There is a strong need for rejecting tradition which might stop them from becoming the eccentric person they can be. Note, I am not using 'eccentric' in a negative way. I just think, people with Uranus Rx need to learn showcase their eccentric side to the world. so that innovation can be made. There's a huge between one accepting their eccentricity and showing the world who they actually are. If anything, I think Uranus in Rx is one of the best placements one can have for the sheer creativity it can bestow. These people must have been destined to become pioneers, but their fears of outer rejection had stopped them, hence they ended up with Uranus in retrograde in their present life. They are supposed to let go of the fear in order to fulfil their purpose.

7) NEPTUNE RETROGRADE

So, my other brother has mars, Uranus and Neptune in retrograde. And I kid you not, I have never seen someone so eccentric, so prideful yet so fearful, so disillusioned yet so full of himself till date.

For me, Neptune Retrograde is one of the worst placement one can have. This placement is not about the outer world, but breaking oneself to fill the world with happiness. people with Neptune Rx has to go through a whole journey of living in a illusionary world to become disillusioned and hate the real world, only to realise that there's more than pain and suffering in the world and it is not a utopia. these people have heightened intuition, only to never master it. They get fed with escapism illusion by the universe time and time again, for them to learn to exercise their intuition yet the fog in their mind becomes the biggest obstacle. For a long time, these people believe in, "my way or highway" and "all or nothing." Hence, when faced with failure and pain, they crumble and become disillusioned. Once they see the world as it is, they go through the spiritual quest of learning and unlearning the ways of the world. And acceptance of the worldy woes, and understanding that one can never change the ways of the world but the ways of human minds are the lessons these people have to learn. They have to make peace with the fact that there will pain and suffering, and this is what feels like to be humans. They have to learn to avoid escapism, and grab life by the balls and open their arms to the gifts of intuitions, detachment, art and healing.

8) PLUTO RETROGRADE

I see Pluto retrograde as an eagle which keeps gnawing onto one's guts while the person can do nothing but accept the eagle. The pain never goes aways. People with pluto Rx in their chart internalises every thought, every little or big change, causing them to go through intense overthinking and traumatic relationship changes. The world is never these people's friends. If you think having Pluto placements are tough, look at pluto Retrograde people. Another cousin of mine has this. And she is a control freak, with really great psychological insights. There's obssesion with every little thing, and fear of betrayal and others breaking their walls and trusts. These people live an intense karmic life. If they badmouth someone, they get tenfold of it. If they wish someone bad luck, they get ten fold of it. These people must have done something great or something very loathsome which needs heavy penance and great patience. These people are bound to become great. These people are supposed to learn the ways of the world and help change the world, but on a ground level. What I mean by that is, these people need to learn to accept their shadow side in order to help the ones who have lost their paths to attain goodness. I see people with Pluto retrograde as the ones who has to break a piece of themselves in order to fix others, since they constantly get their heart broken, and trust broken, and fears spitting on their faces until they overcome those fears, and they are constantly forced by the universe to bare themselves naked in order for the world to use their vulnerabilities. Yet, these people rise like phoenix, and continue the cycle until they realise that their higher purpose is to have faith in the ways of the universe and let it run its magic. Good things may take time, but are always worth the wait.

NOTE: I SEE RETROGRADES AS BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE. ALTHOUGH RETROGRADE PLANETS MAKE THINGS HARD, AND ALMOST UNATTAINABLE, HARD TIMES MAKE GREAT PEOPLE. THE TWISTS UNIVERSE PLAYS ON PEOPLE WITH NATAL RETROGRADE PLANETS ARE SUPPOSED TO PUSH THESE PEOPLE TO THEIR EDGES UNTIL THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN BE FEARFUL OF. FOR GREAT CHANGES NEED GREATER HANDS.

ALRIGHT, DO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS. AND I WELCOME CRITICISM AND HARD HITTING FEEDBACKS WITH OPEN ARMS. JUST MAKE SURE I DON'T HAVE TO SHOW MY FANGS, TOO. :) I LOVE GATHERING NEW INFORMATION, SO UNTIL THEN, MAY GOD BLESS YOU.

[tarotwithavi]

3 things you need to let go of in order manifest your dream life

1. Fear of Rejection

Do you realize that your fear of rejection is holding you back from doing so many things? Also why do you fear rejection ever thought about that? Yes we all fear something and rejection is a really scary word. Nobody likes rejection but the truth is the fear of rejection is what is holding us back and those who have let it go of this fear have achieved great things. Everybody is afraid of rejection so to say but what kind of rejection? Societal rejection that the society won't accept you for who you are, romantic rejection that your crush won't like you back or rejection from your own self? Why do you reject yourself? Why do you reject your thoughts? Why do you think that you are not capable of what you desire? This may not be a big thing but in order to evolve and grow you need to go through these questions and ask yourself why you fear rejection.

3 things to do to let go of this fear

Understanding Impermanence: Recognize that rejection is a part of life, and it doesn't define your worth. People's opinions and circumstances change, and rejection doesn't necessarily reflect a permanent state.

Focusing on Growth: Embrace rejection as an opportunity for personal growth. Learn from the experience, adapt, and use it as a stepping stone towards self-improvement.

Building Resilience: Develop resilience by realizing that not every rejection is a personal attack. Building a strong sense of self allows you to withstand setbacks and move forward with confidence.

2. Expectations

Sometimes you expect too much from people and from yourself too and when you cannot fulfill those expectations you feel upset. You have a great heart and there is no doubt about how pure and innocent your energy is. You do your best in everything you do, if you love someone you love them from all your heart and you will do everything for them. You expect others to do the same for you, expecting is not a bad thing but being upset over others not fulfilling YOUR expectations is not good. You need to let go of those expectations. And you don't have to live up to others expectations also. As a human we always expect others to do something for us or we just expect something in return. It's in our nature. You don't have to fulfill others' expectations and others don't have to fulfill yours. So you just need to let go of “expectations”.

Mindful Awareness: Be conscious of your expectations and question whether they are realistic. Sometimes, expectations can set you up for disappointment if they are too rigid or dependent on external factors.

Embracing Flexibility: Cultivate flexibility and openness to different outcomes. This doesn't mean lowering standards, but rather being adaptable to the twists and turns that life may bring.

Communicating Expectations: Clearly communicate your expectations to others when appropriate. This reduces the chances of misunderstandings and aligns everyone involved.

3. Self-Doubt

We've all been there, right? Dealing with self-doubt is like a universal thing and is a common human experience. But, let's be real for a moment, when did we let that self-doubt become the boss of our lives? Like, where did it even come from? Because, let's face it, it's not like self-doubt runs in the family or is scribbled into our DNA. Nah, it's more about what others toss at us. I used to doubt myself and still do actually(sometimes). But hey, I'm putting in the work. The more I do, the clearer it gets why the wise ones always say, "Who cares what anyone else thinks?" It's like, do you, be you, and forget the noise from the peanut gallery.

Positive Self-Talk: Challenge negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Focus on your strengths and past successes to counteract self-doubt.

Setting Realistic Goals: Break down larger goals into smaller, achievable steps. This allows you to build confidence gradually and see tangible progress.

Seeking Support: Share your concerns with trusted friends or a mentor. External perspectives can provide valuable insights and encouragement, helping you overcome self-doubt.

[ozzgin]

wtf HOW WAS ROMULUS OZZIE Hello??????? I CANT WAIT TO WATCH ITRTR i miss david 8 tho 😓😓 “you finger and i blow” ok gorgeous whatever you say

Ok ok, I let it sit overnight so I could formulate a less feral opinion. I'll do my best to be objective, though you should keep in mind that I'm very biased when it comes to the Alien franchise.

