#in this case they are both being transparent about their intentions

[shroudkeeper]

09. prompt / fair

An evening such as this makes me ponder if the heavens could hear the very pounding of my heart as it rejoices that I am chanced with another meeting with you, m'lady. Under starlight, and the tapestry of the night that offers us shelter, I come to you as I have mentioned in my last missive, for I will take leave soon and wish to see you.. one last time.

I know, I said I didn't want to say goodbye anymore, but this will be the last time, a temporary departure in order to fulfill a promise I made to you.

❝ She is not here.❞

Any elation I felt was depleted by the voice that echoed across from underneath the sway of the trees we admire in our solitude. There, among the statues where we once stood, under the sway of whispering willows, I found no evidence of you.

Instead, moonlight graced the scowl upon your father's features, and at his side, the hound we saved, one that was said to deliver my messages to you. Words suddenly failed me, turning to ash as I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could gather courage to say a word, his voice pierced into the space between us. I could not help but let my eyes wander to where his hand was resting.

He was armed.

❝ You must think me a fool, Mister Fitzgerald, and here I believed you would respect my wishes. Kami forfend that I believed you would listen. ❞

I could hear each breath escape me, ragged and shallow, as my eyes fell to the blade he wore. I knew well what he was capable of, what he may do to me, yet he did not brandish steel, rather made sure with his posture that I knew well of my place.

And I did not mean to question it.

My approach is a careful one, taken with languid steps forward and arms extended in his direction so he may see that I was unarmed and bore no ill intent.

"I have not done anything to sully her good name, I just --"

I couldn't finish my sentence, this ongoing, quiet rage within him, had grown and spread not an inferno, and from him came the flames of his rancor as the thunderous sound of his voice cemented my feet to the gravel path leading to him.

❝ Silence!

I told you to proceed with caution. You chose to disregard these words, throw caution to the winds and continue to defy me. I am aware of what takes place under my roof, and trust me when I say this: I humored this long enough, your fantasy of being with her ends here. ❞

His hand finally left the weapon at his hip to motion towards the dog at his side, the small courier who carried my confessions, my haiku, all of my planning, to you. It had been a well-crafted secret, but secrets had ways of being discovered.

How much had her father known? How long had he been aware?

"For that deceit, I will forever apologize profusely if you ask this of me. But, I won't apologize for what I feel for her, what I would do for her. That is something I will refuse to do." I couldn't stop myself as the emotions were roused within me.

Something inside me became undone, the seams that held these emotions back were ripped free. I had never spoken these words to another soul, but you know what I hold in my heart for you is true, and now, everyone else will know of it.

I am tired of denying myself. Of lying. Of hiding.

❝ Then do so in silence and leave her be. This is no request I make like before, a betrothed woman should be respected. For once, be an honorable person. ❞

And then something else broke inside me.

My own heart was delivered a severe blow, he may as well assailed me with his katana.

"..What? What do you mean.. --"

I am not sure what possessed me, what drove my legs to move forward when all I desired was the gravel to give out underneath me, but I marched to him and fell to my knees. The flurry of emotions crashed around me within an instant; suddenly, the beautiful hydrangeas lost their radiance and perfume, and the stars that I loved to share with you were extinguished one by one.

I wanted to call him a liar, but this was no deceit, those smoky greys gave an intense glare that spoke volumes of this truth. He nearly defeated me with this look, and perhaps this was his purpose, to shock me with this revelation. And he almost did, but I couldn't, I wouldn't simply let you go.

I have come this far. I have loved you this long in the shadows. I told you I would bear this with you.

And I will. I will earn a chance to walk side by side with you, under the sun.

❝ Go. Leave and forget her, so she could begin to forget you.❞

He shook me out of my reverie, but I needed an answer out of him, and when I spoke it, I saw something within his gaze shift into something morose even if his jaw had tightened and formed a severe contour.

"Does she know?"

❝ The personal ongoings of our clan is no concern to a foreigner, we have a business relationship, you are just the contact we have with the East Aldenard Trading Company, nothing more. ❞

And the truth was there, sewn between his words.

"How is that even fair to her!" I couldn't contain my resentment and felt my body tremble; I was not exclusively angry at the position I am in, but for you.

You ..who were unaware of it all.

❝ You want to speak of fairness, Mister Fitzgerald? You, who has manipulated her already for personal gain, who considered putting profit before her feelings? You whom she would risk all for and has to protect? Yet you could not muster the courage to do the same. ❞

I assumed there would be backlash to my question, that I was to be met with more waves of his ire. Yet the tone he used carries something far more somber than what one would expect.

❝ Assuming you never had children, then you would not know the overwhelming pain of seeing one pass, it is devastating. No parent should bury their child, they should be kept safe. I have failed at this before. I shall not repeat the same mistake again.

What is fair.. is giving someone I love dearly a chance to live. I am old now, and though I am proficient in swordsmanship, my body will eventually betray me. I need to have someone who will protect the one who protects others. But most importantly, to protect the other half of my heart from meeting an untimely demise.

How could I trust that task unto you, who has not shown me --❞

"I love her!" The words stumbled out of me that my head spun and my heart became naught but a deafening sound in my head. His lips gave part, and he may have spoken something, but I couldn't hear it. All I wanted was my bleeding heart to be seen, for once.

I love you. I love you.

I want to say these words to you without fear.

"I love her more than I could conceivably put into those letters you've read, more than I can proclaim to you right now! I know what she means to you, but understand that I would never wish to be a burden to her. What I feel is authentic, and for the months we have spent together, it has only made these feelings grow.

We both love her.."

His face softened then. He is your father after all, and despite how selfish we are as mortals, even I could understand what he must be feeling. He wants to protect you, to keep the flower of his clan from wilting, he wants to see you bloom in this cultivated garden.

❝ Mister Fitzgerald, I have made my choice.❞ I could hear the gravel shift underneath his footsteps, he meant to depart, but this was not to end this way, I will not allow it.

"..Give me a chance, just one I ask." He paused and I watched him take a deep breath before motioning for me to continue with a nod.

"I am willing to find a rare treasure, said to be in the Ruby Sea, that will grant her a voice, even if it is for a sun or a few bells. I want to give her an opportunity to tell you how much she loves you."

Perhaps me, too.

He did not disagree, and I took it as a positive sign that he would allow me this one chance to be a proper suitor.

And I do not mean to fail him, or you.

[milkistay]

STRAY KIDS and jealousy

pairing. skz x gn!reader

format. headcanons

chan

- on one hand, he’s so used to being level-headed and being the one to alleviate rough situations - he’s a leader after all - but on the other hand, he can’t help but get irrationally jealous sometimes - and he beats himself up over it because he knows he’s better than this - he has a possessive quality about him, especially when it’s you - but what he also has is the fantastic ability to recognize his feelings and know how to properly process them - so when he gets jealous, he takes time to himself to calm down and think more rationally - when he reenters the situation, he feels more himself and is reminded how much he loves and trusts you - you two talk it out a bit and swap reassurances of love and it works out <3

minho

- will take it seriously if you betray his trust - even if he gets jealous on his own accord, he’s not the most amicable - maybe he jumps to conclusions a bit fast and ends up shutting you out to try and protect himself and his feelings - can tend to get uncommunicative which makes it difficult to reach him - his intentions aren’t malicious, he just immediately goes into self-preservation mode - it often takes him talking to one of the other members for them to make him realize he’s overreacting - then he talks to you and you work it out - his jealousy can become a point of contention in your relationship but it’s nothing you can’t work out and make less serious as time goes on - at the end of the day you love each other

.

.

changbin

- feels the need to overcompensate :(( - turns up his comedy to try and make you laugh more than the person he’s jealous of - just tries to remind you why he’s better by showing off his charm - after a while, he starts to feel a bit silly - when you two are finally alone, then he’ll be transparent with how he’s feeling and try to work his emotions out with you - you’re always willing to have the conversations he needs to have - and you both leave feeling closer and more confident in your relationship - changbin king of communication!

hyunjin

- doesn’t tend to get jealous because he is such a romantic and loves with his WHOLE heart so if he’s getting into a relationship, he’s making sure there is SO much love between him and his partner - so if he gets in a relationship with you, you best believe he trusts you fully - so when he does get jealous, it’s not that he’s worried something will happen - he more so just gets a bit sad because he’s missing you - he doesn’t expect to be at the center of your attention 24/7 but it just saddens him a bit when you’re spending more time with someone else - he just misses you! - but then he sees you again and you go out and everything’s okay again

jisung

- he turns his jealousy inwards on himself rather than you or the person he’s jealous of - it sort of just heightens his insecurities - makes him spiral into why he’s not good enough for you - even though that’s not the case at all - also blames himself for feeling that way because it makes him feel foolish - just lets himself take all of the punches from his jealousy - doesn’t want to be stupid and get you involved - but it doesn’t take much to pull him out of that spiral - just a little bit of assurance that you love him and he’s all smiles again

felix

- felix has a big heart and cares a lot about the health of your relationship - if he gets jealous or feels insecure as a partner, he wants to do everything he can to fix it - usually this will be talking it out with you - but he rarely takes the lead in these conversations - instead, he shares all of his feelings and thoughts and looks to you for advice - sometimes he’ll ask his others members for advice as to not burden you with his issues - he just wants to find a solution that works for the both of you, whether that’s spending more time together, giving one another more assurance, etc. - he’s not one to shut you out or take time to himself, he’s more one to jump into a back-and-forth with you to figure out how to keep jealousy at bay

seungmin

- doesn’t really get jealous  - hates the feeling cause he’s just making discomfort for himself - trusts you and respects your decisions to spend time with whoever you want - as long as you come home to him at the end of the day and you fall asleep in his arms, who’s he to complain? - if he DOES somehow get jealous, he just gets upset at himself - takes some time away from the situation to put it in perspective and figure his emotions out - ends up just ignoring it until it goes away

jeongin

- he may have a jealous instinct - but he has more of a communication instinct - so when he gets jealous, he channels his natural fervor into confronting you directly to talk it out - he’s very honest and blunt with how he’s feeling and expect you to be the same - doesn’t appreciate it if you dance around the issue - so be transparent with him and the issue gets solved just like that - his other method is removing himself from the situation and sitting with himself or with another member to work out his feelings independently - he’s a mature one, very good at working out relationship issues

[rosesdrop]

Pick a pile

Update on their feelings towards you

(Note: This reading only includes people who are asking about someone they're in a relationship with, or someone whom they are sure of having feelings towards them)

Pile 1:

Your person likes to spend time with you. They like being around you and enjoy every moment they spend with you. They feel so happy and joyful, also playful so they might get a bit giddy around you. This person-when thinking of you plans for a successful and rich life with you. You make them want to live their best life. They see you as the only choice, in their eyes you're like a golden ticket. They dream of having a happy relationship with you that lasts forever... They might get a little possessive over you sometimes but that's because you're the beacon of light in their life. They want to grow with you and make your relationship everlasting, their feelings are still new for you in a sense, the spark is there, and they get so excited to the point where they want to do all of the great things with you at once, but I'm getting that it might come from a place of pure excitement. And that if the relationship is still as new as I'm seeing here, their feelings may not be solid and that they need time to realize if they're serious about this, they may still not know.

