#rather than someone speaking FROM a position of knowledge. if that makes sense

[trans-cuchulainn]

also none of that means you can't send me asks or whatever. i can decide whether or not to answer and in how much detail and if i give an in depth answer then that means i both have the information and am happy to provide it. i'm just tired of the repeated trend of my shitposts being held up to the standard of Educational History Content when they were never intended to be that, they're just me blowing off steam in my nerdy way because that's who i am as a person

[strawbeerossi]

Competition

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Spencer Reid

Description: You’re the new genius on campus. Spencer doesn’t like that one bit. Whenever there is a poker competition for charity held by the FBI, it only makes sense that you are both coming for each other’s necks.

Content/Warnings: Snarky!Spencer and snarky!reader, gambling, two characters are just alike so they hate each other trope, sex in a bathroom, finger sucking, unprotected sex, creampie.

I have no knowledge on poker. Sorry 😭

Word Count: 2.3K

Anon Request: You don’t have to do this but it’s my birthday on sunday (5th Nov) and i was wondering if you could do a Spencer one-shot. Maybe a little enemies to lovers sitch. smutty ofc 😉😉😉😉

Navigation || Criminal Minds Masterlist || Request

Happy birthday Anon 😘🎂

🏷️ @kr-1-sta @iluvreid @nervousmoongiver @multifandom-on-the-side @ferrjulie @lov1ngreid @sobbingcryingattsizzles @doriantomybasil @thegluesong @rosiehale23 @queermaxwooo @rubyatarah @smallgayandnotokay @Princesskuzimu

Spencer wasn’t a jealous guy by any means, nor was he the type to be so self absorbed that he could care about someone’s opinion of him changing. As cocky as it sounded, he knew that he was going to always be the person on the team with the most knowledge on any given subject. That was until you joined the team.

You rivalled him in the academic department, having an IQ of 187. You didn’t have the eidetic memory though, so Spencer liked to think he could one up you in that department. You might have been good with any form of maths or science, however you didn’t hold a candle to the amount of vast knowledge that he carried in his memory alone.

Your first day on the team determined your relationship, you getting angry at the way he would so quickly talk over you when a question was being asked. You came into this job excited, wanting to spend time with the whole group that seemed so close knit from an outside perspective. Instead, you were met with an immature imbecile who really thought you’d allow him to speak over you.

As weeks turned into months, things didn’t seem to change. You wouldn’t dare admit it but it did upset you just a tiny bit that he never actually gave you a chance. Ever since you spouted off your first contribution to a briefing, it was like he had to upstage you. Instead of discussing things like mature adults however, you both gave each other the most childish treatment. In your mind, he deserved it. He foolishly believed he was better than you for what reason? Was it because he was threatened that a woman came in to take over his genius position? Was he jealous of all the attention the team paid you without an eye roll, the opposite of what they did for him? You’d never know.

Whenever there was a poker competition that was brought up by the director of the FBI, it was a silly idea to want to gamble all night. Even for charity, you would rather just donate to the cause and go home to read a good book and have a tall glass of red wine. “Are you going to participate in the big game?” You had asked as you leaned against the counter in the kitchenette, a cup of coffee in your hand as you were talking with Penelope, Derek and Emily. “I might go just to support the charity. Nobody is gonna win whenever Reid is there. That guy is..” Penelope whistled while sipping from her own mug. “What do you mean? Him?” Derek was chuckling at your disbelief. “Poker is just a big math equation to him. He grew up in Vegas and can count cards. Nobody stands a chance against him. Not even you, mama.”

The words had you frowning. “I think I could kick his ass with no problem.” Emily was scoffing at your confidence. “Sure you will. I’m telling you, this isn’t something you wanna get into with him. Especially when betting is involved. He’s gonna get you, every single time.” You weren’t buying that. There was no way that these abilities couldn’t be outsmarted. Spencer wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. You were going to prove that.

When the day finally came along, you were paying for your ticket at the door before heading inside the large venue the FBI director had rented out, mainly to make sure that it was possible to fit all the agents and other people who purchased tickets for the poker tournament. You’d worn a black dress for the event, wanting to use your prized assets (wink) to take care of the men who were easy to distract. You’d made it to one of the many tables set up and placed your clutch beside you on the table, the chips you’d already purchased being stacked up in front of you while you waited for the table to fill.

Spencer had seen you the minute he came in and he knew where he needed to be for the night. Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t completely hate your guts. He always thought he would’ve liked you, however with you puffing out your chest and trying to take over his position on the team, he wouldn’t just lay down and take it. He fought back, anyone would. “Good evening.” He greeted you, making your eyes roll at his formality. “Hello, Reid.” You spoke in a monotone voice while resting your chin against the palm of your hand. You were just happy he willingly signed himself up for defeat whenever he sat beside you. This was a war that you intended to win.

Derek and Emily were funnily enough the two that day at the same table in order to get your game kicked off. As the cards were being dealt, you were confident. A flush. That’s not so bad. Luck was on your side, all you had to do was have a good poker face. As your eyes darted around the table, you were only raising an eyebrow once you made it to Spencer. He was staring at you so hard that you felt like he could see right through you. He was trying to read you. Another reason to keep a straight face as you return the questioning stares. “I’ll raise 20.” Spencer spoke, words slow and calculated as he tossed his chips in the middle of the table. “I’m folding.” Emily huffed, cards being put down on the table as she brought a hand to rub her face from frustration. “I’m calling.” You hummed while glancing over at Derek, who’d done the same.

With a straight from Derek, a flush from you, and a fucking royal flush from Spencer, you could feel your eye twitching. There was no way. He looked as cocky as ever, a smirk on his face as he was leaning over to get the chips. “Shall we go for another game?” He asked, making Emily nudge your side. “I told you.” She hissed. Maybe she was right. No! No, she’s not. You’re gonna do this even if it’s the last thing you do.

As the games continued, the tension between you and Spencer had grown much stronger from just how competitive you were being with one another. He was single handedly leaving you with nothing every play so far, causing you to run low on chips.

It was the last game whenever you had enough, pushing every chip in the middle of the table. “Fuck you, I’m all in.” You frowned, Derek and Emily pushing their own chips in just to end this whole thing sooner rather than later. “All in? That’s so foolish.” Spencer scoffed, however it didn’t stop him from adding his massive collection of poker chips to the pot. “I think you should’ve learned by now that I’m going to take this home.” He said, his tone cocky as he was looking over the new cards that were being passed around the table.

“I just wanna get another drink.” Emily muttered her own commentary to Derek, who nodded in agreement. “I know exactly what you mean.” He grumbled in return. This game had lost the fun nature of it whenever you and Spencer were too focused on one-upping one another.

You had the last laugh though, the look on Spencer’s face the moment that he realized you had a straight flush when he only had one pair was something you wanted photographed and framed. “Well. I don’t mean to brag Dr. Reid, but I just beat the best card counter in Vegas!” You smirked, leaning over the table to use your arms to scoop the chips close. Now, the way you leaned over the table gave a nice, tasteful view of your breasts threatening to spill over the neckline of your dress. “And that’s the game. Sorry.” You hummed, watching the way Spencer stared at you, a fire behind his eyes as he glared at you. “You got lucky! That’s all. You really think you can beat me when I’m not at my best?”

“That’s all the time, Spencer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have chips to redeem.” You smirk, stacking them on the little tray before heading off. Which after you’d redeemed your winnings, you were walking off to the bathrooms. Spencer was still bitter, last you seen of him was him storming off to go god knows where. Whenever you had finished doing your business and you were washing your hands, your eyes were glancing up when the door was being pushed open. Whenever you saw the same agent who was still looking at you like he wanted to ring your throat, you couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. “This is the woman’s bathroom, Reid. What are you? A pervert?” You asked, staring over at him with amusement.

Although amusement turned to confusion when he was turning the lock on the door. “You know. I’m tired of your problem with me. You really think you’re better than me?” Spencer asked, walking closer. “Is that really a question?” You asked. Every ounce of cockiness was gone though whenever he had you trapped against the counter of the bathroom. “You really do. I think you need to be humbled. Nobody likes a cocky brat.” He huffed, making you scoff. “What are you gonna do? Huh? Gonna lecture me with your useless and boring facts like you always do? If anyone needs to be humbled, it’s you.” You seethed.

What Spencer did next caught you by surprise. The feeling of your teeth clashing together was felt immediately after as he was slamming his lips into yours. It wasn’t a soft ‘ease your way in’ kind of kiss. No. This was an angry ‘you need to learn a lesson’ kiss. You were dumbfounded. It didn’t stop you from returning the kiss that was dripping with rage and desire, your arms around his shoulders as your body leaned into his frame. “Always thing you’re better than me.” He murmured against your lips, his hands moving from your hips to your ass, giving it a firm squeeze as he was gently lifting you up to sit you on the counter. His lips were pulling from yours as he was sliding his hands up the black dress you wore tonight, his hands finding their way to your panties. Instead of taking them off though, your eyes were widening when you heard the sound of fabric tearing. “What the fuck?!” The words were in a high pitched squeak, Spencer shrugging as he was getting the ruined underwear. “You don’t need them. You like the attention anyway. I’m sure you’d like to bend over a table and show the whole place your pussy anyway.” He murmured, hand already working on his belt.

You shouldn’t have been as wet as you were. This was Spencer. Annoying, rambling, stupidly smart Spencer. The same guy who talked over you, who treated you like you weren’t a valued team member. Yet here you were, sitting on a bathroom counter at a convention center while the same man you despised was pulling his hard cock out of his slacks. “Who knows, maybe this will calm you down. In fact, I think it’ll get all that pent up anger and frustration out, I’m sure.” His tone was condescending, much different than you’d expect from the sweet Spencer Reid persona that he carried.

“Shut the fuck up.” You spat, making the male shake his head. “See? Brat.” He murmured, now pushing your thighs apart while guiding the leaking tip of his shaft to your entrance. “Let’s teach you a lesson.” One of your hands was gripping onto his shoulder, the other clutching the marble countertop as you let your head lean against the mirror in the bathroom the minute his cock was sinking inside of you. “F-fuck.”

“Who knew that this would shut you up?” He asked with a smirk, his eyebrow raising. “Maybe I should’ve done this sooner. Think you secretly love the idea of me fucking you like this. Bet it’s all you’ve ever dreamed of.” He continued to taunt, rendering you speechless for the first time ever. As he fucked into your pussy, his hand was ultimately covering your mouth from your loud moans. “As much as I’d love for everyone to know that I’m doing this, I don’t think we need to alert the whole building.” He mumbled through clenched teeth, ultimately shoving two fingers in your mouth in order to muffle everything without having to completely cover half of your face.

“I’m gonna cum soon.” He warned, knowing that just by the feeling of your inner walls spasming and clenching tight around him, you weren’t far behind. “Fuck. What if I fill you up with my cum? Get you pregnant? Then I could have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re never gonna get rid of me. Gonna have my child inside of you, keeping a piece of me right there with you.” His words had your eyes rolling to the back of your head as you let your legs tighten around his waist from his sloppy thrusts. With a rush of white making your body run hot, you were clutching his shoulder as you’d reached your orgasm, the creamy arousal coating his cock as he was giving a few more thrusts before the gush of hot cum was painting your insides.

You were both flushed, beads of sweat on your skin as you stared at one another. Spencer was gently pulling his fingers from your mouth while brushing his hair back with one hand. “Can you stop trying to compete with me now?! I’m so tired of this.” He grumbled, making you scoff weakly as you were closing your eyes to help come down from your post orgasmic high.

“Not if you’re gonna fuck me like that every time I do it. I think we should go play another game.”

[halfvalid]

Hey! I was wondering if you could do a live action Zoro smut where it's enemies to lovers (boy X girl). I don't mind how hardcore smut (18+?) but I would love if there was some tension (argument or fight!) 😁

speak teeth

ABOUT

| 18+ | smut | explicit |

alternate title: i need the lord

rating: explicit

characters: live action!roronoa zoro | fem!reader

pairing: live action!roronoa zoro x fem!reader

word count: 4.9k

description: you and zoro have never gotten along. after a incident in town escaping from marines, you resolve to sort out your issues with unconventional means. (aka sex.)

tags: strawhat!reader, female reader, enemies to lovers, except it's more like frenemies to frenemies with benefits, kissing, kiss to distract trope, no use of “y/n”, reader calls zoro "roronoa", penis in vagina sex, creampie, pwp, cowgirl position

author’s note: thanks for the request! i kind of lost the plot on this one because i'm terrible at writing enemies-to-lovers and there's not much 'lovers' involved in this since i couldn't exactly fit that into a oneshot. hopefully you still like it anyway? i tried my best.

tags make it seem so much worse than it actually is.

Roronoa Zoro did not like you. 

The feeling was mutual, so you didn’t mind the fact, really. Zoro was annoying, with his three swords, and that stupid low voice, and how he never seemed interested in conversation unless it was either about alcohol or beating someone up. You were undoubtedly annoying to him for various reasons not so different in number to your own grievances of his personality. You two didn’t like each other. It was fine. It was normal. 

It was pissing off the rest of the Straw Hat crew. 

In your defense, you were never outwardly aggressive towards the man. You didn’t purposely exclude him from conversations or avoid looking at him if he dared haunt a room you were in with his presence. You just… didn’t speak to him unless spoken to. And maybe you had a tendency to roll your eyes or mutter some insults when he was talking, but it wasn’t that big of an issue. 

Zoro, on the other hand, was a master of discord. He’d killed and hunted so many people it only made sense for him to be, but it seemed he hadn’t skipped his lessons in petty fights either. Because he was bullheaded and a buzzkill and always opened his big mouth when you were around. Those sarcastic remarks of his were common, sure, but when you were in the room they were tenfold and laced with genuine venom. 

You weren’t sure who’d even started the strife between you two. It had been so long that you’d forgotten. While everyone else had seemingly bonded after your journey together, you and Zoro remained firmly in the stage you’d been while trapped in Buggy’s green room—antagonistic. Obviously you didn’t hate each other—when Zoro had nearly died to Mihawk, you hadn’t been happy—but you didn’t get along, and both of you were just fine with that arrangement. 

Nobody else was, though.

And so obviously you didn’t like it when Luffy announced, as you were docked, that you were assigned to scout the surrounding village together. Your lips twisted, but you refrained from saying anything up until Luffy finished his speech with: “And that’s the plan! Any objections?” 

There were head shakes from all around the deck of the Going Merry. You eyed Zoro in the very corner—his arms were crossed, and carefully he raised a hand, just barely lifting it into the air as he motioned. “Why is she coming with me?” 

You bit your tongue, suppressing the irritated sigh that threatened to escape. “Because,” Luffy said, bright as ever, “You two need to learn how to be friends. Think of it as a bonding activity!” 

“I’d really rather go with Sanji,” you optioned, trying to be more civil than Zoro at least. “He could use a hand carrying the stock barrels.” 

“Nope,” Luffy chirped. “It makes most sense for the two of you to be the one to buy the weapons, anyway.” 

“He’s right. You both are the most knowledgeable on the subject,” Nami whispered, though she gave you an apologetic look. You sighed. Zoro opted to say nothing. 

“Fine. Let’s go, Roronoa,” you said, getting up off the Going Merry’s railing to start walking off the ship. You heard Zoro grumble from behind you, but he soon caught up. You said absolutely nothing to each other for the first few minutes of walking, keeping to yourselves until you eventually reached the market. 

“What kind of weapons are we looking for?” you asked, glancing over your shoulder at the man who trailed just barely behind you. “I know Luffy wants backups, but did he say specifically what?” 

“Probably a few guns, maybe some swords,” Zoro replied. “A katana for me. Extra staff for Nami, in case hers breaks.” 

“Right. Nami gave me five-hundred thousand berry. Let’s spend it wisely. No pit stops.” 

Zoro gave you a look. “It’s not like I’m going to slip into the nearest tavern and abandon you. Luffy said we go together, so we go together.” 

“Right.” You turned away so you could roll your eyes in private. You had to appreciate that, at least; Zoro’s loyalty to Luffy at least meant he wouldn’t be a bitch to you if Luffy told him not to, and Nami kept you more or less under wraps too. “Pistols first. Let’s just get two, and save the rest for a sword because those are more pricey.” 

Focusing on business was fine. You could be a responsible adult and not be petty. And it really did go okay for the first half-hour, wherein you bartered one of the weapons sellers down to a reasonable price for two pistols and also picked up a bo staff on the way.

You were just heading towards another district of the town when Zoro slowed to a stop. You glanced over to see what he was looking at—a wall pasted with bounty posters, various pirates plastered on paper with big numbers shouting out their worth. 

“Look, it’s Luffy,” you said, eyes catching a bundle of posters near the top. Sure enough, all six members of the Straw Hat crew were there. You noticed with distaste that Zoro’s bounty was higher than yours.

Zoro tore all of the posters off, and you were almost surprised when he took yours off too. He crumpled them up into balls, about to toss them behind his shoulder before you grabbed them, carefully tucking them away in your bag. “What’s that for?” he asked. 

“So I can shoot darts at your face,” you replied. “Come on. Should finish and get back to the ship before anyone recognizes us.” 

Zoro shrugged, but followed you as you led him to the closest armory you could find. The shop was small and rickety, and a silver bell announced your presence as you entered the building. There were blades of every kind in the shop; you could see a table of knives and daggers, along with a stand full of long swords by the front. Near the back, you glimpsed some hanging rapiers, and—

“Katanas,” Zoro muttered, pushing past you to slip to the back of the store. You sighed, but followed, glancing over the array of jians instead. Zoro was already picking one up and pulling it out of its sheath, checking the quality of the blade. 

“Don’t—” you hissed, and he glanced up at you, brow raised in question as he spun the blade around in his hand. “You’re going to knock something over.” 

Zoro sheathed the sword, a satisfying click filling the room with the motion. “Calm down.” 

“I am calm,” you snapped. “If you’d just stop stomping around with those big boots of yours, though—” 

Zoro looked far less affected by the entire ordeal than you did, and that pissed you off even more. Logically, you knew he didn’t show much emotion in general, and even his annoyances tended to be deep and quiet—but still. He strung the katana back up where it belonged. “I am not stomping.” 

“Yes, you are—” You cut yourself off as the bell of the store rang again, announcing the arrival of more patrons. These two were whispering to each other, gruff voices that sounded almost scared. “He came in here, right?” One of them asked the other. “Are you sure it’s him?” 

“He tore down his own wanted poster!” The other hissed back. 

You caught onto what was happening quickly, letting a sigh out from between your teeth and grabbing onto Zoro’s arm to yank him further back into the store. You turned a corner, where a narrow hall cut off at a dead end, a wardrobe of swords blocking off the area to any prying eyes. “Now look at what you did,” you grumbled, before you could stop yourself. “You’ve got fucking bounty hunters after us.” You glanced through the stands of swords for a double take—the pair were standing at the front, outfitted in familiar white-and-blue uniforms. “Scratch that, even worse. Marines.” 

“I can take them in a fight,” Zoro muttered, hand going to his swords. You grabbed his wrist and gave him a look. 

“No. We’re not due to leave the docks for another two days,” you snapped. “Can you figure out a way to get out of a situation without stabbing someone?” 

“How can you be sure it was him, though? The Demon?” The more timid marine asked. They’d started moving, and you shoved Zoro into the corner, attempting to hide his ridiculously broad figure with an armoire of weapons. He scoffed, but made no move to adjust, back flat against the wall.

