#i have no reason for them to act in this irrational manner

[cazshmere]

Synastry Observations Pt.2

materialist🔖

DISCLAIMER: These are just my personal observations and are meant for entertainment purposes only; it may not resonate with everyone due to the nuances of astrology. Please respect my work and avoid copying or stealing it. Enjoy reading!! 🍊⭐️

🍊 Mars in the 12th house synastry has got to be one of the worst things 😭. It’s confusing and exhausting. The Mars person seems to harbour some sort of irrational animosity towards the house person in a very passive-aggressive way. The house person can sense this too, but they are unsure if they’re making it up or not. Also, it’s such a blockage; you could be really close to each other and know of each other, but the conversation WOULD TAKE AGES to start because neither the house person nor the Mars person wants to initiate conversation. It’s like there’s an invisible barrier between you guys 🥲

🍊 Venus in the 8th house/ in Scorpio’s first romantic relationship or situation always ends up hurting them. I’ve seen this countless times where their first experience with romance either ends in heartbreak, unrequited love, or just a missed opportunity. This heartbreak helps these individuals immensely transform, and they might prefer to isolate themselves from anything romance-related for a long period of time. Honestly I think this is a canon event for every Scorpio/8th house Venus that I’ve met, including me lmao and especially if there are Venus-Saturn hard aspects, dear lord, sending love to all my scorp/8th house placements fr🫶🏻🥲❤️‍🩹

🍊 Something I’ve observed with Libra placements, especially the moon, is that when they’re in a relationship, it becomes the focal point of their life. They might go as far as changing career paths to be closer to their partner, altering their style to match their partner’s preferences, or adjusting their personality to be more appealing to their partner (yes I’m sure most of us do this to some extent but it’s a bit excessive for these peeps😭). Their relationship becomes such a central part of their identity that if anything goes wrong, it can feel devastating for them. For instance, I have a friend who is a Libra moon, and she always refers to her partner as “my boyfriend” instead of his name, even though we all know him personally, like gurl come on he’s got a name haha😭

🍊 Moon in the 12th house synastry can equate to the house person opening up to the moon person or just feeling extremely vulnerable around them. They’d share things with the moon person that they dare not share with anyone else. This synastry could also mean staying up late in the night and throwing your sleep away just to talk to each other 🧿

🍊 12th house synastry could also have undertones of enemies-to-lovers (the lovers part only if you ever get together, that is) because there’s this energy where you don’t know why the other person acts hostile/passive-aggressive towards you, ignores you, or sends you mixed signals that makes you dislike them but at the same time, you can’t stop fantasizing/dreaming about them in all these romantic scenarios or them showing up in your dreams outta nowhere like??😭

🍊 7th/8th and even 10th (to some extent) house synastry could indicate that one of the two, either the house person or the planet person (mostly the house person), copies the other, be it mannerisms, clothes, slang, or even certain traits of the other’s personality 💀. It’s because they notice how much attention or admiration the planet person garners, so to obtain that same kind of attention and recognition the house person might try to emulate the planet person 🫤

🍊 7th house Mars synastry can be very annoying and tiresome (especially for the house person). The Mars person could be a bit too much for the house person. The Mars person could get very petty and passive-aggressive towards the house person for no reason (this could go vice versa too). Yes there is sexual attraction and y’all could motivate/support each other through stuff but at the same time it’s draining asf, a big no no for me when it comes to synastry 🥲

🍊 Moon square Saturn synastry can cause delays when it comes to emotional attachment between two people, but once these two finally connect, it’s ride or die typa relationship fr 🥺🫂

🍊 Moon/Mercury in the 1st/5th/9th house synastry is very exciting and fun-loving, with lots of playful teasing and bantering with each other 😋🥰

🍊Moon /Mercury in the 2nd/4th/8th/10th/12th house synastry makes both parties very sensitive to each other’s words because these houses reflect our self esteem/self worth, the deepest parts of ourselves, our core, our reputation etc. A little bit of critique can also be taken personally by either party. Even harmless jokes could be taken in the wrong way and arguments could occur (especially if there isn’t 3rd/5th/9th/11th house synastry or any easy aspects in the synastry chart)

🍊 When someone's planets fall in your 8th house, they intuitively sense your true and deep needs related to that planet. For example, if someone's Venus is in your 8th house, they will know how to love you in a way that makes you feel unconditionally loved and appreciated. If their Mercury is in your 8th house, they will understand how to communicate with you on a profound level, meeting your need for deep and meaningful conversation. If their Mars is in your 8th house, they will instinctively know how to meet your sexual needs and desires and please you in bed🖤❤️‍🔥

© cazshmere 2024 [All Rights Reserved]

banner credits : @anitalenia <3

[bree-peasant]

One for the Ages - a Kakashi x fem!Reader fic

Chapter 5/5

(Back to Chapter 1, Chapter 4)

Author's note: Thank you guys for following this series! Although this is the last chapter, I have more ideas for these two, so might revisit in the future. In the meantime, if anyone has any requests, I'd be excited to try prompt writing! I hope you enjoy the ending, happy reading! <3

Word count: 2.4k

Summary (from part 1): A new shinobi joins the Konoha ranks and Kakashi finds himself inexplicably drawn to her. Gai also appears in this one!

Warnings: none in this chapter!

Enjoy! ♡

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Kakashi had tried his best to put Y/N out of his mind throughout the day, but the thought kept pestering him. He kept imagining her laugh, throwing her head back at something Genma said, and he would almost see red at the thought of it. Even worse, the idea of the two of them hooking up, would send him spiralling. As the evening drew nearer, he selfishly decided he needed to intervene.

He felt so guilty spying on them, as they stumbled towards her flat, but more than anything, he was annoyed at the fact that she'd invited him back. Deep down he knew how unfair and irrational his actions were, but he just couldn't stop himself from pressing further.

He hadn't even dropped his book the previous night. He just needed an excuse to interrupt their evening. Kakashi had used a substitution jutsu on a random box he'd found hiding under her bed, in support of his alibi. Despite his shame at how low he had stooped, part of him felt a sense of satisfaction from stepping in and showing the other jōnin who's territory this was. Then again, he had no right to claim Y/N as his own.

Burdened by these contradicting thoughts, Kakashi fled to his usual haunt - the park bench, where he'd bumped into her all those nights ago.

Back at her flat, Y/N sat down heavily. Although feeling mostly sober by now, her thoughts were at a disarray. She was upset by Genma's departure, she thought they had great chemistry and felt disappointed by his easy surrender. Having said that, she couldn't entirely blame the guy. Kakashi's notoriety followed him around, the awful nickname 'friend-killer' on everyone's minds when he walked passed. She wasn't afraid of him, but she could understand Genma not wanting to get on his bad side.

Oh, Kakashi. Just thinking about his antics earlier made her furious. What was he playing at, storming in there like that, pretending he'd spent the night with her. The more she played the scene over in her head, the more riled up she became. His nonchalant tone and sarcastic manners burned inside her mind's eye. He must've done it on purpose. But for what reason?!

Starting to feel herself go crazy, Y/N decided that she needed to confront the gray-haired trickster. And she knew exactly where to find him.

Unsurprisingly, he was in the park as if expecting her. She stormed towards him, unconcerned by the late hour.

"What the hell was that back there?" She demanded, letting her anger loose on him.

"I don't know what you mean." Kakashi acted casual, not looking up from his book.

"Oh please! You and I both know you have a million copies of that book, stashed in your house. This was deliberate!"

"I take it he's left, seeing as you're here, shouting at me."

"I'm not..." she had to consciously lower her voice. "I'm not shouting at you. And yes, what did you expect after that scene you caused. How did you even know he was there?!"

"I hear things." His sarcasm was infuriating.

"Why, Kakashi? What could you have possibly had to gain from embarrassing me like that?"

"Well, if you must know, Genma's a notorious playboy. I didn't think he was good enough for you." He replied, trying to convince himself as much as her that this had been his motivation.

