#same everything. same name. same moves abilities etc.

[gameboyhamazing]

thinking abt the inherent tragedy of being in timeloops in a setting (game, franchise, etc.) where half the value is getting attached and sharing experiences with ppl but bc of the timeloops they never remember the experiences you had and may in fact never meet you again because it hurts you too much to try and relate to them again

[inkyquince]

The idea of Gortash and Astarion being in love with the Durge at the same time is so interesting to me. Because their both fundamentally in love with two different people. Pre-tadpole, Gortash fell for a Durge who was a slave to their urges. Astarion fell for a Durge whos regained autonomy over their mind and now has the ability to choose who they want to be.

This may be a hot take, but idc.

I feel like... From reading everything in game about Gortash and meeting him? He would be so into a redeemed Durge. Like, yeah, slight downside of their morals being a smidge too light now, but oh well.

Dark Urge had gotten free of Bhaal. The one actual barrier between them and also fully going into their plan. Remember, Durge apologised to their father for being so FOND of Gortash, they promised that they'll kill the other Chosen in Bhaal's name, etc. The one controlling all their moves? Their Father.

And they either are/want to be free of him.

Fuck, he's hard. They're so fucking strong and stubborn and perfect.

He uses guile, he uses charisma, he uses everything to get a leg up. He used his body, his joined a gang, all while younger. Now he's here. Nothing he respects more than gaining power and influence without being controlled, if his time in the House of Hope taught him anything, it's that being controlled will lead to being beaten and used and discarded.

Control is what made the Dark Urge so fucking endeared to him in the first place. They're not a mad dog, like Orin. They loose control some times but LOOK at the acts you just played through. They have SO much fucking control compared to what their urges want them to do. Gortash values control so fucking much.

But, just like Gortash, Astarion will fall in love with the Dark Urge, redeemed or not. Even if he remains a spawn, he's so soft with them. He will stay until he can't watch them loose their mind anymore. But ascended? He wants them in his lap, naked and rabid and far gone. He loves them, even as nothing better than a feral dog.

Like.... I think Astarion and Lae'zel and Shadowheart are the ones who will fully love the un-redeemed Dark Urge. Gale, as we can see after the Tiefling Massacre, will stick by you but he fucking HATES your ass for what you put him through. Wyll and Karlach leave. Even if you don't pick the nasty sides in the game, when Dark Urge gives into their... well, urges, they're horrified. Astarion, Lae'zel and Shadowheart, while not ECSTATIC are less incensed about the shit you do. Hell, when you take Bhaal's offer, everyone in the party basically... Says goodbye to the person they loved, EXCEPT Astarion. Even if you break up with him, he says that 1000 years from now, when he's forgotten how to open himself up to people, he shall spare a thought for his little lost mad love.

The fact is, Gortash and Astarion will love the Urge, just in different ways, Redeemed or Not. Hell, if the Dark Urge goes feral, Gortash will still love them properly, I feel. Ascended Astarion, like a normal Tav, will love them as a pet. For the romance of ruling by your side, to bond in blood, to adore you bringing sacrifices to his door like a cat with their prey, Gortash is the dark romance love interest you want.

[lauren-ce]

"A Nightmare at Green Lake" is a Queer Coming-Out Story

[This essay has a PDF version; the images are crisper there]

I'm probably nine months late to this particular party, but I just finished the excellent Reverse: 1999 event "A Nightmare at Green Lake" and wanted to make a case for reading it as a story about coming out, focusing on Blonney and her repressed sexuality. It's a love letter to horror films, and a love letter to girls that love girls. Crucially, it is more the latter than the former; Green Lake is a coming-out story that uses the horror film trappings as a storytelling device, not a hard and fast rule. Spoilers for the entire event.

(All my screenshots are taken from this video, which does a wonderful job capturing the entire event.)

The inciting incident in Green Lake began years before. Jennifer visits the camp regularly as a child, writing horror stories in her diary and reading them to Jessica, who loves them. Then, Jennifer suddenly has to move away, and thus, the Incident takes place.

Blonney/Jennifer threw her diary into the lake when she was forced to leave, drowning three things:

1). Her horror stories and love of horror

2). Her acceptance of her identity as an Arcanist

3). Her gay-ass self

She joins human society despite being Different and tries to blend in. She changes her name to Blonney, feigns an interest in fashion, and conforms to social norms. "Monstrous and forbidden" becomes a theme in this event which describes horror, but it also describes queer identity (this will be important later). Blonney discards her identity, drowning it in the lake.

Now allow me the rest of this rambling essay to make a point for that third thing (and to make the case that "loving horror" and "being an Arcanist" is the same thing as "being gay"). Throughout the first half of the event, we see Blonney consistently reject her love of horror movies. She calls them cliche and stupid, easy to make and low-class. Despite secretly loving them, she's built up a persona that isn't allowed to like horror.

Yet she takes an awful lot of offense to criticism of her script. . .

Anne, a recent hire to replace a sick member of Blonney's film crew (who is secretly Jessica in disguise), is mistreated by Blonney for being a naive, small-town country bumpkin that doesn't know anything. Within the movie that Blonney is shooting, Anne is typecast as the "Virgin": Christian, unassuming, sheltered, in contrast to Blonney's "Blondie": indulgent, vain, etc.

Oops, are the characters in the fake movie they're shooting maybe perhaps based on their real-world counterparts???

A contrast is drawn between the two by Blonney and the narrative at first. Throughout the rest of the event, the distance between them and their character archetypes will crumble. The important thing to remember is that Anne/Jessica is a representation of everything Blonney has rejected about herself.

As actual horror-movie type events begin to happen to the group, the characters are genre-savvy enough to realize they're in a horror story. The culprit, though this isn't revealed until later, is Anne/Jessica. She's an Arcanist and has been using her shapeshifting abilities to make a horror movie happen to the group. Ironically, the group looks to Anne as the "Last Girl", the pure and unsullied one that will survive the night.

In actuality, this is a false flag. Since Anne is Jessica is the Monster, she can't be the Last Girl.

The Last Girl is actually Blonney:

I spoiled it already, but the viewer doesn't learn until the halfway point that Blonney is actually from the area, having grown up and making frequent visits. This is why she sees herself in Anne, a gay girl from a small town. Game recognize game, gay recognize gay. Blonney uses a fake name for a fake identity. Jessica sees her actual self, and calls her Jennifer. This isn't a deadnaming, Anne/Jessica sees Blonney as she truly is deep down. Though Blonney doesn't realize it, Anne cuts her to her core, which directly leads to her mistreatment.

Anne's peculiar interactions with Blonney are some of the first hints we get of the true narrative: Why is Anne so nice to her, despite the way she's treated? And more importantly, how would Anne, a newcomer to Blonney's film crew, know Blonney's real name/true identity? Blonney certainly never would've told her, she rejects her own identity, after all. This is a big nod to the true workings of the plot. Anne knows more than what she lets on. Why does Blonney not realize that Anne knows more than she should? Because Blonney is actively trying to reject that part of her—she's blind to it. If she were to acknowledge that Anne knows her true self, then the story would already be over.

On top of rejecting her love of horror, Blonney also rejects her identity as an Arcanist. This identity alienates her from her friends—they consider her a peer up until the horror story begins happening to them. The very second it is no longer convenient, they reject her as one of them and other her. The only member of her original film crew that doesn't reject her for being an Arcanist is, you guessed it, Anne.

However much you despise us, many brilliant playwrights are Queer. I mean—"Arcanists".

Horror events continue happening: a butcher chases around members of the group and monsters attack others. Vertin (R1999's main character), along with Horrorpedia, Sonetto, and Tooth Fairy, provide support, killing monsters and moving the plot along. In many of the monsters the groups find notes, pieces of paper that begin to tell a story—stories within the story. Using their knowledge of horror tropes, the main characters stay alive while Blonney's human film crew seemingly perishes at the hands of the various monster assailants.

After one such attack, Tooth Fairy (an Arcanist), gives first aid to Blonney. During the scene the two have a small argument. Tooth Fairy refuses to use Arcanist medicine to treat Blonney, because Blonney sees herself as a human. This gives Blonney a chance at some introspection, her first time opening up during this event.

Even Blonney's blood knows the truth she's suppressed.

All this happens while Tooth Fairy treats her wounds. Interesting that they're on her inner thigh, hmmm? A MILFy doctor rendering first aid to a girl's inner thighs while explaining that she's rejecting her own identity? I'm sure there's nothing to read into here.

As the plot progresses, Anne repeatedly risks her life to save Blonney. She leaps from a car to save her from a monster, and she later kills the butcher that's been chasing them. This earns her Blonney's trust, which leads to the big, plot-turning confession. At the halfway mark, Blonney is able to sit down with Anne/Jessica and confides in her.

A gay awakening ensues: Blonney feels down about her loss of identity, wanting to reclaim her love of horror. Her facade, she explains, is just that. Blonney threw away her identity as a horror-loving Arcanist in an effort to integrate with society. This conversation takes place after a danger has just been defeated, yet is one of the emotional climaxes. Blonney begins to want to accept her true identity. Throughout, Jessica repeatedly praises Blonney, telling her how amazing and wonderful she is, all the while the two cuddle on a couch.

*Does a gay little hair flip after holding hands. "You can be rougher with me, you know."

To her horror, the rest of the group hears. They had this discussion in the same room, after all, but in contrast to Blonney's old friend group, her new friends support her wholeheartedly. Then, Tooth Fairy hands Blonney the symbol of her self-actualization: her diary, which she'd found in the attic (yes, the same diary that had been thrown into the lake!!! Blonney has now retrieved her diary, her love of horror, and her identity as an Arcanist, all the things she threw away as a child.