“He had the three swords. And the three earrings, too. Of course it was him,” the other one replied. You rolled your eyes. 

“Ever try being a little less obvious, Roronoa?” you muttered, shooting another glare in Zoro’s direction. “You’re like a flashing red light for every marine within a two-mile radius with your stupid swords. I’m Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter!” 

“I don’t hear you yelling at Luffy to take his hat off,” Zoro hissed back. 

“They’re coming this way,” you answered, entirely ignoring his retort. “Hide your stupid swords. Shove them behind a stand or something.” 

“I don’t see why we can’t just—” 

“No fighting.” You swiveled around, tugging his holsters off his belt and tossing the swords behind him with a graceless clatter. Zoro just sighed. “Shit,” you muttered as the marines turned at the noise, starting to move towards the back of the store.

“Now look at what you did,” Zoro mumbled, mocking your words straight back at you. You glared at him. 

“Shut up and stay put,” you snapped. “Let me think of something.” The marines were coming closer, and you huffed out a nervous breath. Zoro watched you from his position. 

“They know your face, too,” he said carefully. Almost derisively, like he was looking down on your idea; making you seem stupid. “Just let me fight them. It makes the most sense.” The footsteps grew louder, then, the marines moving towards the back of the store. 

“I think I heard voices,” one of them muttered to the other. You shushed Zoro, unconsciously moving closer to him until your arm bumped into his. You startled, and then looked up, finding Zoro’s chest just inches away from your face. 

“Is this some new sort of hiding tactic?” Zoro asked, voice dry as a desert. “Are you trying to melt us into the wall—” 

The voices tapered off as the marines moved closer. Your hand shot up to cradle Zoro’s face, covering his dangling gold earrings with your fingers to hide them away. “Fuck this,” Zoro muttered, leaning back to pick up his swords. You shushed him, and he stopped, bent halfway over you so your faces were just inches apart. 

“Just trust me,” you snapped. Zoro opened his mouth to argue, but then the marines’ footsteps got louder—they’d turn the corner any moment now. 

“Fine,” he breathed. “But if it doesn’t work, I’m taking out my swords.” 

Your mind ran a million miles a minute trying to figure out what to do. The marines were just around the corner now, and your breath caught, eyes meeting Zoro’s as you wracked your brain for something, anything that might distract the marines away from the two of you. Zoro’s lips parted, a split-second away from undoubtedly whispering some grand insult when the marines finally turned the corner.

You were kissing Zoro before you could even think. 

“Oh,” one of the marines said, as your fingers nearly pinched Zoro’s earlobe, still covering his earrings. Zoro was frozen for a moment, but the marines behind you seemed startled enough that he realized it was working. A rush of satisfaction filled you for a moment—see, Roronoa, you don’t have to stab shit all the time—before Zoro was kissing you back.

And. Well. You’d started it, but you had not anticipated this. 

Zoro was almost rough, his hand curling around the nape of your neck and tugging you down closer to him. His other hand came to rest on your waist, so impossibly big around your torso that you shivered. What had started out as a simple kiss slipped into one all messy, your breaths coming out in sharp gasps as Zoro barely gave you a moment to breathe. 

His teeth dug into your lip, and you groaned into his mouth, tongue darting along his gums with the motion. He snickered at that, and you felt a little bundle of vexation starting at the pit of stomach at the sound. You ran your tongue into the crevices of his mouth, licking into him with ease. Another rush of satisfaction filled you as Zoro’s grip tightened on your waist. You were winning.

He fought back just as hard, practically merciless as his tongue slid against yours, prying into your mouth like he was trying to bare you empty of secrets. You felt stripped raw like this, but it wasn’t a terrible feeling—the opposite, actually, soft whimpers leaving your lungs as he dug more fiercely into you. Zoro sucked on your lower lip with teeth, and you barely managed to suppress the stuttered sound it tugged out from the back of your throat. 

There were hasty footsteps receding somewhere behind you, which was the only sound that snapped you out of your motions. You were the first to break away—another score gained there—glancing over your shoulder to ensure the marines had really left before fully detaching yourself from Zoro. The silver bell rung again, signaling the marines had made their exit, and you let out a relieved sigh. 

Zoro glanced over your shoulder, straightening his clothes as his tongue ran along his top teeth. The top teeth you’d had your tongue on just seconds ago. “If you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve just said so.” 

“I did not—” You sucked in a breath, all your general irritated feelings towards the man coming back at full force with just that one sentence. “Shut the fuck up. I got us out of the situation, didn’t I?” 

“You have questionable methods,” Zoro replied, leaning over to pick up his abandoned swords and strap them back along his hip. “Don’t think about that all night.” 

“You were not that good of a kisser,” you snapped, though you could feel your face getting hot. Your mouth tingled, like you could still taste him on your tongue; on your teeth; in your gums. There was a vaguely empty sensation at the curve of your waist you tried your best to ignore. “Don’t be so full of yourself. Roronoa. Now pick a sword to buy so we can leave already.”

Zoro seemed irritated, but he complied, brushing past you to inspect a few more of the swords before picking out one. You paid for it as quickly as possible, in a rush to get back to the ship; not even trying to talk the salesman down from his price like you usually would. 

Zoro followed you languidly, absolutely nothing urgent about his motions as you trailed after you back through the village. You wanted to uppercut him so badly. 

“Oh, there you guys are,” Usopp said upon stepping foot back onto the Going Merry. You shot him an apologetic smile before breezing past, beelining for your bedroom without a second thought. “Uh—okay! You good?” he called after you, but you were too far away to respond at this point. 

You slammed the door of your room shut upon entering, heaving out a breath of jumbled emotion all in one go. Fuck Roronoa Zoro and his three stupid swords and his three stupid earrings. He was the most lumbering, bullheaded oaf you’d ever had the displeasure of engaging with. 

He’d been a ridiculously good kisser. Now you hated him even more. 

You locked yourself in your room for the next four hours, busying yourself with various tasks whilst simultaneously seething over Zoro. It wasn’t even that he’d done anything specifically to you in the past. You just—didn’t get along, really. He was irritating, and stupid, and always tried to solve his problems with a blade rather than attempting to use his wits. Not that he had any wits of any kind. He was—

He was, as you were starting to find out, kind of attractive. Which. Okay. You’d known his face was at least easy on the eyes, despite his personality and general attitude not retaining the same qualities. But this was an entirely unappreciated development. 

Someone knocked on your door, snapping you out of your irritated haze. The sun had nearly set, a kiss of dusk coming in from outside as you shuffled over to the door. You yanked it open. “What—”

Zoro was standing in the doorway, arm propped against the side and keeping your door open even as you attempted to close it on him. “Roronoa.” 

“You’re hiding,” Zoro said, a tinge of mirth just barely visible in his eyes. You glared at him. 

“I am not.” 

“Do you have to disagree with everything I say?” Zoro asked. He was still wearing his swords even now, though he’d dressed down as the hour grew late. “You skipped dinner.” 

“Leave me alone,” you muttered. 

Zoro took that as an invitation to step fully into the room. “I told the rest of the crew about the marines,” he said, and you flinched. “Not about that. Just that we got away. Nami wants to leave tomorrow evening now, so we’ll be busy.” 

You stared at him, suspicious right from the start. “And you care enough to tell me? Did someone put you up to this?” 

Zoro stiffened. “I just thought you might want to know.” 

Your eyes narrowed. He looked as normal as ever—face blank, leaving no expression to be seen. But his muscles were tenser than usual, and the veins running up his arm were prominent, like his hand was tightened into a fist where it hid away in his pocket. “You have ulterior motives.”

“You’re so annoying,” Zoro muttered, but he didn’t budge. You scoffed. 

“What, are you here to admit that you were wrong and my plan really did get us away from the marines?” you asked, voice sugary sweet as you riled him up. His jaw clenched, a vein tracing up his neck bulging with the pressure. “You don’t need to inflate my ego—”

Zoro moved across the room swiftly, and you stumbled back in surprise as he pinned you to the wall, hand tight around your arm. Your words died in your throat as his lips sealed over yours with a bruising kiss. His fingers dug into the skin of your bicep—tight, but not tight enough to hurt. 

“I don’t need to inflate your ego,” Zoro snapped, finishing your sentence from where it’d died on your lips. “You do that enough yourself.” 

You stared at him, the tingle of his lips still left as an afterthought on your mouth. “If you’re going to make out with me, take your fucking swords off.” 

Zoro barely suppressed an eye roll, hands working at his belt to slide his holsters off from his hip. “What’s your problem with them?” 

“I think your emotional dependency on a bunch of oversized butter knifes—”

Zoro’s head jerked up, eyes dark when they met yours. “Don’t call them that.” 

You couldn’t resist the quip off your tongue. “You asked.” 

Zoro slowly made his way across the room again, steps careful and languid as he moved closer. “I take it back,” he said, voice a near whisper, every word crisp on his tongue. You shivered. 

This time, you expected it when he kissed you. He wasn’t careful with it, and you didn’t want it any other way—your arms wrapped around the back of his neck, tugging him down closer to you. It got aggressive quick, his fingers coming down to clutch your waist, one of your hands tight around the locks of his hair as you pried open his mouth with your tongue. 

Neither of you complied easily, both trying to get the better of the other. Zoro’s tongue forced itself into your mouth before you tugged on his lower lip with teeth. Both his hands came to wrap around your waist, now, hoisting you up and onto your hanging bed in the center of the room. His fingers dug in hard enough to leave bruises. 

Zoro abandoned your mouth in favor of your neck, biting open-mouthed kisses into your jawline before moving down your jugular. Each one was more hasty than the last, wet and warm with licks of tongue and scrapes of teeth. You didn’t bother moving to give him better access—he had to do that himself, a large hand coming to rest on the back of your skull and pulling your head back to bare the rest of your neck to him. You heard him mutter something in Japanese—probably some obscenity, which pleased you more than you’d like to admit. 

His kisses stopped at the hinge of your neck and shoulder, Zoro pausing to lean over and work his fingers up your spine. They danced over the clasp of your shirt, and you had to choke back a wry laugh, surprised. “I thought the Demon just took what he wanted,” you murmured. 

Zoro didn’t seem to like that. He started unfastening the buttons going down the back of your top. “At least I was polite enough to ask,” he muttered. 

“Just take my clothes off already,” you said, and he stopped his work, leaning back to glare into your eyes. You let out an annoyed sigh, and he rolled his eyes, going back to what he’d been doing. “Are we going to talk about it?” you asked, eyeing Zoro’s chest in front of you. 

You pressed a kiss to his neck, sucking at the skin before grazing it ever-so-slightly with your teeth. His throat hitched under your mouth. 

“Nope,” he grunted, finally unclasping the last button and pulling your top over your head. Since you didn’t have an issue with that arrangement, you didn’t say anything, even as Zoro practically shoved you flat on your back. 

“Rude,” you muttered. Zoro didn’t bother apologizing; he just leaned down to take your breast in his mouth, tongue circling around your nipple. You weren’t fast enough to suppress your gasp this time—a point in Zoro’s favor then, one you allowed with a bitter taste on your tongue. Zoro’s mouth formed a smile against your skin. You brought your knee up between his legs, shoving into his crotch in retaliation. 

“Stop,” Zoro hissed, the consonants of the words brushing across your skin when he spoke. You ignored him, and he let out a groan, hand clamping around your thigh to keep you from moving. “Do you have to be such a brat?” 

“I am not a brat.” You hooked your ankle around his, causing him to slip from where he lay suspended above you, mouths mashing in another too-aggressive facsimile of a kiss. “You’re just a gigantic manwhore with an overinflated ego.” 

“You did not just call me—” You shut him up with another kiss, teeth digging deep into the inner gums of his lip. You ran your hands up the sides of Zoro’s figure, trying your hardest to ignore the stiff muscles of his ribcage. He wasn’t that well-built. He wasn’t even that attractive, you tried to convince yourself. Still, you found the buttons of his shirt, trying to unfasten them quicker than Zoro had with yours. 

One of them caught, and Zoro had the audacity to laugh. You grumbled something incoherent under your breath, tugging his shirt off all the way and tossing it somewhere behind you. “Shut up.” 

“You’ve been the one complaining this entire time,” Zoro replied easily. He leaned down, tugging at your trousers to pull them off, pressing sloppy kisses down your torso now. You resisted the urge to say something in response, knowing it would just give him the satisfaction of being right. Were your points tied now? You couldn’t remember. 

Zoro had pulled your pants down to your knees by now, and you kicked them off all the way, watching as he pushed them off the bed and leaned down to work at the inward slope of your hip. You shivered, legs trembling as you felt your core grow tight, the cloth of your underwear already wet with anticipation. Seeing the ever-steadying tent in Zoro’s pants made you feel just a little bit better, and you were nice enough to let a stuttering moan out as his tongue licked down to the band of your panties. 

He pulled your underwear all the way off, then, but to your distaste completely ignored your fully exposed core to unbutton his own pants instead. “I hate you,” you muttered. 

Zoro stopped in the middle of what he was doing, pants halfway down his thighs and length already out. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, voice careful—you could still hear the mocking tone beyond the coolness of his voice, though, and your jaw clenched in irritation. “Did you want something?” 

“Yeah, for you to shut the fuck up.” You pushed yourself up by the elbows, grabbing one of Zoro’s arms and yanking him down onto the mattress. You used both hands to strip him of the last of his clothes—God, his legs were long—before returning to press your own open-mouthed bruises along his neck. His hips bucked up against yours, insistently chasing any friction, but you tightened a grip on his thigh to get him to stop. “Give me a second.” 

“I don’t like that I’m suddenly under you,” Zoro said drily, and you could feel the words as they formed in his throat, still biting hickeys into his skin. You rolled your eyes, lips disconnecting from skin with a dull pop.

“Deal with it, Roronoa. I’m not moving.” With that, you finally reached down to coax his legs apart, hovering your core over his hips as you lined your entrance up with his length. 

There was an audible hitch of breath on Zoro’s part as you sunk onto him. Point. 

One of his hands tangled in your hair when you started moving, the other coming to press on the small of your back as you worked yourself up and down around him. For the complaining he’d done about the position, he didn’t seem so bothered about it, pulling you into a rough kiss. 

You bit back with force, breath escaping you as your hips bucked against Zoro’s. The wet pool in your lower belly only grew stronger with every thrust, pressure building up inside of you as Zoro’s tongue ran across your teeth. You moaned freely now, too lost in the daze of your pleasure to remember to be annoying. Evidently Zoro felt the same way—he swallowed every one of your gasps up, grunting as you pulsed around him.

Your hips stuttered, thigh muscles contracting with the effort as you clenched down on Zoro. Still, you pushed through even as your muscles started to tire, encouraged by the deep, throaty sounds that escaped Zoro's lips between each kiss. He was big, filling you up damn near wholeheartedly, the crevices inside of you seeming to mould to his skin as you worked yourself on him.

Zoro started moving against you, and you gasped as his angle changed, somehow reaching farther in your body and causing tingles to erupt all along your skin. Your mind buzzed as he thrust into you with renewed vigor, core pulsing as you felt yourself come closer and closer to the edge. 

You came all at once, teeth biting down in Zoro’s mouth before you parted from him. You let out a gasping moan, attempting to toss your head back as stars burst across your vision. Zoro’s hand in your hair dragged you back into a kiss, though; this one was slower, less teeth this time, like him coming had lessened the urge to bite. 

Your movements slowed, coming to rest against Zoro’s skin, warm and—although you wouldn’t say so out loud—almost comfortable. His hand hadn’t budged from where it was pressed against your lower back, holding you tight to him. 

There was a sticky wetness spreading fast by your thighs, and you grimaced, lifting yourself off of Zoro and rolling beside him on your back in one fluid motion. He stifled a groan at the movement, clearly irritated at the fact you hadn’t given any warning. 

You lay there, breath heaving, rising out your high and making no move to touch the man laying by your side. 

After you’d regained some of your dignity, you sat up, eyes narrowing at Zoro. “Get off my bed.” 

Zoro gave you an exasperated look, but he didn’t argue; he just climbed off your bed, retrieving his clothes from where you’d tossed them about the room. He donned them slowly, like he had all the time in the world. Your eyes traced along his figure while he did, and you only felt sort of annoyed by it. 

“I still hate you,” you snapped, after he’d finished changing. Zoro just scoffed, picking up his swords and slinging them across one shoulder. You could see a bruise purpling by his neck. At least you’d done damage. 

“Fine by me,” he replied, straightening his shirt and giving you a look—not quite irritated, not quite sarcastic. “Dinner’s still waiting for you.” 

You glared at his back as he opened the door to your bedroom. “Get lost, Roronoa,” you said, and that was that. 

© halfvalid 2023

[lilacstro]

Essential Dignity and Debility in Astrology

This post is LONG and hurt my fingers so much but would certainly help those who wish to study astrology rather seriously.

There are five different kinds of essential dignity that a planet can have and they are domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term (or bounds) and face (or decan). I would also be covering an important accidental dignity in this post. Each one impacts a planet in a different way by affecting the kinds of support and the amount of support a planet has access to.

look at this chart below: (credits: lilacstro on tumblr)

Let us start with

domicile (+5 points)

Ok, so think of it as the literal meaning, someone who is at home. To add more clarity to it, this would be the prime minister of a country, someone who is responsible for managing all the work and does all the major responsible things.

Some ancient astrologers use a scoring system to quantify the influence of planetary dignities. When a planet is in its own domicile, it receives a score of +5, which can be further enhanced by other dignities that we'll explore later. While this scoring system can be initially helpful, it's important not to rely on it exclusively for understanding dignity. A planet's condition is also influenced by its house position, aspects, speed, solar phase, and other factors. The scoring system is just a starting point, and I encourage you to trust your own judgment once you grasp the basics.

debility or detriment (-5 points)

A planet is in it’s detriment when it is placed in the sign that opposes it’s domicile. For example, the Sun rules Leo and is therefore in detriment in Aquarius, the sign that opposes Leo. The scoring system will tell you that a planet in exile is worth -5, but I’m not too sure about that, since again this would be like painting things black and white and that is not what we are doing here.

Think about it, you are out of your home, like far away from your home BUT you have the knowledge about the place you are at, you can speak the language and you have some rebel inside of yourself. You can say you are in your fight mode, you are not comfortable, you are not at ease, there is restlessness to be precise. Planets in detriment are forced to do things differently than they normally would, which can make them feel like outsiders.

Think about

Now is it the end of the world? No.

I think, was it with professor charlie obert at Kepler? If I am remembering it right? He quoted the example of Muhammad Ali (who was a heavy weight champion), who had Mars in Taurus. And now, he made this his entire career, and you see, Mars here gave him a restlessness, a competitive spirit, which he utilized to go where he went. So you see, it indeed is not impossible and no detriment or fall placement is a handicap.

Exaltation (+4 points)

Ah, exaltation is the president of the country. While he does not do much important work like the prime minister , he is extremely important and well regarded. Or think of him as an esteemed guest in a friend's house, though it is technically not his own house, he is still happy and comfortable there. I hope I am making sense

Planets in domicile have a bit more responsibility, which makes them more powerful but less relaxed at the same time — they have affairs to manage and duties to tend to. Exalted planets get to enjoy the experience a bit more, which might make the experience of exaltation more subjectively favorable than the experience of a planet in domicile. So this point system again feels doubtful.

