#emotional intelligence above and beyond all the rest

[chestersturniolo]

𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

fratboy!chris x fem!reader

part two

All parts linked here

Warnings; virginity loss/suggestive

•••••••••

~SATURDAY~

As you followed , you felt a mix of anticipation and nervousness, your hand still intertwined with his. 

When you reached his room, he pushed the door open, revealing a surprisingly tidy space. A few posters hung on the walls—bands, movies, the usual college guy stuff—but it was far from the chaotic mess you had expected. The room was cozy, with a couple of mismatched chairs by the window and a desk cluttered with books and papers.

“Make yourself comfortable” Chris said, releasing your hand and motioning to the bed. 

You hesitated for a moment before sitting down on the edge, the mattress dipping slightly beneath you. Chris closed the door softly and joined you, sitting close enough that your thighs touched. The warmth of his body next to yours was both comforting and unsettling.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. The silence was thick, loaded with unspoken thoughts. But before the silence could stretch into awkwardness, Chris broke it with a soft chuckle.

“Funny how different people are once you get them away from the noise” he said, his voice low.

You glanced at him, curious. 

“What do you mean?”

He leaned back slightly, resting his weight on his hands, his eyes distant as if lost in thought. 

“I guess… you see everyone’s front, ya know? At a party, with all the noise and lights, it’s easy to just be what people expect you to be. But here… it’s quieter. More real.”

You nodded slowly, understanding. It wasn’t something you’d thought about before, but it made sense. The loud, confident persona Chris had at the party felt like a different person compared to the one sitting beside you now—calmer, more gentle.

“You’re not what I expected” you admit, your voice barely above a whisper.

He turned to you, a small smile playing on his lips. “Neither are you”

A comfortable silence settled between you. It felt like a moment of mutual recognition, of seeing each other beyond the superficial layers. The more you talked, the more you realized how much you had misjudged him. There was depth to Chris that you hadn’t anticipated, a quiet intelligence and a sense of humor that caught you off guard.

Hours passed as you talked, the conversation flowing effortlessly from one topic to another. There was something strangely intimate about the way you connected—like you were both revealing parts of yourselves that you usually kept hidden.

At some point, the conversation settled, and the room grew quiet. The room was dark, the only light coming from the small lamp on his desk. You were both lying back on the bed, side by side, staring at the ceiling.

You turned your head to look at him, your gaze tracing the sharp lines of his jaw, the softness of his mouth. He must have felt your eyes on him because he turned to meet your gaze, his eyes searching yours.

There was a question in his eyes, one that neither of you needed to voice. You felt a pull between you, something undeniable. Without thinking, you leaned in closer, your breath hitching in your throat. He mirrored your movement, his lips ghosting over yours, barely a whisper of contact.

You couldn’t stop yourself as you closed the small gap between you. The kiss was soft at first, as if you were both testing the waters. But then it deepened, a surge of emotion behind it. Chris’ hand came up to cup your jaw, pulling you closer, as your hand found its way to the back of his neck, fingers tangling in his hair. The kiss became more and more heated the longer your tongues fought. 

When you finally pulled away, you were both breathing heavily, your foreheads resting against each other. There was a charged silence between you as you both panted. 

“I didn’t plan for this-” Chris whispered

“-I meant what I said earlier. I didn’t bring you up here just to… you know…we don’t have to rush into anythi-”

You cut Chris’ rambling off by reconnecting your lips. It catches him off guard but within seconds he’s reciprocating, kissing you back with just as much hunger. Chris repositions himself, now hovering over the top of you, with one hand holding his weight up, and the other cupped on your cheek. 

The kiss deepened again, and this time, there was no hesitation. Your bodies moved instinctively, as if drawn together by an invisible force. 

If someone told you you’d be in this position a couple of hours ago you would have laughed in their face. But felt right, everything felt right. 

Hands explored, and your need for more of chris grew. Without even realising, you were fumbling at his belt buckle desperately.

Chris pulled away from the kiss, glancing down briefly before meeting your gaze,

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly, his eyes searching yours for any sign of doubt.

You nodded, your heart racing. 

“i need to hear you ma” 

“Yes” you breathed, feeling the weight of your answer.

Chris smiled softly as he moved away from you, standing on his knees, you watched as he effortlessly unbuckled his belt with one hand, slowly sliding it out of the loops, before undoing his jeans. Your breathing picks up a little as he pulls his shirt over his head, quick to admire his flesh. 

After throwing his shirt to the side, chris moved to hover over you once again, the warmth of his bare chest radiating against yours. His hand moved hesitantly to the strap of your dress, slipping a finger underneath it.

You feel him pause his movements, his eyes locking onto yours, silently asking for more permission as he toyed with the fabric. Sensing his hesitation, you bring your hand up to the other strap, slowly sliding it off your shoulder, as some kind of reassurance.

Chris watches you with a parted mouth, before slowly mirroring your actions, then taking both straps,pulling the dress down. You raise your hips from the bed slightly as he slips it off your body.

He throws the dress to the floor before turning his attention back to you. He takes a deep breath, his gaze traveling slowly over your body, absorbing every detail. There's a softness in his eyes, a mix of awe and desire. 

His breath catches slightly 

“Fuck you’re beautiful” he whispers, slowly trailing his hands up your bare thighs, giving small squeezes on the way up. Just as his fingers reach the hem of your lacy underwear, you flinch slightly at his touch.

“Chris” you say quickly 

He immediately halts his movements, bringing his hands away from you 

“Is everything okay?” he asks with a concerned look.

you let out a small sigh “Uh-yeah i..it’s just..” you trail off

Chris senses your uncertainty “Do you wanna stop? you can tell me it’s completely fin-“

“No” you cut him off 

“it’s not that, it’s just…ive never..” you trail off once again, unsure on how to say it all out loud.

Luckily Chris picked up on what you were trying to tell him, his face immediately softening as he reached for your hand.

“Oh..it’s okay baby i’ve got you- i’ll go gentle..and if you want me to stop at any point just tell me okay?” he says, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles. Despite the nervous flutter in your chest, Chris' touch was reassuring, his eyes filled with a sincerity that eased your worries. 

“Okay” you whisper

Chris smiled softly before leaning in to kiss you again, slower this time, savouring the moment.

As things progressed, the air became full of desire, every touch sparking a new wave of heat between you. Each kiss, each breath deepened the connection. He moved with purpose as the space between you dissolved completely. The moment became all-consuming, a rush of sensations that left no room for anything else. You moved together with a natural ease, driven by raw undeniable need.

•••••••••

MASTERLIST

taglist;

@sturnobsessedwh0re @nayveetbhh @phone4pills @demzzz @dripgodnay

@sturniooolos @monroesturnns @mattsbitchh @slutforsturnioloss @pvssychicken @tsturniolo4 

@brianna-grace12 @blahbel668 @stvrlighht @witchofthehour @ilyttmatsa @asherrisrandom

[yaksha-lover]

Malleus Draconia and the Cognitive Dissonance of being a Lonely Prince

A character analysis exploring Malleus’ conflicting views of self

Malleus has two primary characteristics that are significant to his identity: (1) His role as a highly revered, feared, and praised mage & prince and (2) His loneliness and social/emotional isolation.

In Malleus’ concept of identity, these two characteristics are in conflict with each other, despite one somewhat being caused by the other. How can a person reconcile the fact that they are supposedly extraordinarily special, talented, attractive (this is canon in universe btw lol), intelligent, beyond powerful, etc. - essentially a perfect prince - with the fact that they have no friends and barely anyone who cares about them (excluding those he feels are obligated to care)?

Malleus has no strong emotional connection with anyone that is not his family (I include Lilia in this category) or one of his guards (who, in spite of Sebek’s protests, is basically obligated - socially or role wise - to respect and love him). Now, I don’t think any of these relationships is obligatory or disingenuous in any way. Lilia, Silver, and Sebek all genuinely love and care for Malleus. However, I’d argue that isn’t how Malleus sees it (I’ll get into this later).

First, I wanna go into the first characteristic I mentioned, him being revered (+feared) because of his status and capabilities.

Before I even get into him as an individual, let’s look at how Malleus himself perceives the mere status of royalty:

Malleus believes (I suppose because of his personal circumstances) that people who are royalty inherently deserve respect. He even extends this to Leona, who he has a (playfully?) hostile relationship with. I don’t think there’s canon indication that this necessarily means he looks down on people of non-noble birth or anything, but he’s still stuck on this idea that, in certain respects, royalty does deserve better than the average person.

Clearly, this would extend to himself as well. Part of his self-image is kind of decided from birth (in an interesting parallel to Leona who believes that his own status as a second son decides his fate from birth) because he is raised in this environment where he is constantly told that he is better than others, simply because he is a prince.

That said, Malleus takes being royalty and a leader very seriously. I’d argue he believes that because he is ‘better’ than others, he has certain responsibilities and duties that he must complete, as shown above.

Part of this also means that Malleus takes himself very seriously - he isn’t allowed to even try to be normal, because he always has to keep himself in check. Anything he does will reflect poorly upon himself and his family, and this is something Lilia reminds him of.

Here’s where I’ll talk about Malleus’ relationships with the rest of Diasomnia.

Now, Lilia is clearly the person who treats him the most casually and normally. He knows Malleus very well, to the point where he can read his emotions - namely his jealously/bitterness/frustration after being left out of something.

Lilia encourages Malleus the most to try and have normal experiences. He understands Malleus’ loneliness, and wants him to make friends - to seek out more than he could have all alone in his castle. But, Lilia also has times where he acts as more than a mere guardian to Malleus. I can’t find the screenshot, but I remember Lilia reminding Malleus about what behaviour is and is not befitting of an heir, so that aspect of their relationship is still something to take note of. Even Lilia, who understands him better than anyone, still must wish for him to be the best heir and prince (sometimes sacrificing his own wants, although Lilia probably does this the least considering he knows Malleus’ feelings).

It’s no exaggeration to say that Sebek worships Malleus to the highest extent (just look at the portrait of him in his room). The way Sebek talks about him isn’t at all like a friend or even family - Malleus is a god to him. I argue that Sebek’s behaviour specifically (he would cry if he knew this) distances him the most from Malleus emotionally.