Blonney retrieves her diary, which represents suppressed homosexuality through multiple metaphors, and achieves self-actualization thanks to her supportive friend group and a girl with a massive crush on her. The Monstrous and Forbidden are now part of her. Now the gay things really step up.

What happens next is a direct result of Blonney coming to terms with her queerness: a woman in a wedding dress shows up and attempts to marry her.

Monstrous and Forbidden, all in one package.

The woman is a zombie (because we're working with horror tropes, yeah?) but the message couldn't be more clear. Blonney has opened up to Anne/Jessica about loving horror (being queer). Now Blonney must face what that means. Consider: the corpse bride searches for her beloved (literally another bride, this could not be more fucking clear). Who is to play bride to the corpse bride? It's Blonney! The corpse bride forces Blonney down and puts a wedding ring onto her finger. The narrative has allowed Blonney to come out—now it will test her resolve.

The corpse bride is a mixed bag of metaphors. Textually, the corpse bride is a character from the horror story written in Blonney's diary. She was killed by her husband and searches for him so she can place the wedding ring back on his finger. Metatextually, the bride represents Jessica: Blonney abandoned her, effectively "killing" her. Now the scorned bride searches for her lost love.

To sum up: Jessica=Corpse Bride:

1). She searches for her lost love every night (Jessica misses Blonney)

2). She wears a hempen collar (brides don't wear collars, but Jessica does)

Blonney rises to the challenge, she defeats the corpse bride with her newfound arcanist powers, and the group pieces together the clues that the bodies carry. Her new friends are proud of her!

Horrorpedia (annoying fuckwad that he is) nicely sums up the message: by embracing their identities, they can fight back.

All the horror story clues lead to the dead body in the water. "But wait," you say, "Green Lake doesn't feature a dead body in the water." Wrong! Blonney was dead all along, remember? The corpse is Blonney's diary! Her dead body is the horror-loving gay self she killed when she threw her diary into the lake to reject her identity!

More plot happens; the story reaches a climax with Blonney using her magic to aid the group's escape from a lighthouse. On the same shore that Blonney first told Jessica all her horror stories, the same shore she killed her identity on, they confront Jessica, now revealed as the Monster. This whole plotline is the result of Blonney rejecting her identity; now is the time to make everything right.

Jessica is proud of Blonney becoming her true self. However, she's also tired of waiting for her. She's tired of being alone. Jessica offers Blonney a life of bliss: a soft bed of moss for them to share, the sweetest forest fruits, and monsters to keep her company.

When Blonney refuses to live at Green Lake forever with her, it's taken as a rejection. A fight ensues—Blonney and her group win, but the emotional arc of the story has yet to resolve.

Blonney has a chance to reject her queer identity once more. She both does and doesn't. Blonney accepts the monstrous and forbidden by accepting Jessica, a literal monster, and her queerness, the Forbidden. She rejects the monstrous and forbidden by asking Jessica to come with her, to rejoin society, to hide their identities as Arcanists (queer) and live together. Jessica rejects this. She will not be closeted. (The fear she feels at being outed as an arcanist is very similar to the fear of being outed as queer in a hostile society, eh?) This of course puts Blonney under duress—how can the story end happily?

Vertin comes in with a grenade of an offer: Jessica can come stay in the St. Pavlov Institute with her and learn to coexist with people like her. She can live with people that don't see her as weird, despite being monstrous (queer), an Arcanist (queer), and a lover of horror (queer). Vertin hasn't done much up to this point outside of moving the plot along and fighting monsters; this is her time to shine, and she shines like the lesbian lodestar we know her to be. Her conversation with Jessica is tinged with language that could easily be read as romantic, but Vertin isn't here to steal anyone's girl, she's here to offer a happy ending for everyone that guarantees the goal of each party is fulfilled. Vertin's presence is what allows this story to ultimately break free from its horror trappings. Her third option is not a compromise; it is the ending we wanted.

And what an ending it is! It's happy and good in every possible way it could be. The happiness of the ending is a large part of why I call this a coming-out story primarily rather than a horror tale. A slasher film like the ones this event draws inspiration from would see Blonney (the true Final Girl) as the only survivor of her group, still running from the monster and her own self. Instead, all her friends survive, having been held captive in Jessica's den. Blonney comes into her own; she and Jessica reconcile—we get the gay end!

Blonney leaves to finish college as a self-actualized queer woman; Jessica acheives her wish of never being alone and joins the institute to gain an education herself. I have no doubt that they will reunite, and soon: the entire plot of R1999 is Vertin recruiting every arcanist she can to ensure their safety from the Storm. Blonney's future leads directly to St. Pavlov. (For further supporting evidence, see her voice line about taking Jessica for a walk! Even before Blonney graduates, they get to be togetherrrrrrrrrrr!)

Even if you don't play R1999, please please check out this event. It has a lot to say, and it's one of my favorite things I've read all year. The soundtrack fucking whips, and it goes far in helping balm the weeping wound of the tragic yuri that is Vertin/Schneider.

Again, give some love to the video that made this document possible.

I've rambled long enough, so I'll let Tooth Fairy wrap this up with a bow: Love Wins

[0asisbliss]

Parings: Yan!Feitan x fem!Reader

A/N: This takes place in a zombie AU I also put Feitan words in a little bit of broken English because that’s kind of how it is in the anime. Sorry for any spelling errors.

Warnings: Mentions of torture, and Feitan being his own warning.

Blood. There was blood everywhere not just the undead’s, but the living. Now that the laws of society have been lifted ever since the breakout. Everyone is either killing to live, or living to kill. Either way you wanted no part of it. Even if your boyfriend was apart of some disgraceful acts. Every time he just explains all that with it being “harmless fun with friends”.

His friends weren’t that terrible at least to you. When the virus broke out Feitan urged you to come with him to be safe. Explaining that you two would stay there for the time being together. While you were panicking about everything he was as cool as a fucking cucumber. Calm as ever seeing people get mauled, and bitten. You’ve seen at least a hundred people die in this week.

I mean people were turning into walking dead creatures. And the worst part about it they weren’t even dying they were turning into cannibalistic-man biting monsters. Feitan started dragging you everywhere he went. Going to get supplies? You’re coming with him. Need to find a restroom? Yeah, he’s going.

You witnessed what the phantom troupe can do. Honestly you found it quite horrifying. Your just glad you with them instead of against them. Until the breakout you had no idea Feitan did all of these things. Yes. He was a bit experimental, and a little weird, but these were the things you liked about him. He stuck out, and he was different.

He didn’t give you the same ol’ love story other guys did. He was thrilling and made you do different things. He honestly took you out of your comfort zone. Feitan wasn’t normal and you knew that and that he was strong, but you would’ve never thought he would kill.

The first time you saw him kill was when he slaughtered a man that was trying to hit on you during the time you, him, Nobunaga, and Phinks were looking for resources. You were sure you could’ve handled yourself, but he took it upon himself to ruthlessly kill that man.

You also had your fair amount of encounters with zombie you shot a couple and got away. You thought they were all the same you know the ones in the movies. They were slow, blind, and basically walking corpses, or those were just the ones you encountered.

There were categories when it came to the “zombies”. There were whispers, walkers, and creepers.

Whisperers, are zombies that were once people who could use nen. Now they use all of their nen to lure in the uninfected. Ex: Calling their name, looking like the uninfected, impersonating a loved one, etc. Advantages: Amazing hearing, sight, looks almost humanly, could be mistaken for a survivor, and can use nen.

Walkers, are your typical walking dead zombie they roam around like undead corpses, and any living thing that moves is automatically food. Advantages: None.

Disadvantages: Slow, blind, decaying skin, after a couple of days their skin breaks down, eventually rots.

Creepers, hide in the daylight and come out into the night lurking, and waiting for any survivors, and uninfected to make the wrong move. They pounce on people who come in their sights. Advantages: Good eyesight, hearing, and reflexes.

These were the categories Chrollo set every zombie in from his observations. Each zombie category showed different skills, and abilities. Only the troupe knew about these categories. They were sure people who were smart enough picked up that not every zombie acted the same, but unlike them you were smart you just weren’t outside enough to understand the aspect of every one of them.

It was the new normal that you stuck by feitan at all time. Even when he was with his “friends” you had to warm up to them, but they were nice the more you got to know them. Pakunoda shared her food with you, Shizuku always talked to you not wanting you to feel lonely, and Machi know how clumsy you can be, so she sticks around you just in case you get any cuts.

You and usually keep medical kits, and antibiotics in case anyone needs them. The people around you rarely get hurt if they do you, and Machi are quick to the rescue. Even with all of these people surrounding you, you can’t help but think about if your friends and family and if they are alive.

You can’t count how many times you’ve broken down about it. Every time you confront Feitan about it he always tells you there’s nothing you can do about it.

Even though you want to seem irritated at his response you can’t help but think he’s right. You’d be risking your life going out there to find any of them. You cant fight, and all you have is a gun. Though you do have Feitan, but when you’re with him he likes doing things his way like you when have a certain time to the eat and bathe.

Everything centered around him basically, and how he thinks he can keep you safe. Closet thing you get to seeing other people other than Feitan and his friends are the group of people that circle the block of buildings everyday to look for survivors. Sometimes every time you see them some people are missing from that group.

You wonder what happened to them. Maybe they turned into zombies, or maybe they were killed. Either way you felt bad for them. They were such nice people going out of their way to look for survivors, and giving out food. You wondered why you never saw anyone get anything from them. They seemed pretty generous to you.