Alien: Romulus First Impressions

Plot. The movie takes place between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). If you've seen the old Alien movies, you will notice it follows the same formula: somewhat slow beginning, a grand reveal, a lot of high-stake escape attempts, shady android behavior, and the classic, speedy succession of plot twists where you think you're safe, only to be surprised the very next moment.

While this movie is meant to behave more like the pre-2000 releases, it does bring some novel elements, which, in my opinion, helped build its own authenticity. Additionally - and without spoiling you - it will involve its own Xenomorph variation. Fantastic idea, and I cannot believe it hasn't been done earlier.

The cast is a group of orphaned youngsters who want to escape their space mining colony. You're introduced to a dystopian, grimy world of overworked humans who've never seen the light of the sun. The main character, Rain, is accompanied by her "brother", Andy, an android programmed to take care of her after the death of her parents. Here's another aspect I enjoyed: an anxious, imperfect android who seems to display an emotional bond with his human.

Rain's friends discover a shipwreck which may contain enough sleeping pods to take them away from these unbearable conditions. Their plan is to sneak in, take the pods, and speed away to a more humane station while in cryosleep. The twist? It's not just any regular ship. They have stepped into the Romulus and Remus research station, operated by Weyland-Yutani, and haunted by yet another failed attempt to contain the Xenomorph horrors.

Characters. Let me tell you, this was a breath of fresh air. Prometheus and Covenant have left me rather skeptical when it comes to a competent cast, yet from the ashes of pathetic military personnel rose a bunch of kids who are built for survival. Rain reminded me so much of Ripley - extremely intelligent, efficient, and strong. Her friends are equally brave in the face of disaster. This was a 10/10 cast, and I'm so glad they finally found the balance between being terrified and still navigating the situation without catastrophic mistakes.

Visuals. The imagery was an absolute treat. They seamlessly combined modern special effects with throwback, retro detailing. The futuristic equipment and locations reminded me a lot of Alien: Isolation. Upon further research, it seems that the director was indeed inspired by the game! It made everything so nostalgic and immersive. The Xenomorph design was flawless as usual, involving a lot of body horror.

Audio. I am desperately waiting for the album to be released on Spotify, because the soundtracks were amazing. The music was composed by Benjamin Wallfisch, who seems to have rather big movie titles under his belt, such as It, and It: Chapter Two. Safe to say this man knows how to instil terror in you. They made sure to incorporate some of the classic pieces, then expanded on that. The alert beats reminded me of Covenant, while other tracks provided their own take on the story. The intro of the movie is aided by dissonant chanting in the background, hinting at the ancient, religious imagery used for the Xenomorphs.

Conclusion. Overall, I'd say this is a must-watch for any Alien fan. It is a tribute to the classic movies, but it still offers a brand-new take to the Alien Universe. The movie had some moments of complete silence - staying true to the "In space, no one can hear you scream" quote - and everyone in the cinema held their breaths. It will keep you on your toes.

[loveemagicpeace]

How synastry feels on a deeper way🌊🎧🌌

❤️‍🔥1st house synastry- This house feels very energetic. You share a lot of energy with the person and you find them very attractive visually. It can feel fiery, impulsive and sudden. You fall in love with a person's appearance. To her confident, daring side. The relationship itself can also be very bold and fearless. You can always defend each other and no matter what happens you two come first. I think when you broke up with this person you feel like you can you cannot find someone who have this energy that this person have and also appearance!

🎧2nd house synastry- love feels possessive and at the same time stable. You love a person for what they give you. You two find comfort in this relationship and share the same values. Usually you have a song that is just yours. They eat the same food or pay a lot of attention to it. This relationship feels like a song that doesn't leave your head. Everything reminds you of this person. You two feel safe and secure with each other and it's hard to leave behind that.

🧝🏽‍♀️3rd house synastry- love is felt through words and communication. Maybe you feel that many times you miss the person's voice and that they best expressed their feelings towards you. You feel that this relationship was the best in terms of communication, that you could tell each other everything. And that they understood you best. In this relationships words speak louder than anything.

🧸💕4th house synastry - love feels like home. This relationship is based on a sense of comfort. They feel like family. They feel like they want to spend all their time together and create a home where they can be together. It feels like a home you never had before. This is your favorite person (because the 4th house also represents people who are your favorite). This relationship seems very familiar as a childhood memory. Cute, sweet, emotional - also you feel like you can tell this person everything as if I already knew you, you feel like you can express yourself to them. When you broke up with this person you feel like you lose home or a safe place.

🎡5th house synastry- love feels like a child's energy. It's like being a teenager madly in love again with no responsibilities. You feel passion and fiery love with this person. With this person, you feel like you can express your inner child and that you can do crazy things without someone judging you. Crazy stupid love. You feel alive with this person. When you break up with that person, you may feel like they took your joy and happiness with them.

🧉6th house synastry- this relationship feels like caring for each other. Maybe they have a common lifestyle that they follow and they may even have a common animal. Many times when you break up with that person, you have a lot of things that you still share with that person. Maybe a person's opinion means a lot to you, or maybe your routine has changed just because of that person.

7th house synastry- this relationship feels something special and at the same time very beautiful. All the beautiful things you've ever dreamed about happen with this person. You feel like you want to have everything with this person. The relationship is romantic, sweet and focused on the two of you. You see them as a potential person. All the focus goes to this person and you can actually create relationship only with that person. So when you break up with them it feels like you're alone.

🫀8th house synastry- that the relationship feels very deep, intense and strong. You have the feeling that you share the same soul and secrets that are only yours. You two are very private about relationship. You find them very attractive in every way. You feel almost possessed by this person's love. You trust only them and give yourself completely to this relationship. Forever kind of love. Drunk in love. They always come back to each other and cannot be without each other. Sometimes u feel like you lose a part of you in that person. This house hits different the other houses so when you break up with that person it feels like someone dies. You cannot move on and it's very emotional and it's very hard.

🦋9th house synastry- this relationship feels like the fulfillment of a wish you've been wanting for a long time. Also very meaningful love, you find meaning in that person. You two can also find the meaning in life through this relationship. You and your partner have a special place that is only yours & where you like to spend time together. You always look forward to seeing each other. This relationship can both bring a lot of luck in life.

🦭10th house synastry- with this person you feel like you are very grateful for their presence. This relationship feels like a habit and something that is stable. They love each other for all the positive things they have brought to each other's lives. You feel like you are destined to be with this person and share this journey with them. The biggest supporter in this life is the person in your share 10th house synastry with. They will always stand by your side and support you in everything you. You two can also create some business with each other. Relationship is also very public.

💚11th house synastry- this relationship is very unique and different from all the others you've had. You feel as if your long-awaited dreams and goals have come true. You like how free you feel with this person and how the person gives you exactly what you want. This relationship is independet and rebellious. When you lose them you don’t feel like you only lose a lover but a friend too.

🧚🏼‍♀️12th house synastry- this relationship is often subconscious, you don't know why you are attracted to this person but you are. You feel a deep connection, which is usually shown through the signs that appear. Or you think of that person and then they think of you at the same time. You usually always meet these people through life or something related to them. This house can also feel like person can save you.

-Unfortunately, it is not possible to publish more than 10 pictures, so I couldn't post for the last two😒

-Rebekah🦭☁️🩶

[starhoppin]

pick a picture; your next soul lesson

pile 1 -> pile 2 -> pile 3

disclaimer; this is a general reading! these messages may not fit everyone. please take what resonates and leave the rest.

