#but there are many for whom you are a special kind of safety

[mao-ancunin]

Fools Fall

Pairing: Astarion x M!Tav/Named Tav 

Summary/Setting: Spawn-Astarion headcanon romance and friendship scenes of hurt, healing and love. Taking place between act 1 and 3. Lots of companion friendship scenes too 🤍 

Rating/Warnings: T / game spoilers, mentions of Astarions past, Trauma and PTSD, flashbacks, panic attacks.

Read entire work on: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62732383/chapters/160598794

Chapter 1 - Falling

At the beginning Astarion thought of Mao as the fool who fell in love, but soon he began to realise that it was him who was the fool.

Unexpected things started to happen after Astarions luring instincts kicked in. Although Mao, the gentle Tiefling, seemed to be falling head over heels in love with the vampire and was certainly lured by Astarions front of making himself as palatable as he could, matching whatever the other desired, there was more to their spending their time together; before Astarion knew it, Mao started calling him his ‘dear friend‘. If Astarion had admitted how he felt  he would have called him one back. Most of the time Mao was infuriatingly kind yet He could be feisty and fiery. He had an unpredictability that intrigued the other. The pale elf realised that on many occasions he didn't even make an effort to wind him up around his little finger with sweet nothings. Being himself, whatever was left of that was...Enough. 

Maybe if they had met in another life they would have loved one another in the most sickly sweet way Astarion could think of. But in this one, he had to look after himself, this situation didn't leave room for galavanting around with friends, let alone romantic relationships. Lest he risk a stake through his heart or worse, Cazador would take his freedom once more. 

Still, every now and then Astarion imagined himself in this little make believe life, and at least it made the whole ordeal a tad easier, stomach knots unravelling with each laugh and gentle touch. 

It became a habit, staying up late together, chatting about all sorts of silly meaningless things. Astation felt himself falling easily into playful embraces and conversations. Even though their relationship had stayed platonic so far, there was an unspoken attraction between them, arms brushing past, lingering touches all felt exciting. Every now and then, a hand lingered a little longer on Maos shoulder and every now and then Astarion caught himself observing him from afar and smiling to himself. He wasn't luring anymore, he was falling. 

Usually with a Mark to be taken to his master, Astarion would have already seduced the target as soon as they showed willing, but with Mao he hesitated. He knew that he could have him, claim him, pull the strings tight around his neck to lock him in as his net of safety. Maybe it was his new found freedom of his autonomy to do what and whom he wanted with his body. Or maybe it was the fear of the tainted act sex had become to him. Not sacred or special, something you do out of love and desire, but a tedious ordeal that turned knots in his stomach and one did for survival. Besides, he appreciated the space Mao gave him. He felt respected. 

One evening, as the events of the day unravelled in front of the campfire in the form of epic tales, laughter and toasts to living another day without turning into mind flayers, Astarion found himself next to Mao, unable to focus on the chatter, and frankly, he didn't care about goblins fought and druids freed. Momentarily he was preoccupied with the little circles Maos hands were drawing on Astarions skin. First it began with an accidental placement of hands and a following remark on how cold Astarions hands were. “Darling, you forget I’m undead, this is what it's like” was not enough for Mao to be discouraged in trying to warm them up. “Well, mine are always quite warm, they could do with a bit of cooling.” he said. So throughout the evening their hands always remained close. The touch itself felt intoxicatingly warm and he couldn’t help but ponder what Maos lips felt like. Mao himself was joining the telling of stories, laughing at Gale’s silly jokes and joining Karlach in joyous Tiefling chants. Although preoccupied with bonding with the other companions, his hand let the other know he was there for him and that he cared.

Then one after the other, their companions slipped into the shadows, retreating to the comfort of their tents until once again, Astarion and Mao were left to their evening ritual of watching the embers disappearing into the dark of the night, conversing about right and wrong, life and death, hurt and healing. 

But tonight, they embraced the silence and gentle touches of their hands, finding their way to entangle themselves. Their fingers as though dancing with each other, embracing, trailing, stroking. If his body had needed sleep, he could have easily sunk deeply into it as he felt a deep sense of safety. They lay back against the logs, a blanket draped over their bodies, which were closer than ever before. Astarion closed his eyes and let himself slip into the reality of his daydreams, pushing aside his worries of recapture and torment. For now he was just here, with Mao, enjoying kind, loving touches. 

Maos fingers brushed the white soft curls that had fallen over his eyes out of the elf's face, Astarions vocal chords humming involuntarily by the brief touch. The Tiefling continued to trace Astarions features with featherlight fingers, over his eyebrows, temples and lips which tingled in anticipation, he opened his eyes to gaze into golden infernal eyes that lit up with something Astarion hadn't seen before. He shifted his face closer to Maos to inhale the scent of desire in his blood and leaned into his warm hand, eyes closing - inviting.  Then their lips finally met, releasing hours of longing and dancing around each other.

Astarion shuddered at the tingle that the soft touch of Maos lips sent down his spine, warmth taking over his entire being. A sensation he didn't feel was too unfamiliar. He had fallen for someone before, kisses and tender touches feeling divine. Suddenly a sharp jolt of emotion flooded his senses, dread rising within. A memory pushed itself into his mind, a crushed skull, of a person he dared to love, someone he kept secret from Cazador. But there were no secrets he could keep from his master. And it was always punished the hardest. He would be sorry for daring to touch another soul in the same way again. Astarion felt the clammy blood on his hands, as he held his lover's beaten face. He blinked and gasped until he realised there was no blood, there was only Mao, concerned eyes trying to connect. 

„—starion?“ Mao said, unease spreading across his face. “Astarion, dear, are you alright?“ Astarion felt nausea surge in his stomach. Maos gentle squeezes on his arm pulled him back into reality. “Oh…I'm sorry“ he stared blankly for a moment, before he could realise what was happening. He attempted a casual smile „I exhausted myself today. I… I am sorry, I should probably get some rest. It's been a long day” Before Mao could say anything

Astarion broke away and disappeared into the darkness surrounding the camp. Leaving the other wondering and contemplating. 

Astarion paced frantically, he attempted to push the memory far back where it belonged, another century, another lifetime. 

He just had to get back on track, put on that mask that he wore so well, speak words dazzled in flirtatious promises and poetic verses. And put up a thick wall between him and his feelings. This whole ordeal would get him into trouble and he could not afford thinking of what would happen to Mao, should Cazador ever find them. He wasn't allowed to care for someone else. Astarion was not going to give up his freedom, no matter how tempting. 

He was bound to break, but in that moment Astarion saw no other way. he was fumbling, grasping the lucky thread that his survival hung by, it was wearing thin. He thought that maybe by forcing himself to sleep with Mao, like he did with so many times with his targets he might feel that nausea in his stomach return, a knot that would make him repulsed by the other and make it so he could just use him for the intended purposes, make himself stop falling, stop feeling. Just surviving. It had to work. 

At the celebration with the tieflings the next night, he composed himself, mask locked tightly in place: tonight he would pounce.

Part of himself felt a sort of loss after they had slept together. it felt as though he had betrayed himself in a way. Another part of him fell deeper, unexpectedly. 

After that, it didn't take too long until his front finally unravelled for good.

[anotherhumaninthisworld]

His enemies reproach [Robespierre] with having sent bloodthirsty proconsuls into the departments, but, on the contrary, he was the one who had almost all those who abused their unlimited powers to exercise dreadful cruelties recalled; he was the one who wrote to the representatives of the people on mission without cease that they needed to sober in their rigors and make the revolution cherished rather than hated. Many times he asked, without success, for Carrier, whom Billaud-Varennes protected, to be recalled. Mémoires de Charlotte Robespierre sur ses deux frères (1834) page 123-124

Laignelot: When I passed through Nantes to go to Brest, I met Carrier; he spoke to me about the drownings, and told me in the presence of Beaudit: ”You’re luckier than me; you have a bigger pool, and buildings to your service.” […] Before Carrier was denounced, I had told this fact to several of my colleagues. I went to see Robespierre, who was indisposed, I described to him all the horrors that had been committed in Nantes; he replied: “Carrier is a patriot; that was needed in Nantes.”  Audition de M. Carrier devant la Convention qui remplit les fonctions de jury d'accusation, lors de la séance du 3 frimaire an III (23 novembre 1794)

It is known well enough in what way [Collot and Fouché] conducted themselves [in Lyon]; it is known that they made blood flow in torrents, and plunged the second city of the republic into fright and consternation. Robespierre was outraged by it. […] I was present for the interview that Fouché had with Robespierre upon his return. My brother asked him to account for the bloodshed he had caused, and reproached him for his conduct with such energy of expression that Fouché was pale and trembling. He mumbled a few excuses and blamed the cruel measures he had taken on the gravity of the circumstances. Robespierre replied that nothing could justify the cruelties of which he had been guilty; that Lyon, it was true, had been in insurrection against the National Convention, but that that was no reason to have unarmed enemies gunned down en masse.   Mémoires de Charlotte Robespierre sur ses deux frères (1834) page 123-124

Robespierre murmured a lot about the forms that we had established in Lyon for the execution of decrees: he constantly repeated that there was no reason to judge the guilty when they are outlawed. He exclaimed that we had let the families of the condemned go free; and when the commission sent the Convention and the committee the list of its judgments, he was not in control of his anger as he cast his eyes on the column where the names of the citizens who had been acquitted were written. Unable to change anything in the forms of judgment, regulated according to the decrees and approved by the committee, he imagined another system; he questioned whether the patriots of Commune-Affranchie were not vexed and under oppression. They were, he said, because the property of the condemned being specially intended, by article IV of the decree of July 12, to become their patrimony, we had greatly reduced their claims, not only by not judging only a quarter of the number of conspirators identified by Dubois-Crancé on 23 Vendémiare, or designated by previous decrees, but also by establishing a commission which appeared willing to acquit two thirds, as it happened. Through these declamations Robespierre wanted to entertain the patriots of whom he spoke, with the most violent ideas, to throw into their minds a framework of extraordinary measures, and to put them in opposition with the representatives of the people and their closest cooperators: he made them understand that they could count on him, he emboldened them to form all kinds of obstacles, to only follow his indications which he presented as being the intentions of the Committee of Public Safety.   Défense de J-M. Collot, répresentant du peuple. Éclaircissemens nécessaires sur ce qui s’est passé à Lyon (alors Commune-Affranchie), l’année dernière; pour faire suite aux rapports des Répresentants du peuple, envoyés vers cette commune, avant, pendant et après le siège (1794), page 23-24.

Come on now guys, which version is the truth?

[ntls-24722]

👏 Fellas,

We ALL like a Man in uniform. But is your Man safe in his uniform?

