#i know it's confirmation bias or whatever but still

[fantaatix]

"i have no home now"

i remember a while back when this episode was still being highly anticipated people were debating whether or not stolas would be stripped of his title and powers, maybe even hired by blitz, and why that might be a bad thing

i'll just rip this straight from the post i found in my likes:

"Saying that Stolas needs to abdicate so their relationship can be healthy implies that a commoner really CAN'T be with royalty"

the thing is that i don't think that's necessarily what the show is trying to imply. i'll give them some credit, they posted this in august, i forget when exactly apology tour came out but i think there was a general acceptance that they'd be back together by the end of the season

i don't think that's the case either and here's why;

i think one of the overarching themes of this season is how blitz simultaneously ruins and saves people--whether or not these are his intentions varies from person to person

for example, those he believes he's ruined are his sister, fizz, his mom, and verosika

verosika is an outlier because of the fact that a) the three prior were close enough to be considered family, b) the three prior can all be pinned down to the same event, and c) i feel like he definitely meant to at least piss her off, as a means to push her away

you don't "steal their car, run three rings to wrath and max my credit on shitty horse-riding lessons" because you think it'll brighten someone's day

those he's ruined mostly want nothing to do with him, or keep themselves at a distance; barbie wants nothing to do with him, verosika hates his guts (used to, rather), and while they definitely care about each still, his friendship with fizz is not what it used to be

but now, with IMP, he seems to be on a trend of making a life for himself and giving others a new chance

these images are always paired together as like, "before and after" and i'm sure it's been mentioned dozens of times, but again--there is an outlier, and i think in this case it's moxxie

with millie and loona blitz identifies their struggles himself

with loona, he sees how rough she acts on the outside but sees the soft interior and recognises himself--he wants to give her a real chance at a life, free of judgement

with millie, it's essentially the same deal, except millie straight up tells him about her struggle to make a living and he offers her a job

but with moxxie, there is no "identification", at least not to the specifics. he's in jail, moxxie's in jail, things suck regardless. if anything, maybe blitz figured that being incarcerated was "the struggle", which is probably fair; i don't think you're gonna get "my dad is a sociopath, my mom left/died and my boyfriend left me for dead" first try

moxxie was not special to him in this moment; blitz didn't recognise some divine struggle or empathic connection, they've known each other for 30 seconds and know literally nothing about each other. blitz is looking to break out and see his daughter, that is his goal here. the question was not, "what is this guy's struggle?" the question was "can this guy work a gun?" and the answer may or may not have been yes

and you can tell, like...just by the way blitz looks at him after. it is so possible that he just planned to ditch him after they both got out but ended up not doing so for whatever reason. like, "oh wow, that definitely meant more to him than it meant to me"

that seems to be the case with all of the people he's helped in one way or another; he can't even see that he helps. it's confirmation bias, all he sees is the bad. he needs people to reel him back into reality, people like millie or fizz or maybe possibly stolas later on cough cough

but now back to the point i'm trying to make (and what brought this post to life);

first off, the face blitz makes once he is confronted with the idea that people would actually miss him if he was gone:

and secondly, these two lines:

blitz: you need a ride home

stolas: i...have no home now. everything i have is gone.

this is stolas at his most vulnerable. he has no powers, no home, his daughter is in custody of his Bitch Wife, and he has no lover.

you could argue a few of those things in western energy but in this moment he has absolutely nothing to fall back on, he is alone.

and then blitz invites him to stay with him because that's what he does, he helps people at their most vulnerable moments. he gives them a home.

that is the point here--this isn't about their relationship right now, this about blitz having an irresistible urge to protect people he cares about and acting on it, because like it or not that's his job for the time being. he's not a bodyguard but he'll be playing that role until he dies or stolas gets his powers back.

he can finally actually protect stolas now, maybe even feel fulfillment in doing so, not having to fall back on things like "i didn't think you could get hurt" and seemingly forgetting to mention the fact that "oh yeah someone's plotting to kill you you should maybe look into that"

this is where they learn trust in each other. trust and devotion.

[themswritinwords]

Any time I say plans for my writing out loud to someone life finds a way to drop kick those plans and me in the process. Which I'm kind of used to, in an ironic sort of way. Except this time it drop kicked my husband in the already-partially-resected intervertebral disc, which has now probably fully herniated and is definitely compressing his spinal cord. So now he's homebound and can't even stand up straight, and ~insurance~ forces you to wait ages for an MR, let alone the corrective surgery, and he's stuck totally unable to do anything aside from get himself to and from different rooms in the apartment (and sometimes not even that).

So I'm on caregiver duty, as well as near-solo primary parent and homemaker duties. So those plans I had to knock out this other manuscript are not happening any time soon.

And I think I'll just stop telling people about such plans in the future, because the only one left in the house who hasn't had a horrible acute medical crisis right after announcing some big milestone I had planned in my writing is the 4 year old. And I'm not doing that to her, man. 😭

[overbearingstruggles]

The best hater is an informed one

[vagueiish]

i've been told a number of times that mental illness is a dirty, filthy, no good liar. but like..... what if it isn't?

[possiblylando]

HTP; Ghoul Lore Audio Log Spoilers/Analysis/Discussion

Dude holy shit uh Spoiler barrier and then all in cause

Okay Okay fuck where to begin this episode literally changes everything okay I guess lets start at the Draught. Based on what we know about this unique Draught, it means Grimal might not be the ghoul?? If the ghoul potentially has this Draught (which I vaguely doubt will come into play in this arc specifically) it could mean anyone could be the ghoul so long as they were only in a place without 1 other person. Atleast I assume so because if they could use this high power Dominate on multiple people simultaneously then this whole operation would be cooked from the start. While I was very mixed on the idea of Gloria as the Ghoul previously, I think its far more possible now. This high level Dominate (Lets assume 4 dots) This ghoul could have access to Rationalize or Forgetful Mind, Or any others in that category. If Grimal is was being commanded to act that could explain why everything is so suspicious around her. Have someone else go in and take care of Occam while the ghoul sits with someone else and has the perfect alibi. So now I think the possibilities for Ghoul are; 1. Grimal is the Ghoul (The Draught is a red herring and simply setting up something in a future arc instead of this current one.) 2. Gloria is the Ghoul & has this Draught; this is based more on Vibes and the fact Gloria doesn't actually do too much in part 1 outside checking Occam's pulse. If she's the ghoul and commanded someone (Namely Grimal) to attack Occam, she would have a vested interested in knowing if the attack was successful. Okay thats about it for my thoughts on the Ghoul right now. Onto the far more important bit of this episode. Because this was not simpyl a Ghoul Lore episode, THIS WAS A MARCKUS LORE EPISODE TROJAN HORSE.

But before the deep Marckus shit- Markus was 12 in 1988. Door was present and seems to be in his 20s or 30s. Boy has not been born yet and Boy is 11 in 2006 so he was born in like 1995. So I think its reasonable to place door as being in his 20s here, having Boy in his 30s. This means Door is probably 8-15? (Maybe) years older than Markus which would make him roughly 40 in modern day. D does look markedly younger in these photographs but I'm not sure if thats art style or actually because he's aged. It does put a damped on my thoughts about D being MUCH older than he seems. But we do know his previous Ex-Wife Rozalia (The Ghoul) is roughly 108 in modern day. It seems to be implied D had met & later married her after she was pretty deep into being a ghoul so there probably was a large age gap already. But it still kinda stands out to me. D is very afraid or Marckus becoming a Ghoul because he sees himself in him. I don't necessarily think D was a ghoul (thought it could explain his weird age). Thought all this might be confirmation Bias as in the more recent episodes D's hair has been more consistently colored with grey streaks when compared to earlier episodes where it was more like a sheen in his hair. It just feels like D has done too much to only be roughly in his 60-70s and very fit. While older people can certainly be in good physical condition it doesnt seem like D has suffered any real negatives from aging? He's MINIMUM 18 years older than Door who is in his 40s but again that's a low ball. I don't know. Alright time for the Marckus stuff. So its rather basic background knowledge that HTP's main cast is inspired by the cast of Warhammer 40k TTS. Now up until this point I had thought it was mostly a baseline thing. Only really carrying over personalities and vague relationships between characters while having the freedom to change them with that background knowledge. But based on this episode it appears to be more relevant.

Whatever the fuck Marckus managed to summon, It was something not even D understood. This is in directly parallel with 40k's Magnus who Marckus is based on. For those who don't know about 40k lore (I don't blame you its VERY long.), Magnus is a Primarch (Emperor's special kids) who ended up being manipulated by 40k's god of trickery and ended up fucking up literally everything because of his lack of thinking things through and the influence of said trickster god. Gods in 40k are manifestations of humanity (and alien's) collective subconscious minds and often take the forms of their most volatile negative aspects. They're entited formed from 'The Warp' which is the source of magic in 40k. Magnus is very naturally tuned to the warp. Almost all the issues in TTS (and 40k) relating to Magnus are because he has a MASSIVE complex. He craves parental affection and affirmation but in TTS every time he thinks hes denied it, some shit goes wrong. When he actually gets that parental affection (Earlier season 2 iirc) he mellows out alot until finding out the only reason the emperor (D's counterpart) brought him back was so that Magnus would act as a pawn and decoy in his 5d chess game to deal with political enemies. Magnus is not happy about this. With all this background information, whats present in this episode slots into place. Marckus seems to have forgotten about the incident yes. The better case is that he blocked out the memory due to trauma. But the worse possibility is that a seed was planted. One that's been festering within him since that time. D may be planning to tell Marckus everything in a few months, But I get the feeling before those months are up, That seed will sprout. In one form or another, Marckus will be given the option to go down the same path of darkness as his predecessor. I don't think Marckus would go for such a path without a push but the one providing that push might be D, even if unintentionally. D is so focused on the forest that he's missing the trees.