Now, if you will look at the chart above, you will see I have mentioned some specific degrees at the chart above, now what I mean by that is, if you have degrees at that planet and sign, the exaltation is even more intense. In fact, the earliermost concept of exaltation were based on degrees. But in my own opinion, this would add more intensity only when the planet is in the exalted sign and not others. For example, in my own opinion, I would rather not consider a Moon in Gemini at 3 degrees to be exalted.

Traditional astrologer lily, relates it to psychological exaltation, saying people with exalted planets, often tend to have some high opinions of themselves, and it is somewhat true in my practice.

Fall (-4 points)

The opposite of exaltation is fall, which is often cited as being the most difficult condition for a planet to be in, which is not really like that. It more so is you need to work hard to bring those skills up, but harder than when the planet would have been in detriment. Now like I said, it is like being restless being in detriment, it is more so feeling lost and somewhat helpless with the planet being in fall. Now psychologically, having planets in fall can sometimes lead to a low self esteem or opinion of yourself around that area in life. Like say, your Moon is in fall in Scorpio, so you may feel like disregarding your emotions, not really wanting to believe or trust them. It can feel like at working odds with oneself.

In greek writings, fall was considered the prison, where one is supposed to oppose and fight, while exaltation was the throne, where one is considered prized. (it lowkey rhymes lmao)

When a planet is in fall, it encounters conditions that hinder its ability to thrive, making it less effective in managing the topics it signifies in a chart. These areas may be more challenging for an individual to engage with, but they also highlight where people are likely to make entirely new paths. The easy routes that exalted planets enjoy are not available to a fallen planet — they must create their own trails through persistence and determination. This process requires grit, effort, and perseverance, which is why fallen planets are often experienced as more difficult. They represent the harder aspects of life but also offer opportunities to break new ground and explore uncharted territory.

Again an example of how planets in fall may work out is comedian Lenny Bruce, who had his Sun and Jupiter hard aspects and both of them in fall, and that was the kind of comedy he did, basically ridiculing, coming in your face in kind of stuff and this is one of the many examples of a fall placement, being ridiculed or feeling off, humiliated, dishonored, disgraced, not being listened to (damn it got too much but I am just trying to explain).

Triplicity (+3 points)

This is not that major, but still a good add on strength to your planet. It is like, having a small support group, maybe of friends or people who just support you. For people with fall and triplicity:

It is like let us say you have lost your day job, but your patreon followers support you. What I mean is, if you have some fall planets, but their having a triplicity in that planet, it is having some support.. It might not be easy or comfortable to do so, but the resources they seek are dependent on others. Let us say you have Venus in Virgo, which is fall(-4 points). However, Venus also has triplicity in Virgo (+3 points), meaning it does get some support in Virgo. Of course, a wholistic Astrological interpretation is not as simple as being reduced to a points system, but it can help conceptually

Venus does not rule Virgo in the day. Virgo is ruled by Mercury, regardless of the time of day. However, Venus is the triplicity ruler of Earth signs (including Virgo) during the day, which means Venus has a supportive influence in Virgo for daytime charts.

The benefit of Venus being the triplicity ruler of Earth signs in a daytime chart is not limited to individuals with a Virgo Sun and Virgo Venus. It applies to any chart where Venus is in an Earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) in a daytime chart.

In a nighttime chart, the Moon is the triplicity ruler for Earth signs. Thus, Venus in Virgo would still be in fall (-4 points) but wouldn’t receive the +3 points from triplicity rulership since the night lord is the Moon.

Whereas for people with no fall placement, but a triplicity think of it as situations where a friends appears to lend a helping hand in times of need. This is the friend who drives you to the airport, the technologically-proficient relative who can fix your computer and so on.

It is however, important to consider the sect of the chart (wheather it is a day chart or night chart basically, I will be posting sects just after this, so it can help maybe)

image source: two wanders

the above rulers are further classified as day lords, night lords and co operating lords. For example, for someone who has a scorpio sun and was born in day, their day lord would be Venus, the night lord would be Mars, and the co operating lord would be Moon.

Now you may ask, what is day lord for a night chart? and why night lord for a day chart? well, these lords in both the sects reveal information about each of the houses that give so much extra information. So, do not confuse yourself at the moment. Just know, in your are born in the day, the rulers are so and so, and in night the rulers in a chart are so and so.

EDIT: check the post on sects out too if you are confused :)

Example: Someone is born in the daytime with a Mars in Taurus. Mars is the cooperating lord of Taurus during the day, Mars in Taurus receives +3 points and for being in detriment, -4? so it becomes a -1 overall.

Bounds (+2 points)

The terms refer to unequal subdivisions of the zodiac signs that are ruled by the non-luminaries in the Egyptian schema. These confines can be thought of as rooms in a planet’s house each one being sub-ruled by one of the 5 classical Planets (minus the luminaries). They are a method of categorization in the Essential Dignity schema of a Planet to ascertain its level of strength or weakness, or comfort within a Sign at a particular degree.

image source: Moongal via X

One way to conceptualize this is to think about the planet that rules a particular term as the supervisor of any planet that falls within that bound. The exaltation lord is like the CEO, the domicile lord is the Big Boss, the triplicity rulers are your coworkers and the term lord is your immediate supervisor. All of these play a role in your experience of getting work done and having a job, but in vastly different ways. This is how dignity works — it is a complex form of interrelated principles that all affect one another.

This influence can be easily seen in the example above where a domiciled Planet can be interpreted as the CEO, but really it is the supervisor (Planet in its bound) that has more of an impact on your day-to-day job satisfaction! How often do you encounter the CEO? Although the CEO would ultimately have the last say, generally you would go to your supervisor first for any issues (then the manager).

Astrologer Kyra Ryberg (I hope this was the name), explains this with help of Miley Cyrus' Chart. I cannot quote her word to word but will explain it from what I remember reading.

Her Saturn is at 13 degrees Aquarius in her 10th house, placing it within the bounds of Jupiter.

In Aquarius, certain degrees belong to the bounds of Jupiter, and this is where Miley’s Saturn is located. Both Jupiter and Saturn are diurnal and part of the sect in favor, with Jupiter overcoming Saturn by trine. This aspect and Jupiter’s influence help explain Miley’s significant success. Saturn limits and restricts, even with benefic influence, and she has often spoken about the challenges of breaking free from her Disney star persona. When Jupiter bounds in Aquarius, such individuals are “careless of their reputation" and I do not think I need to elaborate more.

Decan (+1)

Called “decanic” dignity or “dignity by face” and it refers to a planet being in their own decan. The decans are 10° subsections of the zodiac signs that help differentiate between the beginning, middle and end of a sign. The ancients gave them a score of +1, but I have found them to be more descriptive than anything else. The faces tell us what kind of narrative or storyline a planet will encounter in a given sign.

There are two different schemas of decanic rulership, one that follows the triplicity order and another that follows the Chaldean order.

image source: astromax on facebook

the inner wheel has the orders by triplicity while the outer wheels have the chaldean order. Look at the 0-10 degree for the 1st decan, 10-20 for the second and 20-30 for third in each sign

When a planet is in its own decan( for example: Mars in Aries between 0-10 degrees), it is said to gain a special kind of superpower. While it won’t be skilled at everything it’s responsible for, it will be particularly good at specific things. Austin Coppock says that it “unlocks a particular raw potency” that enables the planet to be “empowered by their own merits, abilities and efforts.” It’s not nearly as powerful or resourceful as a domiciled or exalted planet, but it does have a very profound impact on the way a planet does it’s Thing.

One extra clarification, When Mars is in 10°-20° Aries: Mars is still in its own sign, but now in the Sun’s decan.

There is an amazing tip for those who study tarot and astrology both. Now I have read this at multiple places so I do not know who to credit. But, here we go,

In more modern times, decans have become associated with the minor arcana cards of the tarot.

Each element corresponds with a suit in tarot: earth is pentacles, air is swords, water is cups, fire is wands. The cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Capricorn and Cancer) correspond with the 2, 3 and 4 of a given suit. The fixed signs (Leo, Aquarius, Taurus and Scorpio) correspond with the 5, 6 and 7, while the mutable signs (Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo and Pisces) are connected to the 8, 9 and 10 of a particular suit. For example, if you wanted to know what the first decan of Pisces represented, you would look to the 8 (first decan of a mutable sign) of Cups (Pisces is a water sign). By using this shortcut, you can look up the associated tarot cards of each decan and begin to contemplate and understand the territory a planet is living in or transiting through. The journey through the decans tell a story, and it is rich, vibrant and full of symbolic meaning.

Peregrine planets (-5 points)

Planets without dignity, debility and rulership, are called peregrine. Like for example, Scorpio Sun, the Sun is neither exalted, debilated, or in domicile or anything at all with the sign of scorpio.

For planets without dignity, look at their rulers. Planets which are not at home depend on the ruler of host to function. The word “peregrine” comes from the the Latin peregrino, meaning “to wander,” or “to travel”. Like a voyager in a foreign land. Demetra George describes peregrine planets as “a person without a home or who is outside his homeland” which increases their potential deficits.

And again, that point system atleast for me is not important when looking at the peregrine planets, and I would not say that the planet is an orphan of some sorts at all. This is just a traditional astrology thing which I just mentioned, and its on you and your practice to take it or not. The placement and aspects these planets make are very important. It is brutal for the traditional astrologers to give them a straight -5 lol.

for example aries moon is purely peregrine, aries mercury is also pregrine except between 12º-20º, where it has dignity by bound

similarly, taurus mercury, Taurus is not the domicile, the exaltation or even fall or detriment of Mercury so it is peregrine, except for 0-10º(triplicity order)// 10-20(chaldean order), where it has dignity by decan and between 8-14º where it has dignity by bound

now lastly,

accidental dignity

This is very powerful in understanding the placements of a planet while delineating a natal chart. The four pivot angles in the chart (basically the 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th), are points of visibility and power of the influence of the planet.

source of image: kepler college

so we understand that angular houses, which are 1st, 4th, 7th and 10th, amplify the visibility of the planets too.

and then the visibility is less in the succedent houses which are 2nd, 5th, 11th and 8th

followed by the least in the cadent houses, which are 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th

Let us see a last example of how this may play out

For example. Bob Dylan had his mercury in gemini in the 7th house, and his venus 12 degrees in gemini in the 7th house and it just even further amplified how good of a lyricist he was, even though Venus in Gemini was not that strong with just being dignity bound at 12-17 degrees, however you may pay attention to the fact that his neptune was in virgo, and his mercury was in 7th, so the ruler of neptune was in 7th which amplified his artistic skills even more, since 7th house is kind of an accidental dignity.

Let us take another example, a person with Sun in scorpio at 4 degrees, is peregrine, but if the Sun is placed in any of the angular houses, it becomes stronger and the person would show qualities of leadership, strong ambition etc. and even better if the Sun has tight positive conjunctions with benefics (especially jupiter) or the ruler of scorpio lies in any of these angular houses.

this is an extra sheet of information for anyone who may like to look at it more,

support me on ko-fi :)

phew it was long and confusing I know, but I hope this helps someone out there. I love you all

xoxo

paid readings are open :)

[mbruben-stein]

Helloooo, im pretty sure your requests are open right now, so can I request Hc for Tony Stark, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve Rogers (if you want you can also do T'Challa) where they are the Parent figures of the youngest avenger? (if you do T'Challa I'd rather go for a brother figure for him) so just platonic fluff if you do that :33 (Idm if it's Fem or Gender neutral) Also dw if you dont write this, have a great day/night <33

Marvel Avengers characters as Parental Father/Mother/Brother figure to the youngest Avenger of the team.

Tony Stark

Tony may come off as a bit of a playboy and a rebel, but deep down, he has a heart of gold. Especially when it comes to the youngest member of the Avengers, s/o. Tony sees s/o as a protege, someone who can learn from his own experiences and mistakes. He takes s/o under his wing, offering guidance, support, and a shoulder to lean on.

As a father figure, Tony is fiercely protective of s/o, always looking out for their well-being and safety. He imparts valuable life lessons, teaching s/o about responsibility, courage, and the importance of using their powers for good. Tony encourages s/o to embrace their uniqueness and to never be afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

Despite his busy schedule and the demands of being a superhero, Tony always makes time for s/o. He listens to their concerns, offers advice, and shares in their triumphs and struggles. Whether it's helping s/o with their training, building new gadgets together, or simply spending quality time bonding, Tony cherishes every moment he gets to spend with s/o.

Through his actions and words, Tony shows s/o that they are valued, loved, and supported. He may not always express his emotions openly, but his actions speak louder than words. Tony Stark may be a billionaire, a genius, and a superhero, but above all, he is a father figure who will always be there for s/o, no matter what challenges they may face.

Clint Barton

Clint took on the role of a father figure to s/o, the youngest member of the Avengers, with a sense of responsibility and care that mirrored his own role as a father to his children. Despite being a skilled and experienced operative, Barton approached s/o with patience, understanding, and a willingness to guide and mentor them in their journey as a superhero. He shared his knowledge, skills, and experiences with s/o, helping them to navigate the challenges and responsibilities that came with being a member of the Avengers.

Barton's fatherly instincts kicked in as he looked out for s/o's well-being, offering them advice, support, and encouragement when needed. He made sure s/o felt included, valued, and supported within the team, creating a sense of family and belonging for them. Barton's protective nature extended to s/o, as he prioritized their safety and ensured they were prepared for any dangerous situations they might face.

Despite the weight of his own personal losses and struggles, Barton found solace in being a positive influence and role model for s/o, imparting important life lessons and values that went beyond just being a superhero. He showed s/o what it meant to be brave, compassionate, and selfless, leading by example and instilling in them a sense of integrity and purpose.

Through their bond, Barton and s/o forged a special connection built on trust, respect, and mutual support. Barton's unwavering dedication to s/o's growth and well-being reflected his deep sense of care and love, making him not just a mentor, but a true father figure in s/o's life.

Natasha Romanoff

Natasha Romanoff was like a mother figure to s/o, the youngest member of the Avengers team. Despite her tough exterior and secretive nature, Natasha had a soft spot for s/o and took them under her wing. She always made sure s/o was safe and looked out for them like a protective mother would.

Natasha would often spend time with s/o, teaching them self-defense techniques and sharing stories of her past missions. She would listen to s/o's problems and offer guidance and support, just like a mother would do for their child. Natasha's caring and nurturing nature shone through when she was with s/o, making them feel loved and valued.

S/o looked up to Natasha and admired her strength and courage. They felt safe and secure in Natasha's presence, knowing that she would always have their back no matter what. Natasha's maternal instincts kicked in whenever s/o was in danger, and she would do everything in her power to protect and defend them.

Natasha's bond with s/o was special and unique, like that of a mother and child. She may not have had children of her own, but she treated s/o with the same love and care that a mother would give to her own child. S/o was grateful to have Natasha in their life, knowing that they had a fierce and loyal protector in her.

Overall, Natasha Romanoff's motherly instincts towards s/o made them feel cherished and loved, like a true member of her family. She may have been known as the Black Widow, but to s/o, she was a nurturing and loving mother figure who would always be there for them.

Steve Rogers

Steve is a natural leader and protector, always looking out for those around him. When s/o, the youngest member of the Avengers, first joined the group, they were nervous and overwhelmed by the responsibility that came with being a superhero. Steve immediately took them under his wing, offering guidance, support, and encouragement every step of the way.

As s/o's father figure, Steve is always there to listen, offer advice, and provide a sense of stability and security in the chaotic world of superheroes. He teaches s/o the importance of standing up for what is right, being courageous in the face of danger, and always putting others before themselves. Steve's unwavering moral compass and selfless nature serve as a shining example for s/o to follow.

Despite his own struggles and losses, Steve never hesitates to show s/o love and affection, making sure they know they are valued and cared for. He is a source of strength and inspiration for s/o, helping them grow and develop into a confident and capable hero.

Through their shared adventures and challenges, Steve and s/o form a deep bond that goes beyond mentorship. They become family, with Steve always looking out for s/o's well-being and happiness. As s/o grows and matures, they know they can always count on Steve to be there for them, guiding them with wisdom and compassion.

In the end, Steve Rogers is not just a superhero, but a loving and supportive father figure to s/o, helping them navigate the complexities of the superhero world with grace and courage.

T'Challa

T'Challa was like a brother figure to s/o, the youngest member of the avengers. Despite his regal and serious demeanor, T'Challa always made sure to look out for s/o and offer guidance whenever needed. He would often check in on s/o to see how they were doing and offer words of encouragement and wisdom.

Whenever s/o was feeling unsure or overwhelmed, T'Challa was there to lend a listening ear and provide reassurance. He would remind s/o of their strengths and capabilities, boosting their confidence and helping them to believe in themselves.

T'Challa also took on the role of a mentor to s/o, teaching them valuable lessons about leadership, responsibility, and the importance of standing up for what is right. He would share stories from his own experiences and offer advice on how to navigate difficult situations.

Despite his busy schedule as king of Wakanda, T'Challa always made time for s/o, whether it was to train together, have heart-to-heart conversations, or simply spend time bonding as friends. His presence was a source of comfort and stability for s/o, knowing that they had someone as wise and caring as T'Challa by their side.

Overall, T'Challa's brotherly relationship with s/o was one built on trust, respect, and mutual support. He was not just a king or a hero, but a true friend and ally who s/o could always rely on in times of need.

[trashyreptilian]

TW: Body horror and unsettling faces.

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Biography (long read):

-General Info-

Full Name: Him Age: His species don't age. Instead, being adult already as they're formed. Existed since 1978. Height: 8'0'' ft Gender: Male Sex: Sexless Species: Wrath alternate ("Flawed Impersonator") Homeplace: Mandela County, Wisconsin (US) Romantic/Sexual Orientation: Panromantic Asexual

-Other Info-

Personality?: Rejected as an outcast from early on in its life, looked down by its species. He generally tries to avoid attention and interactions with other alternates. However, due to its very hostile and self-hating nature, sometimes it can't help but to get into fights. Whether they'd be caused by others, or desperately seeking out some relief from its own troubled mind. This behavior has obviously caused a bit of a reputation for how violent it is. Him's uncaring on the matter, instead reasoning that the killings are in self-defense and a sort of "justice" for all the human lives its kind have taken away. It shows far more sympathy towards humans, aware of how fragile and complex they are. Constantly fascinated by their way of living and thinking. Gained a lot of knowledge about human history and other random topics. With its closest relationship being with a human, it has a soft side as well. Although having poor management of its negative emotions, it usually represses them for his close ones. It couldn't bear to unload its burden onto someone he cares for. Him feels less shame in expressing positive feelings. By no means he's overly expressive, but he knows how to be gentle. Oftentimes displaying casual gestures of care and a willingness to spend time with a close beloved if asked.

Thinks Before Acting?: In a neutral state, sure. Sadly, that can fly right out the window once it's starting to become agitated. Blind rage can easily take a hold of it, making it impulsively lash out or spew out some truly heinous words that it may or may not regret later.

Positive Traits?: Selfless, inquisitive, caring, persistent, attentive and loyal.

Negative Traits?: Impatient, self-loathing, aggressive, over-protective, stubborn and vindictive.

Way Of Speaking?: Only speaks fluent English and with no noticeable accent in its speech. His voice is low and gravelly, and stays at a calm tone. Makes it more intimidating without even raising its voice. But when he does, it sounds more demonic with constant inhumane growling interrupting while trying to talk. (Headcanon voice: https://youtu.be/-xOzSjhK9W0?t=198)

Occupation?: Doesn't have a human profession, he'd rather steal cash and goods if absolutely needed. Neither does it have any alternate tasks, or anything else alike. Though unless, you consider being the surrogate father and only caretaker of a young adult, a job by itself. Then yes, it still has his hands full with parental responsibilities.