I present to you: Personal protective equipment for construction specialized for the Man of enlightened individuals: Music Man.

the PPE was specifically for construction because construction has the inherently sexiest PPE.

Music Men come in a lot of shapes and sizes and their needs and restrictions change with all of their forms. However, there are many overlaps:

Hard hats: All of the Music Men wear hats. Stupid dinky little clown hats, that is! Their hats couldn't protect their view from sunlight, let alone falling debris. I highly doubt the Music Men actually have any important components inside their heads specifically, but it stands to be protected.

Long sleeved, fitted shirts: All of the music men have exposed arm joints, exposed joints that shrapnel, debris, dirt, rocks - just about anything! - would love to get into and completely lock up your Music Man's limb. To prevent this, although usually OSHA can give leeway with short-sleeved shirts, long sleeved shirts are always recommended and I feel like in this case it is mandatory.

Hi-Vis Vest: 2 of the 395 Music Men are very large. However, ALL Music Men, due to their horror game heritage, are very sneaky, and to counter this, their dress code mandates a hi-vis vest, ESPECIALLY to the 393 "wind up" individuals who, due to their stature, are not very visible.

Safety Gloves: All music men have gloves, and while unlike fanon they all seem to be rubber or some kind of latex that could be protective, their designs were primarily decorative and to be safe, their gloves have padded undersides in order to reduce cuts.

Without further Ado, here are the music men's PPE particularities.

Homo Sapiens' societal courtesies have instructed us to look towards the face of a subject, and when you did, you may have noticed that Music Man has his cameras visible, like a whore.

Much like the situation with the gloves, the safetiness-level of likely decorative aspects of the Music Man's design is ambiguous, and to prevent ambiguity, Music Man and DJ Music Man have replaced their tinted-black eye-lenses with clear, polycarbonate lenses in order to withstand possible debris flying into them. Creepy, but doesn't it make that just make it easier to gaze into his eyes?

Music man, unfortunately, lacks child-bearing hips, and the reason why this comes up is that the lack of a hip makes it hard to put pants on. Pants that are all too needed for an individual whom most of his debris-philic joints are below the shoulders. To combat this, I have given him and the Wind-Up Music Men 8-legged overalls.

Finally, Safety Socks. To be frank with you, this isn't entirely for protection, Music Man's plunger feet would likely take the impact of a vehicle running over them just fine (though the socks would help), the socks are primarily to discourage climbing on his own.

Music Man (Homo Mousike) is a species of animatronic spider that evolved from a basal vent-climbing species, and while he does still have the adaptations for climbing, they have evolved towards more terrestrial adaptations that might endanger Music Man should he fall; Music Man is listed as a Heavy Animatronic and would be in great danger if he were to climb on his own, for if he fell, he would probably implode. If the situation does call for him to climb, Music Man can wear a harness and be hooked up to a fall arrest system just like the rest of us.

I don't care about the infinitely diverse levels of facial injury that the Wind-Up Music Men can have. All of you wear a full-cover helmet, now.

The Wind-Up Music Men were all chucked into a fire and it has absolutely ruined all of their faces: their carapaces or/and internal mechanisms have faced some level of either being melted, torn off, or both, which is why I am not letting any of you motherfuckers have a bare face.

Along with a hi-vis vest, I feel like it's in their best interest to extenuate their visibility with a removable, dinky little flag on their hard hats. It can be plastic or fabric, depending on what level of fire or electrical hazard their work entails. However due to trauma I think it's a good guess they won't be working with fire anytime soon.

The Wind-Up Music Men actually retain the privilege to be able to climb freely, without the need of a safety harness. They seem to be able to withstand falling/landing from incredibly high heights without taking much damage at all, like how you can chuck a squirrel from the empire state building and it'll probably live.

Finally, DJ Music Man. Yes, he still has to wear a vest even though he's the most visible thing on the site.

He has a face mask! DJ Music Man's default mouth position is with his teeth open, and due to the size of his mouth, it is very easy for shrapnel to get in and lodge itself right into the LED display inside his mouth. To prevent this from happening, I gave him a muzzle.

DJ Music Man is completely prohibited from climbing any sort of structure for any reason whatsoever. His habitat inside of the Pizzaplex was built to facilitate his arboreal lifestyle, but construction projects were not, especially not when the structure in question isn't even finished!

I don't know if there's a million tiny little hairs on the bottom of DJMM's gloves that facilitate his climbing, but I still replaced them with safety gloves to discourage this.

Finally, headphones. Every Music Man could change their internal microphone sensitivity, and even if they couldn't, prolonged loud noises are harmful and annoying only to the original Music Man. DJMM just wears them to have a sense of style.

[latteart98]

I keep rewatching scenes from Hidden Love because I simply can’t get over the drama and if I had to pick a favorite scene, it would be the airport scene in episode 7 when her heart gets completely shattered. Listen the drama is packed is so many cute scenes that I’m totally in love with, but the scene that really, really gets to me is that one.

Can you imagine being in SZ’s shoes? Anxious and antsy all night, she showed up in his city despite knowing the huge trouble it will get her in back at home.. all because she needs to ask him in person if he is really dating someone or was it just a lie? But poor girl didn’t even get to voice her questions because his coworker, whom she mistook as the girlfriend, came along with him.

The moment DJX appears at the airport with the lady tagging along with him, SZ’s eyes are on the lady not him. Not her crush whom she hasn’t seen in so many months but the lady. He’s all worried about her safety and mad out of concern for her but all she can think about is “who is she? Is she your girlfriend? You promised me that you would tell me immediately if you got a girlfriend. Why didn’t you keep your promise?”

Notice how she’s not mad at him for dating because she knows deep in her heart that she’s too young for him and he has never seen her as anything more than a friend’s little sister. No, she’s not having any false hopes. Rather, she’s hurt that he didn’t remember the promise he made to her. And as a result, it became apparent that she was no one special to him nor were the times they spent together was of any significance to him. That he was only nice to her because she was in front of him and had it been anyone else, he would’ve behaved the same way. All the while she held on to every memory, every gift like a treasure.

And just because she knew that she never really had a chance with him because of the age difference, doesn’t mean it hurt any less to see him with someone else. She kept hoping against all hopes that she would, eventually, grow up and he would then notice her a woman but she figured he’s already found his “someone better” - someone that’s not her, that will never be her.

And when she gives him one last sad smile and starts walking away, leaving behind the teddy and pieces of her heart with him, it’s a cinematic masterpiece. She’s walking away and with every step, her mind flashes back to a montage of DJX being kind to her and smiling at her and being full of warmth- all the things that made her fall for him to begin with. And she realizes that those memories, those little smiles of his, those gestures are just gonna forever remain as little treasures in her heart. Even before she leaves the airport, when she wishes him happiness and leaves the teddy with him, we know she’s bidding farewell. She’s mentally getting ready to never see him again. Oh, it’s breaking her heart and so is the audience’s hearts. The montage, the walking away first, the one last turn back, the background music, the fact that it’s at an airport… everything was so perfectly put together.

And finally when her brother comes to pick her up, she starts sobbing in his arms. He’s holding her and trying to comfort her through promises of buying her her favorite food or comic books or even beating the guy up.. all silly stuff thinking it was just an online fling. As if her whole teenage years’ worth of hopes didn’t just crash at her feet. As if her innocent little heart didn’t just break into a million pieces.

Listen I know teenagers are dramatic (gosh I would know, I used to be one) and most of the times, the love/crush they have as a teen is cringe and melodramatic… but sometimes, only sometimes they are capable of honest sincere feelings so when it hurts, it fucking hurts. We might say they’re being dramatic because it’s only their first puppy love but God, that’s exactly why it hurts so much. Because it is their first love. Because they didn’t know any better, they put so much of their mental space and time and hopes and fears into this one person and when it doesn’t work out, it fucking sucks. Yes they will move on, yes they will get over it eventually, yes with time they might even look back at their teen self and cringe. But this moment, the moment your heart breaks for the first time whether you are 17 or 30 or 49, it’s not a moment you will ever forget. This moment becomes a landmark in your heart.

[mariacallous]

Stories about AI-generated political content are like stories about people drunkenly setting off fireworks: There’s a good chance they’ll end in disaster. WIRED is tracking AI usage in political campaigns across the world, and so far examples include pornographic deepfakes and misinformation-spewing chatbots. It’s gotten to the point where the US Federal Communications Commission has proposed mandatory disclosures for AI use in television and radio ads.

Despite concerns, some US political campaigns are embracing generative AI tools. There’s a growing category of AI-generated political content flying under the radar this election cycle, developed by startups including Denver-based BattlegroundAI, which uses generative AI to come up with digital advertising copy at a rapid clip. “Hundreds of ads in minutes,” its website proclaims.

BattlegroundAI positions itself as a tool specifically for progressive campaigns—no MAGA types allowed. And it is moving fast: It launched a private beta only six weeks ago and a public beta just last week. Cofounder and CEO Maya Hutchinson is currently at the Democratic National Convention trying to attract more clients. So far, the company has around 60, she says. (The service has a freemium model, with an upgraded option for $19 a month.)

“It’s kind of like having an extra intern on your team,” Hutchinson, a marketer who got her start on the digital team for President Obama’s reelection campaign, tells WIRED. We’re sitting at a picnic table inside the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, and she’s raising her voice to be heard over music blasting from a nearby speaker. “If you’re running ads on Facebook or Google, or developing YouTube scripts, we help you do that in a very structured fashion.”

BattlegroundAI’s interface asks users to select from five different popular large language models—including ChatGPT, Claude, and Anthropic—to generate answers; it then asks users to further customize their results by selecting for tone and “creativity level,” as well as how many variations on a single prompt they might want. It also offers guidance on whom to target and helps craft messages geared toward specialized audiences for a variety of preselected issues, including infrastructure, women’s health, and public safety.

BattlegroundAI declined to provide any examples of actual political ads created using its services. However, WIRED tested the product by creating a campaign aimed at extremely left-leaning adults aged 88 to 99 on the issue of media freedom. “Don't let fake news pull the wool over your bifocals!” one of the suggested ads began.

BattlegroundAI offers only text generation—no AI images or audio. The company adheres to various regulations around the use of AI in political ads.

“What makes Battleground so well suited for politics is it’s very much built with those rules in mind,” says Andy Barr, managing director for Uplift, a Democratic digital ad agency. Barr says Uplift has been testing the BattlegroundAI beta for a few weeks. “It’s helpful with idea generation,” he says. The agency hasn’t yet released any ads using Battleground copy yet, but it has already used it to develop concepts, Barr adds.

