#hoping for a true choice

[wingedblooms]

A true choice

@offtorivendell wrote an excellent meta on how the Asteri might have warped mating bonds, which I think is very likely since they warped Wyrd (who has been called a mother to all, a cauldron of life, a goddess of fate; she is actually a force that winds between worlds, and her language is one of creation). Specifically, they warped her Cauldron, which once blossomed with pure life, and @offtorivendell and others have suggested this may have changed how mating bonds were woven between beings, serving the Asteri’s appetite for magic rather than creation. What if there is even more we need to uncover in the next book? What if the mating bond was never predestined before the Asteri infiltrated their world? What if, instead of a bond chosen for the fae, the fae chose their own mate and had a ritual—an echo of their current ritual—that bound them together with Wyrd’s blessing (magic)? A true choice to bind souls and seal fates together in love. I can’t think of a better book to unravel the mysteries of the mating bond than in Elain “I belong to no one. But my heart belongs to you.”Archeron’s book.

Bonds & bridges | True Mates | Warped bonds | Unbound | The help of priestesses

[crazymecjc]

always the pawn in someone else’s game. ♟️

[formulanni]

Daniel Ricciardo as Judgement:

The Judgement tarot card symbolizes the arrival of absolution and the culmination of a significant undertaking, often related to past and life lessons.

Judgement indicates the cusp of rebirth.

In order to achieve that, you must look back upon your deeds and come to an honest evaluation of yourself. This leads to the awakening that signals a new way of life.

Tag list: @st-leclerc @rubywingsracing @saviour-of-lord @three-days-time @the-wall-is-my-goal @albonoooo @ch3rubd0lls

[ooooo-mcyt]

Scott Smajor (cc) is such a good story teller actually and the common themes he uses in his storylines captivate me. I think we should talk about how good he is at Themes more often. If I wasn't so tired I'd write essays.

[cent-scratchnsniff]

hoptal

[backslashdelta]

Gelphie ▶︎ CASE 143 by Stray Kids

↳ for @mytrashunicorn

[atopvisenyashill]

While my friends were getting high and chasing girls down parkway lines I was losing my mind Because the love, the love, the love, the love, the love that I gave Was wasted on a nice face

[dykedvonte]

RE: Your post on the AU of Jimmy being in the cockpit rather than Curly.

I think that Curly would think that Jimmy was reaping what he had sown, but in a way would feel a twisted sense of relief that Jimmy was brought down by his own actions rather than Curly himself having to be the "executioner" in the situation, so to speak.

With "taking responsibility" and the fix-it mentality that he and Jimmy share being the overarching theme, compounded with Jimmy flat out insinuating that all of his crimes on the Tulpar will be "Curly's tragedy" in that one scene, I think Curly would almost find comfort in the irony that the choice was forcibly taken away from him. Which in itself is messed up, but it might be a bit cathartic. There's an interesting polarizing dynamic within Curly's relationship to his own responsibility in that it's his greatest burden and the thing he, too, avoids the most.

I don't think Curly would find any relief in this actually. While Curly didn't/doesn't like the responsibility he had, he defiantly doesn't avoid it, he just goes about it in a weird way.

A thing I noticed is that its less about taking responsibility with Curly and really what that responsibility meant objectively and then subjectively to Curly. The leniency that he applies to Jimmy also applies a bit to the others as well. He thinks his responsibility is more towards keeping the peace and things in order more than dolling out punishment. He has even more choices to make and responsibilities as he literally has to make sure they survive/ration long enough to be saved. Or figure out how to save them himself. The correct issue with Curly and responsibility is the prioritization in his head. He sees the big picture and prioritizes that. He doesn't notice the little things that he should but it's not a active dismissal, perhaps not even conscious despite how dismissive he seemed. He takes too much responsibility, espcially in regards to Jimmy, and I think this situation is when he realizes that is also a bad thing as he can't "fix" all of his wrongs.

I think he'd regret not making a choice, because in the end this happened because he wouldn't directly choose who to comfort and help. He tried to help both and ended up doing nothing for either and letting Jimmy fuck them all over. In this scenario/au he's thinking about all the times he let Jimmy inadvertently make his choice, and how he chose to let it happen. He regrets all of it and would be so bitter that he was giving his choice up for so long. He chose wrong and it affected everyone. The only thing he'd find cathartic is the fucked up truth it will never happen again, not with Jimmy at least.

But he's not happy he's getting joy from that. I think it's a point not a single character other than Jimmy is depicted at deriving joy from another's pain. Even Swansea is being more sarcastic when he cheers on Curly about crashing the ship and ending his sobriety. He's happy Jimmy was forced to take responsibility, but this? He wanted him to learn a lesson and do something with himself, this is hollow in a way it's just embittering. Jimmy didn't get what he wanted, he can be happy about that but no one else did. This isn't justice or closure for Anya, he's stuck in a place he was so desperate to leave with even more pressure on his shoulders. Daisuke is just a kid and Swansea doesn't deserve this after all his year making himself a better man.

Like in his sections, Curly is preoccupied thinking about all the responsibilities he has, taking on things he shouldn't have to and trying to keep the peace when he doesn't have peace in his own mind.