Feitan got back inside after looking around the city for resources. Fortunately he came back with a lot of things. Tissues, canned food, wipes, more antibiotics for you to treat people with, and something in a pink bag. Feitan looked at you before walking over to you and staring into your eyes. He handed you the pink bag and walked into another room in the building. You concluded that he was going to talk to other members of the troupe.

You were kind of hesitant to opening the bag, but your curiosity got the better of you. It was a bracelet with the first initial of your name. You looked at the bracelet and put it on your wrist it was a perfect fit.

You smiled at the bracelet. Feitan watched you through the doorframe secretly there was just the slight smile on his lips. He would never admit it, but he wanted you to stay happy even in times like this.

You looked out the window to see that the group of people were still outside.

They were waving up at the window to get your attention. You looked down at them, and wondered what they wanted. You opened the window, and stuck your head out of it.

They held up a sign made out of cardboard stating “We need help finding our team member.” They turned the board around to the other side. “She has red hair a crop top, and blue jeans on. Have you seen her?”

You shook your head. Giving the group a bit of a pitiful look. That’s when Feitan came up from behind you and shut the window.

“What are you doing?” He asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“The people outside lost one of their friends. They had asked me if I saw one of them-.”

“What people? I see no one.”

“Huh? I- they were just out there I swear Fei-.” You stutter trying to prove there were just people outside.

“You are hallucinating. You need sleep.”

You didn’t have the energy to argue with Feitan so you just did what he said. You weren’t hallucinating you knew you saw them you just had to prove it to Feitan.

The next day you decide to get proof that they are out there. They would surely come back. You made it your plan to go out there and meet them, and get a picture with them to show Feitan. You were going to take your gun just in case, and a camera. Just because you wanted to meet them didn’t mean they were good people you still had to be aware of the world you were still currently in.

You would get a couple of photos of them, and meet them. Just to see how they were as people, and maybe you could join their group part time. Maybe even help them look for their lost teammate. Though you had to wait when Feitan left to leave again.

You told yourself that you needed to be back before he did. You saw him mad before, but you could tell he was really serious about you not leaving where he placed you, so you needed to make sure to avoid that scenario.

You waited a couple hours, when Feitan got himself together to leave.

“I’m going now. Don’t look out the window again. I have something to tell you when I get back.”

“What is it?” You asked wanting to know now.

“I said when I get back.”

“What if you don’t come back.” You spat at him.

He only glared at you before leaving. He didn’t know why you were acting so different lately. Maybe you just needed some fresh air?

“I’ll take you somewhere when I get back.” He thought to himself.

You waited till you saw him leave with Phinks to prepare your bag to leave. You had a gun, and couple knives Feitan gifted you, your camera, and bullets. You waited till you saw them again and rushed outside to meet them. They were walking in front you, you just needed to get their attention.

“Uhm hi!”

They all turned in unison and looked at you weirdly. Their eyes seemed dazed, almost like they were confused. They were pale looking you just thought they haven’t eaten in a while. I mean it is hard to find food around here right?

“You guys seem a little hungry yeah? Uh I have a couple of scraps in my buliding I share it with my uh boyfriend so-.”

You were cut off by one of the members loud groaning. You felt the hairs on the back of your neck rise. You stood there confused on why you felt afraid, and why they were acting like this.

Feitan was raiding abandoned buildings nearby with Phinks. Phinks was looking out the window while Feitan was in the back ripping some dudes teeth out.

He spotted you frozen in place standing behind whisperers.

“Oh shit. Feitan I think there’s a problem.”

“What?” Again there was a hint of annoyance in Feitan voice due to Phinks distracting him from torturing his poor victim.

Feitan walked over to Phinksand looked out the window. His eyes widened in shock. He ran out the building trying to get to you as fast as he could.

Back with you, you smelled the familiar smell of a rotting corpse though you didn’t see any dead bodies around. You looked back up at the group of people one last time. These weren’t people.

You turned around to run away. In the midst of running you pulled out your gun to turn around and shoot the zombies. You fired three bullets at the zombies. The bullets stopped in mid air and paralleled back to you.

“But how? These aren’t people who can use nen?” You thought to yourself.

Your eyes widened in fear. Just as you were about to meet your fate Feitan pulled out his concealed sword, and adverted the bullets killing off three of the zombies. Although there was one left.

“I’ve got this one.” Phinks was eager to see what the whisper had in store for him.

Feitan didn’t hesitate to grab you and bring you back to your place of residence. Once you two got there you didn’t say anything, and turned around to leave. Feitan stopped you right in your tracks.

“What the hell were you doing?”

You got teary eyed and looked away.

“I wanted to show you that the people I was talking to yesterday were real, so I went out to get a photo with them. I just wanted to show you that I wasn’t some crazy person.”

You stumbled on your words and began to choke on your sobs. Feitan just stared at you he wasn’t big on physical affection nor did he really understand it, but he could understand when some needed a hug. Feitan went up to you from behind and embraced you. It was short, but it was something nonetheless. You didn’t want his warmth to leave, so you grab his hand bring him back close to you. You started to mumble little sorry’s here and there.

You two stood there for a little while before he took you to your shared bedroom. You won’t be going out for a while after this.

[thatbitchery]

'Power' and 'power hungry' are those words that we have demonized and sacrificed to spread the level down propaganda that's egalitarianism and anti- hierarchy, when power is not only inbuilt meaning we all seek it but extremely important and useful to life.

Power is the ability to influence the outcome, perception and course of events. People that have power are people that have- control or at least influence over lives, theirs or otherwise. Lack of power is the most painful position one can be in- exhibit A your childhood if you had one of those parents. Lack of power power leads to slavery, bring under dictatorship, resentment, self loathing, humiliation, shame, etc. The most painful position you can be in is one where you Lack power over yourself.

Neitzsche (I can never correctly spell his name) insists that power over yourself is the most important form of power, and that a good life is a life spent garnering and exercising power over yourself. Power over yourself is simply- discipline. When your will is stronger than your impulses and urges and wants- when you're disciplined- then you have achieved the highest form of power in existence- which makes this the first point. An easy way to be powerful is to be disciplined.

Power over others, however , is just as important. As social species we are constantly in need of company, in fact isolation is a death- to be at the mercy of others is also a death. Since as a social species we are dependent on each other for survival it is important to have some level of power over others- we are also animals and people will naturally treat you at the lowest level they can- it's important to make this level as high as possible.

So then, some cheap / completely free easy to do ways to be powerful?

Articulation and eloquence. Jordan Peterson says the most dangerous thing a person can be is to be articulate and eloquent. Why? Because words are the most powerful weapon out there. Everything social happens through words , and it's a social species so do the math. Wars have been declared and ended over and through words. Relationships formed and destroyed. Governments created and disbanded- words. In my religion save for human beings Everything was created by words- its that powerful. The most powerful you can be is articulate. The way you speak- from your surface lexicon to your intonation to the speed you use to your accent- people judge you over this. It influences how people treat you and think of you. It's soft power that's also explosive. Increase your surface lexicon. Get rid of your original accent and get one that people either a) find superior or b) commonplace ie most people have it (fun fact before skin color and origin we assess each other on accent basis and subconsciously decode if we like you or not. Explanation: people in the same tribe have the same accent , so consider eo brothers and safe. Strangers, not so much). Learn to pace your words. Be straightforward and open. Which drives me to point two

Honesty and authenticity. Look , I think you should lie. Manipulate girl boss gatekeep - these require lying at some point- go for it. What's more powerful, though, is to learn to ger what you want by manipulating the truth. You know what they say- the truth will set you free. Here's the problem with lying- we can tell. There are tells and subconsciously cues that your body sends when you lie and we subconsciously detect them and when you're caught in one lie it destroys your credibility all round. It's like a castle of jenga falling apart, everything that was once in harmony just- trips over. Credibility is the backbone of all relationships- you lose that you get isolated. Honesty is such a powerful tool because a) its vulnerable b) it signals confidence c) it builds trust d) the gift of companionship- you meet people that can actually relate e) you don't need to remember too much or always hold up a facade, the truth will set you free f) it's such an idgaf move that makes you seem superior especially if it's something you'd get judged harshly on. Just- be truthful- I've given f ways in which it influences how people treat you. The trick here is to do the mystery thing- keep things to yourself, unlearn your need to overexplain or justify, learn to give vague, short and true answers and when in doubt, cry.

Knowledge is power- what more must I add. Read. Keep up with the economics and government politics. Learn personal finance and build a financial base. Read fiction. Listen to podcasts. Be informed. Know the things that matter, and no that isn't drake X Kendrick Lamar it's things that matter. Get good grades and hold, at the very least, a bachelor's. Watch movies and go to the opera. Subscribe to newsletter. Be informed. Know. Knowledge is power. Join training camps and whatnots. Be skilled and efficient.

Networks. Power is stored in webs and security is in numbers. Exhibit a) try attack someone with a strong fan base see how that goes for you. You want to be powerful? Have friends, and not just friends. Powerful friends. I don't mean a team of CEOs necessarily- loyalty at the top is tricky and unless you're also a CEO that might not be easy- I mean people that can influence the turn of events. Sometimes- like in fandoms- it's simply just, people. Who your networks are made up of is dependent on what you want- as long as you keep in mind security is in numbers. Run up your numbers, ma'am. Forget your introvercy and self isolation methods , leave your house and learn to talk to people and run up your numbers. The most powerful you can be, is to get to a point where a) you have numbers on every level b)you have a cult leader like presence- that people worship you and are willing to die for you. Like most celebrities do. That's security, that's power. If you have a Nicki Minaj level fan base people treat you well because if they don't your fans will tear them apart. & you can get away with anything because they will justify it for you.