I confess to Hutchinson that if I were a politician, I would be scared to use BattlegroundAI. Generative AI tools are known to “hallucinate,” a polite way of saying that they sometimes make things up out of whole cloth. (They bullshit, to use academic parlance.) I ask how she’s ensuring that the political content BattlegroundAI generates is accurate.

“Nothing is automated,” she replies. Hutchinson notes that BattlegroundAI’s copy is a starting-off point, and that humans from campaigns are meant to review and approve it before it goes out. “You might not have a lot of time, or a huge team, but you’re definitely reviewing it.”

Of course, there’s a rising movement opposing how AI companies train their products on art, writing, and other creative work without asking for permission. I ask Hutchinson what she’d say to people who might oppose how tools like ChatGPT are trained. “Those are incredibly valid concerns,” she says. “We need to talk to Congress. We need to talk to our elected officials.”

I ask whether BattlegroundAI is looking at offering language models that train on only public domain or licensed data. “Always open to that,” she says. “We also need to give folks, especially those who are under time constraints, in resource-constrained environments, the best tools that are available to them, too. We want to have consistent results for users and high-quality information—so the more models that are available, I think the better for everybody.”

And how would Hutchinson respond to people in the progressive movement—who generally align themselves with the labor movement—objecting to automating ad copywriting? “Obviously valid concerns,” she says. “Fears that come with the advent of any new technology—we’re afraid of the computer, of the light bulb.”

Hutchinson lays out her stance: She doesn’t see this as a replacement for human labor so much as a way to reduce grunt work. “I worked in advertising for a very long time, and there's so many elements of it that are repetitive, that are honestly draining of creativity,” she says. “AI takes away the boring elements.” She sees BattlegroundAI as a helpmeet for overstretched and underfunded teams.

Taylor Coots, a Kentucky-based political strategist who recently began using the service, describes it as “very sophisticated,” and says it helps identify groups of target voters and ways to tailor messaging to reach them in a way that would otherwise be difficult for small campaigns. In battleground races in gerrymandered districts, where progressive candidates are major underdogs, budgets are tight. “We don’t have millions of dollars,” he says. “Any opportunities we have for efficiencies, we’re looking for those.”

Will voters care if the writing in digital political ads they see is generated with the help of AI? “I'm not sure there is anything more unethical about having AI generate content than there is having unnamed staff or interns generate content,” says Peter Loge, an associate professor and program director at George Washington University who founded a project on ethics in political communication.

“If one could mandate that all political writing done with the help of AI be disclosed, then logically you would have to mandate that all political writing”—such as emails, ads, and op-eds—“not done by the candidate be disclosed,” he adds.

Still, Loge has concerns about what AI does to public trust on a macro level, and how it might impact the way people respond to political messaging going forward. “One risk of AI is less what the technology does, and more how people feel about what it does,” he says. “People have been faking images and making stuff up for as long as we've had politics. The recent attention on generative AI has increased peoples' already incredibly high levels of cynicism and distrust. If everything can be fake, then maybe nothing is true.”

Hutchinson, meanwhile, is focused on her company’s shorter-term impact. “We really want to help people now,” she says. “We’re trying to move as fast as we can.”

[multiplicity-positivity]

Here’s some positivity for ex-religious systems!

Many plural folks may find that religion no longer works or is beneficial as a framework for their system. Whether someone was raised in a religion, or converted in adulthood, it’s okay to take a step back from or no longer be involved in religion whatsoever! Here’s to all the ex-religious systems out there!

☁️ Shoutout to systems who let go of religion after experiencing the world in a new or different way!

☀️ Shoutout to systems who are not religious, but still incorporate certain religious activities or traditions into their lives!

🌱 Shoutout to systems who are struggling to find purpose and meaning after leaving religion!

🌷 Shoutout to systems who are still theists and believe in a higher power without being religious!

☁️ Shoutout to systems who are no longer religious but who have a strong sense of spirituality!

☀️ Shoutout to systems who have recently become atheist or agnostic!

🌱 Shoutout to systems with religious trauma who have distanced themselves from religion as a way to heal!

🌷 Shoutout to systems who sometimes miss or recall fondly their time being religious!

☁️ Shoutout to individual headmates who have stopped being religious while the rest of their system continues to practice a certain religion!

☀️ Shoutout to systems who haven’t thought about religion much ever since becoming ex-religious!

🌱 Shoutout to systems who are no longer religious, but who have to pretend to be religious for their own safety and well-being!

🌷 Shoutout to systems for whom leaving religion has allowed them to have more agency in their lives and be happier and healthier overall!

For any system, your worth is not defined by your religious affiliations or how religious you are or have been in the past! Your system is lovely and special just the way it is, even without religion as a part of your lives. It’s okay to explore life, community, and spirituality outside religion, and we sincerely hope that you can find happiness and fulfillment in all that you do. Please do your best to treat yourself and your system with kindness and compassion, and have a wonderful day!

[sillyromance]

Good day everyone !

Random Knaz Georgy🗡️ predcanons:

1) In case he doesn't know you well, you have to earn his sympathy at the very least if you want to be eaten by this man. He considers himself far too good to swallow just anybody; therefore, if you are granted a permission to enter his core, you should feel honored. There can be exceptions, but they usually mean fatality...

2) He is a HUGE teaser. No matter what kind of person you are, you're going down as a pathetic blushing mess - and trust me: this is only the beginning. You'll know in all the details what kind of flavor you have or how good your squirming feels. Moreover, as a pure gentleman he will taunt you in the most elegant way with a voice which will leave you shivering. Another words, you'll find yourself in a grasp of the most gallant and charming glutton on earth who will equally mesmerize and terrify you.

3) But if he realizes his comments rather upset or scare you, Georgy will instantly quit rambling, apologizing for making you uncomfortable, and show what a thoughtful and respecting companion he can be.

4) Surprisingly, he is a safe predator mostly. Georgy digested people only a few times: those were either dangerous criminals, or some poor souls who asked to be spared from fate far worse. Usually, he eats people for fun/as a prank, to soothe his hunger for a bit, and to comfort/defend those he cares about.

5) Speaking of the devil, Georgy is exceptionally protective; if he takes you under his wing, your safety is ensured.

6) Georgy loves willing prey. To his great sadness, the man's special position in the government has created a devilish aura around him in the same way it has happened to Nor, therefore Georgy is over the moon when someone approaches him with a request to be eaten.

7) Don't hesitate to give him belly rubs. He appreciates attention to his insides and makes sure you feel rewarded for your care about him (you can expect words of affection, physical caress, or even something greater - he is a rich and powerful man after all).

8) This man can't bare his prey crying. Once weeping is heard, he will do everything in his power to calm his prey down and soothe their fears.

9) Georgy is often playful; if he is in the mood, the politician may test you powers, offering hide-and-sick or chase games (he is very good at them).

10) You can shamelessly tell him any dark secrets torturing your soul; Georgy is a careful and understanding listener who will never pass information to anyone if you ask for confidentiality. Yet, even if the reason for your low spirit is just a bad day you've had, you still can count on him. You'll be granted a soft and warm place to hide, ears to hear your sobs, gentle hands to rock your curled up form, and a voice to give you demanded advice.

11) Georgy practically hates the taste of fabric. Although he is ready to sacrifice his comfort for yours and at the sight of danger, it's better for the prey to take off as many layers of clothes as possible. Georgy will be eternally grateful.

12) You better not ask Georgy to eat you before him going to bed if you don't want to be tossed and thrown from side to side like the content of a washing machine - Georgy is a restless sleeper.

13) This aristocrat is an extrovert whom it's hard not to notice in the crowd due to him always announcing about his presence with loud exclamations and thunderous laughter. But don't worry - he visibly lowers his voice once his stomach receives a passanger. You should be ready to cover your ears though if you notice things are heating up outside.

14) Being a very close friend, you can occasionally "encounter" his wife Sonya when you're in Georgy's stomach. It will mean soft cooing and a pair of tender royal hands massaging you while the couple discusses their things.

Quotes:

1) "What a lovely candy you are, darling - one look at you, and I can't wait to feel you wiggling in my throat!"

2) " God dammit! They did what to you!? Show me that rascal and they will know better than mess with a friend of a man-eater... "

3) "Easy, easy... I've got you, sweetheart. Climb right in - let's get you somewhere nice and warm, shall we?"

4) " No, no, don't worry, I don't judge! There is nothing to be ashamed of. Rest peacefully, my little star - I will let you out whenever you want."

5) "Saint heavens... Are you... certain about this?.. I see. Don't worry, sunshine, come here... I'm terribly sorry to hear you've been suffering so much. It's my pleasure to ease your pain. Hold still, and soon you will be safe as a part of me. No one will hurt you again, I promise..."

6) "...Aha! There you are! I said I would find you, didn't I? Well, he comes my treat then..."

7) "Oh! Was the volume too much? My apologies, dear, I didn't mean to yell like that..."

8) "Can I hide you? Yes, I can, but I don't think you'll like it..."

9) "I said 'Enough'! You won't harm them! Either retreat, or try and get through me..."

[summertimemusician]

Linktober Day 7

Sky(loft)

*throws rose* For the First lovers.

Soft and sweet drabble with just the barest hints of tragedy, and more set on Skyloft than anything but I'd say it counts.

This chapter was brought to you by me getting emotional about the First Hero and his fate again due to the rain, the fact I believe all Links deserve to have love and appreciation but specially him. And the fact I think it's an absolute CRIME that we don't get anything more on him and that he and Sky don't get to have what Time and Twilight have, no I'm not bitter Nintendo I just want to talk, y'all can't just keep giving us like four Links before the actual heroes and then expect us NOT to want to elaborate with the crumbs we are given. If you ask me First and Sky deserve to interact and for First to have closure.

Anyway, as always can be read as romantic or platonic, up to y'all, and can be read in or outside and LU context, I just use Sky and First for simplicities sake but if you don't gel with LU then feel free to interpret this as something else, this is all highly self indulgent before I pass the heck out lol

If there was any place in Sky’s Hyrule that you could confidently say you adored with all of your heart and soul, Skyloft would be the most likely pick.

Even so high above it all in a way that would have you catastrophizing had you think too hard about what could happen if anyone ever accidentally fell from the isle even with all of the knights trained to not allow that to happen, you’d be lying if you said that it’s a wondrous mix of empyreal beauty and the comfort of safety and the wonder of touching the sky, a true breath taking haven that could soften even the hardest of hearts with time. Fitting of the warmth of the reincarnated goddess in Sun and the vast nature of Sky’s kindness, for all you knew he could be as frigid as the title of Godslayer demanded.