[shalom-iamcominghome]

How does conversion work for a trans person? I'm scared of being naked for the mikveh immersion and also the part about circumcision, I really don't want anyone to see my body naked

I feel you on that, anon. So, it will heavily depend on which branch of judaism you plan on converting to, but there will be trans-friendly and trans-unfriendly spaces within each branch. I think the best course of action is to ask around with rabbis which take in students - definitely ask rabbis what their expectations would be as a trans student. Honestly, the only reason I didn't disclose my transness immediately to my rabbi was because I could tell he'd be trans-friendly even through email.

Now, I don't know your specific circumstances, nor will I ask, but there are options depending on what you're looking for. I'm a trans guy - I don't have the obligation to go through bris, and I'm not really able to. However, I do fulfill many of the mitzvot for men, and that compromise sort of offsets the fact that I don't have any way to really go through with bris.

For the mikvah, I've heard some places will put a sheet barrier in the water so that your body isn't fully seen. From what I know, you just need people to witness (even for a split second) that you are fully immersed and not your body. This might be dependent on the movement, however.

Otherwise, the process is very similar if not identical to cis counterparts. You can fulfill a ton of mitzvot as yourself, and in general, transness doesn't really prevent you from doing that. I would definitely talk with your rabbi for any accomodations you might want in this process - it's imperative that you're able to trust your rabbi to be receptive and willing to hear you out or compromise or anything else. If you have follow-up questions, I'd love to hear them; I can only speak to my experiences, but I know that it can sometimes be comforting to know you're not the only trans convert in the world. Transsexuals have become jewish since the dawn of time; you have no reason not to be jewish if that is something you want.

[icewindandboringhorror]

indeed my exact process once every 8 months or so

[dany36]

actually i need this very important exchange with teersa and very important hug on my blog now in remastered form

[twilight-deviant]

Yes, Matt/Elektra can be toxic. But some people have waited a long time for something like it in fiction. Mythical and rare. Like a unicorn.

[itsallshowbizz]

RAGHHHHH ok, i just watched the draw-a-thon livestream and I cannot stop thinking about this for the life of me (even though I’m probably just over analyzing and being a tad bit crazy lmao)

The boat wheel that was in the background for a while (and maybe also the wheel of “SHIPS”—which is kind of a stretch i’ll admit 💀)

And also the captain hat that Alex wears like halfway through the stream until the end (that he also wears AFTER the fez that he wore)

Those two items kind of makes me think of sea grunks?? Especially since that they popped out of nowhere and stayed throughout the stream.

[fountainpenguin]

I feel like Angela and Hazel would really like desktop zen gardens...

Specifically, I'm imagining Angela browsing carefully to find the most perfect prim and proper little thing and meanwhile Hazel's just taking fistfuls of sand from the beach and filling a box with her favorite rocks so they can have a nice home.

I also saw a coffin-shaped one with gravestones for the rocks and it felt like something Hazel would get her dad.

[bodiesinthelake]

still thinking about the line "you're clever! how can somebody as clever as you be so stupid?" theres SO much to unpack

[a-master-procrastinator]

Alright, new character textures... where to start?

Like I said before, I like some changes more and others less. Overall I'm pretty neutral about it, but I also understand being upset about them bc it really should be optional (I saw someone say that the devs are working on adding a new slider for these textures, let's hope it's true).

My thoughts (specifically criticisms):

noticed that male characters have more detailed texture than female characters, and I kinda prefer the more detailed version. To me the difference on women is barely noticeable, and when they stand next to each other it looks a little silly

the inherent eyeliner and mascara on female faces look even more out of place next to new textures. There are some complexions that remove it, but I think it's not enough, and it would be better to improve the eyes as well (at least a little)

especially on togrutas, now that the eyeliner is even more intense (although not on all faces)

not sure if the texture update caused that or was it a choice, but hair colors look much lighter than before, and it doesn't seem to be a lighting issue. Black hair looks less, well, black (I remember when they added a new hair color bc the old black wasn't dark enough)

similar problem with skin colors. Some look more saturated while other look more pale. Could be a lighting issue in some cases, but I know at least some togrutas have slightly lighter skin now

patchy skin on chiss characters, but everyone already know that

I don't think lighting works well with these textures in a lot a pre 7.4 cutscenes. Often characters happen to stand in shadows so we can't see much, or lighting hits all the 'unflattering' details (in quotes because it's subjective)

I also suspect that my screen resolution might have played a part in my neutral-slightly positive impression. See, my screen resolution is this weird 1366x768p, so not exactly 1080p or higher as some people have, and it's possible that the textures are showing slightly less pronounced on my screen. Or maybe it doesn't matter that much.

And to show that it really is different depending on lighting and character, here are some pictures of my characters before and after 7.4 lighting changes.

Huge difference, right? In most cases the new texture isn't even that visible because it's either too dark to see anything or the lighting is too flat on the face.

I have one comparison, where both screenshots were taken in the new lighting, but it's dark so it probably isn't a good showcase:

However, without comparing to pre 7.6, sometimes my characters look nice.

And Vintu doesn't even look different lol