Pile 2:

This person likes the beach, or your connection may have something to do with it. They're very dreamy and they think about you often, they tend to space out sometimes. They're soft and easy to get with because they're often calm and understanding. People often admire that about them. They've got luck on their side this person, they're very prosperous and I'm getting that they're always ready to lend a helping hand to you, and they can be of great help when needed, you can lean on to them when you're in need of something. There's a separation here for some, maybe there hasn't been much going on in this connection lately or there has been a pause. If that's the case then this person is reflecting on this connection. They're connecting the dots and trying to make sense of how to proceed forward in this connection and make their next move successful. But one thing is that this person sleeps on their feelings towards you. You may not understand them sometimes because they're too calm but they tend to repress feelings, so it's really hard to know this person's intentions and I'm getting that it makes you confused. And honestly there hasn't been much transparency from neither of you. It's like you two have decided to sleep on this connection without giving clarity to each other. Each one in here wants to find out something about the other, both are searching for clues and i trying to solve a riddle about the other.

[reesespeanutbutterfuck]

(im)perfectionist

vinny hong x jo!reader

jay jo's imperfectionist sister meets the flawful vinny hong.

part 10

part 9 | part 11

pairing: vinny hong x jo!reader

cw: fem!reader, jo!reader, second person's pov (you, you're, your) rAgh get ready this part is just the beginning

—

On the way to Vinny’s house, you stopped by a convenience store that didn’t have that many people compared to the ones in the middle of the city. The last thing you’d want is to attract unwanted attention, and worse case scenario, to be spotted by someone your parents know and be reported looking like this and with a male.

Your stomach was begging to be filled. So with a single “hey, can I eat at your house?” to Vinny, he agreed—well sort of—and told you to grab something. If you weren’t being considerate you wouldn’t have had asked for permission, but it’s his house and you have to be respectful.

You both went to the convenience store but he said he’ll just wait for you outside. You grabbed convenience store food for the both of you. You didn’t bother to ask if he was hungry, you bought him food as an initiative. After you paid at the counter, you went out through the glass door of the convenience store and found Vinny outside. 

Taking a good look at his face clearly with the help of the light from inside the convenience store, now you can see some of the bruises that weren’t noticeable a while ago because the evening sky was already dark, started showing in hues of purple-blue. You know those hurt, but he’s either numb or good at hiding pain.

Just like you. 

“Ice?” Vinny asked after he examined the bag you were carrying when you got out of the convenience store. The ice was in a transparent plastic bag while the food was in a translucent one so he didn’t see you bought two sets of them.

“It’s for your bruised face.”

He didn’t reply. 

Why do you care? 

He started walking forward with you following behind, trusting him to lead you to his home. You don’t know why you trust him this much either, maybe it’s because he has shown you a lot of proof that regardless of his grumpy attitude, he’s harmless. You have trust issues, but somehow you don’t sense any ulterior motive when it comes to Vinny, even if your first impression of him wasn’t all that.

Vinny stopped walking in front of a gate down a small neighborhood. You immediately get the hint that you’ve arrived at his house. Vinny held the keys to the gate, he was about to open it, but at the last moment, he hesitated. He thinks about the fact that you’re wealthy and his house isn’t really pleasant to be in for someone standing in a social class like that such as you. He’s insecure of his status, and he’s ashamed of you seeing the proof of it. He contemplates whether he’s making the right decision. There’s a big part of him that wants to back out and decide otherwise.

But then when he looked over his shoulder to you, there was no sign of discomfort nor displease. Nothing but your normal face, patiently waiting for him to open the gate. He snapped out of his thoughts and wordlessly continued to open it. The priority here is treating your wounds and not anything else.

When you stepped inside his home, there were a few scattered things, although it wasn’t messy. It’s warm and it’s home. You scanned the interior as Vinny searched for the first aid kit his mother had, avoiding to see your expression, because if you were disgusted by his house, he’d rather not see it, honestly. But you weren’t. Not in the slightest.

While scanning his home, your eyes caught a glimpse of a wooden framed picture. It’s Vinny when he was a kid, and an older woman behind him holding his shoulders, who you reckon is his mother. There was another person but it looked like the picture was cut and the person was cropped off the frame. His dad? You shrugged it off and stared at the picture intently, specifically at the young Vinny. He has the same fiery hair and hetero-hued eyes. His unique facial features are natural, after all. 

Quite a lively looking kid, he was. 

He’s cute.

Meanwhile when Vinny found the kit, that was the first time he laid eyes on your face ever since you got inside his house, although only one side of your face was available in his view, he could see your small smile while looking at the framed picture. He halted his steps while holding the box.

You envied how he looks with his mother. In the portrait, he looked happy regardless of his knocked off front tooth. His mother was, too. How you wish you could experience that. You cannot recall a Jo family picture where your smiles are of genuine happiness. You shook your head and diverted your attention to Vinny, the grown-up one, who was now carrying a box, the first aid kit.

“You’re quite cute when you were younger. I wish you hadn’t grown up.” You commented and sat yourself at the floor, opening the plastic bag of convenience store food. Vinny’s mouth set in a hard line. “Can I have that picture?” you pointed at the framed picture.

“No.” He sat down with you while still keeping distance, that you didn’t mind, and avoided your eyes. 

“Fine.” You glared at him. “Eat while you deal with your cuts.” you gestured to his food. 

Vinny eyed at the instant ramyeon and self heating rice. “It’s you who should eat, not me. I didn’t tell you to buy food for me, I’m not hungry.”

“You are now.” you faced the mirror on his wall behind where you were sitting while holding your glasses and disregarded him. “I’ve missed you.” 

Vinny accidentally broke his avoidant eye streak to look at you, because for a second there he thought you were talking to him. You held your glasses like it was a beloved living thing before discarding Jay’s spare one that you borrowed and putting it inside the protective case, and wearing yours. 

“Go on, eat.” you told him while still looking at yourself in the mirror. You also pointed at the ice to gesture to him to ice his bruises.

Eventually, after contemplating, he took one bite and then got the gauze pads and betadine bottle himself to treat his cuts. You observed him, he sucks a sharp breath and hisses whenever he presses the gauze pad on his cuts. He’s having trouble with it, because he’s pressing his hand on his own wounds too hard. You sighed.

“Give it here.” you got the gauze pad from his hand and threw it. “You’re too rough with your own skin.” Then, you got a pint sized cotton ball and dampened it with betadine solution.

You pressed lightly under his eye. Vinny thought it’d hurt still, but when you were the one doing it, it didn’t. When Vinny registered the close proximity between the two of you, he looked away immediately. While you were focused on treating his wounds and completely oblivious, rather casual, to even consider just how close your face was to his right now.

Vinny opened his mouth while still avoiding looking at you directly. “You do have a sort of calling to always patch people up. Tsk, I can do it myself. Stop doing things for me.”

Not even Sung, that little fucker, has touched his face in any context, yet here you are.

“I just don’t want to see you in the emergency room when you get an infection because you treat your injuries poorly.” you looked up at his eyes for a second and continued with the scratches on his cheek. “Besides, the reason I asked if you have a first aid kit is because I want to know if you have tools to patch yourself up. You’re the one who wanted me in your house.”

Vinny’s mouth slightly hung open in disbelief. “Because I thought you wanted to patch yourself up before you go home!”

“Whatever.” you dismissively uttered. 

His hunch while waiting for you outside the convenience store, and strengthened by the ice, was right.

Both of you are here right now because you thought about each other’s injuries.

He thought of the conversation he had with Sung just a few days ago. “How is your stab wound, by the way?”

Your fingers halted as you were taken aback by his question. 

“It’s… fine, I mean, not fully, but the wound's closed. Although even if it’s already semi-healed, it sometimes stings when the weather’s cold.”

When you attended to his busted lip, he had the chance to finally look at you without you noticing because your eyes were fixated on the corner of his lip and you wouldn’t notice if he stares at your face. His eyes perceived your appearance in this closer look he was getting. Greyish feline eyes, long lashes, flowy dark hair. 

He thinks you look like somebody he currently knows, but he can’t point a finger who. 

“Done.” you finished securing the gauze with surgical tape. “You still gotta ice those bruises, though.” You sanitize your hand and pick up your chopsticks to go back to eating your ramyeon. “Don’t touch your wounds, wash your hands first. the E.R. 's cramped enough.” you reminded him.

Vinny groaned at your nagging as you continued eating. He stared at you as you spilled five whole ketchup packets on your corndog. Okay, that’s a lot, you clearly love ketchup, he can see that.

��Do they pay you in that hospital?” He asked while paying close watch to your weird eating habit.

“No, there’s no place for a high school student there. I’m just there because my mother wanted me to familiarize myself with medical procedures before I go to college. But then I became divergent from her sponsor and–” you stopped when you realized something. “The hospital training… Oh no, oh no, no. What is she going to say?” 

You anxiously sat and covered your mouth as you thought how you hadn't attended hospital training for weeks. 

“She’s going to kill me.” you mumbled, still anxious.

Beside you, Vinny looked puzzled. “Who?”

“My mom.”

“Oh.”

Vinny tried to read your facial expression yet he couldn't. Your mother must really be a problem. The fact that you were seriously willing to be stitched up by him, rather than go to a hospital where your mother would see you, already says a whole lot. Plus, the fact that you would have rather bled to death if he didn't come to your side, not because no one brought you to a hospital, but because no one convinced you to.

“Well, I gotta go home now.” 

You put all your trash in one plastic bag to toss outside on your way and stood up to stretch your back. You keep surprising him. You’re not even scared of walking in the dark. While cracking your spine, you lagged when you caught his eyes staring at you like you were an alien.

“What?”

He shook his head in disbelief. But then he also stood up and pulled his jacket. “Let’s go.” and then he left first. 

It took a moment to realize what he was trying to do. You let him do it because you gotta admit, talking to him amuses you, unexpectedly. And you feel good when you tease him.

“Wait a minute, you’re going to walk me home now? That’s really something.” he ignored you. “Hey, I’m not done talking to you, Vinny.”

“You got stabbed a week ago, you got into a fight tonight. And don’t call it walking you home, it sounds weird.” he grimaced. “I’m not doing this because I want to keep you from harm. I’m doing this to accompany you while you deal with harm.”

“Okay, whatever you say.” you said, obviously unconvinced. “What about your part time job?”

“It’s already late. I can’t come in now or I’ll be nagged.” Just thinking about how the lady manager’s going to beat his ass and nag him for skipping a shift already hurts his ears.

You grinned. “What difference would it make if I get mobbed or we get mobbed together? Do you think you’ll make a difference? What confidence you have.”

Vinny flashed a sinister smirk. “Then at least they’d suffer more by fighting the both of us.” 

You stopped your tracks. If you think about it, apparently Vinny has this subtle… protective instinct. You don’t know if he’s like this to anyone else. Just like when he could’ve left while you were sleeping after you were taken to the hospital, but he stayed true to his words and waited for you to wake up before leaving. Now, this.

He looked back at you with his heavy-lidded eyes that always made him look arrogant. “Well? Lead the way, grumpy.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Why? You have unpredictable mood swings, and unresolved anger issues. It suits you.”