Looking at the way First let himself be tugged along the isle as soon as they’ve arrived in Sky’s land in a tour just reinforced that notion, you couldn’t help but chuckle a little. First was one of the harder Links to read, even more so than Time or Warriors, but looking at the way the stars of his azure eyes brightened with the fire of life hearing Sky talk about life in his home and about the many people made you feel so, so warm, like finding a nice sunny spot for a afternoon nap.

What could you say? First was such a wondrous person, calm and charming and perfectly polite and oh so kind in the way you knew all of your boys were. If there ever was someone who embodied chivalry and the ideal side of knighthood, he’d probably be the one to come to the forefront of your mind, and you’ve been insatiable for his happiness ever since.

When he first arrived to the Chain, he was as cold as the howling blizzard winds, heart a cold fort left in ruin and remade as best as a single man could for the sake of remaining kind, to do the right thing no matter what, it was a sentiment you knew far too well in your other boys, but specially so in First, who tried so, so hard to distance himself from getting attached. But who you knew loved the sight of the sky, as cold and numb it was in it’s distance, whom cared so so much he would driven himself into an early grave just to make the Surface a safer for the people who’d shunned him, whom after a long, long period of adjustment and effort from the Chain, allowed you to hold him close as he shaked from nightmares at night, allowing you to chase away memories of being held up by cold chains until the impression of them became one with his skin and subconscious, of being entombed and imprisoned in uncaring stone and iron to starve alone, being bitten at by hungry, crawling rats all because he wished to keep his people safe, made sure he could tell that your presence was tangible and real through telling stories from your world and singing him into dreams even through the fortress’s that was his stubborness. Trying your best to make lilies bloom on what looked like a most hopeless winter.

The day he actually chuckled and smiled, safe and healthy and alive in the presence of the Chain felt like the biggest victory you’d ever had.

He deserved to know love and to be loved as much as any of your boys, something real and tangible and that was actually properly reciprocated rather than used to justify an end. So seeing him being able to visit Skyloft with his descendant with a whispering, hidden smile was more than enough for you. And you can’t blame Sky for being equally animated about it, bless his heart, always wanting his people to be happy, always so, so kind, wanting to bring some solace to the older hero but being carefully attentive so his mood was still good

After all they went through they deserved it.

“Oh! There you are, I was just about to show First to the waterfall, want to come with?”, Sky snaps you out from your thoughts, touching your shoulder with a gentle smile.

“Unless something is ailing you, you did look quite deeply in though.”, added First, soft as the warm breeze on the isle in the sky.

You shake your head, smiling as you take First’s offered arm, an instinctive motion when he wished to be close but wasn’t quite ready for any other touch yet, and Sky’s hand in yours, which he swings with a hum, ears twitching, how precious. “Not at all, lead the way.”

As Sky leads you along, and you catch the ghost of a smile in First’s otherwise stern countenance and you take in the warmth of the late afternoon sun in Skyloft and the soft, eternal spring breeze. You think there’s quite a bit you’d give to keep witnessing these moments indeed.

The road to recovery was long and arduous, but you’d be there, and you knew the Chain would do their best to be there too.

[colin-firth]

Borderline Personality Traits in Lee Quinzel

As a follow up to my post discussing narcissistic traits in Arthur, I wanted to expand on my theory that Lee represents an archetype of Borderline Personality Disorder. I will be relying less on the DSM here and more on my personal experience of the illness.

Lee definitely has many of the narcissistic traits I outlined in the post about Arthur, such as grandiosity, willingness/tendency to be interpersonally exploitive, belief in being special or wanting to associate with special or ‘high-status’ people, arrogance, etc. She also shows the antisocial personality traits of law breaking, deceitfulness, impulsivity, disregard for safety of others, irresponsibility and lack of remorse. The ASPD traits apply to her pretty much entirely across the board. But what most interested me about her were her borderline personality traits, outlined below.

Going just by the DMS traits for borderline personality disorder, we see the following:

Unstable relationships: She very quickly falls into a romantic and sexual relationship with Arthur, based on her idealization of his Joker entity. However, she quickly discards that relationship by the end of the movie, showing little genuine lasting connection. She also is either implied or stated to have engaged sexually with a guard in order to get in to see Arthur in solitary confinement, and while that was a means to an end for her, it does indicate the kind of promiscuity frequently associated with BPD functioning. The intensity of the attachment to Arthur is fairly typical of a BPD attachment to a ‘favorite person’ around whom all your thoughts and behaviors revolve.

Unstable self-image: She literally starts dressing like Joker, creating the Harley persona to mirror him. This indicates a vast degree of identity and self-image fluidity. The BPD patient will idealize another person and then begin to copy their traits, but with little actual intentionality. They simply fall into patterns of speaking, dressing, and behaving like that love object, i.e. you may expect the BPD patient to suddenly like the same music or adopt mannerisms similar to the love object. Object is the right word because the person they idealize doesn’t have real interiority to the BPD patient – they are a character in MY play, or a mirror to my true self. She even invents an entire backstory that mirrors Arthurs to prove to him that they are the same in some undeniable way. “Did you lie to me”? he confronts her. “Sure, everybody lies a little. I just wanted you to like me.” Her identity was so fluid as to accommodate a totally fictitious upbringing defined by poverty and abuse, with the manipulative aim of making him see her as his idealized love through these cosmic similarities.

Impulsive or self-damaging behaviors: She sets fire to the ward during the movie screening she attends with Arthur, which jeopardizes her life and freedom if she’s convicted of arson. In real life, engaging sexually with a guard would likely cause some erosion of her self-esteem even if it were in service of seeing her love object.

Varied or random mood swings: The “I’ve got the world on a string” scene where she sings in front of the mirror reads as a mixed mood episode to me. She is singing very cheerful lyrics in a minor musical key (usually associated with melancholy or darker emotions/musical themes) and manipulating her face in a grotesque fashion. This could be the grandiosity of mania mixed with depressive elements and dissociation – and the music accompaniment helpfully includes sliding musical scales to underscore that it is a mood swing.

Problems with anger: We didn’t see as much of this because they showed her having more of the coolness/lack of emotional affect associated with ASPD, but she was very angry with Arthur’s lawyer for not mounting a defense that comported with her grandiose view of him, and she was angry with the press for seemingly misunderstanding who he is based on her idealized view of him.

Loss of contact with reality: If she really thought Arthur’s defense would have been more effective if it focused on his Joker identity rather than his real mental illness, that is certainly a loss of contact with reality. Dancing and singing to herself on the court plaza, if we assume this did actually happen in reality and not in her head, was definitely a loss of contact with reality. And she acknowledges in the final scene with Arthur on the stairs that “all [they] had was the dream” and that they “were never going to go away.” She acknowledges the relationship was steeped in delusion and not in reality.

Lee’s larger arc is a classic idealization and devaluation BPD cycle. The BPD patient idealizes their love object, then when that person fails to live up to the fantasy they built up in their head, they quickly swing to disgust or even hatred for that person.

Key idealization moments include:

“You can do anything. You’re Joker.”

When she sang “Close to You”:

On the day that you were born the angels got together And decided to create a dream come true So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold And starlight in your eyes of blue.

And when she and Arthur ‘escape’ the ward to run around the Arkham grounds:

I'd like those stumble bums To see for a fact The kind of top drawer First rate chums I attract

“I’m nobody. I haven’t done anything with my life like you have.” – she devalues herself to idealize Arthur – common during the initial phase of enmeshment with a favorite person.

“You should see it out there, they’re all going crazy for you.” – Lee thinks the anarchist crowd is ‘going crazy’ in their love of Arthur [like she is], when it’s clear by the end of the movie that neither the crowd nor Lee's 'love' was really about Arthur personally.

“Everything’s gonna work out. You’re Joker.” – her idealization of him carries over into her expectations for his trial outcome.

All of these lines to ‘gas Arthur up’ are really about her initial idealization of him as Joker (Arthur and Joker being one and the same to her).

Final thoughts:

The show “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” on CW was a musical series revolving around a woman with diagnosed BPD. Like Lee, she was impulsive, romantically obsessed with an idealized object, interpersonally exploitive, and law breaking. The lyrics of that show’s second season intro juxtapose nicely with the lyrics of “Folie à Deux”:

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend:

I'm just a girl in love I can't be held responsible for my actions   They say love makes you crazy Therefore you can't call her crazy

'Cause when you call her crazy You're just calling her in love!

Folie à Deux:

In our minds, we'd be just fine If it were only us two They might say that we're crazy But I'm just in love with you

[…]

Insane in love with you

[infinitethree]

Lee awkwardly sits at one end of the large, round table in the dead center of the room. The five people who have kept a frankly absurd secret from everyone else are crowded on the other end.

“So let me summarize this,” he says, hands pressed together in front of his mouth. “The Swords and Shields were never Aster’s idea, but Daz’s. Daz is actually kind of an asshole–”

Aster opens his mouth, but Lee shoots him a glare that makes him shut it and slide down in his seat.

“--which functionally means that Aster was right to be worried about him at the start. Aleph and Khons got roped into…this, for reasons I still don’t really get. And Raine just– was traumatized and triggered by me being near Dee and Theo, and him trying to protect me from them made him an ideal candidate for the secret cabal at the core of not just the Swords and Shields, but the safety of the entire server.”

Daz studies him for a long moment, and then nods.

Closing his eyes and taking a long, deep breath, Lee lets that soak in for a long moment.

His initial vibe that Aster and Daz would be close had been something that never seemed to fully manifest. It’s been a nagging worry, because Aster’s awkward standoffishness had made Lee sure that he was just wrong about that.

And if he was wrong about that, then what else might he be wrong about? Did it misinterpret the vibes, or were the vibes simply giving him wrong clues?

But he had been right, and more right than he could have fathomed.

In a way, he feels humbled by the revelation of such a massive secret. The five of them have done…Prime only knew how much work behind the scenes, making sure the server remained safe.

Hell– he knows Aster treasures his friendship with Theo. From the way he’s watching Lee, with fear and guilt and tensed like he’s expecting some sort of punishment…this has been a heavy burden for him to bear.

At the same time, though? He feels so very, very small.

What makes him so special? What makes so many people take up his banner, when he already has so many others who are dedicated to helping him?

Aster alone is so much more than he needs. Hell– his family is overprotective as it is!

…In their own, weird way.

But having four more secret Asters, one of whom is actually some sort of freaky expert actor, all entirely devoted to the cause of him?

He doesn’t understand.

At the same time, though…it’s not just him they’re helping. Even if the core of their goal is to make sure he never gets hurt, they do that by maintaining the peace of the sever.

Not through force, but through defusing situations and putting out fires that might otherwise get out of hand.

Ultimately, then, he can’t be mad. A part of him can’t help but be a little hurt that it’s been a secret for so long, but…really, it’s not that awful of a thing.

