#it's because these benefit her or help her with her tadpole problem

[likeyua]

@dragonflytehanu thanks for the ask <3

Tell us about your Tav! Name, class and subclass, race, pronouns. Do you have a headcanon for where they're from? Their family? Are they a Dark Urge? Or did you choose an Origin Character? Was it an easy decision?

I already wrote a bit about Akachi here. To add: despite her being a Faithless (she doesn't hide it), people usually notice she always wear a necklace with the holy symbol of Eilistraee. The jewel was passed down to her from her mother Ardul'ylene (it was originally of her grandmother Esmerelle), when she decided to abandon her faith in the Dark Maiden: it has no religious meaning to Akachi. For her, it is simply a treasured memento of her family, a reminder that no matter where she is, her family is always with her.

Another fact about Akachi is that she is named after a Chosen of Myrkul. At first she wasn't happy when she learnt this; but she changed her mind after her parents narrated to her the story of the man, what he did and why (basically, they told her about the events of Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer). She's proud of her name and a sure way to greatly anger her is to insult her for it.

Kidis is my Dark Urge oc. She's a drow bard, playing her violin whenever she can because it temporarily soothes her growing unease about her violent urges. At first, she thought that her violent impulses & loss of memory were a symptom of ceremorphosis, but when it became clear that they aren't, she simply decide to ignore them, hoping (wrongly) that they will go away on their own. This is her usual way to deal with the issues she face. She also cares a great deal about her reputation, wanting to be unremarkable and forgettable as possible: the less people she has to interact with directly, the better.

3. Has your Character been using their illithid powers?

Akachi: only to rescue Shadowheart on the nautiloid and to read Astarion's mind when he tried to bite her. The latter event caused her to never use the powers for the rest of the game: she felt so awful after doing it because she violated someone else's mind and she loathes when it is done on her (and she will feel worse when she will learn about Astarion's past). She did it instinctively, thinking he was attacking her, but after Astarion left, she vowed to never doing it again and tried to apologize to him for it the next day.

Kidis: she is less careful about using them. She thinks that using them in order to avoid fights and to obtain useful information from enemies is acceptable.

24. Was your illithid tadpole empowered by anything in Act 1? If so, how does your Character feel about that?

No. Absolutely not. Neither Akachi nor Kidis use other tadpoles to empower their own. Why give more power to the source of your problems?

27. Who ended up in your Character's most used party?

Akachi: the main party for act 1 is Astarion/Karlach/Gale. Astarion is always in the party (initially because she doesn't trust him and wants to keep an eye on him, after she comes to enjoy his company), Gale is the one swapped out when I need another companion for their quest (only for gameplay reasons) and Karlach because she and Akachi get on well immediately (this won't last, though, because they will fall out in act 3 over how to deal with a certain npc).

Kidis: Astarion is always in the party as usual. There's also Lae'zel because Akachi didn't recruit her and I want to see her story. The last party member, for now, is Shadowheart.

[thatfreshi]

Ok so... Idea for Astorian? What if the reader was some form of Flamenco dancer? Or something of the sorts, who acts like a bard, but instead of using an instrument they dance to perform magic. Not forced at all ofcorse!! I love the way you write him, it feels like you've nailed his character!

Uhm... if you guys want a part two... yeah. Let me know LMAO

TW - general horniness, reader is threatened at dagger-point

Recommended Song: Shirt - SZA

"Yeah, I just dance and then... magic."

The way Astarion first narrowed his eyes at you when you expressed that you couldn't really do anything else, he thought it was laughable.

"So you don't really fight, you just have fun while everyone else is actually doing things?"

"No, I have to actually be good at it! That's like saying you just open doors."

"Well that would be extremely rude because these hands do much more than open doors my dear."

You rolled your eyes, and he smirked. Now, this was before the two of you even slept together, let alone become an item. Over time Astarion has come to understand just how important of an asset you are to the group, but more specifically how he can't keep his eyes off of you on the battlefield. Whenever you can, the two of you find some time alone in the city to find you the most gorgeous flowy outfits, partially because they're easier to move in, but he also loves spoiling you, especially if he benefits from the view. He likes stitching little messages into the loose pieces of fabric, anything in between love notes and threats to people who have even thought about hurting you. The most recent one reads 'If the person wearing this is dead, you're next.'

Somehow, you and your rag-tag group have ended up being tasked with a group of bandits outside of Baldur's Gate. Does it have anything to do with the tadpoles or anything else important? No, of course not, but you have a hard time not helping people in need.

When you come across the group of bandits, it's apparent that they're not going to be a problem. While you're staking out their camp, Astarion comes behind you, whispering in your ear.

"If we make quick work of this, I'm sure we could find somewhere afterwards, for the two of us."

It sends a shiver up your spine, but you laugh it off, turning to look at him.

"You think you're funny, huh? Come on, we have work to do."

"Oh trust me, I know."

Maybe you should find a new way to cast magic, because it cannot be good for him to be horny mid-fight. Then again, it never seems to be a problem, so maybe it doesn't matter? Astarion certainly is an odd specimen, but you love him anyways.

"I am begging the two of you to stop flirting on the battlefield, please."

Gale pleads, wishing the two of you could keep it in your pants for once.

"Listen, once you find someone who completes your heart like Tav completes mine, you will understand. Until then, I'd stop complaining."

You nudge him and then whisper.

"Aster, you are talking to the guy who had sex with Mystra, and then became a literal bomb to try and win her approval."

"Damnit, I always forget about that! Fine, whatever. If Mystra were here, you would be just as lustful as I am, no matter the circumstances."

Gale grumbles to himself and walks off to the others, as Karlach prepares to make the first strike. She makes the signal, and you all take your positions. Astarion always insists on staying close to you, taking you with him on the flank if he has to. No one tries to argue, because he doesn't trust anyone else to keep you safe.

"Damnit, ambush!"

One of the bandits calls out, a tiefling. Gale casts grease, making their camp light up in flames from the campfire. Karlach strikes one of the bandits from behind, knocking them into the fire, effectively killing them. You don't realize though that one of the bandits had taken a trip to the forest to relieve himself, and he comes up behind you. Suddenly, you're swallowing fear with a dagger to your throat.

"Cease fire! Or the pretty one gets it."

As soon as the others look over in concern, the man's throat has been pierced, some of the blood splattering onto your face. Astarion drinks until your attacker hits the ground, the dagger falling out of a bloodless hand. You catch sight of Shadowheart, who is in close-quarters combat with a drow, and you turn to your lover.

"Come here!"

He doesn't ask questions, and he grabs your hands, spinning you out towards the fight as you send a fire bolt the drow's way. She falls quickly. Soon enough, Lae'zel finishes off the last of them, and Shadowheart casts water across the flames, making sure nothing else is burnt down. You try to catch your breath with the rest of the group, and you realize Wyll is injured, a gash across his shoulder. Normally Halsin or Shadowheart would deal with such a wound, but it's been a long day, and you're the only one with any healing magic left in you. With a few moves of your hips, you send out a healing ward, patching him up rather quickly.

"Thank you Tav."

Astarion comes to your side immediately after, almost as if he's jealous, wrapping an arm around your waist. As the others start going through the bandits' treasure, your lover wipes the blood off of your face.

"Surprised you didn't lick it off."

"I'm sure his blood was rancid, I much prefer yours."

If someone told you a year ago that someone saying they want to drink your blood was a turn-on, you would've laughed them all the way to Waterdeep. Now, you struggle to stand properly, holding your thighs together. He keeps his hand on your face, grip a little tenser than before.

"You need to be more careful when we're out there. I know these people were practically dead already, but some people won't try to trade you off like a token."

Normally you'd roll your eyes, tell him you obviously know that, but you just nod, and his thumb creeps over to your bottom lip.

"Astarion, we can't get this thing open!"

You're interrupted by a shout from Karlach, and Astarion kisses your cheek.

"I'll finish this later I suppose. Come my love, time to loot these insolent fools."

It's as if he set up the scenario perfectly, like he wanted the two of you to be interrupted. Hopefully he keeps his word.

[wellthebardsdead]

Lucy: *finished bathing by the river, brushing out her hair and smiling up at the moon as she gets ready for bed, just happy to be clean and alive, the group having set up camp once more after the destruction of the monastery*

*twigs snapping and grass crunching beneath cloven hooves*

Lucy: *spins around and looks up to see a towering red devil with a familiar smile, but bearing a resemblance uncomfortably close to Mephistopheles himself. Long dark hair, curled horns, and firey eyes all packaged in a rather princely rogue* you must be Michaelis.

Michaelis: my, aren’t we well informed then, your grace. *bows to her and steps closer, halting as she steps back, less out of fear and more so because of how far back she has to tilt her head to keep eye contact* forgive my eagerness. I had heard the new favourite of Asmodeus was beautiful but… not divine… you are… truely a magnificent sight to behold~

Lucy: you’re-… *eyes him up and down seeing less of her ideal type in men and more so her chosen type for a dnd character* pleasant to look at. If you’re here to foist yourself upon me in hopes of a courtship then please leave. I’ve no time or interest for or in such matters.

Michaelis: Ah, yes. Your little tadpole problem~ I can help you with that. *gently takes her hand, his claws pressing into her palm* all I ask is a chance to truely know you.

Lucy: no thank you. *pulls her hand away* Raphael is already assisting me in this matter.

Michaelis: Is he now? He’s incapable of removing it.

Lucy: as am I. This tadpole has been tampered with by Balduran. Even still I need it to get ahold of the crown of Karsus. And Raphael is assisting me in that matter.

Michaelis: …Is that so?… and, just what do you intend to do with the crown once you have it?

Lucy: well. I would say return it to your father. But is he capable of keeping it contained once again? Two of the dead threes chosen were able to sneak in and snatch it up from right beneath his nose with ease, the vaults simply aren’t secure enough. I may need to look at alternatives.

Michaelis: I assure you this was a once off my dear… and I do find it very hard to believe my little brother would be helping you to retrieve the crown for my father. Why would he help you?

Lucy: Simple. It benefits him. The last thing he wants is to invoke his father’s ire and I am a very useful ally to have. He helps me return the crown. I put in a good word for his efforts and your father stops pestering him. That incubus he sent him is one demanding pet indeed after all, he certainly doesn’t want another gift like them.

Michaelis: *fooled completely, detecting no lies in her words because she’s speaking through half truths* I see. Hm… I wonder what made him see past his ridiculous ambitions.

Lucy: something your father lacks in spades.

Michaelis: and that is?

Lucy: common sense. *walks past him* now go away I’m all out of fucks to give and when I find another you’ll have to join the line of people waiting to receive one from m- *freezes as his hand grips her waist and pulls her back against him, his other hand grabbing her wrist as he leans down to whisper to her*

Michaelis: when my little brother inevitably fails, and he will, I’ll be waiting~ I’m not a devil who will take no for an answer…

Lucy: you’re right… *gently grasps one of his horns as if pulling him in to kiss her as her head turns*

Michaelis: *lets go of her wrist as her other hand reaches back and grabs the other horn* I am?

