#change it all the time bc who am I if not defined by my biggest fandom atm

[acewitch-writes]

Hello! I recently found your account, and I went on scrolling down and down...and now I hope you know how grateful I am. Thank u- Merci. About 90% of the content you share here has made me feel so much better. I realllyy hope wonderful things happen for you. I've been a fan of hp since 2001, but I'm not really a social media person so I haven't been active in the fandom. I had no idea what was happening here until recently..two months ago to be exact (other details are not important) and omg.. I ended up in a discussion with some I think, new fans. tbh I thought, "Great! I'm good at this, I read all the books more than once Let's talk :)"  and omg their very first question was "What do you think about Regulus?"

I was like, "Who?" *dying from secondhand embarrassment bc It turns out I'm not that good at this

but as the discussion continued, I became more and more baffled bc "Why was everyone talking about Barty, Evan, and Regulus? who is daddy Remu? and what do you mean people ship James Potter with R.A.B.? What?"

I swear for a moment I thought "Did the writer publish a new book? Did I miss something? " tbh, I respect everyone's opinion it's none of my business but I'm still shocked. The only thing that bothers me is everything that happened with this new Wolfsar

omg, for most fans around my age (or at least people I know), Sirius was the complete portrayal of a bad boy- a rebel, with boots, tattoos, a leather jacket, and a fucking motorcycle. so this new Sirius is like a stranger to me, and that's okay. Mein issue is kinda with this new Remus T T my beloved .

They (the fans I was talking with) told me Remus is "tall, so handsome, SO strong, and hot-headed person because,  yk he's a werewolf." I was like "hot headed? excuse me?" I tried to explain to them that Remus being a werewolf is a metaphor for illnesses like HIV, it's not some superpowery gift.  they didn't believe me, but then they literally looked me in the face and said, "Then why would Sirius like someone like him? He's poor, short, and ugly." I swear I wanted to cry right then and there.

What is this mindset that makes some people think that a person should be, Idk, hot and flawless to deserve to be loved? Yes I don't think Remus is tall and super hot and perfect and isn't it fine? and I am 100% sure he's so beautiful. not like Sirius ofc but he has this "warm, cozy, and soft" sort of beauty. and I don't think he was a coward (ok maybe he was a liitle) but I guess it's easier for us, humans, to take the worst or weakest moment of a character and amplify it until it defines them entirely. and omg I'm so sorry for my rant and my bad english. but once again thank you for your beautiful soul <3 thank you

Hi anon! I, too, am baffled by the recent obsession with Regulus in this fandom. I think Jegulus is fine as a crack ship, but it has become so mainstream that many fans have just gone ahead and canonized it to the point that you'll be vilified for not accepting it as canon. I underestimated how popular the "best friend's brother" trope was, apparently. I also think it appeals to many fans as a Marauders Era version of one of the most popular ships of all time, Drarry.

This new version of Wolfstar is my biggest complaint with today's fandom, too! I get that the Marauders have very limited canon information and therefore we have more creative freedom to flesh them out, but I really believe that it has gone way too far. Sirius and Remus in today's fandom don't bear any resemblance to the characters they're based on. Remus is just a generic alpha werewolf OC and Sirius is his generic himbo femboy love interest OC. They don't even share a physical description with their Canon counterparts, and their personalities and character traits are so far removed that I can't even fathom how we reached this point as a fandom. How can you claim to like these characters if you have to change everything the source material says about them?

You're English is great, by the way! I completely agree that Remus has a cozy-and-warm sort of beauty. He made a point to distance himself from the stigma surrounding Lycanthropy because it was the focal point of his shame and self-loathing. And I just adore Wolfstar's dynamic from this lens, with the intimidatingly beautiful, confident, headstrong Sirius Black, who could have his pick of anyone he wants, choosing this ordinary guy because he's cozy and soft and it's exactly what Sirius wants after surviving the harsh ideals and abuse of House Black.

[basicallyjaywalker]

Do u have a favorite oc?

(Thank you for enabling me JJ)

I love all of my OCs equally but the one i've given the most development is Jackie

I really enjoy doing arcs for OCs and Jackie's is the most finalized. The tl;dr is that a lot of her character focuses on learning independence and developing a sense of self. She is magical and nerdy and kind and will constantly show up in OC writings if I don't control myself

Autism rant under the cut bc when you enabled me you got me on a "was literally ranting to my boyfriend about my ocs earlier so is in a talky mood"

Jackie Fei aka I am putting this girl through the grindhouse of trauma and she's gonna come back better

Jackie is the one who, when I started reworking/rebooting my OCs in 2020 got the biggest change, design, powers, and relationships-wise. Her arc is about learning to define herself and escape her issues with co-dependency.

I am sort of exploring this in my fic Selenelion, which focuses on her relationship with Lloyd (which does play in a lot to her arc) (also shameless plug for the fic it's only two chapters but i'm gonna start working on it again in november) because well... a lot of her co-dependency is there.

Up until post-S7 in the timeline, Jackie latches onto people as sources of strength to an unhealthy degree. She was raised by an oppressive, overbearing caretaker and had her life dictated to her for 18 years. When she tries to escape and gain independence the first time, she gets kidnapped by the Overlord ends up latching onto Garmadon. After Garmadon dies she latches onto Lloyd. It isn't until she and Lloyd have a blowout fight in S7 that she realizes how much she's defined herself using other people. She was Garmadon's Student. She was Lloyd's Girlfriend. Four years ago, she ran away to find who she was, and she still hasn't done it. So she runs away again. Lloyd is fucked up by this but don't worry he'll be fine.

And that ties into her powers. Jackie uses magic as an elemental power, but I want it to be different from other forms of magic in ninjago. Her magic needs a power source to draw on, and the healthiest one is herself, but she does have the ability to draw on others. For example, the Overlord teaches her how to use Dark Matter as a source (bad idea, do not do this, it damages ur mental health) and I've toyed with the idea of Lloyd lending his power to her in battle. Her personal strength is like a muscle, she needs to use it and work on it to grow stronger and relying on other sources doesn't allow her to develop it (which leads to issues when she starts relying solely on Dark Matter in S2, only to lose access to it)

Who Jackie is Post-S7 is a different person and for me it's important she gets that development then because even though I'm a fake fan and haven't finished S8 (I should be soon bc I've been feeling brave) I know her reaction to Garmadon's resurrection and her relationship to Harumi is going to occupy my brain for fifty years, along with how she and Lloyd interact and how their relationship grows in this time (I am determined to give them a healthy romance with a happy ending after a tumultuous start)

None of this is even mentioning the super complicated relationship she has with Wu and Misako at first because her mom... well, her mom Mei is another fascinating character who will be talked about when I talk about my thoughts on the previous generation of EMs at some point

One fun fact about her Post-S7 that I gatekeep but will make appearances is that she curates the Museum of History after she comes back from a long self-discovery journey. She does a lot of research into genealogy and is determined not to let any of the myths, legends, histories, or lore go unremembered (she and Misako and Twyla love to bond over their shared interests). She has an intern named Jenny who goes onto curate the museum after her.

Other general facts:

1. her color scheme is galaxy + green, with purple featuring prominently

2. she's the best at video games of her friends

3. the ninja she has the closest friendship with is Kai, the member of her team she has the closest relationship with ties between Hannah and Roxie

Sorry for the rant, thank you again for enabling me to talk about my OCs I love any opportunity to do so, and hopefully you enjoyed a mini-essay on why I often think about her and why she's up there in terms of my lovelies <3

[okthatsgreat]

HELLO I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT UR DR OCS (NOT JUST FROM 50TH but from other games too...). Do you have any AUs or fun alternative ideas!!! Like roleswaps, personalities, etc, things like that! I love hearing about them !!! :0

HBGDFHSGB OMG ........ UR SO AWESOME

ok so the thing about my ocs is that i just drop them in any scenario ever so i truly am unable to verbalise any of these aus in detail lmfaoooooooooo. however i DO keep going back to a lgowab au with the 50th season ocs just bc keep thinking about how they would react. bc let me tell you they would fucking REACT. they only JUST left the simulator and now they gotta do this shit FOR REAL? literally half of their class would be dead within days mostly out of dumb luck but also theyre easy enough targets without being considered "kids" (considering 53 is the newest season, theyve been given a few years outside of the simulator already). and with all of the guns flying around wooowwwww ryobe and naomi would actually go crazy

there are LOTS of "what if" aus i have in mind for erin/billie just because those two are the characters i played in rps lmfao!!!! erin managed to survive and billie was the first death, so theres lots to be done regarding scenarios where that Doesn't Happen. ESPECIALLY erin, who basically got saved last minute from being the blackened despite her making literally the biggest mistake of her entire life and killing a man lol. and billie surviving .......... a lot of her character was just the tragedy of her not getting to grow up so giving her the ability to Grow Up is very sweet. honestly there are so many what if scenarios for all of these characters just because theyre danganronpa ocs hfdjgsfsjgk like the what if scenario of naomi getting caught in that final chapter. like that would have changed the public's perceptive of season 50 entirely. soooo many postgame relationships would be different and significantly less strained. and with the public not being super enthused by the ending of the 50th season the participants might have had time to actually chill out a bit lmfaoo.

swap aus are so so much fun but i dont have many in mind!!!! BUT I LOVE THEM! i think it's really fun when you keep their personalities but give them other talents teehee. i think legit the only talent swap that i have ever thought of before was one my friend roman briefly did with the characters in the rp we were in, and erin got swapped with the ultimate palaeontologist lol. she'd be SO into giving tours to elementary classes in museums. not a second would pass without her dropping a dinosaur fact on you. the fantastic thing about erin is that being a children's entertainer practically defines her at first (because her entire life and persona is dedicated to being pippy) so removing that aspect of her and giving her another ultimate talent is soooo funny because its like. The Whimsy. It's Gone and she's Normal

a season 50 swap would be so funny as well mostly because i can not imagine naomis scared ass being anything but a runner however i think it would be kinda fucked up if she was the ultimate lucky student considering what she got away with 🤔 rie is similar to erin in the way her entire life is dedicated to her talent and the pursuit of perfection and being this beautiful pageant queen so she would need a talent that allows her that level of dedication i reckon. maybe shes the ultimate content creator and becomes this beauty vlogger who does millions and millions of brand deals!!!! idk LOTS TO THINK ABOUT!!!!