She was astounded by his audacity. Recovering her composure, she spat back at him:

"Frankly, that's none of your business!"

"As your friend, I thought it my duty to intervene and..."

"No!" She cut him off, losing her nerve entirely. "You lost any authority over my lovelife the second you refused to be the focus of it." Her voice was no longer angry, but riddled with sorrow. Refusing to let herself fall apart in front of him, Y/N turned around and ran back to her flat, leaving a guilt-riddled Kakashi behind.

"Oh, boy...what have I done." He sighed into the night.

His earlier satisfaction from achieving his goal had completely disappeared, substituted by shame and regret. He'd recognised the hurt in her voice, forcing him to realise how he'd toyed with her tonight. He put his head in his hands in desperation.

One thing remained unclear to him; why had he done it? He'd acted almost impulsively, refusing to acknowledge a simple truth. Whether he wanted to or not, he was finally faced with an answer - he'd been jealous. Of course, he knew he had feelings for her, but he'd tried so hard to repress them for fear of losing her like so many before, that he'd hardly acknowledged them. And now... In his ignorance, he'd acted foolishly and threatened to lose her anyway.

"I have to fix this." He said to himself, still unsure of his next move.

Over the next few days, the rookie genin teams competed in the preliminary round of the chunin exam, where their numbers were significantly depleted. The remaining kids would go on to face each other in the finals, a month later. The Hokage called an assembly of all chunin and jōnin of the village.

"As you all know, many influential lords and politicians will be joining us during the final stage of the chunin exam. We need to showcase not only our village's strength, but our financial merits as well." The Hokage spoke.

"This is why, we are hosting an event to gain new investors, who will support our shinobi training program. It'll be held in one week, and I have personally invited some of the wealthiest merchants and title holders. I expect you all to attend and work towards charming our guests."

Great, Y/N thought, she only had a month to prepare Shino for the final matches, and now this.

None of the attendees seemed particularly pleased by the news, but one look at the Hokage's stern expression, and they all knew they had to do what was expected of them.

Leaving the meeting auditorium, it was Kakashi's turn to pull Y/N aside.

"Can we talk?" He said. Seeing her reluctance, he added a please at the end of his question.

She sighed and led him to a corner in the hallway, where it was quiet. They hadn't spoken to each other since that awful argument, but it still felt as fresh as the night it happened.

"Y/N, you have to know how sorry I am. I acted stupidly and things got out of control. I never meant to hurt you, truly." Kakashi looked genuinely remorseful as he spoke.

She'd planned on staying mad at him, but his sincerity cracked her stern exterior. There was no point in denying it, she had a soft spot for him, and she would forgive anything. But things couldn't go on like this.

She took a deep breath, letting her guard down.

"I want to be your friend, Kakashi, I really do. But I think we should stop with the late nights and surprise visits...both of us." She trailed off, avoiding his eye. She knew he'd be disappointed, upset even. She knew it, because her own heart was breaking as she spoke.

"We've gotten ourselves so emotionally intertwined, I think we can't lay any boundaries anymore."

He didn't interrupted her, didn't argue. How could he, when what she was saying was the truth.

"We can be friendly around each other... just not in the way we have been so far." She concluded.

Kakashi nodded silently. They remained in place for a moment.

"If that is what you want." He finally spoke, then promptly turned around and walked away.

Y/N sighed. What she had wanted was to be with him, but he'd taken that possibility away. Now it seemed they were both hurting.

The following week passed quickly. Between training with Shino and her other jōnin duties, Y/N had hardly any time to dwell on her recent personal drama, and she was glad for it. Only at night, when sleep would undoubtedly evade her, she desperately wished to see him, fighting the urge to seek him out with all her strength.

"It'll get easier." She kept telling herself, never fully believing it.

Kakashi applied himself vigorously to training Sasuke, even teaching him the chidori. He was somber and quiet the rest of the time, which wasn't unusual for the typically withdrawn copy-ninja, or at least so it seemed on the outside. In truth, he was suffering at the loss of Y/N more than he wanted to admit.

He would roam around the village at night, hoping to bump into her, if even for a second, then quickly hiding at the faintest of sounds, ashamed of his actions. He wanted to respect her wishes, yet his heart ached more and more with each day he kept away. He was beginning to realise that the most foolish thing he had done, was deny his feelings for her. He'd shown her everything, up to his rotten core, and she hadn't looked away. Kakashi loved her for that. Kakashi loved her. But wasn't it too late?

The investor event came along. It was to be held in the assembly halls, with live music, drinks and dancing. Although not entirely willing, the village shinobi put on their best clothes and their brightest smiles, to fulfil their duties for their homeland. Even if those duties were to charm the wealthy businessmen and women, whose money they needed.

Y/N wore her best yukata to the event, her hair neatly pinned back and with flowers tucked in it. As she walked into the brightly lit room, she was met by a dazzling Gai.

"Y/N, you're a vision of spring and beauty!" He said, taking her hand in his. "With your good looks and mine, we're sure to get some hearts racing tonight! And some money in our pockets" He whispered the last statement and winked at her.

She giggled at his usual flamboyance and allowed him to lead her away towards some guests. She was listening to a boring conversation between two merchants and politely smiling along, when she spotted Kakashi walking in. He wore a dark grey hakama over his kimono, which made him stand out in the crowd. Her first thought was how handsome he looked, but she quickly scolded herself over it and instead motioned a wave, when he looked her way. To her surprise, Kakashi didn't respond, but quickly ducked and disappeared amongst the pool of people. She wondered if he maybe hadn't seen her.

As the night began unfolding, music started playing and couples came out on the dance floor. Suddenly, Y/N found herself swarmed with suitors, asking her to dance one after the other. Bound to her duty, she obliged the guests, but every time one of them spun her around, her eyes would seek out Kakashi. And without a doubt, every time her gaze fell upon his, he'd turn away.

A group dance was organised, where couples would join in and switch partners at different intervals. An older gentleman, who traded with ships (or so she was told) asked her to dance. She smiled sweetly and offered him her hand, despite feeling exhausted by this point. At least she'd stumbled upon a good dancer, as he expertly led and twirled her around.

Upon switching partners, she was pulled in by a familiar embrace. Kakashi held her tight, as he maneuvered them both swiftly along the dancefloor.

"He dances." She said, feigning surprise.

"Well, when the Hokage's wife drags you out, it's hard to refuse." Kakashi let out a slight chuckle.

She scoffed at that, the cheerful glint in her eyes betraying her true feelings. It was a relief to see him smile again.

"You've been avoiding me tonight." She said matter-of-factly.

Kakashi cleared his throat.

"I'm surprised you noticed with all the men throwing themselves at you." His voice sarcastic, yet strained.

"Does it bother you?" Her eyes widened in curiosity. She couldn't help but push on.

"Of course it bothers me." His sincerity surprised her. Usually with him, it was all cloak and dagger, so why the sudden reveal? She felt the familiar feelings of confusion and hurt rising up in her.

"You must know by now that none of that matters to me." She whispered, loosing the grip on her emotions somewhat.

"And why not?" His gaze intensely focused on her expression, trying to read it.

"Kakashi..." She hesitated.

"I want to hear you say it." He pressed further leaning into her ear, his voice just above a whisper.

Sensing the exhaustion take over, she felt like she was going to crack. It was too much, being so close to him, wondering if he was toying with her again.

"I... I can't do this!" Y/N pulled away from him, running towards the entrance. A few heads turned to look at Kakashi, eyes filled with curiosity. Kurenai ran over to him.

"What happened?"

"Nothing."

"I better go and check on her." The female jōnin looked concerned.

"No, don't. I'll go after her." He interjected, leaving the dance floor.

Once outside, he spotted her walking away in rushed steps.

"Y/N, wait!" He called after her, running to shorten the distance between them.

She stopped and turned towards him. When he reached her, he could see tears gleaming in the corner of her eyes.