Lucy: yes… you’re no devil. *suddenly flings him by his horns over her head slamming him into the dirt* You’re a pig. *kicks him in the face with her hoof before stomping on his groin as she storms off back to camp* ZHALK GRAB YOUR SWORD!

Michaelis: *groans and coughs rolling over onto his side* that- b-bitch!

“Oh don’t talk like you didn’t deserve that.”

Michaelis: *looks to the tree line to see Raphael smirking at him* y-you. How long have you been here?!

Raphael: I just arrived and just in time too~ I suggest you listen to my little mouse. She’s not one to be trifled with so carelessly… and I suggest running. Her Paladin is armed and moving fast. *disappears*

Michaelis: what- *looks back to see Zhalk charging at him with his sword raised* HALT! IM A SON OF MEPHISTOPHELES!

Zhalk: AND IM THE TOOTH FAIRY COME HERE! *swings his blade as he disappears too*

[satansleftnutcheek]

Just had like the biggest brain realization about Astarion bear with me I think I'm onto something here. Spoilers ahead for those who don't know about his "condition" or haven't heard about his tragic backstory™

I think people generally overlook the bite scene in favor of focusing on how it reveals Astarion being a vampire, how it can benefit the player if you're trying to romance him, or find an easy way to get him out of your party. I would like to note that there’s nothing wrong with this response! I did the same in my play through because I already knew he was a vampire due to spoilers. I just saw the scene as Astarion looking for his equivalent of a sandwich when it happened.

But why does Astarion bite Tav of all people?

The obvious answer is because Tav's the protagonist. Any important character scenes will happen to or involve them because they're the player character. It's the nature of how RPG stories are told. However, Larian Studios has put a lot of thought into this game, so why not dig a bit deeper?

Assuming Tav has everyone in their camp when this scene is triggered, Lae'zel and Shadowheart are off the menu purely because if things go wrong they'd immediately kill Astarion. Not good! If things go wrong with Karlach he could possibly smooth talk his way out of it. After all, she's a very kind person who goes out of her way to help people. But she's also twice his size and could snap him like a twig, which is not a risk worth taking.

Wyll isn't nearly as much of a threat as the other three, if it came down to it, Astarion could probably take him in a fight. The main problem here is that Wyll happens to have a habit of killing monsters, which would make talking things out really difficult. Astarion's relied on skills like persuasion for the past 2 centuries so he'd probably want to have his best skills be viable options if things go awry. Halsin, much like Karlach, is twice his size and could kill him with ease. Hard pass on that! This leaves Gale as the last, and really only, viable option. I mean look at him, he's frail as hell, always having the lowest HP in the party, and his weapon is a stick. Worst thing that could happen to Astarion is a bonk on the head.

So then why Tav? Why are they the one Astarion bites?

Now Tavs come in a lot of varieties. The player could be doing a Dark Urge run, they could be playing as the embodiment of pure evil, the kindest soul that is second only to Jesus, or somewhere in between. However, the one thing that unites them all is their power. They're the leader of the party and the others (to varying degrees) respect them. Tav is the one that chooses where the party goes, who they help, who they kill, and even how they'll have the tadpoles removed. In a way, Tav controls the party.

Remind you of something that Astarion openly talks about wanting?

For two centuries Astarion hasn't had autonomy, respect, freedom, resources, or control. What he's learned from those centuries is that power always gets you what you want. If you want freedom you need the power to control others. So while biting Gale would be the easy answer, it doesn't have the perk that biting Tav does.

If Tav wakes up during his biting attempt, Astarion could smooth talk his way out of it. If things go okay and Astarion gets to keep his head, he'll have gained more of Tav's trust. This in turn would give Astarion greater power over them as they'd be easier to manipulate, which in turn gives him more control over the others. If he ends up killing Tav then that technically would open up a power vacuum in the party. Whoever fills it would have all the power and control that Tav has. I don't think any of the other characters would let that happen though. Astarion's the person who you don't want to be the leader because he's clearly performing this role for his own self-centered reasons. Also seeing as this scene generally happens early in the game, nobody likes him enough to just let him become the leader.

Now if Tav lets Astarion bite them things get more interesting. It's a possibility that never occurred to him, but he isn't going to turn it down. First of all, it establishes Tav as an easy food source. Astarion has a consenting snack that in the future, might let him bite again. If that happens then Astarion's food source becomes far more reliable and surviving becomes significantly easier. Tav's consent also reveals how much they trust Astarion. From his perspective Tav's shown too much of their hand. Astarion's simple plan to manipulate Tav for the sake of his security has become child's play at this point.

All this being said having Astarion choose to bite Tav over Gale reveals so much about his character. While Gale is the safest choice to make, Tav's position of leadership is what entices Astarion to bite them over Gale. After experiencing two hundred years of mental and physical abuse, Astarion values power so much he'd be willing to risk his ability to not become a mind flare, and his life, in order to gain it. All because this is what he learned from being Cazador's slave for 200 years.

[girlwiththepapatattoo]

The Unlikely Similarities Between Kittens and Vampires, Chapter 22

Warnings: angst heavy, mentions of torture, fear, arguing, Astarion being himself

Summary: Trust is hard won.

Notes: An angsty one today, folks, but they make up for it in the end. I'll fully admit, the editing on this one was a bit half-assed (going through some health issues yet again), so if anything stands out to you, feel free to point it out! <3 -D

Read on ao3 here!

Previous chapter | First chapter

Stopping just outside their room door, Astarion takes a moment to just listen. 

And he hears nothing. 

Granted, he’s not totally sure what form her anger would take-she’s not angry often. Or at least, she’s not angry outside of dealing with assholes they’re trying to kill, anyway. 

Would her anger be a soft, silent, tense thing? Pursed lips and doing tasks a little more forcefully than strictly needed, curt words and eyes darting anywhere but at him? (Like with Nere, he thinks.) 

Or would it be a storm this time, shouting and throwing the most breakable items she could get her hands on? 

He almost snorts out loud. No, that last one isn’t like his kitten. Still, he hates it when she’s mad at him. It makes his guts all squirmy. 

Taking a deep breath, he opens the door and steps inside. 

His eyes immediately find the small black cat curled up on one of the pillows on the bed. Sighing softly as he closes the door, he pulls his boots off and crosses the room, climbing onto the mattress and sitting with his back against the wall. “You’re not yelling, so I’ll take it.” 

His tadpole wriggles faintly, and her voice filters into his mind. No point.

“Oh? Why’s that?” he asks softly. 

Because it won’t change anything.

His brow furrows. “What does that mean?” 

She’s quiet a long moment. Then, she sits up, her hazel eyes staring up at him as she makes nervous biscuits on the pillow. When I first got up here, I was so angry. I remember after we met Raphael for the first time, you were proud of me for turning down his offer. I thought that meant that you didn’t want anything to do with what he could offer us. But down there…my first thought was of how hypocritical you seemed. You wouldn’t take the offer when we all benefitted, but if it’s just you, no problem? 

He can’t help a wince. “Darling, I-” 

No, please let me finish. 

He falls silent, lips pursed, watching her as she stares at him. 

Then I realized that you’ve probably been thinking about asking him about your scars since we met him. He’s a devil who deals in contracts; if anyone would know what yours is for, it would be him. 

“...you’re not wrong,” he says slowly. 

I get it. I really do. Your reasoning makes sense. But you…you never told me. You never mentioned once that you wanted to do that, to try and make a deal for that. Why? 

Guilt is roiling in his veins. “You have so much already on your plate, kitten, I didn’t want to add to your worries.” 

Her eyes narrow. Some of the scruff on the back of her neck rises. So instead, you keep me in the dark and then spring it on me? You think that’s any better? Don’t bullshit me, Astarion. The reason you didn’t tell me was because you were worried I would have tried to talk you out of it.

“Wouldn’t you have?” he replies, crossing his arms. “You’re not exactly the kind for taking the choice that’s anything less than good.” 

Her look turns into a full-on glare. And I’ve told you why that is! Back in the forest, weeks ago, I told you why I do my best to stay kind!

“Yes, you did, and trust me when I say it’s one of the things I admire about you,” he all but spits. “But not all of us have that luxury! Not every choice is going to have a good outcome!” 

You really think I don’t get that?! Once again, being kind doesn’t mean I’m naive! I’ve seen my share of shit living in Baldur’s Gate. But the right and wrong of your decision isn’t the gods-damned point! 

“Then what is?!” he snaps. 

Her form ripples, and in a blink Sable is herself before him, eyes overbright with tears and a deep, aching sadness. “The point,” she whispers thickly, “is that you don’t trust me enough to tell me about your plans.” His eyes widen. “You don’t trust me to have your back, no matter what I think of your choices. After everything that’s happened so far, you still don’t trust me.”

He stares at her; a tear streaks down her cheek, and she dashes it away. “I…kitten, I…of course I-” 

“Don’t. Don’t keep trying to bullshit me, Astarion,” she says, her voice small. “Because I get it. After two hundred years of being tortured, I wouldn’t trust easily either. But…you’ve gotta learn how to trust people again. Or else, when all of this is over, you’ll end up completely alone.” 

He stares at her. His lips part, but no words come out. She’s not wrong, but he can’t force himself to say out loud that she’s right. Because where would that leave him? Taking the plunge into trusting someone like that terrifies him to the point of…of…

But that’s it, isn’t it? He can’t speak…but he could feel. 

Which means so could she.

His hand shoots out, cupping around the back of her head, and he pulls her to him. He pushes his forehead against hers, and pushes into her mind through their tadpole link. 

“Astar-” 

His name cuts off with a gasp as sensations flood into her. 

If I follow his orders he says he’ll give me fresh rat tonight but if I fail he’ll flay open my chest again but the last time he said that he changed his mind and flayed me anyway just because he felt like it. The remembered misery of his skin being cut off in strips makes Sable choke and writhe on his lap. Can’t know which one he’ll pick but I can’t disobey either. Can’t trust anyone in this house not to turn me over to him if I disobey about anything, and no one can trust me because I’d do the same. The only thing I can trust is that there’ll be pain pain pain pain PAIN-

She shrieks as the agony of centuries of torment and torture is pushed into her mind, and she breaks away, slamming the mental connection shut and throwing herself off his lap. She all but cowers in the corner, curling up trembling and covering her head with her arms. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m so sorry,” she gasps over and over. 

“Words are so easy, aren’t they?” he sneers, rage and terror and guilt, so much guilt, warring within him. And the guilt just pisses him off more. He stands, staring at her, his hands balling into fists by his sides. “You can tell someone what to do until you’re blue in the fucking face, but actually doing it?” He shakes his head, and he gestures to his chest. “I want to trust you, Sable! More than anything, I want to trust you. You’re the first person in two hundred years at least that I’ve let in at all! I’m so sorry if my progress isn’t fast enough for your liking!” 

He storms out, slamming the door behind him. But he doesn’t make it far enough away before his enhanced hearing picks up his kitten bursting into tears. 

//////////////////////////////////////////////

The cool night air stirs the ends of Sable’s hair, cools her overheated face and sore eyes. She sits on the edge of a balcony, her legs through the rungs of the railing, her forehead pressed to one. Even though it’s the middle of the night at this point, she can hear various Harpers moving around, working on various tasks. 