「pile one」

[the lesson]

pleasure (cb: temperance, queen of pentacles rv)

the next soul lesson that you will experience is that you are meant to open yourself up to the good things in life. while i was channeling your energy, i was overcome with an overwhelming feeling of anxiety and stress - i think that is your current energy. there is a message that you're lacking balance in your life; all work and no fun. you may have a tendency to overwork yourself but don't necessarily reap the benefits of what you earn.

[what you are meant to learn]

life is meant to be enjoyed, not endured. you are meant to find the balance between work and play - but right now, you're being encouraged to focus on fun!

[advice]

creativity, invention

indulge in creative outlets. whatever you are called to - music, art, writing - do not worry about if the product is not perfect. simply focus on creating!

if this reading resonated with you, please consider leaving a tip!

「pile two」

[the lesson]

self-esteem (cb: nine of cups rv, six of wands rv)

your next soul lesson is rebuilding your self-esteem. i think there was a recent event in your past where you suffered from a significant loss or failure. regardless of what it was, it significantly impacted the way you view yourself. i keep hearing the words "ego death." you may have lost sight of what you wanted to do in life or simply just suffered from a loss of confidence in yourself because of this event.

[what you are meant to learn]

you are meant to learn that outside opinions do not matter. trust yourself; relying on others for validation or approval will only leave you feeling empty when they are not willing to shower you with it. stand up for yourself and your beliefs - you are not meant to abandon yourself in favor of winning the approval of others.

[advice]

grace (cb: the hierophant rv, queen of wands)

it's okay to go against the grain. you're meant to stand out and shine; do not let others dim your light. i heard "give yourself grace." feel your feelings, but do not let doubt or shame consume you. oftentimes when people are openly judgemental, they are simply jealous that they can't be as open and confident as others are.

if this reading resonated with you, please consider leaving a tip!

「pile three」

[the lesson]

deprivation (cb: nine of cups, death rv)

i think that there is something that you are ignoring in your life. i get a strong feeling that you are putting up a confident facade that everything is okay in your life - almost like if you keep telling that to others, you will eventually believe it too. i think you are depriving yourself of feeling your feelings and consequently, you are prolonging this cycle in your life. while i was trying to channel your energy, i kept getting distracted by random things. i believe you may be filling your time with countless distractions since you are afraid or unwilling to be alone with your thoughts. i see an image of someone scrolling on their phone while simultaneously watching T.V., as well as someone blaring music through their headphones to drown out their thoughts.

[what you are meant to learn]

invention (cb: six of wands rv, four of swords)

your next soul lesson is that you are meant to allow yourself to rest and feel your emotions. you cannot move past this pain or failure by simply ignoring it. pain demands to be felt, it will not disappear until you acknowledge it. although this isn't the advice section, your guides/universe/spirit are encouraging you to use your preferred creative outlet to express these emotions.

[advice]

devotion

you're being called to spend time in nature. connect back with the earth and take in the natural beauty of the world. it will help.

if this reading resonated with you, please consider leaving a tip!

tarot decks used in this reading: ask your guides oracle deck, and the linestrider tarot.

[agirlwithglam]

becoming selfish is the best thing i ever did.

✧*. * · ~ thewizardliz 💖🕯

💖 stop going into arguments with people who are not willing to listen. it is completely useless. if your boundaries were crossed, and the other person is not willing to say "im sorry for doing that, i won't do it again", then conversation over. its done. its not worth your time or energy.

🕯prioritise your own needs and wants. fill your own cup! are you okay? are you whole? if you don't want to do something, dont do it. whatever you want, comes first.

💖 stop being always available and trying to save everyone. if you keep on being there for people- again and again and again, you are letting people use you. people will only reach out to you if they have problems or they need help. but what about when everything is going good? then what? do they come to you? you are showing them that they can always come to you and you will always be there but that shouldn't be the case. be able to say "i dont want to listen to your problems today. i have enough of my own problems and goals to worry about." the only reason they come is because YOU allow them to come.

you ask yourself why does anyone not make sure i am ok? thats because YOU do not make sure you're okay. remember that you cannot save everyone. IT IS NOT YOUR JOB TO SAVE EVERYONE.

🕯sometimes god gives you situations so you can grow. also if you are constantly trying to step in for God to help and save everyone, you may also be sabotaging God's plan. people give certain problems/ situations in their life because God gives it to them so they can grow wiser and better! why are you trying to save them? its not your responsibility.

💖 be okay with people misunderstanding you. if you have a goal or a dream in your life, NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO UNDERSTAND YOU. people come from different households, religions, schools, etc. they will not understand you or have the same mindset/ heart as you. be OKAY with people not understanding you. they are not you.

"oh why did they hurt me/ treat me like that, i would never do that to them" honey, they're not you. they don't have the same personality or heart as you. if you're constantly gonna go through life thinking that everyone has the same heart as you, you will be hurt. i have done that so often thinking that i'm a good friend to them so they will do the same back, its not always true. you will be hurt. people are just different. and thats okay! let them be.

🕯realise that you can only change yourself. stop trying to change people. they will not change unless they are willing to. our human nature is comfort- humans love comfort. in order to change, it takes going through discomfort. it takes strength. some people are completely oblivious to themselves- they think that everything is perfect and nothing is wrong with them, etc. and yk what? let them be. you cannot change them. but you can change yourself. and if you do not want to change, you're not going to change. no one can force you to change unless you want to. by trying to change others and help them become their best version, you're wasting your energy to become YOUR best version and to create your dream life!

💖 stop needing people to validate your self worth. "i dont need anyone to tell me how good i am. i dont need anyone to tell me how beautiful i am or smart i am. because i see those qualities in myself already." KNOW who you are. if you get a compliment, say thankyou, be grateful. but don't crave it. be okay with not receiving it and not needing it because you already know that you're all that. if you need that compliment or words from other people, then they are basically in charge of you because their opinion can change your reality entirely and shake you. when YOU are the one that always creates your own reality! be strong in your ownself otherwise you'll be like their little puppet. know that you know what? im amazing. i've been through so much stuff in life but i'm still coming out strong and i'm still standing.

🕯treat yourself as your own best friend. talk to yourself! in her video, liz said that she talks to herself before bed and tells herself about her day. (for that i recommend videoing yourself! its so much fun) or when she's stressed she says to herself why are you feeling stressed? what exactly are you feeling? and then she tells herself and talks to herself. BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND. hype yourself up in your mind! comfort yourself, have a conversation, etc. give the advice to yourself. go on dates with yourself, hug yourself, love yourself.

💖 less chasing, more attracting. being feminine basically means letting it flow and go. being calm and at peace. being relaxed because you know that you attract all your blessings. when you're not desperately looking for things, or chasing after things, then your whole. your energy is whole. when the energy of desperation is gone, then you can attract everything you want into your life.

🕯only add great people to your life. make sure that whoever you date, are friends with, hang around- they need to add value to your life. its not only in terms of money, its also in terms of are you making me happy? are you reciprocating my energy? people that are always negative or always complaining, do not allow them into your life. do not be friends with people who are being miserable then complain about being miserable but don't do anything about it.

💖 stop seeking other people's permission to do whats best for you. you don't need someone to say "you can do it!" because you know you can. be independent- liz doesn't need to ask anyone for money because she is already making her own money. she is doing everything for herself. she has everything she need to support herself and people she loves.

like how cocky are you to think that you know be better than i know myself? lol. you have not been through what i have been through. you have not lived my life and yet you're here deciding whats good for me and what i should be doing? um, no thanks! xoxo.