Powers/Skills?: Starting with his most basic skill set, which is also common within its species. At a decent level, it can mimic other people's voices with minor slip ups and defects for a certain amount of time. Has night vision and is capable of body alteration too. Sees everything in pitch black places, and fully able to contort and twist its body in freakishly vile ways. Surface adhesion is another one to mention, free to move around walls and ceilings without the risk of falling. A better advanced ability it knows is matter manipulation. What that means is that he can change his entire being into black fog-like smoke. It may reshape its size or form for certain situations. Him uses that to sneak around and enter any building it wants. Moving onto its distinct skills, which are seen amongst wrath alternates. Its physical strength is greater than many other flawed impersonators. Sometimes even surpassing some doppelgangers, depending on what sin they're made from. To add, his senses are way more overdeveloped. In this case, his sense of smell is especially heightened.

Hobbies?: Most beloved pastime is reading books, there's no topping that. Already in its first week of living, it grew a passionate fondness for human literature. Since then it's been near impossible to see it without a book in its hands. Favorite genres are history and biology, texts that explore factual knowledge are its go-to. Given the chance, it'll go on a lengthy monologue about a random topic it happened to read recently. Happens to like board games too, mostly influenced by his son. Though, it prefers simple card games as they cause less frustration. One hobby, that might be a bit unexpected from it, is teaching his cat tricks. Here's some context. If there was something to rival its love for books, it'd be felines. Whether it's big felines or tiny domesticated ones, he loves them all. An unusual fixation to say the least. It had waited long until it could get its hands on a cat. When finally given one, it quickly started to care for her. Then soon started with basic behavior training but later moved on with teaching tricks. He also likes to roam the area around its home. While it'd rather spend its time inside like a stay-at-home dad, it won't shy away from exploring places. It'll hide itself and observe from a distance if there's people or too many alternates.

Habits?: Frequently smokes, nearly every day. Sounds bad but since he's an alternate, there's no consequences. Likes the "feel" of it, and unironically loves the smell. When experiencing some kind of really bad stress or anxiety, it roughly bites its own skin. More precisely, its hands. There's been moments where he almost bit a finger off. However, the worst tendency it has is the way he handles his negative emotions. It'll often choose to bottle anything up and deal with it alone. It'll lie or change the subject when anyone brings up its issues. In return, it all creates a sort of vicious cycle where it bottles up its feelings, refuses to handle them in a healthy manner, violent conflicts ensue against random alternates to relieve itself, and then acts like nothing happened as if it's moving on.

Relationships?: As mentioned before, its closest relationship is with a human. And that, being Mark Heathcliff. Him has known them for a long time, first starting interaction when he was very young. From that point on, it took the role of a father figure and had to learn how to take care of a human child. In the early years, it was conflicted with its actions. Questioning if what it did was right. But came to terms with itself and stuck with its decision to care for a child. Interacting with a human has pretty much influenced it in the ways it thinks. While nowhere near a perfect parent, it clearly deeply loves Mark and is overprotective of them. He has given it a sense of purpose for its existence, it highly values that. They've formed a strong familial bond and friendship. Both are also secretive of this relationship, for the sake of their own safety and to not attract unwanted attention. They live together as outcasts, surviving however they can. Trying to make the best out of their lives. There's another human, Cesar Torres. Them and Mark are very close friends, eventually he had to meet Him. First encounter was terrible due to unfortunate circumstances. Saving Cesar from their own impersonator, Him wasn't seen in its friendliest state. Took a while for either of them to talk with one another. Him let Cesar approach it at his own pace and stayed dismissive whenever they happened to be in the same room. Once they actually manage to strike up a meaningful conversation, things get easier as Cesar feels more comfortable. Both strike up a friendship with their deep love for literature. Cesar couldn't help but introduce it to musicals and everything else related to theater. As time passes, getting to know each other more and sharing activities together, Cesar is seen as just another family member to Him.

Moving away from humans. Xanthan (a theraangel) was someone Him remained unaware of until Mark introduced it about them. It had no idea he was secretly talking to them. As an alternate, it had believed that angels were long extinct because of the overlord's indoctrination. First meeting went terribly to make it short. Him was skeptical towards their suggested idea of redemption. Keeping a hostile attitude, held back from getting worse by Mark's insistence to trust the stranger. Through persistent arguing, it agreed at trying the whole redemption thing but only in exchange that Xanthan would become a guardian angel for Mark. From that point on, it stays on neutral terms. Later on, they're respectful towards each other and manage to form some kind of friendship. Him admires their way of fighting and gradually grows interested in their past as an alternate. Once they grow much closer, its feelings are a bit complicated. Though, when Xanthan confesses that he fell in love with it, it gets even more confused. With Mark's help and enough time to think it through, Him reciprocates the sentiment. Experiencing a romantic bond for the first time.

Mentioning enemies. It doesn't have any trouble with humans. Alternates typically fall into this category, ones that Him has had fights with. At least the ones who happen to survive it, can actually call themselves as its enemies. No particular rivalry with anyone. Unless, you'd count Six (a doppelganger) as one. They're not really rivals though, more or less just enemies who are aware of each other's existence. Six is definitely an opposite to Him in many ways. Serving as an example of what the impersonator could have been. Lastly, Lucifer or alternate "Gabriel". Its overlord and creator. Its disobedience wasn't looked over. The way it delayed taking out its target was one thing, but what really got them were the rumors spreading around that it had begun to care for a human child. Lucifer confronted Him merely once. Making it clear that its actions were shameful and if it caused any major protest in their plans, they'd know immediately. Since then neither have come face-to-face again. Safe to say that what they had said stuck with Him. It's not actively worshiping them, no less it still fears what the overlord’s truly capable of.

Past? (Short Version): Created and took form in the depths of Hell, in the year 1978. Him, while lacking an actual name at the time like most of its kind, was made from the sin of wrath. A well-off start for an alternate, regarded as one of the more higher ranked sins amongst them. Its time in Hell was short-lived. Soon as it gained consciousness, the first face it gazed upon was none other than Lucifer, Hell's only ruler. They wasted no time at informing the new group of fresh alternates about what they were made for. The word indoctrination fitted best to describe their speeches. Besides all the many beliefs and ideas enforced on them, one detail was clearly repeated. Which was that the human species were parasites, never meant to roam the Earth. Lucifer had all the right to reclaim what was rightfully theirs. Impersonators had one important task to complete before they could do more. It had to replace a human. When the victim gained M.A.D, it'd fully copy their identity and replace them. Him's target was no one note-worthy. Seemingly a common family man with a wife and two children, a son and daughter.

It spent a lot of its time simply stalking the victim's household. Already, it was enamored with the whole concept of "family". A sort of social group with many different dynamics at play. Everything was fascinating to watch, but it paid more attention to its victim. He definitely had a protective role. Always keeping an eye out on his kids, making sure neither got hurt. Wasn't very talkative but showed affection through his actions. He especially interacted a lot with his four year old son, Mark. The children were an interesting sight for the alternate as well. Their naivety, their playfulness and openness to loving and being loved. The quality of innocence its species didn't get to have. Him couldn't help but feel as though it too needed to protect them. It didn't understand why. It wasn't created to be a parent. All the while these complicated feelings festered, it picked up on human literature. The first book it read was about parenting, found in its target's belongings. These human written texts began influencing its way of thinking and shaping its morals. One read book turned to ten, and then thirty, and so on. It mainly focused on educational books. Grabbing at whatever it could find in the house. Him hid itself in the dust-ridden attic and tried keeping itself obscured. Things remained like that for a year. However, it had noticed something had been brewing between the parents over the months. Frequent arguments would occur and they got steadily worse. Until it all boiled down to its target leaving the house in the dead of night, never to be seen again. While worried at the fact that he failed its most crucial task, it held more concern for the two children.

The mother's mental state deteriorated further when her husband left. Which sadly resulted in one of the kids being on the receiving end of her anger. For what reason, Mark was the one to be singled out while the daughter never got abused. To go back a bit, Mark and Him had interacted before a few instances. Most were accidental but others were more intended. The boy saw the alternate as an imaginary friend by then, who happened to look like his dad a little. Giving it the name “Him”. So when the father left and the abuse started, it resulted in a pivotal decision. Him could leave the broken household and perhaps try searching for its victim, or stay for Mark. No easy choice. If it did what it truly wanted, it'd be spitting at the face of its creator, and once other alternates somehow found out it'd be rejected by its own species. Despite the fear, it decided to stay. Choosing to look after Mark by itself. A few years went by seemingly fine. Fine as it could have been for them. Of course, Him had that constant paranoia about what it was doing. Whether it should embrace or reject its paternal instincts. Its worst fear was yet to realize as Hell's overlord later caught wind of what it was up to through word of gossip. One night, as Him was put to sleep by an unknown force, it was confronted by them. Disgusted with Him's actions, Lucifer threatened that if it were to get anymore involved in delaying their plans for humanity, things for it would end quickly.

The overlord's words resided within its mind, but it continued to stay as a surrogate father to Mark. Him honestly had expected to die from that encounter but it appeared as though it merely received a harsh warning. With that event and pretty much being viewed as an outcast by its own kind, it had no other choice than to make its relationship work with young Mark. Although literally being an alternate, when Mark was old enough to know that, he was unphased. Him was no perfect parent, yet it did its best to provide all the safety and support the kid needed. Constantly learning and trying to improve its parenting as Mark grew up. Not every advice it gave was good, but it had no ill intentions. Seemed as though it all paid off when Mark turned eighteen. He immediately moved out with Him to an apartment complex. Where they continue to live out their lives together in secret.

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General rules for all of my FCs and OCs: -Please do not flat out steal the designs, inspiration is all good. -I am uncomfortable with my characters being unknowingly shipped with other people's characters. -Fanart is all well and great, as long as it isn't sexual. I'm fine with gore but please, keep my characters away from your own sexual material.

[crippleprophet]

i hope this is okay to ask, really sorry if it's not!! i was wondering if u or ur followers have any tips for getting a doctor to actually do tests (i can't get a different doctor), or if anyone has better understanding than me of the wording and tests used for fnd

i have a neuro appointment at the end of the month and from our one previous appointment he's already decided i have fnd even tho my symptoms don't particularly fit (and like.. he said i had positive hoovers when he also said i have near normal strength? all the things i have read about hoovers sign talk about it with people who have one very weak limb and other limb with normal strength. he also said i have "give way" weakness but it wasn't that i could hold my limbs up and then collapsed under gentle touch; i could push back for a few seconds but then would be weaker and buckle because my weakness gets worse with exertion. i dunno if he's using these things correctly because from what i can read it doesn't sound like the typical ways it's used but i also can't read a lot before getting triggered). i want to get a EMG with repetitive nerve stimulation because my GP thinks i have seronegative myasthenia gravis, and would like to get a muscle biopsy to look at other neuromuscular causes like MD or mito, but i have no idea how to get him to order these. in the time since my first appointment with him i realised i have scapular winging and that that's probably the causes of my neck and shoulder nerve pain and i know from an old CT that i have loss of cervical lordosis so am hoping that maybe?? bringing up these structural changes in the areas i get a lot of my muscular symptoms Might help convince him it's not functional but i don't have a ton of hope. i'm bringing support people with me but other than that and saying things like "to rule out" rather than "because i think i have" when asking for tests do u have any advice?? or knowledge on the fnd things? i am So Scared for the appointment shshdhdjdj

oh god i’m so fucking sorry you’re dealing with this, that’s such bullshit. i think emphasizing that your GP wanted the EMG is the aspect that’s most likely to be effective, if possible you could also try to get your GP to send the neuro a letter listing the tests they want ordered (which could include ones you propose). i think the fact that your gp is considering seronegative MG is a really good sign so i hope they’ll advocate for you!

idk if you’re in a system / situation where you can go to a different neuro but if that’s a possibility i strongly recommend you consider it. i’ll get into this more in a second but the fact that he’s framing your symptoms through the lens of these signs & that he invoked fnd without conducting any tests is a strong indication that he’s going to push an fnd diagnosis no matter what your test results actually say.

the strength signs aren’t “my area” so to speak so i’ve called in a consult with my gf who is a med student planning on going into neuro :)

so both of these signs are bullshit because they exist as a metric of whether or not to invalidate someone’s symptoms, which it seems like is exactly what your neurologist is trying to do to you. so for me the issue is less how he’s using these signs than the fact that he’s using them, if that makes sense

hoover’s sign is technically defined based on how you’re moving your body rather than muscle strength but some doctors may use it in that form. it’s generally like “your right leg moved when i had you move your left leg so i’ve decided you’re lying about your right leg being paralyzed,” so it’s weird that he’s using it in a context where you’re not telling him you’re paralyzed but it doesn’t mean he’s necessarily acting outside the bounds of the test as it has been constructed, if that makes sense

what you describe you doing – pushing back for a second & then not being able to – is how “give way” weakness is defined; the example you described of holding a limb up & then collapsing without pushing back would be written as a separate exam finding. so as my gf said, “i don’t think he’s using these terms incorrectly per se, i just dispute the value of them.”

you may have already done this for your first appointment but for what it’s worth a lot of people with myasthenia gravis discuss having strategically worn themselves out immediately before going to the doctor (by talking on the phone, darting their eyes around, etc). obviously this takes a certain level of familiarity with your energy capacity on any given day because you can’t then be too tired to get through the appointment… there are definitely certain risks involved as with any intentional act of making ourselves sicker so it’s up to you whether that’s worth it!

there are also some other get sicker MG tips in another post in my myasthenia gravis tag if you want to check that out!

i’m really sorry again that you’re dealing with this, you deserve compassionate & comprehensive care which imo functional diagnoses are fundamentally at odds with. wishing you the best of luck getting the testing you want asap <333

[dark-frosted-heart]

Memories of the Beasts - Clavis & Sariel (Clover End)

This is Clavis' POV

"Prince Clavis is quick to learn anything you teach him, so it's worth passing on knowledge to him"

Clavis was so ecstatic when he heard Sariel say this. It was like he was being acknowledged by someone that was not his mother or his brothers for being amazing. That's why he was so excited when he got his first mission.

In the dining room of the mansion, Sariel tells Clavis to settle down. The prince recognizes that if the baron suspects something, them infiltrating the mansion would be pointless. And especially because Clavis was the one that decided to head in, he doesn't want to fail.

Clavis asks a kid if he can sit next to them. The two start up a conversation and the baron has the food be brought out. He doesn't see or smell anything off about the food except for the fact that it's lacking in nutrition. If the baron's going to serve orphans food, he should give them something nutritious with plenty of vegetables. Instead, they're presented with potato soup that has nothing else in it and bread that looks stale.

Sariel informs him that the food's safe to eat. The bread's harder than Clavis thought and the soup has no flavor. However, the other children seem to enjoy it, likely because it's the only taste they know. He's aware that the children and him have different social standings, but it still pains him. He can't wait to grow up so that he can make Rhodolite a country that helps others grow up in comfort rather than poverty. He can do that with his position.

~~

Later on, the kid asks Clavis if he thought the food was good. The prince reluctantly says it is. The kid agrees and would like to have a meal with Clavis again the next time they see each other. The two say their goodbyes and Clavis thinking about suggesting alternatives to this dinner when they get back to the castle.

Sariel says that noting suspicious happened during the meal and Clavis wonders if the baron noticed realized something was up. Sariel had asked the other kids about the dinners and they said it’s usually like this. Suddenly, they hear a thump. A kid has fallen. They tell a servant they’re fine but they feel sleepy. The servant offers to take the kid to a room for them to rest before they head out. Sariel’s going to tail them; he tells Clavis not to leave his side.

The two catch the baron speaking with a man who’s been reported to deal in the black market. Hearing their conversation, Clavis wonders if the kid's being sold. When the man tells the baron that he’s got bad taste with how he continues with his charity work, the baron claims that he’s giving the children a purpose. They should be grateful. He then tells the man to go collect the kid so that he can get his money.

In that moment, an explosion goes off as Clavis uses one of his inventions, a smoke bomb. Clavis goes to get the kid but ends up learning how heavy unconscious people are. The baron goes to grab at Clavis but Sariel hits the baron before picking Clavis up and running off.

The two stop in another room where Sariel starts to angrily lecture Clavis about being reckless. Clavis apologizes, but he couldn’t just stay put when the kid was going to be taken away. He explains that he brought a smoke bomb to help and Sariel interrupts to continue his lecture. A child wouldn’t be able to escape while carrying another person in his arms. He should know that. But because he couldn’t keep his cool, he forgot. Sariel understands that Clavis wants to help, but that extreme sense of justice is going to make not only him, but also those he wants to help unhappy. If he can’t even protect himself, trying to save someone else is practically suicide.

Clavis knows that Sariel's right and if it weren't for him, he'd end up like the kid or worse, dead. Then that would be all on Sariel. With his rashness, he caused misfortune for others in a way different from how the baron had. He's only a child and powerless. Unlike Chevalier, he can't do anything...can't do anything at all.

Clavis starts to cry while apologizing repeatedly, surprising Sariel. Sariel apologizes to Clavis for getting mad. Clavis says there’s no need for him to apologize since he didn’t say anything wrong. At the moment, Clavis' desire to help brings misfortune and makes others unhappy. When he grows up, he wants to be able to make decisions that'd do the opposite.

Clavis has calmed down now and apologizes again, but Sariel’s had enough of his apologies. Besides, it seems like his words have reached him. Sariel knows the trader’s face and once he ensures the safety of both Clavis and the sleeping child, they can leave the mansion. But first, they need to get out of the room they’re in.

They hear a servant on the other side of the door say that the door’s locked and then hear the baron calling for someone to bring the keys. Hearing Sariel click his tongue surprises the prince. Sariel asks Clavis if he has any more of his smoke bombs. He only had one on him, but he has something else, a pepper bomb that’ll make everyone go into a sneezing fit. Sariel doesn’t know how he comes up with these kinds of things. Clavis internally explains that it's something to surprise Chevalier with. He notices Sariel furrowing his brows, but Sariel's just preparing himself for the worst. Sariel then informs Clavis of what they’ll do the moment the door opens.

Clavis needs to get the timing right or else he'll be causing trouble for Sariel again. He absolutely cannot fail his task. But his hands are shaking. Sariel takes his hand and assures him that it'll be alright. Just hearing him say that relieves some tension from Clavis. He's aware that Sariel's feared as the court devil, but it's very different from the devil he knows. To him, Sariel's very strong and kind, someone he'd like to grow up to be like.

~~

Back in the present, an explosion goes off and a knight caught in a trap screams. Another knight caught exclaims how it came out of nowhere.

Meanwhile, Clavis revels in another successful trap but then pauses when he hears a set of footsteps. Seems like Sariel's found him already.

Sariel: I knew you would be here, Prince Clavis. The fact that you've been setting off confetti everyday, have you run out of ideas? Perhaps it's time for you to move on.

Clavis: Today's confetti's designed to become even more colorful when in the air. Since those knights recently found themselves some lovers, it'd only be right to celebrate, you know? I'm a good superior if I do say so myself.

Sariel: If I were your subordinate, I'd consider a career change.

Clavis thinks about how he'd consider the same if Sariel was his superior.

Jin approaches them to ease up the tension. It's making both servants and bureaucrats nervous. He asks Sariel to let it go this time, but Sariel replies that if he does, that's just inviting more trouble. Clavis doesn't think that's ever happened before. Sariel corrects himself, possible trouble some time in the future.