But Sable just stares off into the dark, not really seeing anything. She can’t stop replaying what happened earlier, over and over, in her mind. She feels awful. Guilt writhes in her guts, in her veins, like snakes through burrows. 

He probably hates me now, she thinks miserably, closing her eyes. And I don’t blame him. I knew he’d suffered, but I didn’t know it was that bad…He never let on that it was that bad…

She’s not sure how long she sits there, how long she wallows in her pain. Eventually, a voice cuts through her thoughts. “Why are you not asleep?” Jaheira. “You have much to do tomorrow.” 

She turns to look at her, and the older woman stops dead in surprise. Red eyes holding an aching sadness, tear tracks, blotchy, flushed face under the freckles…”S-Sorry, Jaheria, I-I don’t think I’ll be sleeping.” 

“Little one, what has happened?” Jaheira asks, quickly coming over to sit beside her. 

Sable’s chin trembles as she fights not to try again as her all-but-adopted mother gently rubs her back. Slowly, the story comes out, from the time that she met Astarion until now. “...and I-I’m just a fucking idiot to say something like that to him,” she sobs. 

Jaheira sighs heavily, wrapping her arms around the young elf. “Oh, my child…you’ve chosen to give your heart to an incredibly complicated man. Anyone involved with Szarr knows nothing but pain and despair. They must fight and plot and scheme just to avoid worse than they already get. A man like your Astarion, after so much time under that yoke, would have all but forgotten how to love.” 

Sable shakes her head, pulling back and looking earnestly up into the older druid’s eyes. “He can. He can! I’ve seen it! He wants so much to heal. But it’s going to take more time than what he’s had so far and I…I pushed him. I pushed him on it instead of letting things go at his pace and…and…” 

Jaheira’s eyebrow raises. “You may have pushed him, but he’s trying to make a deal with a devil. You are only trying to protect him from that.” 

“I know…I know, but…” She swallows thickly. “But what he chooses to do should be his choice. I don’t have the right to take that away from him.” 

“You’re not wrong, my smart child,” the Harper leader says fondly. “People must be free to make their own choices, even if the consequences will later bite them in the arse.” She brushes a fond kiss over Sable’s hair. “Your heart was in the right place, though, and that matters. I think he was much too harsh on you.” 

Sable thinks about it, and she shakes her head. “I don’t think so. What he’s been through…it honestly can’t be described.” She shivers, remembering the pain pushed through their connection. “Without the tadpoles, no one else can really know what he’s been through. But I felt it. I…” She shudders, hard, words locked behind a sudden lump in her throat. 

Jaheira gently shushes her, stroking her hair. “I believe you, my child. I can only begin to guess what horrors Szarr put him through.” She pauses, looking down at the younger druid. “The question now is, what do you want to do?” 

Sable sighs, rubbing absently at the tear tracks dried onto her face. “I don’t know. I want to talk to him, to apologize, but…” 

“Ah, there you are.” Both women turn their heads to see Astarion standing there, a very small smile on his lips but his eyes wary. “You weren’t in our room anymore. I…” His eyes widen when he sees the state Sable is in, and he drops his gaze. “I’m…well. I’ll leave you be.” 

“No, you stay. I was just going.” Jaheira gives Sable a gently stern look, then stands and walks inside. As she passes Astarion, she gives him a similar look, before disappearing into the inn. 

Astarion swallows as Sable scrambles to her feet. The vampire approaches, slowly, stepping up beside her but looking out over the river. “I was…worried when I couldn’t find you. I thought I’d scared you off for good.” 

Her breath catches, and she shakes her head. “No. You…y-you won’t get rid of me that easily.” 

He barks a humorless laugh. “You thought that was easy? You’re either brave or stupid. Possibly both.” 

She smiles faintly. “Probably both.” His lips curve, unable to help the fond look. It’s quiet for a bit, the two looking out over the water, at the shield protecting this place from the darkness. “...Astarion. I’m so sorry,” she finally whispers. Her hands tighten around the railing. “You’re free to make your own choices. And while I’m also free to tell you exactly what I think about those choices, I want…I want to be there for you. No matter what you choose. It’s like…when we were in the Underdark, and you told me that having someone around to tell you the unsavory options is important. Well, the opposite is true too. But…” She swallows thickly. “But I went about it really badly. I’m so sorry for making you think you weren’t healing fast enough. That isn’t what I thought at all! The fact that you’ve let me in-” 

“Sable.” She turns her head to look up at him, just in time for his lips to press gently to hers. This kiss is tender, gentle in a way he’s never been. It’s almost chaste in a way his kisses never are. She shudders, and she’s not sure why. Relief, maybe? Relief that he doesn’t hate her. 

He pulls away, and he smiles when she leans forward, almost chasing his lips. His fingers travel softly over her jaw. “Apology accepted. I’m sorry too. I never should have shown you.” 

She shakes her head. “No, I…in a weird way, Astarion, I’m glad you did. Because I understand you better now.” 

“...still. I never want to hurt you like that. Most people I don’t give two shits about. But you…” His eyes soften, depthless crimson pools. “I’d burn the world for you.” 

She smiles, offering him her hand. “How about you help me save it instead?” 

He blinks at her, before he laughs and takes her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Oh, I suppose. A lot less fun, honestly, but since it’s you asking…” 

She smothers a giggle, and she lays her head on his shoulder, feeling the weight lifting from her chest. She hasn’t said half the things that she wants to, but…she has a feeling he understands. 

“You know, I think we’re good for each other in that way,” he murmurs, his thumb rubbing softly over the inner edge of her hand. 

“Hm?” she replies, her eyes closed, exhaustion beginning to set in. 

“About choices. Seeing all sides of a problem.” 

Sable smiles. “Will you be the devil on my shoulder, Astarion?”

He grins, pressing his lips to her forehead before answering, “Only if you’ll be the celestial on mine.” 

She laughs and wraps her arms around him. “Deal.”

[winterslibrary]

i think it's about time i introduce my dearest bg3 daughter, miss vien! an absolute beauty, my little lady i love her so much it's insane. she's a high elf, she's a bard, she has terrible taste in men and friends and is everyone's favorite gossip girl.

and might or not be on the run. kind of. but let's start from the beginning, shall we? <3

while creating her i was thinking of her as a character i can write for, just how i create any other oc rather than "my game character" so. if i took any creative liberties it's because i really created her with "ohh i'm gonna write a fic with her" mindset 😭 now that this is said.

vien isn't even her real name. it's a nickname she uses! she doesn't use her actual name for certain reasons and, well, she quite likes "vien". it's nice, it's pretty and for sure holds better memories than her real name. (and i am gatekeeping it hehe)

her alignment is neutral good! she's a good person in nature, but when in unpleasant situation... like having a parasite in your head... she's more than willing to put her own survival on top of others. generally she cares about her survival plenty, so vien might sometimes refuse to help someone for her own sake. or make a questionable decision if it benefits her more (or her companions). but she's overall a massive sweetheart!!

she was originally born in an elven village, daughter of the village chief and was living a very good life. i like to think that she was often out hunting for food and things– not that she wanted very much– and because of that she's actually really good at archery. hunting might not be her favorite thing to do, but archery? oh, this one she loves. and besides, look, if she can't knock someone out with her violin, then she will shot someone with a stolen from a corpse bow.

like i said, she has terrible taste in men and friends because not only she fell for astarion! out of all people, but she also befriended bhyer "let's kill mystra she's an asshole" aka my friend's durge. vien please get better friends. i beg you.

(vien agrees that mystra is an asshole. but she also thinks that the tadpoles are enough of a problem already. there is no need to annoy a goddess. maybe later!)

speaking of astarion, accidentally i made him and vien... to be foils. they both have similiar stories– one's life ruined by an asshole and held captive for years, in terrible conditions but the difference is that vien managed to free herself. she ran away after 25 years of complete mistreatment, wandered around for some more time before she was rescued by a human couple and given a new place to live. given home. given hope for a better tomorrow. she received help from people, and although it wasn't a lot of them, it still gave her enough hope to fight and not give up, not lose the kindness in her heart. astarion... well. he didn't, unfortunately.

astarion and vien actually share more similiarities, but to unlock vien's tragic backstory to have to gain her trust and that is harder than gaining astarion's trust. i'm not joking. the only people that know what happened are wyll, astarion and bhyer. and only because astarion, wyll and vien were ambushed by the very same man that kindnapped her because, oh wow, he just can't let her go, even after all those years! yes i plan on writing some masquerade scene with these three aand that's probably when the ambush happens. she has to tell at least on surface level what happened (she tells astarion more later though) and she begs them to not make her talk about it to the rest of companions.

and bhyer... they just know. bhyer and vien are soulmates, after all. they just know, vien just told them, these two come in a set do not separate thank you!!

vien is good good besties with wyll. they danced together at least once, as simple friends because vien loves to dance and the camp had a moment of peace around the fireplace. she loves talking with gale! put them in one room together and they probably won't stop talking for the nearest fifteen minutes. she shares her favorite gossips with shadowheart and always asks her to let her do her hair. such long hair gives so many possible hairstyles and, frankly, vien loves braiding hair. hers or someone's, doesn't matter.

vien is a perfomer first, always entertaining people with her music and singing, with her pretty words and herself. she's a lady, high maintenance, she won't let just anyone woo her, especially to bed! and, by gods, something seems... off about her. but it's so hard to name anything specific and she's so nice, liked by everyone and trying to keep them all well. maybe it's fine.

(astarion, though, just knows something is very off. he can't tell if she's scheming something, some hidden agenda or anything, but something is up. because even the best perfomer can act for only this long.)

whew. she's a little silly. i want to shake her and even though she is one of the sanest and most normal people in this silly little group of weirdos, she still needs therapy. wheewww. i have so much more thoughts about her... @leftdestiny-posts special tag for you <3

[atomiqueen]

        “Oh…” Lucy flushes slightly as he points out her misunderstanding, but her feelings about it don't much change. “Well…they're not really asking anything of me that I wouldn't have to do on my own otherwise. I'm going because I have to. Because it's relevant to our shared problem.” He's not even looking at her, but she taps her temple beside the tadpole in her head. As if he needs reminding.

        “Why would I complain about helping to do something that benefits me?” She shrugs as they continue picking their way through the gnarled trees and brush. “That wouldn't make any sense.” And she doesn't really see it as going out of her way, in that regard. “I see it more like, they're helping me do something about this thing writhing around inside my head.”

        He furrow his brow as he walks and then realizes what she means. “I didn’t mean me, sweetheart; I was talkin’ 'bout you.” He knows what he signed up for and as much as he’ll fuss and complain, he knows he can leave any time he wants, but he’s here to stay. But he can handle it, a hell of a lot more than any of the others can. A lot more than she can.

        “And these friends o’ yours—they’re askin’ an awful lot of you and I don’t hear you complainin’ ‘bout that.” Another over simplification but he’s not wrong either, what between the vampire, the wizard with an explosive orb in his chest, the blade of frontiers with his devilish pact, the tiefling and her infernal engine for a heart, the very secretive cleric and a goddamn githyanki…he’s not convinced she really understands what she’s gotten herself into.