[frommybookbook]

Earlier today, some friends and I were discussing one of those Star Trek captains memes. You know the ones I’m talking about, the ones that pit the captains against each other with pithy descriptions that glorify and champion the men and shit on Janeway. The ones where Picard is describe as the wise teacher and scholarly diplomat; Kirk is the brave trailblazer and lovable rogue; Sisko is the take-no-shit commander and more-than-human uniter; Archer is the quick thinking explorer and the avenging do-gooder; Pike is the empathetic Boy Scout and the quippy everyman…and Janeway is an irrational murderer and erratic loose canon. And, as usual, I went on a bit of a rant. They (looking at you @redsesame, @epersonae, and @emi--rose) told me to share it here so, if you trudge through this whole thing, blame them.

Does Janeway make some questionable decisions throughout VOY (Prodigy!Janeway is a different conversation for another time)? Yes, absolutely. But here’s the thing: every captain does. What I still love about her though and will champion until I'm blue in the face is that Janeway owns her decisions more than I think any other captain does.

Picard and Kirk hide behind the Prime Directive a lot. That's the reasoning Picard gives for not interfering in the drug running in “Symbiosis” and leaving the Ornarans trapped in dependence on the abusive Brekkans. His line, “Beverly, the Prime Directive is not just a set of rules. It is a philosophy, and a very correct one. History has proved again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous." is a cop-out we hear from him time and time again, especially to Dr. Crusher, as she is the one who most often calls him on his bullshit.

Kirk does the same thing. We still this when he leaves Shanna and the other thralls behind in "The Gamesters of Triskelion" and when he forces Elaan of Troyius into a marriage she clearly doesn't want because it's "for a greater good." And all the while, he's got Spock at his side giving him confirmation bias that he's following regulations.

And Sisko, Sisko makes some of the most horrific and destructive decisions of any captain and uses not only the Prime Directive to fall back on, but he's got the Dominion War to blame. He poisons an entire planet to get back at one man he feels betrayed him in "For the Uniform" and don't even get me started on his actions in "In the Pale Moonlight".

Enterprise is so unjustly shat on by the fandom that I almost hate to bring some of Archer's questionable choices into this conversation but I'm going to do it anyway. Similar to Sisko and the Dominion War, Archer has the threat of the Xindi in his back pocket to excuse some of his worst behavior. If Tuvix is the worst thing people can point to for Janeway, then we have to talk about Archer and Sim, the simbiont created solely to be a living tissue donor for an injured Trip, a procedure that will kill the living, breathing, sentient Sim. Archer orders Sim created against the arguments made by Dr. Phlox. He rationalizes his decision with the same argument for the greater good that we see from all the others. He says to T'Pol before Sim is created "…we've got to complete this mission. Earth needs Enterprise. Enterprise needs Trip. It's as simple as that." And it doesn't end there. When Sim is grown enough for the procedure and has figured out what's going to happen to him, he challenges Archer himself, arguing for his own right to live, and Archer sticks to his guns. This exchange directly between Archer and Sim is haunting.

Archer: I must complete this mission; and to do that, I need Trip. Trip! I'll take whatever steps necessary to save him. Sim: Even if it means killing me? Archer: Even if it means killing you. Sim: You're not a murderer. Archer: Don't make me one.

Not only do all of these captains (except Archer, who arguably writes the damn thing himself at the end of the series) have the Prime Directive to fall back on, they also have Starfleet/the Federation/Vulcan High Council right there on speed dial to validate their choices and hear their excuses and give them another commendation. They all know that ultimately, they can turn to someone higher in command to turn to for help.

Janeway is alone. She is alone with her crew 70,000 lightyears from home with only her training and her own moral compass to guide her. Yes, she claims the Prime Directive a lot but she also goes with what she feels is right and she is clear about that with her crew. When she makes the decision to split Tuvix, despite what everyone else says, she sticks to it and more importantly, does the procedure herself. Picard would have forced Beverly to do it, saying Doctor I gave you an order, your conscience be damned, and Archer does the same to Phlox with Sim, but Janeway takes the tool out of the Doctor's hand and says it's my call, I'll do it. When everyone is angry and mad about her destroying the Caretaker's array, she stands up for her decision and says yes, I did it, because it's what my Starfleet training said to do AND because I think it was the right thing and it's on me to make the hard choices.

She also can admit when she made the wrong decision, which isn't something we see from the other captains. In the season 5 opener, "Night", we see her in a depressive state because she's questioning her decision to effectively strand her crew in the Delta quadrant but she comes out of it when she's reminded by her senior staff that the crew believes in her and trusts her, she should do the same for herself. When the Doctor has a mental crisis in "Latent Image" after questioning his own choice to save the life of Harry Kim over that of another crew member, Janeway admits she did the wrong thing by first deleting his memories of it so he could get back to work and then sits with him for days while he works through it because that's what captains do.

And she does all of this without the backup and support of Starfleet. She doesn't have anyone higher on the chain of command. She's 70,000 miles away from the admiralty and her support system. There's no one higher than her to give her a break from making every decision.

To quote my fellow Missourian Harry Truman, for Janeway the buck stops with her in a way it doesn't for any other captain and she is painfully aware of that and owns that and that is why I love her and she's my captain.

[saturnianoracle]

How to learn real astrology: what it is and is not

As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul.

It is VITAL that if you want to understand astrology properly, you come in with an open mind and forget everything you think you know. Especially, remove yoruself from the belief that astrology is some occultic mystical spiritual practice, and/or that it is solely some psychological tool.

I used to be quite the hater of astrology. None of it 'resonated', and it seemed like wishy washy hippie shit. In lockdown, astrology stuff kept coming onto my feed, and some of it made sense, but most still did not. I then initially wanted to debunk astrology. But when I properly stated looking into it, the deeper I went the more accurate it started to become. Equally, parts still remained highly inaccurate. But this was due to a mismatch of how 'influencers' out there synthesised and understood the traditional foundations of astrology and modern information. Thus, I committed myself to truly understanding astrology, and my life has significantly improved for it and I've only just started.

As an introductory post to what astrology really is, I have formatted it into the following sections: i. the problem with pop culture astrology, ii, the history of astrology, iii. how astrology works, and iv. where meaning in astrology comes from.

The problem with pop culture astrology

This is the type of astrology we see in newspaper horoscopes, online articles, tiktok viral posts, instagram horoscopes, etc.

This is borne out of the allure astrology holds for desperate individuals seeking an easy and quick answer to their life problems, and using it as a form of confirmation bias for hating their ex (for example). But this misuse of astrology will undoubtedly hit for most people, due to the barnum effect, but is ultimately inaccurate and those who think it true have now misleadingly correlated the pop culture reasons for why X happened to what astrology is.

The new moon in your 7th house is not a sign that your crush will leave his partner for you. Being a gemini sun does not mean you are a two faced, loyal-less individual. Having your sun sign the same as their venus sign does not mean you two are compatible. And so on and so forth.

Here are some key things to understand about astrology:

✎ Stop using co-star, and those websites which give you your astrology information like this:

-> This does not tell you anything remotely significant aside from standard archetypal and superifical meanings of having a sun in Sagittarius or whatever (which you might not even 'relate' to, because of a multitude of other factors this does not show). Your chart instead, should, at the very least look like this:

-> Even better, make a chart and add in decans, asteroids, and considers more aspects. Viewing your birth chart like this is essential for gaining a better understanding. Aspects are what brings everything in your chart together to give it more significant and individualised meaning, the houses and the angles are also explicitly identifiable this way. Also, always make sure your chart is in whole sign houses, I will make a post on this later on why, but you will have to go to settings for this as popculture astrology has made placidus the default (as well as other inaccurate takes).

✎ Sun sign is astrology is fake, no matter how much you think it resonates with you it is the wrong footing to base your understanding of astrology off of. Astrology is extremely complex, one thing might resonate for one person and not for another, because of house placements, condition of the planet, aspects to the planet, etc. Consequently, all basic and simplified delineations of a chart are unhelpful and will put you on the wrong footing for future proper readings you might wish to do. This is how astrology can be so inaccurate.

✎ Astrology is not about resonating. Although, this is a part of how we can test astrology, it is linked far too much with resonating with personality. Your birth chart is not a map of who you are specifically, we evolve all the time (as the universe, so the soul), it is a map of your entire life. It is a map of the sky and its energies the minute you were born. Some things you think you do not resonate with is because those energies have not yet played out in your life.

✎ Astrology is not a psychological tool, although it can give us insight into psychology when used and understood properly. Again, it is the blueprint of our life.

✎ Astrology is not spiritual. It is not a belief system, either. Although, one can use astrology to advance their spiritual practices.

✎ Free will exists. I will likely go into this in another post but the energies of our bith chart, solar return chart, profection year, progressed charts, transits etc, are merely indications of how things are likely to unfold. The energies are malleable within their themes' ambit, and it is up to us to decide how we choose to interpret what is/will happen and what to do with that information. A transit might indicate difficulty in a law suit, ok, how can I mitigate that then? What other charts, energies, and transits can I use? If I did not know of this then I would not know how to alter my behaviour to yield a better results, even if it might not mean a completely opposite result.

✎ Your natal chart will not show you everything. There are relocated charts, progressed charts, solar return charts, profection years, etc. All this goes into a holistic assessment. Your natal chart, however, will always remain the anchor of it all.

A brief history

Astrology is not some woo-woo, spiritual, new age, belief system. Astrology's history and use goes back to the Babylonians. It used to be intertwined with astronomy; Galielo and Kepler, for example, were simultaneously astrologers and practised it widely (even as court astrologers). People in positions of power have always consulted astrologers to time events, in the modern era many Royal families, celebrities, and politicans still consult astrologers. Carl Jung, JP Morgan, Nancy Reagan, and Roosevelt are examples of this. Of course, it might be argued that just because famous people have used/use astrology does not give it any more credit to which I say: ok please read my post below pls and ty xo.