[balioc]

Oh, boy! It's Education Theory o'Clock again!

...I have a lot of thoughts on this topic. At some point, when I'm less busy and tired, I should probably try to write them up. Natively, I'm one of the school-is-a-nightmare-prison people, like so many others in this little discourse-sphere -- but I'm married to a middle school teacher, so I regularly encounter both the good arguments from the other side and the facts on the ground, and those things have altered my perspective somewhat.

But I am, in fact, busy and tired. So for now I'll just content myself with saying:

School is an institution that serves many, many, many purposes at the same time. A lot of those purposes are load-bearingly important. (A couple of years ago, I wrote this about college, and...it's double-plus true for primary and secondary schools.) If you don't try to account for all of that stuff in your theory of What School Is and How School Works, you will generate incoherent garbage thoughts. If you have a New Concept for school entailing top-down design that is optimized for a single function (like "increasing test scores" or "causing kids to love learning" or whatever), you'd better have a plan for how you're going to do all the other important things that schools do. And even if you think that some of those things aren't actually important or necessary, you'd better have a plan for dealing with all the people who disagree. Because...

-----

...school, as it exists today, is an inherently political institution. Both in the "soft" sense that everyone has strong opinions about what it's supposed to do and how it's supposed to work, and in the "hard" sense that it is actually controlled by democratically-accountable governments. (This is double-plus true in the US, where it is controlled by local governments, and therefore doesn't even have the protective insulation of a massive bureaucracy.) Everything about the way schools work is a compromise brokered amongst ideologues and self-dealers. Everything about the way schools work involves a lot of decision-makers trying not to get yelled at by the yelliest people around. If you're looking for elegant purpose-driven top-down design, you won't find it. You could probably make a case that any elegant purpose-driven top-down design would be better than the thing we actually have, but getting there would require finding a way to remove the political element.

-----

Most importantly: public schools are (1) compulsory, (2) universal, and (3) for children. [People who are legally children, anyway, whether or not they are actual children in whatever sense matters to you.]

This means that they cannot let students leave, and they have to keep control of all the students that they aren't allowing to leave.

In the most literal not-a-judgment-but-a-fact sense, they are indeed prisons. They are coercively keeping people inside. They have to do that thing, as per their most fundamental mandate within the current system. The alternatives involve letting kids run around unsupervised, and/or failing to give some kids even the most cursory kind of education, and those things are absolute non-starters under present conditions.

All the normal institutions-for-adults operate on the principle of -- If you really don't want to be here, you can leave, and deal with whatever consequences there may be for leaving. This is not an option for schools, and that fact accounts for...everything.

Classroom structure is built around the necessity of keeping the most-hostile, least-engaged student in the class present and supervised, and then trying to prevent him from disrupting things for everyone else. Because the obvious solution that any other institution would use -- "just cut him loose, he doesn't want to be here and we don't want him here" -- isn't available.

(I once talked to my wife about the rationed bathroom access thing, which is one of the most flagrant nightmare-prison aspects of the school experience. Her response was, "If you let kids use the bathroom whenever they want, as much as they want, then you don't have mandatory universal education anymore. Some of them will never return to the classroom, because they don't want to be there." Which is...obviously true.)

So you have something that replicates many of the features of prison, because it has to accomplish the same basic tasks that prison accomplishes. Yay, Foucault.

[lunar-wandering]

Actually no I cannot stop thinking about the fact that, it's not that that Scene is the first time the Collector has cried, it's just the first time there's been tears.

I mean;

Look at this. This is the expression of someone who's about to cry. And, notably, they do.

We can LITERALLY hear them crying in the next scene- but when Luz approaches them;

There's no tears. Quite possibly because, physically, it's not meant to be possible for them. After all, they are meant to live in space, I think having water freeze right when it comes out of your eyes would be a hinderance, honestly.

But, then later,

they do cry tears.

so what's different about them here than before??

My first thought is the icky moss stuff. Which is, coming from a combination of Belos and The Titan. Aka, the being that can negate all of the Collector's magic. And it is shown that the Collector's magic was not working. They were, for all intents and purposes, as close to human as they could be, here.

Clearly, they have enough power to hold up the archives, but it's very obviously painful for them- which is weird, from someone who can easily move the moon, you'd think that stabilizing the archives would be easy- except for the fact that, other than the star-board he's standing on (something that seems to be more of an magic item than his own magic, in my opinion, since others can seemingly use it without his input), and the ribbons (possibly also an item), he's not actually using magic to hold it up, just their own raw strength. (Which, wow, if this is how much they can lift at their weakest, how strong is this kid just in terms of physical strength?)

But anyways, that's not my final point.

My final point is that, even after the moss is gone- suddenly we see tears forming in the Collector's eyes, when we didn't before.

Their ability to form tears didn't go away.

It could, of course, just be a symbolic thing, you know, but... there was some Titan magic mixed in with everything. What if the Collector is now more mortal than he was before? Does he know? Can he be affected by things he couldn't before, like illness or poison? Did it impact his decision to return to the stars?

What does becoming just a bit more mortal mean to an immortal?

[harmoonix]

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

Astrology Notes ☙

By@harmoonix

A flower cannot blossom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love. Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul

◇☆★☆★☆★☆◆☆★☆★☆★◇★☆

☙ 7th house Moon/Venus/Venus in Libra/Moon in Libra crave a really deep soul connection with their partners, they are ready to sacrifice everything for love and they are scared they will never find their perfect partners or someone to love them. I wanna tell you that at some point someone will come in your life and will love you no matter what❤️🥹 coming from Libra Moon so I'm one of you. 🫂

☙ 8th house placements will go through a lot of karmic healing in their life, they represent the Phoenix who rises up everytime, no matter how hurt they are. These people will become more stronger with every tear that runs down their cheeks 🫂

☙ 9th house placements have a deep love for astrology and spirituality sometimes they combine these 2 things into one and try to create something unique of them ❤️

☙ This can be only my opinion but recently i observed that people with Fire and Earth Moons can get hungry very fast? Like i swear those people can get hungry very fast either you see them eating all day 🍔 (Yes this is your sign to eat that cheeseburger)

☙ Taurus Mercury can have a very deep voice while talking, but they can talk in a very classy way enough to charm you with their words 🫶🏻

☙ Scorpio, Sagittarius and Aries Mercuries can talk very fast and in a very angry way when they are annoyed. These people can say harsh words if they feel attacked by someone

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

☙ Uranus - Neptune aspects can feel very dizzy or have a very powerful energy if you are around them, they give the vibe of "We coming out of a fairly tale"

☙ Taurus/Scorpio Mars have can have 9399449494949 kinks, and they continue because these people can make you feel very horny just with a simple word. Tho these people have a good love sign language 🔥

☙ People with Pisces/Libra/Leo/Cancer placements i just screams for pleasure and love, a very big type of love

☙ Cancer Risings/Risings at a Cancer Degree (4°,16°,28°) are good at hiding their emotions and make you to think they are fine when their heart had been destroyed

☙ Leo Placements scream "Sophisticated"

☙ Virgo/Capricorn in the 6th house might have a very strict diet with a very direct schedule because these people wanna be very organised and to keep their life very healthy, they are getting lazy fast .