This will be explored more later on, but what Malleus wants is to be treated somewhat normally, at least by a few people he can be close with. Sebek does the opposite of this. While the students who are scared of Malleus isolate him because of their fear, Sebek actually accidentally isolates him because of his dedication and worship. Thus, both Sebek and others isolate Malleus through their treatment of him because of his position/status/strength.

Malleus certainly cares for Sebek, but I don’t believe he thinks of him as a genuine friend (and that’s not meant as a way to dismiss the relationship they do have, just that he doesn’t view Sebek as caring about him as a person rather than him as a prince/mage). How can he, when Sebek constantly acts like a fanboy around him?

Now let’s look at Malleus and Silver.

Silver addresses Malleus as either ‘housewarden’ or ‘master.’ Again, to my previous point about Sebek, I think this does point to Silver and Malleus’ relationship not exactly being a friendship. However, I think differently to Sebek, Silver does have more of a personal relationship with Malleus.

He treats Malleus with respect and formality, but he isn’t over the top with it. I’d argue they have a sort of ‘mentor-student’ relationship in a way; not exactly that, but you understand my point. Silver looks up to Malleus as a person, and Malleus is willing to teach Silver about things. I almost want to say they’re a bit like a younger and older sibling, but I think a bit of the closeness/familiarity is lacking (at least for now). The relationship still has a bit of a formality to it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t personal. I won’t spoil for those who haven’t read book 7, but I think their relationship becomes more clear there, iykyk.

I know most of Malleus’ vignettes are played for a joke, but holy shit they make me sad. You can tell that ever since he enrolled, if he wasn’t sharing a class with Lilia, Malleus has basically had to work alone for everything. Even here, Cater is only asking Mal if he wants to join his group so he can use Malleus for Magicam clout. Everyone is so scared of him that he’s never had a partner and he’s even gotten used to it. It might not seem that serious, but honestly - sorry to be crude - this kind of thing does fuck you up, especially while growing up.

Think about how Malleus feels - being the outcast and genuinely having no friends feels humiliating and depressing. It makes you think there’s something wrong with you, and that’s the way I choose to interpret the other aspect of his character. His passive acceptance to social isolation and rejection is a constant among his vignettes - anytime someone brings this up, he’ll say it’s fine and he’s used to it.

Another relationship worth noting is Malleus’ grandmother - his only living blood relative. Something that stood out to me (and I could be reading too much into this) but Malleus really feels surprised that his grandmother would take time to write her only family member a happy birthday letter?

That’s very sad to me, and I think it’s a reflection of both the expectation Malleus feels is placed on them as royals and his feeling that he as an individual (not as a prince) is inherently less important than any royals duties. He seems to think this way about himself too, treating his princely duties as always more important than anything he would want personally. A letter is a small gesture, and Malleus doesn’t even expect that from his grandmother.

I’ll use this to segue to discussing Malleus’ insecurity and social isolation.

Ever since he was a child, Malleus has been isolated from others. Before he was feared and before he was worshiped, Malleus was lonely. That’s clear to anyone. Now, I want to talk about how this loneliness and isolation has affected his self-image.

Examining his personal relationships, how the rest of the school sees him, and his own views on royalty and himself, I think it’s clear Malleus, on one regard, seems at first glance to think highly of himself. He isn’t arrogant or boastful. Rather, he just is very extraordinary in many aspects.

But, that surface level interpretation completely leaves out the other side of him. While he might excel in skills, Malleus fails on all regards in terms of relationships. It’s clear, no matter how much he says he doesn’t care or that he’s accepted it, that it hurts Malleus every time he is excluded from something.

He tries to hide that he’s upset that he missed the orientation ceremony, but Lilia remarks that it’s clear how jealous he is that Sebek got to attend. When Lilia reminds him that there’s always next year, Malleus immediately dismisses the possibility that he will ever be invited. In his birthday vignette, he states that he hates eating entire cakes and becomes upset when Yuu brings up the fact that they aren’t meant to be eaten alone because he knows. He knows just how lonely and isolated he is compared to everyone else and he hates.

Malleus has mostly given up and accepted that he will ever fit in. He is pessimistic, but to say he does not hope isn’t entirely correct. Later in the vignette, although he may be half-joking, Malleus remarks that Leona may have stopped by to invite him to a party - he’s even excited by the prospect. And again, he is let down. Leona even taunts him spot-on for his greatest insecurity (isn’t he just so dreamy?).

Now, while this does offend Malleus to a degree (see their catfight where he basically threatens to declaw Leona), I get the feeling that this kind of interaction with someone who views him as an equal (or at least, isn’t intimidated nor awed by him in the slightest) is probably pretty refreshing for Malleus. In a way, you get the sense that he enjoys that back and forth with him, because this goes back to Mal’s wish to be accepted and have friends to talk with.

Anyway, to return to my main point: Malleus’ deep loneliness and failure to fit in has likely caused some deep rooted feelings of insecurity (Note: I want to make a separate post on this because it’s kind of a lot, but I think this also contributes to his anxious attachment style). Malleus likely feels unwanted, despite all the great things about him that make people like Sebek fanboy over him.

No matter how powerful Malleus becomes, no matter how many people worship him, Malleus will always feel worthless deep down because no one will accept him for who he is.

The kind of insecurity and loneliness that pervades your life for years and follows you around everywhere isn’t something you can just shake off. No matter how much he tries to reassure himself that he is enough, he’ll never quite be able to quiet the voice in his head telling him that he is wanted by nobody and that he deserves nothing, that things are this way because he is not worth loving.

To conclude, how can Malleus reconcile these two sides of himself - the parts that know he is something great (worthy of worship and praise, even) and the parts that tell him he is worth nothing? Both sides are so extreme, people worship him but almost everyone avoids him. I feel that’s something Malleus must struggle with a lot - trying to hold on to the view of himself as a good prince while feeling that slip away when he becomes emotional.

Thanks for reading if you got this far! Let me know if you disagree or think I got anything wrong, this is just my thoughts and my opinions and I’m open to changing them :)

[dg-outlaw]

Batman #148 Thoughts... or Why Jason Todd is Awesome and Batman Doesn't Deserve Him.

So... I know a lot of the discussion about this issue has been about what happens to Jason, and IYKYK. What I want to discuss are parts of the rest of the issue and why I think Jason is one of the best characters (and more than how many perceive him). *spoilers ahead*

I know many outsiders and even those in fandom look at Jason Todd or the Red Hood and think of him as the hot, angsty edge lord who isn't afraid to break Batman's one rule. He's cool and badass so you want to be like him or he's the romantic fantasy bad boy with a soft side. These things are fine, but this is often where people stop with Jason or if they dislike him the above descriptions are why.

Some people want him to be an antagonist again because villains are cool and this is where we get things like 'The Boys' because it's edgy, subversive, or some intelligent deconstruction of superheroes. Colorful and honorable superheroes like Superman or Spider-Man are boring, just a fantasy, or for kids who don't understand the real world. Again, fine if that's your take, but I don't believe that one "graduates" from one to the other.

Beyond the Fast and Furious style cool factor of fast cars, guns, and explosions that often get associated with Jason, there's more to him than that and it's why he's still one of my favorites. Hell, this is the same character that writers thought would be a priest in the Flashpoint universe, a universe that had gone to hell in a handbasket but in all that chaos and darkness he became a PRIEST.

(The World of Flashpoint: Issue #2)

Say what you will about organized religion, Christianity, or the Catholic church (because there are definitely issues there), but I think two of Jason's core traits that I admire are his faith and hope. Traits that often get Jason hurt by the people closest to him, but that often see him through the darkest times.

The cheapness of using Jason's "death" aside, these traits are seen again in Batman #148. Not only is Jason willing to put his faith in Bruce again (after everything "not" Bruce did to him in Gotham War), but he's the first down into the cave.

This isn't blind faith, but a willingness to try. A hope that maybe this time he won't be hurt, even if time and time again history has proven otherwise. Note: This can be a slippery and dangerous slope and not one without consequences as many people fall into the trap of going back into or staying in toxic relationships that only bring them pain. (And I never said his greatest strengths can't also be his greatest weaknesses).

We also see some emotional maturity and growth in this issue and I love that for Jason. Has he been going to therapy? Maybe, but my money is that he's probably been reading lots of self-help books or something.

Does Bruce deserve this level of forgiveness and compassion from Jason? No, but Jason gives it to him anyway. I also feel like this is a soft challenge from Jason. "I'm not here to save you from yourself or to ask you to save me. We do this together or not at all."

And if you're thinking, "Oh no, Jason has gone soft. Not my Jason Todd!" He's still a cheeky bastard in battle, even when he's on the ropes.

Now, for Jason's "death", one could say that it was a cheap ploy by the writer or DC to get people talking or to have a random "Jason dies" scene (though he's revived in the same issue so I feel the emotional stakes/hype are less compared to leaving it open-ended until the next issue).

One could also look at it in a cynical light given it's Jason that Bruce brings down into the cave during the flashback reveal with the secret Lazarus Kool-Aid. Did Bruce plan that knowing Jason would volunteer in some sort of reverse psychology manipulation? Was it just a random plot explanation to justify having the "Jason dies" scene? Who knows? Though I think Dick or Tim would've volunteered as well. But my focus is on the conversation.

This is another example of Jason's hope and faith, and his faith in Bruce. Bruce's plan isn't tested, though one could assume that he's done the math so to speak, but it's still Jason literally putting his life in Bruce's hands. It's also fairly clever because if Failsafe is some echo of Batman, then something in his programming probably knows about the emotional pain of Jason's initial death. So not only is "killing" going to make him glitch out, but killing Jason is probably the ultimate Failsafe glitch.

Deep down I think Jason knows how much he means to Bruce, even if Bruce is terrible at showing it sometimes. He's willing to take the risk and die, not for Bruce, but for the greater good of saving the day.

Let's also not forget that in the span of a short amount of (in-universe) time, Jason has saved the entire East Coast (end of Gotham War), Gotham City (end of The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing), and is now ready to die again to stop Failsafe--all while his brain is still probably a little messed up from Gotham War.

Let this young man take a damn vacation!