Astrology's history has been relatively tumultuous, however. I have condensed this timeline from an article I found below:

- Astrology was a widely accepted practice but, in Europe, after the fall of the Roman empire and much of Europe, it fell into decline along with other disicplines. - The middle ages saw a renaissance of intellectualism with a particular focus on science and thus the astronomy part of it. This was largely due to the Church who viewed astrology as divination and going against free will. - However, in other parts of the world astrology was still a crucial element of daily life, and those in power would use astrologers to time events. - Astrology did re-enter the curriculum, though, in the 14th century, with a focus on being used for medical astrology in part due to the recently available Hippocratic Corpus. These texts were crucial to advancing our understanding of medicine, but Hippocrates emphasised that "a physician without knowledge of astrology has no right to call himself a physician". Astrologer still had a healthy dose of criticism back then, though. - Astrology was a major field of study in universities in Europe, well ingrained in daily life. - It died out in the 17th century, mostly due to the increasing emphasis on science being increasingly and misleadingly viewed as separate from astrology, the church, and astrologers falling into disrepute due to political involvement. - Its resurgence in the 19th century saw an oversimplified, and largely 'spiritualised' version of astrologer. This is because this period also saw an increased interest in the occult and mystic. - Since becoming conflated, astrology has become even further diluted, but this is not to say that every new discovery has been wrong; modern interpretation is crucial to informing the bigger picture of astrology and how we can utilise it. But it is vital to be critical and separate it from pop culture nonsense, aimed at lost and desperate people looking for quick answers and confirmation bias, and have some media literacy.

So, how does astrology work?

: ̗̀➛ Astrology has NOTHING to do with the physical constellations. Astrology is based on the signs on the ecliptic (the path of the sun amongst the constellations, which is the plane of the earth's orbit).

: ̗̀➛ The equator has 15 constellations, and the ecliptic has 13. So why do we have 12 zodiac signs? This is because babylonians divided the ecliptic into 12 equal segments of 30 degrees each thousands of years ago. The ecliptic was divided into SIGNS. 12 constellations were just used to identify where in the sky each sign would be, at the time for ease of astronomical mapping/calculation - it is merely symbolic. This is why Opphiuchus is not the 13th Zodiac SIGN, although it is a constellation (and has always been known).

: ̗̀➛ Another reason why they are not based off the physical constellations is because the actual size of the constellations vary massively in size. Below is a representation of this:

: ̗̀➛ As you can see, Virgo, for instance is huge, and on a literal view overlaps into the next segment because the constellations do not all equally fit a 30 degree division. Yet, we do not give scorpio like 5 days for its season, because the physical constellation does not dictate anything meaningful.

This gives us the tropical zodiac, which is to do with the earth's seasons:

: ̗̀➛ The solstices are therefore reference points for Capricorn and Cancer (tropic of capricorn and tropic of cancer), not the constellations themselves. Accordingly, the spring equinox is marked by Aries (with the sun entering the segment of Aries at 0 degrees until 29), and the autumn equinox by Libra.

: ̗̀➛ The precession of the equinoxes, are therefore irrelevant to astrology (and this is why vedic/sidereal is, in my opinion inaccurate). The slow change of the direction of the earth's axial tilt, over around 26000 years, cause a precession of the equinoxes. This means, the segment of the sky that used to be identified by the Aries constellation from the earth's position at the time, is now looking at Pisces. But as we know, astrology has nothing to do with the physical location of the constellations. Vedic astrologers use sidereal positioning, aka taking into account the precession of the equinoxes, yet they still divide the ecliptic in the same way. This causes problems, leading to many branches in vedic because few agree on where aries actually even starts. But, I will write an extension of this segment in a future post on tropical vs vedic/sidereal astrology.

Where does astrological meaning come from?

As explained above, constellations do not give us meaning, the planets in the signs do (of which the signs' names just derive from where the constellations were at the time, i.e. are merely symbolic).

Astrology operates in a heliocentric context, in that its setting is derived from the solstices (as the sun is what gives us life) and the ecliptic etc, but is geocentric in function in that the meaning comes from how the celestial bodies going through the signs affect us on earth; it is all about OUR relation to the planets, not constellations.

Returning to the quote above (as above so below...), what happens up up there reflects its energies down on us below. For thousands of millenia, astrologers have developed an accurate pattern recognition framework which aligns with the maths and astronomy. This was done using the ephemeris, which tracked the trajectory of celestial bodies against the context of worldly (mundane), or natal events. Eventually, this knowledge could be used for predictions, (to understand transits, or for electional and horary astrology), by utilising the knowledge of how the trajectories of the planets and their interactions with eachother in what sign and house affected what.

Why does it affect us? Well, all the things that happen above us radiate energies. But when I talk about energies, I do not mean it in some spiritual sense, it is quite literal. Everything has frequencies. As mentioned above, astrologers, since the Bablyonian times, have studied these patterns and created an objective framework to align with it. Physical energies or not there is direct causation. The moon for instance, affects the tides on the planet because of its gravitational pull. We are 70% water, there is little reason to deny that the moon cannot affect us either (it does). Perhaps you might understand your broken leg as because of being hit by a car. But astrology can assess the chart of the event, and transits to your own chart to provide further explanation of why you got hit by a car in the first place, and why it caused a broken leg etc. Subsequently, the energies of what happens above relate to the themes found in planets, signs, houses, aspects, asteroids etc - but these energies are not set in stone as explained above.

Ultimately, it is disappointingly small-minded to think that there is nothing 'greater' than the physical reality we tether ourselves to. We are in fact part of something bigger; and again I do not mean this in some culty spiritual hippy sense. It is literally a fact, the world and cosmos at large is so vast, mysterious, and beautiful, how could anyone deny the interconnected web we are all collectively a part of. We might never fully understand the mechanisms of the universe, but what we can do is use the information we do have to make use of it and help inform us on how to live better lives. The fact there is something 'greater' inherent in our lives, connecting everything, which is objectively difficult to truly grasp, is not a reason to reject it. A lot of people who are averse to astrology (which used to be me) are those who pride themselves on rationality and objectivity, yet are restricting themselves to a very particular interpretation of what rationality and objectivity means.

With all this said, I hope it has helped someone understand and appreciate astrology better. There is such a fascinating rich and deep history to it, spanning various cultures and eras, making it difficult to at least not enjoy learning about even if one still chooses to not practise it. I would like to reiterate, however, that to truly embrace astrology and its millenia of knowledge, evidence, and practice behind it, one must divorce its concept from pop culture astrology.

[angelfleurry]

Horror Movies With the DRV3 Boys!:

Hello my loves. I'm so sorry, I know I have requests, but I'm just putting some stuff out for Halloween. Currently in a bit of a writer's block, so I'm awfully sorry for the wait.

Rantaro Amami!:

♡ Oh, he’s PREPARED.

♡ You want snacks? BOOM.

♡ Water? Tea? Some kind of drink? BAM.

♡ Blankets? TADA.

♡ He has it all, he’s so down.

♡ If you’re comfy with it, he likes to have some sort of hold on you the entire time.

♡ Could be intertwining your fingers, having you lean into him or vice versa, something, anything.

♡ He’s honestly really chill in the sense of watching a film.

♡ You can put whatever horror movie you’d like on, he’ll watch.

♡ Makes very hushed comments, as if he’s talking to himself.

♡ Likes to glance over every now and again to see how you’re coping.

♡ If he gets startled by something, he’ll react, but it’s swift.

♡ He’ll flinch, maybe make a noise, and then chuckle it off.

♡ Always chuckles at your reactions.

♡ Unless you’re genuinely upset by something, then he’ll check on you.

♡ If not, he’ll just ask in a light-hearted manner.

♡ He knows you’re fine, but he can’t help but address it.

♡ Thinks it’s cute.

Ryoma Hoshi!:

♡ If motionless was a person, it would be Ryoma.

♡ Is he startled? Is he regretting agreeing to watch this? Is he struggling?

♡ Or, is he enjoying it?

♡ It’s hard to tell.

♡ Impossible, even.

♡ The only way you can really tell he’s alive is when he lets out a smug chuckle or makes a tutting sound, depending on what’s going on.

♡ It all depends on the type of horror movie, too.

♡ I feel like he’d really enjoy Halloween, but can definitely stomach more darker horror films.

♡ Doesn’t mean he likes them though.

♡ Definitely has seen the Chucky movies.

♡ Doesn’t pander to your fright, but he finds it amusing.

♡ He honestly really enjoys watching horror films with you.

♡ It’s nice to be able to tune out from the world and engage in fiction, especially if you’re next to him.

Korekiyo Shinguji!:

♡ I feel like on his own, he does not really watch much media, especially horror.

♡ But, should you introduce him to it, he’ll sit down and observe.

♡ Even if it’s a more grotesque or disturbing film, he still holds a bit of admiration at how creative humanity can be to conjure up films of such nature.

♡ Is definitely a fan of older horror films, as well as films that are more psychologically/emotionally horrifying.

♡ This might just be me projecting, but I feel like Korekiyo would have a soft spot for Carrie.

♡ The 70’s version though, it cannot be beaten.

♡ It’s such an artistic film full of extreme emotion, as well as clear human error, that I really do feel like he would have a bias for it.

♡ It touches a part of his soul, in all honesty.

♡ It would likely be a favourite of his to watch with you should you ever want to watch something.

♡ In his opinion, it’s more of a tragedy than a horror.

♡ The man hardly gets visibly scared.

♡ It’s hard to tell what expression he bares due to the mask, but if you look up at his eyes, or listen in on his breathing, you’ll figure out if he’s scared or not.

♡ I imagine Korekiyo’s unpredictable when it comes to movies, especially horror movies.

♡ He might allow a quick comment, but for the most part I feel he is silent.

♡ However, should the movie present a topic, culture, or place he has knowledge of, he will explain.

♡ I feel like he sits incredibly still during horror movies, so you’ll probably have to hold him first if you want contact.

Gonta Gokuhara!:

♡ Is it a good idea to let Gonta watch a horror film?