Lee isn’t a stranger to the idea of operational security. The more people who know, the less effectively they can do their work.

“Okay,” he finally says, opening his eyes. 

He straightens up in his stool– chosen so that he doesn’t have to bother with his wings and one of the regular chairs– and studies them.

“I’m a little hurt that you all lied to me. But it was for a good cause…and, really, it was for everyone.”

Daz smiles at him, full of so much relief and warmth that he finds himself smiling back. The others are smiling too, clearly glad that he’s not too pissed off about their…everything.

He continues, “But there’s a reason you told me this now, right?”

A jarringly serious expression falls over Daz’s face. “Have you heard about the entity that’s been talking to a few people? Your dad and Theo definitely heard them.”

Lee nods, grimacing. The two of them had been…upset, to put it mildly.

Taking a deep breath, Daz says, “Their name is the Scribe, and we made some deals with them. Multiple deals, actually.”

“For what?” “To keep our secrecy, and…a few other things. The Observers like me, apparently,” Daz tells him.

From his expression, he’s not happy about that fact.

Lee presses, “Things like…?” “When one of us gets a question, the others can hear if they’re nearby. We also can tell when we’re being watched.”

A shudder goes down Lee’s spine. That’s definitely useful to have.

“And we’re being watched right now,” Aster says, brow subtly creased.

Well, shit! That’s not something he really wants to have happen.

With a sigh, Daz continues, “And…if you’re nearby, and get a question, we can hear it too.”

It sounds a hell of a lot like the Council gets special treatment. But Daz had said deal, meaning a price was paid.

He looks at the evident ringleader and asks, “What did you give up for that?”

A laugh, tired and slightly bitter escapes Daz. “We’re required to answer. I…had to do something that I can’t really explain.”

Quietly, Raine rests his hand on Daz’s shoulder. It’s subtly leaned into, like he needs the support.

“And because the Scribe is talking to others, you’re worried?” “Mhm. The Observers are getting more active, too– and thus more dangerous.”

For a moment, Daz seems to hesitate. Then he takes another deep breath and tells him, “And the Scribe told me to make things interesting. If I didn’t, they’d find someone else to entertain them. This…is something that always would have happened. I really would have rather it waited until you were older, but–”

“But your hand was forced,” Lee supplies. Daz nods in agreement.

That’s definitely not a scenario that Lee is interested in happening. This Scribe entity is clearly powerful, and might even be the source of the Observers.

Or…at least, linked to them.

Raine finally speaks up again, but he’s not looking at Lee. He’s looking at Daz, looking worried. “I think you need to explain what actually happened, how you got here.”

Oh? There’s a secret to Daz’s past?

Actually, that makes perfect sense. You don’t just become like this overnight.

Another bitter laugh escapes Daz. “Fuck…yeah. With everything that’s gonna– there’s no point in hiding it from you.”

Lee watches him withdraw a butterfly knife. It had been a gift from Theo, made by Dee; the shimmering, rainbow-tinted knife is something Daz uses on occasion for various tasks. He always unfolds it carefully, cautiously, evidently unused to properly wielding it–

The other four scoot their chairs away from him a little, and Daz begins spinning the knife. It dances over his fingers like a magic trick; like it was always meant to be there.

“I willingly joined hands with my Dream in Pogtopia. I swore to do anything for him, if he helped reclaim L’manburg from Schlatt,” Daz begins.

So all the horrible shit he went through was because of that deal? Fuck, no wonder he’s so messed up about being a good, useful person.

Voice almost hypnotic, Daz continues, “The price that Dream asked was to be my mentor. Unbeknownst to me, I had the rare, precious spark that would allow me to become an admin. He was terrified of being alone, abandoned by others who weren’t trapped in the prison he’d made for himself. I was what he had prayed and longed for; a true companion, someone who was capable of standing at his side. Not as his student, but as his equal.”

Lee swallows. He’s not an idiot; he can hear the resentment and bitterness lurking underneath those words.

He also remembers what Daz was like, when he first got here. That’s not something you do to someone you care about.

“When he told me what I was, what I could become…it was everything I had ever dreamed of. Wilbur had nearly killed me, taken one of Tubbo’s lives, and left the server with a real bang. L’manburg was exploded mere moments after he left with Techno. I had nothing but Tubbo, and Dream had saved me. He rescued me from my final death, and he bared his throat to beg for the chance to teach me.” Daz takes another deep breath.

“So I accepted. And…it was good. For a long time, it was nearly perfect. I hid that I could be an admin, but the two of us were able to do our work, do our training, far from the rest of the server. You should look at the coords.”

Curious, Lee does as he was asked.

Holy fucking shit, they’re so far out. It’d take days to get back to the central area from the overworld.

“What the fuck,” he breathes, and Daz grins at him. “I knew this area, so I figured I might as well make use of it.”

“But what about San? You can’t get this far without them knowing–” “I have my ways,” Daz tells him, eyes sparkling a little. “They’re a little weird, though. I’ll explain it later– this’ll be a rabbit hole, otherwise.”

Huffing a bit about not getting the answer right away, Lee settles back in his seat to listen to the story.

Daz’s knife– Bismuth, if he remembers correctly, named for an oddly-shaped stone that has a similarly rainbow tint– is still dancing flawlessly across his hands. Actually, it’s turning into tricks.

He might be showing off a little. Lee isn’t sure if that’s a vibe or just a hunch, though.

“So we were pretty safe from being found out. And in our base, I was able to learn quickly, easily, and without fear of someone seeing something they shouldn’t. I grew quickly, because I wanted to be worth the effort.” Brow furrowing, Daz emphasizes, “I wanted, desperately, to be good enough to stand at his side. He’d become…” the words falter for a moment, and the knife suddenly slips from Daz’s hands.

Idly, he brings his nicked finger to his mouth for a moment before he says, softly, “He was my brother.”

This is clearly, blatantly, something that was deeply traumatic for Daz. It was so horrible that he buried everything about who he really was, only letting it out in places that are in his complete control.

“What happened?”

The question makes Daz’s eyes flick down to the knife. “...Eret and Connor were killed for the third time in a surprise attack. In hindsight, I think it was Karl, but I’m not sure. Tensions that had been rising between us and New L’manburg–”

“So you weren’t close with Tubbo?” “Ah. No…no, Tubbo was my best friend. I would have died for him. But he was president; Quackity was. We never had a war, never had any reason to justify expelling the existing chain of command. Schlatt and Wilbur were banned, and Quackity was the VP. So, he got a promotion,” Daz clarified.

That’s a surprise. A memory wiggles at the back of his mind, and then suddenly pops out. “Wait, didn’t you say he tried to kill you–?”

“Yep. Using Eret and Connor as an excuse to act and information about their deaths as bait, they lured me out. I got trapped in a one-block cage while Quackity, Niki, and Fundy rained poison and instant health pots down on me. Fun fact– splash pots soak into fabric if you use enough of them. Especially gags.”

Prime, that’s terrifying. “And– that’s just torture. Why would they do that?”

Daz sighs. “Nobody knew admins were tied to the server. Nobody but me, Dream, Sapnap, and George. And…George had left. It caused some problems. Quackity assumed that if he could kill Dream and kill me, then he’d be able to take over the server.”

Ah. That…tracks, upsettingly enough.

Despite others’ best efforts to shield in, he’s not unaware of the way things went for the timeline that they can never touch. The base timeline, the blueprint.

Power and greed are good motivators, and Quackities often chase them to a horrifying extent.

“Dream got me out, but it was close. The magic…would have been lethal. He spent all night with me cradled in his arms, watching my code in the hope that if things got worse, he could fix it.”

Lee frowns. “So…you were still on good terms, then.” “Mhm. And then he wanted to kill everyone. I refused to let him touch Tubbo, and…and, well. He always did have terrible taste.”

Before he can ask what that means, Daz explains, “He chose blackstone bricks for the floor of our base. The base he left less and less; the base that held the only person who understood him. It wasn’t until I came here that I even considered it could be a problem.”

“But– wouldn’t he have noticed the server getting quieter?” “Our servers weren’t sapient; no barrier between admins and whatever information they wanted. He was always so fucking stupid about using those skills, though. Always wanted to believe the best in others. And in the end, the sudden stress of nearly losing me made him snap. He took the project we’d been working on, retrofitted loyalty into it, and shoved it in my code.”

Daz’s voice is uncomfortably calm as he says, “Every order felt like my soul was being atomized. I knew it would kill me, eventually. And…after he made me kill Tubbo, I stopped resisting that idea.”

His breath escapes in a horrified rush.

Gods, he can’t even imagine. He knows Tommys– knows that, at their core, a single shining truth remains crystal clear.

Tommys are loyal. They are loyal to the death.

“I frayed at his already waning sanity, forcing him to layer order after order on. Meanwhile, I had disabled all the alarms and laid a breadcrumb trail right to our door.”

His heart aches at the idea that someone he cares about was ever so low. “You wanted them to kill you, and the enchantment was a backup plan.”

Daz smiles a little sadly. “Yeah. I decided I would choose death over defeat. I made sure that no matter what, he would be left exactly as he always feared; alone, broken, and rotting in the ruins of his self-made prison.”

Suddenly, Daz’s tone shifts. “But then the T3 showed up. I was given a sudden, expected chance; I could walk away. It would be even worse than dying, to him. If I was dead, he would kill himself quicker. But…if I was alive, somewhere, with some small chance I might go back…?” An expectedly cruel smile twists across the usually-bubbly man’s lips.

“He would cling onto that hope. He would suffer in agony, in the vain hope that I might one day return to him.”

A shiver goes down his spine, and Daz’s expression shifts to a less distressing one.

Well! That was– that was pretty fucked up. Lee knows, and this time is aware it’s a vibe, that Daz hasn’t been honest in his therapy.

Great. Awesome. Someone who desperately needs actual therapy is instead the only person able to lie well enough to fool not just San but the entire server.

Daz takes the knife and puts it back into his inventory. “So, yeah. I was trained to be an admin, and that’s gonna be useful.”

He doesn’t follow. “Useful for…?”

“I asked Lucid to train me, too.”

Lee stands up, protesting, “Daz, you don’t need to–”

Calmly, Daz interrupts, “I do, though. It gives me the chance not just to monitor Lucid more closely, but to have access to a mod console. With a console, I can teach you better. I don’t want to be a full admin. The idea is kinda of my worst nightmare, actually! But a mod…a mod, I can handle. I’ve done it before, I can do it again.”

Goddamnit. He hates that it makes sense. “But you’re going to be actively triggering yourself constantly. I don’t like that.”