Clavis: Overthinking will age you.

Sariel: Your problematic behavior is what's aging me the fastest.

Jin: The argument's just going to continue forever if someone doesn't step in.

Jin thought the two were friends when they had a teacher-student relationship after their first mission together.

Sariel and Clavis: Friendship...?

Jin: You two sure are close with the way your faces twisted in disgust together.

Sariel and Clavis: .........

Jin: Got it, too much teasing. My bad. So let go of your weapons.

Clavis is utterly horrified at the idea of being friends with Sariel. Wait...did Jin hear the story of the day he cried from the devil? Well, Clavis did tell Nokto the story too. The time he and Sariel were master and apprentice is a dark part of his life that he'd like to erase. Back then, he thought Sariel would continue being his teacher when he grew up. At the time, Clavis was proud to be Sariel's disciple and idolized him.

Earlier, Nokto had asked Clavis what happened that made his relationship with Sariel go bad. Clavis thinks back to the day of his mother's funeral.

Even though they don't get along now, Clavis won't deny that Sariel was once his teacher. Everything he had learned back then is still with him today. That dark part of his life was a time when he could be himself, but that's not important now.

Clavis: Hmm, I think I've just come up with a brilliant trap.

Sariel: That look on your face says that I'm your next target.

Clavis: Do you want to be?

Sariel: I won't allow it.

Clavis: You don't have the stamina or willpower to stop me. I bet you're shaking with anticipation for tonight!

Clavis runs away and Sariel chases after him.

Jin: *sigh* Grown men running at full speed. They really are the most troublesome teacher-student pair in court.

Heart END

Epilogue

[fleshing-out-fodlan]

I feel like the way Petra responds to Edelgard’s offer to help her in their C support is pretty different from the way she responds to other people’s offers. When Edelgard says to let her know if she needs any help, Petra responds that she “will not have that need” and “can resolve any problems that occur by herself.” Compare this to how she begged Linhardt to help her with her spear work in their C support or how, while turning down Dorothea’s offers for help, she still seems overall more thankful of Dorothea’s offers (at least to me) and even says Dorothea’s kindness is “filling her heart.”

So this got me think, why did Petra seem... annoyed? Or maybe a bit defensive over Edelgard’s offers, and my thought is that it has to do with their respective positions. To my knowledge, Petra has not had extensive contact with Edelgard before reaching the officer’s academy (and their C support makes it seem as if they do not know each other particularly well). Therefore, to Petra, Edelgard is simply the princess of the country that is holding her hostage, so it makes sense that she would hold more negative feelings towards Edelgard than the other Black Eagles, especially Dorothea who is a commoner and therefore has no connection to the people imprisoning Petra. However, as a hostage, Petra would know she does not have the ability to just freely speak her mind and must appease those who have power over her. This would create some tension between the two princesses, but why does Petra specifically feel annoyed by the offers of help?

Well first off, Edelgard’s attempts to help people in the beginning of the game don’t tend to go particularly well (see my post about Edelgard and criticism). But beyond Edelgard’s general difficulties with interacting with people, Petra is also very aware of how people see her. For many in the empire, she is likely the only person from Brigid they have the ability to regularly interact with, especially outside of the context of war. This means Petra has had to deal with all the empire’s stereotypes about Brigid being thrown at her, and we can see a bit of how that impacted her in her C support with Hubert where she mentions being treated like a “beast.” She also notes in one of her study requests that people call her a “thief.” She brushes it off as being because she moves quickly, but it’s also possible it’s a result of Adrestians stereotyping her. All of Petra’s shortcomings were likely seen as a reflection of her people. Her inability to speak the language would be proof people from Brigid were stupid, if she struggled with training it would be proof her people were incompetent. This likely plays a role in Petra’s drive to constantly get better as she wants to prove her people are just as capable of Adrestians. Therefore, I think Edelgard’s offer of help came off as condescending to her rather than an act of generous kindness (though I think Edelgard meant for it to be the latter). Petra felt as if she was being pushed back into the role as the ‘lesser princess’ or that Edelgard was trying in some way to assert her superiority. So, while Petra cannot outright call Edelgard out, she instead tries to politely push back against Edelgard and show how she’s just as competent as any other Adrestian. And, to Edelgard’s credit, she responds well to the push back and encourages Petra to show her her true power. I think the end of this support likely gave Petra something to think about and consider maybe Edelgard is not someone who simply feels she is above Petra and there may be a chance for genuine mutual respect there.

[b4mb1m]

⎯⎯ㅤTORN FEELINGS ( ⭒ )

fandom # : ikemen prince

characters # : chevalier michel , sariel noir , y/n

a / n # : this is a rewrite of the previously posted fic of ' simpleton '

summary # : Chevalier gives y/n a hard time understanding his motive of being a unhelpful. atleast your buddies with Sariel.

Honestly menacing. That's the impression y/n always clung to when referring to the second prince. Chevalier, that man who grazed his eyes over her with a hint of displeasure was not a friendly sight. he would always scoff at her small mistakes and burden her with insults. it was needless, but the prince had found someone to throw his comments at. reminding y/n to feel like a verbally punctured punching bag.

it was shameless of him. he would continue his antics when passing by, her idly chatting away with others in the castle. he would always know how to degrade y/n. make her feel fallen victim to his mentally bruising comments.

their relationship was hard to digress into words. it wasn't necessarily abusive, at least not physically. they weren't on a positive note either, just hatred that spewed through Chevalier. perhaps he was jealous but even so that wouldn't make sense, too immature for him. however, Chevalier would seem to stay a mystery since he would always draw their distance to a close. pushing towards the other and eyeing down. distaste sought his eyes while he looked at her.

during those moments he wouldn't speak a word. no sound ushered. some days he grazed his hand over the other's face. imprinting their features in his mind. it always felt like he wished to make a sculpture of y/n based on these spur of the moment antics of Chevalier. he even let her come into his heart, or more so his private library. stacked across all walls were books of different origins and purpose. stacked in various orders, categorized to Chevalier's favors.

of course, he himself always had to be there, in the library when y/n passed through. he looked on at her, the books she picked out, and her expressions while reading the summary. he always sported an uninterested expression when she looked over to him.

y/n didn't enjoy being accompanied by Chevalier, but as royalty, he deemed y/n, the simpleton, wasn't well understanding of books. foolish isn't it?

as one of the only people to have seen and picked up a few tales that lay on the dusty bookshelves in his private library. it just seemed like another attempt to make her feel bad about herself. sometimes he chimed in to spoil what she was about to read. and by spoil for him it was a full-blown retelling of all the minor details in the book.

as expected demands were thrown to y/n as if she were his maid. clean this, stack this and finish this for me was now a daily occurrence. in his eyes she was as lowly rated as rubbish. Sariel caught on to this but couldn’t talk sense to the man. he played him off with one hand and ignored all the talk Sariel gave him. so Sariel just gave y/n more of a raise and apologized to her on the prince’s behalf. giving her the option to ignore the prince but it wasn’t that easy.

it weirded y/n out at the circumstances she had been given. more so the situation she was now stuck in. it only started as a few simple requests of her assistance.

she was a young girl who chose to live near a pond in the kingdom. it was magnificent, the pond. it always replayed the colors of its surroundings like an oil painting, glistening with the glow from the dropping rays of the Sun. she made a living from upkeeping gardens, and having well-versed knowledge in botanics got her far. that's why Sariel first contacted her.

the letters would always be something to do with their garden and their dire need to have y/n look at it with her own eyes, rather than Sariels attempts to find the corresponding descriptions. and of course, after doing this fairly often she got close with Sariel. he would let her get tours of the palace and look around, even stay for nights or days if needed. they bonded over many topics, whilst having a warm drink to accompany.

the first time she actually came close contact with the second prince was in his library.

it was, to say the least, blooming with the collection of books the sturdy bookshelves held. it was a room just dedicated to the collection's display. and as the girl glazed her eyes upon it she was left shuddering at the sudden presence of a hand on her arm. it was the second prince. he wore a grim look on his face when looking over her face.

he scoffed at her and pushed her away and through the heavy doors. with a snarky comment.

– curiosity killed the cat – as mysterious as ever, she thought.

on his day it was supposed to be a regular visit of hers to look over the garden flowers and if they were cared for. upon arrival she greeted Sariel and immediately headed towards the pristine gates that led to the garden. the magnificent gates were already opened, no sign of the two usual guards she was acquaintanced with. stealing glances over the blooming flowers - poppies, azaleas, daisies and so many more.roses were especially alluring this season, they were a memorable crimson red. if it had rained they were guaranteed to look just like fresh blood. glistening by newly slain victims' blood. tough now they looked unchirped, something y/n always hated. the perception of thorns seemed unclean and she always did the needed work to fix this.

whilst heading towards the roses an outstandish blonde came into view, she knew who it was but begged to be mistaken. Chevalier was seated in the gazebo. his pale complexion studied over the book he was reading. at his side he kept a notebook or perhaps journal, and a pen in his slim fingers. y/n decided to ignore him as best as she could.

now he was ignorant of her, head delved into the book he was reading.

he glanced at her a set of times, but his lips were sealed tight. y/n wanted to glance over at the man as well. when noticing a couple of pricks on the roses she sighed, got up from her crouching position and went over for some tools to take care of the problem.

as y/n was in the delicate shed she let her eyes roam over the walls, the ground, the covered desk, but she was incapable of finding the needed tools.

as y/n slightly edged her eyes to the entryway she saw a glimpse of white. she thought it was just a bird who flew by, but she was far from right on that. suddenly her body was engulfed by a new cologne, only the richest she assumed and felt arms creep around her sides. now there were hands that pressed her body in one small bundle. the grip on her body was unletting and suffocating by nature. just like a snake, starved for nutrients.

– looking for these? – he showed her the tools, laying plainly on his gloved hand. she went to take them from his grasp but inevitably got squeezed more. she tried pressing out of his hold. – what are you acompl-ishing this way? – a gritted reply came from her. he insisted on standing still, immovable. the churning and growling of her stomach was a clear sign of her becoming stunlocked from anxiety.

– do me a favor, simpleton, – he spoke in a brash tone. hands easing around her.

– would you accompany me? – she mulled over what he said. accompany him to where, exactly?

– be more specific, prince. – now Chevalier let her loose, and backed two steps away. – and I thought you were informed. – he smiled to himself, poking at her cluelessness. this angered the lass. and here she hoped he was genuinely being kind for once. y/n started to turn away from the man, noticing the tools he had somehow already placed on the desk behind her. she clutched the instruments between her arms. leaving in small, child-like steps. this made prince charming grin at her antics.

i didn't exactly impliment romantic feelings for either Chevalier and y/n. . .

wanted to write a more angsty story with a mean Chevalier who taunts reader.

[miochimochi]

The Self as a Whole: The Ego and its Rights

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Index

Back again with another piece of this series. Hopefully it's more structured than the last, but it was still written over a number of days, especially while I was tired in bed. Just like last time, no one's forcing you to read, but I would like to thank anyone who takes the time to.

The title of this series of writings being a nod to egoism is no coincidence. Egoism is a philosophy of the self. It has taken many roles throughout history from the epistomelogical to the political. A name you may recognize in relation to egoism is likely Max Stirner, of whom I have great respect for as a philosopher. I'm not an egoist myself, but there are a number of things that I agree with egoists on, one in particular being of import to this series.

Before discussing thia agreement, I first think it necessary to define the ego. The ego is the whole of oneself, what makes a man who he is. It's the collective knowledge he has acquired, his behaviors, his beliefs, his motivations. It's interchangeable with "the self". The exactness of the nature of the ego is up to debate, egoism taking its own position on that, but this is what the ego is. One's ego is inalienable, it is theirs alone and ends where they do. With that out of the way, let's discuss that which I do agree with egoists on.

Man is selfish - inherently so. Everything a man does is motivated by his own selfishness, to serve his own ego. This is a philosophical position known as psychological egoism. It posits that every human action is taken due to a perception of gain, whether consciously or unconsciously. This gain can come in many forms. The most obvious form is the material - this is where most people I speak to on the subject stop when they hear me speak of gain. But gain need not be material and indeed may even be sacrificial of the material. Spiritual, intellectual, moral, social, and emotional gain are also determinants of one's actions.

In whole, what this means is that altruism itself is a result of selfishness. There is no true altruism. All perceived altruism is really selfishness. Giving food to the needy is altruistic - one is sacrificing time, energy, and resources to do so. This isn't done with nothing being gained in return, however. The reason for the giving tells us what we need to know. "It's the right thing to do" tells us there is moral value and thus is serving the ego's sense of morality. "God tells us we should" tells us there is spiritual value and thus is serving the ego's sense of piety. "It makes me feel warm inside" tells us there is emotional value and thus is serving the ego's feelings. There is also the motivation that it will look good to do it (a motivation few would admit to publicly) and thus there is a social gain, the promise of raising one's social status within a group.

One might look at this and ask, "But what if someone doesn't see any gain? What if they get nothing in return? Would that not prove egoism wrong?" To that I would sigh and say to read again. A perception of gain need not be a conscious effort, nor does it need to see the gain as a guarantee. It's simply the possibility of gain that one's ego may see, a possibility great enough to act in the hopes of attaining that gain. If in the end they gain nothing, then that is not evidence of the lack of selfishness but rather evidence of a bad judgement call. The ego is still being served, even when not served effectively.

As a result of the ego and its judgements, we can gain an understanding of value. Value is simply the worth of an item as viewed by an individual within an exchange. One's value judgement of a product is subject to their personal wants, needs, and ability. When an exchange is made, it's because there is a gain viewed in making such a transaction. The labor theory of value posits that labor is the deciding factor of value, but I do not wholly agree with this. What I do agree with is that labor is taken into consideration, but for labor to be the deciding factor of value, labor itself must have intrinsic and calculable value. Short of having to log one's hours of labor with witnesses to confirm and then subtracting the hours of labor used to create a product, I do not see how this can be done.

An alternative to the labor theory of value is the subjective theory of value. The theory states that value is determined by the individuals involved at the moment of exchange. Both the buyer and the seller have different exchange values. The buyer has a cap on how much they are willing to give up in exchange, the seller has a minimum requirement they are willing to accept before giving up their product. When their exchange values align, there is a sale. Market value is determined by the general exchange tendencies in the market.

These values can be expressed as a number of stones traded for a cart. We'll start with exchange value. The buyer is willing to spend no more than 10 stones on the cart, the seller is unwilling to give up the cart for anything less than 8 stones. The buyer and seller could each offer a price anywhere between 8 and 10 stones to purchase the cart. If the buyer offers 7 stones, there's no deal, the seller will not part. If the seller asks for 11 stones, there's no deal, the buyer will not pay. The exchange value is thus between 8 and 10 stones. Market value simply takes the average exchange value and there you go.

Through statist intervention in the market, these values can be and have been manipulated through artificial means. For example, in the US, non-competes more often than not prevent the lowering of exchange values thus keeping market value higher than it otherwise would have been. Subsidies lower the market value of a particular product, but they also cause other products to increase in price due to pushing for overproduction of one product at the expense of producing another product. Bailouts and other State assistance for companies give less incentive to lower prices and protects them from the consequences of not serving their customers. But this all too is driven by man serving his ego - the power being readily available is tempting, even when that power is at the expense of others.

The greatest example of the subjectivity of value is through the so-called diamond-water "paradox" - aka the "paradox" of value. I scoff at the idea of this being a paradox, since a paradox is logically self-contradictory and thus cannot be given a definite answer. The "paradox" is as follows - although water holds more utility, diamonds have greater market value. This "paradox" appears as early as Plato and yet, knowing all we do, it's still considered a paradox. But I am here to say - it is not. There are no contradictions in the problem presented. Water may be more useful, but it's also more abundant. While the price of diamonds has been artificially raised through social engineering, it is still less abundant than water. Between the two, diamonds are simply sought after more than water.

But this is not always the case - the problem focuses solely on the market value, when on the individual level the needs and wants of the individual affects the momentary exchange value. Take two men for example. Man A is at the foot of a mountain with abundant glacial runoff all year round. Man B is lost in the Sahara desert, facing dessication as his canteen had run out the day before. The Merchant offers A one cup of water in exchange for a diamond. A can simply go to the runoff to get a cup of water without needing to give up his diamond. A laughs off the merchant, "You're a fool coming to a wellspring of water offering a tiny portion in exchange for what's more rarely seen." So the Merchant leaves A and in a flash appears before B with the same offer. B has no guarantee he will find water anytime soon, he risks death by dessication if he does not get any water. B agrees to the trade, "This diamond means less than my life, it's no good to me if I'm dead, while this cup of water can sustain my body longer that I may be able to procure more diamonds in the future."

Between A and B, their situations are entirely different. A has water in abundance, B has a dirth of water around him. A can afford to keep the diamond without risk to himself, B cannot afford to lose out on an opportunity for water. A does not value water more than his diamond, B does not value his diamond more than water. Subjective value is the answer to the supposed "paradox". There is no one universal market, there are just many markets divisible down to the smallest market - that being the exchange between two individuals. One's need is as important to determining value as any other aspect of value.

By now I've hopefully made my point on value and explained well enough where it comes from and what it means. But there is one other thing I wish to talk about, something I've seen egoists call a "spook" and yet ultimately agree with: rights. There have been many debates on the subject - people saying they don't exist, people saying they are derived from some social contract, people saying they are derived from some deity, and people saying they are inherent. I am of the last camp, although there are many other camps. Ayn Rand had come to the same conclusions as me through logic, but her and her Randians refused to call them rights. Egoists come to the same conclusions as me through philosophical consistency, though they as well refuse to call them rights. But I find the term - defined as a power one is entitled to - to be apt.

Rights can be understood and concluded through a logical process of questions and answers. Would you be okay with someone killing you without your consent? Would you be okay with someone having sex with you without your consent? Would you be okay with someone kicking you out of your home without your consent? You can continue this line of questioning and you'll find the limits of your rights - and those limits are defined by consent. The egoist says your ego ends where another begins, that you are to leave alone the ego of another. The same is with rights. Rights are inalienable from the self, so where you go so do your rights and thus your rights end where another person begins.

From this standard of consent I've come to understand rights. I have a right to speak freely, I don't have a right to steal the product of another man's labor. I have a right to bear arms, I don't have a right to murder another person. My rights are my own, they are inherent and inalienable to myself. The same is with yours. I serve my ego and leave you to serve yours. My entire politic is derived from the standards of consent, that my ego and yours are to respect the rights of each other. If one would wish to change my politic, they would have to convince me that it's fine to violate another's consent - an uphill battle, to be sure.

[bonesandthebees]

[“You also don’t have to worry about that sort of thing too much given your status.” / “But you do?” Tomys asked, raising an eyebrow. / Fighting to keep his face neutral, Wilbur shrugged.] despite his childishness, there’s still potential in Tomys. He reads between the lines perfectly here. And Wilbur is trying so hard to pretend that it’s not a big deal rather than his biggest fear in life.

[Legally, I hold no title. So yes, I do have to be more careful with the impression I leave on others.”] Every chapter there is at least one line that makes me feel so bad for Wilbur (there’s a lot in general, but a few jump out), this is one of them. It describes him perfectly, always aware of what others need to think of him. Always keeping his cards close to his chest.

And Tomys picks up that it must be stressful but then does the exact opposite and just speaks his mind and calls it prissy in the same breath, which pisses Wilbur off, because he’s so close to getting it yet he’s not taking it seriously. (Also I love rose!Wilbur having and subsequently losing his/a temper.)