"Wait for what, Kakashi? I can't keeping doing this with you. This back and forth, this game..." She trailed off, her voice shaky.

Kakashi reached his hand and gently wiped her wet cheek.

"Y/N, I've been a fool." Was the only thing he managed to say.

"What on earth do you mean?" She was still angry with him, an anger born out of hurt.

"Denying what my heart has been aching for, this whole time." His palm rested on her cheek, the way hers once had, when he'd shown her the sharingan.

The sorrow in her eyes turned to surprise, then to hope. She leaned into his hand, taking a step closer to him.

"And what is it that you've been aching for?" She asked softly.

Kakashi sighed.

"You know."

"I want to hear you say it." She echoed his words from earlier.

He watched her for a moment, taking in her beautiful, tear-stained face.

"You."

At those words, she closed the remaining distance between them, pulling him into a passionate kiss. Weaving her arms around his neck, his own wrapping around her waist, their bodies intertwined as their lips devoured each other. When they finally pulled back to take a deep breath, they were both smiling widely.

"Take me home, Kakashi." She whispered.

He took her hand in his and led her back, both hearts soaring at the feeling of surrender.

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

@duckingmetal @junksmah @jinnyart06 thank you for your support guys <3

[pomrania]

The Ninja Point: a concept I've had for years, but its name only coalesced for me today.

It's the point at which there's no use in worrying, because anything you haven't found is (if it exists) something where there's nothing you could do about it one way or another.

It shows up a lot whenever you're thinking about cosmic disasters, because there's so many things we wouldn't be able to detect ahead of time, and even more things we wouldn't be able to avert.

I call it the Ninja Point because for me, it happens when I come home to an empty house and I'm doing my paranoia sweep of the place, checking for locations a potential intruder might be hiding. Eventually, I've checked everywhere that a normal person could manage; and I don't need to look any further, because if someone could manage to hide THERE, they're a ninja, so there's nothing I could do about them even if I found them, because I couldn't win a fight with a ninja.

The Ninja Point relies on understanding the purpose of fear (or worry), which is to get you to act in such a manner that it improves your chances of survival; or that is more likely to lead to a better outcome, if you want to abstract it. It's not needed when the situation is as good as it can be, and it's also not needed when there is literally nothing you can do to improve the situation or even mitigate the damage.

If there's a ninja hiding in my house and they want me dead, then they'll kill me, and there's nothing I can do about it, so there's no reason to worry because fear can't improve the situation; if there's NOT a ninja hiding in my house, then there's no threat, so there's ALSO no reason to worry. Either way, worry is pointless, and I can put it in the more-easily-ignored category of "completely irrational fears" instead of the nagging category of "probably mostly irrational fears".

Importantly, the Ninja Point doesn't tell you "everything will be okay", because "falsely believing that everything is fine" is how you get eaten by tigers so that's an important survival instinct to have around. Rather, it says "EITHER everything will be okay OR there's nothing that can be done to make it less bad"; either there's no tiger in the room, or it's already too late.

A secondary benefit of the Ninja Point is that it relies on you analyzing the situation and your potential options, to determine if what you're worried about is TRULY hopeless if real. If you realize that no, it's not past the Ninja Point, and you WOULD have a chance of meaningfully impacting the situation, then that comes with the knowledge of what you MIGHT be able to do. And "having your potential options worked out" helps with fear, because you're doing something that makes you more likely to stay alive if there's an actual threat, which is exactly what fear's whole purpose is to get you to do.

[awakenedsalamander]

It also turns out one of the reasons I don’t talk about Chronicles of Darkness much is that I really struggle to talk or think about anything else once I start.

So, Promethean: The Created, huh? God, what a fascinating game. One that really merges some very compelling themes with an already intriguing setting, and then gives you all kinds of fun character options to play around with. Also one that no one really knows about…

For those not up to speed, Promethean is a game about beings— Prometheans— created by humans to be human, or close to it, for one reason or another. Some people who create Prometheans do so by stitching together corpses and animating them just like Frankenstein, others create golems and other constructs, and some Prometheans don’t seem to have a creator other than the whims of the Divine Fire, which is the force that animates all of the Created.

Here’s the thing: Creating human life through magic is actually pretty tricky, and so the resulting Prometheans are invariably off, somehow. It’s a little different for each Promethean, some of them are just really disturbing and creepy in their movements and occasionally mannerisms, others are uncannily graceful, and some are just kinda vaguely alien. It doesn’t even just come down to most humans having an irrational fear and hatred of Prometheans (which is called Disquiet), nature itself seems to recoil from the Divine Fire— the weather twists and the air and water is tainted, until the area becomes a Wasteland.

So the goal of the game is simple: Find out how to become human, in a process called the New Dawn, so your Promethean player character can transcend their limits.

And god, what to say about this game! It’s about interrogating what it is to be human, or perhaps more accurately a person, and how “trying to be a person” is both inherently kind of silly— you’re already a person!— and also kind of the only thing any of us can ever do.

Prometheans complete their journeys through understanding the ways humans act, sure, but they only get there by finding the human that’s already in them. And yet, at the same time, they really are transforming— physically, mentally, and spiritually. To be human is to change, to grow, to wither, really.

This is a game about asking player characters some of the hardest questions— What does it mean to live? What is the purpose of being? What would you sacrifice to find out? Is it worth pursuing at all, anyway?— and then just letting them go on a metaphysical road trip where they struggle to answer them, making mistakes all the while, and maybe learning that being able to ask the questions at all is what matters.

I don’t know, I just wish more people knew about Promethean! It’s a painful game to play, really, what with every character being a rootless wanderer instinctually hated by most humans, so I understand why it’s a hard sell.

But there’s something so gentle, fragile, and beautiful about the game, at least to me. It’s nice that in a setting full of monsters, dark magic, and misery upon misery, you can know that somewhere, a group of vagabond outcasts are working to help each other be human, with all the joy and pain that comes with that.

[simsandchesscrossover]

More in-depth descriptions of the kids for my kidswap below the cut!

NOTES ON CHANGES (KIDS)

At the start of the story, JOHN has recently been abandoned by his brother, who has given up on training him to save the world. He now resides in a foster care facility. In the first act, he has a rather violent breakdown as a result, and decides to express any and every emotion he pleases. This results in a unique typing style where he often forgets to add punctuation and emoticons to his texts and adds them on later.

Contrary to Rose’s passive-agressive battles with her mother, JADE is frequntly and plainly aggressive. She lives in the woods outside her house and refuses to go inside unless pre-planned and mutually agreed upon- as she puts it, she and her mother have their own territories, and their relationship relies on them staying out of each other’s way. This mindset means that she is exceptionally frustrated when her mother is sober and tries to convince her to come back, saying that “children aren’t supposed to live out in the woods” and “it’s dangerous”. Can’t she see Jade is being the bigger person here?

On the subject of ROSE, she is both more secure and far more paranoid. Actually interacting with other children, the majority of whom found her pretentious and strange, has made her overly defensive, and she has taken refuge in what she views as her areas of superiority. Given her father’s more balanced approach to parenting, she doesn’t believe everything he does is an attack, but when she encounters something odd enough that it seems like one, she spirals.

DAVE deals with his enviroment perhaps the worst out of any of the children. He doesn’t cope well with what he phrases as “living on this bumfuck island with my grandpa until he shot himself because taking care of me was just that bad i guess”. On top of that, he’s constantly hounded (ha!) by a dog-like creature that he used to think was the one that killed his grandfather. Now, he isn’t sure if it’s even real or some sort of grief-induced hallucination. This has made him exceptionally anxious, and although he tries to hide it, his very limited social skills aren’t up to the task.