☙ 8th house Moons can have big trust issues, is hard for them to trust 🥺🫂 they can feel the feelings very deep and these natives can feel when someone lies to them. Their intuition never miss and is a very strong one

☙ If you have Pluto in the 11th house, be careful what type of friends you have around because often this placement can be backstabbed by their fake friends 🥺❤️

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

☙ Venus in the 5th house is one of the most creative houses for Venus to be in. Here Venus has a lot of talents are writing, painting and music relating. If you have a 5th house Stellium (More than 3 planets in the 5tu house) and Venus is aspecting them you can master a lot of talents trough your life

☙ Jupiter in 11th house can be a very lucky placement, your friends can be your biggest luck. Your social life can also help you a lot, but mostly the friendship here comes as your biggest luck because friends can help you a lot in this life time + if Jupiter is Retrogade in this house you can experience and go through a lot of friendship states

☙ Mars - Jupiter aspects can talk a lot about their sensuality and about their kinks, they can express their sensual side with a very confident energy in their personality

☙ Uranus aspecting the ascendant can give an very "electrified" energy in their aura. These people are like lighting ⚡

☙ Pisces Venus/12th house Venus, Venus at Pisces Degrees (12°,24°) is another placement that needs a very deep soul connection with their partners and they mostly met people who are not compatible emotionally with them and that hurts🫂🥺.

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

☙ Ascendant in Libra Degrees (7°,19°), can make you a lover for vintage things, you might like to collect or to go in shops and watch over vintage architectures, the historical vintage things might be on your likes 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

☙ FIRE Mars 🔥 have a very very sensual walk while EARTH Mars have a very powerful walk. Earth - Fire Combinations with Mars gives a sensual/powerful walk

☙ People with Moon in the 4th house can have a mix of understanding and love with their mother or a sacrifice a lot for their families 🫂🫶🏻💞

☙ People with Neptune in the 9th house might have a very love for astrology and spirituality but in the same time for occult and witchery 🖤

☙ Venus making an aspect with 6th house lord can indicate a good appearance but also can make someone insecure about their body, these people usually tend to a lot of glow ups

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

☙ Having a lot of Gemini/Sagittarius placements can indicate being very funny or having a very good humour

☙Venus in Leo/5th house can be a very flirty placement, they like to flirt a lot 🤗

☙ Can we talk about how Sagittarius Risings are so lucky?? These people are having a Scorpio Rising in the sidereal chart.... Is just too ICONIC

☙ Sagittarius Venuses might be like pop music very much or having a very big love for (ultra bass boosted versions?)

☙ Venus in the 11th house/In Aquarius or at Aquarius Degrees (11°,23°) might live the "Enemies to lovers" thing with their partners 😳

☙ Venus in the 6th house might attract a lot of co-workers or employees on them, these people kinda tend to project on them. People with Venus in the 6th house also can be very charming and can work in very good- aesthetically places 🫂

· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·

With Love, Harmoonix ❣️

[edgeray]

Hi Ray! Looked to see that you have requests open and I just wanted to hear your thoughts on mad scientist!reader who after learning about Arle’s past through the leylines, decides to request Nahida to take them to Irminsul to bring back Clervie? Can totally imagine Arle and Clervie being great parents to the HotH children (Arle being Father and Clervie being Mother)

Alternatively - what do you think happens with Mother!Reader and Arle in HotH? Reader reading storybooks to put the kids to sleep late at night with Arle at the side watching on as the proud Papa she is, all the stolen glances at each other when they think the other isn’t looking, all the looks of disgust from the children when they see their Father princess carrying their Mother the moment she gets home… (I’m really, really desperate for domestic fluff)

I am of the strong opinion that it doesn’t matter how strong Arle is, she doesn’t deserve to face all these responsibilities alone. She deserves someone as her equal and lover, one who respects her boundaries and loves her for her in a healthy relationship!

I’m going to hazard a guess and say that your inbox is probably flooding with requests, so if you don’t want to write this it’s okay, just treat it as ramblings (I’ll support your work regardless ^^)

A Home To Return To

(Arlecchino x GN! Reader)

A/N - Hi anon! :D Before I start, next time you request, do you mind giving yourself a name or something that indicates that you, are well, you! ^^ I’d like to put a name to my future anons so I can differentiate between you guys. Makes it a little more personal. When I got your request, I was not flooded with requests, but I think I got like… 5 or 6 requests in the span of the past 24 hours so… you are right. This is a bit shorter, but I think this is pretty good for a 3AM writing. It doesn't completely follow everything you included but it's still domestic fluff! Content warnings / info - reader is referred to as 'mother' but otherwise GN! reader, no warnings, a bit of angst on arlecchino's part 'cuz I couldn't resist but it's mainly fluff, i promise, 0.9 words

Thoughts on mad scientist! reader will be at the bottom, because I want to prioritize the domestic fluff 🫶. And yes, Arlecchino deserves the best for her partner! Good thing there's you! ;)

Arlecchino did not know what a home was. Home was many things, but a home was neither a place of comfort nor a place of safety. If home was the place of relentless pain and practiced violence done onto her siblings by one another, then she'd rather tear apart what a ‘home’ was, brick by brick if she had to, to undo as much of the atrocity that is Crucabena's vision of a home, and rebuild her own. Her vision, however, lacked clear guidance and direction. How could she know what a proper home looked like when she herself had never had one?

Years ago, she thought she found her answer in the shape of a pink-haired girl, with a white headband, and a Lumidouce Bell necklace. Arlecchino has learned that everything always returns to ashes, and so the inklings of what a home was died away like the girl's embers. 

Still, she has tried her best to create a proper home, built from her blood-spilt and cursed hands. But with such vile foundations, the House is still far from what she hopes for it to become, as far away from her vision as the stars of fate. She knows that she alone cannot craft the home that her friend sought out, not when the most she can do is contradict Crucabena's House of the Hearth as much as possible. Still, it is not enough. The House of the Hearth children still suffer under her rule, a meager improvement from Crucabena, and she detests the thought that her House could be comparable to that wrench's. 

But she alone was not enough. Arlecchino was many things, but a builder was not one of them. She could not build a home fitting for her and Clervie, and she could neither build a home fitting for her children. She aimed endlessly for an answer, and then. 

She finds you. Her answer. 

It is ironic, Arlecchino finds, that although you do all the same things that Crucabena does, you swell with the warmth that she lacked. Yet again, contradiction is her answer, just like Clervie had been. Like Clervie, she finds home within you. 

She returns home, like she does every time her Fatui business is done, and like other days, she awaits your greeting once she arrives at the door. She imagines the heat of your body, how it melts her frigid exterior with just your arms around her; your sweet words which sweep her fortified defenses away, much like how a sandcastle easily crumbles under the gentlest of waves; and your gaze softened and full of an emotion unfitting for someone like her, someone undeserving of love, of all things to associate with her. And yet you do. 

Except, when she returns that day, you are not there at the door. She uncharacteristically pouts–an action the Fourth Harbinger rarely degrades herself to doing. Her upset is apparent to the children that do greet her, with their directed sneers to one another about how the Knave sulks. 

“Father, Mother is currently reading a book to the little kids in the living commons,” one of her children comes up to her, a knowing glance at her. Arlecchino nods, and strides her way towards your whereabouts, nodding and greeting her children along the way, until she stops at the doorway of the room, gazing behind the couch as you finish the book you wrote yourself. She remembers it endearingly, as you based it after your encounters with her, and then the two of you's eventual engagement. 

It is here, where she affirms to herself, that she's found herself a home. A home close to the one that she longed for, a home suitable for her children. It is you that can thaw the iciness of reality for the children and for her. Surrounded by the young children, you've never seen more etheral and beautiful. 

“... ‘the end!’” You finish as you shut the book. “Did you guys like the book?”