And the jab about Tomys height again shows the potential for a good relationship. They could have that joking relationship Tomys wants at some point, he’s just jumping the gun a bit and missing several layers of context to get Why Wilbur will not be that friends or informal with him (yet). (It’s Ranboo’s presence and the knowledge that this can and will get back to his father and Phil might be anger about it.)

It’s also interesting to see Wilbur bounce between formal and etiquette and his actual feelings or losing his temper around Tomys, it’s like he can’t quite stop his true nature form shining through, in a way Tomys brings out the childishness Wilbur never really got to have, but then he can’t fully sink into it because he still has a goal/mission to achieve and even when no one else is there, other people’s expectations of him are still holding him back form every full relaxing.

Side note: all the servants dipping their heads at Wilbur as he walks past, clearly aware of his status and giving him the respect while Wilbur himself barely notices because he’s too caught up in his own head, you could summarise his entire chapter with this once interaction + maybe the following one with Phil (though the first interaction in chapter 1 also says a LOT).

[Like the night before, the guard barely spared him a second glance before letting him inside.] This could be taken 2 ways. 1. What’s actually happing, aka the guards can all easily recognise Wilbur and let him in without second thought because he’s the Consuls son and of course he’s allowed inside. 2. Aka how Wilbur might take it, they barely look at him and he’s barely worth their attention.

(4/?)

-🎄

exactly there IS potential there!! even though tommy doesn't understand what's going on, he does read between the lines. being kept ignorant of the reality of your situation doesn't make you an idiot, it just means you need someone to tell you what's going on.

:) wilbur always has to be the one holding the cards because without them the only thing giving him power is his father's position

I love rose!wilbur because he tries so hard to be as smart and controlled as his father is but he's a petty little shit with an easy to stoke temper. little does he know his dad used to be the same way when he was wilbur's age. had to get it from somewhere after all.

yeah again they could definitely have a great friendship. the two of them are very similar in a lot of ways. but there's a lot of context that's keeping wilbur from letting himself get too familiar with tommy and playing into his sense of humor. the problem is, like you said, being around tommy brings out the childishness wilbur never got to fully embrace when he was tommy's age. ironically, if he did give into that childish urge to insult tommy, it would probably make tommy like him more.

god yeah he's so caught up in his own head and doesn't even realize that, yeah dumbass, the servants and guards DO know who you are and respect you

[ken-termini]

The Top 10 Traits of Very Successful Leaders and Coaches

Effective coaching and leadership are essential components of success in any field, whether it’s in sports, business, education, or personal development. Coaches and leaders inspire, guide, and empower others to reach their full potential. But what makes a coach or leader truly effective? It’s not just about skills or knowledge; it’s about habits. Here are the top 10 habits that distinguish highly effective coaches and leaders from the rest.

Continuous Learning and Self-Improvement

Highly effective coaches and leaders understand that learning never stops. They are committed to personal and professional growth, consistently seeking new knowledge and skills. This habit of continuous learning allows them to stay ahead of the curve and adapt to changes in their respective fields.

Whether it’s through reading books, attending workshops, or seeking feedback from peers, these individuals are always looking for ways to improve. They set an example for their teams by demonstrating that even the most successful people have room to grow.

Clear Communication

Clear communication is the cornerstone of effective leadership. Coaches and leaders must convey their vision, goals, and expectations in a way that is easily understood by everyone on their team. This habit ensures that there is no ambiguity, reducing the chances of misunderstandings and mistakes.

Effective communication isn’t just about speaking clearly; it’s also about listening. Great leaders take the time to listen to their team members’ ideas, concerns, and feedback, fostering an environment of open dialogue and mutual respect.

Leading by Example

The most effective coaches and leaders don’t just tell their teams what to do; they show them how to do it. Leading by example means demonstrating the behaviors, attitudes, and work ethic you expect from others. This habit builds trust and credibility, as team members are more likely to follow someone who practices what they preach.

When leaders hold themselves to high standards, it sets the tone for the entire organization. It creates a culture of excellence where everyone is motivated to give their best effort.

Empowering Others

Great leaders understand that their success is tied to the success of their team. Rather than micromanaging, they focus on empowering others to take ownership of their roles and responsibilities. This habit involves delegating tasks, providing the necessary resources, and trusting team members to make decisions.

By empowering others, leaders create a sense of ownership and accountability within the team. This not only boosts morale but also encourages innovation and creativity, as team members feel confident in contributing their ideas.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Highly effective coaches and leaders possess strong emotional intelligence, which allows them to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics with ease.

This habit involves being aware of your own emotional triggers, managing stress effectively, and showing empathy towards others. Leaders with high EI can build strong relationships, resolve conflicts, and create a positive work environment that promotes collaboration and trust.

Goal-Oriented Focus

Successful coaches and leaders are laser-focused on achieving their goals. They have a clear vision of what they want to accomplish and are committed to seeing it through. This habit involves setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for themselves and their teams.

By maintaining a goal-oriented focus, leaders ensure that everyone is working towards the same objectives. This alignment of efforts increases efficiency and drives results, as each team member understands their role in the bigger picture.

Adaptability and Resilience

In today’s fast-paced world, change is inevitable. Highly effective coaches and leaders possess the habit of adaptability, allowing them to navigate unexpected challenges and pivot when necessary. They are resilient in the face of setbacks and view failures as opportunities for growth.

This habit involves staying flexible, keeping an open mind, and being willing to adjust strategies when needed. Adaptable leaders can steer their teams through uncertainty and emerge stronger on the other side.

Consistent Feedback and Recognition

Providing regular feedback is crucial for the development of team members. Effective coaches and leaders make it a habit to give constructive feedback that helps individuals grow and improve. They also recognize and celebrate achievements, which boosts morale and motivation.

Consistent feedback ensures that team members are aware of their strengths and areas for improvement. When done correctly, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement where everyone is striving to be their best.

Time Management and Prioritization

Time is a limited resource, and how it’s managed can significantly impact a leader’s effectiveness. Highly effective coaches and leaders are skilled at prioritizing tasks and managing their time efficiently. They focus on what’s most important, delegate when necessary, and avoid getting bogged down by less critical activities.

This habit involves setting clear priorities, planning ahead, and being disciplined in following through on commitments. By managing their time well, leaders can ensure that they are making the most of every moment and leading their teams toward success.

Integrity and Ethical Leadership

Integrity is the foundation of trust, and without trust, effective leadership is impossible. Highly effective coaches and leaders operate with a strong sense of integrity, making decisions based on ethical principles rather than convenience or personal gain.

This habit involves being honest, transparent, and consistent in your actions. Leaders with integrity inspire trust and loyalty in their teams, which is essential for long-term success. They also create a culture where ethical behavior is valued and rewarded.

The habits of highly effective coaches and leaders are not innate traits but learned behaviors that can be cultivated over time. By adopting these habits, anyone can enhance their leadership abilities and make a positive impact on those they lead. Whether you’re a coach, manager, teacher, or aspiring leader, these habits are the key to unlocking your full potential and achieving lasting success.

[alabamaworkerscomp]

Know Your Rights: Wrongful Death Attorney in Huntsville

Losing a loved one is one of the most devastating experiences anyone can endure, and when that loss is due to someone else’s negligence or intentional act, the pain is compounded by a sense of injustice. In Huntsville, wrongful death laws are designed to provide families with a legal avenue to seek compensation for their loss. Navigating these laws can be complex, and having a knowledgeable and compassionate attorney by your side is crucial. Jacob A. Maples wrongful death attorney stands out as a trusted advocate for families in their time of need.

What Constitutes Wrongful Death in Huntsville?

Wrongful death occurs when a person dies as a result of the negligence, recklessness, or intentional act of another. In Huntsville, and broadly in Alabama, wrongful death claims are governed by specific state laws that outline who can file a claim and what damages may be awarded.

Key Elements of a Wrongful Death Claim

Negligence or Intentional Harm: The plaintiff must prove that the death was caused by the defendant's negligence or intentional actions.

Causation: There must be a direct link between the defendant's actions and the death.

Damages: The death must have caused quantifiable damages, such as financial loss or emotional suffering.

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim?

In Alabama, the personal representative of the deceased person's estate is the one who files the wrongful death claim. The damages awarded in these cases are not distributed directly to the estate but are instead meant to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar actions in the future.

Types of Damages

Unlike other states, Alabama focuses primarily on punitive damages in wrongful death cases. This means the aim is to punish the defendant rather than to compensate the family for their loss. The unique approach underscores the importance of having an experienced attorney who understands how to effectively argue for maximum punitive damages.

Why Choose Jacob A. Maples as Your Wrongful Death Attorney in Huntsville?

Choosing the right attorney can make all the difference in a wrongful death case. Jacob A. Maples offers a combination of legal expertise, compassionate support, and a strong commitment to justice.

Extensive Experience and Expertise

Jacob A. Maples has years of experience handling wrongful death cases in Huntsville. His in-depth knowledge of Alabama's unique wrongful death statutes and his strategic approach to litigation ensure that each case is handled with the utmost competence and care. Jacob's track record of securing significant punitive damages for his clients speaks to his ability to effectively represent those who have lost a loved one.

Personalized and Compassionate Service

At Jacob A. Maples Injury Lawyer, clients are not just another case number. Jacob and his team understand the emotional and financial toll that a wrongful death can take on a family. They provide personalized attention, ensuring that each client feels heard and supported throughout the legal process. This compassionate approach helps families navigate their grief while Jacob handles the complexities of the legal system.

Aggressive Representation

In wrongful death cases, aggressive representation is often necessary to hold the responsible parties accountable. Jacob A. Maples is known for his tenacious approach in court, diligently fighting for the maximum punitive damages allowable by law. His commitment to justice ensures that the negligent parties face the full consequences of their actions.

Client Testimonials

Client testimonials often speak louder than any marketing message. Jacob A. Maples has numerous positive reviews from clients who have appreciated his dedication, professionalism, and successful outcomes. These testimonials reflect his ability to not only meet but exceed client expectations, providing a beacon of hope during a very dark time.

Community Commitment

Jacob A. Maples is deeply committed to the Huntsville community. His involvement in local events and organizations demonstrates his dedication to making Huntsville a safer place. This community commitment means he is not just fighting for his clients but also for the betterment of the community as a whole.

Conclusion

Navigating the complexities of wrongful death laws in Huntsville requires a knowledgeable and compassionate attorney. Jacob A. Maples Injury Lawyer offers the expertise, personalized service, and aggressive representation needed to secure justice for grieving families. If you have lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence or wrongful act, Jacob A. Maples is here to help you understand your rights and fight for the justice your loved one deserves. Contact Jacob A. Maples Injury Lawyer today to discuss your case and take the first step towards healing and justice.

Contact Us:

Phone: (256) 907-5080

Address: 303 Williams Ave. SW, Suite 115 Huntsville, AL 35801

To know More: https://alabamaworkerscomp.com/huntsville-wrongful-death-attorney/

[easymservices]

Choosing NDIS Registered Providers

The NDIS is designed to provide personalised care for Australians with disabilities. However, navigating the scheme can be overwhelming and even traumatising.

Individuals should seek help from an NDIS planner or a disability support organisation to navigate the process. They can also opt for plan management services that handle budgets, invoices, and payments.

Experience

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a vital support mechanism that helps people with disabilities in Australia lead their lives more independently. The scheme was voted in by all states and territories in 2013, and it became fully implemented in 2016.

When choosing an NDIS service provider, it is important to find one with experience. Using online resources and review platforms can help you compile a list of potential providers to choose from. You should also consider asking friends and family for recommendations.

Aside from experience, it is vital that you look for a NDIS registered provider who is committed to their clients’ goals and needs. You can use the NDIS Provider Finder tool to locate registered providers. NDIS registered providers are required to meet quality and safeguarding standards, while unregistered providers do not have to meet these requirements. Registered providers are inspected regularly by the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission to ensure that their services comply with NDIS guidelines.

Compassion

Choosing the best disability service providers is an important decision. Begin by researching options available in your area, including online directories and review platforms. Also, reach out to friends, family members, and healthcare professionals for recommendations. Personal referrals can provide valuable insights and firsthand experiences that may help in the decision-making process.

While NDIS participants generally have positive perceptions of registered providers, many interviewees highlighted "push factors" that may lead them to avoid them. These include bad behaviour by some providers, incompatible "deficit" culture (focusing on what someone can't do rather than what they can), invasive scrutiny of their lives, inflexibility, and price gouging by some. NDIS participants would benefit from building their own capacity to manage their own support services, a clear sense of quality and safety, and ways to speak out if they feel exploitation is occurring. This would complement a broader ecosystem of support that includes foundational supports, like housing, personal care and home help.

Professionalism

The best NDIS registered providers Sydney offer a wide range of services to suit the unique needs of each individual participant. They also ensure open communication with participants and their families throughout the process and provide accessible channels for feedback and concerns. This is critical to ensuring the quality of service and the overall NDIS experience.

In addition, NDIS registered providers are committed to continuous improvement and a strong focus on quality. They strive to keep up with the latest developments in the disability sector and regularly undertake training and research activities to improve their skills and knowledge. This enables them to deliver quality disability support services that meet the highest standards.

To find a reputable NDIS provider, conduct thorough research. Check online resources and directories, as well as reach out to your network for recommendations. This will help you narrow down your options and choose the right provider for your needs. Some of the most trusted NDIS providers in Sydney include Bila Group, Beyond Able Care, and Concept Care.

Tailoring

If you are a disabled person looking for an NDIS provider, it can be challenging to find one that meets your needs. Fortunately, there are some things you can look for to ensure you get the best support possible.

For example, you can check their NDIS website to see if they are registered with the NDIS. This will ensure that you are receiving services from a qualified and trustworthy provider. You can also contact your Local Area Coordinator or ECEI Coordinator to help you find a provider.

NDIS registered providers are screened by the NDIA to make sure they meet certain quality and safeguard standards. They have also proven that they can provide a range of different disability services and products.

NDIS registered providers are a great way to get disability support in Sydney. They can provide you with a wide variety of disability supports, including assistance at home and in the community. They can also help you create a support plan and connect you with the right people in the community.

[psychreviews2]

Object Relations: Melanie Klein Pt. 3

Getting her act together

As Melanie Klein put her past behind her, she began conversing with analysts in England. There was a mixture of skepticism with a sense of wonder and mystery about her process. She appeared both as a riff raff in the psychoanalytical community, but others were curious to see if she had been underrated, a diamond in the rough. Alix Strachey got the impression that "Mélanie is rather tiresome as a person—a sort of ex-beauty and charmer—and she’s unpopular with a certain section of the [Society] who pretend she’s quite sound in practice, but feebleminded about theory." Melanie felt that she was ahead of Hug-Hellmuth, because she found the Oedipus Complex with her play technique, whereas the former had not. "She’s not only got vast hoards of data, but a great many ideas, all rather formless and mixed, but clearly capable of crystallizing in her mind. She’s got a creative mind, and that’s the main thing." Hug-Hellmuth on the other hand was an influence to Anna Freud, who went more in the direction of Ego psychology.

Even as Melanie was keeping her personal life secret in many ways, like not talking about her estranged husband, she was willing to live life fully. "She’s really a very good sort and makes no secret of her hopes, fears, and pleasures, which are of the simplest sort." The two were in Berlin and living it up at dances and balls, despite having different personalities. "While Melanie was extremely perspicacious about analysis, Alix found her limited as a person." Regardless, Alix was sending copious letters back to England with the insights she was learning from Melanie. The translations into English were difficult but when Klein arrived in England, she found the experience positive overall and wanted to stay. "In 1925 I had the wonderful experience of speaking to an interested and appreciative audience in London—all members were present at Dr. Stephen’s house because at that time there was not yet an institute where I could give these lectures. Ernest Jones asked me whether I would answer in the discussion. Although I had learnt a lot of English privately and at school, my English was still not good and I remember well that I was half guessing what I was asked, but it seemed that I could satisfy my audience that way. The three weeks that I spent in London, giving two lectures a week, were one of the happiest times of my life. I found such friendliness, hospitality and interest, and I also had an opportunity of seeing something of England and I developed a great liking for the English. It is true that later on things did not always go easily, but those three weeks were very important in my decision to live in England."

Her impact was immediate and Melanie was starting to network with other experimental child psychologists in England, and she began taking the extra money she was earning to dress more professionally and reinvent herself after her failed marriage. Ernest Jones responded to Freud's objections, with a crossed out word that the author Phyllis Grosskurth thought was a slip that revealed his new allegiance. "I know that Melanie Klein’s work has met with considerable opposition in Vienna and also in Berlin, though more at first than later. I regard the fact as indicating nothing but resistance against accepting the reality of her your conclusions concerning infantile life. Prophylactic child analysis appears to me to be the logical outcome of psycho-analysis." Alix at the time was growing tired of Melanie's fastidiousness and goody-two-shoes persona, but she still respected her knowledge. "However, I like her, and she’s very impressive in her line, there’s no doubt of it. (I now think that Anna Freud simply hates her on personal grounds because she thinks she’s a 'low' woman. Someone ought to speak to her about her general sniffiness, don’t you think?)"

Melanie was also involved in a fling with C.Z. Kloetzel, in her last days on the continent, but it was a mismatch between a woman who wanted a long-term relationship alongside a strong sexual compatibility, but "Melanie Klein was too intense, too serious, too depressed for the kind of lighthearted liaison Kloetzel had in mind. She seems, however, to have continued to exert a strong sexual attraction for him since, according to Eric Clyne, he made periodic trips to England to visit her. She was an intelligent woman who was capable of losing her head. The man whom she always considered the love of her life seems to have regarded the relationship as one of a series of trifling flings." When she was invited to England to analyze Ernest Jones's children, it ended up being the last time she saw Berlin or Vienna.

Around this time, Melanie's analyst, Karl Abraham, died at a young age leaving her analysis in limbo. For her it was "a great pain to me and a very painful situation to come through. When I abruptly finished my analysis with Abraham there was much that had not been analysed, and I have continually proceeded along the lines of knowing more about my deepest anxieties and defences." She loved Abraham because he defended her in Berlin, but after his death, the Berlin Society increased their attacks on her. Sandor Radó in particular was very jealous and refused to publish Klein's works, because he was passed on Freud's papers from Ferenczi to read, and so he felt close to the source of true knowledge. A continental vs. English rivalry was beginning to brew.

Criticism

When Anna Freud was beginning to publish, she was having trouble getting acceptance in England. Her theories on child psychology differed from those of Melanie's. For instance, Anna was less into interpreting everything that arose within children and wanted to allow more simple explanations, to avoid being too suggestive, but ironically, she supported an educational mentorship, partially because children are still developing and need to learn so many practical things. They also disagreed on what the transferences meant, both positive and negative towards the analyst. The big differences between Klein's methods and Anna's was the differences in ages of the children. Melanie wanted to go as far back as possible, whereas Anna felt that this could be too intense for the children. Those convinced by Melanie Klein found that the analysts themselves may have had their own blocks to their infantile lives, and their fears of penetrating more deeply were limiting their progress. Even Ernest Jones wrote to Freud about the benefits of not waiting. He wanted to engage the neuroses while they were "still in a plastic state, than after the mind has become set and organized on an unhealthy basis and at great cost." He deftly avoided saying that Melanie Klein was analyzing his children, to spare Freud's feelings.