[hologramcowboy]

I do believe Jensen is trying but it may not be enough. It’s obvious that he’s struggling to get the roles and work that I think he THOUGHT he would have. He changed agents in 2019 and used the Bacchus King, Nascar and Vancouver soccer events as PR to elevate his image before spn ended.

Jared bowed out of that soccer tourney to give Jensen the solo PR.

He auditioned for the voice of Batman in an open casting process in 2018 and landed a series of three animation movies which he recorded bt 2018 and 2021.

Jensen seemed to panic a bit during s15 hiatus when he had nothing lined up. He worked his connnections as anyone seeking work should. He had meetings with CW execs, WB execs — probably asking for a holding deal (jared got one so I am sure he believed he should too). He reached out to Kripke to see if he had anything. (Which he did with SB). WB gave him the production company in lieu of a holding deal or a series to star in. So he was pretty booked in 2021 bt The Boys, Batman voice, Rust, and his EP duties of CMP (as limited as they were).

Fast forward to post Rust (Nov 2021). He admitted he had nothing lined up going into 2022 and again he panicked a bit a asked his agent to schedule introductions meetings along with him contacting his network on his own. Jared lines him up for a Walker directing gig, and he secures a guest role on Big Sky for the s2 finale.

Going into 2022, he hired a new PR team (Narrative) and had to change agents again (bc his previous one committed suicide in January 2022).

Narrative and/or his agent secured him the Hawaii pro am in January to play with one of the stars from Cobra Kai and Sony’s CEO (the one that claims The Boys and Cobra Kai as it’s two biggest wins).

Narrative secured the Man About Town placement and extended photoshoot that they’ve used in their media pitches.

He went all out on The Boys PR.

And in the spring also secured regular role on BS.

Now it’s end of 2022. What’s lined up for 2023?

TW is a bust. And doesn’t seem like Narrative is managing anything to do with Chaos projects and it shows.

IF Big Sky gets another season, will Beau be a part of it? My guess is yes.

Kripke has eluded that SB will be in s5 (if they get picked up) so it’s very likely SB may make an appearance in one of the last episodes in s4 to show him getting “off ice”. But nothing is definite. Kripke also eluded that he was thinking of a SB spin-off. But nothing definite.

Jared will allow him to direct Walker and/or Windy again — and give him a part - if Jensen wants it.

Jensen is working the network as I am sure his agent is too. It’s a tough business and Jensen looks like 80% of the white male actors out there and he’s more average. While he is very hot and handsome, he’s average. Many others work on their body a lot more and doing way more artistic editorial “thirst trap” style shoots, or are into a social cause or a hobby. Some use their social to entertain. I agree with you that he needs to do something more to stand out, define who he is among the sea of actors. He has a brewery, his music, his production company and his daddy/family time. Yet he rarely talks about any of it in the public, except at cons when he’s specifically asked a question. Whereas others actors at his peer levels promote their identity — maybe its showcasing their workouts or their writing process or bts of being a producer or some cook or show their kitchen skills or some show their off time of being a dad or others post funny TikTok’s with comments and use their sm to entertain. All seem to do it consistently and that is the key secret, and where jensen lacks the most.

Is this why he is doing a Radio Co concert? This may be a fallback to keep him busy and away from family if he doesn’t have acting/directing gigs lined up. Just like most things with Jensen, music, FBBC, wife/family, CMP all seem to be side projects to support others in his life and are not true passionate projects for him. That’s what he’s projecting and the image he has created.

I get the same impression, that his Radio Company concerts are a way to have something lined up and he may not truly be passionate about any of it. Same with all the rest you mentioned, it truly seems like he is unfulfilled because he missed the mark on something. I hope he finds what is ideal for him. It's never too late and it doesn't have to match anyone's expectation of him.

"That’s what he’s projecting and the image he has created." Absolutely, people perceive his lack of commitment for all of those things.

[inkofamethyst]

August 14, 2023

Went to Target, noticed that many of the decorations on sale were deep greens and pale purples, realized that maybe I'm not quite as original with my ideal room colors as I'd anticipated. What is life but a series of events in which I realize that I'm not as special as I thought I was (I am being dramatic and hyperbolic but still).

Took out my mini twists (finally); in loveeee with the ultra-defined fro. Game-changing style for sure, but I can't wait this long in the future to take them out bc the twists were majorly raggedy.

In this day and age, and into the future, I can imagine personal branding becoming more and more important in landing academic jobs. And by that I specifically mean having some sort of online presence that connects who you are to what you do. That one old friend of mine, probably the person I've known the longest outside my family even if we really don't ever speak, she is very successfully building an online brand doing just that, and it's pretty incredible to watch, actually.

Speaking of branding, I'm trying to come up with pseudonyms to change my name to. Mostly to minimize the effect of this blog on any personal branding I may decide to do (I recognize that the internet is forever and that the damage is therefore already done, but no one needs to know that I have a deeply and perhaps inappropriately personal tumblr whatsoever). Genuinely, I'm the kind of person to grow unreasonably attached to the first thing I come up with (floralfountainpens), but I want to spend some time considering several options. I give myself a month max to think on it.

Oh also I'm normally a matte lipstick girlie but my mom convinced me to try the maybelline lifter gloss and I think I actually kind of like it?? It's really buttery, non-sticky, and, best of all, works well with my skin tone even though it looks crazy pink. I've been a little inspired by Barbie, I guess. I dig it.

I'm watching phd vlogs on youtube (because of course I am), and this small vlogger I'm watching right now talked about how she was a commenter on some papers at a conference for the first time. As she was describing this role (and I've seen this done once or twice I think at the national conference I went to the past two years), I was horrified at first by how daunting the task seemed. I really struggle with trying to sound appropriately intelligent (...to prove that I am capable of being in a situation and not raise anyone's doubts which I now recognize is not a particularly healthy attitude), so coming up with meaningful commentary/critique, especially if on the spot, sounds horrific. Then, I realized how similar it is to something I did in my last two years of undergrad. For the last two years, I was a moderator for what is essentially a conference for my humanities program, and I had to perform a fairly similar task: asking insightful and coherent questions to panelist presenters whose work I was seeing for the first time. I actually received compliments on my moderation. So I'm not as fully unprepared for that kind of thing as I might think. Which is a little cool. [edit: I think one of the biggest takeaways from my experiences as a moderator is that coherent and simple but interesting questions are better than rambly and intelligent-sounding questions. Of course, I'd like to go to more talks and symposia in grad school to really dissect this kind of role so that I may be prepared for it, just in case.]

And you know while I'm far from being a crypto bro, I'm starting to like,,,, lowkey get into investing???? In the simplest ways possible, really, with a Roth IRA and a CD (and medium-yield savings account I guess), but the idea of getting started early, making regular contributions, and then possibly not having to worry about retirement (assuming we survive as a species long enough for me to get there) is kinda sick ngl. Most of my money isn't really liquid, I guess, which is a little nerve-wracking, but The Market generally seems to be headed upward, so I'm not pressed in the slightest right now. The FDIC can't hold my hand forever if I wanna see real gains. At least, that's how rich wealthy people see it.

Last thing: I liked Barbie for its obnoxious femininity. The first two-thirds or so felt like a release. It was silly, it was goofy, it made me smile. The last quarter or third or so in its seriousness did have a real message which I could relate to on some level, but it felt fairly didactic, especially the whole monologue on what it was like to be a woman or whatever. Like yeah, the message was there, but I felt like the movie beat me over the head with that bit out of fear that the audience wouldn't get it maybe? I think They Cloned Tyrone did a better job at having a clear overtone message without being as in-your-face with it (or maybe they just balanced the message with the plot a bit better idk). There are certainly other criticisms of Barbie that I've encountered, and while they have merit, I feel like I can just accept this movie as its own new thing. [edit: To add, a """seminal work""" [edit 2: isn't it peculiar, calling a movie like this "seminal" ... what about ungendered terms for the same thing... alternatives include influential, groundbreaking, formative, innovative. I like the term, generally, but I sort of wish there was a feminine equivalent.] doesn't need to be flawless, in my opinion. It merely needs to exist and set in motion some sort of change in thought as a result of its reception (whether that change is how the audience approaches media or how creators approach media or something else entirely). I think Lost is another example of an imperfect work that changed media and still deserves recognition despite its shortcomings. Time will tell whether Barbie is the start of some wave or if it merely remains a one-of-a-kind event.]

TODAY IM THANKFUL FOR THE STAR TREK STRANGE NEW WORLDS MUSICAL EPISODE???? Never in my life did I think that this serious sci-fi franchise would be able to pull such a thing off, but that error's on me because this franchise switches between silly and serious at the drop of a hat. Like,,,,, "Apologies, the most confounding thing: I appear to be singing; most unusual, so peculiar" LITERALLY CRYING AAAAAAAA THE WHOOOOooOOoOoOOooOLE THING (vocals, orchestration(!!!!!), plot, ensemble, choreo, technobabble) WAS SO STINKING FUN

((in two weeks im flying away.))

[edit: this post was all over the place (even more than usual) because it's more of a collection of thoughts from the past several days rather than a single entry written all at once]

[luc1d-dr34m5]

I would love to know what the deal with dreadful harmony and happy chaos is 👀. They seems like fun together!

Yesss YESS YESSSSSSS sorry i am so excited as i type this rn just ajdjwjmJQHE HEHEHEHE THERE WILL BE MANY SPELLING MISTAKES IM SORRY

I might get some lore parts wrong since looking for other sources of GG lore is sadly not on my schedule so if u know other things then correct me

If it gets too long im putting it under a read more but but okay so basically so give a basis and such:

Dreadful Harmony was known as 'The Architect'. They are like, the other half of 'The Original' not in a literal sense but in a partners sense. They were Partners in the discovery of magic basically, while yes The Original still is the one who discovered the Backyard n got magic from there The Architect is the one who created a lot of the first spells ever. Due to this both of them are technically teachers of the Conclave and Asuka but to make sure theyre not confused, The Original is reffered to as 'Teacher' while The Architect is reffered to as 'Tutor'.

The Architect also has like, developed a magic theory called 'The Circle Theory' aka how circular forms of spells n such are the best way to express magic due to how imperfectly perfect it is and such, this one ill leave vague but basically this theory is kinda hard to grasp because theres a lot of intricacies in it. Asuka tends to use more geometrical shapes so while he can use Circle theory its a bit more taxing on him cuz hes not used to 'imperfection' in a sense.