The kids giggle, looking towards their Father's direction as Arlecchino waits expectedly for you to notice her. Still unaware of your husband's presence, you stand up, from the couch, placing down the book on a nearby table. As you whip around, you're met with Arlecchino's form. A charcoal hand outstretched to cup your side, the other moving to stroke your cheek.

“You're home, Arle,” you greet as you lean your cheek against her palm. Her red-crosses glances at your eyes. Like always, there is a tenderness in them, a tenderness that makes her weaker than any attack. 

“Indeed, I am.” 

You lean in, pressing a light kiss against her nose. Arlecchino responds by leaning her forehead against yours, enjoying your proximity.  

Unbeknownst to the two of you, the children around you gag at the sight. 

“A bath would do you well, my love.”

My love. Oh, how deep does her will plummet from those mere two words. 

“Are you implying something, darling?” The Knave teases with a lilt. 

You chuckle. “Of course not. Let me prepare you one, love.” 

“There is no need–”

“Arlecchino, let ‘Mother’ take care of ‘Father,’” you hum, pressing a kiss against her cheek. 

Arlecchino chuckles, closing her eyes and accepting defeat. “Yes, my love.” 

“Get a room!” One of your rowdier children yell, interrupting what you were going to say.

“Perhaps…?” You start, knowing that Arlecchino knew your question already. She nods, bending down to fix one arm underneath your knees and another behind your back before lifting you in a bridal position. You squeak out in surprise.

“Was this necessary?” 

“Hush, love. Bathe with me?” 

“Mmm… alright.” 

Arlecchino carries you down the corridor to your room, followed by the snicking of the House of the Hearth children. 

---

My thoughts on mad scientist! reader: 

I'll be completely honest to say that I do not know a lot of Genshin lore, so unfortunately for the mad scientist! reader idea, I can't say anything besides the fact that it sounds very cool. I love the idea of Clervie being resurrected, and I can definitely see Arlecchino and Clervie as being Father and Mother. Arlecchino and Clervie being Father and Mother has my entire heart; this is the Arlevie inside of me screaming out.

Though it makes me wonder why reader would do this in the first place, what does she get out of it? I'm not sure exactly what kind of relationship you had in mind with reader and Arlecchino in this, but if reader did this for Arlecchino solely out of her affections towards Arlecchino, then it certainly makes the mad part about reader accurate.

In that case, it makes for a very interesting dynamic between reader and Arlecchino, whether platonic or romantic; Arlecchino likes to think herself of a very sane, rational person and especially want to be away from more enigmatic people, perhaps like reader themselves. This could spin into a very interesting take about obsession vs. love, which I am all for it. 

Something else that has me thinking about this ask throughout the day is the motive of why exactly reader would do resurrect Clervie, so here's another idea that still makes reader a mad scientist. What if reader, Arlecchino, and Clervie were all children of the House of the Hearth and they were best friends? Reader and Arlecchino were the only ones to survive under Crucabena's reign over the House of the Hearth (maybe reader was under the tutelage of Dottore, so they were able to escape the Kingmaking event). Both reader and Arlecchino do not take Clervie's death well, of course.

With the passing of your best friend and being around Dottore, it's bound to make you a little insane. Like Arlecchino, you obsess over her death, never having gotten over her. After witnessing Clervie's shadow, you get inspired to truly make her alive again, not just a shadow. I don't know, this was just a silly little thought of mine.

<3 i wish i could pick my brain a little more but I think this is all I have, hopefully this satisfies you anon! 

[kilarthmac]

Let's talk about Caelum.

I'm gonna preface this with saying that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if once you're done reading this you decide you don't want to follow me or you want to block me, that's completely up to you. I'm not trying to change your opinion or attack anyone who has a different one than mine, I just wanted to put my two cents out there.

I also wanted to say that whatever your opinion on the matter is, it's yours and yours alone, and you should respect the opinions of other people even if they don't match up. I personally do not sexualize Caelum, but I do think he is an adult with childlike characteristics, and those two statements are not mutually exclusive. He can be an adult, but he also doesnt have to be put in adult situations.

It's okay to have strong feelings one way or the other about this topic, but it is not okay to harass people or go on a witch hunt for those with the opposite opinion to give them shit about what they think. If you disagree with someone and do not want to see their stuff on your timeline, just block them or scroll away. You alone are responsible for your own dash, you cannot make other people responsible for what you see on your timeline.

All that being said, I do not like how the fandom treats Caelum and Empathy Daemons in general.

My stance on the matter is that Empathy Daemons as a whole are adults, but because of how E'Laetum created them, they tend to have childlike characteristics. Those who say that Empathy Daemons are ALL children blatantly ignore the fact that Regulus is an Empathy Daemon as well, and that he has been shown to have adult tendancies (his BA, getting possessive over his charge, etc) while also maintaining his childlike characteristics (telling his charge a bedtime story to sleep, having a very one dimensional view of himself and his charge, etc). This is where I have a problem whenever I see people try to say that all Empathy Daemons are children. Regulus is clearly an adult. There is no "reading between the lines" about this.

Caelum is also an Empathy Daemon, but he is a very different character than Regulus. He is a lot more childlike compared to Regulus. He gets his words mixed up, he likes sweets, he likes hugs, etc. But in his most recent video (Your Bakadere Empathy Daemon Friend Visits You), even he says that he almost went down a path similar to Regulus' until Delphinus stepped in and assigned him to Freelancer, and that stopped him from falling (timestamps from 2:40 - 3:18, and 8:45 in that video). It may be uncomfortable for some people to think of Caelum as going down the same path that Regulus did, but this video clearly shows that he had the potential to. Caelum and Regulus are not as different as one may think.

Erik has also said himself that D(a)emons step out of the Elision Well as adults and they do not age. Of course they don't know everything so they still have to learn, but that's not the same as being a child. On top of the most recent Redacted 101 video, take this screenshot from Wonderworld (previously Redacted Records, when Erik was still in the server) from 2020, where Erik talks about how D(a)emons coalesce.

He even mentions how in earlier Caelum videos he didn't know what he wanted the d(a)emon life cycle to be yet, and that's why he had Caelum state that he was a "kid daemon" at one point.

Not to mention the fact that in the official timeline, it shows that Caelum coalesced in 1999, and is even older than Damien.

At the end of the day, Caelum is a fictional character. Whatever someone ends up deciding to make of him is their choice, this is a fandom after all. If it really bothers you to see what certain people make, block them and move on. DO NOT berate them for their headcanons or fanart or whatever else. People are allowed to have their own headcanons, make their own fics, and draw their own fanart. This is a fandom space, and people are allowed their creative liberties.

Anyways, that has been my two cents. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments if u want to, but please please be respectful and don't attack anyone.

TLDR; I don't sexualize Caelum but I do think he and all Empathy Daemons are adults (ex: Regulus), everyone should respect everyone else's opinions and just block what they don't want to see on their timelines, and the fandom needs to chill out lol

[utilitycaster]

Do you think this new option could lead to a break up in the party and some of the characters leaving the group? Because I can't see everyone agreeing that this is the best solution, but I also think Ashton is stubborn enough to refuse to consider anything else

This is going to be a very long answer for what is a pretty short question that could be answered in one sentence, and here's why.

I've gotten a lot of questions in the past week or so that are specifically asking me what I think the future will be - for campaign 3, and for Critical Role generally. And I've gotten a little frustrated by them, which is somewhat uncharacteristic of me because I love having opinions, but the fact is, I don't know and I don't even have strong opinions. So I dug into that, and why people might be asking these things more than usual, and I really think it's because the narrative of this campaign is so constantly under threat of derailment or going in the same old circles that pretty much anyone in the fandom with any sense of narrative structure, and what makes for a well-crafted story is like "so...what's happening." Which is translating as coming to me, a person who is very good at sounding confident and knowledgeable.