Sigmund Freud responded by disavowing Anna's theories as well as Melanie's, especially her theories of an independent super-ego in younger children. In terms of the superego, he agreed more with Anna. "I would like to contradict Mrs. Klein in this point, that she regards the super-ego of the children [to be] as independent as that of adults while it appears to me that Anna is right in emphasizing that the infantile superego is still under the direct influence of the parents." Anna then responded with her own papers on connecting to the Oedipus Complex in the classical timeline.

In the end, both theorists claimed results in their methods. Certainly there are similarities despite differences in the timeline. Both theorists explain emotional investment as a build up of tension and then a release, like the sex act. Anna emphasizes skill development, which Melanie wants the child to do more on their own accord, and this may be a weakness in that the child cannot always be counted on to develop any of the requisite skills to deal with life's challenges. After an interpretation in the Kleinian method, some children do go into their own searches for solutions in their family life, and let go of rumination at the same time. Anna's weakness could be that the education from the analyst may impose too many restrictions on the child and make them dependent on the analyst, like a parent or teacher. Also, the analyst may not know the child or parents well enough to make those decisions, so in many circumstances it would be better to let the child make their own determinations, especially when it comes to hobbies and interests.

Children, like adults, all have desires and are affected by obstacles and frustrations that stand in the way. This is true in the early days of an infant's life as well as throughout adolescence and adulthood. Rumination is let go of when there's discharge and venting, but especially when problems are solved and put behind oneself. Otto Rank was criticized for his birthing pains theory, but his acceptance of a meditative response is very instructive in that it can help to save energy. Venting has its limits if there are no solutions to problems. Endless venting may result in a lack of tact in social situations. Some problems also cannot be solved, so a certain amount of letting go of endless interpretations can save energy that is more needed in the arena of skill development. A daily meditation practice that goes along with work, to check in on one's breath and to relax any unnecessary tension, to let the breath move on it's own, can clearly demarcate attachment and resistance in the Buddhist way, but also in the psychoanalytic way, one can see the beginnings of wasted energy when thoughts begin to dwell on unnecessary topics or on things that cannot be controlled. Venting, on the other hand, can then be more appropriate when there are severe shocks and misfortunes. Part of the reason why venting is so helpful is that it's part of a grieving process where a misfortune cannot be changed, so the patient can exhaust emotions in grieving until acceptance arises naturally. In situations where it would better to face problems and solve them in a practical way, a more constructive and active approach is efficacious. Helene Deutsch also noted that all desires always end in larger or smaller depressions, so the child may not necessarily be autotelic enough to just quickly pick up new goals to regulate emotions. They may not think that this is what is needed and be stuck in depression. Goals can also be tiring, and a meditative rest is desirable for a burnt out psyche. On the other hand, both Melanie and Anna supported a resilience and persistence with Ego in some cases, because being intolerant of delays in gratification would limit skill development. It isn't always skills that should be analyzed, but also goals. Many goals are futile, and therapeutically helping the patient let go of those types of goals is a way to teach the patients on how to be autonomous and use their own agency to make choices without the need for added suggestions, education, or more analysis.

Object Relations: Otto Rank Pt. 1: https://rumble.com/v1gvrq9-object-relations-otto-rank-pt.-1.html

Object Relations: Otto Rank Pt 2: https://rumble.com/v1gvsf5-object-relations-otto-rank-pt-2.html

Object Relations: Helene Deutsch Pt. 1: https://rumble.com/v2wrvg5-object-relations-helene-deutsch-pt.-1.html

Object Relations: Helene Deutsch Pt. 2: https://rumble.com/v2yepky-object-relations-helene-deutsch-pt.-2.html

In the text, Freud-Klein Controversies, the British Psychoanalytic Society saw the danger of the different methods splintering into their own schools with autocratic leaders and administrators punishing heretics, like in Freud's own circle, so they intelligently agreed on a compromise where people just joining the association could choose among three avenues. There was still some control over theoretical divergences, but the flexibility allowed for new advancements. "The Kleinians were organized around Melanie Klein’s contributions to theory and technique, the Viennese or ‘B’ group, as it was called, around the approach to psychoanalysis and technique supported by Anna Freud and her colleagues, while the 'Middle' group (later referred to as 'Independents') carried on the tradition and technique of the indigenous Members of the British Society, while maintaining their right to learn from all reasonable sources of knowledge."

There were a lot of competing theories around at this time on how to be a good analyst. Those criticizing Klein offered that Kleinian analysts didn't express their emotions enough so a rapport with the patient couldn't develop. The lack of social reassurance and physical contact created a non-therapeutic atmosphere. Despite this aloofness, critics also felt that Kleinians were too active paradoxically, and didn't allow the patient to do more of the insight work themselves. The most common complaint, which is leveled at all psychoanalysts, is the invasiveness of interpretation. Critics felt that interpretations alienate clients so their personal story remains buried under theory. Negative feelings were also a bone of contention, since many people look at therapy as a way to become happier. Those types of critics were more interested in the role that love plays in Melanie's theories than the dark side she explored. The worry was that negative thinking would be habituated. Exploration takes a long time in psychoanalysis, and so cognitive behavior therapists felt that they were more efficient by just focusing on conscious thinking, and by clarifying distortions there, many of the same results would manifest, and in some cases, there are even better results because clearer thinking improves thinking skills directly so the client could apply those very skills immediately after therapy. Because psychotherapy focuses on the past, both patients and cognitive behavioral therapists often wanted to focus more on the future, since that is the only place where opportunities for change emerge. As important as transference was, critics felt that it could be interpreted too much and not always reflect accurately. Not everything needs to be traced back to the primal scene in family life. Finally, many patients simply have skill deficits and nothing will improve until they are addressed.

In response to these criticisms, Kleinians felt that expressing their own emotions too much would interfere with the transference, since the goal of the analyst is to be a screen to land on, for projections from the patient to reveal themselves. As pointed out in Part 2, patients are bringing their current level of social skills and predictions, so they can't help but demonstrate these to an analyst that is a blank canvass at the beginning of therapy. When it comes to being social and physically welcoming, Kleinians are more comfortable with a friendly, non-judgmental attitude, because without dealing with underlying problems you are still stuck in a surface situation like in any other. Any therapeutic hugging or petting risks being too shallow and ineffective in the long run. Kleinian interpretations may seem too active, but as they relieve stress bit by bit, the therapy is actually progressing in depth. By also interpreting negative feelings, a lot more information could be discovered with negative transferences. Those insights further relieve anxiety for the analysand and allow a natural opening for love and a positive transference to arise, like a sunny day after the clouds disperse. Like in meditation, love is considered something that is naturally there but covered over with rumination. This means that negativity is not actually being strengthened but instead it's being understood. With strong supportive internal objects in the mind through positive transference with the analyst, the need for psychoanalysts to be just a teacher of skills can then offload that responsibility to patients, who will probably want to do it themselves and enjoy the pleasure of making their own choices. The future is also important for Kleinians, but without dealing with the past it is likely that habits will repeat themselves regardless of the skills taught. If teaching skills was all you needed then you could just replace therapists with a trainer. Finally, if cognitive therapy and clear thinking was all that was needed, how do they deal with behavior that is unconsciously driven?

The mind's creative expression

Because the unconscious is a very intuitive place, where in real time experience ideas pop out of nowhere, it made sense that Klein would want to explore creativity and play as it pertains to child psychology. From her point of view, play was just another language that could describe the inner world of a patient, and transference itself is a kind of creativity, where you take the inner world and make it manifest in the outer world. From Klein's point of view, both methods can expose the current skill level of patients, which includes their arsenal of reactions that are used when there are obstacles or there is a delay in gratification. How do they adapt to reality? "At a very early age children become acquainted with reality through the deprivations which it imposes on them. They defend themselves against reality by repudiating it." One of the markers of a good adaptation to reality is if the analysand has enough patience to tolerate how things are.  "...One of the final results to be attained is successful adaptation to reality. One way in which this shows itself in children is in the modification of the difficulties encountered in their education. In other words, such children have become capable of tolerating real deprivations." The earliest deprivation for psychoanalysts of all stripes is being able to tolerate the Oedipus Complex.

As children grow up, through many weaning processes, they have to gradually become more independent and choose ever more appropriate relationship choices all the way up to adulthood, and somehow make a satisfactory final choice. For most parents, they want a heterosexual result with the opportunity to have grandchildren, so they can watch the inheritance they leave behind, to bring solace to the last years of their lives. It's their stamp of immortality. How typically people find new object choices is by being disappointed with the current one, for one reason or another, and then trading up for the next available person who appears more sympathetic or helpful. For adults, this can be good if the current object choice is pathological and dangerous, but it could be frivolous if they underrate their current choice. This often appears after a disappointment and then love transfers to another object-choice based on the lifestyle they provide, as well as an initial flattery and a welcoming flirtatiousness. Prospective partners need some skill at seduction. In fact, this mechanism can be exploited in toxic relationships, which starts with "love-bombing," and a welcoming with slutty demonstrations, but sooner or later, the adult who traded up will have to experience deprivations again as normal life resumes. They now have to decide if they made a mistake or not. Whether you call it "grooming" or conditioning, even an adult mind can be hacked easily, because most people react unconsciously to ALL flattery in a positive way. Even ugly people can appear sexy if they show signals that you are free to go all in and use them as you will. Though, a cold mechanistic feeling may arise if the relationship has no authentic connection beyond flattery. It requires some life experience, including about typical love triangles, and reflection to see beyond the warm and fuzzy feelings.

The Lovebomb - Narcdaily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh9SXcJnILk

Daft Punk - Instant Crush (Video) ft. Julian Casablancas: https://youtu.be/a5uQMwRMHcs?si=cZxxiaFy_yNx6KKw

Rick Springfield - Jessie's Girl: https://youtu.be/qYkbTyHXwbs?si=bEdxRXzEIRczVUeO

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkOr12AQpnU

For children, they instead do this in their restricted environment with their nuclear family. "In a number of children's analyses I discovered that the little girl's choice of the father as love-object ensued on weaning. This deprivation, which is followed by the training in cleanliness (a process which presents itself to the child as a new and grievous withdrawal of love), loosens the bond to the mother and brings into operation the heterosexual attraction, reinforced by the father's caresses, which are now construed as a seduction...On the other hand, however, the oral and anal deprivation of love [by the father's competition] appears to promote the development of the Oedipus situation in boys, for it compels them to change their libido-position and to desire the mother as a genital love-object." So for more heterosexual boys, they get jealous of the attention that the mother gets from the father and their rivalry makes the mother a stronger object choice. That then loosens because of it's inappropriateness and the boy then has to find a mother replacement, especially since the bond between mother and father is mutual and aligned more often. The heterosexual girl is in the same situation and has to find a father replacement. The united parents for the children provide the most potent relationship template, and the children will likely soak up identifications and repeat that template throughout their lives, especially if this is done with zero awareness of psychology. The influence of encouragement and discouragement can also go throughout life with people trading up and playing people off of each other. People who are rejected by others are discouraged by them, and make a transference to others who look similar, like having a similar personality, sex, or sexual orientation. Their similarities trigger a negative response, or transference, to the old situation. People who find candidates who apply flattery, act slutty, welcoming, and non-judgmental, they will have a strong feeling of encouragement. The mind is always looking for replacements in desires, and if it can't find it in one place, it will consider other options and possibilities. There's also the influence of lifestyle, where providers and nurturers of all different kinds are trying to meet up in whatever combination can be found. People can also adjust their contribution as a provider or nurturer depending on the vicissitudes of life as they happen. Sometimes people have to switch roles.

The Oedipus Complex now can be seen as the sum total of the reactions and inhibitions that arise when there are human obstacles to wish-fulfillments, goals and desires. It doesn't stop with parents, as René Girard pointed out, and some people are stuck with endlessly perceived challenges and obstacles, and will be attempting to trade up for their entire lives. All these psychoanalysts also had to accept that children have different constitutional dispositions and may respond to the same shocks differently. "I cannot determine whether it is neurotic children whom the early working of the Oedipus complex affects so intensely, or if children become neurotic when this complex sets in too soon." Children absorb their parental and familial role models and reenact their behaviors and also internally control their own minds with the same introjected personalities. This process starts with incorporation, which is a sampling of what is good and bad in the limited environment of the person, then it goes into introjection, which is a preference found in said environments, and then a habit of introjection of the same actions can turn into an identification, which phenomenologically appears as an image of oneself as the main agent acting in the world, devoid of the role models that supplied the earlier influences. Lesser identifications down the line may include more images of people who influenced you and a psychological distance between self and internal object is seen more clearly. If one has a meditation practice, and it is used for internal reflection, one can catch oneself, for example, imitating a way of speaking from another person, and you may see an image of that person while you're speaking in their same manner and accent. With a strong identification, that image of the role model doesn't appear and it feels like your sense of self. This is why imitation can be a sly and unconscious process. If you didn't invent something that you feel is the real you, you can improve clarity by asking "where did I imitate this from?"

The Origin of Envy & Narcissism - René Girard: https://rumble.com/v1gsnwv-the-origin-of-envy-and-narcissism-ren-girard.html

Our role-modeling goes beyond speaking and can permeate our play, which is why authenticity is more connected with culture than many of us are willing to accept, and has more to do with our current skill levels on how to deal with obstacles and challenges, and the zeal or taste we can sense when we can see our way through obstacles successfully. If people are open enough as adults, they need to look at how their wish-fulfillments are almost 100% taken from family and culture, and any originality has more to do with original mixes of those influences. Play is another illuminating method for children to reenact what they copied in their household and it provides clues for the analyst as to how developed the child is. Skills = Development. They also point to those original influences that have gone under the radar of the analysand, as well as unresolved negative emotions. "A fundamental and universal mechanism in the game of acting a part serves to separate those different identifications at work in the child which are tending to form a single whole. By the division of roles the child succeeds in expelling the father and mother whom, in the elaboration of the Oedipus complex, it has absorbed into itself and who are now tormenting it inwardly by their severity. The result of this expulsion is a sensation of relief which contributes in great measure to the pleasure derived from the game. Though this game of acting often appears quite simple and seems to represent only primary identifications, this is only the surface appearance. To penetrate behind this appearance is of great importance in the analysis of children. It can, however, have its full therapeutic effect only if the investigation reveals all the underlying identifications and determinations and, above all, if we have found our way to the sense of guilt which is here at work."

For Melanie, guilt is more powerful in the child, because the ego is too weak to accept mistakes and come up with adult solutions, but if the therapeutic result is achieved in child analysis, the child's nascent ego can now handle things at the appropriate level that the child is expected to be at. "As the analysis of children teaches us, we strengthen that ego when the analytic procedure curbs the excessive demands of the super-ego. There can be no doubt that the ego of little children differs from that of older children or of adults, but, when we have freed the little child's ego from neurosis, it proves perfectly equal to such demands of reality as it encounters demands as yet less serious than those made upon adults." Children of course have limitations on what they can do, because they have many years of education ahead of them. "Children cannot change the circumstances of their lives, as adults often do at the end of an analysis. But a child has been very greatly helped if, as a result of analysis, we enable him to feel more at ease in the existing circumstances and to develop better. Moreover, the clearing-up of neurosis in children often diminishes the difficulties of their milieu. For instance, I have repeatedly proved that the mother's reactions were much less neurotic when favourable changes took place in her children after analysis." The child begins to project, or predict accurately the behavior of parents, and is now not surprised or vexed. Interpretations help to understand reality so the thinking becomes less distorted and children know what to expect, which is important because inaccurate expectations usually lead to stress and rumination. Expectation is stressful because it has a mental element of control, which is felt as an exertion, especially when expectations are dashed. Expectations met are encouraging, and disappointments are discouraging, or inhibiting. If the children know better how to respond to situations, then rumination decreases in daily life. Even more of a prophylaxis is if the child can prevent a pathological secret from developing in the mind, and learn skills so as to avoid being in highly shameful situations.

Object Relations: Melanie Klein Pt. 2: https://rumble.com/v435lsq-object-relations-melanie-klein-pt.-2.html

When interpretations are done well, the child saves energy from the rumination found in the severe super-ego, and that translates into happier play and it creates a positive transference with the analyst that now appears so helpful. "The pleasure in play, which visibly ensues after an interpretation has been given, is also due to the fact that the expenditure necessitated by a repression is no longer required after the interpretation. But soon we once more encounter resistances for a time, and here matters are no longer made easy in the way I have described. In fact, at such times we have to wrestle with very great difficulties. This is especially the case when we encounter the sense of guilt." Guilt is difficult for a child as it is for an adult, because if there's any perfectionism and a lack of acceptance towards mistakes, the self-preoccupation continues unabated as a low self-esteem and can begin a masochistic streak in the patient. Developing a learning mentality is crucial for parenting to be successful and helps to avoid pathological secrets from developing and metastasizing in behaviors.

As noted in prior reviews, any of these feelings of guilt are usually about traumatic or embarrassing sexual encounters, early masturbation that was punished, or the result of severe conflicts with others. The tension and discharge in sexuality inevitably moves into any tension and discharge with regular activities. If the embarrassment and guilt is connected with sexuality, and any other forms of passionate exploration in play and hobbies, it can stunt the growth of a child. They freeze at a particular level until a learning mentality is discovered, usually after a surrender and acceptance of imperfection in the self. If children freeze they will not be able to make any more approaches towards challenges. This is why Melanie focused on the Oedipus Complex to try and get an awareness to appear in the child through interpretations. "Inhibitions in play and in learning have their origin in an exaggerated repression of these phantasies and, with them, of all phantasy. Sexual experiences are associated with the masturbation-phantasies and, with these, find representation and abreaction [catharsis/discharge] in play. Amongst the experiences dramatized, representations of the primal scene play a prominent part and they regularly appear in the foreground of the analyses of young children. It is only after a considerable amount of analysis, which has partially revealed the primal scene and the genital development, that we come on representations of pregenital experiences and phantasies...Consistent interpretations, gradual solving of resistances and persistent tracing of the transference to earlier situations, these constitute in children as in adults the correct analytic situation." Again one sees a learning mentality being trained in the child, which brings awareness to the child of how the brain functions and provides the live-and-let-live experience of self-forgiveness and self-belief that one can try again next time and develop more appropriate behaviors. A sympathetic analyst can also provide a non-judgmental atmosphere that expects children to learn from mistakes and not constantly freeze in self-preoccupation and perfectionism. They have to understand that development is what human life is all about and that no human is born fully formed.

Guilt can also be connected with hatred for the human obstacles in one's life and lead to scapegoating, even if the victims are only toys. This can appear in play unconsciously, but if an interpretation is accurate enough, it can point to the real struggles that are looking for solutions, release, and freedom. "For instance, children begin to distinguish between the 'pretense' mother and the real mother and between the wooden baby-doll and the live baby brother. They then firmly insist that they wanted to do this or that injury to the toy baby, only the real baby, they say, of course they love. Only when very powerful and long-standing resistances have been overcome do children realize that their aggressive acts were directed against the real objects. When this admission is made, however, the result; even in quite little children, is generally a notable step forward in adaptation to reality...It has always been my experience that the effects of such knowledge, gradually elaborated, is in fact to relieve the child, to establish a fundamentally more favourable relation to the parents and thus to increase its power of social adaptation."