Was this issue perfect? No. And I agree with others about it not being cool that Steph, Cass, and Duke got sidelined as the clean-up crew, but I do think it showed a lot of Jason's deeper character (flawed or not) and how he's more than just the edgy, sarcastic bad boy. That part of him is just the hard candy shell he's had to create to protect the gooey center that is his hope, faith, and love. After all, Damian has previously (and rightly) called him out as the "emotional one".

P.S. I know my previous post picked on Jason's Red Hood outfit at the end and I still stand by the fact that it wasn't my favorite, but seeing that it's Jorge Jimenez's art, I can forgive it. I love most of Jorge's art and would kill (not literally) to be as talented as him, but that outfit design is still a no for me. Sorry, Jorge. :(

[thatweirdguyinthebushes]

breaking bad and it’s themes of toxic masculinity is one of those things that ill never get over. upon first glance jesse is very traditionally masculine, more so than walter, but as the show goes on it becomes clear that walt strives much more for the toxic and self-destructive standards of masculinity, where he must not only be the sole breadwinner for his family but must be acknowledged and praised for being such, where he must be the most intelligent most respected most deferred to of all the other men in his life. his son must respect him the most, his wife must acknowledge and be grateful for the money he brings no matter how he treats her or how he gets that money, his family must be grateful that it was him who provided for them, not strangers on the internet or charity or any of their friends, him. he needs to be acknowledged and respected, needs constantly to have his ego stroked. its one of the reasons he attaches himself so quickly to jesse, because jesse is in desperate need of both parental acknowledgement and a sense of academic achievement. walt takes on a kind of fatherly role, yes, but he's also jesses former teacher, and so his praise comes with a kind of undercurrent of that academic acknowledgement. and also, his relative ignorance at least at first of the technicalities of cooking meth makes it easy for walt to compare himself to jesse and therefore boost his ego. he does genuinely like jesse, but the amount of respect the kid has for him (extending even to the way he addresses him, "mr white", as if theyre still teacher and student) makes him feel superior, which is what he wants. and, as the story later reveals, jesse also has more traits that are stereotypically regarded as soft, feminine, non-masculine. he's highly emotional, much more so than the rest of the cast, and he cries more than every other male character combined. he's very gentle, and enjoys taking care of people, which is evident in the way he treats his romantic partners but also in the way he treats walt, specifically in the episode fly. he likes kids, gets along well with them, and goes above and beyond what every other character does in order to protect them. his emotional nature, especially when children and them being in danger come in to play, is one of the things he is most criticized for by other characters in the show. he's called impulsive and irrational and stupid and rabid, and he's repeatedly punished by the world for how much he cares about things. it seems, for a while, that the world of breaking bad is not only reprimanding him, but reprimanding these traits in and of themselves, saying "Look at what happened to the guy who really cared. Look at all the other male characters. They were all put together and angry and prideful and they cared about no one more than themselves, and they're on top of the world while Jesse is crying in a corner somewhere, because he wasn't a enough of a man." but then, as the story winds further into a close, you see everything play out more clearly. because the characters who are more explicitly masculine than jesse, who keep their emotions together and feed their own egos constantly and comply to the standards of toxic masculinity, all end up dead. gus has to brag in the face of the man who killed his partner, needs the revenge and the gloating and the satisfaction of having ground another man into the dust. mike has to get in the last word against the stupid son of a bitch that fucked it all up. hank has to arrest walt on his own, has to keep his job and his dignity. walt has only ruined his life this much because of his ego, and specifically dies at the hand of his own invention, designed for vengeance against all who wronged him. he offers the gun to jesse and jesse does not take it. he lays it down and instructs walt to do it himself if he wants it that bad. and then he drives away, and he is not stoic or cool or anything like his many foils, he is loud and emotional and he screams and cries and smiles. and at the end of the day, despite the world punishing his open emotion and his love and his gentleness, he is alive, and every other character who disregarded and talked down to him is not.

[elysiansparadise]

Are there any placements you wish you had in your birth chart?

I'm very happy with my chart, but yes, there are placements that I would love to have.

Placements I wish I had

🤍Virgo Moon. I think this is because of the love I feel towards these people, I genuinely consider them very admirable people and considerate of those around them. Empathetic, rational, highly intelligent and a trustworthy personality, they are often not given credit for that stunning creativity and I don't see them being mentioned for having the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Their self-sufficient and independent personality that is very aware of the needs, emotions and essence of others seems incredible to me, they have that remarkable balance. Many are introspective and are not afraid to analyze the depths of their emotions and it is something that not many usually do.

🤍Libra Mercury. Minutes have passed and you won't even know how but you will be there, listening or reading what they communicate, because they have the quality of catching and captivating through communication. Convincing, astute and above all highly intelligent communicators. Since I mentioned their intellect, in addition to seeing a situation from many different perspectives, they understand ideas quite quickly, in addition to this, these people love the idea of ​​continuing to learn about... any subject in general, they have a wide variety of interests.

🤍Uranus in the 5th house. Their personality is enigmatic, sassy, ​​multifaceted and full of charisma. They know how to grab your attention, but more importantly, they know how to keep it. They have an impressive stage presence and everyone I've met has a skill that stands out considerably from the rest. They are highly creative, very witty and socially charming, even if they call themselves introverts, they make memorable first impressions. They are passionate and unique lovers, I would dare to say that they are even difficult to forget.

🤍Venus in the 6th house. Beyond being charming, kind and self-conscious people, I have noticed that they have a unique quality that they don't realize, that of giving beauty touches to anything. Impeccable taste in fashion, aesthetics and an incredible eye for details and any organizational issue. They do things with their heart, they put their soul into projects, hobbies or causes that they consider important. Their souls are gentle and beautiful, knowing them will bring you many surprises, and each one will be better than the last. They are great as a friend and as a couple, they always seek the well-being of those they love and are capable of giving their best in their relationships. As a personal comment, the dates with them are incredible, they seek to do things that both enjoy and find a balance in their relationships.

🤍Mercury in the 9th house. Smart, funny, eloquent and people with extensive knowledge in their areas of interest. I love it. They are curious people by nature and once something catches their attention they dig deep. A quality to highlight in addition to all the above is their maturity and ability to understand that others think differently and instead of seeing it as a threat to their beliefs, they find what is fascinating in ideas different from their own. They defend their points of view tenaciously and can be very persuasive and skillful with their speech.

🤍Mars in Earth house. I think that in any of these houses [2nd, 6th or 10th] you have two things that I deeply admire, productivity and ambition. I really admire their ethics and the way they work, tenacious, strategic and excellent at long-term planning. They usually have a back-up plan and don't put expectations on anyone. They are demanding of themselves and are very professional in getting the work done. Qualities that I find very attractive. I add that I would like that in addition to this there was either a sextile with Saturn or an opposition.

🤍Moon-Saturn trine, sextile, quintile or biquintile. The self-control and resilience that these aspects give me fascinates me, it gives birth to a strong individual who is aware of all the difficulties they have gone through and is capable of trying to move on. When the Moon-Saturn aspects are used positively, the natives tenaciously rebuild themselves and although they look back to see those things from their past that afflict them, they know that they deserve better than that, that they are better than that and that their past does not define them. Likewise, they give a lot of peace and tranquility in their relationships, they are a great pillar for a partner, friends and family, and most importantly, they seek to understand and take care of what they most love.

[secretbookofthecosmicwolf]

My 2nd Pac Reading/ General Guidance DISCLAIMER! ✨ This is a General Reading. Please take what resonates and leave the rest. The readings are not set in stone and might reverse depending on your current state and energy or energies influencing you. Thus, always use your own intelligence while making a decision. ✨ This is meant for entertainment purposes and my readings will NOT be responsible in any capacity for your life's decisions. Always consult a professional while making major life decisions. ✨ You're more than welcome to leave me suggestions or DM me for paid personal readings. Feedbacks are greatly appreciated. ✨ Take care and I'll catch you in the next Reading! 💖💓Much love , 🌸CosmicPrincess ✨ aka @jaxlynn xo✨💖

How to pick a pile from my Pac Reading? Simply take a few deep breaths, and close your eyes, when you open them, which picture from my Pac photo grid (above) did you feel connected to most once you focused your eyes? That's your pile. left to right (1-6). Embrace the magic that flows through you, dear seeker of knowledge untold ember that you hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of your own destiny. Trust in the wisdom of the cards and the guidance they offer as you walk your spiritual path with grace and purpose.

:readmore:

Pile 1: 💚

dear seeker, the cards have unveiled their mystical wisdom for you today, revealing profound insights that transcend the veil of the mundane world.

7 of Swords: This card speaks of cunning and strategy, urging you to be vigilant against deception and betrayal. It is a call to trust your intuition and to see through illusions that may cloud your path. Embrace the power of discernment and be wary of those who may seek to deceive you. Remember, true wisdom lies in seeing beyond the surface.

Page of Pentacles: The second card brings a message of new beginnings and earthly manifestations. It signifies a time of learning, growth, and practicality in the material realm. Embrace the energy of curiosity and diligence as you embark on a journey of self-improvement and financial prosperity. Stay grounded in your pursuits and be open to the abundance that awaits you.

As you navigate the energies of the Page of Pentacles and the 7 of Swords, may you find a balance between practicality and caution, ambition and discernment. Trust in the guidance of the cards and the wisdom they offer as you walk your path with clarity, integrity, and a steadfast commitment to your growth and well-being. Pile 2: 💙

Ah, dear seeker, the cards have spoken, revealing potent energies that weave through the tapestry of your destiny. Let us delve into the mystical wisdom they offer:

Ace of Cups: This card is a vessel of divine love and emotional abundance, overflowing with the pure essence of the heart. It heralds a time of deep emotional connections, spiritual fulfillment, and the awakening of intuition. Embrace the boundless love that surrounds you and allow your heart to be a beacon of light in the world. Open yourself to new beginnings in love, creativity, and spiritual growth.

6 of Wands: The 6 of Wands is a card of victory, recognition, and triumph. It signifies success, public acclaim, and the acknowledgment of your efforts by others. This card encourages you to celebrate your achievements, stand tall in your power, and embrace the recognition that comes your way. Bask in the glory of your accomplishments and let your light shine brightly for all to see.