♡ You’re not one to baby him, but…

♡ Oh well, if the day would ever come, it would be because he would ask.

♡ And, one day, he did.

♡ “Y/N, Gonta overhear that couples are meant to watch scary movies together, especially on Halloween…”

♡ “Yeah, that’s right.” you’d told him, nodding slightly in confirmation, “Is that something you wanted to do?”

♡ “If Y/N is happy to, then yes! Gonta would very much like to.”

♡ You smiled at that, but felt the need to ask:

♡ “Would you be comfortable watching those sorts of films?”

♡ At his conflicted hesitation, you felt the need to talk again.

♡ “We can always turn it off if you don’t like it.”

♡ Gonta smiled, he liked the sound of that.

♡ And, surely enough, you had to.

♡ He gave it a try, though, and that’s something you really appreciated.

♡ You did manage to sit through Cujo with him, however.

♡ He cried, but he didn’t want to turn it off.

♡ Lots of cuddles were in order after that.

♡ I imagine he tried to be all romantic and make tea for you both.

♡ He’s glad he gave it a try though, and he thanks you for being there with him.

♡ Gonta has a lot of empathy, so horror films aren’t really the best thing to watch with him.

♡ He’s able to feel the fear, the sadness, the pain.

♡ He also feels as if he is watching existing people die.

♡ He’s aware that they’re not real people, but they’re being played by real people, and it feels real, so it’s enough to frighten him.

♡ Makes him feel helpless, he wants to help but he can’t.

♡ Please put a bug documentary on afterwards, or something calming.

♡ Scoop him into a cuddle and he’ll be alright.

Kokichi Ouma!:

♡ Give this man a psychological horror movie and he’s SORTED.

♡ Absolutely loves it.

♡ It’s hard to tell what his opinion on the more gorey movies are.

♡ He sits through them, and will even suggest watching them, but he’ll also judge the heck out of them.

♡ Has commented on how excessive they are as well.

♡ So it’s hard to tell if he enjoys them or not.

♡ Films like Saw or Room 1408 will have him in a chokehold, but he always has something to say.

♡ Also really likes the Chucky franchise.

♡ If he gets scared, no he didn’t.

♡ He can loudly scream or jolt upright, but you didn’t see or hear that.

♡ Loves to have a pillow wedged between his arms.

♡ Has definitely snuck away when you’re engrossed in the film to try and scare you.

♡ Cannot stay still for the life of him - he’s always fidgeting!

♡ I can’t see him being one for cuddling during these films, at least not constantly.

♡ Every now and then he’ll throw himself around you, maybe make a remark on the film as he does so, and then randomly sit back up.

♡ Sometimes he won’t do it at all.

♡ Just depends on how he’s feeling.

♡ Is very obnoxious should he have a drink with him.

♡ Those grape Panta cans will be clicking and hissing, just so you know.

♡ Teases you if you react to any scenes.

♡ He’s a merciless hypocrite like that.

Kaito Momota!:

♡ He’ll definitely big himself up as being able to stomach the genre.

♡ “Don’t you worry, starlight, you can hold on to me!”

♡ But, give him fifteen minutes and he’s beginning to get twitchy.

♡ He’ll probably subtly scoot closer to you, but it’s not because he’s scared totally! Sure! Why would he be scared?

♡ Does the stereotypical guy thing where he leans an arm to wrap around you.

♡ If you look at him afterwards, he’ll act as if he’s doing it for your sake.

♡ No, no. He’s doing it for him.

♡ Cannot sit through ghost movies, he gets a little paranoid.

♡ Even Casper the Friendly Ghost made him nervous at first, so it is probably for the best you stay away from ghost-related movies.

♡ I think he’d be fine with slasher films though.

♡ It just depends on how much comedic effect is thrown in with it.

♡ Cuddling with him is nice, though.

♡ Regardless as to if you get scared easily or not, you’re not gonna pass up the chance to be close to your boyfriend.

Kiibo Idabashi!:

♡ He’s squeamish.

♡ Knows fully well that it is all fiction, but he’ll be processing everything for days after.

♡ “Y/N! Look what they did, look what’s happening!”

♡ He is very vocal should it just be the two of you watching a film.

♡ It’s nice, it’s like your own personal commentator.

♡ Has researched what to do when watching horror movies with his partner.

♡ Likes touching shoulders with you, it gives him a sense of security; keeps him in reality.

♡ Has and will continue to close his eyes during certain scenes.

♡ “Tell me when it’s over!”

♡ He can laugh about his fear afterwards, giggling slightly as he thanks you.

♡ You both scream in unison, it’s quite funny.

♡ If you scream, it’ll set him off.

♡ If Kiibo screams, it could set you off.

♡ And then you’re both screaming before laughing within the next heartbeat.

Shuichi Saihara!:

♡ Shuichi’s a detective, he’s seen some things.

♡ This means that, surprisingly, he’s not as squeamish as one would expect when watching a horror film.

♡ He’ll still find some things disturbing though, and his facial expressions give him away.

♡ Subconsciously clings to you during these moments, and you welcome it.

♡ If something’s incorrect, he’ll point it out.

♡ Then, he realises he’s pointing it out, and worries he’s coming off as too harsh.

♡ But, he’s already said it all, so you just prompt him into explaining why it’s incorrect.

♡ It’s nice to have him explain stuff over an uncomfortable scene, it takes away the edge.

♡ Always makes sure you’re okay with what’s playing.

♡ Cuddles are a given, or just some form of physical contact.

♡ You two share a blanket, and he repeatedly asks if you’ve got enough.

♡ Gives you more blanket than he gives himself, bless him.

♡ Even if you two aren’t effected by the movie, you always like to do something gentle on the mind afterwards.

♡ This could be reading a book side by side, or watching a calm movie, or even just talking.

♡ It’s nice.

♡ He’s nice.

♡ Love’s nice.

[dumbkid4ever]

Drunken Acts, Silent Truths

Mualani x reader! In which:

You and Mualani have fun and get wasted at a party. In the end, you both did things you never would've if you were sober.

Contains a bit of lemon.

Alternative title: In the Back of Kinich's Car

3,017 words 16,597 characters

"Hey [Name]! Over here!" you heard your best friend yell from across the street. She stood beside Kinich's dark green SUV, swinging her arm fervently to get your attention. From the passenger seat you could see Kachina waving at you, smiling cutely like she always does.

Mirroring the little girl's expression, although yours is more like a grin, you ran towards your friends. Once there, Mualani engulfed you in a tight hug, surprising you.

"[Name]!"

Her hugging you is not a rare occasion, but you seemed to be unable to get used to this. A gentle heat graced your cheeks.

"Hey ya, Lani!"

"You ready to have the best time of your life? The party's going to be so lit! Come on, come on, get in," Mualani gushed as she urged you to get in the car, clearly very excited for what's to come. Her voice easily overpowered the quiet music that was playing. California girls, quite befitting of the occasion.

You greeted the others as you put on your seatbelt, including Ajaw, Kinich's pet lizard, which was currently resting on Kachina's lap.

"Hell yeah I am, we're gonna drink so much and play so many games, it'll be one hell of a time!" you chuckled, trying to match her energy and force down the butterflies in your stomach. Although his face wore the same blank expression, Kinich sighed upon hearing that.

"That sounds like so much fun," Kachina on the other hand giggled at your words. "I can't wait to be 18, then you can take me with you as well!"

"Of course! We can't wait for you to be 18 as well, then we can have girl nights and do lots and lots of fun stuff! But for now, you'll have to patient. On the bright side, today you get to hang out with Kinich, you don't know how many people would envy you for that!"

Indeed, Kinich was very popular. Back in highschool his locker always had one or two confession letters and Mualani, who already knew him at that time, even got some letters as well. They were all some kind of threat telling her to back off from Kinich, though. It got to a point where she even made a bingo with the most frequent contents she found in those letter, like a death threat or slut-shaming, and for every row of five he got in one single letter Kinich would have to buy her a small treat as compensation for "being too handsome." The way she worded it had always rubbed you the wrong way.

"I'm sure they wouldn't be if they actually got to know me. It would probably destroy whatever... Romantic lense they have projected onto me. I'm no prince charming," Kinich insisted as he steered the wheel with his right arm. His other was propped on the frame of the open window.

"No way man, I think they'd only fall harder. With how nice you are, whatever you do will be misinterpreted and feed into their handsome, mysterious, cold guy with a soft spot for them fantasies. It's all just confirmation bias and a bit of delusion, really," you snickered. It's not the first time you and the others have teased him about it, but even then, seeing him in denial about his situation will never stop being amusing. Especially Mualani likes to pick on him for that.

"You know, you could just get a significant other or at least pretend to have one, maybe then they'll stop trying to get with you. With that face of yours it wouldn't be surprising for you to have one too," the latter suggested, this time not even as a joke. And she wasn't really wrong, however the victim of popularity still dismissed the offer.

"They'd just start pestering me with questions about my supposed partner, not worth it."

"Well if you say so."

That's how the conversation ended and there was nothing awkward about the silence that ensued. Then Kachina pointed out the song just started to play.

"Mualani, [name]! Listen!"

It took the two of you a second, but when you realized you instantly turned to each other with the same stupid grin on your faces.

"Crank it up, pretty boy!" Mualani demanded, earning herself a laugh from Kachina and, although she didnt notice, a complicated look from you. As always, Kinich was the only one to notice. You saw him looking at you from the rear view mirror as he turned up the volume. You shook your head softly, indicating that you're fine. The probability that he knows about your crush is at about 85%, according to your calculations.

You were still contemplating, for the thousandth time, if she likes him that way, but you were interrupted by the reason why you were even sulking in the first place. She pulled you towards her by the waist and held an imaginary microphone to your mouth. With a small smile, you had the honour of starting the song.

"You, change your mind~"

"Like a girl, changes clothes~" Mualani followed up, pointing the microphone towards herself.