Beyond a simple education to tell the child what is right and what is wrong, Melanie wanted the children to reason things out through the consequences of their phantasies in their inner worlds. They unconsciously want to do something bad, but when made conscious, they see more clearly that they would prefer to try something else more appropriate. "When this has taken place children also are quite able to replace repression to some extent by reasoned rejection. We see this from the fact that at a later stage of the analysis children have advanced so far from various anal-sadistic or cannibalistic cravings (which at an earlier stage were still so powerful) that they can now at times adopt an attitude of humorous criticism towards them. When this happens I hear even very little children making jokes to the effect, for instance, that some time ago they really wanted to eat up their mummy or cut her into bits. When this change takes place, not only is the sense of guilt inevitably lessened, but at the same time the children are enabled to sublimate the wishes which previously were wholly repressed. This manifests itself in practice in the disappearance of inhibitions in play and in a beginning of numerous interests and activities." They accept that they are a kid and that they are growing and learning. They can laugh at themselves, because it's a part of their development. This is also one of the ways to alleviate that compulsion to repeat, where a patient repeats their bad experiences because they haven't really learned how to regulate their emotions to move to another level. The important realization for all patients is to see that there is more love and connection when one takes on attitudes and actions that make it easier for others to do the same. In fact, when patients start seeing ways in which they can be more harmonious with others, that is a successful pathway after a bout of analysis.

In each child, there are different manifestations of a severe super-ego. In one patient, Erna, it was a more paranoid one. "In her play Erna often made me be a child, while she was the mother or a teacher. I then had to undergo fantastic tortures and humiliations. If in the game anyone treated me kindly, it generally turned out that the kindness was only simulated. The paranoiac traits showed in the fact that I was constantly spied upon, people divined my thoughts, and the father or teacher allied themselves with the mother against me, in fact I was always surrounded with persecutors. I myself in the role of the child, had constantly to spy upon and torment the others. Often Erna herself played the part of the child. Then the game generally ended in her escaping the persecutions (on these occasions the 'child' was good), becoming rich and powerful, being made a queen and taking a cruel revenge on her persecutors. After her sadism had spent itself in these phantasies, apparently unchecked by any inhibition (all this came about after we had done a good deal of analysis), reaction would set in in the form of deep depression, anxiety and bodily exhaustion. Her play then reflected her incapacity to bear this tremendous oppression, which manifested itself in a number of serious symptoms. In this child's phantasies all the roles engaged could be fitted into one formula, that of two principal parts: the persecuting super-ego and the id or ego, as the case might be, threatened, but by no means less cruel." Exhaustion keeps coming back as long as the pathological responses to family and the community are not resolved and understood, and also because resistance and stress is exhausting, full stop.

When children feel helpless, they begin to proactively take the place of the powerful one that made them feel so vulnerable. "In these games the wish-fulfilment lay principally in Erna's endeavour to identify herself with the stronger party, in order thus to master her dread of persecution. The hard-pressed ego tried to influence or deceive the super-ego, in order to prevent its overpowering the id, as it threatened to do. The ego tried to enlist the highly sadistic id in the service of the super-ego and to make the two combine in the fight with a common enemy. This necessitated extensive use of the mechanisms of projection and displacement. When Erna played the part of the cruel mother, the naughty child was the enemy; when she herself was the child who was persecuted but soon became powerful, the enemy was represented by the wicked parents. In each case there was a motive, which the ego attempted to render plausible to the super-ego, for indulging in unrestrained sadism. By the terms of this 'compact' the super-ego was to take action against the enemy as though against the id. The id, however, in secret, continued to pursue its predominantly sadistic gratification, the objects being the primal ones. Such narcissistic satisfaction as accrued to the ego through its victory over foes both without and within helped also to appease the super-ego and thus was of considerable value in diminishing anxiety."

So in this case, the child needed an excuse for the super-ego to accept the sadistic id so that it could be discharged in aggression while the ego is being morally supported by that same super-ego. Roleplaying can illuminate if there is serious fragmentation in the psyche when the patient doesn't have a core self and is just acting out endless roles in daily life. It means that the same ego, and superego, which need the energy of the id, or desire, can attack itself and others, draining energy, becoming entangled in internal personality contradictions, and covering over the potential mental peace that could be had in more harmonious relationships with self and other. The cost of course was the exhaustion that Erna felt. "...in Erna's case it broke down completely because of the excessive sadism of both id and super-ego. Thereupon the ego joined forces with the super-ego and tried by punishing the id to extract a certain gratification, but this in its turn was inevitably a failure. Reactions of intense anxiety and remorse set in again and again, showing that none of these contradictory wish-fulfilments could be sustained for long." This leads eventually to an adaption to reality, to abandon unrealistic wish-fulfillments, or it can lead to psychosis where the dreaming takes over as well as draining internal conflicts. In an obsession example, in another case study, the child persisted in rituals that didn't function in reality, which is also exhausting and another waste of energy. Melanie also noticed that some children had more or less helpful imagos, which could be examples to strengthen and condition in the child. Those positive imagos can provide a sense of autonomy, and self-reliance, especially if they are hopeful, helpful, practical, and realistic, like the adults who have already modeled those positive behaviors for the child. The more severe the pathology, the more resistant the old behaviors are to treatment, leading to more repetition. These frozen states of being can manifest themselves at differing levels of development and remain into adulthood.

Throughout development, there is a pressure for the ego to take on the different identifications imitated from all the different role models in the child's life and to fuse them into a cohesive personality. "The more extreme and sharply contrasting the imagos, the less successful will be the synthesis and the more difficult will it be to maintain it. The excessively strong influence exerted by these extreme types of imagos, the intensity of the need for the kindly figures in opposition to the menacing, the rapidity with which allies will change into enemies (which is also the reason why the wish-fulfilment in play so often breaks down) all this indicates that the process of synthesizing the identifications has failed. This failure manifests itself in the ambivalence, the tendency to anxiety, the lack of stability or the readiness with which this is overthrown, and the defective relation to reality characteristic of neurotic children. The necessity for a synthesis of the super-ego arises out of the difficulty experienced by the subject in coming to an understanding with a super-ego made up of imagos of such opposite natures. When the latency period sets in and the demands of reality are increased, the ego makes even greater efforts to effect a synthesis of the super-ego, in order that on this basis a balance may be struck between super-ego, id and reality[-ego]." A meditation example of this would be to use the present-moment-ego to follow the breath and use the breath as an anchor while setting up goals and knocking them down. Different super-ego personalities may interrupt the good intentions of the ego and send one into a repetitive cycle of regression with archaic personality goals. It would manifest as a feeling of a comfort zone that prevents development. The different personalities and their weaknesses would manifest different types of internal distractions, like with examples above of obsession or paranoia. Each person has to see what their particular problem is. A wholistic personality, in ideal circumstances, has less internal battles. Since the id is desire without a cultural example to imitate, it is flexible precisely because of that. If you have wish-fulfillments that conflict with each other, because you have conflicting role models in your life and culture, you'll have super-ego reactions that want to punish other super-ego tendencies, which leads the id to wasting more energy. If the ego can pursue goals that do not trip up the conscience of any of the super-ego internal role models, then a feeling of unity and consolidation can be felt. This is felt in the amount of peace that manifests.

The value of play is further seen when the child's projections manifest in how the toys are used, and the splitting is readily apparent when certain toys are treated with more or less antagonism or cooperation. A toy becomes either all good or all bad. Projections appear in play and the child can then find satisfaction that cannot be found in the real world. Maybe the evil toy gets their way. Maybe in another battle, good wins out. "By their means the synthesis of the super-ego, which can be maintained only with more or less effort, can be given up for the time being and, further, the tension of maintaining the truce between the super-ego as a whole and the id is diminished. The intrapsychic conflict, thus becomes less violent and can be displaced into the external world." Anxiety, guilt and stress can then be emotionally released in the play, like an adult being caught up in a good movie. Ultimately, no amount of entertainment or play will replace realistic solutions, so the best forms of art will solve a problem in a way that an audience member can see how it would work for themselves. Play can also be a way to think through a problem and try out different responses until an optimum one appears. "...Every step forward in adaptation to reality involved the releasing of large quantities of anxiety and the stronger repression of phantasies. It was always a great advance in the analysis when this repression was, in its turn, lifted and the phantasies became free as well as more closely linked with reality." Adaptation described here is to see the pathological skills come out of the unconscious, be made conscious, discharge emotionally along with the understanding, then in ideal situations, the child may start to look for better solutions so that the phantasies can begin to conform to reality and increase both external and internal harmony.

Children as they develop can then separate their play into fiction and non-fiction. By having both forms of tension and release, there's more opportunity for more flexible children to find gratification in life with play and responsibility. Responsibility also has a belief in oneself, a confidence, and self-efficacy, that one can achieve goals in life. "Normal children are able to master reality in better ways. Their play shows that they have more power to influence and live out reality in conformity with their phantasies. Moreover, where they cannot alter the real situation they are better able to bear it, because their freer phantasy provides them with a refuge from it and also because the fuller discharge that they have for their masturbation-phantasies in an ego-syntonic form (play and other sublimations) gives them greater opportunities of gratification." So simply, it's not just love and work, but play as well.

As distortion in the super-ego decreases, the good and evil in mental objects begins to be more realistic, so the underrated becomes conscious as well as the overrated in people. "...The analyst must simply be a medium in relation to whom the different imagos can be activated and the phantasies lived through, in order to be analysed. When the child in his play directly assigns to him certain roles, the task of the children's analyst is clear...With children as well as with adults, we have to infer from the analytic situation and material the details of the hostile role attributed to us, which the patient indicates through the negative transference. Now what is true of personification in its open form I have found to be also indispensable for the more disguised and obscure forms of the personifications underlying transference. The analyst who wishes to penetrate to the earliest, anxiety-inspiring imagos, i.e. to strike at the roots of the super-ego's severity, must have no preference for any particular role; he must accept that which comes to him from the analytic situation." This can be a little scary, considering how traumatized many kids are, but Melanie made a compromise. "When children ask me to play parts which are too difficult or disagreeable I meet their wishes by saying that I am 'pretending I am doing it.'" Empathy for Melanie becomes a hallmark of development. "In ontogenetic development sadism is overcome when the subject advances to the genital level. The more powerfully this phase sets in, the more capable does the child become of object-love, and the more able is he to conquer his sadism by means of pity and sympathy." So when children can empathize with others, meaning they can love others, and themselves, that object-choice is going to be more healthy because of the reduced sadism. You're not going to be taking things out on them, and you don't expect perfection from them.

When it came to the use of toys, Melanie wanted the toy to dictate less what kinds of games would be played and instead require the child to use their projections to make them what they will and more clearly take on different roles that exist in the child's real life. "I believe that the toys provided by the analyst should on the whole be of the type I have described, that is to say, simple, small, and non-mechanical...In such games the child frequently takes the part of the adult, thereby not only expressing his wish to reverse the roles but also demonstrating how he feels that his parents or other people in authority behave towards him—or should behave. Sometimes he gives vent to his aggressiveness and resentment by being, in the role of parent, sadistic towards the child, represented by the analyst."

The aggressiveness may lead to damaged toys which can create a sense of guilt in the child over what they might do to their family members. Interpretations that connect the destructiveness to the reality of home life bring the sense of consciousness to the problem and an opportunity to see reality more closely, that the object was underrated, and bring possible solutions to more adapt to the reality of those relationships. A reparation. Everything about reparation is about adapting to reality and changing tactics when one method or another doesn't work. It's for repairing relationships. "Feelings of guilt may very soon follow after the child has broken, for instance, a little figure. Such guilt refers not only to the actual damage done but to what the toy stands for in the child's unconscious, e.g. a little brother or sister, or a parent; the interpretation has therefore to deal with these deeper levels as well. Sometimes we can gather from the child's behaviour towards the analyst that not only guilt but also persecutory anxiety has been the sequel to his destructive impulses and that he is afraid of retaliation...By then we have been able to analyse some important defences, thus diminishing persecutory feelings and making it possible for the sense of guilt and the urge to make reparation to be experienced...Reparation in this sense is a wider concept than Freud's concepts of 'undoing in the obsessional neurosis' and of 'reaction-formation'. For it includes the variety of processes by which the ego feels it undoes harm done in phantasy, restores, preserves and revives objects. The importance of this tendency, bound up as it is with feelings of guilt, also lies in the major contribution it makes to all sublimations, and in this way to mental health." And for those who feel that Melanie Klein pursues the darkness too much, one can easily see a danger if the darkness is not approached and unconscious reactions are left to play out in life. In the real world, a toy dismemberment can translate to murder and dismemberment in actuality. Perusing any crime stories or stories of war, one can see dehumanization, which is to make humans into pests, to make it easier for the super-ego to accept murder. A populace that engages in little reflection and is easily slighted will have consequences in predictable violence, kleptomania, and genocide.

Another criticism against Klein's therapy modality has to do with the capacity of the child to understand. "'Are young children intellectually able to understand such interpretations?' My own experience and that of my colleagues has been that if the interpretations relate to the salient points in the material, they are fully understood. Of course the child analyst must give his interpretations as succinctly and as clearly as possible, and should also use the child's expressions in doing so. But if he translates into simple words the essential points of the material presented to him, he gets into touch with those emotions and anxieties which are most operative at the moment; the child's conscious and intellectual understanding is often a subsequent process. One of the many interesting and surprising experiences of the beginner in child analysis is to find in even very young children a capacity for insight which is often far greater than that of adults. To some extent this is explained by the fact that the connections between conscious and unconscious are closer in young children than in adults, and that infantile repressions are less powerful. I also believe that the infant's intellectual capacities are often underrated and that in fact he understands more than he is credited with."

Because Melanie analyzed children as far back as she could go she felt that object relations were almost always there, and for any child that doesn't remember their birth, the reality is that they are becoming aware of their connections with others and developing enough of a memory and story of their lives which can't exist without object relations. "I found that object relations start almost at birth and arise with the first feeding experience; furthermore, that all aspects of mental life are bound up with object relations. It also emerged that the child's experience of the external world, which very soon includes his ambivalent relation to his father and to other members of his family, is constantly influenced by—and in turn influences—the internal world he is building up, and that external and internal situations are always interdependent, since introjection [to take in what is desirable] and projection [a defense] operate side by side from the beginning of life."

The mind is already reacting to the good and the bad experiences at the beginning of life, with splitting judgments of good and bad, then integration of the good and bad in objects help the judgments match reality more accurately, which is the insight that humans display a variety of good and bad behaviors within the same person. Eventually a feeling of wanting to take care of imperfect people, the feeling of pity, empathy, and sadness develops, kind of like seeing the good and the bad in people, but also witnessing their weak skills and behaviors with a non-reactivity and sympathy as to their imperfect attempts at managing life. They may hurt people sometimes, but they often mean well. Even if these experiences start early in life, they are reintroduced again and again with more and more added depth and complexity found in adults. "The conclusion to be drawn from the experience that depressive anxiety arises as a result of the ego synthesizing the good and bad (loved and hated) aspects of the object led me in turn to the concept of the depressive position which reaches its climax towards the middle of the first year. It is preceded by the paranoid position, which extends over the first three or four months of life and is characterized by persecutory anxiety and splitting processes."

As Melanie advanced her theories further, by adding a lot of material from younger and younger patients, a new more independent category of analyst was beginning to dawn: Those who were eclectic and integrative enough to not care what school a theory comes from, but only care that those theories explain real situations.

The end of the German Republic

In the lead up to World War II, Melanie's idea of being in England or the United States, was starting to be a good idea for other Jewish intellectuals looking for a safe haven. Repudiation of Judaism in Germany included even secular Jews. NAZIS were socialist, in that they attacked capitalists, but they preferred public coercion of the private sector as opposed to Marxist ideas of total government ownership, though many people found not much difference in totalitarian methods because all these labels cover the same power dynamic, where a powerful group of people give orders and everyone with less power has to obey, and this included rejection and retaliation towards supposed "thought crimes." The kinds of books that were burned or banned in the German example included non-affiliated socialist books, any books that were considered decadent or perceived as undermining NAZI prerogatives. Any books that supported social justice and wanted to improve working conditions were targeted. Naturally, Jewish authors' books, like the books of Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud, went up in flames. Even Ernest Hemingway's and Helen Keller's books were not spared. "The first group of German-Jewish analysts from Berlin had begun arriving in Britain in 1933 after the Reichstag fire...The passing of the monstrous Nuremberg Laws, which deprived Jews of citizenship, forbade marriage between Jews and Aryans, and barred Jews from the liberal professions, made 1935 a crucial year...Eitingon had gone to Palestine. Erich’s former analyst, Clare Happel, settled in Chicago, as did Hans’s analyst, Ernst Simmel, before moving on to California. Melitta’s original analyst, Karen Horney, had already moved to New York; and Helene Deutsch, who had always regarded Melanie as a rival, was by 1934 establishing orthodox analysis in Boston. Klein’s old enemies in Berlin, Franz Alexander and Sándor Radó, settled respectively in Chicago and New York...By 1938 one-third of the analysts in the British Society were from the Continent. A comparison of the 1937 and 1938 membership lists shows the number of new names that were added—Bibring, Eidelberg, Hitschmann, Hoffer, Isakower, Kris, Lantos, Stengel, Schur, Stross, Sachs, Straub—and of course Sigmund and Anna Freud."

Book Burning - Holocaust Encyclopedia: https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/book-burning

Book Burnings in Germany - PBS: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goebbels-burnings/

With the arrival of the Freuds Melanie was in a panic that she would soon lose her cocoon. "'It will never be the same again,' Melanie Klein lamented to Winnicott. 'This is a disaster.'" After being an early champion of Melanie, Ernest Jones was already beginning to retreat into an ambivalence between the two schools of psychoanalysis, especially after Anna Freud's The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence was released. Other analysts were also making their choices and aligning with more conservative views or accepting some of the updates that Melanie was proposing, like the theory of internal objects. Many others, like John Bowlby remained independent.

Those escaping fascism found English people more tolerant and they enjoyed the beautiful walkways and parks in contrast to the chaos of banishment and war, but they still suffered from confusion and homesickness after being uprooted. The Vienna and Berlin cultures were also refined up to the hilt, but now regressing to a barbarism. Even advanced societies can lose their freedoms. Both Anna and Melanie started separating their clients based on their different theories. Anna felt that those "who had been analyzed or otherwise trained by analysts holding different views would not be likely to benefit from her teaching." Sigmund Freud was very ill at this time and he gave his blessing before his death that London should now be the center of Psychoanalysis. Over time the divisions between the two schools gave way to some back and forth where the education side of the theories could reduce confusion and a synergy could develop where new analysts could pick and choose which parts of which theory they liked and discard what they didn't. Those interested in younger children, and the promise that psychoanalysis could nip any problems in the bud, so to say, would naturally be curious about Melanie's ideas, and those who felt that older children, adolescents, and adults, was where the action really took place, and because they are easier to communicate with, would prefer more orthodox methods.

Love, Guilt and Reparation: And Works 1921-1945 (The Writings of Melanie Klein, Volume 1) by Melanie Klein: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780743237659/

Envy and Gratitude and Other Works, 1946 - 1963 (2nd Edition) by Melanie Klein: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780743237758/

Melanie Klein: Her World and Her Work by Phyllis Grosskurth: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9781568214450/

Freud-Klein Controversies - Pearl King, Riccardo Steiner: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780415082747/

Melanie Klein Dr Julia Segal: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780761943013/

The New Dictionary of Kleinian Thought by Elizabeth Bott Spillius, Jane E. Milton, Penelope Garvey, Cyril Couve, Deborah Steiner: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780415592598/

The Language of Psychoanalysis by Jean Laplanche, Jean-Bertrand Pontalis: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780367328139/

Psychology: http://psychreviews.org/category/psychology01/