I do not fucking know. I share this frustration, and I cannot be the person to clear it up. i am not even the best at narrative or analysis in this fandom; as I pretty frequently state I took the hard STEM option with regards to my education so while I read a lot and have a pretty good sense for the lay person, there are actual like, trained and published writers. For what it's worth several of them are my mutuals and while I'm not putting the rest of this post on them I do feel safe saying they agree that the lack of narrative direction is at the heart of most people's frustrations with this campaign, even if they enjoy the characters. But getting back to the point, I do not know.

Here's where I stand on the actual plot before I go back to the bigger picture. I think that unless Bells Hells decide on their course of action pretty quickly, no ending will really feel satisfying due to that sense of directionlessness - and there are arguments for Bells Hells to take either the Arch Heart or the Accord's plan, though I think the Accord's is far superior, but they need to pick one.

Because of the ongoing issues with this party lacking perspectives that tied in well to this story and having to hinge everything on either one singular interpretation of one single instance in extraordinary circumstances (eg: Dorian), or stuff that feels, as I've said before, retconned, I have generally been extremely amenable to Bells Hells losing party members either through a split or through character deaths. This is not out of any sort of vindictiveness or dislike of characters, but just a hope that now that they know the vibe, the cast will make a character who has a perspective that is relevant to the story (which, FCG is not an ideal example because they happened to be the character who had perhaps best grown from their original concept to fit into the themes of this campaign, but Braius obviously is a very strong character informed by the story as well). I also think that a lot of the indecisiveness is part of the characters' various natures and that will also be a factor, especially since a new character can be both decisive, have a clear point of view, and be a lot more comfortable pissing off the rest of the party to assert it. So: if Bells Hells as they currently stand can decide what to do quickly, no need to break up! But if they can't, yeah, it would be to their and the story's benefit to do so. That's before we get into, for example, the sacrifice required from specifically Imogen or Fearne for the Arch Heart's plan; Ashton is not the one who has to risk their own autonomy for the rest of eternity. They might die in battle, but they will not become a husk housing an ancient hunger. I think the people who might have to do so get to decide.

Now: it may seem counterintuitive to demand a clear direction from a TTRPG, when part of the appeal is that we don't know how it will end, but the thing is, with the past campaigns, we did not know if the party would succeed but we knew that they wanted to do. Vox Machina could have fallen to Vecna but we always knew they were going to fight Vecna. The Mighty Nein's decisions not to get involved with the war are not indecision but rather a very clear decision (do not get involved). Their later reversal of that decision similarly follows from who they are and the richness of their pasts.

Bells Hells does not have that, and the endless circular conversations are both circular in game and a vicious cycle out of it; because we've always been focused on this plot from very early on and because the characters were not developed as strongly, we have a lot of very indecisive people who are too trapped in this crisis to develop and become decisive. In a way, it feels like Matt's been something like the Arch Heart here: saying "oh, THIS would be interesting, I wonder what will happen" at everything when it's like "ok but consequences are like, important, and maybe you should let things play out. I mean, two cycles isn't great but it is still only two; maybe you should actually let your children/players figure this out, even if it doesn't fit your idea of what should happen, instead of throwing yet another new thing at them."

So: I don't know and I don't have answers about Campaign 3 events at this point because, again, as someone who has a pretty good sense of what makes for a satisfying narrative, it has frequently subverted those requirements (which, to be clear, is bad - it's not genre subversion or a masterful play on expectations, it's subverting actual satisfying narrative beats; as someone said on one of my other posts in not quite so many words, it's like storyline-baiting). I know I tend to present my points with confidence, and I am pretty confident about a lot of things like CR lore and said sense of narrative, but like...maybe this guess on the fandom vibe is incorrect, but I think I'm getting these questions because people are saying "hey, do you know where we're going? I think I am reading this map wrong" to me and I'm here to say "no, you're reading it fine, we've gone off the road and are just kinda crashing through underbrush, and maybe we'll hit another road and continue on that and I can give some insight, but also we might go off a cliff, no way to tell."

[iongwaiyi]

我的阿勒泰 To The Wonder : An Analyzation of Humanity (Part 1)

哈薩克文化裡，人與人之間產生友情或者愛情，是由於被看見，所以在哈薩克語中，我喜歡你意思是我清楚地看見你。

In Kazakhstan culture, in order for individuals to develop a friendship or a relationship, they need to be seen, that is why, "i like you" means "i can see you clearly" in Kazakh.

"To The Wonder" is a Chinese show that tells the story of Li Wenxiu, a Han girl from Altay, whose dream is to become a writer in Beijing, thinking that with it's rich culture, she would be able to write good stories. She returns home after a failed job, decided to settle down and work at her mother's store, along the way, she met Kazakh boy Batay, and built friendships with other residents, as well as discovering the beauty of Altay.

As a fellow Chinese, I would like to take the opportunity to make not only an appreciation about this wonderful show that got an impressive score of 8.1/10 on IMDB, but specifically an analyzation of humanity as reflected by the characters (Zhang Fengxia, Gao Xiaoliang, Li Wenxiu, and Tuoken)

As the mother of Li Wenxiu, losing her husband is one of the only things that Zhang Fengxia truly cannot let go of. Numbing herself with alcohol every night, reminiscing the memories between her and her late husband, but whenever her daughter asks about it, she avoids the topic and claims that she does not miss her late husband. In reality, deep in her heart, she not only deeply misses him, but she longs for love, a deep connection with someone.

When Gao Xiaoliang came along one day, she was blinded by her longing, diving headfirst into a relationship with him, claiming that he was sent by her late husband. There is no wrong in that, as humans, we all have an innate longing and want for love. However, when she realized everything that Gao Xiaoliang did was only an act, she allowed herself to grief what they had, what she thought they had, and sat with her emotions, quickly picking herself up after and moving forward with life.

In my opinion, that was truly the most touching yet heartbreaking moment in the show. Unfolding the complexity of the human heart, as well as demonstrating the strong will that humans are capable of - to live, to move on, to move forward with life despite the amount of times our hearts have been trampled all over.

一個男人跑了就跑了嘛！我們離了婚也不丢人的，男人没了，再找一個嘛

Most audiences think Gao Xiaoliang is a bad person, lying to Zhang Fengxia about his true intentions, earning her trust and leaving her behind, and lying to Li Wenxiu when they were working together in Urumqi. But that's the thing about humanity, there is never an exact definition of what's good or bad. Just because someone did something doesn't make them a bad person. In order to understand him truly, we need to look at the character from their perspective.

Being robbed when he first got to Xinjiang, losing everything he's worked for and truly losing directions in life; decided to hold on to Zhang Fengxia as his last resort, but seizing the opportunity of earning money because that's his priority in life - to earn money.

Blinded by his want for an adequate life, for money, he lied to Zhang Fengxia and left her behind, he negotiated with his boss to get Li Wenxiu's severance pay, but only giving her the 1/3 that he actually received. Yes, he may seem like the villain to the protagonists, but that would be an unfair statement to his character as a whole. Did he want to settle down with Zhang Fengxia? Yes. Did he give Li Wenxiu some of the pay when he could've kept all of it to himself? Yes.