"Yeah you, PMS~"

"Like a bitch!" the youngest chimed in, causing Kinich to stare at you through the mirror once more, since you were the one who introduced her to the song. If you didn't know him so well, you wouldn't have known that he was glaring at you, hard.

"I would know~" you carried on anyways, averting your eyes and pretending you didn't see.

"That you're no good for me!~" the other two girls sang in unison, getting louder as they approach the last notes of the line.

For the rest of the ride the three of you continued singing. It was as if the party had already started, but then again, it's always like a party when you're with your friends. Eventually, you did arrive at the actual destination though, a bit to your disappointment. You were just getting to the good parts of Call Me Maybe.

"Bye Kachina, bye Kinich!" Mualani, already out of the car, kissed Kachina on the forehead and waved goodbye.

"Have fun hanging out you two!" you bid your goodbyes as well. Kachina got a head rub from you and Kinich a fist bump.

"You too, Mualani and [name]!"

"Keep your drinks within eye sight and always stick together. I'll pick you up at nine."

"We will! Besides, Mavuika will be sober, so don't worry."

Kinich hummed at that, comforted by that and drove off with the SUV, leaving the two of you at the entrance of a big mansion from which bright lights emitted. It was barely 5pm and the sun hadn't set yet, how bright would it be later? Putting the question aside, you went up the stairs to the front door and ringed the doorbell.

Not long after the host of the party Mavuika, she's kind of a local celebrity, opened the door and greeted you with great passion.

"Ah, Mualani, you're here! Very punctual, the party hasn't even started." She looked at you with her blindingly bright eyes and you were a bit entranced. Although they were all red, Mualani's were darker, more desaturated and the upper half of her eyes were this calming blue. Ironically, while picturing her eyes in your head you failed to notice her eyes in the present, looking at you with a peculiar glint in them.

"Is she your plus one?" she asked, looking at you.

"Yeah! This is [name], my best friend!" she introduced you, grabbing and trapping your arm between her own and the side of her body. Your forearm touched her exposed stomach. The skin there was warmer than your arm's, but it can't be warmer than your cheeks in that moment, that you were sure of.

Mavuika suddenly seemed to understand something, causing a smirk to appear on her face. She nodded at you and extended her hand for you to shake.

"Nice to meet you [name]. You have a fine friend here, do make sure to keep her close, yes?"

Naturally, you were puzzled by her advice as you shook her hand, even more so when she winked at Mualani and got a look of what seemed like gratitude in return. What's going on between them? No matter though, because you were already being dragged into the house by your crush. One look was enough to confirm how rich the radiant woman was, but not in a stereotypical rich person way.

The entrance hall was half the size of your apartment, with walls decorated by colorful grafittis and precious looking relics. There's no doubt that they must be worth quite a lot, but no one ever stole any of them, as easy as it would be. They all respected her too much to do so, in fact, it's harder to not respect her.

"So, what do you want to do first? We could play beer pong, hit the dance floor, ooh you wanna wipe the food court clean?" your best friend asked, her gaze directed towards yours.

"How about Mario Kart? Let's play to our heart's content before the others come and hog it," looking right back, you answered. Having reached a mutual conclusion, you followed Mualani upstairs to the gaming room where the video games are. All the while she let go of your arm and shifted to hold your hand instead, intertwined your fingers. "So that you won't get lost," she explained, even though you only walked past six of the only other thirty something people in this gigantic house.

Once you got to the gaming room, this time twice the size of your living room, Mualani officially let go of your hand, to your disappointment. But you didn't dwell on that for long, as your thoughts were soon occupied with strategy, frustration and when to throw the shell. Preferably it should be at a point in time where receiving such an attack would be the most devastating and spirit breaking for the enemy. Such is the cruel nature of Mario Kart, where any personal connections and sense of fun doesn't matter anymore.

Over time, the party started to increase in people and you had to give up the consol. However you took a pack of uno from Mavuika's board games collection, wanting to play it now because you probably won't be sober enough to do so later. Speaking of being drunk, you both got a cup of the alcoholic punch that was being served.

Mualani easily managed to rope in three more players and the games began. Like Mario Kart, although not as brutal, Uno brought out quite a lot of rage and dispair from the depths of your hearts, for you were playing with the "pulling until you have a usable card" rule, which has led to one or two breakdowns. That's less than you expected.

"HA! UNO, LOSERS! YEAH SUCK ON THAT," one of the players hollered, giving you all the one finger salute and doing what seemed to be a victory dance.

"NO THE FUCK YOH DIDN'T, YOU PLAYED A SIX BUT THE CARD BELOW WAS A NINE, FUCKING CRETIN!" another player yelled. It was clear they both had too much to drink.

"AGAIN, NO ONE WON THIS ROUND, WE'LL GO AGAIN!" you protested at the top of your lungs. That would make three drunk people. Next to you, Mualani was laughing hysterically at the state you were in. It's her third cup already and she's only a bit tipsy, but you already had 5 cups and well, the results were evident.

And it went on like this for the next three hours. You played all sorts of things, such as partner beer pong, where Mualani displayed her excellent fine motor skills despite her by then half drunken state. In the end your team won and you very platonically kissed her on the mouth to express your happiness at the victory.

Next up was never have I ever, played in a circle on the ground. That day, some of your more embarrassing secrets became known to many more people other than the only three who knew it before. At some point some guy also started hitting on you, but thankfully Mualani fended him off. After that incident she's been walking even closer to you, like some sort of bodyguard.

When Kinich eventually came to pick you up he found you on a couch, tangled together and only halfway conscious, much to his concern.

"Don't worry, I made sure that everyone was safe. They only had harmless fun the whole evening," Mavuika assured him as she walked up to you three.

"Thank you, and sorry for any trouble they might've caused," your chauffeur dipped his head in gratitude.

"Nonsense, this is my responsibility as the party host."

She then helped Kinich to bring the two of you inside the car, each with one arm slung around their neck, respectively. You all said your goodbyes, well the drunk ones tried but only managed to get out jibberish, and parted ways. Kinich turned off the music so you would sleep soundly on the way home. However the two of you didn't plan on sleeping.

Throughout the day, no, throughout the majority of the time you've known her, you've always been restricting yourself. All of the repressed desires were getting harder to control with the alcohol in your system.

At first you were just staring into her pretty red eyes, but then her put a hand onto your thigh and clicked off both your seatbelts.

"Put on your seatbelts," Kinich ordered, briefly glancing at the backseat. None of you complied. Instead, you slipped your hands up her shirt, roaming around, getting a feel of her skin. She rubbed your thigh a little, her hand slipping further upwards and the other pushed you down to lay on the cushioned seats.

"You alright back there?" Kinich asked somewhat worriedly, not noticing your arm that disappeared behind the soft fabric of Mualani's top. Ajaw, now on Kinich's shoulder as usual, blinked slowly and looked away, turning into the color of Kinich's shirt and hair, camouflaging himself.

You didn't even notice Kinich's voice. In fact, you couldn't hear anything but the rhythmic throbbing in your veins, see anything but her beautiful face, feel anything but her gentle touch, getting shocked by a tiny wave of electricity every time her finger tips connected with your skin.

She too seemed too engrossed in you to take note of the boy at the front who's getting more anxious by the second.

"Mualani? [Name]?" he tried again, but to no avail. That's when he noticed it though. The sight of you exploring each other. For a few seconds he was speechless, but it quickly became slight annoyance.

"Cut it out you two, you can make out when you get back home," he chided with a slight glare, but you still hear nothing. Quietly, he muttered something under his breath about being glad he sent Kachina home first. At this point he has accepted that you won't respond to him no matter what, so instead he opted to turn the music up to at least not hear... Well, you know. Very fittingly though, the song playing then was Knee Socks by Arctic Monkeys.

While Kinich was despairing in the front, the two in the back were enjoying the ride more and more. You were now kissing like there's no tomorrow. Mualani's tongue slips into your mouth and you let it, pressing against it with your own. She's got her hand in your shorts, kneading the flesh of your behind, you've got you hand under her bra, fondling with her breast.

You both pulled away to get some air and stared at each other deeply. There was a weird taste in your mouth, but that too you didn't register. Instead you were focused on the half blue half red sapphires just a couple of centimeters before you.

Futilely, you tried to say a simple "pretty," but all that came out was an incoherent babble. You were... Amazed by how beautiful she was, even with her messy hair, smeared lipstick and almost no light for you too see her.

Fueled with a new animalistic desire, you pulled her down against your lips again. This time you were the one to visit her mouth and she complied. She tasted like alcohol. Like your own mouth, actually. You tasted the same.

"Mm-!" you moaned into the kiss. She had just found your most private parts.

Hearing that, she chuckled breathily, parting your lips once more. She played a bit more with the same spot, eliciting an erotic and pretty vocal reaction. Not feeling satisfied yet, she hooked her pointer fingers at the waistband of your shorts.

"Alright, that's enoug, my car is not a motel," Kinich hastily said, already opening the door on Mualani's side of the car. Despite her weak protests, he dragged her towards your house, actually half piggybacking her, and opened the door with the keys he got from you beforehand. The muscles he had built up from all the sports he did finally got put to good use.

He even carried her, and later you, all the way to the bedroom, thinking it would be more comfortable no matter if you two decide to sleep or fuck. Leaving your drunk and horny friends alone in a house, on the same bed even, might seem like an irresponsible action, but really, he had no idea what else he could do. The two of you have always looked at each other funnily anyways.

Before he went home himself, he poured two glasses of water and put it on the nightstand but when brought the glasses from the kitchen you were already back at it, hence why he left as soon as possible.

That's how you woke up next morning, naked and pressed up against Mualani's warm, also naked body. It seemed like you really needed to have a serious talk about your friendship. Oddly enough though, you were looking forward to it.