Childish he is, comparing you to one of Snow White’s seven dwarfs. He’s learning to make childish clapbacks. 

You threw an empty bottle at him, which he swiftly dodged. “You talk as if you’re not like that.”

“At least I don’t abruptly switch between being non-verbal and angry.”

You bit your lower lip in annoyance as you restrained yourself from how badly you wanted to smack the back of his head. You almost forgot about his injuries.

“I told you we should’ve gone for the shortcut. Who are those guys, anyway?” Not bringing up how those guys knew you too. From your past.

“Guys I once fought with.”

“Thanks anyway for letting me in your house, without me initiating it.” you said, highlighting the last phrase to make a point. “You’ve done a lot of favors for me. What do you want as a reward? Don’t ask for a girlfriend, I don’t have anyone to string you with.”

He looked straight ahead and breathed. “The charm is enough.”

“Charm? What–oh. That.” You realized what he was talking about. The cat charm. “Cute isn’t it? Looks like you. I didn’t know you liked it.” 

Vinny clicked his tongue. 

“That’s only a trinket, not a reward. You know, like, a promise of ‘I'll-see-you-again-soon-and-I’ll-give-you-something-better.’”

Vinny furrowed his brows, “Why do you think every favor done for you obligates you to give something back in return?”

“Well, that’s how I was raised.”

“Were you raised in chaos too and that’s why you can fight?”

“I only fight people when I need to defend myself.” You kicked a small rock out of the way. “I once initiated a fight with a male classmate but that was three or four years ago, because he was extremely sexist. ‘Kept making comments about what I do.”

The anecdote piqued Vinny’s curiosity of what happened next. “What happened after?”

“Oh, he dropped, transferred to another school, and got home-schooled.” You nonchalantly continued the story.

A moment of silence.

“What did you do?” Vinny looked at you suspiciously.

“What?”

He expectantly waited.

After seconds of a staredown, you were the first one to cave in. “...I accidentally broke four of his ribs,” your voice gradually grew quieter with every word.

Vinny’s expression went like he just heard a crime confession. He knows he's deemed as a savage, but you, you’re also something. Part of him wants to grin because of how normally you told a story of something unhinged.

“Serves him right,” He quipped. That sexist jerk deserved more than just getting his ribs pounded, he thought.

“So, take my offer. Let’s fight each other next time.”

Vinny groaned, “Is this still about Jay? I didn't even know him yet at that time.”

“He got impeached from being Student Body President and he got a suspension. Because of that the workload I have as the Vice doubled because of you, just so you know. I’ll only let it slide now because my body is sore, but I’ll get you back for that.”

You really held a grudge at him for that. For both you and Jay.

“I can walk and take care of myself from here, thanks.” You faced him when you reached the corner to your apartment.

Vinny stopped his steps to look at you. 

“Someone might see you and… tell my mom,” You voiced out even if he didn’t ask.

He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it again. Another time. He didn’t say another word before turning back to walk in the opposite direction to find his way home.

The corner of your lips rose. “Hey, Vinny!” you shouted while his back was facing you at a distance.

His head panned to you.

“Thanks! I’ll give you back the favor somehow!” You followed while waving your hand. “Let’s fight next time! I’ll wipe the floor with you!”

He rolled his eyes and turned his back again to continue walking. Your mischievous grin impossible to wipe off.

Out of your sight, Vinny kept his genuine amused smile—often mistaken for a maniacal grin—to himself.

***

[sepublic]

IDW Transformers’ take on the war and the origins of the Decepticons was one of those things that was rly thoughtful and interesting to read as a kid (so as the target demographic I guess lol) only as an adult to have some rly troubling implications like the ones you pointed out. I was EXTREMELY relieved that TF One swapped it back so that the Autobots are the low-class miners and the Decepticons were the military (closer to the original cartoon anyway) while still using the IDW comics as inspiration in other ways.

Transformers One is such a strange case for me because on the one hand, it's propaganda. I'm sorry but it's transparently propaganda, it's executives embracing IDW's attempt at "maturity" that well-intentioned or not, inevitably paints the revolutionaries as villains by having them arbitrarily blow up an orphanage, because we gotta demonize revolutionaries who use violence.

We gotta warn kids of the dangers of the violent revolution, because revolution is only permitted if peaceful! Let's just ignore what we were taught about the American Revolution... Seriously, look at the elites' response to Brian Thompson's assassination!

That being said. This is like 95% speculation. But there are clear differences between IDW and Transformers One. So to me, personally, it feels like the writers —Eric Pearson, Andrew Barrer, and Gabriel Ferrari— were aware of the issues of the IDW premise. They were given a basic outline by executives. And so they opted to smooth over the issues as much as they could, work with it, while still being stuck with that basic problem at the end of the day.

So as you've said, I appreciate Orion and D-16 being working-class bots, that they're both coming from the same place. I appreciate the framing of Orion's opposition coming from the concept of Anti-Death Penalty, that no government should have the power to execute people. I appreciate the implications of D-16 siding with disgruntled military soldiers, whose only idea of fixing society is to destroy enemies.

There's something to be said about people who fantasize purely on committing violence, without any of the actual work of rebuilding and keeping things running! That's why Orion's rebellion consists of his fellow miners. I can see the implication, that even if D-16 hadn't gone off, there would inevitably be friction between the High Guard's jingoism and the civilians when Orion reformats things, and bans the death penalty.

...But again, again! D-16 is a black man. Not literally but he's voiced by Brian Tyree Henry, anyone can hear his voice. And his chanting of "Rise up" is juxtaposed with Orion Pax, who is voiced by white MCU star Chris Hemsworth. It feels ridiculous how the movie bends over backwards to paint D-16 as evil with shots of civilians running away from the convenient collateral of his shots, but nothing like that is ever shown with our protagonists and their damage!

B slicing up other Cybertronians is treated as a gag, but Sentinel's life and death matters more than his guards' which is uh. A weird way to frame things. I guess maybe it's because D-16 is doing it out of "reckless anger" whereas B isn't trying to...? But ultimately, the violence of our protagonists is meant to be framed as out of strict necessity, which is something I have to acknowledge.

I can't say for sure what Pearson, Barrer, and Ferrari were thinking. I appreciate Transformers One for smoothing out the edges. But I can't help but see D-16 as a pastiche of BLM activists, of the UHC shooter, because he's willing to be angry and violent towards his oppressors. He's a black man who gets branded and his violence is treated as exceptional and unique because of his anger, meanwhile B's kills are a gag.

There's an irony in that Sentinel's higher-class life is treasured by the narrative, but the lives of his comparatively lower-class bodyguards are worth nothing. The pervasiveness, it felt insidious; It genuinely kept me from enjoying the final battle between Optimus and Megatron, how the narrative wants to be triumphant but the dark undertone can’t be ignored. Call me a buzzkill.

I know people think this sort of trope is meant to be 'nuanced', that it makes for a more 'interesting' villain, one you can relate to and sympathize with. See yourself in. But in the end, you can only go so far in "reclaiming" a stereotype. You can't be in utter denial of the subtext and intention behind it. You can't claim this is actually good writing, I thought we were liking these villains out of spite, not in support of a narrative we think is secretly on our side too!

That executives need a revolution story where the ultimate villain who causes even more violence in the long run is, GASP, a revolutionary who shows people like them no mercy, is telling. There can only be a revolution in media if it shows the elite being deliberately spared at all costs, even to the point of Orion sacrificing his own life (Even if for D-16’s soul), while their own workers like those bodyguards are just fodder.

G1 was not the pinnacle of Leftist media but it was also inoffensive and knew what it was. This is… different.

[fantomette22]

Do you approve my geologist friend?

(would love to hear what you think it is too <3)

Crow... you have no idea of what you just unleash.... I went CRAZY over this thank you for activating my neurones! XD

I thought I talk about it before but no, it was about the Doll & Maria's pendant with Katy. It allow me to think about it even more thank you!

Short answer: I guess it's probably a weird opal gem stone yeah.

Long answer: whatever I am going to explain below XD

But first little disclaimer: I can't be certain and completely sure what were the devs intentions about it. Which gems did they really wanted to put in it and if they even had a clear idea in mind to begin with. If they did, it's also possible they didn't represent the right gem correctly. And I could never blame them for that! They aren't geologist or mineralogist. They aren't geographers or historians. They are not architects either, they are video games developers! And besides that, they still try their best to be faithful to their inspirations and create such vivid and beautiful worlds! Beautiful locations and buildings, realistic weapons, armors, clothing (with bits of fantasy), realistic battle and moveset as well etc. They already do a crazy job for all of this so we can't blame devs in general for unrealistic map (I like trying to understand the video game map geography/geology) or minor details that aren't 100 percent realistic. Or in this case the accurate depiction of a minuscule gemstone. This is a fantastic video game who's a mixt of Dracula, brotherhood of the Wolf and Lovecraftian cosmic horror stories (& fishes). Not a documentary on the 19th century. But anyway.

So yeah I'm just gonna give my 2 cents about it and maybe make you learn cool stuff thanks to my studies in geology 👍

And even if it's not completely accurate the beautiful world of HEADCANONS is here!!! XD More seriously this post may be very useful for fanfic references for exemple! That would make a cool discussions between characters or even allowed to describe more little objects like those!

Now let's begin!

The Doll Tear Stone

"Silver-shining tear stone. Use to change into a droplet blood gem that fortifies any weapon. A doll sheds neither blood nor tears and thus its nature remains unknown. Whoever thinks this is precious must be troubled by severe naivete."

"A blood gem that fortifies weapons and adds various properties. Droplet blood gems are special gems that adapt to various weapons and shapes. Created from a shining silver doll tear, this blood gem is a quiet but unfaltering friend that continually restores HP, the life essence of a hunter. Perhaps the doll's creator had wished for just such a friend, albeit in vain."

(Also can we appreciate how OP this gem is when it's your first playthrough?! Really a must have. Really worth it to go find the small hair ornament, and not just for lore.)

So it indeed look like an opal a bit. But there are other alternatives I considered as well! The first being the moonstone (or belmonite). They both are very similars, but they have different chemical formula. Also the moonstone is less rare and less expensive! It especially state in the description that the doll tear isn't precious at all. An opal is very precious and expensive in comparison.

opal SiO2 n H2O

moonstone/belmonite (Na K)AlSi3O8 ---

I can't show many references in this but on the internet you might find various colours of both moonstones and opals! With some less or more transparent.

Another moonstone for exemple.

But the doll tears also have the particularity of refracting light and shining of differents colours too. (Or diffraction into a rainbow for crystal). Opal and moonstone both have this particularity as well (even if it shows more in opal for exemple). Those phenomenons are called adularescence (moonstone), opalescent (in opal), or iridescence (bubble, fuel, cd, some fossils).

I didn't really thought about the rocks meaning too. Everything alike to "stone healing properties" are similars to an horoscope /zodiac/astrology for me. But stones meaning as in flowers meaning is very interesting! And I'm not going to dev to much but i guess they all fit well!