        She might not have asked him for his help but she’s got it now. He owes her. The least she could do for both their sakes is stop throwing herself into dangerous situations unnecessarily. It sure would make his job a lot easier. That doesn't seem like too much to ask to him.

[lairofsentinel]

Do you think Oskar Fevras the artist whom you can buy in any way mirrors Gale? His story reminded me a bit of Gale’s in the whole hung up on your first love thing

Hello there!

Let me explain you how I understand Oskar Fevras. I think that may be an important key to see what I'm going to be concluding.

Oskar has the pretence of being a noble, and likes too much wealth and fame. His patron is his betrothed: Lady Jannath. The Jannath are a  family of wealthy mine-owners in BG, who, according to the Main Char's "gossip" knowledge, have been passing through a scandal when they realised that Oskar was a commoner. Apparently Oskar is known as the runaway groom for this.

I'm not so sure to believe that the problem in all his drama is his commoner past. But he doesn't clarify it in a very explicit way. We only have this information from the narrator and it's like a "rumour", something you picked in the air in the city's gossip, so it can be slightly different.

He clarifies that the date of the marriage was never set... but clearly the intention was there. What happened? "Complications", he adds.

Oskar tells you that before his fame as a painter and his affair with Lady Jannath, there was another woman he wanted to spend his life with [which make me assume he was with her until the last moment of the proposal] but when he was offered marriage with Lady Jannath, who gave him a better future because her wealth, he thought "important to tell her about his past".

These lines are a bit inconsistent in their logic, no? You love a woman you want to marry, but then another one very wealthy, asks you marriage and you consider to tell her "you are a commoner" [if we assume the rumour is true].... There is no much connection with the concepts... unless Oskar is saying other thing in his vague way of explaining this story.

In my opinion, he is saying:

I was with this woman I wanted to spend my life with. But on the other hand, I wanted to be famous and wealthy, so I started a serious afair with a person who would support my art: Lady Jannath [it's implied he became her lover without never telling her he was with the first woman]. All was done in order to have fame and wealth. Then Lady Jannath proposes him marriage, and he considers it's reasonable to tell her about "his past" [his past as in, there is another woman, there was always another woman]. This scandal triggered, and because we are talking about a noble family in BG, we know they can control rumours, so they preferred to make it about his "commoner" past instead of his double-cheating.

When he explained his past to Lady Jannath, he was "forced" to escape and think about who to "choose". He doesn't know yet. "Fame and wealth suit me very well." But when he thinks in his first love... he hesitates. He says all this with a very light tone, yet, he makes of this a big dilemma, almost a performance of drama: to choose between true love or wealth to develop his skills.

I may have taken all this a bit more serious if it weren't for the last line he says. If something I've learnt by reading a lot of books of narrative and how to write narratives, is that professionals don't put useless lines in the character's mouths to be wasted. They have meaning.

When the rescue is finally done, he asks for money to fight the "discomfort of the road", and, unless this has been changed in this last patch [I don't play BG3 since patch 2 or 3] he says something that makes you understand that he is going to spend this money in alcohol [he says something along the lines "well, I should endure the road sober then"]. So this last bit showed us that he is not really a very trustworthy person, he hides the truth just to take some extra benefit of the situation [we don't see a real struggle in all this, more like a performance of a struggle].

It's true the situation is a bit vague and this interpretation may be wrong, but Oskar is not exactly an honest char. He has his love for over-dramatisation and present himself as the victim in situations that are not thaaaaat bad.

Now, how all this is similar to Gale? I'm afraid I don't see much similarity, sorry. You can stretch things a lot to make Lady Jannath to look like Mystra [Mystra is the one who gave Gale the deepest connection with the Weave, which is something that brings him joy and sense in life to Gale. She is a kind of "patron" for Gale? It's too stretched, Mystra is a goddess of particular behaviour in her lore] ... but you also can connect her with the first woman by using the weak link of "being Gale's first love". Where the Main Character fits in all this analogy? How all this situation has a relationship with Gale, his abandonment issues caused by a powerful, immense entity as Mystra, and how he made dire mistakes to get her attention again, like all devotees do in this crazy Faerûn? I don't see it, sorry. Gale's first love was Mystra, the most powerful goddess of the pantheon of Faerûn. Oscar's first love was a mortal woman. I'm afraid I can't see much to relate there beyond the fact that "people have first loves" that imprint a strong effect in a person's life [which is true for almost all humans in real life].

I'm not sure if maybe this question is motivated by all those terrible takes that Gale receives in this fandom. I think a lot of people have serious problems with the fact that Gale has an ex. For this, people are a mixture of being offended by that and also treat the party scene as if it were a "big" revelation, which is not?. Sure, he has an ex that inspires him complicated emotions but it's clear he wants to get rid of that event and move on.

Gale never plays two sides. He is always very clear about the fact of having secrets, about his boundaries [another thing that the fandom doesn’t forgive him], and how complicated is for him to speak about Mystra. If you get nice rolls, you can even tell Gale that he is dreaming with Mystra [like, the game makes you AWARE of it XD]... And he also tells you that the tadpole dreams are about power and desire... I mean, if the guy says that, and then dreams with Mystra....why some people are offended/surprised after the party!??? haha. The biggest mystery in this fandom.

Sure, the scene is not handled in the best ways, there are some weird lines, everything looks so high-school cheap drama. I get that... I don't know, we have to blame it for being Early Access and for Gale not being Larian's fave.  But well... Gale has an ex. It's a fact, and one can know that very early if the fucking game couldn't be soooooo shitty bugged with his char.

Here is one of my videos [very old patch as you can see] where we can see the second dream: He says "These dreams are about desire", I pick the option of Mystra. "Yes, I dream with Mystra". You know by your own dreams that these dreams are very sexual in general... So, conclusion? Gale has an ex.

Oskar is playing with two women at the same time in the worst case scenario. In the best one, he abandoned his first love to follow wealth. Her first love [that, let's be honest, how much he loved her that he had no problem to cheat on/abandon when it comes to fame and wealth?] was put aside in favour of this noble. Then he leaves the noble one because he is unable to choose. He was the one who abandoned [or cheated, we can't say completely because it's vague] two women, not the other way around... Plus, to make things even more different, there is this small detail that the fandom always seems to be blind about because most of them only know Dragon Age lore: Mystra is the most powerful goddess in the damn pantheon xD Gale was a plaything in her grasp [this is the worst case scenario; I have a secondary interpretation, more kind to her, focused on Mystra's point of view]. But there is something very strong here that make these comparison too out of any frame to compare: She is not a normal woman... her power is not even compared with Jannath's. She is a Goddess.

So, in short: I'm afraid I don't see much in common. XD I mean, everyone has exes, every person with some age has a past even in Faerûn. Sure, this is Faerûn, so exes can go wild, I get it. XD And having exes is not always a "finished business" [specially when that comes with abandonment issues], but more like a WIP: something to deal with unresolved emotions from past partners that you want to move on, and sometimes a new partner may help you [or make everything worse]. I always read Gale that way.

Thanks for the ask!

[justkindaoverhereobsessing]

39 from the fanfic prompt list please!!!!!

Fanfic Prompt List (Again!)

#39: “I love you. I just love her more.”

“Hey, Tony?” Ziva calls.

“Yeah?”

She finds him in the kitchen.

He’s been working all afternoon, giving his very best effort to decorate their almost 7-year-old son’s birthday cake. Ziva watches him for a moment, suppressing a smile when she sees his tongue poking out between his lips. Does that help him concentrate on the task at hand?

Well, what she’s come to say certainly won’t.

“I am pregnant,” she tells him.

He crumples silently to the floor in a dead faint, and Ziva thinks she should have seen this coming.

_________________

When he comes to, he asks if she was joking.

“I was not,” she answers, and this time, she’s close enough to catch his head before it hits the tiles under her feet.

_________________

Tali is none-too-thrilled when they announce that they’re expecting a new bundle of joy.

“Dad, babies cry all the time,” she informs Tony, irritated and determined to convince him what an awful idea this is. “Did anyone ever tell you that? Plus, I didn’t sign up for this—I bet it’s not even going to be all that cute, and it’s going to be loud.”

“Yeah, and we all know you need your beauty sleep, sweetheart,” he teases, unmoved by her arguments.

She whacks him—she’s as strong as Ziva.

At fourteen, she’s old enough to have unshakeable opinions, the most emphatic of which is that having one kid brother is more than enough. “Can I move out before the baby comes, at least?” she tries.

“Sure,” her dad agrees easily. “You just have to come back every night and twice on weekends.”

Tali frowns at him. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

He mimics her expression. “And you’re not as grown up as you think you are, baby girl.”

_________________

Tony and Ziva are old enough now that rather than being met with ecstatic surprise when they give people the news, what they get is a number of polite variations on the theme of “oh, how… nice.”

McGee helpfully suggests that Tony get a vasectomy before the baby is born to avoid this happening again later.

“Excuse me?” Tony demands, offended by the very idea. “I’ll have you know that my manhood is in perfect working order and will stay that way until I—”

He stops when Ziva smacks the back of his head.

“What does manhood mean?” their son Adam pipes up curiously, and Ziva leaves Tony to figure out how to answer that one on his own.

_________________

All the pregnancy clothes Ziva can find as her belly grows are meant for younger women. She’s approaching fifty, and a floral romper just doesn’t suit her like it might have twenty-five years ago. She ends up wearing mostly old sweatpants of her own and old sweatshirts of Tony’s. When Tony finds her in front of their bedroom mirror, critically examining her polyester-clad bump, he pauses to watch her.

“You’re still the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen,” he tells her, wearing a smile that makes his eyes crinkle.

Ziva decides the polyester isn’t too bad after all.

_________________

This baby, informally dubbed Tadpole, refuses to cooperate at ultrasound appointments, so going into the last few months, they’re still not sure what they’re having. That means they have to settle on not one name but two. Making the decision requires twice the bickering, twice the disagreements, and twice the competitiveness.

“And just to make sure we’re agreeing on the rules,” Tony reminds Ziva sternly, “this challenge will start with sixty seconds on the clock. Whoever can balance the most spoons on their face without dropping one gets to pick Tadpole’s middle name, right?”

“Right,” Ziva agrees, brandishing a large serving spoon that she’s already selected as her first choice for balancing.

When they’re tied forty-five seconds in, four spoons on each of their faces, Tali walks in to get a glass of water. She observes them for a moment, nonplussed, before shaking her head, throwing her hands up in exasperation, and walking right back out without the drink she came for.

“Do you guys always have to be so weird?” she complains as she goes.

_________________

Ziva’s third pregnancy is more physically uncomfortable than her first two, and she grows bigger at a much faster rate.

One night, she puts her palms on her rounded belly and groans in annoyance, making Tony ask what’s wrong. “I am all blubber. I feel like a fat whale,” she decides.

Her husband disagrees. “I’d say you look more like a cute little cow.”

If not for the saving grace of “cute”, he would be spending tonight on the sofa.