Anhways on back to the YaoiYuri that is DH(Dreadful Harmony) and HC(Happy Chaos). The lore kinda changes here but tried to keep events close to canon/give explanations here. The Architect was trapped by the Universal Will like somewhere in the backyard bc they were the biggest threat at the time and this caused The Original to slip up and get caught as well. Anyways Things happen as plot like The Original getting out and wandering the backyard for years in a mad state but at the same time The Architect was absorbing all the info in the backyard like he was but instead of wandering theyre literally trapped and then The Original gets absorbed by the Universal will again so she can have an understanding of Human emotions only to like, fuck up bc of The Original aka Happy Chaos having become insane and flooded with pure human desire.

on the opposite end, The Architect lost all their humanity, their emotions their desires, not their memories, though, this does mark their shift to becoming Dreadful Harmony. Anyways Dreadful Harmony is like, freed after Lethargy's lore happens cuz Lethargy is like, DH and HC's missing humanity mashed together in a Valentine vessel HC got the Universal Will to make hence why Lethargy V. has free will i might elaborate more on Lethargy lore if wanted.

Bacl to DH and HC, their past relationship as The Original and Architect was romantic, they were abt to get married even. Its why DH's current outfit looks like a wedding dress in a way, cuz that was a very important moment in their life and yeah romantic love doesn't always define humanity but tbh these two are just, In Love. in general. Something that can be platonic and romantic and the spaces outside or betwene but the love is there and persists until now cuz like.

DH and HC call eachother their 'partner' and give like, diff answers each time asked if it was romantically or platonically. Even if DH doesnt have emotions nor desire they have Biases due to their memories and thus act upon said biases like how HC is so full of human desire he cannot truly love in the sense a normal person can. These two cannot love normally yet they still love eachother in their own ways. While HC lives for human emotion yet DH doesnt have any thus doesnt rlly deter the other so much cuz their love dosnt give either of them purpose.

If HC finds a purpose if DH is free from their prison theyll gladly follow along, filling up empty roles that oppose or support HC, either way they have the same goal for different reasons, HC cuz he cares abt humanity as a whole and DH because the world ending would be Horrible for the people they have Biases for. HC's reasons are selfless in a sense while DH's reasons are selfish yet regardless they aim for one goal so they go for it hand in unlovable hand clutching one another in a loving way.

They both are Wax figures, they direct and fill in empty roles as they see it in different manners and ways. Also demon imagery with Happy chaos and Angel imagery with Dreadful harmony is very intentional. Contrast babeyyy

Also to elaborate how their love for one another doesnt really count as a "Purpose" is cuz they both like Drama, Drama King n their Drama Queen, which is which u decide. Their love for ome another is so inherent they just know it'll always be there so why desperately cling onto it when its guaranteed to be there.

They are judt so RHRHRHRH TO ME not to mention the dynamic and relationship Dreadful Harmony has with Asuka is swimming in my brain alongside this just wkdjwnsnsn If things are confusing i can elaborate!! They are so silly to me.

[puppy-phum]

SALIGIA

latin, noun 1 the seven deadly sins 2 acronym consisting of the first letters of the sins insp.

bonus:

disclaimer: this is not intended as hate towards any of the characters more of my thoughts under the cut!

a couple of words on why i chose these sins for each of them bc a) i spent some time researching all of this and b) am a nerd who cannot shut up. so here: 

black: superbia or pride is often listed as the most serious of the seven deadly sins or as “the father” of all sins (tho any of the sins could be that in theory but pride has been seen as the one bc it’s connected to satan/lucifer etc etc you know). and isn’t black all of that as a person - the starting point of all of this fighting? he got the group together and he’s the reason white joins them. also it said somewhere that pride is often seen as having too much self-confidence (especially when in a leader position) and black wishing to always handle his problems alone does speak of some type of pride.

todd: avaritia or greed seemed suitable for him, tho i also kept bouncing between lust (his lust for power as well as those oh so slutty shirts) and envy (him wishing to have the things tawi has). but greed included the wish to have more than one needs and also got connected with betrayal so here we are. as a side note, i gotta point out the matching suit for him and black (spades) bc i love my details.

yok: probably very obvious and i feel kind of funny for making him such a cliché but hear me out; it wasn’t an easy decision. yok being luxuria or lust was one of the first ones that popped into my head but i actually kept changing it around a lot bc lust seemed to fit so many of them and i kind of wanted yok to have something else. but it still fits! he is very much driven by his desire, be it desire for ppl, or justice, or art. and that desire does make him act a bit irrationally.

gram: like yok, very self explanatory. gram’s whole storyline is connected to some level of envy as he tries to chase after his friend’s girlfriend. so it was kind of easy to choose invidia or envy for him. it also said somewhere that envy is often the biggest cause for unhappiness which seemed to sum up gram and his actions quite well. also pointing out his lone suit, diamond, as i often see something mischievious in that. i also like it the least so i only wanted it here once hhh

white: he was the hardest to place actually. my first choice for white was sloth as he neglects his duty towards the ppl around him and ignores the society’s problems but once made aware of those, he does change himself very quickly. so gula or gluttony ended up being his instead. the defining thing for gluttony is consuming more than one needs, leaving others often needy, and it did somehow match white. he wants too much (and i don’t say this with any malice, he damn well deserves everything good out there); he wants his own life, the easy life he’s gotten used to; he wants his brother’s life once he’s gotten into it; he wants his brother, and the gang, and sean despite knowing all of that will clash. he wants, and so others end up having to give up things for that.

sean: very easy. i feel like ira or wrath is just written all over his character. his thirst for revenge is the driving force behind everything he does and he even says it himself; that his anger turns into hate and that it has cost him. he wishes misfortune upon others and might even harm innocents (by accident) in the process (think about yok’s mom as an example). he also attempts to deny all the bad in his actions once white tries to make him see them (or at least he takes an extra minute to accept it which leads into him trying to choke white to death but well, what can you do, really). also mentioning here the matching suit for seanwhite which is hearts!

dan: he was my other choice for acedia/tristitia or sloth. the sin of sloth is based on, like i said with white, being apathetic towards your duties and choosing not to act. dan is very much in a state where he wants to act but doesn’t or cannot. sloth is “failure to do things one should do” and it is connected with cowardice, irresponsibility, and abandonment. i know he is trying but he really didn’t go at it the right way.

gumpa: i felt sad about not getting to include him amongst the seven so i wanted to have him as the joker instead! he became the original sin after the final episode showed us him talking about being the previous generation and him wishing to see the new one succeed in their fights now. so he is kind of the origin for all of their fights and so, original sin. (i love him so much if it isn't obvious)

[celestial-ringleader]

could you explain why you don’t like mcu wanda? i haven’t read many comics with her in it so i’m a bit confused /gen /nm

Okay so for starters I am not gonna speak over the voices of Romani people in this since I am not one, I'm simply going to repeat what many, many Romani fans have been saying for years. If you want a perspective from someone who is Romani I suggest going to @/nacht-nightingale because they speak on this as well as Romani racism in general. I also recommend some of my mutuals who also denounce MCU Wanda (@imperiuswrecked and @esteicy-blog) if you want more opinions.

But to just start out plain and simple, MCU Wanda is a goddamn joke and a racist caricature and she has no right to be compared to 616 Wanda.

I usually hesitate with talking about the MCU because I know people just love to get defensive and act like me criticizing their white-washed favs is a personal attack against them, but this is one thing I will not be quiet about since it's such a big issue in the MCU as well as the world at large. There's a lot of reasons I don't like her but the biggest, glaring one is that MCU Wanda is like an off-brand white-washed version of the original Wanda.

In case it hasn't been said before, Wanda has been canonically Romani for almost as long as she's been in publication, there was a brief period where she was white, but that has since changed so now her and Pietro are both children of Magda, a Romani woman, and they were raised by their Romani adoptive parents, Django and Marya Maximoff. Also the last name "Maximoff" is taken directly from a Romani man. And also also, because they are Magneto's children, they're also Jewish. I don't give a fuck about the shitty retcon, that is their lineage and that's been canon for decades.

So with all of that being said, you can imagine why seeing a version of Wanda who is very clearly white and very clearly Catholic (see the shot of her room with three fucking crosses on the wall) gets on a lot of fans nerves. The executives decided they don't give a fuck about comic canon and their POC fans and casted a white woman to play a POC. A white woman who has repeatedly said anti-romani slurs in relations to her character despite being told multiple times that they are derogatory.

Also this is literally what they were gonna have her wear in WV

A Romani halloween costume......

And it's not any better that she referred to herself as a "Sokovian fortune teller", yet another Romani stereotype. I'm sorry but with all of this, there is no reason you could even begin to like this character since this racist writing runs so fucking deep into her character. I'm not saying the comics are any better because they also treat Romani characters horribly, but at least in the comics she's a fucking POC and not a Walmart Jean Grey but with nothing cool going for her.

Which isn't helped by the fact that Wh*don decided to make the two canonically Jewish characters willingly work with HYDRA, a nazi organization. Can you see why that would be a problem bc I feel like I shouldn't have to explain it.

On top of all of this, MCU Wanda is just not a likeable character what so ever. She never learns her lesson, she gets away with horrible shit and faces almost no consequences outside of a slap on the wrist, she hasn't grown at all in the few years we've known her, and her only personality trait is the fact that she's a powerful magic user and feels sad sometimes.

616 Wanda has been through the wringer so much throughout comic history, especially post-HoM, but the difference is she learns her lesson and is way more compelling in her development as she learns and grows (we IGNORE TRIAL OF MAGNETO)

Also her romance with Vision is so uninspired and there's nothing to them at all, and since that defines her entire character basically it makes her even more uninteresting and annoying.

What's even worse is that they completely removed so many aspects of her character for the sake of dodging copyright, i.e her being Erik's daughter, a mutant, and a Romani Jew. So basically you're left with nothing of her 616 counterpart except for the name and her powers. You could literally make her anyone and nothing will be lost or gained because she is such a bland fucking character.

I don't care how many MCU stans are gonna get mad about this, but MCU Wanda is by far the most insulting, infuriating, and boring character I've ever seen and she should've been killed off permanently and replaced with ACTUAL Wanda Maximoff. I suggest you actually going and reading comic books with her in it, I don't have any reading lists for her unfortunately, but you can start at the beginning of her publication and move forward.

And also, stop supporting the MCU and their bullshit like this. WV is a boring ass show anyways and in these times with racism being a growing problem in the media, this shouldn't be tolerated what so ever.