[maskofenigma]

Fallen London's recurring topic of Love is really interesting to me as a sort of throughline between various stories and i want to ramble about discuss that briefly. i dont call it a theme because thematic statements are usually more complex than a single word, at least in my mind, but a lot of Fallen London's storylines incorporate love into their themes.

there's the obvious things ofc; the Manager and the King, the Duchess and the Canigaster, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Bazaar's whole situation. Love is a common motivator that many people can relate to, so it's no surprise that it appears in this capacity. Even so, these instances also underpin a lot of the setting's character, particularly the latter two examples, explaining why the neath is the way it is. but if we broaden our horizons just a bit, you can start to see it appearing all over the place (though maybe thats just confirmation bias lol).

the youthful naturalist loves discovery and life, and evolution in that context is a story about what one is willing to endure and sacrifice for that love. Love is a constant theme in the Light Fingers storyline, between moon milk and poor Edward, but also shows in Mr Fires's love for London (strange and deleterious though it may be) and the protagonist's love for either the Hybrid they protected or the diamond they'd been after. I don't know as much about the other ambitions (yet), but Nemesis is all about avenging a loved one by any means necessary, and you could see Bag a Legend as a love for the hunt or a love of fame, though even i’ll admit thats a bit of a stretch. Idk about Heart's Desire i’m still working on it but there's probably something. Its literally about what your heart desires but there’s absolutely a deeper connection with the Marvellous and stuff. No spoilers i'm still working on it :3

i dont know a ton about SMEN's story either, but i know from a ludonarrative perspective that it tests the players love for their character, forcing you to ruin this silly victorian who you are presumably quite attached to in the search for knowledge (perhaps another kind of love?) With what little i know of it, i’d honestly be shocked if there wasn’t anything there. if ao3 has taught me anything, there was definitely some kind of love going on between those two space bats, but im not sure if ao3 is a reputable source in this specific instance

The Flukes are literally sick with love for lost Axile, and a lot of the Masters are shown yearning to return to the High Wilderness. Many of the Irem Destinies regard love in this way, love for the sun, for the liberation, for ones partner, for london, for the people of the neath, and on and on. im not very far along with the railway but im 100% certain itll crop up again there, whether with Furnace Ancona or the Efficient Commissioner or the masters or whatever else. same goes for the Exceptional Stories and the myriad tales ive yet to unlock. Weve started to see a glimmer of it in firmament, with the imminent lucifer fire guy, but i wasnt really sure what his deal was. the idea extends to the other Sunless games from what i know, though ive yet to play those. Mask of the Rose is a romance, so thats pretty clear cut; sunless skies seems to have a lot of content relating to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert; and sunless seas seems to have it present in a few storylines, though i couldnt point to anything specific at this time. even small things, such as the way that the railway steel seems drawn to Hell and the sorrowful properties of sphinxstone, makes for a setting that is inundated with longing and heartbreak in a fascinating way.

viewed through this lens, fallen london's perspective on love is tragically earnest: love is painful and unfair and yet so very necessary. as someone who's aromantic and a hater, i call that an L. but from a thematic perspective its very interesting how often this occurs and how it connects a lot of fallen london. In so many other narratives, love is a conclusion, a reward or climax. In fact, mass media seems allergic to depicting an active and healthy relationship, and instead relegates such matters to a single ceremonious kiss. But for fallen london, a game where kisses are currency and romance is taxed, the concept of love is afforded such an interesting amount of care and reverence. Fitting for a setting wherein the insisting incidents all relate to love in some way or another

it may be comedic and at times quite absurd, but fallen london to me is a game deeply concerned with love and its influence on people. and idk i think thats interesting. if you're looking for the theme or message of a given fallen london story, look to love, always.

does that count as a thesis? i certainly dont know

[1moreff-creator]

Do you have any Teruvid headcanons??? If so... *Grabby hands* 🥺👉👈

Hey! Man, Teruvid, huh? Well, I have to be honest and say I don’t know if I fully grasp what the dynamic would be like, but I’ll see what I can do! Non-despair AU as always, just to keep consistency with my other ship posts :v Or, perhaps a better term would be "non-killing game AU"; it's hard to imagine Teruvid without despair lmao.

CW: Toxic relationship, gaslighting.

How this relationship would start is hard to imagine, really. Especially outside the stress of the killing game. Teruko never believed David’s cheery persona was real, so she didn’t like the guy from the start.

However, outside of the killing game, David wouldn’t be actively trying to kill anyone, and Xander and Teruko would probably still be friends, so it actually works out better than expected. Presumably, the way this works outside the killing game is that David eventually realizes Teruko doesn’t believe his façade and chooses to start dropping it around her, eventually enjoying her company just because he doesn’t have to keep up a tiring act. Teruko doesn’t like him at first, so I imagine it would be David confessing. Something like, uh...

David: We both know no one will ever love us the way we are. And we won’t love each other either, and this is going to end horribly.  Teruko: Then why the hell are you even asking? David: It’s for your benefit, you know. More than anyone else, you must be well aware your luck will ruin any relationship you ever have. Teruko: … David (fake smiling, stars in eyes): But most of them will try to be optimistic, won’t they? Thinking themselves above your luck, wishing that if they just try hard enough, this time, it will work out. How hopeful~. Teruko: … And? David (smirking): And that just means it will hurt them all the worse when it all comes crashing down. And you'll feel even more miserable after all's said and done than you did in the first place. That wouldn't happen with me. Not that I'll let you, but you wouldn't care if you hurt me anyways.

Yeah I can’t see this relationship being healthy in any way lmao.

Like, they hate each other even together, that’s the Vision of Teruvid shippers right? They would both be miserable the entire time it’s happening, since they both reinforce the worst and most damaging views the other holds. If the Ultimate Inspirational Speaker can’t even inspire himself to think things can get better, then Teruko has no reason to believe they will. And if Teruko never tries to change despite hating her life, then that confirms to David that people can’t change. The relationship is held together by the illusory comfort of confirmation bias; neither has to challenge their worldviews like they would in a relationship that genuinely made them happy, so they feel at peace in their shared misery.

Speaking of, the most common intimate interaction is venting to each other about whatever bullshit they got going on, be it unfortunate events or Speaker business annoyance. Now, neither is particularly good at giving comfort, but they’re also both bad at receiving it (they don’t understand the concept that people can feel genuine affection towards them, of course), so they settle on just… not comforting each other. Just a simple “sucks” after a long rant, or even laughing at each other’s misery, but again, illusory comfort in being able to vent out their issues without having someone actually worry and care for them, because they don’t know how to handle that.

Other than that, lots of just cuddling while doing random shit. They’re both horrendously touch starved, so they never stay physically apart if possible.

That said, though, they’re not very public with their relationship. Obviously; if Teruko never seemed to like David, then they’re suddenly together, that’s gonna raise a few eyebrows. And David still tries to keep up the Speaker persona outside his one on one interactions with Teruko, a persona that Teruko dislikes due to its disingenuity, so they never really hang out in the presence of others.

Their closest friends know, except none of them actually realize that David’s persona is a lie. They think they’re keeping it quiet not to attract attention to Teruko, given David is a public figure and all. Because of that, they actually think they’re good for each other, thinking that David’s optimism and Teruko’s pessimism balance out to be pretty functional. This fundamental misunderstanding of their relationship makes David and Teruko both feel even more alienated from their friends, which feeds into the codependency. They need each other, because they’re the only ones that get it.

Indeed, this is a serious “they would make each other so much worse” situation, I can’t see Teruvid in any other way. Unless they both get some serious therapy, and even then, the way I’ve described the relationship, it would fall apart if either of them were any more stable. So, uh, yeah.

I kinda struggle to come up with much more than this for these two, so I hope that was okay! Thanks for the ask!

[azalawa-scroggs]

I'm gonna ride the wave here and talk about Rise from the Ashes and why, even though I think it's a good retcon and doesn't involve any contradiction either factual or thematic, I believe it is still undeniably a retcon.

The crux of the matter, I think, is the definition of retcon. Here's what Merriam-Webster has to say about it:

the act, practice, or result of changing an existing fictional narrative by introducing new information in a later work that recontextualizes previously established events, characters, etc.

It has to change the narrative, not the events of the story themselves. It has to recontextualise the events in question. And I'd argue the case does those exact two things by establishing that Miles Edgeworth not only never willfully forged evidence, but was morally against it in the first place, even though the contrary had been implied in the four first cases of the game.

Here's how Miles Edgeworth is introduced in Turnabout Sisters, in the first conversation we have about him with Gumshoe. There are two dialogue options, one where you can say that yes, you do know him, or one where you say that no, you don't.

Here's what Phoenix has to say about Edgeworth if you pick "I know him":

I know him. He's a feared prosecutor. He doesn't feel pain, he doesn't feel remorse. He won't stop until he gets his "guilty" verdict.

And here's what he has to say if you pick "I don't know him:"

(Of course I know him... I was just playing dumb. He's a cold, heartless machine who'll do anything to get a "guilty" verdict! There are rumors of back-alley deals and forged evidence...)

The words "forged evidence" appear only in one of the two options. They're only rumours; there's nothing established. However this is the first discussion of his character; this is the first impression we get of him. The idea we are supposed to get from him is someone ruthless and without scruples, who "hates crime with an abnormal passion."

Later on there is of course the case of the updated autopsy report. The new report is entirely legitimate and treated as such. However it is presented by the narrative as an underhanded trick, with Phoenix exclaiming against it, and further establishes Edgeworth's lack of limits in his prosecuting ethics set up by the conversation with Gumshoe - confirming our bias. We're still talking about narrative intent here, not merely the facts of the story. The updated autopsy report is not an instance of Edgeworth forging evidence, however it showcases his ruthlessness, which by extension serves to corroborate the rumours Phoenix was talking about with Gumshoe - making you believe Edgeworth would indeed tamper with proof without showing him doing so. Edgeworth coaching the witness's testimony and withholding the wiretap has the same effect.