The Alpha session is a bit more complicated. JANE was raised on a series of recordings from her brother, all intended for a boy named Dirk. Given that she was entirely alone, she had no reason to think that that wasn’t her. Rose gets a vision of the changes to the timeline just in time to send out one final message explaining the truth. A key component of Jane’s worldview is that she deeply resents Dave for that and not being there, and is completely aware that it’s irrational. Conciously or not, she rebels against his post-ironic movie star lifestyle by leaning into suburbia. She sews dapper suits out of t-shirts and practices comedy. Once she discovers that she is not, in fact, Dirk, her idea of mild-mannered perfection shifts slightly. It’s undeniable that this house wasn’t made for her, but some aspect of being a “cool dude” still calls to her more than her new matronly ways… (it’s the transgender)

JAKE CROCKER is the heir to the Crocker corporation, and he’s also a media darling. Despite his father’s attempts to keep him out of the public eye (mainly due to the assassination attempts), the PR department has taken their chance, and his celebrity status is sure to make the population of Earth unwilling to resist their new Empress. Besides, Jake’s got his crackshot aim, a dashing smile, and two-inch-thick bulletproof windows, through which he can wave to his adoring populace before going about his business. What could go wrong?

ROXY spends her days chatting online and experimenting in her grandmother’s laboratory. She may be the only human left on her island, but she’s far from the only creature! Her beloved Gcat is always by her side, at least when he’s hungry. The rest of the island’s animals are wild, but the ones she makes love her. They barely try to eat her even a quarter of the time. But mostly, she wants to figure out a way to get off the island- just for a quick vacay!- and explore the world, meeting all the people and seeing all the sights.

Roxy-DIRK-Lalonde-Strider- whatever his name is now, it doesn’t matter- is wrong. There was some great cosmic error, and he came to this city of carapacians instead of a single apartment in the middle of the sea. He’s always known he didn’t belong here, but he assumed it was just some innate, destructive quality of his. Ever since the day he killed his own pet cat (in an unfortunate robotics accident), he’s known he was a monster. He’s done his best to counteract that, helping the carapacians in any way he could, but it isn’t enough. Everything in this home reminds him of his mistakes, and he makes no effort to change that.

[numinous-x]

hi!! your aesthetic is so pretty im obsessed <3 may i pls request a matchup for genshin? i’m bi & use she/her pronouns :)

personality wise, im very dramatic, i get excited easily, and am a bit overly sensitive i’m an intj & cancer, & i try my best to be optimistic no matter what. im a big fan of my own personal space bubble though!! i love anything soft or cute, especially animals!! im kinda scared of bugs though, but i still always try to take them outside. i tend to be a bit bossy and unreasonable when it comes to something i’m interespted in. plus i get really moody and irrational sometimes when it comes to something i want (im very stubborn lol). i also really like going for walks, shopping, yoga, gardening, baking (even though i’m dreadfully awful at it), and reading. i try to see the best in everything & everyone, though i can’t really tolerate it if somebody is overly cruel or rude to the people i care about. i have a very “do no harm, take no shit” mentality :)

for my appearance, im 5’1 & have fairly long light brown hair. my eyes are hazel, im fairly pale with a few freckles sitting across my face, & my cheeks are perpetually rosy andjfjjek. my style ranges from pretty soft and girly to a wannabe skater boy (i love the style but alas, it does not love me </3). i really like dressing up even if i’m not going anywhere. i also really like to do makeup, both on myself and others. also since i’m on the shorter side, i like to wear platform shoes since being tall makes me feel cool!

please and thank you have a nice day!!

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷  droplets of gold rain from the skies as your pair is decided. . . enjoy your golden hour with. . .

♡ diluc!

the matchmaker's words. . .

» my initial reasoning for pairing you with diluc would be simply that he's mature and can handle all your dramatic flair. Diluc is a very quiet and mature person, with stubborness of his own, but I think when met with your stubborness and bossiness he'd probably handle it in a very no bs manner, like, pick you up and refuse to put you down until you calm down type of thing. » i think your optimism would pair well with how pesimistic he is. you'd probably have your happy-go-lucky ideas and he'd just roll his eyes, acting all annoyed in an attempt to hide how much his heart races due to you. even if he'd act all nonchalant, internally he'd find you to be really cute if not admirable because of your resolve. like, he's just judging while you're trying to see the best in them. » he's also the type to understand that you need space, so I think he'd be very respectful of your personal bubble. » he'd be the type to just let you get into whatever fight you want and just back you up. you're his girl and you can do whatever you want, he's just there if you need him. like, if someone's being rude to your friend and you stand up for them, not only is he falling harder for you, he's also there to back you up if things escalate. » he'd very reluctantly let you do makeup on him. only under the condition that it's in a safe location where no one can see him though. » if you were to bake him something, he'd be painfully honest about how it tastes. despite his criticisms however, he'd still finish the plate and ask for another serving. don't get him wrong, everything he said still stands, but he loves you too much to not eat anything you make. he would never admit that though. » 100% takes you shopping to make it up to you after arguments. Also I think your dates would mostly be cute walks around the vineyard or by the lake near it, maybe a bit of gardening, quiet reading dates, and very occasionally something like theatre performances for a book you've been reading a lot recently.

tysm for sending this ask! sorry it took me so long to get to it, but i hope you liked it!! <3

and thank you so much for your compliment about my blog, i lowk struggled with picking a theme so bad ToT. . . i'm happy it looks goo tho :)

[mamayura]

Massive fear: Between the new trailer implying that Marinette is gonna spy on Adrien while he's jogging with a new character and season 5 having brought up Marinette invading people's privacy again by going through Socqueline's Alliance ring, I'm begging this show to not make Marinette an over controlling girlfriend for some stupid Cerise reasons

Like, Cerise for example helping the friendship between Adrien and jogger girl (since Marinette is jealous, jogger person is most likely a girl) doesn't at all justify Marinette spying on them. All it does is repeating the Kagami thing where any girl that isn't Marinette's friend first and isn't "approved" is being treated like a threat or downright a bad person Adrien needs to be "protected" from because he's too "naive" to make his own friends.

It's the exact same thing that's being hinted at here. Please don't do that, oh my gosh, we went over this.

Or in the same manner, Cerise in any identity whatsoever befriending Adrien and texting with him doesn't justify Marinette going through his phone whatsoever. I hate that this is still a very plausible thing to expect now because Marinette's own character flaws hardly were taken care of in season 4 and 5. Just endlessly postponed.

And I hate it the most that I can't find any reason to believe this won't happen because it's now Cerise's JOB as the new 'worse' villain to do things like this. To wanting to ruin Marinette's life.

Why wouldn't she befriend Adrien in her new identity (or identities) when it would perfectly serve her intentions of hurting Marinette by having her act like an irrational and over controlling girlfriend who sure won't ever tolerate any of the same energy being shown back to her?

By all accounts, Cerise doesn't even need to do something bad, she just needs to exist in the most inconvenient way and it would be in character for Marinette to be a bad girlfriend about it. It's especially likely because it would very well continue the Lila and Kagami plot from season 5. Kagami having fallen for Lila's manipulation didn't came out of nowhere, it was rooted in how badly Marinette treated Kagami in the beginning which Kagami forgave but not forgot.

So if Marinette goes into bad and controlling girlfriend mode in season 6 and treats the 'new girl/s' just as badly as she treated Kagami because they committed the crime of being near Adrien without Adrien and the girl always prioritizing that Marinette is comfortable with everything happening first

Then, bro, im gonna side with Kagami and Adrien when Cerise continues the season 5 manipulation! I hate that I can't find a genuine reason to convince myself that this is unrealistic and bad faith. It's perfectly in line with what we've seen so far and I'm annoyed at that :/

[wholesomefluffdaddy]

Wednesday's new court mandated therapist is having her keep a journal of her thoughts and feelings. Wednesday finds this to be a complete waste of time and decides instead to use it to record her observations of her unusual roommate Enid Sinclair. Wednesday POV.

——————————————

Entry 6

Current Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous 🌖

Enid was most apologetic following the events of the Hunter's Moon. I was dismissive of her apologies as I explained countless times it was my own fault which caused the misadventure of that evening. Either way, Enid was determined not to leave my side for any extended period of time without informing me of her whereabouts and time frame for returning. This eased my guilty conscience and irrational fear of her suddenly disappearing. I find it most irksome that I will likely have much to discuss with my therapist at our next meeting.