“Tough fucking luck. Life is cruel and unfair, and like or not, I’m going to make sure you never have to learn that lesson the hard way,” Daz tells him.

When he stands up, his posture is one that echoes people that Lee knows all too well.

Technoes, Dreams, Wilburs, even the few Schlatts that he’s seen.

Instinctively, Lee understands that Daz will not budge on this. No matter what Lee says or does, he’s made up his mind.

And, at his core, he still ultimately a Tommy. The other truth of Tommys is that are stupidly, infuriatingly, breathtakingly stubborn.

If a Tommy digs his heels in, it will take an unfathomable amount of force to drag him away.

He sighs, scrubbing a hand through his hair. At his back, he can feel his wings fluttering anxiously.

Lee hates the idea of Daz living and breathing his trauma like he’s planned on doing. At the same time, though, he knows that it will be useful.

Fucking hell. This isn’t really what he thought Aster might be bringing him to face.

As he thinks that, he sees that same man stand hesitantly, awkwardly, just a step away from him. His hands hover and his muted emotions clearly convey that he desperately wants to hug him.

With a soft huff, he steps forward and hugs one of his closest companions.

Aster sighs in relief, wrapping his arms around him.

Something deep inside of him hums in satisfaction. Aster is one of his people, someone he trusts and treasures. He would do horrible, ugly things to keep this person safe– things that sometimes appear in his nightmares, things he doesn’t want to think about in the light of day.

“I know it’s…kind of a lot. And maybe worse because we’re not alone,” Daz tells him. He does sound apologetic, but is probably so for the wrong reasons.

“I told you he wouldn’t hate you,” Raine says, with a soft thump that indicates he lightly smacked his friend in some way. “Paranoid dumbass.”

Scoffing, Daz retorts, “Fuck you, you’re not the one who had to reveal you’re actually kind of a monster to the supernatural embodiment of sunshine and rainbows–”

Lee breaks from the hug to point at Daz, who seems surprised. “You’re not a monster.”

Daz blinks at him, seeming to consider something. Raine hisses, “Don’t you dare, save your weirder shit for another time!”

The Tommy snorts, and states, “Yeah, that’s probably better. But let’s say I disagree, and leave it at that.”

Eyes narrowing, Lee leans his weight across the table. He warns, “I’m going to fix you, so fucking help me.”

After a moment of surprise, Daz grins and leans forward as well. “Good luck, kid. My issues have issues. I’ve got a whole fucking magazine subscription kit in here.” “Good! Fine! If all of you think I’m so damn special, then I’ll make sure you’re getting your stupid money’s worth!”

Daz’s expression suddenly turns dark. “Don’t talk like that. You–”

Oh, wonderful job! Bravissimo; bravissimo! I was so fucking right to make you–

All of the Council members straighten up, but none become more severe than Daz. “Achilles, this is the Scribe.”

The unexpected, disembodied, and clearly powerful voice laughs, Hah, yeah, that’s definitely me, I'm the Scribe. They coo, Aww, you look so mad! And here I was, thinking you were up to snuff. 

Shoulders thrown back, Daz states calmly, “He is. In fact…” a slow smile spreads, like cracks across thin ice.

“In fact,” Daz repeats, “He’s so good, so worthy, that I think we should hold a vote.”

His eyes flick to the others. “All those in favor of making Lee an official member of the Council?”

Oh you clever little shit. I hate you so much right now, the Scribe says. Contrary to their words, though, they sound delighted.

The others nod their approval, and Daz’s smile grows. “And, Lee, do you accept this position?”

Clearly, there’s something more going on than is immediately obvious. This group, and especially Daz, are smart.

If they’re pushing for this, there’s a reason.

“Yeah,” he says, and can’t help but feel a little sting of pride when all of them perk up a little.

Daz claps his hands. “Excellent. With Lee’s induction into the Council, that makes this official business.” His hands spread wide, Daz laughs as he says, “Which means our audience needs to leave.”

[mask131]

In this Mothers' Day, I think we shall have a thought for the woman who is making sure so many Ukrainian mothers will never see their children again. I am talking about the one whom people are calling Russia's "Bloody Mary", Maria Lvova Belova.

I wanted to include a picture of her in this post but I will not, because she does not deserve this. But you will find a lot of photographs and videos of her online, since she is one of the main tools of Russia's current propaganda. She is the one in charge of the rights and safety of children in Putin's government - meaning, of course, that she is carefully breaking each and every children-related law recognized on an international level.

Bloody Mary presents herself as the "savior of children" in the light of the war Russia is waging against Ukraine (sorry, the "special operation", as Putin insisted). Almost every day she is filmed or photographed hugging children in hospitals, bringing them toys and gifts, "rescuing" kids from the devastation of war... She herself has five children she birthed - plus five additional children she adopted - plus she has under her personal care thirteen handicapped kids. The bravest and busiest mother you can imagine, right? Especially since Putin does point out how "fragile" this saint of a woman is...

Here's the fun fact: among her five adopted children, one is Ukrainian. Because, as a faithful ally of Putin, you can be certain that she will make sure to track and hunt down every Ukrainian orphan she can find, to then "gift" them a "new family" and "good parents" "far away from the conflicts and the terror"... Aka, a deeply Russian family, faithful to Putin, somewhere in the depths of Russia, as far away from Ukraine as possible.

And if it was JUST a business of snatching orphans, but no! Here's where we find back the usual grand madness of modern Russia... Bloody Maria has been responsible for the systematic kidnapping of Ukrainian children that STILL HAVE THEIR PARENTS. It has been attested and the Ukrainians are openly denouncing this, but currently not much can be done... Here's how it goes: every time an Ukrainian region or city is invaded and "conquered" by the Russian troops, the Russian authorities or Russian-allies at place will try to be nice to the population to show they're not the "bad guys", as usual. One of these "seduction operations" consists in offering free summer camp trips or educational trips to Russia, so that the kids can see the greatness of the country and make new friends there and be accustomed to their new masters... Most parents kind-of HAVE to agree to these vacations in Russia, because A) The Russian authorities kind-of pressure them and *cough cough* encourage *cough cough* them a LOT and B) It is indeed the safest way for them to get their children away from the bombs and the fights, at least for a time...

Except that, when the given amount of weeks or the selected amount of months at their "vacation camp" is up... The parents receive a call from Russia about how, due to X or X reason, they can't make it back home just right now - their return is moved to one week, or two. And then once this new time is passed, another call "Yeah, turns out there's still some problem, we'll have to keep them a few more weeks". And then... Well at one point the calls stop. Because Russia never had any intention of giving back these children to their parents. And that's when the mothers and the fathers realize that they gave away their children to the invader, and if they don't do anything they might never see them again...

There are stories of children taken away to these vacations camps (in truth re-education centers), who managed to escape and go back home - usually teenagers, because they have more means and determination, and I invite you to go seek their testimonies and go listen to their stories. But they are rare...

How many of those "orphans" miss Belova sold to Russian families weren't even orphans in the first place? Who knows! And yes, I am saying "sold" because if you didn't know, to "encourage" Russians to "help" Ukrainians, Russian families are PAID to adopt Ukrainian kids. They will proudly go tell you about this on TV. Sometimes the cases are sadly hilarious, like this mother who had already six children and agreed to adopt one or two Ukrainian kids... and they sent her FIVE kids, and you see she laughs about it on TV while also clearly saying she was NOT expecting that and she wonders how she will manage this...

And when the government of Ukraine says thousands and thousands of children are currently missing due to being kidnapped by Russia and asks Russia to give them back, do you know what Maria Belova DARES answer them? This is literaly one of her quotes "But the children do NOT want to go back home! They love Russia now, they don't want to live anywhere else!" In fact, you know how I said most of the kids that escaped their "vacation prisons" were teenagers? Bloody Mary recently said she wanted to create special centers for teenagers in Russia to give them "special care" due to them needing much more "attention" than other children... No shit. She even described her project in terms that clearly betray a brainwashing intention "We will create for them a program of social and psychological rehabilitation. They will be given a special education to fit in Russian schools, they will be taken care of by psychiatrists, they will have orientation to find what their new job might be in their new life."

Amnesty International literaly described this mass-kidnapping as a "war crime" that borders on the "crime against humanity". And you know how Putin and his Maria staged their own crime in an interview? It was filmed and aired, you can find the talk online, but basically Maria points out to Putin there are "some legal details" to take care of (like you know, BREAKING INTERNATIONAL LAWS), and Putin, of course, answers that one should put the "good of the children" above mere "bureaucratic troubles". A very polite way to say "Fuck the law, we'll continue devouring Ukraine's youth to turn them into Russians." Oh yes and every time criticism by you know, international organizations, are brought up, Putin shoots them down as "sanctions scribbled down by petty and selfish Americans". Because again, in the Russian propaganda, everything roots down or stems from the USA and the "international" is just a synonym for "American"...

So yes, let us all have a thought today for the child-snatcher, the orphan-maker, the brainwasher of teenagers, Bloody Maria Lvova Belova, the ugliest caricature of a "saint mother-Mary", the vile creature who robs an entire country of their youth just to make sure Ukraine will stop existing at some point.

[waltwhitmansbeard]

turned my water into wine #8

see my masterpost for what came before this. this drabble takes before the events of my fair lady. inspired by @romeoandjulietyouwish's medieval au.

Vax stands alone in the throne room, observing the way the twisting branches of the Seat of the Ashari stretch up to brush the stone ceiling. It is a thing of wonder, this throne, though he can't believe it's terribly comfortable to sit in. He wants to reach out and touch it, brush his fingers against the bark, but the last thing he needs, after being summoned to come before the sovereign himself, is to get caught with his fingers where they ought not to be. So he keeps his hands clasped tightly behind his back and waits, the silence more curious than unnerving.

He waits a total of ten minutes, by his estimation, before the doors to the throne room swing open and the sovereign enters with a booming, "Vax'ildan!" Vax dips low into a bow as the sovereign sweeps past him to take his seat in the throne, and then straightens as the doors close, leaving the two of them alone. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Vax replies with a small duck of his head. "I am always at your service."

"Your service has been impeccable, Vax'ildan, truly." Vax spies a stack of parchment in the sovereign's hands, which he begins to thumb through. "The intelligence you've gathered has been critical in our success thus far in the war, to say nothing of the remarkable assassinations of those Draconian generals. I know that Kruvanis is still spinning his wheels on how we managed to pull those off. My sincerest compliments indeed."

Vax lowers his head again and murmurs his thanks, though it is odd to be congratulated for being so skilled a murderer. "As kind and appreciated as your words are, my liege, I cannot imagine compliments are why you summoned me here today."