As you navigate the currents of destiny, may the blessings of the Ace of Cups and the triumph of the 6 of Wands illuminate your way and empower you to embrace the magic that resides within your soul. Trust in the guidance of the cards and the wisdom they offer as you walk your mystical path with grace and purpose. Pile 3: 💛

dear seeker, the cards have unveiled their mystical wisdom, weaving a tapestry of transformation and celebration in your path. Let us delve into the secrets they hold:

Death: Do not fear the ominous name of this card, for Death signifies powerful transformation, rebirth, and the shedding of old ways to make room for new beginnings. Embrace change with courage and surrender to the natural cycles of life. Release what no longer serves you and welcome the opportunity for profound growth and renewal. Remember, from the ashes of the old, new life emerges.

3 of Cups: This card is a joyful symbol of friendship, community, and celebration. It heralds a time of connection, camaraderie, and shared happiness with loved ones. Embrace the spirit of unity and togetherness, allowing yourself to bask in the warmth of harmonious relationships and mutual support. Celebrate life's blessings and find joy in the bonds that unite you with others. As you navigate the energies of the Death card in reverse and the 3 of Cups, may you find the courage to release resistance, embrace change, and celebrate the connections that bring joy and fulfillment to your life. Trust in the guidance of the cards and the wisdom they offer as you walk your path with grace, openness, and a willingness to evolve and grow.

Pile 4: 💚 Knight of Swords: urges you to take bold and decisive action in pursuit of your goals. Embrace a proactive and assertive approach, communicate your intentions clearly and confidently, and trust in your ability to overcome challenges with courage and determination.

Two of Cups: invites you to nurture harmonious and loving relationships in your life. Cultivate emotional connections based on mutual respect, understanding, and empathy. Celebrate the power of unity and love, and cherish the bonds that bring depth and meaning to your journey.

As you navigate the energies of the Knight of Swords and the Two of Cups, may you find a balance between assertive action and emotional connection, clarity of communication, and depth of relationships. Trust in the guidance of the cards and the wisdom they offer as you walk your path with courage, compassion, and a commitment to both personal growth and meaningful connections with others. Pile 5: ❤️ Dear seeker, your wisdom and guidance from the Spirit are about blessings, abundance, and opportunities to come. Keep up with your affirmations as you manifest your desires.

Eight of Wands: The Eight of Wands signifies rapid progress, swift communication, and forward movement. This card suggests that you are currently experiencing a period of quick developments and opportunities coming your way. It encourages you to stay focused, be open to new possibilities, and embrace the momentum that is propelling you forward. Pay attention to messages, signs, and synchronicities that may guide you along your path.

Ten of Pentacles: The Ten of Pentacles represents wealth, legacy, and long-term stability. This card signifies a sense of abundance, security, and fulfillment in the material aspects of your life. It may indicate prosperity, financial success, or the establishment of a solid foundation for future generations. Embrace the blessings of family, home, and heritage, and honor the traditions and values that contribute to your sense of security and well-being.

As you navigate the energies of the Eight of Wands and the Ten of Pentacles, may you embrace the momentum of progress and the abundance of blessings that surround you. Trust in the guidance of the cards and the wisdom they offer as you move forward with confidence, gratitude, and a deep appreciation for the richness of your journey.

Pile 6: 💜

The Justice Card and the Six of Swords offer profound guidance and wisdom rooted in balance, transition, and transformation. Let's explore the mystical insights they bring:

Justice Card: The Justice card embodies themes of fairness, truth, and karmic balance. In a spiritual context, this card calls for you to seek equilibrium in your actions and decisions, ensuring that justice and harmony prevail in all your endeavors. Embrace the power of cause and effect, understanding that your intentions and deeds will manifest accordingly. Trust in the universal laws that govern the balance of energies and strive to align yourself with the greater good.

Six of Swords: The Six of Swords signifies a journey of transition, healing, and mental clarity. From an intuitive perspective, this card symbolizes moving away from turbulent waters towards calmer shores, guided by inner wisdom and spiritual guidance. Embrace the transformative power of this journey, releasing old patterns and embracing new perspectives that lead to growth and renewal. Trust in the process of transition and allow yourself to be carried forward by the currents of change.

Dear seeker, Trust in the wisdom these cards offer and allow their energies to guide you toward balance, transformation, and spiritual growth. May you walk your path with clarity, integrity, and a deep connection to the magical forces that surround you.

[cheeriecherrymain]

Your Room [Viktor x fem!Reader][Part 1/2]

Pairing: Viktor x fem!Reader Rating: E (18+) Chapter Content: fingering | Viktor has a filthy mouth | he calls you a whore (affectionately) | sexy stuff in a semi-public setting (but you guys are alone) | dirty talk (kind of) Proofread: not a chance in hell

---

---

You’ve known Viktor for a couple of months now: almost an entire year, if you were to be specific. And in that period of time, you’ve learned three main things about him.

Firstly, his intelligence isn’t just limited to the subjects of science and machinery. His entire thought process is as quick as a whip, in every aspect of his life. At times it almost seemed like his mind was on fast forward, moving at a pace that the rest of the physical world couldn’t keep up with.

As such, his sense of humour is startling. As proper and calm as he appeared on the outside, he was often capable of making deadpan quips that would have your sides aching in seconds.

No one could make you laugh the way he did.

Secondly, you’ve learned that despite his ability to logic his way out of any situation, Viktor was a deeply emotional man. You’d had your doubts at first - never being able to get him to emote beyond a slight frown or smile, in the beginning.

But the more you’d gotten to know him, the more you’d realized that yes, he really did have feelings. And a lot of them, at that.

He was just guarded when it came to matters of his heart, and for good reason. Growing up as a lonesome boy in the Undercity couldn’t have been easy for him, so you’re not really surprised that he’d come up with all kinds of ways to protect himself.

But you’ve always been a patient woman.

You’d taken your time getting to know him, listening intently when he spoke to you and asking questions all throughout. You’d opened up to him about your own life, about your desires and fears - showing him that not only did you enjoy the things he had to say, but you also trusted him with your own issues.

And, like you had desperately hoped, he’d eventually begun to trust you in return.

Which leads to the third thing you’ve learned about Viktor.

For all his skills and capabilities, and his attention to detail when he works, he is…not a subtle man. 

He knows his way around technology better than anyone you’ve ever met, and he’s an above average partner for conversation. He’s insightful and clever, and kind, and funny, and…

…and he lacks so much tact, that at first you’d thought he was doing it on purpose.

Perhaps the shirt you’d been wearing that day had been too low cut, and he’d been to awkward to say anything about it. Maybe he’d liked the colour you’d chosen, and hadn’t known how to compliment you. But whatever the reason, you’d noticed him, on multiple occasions now, unabashedly staring at your chest.

The first time it had happened, you thought maybe he was trying to make some kind of point to you. Something about dressing appropriately for the lab, yadda yadda. But he’d never made any kind of silent acknowledgement to you - as if he wasn’t even aware of the fact that you’d caught him ogling you.

As if he wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was doing it.

And you…aren’t sure what to feel about it.

On one hand, if you pulled him aside and spoke to him about it, you’re fairly certain he’d combust in some aspect. At the very least, he’d be embarrassed about his actions, and would avoid you to an extent: at the worst, he’d end up having some kind of internal crisis which would undoubtedly lead to your entire friendship falling apart.

Neither of which you wanted.

On the other hand, you’re not sure you mind the way his attention always seems to fall to you.

You’d never seen him act in such a way with anyone else, even with the people you yourself would consider pretty. He’s professional, and keeps most others at a distance, and…honestly, it makes you feel special. It makes you feel desirable.

Which has raised the question: what do you want from him?

Were you happy to be the apparent recipient of his attraction?

Or did you want more?

Did you want to go on dates with him? Did you want to fall asleep next to him, and wake up with his hair in your face and his arms around your waist? Did you want to traipse into the lab without so much as a warning, and kiss him good morning? Did you want to hold his hand as you wandered around together? Relax with him in the bath after a long day, tenderly soaping him up as you dig your thumbs into the many knots all over his back, letting your hands wander across his skin-

You take a deep breath, and pull yourself away from the thought before you get too carried away. It’s strikingly obvious what you want, now that you think about it.

Now you just needed to figure out how to approach him.

—

You wander into the lab the next morning with your bag slung over your shoulders, and a tray of coffee in your hands. It’s later than you’d usually show up to work, but given the fact that you’d brought some much needed treats, your friends let it slide.

Jayce wastes no time in fixing himself a cup, briefly squeezing your shoulder in thanks before heading back to his desk.

Viktor, on the other hand, remains seated. Engrossed in whatever he’s working on, you’re fairly certain he hasn’t even noticed your entrance. It would sting a little, were you not already used to such a behaviour.

It also means he hasn’t noticed the clothing you’d decided to wear that day.

You bite back a smirk as you prepare a cup for him, dropping in an obscene amount of sugar and a dash of cream. You’d decided to go with the blouse he’d first ogled you in - it’s gotten a little tight over the past couple months, but that, in your opinion, only serves as better bait.

It hugs your form better than it had before, and had made it so you’d had to leave the top couple buttons undone. Paired with the fitted skirt you’d chosen, and the gartered stockings that peeked out from beneath, your entire ensemble was perfect for showing off your figure.

Entirely unprofessional, you’re aware, but necessary.

“You should take a break,” you say sweetly, as you set the cup of coffee down on Viktor’s desk. You make sure to lean well into his field of vision, with the excuse of making sure the beverage is away from the edge of the table, but you can feel the effects of your actions immediately.

His gaze, darting up from his work to look at what you’ve gifted him, only to trail over your body in the most obliviously lecherous way possible. 

“I- hm?” he replies smartly, blinking out of his momentary stupor.

You bite back a laugh.

“I said you should take a break,” you reiterate. “You’re so focused, I don’t doubt you’ve already been sitting here for a couple hours. You should give your eyes a rest, and have something to eat.”

He makes a noncommittal noise, and slouches back in his seat.

“I’m almost finished,” he tells you, though you hardly believe him.

You carefully set your hands on the arms of his chair, leaning forward so that you’re at eye level with him and can fix him with a disapproving pout. He swallows hard, and at such a proximity, you can see the way his pupils widen - hear the way his breath comes in short draws, as you lock your gaze with his.