Yet again I find myself getting off topic. The waning gibbous moon, with its close proximity to the full moon and comparative fullness to the waxing gibbous moon, has had an interesting effect on my werewolf subject: resource sharing. Enid has taken it upon herself to fetch sustenance for me with or without my request. Could this be a concomitant of the Hunter's Moon? Perhaps she wishes to ensure that the members of her pack are well fed. However, if this is indeed the case, then I appear to be the only member of her pack as of present; for she did not fetch food for anyone else as to my knowledge.

Regardless of the reasoning I thanked Enid each time she brought me sustenance. This seemed to delight her most greatly as her face lit up every time I did. Her smile-

During an instance in which Enid was not at my side I slipped away to the library to conduct research on 'scenting' and other such werewolf mannerisms. If I am to be a pack member I feel that I must be informed. From what I gathered 'scenting' is used to denote territory, possession, and a sort of kinship among werewolves. I use the term 'kinship' loosely as I found a significant lack of information surrounding the 'scenting' of peers. The only literature available indicated that werewolves 'scent' close partners or mates.

I can only assume that other publications go more in depth on this subject and include the act of 'scenting' to extend to family and pack members. I shall have to observe Enid closely during the next Family Weekend to confirm my hypothesis. In the meantime I may consider reciprocating 'scenting' to affirm our bond as packmates. Perhaps I should also consider demonstrating my hunting prowess and bring Enid a token of my gratitude for the deceased squirrel she gifted me the night of the Hunter's Moon. Speaking of which, I shall have to remember to stop by Uriah's Heap to check on its taxidermy progress.

Dear Diary,

I feel terrible! 😣 Willa has been an anxious mess since I escaped the Lupin Cages during the last full moon. I never meant to hurt her. 😥 I keep trying to apologize but she just won't hear it. She keeps blaming herself. I'm trying my best to make it up to her. I've been letting her know where I'm going and when I'll be back. I think that's helped?

I still feel the urge to hunt but at least that instinct can be managed by 'hunting' down snacks at the cafeteria. 😋 I've been giving these snacks to Willa. She seems to really like them. She gets this cute little embarrassed look on her face and says thank you - but of course in her own very Wednesday-like way of 'Your acquisition of sustenance on my behalf to ensure my continued survival is greatly appreciated.' Willa. Babycakes. A simple 'thank you' is enough. 😅 I swear I've seen her blush a few times too!

Anyway, I think I want to take her out somewhere nice and creepy to apologize for making her cry. 😥 I was thinking of like a cemetery or something but then I remembered Tyler 😡 took her to one on a 'date' once. My claws itch just thinking about him. I swear to god if he ever goes near my Willa again- Sorry about the ripped pages Diary, I kinda wolfed out for a moment.

Thing recommended going to a play at the local theatre in Jericho. They're putting on "Macbeth." I think Willa would like that. Speaking of things Willa likes… I think she's flirting back? I don't know! 😖 She brought me a dead spider in a box. 😳 What does that mean? She said she was 'returning the gesture.' I think she was talking about the dead squirrel I brought her? (Which important side note - I don't know what she's done with the squirrel. 😰 I can't smell it in our dorm room anyway. Hopefully she tossed it. I don't know what I was thinking. It was all wolf brain.)

Um also! I know I've joked about Wednesday acting like a grumpy cat but she's starting to act like one more literally. 🙀 She's been, um, rubbing up against me. I'm not going to lie - it's cute as hell and I just can't! 😫 It gets me too worked up and I just start wolfing out and I want to squeeze her! I feel bad because I can't help but start scenting her aggressively after. At least she seems to tolerate it. I am so sorry Willa! 😭 Please don't bring me more spiders!

[slippery-domjot-balls]

DS9 S4 E11 Homefront & E12 Paradise Lost, slippery thoughts

Wow....let me catch my breath. That was a wild and tense ride. Nice scenery too. Obviously these are just my opinions, but I wanted to share them because Star Trek makes me happy and passionate. I want you to be happy and passionate too!

Given the intensity of these two episodes I completely forgot it started off with Jadzia pulling off the most specific pranks on Odo.

Jadzia: I sneak into my coworker's private quarters and move his furniture by 3 cm every couple of days.

Quark: That's weird. They would not even notice that change.

Jadzia: Oh, no no no. He sees it every time and it drives him insane.

Audience: Oh you silly worm!

And I loved that we got to see these two besties playing pretend. We need more Miles and Julian aviation adventures. Super cute pals.

R.I.P. Clive

Playtime is over now because the changelings have basically infiltrated Earth and are ruining everything all the time and it isn't fun anymore....or are they? They are, but are they? Possibly. Probably. Perhaps.

To me this kind of episode is the pinnacle of what Star Trek writing has always been about. We see a complex evaluation of choices in conflict. It is not about an obvious "right" or "wrong", but one decision versus another. This is a battle between perspective and reason. All sides contain some merit. This episode also shows good intentions taken too far and taken beyond the ethical reasoning that initially inspired the action.

If this episode were to have a villain it would be fear and paranoia itself and not any particular character.

Vice Admiral Leyton was an amazing character. It was brilliant to establish that he had a close professional history with Sisko early in the episode because it immediately made me trust him. You sneaky writers!! But that was the whole point. The story that was unfolding to the audience purposefully made us feel betrayed with Sisko. We co-experienced in real time the feeling seeing a close friend commit treason.

Enter the most powerful man on Earth. He can move the most stubborn hearts, calm the most irrational mind, and fill up the most starved stomach. Replicated foods beware of Grandpa Sisko. I see where Jake gets his style too! It was so believable that these three were family. You could see how cadences, mannerism, and behaviors in Granddad Sisko were passed to Ben and then passed down to Jake, but in their own naturally developing ways in each generation.

*Spoiler Alert* Grandpa Sisko also saves the day.

Just when I thought this episode had all the ingredients for perfection Nog the keeper of all things pure and innocent shows up. Look at that smug Ferengi. He knows that he is the best thing at the Academy and so do we.

A great thing about these two episodes is that every character acts as an essential part of the story. Nog will lead Ben on the chase with his talk of the Red Squad. A+ Nog!

This ain't your normal seagull. This one loves Bajoran women.

Around this point we have all the main details of the episode. Admiral Leyton and Captain Sisko are working together to protect Earth from a suspected Dominion infiltration and invasion. The President of the Federation is against the proposed worldwide security changes but reluctantly allows their implementation.

With security personnel, blood tests of all crucial Starfleet staff and family members, and martial law practically in effect everywhere we are ready to repel any Dominion attacks. After all, the wormhole was winking at DS9 a lot so perhaps a cloaked invasion fleet is on Earth's doorstep.

HERE WE GO! Papa Sisko challenges Daddy Sisko's paranoia. Ben is seeing changelings in his sleep and not the Odo kind either.

So we start to see the episode present one of it's many challenges:

How far should we trade individual autonomy for protection?

And THIS is why I love Star Trek. Grandfather Sisko is absolutely correct!! And yet, Ben Sisko is also correct. Both want to protect what they love, life ad they know and perceive it.

We search for the highest good in each situation. Ben wants to secure and save everything he loves on Earth. He wants to protect his family, his home, and everything therein. Grandpa Sisko wants the EXACT same thing. The methods to achieve their shared goal is in conflict.

DS9 writers have a candy bar on me. Well done!!! (engage smooching sounds)

This very moment is crucial for Ben. His paranoia is pushing him toward the type of dictatorial control that Admiral Leyton is calling for, but Ben has found that not only is something odd happening in the background but this entire movement smell stinky.

Nog is such a good cadet. I love him with all my little heart. He provided critical information about Starfleet Academy's unofficial super special secret mean girls club Red Squad. This little snack of information sets Ben Sisko on the trail of breadcrumbs leading to the smorgasbord of treason committed by Leyton.