Grooming and mannerisms. We- inclusive of you- judge our books by their covers. Before you speak your Grooming and your etiquette speak for you. That's, I'm not explaining this. I know you know.

START HERE

[rayzay]

A lot of spelling mistakes, the plot is all over the place ngl.

Keep in mind English is not my first language!

Danny was immortal, he couldn't die. Well, he couldn't die by old age. His human form won't die naturally and it won't age either.

So, when all of his family, friends and just quite everyone he knew died, he was left alone. But his family and his two best friends still haven't moved on, Danny was their unfinished business. So, like a good normal family, they decided to haunt Danny! Which is cute, but also can be seen as something horrifying if you don't know the context.

So, 85 years later, Danny still changes last name everytime he needs to (so about every 4 years), jumping from foster family to foster family. He moved to state to state, never staying in the same state for too long.

And in 85 years, a lot has happened.

Here's what changed with the world :

Superheroes and metahumans/non-humans are way way more accepted in society.

A lot of big city appeared such as, Gotham and Blüdhaven in Jersey, Central City in Missouri, Metropolis in Illinois, Amnesty Bay in Maine, Blue Valley in Nevada, Coast City in California, Dakota City in well...Dakota. Fawcett City, Star City..etc..etc..

All of these have also something particular, they're home to a hero and said hero works for the JL, known as the Justice League.

Danny wasn't really interested in hero-ing anymore, after all, there was people literally paid by the government to do that, so why would he do charity work? Of course he'll help if there's a catastrophe, but he'll just help the civilians get to safety, that's all.

Life kind of sucked for Danny. He couldn't get attached by people too much because he'll know he's going to outlive all of them, so why even bother trying?

Danny needed to find a new place to stay, preferably a big city, and in a state he didn't appear this year.

Danny decides to pick Metropolis, it's one of the safest option after all, Superman does his work pretty well, and casualties and crimes rate are really really low there..plus, Sam kept pestering him asking him to meet Lois Lane. (Danny needed to do an essay about journalism for some reason, and he stumbled across Lois Lane Wikipedia page, she was quite the character.)

Sam instantly took a liking to her, she's everything she aspires to be.

Tucker, him, seemed interested in Lex corp, not in a “Oh, I'm so so fan of him!” kind of way, but more in a “His technology is one of the best in the world, he could easily rival against WE.” kind of way.

His parents and Jazz were guiding him, telling him what to not do, and what to do, sometimes they argue, sometimes they stay quiet, sometimes Danny tune them out, can't blame him honestly, if a psychologist was always nagging me, telling me what to say, and doing some unnecessary rant about whoever's is talking to Danny body language I would want to tune them out too.

But they're mostly trying their best..and Danny can't blame them for that.

His parents always did a “ability checkup test ” and it's basically Danny just flying around, shooting his blasts, doing a ectoplasm shield, duplicating...just testing all of his powers to see if they're all okay.

Which, they always are but his parents keep pushing him to do it, and he always agree just to make them shut up.

Danny found a new ability, something he deemed impossible to do, he can fly, he has his strength, his speed, his stamina and his reflexes but, with his human form.

But everything else that works with ectoplasm or his ghost core he didn't have.

So he was basically a less powerful version of him, which, sucks, but it's kinda cool.

His family were ecstatic and so was he! Plain old Danny could be more..but no, he has to stay low. Otherwise he's going to get found by Vlad, or worse.

Danny does something, extremely stupid, but fun for him.

He decides to fly in Metropolis, but just high enough so no one could see him! Even though Danny has the same powers when he's Danny Phantom, it's different, it's weird, he has his core to help him concentrate, hearing the frost in there soothe his nerves, and help him get focused.

But, it's different, he has his slow beating of his heart, which is quiet, really really quiet, it's drowning against the noises of the city

He can't focus he can't focus he can't-

Danny starts falling, which is okay because he can just turn into Danny Phantom and easily get out of this shitty situation, but noo, Danny had, and still has the shittiest luck ever.

Superman catch him, of fucking course.

[harleys1nhawaii]

MAYBE

pairing: dabi/todoroki touya x gn!reader

warnings: mentions of sex, smoking, etc.

wc: 2k+

a/n: its crazy that how many thoughts of him there are in my head yet i can't fucking write anything. there isn't 1 damn day i dont think about him and this should be a mfkng crime. i am SICK AND TIRED i love him more than anything. anyway, enjoy<3

dabi knows somethings wrong. he can't really point out what it is or name the pain, but he knows he's doing something wrong.

or maybe, he's pretending. he is a cruel villain that'd take hundreds' life in a heartbeat with no remorse, set the buildings ablaze with no sign of guilt. he was a bad person who did bad shit, that's for sure. that was who and what he was. he had to be real heartless to have done all of that, hadn't he? he had to be some kind of sociopath who lost the ability to feel ages ago.

then why he felt this way? like he was hurting.

he hated that.

he hated having that agonizingly stinging pain in middle of his chest. like he had been stabbed a thousand times yet still couldn't die. almost as if he couldn't even bring his feet to move to walk. as if he would rather do all the stupid bullshit than feel it.

he was afraid because no matter how he pretended like he didn't care, maybe he really did. he was scared to death for the first time in forever because he knew something was terribly wrong but he didn't know what it was. he was scared because now he was feeling his feelings after claiming himself to be no longer able to do that, and he wasn't used to it in any way. he had no idea how to deal with it.

or maybe, dabi was scared.

dabi was scared to lose you. he wished he didn't feel that. the guilt. the guilt of all the times he had treated you like you were nothing but just a sex partner to him. all the times he acted like he didn't care. all the times he pushed any slight of intimacy away and ignored all his feelings. and all of those times he gave everything in himself to not care about how you felt, about you.

he sighed deeply and closed his eyes shut. where did all of these took him to? other than hurting you, hurting himself. he couldn't bare the idea that he loved. what the fuck did that mean? he had a will to reach, a long path to walk through. he couldn't waste his dear time on pointless romance shit and none of the troubles it brought with itself.

he needed to be sane, as if he hadn't lost it ages ago. but he needed that. he needed his mind. with no one other in it to keep him in the same spot of life for god knows how long.

dabi was angry. no, he was fucking furious.

how could he drop his guard like that? how could he let you get into his heart? you two had promised to be nothing but just sex partners, with no fucking strings attached. this was what it should've been. 2 people that had nothing to do with each other's business and life other than satisfying each other when needed.

then why he wanted more? why couldn't he bare the feeling of guilt everytime he left you all alone? this should've been what was right. he had a life to live, places to be and shits to do. he couldn't be with you all day. and why would he anyway? at the end, he was the careless one. the reckless, the nonchalant vile villain bastard.

he had to be. he knew that if he allowed himself to feel, he couldn't turn back.

then why? why why why why? he wanted to smash his head against the rock he was leaning on. what the fuck was wrong with this? what the fuck was wrong with him? why couldn't he stop thinking about you? why did he want to hug you, why did he want to kiss you so damn bad?

his hands trembled, almost making him drop the cigarette he was holding between his fingers. his jaw clenched in sync with his left hand, making it go into a fist. silent curses came out under his breath, once again, eyes closed shut.

maybe, dabi loved.

dabi loved the way you made him feel. like he was still breathing even while he was holding his breath. like he had a reason to keep going and fight with the heroes harder, knowing he had a place to be after all this distress ended. like he had a reason to wake up and get done his grueling businesses, repeating himself continuously that maybe you two will meet that night.

like he was living.

dabi hated that to the bone. but oh, dabi loved that more than anything. he had tasted how it felt to be alive and now he knew he wanted more. he needed more.

dabi stood up as he threw the almost burnt out cigarette away. this time, he didn't stumble as he walked, nor did he feel his legs giving up on him. this time, he knew where he was going and his chest didn't fill up with the same old worry and pain.

because this time, he knew he needed you with him and he wasn't afraid of it. he needed to be there for you and hold you in his arms like he always wanted to but could never had the boldness in himself to attempt to. he needed to kiss the wounds of yours that he caused to appear and patch them up to never reopen them again.

dabi walked faster, ignored the sounds of honking horns rising from the cars he walked past by, ignored the world.

dabi needed to reach you.

dabi needed you.

[wisteriaiswriting]

Hey how's it going? You could do Brim, Harbor, Chamber, Iso , Yoru and Phoenix with male cat radiant (can be with gn) And I saw the first one you made and I loved it.

Agents With Male Cat Radiant

Words: 720

Old man and the cat he didn’t want (Absolutely loves and want’s you.)

Kinda over-buys toys, scratching posts and beds. (There are so many things in every room of the base.)

Speaking of, he’ll sit at his desk for hours using a laser pointer for you.

Keeps all the bells and louder toys away from his office and bedroom, letting you annoy the other agents with those.

His pet names aren’t that bad really; Handsome, Tiger (Or any big cat) and hairball. (When he’s annoyed with you.)

Keeps you away from his paperwork and anything else important in the office.

Has a folder full of you doing practically everything, which are filmed how you expect them to be. (Ranging from you just existing to you messing around with some toys.)

Isn’t the best at petting you, it’s rough but also gentle in a way. (He does get better though, don’t worry.)

This guy holds you in every way imaginable. (Holding you under your arms, in his arms etc.)

Another one to buy too many things, he’ll try to clean them up but ultimately you’ll just do it again.

Doesn’t have too many pet names, but has some; बिल्ली का बच्चा (Kitten), Ball of energy.

He just melts whenever he hears you purr.

You better hope you can handle baths, otherwise he’ll make it easy on the both of you and drops a ton of water on you. (Feels bad after and will coddle you.)