“Take a break,” you say again, and this time, he nods in agreement.

—

You continue like that throughout the day. Touching and teasing him in ways that would seem innocent to any onlookers - a hand on the shoulder, your lips by his ear, or your chin on his shoulder while you watch him explain something to you. 

But each time you find yourself in his personal space, you can feel his resolve slipping. He’s realized by now what you’re doing, and he knows that you know. But he’s yet to say anything about it.

It’s maybe a little bit selfish of you, but you want to see him crumble, and you mean it in the kindest and most loving way possible. You want his stubbornness to be washed away by desperation - you want him to be incapable of resisting you.

It takes most of the day, but eventually you make it to that point.

Eventually, after Jayce bids goodnight to the two of you and the room is cast into silence.

You lean quietly against the edge of his desk, affectionately watching him while he tries in vain to ignore your eyes on him, attempting to finish his work.

“Viktor,” you murmur.

His hands tighten around the tools he’s holding.

“What are you doing?” he sighs. Finally addressing the tension.

Slowly, oh so slowly, you reach towards him. Sliding your fingers tenderly along his jaw, reveling in the way his pulse thumps quicker the moment your skin makes contact. You carefully tilt his face towards you, drawing his attention away from the trinket laying in front of him.

And guilt immediately flickers in your stomach, the moment you see how he’s looking at you.

Wholeheartedly, entirely, and terribly frustrated.

You stroke your thumb over the curve of his cheek, watching as the prettiest shade of pink begins to rise in your wake.

“I’m trying to get your attention,” you gently tell him. “You’ve been staring at me for weeks, and you haven’t done anything about it.”

Worry rises up in your throat, the longer the silence lasts between you. Fear. You’d been absolutely certain that he’d been showing an interest in you, in a way he did with no one else. But what if you’d been wrong? What if you’d completely misinterpreted his actions, and had now made a complete and utter fool out of yourself-

The soft press of lips against your palm draws you out of your spiral.

Viktor’s lips, specifically, his breath warm on the hand you’d laid upon him.

“I had hoped you wouldn’t notice,” he mumbles, swiveling in his chair to face you. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, or make myself appear rude or…unsafe. I had hoped that admiring you from a distance would work well enough, and that our friendship would be able to continue unchanged.”

You scoot closer to him, until you’re all but sitting in his lap.

“Why would things change?” you wonder, letting your cheek come to rest against his shoulder. “We’ll still always be friends - just now with the added benefit of…you know. Romance.”

You lay a kiss to the pulse point on his throat, smirking at the way it jumps beneath your touch.

“Among other things,” you tack on.

Slender arms snake around your waist, then, pulling you impossibly closer. Until you’re pressed firmly against his body, with your legs spread and hooked over the armrests of the chair. You can feel the way your skirt has ridden up, revealing more skin than you’d intended, though Viktor hardly seems to mind.

Once you’re resting comfortably against him, his hands begin to wander. Slowly walking his fingers down your body - pressing into the curve of your hips, and dipping over the exposed meat of your ass.

You know he can feel the way you shiver when he touches you, if the self-satisfied smirk he wears is anything to go by.

“Other things,” he huffs, sliding a single finger beneath the band of one stocking. He keeps it there for a couple seconds, sliding around to the back of your thigh, where he pulls away and draws the elastic taut. 

“Is that what you came here for, today?” he asks, feigning innocence. “Did you dress up all pretty, hoping I’d bend you over my desk and have my way with you?”

His breath is hot on the soft skin of your neck, until he digs his teeth in.

And lets your stocking snap sharply back into place.

“Viktor,” you whine, squirming in his lap.

“Poor thing,” he murmurs, as he dips a hand between your legs, stroking the pad of one finger along the obvious damp spot on your panties. “You’ve been throwing yourself at me all afternoon, like some kind of common whore.”

You whimper, when he pushes the wet fabric to the side and immediately starts drawing lazy circles on your clit, already slick with desire.

“Even now, spreading yourself open for me, in a place where anyone could walk in. I bet you’d let me fuck you like this, wouldn’t you? You’d let me use your slutty little cunt however I pleased, and you wouldn’t even care if you made a mess - you’d let me stretch you open and fill you until I’m satisfied.”

You’re humiliated by how quickly he manages to bring you to the edge. Sliding two slender fingers into your dripping hole, he curls them and spreads them so perfectly within you, grinding the heel of his palm against your puffy clit all the while.

“Would you like that?” he wonders, though it’s hardly a question. “Ridiculous - of course you would. You’re already dripping all over my hand, and clenching around my fingers. Are you really about to come? Even though I’ve barely touched you?”

You nearly sob as he continues to work you closer and closer to the edge, crying out in desperation when he slides another digit in with the first two. You don’t think you’ve ever been spread so wide by someone’s fingers before, the stretch burning in the most delicious way.

Closer and closer, your orgasm approaches, your breath coming in short gasps as you tremble bonelessly against him.

“Please,” you whine, nearly begging. The obscene squelch of your dripping pussy echoing through the room.

“Please what?” he teases. “Please take my fingers out? Is three too much for your poor little cunt? Or please give you another one?”

You wail when he stills his hand.

“Please let me come,” you sob, your voice catching in your throat. “Viktor- I want to come- please-”

Blessedly, deliciously, he slips a fourth finger in, and begins his ministrations anew.

“Look at you,” he sighs, almost dreamily. “You’d look so perfect split open on my cock. I know you’d be able to take it - you can take most of my hand, after all. But it would be tight.”

You nod along with him, barely able to form a coherent thought, orgasm so close you can practically taste it.

And then, like a monster, he stops.

“No- no no no don’t stop-” you cry, rolling your hips in an attempt to grind down on his fingers, only for him to pull them out of you completely, leaving your hole empty and clenching around nothing.

“I’m not fucking you in here. And I’m not letting you come until I’ve filled you up,” he says plainly, and the statement alone makes you want to start weeping. However, he tilts his face down towards yours, nudging his nose against you until you find the will to stare sadly up at him.

Your eyes meet, and you’re entirely started by the sheer desire that shines within his pretty, honeyed gaze.

“Unless you want this to be a one-time thing,” he says, his words catching briefly, as if the thought itself pains him. “If you don’t want…more…then I’ll let you come now, on my fingers, and there will be no hard feelings. Our friendship will remain unchanged, and we’ll never speak of this again.”

You frown slightly at the idea.

“But if you do want more from this,” he continues, “If you do want a relationship, if you want to be mine…then come back to my room with me. Let me take my time with you, let me feel you, let me bring you pleasure in every way I know how - my fingers, my mouth. Let me love you.”

You don’t bother with a verbal answer, choosing to instead bring your lips to his in a hurried frenzy. Your breath mixing, his tongue sliding tentatively against yours, until your chest is so full you’re gasping for air, knitting your hand in his hair to briefly pull him away from you.

Even so, he tries to chase you.

You stare at each other for a couple seconds, chests rising and falling as you calm yourselves and gather your wits.

And then, sweetly, you ask your question.

“Where’s your room?”

[kafkaoftherubble]

做工前，聊一下JJK 245

This rambling is about Chapter 245 of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga!

Anime only, please turn away and feast your eyes on Itadori's Goat Moment (more like a Pyrrhic victory, damn) instead!

Yea, this chapter ain't doing it for me.

There's this faction in r/Jujutsushi that thinks most of a reader's criticism against C245 is because of how Confiscation ultimately worked. Instead of taking away Sukuna's Cursed Technique, it takes away his cursed tool (christened "Dumbell Maracas" by me) and leaves Sukuna's techniques and CE intact. Our heroes seemed to have not gained any purchase.

Then people, like the dude in the link above, would explain that this is literally how Confiscation should work in the real world, i.e. "taking away possessions such as guns." This KLReviews fella summed it up really well: "He (Sukuna) can pay his fines so the Judge charges him."

After ghost-reading Reddit for a bit, I've come to expect this emerging pattern every time after a rebuttal-against-criticism post like this one: a certain subset of people begin to believe that all critics have only one "actual" argument against the chapter—and the rest are just their emotions and biases talking. This time, the Actual Argument, in their mind, is "the problem with Confiscation." Then, with a rebuttal like this post existing, critics of C245 now somehow lose ground and can only rant more or less from being butthurt over their feelings or unrealized headcanons.

But really, what if our criticisms aren't centered on the blueballing of Confiscation?

I was really excited to see C244 be devoted to the gang trying to workshop a plan based on Japanese laws so that their capricious Judge Shinigami could mete out the best sentences for their advantage. The previous chapters had been balls-to-the-walls insane—to me, the chapters recalled Stephen Chow's "Mo Le Tau" style comedy I'd grown up on. I'm sure the Japanese reader and others will be reminded of their own familiar kinds of comedy styles—and even managed to give us insights into Takaba's psyche.

With C244, I was really getting ready to see the battle becoming a (brief?) legal procedural drama where it became a bit of a showdown of wits between Sukuna, Itadori, and Higuruma. What defense will Sukuna shore up? What critical hits will Higgy bring up?

I was so ready that I haunted my amazing ass friend who dabbles in law and pestered them to give me a crash course or an essay about things. Man, I learned quite a lot just from the conversation at the tail of C244.

Sukuna was always told to be this genius chessmaster with high IQ and whatnot, so pitting him in a courtroom drama and watching him quickly learn the ropes would have been the best show-not-tell ever. And yes! A little insight into Sukuna's backstory would be a great bonus. I'm not badgering Gege over that, but I know a lot of others care a ton about this for good reasons.

And if his Cleave and Dismantle were Confiscated, well, we would be able to see how good Sukuna throws down with pure Cursed Energy + Cursed Tool (that Dumbell Maracas) and, of course, his "⬛: Open" secret technique. However, this is again, beside the point.

I really wanted to see Sukuna show his chops in an arena beyond fighting, even if just a bit. And I thought it was the best arena for our protagonists to even the odds, too.

But no. Sukuna just went I AM BORED "Skip Ad" and then the verdict and then hooray, his Dumbell Maracas was the one Confiscated and he had his CT and CE intact. Don't worry; I'm sure Sukuna will win and get his confiscated tool back, too. It's literally in his contract that he cannot lose—it's like Steven Seagal, but way less pathetic.