Smug Shapeshifting O'Brien is a gift. Enjoy every second of this hilarious goop boy. Colm really did a great job. We do see that there is a Dominion changeling on earth (saw it earlier in Homefront as well). We understand how real the threat of their activity can be. We especially see how terrifying a changeling can be when Dominion version O'Brien has a little chat with Ben. It might only take one hostile changeling to completely destabilize an entire world.

I do wish we figured out how the fake changeling blood was created to trap Sisko. Clever girl, Admiral.

I felt bad for Leyton. He is someone caught in a difficult position of authority and personal fears. His own paranoia drove him to the utmost extreme. I imagined that maybe he has a cute little family with a kid back home. I imagined what it might be like in his shoes. It would be hard to live thinking that your lack of effort led to the death of your child or friend or family member or significant other. It would be hard to go to bed knowing that the person you once shared it with prematurely died because of that you thought you failed to do. Even in much of the two episodes his facial expressions show a man full of internal strife and conflict. It is as if he kept questioning his actions as he made them.

What if his fear of failing his community drove him to radical dictatorship? He wanted to keep all that he loved safe, but he betrayed everyone he loved. He demanded that all his loyal friends trust him. Trust is a two way exchange though. He abandoned trusting his friends and confidants. That was the beginning of his downfall.

Leyton wanted to protect society at the cost of society itself. He could not see beyond his fear of losing society to war and enemies abroad to the point of blindness. He became an enemy of all he cherished, and I honestly think that he knew that too. He was just so scared that he desperately dug in to the one aspect of his life that he thought he could control, which is so relatable. We all can act irrationally under stress and pressure. This is not justification or approval. This is accepting that life may not have as many villains in it as we are told to believe. People are just trying to be people, meet their obligations and responsibilities while preserving what little bit of life exists to enjoy.

We are all prone to brash behaviors in order to protect what we love, but sometimes it is healthy to set down the admiralty bars and accept that you can't do it all, especially alone.

Remember that everyone in this episode wanted the same thing. Leyton wanted to protect life. Sisko wanted to protect life. Grandpa Sisko wanted to protect life. Everyone held the same belief and motivation.

I appreciated how solemnly Leyton gave in and how respectfully he surrendered. It actually felt less like defeat and more like he was relieved of a burden that he was too overwhelmed to carry alone. He didn't need to carry it alone but chose to go alone. In a symbolic way by removing the admiral bars he set down his fear and moved on.

The amount of time taken for these shots impressed upon me the symbolic significance of it. Sisko also lets go and moves on with Leyton. By setting the phaser down he too lets go and agrees it is time to move forward from this conflict. He is still betrayed and disappointed, but he is not stuck or trapped in the past. He sets down his weapon and joins Leyton in facing a reality outside the oppression of their own paranoia.

I loved that Paradise Lost ends with the restaurant opening up again. It is the resolution these episodes needed. It was closure showing that being open to others and not letting the world cloud you of the humanity in others is fundamental to life.

Despite the many differences in all these characters, regardless of where they were in the progress of their own lives, no matter the goal or intention, we all essentially desire the same things.

Star Trek is the future I hope for!

If you made it to the end of this post and are reading this then 10,000 sweet kisses to your forehead. If you didn't make it then I am still giving your forehead tender kisses, you are just not aware of it.

[bestworstcase]

I urgh, made a reblog earlier on your post about The Shallow Sea, asked a question there which you might have seen and then accidentally deleted it (oops!)

Anyway I wanted to ask do you think the fanus’s struggle for equality will be involved somehow in salem’s villian-to-hero arc? Because fanus and salem (and grimm) are just so heavily connected. She actually had a very great chance with sienna but unfortunately adam killed her.

And also if you could elaborate this salem being the god of animals thing, did she actually created fanus or it’s more about symbolic connection?

An additional note which’s just something I found very interesting. In the opening of v6, adam appears as the leader of white fang while the song goes ‘the river knows to reach the sea’. Besides the chronological order goes cinder-adam-the rest of salem’s force. (Added that rising is a salem song)

oh i. i think about salem and the faunus and grimm only a normal amount. there's more that i've written on the topic than that (among others, i have a relevant post about tyrian and his worship of salem somewhere but i cannot for the life of me find it) but tumblr, u know. 

not directly faunus related but the god of choice post is salient because rwby handles divinity in a very polytheist way, and while the recent alchemy post was just for fun it does also lay out the thematically essential death/resurrection element of salem's immortality with more clarity. 

(my other mythology tin hat is that salem was the original inspiration for 'the warrior in the woods') (<- tangent). 

TL;DR: i think she is the literal, though possibly indirect, creator of the faunus (through her combination of human + grimm into own being; the faunus descend from this harmony of opposites in some way) and that at some point in history, she belonged to faunus civilization and the mythical figure of the 'god of animals' arose through a combination of worship of salem herself + stories she told about the brothers in relation to her transformations.

(notice that the god of animals in 'the shallow sea' resembles darkness in character, and the one in 'the judgment of faunus' resembles light, but both versions are also unrecognizable as the brothers because they interact with their chosen people in a reciprocal manner—faunus choose to be changed in both stories. where ozma uses myth to guide humans toward what his god wants them to be, salem used myth to uphold her idea of what the brothers should have been and what kind of gods deserve reverence.)

the narrative has not ever been shy about making symbolic connections between the faunus and the grimm—like, blake reveals her ears for the first time whilst gazing at and identifying herself with the beowolf trampled underfoot by human huntsmen in beacon's statue. the white fang wear grimm masks because "humans wanted to make monsters of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters." qrow in the faunus WOR episode more or less explicitly describes faunus as in-between humans and grimm.  

(<- which is not necessarily accurate because qrow's narration is chock full of obvious subconscious bias—to the point of straight up saying "honestly, it's not too hard to sympathize" with the perspectives of humans who hunted down the faunus like animals because "seeing something that looks like you and acts like you walk out of a forest and reveal a pair of fangs can be… upsetting" and in no way are we meant to take that as an objective statement; in V1 weiss is unambiguously portrayed as the one in the wrong for hating faunus on the grounds that the white fang is at war with her family's company, a reason that is a lot less shaky than "fangs are upsetting" and yet is (properly) framed as irrational and bigoted.

but qrow's perspective is meant to reveal cultural attitudes, not objective facts, and his overt placement of faunus between humans and grimm is interesting in the context of everything else the narrative does to draw a connection between faunus and grimm)

salem is "your grace" to her followers and ghira is "your grace" as the chieftain of kuo kuana, implying that salem might outright self-identify as a faunus. she wants to secure  sienna khan's alliance (<- a genuine activist) and drops adam (<- a terrorist) like a hot potato after he murders her, she explicitly has no plans to attack menagerie, and menagerie doesn't… seem to have a grimm problem… like at all. zero grimm attacks in kuo kuana across two volumes there and not a single character in menagerie mentions them as a problem.

so rwby is not exactly being subtle. 

generally, i do not think the heavy emphasis put on the white fang arc was solely being overambitious about doing a Racism Subplot; i don't think it's coincidental that the narrative completed the white fang arc and then immediately launched the "salem backstory" arc with the lost fable. the white fang arc sets up for the lost fable and salem's arc is inextricable from the faunus-persecution narrative because she, in every way that matters, IS a faunus herself.

and i think that is very much going to eventuate in V10+ yeah. it's already beginning to—the affirmation of jabber's personhood and overt sympathy afforded to neo and the cat, in tandem with blake's arc in V9 being toward vocally embracing and taking pride in being a faunus as the culmination of her journey out of shame in V1-6 and quiet figuring-herself-out in V7-8, points strongly in that direction. 