But at the end of the day, as humans, we all get blinded by certain things, we all have our own wants and may do anything in our power to "seize the moment". Actions that we commit don't define us, who we are, because we have to understand that humans are complex and there is no "black-and-white" to us. All these actions only added to the depth of the character and our sympathy for what he went through, and how he got to the point where he was mad.

我出人頭地了，你出人頭地了嗎？

[bartypluto]

Everything wrong with the marauders fandom ── rant

Long rant about everything that I think doesn't make sense in the fandom since marauders TikTok is driving me crazy (I did not proofread this and I don't know how much sense it makes but I hope you get the point).

People in the marauders fandom ship characters and make friend groups based on tropes and the personality of the characters (e.g. Regulus being with James bc of the brother's best friend trope and because their personalities are cute together) instead of taking the characters' morals and opinions into account (e.g. James (canonically) hates Slytherins and blood supremacists, therefore he wouldn't like Regulus (romantically or platonically)). By doing this, the characters are reduced to stereotypes without morals. Everyone likes each other (the Death Eaters are friends with members of the Order) and there's no room for a plot. Why would blood supremacy exist if not a single Death Eater or member of the OOTP actually upholds their beliefs? What's the point of the Harry Potter novels if everyone is best friends with each other? (I'm not saying personality doesn't matter or that the tropes make no sense, but ignoring everything a character stands for is taking it too far).

Characters are limited to being "bad people" and not being allowed positive qualities or "good people" who don't have flaws (e.g. the Marauders being perfect (except for Peter) and Snape being irredeemable and the devil incarnate). Why is it always so black and white? You've already stripped characters of their morals and now you're also not allowing them to have both good and bad in them?

So basically friend groups and ships don't make sense, lore doesn't actually matter anymore, and talking about anything is pointless since everyone is arguing about headcanons (which can't easily be disproved, cause if you say someone's headcanon isn't realistic, they'll start talking about how "nothing is canon so it doesn't matter!!!" Which is just plain out wrong by the way).

The ideas of a good work of fiction and character analysis are ruined since no one cares about the canon things we know about characters. They are under the illusion of not having any canon information, even though there's actually quite a lot of info in the books. Character headcanons should be an expansion of said person, an elaboration of what they're like. Making random things up is not valid unless we genuinely don't know a lot about someone (e.g. Dorcas, but even in her case we still know she was against Death Eaters and blood supremacy, so saying she'd be friends with Death Eaters is a reach unless you're claiming she actually doesn't have strong morals or you think she was friends with them before they got blood supremacist beliefs).

Also please come up with better names cause what are "Slytherin skittles", "Partyvan" or even "dead gay wizards"? I'm sorry this might just be the hater in me but I cannot take this anymore. Being gay has become some kind of quirk and making every character lgbt is seen as a good fandom trait (the dead gay wizards name has been around for a while, but point still stands).

The fandom claims to be oh so inclusive because everyone is gay, yet they make Sirius a femboy because God forbid two masculine men are in a relationship. One of them has to be feminine, right? You're definitely not promoting negative stereotypes by doing that! Also Jily and other straight ships being seen as boring because "all heteros suck and only gay characters deserve a fandom!" You're literally setting us back under the false narrative of "being inclusive". You're perpetuating stereotypes (again) and you're acting like being gay is some special personality trait.

All the characters from the Marauders era are so interesting and the era has so much potential, but it's being wasted because of the fandom's poor understanding of fiction.

[fancygremlin]

A breakdown of Arthur’s breakdown.

Part 26 is stuck in my head, so I am going to talk about it.

Arthur’s breakdown of course starts off with the reveal that Larson sacrificed his daughter for power and money.

However, what really reinforces Arthur’s self-loathing are Yellow’s words;

Yellow has no qualms in throwing cruel accusations at Arthur. His intentions were clear and simple: to hurt him in the most devastating ways and where it hurts the most. However, Yellow does all that in a voice that Arthur recognises as John’s.

Ultimately, Arthur is forced to hear the voice of his only friend confirming all his worst fears and convictions. That’s what gets to him: his best friend seeing him as Arthur truly sees himself (irredeemable, rotten, a poor excuse of a human who should have died a long time ago. Someone who is trapping John, and who is forcing John to stay and put up with him).

Arthur is ao distraught that he is almost catatonic as he is carried to the mines. He is unresponsive to Yellow's insults, he has no strength to bite back to Larson's taunts. He just lets himself be dragged by Uncle.

When John finally, miraculously comes back, Arthur is quick to latch onto him. His attempts at interacting with John are however awkward and clumsy. I think that this inability to reconnect with John is because he still cannot distinguish John’s words from Yellow.

After all, if Yellow is John without his memories and without their shared experiences… doesn’t that just mean that deep down Yellow’s opinions reflect John’s in some way? Does John really think of Arthur as a self-centred person, a selfish man, a careless and cruel monster who hides behind fake acts of kindness?

To put these doubts to rest, Arthur decides to project onto John his issues. If he can prove that John is not like Yellow, he can prove to himself that he is not like Larson.

He therefore wastes no time in praising how John has improved… by cruelly comparing him to Yellow and demonising everything about Yellow… which is not right. The things he shows reluctance over were still part of who John was, those were still parts that John had to build upon to become who he is currently.

Ultimately, Arthur is involuntarily preventing John from further forming his own identity by explicitly telling him what he should and shouldn’t do, what he should and shouldn’t be. He is suddenly removing the safety and freedom that he granted John this far to figure his own identity out and is instead setting up arbitrary expectations and rules.

He is just doing to John what he did to Yellow.

These strong attempts in differentiating John and Yellow held a lot more weight, when we consider that he was projecting his own problems onto his friend. That's why he is so explosive and irritated whenever John doesn't agree with him.

He was just trying to grapple for any excuse, any proof that there is something concrete that he can use to define what makes a person good or bad. Because otherwise, there really is no difference between himself and Larson and he cannot bear to see himself in that light. He can’t accept that despite everything he did and tried to improve, deep down he’s still a cruel, heartless monster who killed his own child and went on to live.

When John didn’t give him what he wanted (instead going as far as agreeing with Yellow at one point), Arthur grew more and more anxious and restless. So, the only thing that he had left was to carve out and purge the rotten parts of himself. In any way he could.

Only then will he be a good person. Only then will the scales even. Only then he will stop seeing himself as a murderer and a poor excuse of a human.

He resolves that the only option for him is to kill the parts of himself that he doesn’t want. He decides to kill himself Uncle and make Larson pay.

Clearly these suicidal tendencies have been accompanying with him for a long time, as shown in his emotional reactions when his parents died, when Bella died and when Faroe died. His regret is also shown when he confesses he felt extreme guilt in enjoying the life he managed to build back for himself in Arkham as he was working as a PI with Parker.

Arthur just truly cannot forgive himself and his self-loathing runs so deep it’s almost a part of himself he cannot leave behind.

I like how the doubt Arthur feelings of inaptitude, guilt and self-loathing still linger even after being comforted by John at the end of Season 3:

He is unable to truly move on from his mistakes, he still feels the need to find a piece of irrefutable evidence proving he is a good person and that he can be forgiven. He needs his worries and anxieties to be put to rest.

John's forgiveness isn't enough to move on. Daniel's forgiveness was just enough to convince him he might be a good person who is truly trying to do good.

However, in Part 36, we can see that Arthur has not abandoned his self-loathing, as he still sees no wrong in wanting to kill himself killing Uncle. After Oscar reveals what happened at the orphanage he grew up in, Arthur and John have this exchange:

Arthur is tragically forever stuck waiting for Faroe's forgiveness, which he can never really obtain. She’s dead and there is nothing he can do to get her back…