_________________

Tony has always been protective of Ziva, but that reaches new heights when she’s pregnant. She’s nearly due when, crossing the street hand in hand with her husband, disaster strikes. Tony sees rapid movement from the corner of his eye and reacts without stopping to think, yanking Ziva back to the safety of the sidewalk to avoid what he thinks is a vehicle.

There was something coming, as it turns out, but it wasn’t a car. It was a large page from Le Parisien newspaper, carried speedily toward them on a gust of strong wind.

They watch it pass. “I am glad you still have your lightning-fast reflexes, my love,” Ziva says dryly. “We would have been crushed, otherwise.”

“Sarcasm isn’t a good way to thank someone for saving your life, sweet cheeks,” Tony replies, his twitching lips matching hers. He lunges forward to tickle her, and it doesn’t matter if he acted unnecessarily this time. He’ll pull her out of the way of every non-threatening item in Paris if it’ll keep her safe and by his side, giggling like she is now.

They both find it relaxing to stand on the side of a random street in the 8th arrondissement and laugh at each other…

…at least until Ziva pees herself. Oh, the joys of pregnancy.

_________________

In the end, Ziva’s labor is astonishingly short, which is both a blessing and a curse. It’s wonderful because the process is, of course, incredibly painful, and there’s little to be gained by suffering for longer. It’s also a problem, though, because they barely have time to leave Tali and Adam with friends in their hurry to get to the hospital.

Ziva is in such rapidly progressing labor when they arrive that the wheelchair phase gets skipped entirely and they put her straight on a stretcher. Then it’s a race to reach a room before the baby can make its grand entrance in the hall.

As they rush, the doctor can’t make Ziva respond to her instructions, and she turns to Tony instead. “You must convince her not to push yet,” she insists, emphatic.

Not sure Ziva will listen to him, either, Tony passes on the message. “I will push if I want to!” his wife snarls, which is more or less what he expected.

They finally arrive in the delivery room, huffing and puffing—Ziva because she’s in agony, and Tony because he’s not used to exercising this intensely anymore. (He’s getting old.)

Not three minutes later, their third and final baby is born.

_________________

When things are settled again, they’re left alone with their newest family member to bond. “She is so lovely,” Ziva murmurs, mesmerised. Tony can’t agree more. Maybe they didn’t plan for her, and maybe they didn’t expect her, but… her tiny face, fresh and new and hopeful, is something they must have needed.

Later, the exhausted Ziva falls asleep in her hospital bed, and Tony bounces their newborn daughter as he paces the room. “We’ll do our best by you,” he promises the little one softly, “but I don’t think this is one of those times when ‘third time’s the charm’ really applies. I’m afraid you’re stuck with the same clueless parents Tali and Adam have had. If we’ve learned anything from raising them, we’ll probably have forgotten it by the time you’re old enough to benefit from it.”

She feels indescribably tiny in his arms, and he runs a single finger through the hair on her head. There’s a lot of it, and it’s the fairest, most unusual shade of strawberry blonde he’s ever seen. It seems odd, since he, Ziva, Tali, and Adam all have dark hair, but the reddish color seems to suit this sweet Tadpole. Everything about her is light. “You’re just the prettiest thing, aren’t you?” he coos. 

He hears a tired, croaky laugh, and he looks up to see Ziva observing them. “There is nothing I need to be jealous for, is there?” she teases hoarsely, watching the pair with groggy affection.

“I’m afraid there is, actually,” Tony answers grimly. He sits down in his chair next to the bed and leans over the baby to kiss Ziva’s forehead. “I love you. I just love her more.”

_________________

Tali surprises everyone by bursting into joyful tears upon meeting her brand new baby sister.

“I thought you didn’t want another sibling,” Tony recalls. (His heart aches a little at the sight of her tears, though, no matter their cause.)

“I was on my period when you told me!” she protests, her chin still trembling. “You can’t hold that against me!”

Her dad isn’t sure what to say to that, but, careful not to jostle the baby Tali’s holding, he wraps her in a tight side hug.

“Alright, Tali-Tee,” he agrees, kissing her temple. “I won’t.”

He can’t hold anything against her, and he already knows it’ll be exactly the same with the new baby.

_________________

It takes them a week to name the little girl, and when they finally do, it’s during a midnight feeding.

Ziva strokes the baby’s hair as she nurses. “Did you know that traditionally, Hebrew names are considered prophecies? People often choose names of people they respect, or virtues they hope their children will embody.”

Tony snuggles in closer to the two of them and rests his chin lightly on Ziva’s shoulder. “Well, what do we want for her?”

Ziva smiles. “The same things we want for Tali and Adam.”

“And those would be?”

“Joy, I think. A life full of love and with as little pain as possible—a stable life.”

Tony nods, thinking about that. He reaches over to the bedside table where a well-loved name book rests, and he thumbs through it for a moment.

“What are you looking for?”

He holds up a finger, and it doesn’t take long to be ready. “I was remembering a few Hebrew names that I thought would fit that theme. Here’s what I’ve got: Rena, meaning joy, Ora, meaning light, and Tova, meaning good. Any of those sound right to you?”

Ziva glances from Tony to the baby and back, and then she shrugs, taking care not to make the baby unlatch. “I think they are all nice. You should choose.”

“Me? Why?”

He seems surprised enough that she laughs quietly; it’s a sweet sound. “I am the one who named Tali, and you did not have any input. We named Adam together. Now you can choose.”

Something soft about him grows softer, and he kisses the heads of both wife and daughter. “Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“In that case, maybe… Ora. I want her to have a life full of light, you know?”

“I think it suits her.”

“Ora it is, then.”

When Ora is done nursing, he tells Ziva to stay where she is and let him return the baby to her crib. He places the newborn gently on her miniature mattress, watches her fondly for a moment, then leaves.

Instead of going straight back to Ziva, though, he checks up on the other two. Tali is, as usual, barely visible under a vast mound of blankets; her feet are sticking out, however, so, shaking his head, Tony tucks them back in. Adam, on the other hand, is curled in a tiny ball, both little fists clenched in the fur of a stuffed buffalo someone gifted him on their last trip to the United States. Tony tucks him in again, too, because his heart is very full tonight.

He returns to bed, thinking about the meaning of his new daughter’s name: light. They’re all living a life full of that now, aren’t they? Things are happy, and easy, and they haven’t always been.

He can’t stay up long, exhausted as he is, but when he curls against the curve of Ziva’s back and goes to sleep, it’s with a faint smile on his face.

[crystalelemental]

Notoriously the least favorite new dex in the entire series, largely due to genwunner mentality.  It drives me crazy how many people are mad about some Pokemon this generation.  You're mad about the wrong ones!  Yes, there are things that are Not Great in this dex, but leave the usual disliked Pokemon alone!  Plus, I will appreciate any generation that forces me to use the new stuff for at least the main game.  I so desperately wish they kept that in later generations, but nope.

TOP 15: 15) Sigilyph - It's like Xatu for me.  It's a unique design choice, with a really cool battle role.   Magic Guard allows it to burn itself, and Psycho Shift can pass that to the opponent.  Cosmic Power buffs defenses, and then you just stall out until you can unleash Stored Power.  Critical hits are the biggest problem for this thing, aside from routine power creep and Dark types shutting down its one attack.  The Burn nerf also did not help, doubling the amount of turns it has to stall with this strategy.  But the niche it does hold is still great, and while Smogon can tell me this set sucks until they're blue in the face, I personally will always remember it for this hysterical combo.

14) Swoobat - I love Swoobat.  It's such a cute little bat creature, with its signature attack that does it literally no favors at all.  Simple + Calm Mind is also particularly fun, or it would be if it had the stats to take a hit long enough to set that up.  Mostly though, it's just a charming and cute bat.

13) Vanilluxe line - Vanilluxe is a good Pokemon, you all are just mean.   It's an adorable ice cream cone Pokemon, with the ice cream part being accumulated snow.  It's a precious concept, and the only real bad part about it is its movepool. I love Vanilluxe and its evolutions, and you should too.

12) Gigalith line - I love the whole line.  Boldore gets special mention, due to the presence of Rochelle in my Pokemon White Nuzlock.  Gigalith itself stands out as an intimidating mass of rock, with a beautiful shiny form and surprisingly well-oriented stats for a wall.  Getting Sandstorm as an ability also helped it out a lot, giving a much-needed buff to special defense.  It's got a lot going for it.

11) Haxorus line - Dragon type evolution lines, up to this point, tend to emphasize raw attack power over all else.  You had some exceptions, in that Flygon was more balanced and Altaria was more defensive, but for the most part Dragons have physical offense.  Haxorus takes this to its logical conclusion, being unreasonably strong, and having an intimidating design to match.  Despite this, it doesn't quite go the route of Garchomp or Salamence, where it looks entirely scary.  It looks intimidating, but it also looks friendlier, somehow.  I know its face is an axe, but it doesn't have quite the same air of menace.

10) Mienshao - It's rare a Fighting type makes my list of favorites, but Mienshao earns this spot based on elegant design among a typing that's usually hulking brutes.  I also really loved Regenerator + Life Orb as a combo, it just seemed so obvious.

9) Reshiram - Much like Dialga, this was an easy pick for me.  Unfortunately, when I asked for the game, I got the one with Zekrom.  Not that I was that mad, Zekrom is cool enough, but Reshiram is my favorite of the two.   Fire/Dragon is a great one, and the fact that it's the embodiment of truth is a fantastic concept. The story role for Zekrom and Reshiram is also fantastic, being set with the first real ideological rival you had, N.  Combined with an elegant and beautiful design, Reshiram definitely stands out for me among the box legends in the series.

8) Chandelure - I'm not a big fan of Litwick, or even of Lampent, but Chandelure is a quality final stage Pokemon.  It's such an elaborate and wonderful look, being sufficiently spooky yet elegant in its own right.  Ghost/Fire is also an incredible typing, allowing for very few things to resist its powerful special attacks.  It's a great Pokemon, and one of the many excellent ghost types from this gen.

7) Gothitelle - Obviously, I'm a big fan of psychic types, and Gothitelle is definitely up there on the list for me.  I like the gothic look, and its role as something that can see lifespans is both interesting and tragic for it.  It's also the signature Pokemon of Caitlin, which...man, I loved Caitlin's role in battle tower as it was, and seeing her as an elite four member, with this Pokemon as her best, was divine.

6) Leavanny line - Among the many Pokemon I wish had better competitive utility, Leavanny is definitely up there.  It's such a nice Pokemon with a great design through its whole evolutionary chain, only to end up with a terrible typing and few benefits beyond that.  What it does offer is being adorable, and apparently fashioning clothes for other Pokemon out of silk.  I love this creature so much.

5) Frillish - Listen, if you don't like Frillish, something's not right.   It's such a cute Pokemon, in both male and female forms.  It's one of the few Pokemon that has a distinction along gender that I appreciate.   Water/Ghost is also a fantastic typing, and it gets a lot of good tools to make use of it, including Will-o-Wisp and Recover.  Such a fun and pretty Pokemon...  Jellicent is also great, but aesthetics don't appeal nearly as much.