Right before the second trial day, we get to talk with Edgeworth himself, who has come to warn us that even though he knows Phoenix, Phoenix shouldn't expect any mercy from him. Here's what he has to say:

Edgeworth: [...] whatever Mr. White says today, it will be the "absolute truth." No matter how you try to attack his testimony... If I raise an objection, I have it on good faith that the judge will listen to me. Phoenix: (What, does White have the judge in his pocket, too!?) So... you're saying I'm going to be guilty. End of story? Edgeworth: ... I will do anything to get my verdict, Mr. Wright. Anything. Maya: Why... Why!? How can you torment an innocent person like this!? Edgeworth: "Innocent"...? How can we know that? The guilty will always lie, to avoid being found out. There's no way to tell who is guilty and who is innocent! All that I can hope to do is get every defendant declared "guilty"! So I make that my policy.

There is also the climax of the case, where Edgeworth tries to request the trial to be extended one more day:

Edgeworth: Ergo! I would like to request one more day before Phoenix Wright is granted his freedom. I need time to make one more inquiry into this matter. Judge: Hmm...! Phoenix: (Another inquiry...!? This isn't going to be another one of those "updated autopsy reports"! This guy just makes up evidence as he pleases! This is bad...!)

This heightens the stakes and creates tension as Phoenix puts his foot down and requires for the trial to come to an end on that day - and it does thanks to Mia's intervention. Once more Edgeworth forging evidence isn't shown, but is implied in a way that we are meant to take as fact.

So that is the image we have of Edgeworth by the end of case 1-2, our first confrontation with him. Someone ruthless, someone who will do "anything" to get his guilty verdict - even if that involves shady dealings (such as, but not limited to, tampering with evidence). Someone without limits.

Then 1-3 happens, where in the course of the trial Edgeworth realises Will Powers is innocent and helps us corner Dee Vasquez into confessing to being the true killer, therefore throwing his trial and helping us win against him. This is a big deal. This is a cornerstone of the arc of game 1, of Edgeworth's redemption arc. After that we get the infamous "unnecessary feelings" scene, where Edgeworth confirms it: he was shaken by the events of this trial and his first loss in the previous one. This is something new for him.

And afterwards of course is 1-4, where we get to the bottom of Edgeworth's vitriolic hatred for criminals and discover his backstory. We get to meet his mentor von Karma, "twenty times as ruthless as him," and witness him pull all the stops to prevent us winning and making our life really difficult. Interestingly he, too, skirts the line of forging evidence, but that fact pales in comparison to everything he does do: orchestrating a murder and framing Edgeworth for it, destroying the letter that incriminated him, hiding the evidence of DL-6 so that Phoenix cannot have access to anything to solve the case.

(On a side note: von Karma using "faulty evidence" against Gregory Edgeworth is actually an established fact, and I think the way AAI-2 retconned that to introduce Blaise was quite clever, but maybe I'll make a similar post about Manfred after the AAI Collection comes out in September)

So that's Edgeworth's arc, where he is confronted to a world where getting a "guilty verdict" isn't always the morally correct choice to make, and where his worldview is entirely deconstructed to allow him a redemption arc. His return in 2-4 continues that arc with his new motto of the "truth" being the most important thing (implying that hadn't always been at the centre of his considerations).

Now compares this with what he says in 1-5.

Edgeworth: Of course not! I didn't touch the evidence. Yes, I will do anything in my power to win a trial. However... I do have a code, and I follow it faithfully.

This is the first time we hear of Edgeworth having a moral code. This is the first time we hear of Edgeworth having limits to what he allows himself to do to earn his guilty verdicts. Up until now all we heard was "anything," as well as justifications as to why defendants deserve and need to be punished - "anything," by essence, implies not having limits.

It's not a contradiction. But it's a recontextualisation, and therefore a retcon.

I'm not going to give quotes or we'll be here the whole day, but we all know what 1-5 then does; SL-9, the Joe Darke killings, Gant's involvement.

By giving the rumours of forged evidence about Edgeworth a tangible starting point, the case reframes them, from something that he was previously implied to do routinely to a single event, one that was orchestrated behind his back and that he had no bearing on or even any idea it was happening. By establishing that Edgeworth does follow a moral code, his image of fearless prosecutor is deconstructed even further; where in 1-4 we were given a reason for his actions, now we are actually being told his actions weren't as severe as hearsay (and Phoenix's bias) led us to believe.

The case also introduces the idea of "working with the defence" and the search of the truth to Edgeworth, which plants the seed for his eventual return in 2-4 and deepens his character arc a little more.

Thematically, I personally think 1-5 inserts itself very well into the larger narrative. It plays with both themes and facts established by game 1 and teases themes and facts that will come in the next games (2-4, all of game 4). However it does recontextualise Edgeworth's arc by establishing he never willfully forged evidence, contrarily to what was previously implied, and giving him a retroactive caveat to his policy of "anything to achieve his guilty verdict" that hadn't existed before. Therefore, it is a retcon, albeit one that works, in my opinion, well within the larger arc of the games and with Edgeworth's character.

[akookminsupporter]

Hey! A couple of questions for you 😊

AYS, to me, was never going to “confirm” jikook. It was just unrealistic considering society and that they’re serving now. That being said, did AYS reaffirm for you jikook might be real? And do you think if it was your first bts content would you also think that there might be going something on (ie watching with no bias). For me, it showed how incredibly close they are and several moments of intimacy that goes beyond most friendships.

The second one is now 6 weeks out from the car convo, has your opinion on it or its relation to jikook changed? For me still, that car convo didn’t show they broke up or disprove that they may be dating.

One of my pet theories, even before Face and long before knowing buddy existed, was wondering if they took a step back in prep for military service - a let’s focus on solo careers and work on not being as tied together cause we have service a head of us. A practice run if you will. Not breaking up, more let’s try long distance.

More so now, and what I haven’t seen people talk about, is I was thinking about how for the other guys and jikooks prior relationships, they would know how hard dating as an idol would be. I’m sure Tae and Jennie had a lot to contend w being so busy as idols and on differing schedules. Same thing for dating a non famous, dealing w the insane hours and workload, rarely being in Seoul. And that was never a reality jikook faced - for a period they would’ve both lived and worked together. They were in the same schedule, the same places. And that would’ve been for a majority of their relationship. So no wonder post October 2022 was an adjustment, when they truly did not have any schedules as bts. And they’re both human, and Jimin has said both he and jk get lost in their work (from that colouring live). Sometimes we aren’t the best and prioritizing work and relationships, especially when it gets busy. You hear stories about loving couples going thru phases where they’re just roommates before making the effort to not just be living together. It seems like Jimin got incredibly busy and focused with Face and Muse. And jk is allowed to have feelings about that. Doesn’t mean them not being able to see each other to hang out is any deeper than that. Doesn’t show that they broke up or couldn’t be dating. I also wonder, since we may never get the background on it, if that period of time solidified the decision to enlist together. Where before it was a ok well enlist it will suck, became after that period of time nah we’re not doing 18+ months apart.

Ahhhh sorry for the long post, a couple questions and a couple thoughts for you haha

Hey anon, sorry for taking a bit to post your ASK.

“Did AYS reaffirm for you that jikook might be real?”

Yeah, definitely.

“Do you think if it was your first BTS content, would you also think that there might be something going on (i.e. watching with no bias)?”

Oh, absolutely. I think if I'd seen AYS without much context, I’d be sure they’re a couple, no doubt about it.

“The second one is now six weeks out from the car convo; has your opinion on it or its relation to jikook changed?”

Are you talking about Jungkook complaining that Jimin never reached out? Honestly, no, I still hold the same opinion I had initially.

I think one of the reasons why that time they talked is confusing for us is that we don’t have the context for a lot of things. For example, when did they decide to enlist together? I think that decision shaped many of their choices, like focusing on their work and perhaps on other friendships, because their relationship wouldn’t just pause dramatically come December 2023.

Honestly, I think that period in their relationship solidified whatever they have and made them want to be together, which is why they ended up enlisting together through a system that guaranteed they'd be together. Even if Jimin and Jungkook took a break—assuming they really have a romantic relationship—the fact that they decided to film a show together and enlist together in the army shows they’ve overcome whatever was separating them or that they’ve just realised they want to be together.

So, I think it’s a bit tiring and unnecessary to speculate about what might have happened during that time in their relationship because, first of all, we have no context, and second, they’re still together. The fact that they enlisted together through the buddy system is the biggest “proof” they can give that their relationship is solid, whatever that may be.

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 2.4

It's in the paper that Allen Klein was involved in 40+ lawsuits and John doesn't question it? At this point, I feel like he just didn't want to let Paul be right about anything. 

My question is who did that work on before? I mean who fucking does business like that? Let alone business with the most successful man in the world. 

John's complaining about Paul being too good at his job is both hilarious (what the hell is Paul supposed to do with that) and sad (it shows just how far their musical relationship has degraded from partners to rivals)

How did they lose Northern Songs? Genuinely, if anyone can break it down for me I'd be so grateful. Anyway I'm sure it was devastating for both of them. “Who'd have the children?” “Dick James”. 

I know I'm insane, but can I be allowed to see a glimmer of goodness here? I really do think it's John's kinder side winning out when he decides not to lie. Like, yes, he gets a buzz off of watching Paul go white at his words, but I think he also just – in that moment – didn't have the heart to trick Paul into staying. 

But also. Why are we trying to maneuver Paul at all if the end game is for John to leave? It just doesn't make sense to try to trick Paul into signing the contract unless John's divorce threat is at the very least not meant to be final. 

I will never understand this picture. Even in the emotional state he's in, he's still hamming it up? There is something seriously wrong with this man. 

I do find it interesting that the fact that Paul cried his eyes out after that meeting isn't even mentioned in the doc. I wonder why. 

Let's put the bizarre, super-warped timeline in this quote aside for a minute. Apparently the depression started after Brian died and it lasted for about two years and John was still in it during Pepper. Okay. That aside . . .