Anyways if I end up seeing people getting mad over this I'm not gonna respond because I'm not gonna debate this. Support Romani people and fuck disney.

[loving-ricciardo]

im devastated if danny gets so hurt that he has to leave f1 for good, bc i had the absolute shit times the previous couple of months mentally, and before this season started youtube recommended an interview w danny and it was smth titled “is the smile always real?” and i watched it and man it was the very thing i needed, which is kinda weird to say it bc he’s a literal stranger to me but i hope you’ll understand what im saying… but just smth about him that he showes about himself through media and stuff and that personality and style and what he does in the vlogs has continoued to uplift me during my down-phases. and to think about all this shit and how it must be affecting him, the person who’s positive mindset changed me, is surreal and i cant imagine how he’s feeling.

hi hun, first of all im sending you the biggest hug and i really hope your mental health is better now (disregarding the current Daniel situation) and i hope the universe is gentle with you 🧡🧡🧡

okay, i might go on a bit of a rant here-

i started watching this sport more closely because of Daniel. Like he is the reason I’m here today and ever since i started supporting him i tried to like define my ‘relationship’ with him ~I am probably not gonna make complete sense here~ but like I couldn’t imagine meeting Daniel on street and being like ‘omg I love you. you changed my life’ because he is literally a white rich man driving in circles like it’s a bit silly to care so much about him (this is me @ me btw like it’s an internal struggle I’m not ‘judging’ other fans! You do you besties!!). Like I’m a big football fan but I still could never really justify being such a big fan of them?? Like I obviously have favourites but i always compared them to my favourite authors and songwriters and honestly I have no idea why I always struggled with this like it’s not that deep.

Okay I lost myself and I’m too lazy to go back and rewrite it but I just wanted to say that I had different drivers which I liked for their driving style but it was too superficial for me to get into the sport for (again nothing wrong with that-) and it wasn't until I saw an interview with Daniel that I was just instantly charmed and impressed with how he presents himself. Like Daniel is the definition of ‘fake it till you make it’ and ‘act confident and no one will question you’. The sport is brutal and you can see he under all that charm he is just an anxious insecure lil gremlin who created an 'alter ego' to sort of protect himself from the outside world. Don't get me wrong like Daniel is his alter ego but it's just a bit of a different version of him and I do admire that. As someone with social anxiety I try to channel my Danny Ric energy when I can't control things hh.

And his energy is just so kind and warm and SO positive as you've mentioned. Like it must be SO draining to try to be so positive most of the time and like keeping his emotions in check,,, i admire that so much. Like he could be an asshole (i mean he is a charming asshole,, he does use that smile to get away with saying mean shit sometimes)- he literally doesn't own anyone anything but no he takes time to make people laugh and to give them a show and interact with fans and like even when he has bad days and he probably wants to lock himself in his driver's room he still tries his hardest to be his cheery self and even apologizes to people when he thinks he is not being positive enough- just all good all ways even though he keeps jumping from one toxic team to another--

and like normally i am pretty good with boundaries and i mean i am dramatic on this blog and i do get upset when his race goes badly but i can usually shake it off quickly but ngl these past two days,,, my heart is so heavy and im SOSOSOS pissed and SOSOSOS sad because the way mclaren is handling it- noone deserves let alone daniel who had been one bad race strategy after another yet still trying to be positive and professional... URGH i know this sport is brutal and unfair but this is truly disgusting

idk if this makes sense i am very bad at expressing my feels lol but yeah i hope danny has a good support system around him and im sending him and all daniel fans the biggest hug and good vibes, we will get through this <333

[collisiondiscourse]

on the wonder duo (part 1)

(BNHA Analysis Post Ahead! This isn’t explicitly romantic, but it is an analysis of the relationship between the two most popular characters in BNHA--Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya. Split into two posts because I realized that this was gonna be long as HELL)

yall ever think about the fact that the wonder duo is perfectly set up in so that bakugou and deku together are the better version of all might?

bc like. ive been thinking.

everyone knows the win to save and save to win parallel. How they are supposedly two halves of a whole perfect hero (which, previously, was defined as all might)

but ever since bakugou and deku started working as one—growing together to win AND save and continuously reminding each other that they shouldnt try to do things alone, ive realized that its BECAUSE theres two of them that they surpass all might. its not a case of deku and bakugou both being 50% of an ideal hero, but rather i think that they are 100% of what all might SHOULD HAVE BEEN from the very beginning.

as early as the AM v AFO battle in kamino, we see the effects of all mights flawed existence. the fact that he, the greatest and supposedly infallible symbol of peace, was destroyed—society had begun to collapse. there was suddenly no pillar to hold people together and the impacts were so severe that even in the latest chapters of mha it keeps on getting worse. the truth is, all mights biggest mistake was the burden he placed on his own shoulders

with bakugou and deku... its different.

its different for them because down to their attributions, they seem like two halves of a whole person.

i think that the wonder duo are going to surpass all might because of the fact that they work together.

@bakugoukatsuki-rising @svpercraigus @tybee​ @isaustraliaathing​

(batshit crazy and conspiratorial essay under the cut !)

1. Complementary Colors

I’d like to first preface literally everything I say by the fact that I am not an expert analyzer or literary major in any way. I am literally just some random fan on the internet who has wayyy too much time and looks wayyy too deep into things, but here we go!

A common thing we see when we talk about bakugou and deku is the way they are... sort of an inverse of one another.

Down to the design of their features and the way they move, Deku is the obviously softer of the two. There’s an intentional contrast between the two of them, in the way that Deku’s drawn with round shapes and curvy hair and the way Bakugou is literally all spikes and half-mast eyes and rough muscles. Bakugou’s movements too are languid and showy, with the way he leans when he walks and splays his legs and kicks open doors. Katsuki, in a casual sense, is loud and dramatic. 

Deku on the other hand s finicky. He jitters when he walks and he’s often fidgeting and mumbling. Comparatively, the aura he radiates is energetic and frenzied, even self-conscious to a point unlike Bakugou’s calm and confident movements.

the point is, there’s a clear difference in how either of them are designed and what exactly they are supposed to represent. They utterly complement each other down to the way they behave and even their main colors (red-orange and blue-green) being literal complementary colors.

Now, moving to my more ungrounded points, this is quite a bit of a stretch so I’ll try as much as possible to make sense of these with hyperlinked sources because. yeah.

Down to their names, I think Deku and Bakugou both symbolize something deeper. I think that the way Hori expresses characters and what they’re meant to do is something that we have to pay close attention to when we talk about the Wonder Duo’s rise to success.

Izuku Midoriya (緑谷 出久), as some of us may know, does have an interesting meaning when broken up. According to a lovely fan translation of his name, ‘Izuku’--while not an actual name used commonly in real life--means to ‘Come out’ or ‘Long time’. ‘Midoriya’ on the other hand means (Midori) ‘Green’ and (ya) ‘valley’. The translator further pointed out that his first name ‘Izuku’ could be a reference to him being the first legendary hero to come out of the long-running All Might Era. (or, if you’ve been reading @/bakugoukatsuki-rising’s posts, the first significant anime protag in a long while to come out as queer, ppfft)

but that isn’t my focus right now.

We know that Hori LOVES telling stories with names, and more often than not in the BNHA universe, names alone tell us a lot of things about the characters. When referring to Izuku’s last name, Midoriya, it’s important I think to step back and realize that hey, maybe there’s something more to Green Valley than just the fact that his motif is all green.

After searching for a lil on the specifics of green valley, I’ve found out that across many cultures, the colour green and valleys in general tend to represent life. From dream analysts, to Christianity, and even old Taoist teachings, valleys are seen as areas of fertility and escape. They are seen as safe havens and often escapes for people to come to after running away from bad circumstances.

(Sound familiar?)

Deku, in essence represents life and peace. He represents being the “salvation” that the world in BNHA needed. To me, it sounds like Horikoshi is trying to say that he is the long-awaited hero in the sense. The one that people can feel will create a society that feels safe for everyone after years of All Might just saving people from themselves as a band-aid solution.

On the other hand, we have Katsuki Bakugou (爆豪 勝己), who’s name we commonly know means (Katsuki) Winner and (Bakugou) Explosion Master. He is essentially, the champion. The power. His name means success and power and all the things that make up winning.

When putting them side by side, it then becomes increasingly... interesting to me how their names almost perfectly slot into All Might’s save to win and win to save mantra, and how they are both quintessential parts to what made All Might as a hero.

2. Hero Too!

Now, I’m not even gonna really TOUCH much of what happens in canon. If you want me to do a step by step breakdown of their arcs in regards to the plot of manga and anime, feel free to send me a gratuitous ko-fi tip so I can pay for the headache I get after trying to organize my thoughts into word vomit.

What I WILL talk about on the other hand, is the subtle shift both of them slowly have in regards to how they look. Bakugou and Deku, while growing up, seem to have MANY many parallels--but before I elaborate on all of that, I wanna talk about something else.

Detour: Deku’s Red Shoes 

We all know the iconic symbol being Deku’s red shoes. For all his life, save for some outfits like his hero one, we see Deku more often than not wearing his signature red sneakers which have become a running joke in fandom.

But the funny thing is, in Japan, red shoes seem to have an interesting connotation.

In 1922, a popular Japanese nursery rhyme was written, called “Red Shoes”. The interesting part to me about this song was the symbolism that, in my tiny pea-sized brain, I could connect to the story of BNHA.

The story goes that there was a little girl with red shoes named ‘Kimi’. She was from Shizuoka prefecture (which, if you didn’t know, is most likely where Musutafu supposedly is) and was raised by a single mother. When she was young, her mother had to entrust her with a foreigner under the impression that they would give her a better life in America. The stranger is a man named Charles Hewitt (who was described to have blue eyes) and supposedly took her away. 

The singer of the song (supposedly the mother, but some argue it was written from the perspective of a childhood friend) believes that Kimi is happy and living a better life away from them, when the reality of the situation was much worse. The young girl with red shoes in actuality had Tuberculosis, and thus the foreigner whom she was entrusted to had left her to fend for herself and eventually left her to go to America while she died alone and orphaned.

“When I see red shoes, I think of her.”

A very interesting story with very interesting implications indeed.

-

Anyway, moving on to the more... “nuanced” and connected parts of this section, I have every reason to believe that Bakugou and Deku were simply MEANT to be working together down to how they dress. Now, I’d like to discuss their hero costumes.