Also doesn’t care if you take up all the space on his bed, but if he’s that tired he’ll move you onto his chest.

While he loves you, please just stay away from his clothes. (Has a specific pair that he’s willing to get covered in your hair/fur.)

Chaton, boule de poils, beau gosse.

He still enjoys teasing you about anything; “You’ve made quite a mess, Chaton.” While actively using a lazer pointer to make you cause more chaos.

Only pays for the best items for you, and will not settle for anything less. (Is willing to get custom made ones.)

Tries to keep you away from the smaller parts of hiss guns, doesn’t want you to get hurt or lose something.

Commissions a collar for you? (Jk jk, unless?)

He’s not joking, buys the highest quality (But comfortable) one he can get.

Won't buy any toys / entertainment, but will lend you the money if you want anything.

亲爱的 (dear), 成套设备 (kit)

Can sit there for hours squishing your hand / paw beans, even messing with your claws.

If you have hair / fur, he’ll sit there and mess with it. Ruffle it, smooth it out, trys to braid some part of it.

Sometimes you’re not sure who’s the actual cat here, sure you are actually one, but he sure acts like it.

If you’re asleep on his bed / in his room, he’ll work around you, especially if you returned from a mission.

Makes sure you’re rarely hungry, leaves your favourite food in the pantry, and takes you out whenever.

Secret cat lover (Rather cats over dogs any day.)

Can sit for hours either watching or teasing you with anything he can get his hands on. (With his abilities there's a lot he can get.)

ベイブ (babe), ベイビー (baby), overgrown hairball

Is always down to play fight with you, scowling at the scratches you leave. (Isn’t that made though.)

Such an asshole as he uses his abilities to (lightly) tug on your tail, ears or hair then disappear.

Will wake you up if you’re in his way on his bed, isn’t afraid too.

Quietly jokes about getting you matching accessories, and he doesn’t mean gloves. (For you at least.)

He is so in love!!

Will spend all his money on anything and everything for you.

He’ll unironically take you to some cat cafes too, and I quote, ‘Go visit your fam!’

While he absolutely loves you, please stay away from his jackets, he doesn’t want any scratches on them.

Same goes for his shoes, but he’s def willing to buy more. (Gets matching pairs while he’s at it.)

God, some of his pet names are so cringy, but he’ll never stop; Kitten/kitty, baby, beautiful.

Tries to be nice about it but will kinda push you off if your claws dig into him, doesn’t enjoy the pain.

[thinkpink212]

The Thinkpink Guide To a Pretty Pink Soft Life - Setting the tone for 2024

Hello lovelies, we've entered November and have one more month to go before we officially reach 2024! This time last year I sat down and wrote out the goals I now have fully compleated through manifestation, dedication and persistance. I've been asked before how I did it, so here is how.

1. It is important to have the mindset of a believer. More importantly, you must be a believer in you. Belive that you can and will have everything you desire simply because you desire it. You are the univers expanding, creating and experiencing itsefl. Once you believe, as well as trust in your abilities, vision(s) and start honoring yourself - You will become who you want to be (which is who you already are, just not yet)

Once your mindset is shifted, you need to get down to the specifics.

2. The Four Seasons - Work with nature, never against her. One of the reasons why I felt so sucessfull achieving my goals were the way they were divided. I had 3 major and minor goals for the whole year. These goals were centered around what would further me towards the life I wanted, with the seasons in mind divided into 4 phases. I wanted to factor in changing weather, possible shifting mood's, hollidays and much more to avoid any distraction or change of plans due to seaosn.

Examples

A. Major Goal was to graduate Massage School -> Lead to more financial abundance, freedome due to being more in control of my schedule etc. This had a deadline as school had a start and an end. It required dedication for studying, funds, and also for me to find a job afterwards. Took 8 months and three weeks exactly. B. Minor Goal Finish decorating my bedroom, in the home I had manifested -> Led to a safe, comfortable and tranquil enviorment that was costumized to my liking and need. Boosted my mood, as I had a sanctuary. This had no deadline, so it felt like a fun activity where it required funds, patience and selectivness. Took me 11 months to get 85% of what I wanted for my room. It is considered acomplished even though I may add more in the future, C. Summer is a time we want to let loose, have fun and be outside, so my goal of writing everyday felt easy enough untill the sun was calling my name everyday to go enjoy it. So, I implimented writing 30min daily, where any 30min not spend would be allocated to days were I did not have plans within that same week. Once I had to write for 3 hours (which I did) but never again did I skip my 30min. Most of it occured during late evenings as it was when I was already back home, few distractions and so on. - A habit I created was writing on public transport. The 13min back and forth was no longer spend scrolling but instead editing, writing, brainstorming etc.

3. Be selective and prepare for temporary sacrafices. Being real with yourself to choose what you truly want to dedicate the whole year to is crucial for a great year. Sometimes what we want can be stacked/combined. The more selective you are with your goals, and your words, the less things you put on your Goals list and can potentially transfer those to your Phase overview. put on your overall list of achievments. And be prepared to sacrafice time, habits and other pleasures that need to be paused for you to get to where you need to be.

Example; Major Goal 1 -> to become Financial Stable Phase 1 (January through March) -> Start Education / Courses that will alloow higher earning. -> Get a side husstle or main job earning x amount. -> Stay on budget of x amount weekly/monthly

4. Remind yourself of who tf you are Staying on track is easy while the spark is there, but after a few weeks, months, maybe even a season, sometimes that spark can start to seem like a tiny flame in the dark. Remind yourself of who you are becoming through moodboard, playlists, friends you trust who you can openly talk about your moves without fear of evil-eyes. Staying motivated is important as that is your fuel, so do what you need to keep your eyes on the prize. I personally made a pinterest board for each month, made sure to change my background to the focal of the Phase I was in, listen to the same three playlists whenever I got down. Journaling And I had an amazing tight circle of friends I would talk to about my moves.

5. Faileur is not a word you know - Rejection is redirection I do not recognize faileur, instead, I see it as the universes way to tell you you've chosen the wrong brick path and need to go left or right instead. So get up, dust yourself off and get to it. Sometimes life happens, so remind yourself that you can call it, go to bed and try again tomorrow. And I would like to emphesis on the fact that you do not have to start in January. You can rest then and start during the Astrological New Year (Aries season) and move in allignment with the Astral Plain rather then our sociatal concept of time. Just never give up, regroup and redirect.

Lastly, if you find yourself done before the year is over (like myself), spend that time further enjoying the fruits of your labor and give yourself a round of applause. Never forget that all is possible, you are a creator so create your reality even if it takes a little elbowgreese till you get the hang of it!

Goodluck to you all <3

[au-sonic-smackdown]

AU Sonic Smackdown - Round 2, Right Side

Click to see full size image

Gaia Born AU belongs to @juliemultiverse (art by @thefantasylife)

Evil Sonic AU belongs to @kittygamer2888

Learn more about them under the cut!

Gaia Born AU-

Sonic is like a big gold retriever. He’s happy to make friends where ever he goes. He was made on the ARK but was immaturely taken out of his incubation tank as an infant. He was raised by his brother tails on bygone island before they moved 5 years later.

His abilities include, Shadow Melding, Super strength, elastic arms and has the ability to sense others emotions.

Evil Sonic AU-

Sonic’s personality is mostly firm, serious, and can be a bit arrogant at times. He can also be quick to rush things like attacking without a plan and plan’s his fights during battle. He could care less about Knuckles and his friends, he just wants the Master Emerald and have that ultimate power to himself.

His abilities are mostly the same as the original Sonic (Spindash, homing attack, etc.) but he tends to use his machines more as he doesn’t like getting his hands dirty, those are only in rare and dire times.

Sonic used to be this normal, brown, free-spirited hedgehog who just wanted to make friends with the animals and mobians in the woods and cities, but that all changed when he broke the sound barrier, changing him from brown to blue. Everything changed that day as his friends backstabbed him and betrayed him, left him for dead out alone in the woods. More time passes by and he would get bullied non-stop, and he was no longer the same friendly hedgehog he used to be as he became more distant and quiet throughout his years as a kid. But once Sonic saw how Tails would be bullied for being different too, he convinced Tails, manipulated him into joining his plan. To take over the world and change the planet his was, their way. And Tails, being a gullible kid at the time, accepted it. And after a while, Sonic didn’t want to admit it, but deep down, he started seeing Tails as his beother later on in the years. To this day, Tails still works for Sonic, him being the one who plans the robots and builds them while Sonic is the one who plans the battles, but he has been practicing building his own robots with the help of Tails around.

Extra info: His name “Sonic” was just a nickname his friends used to give him because of his speed, and because of this, Sonic would go back to referring himself to his government name, “Ogilvie Maurice”. And because the nickname “Tails” was a name that was given to the fox by the bullies in this AU, Tails still goes by “Miles Prower” here.

But because of Knuckles being the hero of this AU, he comes up with a new nickname for Maurice, it being “Needlemouse”. So now that’s what Maurice goes by, “Mr. Needlemouse” while Miles is simply just “Dr. Miles Prower”.

Bonus: All of the characters here are aged up more, so Sonic here is only 20 years old and is 3'4. So.. there’s that.

[ausp-ice]

Devastation. It can be a terrible thing. It can be a beautiful thing. It can be despair. It can be love. It can be a revelation. It can be the moment you understand that everything has changed, that there is no way back in any true way. Devastation is profound, inescapable change. Will you, too, experience it one day? Perhaps you'll see it coming; perhaps you'll try to outrun it. Perhaps it will strike swiftly, so suddenly a thing that you never expected it at all. No matter. Devastation simply is. It shall come when it comes.