Moonstone: Feminity, divine wisdom, moon, calm balance, protection, spiritual healing"

DID SOMEONE SAY HEALING?! what a coincidence 🤭 But I mean almost all stones have protection meaning XD But hey it fit well with Bloodborne themes, The moon presence, the fact that it's not precious etc

Now I also need to mention other not precious stones (very common) and crystals as well, even if they don't show rainbow colours:

Quartz is well quartz but many expensive minerals can be found among it. they are formed via hydrothermal fluids.

Calcite is still very basic it's the crystal version of limestone.

Halite is salt. And guess what's in the composition of tears... SODIUM CHLORIDE/ NACL! :D ... 💀 so I thought that maybe you know... is the doll tear could be made from that....

Me now: hm do you think the tear stone is salty? 🤔

Me from almost 3 years ago: WTF is wrong with you?!?!?!

(I swear it's a true identification method for calcite to lick it but hear me out! you break the stone first to have access to a part who was never expose to air! We were all shock our teachers did this...anyway)

It's not very clear what the Doll is even made off but if indeed her face is made of porcelain well I could consider kaolinite then. Porcelain is made from it so.

In the end like the description said "it's nature remain unknown" and because it might have an organic origins as well I guess it's just it's own thing, but it resemble something that already exists. Maybe something about the old blood or bc of some eldritch mysteries. Mixed with unknowns material to become a crystal that could exist. (So new minerals just drop?? let's go)

I'm not gonna pass too much time on that (or it's never gonna be over XD) but you see the bloodstone and blood gem stones found in the game? Well there's tons of those in bb universe but in real life it's not possible.( I mean blood clot are a thing but the ones in game seems like a weird mixt being that and a real mineral structure). I hypothesis or headcanons that it's produce because of something in the old blood. Something in the great ones. But can a parasite or microorganisms really do that hm 🤔? Something that made the blood crystalize in some conditions. That amalgamate some minerals or impurity that are in too much concentration...

Quicksilver bullet can be made of blood too and we know they are made from mercury most likely (and not silver but maybe silver too)....

So yeah it's my theory to explain the weird bb biology. Because even if they had BYRGENWERTH NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO EXPLAIN TO US HOW THIS WORLD WORK SCIENTIFICALLY (and magic) SPEAKING!!!!! AND WHAT DID THEY LEARN IN ALL THOSE RESEARCHES!!!!

Why do I have such crazy ideas you ask? Well if I want my headcanons/fic to be coherent I need to think of many things to make everything stick together. Like for exemple I need to theorise things about this ^so that one day Laurence can explain to the gang WHY A GIANT MUTATED DOG IS ON FIRE AND VOMIT LAVA SOMEHOW MAKE SENSE!!!!!

YES I HAVE AN HC FOR THIS AND FIRE BLOOD MAGIC!!!! Of course it's fantasy, it's sci-fie not everything have an answer. But I cannot just say "it's magic shut up" x)

Hm let's have a lil pause before looking in the Doll's and Maria's pendant now.

Mini geology class interlude or how stones, minerals & gems are made:

About crystallization:

"Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized atoms or molecules, = a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization."

There's tons of things that can be crystal for ex water when you freeze it or salt: If you put salt in the water, it dissolve. If you heat the water and evaporate it, salt crystals are going to appear. For minerals, the longer it's exposed to heat and pression (underground) the bigger the crystals are going to be!

For exemple when lava burst out and grew colder and solid, crystals aren't visible or non existent bc the processes is very fast. That's the pitch black stone with tons of holes in it, basalt. But when the magma take thousand or millions of year to cool down the crystals are way bigger! Then erosion allowed us to discover them (like granite, gabbro or peridotite).

Of course these is for magmatic stones but the process is similar yet different for the gem we talked about, Quartz and even metals like gold who are made from Silice & found in sedimentary stones.

They are formed via hydrothermal fluids:

To put it very simply: the water get trap in the earth, get charged in lot of minerals on it's way + heat, get stuck at one place, evaporate and left behind all the minerals who become solid and amalgamate together, it crystallize and boom. You got lil crystals if not giant ore deposit.

For the geodes it's a similar processus; the water get trapped, dissolve minerals then it cristalize in the space it have;

So for Opal it's basically like this:

the best Opals are found Australia bc of the arid climate. Moonstones are made from granite mainly so it's found in lots more places.

------

End of the mini geologic lesson.

So...do you realise how much warmth the Doll might have feel from the hair ornament to create such a beautiful crystal?! Wow it's incredible. (I am so sorry this is a joke ok ?! 😂😭 But am I wrong?!)

Ok now let's get back to business. After thinking about the tear it sparks new ideas about Maria and the Doll's pendant. I couldn't identified them before but I might be into something.

----

Maria's pendant

Alright what about Maria's shiny, greenish pendants?

Well it's complicated. It's very shiny compared to the little others. It seems green too. Maria's and the Doll's one seems to alternate between silver and green depending the light or concept art or clothing descriptions. It's a mess... But at least it's based on real gem right? (If they are depicted correctly of course it can still be a mistake as well) but let's say Maria's a green one and the doll's is silver.

Well a green opal doesn't look like this 🤔 Even worst for a green moonstone.

An emerald don't look like this either they had clear marking and I don't see Maria just walking around j-hunting with a HUGE emerald that would belong to a queen or king and that cost more than the entire grand cathedral XD

I got a crazy idea at some point... maybe not about the big pendant after reconsidering it but at least the little one on her attire. What if... ok hear me out,

WHAT IF IT'S A BLOODSTONE?!

No not the one in the game! Those!

Also called heliotrope. It's a variety of chalcedony (same formula as quartz SIO2)+ red jasper spots or hematite (iron)

But they are some who are almost entirely green LOOK.

And that would fit with al the themes and stuff!?

But it's still very dark and not really shiny and while doing research I found Chrysoprase or green jasper.

The same stone can very different how it's polished too. So did the devs had a precise idea for smt or just made a pretty gemstone and didn't thought about making it too accurate to smt real? We'll never know... I know it doesn' look quite the same but I am proposing a few ideas here and I hope it could help and spark inspiration for someone! So instead of just giant it's a big green gemstone we can be more precise within fiction and let our creativity grow!

The doll's pendant

The doll pendant now. Well while doing the research for the tear stone I thought that the moonstone would fit so well for the doll pendant! Until I remembered that it basically act like a mirror 💀(and we can see the alpha ver of the hunter dream). So it can only be made from something metallic right?

So if you want to be poetic sure Moonstone will be nice. BUT I remembered thinking about another idea a huge while ago and I think it could be it! Perhaps this pendant is artificially made and is indeed a kind of mirror!

Ok hear me out x2. Gehrman made the Doll and her outfits right? Well he probably made the pendant by himself too.

So if you didn't knew mirrors are made from glass with a layer of silver pr aluminium. Then a layer of cooper or lead. In the 1800s they were made from tin and MERCURY! (mercury again our beloved).

Gehrman made weapons. Out of iron and other metallic minerals right? BRO MADE A SCYTE OUT OF SIDERITE hello!!! He made the doll clothes too isn't he? Pretty sure it would have been easy for him to make a little shiny metallic pendant who's almost like a mirror...(maybe I am not crazy in my hc that he might have made the hair ornament too let's goooo). Problem solve!

And that's it, hope you guys like those ides and this little lesson ^^

----

Also have my post about basalt in Nightmare frontier and the fishing hamlet x)

[twigs-sprigs]

Hey, I got your lloyd race headcanon thread in my fyp and read through the replies… (wow that one person you responded to was very ….interesting to say the least in their response 😅) I’m not sure how to necessarily ask this question in a non-blunt way, but I noticed you had this point in your discussion that stood out to me, how you stated that “trying to introduce white people into this already fucked up soup, like we have a place in it”.

Does this statement imply that you are white yourself? If so, a white person speaking critically on racial headcanons that don’t necessarily have a definitive weight on behalf of Asian representation is a bit hmmmm… y’know? I’m Asian myself and I believe that this “Asian exclusive” mindset for Ninjago interpretations can be really harmful to other races who may see themselves within certain characters or just have a diverse array of race headcanons in general. And to add, I think the constructive way of going about the shitty writing and appropriation in ninjago is to uplift the diversity of character design and interpretations within fandom and not to focus so much on hyper-criticizing opinions that are generally harmless? That’s the fun part of reclaiming such an easily flexible source, people will always have a different version of Ninjago in their mind.

I just believe that if you’re going to put out a critical opinion on race, you have to expect people to react critically to your opinion as well. I just don’t want that to be a case where as a white person, you may be acting on what you believe is some sort of radical act of justice to the “little” rep people get…when I’ve seen a ton of mixed reps all over this fandom! If you’re Asian, uhhhh disregard this statement AHAHA, none of this is to be mean or anything, I just feel like you need to be transparent about your race and where you stand in the water of the conversation when it gets this deep. PLEASE DONT GET YOURELF CANCELLED FOR GOOD INTENTIONS WORDS ARE EVERYTHING LOVE YOU

okkk ill break this down to talk about your points as you make them so its a bit easier!

i am white! you're right, i should've mentioned that from the beginning, i felt like it was known but in retrospect that's kind of stupid on my part, fully agree i shouldve mentioned it to preface. i will also say english isnt my first language, so my wording mightve unintentionally come off in a way that doesnt reflect my actual mindset, and i take full responsibility on that!

i will say, my post was initially about lloyd and lloyd only, which i do feel i had to point out, given his heritage. my post was about making lloyd purely white, both my post and the reblog i made are basically me saying i didnt like that people are blatantly ignoring lloyd's asian heritage. im not saying my takes are 100% correct and right and perfect, and my wording can be less than stellar sometimes, but i do think it was worth expanding on what i thought, since i didnt want to leave that person's weird response up in the air like that when i disagreed with their point. i don't really believe this is a radical justice take, i just noticed some younger white people headcanon him as white, (mostly on twitter and tiktok) which i didnt really agree with (which is why i made the og post)

like i said, my post was about whitewashing lloyd and him only, i didnt say anything about mixed hcs (wasian lloyd) i didnt say anything about him being any other race, i just said that i don't like him being fully white! and in the end, that's still just an opinion on my part, i never expected everyone to agree, as i'm also fully down for diversity in designs, i think the fandom is really cool in that regard! (when i said "little rep" in my reblog, i meant it as a thing for the show, not the fandom!) i just think theres a line to be drawn between a character thats heavily coded to be of a different race and then whitewashing that character fully yknow?

"I believe that this “Asian exclusive” mindset for Ninjago interpretations can be really harmful to other races who may see themselves within certain characters or just have a diverse array of race headcanons in general"

yep, i agree with this! my original point was absolutely not excluding other races from the discussion, it was only meant to be about lloyd being portrayed as white by people picking and choosing ideas that the show presented. (like wu and misako's names and lloyd's dragon and oni parts that are closely associated with east asian culture)

"And to add, I think the constructive way of going about the shitty writing and appropriation in ninjago is to uplift the diversity of character design and interpretations within fandom and not to focus so much on hyper-criticizing opinions that are generally harmless?"

i also dont believe i ever hyper criticized anybody, i fully expected there to be criticism and discussion when i made my post (i will admit i didnt expect THIS much but again im fully open to discussion still!), i simply stated my opinion in one post and then expanded a bit in one reblog.

again, in the end i dont really care what people headcanon, i simply expanded on my point and said my peace in one reblog, about fully white lloyd, nothing more nothing less. but even then, i wont attack or judge anybody, im fully behind the ignore-and-move-on mentality. and the post was about a generalized minority in the fandom that imo whitewashes lloyd, im very happy to know that the majority is a super open and diverse space full of a plethora of headcanons. i do think the discussion ended up moving away from my original point pretty much!

some people did further expand the discussion in the replies/reblogs to which i didnt think it was my place to reply, since it was far removed from my original point, and people had genuine good points and arguments in the discussion that i myself can't insert myself in, as a white guy! which i was happy to see and didnt feel the need to add much to it anyway

i hope this clears stuff up a bit! if i missed anything or you want to discuss further let me know! either here on tumblr publicly or on discord (my dms are always open, to anybody!) i'm happy to keep talking about this if you feel you have something to add. also sorry if i repeated myself a bit!