At the start of their series, using these godawful pics for reference, it’s clear to see that neither of them seem alike in any way--reflecting the dissonance in their relationship at that point in canon.

ough. deku why. (yes we know why its because you love your mom you stupid little bunny <3)

Anyway, we see an immediate gap in how the two of them are. Deku’s first costume is one that reflects how he treated his dream of being a hero. He was still in that childlike idolization phase, the one where his dreams and aspirations were hinged on pure feelings and inspiration from All Might. Katsuki on the other hand was a lot more tactical--professional to an extent. The gap between their respective development with their quirks is something that is clearly felt in every fashion decision they’d made.

(Notice how Deku’s green is a lot brighter and less like the green accents Katsuki has all over his costume.)

As time progressed however... their costumes changed. The colors, the silhouettes, the practical functions, most things.

(Deku’s Gamma Costume and Bakugou’s Winter Costume used respectively)

we begin to notice a few similarities.

As the show goes on and we see more evolutions of their costumes, it almost seems like they begin to look like a matching pair. Deku’s green grows darker and almost teal in nature, while Bakugou’s orange is veering towards red territory. This is important to note because red-orange and blue-green as I said earlier were complementary colors as compared to simply orange and green. The minute shift is something I really wasn’t quite sure was intentional, but something I find interesting to pick up nonetheless as the colors they used to accent their costumes begin to match up.

Secondly, I think and important thing to note is silhouettes. The way that both Bakugou and Deku’s costumes are designed follow a lot of parallels that typically we don’t see with the rest of 1-A. For one, they both have a combination of tight long-sleeved tops with a bulkier set of bottoms. They also share the use of utility belts and metal pieces typically worn around their necks. Deku has his bunny-eared hood that mimics All Might’s hair, while Bakugou has his orange and black explosion ear-pieces that mimic his own quirk.

i don’t think any other people in class 1-A match each other as subtly yet strongly as these two. Uraraka and Deku and Bakugou and Kirishima do come close however.

“But Codi, you fucking knob!” I hear you plea. “This is such a reach and tells us practically NOTHING!” And yes, I’m inclined to agree with you! You’d be sort of right in the idea that this is a reach. Maybe I am looking too much into this, and maybe it really isn’t that deep--but I do think that them subconsciously matching outfits means something quite brilliant.

In the way that their costumes are designed, each aspect of either outfits have a very logical explanation. The changes were strategic and made with their fighting styles vividly in mind, so what that tells me is that BECAUSE these costumes are so complementary or similar in nature (Bakugou’s reinforcing his arms while Deku reinforces his legs), these two are implicitly showing the audience that their combat styles are complementary as well. 

The evolution of their design choices and similarities tell us that even unknowingly, their minds line up in strategy on the battlefield--a clear exhibit for why they would be INCREDIBLY POWERFUL as a Hero Duo to begin with.

When I look at their hero costumes side by side, I see a mirror. I see the way that these two are reflections of each other and are strong where the other isn’t. The point I see in BNHA repeatedly is that EVERYONE HAS A WEAKNESS. Nothing is infallible, regardless of how hard you train or how powerful your quirk is. Everyone will always have a weakness, but the significant difference I see when fandom discusses the future of Pro-Hero Society is that the new generation is finally raising itself to be RELIANT on each other. 

Observing their fighting styles and the simple use of their quirks, its obvious that they are indeed two parts of a whole hero. Bakugou, who’s quirk emphasized his arms and hands and the power that comes from it, while Deku who’s quirk now emphasizes his legs and lower body and the way he’s always running to save people.

IN CONCLUSION:

As they become heroes, it is easy to assume that if nothing else, Bakugou and Deku will cover each other’s weak spots (especially when you consider the way Deku probably won’t be able to keep using his arms with the way both the anime and manga are going...) (also chapter 285, anyone?)

-

Part Two: Interactions, OfA

kofi || commission details

[iamanartichoke]

Ah this came up at the perfect time for when I wanted to post something but not put too much thought into it; thanks for the tag @thelightofthingshopedfor!

1. Why did you choose your URL? It comes from a YA book that was one of my favorites as a kid, although why I latched onto that particular book for a url, I couldn't tell you. After a few years, though, artichoke has now become part of my identity and I do like to think I have many layers, so ... there we are.

2. Any side blogs? @charlotte--lennox is my personal journal side blog that I constantly forget that I have, lmao. I haven't updated it in months, but for better or for worse, it's still there.

3. How long have you been on Tumblr? On fandom tumblr, since 2018. On tumblr in general, I had a few blogs sporadically since like 2008.

4. Do you have a queue tag? Theoretically I do, but I don't have a queue lmao. I keep feeling like I should fill the queue up and put it to use again, but, idk something about it makes me feel a bit merpy.

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place? To participate in the Loki fandom and also to promote my fanfic.

6. Why did you choose you icon/pfp? Bc I love Chloe Bennett and low-key want to be her, and the ace flag background bc I enjoy being "out and proud" as ace on tumblr, since I'm not out anywhere else, heh.

7. Why did you choose your header? Because I made it when I was playing around in Photopea and it turned out kinda good, so I figured I'd use it. I only changed it recently; it was the cover art for Stars Hide Your Fires for months and months, which I loved bc Thor and Loki are so pretty and SHYF is, I think, ultimately my favorite fic I've written.

8. What’s your post with the most notes? My post+ post, lmao. I haven't looked at it in awhile but the last time I checked it was at like 77k. Relatedly, it's really funny how we all flipped out over post+ and then never heard anything else about it again; not sure if tumblr decided to kill it or not, but I do like to think that, if they did, my post (and all the lawyers who commented that I was right) had something to do with it. The headache of my notifications being held hostage for a few weeks should have accomplished something.

9. How many mutuals do you have? I have no idea - maybe like 12? Nah I'm sure it's more than that but I honestly don't know and wouldn't even know how to check.

10. How many followers do you have? I am up to 1730, which I feel really badly about, bc I did my follower celebration call for prompts at 1605 or something and since then I have gained followers and only filled three prompts so, yknow, not a great look. That being said, I'm also pretty sure a decent number of those followers are porn bots or inactive or otherwise blank.

11. How many people do you follow? 178, apparently, which feels like a lot.

12. Have you ever made a shit post? I constantly make shit posts, to varying degrees of success.

13. How often do you use tumblr? Every day; even if I don't post that day, I usually check in a couple of times to at least look at my notifs and a couple of dash pages. It's literally addictive.

14. Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog? Well yeah, I know I've gotten into it with people over wanky things; I do try not to be antagonistic if I can help it but, that said, sometimes it can't be helped. I've also had falling outs with people over who knows what (really, I don't know), and then there's the many people who've preemptively blocked me for one reason or another. So, yeah, I'm hardly popular around these parts lmao.

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog” posts? Generally the fastest way to get me to not reblog something is to include some "reblog this right now, I don't care if it fits your blog or not, this is important" note, like, well I probably would have reblogged it but now I'm not going to.

16. Do you like tag games? I do, generally, but sometimes I'm tagged in things I don't really care to participate in (but I appreciate the tag!) and other times I'm tagged and I just completely forget to respond to it, so it probably seems like I don't like them, womp womp.

17. Do you like ask games? I kinda love them, but the last several I've posted haven't gotten any interaction (which is sad bc I used to get at least a few responses, and who are you 1730 followers, anyway?) so I'm less inclined to post them these days.

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? I don't think anyone? I mean, I guess it depends on how you define tumblr-famous, though. When I think of tumblr-famous, I think of like, biggest-gaudiest-patronuses and vampireapologist and, like, badjokesbyjeff - those accounts that everyone knows. But then within fandom, there are some blogs that are more well-known than others, and I think at least a few of my mutuals are fairly well-known in the Loki fandom. Ymmv, though.

Tagging @gia-selene-baczewska, @izhunny, @bardicious, @eisenvulcanstein, @scintillatingshortgirl19, @epona610, @pennypaperbrain, @pennie-dreadful, @erdediekatze, @lazy-cat-corner, @illwynd, and anyone else who wants to, please consider yourself tagged :D

[lamortexiii]

Cryptic Mystic: What’s Your Sign?

Many of us are fascinated by astrology and all things outer space related. The great unknown that is beyond the stars has been a hot topic for centuries. But, how did the zodiac begin? What makes astrological signs and the alignment of planets and stars so magical? Is it truly prophetic? Does your sign define your personality, past, present, and future? Or is this simply another product of the Barnum Effect?

So I’ll start by asking the obvious: “what’s your sign?” I’m a Leo through and through. While I’m skeptical about the claims of some astrological signs and their relation to my life on a daily basis, I do believe there is some truth here - as is with most things. This topic is one that I have been wanting to write about for some time now. I have always found outer space, stars, planets, etc. to be fascinating. As a child, I remember laying in the grass and watching the stars above me. In my little valley in the forest, I could see so many stars that wouldn’t be visible if I were in the city. I am so thankful I had that childhood experience of growing up somewhere where I could truly connect with nature and the simple things around me that most take for granted on a day-to-day basis. I still stargaze to this day, but I can’t see near as many as I once did in my childhood forest valley home. I’ve seen a plethora of shooting stars throughout my lifetime, two meteor showers, two solar eclipses, and plenty of unidentified objects that were likely satellites… or were they…?

One time when I was driving home from work late one night I saw something that befuddled me. As I drove down the winding 2 lane highway in the darkness of the night I saw what appeared to be a helicopter hovering right above the trees. Now, this area I was driving through was rural. There are few houses in those woods, but there are some. The backroads leading to the site where the “helicopter” was hovering are seldom traveled, especially this late at night. I began processing the event in my mind and questioning if it was a helicopter, why would it be hovering so low and what exactly would it be doing in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. It just didn’t make sense. I thought about logical explanations and could only come up with one. There is the slim possibility that someone driving on one of the many backroads in that area may have got into an accident and was getting airlifted to a hospital. I’ve seen it happen before on backroads near there. Aside from this idea, I had nothing. By this point, I had obviously slowed down so I could get a better look. Hell, there wasn’t any traffic so it’s not like I was worried about causing an accident or anything. As I looked closer I noticed it wasn’t a helicopter at all. There were about 4-6 large bright lights shining down below the area that the craft was hovering over. The circumference of this craft was much wider than a helicopter - more circular. The lights were far too big and far too bright. Whether it was fear, shock, tiredness, or my stomach growling, I continued to drive on and leave the peculiar scene behind. Now, I know this has nothing to do with astrology or zodiac signs, but it is an interesting story nonetheless. 