I have to assume this negative lense on what I can only assume means the period between 66 and 68 is highly influenced by hindsight bias. I agree that John was depressed at the time, in an unhappy marriage, doing too much LSD, etc and that looking at Paul's prolific talent and expansive , fast-paced life would have been maddening. But everyone go back to the end of part one really quick. He looks extremely happy. He sounds extremely happy. Everyone who knows him says he's never been happier. I think he just can't accept right now that there was so much good and he's lost it. 

“I look from the wings at the play you are staging . . . I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love.”

Insanity quote Hall of Fame. Paul explaining why the Beatles just had to break up, obviously, because he and John "didn't marry the same girl." Someone write the fic where John and Paul both marry the same girl. Could be Yoko or Linda. Sister trad wives au. 

Okay, cool, so this means I have full permission to interpret and tin hat about any lyrics I want then, right?

But also. Are we just not going to talk about the fact that Paul dumped a bucket of garbage water and punched this person? And are we not mentioning the depression and alcoholism and heroin abuse during this time?

It's so embarrassing how he looks to her for confirmation here. John, they asked you what you think. Just you. Not some complicated definition. Not Yoko's definition. Just your own thoughts.

“I couldn't wait for them to make up their mind about peace or whatever. About committing themselves.” Yeah, John. You sound real committed to peace. Or whatever. Here's a theory that anyone can shoot down if they want: John asked Paul for some kind of commitment (a friendship wedding, a partnership contract, a mutual wanking pledge) in India and Paul was a chicken about it. 

What was that day like, I wonder? I imagine extremely stiff and professional and horrid. But who knows. Maybe it was nice, and maybe that made everything worse.

I will go to my death believing that instant karma was for Paul. 

Do we think John actually did send Paul “about twenty postcards from Denmark” all covered in hearts none of which Paul responded to? Paul could be just as cruel in his lack of reaction as John was in his over reaction.

I'm sorry but that is not what a man says when he's just lying to the press to buy time for business. That's what a man says to the press when he's trying desperately to communicate with someone who he can't get through to any other way. 

But really, I just don't understand why the creator chose to minimize Paul's emotional response to John's divorce statement. If we don't see him bawling his eyes out and losing the will to live, he comes off like a self-assured, uncaring, jerk. Which. To be fair. John didn't see those things, and that is exactly what John thought of Paul during this time. But still. The audience now comes away from this doc with a skewed view. 

All we get is Paul being pissed off about Phil Spector butchering Let it Be without his consent and John and George trying to change McCartney's release date without his consent. Which are both a) understandable and b) strong, male, angry reactions. Making this section portray Paul in the same one-dimensional hyper-masculine way that John so often is. Which isn't my favorite. But hey, it's my only complaint about this doc so far.

Anyway, update: I won't be able to do part three until it gets reuploaded, so we're on hiatus for this project for the time being.

[creature-wizard]

Quick rundown on my actual positions re: the Law of Assumption & reality shifting right now:

I think the practices associated with the Law of Assumption can provide a very real psychological benefit, and I think many practitioners have successfully used it to overcome problems stemming from anxiety, poor self-image, etc.

I am broadly in favor of people using these practices, insofar as they don't exacerbate other mental issues and insecurities, or create other problems. (Needing other people to feel jealous of you to feel good about yourself is inherently unhealthy. Revision is just lying to yourself or others. Everyone Is You Pushed Out is both dehumanizing and victim-blaming.)

I don't think "reality shifting" actually moves people into parallel universes or whatever. I think the manifestation type version works the same way I think the Law of Assumption works. I think the "travel to my favorite fictional world and meet my blorbos" version essentially works by inducing a kind of deep, intense dream state.

I also think confirmation bias leads people to interpret random coincidences and things that probably would've happened anyway as cases of successful manifestation.

I think many cases of successful manifestation can also be explained by the frequency illusion in action. I think they technically count as successes from a psychological standpoint, since it would mean practitioners have successfully trained their brains to hone in on things they want.

I genuinely don't care if you believe that a metaphysical element might be involved. That's fine with me. I draw the line at telling people that they can absolutely, 100% manifest anything at all if they just Do It Right, and at telling people that they are 100% responsible for literally everything that happens to them. There is no context in which claims like these do not lead to psychological and physical harm.

Maybe there are individual cases where Law of Assumption practitioners experienced an extraordinary healing of some kind. I have my own reasons to think that in some rare instances, these things actually do happen. But I also know that there is no reason to think that LOA practices were specifically responsible for it, and I also know that statistically speaking, faith healing kills.

I think a lot of people in this community are lying, because that's just human nature/the nature of the Internet. There's always people who lie.

I also can't rule out psychosis for some people, either.

I have learned from researching and studying scams, cults, and hoaxes that when someone refuses to provide solid evidence to back up their extraordinary claims, it's because they're lying, and that those who play the victim or vilify people when asked for solid evidence want to take advantage of others in some way.

I have also learned that all scammers, cultists/cult leaders, and hoaxters will try to make you think they're the Very Special Exception to this rule. They are not. They never are.

I think the practice of Living In The End is a potential incentive to make false claims. If you're living as if it's already fulfilled, it would only make sense to write a "success story," right?

People who claim they changed the color of their eyes might also not be aware that your eye color can look different under different lighting.

Use the void state or don't, I don't care. I don't think it's harmful. I think it might be beneficial for some. I just don't think it's going to enable you manifest new parents overnight or resurrect the dead or whatever. Again, I think the LOA's benefits are primarily psychological.

I think Neville Goddard was a liar. His ideas didn't come from Kabbalah, they came from Phineas Quimby. They don't derive from Jewish mysticism; they're a close relative of Prosperity Gospel.

I think "Edward Art" is yet another content farm channel.

Spiritual abuse dolled up as self-empowerment is still spiritual abuse. "But we're helping people!" Cool motive, still abuse.

If you're more upset by people calling out the toxic bullshit going on in the Law of Assumption community than you are by the toxic bullshit going on in the Law of Assumption community, you need to fix your heart.

For anyone reading this: If you are leaving or questioning the Law of Assumption and need help, please see this post.

[lovemyromance]

*SPOILERS FOR HOFAS* (even though it's been like almost 2 months guys get on it 🤨🤨)

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So the Cauldron was wrong 🤩 Isn't that something?

And by wrong, we mean it was corrupted by the Asteri / Daglan to create the most powerful offspring. Not necessarily bonds that are of the soul or formed by love or whatever. Not saying this CAN'T also be the case, two things can be true at once, but for sure-confirmed-the Asteri tampered with the Cauldron to fix pairings that would produce powerful offspring (for them to snack on, I guess).

What does that mean? Does it mean every single mating bond currently out there is wrong and created only for the purpose of the most powerful offspring?

No. Not necessarily.

We don't really know where mating bonds come from. The Cauldron, the Mother, etc.

Just based off the fact that Feyre or Rhys didn't go into the cauldron, I think their bond is not from the cauldron. Could it still be called into question? Maybe, but I think it's been shown they would've chosen each other regardless of the bond.

But Elain & Nesta, their mating bonds were only revealed after they were dumped out of the Cauldron. Could we say that their mating bonds were given to them by the Cauldron and are therefore tampered with?

Perhaps. That's a solid possibility.

The thing is, Cassian had a feeling as soon as he met Nesta in ACOMAF that she was his mate. He felt something before she even went into the cauldron. So maybe their bond existed before the cauldron, meaning they don't have a cauldron-given bond either.

Now let's look at Elain.

Elain's mating bond with Lucien was revealed as soon as she came out of the Cauldron.

You can argue that "oh he showed mate behavior and stepped toward her before she went in" but so did Tamlin. Tamlin said stop, Tamlin lunged for the King. So there's no way to discern whether Lucien also voicing his anger was "mate behavior" or Lucien genuinely being upset that Ianthe sold them out and kidnapped Feyre's sisters. Not if everyone in the room also reacted the same way.

Elain was in enough distress and struggling as it was. Lucien did not feel the bond snap and realize she was his mate then. Not until after she went into the cauldron.

I think just from the order of events, it's logical to conclude the Elucien bond is Cauldron-given. Not saying it's 100% true or right, but it's a plausible theory. Who's to say that if Elain & Lucien had crossed paths before the Cauldron incident, maybe Lucien would have felt the same attraction and feeling as Cassian had towards Nesta. Things did not play out that way, though, so we can't make that conclusion yet.

So to recap, here's what we have discovered:

Cauldron = Wrong

Feysand bond = Not Cauldron-given

Nessian bond = Not Cauldron-given

Elucien bond = Cauldron-given

Let's do some simple math. If the cauldron is wrong, and the Elucien bond is technically the only one that's Cauldron-given... wouldn't it mean theirs is the only one that is wrong?

And yes, I am aware, I have a huge Elriel bias. But the Elucien mating bond being wrong doesn't automatically make Elriel mates or anything. It just means there is something sketch about their bond. It is not like the others, and we can see that through the sheer way it has been written in the text since it was revealed.

Lucien & Elain avoid each other. Are uncomfortable around each other. Don't talk, don't communicate, can barely even be in the same room, are attracted to other people.

Did we see ANY of that from Feysand & Nessian?

I stand by my statement. One of these is not like the others: Elucien is not like the Feysand & Nessian bond. And it's not just because we haven't received their POVs. It's because:

"what if the cauldron was wrong" - voiced by multiple characters, and confirmed in HOFAS

"Why not make them mates" - Feyre, when she refers to Azriel and Elain

"Can you reject a bond?" - Again, Feyre when she considers how incompatible Elucien is. "she cringed when she thought of Elain subjected to that... fire"

Nesta observing Azriel's secret, the charged glances between the two

Nesta being so protective of Elain but allowing her to go with Azriel without protest

"death and the lovely fawn" - endorsement from the High Lady herself

"What happens if someone rejects their mate? What if the forces put you to be with the wrong person? It offers a lot to explore this concept of free will vs. true love" - SJM herself, on the today show.

But i thought it was obvious 🤷🏻‍♀️