Devastation (they/any), Edeia of Devastation.

An Edeia I've been thinking about for a while! Their main story exists in the Calamity Continuity, a different timeline of the Ideation universe where physical reality collapsed, leaving only Abstractions for all beings to exist in.

Edeia Site | Edeia Discord | Personal Website

Name: Devastation Idea: Devastation Gender: None Pronouns: they/any Masterlist: #445

About

Devastation — Vast for short — is, perhaps surprisingly, gentle. They enjoy the little happenings of existence: flowers growing out of the cracks, rain on a sunny day. They enjoy the "present" and whatever delights it can give, but at the same time believe in the transience of it. They experience the world with the thought that anything and everything could be lost in a single moment. When they do experience loss, they do not quite mourn; they simply accept it, and continue moving onward. So it is the same with friendships and other connections: they love, and truly can love wonderfully, but do so without attachment.

They give "cold comfort" not infrequently. They might offer to one who has or will experience devastation a gentle caress, a hug, a little song, someone to talk to. They might say such things as, "Time washes all things away, good and terrible;" "All shall return to dust, in the end;" "The future is unknown, and shall become what you make of it." For those who have yet to experience devastation, their company may be both a blessing and a curse: an omen of impending, inescapable change, yet also a reassurance that they will make it to the other side. Some have attacked them in rage, some have wailed in grief, some cling to them in denial and fear of what shall come. Devastation will give their cold comfort, and devastation will come, in the end.

Each moment of devastation they are able to experience or witness is profound for them. They see them as beautifully terrible, terribly beautiful things. The emotions they feel might compare to religious ecstasy, and they cherish and commit to memory each moment they know. At the same time, they are in no hurry to rush these moments — they are content to watch them come as they will. If another Edeia or powerful being tries to interfere in these moments, however, then Devastation may try to shield the sequence of events leading up to them from other influence.

Abilities

The Impending

A form of prescience. Devastation can sense potential devastating events all across the universe, with the sense having a stronger intensity the closer it is physically and the more definite its likelihood of occurring. As Devastation focuses, they can begin to perceive the threads of possibility to see how events might unfold, leading up to, during, and after the moment of devastation. 

The Inescapable

Devastation can "plant" a dream consciousness within an individual who is likely to experience devastation in the future. This dream consciousness is a temporarily independent, parallel entity that can observe and interact with that individual, both in their dreams and as waking "hallucinations." The dream consciousness can remain with the individual throughout crossing time, dimensions, etc., and after the moment of devastation passes, the dream consciousness can disperse. Any memories experienced by the dream consciousnesses become part of Devastation's subconscious or deeper memory — if they think about it, they can access the memories, but otherwise, they are not affected from moment to moment. The closer the event of devastation, the more powerful the dream consciousness becomes. 

Depending on the individual, they may or may not be aware of having Devastation's presence in their mind. This ability can work on Edeia, though Edeia can banish the dream consciousness if they try. 

Prior to the Calamity, Devastation needed to be in proximity to an individual to use this ability. After the Calamity, their powers grew to become able to transcend the borders of Abstractions, though in that case they can only plant a dream consciousness if the devastating event is nearly certain to occur, and not too far off in the future. 

The Inexorable

Devastation can protect certain threads of possibility from interference from other Edeia and supernatural beings, in order to ensure certain events unfold the way they expect. The extent of the protection may vary and may only be partially effective against other Edeia. 

The Profound

Devastation can grant abilities, augmentations, and other magical influences to those who have experienced devastation. The more intense the emotion, the more powerful the effect. 

History

Before Actualization

Devastation's home is in the Calamity Continuity of Ideation. They were born of a human and a demon from another dimension around the 1600s, though their birth parent did not know the other was possessed. They were given the name Vena, and were raised as a human child. As magic was part of the world, when Vena started to show inhuman characteristics, their birth parent thought that they were manifestations of the potential to become an Edeia. However, Vena showed no sign of learning any particular kind of magic, and Sam — their birth parent — questioned their father, who simply suggested that it was a more subtle manifestation.

Vena grew rapidly, having the appearance and mentality of a teenager when they were around ten years old. Eventually, conflict came to their door, and their father revealed his true form to fight off the threat. Sam by then had put together some guesses, and asked what their father truly was. For a moment, he hesitated, and then he braced himself and told Vena's mother his origins: though his body was called Alba, he was truly a demon who went by Katasa.

Here, Vena witnessed a moment of devastation for the first time. Sam's face crumpled, and he demanded to know if everything was a lie. Katasa denied this, stating that he truly does care for him and their child. That Sam was the one who taught him how to love — that it had changed him. And Vena realized — that must have been a powerful moment, despite happening so long ago. This was the moment that Vena's Idea began to take form.

Their parents sorted things out, and things went well for a time. However, the world was not a gentle one, and one day some ill-willed members of their village decided to try attacking Vena for their strange appearance — which had grown ever stranger so as to be entirely and obviously inhuman. Vena struck back, and accidentally killed several of their attackers. The remaining fled, at first, and Vena rushed home with a heavy feeling in their heart, telling their parents what happened. Their parents decided that they needed to leave, and so they fled.

"We can find a Sanctuary," Katasa said. "I've heard about them. We'll be completely safe there."

Unfortunately, it was not to be. An Edeia who sought to balance the scales of justice and death found them before they could find a Sanctuary. Katasa defended them, but could not effectively defend against the Edeia's idea magic. Vena stepped forward, drawing up the power they had felt growing in them, only — they didn't actually know how to wield their power in battle, and Sam jumped in front of them to take a hit for them. Katasa fell into despair as he watched Sam perish, his wail of grief reverberating in the air. And, oh, oh, how horrible. Devastation struck Vena deeply as they suddenly understood: one of their parents was dead, and the other was likely to soon follow. What a powerful feeling, in themself and their father. The feeling seemed to grow and pour out of them; by instinct, their magic reached for Katasa and augmented his power immensely. He struck back at the Edeia, and was able to disperse them. However, his body took far too much damage, and he settled beside Sam's body to weep.

When Vena approached him, Katasa screamed at them with the force of his demonic power — blaming them for Sam's death, demanding to know why they couldn't save him, too. He wailed and cried, and Vena simply reached over to rub his back — to which Katasa only cried harder. Eventually, Katasa calmed down some, and he turned to Vena and hugged them. "It's not your fault," he said. "I didn't mean that. We should have left before. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Then, his body began to fall apart. Katasa continued to apologize, saying that he didn't know what would become of him from here — for his species of demon, to possess nothing is to have no ego. He would disappear, and did not know if he would remember them in his next host.

Vena shed a tear for him, and for Sam. "I understand," they said. "Goodbye."

Katasa's body crumbled away, leaving only Vena with Sam's body. They closed their eyes and felt that crushing weight of devastation. Everything has changed, and there is no going back. How terrible. How beautiful. They felt something shift within them, and with one breath in and one breath out, Vena Actualized into Devastation.

After Actualization

Devastation gave Sam and what remained of Katasa a burial, observing the funerary rites they knew of before letting them go, departing without a backwards glance. They began to seek out moments of devastation, using their power to sense the potential of one occurring. For centuries, they sought these moments, meeting and parting with countless others along the way.

Then, they began to sense the potential of a profoundly devastating event, potentially affecting almost all denizens of the universe. It was strange — what could possibly affect so many individuals to such an intense degree? Devastation looked deeper as time went on, and soon foresaw the end of the world. They shook with something like anticipation. What could come of the end of the world? Where would all these lives go? How would they adjust to such a profound change of reality? Devastation began to seek out those who would be most involved and most affected (in an emotional sense, mostly) by such an event, planting their dream consciousnesses all across the universe.

Devastation foretold the apocalypse in dreams and "hallucinations" — less of a warning and more of a promise. They comforted those who would accept their cold comfort; they told the harsh truth to those who would listen. Many did not believe Devastation, whether they knew Devastation was an Edeia or they thought they had started hallucinating. Still, the Calamity was inexorable; Devastation barely even touched those threads of possibility, as they were converging upon the end of the world on their own.

When the moment came, Devastation stayed to watch. They lifted their hands to the collapsing sky, witnessing everything falling apart and burning it into their memory. The end of the world. How beautiful. How devastating. They wept tears of light, though they were not of sorrow — only of the profundity of such devastation.

After the Calamity

Many people and some Edeia remember their dreams and visions of Devastation; some thought they were at fault, while others understood that it was a complicated process of various factors that led to the Calamity. Devastation did not particularly care. They simply opened up their Abstraction to any who would come, and would wander to others' Abstractions wherever they were welcome.

[schizotypal-culture-is]

https://www.tumblr.com/schizotypal-culture-is/745970902806724608/i-was-wondering-if-you-had-any-information-on?source=share

I have a question regarding catatonia. I've never really understood what exactly "counts" as catatonic, so would

1. going into a "shutdown" where you lose the ability to talk and become basically entirely nonresponsive to others/surroundings (in response to stress or frustration), and/or

2. getting "I have to move or I will combust" feelings/sensations (typically feeling compelled to rock or otherwise exhibit large/full body movements such as constant repositioning), and/or

3. being unable to stop moving/fidgeting after having been doing it for a while (because it's uncomfortable to stop, not because of a total inability)

be considered catatonia? Or would these be different phenomenon?

Short answer: yes, these are all possible examples of catatonia, with an added, “so long as there no plausible explanation that better explains the behavior” which everything in the DSM and ICD has added on at the end of the diagnostic criteria. So long as drugs, ADHD, a neurological disorder, etc aren’t the cause of the movement or lack thereof it can be classified as catatonia.