[haarute]

something i didn't realize until very recently is exactly how much of my worldview and my view on myself were negatively affected, in a manner that was passive and imperceptible, by growing up surrounded by my dad and my sister's extremely individualistic beliefs.

and what i mean by that are things like the fact that they're extremely distrusting of others. they gossip a lot about others and talk badly behind their backs. are extremely judgmental of others even if they are supposed to be friends and family. and being constantly bombarded with passive comments of such nature just Taught me that I am also someone who is a target. And not just to them, but the whole world. because if most people i know act this way... that means that the whole world works like this too, right?

and i think that that's part of the reason why it's so impossible for me to Move On past those irrational thoughts. i want to believe in the fundamental goodness of other people. in support and kindness. in understanding and charity. but... that's not what i grew up around. that is not what i see most of the time even to this day. in fact, it's the opposite. it's distrust. it's selfishness. it's mockery. it's cynicism.

and all that did to me was just... want to hide. i want to hide from the world and pretend i am not a part of it. because i can't take the idea of being a target like that. of being rejected like that. and yet that is ALL that i see to this day. even if i know it doesn't make sense. even if i know it only upsets people and only leaves me alone. i'm sorry, but that's just the way my OS works.

and so i'm now at a place where i am torn between the logical realization that that's simply not how the world works and that worldview is just a byproduct of my circumstances being filtered through confirmation bias. but... i am also having a hard time changing. i want to, but i simply don't... default to thinking in that way.

and i want to believe that maybe i'll be able to move one day and live alone someplace where i won't have to deal with my sister's massive ego or have to deal with my dad's extreme distrust and hatred of other people and i'll just get to meditate on my own and slowly reintegrate to the real world. a world that is good and welcoming. but until then... that's just the world as it is presented to me. and i just kinda have to fight the concepts my brain keeps being fed and try to shake myself back to the reality that not everyone is like them. and not everyone is going to dismiss me as the pitiful joke that surely everyone perceives. but that's easier said than done.

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

75 100

thanks for the ask!

75. Do we have a moral obligation to care for others? To what extent?

this is a complicated question.

i do not believe that there is some moral lawgiver out there who has dictated that we have a moral obligation to care for others, and if we don't then we are evil people or anything like that. i don't conceive of "morality" as some abstract force or entity that is imposed upon us from on high.

so in that conception of moral obligation, i believe we have none. because no such moral obligation exists. i do not believe in some divine command morality. however, if we take a more grounded, natural, dynamic view of morality where, as the etymology of the word suggests, it is just what a given people/society considers and expects as proper/right, then i'd say such obligations definitely exist. morality comes from the word mores which just refers to the character, customs, or manners of a particular people.

and so yeah i think people have some obligations to care for others, and i guess you could call them moral in a sense, but the extent will depend on both the society and the individual; their roles, their relationships, their purposes/goals, their values, their capacities, their circumstances, etc.

an obligation is a debt. and i think just the act of being born and brought into this world and being supported by others and enabled to flourish because of community and society means you are imbued with duties and obligations almost necessarily by virtue of living and existing in a society. and of course i think there are "orders of love" based on "proximity" so to speak. so you have "greater" obligation to yourself and your family vs a foreign stranger, for example.

i should also specify that i think "caring for others" is much nobler when it comes from just a genuine innate "care" and an overflowing generosity or strength or abundance or what have you, rather than because of "obligation".

100. What belief do you have that isn’t logically grounded, but you still firmly believe in?

i guess i should go with something kinda related to the previous answer: my patriotic devotion to america. i can come up with all kinds of rationalizations that reinforce this devotion but at the end of the day, there is no logical motive behind it. it is something that is innate and instinctual to me. even if you took away all logic and reason i would still have this devotion. it comes from some internal, visceral, irrational part of my soul.

which kinda relates to my point about it depending on individual values.

i think every man is a law unto himself. and every man has to decide his purpose and his values for himself. and, essentially, to have a purpose at all is to impose duties upon oneself almost necessarily. because if you have a purpose and you actually want to serve that purpose that means you have duties to it. regardless of whether there is any logic behind the purpose.

which also relates back to my point about just genuine self-motivated caring vs being "obligated". i care about my family and my country not because i have some "moral obligation" but it's actually the reverse: i have a moral obligation to them because i care about them. and my care for them is innate and organic and self-motivated.

[reginrokkr]

𝐗𝐋𝐈𝐈. Despite the lingering mystery behind Dain's lack of corrosion physical-wise as well as his psyche being considerably sound if compared to Eide within less than a century since he was cursed, that is not to say that he isn't affected by the Abyss at all. In 「Requiem of the Echoing Depths」, he talks about how he can feel the curse permeating his entire being, becoming part of him and slowly but surely replacing him. While this is not what I want to address specifically, it's proof enough that despite what he carries (either an object or something more innate, within him) that gives him an immunity to some extent, he can be affected by the Abyss.

Which is the main point of this post, Abyss affliction and how it may alter someone's psyche with deeply-rooted fears as seen in the Natlan Interlude quest. Dain is known for being a down-to-earth and collected man who carries a tranquility in the face of dire situations that may seem unlikely coming from someone afflicted with this. However, while this may be true to some extent, it also serves as a shield to protect himself and the others from him.

✧ When addressing to others, Dain is mostly polite with others (in the JP voice acting which is what I'm using for him, his manner of speech is polite but antiquated in the sense that some of the words he uses, while meant to stay polite and formal, can be taken as him being rude instead due to the evolution of the language to the present) and keeps a healthy distance from the people without being insultingly distant. When he's established a deeper relationship with someone, he addresses them by their given name.

However, when he's been afflicted by the Abyss, despite being a rational individual, an irrational fear to lose said people arises (there can be many reasons for that even during Khaenri'ah, given that he comes from a prominent background and that he's also the Captain of the Black Serpent Knights) and as a result, he distances himself through his manner of speech. The warm tones he would use would grow more neutral and the occasional friendly approach he would have within his politeness and being usually distant to everyone will disappear, thus going back to the moment prior to growing a deeper connection with said individuals.

Post-Cataclysm, this accentuates more and it's more obvious that in moments that call for being together with someone, he would sooner be off on his own and reunite with the same person after they have rested to continue their current pursuit. This isn't without its logic: in keeping himself distant from others, he's protecting others from getting involved in undesirable situations that would be disadvantageous to them more than it'd be to himself due to his special circumstances.

✦ This also affects the physical contact he may have with people, more deeply-rooted post-Cataclysm than before, but still there. As before, an irrational fear that comes from the belief that having spent a prominent amount of time under the abyssal exposure would bring consequences to the other. So if before this fear arises he used to be more on the touchy side (friendly or romantic, it doesn't matter), his touches will be more calculated and if possible, he'll avoid them entirely.

Post-Cataclysm this grows substantially worse, specially when combined with the corruption he's facing for 500 years now. Having half of his body being akin to a monster doesn't help, neither does that his right hand is exactly just that despite his efforts at giving it a semblance of normalcy —mostly by trimming his nails, which tend to an exacerbated sharpening if left unattended for long enough—. Unlike before the Cataclysm where his touches would be more calculated and tense until through the efforts of the other person he realizes that nothing will happen if he continues touching as he did until then, in this time frame he wants to avoid completely physical touch. There is no physical touch unless strictly necessary (like carrying someone, pushing someone out of danger's way, etc.) before and after a deeper relationship is cemented, and for this case, it'll take him a lot of coaxing in order to chase away his hesitance and make him realize that nothing will happen if he does.

In both cases, he's fully aware of how both the curse and corruption work and that none of the aforementioned deeds will harm another. In fact, if he were to be asked for someone else, he would assure them as much. The problem comes when it's about him and, once again, it's nothing but an irrational fear born from the Abyss exacerbating a pre-existent deeply caring and empathetic nature he has.

Lastly, I want to quote something Dain says during Shenhe's miscellany that suits well with this headcanon and his feelings about this, which is a sad reality he has to face:

◜Even I myself do not relish the solitary life I lead.◞

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for not coming back "home"?