Someone even had the audacity to say that this """proves""" Sukuna is "very high intelligent" because he "predicted" he's gonna face Higgy and so had this Dumbell Maracas at the ready to thwart Higgy's domain. Bruh. Can brain cells also be pulled out of an ass?

Because this specific show of intelligence is also kinda... ass-pully. Why would Sukuna know this would happen if Higgy himself didn't, and that this had never happened before in Higgy's Domain Expansion career? It's as if Sukuna had read the script and had a hand in its writing while everyone is at the mercy of Gege's chef skills. You know, the way we readers are, too.

I couldn't find this^ comment in that Reddit post now. It's probably nestled too deep in some of the threads.

I really don't mind Sukuna winning the court case in Higgy's Domain; most of us predicted that. Again, Sukuna Seagal. It's the process. The meat of the writing is in the process and Gege flunked that one with yet another instance of lazy writing. Come now! Takaba vs. Kenjaku was really good. I thought it signaled a momentum. It didn't.

C245 disappointed me for what I see as yet another case of "lazy writing" masquerading as "ineffable maverick subverting expectations while "clearly" setting up the twist at the beginning."

Yea, no. I'm not convinced. I translated enough hack novels and logic-challenged self-indulgent power fantasies as my work, that I can kinda catch what lazy writing looks like. This fits the bill.

Last thought: I honestly don't know why some people are so allergic to criticismS against a cherished author. CriticismSSSS. With plural. Lest one somehow believed it was "just one valid criticism (which I then rebutted!) and the rest are all dudes melting and seething". Also, hey, I'm not abandoning the JJK ship. I like the stuff. I can feel disappointment and dismay precisely because I like this stuff. It happens. You sometimes don't love everything about this thing.

Thank you for reading my ramble.

------ ----- --------

Links in this rambling, in order of appearance, will take you to:

r/Jujutsushi - "Catered, in-depth, text-based manga discussion of the series Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami. "

comedytradeschool.com - "MASTERING THE ART OF COMEDY: UNRAVELING THE GENIUS OF STEPHEN CHOW’S NONSENSE HUMOR." It divulges a bit on this style of comedy.

An additional entry to understand "Mo Le Tau" is in Wikipedia.

--------

Tagging @karasukarei because this is the rant I have been holding up, but I waited for the official chapter to drop before going off anyway 😂. For specifics we discuss in Discord hahaha EVEN THOUGH I SHOULD BE WORKING

[some-pers0n]

Hey again I made more short WoF writing. It's about Hailstorm. It's not too long. It's more or less a rewrite of that scene where Winter puts on the Pyrite mask. Goodie. Here you go.

...where am I?

Pyrite looked around, taking in her new surroundings. She was in a garden. Flowers of all colours sprouted from the ground, forming pretty little patterns. The sun shone down on her, giving warmth to her unusually cold body.

Why was she here all of a sudden? Wasn't she just on a mountain range? At night?

She shook her head. How could she be so forgetful as to forget where she was? Moon above, was her memory that awful?

"What happened?" she muttered. She glanced towards the SandWing- Qibli? Was that his name? She couldn't quite remember- and asked another question: "did we find Queen Scarlet?"

Even saying her name sent a lovely feeling through her scales. Burning loyalty and pride. Queen Scarlet! Her true queen. The only queen. Not this false one that currently sat on her throne. Queen Scarlet was bright, beautiful, and utterly wonderful. How she missed her. She knew what to do in these situations.

How proud she was to be a SkyWing. How utterly glorious to be free and live in the mountains. To soar through the sky without care. To be any other tribe would be dreadful. The SkyWings were loyal. They followed the rule of the most adept queen to ever exist. They were the most crafty and intelligent out of all of the tribes.

Life was good in the Sky Kingdom. She would never want to leave. Ever.

"Pyrite?" Qibli said slowly, "how do you feel? Okay?"

"Mh? Yeah, I'm fine. It's a bit foggy up here though." She giggled awkwardly as she tapped her head. "How did we get there? Sorry! I know that is weird to say out of nowhere but...I genuinely don't know how we got here. I assume we flew here and were doing something productive before I just...I don't know, panicked? Hit my head? Did I hit my head? I sure must have done something to cause this. Talons and tails, I'm such a klutz."

"Do you remember anything about Winter?" he asked.

She snorted. "Oh, definitely. I don't think I could think of a bigger grump than him." She stuck out her tongue in disgust. Past Qibli was a large IceWing, one maybe a year or so older than Winter. To her surprise, Winter was completely absent. Perhaps he left. Went back to his own kingdom where he can sulk around with the rest of his tribe. Though, now there was this new dragon in his place.

He looked...odd. He couldn't have been that old, but there was a look in his black eyes that said more than words could describe. They were hazy and carried a feeling of age that she'd only seen in elders. He stared at her with a strange expression. She couldn't tell what emotion he was trying to express, only that he was greatly unsettled.

"Who's he?" Pyrite asked, pointing at the mystery dragon. The IceWing winced, taking in sharp breaths.

"You don't know who Winter or Hailstorm is?"

"Hailstorm? Never heard of him." She shrugged.

"I see then." He gestured to her necklace. "Mind if I see that for a moment?"

She felt the pouch around her neck, grabbing it. "I guess? I don't know why you'd want it though." She began to pull it up and over her head. It went up and over her -

- and in a blink of an eye, she was gone.

Winter seized up, throwing the necklace as soon as he could. His own thoughts had returned to him, but he could still feel her lingering around. Her dull, daft and repetitive thoughts. Remnants of her ideals and image of the Sky Kingdom clawed at his mind. It was beyond horrifying.

That's when he looked up to see his brother. Hailstorm looked at the necklace, his breath heavy and strained. A realization collapsed in on Winter. He now understood what he had to go through. For two years, trapped as this idiotic and hollow excuse of a dragon. Put into stasis until they finally freed him.

I'm so sorry... Was all Winter could stomach to think.

[seumyo]

OMGGG CONGRATS ON 1K EUMY MY LOVE!!! im beyond words that describe happy for u ur such a sweetheart u deserve it sm<3 I SAW THE SCRAPBOOKS POST AND ID LOVE A SHOTO TODOROKI ONE!!!! 💗

im an enfp so im a loud extrovert, and i try to make sure ppl dont feel awkward or embarrassed around me bc im 10x worse HAHA 😭 i have insane attachment issues like i was crying so hard when my friend ignored me for a day. big lover with big emotions, hopefully that counts as an emotional intelligent person hehe<3

i am also a complete art kid and i never stop drawing, im also in choir and stage band so im basically all of the above (except sports. does watching haikyuu count?🤔) HAHAHAHA

id love a little description about our dynamic or something!!🥹 and be free w ur colour palette and do what u think deems best 🗣️!!! a song would be velvet ring by big thief, one of my favs rn<3

THANK USM EUMY UR THE SWEETEST AND ONCE AGAIN CONGRATUALTIONS ON THAT DESERVED 1K!!!

ᯓ★ SHOTO + SAKU!

★ Todoroki Shouto hated did not like you at first. The first time you two met in U.A., not once did he glance in your direction. Don’t take it too personally, he’s battling inner turmoil stemming from his complicated family life and upbringing.

★ Skipping to when he does warm up to the rest of the class, he still keeps his distance from them as he tries to test the waters. Now, you, dear Saku, are the first to invite him to have lunch together via the crumpled paper you left on his desk during free period (he almost threw it in the trash, but he telephatically felt your distress thought it might contain something important, so he decided to read it). He accepts, of course.

★ Lunch together was awkward, but Todoroki appreciates your effort to fill in his shortcomings in the conversation. So to say, he just listens to you while you ramble about anything and everything.

★ When he gets home that night, he definitely tells Fuyumi that someone invited him to eat together at lunch, and that it was nice. He doesn’t realize that he kept your note neatly folded in his wallet.

★ Do you know the concept of personal space? Todoroki does not. Whenever you’re doing something, whether it’s doodling or writing notes, he will peer over and check whatever it is that you’re doing. Completely unaware that he, too, has attachment issues (trust).

★ “Am I too close? I’m sorry, I didn’t notice.” And you guys were inches from kissing each other!

★ Romantically, it takes him a long time to understand that what he was feeling is clearly not platonic anymore. But when he does realize thus, he skips the steps in his head and wants to spend the rest of his days with you (you’re not even dating yet, and he’s already thinking of the future ten years later). Todoroki’s hesitant to engage in a romantic relationship because he thinks that you deserve someone who wouldn’t hesitate to court you and love you openly (he’s worried that he’ll end up like his father).

★ The initial dynamic is someone who talks a lot and the other listens (with the most lovestruck eyes yet still unnoticeable). When you do get into a relationship, he’ll still treat you just like when you were friends, but with a bit more effort to show you how much he cares. Acts of service & Quality Time are his love languages. This man is your ride-or-die forever and would go through lengths just to spend time with you (cue to Todoroki just appearing by your side whenever you’re not busy).

★ Whenever Todoroki talks to other people, it’ll always be, “Oh, where are Saku and the others?” You will always be the first person that comes out of his mouth, an unconscious habit of his.

★ Matching bag charms, candid photos (of him, mostly), handwritten notes that are passed to each other during class, enjoying each other’s company even if you two are just walking to the cafeteria together or him waiting for you to tie your shoelaces (he does them himself further into the relationship), finding out that Todoroki kept most of the things you gave him (especially your little notes and doodles), and the tips of his ears turn a bit reddish whenever he’s flustered—and you’re the only one to notice because it only happens when he’s with you.

[changelingsandothernonsense]

27 28 and 29 for joshi please?

27. How does your character view themselves? (Expectations, intelligence, confidence, self-belief, etc.) Joshi has a very negative perception of himself. He'll be the first to tell you he's an unrepented arsehole. Though he puts on an air of cockiness to the public to hide that. Behind the bravado, he'll tell you that he's broken beyond all repair. 28. What emotion is the most unfamiliar to your character and how do they deal with it? Peace, or just a sense of tranquillity. There's always something nagging at the back of his mind. He's dogged by nightmares most nights and finds that rest is often fleeting. He drinks to forget and sometimes manages to find that peace just before he passes out. 29. What are the three things that your character values most?