Long answer: yes, catatonia is an umbrella term for a broad range of odd and strange behavior. Catatonia is broken down into subtypes, but there’s only two I’ll be discussing today: akinetic/withdrawn catatonia and excited catatonia. There’s also mixed catatonia, which is a mix of akinetic and withdrawn catatonia, and malignant catatonia which is when health issues arise due to long catatonic periods (blood pressure, dehydration, kidney problems, etc)

Symptoms of akinetic/hypokinetic/withdrawn catatonia:

catalepsy this is when someone is “doll like” and remains in a position that someone placed them, they can continued to be moved in this state

grimacing this is holding the same facial expression often with stiff muscles

mutism also known as “nonverbal”, this ia when a person barely or doesn’t speak during the catatonic episode

negativism this is when someone either isn’t, or is actively resisting, what’s going on around them without a trigger or cause ie dissociation doesn’t count

posturing what people often think of when it comes to catatonia, this is when someone holds a position that A.) would be uncomfortable to people who aren’t catatonic and B.) are rigid in their posture, unlike with catalepsy someone didn’t put this person in this position

stupor this is when someone doesn’t react to external stimuli, including pain, for no apparent reason ie dissociation or drugs wouldn’t count

waxy flexibility this is when the catatonic person puts up some resistance to being moved from whatever position they’re holding

Symptoms of excited/hyperkinetic catatonia:

pacing

agitation, aggressive and violent behavior without a trigger or cause ie a PTSD or manic episode wouldn’t count

stereotypy also known as “stimming”, these are repetitive movements without a purpose

echolalia also known as “verbal stimming”, this is to repeat a word, phrase or noise heard from someone else or some other external source

echopraxia, this is to repeat a movement or series of movements observed by someone else

mannerism this is when someone performs what would be considered normal movements, but it’s done in a strange or unusual way

may possibly lead to acts of self harm such as hitting or biting oneself

In the scenarios you’ve given, 1.) is an example of akinetic catatonia while 2.) and 3.) are examples of excited catatonia.

Some additional information:

catatonia is not something that can be diagnosed by itself, but rather, it’s a secondary diagnosis to describe the feature of a primary diagnosis

while it was originally a subset of schizophrenia in earlier editions of the DSM, it’s now recognized that catatonia isn’t exclusive to schizophrenia, but is its own neurological syndrome

catatonia has the highest comorbidity with mood disorders, namely bipolar disorders. It’s also comorbid with autism spectrum disorder, dementia, down syndrome, tourette syndrome, and other neurological disorders.

much like with disorganized symptoms in schizo-spec disorders, for people in a catatonic episode, there’s no logic or rational reason for the catatonic person to be doing the catatonic behavior other than it just makes sense and feels right and correct for the catatonic person to be doing, or not doing in the case of akinetic catatonia, their catatonic behavior.

Catatonia: Continuing Education Activity via NIH: StatPearls || written by: Jeffrey P. Burrow, Benjamin C. Spurling, and Raman Marwaha

Catatonia: Our Current Understanding of its Diagnosis, Treatment and Pathophysiology via PMC: World Journal of Psychiatry || written by: Sean A Rasmussen, Michael F Mazurek, and Patricia I Rosebush

Catatonia: Clinical Overview of the Diagnosis, Treatment, and Clinical Challenges via PMC: Neurology International || written by: Amber N. Edinoff, Sarah E. Kaufman, Janice W. Hollier, Celina G. Virgen, Christian A. Karam, Garett W. Malone, Elyse M. Cornett, Adam M. Kaye, and Alan D. Kaye

What You Need to Know About Catatonia via Healthline || written by: By Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA medically reviewed by: Timothy J. Legg, PhD, PsyD

What Is Catatonia? via VeryWellMind || written by: Sara Lindberg, M.Ed medically reviewed by: Steven Gans, MD

[magixfairyix]

Magical Signatures

Headcannon/mental lore about how magical signatures work in the Magical Dimension.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

There are three types of magical signatures.

Magic signature: The energy one's magic gives off and what gives the person the ability to cast spells at will with their own element, and in some cases where someone has mixed magic (my oc Nith, who has both water and ice magic, or Iorda with Liltih's magic with a smidgen of the Company of Light's to balance it) it doesn't make them have two magic signatures.

A cookie doesn't taste like all the ingredients separately all at once, it just tastes like a cookie. So even if there are multiple magics the magic user just has one signature.

Things that have a magic signature:

Faries

Witches

Pixies

Wizards

Warlocks

Selkies

Mermaids

Etc, Anything that can fire beams/spells of magic

NOT the specialists but we'll get to that later

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Planet signature: The energy that all things in the magic dimension have, and it comes from the planet they were born form. Plants, faries, witches, specialists, you name it.

One's planet signature gives them enough to manifest a spell but not cast a spell. Casting is giving a spell a clear physical cause and form, while manifesting is willing it into existence.

One's magic signature can allow them to both cast and manifest, but one's planet signature can only allow them to manifest spells.

Using Darcy as an example, as in my cannon her magic signature is of course her with Liltih's magic. But she comes from Zenothe (planet I created that has long ago roots to Domino) so her planet signature allows her to manifest (not cast) spells related to that. Such as what happened when she cast a fire spell on the Alfea library in season 3.

She didn't have a fire sphere or spell, but she willed it into existence.

Things that have a planet signature:

Everything. Literally dust has a tiny-ass magic signature, but if it's inanimate it can't will it into existence.

Magical items and just items in general.

The specialists have a planet signature but not a magic signature.. They can will things into existence but since they don't have a magic signature to fuel their magic (planet signatures are low in supply as hell. One spell leads to two-ish days on planet-signature recharge) they tend to use weapons instead (might be fueled by their planet signature? Don't have mental lore on that yet. Like how Stella's sceptre is fueled by her magic signature?)

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

And lastly...

Mental signature: (It's my moral obligation as a Darcy stan to talk about this). I have a guess this will end up being the longest out of this long-ass post.

So a mental signature is the natural energy your thoughts, memories, and mental process give off. If you're calm and think things through your mental signature will reveal that, and if you're a bigot and your thoughts show that, your mental signature will show that as well.

If you have psychic magic (which resonates in the mind while other magics are moving through one's bloodstream naturally, also why it's important to address buried issues and emotions cause otherwise psychic magic ain't gonna respond) your mental signature is stronger and more easily recognizable by other psychic magic users, without them even having to focus their magic to feel it.

Things that have a mental signature:

Anything that can think, though technically everything that's not inanimate has a mental signature (the Army of Decay for example can't think, but they are not inanimate, so their mental signature is there but it's just like how water tastes. It doesn't give any information other than this thing is alive)

One's mental signature also becomes the same as someone else's when they are mind-controlled. During season two, Jared's mental signature was Darcy's but ofc no one could read them easily.

(You also don't have to be a psychic magic user to read mental signatures, but if you have psychic magic it's as simple as breathing unless someone is actively using protection measures.)

However, if you want to take precautions while mind-controlling someone (might also write about how psychic magic works) so that their own mental signature is more prominent than the one doing the mind control, then you can make a potion or smth to increase their mental signature to natural levels

(This would likely be painful due to the unnatural amount of magic than normal in one's mind)

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

All this lore stuff is under the tag on my profile #winx club headcanons or #winx club fanfiction depending

[m0rninglatte]

Monster from Epic and Icarus analysis because the thoughts do be real

“How did suffering become so endless?”

- Icarus thinking it should have been done by now, but it's not. It's still going

“Do I need to change?”

…

Moving on.

“I'm surrounded by the souls of those I've lost”

- Icarus talking about Aurelius, Enderian, *Centross*, Momboo, etc.

- The idea of everyone who has died is a sacrifice, and they will be brought back, but also Icarus ability to not grieve properly because of it

"What if the greatest threat we'll find across the sea, is me?

- Icarus wondering if they are failing and they are going to slip up to the point everything crashes because they made one wrong move.

“What if I'm the monster? What if i'm in the wrong”

- I like to think this line as Icarus beginning to think of each reset and all the "antagonistic" acts they've done and thinking if they are and have always been a monster because they in their own eyes can't seem to do anything to help people as they just end up hurting someone.

“What if i'm the problem that’s been hiding all along”

- Icarus in “Lady of the world” talking about how corruption has always been there, how whatever they did then was always there they just pushed it back of their mind until corruption made it the forefront of their mind.

“What if i'm the one who killed you”

- Icarus debating if it was Quixis that killed Momboo or themselves.

“What if I’ve been far too kind to foes but a monster to ourselves”

- Foes = Fable, ourselves = everyone else minus the co-workers

- Although Icarus currently wants to fix everything and stay with Fable, i like to see this as Icarus debating if they are on the right side.

The Polyphemus section is Centross, mainly the Violet Reaper

“Or does he end my men, to avenge his friend”

- S1 funeral. 

-“Avenge his friend” is a line you could annotate “friend” to be Enderian

- If you wanted to, you could almost switch into "...,to serve his goddess"

The Circe section is Enderian 

"When the witch turns men to pigs, to protect her nymphs"

- Corruption of Ominus Bane

- You could see this line in my opinion as either to protect her realm or to prove her point about Overworlders and how they are the same, for example, resorting to violent outcomes

The Poseidon section is Fable

- This section is a mix of things, I can see mixes of Fable during the war and Fable currently, and Icarus is like thinking of the similarities and differences between Fable and himself.