Sovereign Korrin sighs heavily, leaning onto one arm of the Seat. "You are correct, of course, though I wish to make it clear that it is for your deadly skill that I have selected you for a special assignment." Vax tilts his head, confused. "We have heard...chatter, so to speak, about a potential attack on Zephrah. It is one of many Ashari targets being considered by the Draconians, of course, one that is high-value but also high-risk, and therefore we cannot assume we are at the top of the list."

He sighs again. "I would welcome the chance to battle our enemies on our home soil, but there are risks one can take as a sovereign that one cannot take as a father, and it is my daughter's name in particular that we have heard an uncomfortable number of times in our intelligence."

Vax knows that the sovereign has a daughter, a few years his junior, who is his only remaining family. As someone who also has but one family member to speak of, Vax is acutely aware of the breathless instinct to keep that person safe. "You wish for me to learn specifics of any plot against Her Highness?" he guesses.

The sovereign shakes his head. "No, no, the task I have for you is...well, I am sorry to say it is less within the realm of your expertise, though, talented as you are, I have little doubt you will adjust to the challenge. No, I am assigning a guard to be with my daughter at all times, within the castle or wherever she may go, a guard with the singular goal of getting her to safety should the worst come to pass."

Vax tries to hide the frown on his face; this is not what he does. He is a spy, an assassin, not some common guard. There are plenty of men and women among his sister's Royal Guard or among the Tempest Blades whom Vax would trust with such an important task, ones who have the temperament and the skillset for the job. Vax is meant to disappear into shadows, to scale fortress walls, to slit throats as silently as an owl in flight. He is not a babysitter.

The sovereign must see his hesitation, because he continues on to say, "I understand that you may view this role as beneath you, and I do hope you know that I do not give you the position to demean you, but rather the opposite."

Well, now Vax feels like shit, so he sketches a low bow. "Of course not, Your Majesty. I would presume that being tasked with the protection of your only child is a great honor indeed. I do hope that my particular...proficiencies are suited to the task."

Sovereign Korrin nods. "I believe they are. The fact of the matter, Vax'ildan, is that you are ruthless, and that mercilessness is what I require in the protection of my daughter. I have...lost much in my time as sovereign, and she is the one thing I simply cannot lose." There is a melancholy in the sovereign's eye, a distant longing, and Vax has never had his opinion on a matter swayed so quickly.

"I am endlessly grateful that you would have such faith in me, Your Majesty," he says, "and I will of course take this position with pride." He cocks a half-smile. "And besides, my sister will be pleased and relieved that I am home and not gallivanting about the continent."

Vax can see the tension leach from the sovereign's body. The man stands from the Seat of the Ashari and closes the distance between them to shake Vax's hand. "You do not know how much I appreciate this, Vax'ildan. Her life is in your hands, and that life is so very precious to me."

Vax dips his head one more time. "I appreciate the home you have given my sister and I here in Zephrah. Any way we can repay such a kindness, it will be repaid."

"Good man." The sovereign claps him on the shoulder. "Come! Let me introduce the two of you. I hope you get along; you'll be seeing quite a lot of each other." With that, the sovereign strides from the room, leaving Vax to follow and wonder what he has just gotten himself into.

[across-every-universe]

OC Intro: Kieran

Important Note: This character sprung from me thinking “y’know what, some villains seem to champion narratives that would be very convenient for Hollywood to demonize, don’t they?” and my subsequent clumsy attempts to reclaim that trope, centered around one of my own passions. Kieran is decidedly not meant to achieve that same goal of demonization, but it also goes without saying that I do not condone all the murder stuff. I am not a writer, I do not have experience or expertise at the deft handling of sensitive political topics, and at the end of the day Kieran is just a silly little guy I cooked up in my head!

Name: Kieran (chosen/alias)

Age: 24

Genre: Comic-Book-Style Universe

Occupation: Kieran likes to call it “vigilante justice”. Some would call it murder. In Kieran’s opinion, those people would be misinformed.

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Profile: If you’d asked [_____] about her occupation a few years ago, she would’ve told you she’s a student in her university’s Department of Climate Science and Sustainability, and that she’s working for the team in charge of a weather satellite as a part-time job. Unfortunately, working for those “eyes in the sky” brings some extra eyes of your own on you, these days.

After a run-in with a power she doesn’t understand leaves her with some… unusual alterations to her biology, [_____] was “rescued” by the government-run Exobiology Division. Deemed a danger to society and a risk to her own safety, she was declared dead on any official documents and kept in a special hospital (for her own safety, of course. Purely for her own safety).

Mass chaos breaks out within the hospital a few years later when a gap in security is found by one of the “patients”. [_____] escapes along with most of the others.

She finds herself suddenly out on the streets with no real allies, no legal identity, and no way of continuing the life she once had without endangering their old friends and family. She has nowhere to turn, and no ordinary human would trust her and take her in with the way she looks. Except… there’s the people all those ordinary humans gave up on already. The ones who’ll take in almost any type of person willing to work. The villains.

[_____] doesn’t want to hurt people, but she doesn’t want to die either. She figure she’ll just join these guys for now until she gets on her own two feet. But a couple weeks turns into a couple months, and she’s in too deep now. She even finds a new name for herself: Kieran. She’s kind of getting used to this exhausting, but free, way of life. Still, even though she’s just doing small odd jobs — a small role in a heist here, a bit of hacking there — the guilt of working as a villain is starting to weigh on her. She needs to work towards something better, something big.

See, back when Kieran went off to university for environmental sciences, she had these grand aspirations of helping to save the world. She was hoping to do that in a more above-board manner, but those days of data sets and engineering solutions are laughably out of reach now. But the way she sees it, we’re all still hurtling Mother Earth flaming off of a cliff, pretty much. We’re all still dying.

Kieran’s sick of waiting around for the guys in charge to decide when she’ll die.

This new world Kieran lives in doesn’t have so many rules, now. She’s smart, she has applicable skills, and she has a little more emotional intelligence than some of her new “colleagues”. She knows she just needs to climb the social ladder of this loose network of self-proclaimed “villains” for long enough. Then, she can get connected to some people who have a bit of real power.

From there it’s info. Names of the ones in charge, the ones who hurt Kieran. Lists upon lists. Whose finances are held up by whom? Which organizations are subsidiaries of the other? Who’s really calling the shots? As her hunger for illicit knowledge drives them on, Kieran meets a couple old hats in the organization who aren’t so bad, actually. One takes her on as a protégé of sorts, teaches her the ropes.

Then it’s security — the targets’ and Kieran’s. How to cover your tracks. How to uncover someone else’s. How to buy secrets. How to take over that out-of-the-way warehouse without actually putting your name down on paper.

Hey, don’t look at Kieran like that. She needs a home base, and she was sick of staying in that compound with those insufferable supervillain wannabes. No one was using that old warehouse anyways.

From here, Kieran can really start planning. She’s beginning to get their head around it all now: who hurt her and why, and who’s in charge of running this sinking ship underneath the waves.

Kieran will teach them all why what they did was wrong.

And all of them will listen.

[jeslieness]

Another reason this needs to be supported: a lot of homeless shelters won't accept people who aren't able to perform activities of daily living unassisted. So--people getting disability aren't able to substantially save for emergencies without losing benefits. But if catastrophe strikes, you're rendered homeless, and your disability is of a nature where you need assistance with ADLs--it's going to be much harder to find shelter for you. Many shelters are not equipped or staffed to help people who need that kind of assistance. And it's going to take more time to access resources, because they're more specialized. Fighting for this act helps protect some very vulnerable people, for whom there is almost no social safety net.

US people with disabilities in the supplemental security income (SSI) program can't have a penny over $2K in their bank account at any time in order to keep their benefits.

You know this economy. That amount is completely unlivable & makes it hard for people with disability to save for the future or have a safety net for emergencies.

A new bill would raise the max to $10K (or $20K for married couples). It would make a world of difference.

Show support, sign this petition.

[artandtours]

HIKING TO LUKOMIR VILLAGE

Lukomir village is located on the Bjelašnica Mountain, known as the most isolated village in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bjelašnica is rich with gorgeous number of mountain villages, but Lukomir is surely the most special one. The enchanting village has an altitude of 1495m and lays between picturesque hills, providing great panorama sights and unique small stone houses. Most importantly, it offers a great hiking trail from Umoljani village.

REACHING THE UMOLJANI VILLAGE

Getting to Umoljani village requests taking a car from Sarajevo and driving 45 minutes to Babin Do area of Bjelašnica mountain. We recommend to make there a short stop and take nice pictures of the mountain’s peak and ski paths that, besides today, were used during the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympic Games. From Babin do, you have to follow 2 road signs. Firstly, use the sign for Šabići village and from there follow a road sign for Umoljani village. The majority of the road was recently renovated and can be done with any kind of car in around 30 minutes ride from Babin Do area.

HIKING OPPORTUNITIES TO LUKOMIR VILLAGE

After getting to Umoljani village, you will find many places to park your car. We recommend to follow the road to its end and park the car behind any villager’s house. From there, the red mountain signs of the trails have to be followed by foot in order to reach Lukomir village. In total, there are 2 possible trail direction signs to follow, either the Obalj or Studeni Potok signs.

Our recommendation is to follow first the right-sided direction, the Obalj trail signs, in order to reach Lukomir village in 2.5 hours of hike. After visiting Lukomir village, follow the Studeni Potok red trail signs, with whom, in 2 hours, you will be back to your parking spot in Umoljani village. The signs are very easy to follow and the scenery while hiking is stunning.

EXPLORING THE LUKOMIR VILLAGE

Arriving from Obalj trail and reaching the Lukomir village, you will be introduced with rural life of Bosnian villagers and their culture. The villagers are very open for visitors and offer many mountain restaurants and products.

Make sure to try the delicious homemade mountain pies, with combination of fresh mountain juices or take a coffee break from your hike journey. You have also an opportunity to buy mountain teas and honey or wool-made socks, gloves and hats, all made from the Lukomir villagers.

Then, continue to walk through the village and refill your bottles with fresh mountain water from the Lukomir fountain pipes. In 5 minutes from the fountain you can climb the panorama spot of canyon Rakitnica, combined with views of the canyon, Bjelašnica mountain hills and Herzegovinian mountains. After enjoying the view, you can start an easy hike back to Umoljani village through Studeni Potok hiking trail.

SAFETY AND EQUIPMENT ON BJELAŠNICA MOUNTAIN

As with other hike regions, firstly check the weather conditions and make sure to bring appropriate clothes in your backpack. Besides bringing your hiking jacket, shoes and mountain sticks, make sure to bring sun cream, hat, bottle of water and many snacks. The total distance is approximately 15 kilometers of hike and trek, where appropriate equipment is core.