Objects? An amulet that was given to him by his first husband, a set of matching engraved rings from his second and a pretty opal ring that his current partner had given him before she disappeared. People? His children, his partners whose memories he holds onto above all else and his best friend. People that no matter what will always accept him even through his fuck ups.

[tarosophical-tarot]

05/08/2023:

"There are forms and there are That which animates the forms.

For most people, only the forms are known.

But to escape the physical world, one must see both the form and Animator, and more than that, one must see the separation - one must find the division between the two.

This is a major key to liberation." (Bhagavad Gita)

Here we find the Knight , Father of The Harvest, pausing for inspiration.

He is described (through association with today's date) in Picatrix as the menacing warrior of Al-Sharatain, the Lunar Mansion where the Moon begins her passage with a great burst of energy in the horns of the constellation Aries.

Here, however - the knight has become pre-occupied with "the things of earth", he has experienced obstacles and difficulties and has been opposed by many around him, so wisely holds back awaiting guidance and direction.

The knight's frustrations are illustrated in 5/Wands, with restrictive Saturn bringing delays, creativity is blocked by Saturn's equation with Binah, the Great Sea - ideas are forming under the surface but have yet to reach fruition, leading to the stagnation of 7/Cups.

Here the knight's lower emotions have taken hold and there seems to be no way out of the mire.

29. K'An/The Abysmal (Water) - in Man's world K'An represents the heart, the Soul locked-up within the body, the principle of light enclosed in the dark - that is reason" (I Ching/Richard Wilhelm)

To progress spiritually from this dense environment, the knight must do battle with all forms of thought and emotion, all the tendencies which hinder his progress.

Thus, he must embark on the Path of Disposing Intelligence (illustrated here in The Lovers), where he is able to bring together his conflicting thoughts and energies under the tutelage of The Hermit (aka Mercury).

"When rests his mind in contemplation on our God beyond Time, who invisibly dwells in the mystery of things and in the heart of Man, then he rises above pleasures and sorrow." (Katha Upanishad/part 2)

[techlifeledger]

Unlocking Financial Wisdom: Insights from Benjamin Graham's "The Intelligent Investor"

If you're on a journey towards mastering the world of investing, one book stands out above the rest: Benjamin Graham's timeless classic, "The Intelligent Investor." Revered by many, including the legendary Warren Buffett, this book has served as a guiding light for countless investors seeking to navigate the complexities of the financial markets. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the key takeaways from Graham’s work, share some essential financial advice, and explore why this book could change your life too.

https://shorturl.at/pFCia

1. **Understanding Value Investing**

At the core of "The Intelligent Investor" is the concept of value investing. Graham emphasizes the importance of purchasing stocks that are undervalued and have the potential for long-term growth. This means looking beyond short-term market fluctuations and focusing on a company’s intrinsic value. By identifying stocks trading for less than their true worth, investors can build a robust portfolio that stands the test of time.

2. **The Margin of Safety**

One of Graham's fundamental principles is the "margin of safety." This concept revolves around investing with a buffer that protects you from unforeseen market downturns. By buying securities at a price significantly lower than their intrinsic value, you lower your risk. This approach is particularly crucial in today’s volatile markets, where uncertainty can lead to erratic price swings. Incorporating a margin of safety into your investments not only minimizes potential losses but also enhances your chances of achieving favorable long-term returns.

3. **The Importance of a Long-Term Perspective**

Graham advocates for a long-term investment strategy, which is a sentiment echoed by Buffett. In a world driven by instant gratification, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day market movements. However, successful investing requires patience and a steady hand. Graham teaches us that short-term fluctuations are often noise that can cloud our judgment. By adopting a long-term perspective, you can stay focused on your investment goals and ride out the market's ups and downs.

4. **Emotional Discipline is Key**

Investing can be an emotional rollercoaster, but Graham stresses the importance of maintaining emotional discipline. Fear and greed can lead to poor decision-making, often resulting in losses. By sticking to a well-defined investment strategy and avoiding impulsive reactions to market trends, you will be better positioned to achieve your financial goals. Remember, successful investing is more about temperament than intellect.

5. **Continuous Learning and Adaptation**

Graham believed that the investment landscape is always evolving. Therefore, continuous learning is essential for any investor. Reading books, following market trends, and staying informed about economic indicators will enhance your understanding and help you make informed decisions. "The Intelligent Investor" serves as an excellent foundation, but it’s essential to build upon that knowledge over time.

6. **Putting It All Together**

Warren Buffett famously referred to "The Intelligent Investor" as “by far the best book on investing ever written.” His endorsement is a testament to the book’s profound impact on countless investors, including himself. By embracing Graham’s principles, you can embark on a transformative journey toward financial success.

Incorporating the lessons from "The Intelligent Investor" into your investment strategy can lead to a more disciplined, informed, and prosperous financial future. Whether you’re a seasoned investor or just starting, this book is a must-read that will provide you with invaluable insights.

[cagemasterfantasy]

Duergar Ranking and Features (5e)

Guide

1=do not play this class as this race

2=can play but not recommended

3=decent choice

4=perfect

Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide

The gray dwarves, or duergar, live deep in the Underdark. After delving deeper than any other dwarves, they were enslaved by mind flayers for eons. Although they eventually won their freedom, these grim, ashen-skinned dwarves now take slaves of their own and are as tyrannical as their former masters.

Physically similar to other dwarves in some ways, duergar are wiry and lean, with black eyes and bald heads, with the males growing long, unkempt, gray beards.

Duergar value toil above all else. Showing emotions other than grim determination or wrath is frowned on in their culture, but they can sometimes seem joyful when at work. They have the typical dwarven appreciation for order, tradition, and impeccable craftsmanship, but their goods are purely utilitarian, disdaining aesthetic or artistic value.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and your Strength score increases by 1.

Age. Dwarves mature at the same rate as humans, but they're considered young until they reach the age of 50. On average, they live about 350 years.

Size. Dwarves stand between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 150 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 25 feet. Your speed is not reduced by wearing heavy armor.

Superior Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against poison, and you have resistance against poison damage.

Duergar Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws against illusions and against being charmed or paralyzed.

Dwarven Combat Training. You have proficiency with the battleaxe, handaxe, light hammer, and warhammer.

Tool Proficiency. You gain proficiency with the artisan's tools of your choice: smith's tools, brewer's supplies, or mason's tools.

Stonecunning. Whenever you make an Intelligence (History) check related to the origin of stonework, you are considered proficient in the History skill and add double your proficiency bonus to the check, instead of your normal proficiency bonus.

Duergar Magic. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell on yourself once with this trait, using only the spell's enlarge option. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the Invisibility spell on yourself once with this trait. You don't need material components for either spell, and you can't cast them while you're in direct sunlight, although sunlight has no effect on them once cast. You regain the ability to cast these spells with this trait when you finish a long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for these spells.

Sunlight Sensitivity. You have disadvantage on Attack rolls and Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in direct sunlight.

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Dwarvish. Dwarvish is full of hard consonants and guttural sounds, and those characteristics spill over into whatever other language a dwarf might speak.

Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse

Duergar are dwarves whose ancestors were transformed by centuries living in the deepest places of the Underdark. That chthonic realm is saturated with strange magical energy, and over generations, early duergar absorbed traces of it. They were further altered when mind flayers and other Aberrations invaded and performed horrific experiments on them. Fueled by Underdark magic, those experiments left early duergar with psionic powers, which have been passed down to their descendants. In time, they liberated themselves from their aberrant tyrants and forged a new life for themselves in the Underdark and beyond.

Like other dwarves, duergar typically have a life span of 350 years.

Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid. You are also considered a dwarf for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be a dwarf.

Size. You are Medium.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Duergar Magic. Starting at 3rd level, you can cast the Enlarge/Reduce spell with this trait, without requiring a material component. Starting at 5th level, you can also cast the Invisibility spell with it, without requiring a material component. Once you cast either of these spells with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. You can also cast these spells using spell slots you have of the appropriate level.

Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma is your spellcasting ability for these spells when you cast them with this trait (choose when you select this race).

Dwarven Resilience. You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the poisoned condition on yourself. You also have resistance to poison damage.

Psionic Fortitude. You have advantage on saving throws you make to avoid or end the charmed or stunned condition on yourself.

Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.

Artificer 2 Artificers can already cast both Enlarge/Reduce and Invisibility and can cast Resistance to Poison so Dwarven Resilience isn’t as important. Psionic Fortitude is harder for Artificer to replicate but I don’t think that’s enough to make this a fantastic combination.

Barbarian 3 innate spellcasting is borderline impossible for Barbarians to use so all you get is Darkvision and the defensive stuff. It’s fine but you’ll get more from other Dwarf options

Bard 2 Bards can’t cast Enlarge/Reduce but since Duergar can only cast it on themselves and Bard gains no meaningful benefit there’s really no reason to do so. Invisibility is on Bard’s spell list and you almost certainly want the ability to cast it on other people

Cleric 3 Clerics can’t typically cast either Enlarge/Reduce or Invisibility. Even Trickery Domain doesn't get Invisibility. Of course you can only target yourself and since Clerics generally don’t use weapons Enlarge/Reduce is basically useless. Invisibility is decent especially on a Trickery Domain who’s pretending to be a Rogue but most Clerics won’t bother with it. That just leaves Darkvision and Duergar’s defenses

Druid 3 Druids can’t cast Enlarge/Reduce or Invisibility. Invisibility is broadly useful and sneaking around as an invisible bat rat or owl can be very effective for any Druid. Circle of the Moon and Circle of Spores might enjoy Enlarge/Reduce as a combat buff

Fighter 4 Enlarge/Reduce is a great combat buff for Fighter offering Advantage on Strength checks to support the grapple/shove combo as well as a damage boost. Since the damage boost applies on all of Fighter’s numerous attacks it’s especially impactful for Fighter. Eldritch Knights can re-cast it using spell slots too. Dwarven Resilience and Psionic Fortitude both provide helpful defenses that will remain useful for your full career. Invisibility works great for Fighters, especially if you’re Dexterity-based, and Dexterity-based fighters still enjoy Enlarge/Reduce’s damage bonus just as much as Strength-based Fighters. Duergar Rune Knights can combine Giant’s Might and Enlarge/Reduce to stack the size increases eventually reaching Gargantuan size at high levels