In reference to zodiac signs, I find that descriptions of a Leo with my particular birthdate are genuinely pretty accurate when describing my personality and conflicts. However, the daily horoscopes are definitely not accurate in my experience. I will say that when I read/listen to them I try to apply something positive from the reading to my daily life. I engage in a deeper thought process and practice mindfulness throughout the day, keeping that positive focus within my mind on the positive message I am supposed to be implementing into my day. I have also found that compatibility readings have been somewhat inaccurate as far as certain zodiac signs getting along or not getting along with other zodiac signs. The biggest obvious red flag for me is how many different sources there are. And guess what? They all say something different on the daily. If zodiac signs and horoscopes are supposed to be accurate, then why don’t all individuals who report them online all say the same thing - or at least something similar?? To play devil's advocate here, I did say earlier that I believe there is some truth to all of this, which is why it interests me so much and also why I believe in this stuff to a degree. There is a lot of magical and wondrous history to unpack in regards to the zodiac and horoscopes. So, let’s jump right in, shall we?

Interesting fact: the word zodiac is derived from Greek terminology meaning “circle of little animals.” We’re a circle of little animals - cute visuals there, eh? Hieroglyphs in Egypt dating as early as the 14th century BC were found to contain a circle of decans (constellations) depicting something that looks a lot like the constellations and zodiac symbols that we know today. In total there were 36 decans found within the temple.

During the first half of the first millennium, Babylonian astronomers created our modern zodiac. They also mapped the previous constellations that were seen in the Egyptian hieroglyphs but continued to add more as they were discovered. In the last half of the 5th century, the Babylonian astronomers divided the many constellations into 12 equal "signs” to represent the 12 months of the year at 30 days per month. Each sign contained 30° of celestial longitude, thus creating the first known celestial coordinate system. According to calculations by modern astrophysics, the zodiac was introduced between 409 and 398 BC and probably within a very few years of 401 BC. Unlike modern astrologers, who place the beginning of the sign of Aries at the place of the Sun at the vernal equinox, Babylonian astronomers fixed the zodiac in relation to stars, placing the beginning of Cancer at the "Rear Twin Star" (β Geminorum) and the beginning of Aquarius at the "Rear Star of the Goat-Fish" (δ Capricorni). Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the time of year the Sun is in a given constellation has changed since Babylonian times, the point of vernal equinox has moved from Aries into Pisces. 

You’ll be pleasantly surprised, intrigued, or disgusted to know that all of this does have some roots within religion. The Hebrew Bible shows knowledge of the Babylonian zodiac. E. W. Bullinger noted that the drawings found in the book of Ezekiel were quite similar to the middle four quarters of the zodiac (Lion/Leo, Bull/Taurus, Man/Aquarius, Eagle/Scorpio). You read that right, Scorpio is noted as being an eagle - not a scorpion. Some say that the twelve tribes of Israel are correlated with the zodiac signs found within the Hebrew 12 month calendar. There is an argument that the position of the Israelic tribes around the Tabernacle from the book of Numbers correlates with the exact order of the zodiac, with Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan representing the middle signs of Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, and Scorpio, respectively. It is shocking how I have heard religious people in modern times talk about how this is all a bunch of garbage, even though some of this is literally correlated with items from the Bible.

To explain daily horoscopes and the connection between the stars, planets, and our zodiac signs, you must engage in a bit of math (yuck). When planets and constellations of the zodiac would align, the Babylonian astronomers of that time would note the experiences that people had and found similarities. These experiences, along with the position of the Earth, Sun, Moon, and constellations and the positions relative to the zodiac signs were stored within a catalogue. This went on for several years and is essentially what began our modern-day daily horoscope. However, it is my personal opinion that a lot of these “professionals” who have their own magical websites where you can get a free daily horoscope, just make shit up to sound interesting. That is obvious by the previously mentioned differentials found within each page. I encourage you to do a quick Google search and you’ll see what I’m talking about. This ties into the belief that the Barnum Effect is in play here. You’ll remember the Barnum Effect from last month's blog. If you haven’t read the June 2021 blog The Imaginarium of Barnum, I suggest you head there next to get a deeper understanding of what I’m talking about before you continue reading. Much of what is broadcasted in daily horoscopes, zodiac sign descriptions, and even within mediumship and tarot readings is full of extremely vague generalities. Because the information is presented in such a vague and generalized way, it then becomes an instance where anyone could apply any of the information to their life in some way. So as you can see, there is some psychological manipulation at play here. Now, I am not saying this is true for all who present the information. I will say that there are A LOT of shams out there. I have seen far more fake sites/readings/etc. than I have seen legit ones. If I had to give a percentage from my personal experience, I’d say about 85% of what I’ve seen is bullshit. But you choose what you believe at the end of the day. I just ask you to keep an open mind and a wise eye about you when scanning the web for horoscopes, zodiac information, tarot, and mediumship. 

All of this information is interesting to stew on within your mind. I hope that you learned something new. I know I did when I was researching this topic for the blog. The religious ties were the most surprising thing to me. What did you find most interesting? Drop a comment under the blog on Tumblr or under the Instagram post for this month’s blog and let me know. Tonight if you are able, take a look at the stars and see if you can find the constellations. The plethora of shapes within the brightest stars are brilliant to gaze upon. Who knows, maybe you will find your zodiac constellation. Maybe you will depict a new constellation on your own by combining different combinations of stars. Or maybe you’ll see something that you can’t explain…

Cryptic Mystic Blog by PsychVVitch @psychvvitch

www.LaMorteXiii.com

[shiishki]

okay wait, i changed my mind. you should answer all of these questions as well, if that's what you want from me >:)

oof there's a lot of it, that's what i get for wanting to be ✨aesthetic✨

1: 6 of the songs you listen to most?

vowels (and the importance of being me) - hunny

honeypie - jawny

pretty young thing - michael jackson

mirrors - justin timberlake

sunflower - red orange county

paradise - rude-a

2: If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

a therapist.

ok someone else.. uhh,, my grand grandma because i only have scratches of memories but i dunno if that counts since she passed away...

*rummages through ancient scripts* uhh ok someone who isn't dead.. uhm,, tommie? yeah I'd like to meet them if i could meet anyone on earth

3: Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

ok, the closest german, english or polish book? nvm i have english

"suddenly was. So I just said thank you a few times too, and Mum" ironically this is one of the normal lines in this book

4: What do you think about most?

the fact that I'll have to do something after school. and I don't know if i want to go to college or get a job bc i have no legitimate idea on what to do with my life. it gets overwhelming, just the lack of knowledge about the actual experience.

5: What does your latest text message from someone else say?

Ok

6: Do you sleep with or without clothes on?

with, tho i sleep with just shorts in summer

7: What’s your strangest talent?

not sure if it's a talent, but i can fall asleep anywhere

8: Girls… (finish the sentence); Boys… (finish the sentence)

girls are pretty. boys are pretty

9: Ever had a poem or song written about you?

by me, yes. no one else has written a poem about me specifically. nvm, tommie wrote one and it shall rest on my wall, or desk, i need to find a place for it

10: When is the last time you played the air guitar?

uhh i think last month?

11: Do you have any strange phobias?

i don't think so, but i am hella afraid of the possibly gigantic, terrifying things in the ocean depths that humans haven't discovered yet

12: Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose?

yep, beloved legos as a lil child

13: What’s your religion?

i can't ever remember the name, but i believe gods (from all religions) exist in some way or form. so i believe in different pantheons and etc.

14: If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

walking my doggo, skateboarding, thinking about how to make the lives of my characters worse

15: Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?

behind it.

16: Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

uhmm the arctic monkeys? or the strokes

17: What was the last lie you told?

i know what i want

18: Do you believe in karma?

yes, the rule of three specifically

19: What does your URL mean?

i don't know. it's something me and my sis came up with and that's just my whole identity now.

20: What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

uhh greatest weakness.. i can't finish things. strength is that I'm very stubborn so maybe I'll finish that thing out of spite

21: Who is your celebrity crush?

i grew up thinking crushes were like unicorns. my ex was odd enough to argue with that i didn't love her if i didn't have a crush on her. but I think if i had to guess.. selena gomez, especially in the role of alex russo in wizard of weverly street

22: Have you ever gone skinny dipping?

nope

23: How do you vent your anger?

i write angry letters. sometimes they're sad letters. i write a lot of letters. except i never send them out and no one made a movie about them :}

24: Do you have a collection of anything?

jars and witchy bottles, books? scented candles

25: Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online?

phone calls are stressful enough as is, i don't need you to see my reading off what i frantically wrote to not stumble over my words

26: Are you happy with the person you’ve become?

i think so, yes, but that won't stop me from becoming better

27: What’s a sound you hate; sound you love?

hate flies buzzing right by my ear, love cat purring

28: What’s your biggest “what if”?

what if I'd been born in a place where it was illegal for me (nonbinary) to live, in a time when others thought of me as a curse?

29: Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

they be chilling.

30: Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

right arm, doggo, left arm, pillow

31: Smell the air. What do you smell?

fresh air and doggo, because doggo is with me and I can't live without open windows

32: What’s the worst place you have ever been to?

i dunno tbh

33: Choose: East Coast or West Coast?

which one is less homophobic?

34: Most attractive singer of your opposite gender?

every gender is my opposite gender. selena gomez and justin timberlake

35: To you, what is the meaning of life?

to make it easier for people down the line

36: Define Art.

make thing, thing goes woo

37: Do you believe in luck?

yis

38: What’s the weather like right now?

it's nice actually, very sunny, slight breeze

39: What time is it?

12.59 am

40: Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

i don't, but i once crashed into a fire department vehicle with my bike. bike ded.

41: What was the last book you read?

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

42: Do you like the smell of gasoline?

i legit ass don't know what gasoline smells like.

43: Do you have any nicknames?

many variations of my name, aka. Luce

44: What was the last film you saw?

i think it was Robin Hood: King of Thieves, but it might have been that half of spider-man homecoming i managed to watch with my poor internet

45: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

oh man i dunno... it's not an injury, but i was very sickly as a lil kid and almost died :)

46: Have you ever caught a butterfly?

once, years ago

47: Do you have any obsessions right now?

hmmm horizon zero dawn i think

48: What’s your sexual orientation?

proud pansexual ^^

49: Ever had a rumour spread about you?

not really, i don't think they're big enough to be actual rumors,, meh

50: Do you believe in magic?

yis

51: Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

meh. they suck, i know they suck, that's it.