4) Musharna line - Musharna and Munna are adorable little Pokemon, and I love their connection to the whole Dream World mechanic that was introduced this generation.  They have a great role in the story, producing the mist that allows a professor to examine dreams, but they're also just precious little creature in their own right.  Not particularly strong in battle, and unfortunately don't work to much on that whole manipulation of dreams concept, but definitely a fun concept to work with.

3) Meloetta - Who would've thought a mythic legend would ever come along that outranked Celebi?  Being a Pokemon based in song, it gets the fantastic Psychic/Normal typing, allowing it to get complete immunity to Ghost types.  It's a precious tiny singer...who can morph into a powerful step dancer that brutalizes its common weaknesses as a Fighting/Normal type.  Nothing in this world is greater than the feeling of someone switching into Meloetta with Tyranitar expecting to tank, only for it to then transform to its Pirouette form and style all over it.  It's such a unique Pokemon to use in battle, and one of the best concepts as a singer/dancer.

2) Cinccino - Another really snazzy Pokemon.  Cinccino's many tail-scarves makes it look divine, and having multi-hit moves certainly sets it apart from most. I'm also a huge fan of King's Rock + Skill Link moves.  It's a vile, evil combo. 41% flinch on all your moves is incredible, and it allowed my weaker teams to sometimes do stupid things, like that time Cinccino beat a Heatran through sheer power of flinch.  It's a great and unique normal type, with a great design.

1) Lilligant - The best grass type.  Lilligant is a beautiful, wonderful Pokemon. It's a dancer, and so it learns a lot of dance-based moves, with an ability that shuts down confusion to allow for Petal Dance to be even more devastating.  The design is what sells it the most, being a regal-looking plant that has to hop around because she has no feet.   It's beautiful and lovely and wonderful, and has access to the best boosting move in the game.

BOTTOM 10: 10) Samurott - Dewott was so cool.  Dewott was the coolest, my actual favorite of the starters, until Samurott.  "Steve, you know it stands on its hind legs too, watch the anime loser."  Listen.  I know it can.   But its sprite and its general stance are not upright.  It is a quadruped with the ability to stand upright, and that's very different from being bipedal, and we all know it.  I wanted something better than this.  It's like the inverse of the usual fire-type complaint of people wanting it to remain a quadruped; I wanted it to stand upright and be more samurai-like.  It didn't do that, and it also didn't do anything to create any sort of battle role for itself.  Disappointing.

9) Seismitoad - I love Tympole.  I mean I adore it.  I was so ready for a nice evolution line like Politoed, or at least an acceptable one like Poliwrath.  But no. We get this thing.  Water/Ground, with fairly average stats, does not cut it anymore.  The design is what really bothers me.  From my adorable tadpole creature that's all musical, to this big wart-covered toad creature that...I guess hits the warts to make sound?  It's not as good.  Nowhere near.  Unacceptable final evolution stage.

8) Pignite - Yes, specifically.  Emboar at least looks rad, and Tepig is still cute.   Pignite is the awkward middle child, much like Quilladin.  But unlike Quilladin, Pignite's biggest shame is being the third generation in a row of Fire/Fighting type.  If it hadn't gained that typing, I might be easier on it, but it was the showing that this generation's starters were going to be nowhere near as interesting any anything before, or after it.

7) Unfezant - I really do not like the design of this thing at all, and adding to it that it's about as stock and standard an early-game bird as you can get, and there's really nothing interesting about it.  I would definitely way it's the least interesting regional bird.

6) Beheeyem line - I honestly forget about this Pokemon.  I honest to god forget it, every single time.  Just an alien thing.  No explanation, it's just...an alien thing. What are you?  Why are you here?  What is even going on anymore, and why do you have so little defined battle role that I can forget that there's a literal alien just walking around?

5) Scrafty - I don't like its aesthetic.  I don't like the punk aesthetic at all.  It does nothing for me.  I'm also supremely pissed about Fighting/Dark type.  Before Fairies showed up, this was devastating for a Psychic-lover like me.  When Drapion covered Poison types, that was fine.  Poison wasn't that good, and it could use the help.  But Fighting types?  Fighting types are my food, and this bastard prevents that.   Add to it that Dark became incredibly common as a coverage type on Fighting types, and it's just a whole mess for my favorite type. I'm glad Fairy type blasted your ass back down the totem pole.

4) Simisage/Simisear - Believe it or not, Simipour, I think, is just cute enough to avoid my ire.  These two, however, are not.  I've stated it before, but I don't like monkeys.  I also don't like that these Pokemon have virtually no battle use. Their stats are bad and their movepools are bad.  I also don't remember how to get them beyond the free one you get before the first gym, where they exist to counter the first gym's type choice and do nothing else. I could keep going, but that seems like overkill.

3) Sawk/Throh - I decided to combine the two, because I can't decide which I like less.  In a similar vein to the next entry, their designs are what bother me. Kung Fu Burt and Ernie.  Okay, sure.  Why are these things even here?  Did we really need more Fighting types?  I know it's a whole "mirror to gen 1" thing with the fresh start, but maybe it would've been better to not try to make knock-off Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.

2) Conkeldurr line - Not quite the bottom of the barrel, but close enough that it makes little difference.  Conkeldurr is exactly what I dislike about the Fighting type.  Its design is not good.  Its stats are perfectly calibrated to hit hard and take physical hits.  It gets recovery from Drain Punch, Dark-type moves to wreck every Psychic that tries to stop it, priority in Mach Punch, fantastic coverage options, and I just...I hate that it's good.  I hate it.  Because it looks so bad, and the things that make it good, in my mind, make it too good.  It shouldn't be able to answer every single Psychic type in the game.  It should be able to answer status play that tries to wear it down.  But it does all of this flawlessly and I hate it.  You basically have to be a Fairy type or a really strong Flying type, and I just want this thing dead already!

1) Landorus-Therian - If you have to ask, you haven't been here long.  Lando-T is the bane of my damned existence.  I don't like its look.  I don't like that its ability meshes perfectly with its battle role.  I don't like that, competitively, Smogon has it on 50%+ of teams depending on the season, and yet it's still obviously out of the question that it could ever be too good and need to be banned.  I hate this thing beyond all other Pokemon.  It would've just been a form I'd never use under normal circumstances, but instead, because of fan reception and competitive play, it's probably my most disliked Pokemon, and one of maybe five I actively hate.

[thehightiefling]

#It's SUPER likely you're already doing most of these but I figured I might as well list as much as I could think of!#hopefully it's not too much information 😂 I really don't want to bombard you! but I hope it helps even a little? 💞#oh!! another thing I'll just stick here - I also understand the pressure to do everything. that's another hard one to let go of#ultimately I just surrender myself to the fact that I will likely play this game for a long time across many characters#so there's no real need to do EVERYTHING with a single character. and that helps to ease the pressure I feel. another thing is that if you#establish your character well enough you'll start to see quests & such that wouldn't be in-character for you to even do. letting the#logic of the narrative drive you instead of the need to complete everything can be super helpful!#(for example durge!aune didn't do any investigating of kagha at all because it didn't make sense for her to care enough about all the#grove drama when she has the tadpole and the urge to worry about. I couldn't justify her taking the time to do that as it would be too OOC)

I'm including your tags because omg all of this is so helpful. My jaw was open reading all of this because I cannot believe I did not think and dwell on these things. Because it's like. Those are all things I do with my D&D characters, why didn't I do it for BG3?

And just. My gosh thank you. It's like you know exactly how my brain is wired, and you spoke directly to it with the solutions to the problems. I've already played this game near religiously since it entered full release. You're right, I am going to be doing a LOT more playthroughs. And then the bit about letting the personality guide them? So much sense. I think that nailed an issue I get to, where the 'video game, gotta do it all' happens and then I'm like "this character isn't fun", well yeah because their personality got replaced by the perfectionist video game completion mindset.

And the point about being neurodivergent is huge. Because that honestly probably plays heavily into my line of thinking. This honestly was so worth the wait, and I am reblogging not only to sing a thousand thank yous because you singlehandedly fixed the issue my brain was having, but I also feel like overall this is FANTASTIC advice and I think so many others could benefit from it. You are literally a blessing, genuinely. You've made so many things click for me. 🥺❤️

And IDK. I felt like this was added like...almost reassurance for me to do these things, to let myself indulge in this as a creative outlet. Like I've been given permission to be a fan of my characters and do things with them.

I have no idea why it is so hard for me to commit to a character. Which is baffling, because I normally have the opposite problem in games. Especially D&D? Like I get so absorbed and attached and into the characters I've made for the games I'm in, I get so invested, flaws and all. I'd certainly roll up a new character if they died, but I don't have the fickleness and struggle to connect like I do with BG3.

Any of the origins (outside of durge)? No problem. Focused, committed to their character and lore. Finish to completion. But I have not completed a single tav or durge. MAYBE I NEED TO PLAY IT MORE LIKE A D&D CHARACTER RATHER THAN A VIDEO GAME? Maybe it's why I have an easier and more enjoyable time playing the other origins.

That and I feel like, since it's a video game with determined paths and choices, there's a sense of 'got to do it all, got to do it right'. Which is such a weird behavior? My D&D characters are flawed; some of them are morally grey. They've hurt those they've cared about. They've fucked up. Inter-party tension. And playing out those consequences are fun.

But fucking up in video game? Brain cannot handle. My smooth, fleshy human brain literally cannot handle.

Advice? Please? Because I want more than anything to have a ride or die character for this game because it is so much fun and it's my fix during the work week when I have to adult and can't D&D, and I would love to like, have headcanons. Maybe do writing snippets and art like I do for my D&D games.

[ezatluba]

Mexico City’s ‘walking fish’

While gaining traction as a symbol of Mexico City, these curious amphibians offer hope for healing the human body, but face near extinction in the wild.

By Megan Frye

11 November 2019

Frankie was missing half his face. A fungal infection had come over the little axolotl, a native amphibian of the waterways of Mexico City.

But Frankie, along with other axolotls, have a special talent. Veterinarian and axolotl researcher Erika Servín Zamora, who was also Frankie’s caregiver, said she was astounded to see the animal’s remarkable regeneration abilities that she’d read about in her studies. Within two months, Frankie had grown a new, fully functional eye, and life was back to normal in his tank at the city’s Chapultepec Zoo.

Frankie might not have been so lucky in his native habitat, just about 30km south of the zoo. The axolotl, though gaining traction as a symbol of Mexico City, and specifically of the southern borough of Xochimilco, a Unesco World Heritage site, is nearly extinct in the wild due to increases in invasive fish species and water pollution in the city’s troubled canals. Making things worse, Frankie is an albino axolotl, which means he’s light pink with frilly, pink gills coming off his head – he’d be easy prey for Xochimilco’s invasive tilapia in the dark, murky waters.

Known locally as “water monsters”, axolotls have a love-them-or-leave-them appearance. For some, these 20cm-long, soft-skinned, water dwellers are considered adorable, with the appearance of a perpetual smile. For others, these four-toed amphibians are just plain odd.        