[daandyli0n]

(warnings: blood/mild gore, implied child death (and murder in Cassidy's case), eye contact. maybe also bright colors/eyestrain)

Some Updated Refs For The Afton Family In The Rewrite

(you know the drill, click the images to see details better and whatnot)

hooo boy. give me a minute to ramble about the designs and stuff below -

William:

so. tried to give him both "Eccentric, Goofy Restaurant Owner" and "REALLY Off-Putting" Vibes. hope i succeeded

yes he's hiding a knife behind his back.

bunny features. i Love William with bunny features. if you draw William with Bunny Features ily (platonically)

this man has not gotten a good night's sleep in Years.

now...you may be wondering: Why Do His Kids Get Refs For When They're Older, But Not Him? well...that's because, physically, he doesn't change much besides getting some more gray hairs and worse eye bags in the over a decade between his original murders and his death. and i've already done a ref for what O'Hare/Springtrap looks like in my design

yes, the Unhinged look in his eyes is intentional.

Alex:

gave his younger self a pose that was meant to give off "rebellious teenager" vibes, and his older self a pose that gives off "bitter and anxious" vibes.

gave him long hair. because Yes.

tallest of his siblings.

Michael:

looks like his father, but with a few minor changes: skin is mildly more tanned than his father, hair is a lighter shade of brown, etc.

William based the 1987 uniforms for the guards/employees off of his own usual outfit (Purple. which Backfired).

Mike tried to change his hair a bit to distinguish himself from his father, mostly by dying it a bright red and trying to cut the Bunny Ear-Shaped parts on the top of his hair to be more jagged and less Bunny-Like.

scars on his arm are from where Springtrap grabbed onto him.

Evan:

not much to say. bookworm, sad guy, probably needs to go to therapy for what happened in his childhood.

Elizabeth:

Bunny Features :]

she's basically somewhere between blonde and ginger hair color wise. i'd describe her as a strawberry blonde.

constantly has a wide-eyed look. like a hare.

mismatched socks, just because she could.

ghosts are typically either desaturated or transparent, with the only bright colors on them are usually their eyes or the bloody wounds from their death.

so while it's not shown here, "fun" fact! Liz died from where Harriet (Circus Baby) hugged her hard enough to break not just her spine, but her neck as well. (the hug was so strong due to Harriet malfunctioning that day)

all ghosts who have their souls tied to an animatronic have a mask of that animatronic that they can wear if they wish. Liz's mask is of Harriet.

Cassidy:

my baby boy. my beloved <3

those pants are pajama pants. he wore them everywhere.

while not visible, Cassidy also wears mismatched socks like Liz.

the Fredbear plush was a gift from Henry, given to Cassidy by Charlie.

was blind in one eye after The Bite.

The Bite wasn't as horrible as people think it was. what basically happened was that the teeth bit slightly into his head, which caused the bleeding, as well as some cracking in the skull and brain damage in his frontal lobe. due to the mechanisms in Fredbear being Very hot as well, it caused some burns. nothing that couldn't heal, but...it Was still pretty serious.

while The Bite itself didn't kill Cassidy, he still, as a ghost, appears to have a bleeding section of his head.

the strangulation marks on his neck are more visible as a ghost.

Cassidy, as a spirit, can occasionally leak a mysterious black fluid from his eyes and mouth, which is reflected on his Mask.

Cassidy is transparent as a ghost.

anyway!! here's the guys!!

@that-darn-clown @hello-there-world

[augustameretrix]

thinking about the choice of making vi and cait the only two main characters who don't show any scientific/technological nor artistic proclivities but are only truly adept at some form of combat. assuming it was intentional - and I'm inclined to believe that on some level it was - I'm guessing what this does for their characters is kinda... signify them as "simple-minded" if you will, unsophisticated if you will, not stupid clearly, emotionally-driven, rather transparent and direct, and relegate them to the realm of of pure action. they have principles and ideas, and they're even morally rigorous ones, sure, but their concrete plans are medium-lenght at best, their first immediate instict when they hear about something going on is to go and do, and they're always doing something "out there" - contrast this with jinx's disinterest in things that she feels she can neither break nor fix, or ekko's extreme care in running the firelights, both traits that are concretely visualized in jinx secluding herself in her lab with her trinkets and creations and ekko inventing new things out of piltie tech as well as taking the time to make the community beautiful, colorful and vibrant with his wall art. when are vi or cait ever implied to have taken a substantial amount of time to stop and engage in something theoretical, like engineering or art, that requires a high level of abstraction from the world and some amount of systematic self-reflection - to hone one's skills, to meditate on what one's doing.

you could argue that combat techniques involve complex cognitive processes as well, and it's true, but in neither's case does the combat skill remain a mere hobby, nor is it something than on its own can be a special way of contemplating the world (I'm not talking about any philosophy of combat here). caitlyn's entire character could be roughly summed up with grayson's line "what are you shooting for?", which is a fully ethical question. vi's case is even more obvious, her fists mean nothing unless she's using them to protect someone.

and on the one hand, I think this works because it makes them clear, readable and defined, "confident" characters, rarely idle or indecisive (pitfighter vi is the - visually exciting - example of what happens if they ever run out of inertia), they're always up to something, and I think that's part of what makes them good heroes, a good pair of heroes at that: they're both extremely motivated and tireless in their pursuit of justice and compliment each other perfectly.

on the other hand - and this is less about the trait in question and more about the way act 2 and 3 of season two work - when the story took a more "high concept" route and the stakes became significantly bigger than cait or vi, now that pouring their hearts out is no longer sufficient, what are they doing? what are they thinking? who are they? caitlyn in part (and only in part) avoids fading into the background because at least one half of the whole mess was her fault and the fight against ambessa subverts our expectations (about her combat!!!) in an interesting way, but vi.... vi's character's kinda lost in the sauce man, she punches the air hoping that something will stick, metaphorically and literally. and granted something does stick, but it's limited in scope and while that wasn't a problem in season 1 it is now. it's not that she's now detatched from the world around her, because she's still always in the thick of it, it's that her actions seem to have little to no consequences, and the world at large has suddenly become much bigger than what she can chew.

and I get why some were underwhelmed by the caitvi resolution being left where it was left, with no subsequent team-up, because it was always about the two of them working together - and the most important bit of that phrase isn't the 'together', believe it or not, but it's the 'working'. vi and caitlyn help each other helping others.

now would this have been fixed by making either one of them more scientifically or artistically minded? no, I don't think so, the show could've kept them exactly as they are and at the same time handled them better. however vi especially could have benefited from some general distancing factor, once the plot stopped strictly revolving about the class conflict between zaun and piltover. also just like. vi and caitlyn beating up noxians in the final battle for like one minute now THAT is fanservice but I would've loved it

[hauntedgrin]

An unnecessarily thorough analysis of the Tarot imagery in Merlin Season One by an amateur tarot reader

(who is also a hopeless romantic and is currently very affected by the disaster that is BBC Merlin)

I started watching Merlin around two months ago. I fell in love with the show instantly, even if I technically haven't finished it yet because of time reasons (though I did spoil myself everything right to the ending and I’m devastated. Still trying to find courage to start season 5. But that’s beside the point)

There was something in the first season that caught my eye and hasn't let me go since. In fact, I was thinking about it today, went on a search for discussions about it, fully under the assumption that this is something the fandom noticed long beforehand is a well-known fact. To my endless surprise, I’ve found no mention! Nada! Not a single one. That won’t do, I thought. I have to share with the people. It's something that fueled my conviction in Merlin the Show being a love story between Merlin and Arthur (whatever the nature of that love may be, I love both the platonic and romantic interpretation equally, though this specific instance could be leaning towards romance somewhat more, I'll explain it in a second) and here it is.

It's this scene.

It is Merlin and Arthur, facing each other with two cups in between them, trying to decide who is going to drink the poison, sacrifice himself and save the other. And I thought Oh my god, tarot symbolism.

That's the card, the Two of Cups. The similarities are obvious (and, in my opinion, very intentional. I’d like to kiss whoever came up with this specific creative decision)

Slight disclaimer: Tarot reading can be very subjective, meanings shift depending on the reader and their perception of the card. I’ll try to be objective with the main aspects of the cards, but there is a lot of subjective opinions too. It’s okay if you disagree)

The main meanings of this card are partnerships, loving relationships, mutual attraction, unity, harmony and, you guessed it!, soulmates. It’s not hard to see why that card would have been chosen to represent them. I think that’s the most outright the show’s ever been about calling them soulmates, without hiding behind labels such as ‘each other’s destiny’ and ‘two sides of one coin’ as if those are any less gay. There is also themes of equality and becoming one, mutual respect and, in certain cases passion and sexual attraction (though it’s not a definition that is applicable in all cases, and can absolutely be ignored for platonic or asexual relationships, it’s still one of the main aspects, given that its represented by, you know, the big red head of a lion with wings right at the top of the card. Can’t exactly forget about it.)

Personally I've always preferred the Two of Cups to The Lovers tarot card (which looks very similar and has some intersections in themes, also concerning love, intimacy, passion). Plus, The Lovers is part of the Major Arcana, so technically it should be more impactful, ‘epic’, someone said, divine. While doing some research into that distinction I've found why exactly it makes me a bit queasy. The Lovers are not always a card about love, in fact, more often it isn’t. And The Lovers aren't made for each other. That is to say, they obviously are, considering the entirety transparent Adam and Eve imagery (and this also makes it a more conservative card, with clear molds for a ‘traditional relationship’). The Lovers are brought together by a higher power, made for a purpose. It serves something. It is a message. It is a lesson. It's a choice between what you want and what you need. It is a partnership, often intense, out of this world, but it’s also about all the factors in between, the things that unite them, the snake, the temptation, the apple, the garden. It can be also about soulmates, and happy relationships, of course, about fated lovers… and mortal enemies. It actually is more in line with Merlin’s and Morgana’s relationship. Out of this world fated connection? Absolutely, guaranteed. Do you want that kind of connection though, really?

How is this relevant, you might be thinking?

Well, there is no such divine power pushing the couple portrayed by the Two of Cups. In fact, they are choosing each other. It’s only them and their union. That’s why I like it so much. They are only the way they are, not the way they are meant to be, not specifically made for each other and yet they are right for each other anyway. And, somehow, just being them is enough. Is that not love?