52: What is your astrological sign?

cancer ♋

53: Do you save money or spend it?

i attempt saving. attempt

54: What’s the last thing you purchased?

for my own money, sweets. i bought lizards for my cats so they can brush their teeth from my dad's amazon acc

55: Love or lust?

luv

56: In a relationship?

nope, i buy my own cookies

57: How many relationships have you had?

1, kinda toxic toward the end, very stressful, don't recommend

58: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?

nu ><

59: Where were you yesterday?

on the fields walking my doggo

60: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?

yep, a pastel pink hoodie in my closet uwu

61: Are you wearing socks right now?

yis, thicc warm socks

62: What’s your favourite animal?

cats

63: What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

cuddles and food.

64: Where is your best friend?

bold of you to assume i have a best friend.

65: Give me your top 5 favourite blogs on Tumblr.

tommie-hildebrandt, kageyuji, nekomas-kuroo, joyful-soul-collector

66: What is your heritage?

I'm a demon boi from Poland tho that's not a thing to be proud of, i mean, look at the economy. awful.

67: What were you doing last night at 12AM?

sleeping, trying to sleep.

68: What do you think is Satan’s last name?

Pinkton. or Satan.

69: Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off?

this is such an odd combination of words i had to look it up. yea.

70: Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

a friend who won't laugh at me when i ask them to order smth for me because I'm too anxious to.

71: You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

excuse me? i am saving the doggo wtf. f u boss, I'm gonna sell my tragic story to the news.

72: You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a) i tell my parents. b) live the hell out of them uwu c) nope uwu.

73: You can only have one of these things; trust or love.

trust.

74: What’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

history maker - dean fujioka :]

75: What are the last four digits in your cell phone number?

3332

76: In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

communication, trust, some more communication.

77: How can I win your heart?

let's not pretend to be something else to please each other, and bring some bitter chocolate.

78: Can insanity bring on more creativity?

maybe. it could. i don't have a say in it since my sanity is held by tape.

79: What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

eat the pizza. stop caring about others not liking me/parts of me. just living for myself uwu.

80: What size shoes do you wear?

uh i dunno how the american sizes work and i don't wanna look it up so, 39, 40 fits too.

81: What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

demon boi

82: What is your favourite word?

socks.

83: Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart.

the bloody organ that sits in your chest and pumps blood into your body so you don't die.

84: What is a saying you say a lot?

uhm im not sure if that counts as a saying, but fake it till you make it

85: What’s the last song you listened to?

blinding lights - the weeknd

86: Basic question; what’s your favourite colour/colours?

oh a normal question people use for ice breaking, sea blue and pastel variations of it.

87: What is your current desktop picture?

like my wallpaper? or the actual picture that sits on my desk? or how my desk looks like atm? it's ugly, a lot of papers and pens and schoolbooks.

88: If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be?

donald trump. or the next asshole who'll try to take the rights of the lgbt and poc away

89: What would be a question you’d be afraid to tell the truth on?

this. this is the question.

90: One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

yo there's a pizza somewhere in the refrigerator, want me to heat it up? we can have a sleep over and talk about our feelings :3

91: You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

telekinesis! or shapeshifting! i could do such fun things with telekinesis ^^ yeah I'd totally eat some radioactive veggies

92: You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

that time my "friends" got me into shoplifting, half-hour is more than enough to punch some sense into my brain and develop good music taste

93: You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

can i save this one? i don't think i have an experience horrible enough to be erased haha

94: You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

sleep as in.. uh no thank u. but I'm down for a sleep over with sam smith ^^

95: You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

just me? what about my pets? my fam? it's lowkey illegal for me to go just anywhere without them owO

uhhmm, greece. imma become part of the greek pantheon out of pure spite. and maybe toronto canada.

96: Do you have any relatives in jail?

not any that i know of o.o

97: Have you ever thrown up in the car?

i think i may have but i honestly don't remember

98: Ever been on a plane?

nope, i dunno if i like planes, but I'd probably sleep if i were on one.

99: If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say?

yeet.

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

(tw mentions of trauma, no details of it)hi i need help i think or at least info dump if u dont mind :(

currently i identify as pan/biromantic because i love everybody (leaving sexuality out for now bc i think thats a bit more complicated) but recently i started doubting. i dont know if its bc im traumatized and i just have a hard time getting close to people enough to feel love or if i just dont do it at all? recently some1 im in a qpr has confessed their (romantic?) love for me and i loved them the best i could but i dont think it was enough. idk if it was a love language thing or if im not capable of showing the love they were talking about. i dont think i romantically like them (thats a whole other issue) but like what if i dont actually feel romantic love at all? i love my friends and i believe in platonic love and sometimes the line is blurred (like qprs). for example i have one friend who i really like (platonic?) and for me it is sometimes blurred but idk if its just a deep platonic relationship (qpr???) or if its a romantic type but i am just too scared to think that im romantic to him bc hes my friend and i dont want to ruin what we have. bc dont friends still hold hands and stuff :( i think abt stuff like kissing but im also scared of intimacy (trauma tingz) or maybe thats an aro thing??

i want to love romantically i think but like what if it isnt what i think it is? i realized im not sure what that feels or looks like anymore all i know is what ive seen in the movies--aromantic people are not broken!!!!! i truly believe that :) - but i feel broken?? like theres something wrong with me and i cant feel the same love like others. i dont understand whats happening or why im feeling this is :( maybe im on the aro spectrum? or maybe this is something to work out w a professional? im just so confused

any help or thoughts is greatly appreciated 🥺🥺

please take ur time w this ask!! i know its kind of,, a lot i kinda info dumped on u :( im so confused about myself

So let’s break this apart a bit.

First of all a lot of people have trouble distinguishing what is romance or not, or romantic attraction or not. And it’s really hard to define and explain, even by people who know they’re experiencing it. And for some people the lines are blurred or they genuinely can’t tell at all. So it’s hard in general, even without trauma making it difficult. 

If you’re interested, the faq for this blog goes into some detail about distinguishing romantic/platonic/alterous attraction. So that may be helpful for you. But honestly my biggest advice is to just check out aro forums/blogs/media etc and seeing if it’s relatable and taking your time, sometimes it needs to time to marinate before you can really tell you’re not experiencing an attraction, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

For the trauma, it can be really hard to separate out what’s trauma and what’s just how you’d have been anyways. And honestly, you don’t actually have to and that may be helpful. One way I like to look at it is if you match an experience or find a label useful, does it matter if there’s a cause? Also there’s always a cause, just is it the trauma specifically or some unique interaction of genes and other experiences that lead you to be this way? And the other thing if trauma is a factor could things change down the road? And the answer is maybe. But maybe someone else has a fluid orientation and it changes for them later too, it doesn’t make it less valid in the moment. 

So yeah maybe the reason you think you could be aro and you’re having trouble connecting to romantic feelings/attraction is trauma. But it doesn’t mean if you think aro woud be a useful label for you that you can’t use it. And it doesn’t mean you can’t keep healing and exploring either, but it’s up to you to decide what feels right. 

Remember that there is a different between feeling broken and being broken. And a lot of people when they’re first realising they could be aro feel broken, and it’s something a lot of people go through. It’s OK to have those feelings early on, but try and remember they’re feelings, and that doesn’t make them fact. Also one thing a lot of people have found have helped with those feelings is connecting to other aros and the aro community, and seeing aros who are cool people or happy or good with their identity can help a lot to feel less broken, and even if you decide you’re not aro in the end this can still be helpful and help take the pressure off when figuring out your label. That you can find happiness either way.

I can’t tell you how you should handle the situation with your qpp, except to say don’t be afraid to take the path that feels right for you. We live in a culture that really teaches a one way to happiness and to dealing with these situations, but there isn’t actually a wrong choice here, if you should try a romantic relationship or not. And honestly there’s risks either way, so it’s best to let your own feelings guide you. Sometimes we may make the wrong choice out of fear as well (and either choice could be that), but if that happens the important thing is you learn and you’re more ready next time a similar situation comes up. 

Should you get help from a professional? You absolutely can, and some people do find that helpful. Make sure you find a therapist who is open minded about aromanticism and aro identities and won’t push you towards allonormativity. And remember you can switch therapists or fire a therapist at any time if they’re doing that. Identity is really complicated and personal too though, so I wouldn’t say it’s necessary, but they may be able to help you navigate the trauma side of it better. But it’s up to you what path you think is best for you.

This is a lot of text, but to sum up, take your time and explore, and slowly things should start to make more sense, but don’t rush it. And try not to panic or be afraid of whatever identity ends up feeling right for you in the end. 

All the best and good luck!

[cynical-amphisbaenia]

Hello, can I get help with choosing a classpect?

Personality wise I'm,,, I'm balancing somewhere between a realist and pessimist? I try to take things as they are, but that negativity often creeps up on me(oof). I kinda have a hard time starting friendships bc I tend to doubt people v hard (and lowkey afraid of new things), but if we end up getting close Ill love making silly little things for them and tease them too if I can :p

I also don't vibe with any sort of religions at all bc believing in shit is too much work and also I'm too painfully realist for believing in any sort of Great Entity.

I don't aim for any great goals and in school I had a "eh, minimum requirement is good enough" kind of attitude.

I often need a break from communication, as relationships can be very hard for me to manage.

As for my likes/hobbies: I will love drawing until I die and it's very important for me. I'm attracted to things that are a mix of weird and maybe cute! But I also like a pinch of horror.

- I feel like one of my biggest life themes is emptyness(???): almost no friends, no one to actually call my family, no experience with life, no ambition or clear identity.

Bc of that, I've been coping emotionally through drawing my whole life.

- Any sort of decision is a major struggle, bc I never seem to know myself enough to know what I want or who I am, and its very hard to step up for myself.

- Bc of a deficit of love in my life and abusive family I've been pursuing getting attention and approval from other people. But in the end, I'm just afraid of showing any of my bizarre-ish interests and afraid of judgement if I take any wrong steps in the eyes of ppl I want to impress.

- I'm extremely afraid of being judged for not being smart or wise bc of how my brain is or how little life experience I have.