Many axolotl species are critically endangered

Despite their somewhat polarising looks, they are of particular interest to scientists hoping that axolotls like Frankie just might teach us humans the regeneration trick someday.

“Scientists are looking to benefit from the regenerative properties of axolotls by applying them to people who are injured in accidents, wars or suffering illness – people who lose limbs,” Servín Zamora said. “Others are looking for ways that axolotl regeneration can benefit human organs, such as by healing the heart or the liver.”

Axolotls are also helping Servín Zamora and other scientists understand the apparent resistance to cancer that all amphibians seem to have. “In 15 years, I have not seen any cases of malignant tumours in axolotls, which is interesting,” she said. “We suspect that their ability to regenerate cells and body parts helps them in that respect.”

Scientists are looking to benefit from the regenerative properties of axolotls 

And that's not all. Axolotls have been used traditionally throughout Mexico as a remedy for conditions associated with things like pregnancy, frailty and respiratory illness. A group of nuns in Patzcuaro, Mexico, legally breeds one axolotl species, ambystoma dumerilii, and uses the animals as an ingredient in cough syrup, though traditionally they were consumed as part of a broth.

Perpetual teenagers – and representations of the divine

Frankie is an ambystoma mexicanum, one of the 17 species of axolotl in Mexico. Found primarily in the states of Mexico, Puebla and Michoacán, many are critically endangered. Some species transform themselves into earth-walking salamanders by losing their tadpole-like tails and gills from their heads. However, this too depends on the environment. Frankie, for instance, living in captivity and therefore void of predators, will stay an eternal teenager. Never transforming into salamanders, axolotls like him will keep the tail they developed as a larva and live completely underwater.

Basically, they decide whether they will complete the metamorphosis

“Basically, they decide whether they will complete the metamorphosis, based on environmental stressors,” Servín Zamora said. “If they decide it would be better to live out of water, they will undergo the transformation into salamanders, but that can be a stressful undertaking in itself as they stop eating completely for that period. The current theory is that, for evolutionary reasons, the ambystoma mexicanum would remain in a juvenile state [somewhere between a tadpole and a salamander] because there was so much food in the water [such as charales, a small freshwater fish] and they had few predators, so there was little reason to emerge.”

Some axolotl species transform themselves into earth-walking salamanders 

Because of this tendency to change form, axolotls have a profound presence in Aztec (or Mexica) cosmogony. They were often recognised as a representation of Xolotl, god of the underworld and the malefic twin of the feathered serpent god Quetzacoatl, often represented as the sun.

When various gods were asked to make a sacrifice in order to create the world, Xolotl fled into the water. For his cowardice and reluctance to help, he was damned to live forever in the water and to suffer from eternal youth. For the Aztecs, death was transcendence, and to not complete that cycle meant being banned from reaching a higher realm.

A tourist attraction

Despite the axolotl’s endangered status, images of Frankie and his friends are plastered all over Mexico City, covering walls as street art and sold as plush toys in gift shops. An image of the ambystoma mexicanum axolotl will grace the 50-peso bill to be released in 2022. And Mexico City’s updated tour buses feature an image of an albino axolotl emblazoned on its double-decker sides.

The latest official Mexico City tour bus features the image of an albino axolotl 

Years ago, if you wanted to find an axolotl, all you had to do was look for a canal. Mexico City was built on the bed of what was once a massive lake, which the Aztecs used to create canals – as well as chinampas, floating islands made out of trees and mud that were used to grow food – for navigational and transportation purposes. Though the lake and much of the canal system have been drained over the years to make way for a growing population, more than 183km of canals remain in the Xochimilco borough, and 165 hectares of land and water are located in the protected area of the Xochimilco Ecological Park.

But rather than axolotls, visitors today are likely to see numerous migratory bird species and revellers on boats in the canals. The area has become heavily touristed and is best known as a place to go for a ride in colourful wooden boats called trajineras, where smaller boats come over full of mariachis, or to sell beer and refreshments.

Environmental threats

As trajineras are motorless boats, they are not thought to negatively impact the axolotls. However, the chinampas are not connected to the city’s sewage system, so waste often winds up in the canals. Other threats to the amphibians include the quick growth of non-native, ornamental aquatic plants, and pollution from industrial fertilisers, as well as invasive species such as carp and tilapia, which were introduced by the government in the 1970s to supply food to the formerly rural area. The latter idea was well-intentioned, Servín Zamora said, but not well thought out, as the carp and tilapia feast on young axolotls.

In Xochimilco's canals, many ride colourful wooden boats called trajineras 

“The problems that Xochimilco faces are not just environmental, but social as well,” Servín Zamora said. “People do not have enough income from their chinampas or ecotourism, so they tend to build their homes there [on their chinampa land, which is an affordable option as they already own the property] and for that reason urbanization has grown so much in those areas. Unfortunately, all the drainage from those homes goes directly into the canals, and that has caused tremendous pollution.”

In 2017, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) did a study monitoring the canals. While the results are still under review, it was shown that the water pollution is very serious in Xochimilco’s rapidly growing urban zones. Servín Zamora said there is hope of recuperating spaces still devoted to agriculture and therefore less likely to be tainted by pollution caused by overpopulation. “If we work hard with education, research and working directly in the area, we can rescue it, even if it’s just one part.” Still, the study found just one axolotl living in the wild in Xochimilco.

Saving the axolotl

Today, most axolotls live in captivity. Yanin Carbajal is the co-founder of Casa del Axolotl, a museum and aquarium dedicated to educating the public on axolotls, located in the town of Chignahuapan in Puebla. Her project started years ago with breeding tanks at her family’s ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains. The museum space located in town opened last year, featuring 15 to 20 axolotls of four different species.

Carbajal said she was motivated to care for axolotls because of their strong link to Mexico’s pre-Columbian history, their important implications for human health, and the goal to preserve the species and improve their habitats. However, she cautions potential pet owners that raising axolotls is no simple feat. While keeping them as pets around the world is legal, in Mexico it’s only legal to obtain them from a nursery accredited by the secretary of environment.

For some, axolotls are considered adorable, with the appearance of a perpetual smile 

“Ignorance is a big problem, with people taking them from the wild and keeping them as pets in some cases or selling them,” Carbajal said. “If people are able to breed them, well that is a positive. But if not, then that is not helping the species. As they live in still water lakes and lagoons, the temperatures tend not to fluctuate as quickly as they can in captivity [making captivity a serious undertaking].”

Mexico City has a few places where captive axolotls can be seen today, including Chapultepec Zoo, Zoológico Los Coyotes and the headquarters of tour operators Axolotitlánand Umbral Axochiatl, both in Xochimilco.

Pamela Valencia is the founder of Axolotitlán, a Mexico City-based operator that aims to educate locals and travellers on Xochimilco’s delicate ecosystem and the need to support axolotls, through tours with a cooperative of local chinamperos(chinampa farmers) in the ecological park.

The axolotl is a secret to save our city, our country and probably the world

“The axolotl is a theme in Mexico that has to do with politics, society, the use of resources, environmental and systemized education,” Valencia said on a warm afternoon at her axolotl refuge, where visitors can come to learn about the axolotls. “It’s a topic that touches on all the rubrics of society in one way or another. We believe that the axolotl is a secret to save our city, our country and probably the world. It’s an incredibly important animal that can inspire people to stop doing things [such as polluting] that we’ve been doing for a long time as a society, and to do better in many ways.”

Dionisio Eslava, president of Umbral Axochiatl, which works with Axolotitlán to organise tours in his native Xochimilco so that visitors can better understand the natural side of Xochimilco, said that closing the gap geographically, culturally and socioeconomically between central Mexico City folk and the farmers in the south is one way to help clean up the zone, and thus help the axolotls return to the area.

“Ecosystems are a type of security, not only for food but also water, oxygen and as an ally for facing climate change,” he said. “The big cities should support our ecosystems by visiting us and accompanying us in this treasure that is a great inheritance of all of humanity.”

Not only can this small and often overlooked animal guide us in protecting the planet, but it potentially holds the key to unlocking certain scientific mysteries.

Frankie lived to be eight years old – though captive axolotls can live 12 years or more – dying of natural causes at Chapultepec Zoo in 2010. Servín Zamora holds a special place for him in her heart because he was one of the first axolotls she ever worked with and she learned quite a lot from him – hopefully, the rest of the world will, too.

[chocolate-brownies]

RESILIENCE Powerful Practices for Bouncing Back from Disappointment, Difficulty, and Even Disaster

Linda Graham, MFT • New World Library

Missing your bus, dropping dinner on the floor, screwing up at work: These everyday hiccups may fluster, frustrate, or at times even tax your coping system, but they don’t usually knock you down, writes Linda Graham. It’s the bigger distresses, such as illness, death, or loss of security—particularly if they come one after another, pile on top of unresolved trauma, or include a heap of self-criticism—that can threaten to overwhelm us to the point of “falling apart and not being able to recover.” 

That’s where resilience comes in. The newest buzzword in psychological circles, resilience indicates our ability to recover from adversity. And after rigorous study, it’s also now believed to be the greatest indicator of one’s personal happiness and ability to thrive throughout life. 

In this easy-to-read and hugely informative guide, Graham explains the neuroscience of resilience (spoiler alert: Our early influences shape our future coping skills) and how we can continue to develop it throughout our lives. 

It’s this last bit—our ability to override old neural patterns, create new ones, and strengthen our minds and bodies to withstand the inevitable hits in any life—that makes this already useful book priceless. Graham combs the research and her own trove of best practices to explain how anyone can become more resilient, no matter where they start from. Through practices that build somatic, emotional, relational, and reflective intelligence, she demonstrates how the mantra of “little and often”—small experiences repeated many times—is the best way to create new habits; undo the effects of negative, harmful, or traumatic experiences; and strengthen your inner reserves.

A DOCTOR’S DOZEN 12 Strategies for Personal Health and a Culture of Wellness

Catherine Florio Pipas, MD, MPH • Dartmouth College Press

“For the first time in history, the current generation of young adults in our nation is less healthy than their parents.” This startling statement introduces Catherine Florio Pipas’s clarion call for personal health accountability. In A Doctor’s Dozen, Florio Pipas, a professor of community and family medicine at Dartmouth, demonstrates that many modern health concerns can be attributed to preventable behaviors and lifestyle choices. She outlines the most common of these preventable issues and prescribes a three-pronged strategy for tackling each through the lenses of self-awareness, self-care, and self-improvement. She presents a holistic approach that influences well-being on every level.

THE LITTLE BOOK OF MINDFULNESS 10 Minutes a Day to Less Stress, More Peace

Dr. Patrizia Collard • Gaia

Here’s one of those books that fits in a purse or pocket—presumably to keep close at hand for when you’re stressing out, zoning out, or simply want to take some time out. It’s chock-a-block full of wee practices of five to 10 minutes’ duration. (The 10-minutes-per-day in the subtitle is a little misleading: If you did all of the more than 20 practices in a day, it would tote up to about three hours.) Many of them are cleverly or intriguingly named (like Standing Starfish and Foot Scan) and playfully illustrated. All are accessible and easy to follow.