In Merlin we are told that Merlin and Arthur are a part of each other’s destiny. The Once and Future King and Emrys, his protector, uniting Albion, prophesized by some unnamed seer(s). Does not seem very much like a choice, does it? I guess it depends on the way you view the prophecy and destiny in the show. Is it really all inevitable, and destiny is set in stone, unable to be changed, all leading to the same end, no matter what you do? Or is it the choices themselves that are the constants, fixed in place by the prophecy fulfilling itself? I think the answers to those questions are entirely up to each viewer, and that we can only speculate on it, and never know for sure which was it. Maybe there isn’t a right answer at all. But what I do know is there was a choice Merlin and Arthur made. Let’s return to the imagery on the card..

The couple is exchanging the cups. They are not just toasting – they are performing a ritual, a ceremony. Like exchanging rings, like giving vows. It’s a promise, it’s a connection, it’s a new step, it’s a commitment. And the parallels of the scene in 1x11 don’t end with just imagery. Merlin and Arthur complete the ritual! In the show!

In the episode 1x04, The Poisoned Chalice, Merlin starts the ritual by drinking from Arthur’s poisoned goblet, which he does to protect him. I would also like to add that this is the first time Two Cups appear that season (that's twice they used the imagery), notably, two ceremonial goblets that are supposed to symbolize peace and partnership between two kingdoms. Even if it doesn’t represent the actual state of the two kingdoms, it definitely shows King Bayard’s genuine desire for a peaceful alliance. And Merlin drinks from one of them!

Merlin drinks poison for Arthur and in Labyrinth of Gedref, Arthur drinks ‘poison’ for Merlin in turn. Very unconventional way to get married, I must say, but it’s remarkable that they do it in the same way (even if not at the same time).

So. What does all of that tell us about Merlin and Arthur?

We’ve established that the card signifies a very close, strong and significant relationship, chosen by both parties. Again, I like that it emphasizes the choice, that they didn’t just fall into the friendship because of destiny (even if it aided them). The Two of Cups is a part of the Minor Arcana, which deals with the every day matters, earthly lives. Is that not fitting? Merlin didn’t choose The Once and Future King, he chose Arthur, and Arthur didn’t choose Emrys, he chose Merlin.

Merlin’s who been promised a peaceful future. A land where magic is free. Merlin, who knows what’s supposed to happen: The Once and Future King brings that future. The King dies. Merlin, who has a choice to bring that future. To save Mordred. To remove the ban on magic. He doesn’t choose that, he chooses to essentially destroy that future entirely, just so he can have Arthur.

Arthur, who values Merlin’s opinion above everyone else’s, Arthur on his deathbed, finally seeing Merlin for who he is, says, “I don’t want you to change, I want you to always be you,” Arthur, who is dying, a few steps from the chance being saved, (still too far, not enough time), decides to stop because in his last moments he just wants to be held by Merlin.

They chose each other.

And that’s, dare I say it, love.

[houseofbrat]

In Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA.

So...are we to assume Kamala is intent on picking PA Governor Josh Shapiro? Seems like it by announcing it in Philadelphia. I don't know why else she would announce not in someone's home state.

But picking Shapiro just proves how bad Kamala's political thinking and instincts are.

And also her timing.

— Student protests and Gaza. No issue has divided the Democratic coalition like the war in the Middle East. Shapiro’s strong support for Israel is arguably in line with other top Dems, but critics cite his reluctance to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and in particular his strong stance against pro-Palestinian student demonstrators, using his platform to urge Penn to shut down its protest encampment and even seeming to compare pro-Palestinian activists to “white supremacists” in interviews. But Shapiro has also spoken out against Palestinian civilian casualties, and his supporters say activists’ focus on the one VP finalist who is Jewish smacks of antisemitism. — Handling of sexual harassment. The Shapiro administration last year agreed to pay $295,000 to a former female aide who accused a long-time political associate of the governor — Mike Vereb, his legislative secretary, a cabinet post — of making unwanted sexual advances and frequent lewd talk. Female lawmakers in both parties have criticized the administration — which cites a non-disclosure agreement for not talking about the case — for an alleged lack of transparency. The Democratic candidate for state treasurer — political outsider Erin McClelland — sent shock waves through the veepstakes when she tweeted that she wanted a VP “who doesn’t sweep sexual harassment under the rug.”

This is a hopeful moment for the whole left-liberal coalition. The vibes, for once, are good. Almost every leftist I know is excited about Harris and thinks Trump is beatable. With a newly united party behind her, there are only so many ways Harris can screw it up, but one seems all too plausible: She could select Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate. On paper, it’s understandable why Shapiro is among the leading candidates reportedly being vetted by Harris. Like nearly all of the veep contenders, he’s a white male governor with a centrist reputation. At 51, he’s even younger than Harris and a fresh face, having only held his current job for 18 months. He has already shown himself to be a more than capable administrator, generating a lot of good publicity for repairing a damaged section of Interstate 95 within two weeks. Most importantly, Pennsylvania is the most valuable swing state in play, worth 19 electoral votes, and Shapiro is very popular there. Unfortunately, Shapiro also stands out among the current field of potential running mates as being egregiously bad on Palestine. It’s not just that he, like many Democrats, is an outspoken supporter of Israel—though he certainly is, having championed Israel’s war against Hamas consistently and without any apparent concern for Palestinian civilians. Shapiro has, moreover, done far more than most Democrats to attack pro-Palestine antiwar demonstrators, in ways that call into question his basic commitment to First Amendment rights. In his previous role as Pennsylvania attorney general, Shapiro championed the state’s constitutionally dubious anti-BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) law against Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream maker refused to license its product for sale in Israeli settlements. “BDS is rooted in antisemitism,” Shapiro wrote in a statement in 2021, as he condemned a company named for its two Jewish American founders. “The stated goal of this amorphous movement is the removal of Jewish citizens from the region and I strongly oppose their efforts.”

[...] CNN’s John King has already flagged that antisemitism might make the selection of a Jewish vice presidential candidate risky; likewise, calls from the left to oppose Shapiro risk being branded as antisemitic. Shapiro is not, however, the only Jew who has been suggested as a possible running mate for Harris. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker has also garnered attention, and he has taken a very different approach to this issue. Asked by the Illinois state politics site Capitol Fax whether he agreed with Jewish organizations calling for the resignation of Northwestern University’s president over a pro-Palestine encampment, Pritzker replied, “I support the Jewish organizations. I’m not about calling for people to step down.” He also drew a distinction between antiwar, pro-Palestinian demonstrators and “some bad actors” engaged in antisemitism, and affirmed the need to protect free speech along with student safety. Most other candidates floated for the V.P. spot have also taken a far less provocative approach to student protests than Shapiro (one partial exception is Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, who endorsed some GOP smears of campus protesters in an interview, though he hasn’t shown Shapiro’s same level of fixation). North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper actually drew criticism for making no public statement about an encampment at the University of North Carolina. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said that encampments at the University of Wisconsin were “in good faith,” even as he acknowledged they would eventually need to end. Neither Kentucky’s Andy Beshear nor Minnesota’s Tim Walz made any public statements about similar demonstrations in their states. [...]

Still, his particular hostility toward pro-Palestine activists threatens to blunt the enthusiasm among young progressive voters that Harris has managed to generate in the past few days. It could also undermine the Democratic ticket in Michigan, where Arab American activists have cheered the news of Biden’s withdrawal and are adopting a wait-and-see posture toward Harris. Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, the lone Palestinian American in Congress, is currently holding off on endorsing Harris but has expressed interest in engaging with her on ending the war in Gaza. Beyond Arab and Muslim Americans, Harris will need to mobilize thousands of young people across the country not only to vote for her but to knock doors, phone bank, and do all the other kinds of grassroots volunteering that translates into a successful presidential campaign. Younger Americans disproportionately sympathize with Palestinians, which is one reason Biden’s approval numbers have suffered badly over the past year. As long as U.S.-made bombs keep falling on Gaza, this issue won’t go away—protests will haunt the Democratic convention in Chicago next month and the beginning of the fall term on college campuses in September, and the anniversary of the attacks on October 7 will fall 29 days before Election Day.

And what happened recently? Oh, Israel decided to assassinate someone on Iranian territory, pretty close to the new Iranian president.

And we can all tell that a bigger war is coming in the Middle East because the airlines are starting to cancel flights.

So... when is the next attack going to happen? Wouldn't surprise me if it happens next week after Kamala announces her VP pick.

That would be just her luck.

Because let's not forget that Israel is trying to drag the US military directly into this. They can't fight Hezbollah on their own.

[kaiciu]

The (Dysfunctional) Holy Trinity Theory

So random thought/theory that sorta went into a rabbit hole. I was thinking about how the Variya situation worked as we know from K.F. since she's supposed to be dead by Adrest's account, and she's clearly not. I used to think Karma was pretending to be her... until I realized Karma making its presence known is WILDLY different than the few moments we see Variya doing it. Which lead to me to think that she probably did the classic mad scientist move of backing up her conscious/soul in the Core and became a part of it and the Karma Files doc that Adrest had was before she decided to pull that shit.

Alrighty cool, then it made me think maybe Karma and Variya being the god/leader of the Core works kind of like the holy trinity. Where they are separate beings but they act as one God. When Flora failed at Eclyssia Pyramid and had her meltdown on the monitor we see both Variya and Karma appear and the very ominous anniversary picture of Variya where we see on Aelita's photo an transparent eyeball which is an obvious reference to her being marked by Karma at the end of Renegade Ch.0. So it's clear that they work together.

And then just to double check my sources I saw a symbol of the holy trinity which I thought nothing of until I noticed the shape and well...

I always thought the core was supposed to be a sci-fi version and very simplified version of the Creation Glyph (which is probably inspired by the trinity anyway) but this is way more specific. We already had a Karmafied version of the Creation Glyph in Aelita's platinum route anyway. Could this be just a coincidence, probably, but also could be intentional.

So to keep this theory brief, that the current high players in The Core represent each aspect of the holy trinity.

The Father (or the mother in this case) = Variya- I feel like this should be self-explanatory, she created this system and assigned roles to her followers. According to the Space Hags, Variya is their master and queen.

The Son = The Interceptor- Having Adrest's soul, you know Variya's literal son helped narrow this down. Jesus was sent to earth to be a man in order to atone for the sins of humanity. The Interceptors are humans given authority by the system to rewrite fate and have the choice to save or condemn humanity. Resurrection is also an obvious parallel between the two. Finally the Space Hags (god they nails this shit together) former interceptors after finishing their mission ascended to godhood.

The Holy Spirit = Karma- The holy spirit has been super hard to explain/understand for me personally, so here's this link to a comment that's a good summary: https://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/comments/bdy0ca/comment/el2cynx/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Karma controls the fate of every person and just an disembodied eyeball lacking a physical form (as we know right now.) They are the controller of the Core and as we see in Renegade can talk and forcibly lend power to a person that it marks.