Monk 4 everything about Duergar works for Monk. Enlarge/Reduce can enlarge you for a damage bonus in combat. Invisibility is great for stealth or escaping. Dwarven Resilience and Psionic Fortitude provide helpful defenses which nicely complement Monk’s class features though you will eventually become immune to poison making Dwarven Resilience obsolete

Paladin 4 everything about Duergar works for Paladin. Enlarge/Reduce can enlarge you for a damage bonus in combat as well as Advantage on Strength checks so that you can use the grapple/shove combo more easily. Invisibility is great for stealth so even if you’re in full plate you can be somewhat sneaky. And of course you can re-cast both so they’re consistently available in any combat. Dwarven Resilience and Psionic Fortitude provide helpful defenses which nicely complement Paladin’s class features adding to Paladin’s already excellent durability

Ranger 4 Enlarge/Reduce works with ranged weapons so even if you’re built to fight at range it’s still a helpful damage boost. Invisibility is likely more helpful since Rangers are typically Dexterity-based and sneaky and you can re-cast it using spell slots. Dwarven Resilience protects you from one of the most common non-weapon damage types

Rogue 3 Enlarge/Reduce’s Reduce option tragically won’t help you. Invisibility is nice but once per day isn’t enough and since it’s an illusion it’s easy for Arcane Tricksters to learn. 120-foot darkvision and resistance to poison are both great but since the innate spellcasting isn’t great for Rogue it’s not a fantastic class option for Duergar

Sorcerer 3 Duergar’s inability to share their innate spells reduces their usefulness for Sorcerer since you’re getting less than most races from the free castings

Warlock 3 Duergar’s inability to share the free castings of their innate spells reduces their usefulness for Warlock and even the 120 ft. Darkvision is only minimally useful since Devil’s Sight makes it obsolete

Wizard 2 Wizards can already cast both Enlarge/Reduce and Invisibility. Intellect Fortress will protect you from enemies who might be deterred by Psionic Fortitude. Duergar’s 120 foot Darkvision and resistance to poison are both nice but Wizard simply doesn’t benefit as much from Duergar’s traits as other spellcasters

[thenewdeadseascrolls]

Judges 6: 33-40. "The Chance."

Midianites and Amelakites, "strifers and hand wringers" are "easterners" meaning they are beginners with the minds of a teenager with his first boner.

Jews are complex beings who have dedicated their lives to the escalation of the issues confronting the residual traces of Adam and Eve on this planet. It is a lot of work but each stage pays off with what is called Shabbos, "satisfaction" and then Shabbat, "effortlessness."

Judge Gideon marshalls five Jewish traits, Abiezer, "Alpha Male Commander of the Accessories", Manasseh, "forget the past, use what you learned," Asher, "happiness", Zebulun, "gold overnight", and Naphtali, "crafty, cunning, perverse", to prevent the "beginners" from encroaching upon Israel. They meet in the Valley of Jezreel, "What God Sows Must Climb."

A Meeting is much different than a battle or a war:

Jews are numerous individuals that concieve from God a certain national identity. The process has a beginning and is ongoing. The introduction of Gideon and the five attributes of the Jewish self mentioned above are the secret way to start persons who have decided to begin their Jewishness and conjoin with the rest of Israel. So long as the parts do not know how to do this, if any of them at present do, Israel will remain broken. We must know how to open the door and show newcomers the way in and redirect the ones who are lost. This is done through meetings.

The goal is certainly to convey the facts but it is moreso a way to convey the emotions a Jews feels about Ha Shem in their hearts and express these emotions in a very proper way:

33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 

34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 

35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— 

37 look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” 

38 And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

39 Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” 

40 That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Gideon performs two tests which tempt God to prove He is real to the beginners. Risky and very dangerous, but God agrees. Why? Because God will never leave a Jew high and dry.

Gideon is an ambitious man. He wants to do all of this on the threshing floor because that is where the Kings of Israel are born. He wakes up in the morning, well beyond any kind of desire for Shabbat or Mashiach and asks God to make him king over all of Israel. Only such a person can save it.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 33: The Eastern People joined forces. The Value in Gematria is 8370, ח‎גזאֶפֶס‎, gazapes, "begin from scratch."

v. 34:  Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon. The Value in Gematria is 5395, הגט‎ה‎‎. "the divorce."

The reason we are automatically divorced from the Holy Ghost and why God told the Kings of Israel not to be religious is because you can't marry God you have to marry another person. This is the first rule, all of Judaism culminates in marriage, which then serves as a platform other Jews to learn how to be religious without being too devout.

=Attainment to Shabbat.

v. 35: He sent messengers. Messengers are the senses, which an intelligent man sends out to collect knowledge and then literally calls data back into his arms. The Value in Gematria is 6992, וט‎טב hottab, "found good and benefitted."

When a guest arrives, do not tell him you want to get a plane and shoot him down. The process of becoming a Jew and Jewish Royalty entails a painfully obvious wobbly stage at the beginning, but all of us have been there. Certainly there will be time to argue who is the best Jew in the room after a new person has had a proper chance to learn the Torah.

v. 36-37: I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said. The Value in Gematria is 11852, יאחהב‎ ‎"will love."

v. 38: And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

Water always goes from the lowest point to the highest, fire is the opposite. Fire, which can be extinguished or run out of fuel burns up.

Water is from heaven, from God, fire comes from man. The word for water in Hebrew is Moses. The Words of Moses came down from heaven and like drops of water falling into a bowl they collect and are not dissimilar from the rest. The presence of the Jew on earth is explains how this process of taking the water from heaven and retaining it for future Jews to use. A man's fire will never be capable of this, but God's water is forever.

To squeeze the fleece, a symbol of manhood, is given back to the man from whom it was taking= his Royal Title.

"The first of the fleece of your sheep [shearing], you shall give him"—Deuteronomy 18:4. We are commanded to separate the first portion of [a sheep's] shearing and give it to the priest.

The wringing of the fleece is the method used which shall be passed along to the Royal Prince.

The Value in Gematria is 9388, טגחח‎ , "a sigh." g'niychah, "I will remember you like a man."

The ego is insanity, it is chaos. All troubles come from the ego until it is dissolved during adult life. The Rab said we are to make a "sharp departure" from our egoic mindsets, the precise reason we observe Pesach, which means "to meet", because we can't and certainly do not want to try to grow up on our own.

Even still Gideon asks of God, "let me be young one more time". The ego will always try to maintain itself= why we dip it twice:

v 39: Allow me one more test with the fleece. The Value in Gematria is 11959, א‎אטהט‎, "I will slow down, I will die." ‎

There is no need to slow down or remain a slave to the ego. This kills God's heart.

v 40: That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew. The Value in Gematria is זאֶפֶסג‎ב, zpaysgiv, "It's a lottery that gives back."

"Take a chance."

[perplexedflower]

Debito Fluff Alphabet - [B]eauty

Fandom: La storia della Arcana Famiglia.

Category: F/M.

Relationship: Debito x Female Reader.

Type: Fluff Alphabet.

B) Beauty: What he admires in you/what he thinks is beautiful about you.

~~~~~~~~~~

Debito finds each and every part of you beautiful: he loves you wholly, and he loves everything about you. Of course, this starts with your body; with your curves he finds hypnotizing, with your legs he loves to caress, with the smooth skin of your arms, your slim, gentle fingers, your shoulders he loves to rub, and above all else, your face and all its features, each of them more beautiful than the others to him. He also finds attractive your body language, your posture, the way you walk, your facial expressions, your voice, even down to the way you talk; and especially the way you talk when you are around him. He never gets tired of how beautiful you become when in his company, even more beautiful than usual. He loves the way your voice changes when addressing him, the way your skin turns red at the contact of his body against yours, the way your eyes spark when you look at him, the way your body twists when held by his strong hands; he simply finds you the most beautiful woman in all of Regalo, and finds you especially beautiful when you are in love with him. But Debito is not of those men who stop at exterior beauty, he sees beyond the physique, beyond appearances, and finds your mind and spirit just as beautiful as your body. He admires the way you think, the morals you hold strongly, the things you believe in, your mental strength, your willpower, and as a whole, the way your mind works. He could listen to you talk for hours, whether it is to talk business or of trivial things, but either way, in those moments, he always reminds himself of how intelligent you are, of how good of a businesswoman you are, and of how lucky he is to have found you and claimed you before any other men could. To Debito, you are beauty incarnate, everything a woman could and should be, everything he could have ever hoped for: and he never hesitates to let you know, praising your beauty every day.

Mini Scene

I looked in front of me, at the colorful blooming flowers, at the perfectly well-trimmed bushes, at the water of the fountain flowing down, at the bright blue sky, at the drifting white clouds; and I breathed in the fresh air that enveloped all of the garden, all of nature around me, as the manor stood tall and proud behind my back. It was relaxing, peaceful, quiet. Almost too quiet.

Only then did I realize Debito was keeping quiet, not speaking a word, which I knew was unusual for him. When I turned my head to look at him, to make sure nothing was wrong with him, I was instantly faced with his face, with his eye, which was staring straight at me, straight at my face, which led my cheeks to redden slightly.

"Debito... Is everything alright?" I asked as I titled my head just a little.

His expression was deep, full of emotion, soft yet passionate, but it did not seem there were any traces of any kinds of negative emotions, much to my relief.

"What are you thinking about?" I added, my head still tilted to the side.

"You." He answered in a suave tone of voice and with a smile, just as charming.

The blush on my cheeks spread out to the rest of my face.

"I'm thinking about how beautiful you look, how beautiful you are." He continued as he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "You look so gorgeous today, just as gorgeous as you always do. To sit here, in the garden with you, I look around me and then I turn to you, and your beauty simply blends with that of nature. It's as though you are one with the bliss of this place."

I grew bashful, my face now hot with blush, and looked away from his gaze in a shy gesture.

"Debito..."

Before I could fully divert my eyes from him to hide away my shyness, I felt his right hand reach my face, holding my chin in between his thumb and his index finger, before it made my head turn back to him. There was love in his eye, love like no other.

"I mean it, amore. To me, you are the most beautiful flower in this garden."