IN PRAISE OF WASTING TIME

Alan Lightman • Simon and Schuster

This slight, thoughtful text lauds “wasting” time from many angles: contemplation, creativity, divergent thinking, and enduring happiness. These qualities, Lightman asserts, are not trademarks of rare genius, but “habits of mind.” Even better, we’re already practicing them whenever we rest, play, or meditate. (As a nostalgic example, he conjures an afternoon spent gazing into a tadpole pond and wondering, not Googling, about the world.) He suggests Western culture could benefit from reappraising where we waste our time. Untethering once in a while from society’s hyperconnected, often counterproductive “grid” of distractions, we can simply be present, letting ourselves idle.  

NO PLACE TO GO How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs

Lezlie Lowe • Coach House Books

Ever gone into a store and bought something just so you could use the bathroom, been told a bathroom is for Employees Only, frantically searched for a place to go (perhaps, ugh, in vain), or waited in an interminable line at the ladies’ loo? Here’s a strong and thoroughly researched case for how mindless our societies are when it comes to one of life’s universal needs. With an aging population, gender fluidity, and shrinking infrastructure budgets, this problem is not going away. Here’s a chance to learn how we got here and what some brave and bright souls are doing about it.

INVISIBILIA Episode: Leave a Message

Let’s face it: Voicemail may not be long for this world. Technologies like email and texting have largely taken its place: They’re quicker and less intrusive. On the other hand, a 2016 study on the “cuddle hormone,” oxytocin, found that when we hear a loved one’s voice over the phone, our brain’s oxytocin response is almost the same as if we’d actually hugged them. Screenwriter Cord Jefferson considers “the power of the human voice, and what we lose when the voice goes away”—particularly if a family member’s life is cut short, glorifying the audible mementos in a voicemail inbox.

CBC RADIO, SUNDAY EDITION Episode: You can’t stop checking your phone because Silicon Valley designed it that way

Reporter Ira Basen digs deep into the “attention economy, where the biggest prize goes to those who can grab users’ attention and keep it the longest.” For Facebook, Snapchat, and the rest, your attention is what’s for sale. Basen journeys back to the dawning of “persuasive technology,” a term coined in the mid-1990s by Stanford behavior scientist B.J. Fogg. He taught tech pioneers how technology could supply beneficial tools for habit formation. But did it get out of hand? A lively debate ensues about who takes ultimate responsibility for the habits we form.

THE GUARDIAN Episode: Is compassion fatigue inevitable in an age of 24-hour news?

Elisa Gabbert prides herself on her awareness of goings-on in the world, but lately she has a case of “creeping, psychic exhaustion”: compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress. Psychologist Charles Figley defined this in 1995 as “stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person.” STS commonly haunts first responders and other professional caregivers. But thanks to round-the-clock news cycles, many people now feel emotionally numbed. “What happens,” Gabbert asks, “when the world wants more empathy than we can give?” This episode samples thought-provoking theories on empathy and considers how we might respond to its limitations.

The post Mindful Books and Podcasts to Keep You Warm This Winter appeared first on Mindful.

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Pokemon GO update event taps McDonalds

The most recent replace to Pokemon Move brings on lured McDonald’s with “dancing pedals” as well as an upgrade for Rural users searching monsters. This set of updates requires no Pokemon Go report replace – until of path the player hasn’t up to date for the beyond numerous weeks. This replace is particularly server-aspect, this means that it’s Niantic’s transfer the turn, rather than that of the person user.

Customers in Japan will benefit this week from the modern McDonald’s sponsorship deal.

This “Golden Week”, as it’s called, many McDonald’s in Japan can be a part of a “Lure module party occasion.” In keeping with Pokemon Go Japan’s reputable Twitter account, round 2,500 “home” McDonald’s will be taking component within the celebration. Right here inside the USA, we will only cross our hands to be so fortunate to sit down round and devour french fries while catching tiny monsters.

The coolest information for United states

Based totally users who live out within the wooded area is a boom in rural spawns. customers that stay in areas with few or no Poker stops or Pokemon Gym locations are getting a lift in spawn regularity. Even as spawn spots might exchange little or no, several customers at some stage in the USA have stated that their own heavily-tracked Pokemon Cross surroundings have visible upwards of a ten%-15% boom in Pokemon spawns.

It turned into suggested all the manner returned in December that Rural and Suburban regions in Pokemon Move might get improved spawn charges for Pokemon of all types. because it turned out, we did indeed get extra Pokemon shooting up – and once Gen 2 was launched, the amount of non-piggy Pokemon expanded through quite a chunk. Simply after phrase of improved spawns, trackers like Kerrie on Reddit determined that most Pokemon spawns inside the following way:

The History of Pokemon – How Did Pokemon Become Popular?

The history of Pokemon began with one single japan guy named Satoshi Tajiri. It changed into his interest. Over time he determined to position his concept of catching creatures into practice, to provide children the identical thrills he had as a baby of catching bugs and tadpoles. Tajiri and buddies worked a whole lot of hours on designs and Tajiri even went with unpaid hours to make his goals come properly for the sport. It almost drove companions bankrupt, and numerous employees cease due to financial situations. The first Pokemon games, Pokemon red and inexperienced, got here to Japan on February 27, 1996, which fulfilled Tajiri’s goals. Due to the fulfillment charge in Japan with the Pokemon games, they released it distant places.

The anime, as well as Pokemon Yellow

Marked Pikachu as the maximum popular and recognized creature in Pokemon records, turning it into the franchise’s mascot. This brought about a small spin-off game referred to as Good day You, Pikachu!, which was launched in Japan on December 12, 1998, and in North America on November 6, 2000. This becomes a digital pet recreation, using the Nintendo sixty-four’s Voice Popularity Unit to allow the players interact verbally with Pikachu. Whilst the anime finished following the video games’ story with Ash’s defeat within the Pokémon League in January 1999, it commenced a new season in a new region referred to as the Orange Archipelago.

A chief overhaul of the principle game collection befell While Pokemon arrived on the sports Boy Develop on November 21, 2002, While Ruby and Sapphire Versions had been launched in Japan. Trainers determined themselves within the southern land known as Hoenn where a hundred thirty-five new Pokemon had been ready to be found. The video games reached North us on March 18, 2003, and had many new functions, the maximum distinguished being Pokemon Contests, Double Battles, Pokemon Capabilities and Natures for each Pokemon. Additionally added in those Variations had been extra types of weather and two new villain teams, Crew Magma and Crew Aqua.

The anime commenced a brand new series, Advanced Technology series

Which started out in Japan on an equal day as the release of the video games and reached North us almost a yr later. A notable deal was modified in this collection, including the creation of a new foremost man or woman, May additionally, primarily based on her recreation counterpart.

There are several generations of Pokemon, and there’s nevertheless future generations to return. While the arena modifications, so do the arena of Pokemon. 2016 marks the twentieth anniversary of Pokemon and might be celebrated by the re-launch of the unique Technology I center collection video games on the Nintendo 3DS’s. There are presently six generations of Pokemon, and over this term, there are numerous games, such as spin-offs, at the side of anime, movies, manga, a Trading Card game, music, and a musical.

Why Do Event Organizers Work With Lighting Companies?

Organizing an event may be worrying since you need to accomplish numerous obligations. Apart from that, organizing an occasion also can be luxurious. This is why to ensure that you may prepare your occasion well, it’s far great to work with dependable specialists. For example, when making plans to set up lighting, it’s miles imperative to call in lights groups. Fortuitously, running with such companies can offer you with numerous benefits that could help make your business occasion higher and more a success. Beneath are some of the following advantages.

Get entry to several lights solutions

One of the motives why many event organizers work with lighting companies is to benefit Access to several lighting fixtures solutions. As of now, there are various lighting alternatives event organizers can make use of. For instance, whilst organizing enterprise occasions, organizers can use lighting effects to emphasize their products or services. Plus, you could also find lighting which is good in making ranges greater appealing. On this way, they could attract people to emerge as clients. As a result, events can offer you with the quality results that may increase enterprise recognition and earnings.

Better visibility

Another motive why more and more occasion organizers work with lighting corporations is to revel in better visibility. There are instances when you may locate regions to your venues that are not handy due to insufficient lights. Fortuitously, agencies that offer lighting fixtures solutions can without problems assist you. This is viable seeing that they could offer you with shiny lighting to make event venues greater visible. Due to this, duties may be finished nicely.

Advanced safety

Running with lighting companies also can help make event venues safer. As referred to above, there are regions in venues in which there are no lighting fixtures. And, this may certainly motive sudden incidents. With the help of professionals, organizers can well deploy enough lights in their venue which lets in them to reduce or even save you accidents at some point of their event.

Growth venue aesthetics

In the end, lighting companies can boom venue aesthetics. this could be achieved with the aid of making use of various sorts of lighting consequences. Organizers can also locate lights that function a wide array of colors that may, in the end, turn simple areas into extravagant event venues. occasion organizers also can assist shifting lighting solutions that could entertain people. by the use of the proper lights, organizers also can improve the atmosphere of venues which could entice guests.

McDonalds Business Analysis

‘Inside the Nineties managers can be judged on their ability to pick out, cultivate, and take advantage of the core abilities that make growth feasible – certainly, they’ll rethink the concept of the company it self.’

C Ok Prahalad and G Hamel 1990

Organizations do not exist in the vacuum. They function inside an aggressive industrial environment. Studying its competition no longer best enables a corporation to identify its very own strengths and weaknesses however additionally assist to become aware of opportunities for and threats to the business enterprise from its industrial environment. SWOT analysis is a systematic analysis of these elements and the strategy that reflects the first-class in shape among them.

Let us examine these principals when it comes to the center competence of McDonalds, certainly one of the biggest food chain groups Inside the international. Let us first begin with the strengths and the effective factors which outline the overall performance of this organisation. How are we able to define the company’s strengths? Energy is a exclusive competence that gives the company a comparative advantage Inside the marketplace vicinity. For instance financial resources, image, market leadership and purchaser dealer members of the family etc

McDonalds is the no: 1 fast meals chain shops with a forty million clients journeying it in keeping with day

It has over 30,000 branches in one hundred twenty countries. It derives 80% of its revenues from eight countries like Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Japan, United kingdom, Australia, and the US. The finest Energy became growing a picture In the minds of the people and introducing them to the short meals lifestyle. Transport velocity, client care, and cleanliness are the center strengths on which these shops multiplied. They created a corporate symbol and their advertisement campaigns were incredibly a success in setting up the logo picture and brand In the minds of the hundreds of thousands. Two predominant competitors usually diagnosed with McDonald’s are the Burger King and the KFC. McDonald’s advertising approach is involved with the inner resources, external environment and its fundamental capabilities at the side of its proportion holders.

Transport velocity, client care, and cleanliness are the center strengths on which these shops multiplied. They created a corporate symbol and their advertisement campaigns were incredibly a success in setting up the logo picture and brand In the minds of the hundreds of thousands. Two predominant competitors usually diagnosed with McDonald’s are the Burger King and the KFC. McDonald’s advertising approach is involved with the inner resources, external environment and its fundamental capabilities at the side of its proportion holders.