Okay, I'm tired and I'm turning 23 tomorrow so let's wrap this up. The 17 overseers besides Adrest, Nymeria, and Vitus throw a wench into this, but they probably follow Variya/Karma, so it may work (idk if Vitus does, but that's another story entirely). This trinity is dysfunctional as shit bc of Variya being sus as all hell, Karma forcing people's fate and making them Karma beasts in desperate situations, and the existence of Renegade Interceptors, Interceptor like Crescent who only cares about her goals, and how non-Variya Interceptors like V or psuedo-interceptors like the Mysterious Figures fit into this. I feel like that might be the point, it's a computer-based system attempting to recreate god being led by people who are morally dubious at best, despite the best intentions (Nymeria, Space Hags) to Vitus "Indraid "Sirius" Theolia. Sorry for the Theology lesson in my funny Pokemon fangame, but I gotta let my delusions out that's going to be wrong in 5-9 months (hopefully) See you!

[nostromo13]

Marry the Sea

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Pairing: Nalu

Rating: Gen

Summary: Usually Natsu felt like he knew everything when it came to Lucy. He knows she loves him but now it's come time to propose and he's not so sure if marriage is something she wants.

This was written for @fleuve-des-etoiles for the @allaboutnalu 2023 Gift Exchange. Sorry it took so long to get out. Life has me busy but I loved writing this.

I owe a big thank you to Tokkias for being my beta for this fic. She put so much work into this, so smooches for her

AO3 Link

Lucy didn’t like surprises. Her friends knew her birthdays weren’t to be made a fuss of and any special achievements such as her book award required no more than a personal, close-circle dinner at a budget-friendly restaurant. No splashing out on her account.

If she took the care to analyse this feeling properly she could probably identify the source as some unspecifiable upset from the hundreds of surprises that came from having wealth. There were the low-effort, entirely symbolic trinkets that counted as birthday presents from her father – usually bought by the house staff – which didn’t make for a great foundation of trust in gift giving. And there were the bountiful gifts from potential courters, all with a transparent intention behind them wrapped up in crepe paper and finished with professionally tied bows. She had had enough of gifts by the time she left the Heartfilia mansion.

As such, a dilemma arose upon the start of her relationship with Natsu. Her love language was quality time, either by themselves or with Happy. It didn’t matter where, as long as she could enjoy her time with her new boyfriend. Natsu's, however, was gift giving.

Lucy had explained to him after the third little trinket that he had given her for no particular reason other than he liked it and thought it would look pretty on her that she simply wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. It set off something in her that made her want to cry that she wasn’t his dress-up doll and she hated feeling like someone else was trying to make her pretty or put her on display.

She knew it wasn’t like that, though. Natsu, for all his dragon tendencies, wanted to make her smile with his giving. She wasn’t his hoard – although wherever that was hidden away it did have a lot of similar jewellery to the sort she wore. She wished she could make more room for his love language and as such she let him go all out for birthdays and Christmas. She tried to meet his gusto when she could.

After four years of resigning gifts as a solely birthday affair, Natsu now had to figure out how to propose to her without touching the nerve that led straight to the ‘gift’ trigger portion of Lucy’s brain. He had even pulled in the big guns to help him plan the right approach.

“I don’t see how it’s the same thing as a gift. I think she’ll be fine with it, Natsu.” Levy was offering her insight, albeit unhelpfully so far.

They had gathered along with Gray, excluding the rest of their team because Erza had the tact of a pinwheel and would blow the operation in her next conversation with Lucy and the guilt of keeping a secret would eat away at Wendy from the inside out. The Exceeds had never really gotten the hang of human dating rituals. Case and point Happy understanding his finally winning Carla over as the result of his continued fish offerings.

“If it feels like the natural time for you both, I don’t see why you shouldn’t.” Levy continued as Natsu shook his head.

“What if it’s the right time for me but it isn’t for her? I don’t want to push her.”

“You don’t want it to be a repeat of Joe. That’s what you’re worried about.” Gray interjected. As much as they grated on each other, Gray was good at being his back up when Natsu truly needed it. It was a once in a blue moon occurrence but Natsu couldn’t help but be glad for his long-term nemesis right now.

Joe had been Lucy’s boyfriend prior to Natsu at 22 and things had gotten pretty serious. They had done all but move in together when Joe popped the question and it had sent Lucy running in the other direction. She had loved him and she had loved his family, but for whatever reason that Natsu hadn’t deciphered in the three years since then that he and Lucy had been dating, she hadn’t been ready to get married.

“It won’t be another Joe.” Levy spoke rather sternly. The script mage was convinced that just because he was Natsu and he was Lucy’s partner, that they were eternally bonded and Lucy wouldn’t dream of turning down his proposal. All he had to do, in her eyes, was gather the balls to ask.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t be nervous.” Levy shifted her tone when she realised she was erring on the side of unsympathetic. “Of course you’re going to be nervous. She’s the love of your life.”

Gray made a nauseous face at that, earning a playful elbow from Natsu. “Maybe a ring isn’t the right move.” He added, trying to be at least somewhat helpful.

“Lucy’s never responded well to jewellery.” Natsu agreed, getting an immediate objection from Levy.

“She liked that last necklace you got her. She wears it all the time.”

“And she helped me find the ring I proposed to Juvia with.” Gray added.

Natsu gave it a hard thought. “Did she give any indication of whether she would want one? From me?”

“We didn’t talk about it. She was dating him at the time and it didn’t really seem relevant. She was always going to end up with you anyway.”

That seemed to calm him a little. His nerves were racing even through the planning stage but if everyone else saw what he had from way before the war with the Alvarez empire that maybe, just maybe, Lucy loved him as much as he did her.

Or very possibly it wasn’t about love and marriage just wasn’t something she wanted, in which case they would work around it.

Having given all the advice she could reasonably give, Levy called over her husband, currently arrested himself in the demand of two four year olds gripping onto his arms and dangling off the floor.

“Did Salamander decide whether he was gonna do it or not?” He asked, directing his question to his wife as if the other two weren’t sitting across from her.

“Yeah, I think I will.” Natsu replied. “It’s all I want right now and I want to at least have the conversation with her.”

“That’s the right spirit, Natsu.” Levy agreed.

Gajeel guffawed in his gravelly voice, the sharpest of his teeth showing in his amusement. “Make sure ya get a return receipt on that ring.”

Yeah, that didn’t help.

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

When the day finally came, Natsu had everything planned down to the minute. He had put more effort into this than anything else in his life – including the trials in which he had succeeded at gaining S-Class mage status.

He was intent on at least talking to Lucy about it even if she didn’t end up saying yes right there. The worst-case scenario was her doing the same thing she did to her ex and bolting after the smallest explanation she could muster. Only this time Natsu wasn’t an outsider to the guild and it would affect their whole social lives and work.

They had just finished a mission together when they were off on their date. Casual clothing – nothing that could tip her off or make it so big a deal that she would feel pressured. They’d gathered a few foods from her kitchen, put them in a basket so they would be easier to carry and set off for the park for an afternoon lunch.

“I love Jason but I sometimes wish he wasn’t so pushy with getting me to ask my friends if they will do shoots for him.” Natsu listened as Lucy described her recent run in with their favourite reporter. He and Lucy really were good friends from her time as a journalist with Sorcerer Weekly but since then Jason, feeling the pressure from his bosses to churn out more content of Fiore’s top guild, had been trying to use his connection with Lucy to influence Mira and the other Fairy Tail girls to model for him. While they were happy to, on occasion, the weekly permanent contracts that Jason was pushing for weren’t conducive to the busy life of a Fairy Tail Mage.

“What did he say when you asked him to stop?”

“He just got all sad.” Lucy shrugged. “I know it’s none of my responsibility and he’s not trying to make it so it is but I feel kind of bad.”

“Eh, it’s his job, and it sounds more like his bosses are screwing up.”

Her boyfriend, ever the blunt one. Lucy chuckled to herself. “It’s not like that in that world of work. He can’t just drop a client like us because he doesn’t like the way they speak. You can’t just change your bosses.”

“Sounds dumb.” He shook his head. It took a second for him to realise how dismissive he might have sounded. “I’m glad you came back with me instead of staying at that job.” He added softly. 

“Me too.” She smiled at him.

They had known generally what area they would sit in when they entered the park. Picnics weren’t out of place for them and Lucy particularly loved sitting near the duck pond so they aimed for about there. They managed to find a nice shady spot that got enough of the Spring breeze but also the summer warmth that May was beginning to invite in.

Lucy waited for Natsu to finish spreading out the blanket before placing their items down and unpacking their basket. Some fruits, some sweeter snacks for later and Marmalade sandwiches, a quirk Lucy had brought with her from her hometown that, when she had introduced it to Natsu, it had become a firm favourite. Now, whenever they passed through Acalypha on the way back from a mission, she always made sure to pick up a fresh jar.

Natsu reached for the Tupperware of cakes, stopping himself just as his fingers met the rim of the plastic. He wanted to be on his best behaviour today and going for dessert first didn’t fall under that. Unless doing just that would tip her off. And surely he should act like his usual self today.

As if answering his question, his fingers were moved out the way by more dainty ones. He watched as Lucy removed the lid for him, taking a slice of Battenberg from the options and raising it to her lips, taking a big bite.

He watched almost in awe. Lucy never broke social etiquette, especially not around food. He was pretty sure such a thing went against her coding.

“Go on Natsu.” She smiled widely at her sputtering boyfriend. She brushed a few crumbs from the corner of her mouth where her unusual haste had spread some.

He didn’t need to be told twice. He took the plate she offered, filling his plate so full that the weight of the mini cakes and the structure of the plate made it look like a paper plate taco in his grip.

Eventually they got through the deserts and onto the sandwiches, Lucy admittedly feeling a little sickly after so much sugar. That was never a hazard for her partner. They had struck up in that time a conversation debating which of their guildmates would win a Ninja obstacle course – whatever one of those was.

The debate had reached the point where Natsu had stood up, waving his arms about, animatedly presenting his argument as to why Laxus could not win at the inflatable obstacle course section.

“He would blow up the course because of the static electricity or something. He couldn’t touch the thing without it exploding beneath him because his electricity would fuck everything up, right?”

“I thought magic was banned from this.” Lucy asked, taking another bite of a sandwich. “I think he would just run around, anyway.”

“No, that would be banned.”

“But the Exceeds flying isn’t?”

“Yeah, well, the floor is Lava or something, I don’t know.” He grinned, not deflated at all by her pragmatism. This was how their conversations usually went on dates like this. She would propose some stupid idea – the Guild Obstacle Course coming from her mind and not his– and Natsu would take it and run with it while she offered a more practical perspective on things.

He sat himself down beside her, arms outstretched on the grass as she leaned into his shoulder. “I think Erza would win.”

“Yeah, she would.” He agreed, more occupied with the feel of her hair against his cheek than expanding on their argument.

“Although.” Lucy began to add, popping her head up suddenly from their rest, “Sabertooth could give us a good run for our money.”

“But they’re not in the guild.”

“So, we’d open it up to other guilds. We could make a rival Grand Magic Games.”

“With no magic?” 

“Oh, yeah.” She seemed to sink back into thinking. Before she could think up a new line of enquiry, Natsu thought it best to try and steer her onto a more affectionate type of conversation. Hopefully that would calm the thrumming in his chest that had taken route there the night before. 

“Cana’s been talking about proposing to Abigail.” Smooth, dragon slayer.  He chastised himself for showing his talent for bluntness.