- I've developed depression and anxiety, and some years ago I've hit my lowest point where I was running from confronting anything at all until it all came crushing down. After that, I also had to face the hopelessness of my family and If it wasn't for one of my closest friends, I would've stayed in the same shitty spot I was born in and would've stayed absolutely miserable.

-If I had to define my end goal in life, it would be to...just being able to Vibe by myself successfuly. To hate myself less, to be less ashamed of things that make me happy. To maybe be more fine with the fact that I don't have to fit myself into any box right away or at all. Be able to make tiny steps into the right direction no matter how afraid I am or the shitty situation I came from. Be just a bit more happy.

There's are few different aspects I would consider. These are Rage, Hope, Heart or Void. I am inclined to say Heart or Void the most, but I’ll go through them all in case one of the others stand out to you more.

For Rage and Void, I would consider the classes Heir or Rogue as these aspects seem to easily surround you. They come quite naturally, which is like an Heir, but also seem to mostly be negative parts of them which occurs often for Rogues. Your end goal aligns nicely with being a Rogue, however it’s difficult to tell how you interact with your aspect. If Rage or Void does seem like the right fit to you, you will need to consider if you change or steal it - for example, if you wanted to get rid of any negative emotions you’re feeling, would you find a way to change/shift them into neutral or positive ones or would you steal/place them away to deal with later (or never)? Also, I lean toward it being Void as it appears more often in your life and any instances of Rage could be due to how they overlap, but if Rage stands out to you more than Void then you may want to consider it.

On the other hand, being a destructive class could also explain your similarities to these aspects. Being a Prince or Bard of Hope would align well with your Rage-like experiences but lack of a connection to religion. You do also wish to destroy less Hope in yourself and be happier. This is a weaker connection though, so unless you’re considering Rage more than Void, feel free to ignore that suggestion. The main one you want to consider is Bard or Prince of Heart - destroying Heart may be why you struggle to understand yourself and it relates to your worry about being judged and feeling ashamed about your interests. Destruction of Heart comes up multiple times throughout your ask.

So, determining between Rogue/Heir of Void and Bard/Prince of Heart is going to be difficult. You don’t entirely know who you are. A way to try to figure this out could be to decide on why this is - does it feel natural for you to be confused about yourself, that maybe this uncertainty is just a part of who you are (Void)? Or does it feel wrong to not know yourself, that parts of yourself have been destroyed and that you need to find them again (Heart)? 

I hope this helps but feel free to ask me any more questions!! ^^

[foster-fan-club]

So I have been talking with @sophies-earbuds for awhile about sokeefe vs sophitz and I’ve wrote a little about it before, but now I really want to analyze each character in this love triangle madness->starting with Fitz:

[before I take off into the madness I would like to add a disclaimer: this is not meant to prove one ship “superior”, but at some points it will lean in favor of one or the other or both->it’s just meant to add some character analysis to the whole thing (message me if you ever want to talk more about these ships)]

Fitzroy Avery Vacker:

Fitz starts off as being an easily lovable and very cute character. Sophie falls for him, we all fall for him, and soon enough we are on the edge of our seat to see if Sophitz will happen. But just as we start saying he is our favorite, Shannon gives us a look into a trait that will soon define his character in a whole other way.

Alden’s mind breaks.

Shortly afterwards Fitz is left angry, broken, and feeling enormous loads of guilt-wishing that he could’ve been there for his father. Fitz starts to unload his frustrations onto Sophie and that is the first time Sophitz is truly questioned (besides the moment we learn how handsome Keefe is).

His anger issues are not resolved and he never truly finds closure or comes to terms with it. Instead this anger boils over into Alvar’s betrayal, Keefe’s betrayal, almost killing Alvar *twice*, the whole unmatchable drama, and more.

People argue that Shannon ruined Fitz to make Sokeefe happen. But in my opinion, she didn’t ruin him, instead she has now set him up for self growth and redemption.

By the end of Legacy, Fitz is finally adjusting to the changes in his life, he’s slowly realizing that Alvar is beyond his control, and he is working towards finding closure for his friends.

I feel like Sokeefe will eventually happen and that will present another obstacle for Fitz to endure. But Fitz has already hit his lowest point in Legacy, in my opinion. So now he is going to endure the greatest change. I feel like Fitz and Sophie both have a lot of personal growth they still need to go through apart, before they can even try to start dating again. Part of Sophie’s growth will most likely fall along the lines with Keefe’s recovery/new ability and their newish relationship. Fitz needs to refind himself and spend some more time with his family to help him heal. He will obviously depend on Sophie throughout this time and vice versa, but I don’t expect it to be in a relationship way.

Fitz Vacker is not a villain, even though some people paint him out to be. He is just as confused and as hurt and as betrayed as Keefe. He just deals with it in a not so great way. But Keefe also dealt with his guilt in a not so great way in the beginning too (I mean trying to play double agent against the Neverseen is not the smartest). Fitz and Keefe share many characteristics in common and they both have the potential to essentially make each other’s mistakes. But they don’t, instead they learn from them. They learn together, as best friends (wow I’m tearing up bc of Feefe/Kitz [idk their ship name]).

My prediction for Fitz is that he will start to branch off from the group and find his own way. Only once he has grown as a person, will he have a chance at winning back Sophie’s heart. If he does succeed with it all, Sophitz will end with a lot more value than it had in Flashback and Legacy.

So that was my overall *breif* analysis, but if you want more, just keep reading!

The change in Fitz was explained indirectly and perhaps some people missed it. Guilt is a major theme in the kotlc series and plays a big role in each character’s life. It is said multiple times after Alvar’s betrayal how getting angry is a way Fitz’s guilt is expressed. Just like how Alden’s guilt caused him to lean a little harder on his classic “no need to worry” standby. Brant’s guilt caused him to slowly go insane. The guilt Sophie felt for her human parents, eventually led her to a state of numbness. Keefe’s guilt causes him to be reckless. Grady and Edaline’s guilt caused them to shut out the world after Jolie’s death. Eventually each character finds a way to deal with their guilt. Alden eventually admitted that he was wrong to perform the memory break and was provided closure when Della and him helped Wylie and Prentice recover. Grady and Edaline adopted Sophie as a way to fill the emptiness in their home. Even Brant found closure by facing Grady and Sophie (although by then he was already too lost). Keefe is slowly finding closure by coming to terms with his dad, accepting that he isn’t responsible for his mom, and no longer trying to be the hero. He isn’t fully there yet, but Sophie is helping him get there. (This is very important for why sokeefe is such a strong ship but I already said a lot on that earlier) Fitz has never truly found closure and I think that is why he was so upset that Sophie and Keefe let Alvar go. Fitz feels responsible for being played by the Neverseen under his own roof (similar to Keefe). Fitz feels responsible for the shame he brought on his family’s *now questionable* reputation. [That is probably another reason why he wasn’t too happy about the whole unmatchable thing- not because he didn’t love Sophie but because he couldn’t bear hurting his family any more]

His direct family doesn’t blame him, but other members of the Vackers still look down on him. But most importantly, Fitz blames himself. He really wanted to be able to just finish Alvar, not because he is some dark, killing machine- but because he sees it as the only way to ensure Alvar doesn’t hurt the people he loves anymore. To me this is actually a sweeter side of Fitz that is often overlooked as just a creepy trait. Fitz would risk his own well being, he would risk breaking his mind, he would risk living with the burden of killing his brother- just because he believes he can protect his family, his friends, and Sophie. Now as creepy and weird of a justification that is- it is still a valid reason why Fitz would turn into who he is now so quickly. To me Fitz still has the same intentions in mind, but he is so guilt ridden and traumatized that he has gone to extremes.

When you hear him blaming Sophie for bad things that happen to him, it ends up actually being Fitz blaming himself. But Fitz doesn’t have the humility to admit that yet. I used to watch this tv series as a kid that I still love now that had a character who was very guilt ridden. The character was told that to become who he really is he must let go of his feelings of guilt and shame. The character responds *very hotheadedly similar to Fitz* “I’m not guilty or shameful- I am as proud as ever!” He is then told that pride is not the opposite of shame but it’s source. That has stuck with me through reading kotlc because it pretty much describes Fitz.

Fitz is PROUD to be a Vacker, he is PROUD to be a telepath, even in the beginning of the first book he gets defensive when Sophie makes fun of Foxfire because he is PROUD to be a Foxfire prodigy. All this pride can also result in tons of shame and guilt. He feels that he can not make others proud, he can not truly earn his titles, without leaving around loose ends that could tarnish his reputation. When you think about it, Fitz is as proud as ever. He just took elite level tests and will find out soon if he will get in. He figured out how to transmit long distances to Silveny. Sophie and him have strengthened their cognate connection after getting past their feelings. He found the moonlark. He is able to get past Sophie’s blocking. He has accomplished so much, but still feels guilt. His pride causes him guilt and shame, because when something that is out of his control happens- he does not have the humility to admit it. Instead he wants to hunt down Alvar, he wants to be angry for not being there when Alden’s mind breaks, he gets mad at Biana when she gets her scars from Vespera because he wishes he could’ve taken the hits for her. He really does try to be Wonderboy and sometimes he even shocks me with how skilled and smart he really is. But he is still learning how to admit mistakes and move on. This has been his characters biggest guilt related flaw throughout the entire series, it is nothing new. Each character has their own flaws that develop throughout the series.

When Fitz apologizes to Sophie at the end of Legacy, that is when I see his first true act of humility. He apologizes to her before, but this time it just felt so much more genuine because he finally is starting to realize what his actions are doing to those who love him. This is new self growth is where I see Fitz’s character heading. The end of Legacy has given him a chance for a sort of redemption arc. He was never a bad character or evil, he just needs to grow to be his true self. Fitz needs to let go of his past grudges to be able to move forward. He needs to admit that Alvar is out of his control and that he might not be able to be the hero (similar to Keefe again). I feel like when he says he is no longer looking to kill Alvar and hunt him down, but instead is looking for information about his best friend- that really made a difference to me. He is starting to move past it and work towards the greater good. Maybe post-redemption Fitz will have another chance with Sophie. But for now we are all rooting for sokeefe to have a standing chance.

I am so sorry that this is so much to read, but I was going to post all of this eventually so I decided, why not just spam everyone at once??

Soon I will be posting analysis for both Keefe an Sophie, but it will probably *hopefully* be a lot shorter because there is already a ton of great posts about their characters and I don’t want to be too redundant. My asks are always open if you ever want to send in your own opinions/feedback and/or other characters and plots you want to see more of on here!