I'll try to be brief, but there is a lot to explain so I'm not sure if I will be. I (23F) was attacked by someone at 10 years old and thrown into a river. Miraculously I had survived, but I was miles away from home. At first I tried finding my way back, but found it too difficult and gave up. I instead decided to lead a new life in my new home as the leader of a group of rogues.

Long story short, the guy who attacked me at 10 came back to attack me again (he had a grudge against me and my family) and I passed out and woke up in my mothers home. I could tell she was affected emotionally by me suddenly being “alive”, which I can't necessarily blame her for. My twin brother missed me too, of course. He's been very gentle with his words and mannerisms. He had never acted that way before, so I assume it is either due to the passage of time or he missed me that much.

At some point I went out alone and met this demon looking thing. It looked a lot like a skeleton of our species, with weird black strands of hair along its spine. While my memory of our conversation is a little fuzzy, one thing stuck out to me. It asked me, “Why didn't you come back?”. I didn't know what to say. Why didn't I come back?

My only explanation is that I was afraid of my family finding out who I've become, that if they knew who I was now they'd reject me. But that has no logical standpoint. I'm supposed to be a fearless leader, I don't have time to worry about stupid things like that. Besides, my family is just as supportive now as they were back then, so why would I think such irrational thoughts?

So I think there was no reason. Me not returning to them was purely out of my own selfishness. Although, making judgements about your own self always has a hint of bias, which is why I am asking for an outsider's opinion. Am I the asshole?

Edit: Talked to my family about the demon. Apparently it is technically also my brother. As in, a part of my brother split away from him and took the form of whatever that was. I still don't fully understand, but knowing it was him all along makes me feel even worse.

[behindthewox]

Criticism is hard

I've been quiet for a while to allow some time to pass and the EU site leaders to work out the kinks (but also due to IRL commitments) and from what I've heard the opinions are still pretty mixed.

The new site leaders published a feedback form a while back, which is a great idea and honestly should've been done sooner, but instead of just taking the feedback to heart amongst themselves they have now publicly responded to it in a notice board post. Some users in the comment section are very appreciative of this but based on my tumblr inbox there are those who disagree and think it's pretty bad and I kind of agree that it doesn't look all that good.

Yes, it's important to respond to feedback. But it has to be done carefully and at the end of the day it's the actions that really count, not the words you respond with. Actions like arguing against the critics and dismissing opinions as lies or untruthful speaks very loudly, and throwing blame on others is just plain disrespectful and unprofessional. The lack of actions speaks loudly too, and the choice of what feedback to act first on sends a clear message about priorities.

So how do you respond to criticism?

There's no simple answer, but in my experience the following points are generally agreed upon:

§ Humility is key when responding to feedback and criticism. Pride and arrogance will only screw you over and no matter how superior and infallible you think you are, you're not. § Be honest and truthful in a neutral manner. Don't make empty promises and if you want to share your feelings try to be genuine. § Your words mean nothing if they are not backed up by action. If there's no concrete suggestion on how to do it better, ask for advice on what you need to do differently in order to improve or make the changes your critic wants to see. Asking for more input is a great first action to take. § Be objective, try to look at the matter from both sides and see if you can relate to the critic. § Don't dismiss the concerns that your critic expresses, unless you can back up the dismissal with solid reasons for dismissing it. § The feelings and opinions of your critics are not wrong: feelings and opinions are personal and subjective, there is no right or wrong there. A critic can be incorrect but you should never imply that they are wrong in what they express to you. § Your own feelings and opinions generally don't belong in a response to feedback. Feelings can be irrational and when it comes to feedback and criticism it's not about what YOU think and feel, it's about what OTHERS think and feel. § Apologies are good - in moderation. Use them wisely and phrase them carefully. Remorse and regret is overall good for responding to criticism, but keep it minimal and professional. § Explanations can easily be interpreted as excuses, so sometimes it's better not to explain yourself but rather offer to explain it upon request. Critics are usually not objective and will actively look for flaws and weaknesses. § Don't share more information than necessary and always respect and protect the integrity and/or anonymity of your critics. Don't give them more reasons to criticise you. § Don't bring other people into it, especially not to put blame on them. There is absolutely no need to put other people in a bad light, if anything it just makes you look bad. § Don't pose yourself as the victim, even if you feel like you're the victim of unjustified criticism. If your response is more about you than about the critic, it's a bad response. § Read up on terms and concepts like "gaslighting", "victim blaming", "guilt tripping", "discrimination", "self-vicimization" and "minimization/downplaying (psychology)". Not everyone will recognise and identify it but to the people who do it looks really, really bad and they might accuse you of manipulation and (depending on the severity) even verbal and emotional abuse. Learn to recognise it so that you don't do it by accident to others.

Results may vary and what works in one situation might not work in another. The advice above is pretty generic but there will be always be nuance and exceptions that generic advice can't account for. Ultimately you should ask someone to look over your response and help you identify potential issues with it and help you finetune it before you hit send.

You will inevitably get it wrong sometimes and that's okay, as long as you learn from it and put in the time and effort to improve your skills over time. There will always be flaws and weak points in what you do and say but the goal here isn't to be flawless, the goal is simply to dodge as many bullets as possible and keep the damage to a minimum.

Criticism isn't easy and it takes a lot of practise but it's an extremely valuable skill to have in life. Both giving criticism and receiving and acting on it. I'm still learning and I might never fully master the art of criticism, but I'm pretty confident that I've got the basics down and I mostly know what I'm doing. Mostly. It's a work in progress :P

NOTE/CREDIT: This post is based on an anon submission where the anon criticised the Feedback Response on WoP EU and provided a few pointers on what they did wrong. I decided to take the rather harsh criticism and flip it into something less negative and more constructive that can be helpful to everyone, not just the individuals adressed in the submission. It's a mix of anon's original points (credit goes to them) and my additions with what I've learned over the years as well as personal experience, preferences and beliefs. I'm not an expert but it should align pretty well with the general consensus among the people who actually are experts in the field. Thanks for your submission and I hope you don't mind that I Frankensteined it, Anon. Please let me know what you think about this submission-flipping experiment of taking something negative and making something more constructive out of it.

[miqomonkly]

💧 DROPLET - random angst headcanon

💗 GROWING HEART - if they have a crush, is it noticable? what changes when they're in love?

🕷️ SPIDER - what is their biggest fear? do they have any irrational / mundane fears?

Had to include the angst hc to balance the soft hc 😆

💧: Garlemald continues to annoy her. She has high hopes for the future of the nation, but recent experiences with their people continue to color her perception of them. Sure, they were a proud nation, and (through a number of factors, not least of which include Ascian intervention) grew to a rather powerful force in the world, but you would think in their darkest hour a helping hand would be something to praise, not spurn.

I'lyanna daily has to remind herself just how twisted these poor people became due to the nature of their own existence. It does little to dim the burning anger every time she and her comrades are pushed away without good reason.

💗: had you asked pre-Calamity Lyanna. It certainly would be noticeable! She'd blush and stammer, denying profusely the very thought of a crush on anyone.

Post EW Lyanna, however, is far more mellow and subdued about her crushes, though only to an extent. She's far more flirty and teasing with those she's interested in, but rarely does it go beyond that. Part of this may be her still trying to cope with the one real love she had during her time... and the loss of said love.

Since then, she's been hesitant to get involved with anyone in any serious manner. As such, she claims she doesn't really know how she'd act, were she in love. "Some day..." she often muses. "Some day I may answer that question truthfully..."

🕷: Lyanna always holds an inconsolable dread that she may lose those she loves again. After losing her parents to the Calamity and Haurchefant during the events of the Vault, there is always a lingering fear that, if she isn't careful, she could lose someone else...

Aside from this, gremlins are a source of exceptional unease for her. During her time in the First, she had an encounter with a pair of gremlins who, from hiding, imitated the voices of a pair of Crystarium Guards she had been patrolling with. It has given rise to "small" trust issues whenever word of these creatures antics abound.