Lucy smiled, though showing no suggestion that she had caught onto his internal anxiety. “I like Abi. I think she’s been really good for Cana and Cana’s been good for her.”

“The guild’s income has been suffering from it.”

“More alcohol for Macao’s lot, I guess.”

They shared a laugh. Opening his eyes, Natsu looked at her as she giggled. Her eyes were on the duck pond where a small cluster of the ducks of Magnolia South Gate Park were gathered, picking their lunch out of a soggy white bread loaf that some teenagers had chucked into the pond whole. Sometimes she smiled as if she was so entirely content with life. Ducks made her content, Wednesday evenings with him made her content, as did birthday parties and nights out with their friends. He hoped it didn’t mean there wasn’t room for more in their relationship. That maybe she was too content with her life as it was now for things to change.

The weight of the box in his pocket felt heavier as he watched, requiring a quick shake of the head to reset the feeling. He could only talk to her.

“Lucy.” Natsu spoke, thanking his voice for not giving out on him when it counted. She gave him her attention, smiling because there was no way she could see the anxiety bubbling inside his gut. At least that settled him a little. “If I proposed, what would you say? I already have the ring. I just need to know if that is something you would want.”

Lucy’s smile dropped into surprise. Her stare was stuck on his, and for a moment the cogs seemed to slow. But not into a stressed jutting, more into a peaceful, steady clicking.

 Her smile bloomed.

“I would say yes.”

If she expected the conversation to end there, she didn’t stop him as he moved onto one knee. His hand tugged the box from the pocket of his trousers, presenting its black velvet exterior before effortlessly prizing it open. Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t realised that he had meant now, but she easily found herself settling into the pull of it.

“Lucy. You’re my best friend.” Natsu felt his cheeks ache with his broad grin. “I think you might be the best thing that ever happened to me and Happy. Even if you’re not always happy with us and we insult you sometimes. You let me take you on adventures and you make me feel comfortable because that is just what you do. You make everyone feel okay with being themselves around you. I think you’re so strong and kind and I love watching you practice your magic because you just care about your spirits, without anyone asking you to. I think it’s incredible. I love you and I want to marry you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Lucy half-whispered. “Yes, I will.” 

She met him on his knees, her hands clutching onto his shoulders as she kissed him over and over. “Can I put the ring on you?” He asked between pecks. 

She nodded, leaning into his shoulder as he tugged the ring from its hold in the velvet. The kiss had made her breathless but the feel and sight of him slipping the ring on her left hand had the sort of butterflies she had only felt with him making her skin tingle. “Natsu, it’s beautiful.”

The ring itself was simple but vintage – not that he could spell the word – and had a round garnet set in the middle. He had chosen it by himself but at Levy’s instruction he had taken one of Lucy’s rings with him for the sizing. It was still loose by a small bit but they could get it resized no problem. Right now he was just happy it was a hit. “Gods, I would’ve been okay if you had just wanted to date instead of getting married but I’m so glad I won’t have to return the ring. The shop man was super weird.” 

“Was it that shop just off the marketplace? Levy says that guy is super intense about green engagement rings and thinks everyone should have one.”

He chuckled, unaware that such a guy had existed. “No, I got it in Hargeon.”

“Oh,” She felt her blush blossom more.

“Shit, I love you.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “I was so worried you’d say no.” 

“Why would I?” She had to take a second to think. “I sort of knew you were going to propose. I would have said something sooner if I didn’t want you to.” 

“You knew?”

“I– yeah. I’ve been nervously rambling all afternoon. Could you not tell?” She laughed. An hour ago she was barely making it through a conversation without blurting whatever she could think about, work, and modelling and whatever. Natsu had never been one to ignore her when she felt like she was being boring but she wouldn’t have blamed him for a disinterested sound.

“Why were you nervous?” His brow had softened and he’d taken to stroking her fingers between his own wanting to listen.

“I didn’t want to accidentally ruin whatever you had planned. I don’t know, really. You can always sort of tell when a guy’s about to propose but you never know when it’ll happen.”

“Did you know with Joe?”

Lucy swallowed, nodding. “He sort of got happy whenever he was around me. And since I didn’t really want that with him I just ignored it until I couldn’t any longer.”

“But you do want this with me?”

“Yes.” She nodded harder. “I didn’t know it at the time but I broke things off with him because of you. I think you’ve always been in my heart even if it took me a while to realise it.” She didn’t let him speak. “I love you and I want this with you, more than anything.”

Natsu kissed her again, hands pressed to her cheeks to pull her in and she smiled into it. His fingers tangled into her hair and he sighed, finally content. He had everything he wanted right here and he could spend his lifetime making her happy.

[sugar-grigri]

Man, wonder how Asa and Yoru are going to get out of this. If she's in the building I'm halfway expecting this to turn into a top-down edition of the Raid.

I think the very worst can happen. As we have seen, no one in the church has all the information (apart from those who unofficially control the church, such as Fake!CSM, Fami or perhaps Barem).

People joined the church to pray to Chainsaw Man, whom most of them see as a completely idealized hero, so obviously the church wasn't going to publicly claim responsibility for the attack it was about to carry out, just as it didn't want to be transparent with its followers.

What the public hunters did was simply to shed light on something that should have remained unofficial.

Asa Mitaka is considered naive by Barem, who must surely look down on her because the protagonist has no idea what is going on in the church she has set out to represent.

Chapter 143 deals with the manipulation of information and fake news, and ends with an order to gather followers. Obviously, the church will invent false arguments to justify its followers or its representatives, such as Asa, to attack the police and public officials.

What's more, most of the church is made up of very young people, whether high school or university students. How can the police or the military hurt what is most precious to the population? It's a battle for the approval of public opinion.

On top of that, both sides aim to bring CSM to their cause, either by preventing him from acting or by urging him to act. Which side will have the "bad guy" image is decisive for this reason too.

Either Asa will have the hindsight to question these orders (not so sure since she's gloating at the idea of becoming popular), or she'll fall head over heels for them and kill innocent people.

In short, it's more likely that Asa is killing (or intending to kill) innocent people than church members at the moment.

In my eyes, either Haruka or CSM will put an end to this charade !

Why Chainsaw Man? Because Denji has been manipulated by both sides in the final chapters, and has seen the flaws and contradictions in both camps, to which he neither submits nor belongs: being completely neutral.

Why Haruka? Because Haruka is a character who is despised for his very good intentions and his obsession with CSM, but the fact remains that he shows intelligence and seems to be very observant.

He and Asa have clear intentions of helping CSM, so if the latter realizes that this is not the case, he will surely act to at least re-establish the truth for Asa.

[baeddel]

we tend to think of an exercise of skill in kinesthetic videogames as requiring both analysis and execution. if you successfully execute the winning move, without previously conceiving of the move in the stage of analysis, we say that you got "lucky." yet if you figure out the right move, but can't execute it, then you didn't win at all.

the analysis can be done at any point prior; repeating a move that you learned from your first play through years ago doesn't diminish the display of skill to us. sometimes it's not even important that you did the analysis yourself; you could learn the trick from your brother, from gamefaqs, etc. in this case being able to analyze the game is not part of the display, and the knowledge only matters as a token of prior intention.

in some non-kinesthetic games coming up with the winning move yourself is important, eg. puzzle games. in the 90s using guides to adventure games and RPGs was considered cheating, and they used to have tournaments to see who could beat the game first (this is the subculture Scorpia came from); this is an attitude that has changed over time in a lot of genres. in Nethack, information about the game's mechanics are called 'spoilers', and very few people today play without them. the opposite is generally true of kinesthetic games; not only do players enjoy sharing and consuming mechanical information about the games they play, it's usually expected among high level players ('no vid, no did'). in the past this wasn't always the case; DoDonPachi had a somewhat stormy transition from secrecy to transparency when some high-scoring glitches were rediscovered and used to beat famous records from the 90s which had used them.

players who possess one piece of the winning coordinates but not the other will often express frustration. if they've made the analysis but can't execute the move they'll say, "come on, I know what to do, so just let me do it." meanwhile, players who have executed the move in the past but still don't really know the solution will try anything and everything and say "come on, it happened before, so just give it to me again."

[nsfwmiamiart]

Fun Fact about Gautam Adani and Samsung:

A fitting title for this detailed comparison could be:

"Bribery and Corporate Power: Parallels Between the Samsung and Adani Scandals"

This title captures the essence of the shared themes of bribery, corporate manipulation, and the misuse of political influence within both cases.

The accusations against Samsung’s leaders and the Adani executives highlight striking parallels, particularly in the realm of bribery used to secure corporate advantages and the manipulation of governance structures. Both cases demonstrate how high-level executives exploited their influence and resources, resulting in allegations of significant legal violations. Here’s a detailed comparison:

1. Bribery to Secure Political Favor

Samsung Executives: Samsung’s leadership, including Lee Jae-yong, was accused of paying substantial bribes to South Korean officials, including former President Park Geun-hye and her confidante, to ensure government support for a controversial merger. This merger was critical to consolidating Lee's control over Samsung's sprawling corporate empire.

Adani Executives: Gautam Adani and his nephew Sagar Adani were accused of orchestrating a bribery scheme that promised millions to Indian government officials to secure favorable terms for a large solar energy project. These bribes aimed to grant their company financial and contractual advantages.

2. Deceptive Practices to Mask Corruption

Samsung: The bribes were channeled through indirect means, such as donations to non-profits linked to influential individuals, creating a veneer of legitimacy while concealing illicit intent. This lack of transparency became a focal point in legal proceedings.

Adani: The Adani Group was accused of falsely representing its adherence to anti-corruption measures in official documents, such as bond offering materials. These claims were undermined by evidence of systematic bribery behind the scenes.

3. Strategic Use of Corruption for Business Gains

Samsung: The bribery was strategically aimed at facilitating a merger between two Samsung affiliates, a move designed to solidify Lee’s control over the conglomerate’s leadership amidst internal power struggles.

Adani: The alleged bribes were intended to secure government contracts under highly favorable terms for Adani Green Energy Ltd., enhancing the company’s market position and profitability.

4. Violations of Legal Frameworks

Samsung: The actions breached South Korean anti-corruption laws and highlighted systemic governance flaws within corporate and political institutions. The legal repercussions included jail sentences for top executives and heightened scrutiny on chaebol (conglomerate) governance in South Korea.

Adani: The bribery accusations implicated violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and securities laws, given the involvement of U.S. investors in Adani’s bond offerings. This global dimension added layers of complexity and potential penalties.

5. Impact on Reputation and Leadership

Samsung: The corruption scandal severely tarnished Samsung’s global reputation and temporarily destabilized its leadership structure. Lee Jae-yong served prison time before being released and later controversially pardoned, illustrating the political entanglements of the case.

Adani: While investigations into the Adani Group's alleged misconduct continue, the revelations have drawn significant attention to the conglomerate’s operations and its close ties to political figures, raising questions about ethical governance and accountability.

Both cases underline how corporate leaders, driven by the pursuit of power and profits, risk crossing ethical and legal boundaries. Despite differences in geography and industry, the core similarity lies in leveraging bribery to influence governance for personal or corporate advantage, ultimately exposing vulnerabilities in regulatory oversight.