The Odysseus section about him during the Trojan War is Icarus and the Wack

“Does a soldier use a wooden horse to kill sleeping Trojans cause he is vile”

- Icarus using the wack to kill Momboo

"Or does he throw away his remorse and save more lives with guile"

- Icarus querying if he should just throw away his regret for any actions he has done and attempt to help people through sly and cunning intelligence (literally the definition of guile)

The section after the Odysseus section is Icarus wondering if they should just become the monster to everyone else but not the co-workers and yk Fable 

“I lost my best friend, I lost my mentor, my mom, 500 men gone…”

- Best Friend is Centross.

- Mentor is a funky one because i could see it be switched into my brother, but at the same time, you could keep it as mentor and annotate it to be Quixis

- Mom is Isla -> "Like King like Prince" : Icarus finding her portrait and realising Fable hasn't told them where she is and that he can't remember her aswell as Rae

- 500 men gone = the people and gods who have died and or been husked

“I must get to see Penelope and Telemachus”

A) remove the context of the names, no wife, no son, none of that

B) This could be annotated into two different ways but i can mainly see it as Momboo and Centross and Icarus’ hope with all this they can come back

“I’ll go where Poseidon wont reach us”

- Poseidon could be annotated into Enderian, but one that I think works well is the faction, mainly Ocie.

“And if got to drop another infant from a wall in an instant so we all don't die”

- Icarus being like if i have to kill another person, fuck it, whatever it is I need to do to prove myself or help in anyway.

The end section with Odysseus choosing to become the monster I could see as Icarus state of mind of their not meant to be helping people as all they have done is hurt people, so that's what their meant to do, it's what they were ment to do from the beginning, so they will.

Thoughts and feelings go bonkers and bit of aaah and bit of RA

[cooki3face]

about me ♡

This is what I look like, obviously lol ^^

- my name is Bayyinah (by-ee-nuh) , it means the clear evidence that god does exist. From sura 98, of the Quran

- California native, born and raised 🐻❤️

- I was raised muslim, but chose a different life path for myself and fell in love with spirituality and found my purpose.

- I prioritize self expression and being intentional about everything I say and do. What you see is what you get with me, and I never say anything I don’t mean, I never do anything I don’t feel called to do.

- I love the arts, I’m a writer and love to create.

-I’m a big fan of aesthetics and visual stimuli, and I love Pinterest and organizing all the little pictures.

- my big three are: Sagittarius sun, cancer moon, and Virgo rising.

- both my venus and mars are in scorpio. I’m in love with love. A great deal of my life lessons are learned through my interpersonal relationships.

- I’m very passionate about children, motherhood and the home. My moon is in cancer and I have heavy influences in my life surrounding motherhood, my relationship with my mother, and the dynamics and things I’ve experienced growing up. A large quantity of my work, and my lives purpose has to do with breaking generational curses/trauma, spinning gold out of my experiences, and creating room and creating change for youth.

- I’m on my journey to become a certified and licensed midwife, and outside of that I work mainly with children with autism in helping reduce and substitute certain behaviors.

-I love makeup and fashion and the process of putting myself together.

-I’m known for my compassion and empathy and my ability to connect with others.

-my dream is to create and have a better world and I do my part in helping the collective by using my gifts for good, using my heart and my empathy to help heal and create space for others where there wasn’t space for them before.

- I have dyscalculia and struggled with it all my life until I eventually aged out of school and before I moved onto receiving higher education. My mind simply does not process numerical information or processes well. I was either always told that I needed to practice more or that I was simply stupid, neither were the case, but I struggled with a lot insecurity growing up and I always felt like I didn’t really belong in educational settings because of this set back.

-I can draw, and I’m quite good at it but I don’t draw regularly because there are times when my inner perfectionism really gets to me, and I feel the same way about singing, I can sing as well but I don’t because they’re untapped talents that I have and my natural ability does not reach my idea in my head of what true talent is in those areas.

- I struggled with having an anxious attachment style for a really long time. It took me a long time to understand my worth, understand that I was worth keeping, having, loving, paying attention to. And that my worth wasn’t what I could do for others or how much I could tolerate or how much I could stand beside someone through thick and thin and hell and back.

likes:

- I love writing. Journaling, writing stories,etc. my goal is to write and release a novel of my own soon.

- I love smooth jazz, classical music and frequency music, probably a whole lot more than regular music and non instrumentals. I tend to be a little sensitive to stimuli or can feel very easily overwhelmed. So instrumentals and softer music and sounds are really wonderful to me and I love them.

- I love cooking and baking (but only when I feel like it) I like good food, and I’m sort of a foodie. I would travel all over the place just to taste the world if I could. And I love spicy food and Mexican Candy and dumping loads of chili flakes on my food for no reason.

-I love history, and have stored random historical facts in my brain because I just think it’s so interesting.

- I love period pieces and period romances. Romance films, and horror movies. I consume mostly romantic content on purpose.

- I love the sims

-I love animals, and my favorite animal is a cow. If you look up the spiritual significance of a cow as well I think it’s really beautiful. I also really love my cat. She’s my favorite person.

Dislikes:

- I hate being or feeling misunderstood, it took me a lot of time to learn that I didn’t have to bend over backwards to make people see me for who I was or for my intentions or for my gifts or what I can do. The best I can do is be honest and remain intentional about what I do and hope that those who are meant to hear me, will.

- I hate people who have such deeply rooted hatred or disdain for other people who’ve done nothing but do what makes them happy or live in their truth. I hate homophobic people, racists, bigots, red pill men and misogynist, etc.

- I hate it when people can’t take accountability for their actions, are dishonest or lack self awareness on such a deep level that they make everyone else miserable or have a hard time because they refuse to see themselves or grow. I hate it when people don’t grow. I’ve lost a lot of friends and had to let go of a lot of people who couldn’t do what I could do for them, be in alignment with me, or prioritize their healing, alignment, or growth.

- i hate it when there’s too many sounds playing at once, there are certain sounds and stimuli i just can’t tolerate and won’t.

- I hate it when I have to buy new jeans or pants because finding good pants is hard and I never know if the size I think I am is accurate because some pants brands make their pants differently. And I’ll never know if I’ll have that stupid gap in the back of my pants bc of my waist.

- I hate being super cold. I have anemia and the cold really whoops my ass every time. That’s one fight I just won’t win.

- people not valuing my needs or continuing to do something I said I didn’t like or invalidating me because they can’t fathom the fact that other people have different needs, or that just because you feel some way doesn’t mean someone else shares the same sentiment.

- I hate it when things don’t match or aren’t aesthetically coordinated in some way shape or form. I have a spam account on my Instagram and it drives me insane because it’s all these different colors and it’s disorganized. So I just don’t look at it anymore.

-I hate it when I can’t find the pen I’ve been obsessed with and I hate mechanical pencils with thick lead.

***

Ok, that’s all lol. ❤️‼️

[saturnine-saturneight]

Oc profile tag

Tagged by @noblebs [here] and @tragedycoded [here], ty!!

I don't want to choose between Nat and Ron, so I'm doing both, haha.

This one's for Ron. Nat's is [here].

Name: Aarón Odo

Nickname: Ron, various fake names

Kind of being: Human

Age: 20

Gender: Agender

Appearance: Ron is afro-brazilian, tall, wiry, with a head he usually keeps shaved pretty close to the scalp. He has square, sinewy hands, big brown eyes, a long oval face, and a scar that runs down his left eyebrow and down onto his cheek. His left eye is a prosthetic. He dresses comfortably, preferably in fun, bright colors, and generally prefers practicality over beauty. His ear lobes are pierced, but he just keeps the same studs in and never swaps them out.

Occupation: Thief, pick pocket

Family members: Parents, various siblings, more extended family. He's not in touch.

Pets: None right now.

Best friend: Nat, Teo, Haru

Describe their room: He lives in their shared car, but generally sleeps in hotels, motels, and tents.

Way of speaking: Very animated, a lot of grinning and laughing. A bit hoarse, no volume/pitch control in places, can get a little squeaky. He's a tenor.

Physical characteristics (posture, gestures, attitude): Hands are always doing something - being shoved in his pockets, gesturing, rubbing his neck, finger guning, etc etc. Moves very loosely, he's got long limbs. Because he's blind in one eye, he likes to keep people on his seeing side when he's walking next to them. He slouches a little.

Items in their back pocket/purse: Ron keeps his knife close, even if he uses it less often than Nat. He has a second one for carving, a pack of cards he practices shuffling and card tricks with, and he's usually responsible for the car keys.

Hobbies: Street magic, carving, drawing.

Favorite sports: Likes playing and watching soccer. Wrestles with friends.

Abilities/Talents/Powers: He's an incredible pick pocket. Quick hands, good at card and disappearing tricks. His aim is often better than he anticipates. He's a worse liar than Nat.

Relationships (how they are with other people): He's an easy guy to get along with! Makes for good company. He's a trickster and a mean hyena on occasion and makes jokes on other people's expenses, but he will spook if he gets the impression that not everyone is having fun and feelings are genuinely being hurt.

Fears: Confrontation, ending up alone.

Faults: Ron is avoidant. He's good at comforting other people and working out their issues with them, but he won't face his own head-on. He won't hold still, and can't stay in one place very long without getting antsy. He also doesn't like talking about himself and his feelings, and prefers to be seen as just a fun-loving dude without a trouble in the world. Somebody asking him how he's genuinely doing makes him squirm.

Good points: He's great at thinking on his feet and keeping his head on straight. Without Ron, Nat would be long dead. He's also genuinely kind and caring, despite everything that life's thrown at him. And even without much of a formal education, he finds a lot of joy in learning and stays curious.

What they want more than anything else: Ron needs a quiet, safe place to lay his head down. He's tired of the way he's living.