HIKING ON BJELAŠNICA MOUNTAIN

The destination and its trails offer unforgettable opportunities, which can be performed by experienced hikers and beginners as well. Our strong suggestion is to take an experienced local guide, who is also a driver, that will make your journey very memorable. You can always check our Umoljani–Lukomir Village Hiking tour and contact us to book your trip.

Blog source: https://artandtours.ba/hiking-to-lukomir-village/

[cleverhottubmiracle]

Are you a passionate motorbike rider? then this blog is for you. As you require not only require an easy-rider motorcycle but also need an authentic, comfortable, and most importantly completely protective racing outfit. In this concern, you should be aware of which motorcycle racing suits best for you and its all specifications. So, let's have a detailed look at all the important points and possible comparisons about various features of motorcycle racing suits one by one. Cowhide VS Kangaroo Leather Racing Suits This is a common & vintage discussion about cowhide leather-based motorcycle racing suits and so kangaroo leather, these are two special types of leather that are used in many leather garments and accessories. All the products have their one-of-a-kind features & specifications. Cowhide and kangaroo leather are being used in manufacturing racing suits because of their features, trends, and of course, client demands. Well, it’s a bit confusing to determine which leather motorcycle racing suit is best for you. There is a point of view that says the cowhide leather-based racing suit is better and also some perceptions exist that kangaroo leather is best. Each leather type has its distinct characteristics let’s have a look at both leather kangaroo and cowhide. Cowhide Leather-Based Motorcycle Racing suit Cowhide is the most common leather type that is being used in 1 piece motorcycle suits, biker leather gloves, leather vests, leather pants, biker leather luggage, and most likely that a rider wears to maintain his/her self-safe on the road song. One thing is because it's usually available in the market. It presents superb confidence of safety to the rider at the racing track. There is a textured & grained end in the cowhide leather which is very long-lasting. And similar to a couple of footwear, a cowhide leather-based motorcycle racing suit turns softer. It provides more comfort for usage through the years. Cowhide is typically now not the most inexpensive leather available on the market. Cowhide leather is having exceptional value as we mentioned about the quality of protection and comfortability given to motorcycle riders. Downside Cowhide Leather Motorbike Suit There also are a few risks of cowhide leather as compared to kangaroo leather. The cowhide leather-based motorbike suit has a healthy thickness generally 1.3-14mm which is 20-30% heavier than a kangaroo leather motorbike suit, and also 35% greater than any other textile fabric suit. The cowhide leather additionally needs to be clean and conditioned to make it ensure sturdiness. Kangaroo Leather-Based Motorcycle Racing Suit Kangaroos are not the best cute & cuddly little animals or boxing warring parties as we all recognize about it but it additionally offers a very sturdy skin. Kangaroo leather is likewise known as k-leather and is likewise taken into consideration the first-rate leather within the sports marketplace. Essentially, Also, it's being used in high-priced motorcycle racing outfits. The very famous advantage of kangaroo leather is that it has a more potent safety best that offers a rider extra confidence on the race track. The kangaroos don’t have as much fat as different animals have like cow & sheep, to whom leather are used in the MotoGP gears or different sports activities. The kangaroo leather must not be shaved too much during the production process. Which offers benefits to remain intact & strengthens the integrity of the hide. Because the Kangaroo appears lovable, cuddly, and smooth its pores and skin are also obviously soft, light-weight, and flexible. Kangaroo leather may be broken up also, just like cowhide, however, the issue is after the cut-up process the kangaroo leather retains greater energy as we compare it with cowhide. The kangaroo leather is thinner than cowhide or even lambskin. The thinner layer of skin offers a totally lightweight 2 piece motorbike suit. Kangaroo leather is considered superior, because it’s thinner and breaks in higher, and is softer than cowhide leather. Disadvantages of Kangaroo Leather Motorbike Suit The biggest awful element of the kangaroo leather motorbike suit is it is extremely high-priced. In comparison with cowhide leather, it's doubled as pricey. It is because kangaroo leather is the most durable, flexible, and strongest leather in the world. So that’s why it has a totally heavy pricing tag. Additionally, kangaroo leather desires more care & renovation than cowhide leather. Conclusion At the end of this topic, we can say doesn't matter which type of leather motorcycle racing suit you are going to shop for the element is it has to be in a good condition and needs to be able to make you safe from abrasion. Also, It has become a common perception that kangaroo leather is harder than cowhide. Sure, kangaroo leather has better strength than cowhide leather and is also a better choice in case you can buy it easily. But there is no assurance towards damages & abrasion as you will by no means get any harm. It can be stated that case you wear a kangaroo leather motorbike suit you become a built-prove. However sure, carrying a kangaroo leather motorbike suit gives more self-belief, more fixability, much less weight, and more abrasion resistance, which reduces the threat of having serious damage on the race track. Difference Between One Piece Leather Suit and Two Piece Leather Motorbike Racing Suits  In this section, I'm going to help the riders and racers in selecting the right motorcycle racing suit for their neighborhood road races and champion racing. Maturity does no longer come from education it comes from experiences. And a good revel in learns you lots from both superb and negative views. We every day see the number of losses in motorbike riders now not due to the fact they're technically un-experienced or they don’t recognize the way to experience, or they trip just for the fun or they trip too fast but due to a loss of proper protective functions. I am no longer in opposition to bike riding however for folks that trip with craze and e book appointments of the “Angel of Death” and vanish from the world and left their loved ones alone. This is sad. But we all recognize each lived one has to flavor death however why do we flavor it un-every so often? We are human beings having senses. I simply prefer to raise exact safety from the riding enthusiasts whilst on the road or race track. In this article, we have two safety measures through which a motorbike rider can defend from unexpected tough injuries, and with these measures, a rider can experience their racing with extra happiness and greater pleasure. When we discuss bike riding protection, we by no means forget the leather-based motorcycle racing suit, that’s the most favored protected material. Now let’s see from a one-piece or two-piece leather suit, which is preferable for them. One Piece Leather Motorcycle Racing suit A one-piece leather suit for motorbike riders is the first-class choice when you want to ride or race thru traffic or street. It offers entire protection to the whole physique of the bike rider from unexpected flapping because of air resistance and gives robust sturdiness and versatility. It's far the proper choice for the riders in case of protection measures. Most motorcyclists opt for a one-piece leather suit healthy extra on summer season days than winter causes it's miles lighter inside the fabric. The alternative thing that differentiates a one-piece leather suit match from the two portions is its zipper connection which minimizes the chance of disasters on the street or the racing track. Alternatively, we have any other alternative and whilst we've got an alternative in something it method the primary issue has surely some cons and therefore we should make every other alternative. One piece leather motorbike suit has some disadvantages such as: Less comfortable in wearing Less comfortable in removing Difficult to find the perfect size Too much narrow and tight to the body Don’t have the cooling ability like a 2-piece suit Less versatile Having fewer pockets for storing necessary short equipment or items Difficult to breathe Two Piece Leather Motorcycle Racing Suit There may be no question about leather; each motorcycle racing suit provides top-notch safety to the riders. However, it’s the choice for the rider which suits it more and feels extra secure. Ultimately, most brand new riders or motorcycle fanatics do not realize about the 2 piece leather racing suit. We can say that it's far an open suit with a separate jacket and pants with a zipper connection that makes it more flexible and comfy.I say this surely because, within the beyond, two-piece leather motorcycle racing suits had been nearly the same as at least one-piece leather racing motorbike suits with no contact zippers. However, till the latest years, the coupling zipper became the pinnacle of the jacket, which did not permit passengers to put on the jacket easily as a standby option. This kind overcomes one of the important advantages of a motorbike suit with two pieces inside the authentic. Manufacturers have come to phrases with this and now offer two-piece suits that will let you use the jacket separately without showing off your midriff. I recognize this may sound peculiar, however optimistically, it was. The rider can easily wear and take away it each time.Two-piece motorcycle gear is optimum while you journey at the racing tracks otherwise you cross racing within the streets. Some other suitable thing for a two-piece racing suit is that it offers ideal sizing which is difficult in the case of one-piece motorcycle gear. You can purchase a leather motorcycle jacket separately and likewise pants and wear the first-class ones in line with your body shape and fitting. Two-piece leather racing suits appear prettier and make them more stylish than a few of the racers. Furthermore, a two-piece motorcycle gear has more pockets for preserving items like wallets, keys, tissues, notes, mobiles, and so forth. As we know man-made aspect is never the best, there is constantly a few cons to their advent or we are able to say their innovation. Now, let's have a look at the cons of the two-piece leather suit: It is a little bit more costly than two-piece leather motorcycle racing suits but you have the option to buy it separately. For example, when you have the money you can buy a motorcycle leather jacket on which your heart fell and after some days, by adding budget you can buy pants at all. Unlike one-piece leather clothing, a two-piece leather motorcycle racing suit has a greater variety in choosing sizes and colors. It is not too much perforated like one-piece motorbike gear Not good for sports riders Not good if you are a REGULAR rider Less safe than one piece leather suit Preference for One Piece Leather Suit over Two Piece Motorcycle Racing Suit Every motorbike rider has his own perspective while selecting the proper racing suit for their riding. Right here we see the quick theory about 1 piece leather motorcycle racing suit and a two-piece leather suit with their pros and cons. Each racing suit offers super safety competencies. Numerous motives rider may additionally decide to pick out a one-piece leather suit over the opposite one. Of course, in case you’re an expert in motorcycle racing, summer season rides, track dates, and competitions; a one-piece leather suit might be the first-class option to select from. Such sports may also require that you donate in a leather suit that fits you perfectly and protect you from any chance within the event of an accident. The suit-piece in the suit appears to be appropriate for racing gurus and people who want to make the riskiest sports using their bikes. You want to be very careful while trying to find a one-piece leather suit to fit your needs. They do now not engage with anybody even though the maximum is covered. It has to be able to fit you well and now not decrease or overwhelm you. Even as some may additionally view the strong nature of a single episode as an awful aspect, others see it as a benefit as it's far higher to be secure than cozy – they are saying. So if you fall below the above categories, it'd be high-quality to get a one-piece leather suit. This will assist you to attain your dreams and emerge as a higher rider. I am hoping that this information goes to help you to differentiate effortlessly between a one-piece leather suit and a 2-piece motorcycle gear. It's miles very necessary TO undertake protective measures at the same time as doing anything. Leather Jacket Gear offers all the above-mentioned leather outfits at the best and most affordable price with a complete size guide, custom-made measure option, safe and secure payment methods, easy returns, and free shipping in the USA, the UK, and Canada, Europe, and worldwide.   PLEASE NOTE: If for any reason you’re unhappy with your purchase, feel free to contact us. Source link