#so I’m kind of worried for that but it’s also an essential life skill I need to learn lmao

[steppedoffaflight]

how has your 2023 been and how do you feel about 2024? Happy New Year 💙 xx

Happy New Year!!! Ugh 2023 was a dreaaaam and it makes me really excited for 2024! I got a job I looove and my team is so cool and also treats me with so much respect even though I’m their rookie 😂 and then at the end of this year I was FINALLY able to buy a mf HOUSE which has been my dream for years/all through college and so in 2024 I’m excited to fully move in and live there! And also I work remote so I’m really excited to work from my own place, right now I’m kinda confined to my office bc my family is loud and chaotic. I can’t wait to like work from the couch on my laptop on a slow day, ya know? Also I managed to avoid seasonal depression this year, I don’t know if that’s from not working a stressful job anymore where I’m in fight/flight 9 hours a day or if it’s because I’ve been taking my dog for a walk on my lunch breaks so I see some daylight.

[polyhexian]

Can you imagine Tell in marlet heart. Caitlyn and Tell barely escaped long ago and they raised their daughter together. Hopefully she was able to live a relatively normal life as long as she kept the origins of her parents a secret. Far away and Isolated word of Belos’s death at the hands of the golden guard takes a long time to reach them. Their tormentor is dead. It’s finally safe for them to return to their home they fled. Maybe they worry it’s some kind of trick to get them out of hiding.

Cautiously they find the home of both Caitlyn’s niece and the last golden guard who can only be described as Tell’s very younger brother. Everyone would probably be shocked but they would ultimately be welcomed in and assured they were finally safe. Jasper would lose it as he assumed that no grimwalker had ever escaped Belos before. He didn’t think it was even possible without killing him. Tell would be very happy to hear that not only was Belos killed but by Tell’s own kin. Jasper previously thought he didn’t have any older family but takes comfort in Tell’s presence. He gives Jasper hope that he will be a good dad to Hunter. If Tell can do it so can he. Plus Hunter gets a new aunt, uncle, and cousin. It’s good to know he’s not alone in figuring out how to live free from Belos and raise a kid at the same time. Tell wasn’t too happy with virtue as his replacement and I wonder how he would feel about Jasper’s attitude towards Hunter as his replacement; as Virtue and Hunter were only supposed to exist as the result of their predecessors death. Although they were ultimately innocent parties. I’m not sure if Tell knew about the grimwalker graveyard but Jasper would allow Tell time to pay his respects. Tell would be Jasper’s big brother figure and would’ve had plenty of time to develop coping skills and insight on how Belos treated them both.

Eda would be so happy to see her rebel of an aunt and Caitlyn would be happy to meet her niece. I wonder if Caitlyn would even know of her existence. Dell would probably be the only remaining family to have previously met Caitlyn and they would finally be reunited. Dell probably wouldn’t care about the grimwalker thing(although he may be confused how it would be biologically possible for them to have a kid) but I wonder how he would react to his sister running off to live her life with the golden guard considering what Jasper did to his apprentice. Darius would probably ask for advice on how to deal with your Belos traumatized ex slave partner.

Ultimately the pair would be able to live out their remaining days in relative peace and safety.

Ahhhhhhh MH timeline....

Enoch is born in 1973 and so exactly 20 years older than jasper, but. I've been working under the assumption that jasper was born physically 18, so that means jasper and Enoch are.... Essentially ... The same age. She's also only like three years older than Eda and Darius and co. That's WILD to me lol. I wonder what her name would be in a timeline where Belos didn't name her LOL

God.... Tell would be old enough to be jaspers dad.

God imagine tell and Caitlyn having a completely normal evening washing dishes and watching feral hearts when there's a breaking news report like THE GOLDEN GUARD JUST KILLED THE FUCKING EMPEROR and it's like jasper standing on top of the destroyed castle with one arm and a broken staff, tattered cloak flapping in the wind and soaked in blood. I cannot imagine them like. HELLO

And then him and Darius and lilith all go missing for months and tell and Caitlyn are like HEELLLLOOOOOOO and the next time they hear about it it's like THE GOLDEN GUARD KILLED FUCKING LAZULAS, HAS A SON, AND FUCKING VANISHED AND IS MIA and are just like HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[kopivie]

Some little thoughts for our beloved spider detective:

Much like in canon, he learns martial arts; and that’s his predominant fighting style when in combat, with some swinging and webs added in. His father trained him since he was young, and although Heizou isn’t too keen on violence, he’s got to admit that the training comes in useful in a pinch.

He’s much more catching-the-villain than fighting-the-villain oriented — his primary motivation is to catch criminals before they can do too much harm and get them into rehab (canon motivations carrying across again).

He works with the police in general more than other Spider-people, but not consistently: he only teams up when he knows it’ll be beneficial, and if police forces become an obstacle, he just goes off and does what needs to be done himself. The police kind of hate him for being so seemingly whim-oriented and unreliable, but they recognise his skill enough to begrudgingly work with him when he comes knocking.

Heizou often underplays his strength to fool his enemies. If he can get by without using any physical force, he’ll do that; but in desperate situations, he uses the general public’s perception of him as a less physically powerful hero to his advantage and catch an enemy off-guard — but of course he has to do this rarely enough so it doesn’t become common knowledge that he’s actually very competent in combat, so usually he makes the situation such that it’s possible the damage caused could be attributed to other factors)

Having followed quite a few of Spiderman’s dealings on the news and all that, you have your suspicions about his true strength; namely, that he’s a lot, lot more competent than he lets on — like, come on, there’s no way that power line just collapsed because of the wind like Spider-Man said. There’s something fishy going on here.

Meanwhile, rather than being worried about you catching on, Heizou’s actually pretty smug (in a proud way) and loving the fact you’re picking up on the clues, even though he doesn’t let you in on it — a kind of ‘heh, I knew you’d get it’ reaction 

When he’s wandering around as a civilian, he calls his intuition his intuition, but when he’s in action, he calls it his Spidey-sense. His intuition is also insanely accurate, even more so than in canon: it was already on point before he got bitten, and afterwards… if he ever wanted to switch professions to a fortune teller, he’d be more than welcome. It’s actually unfair.

Heizou knows he shouldn’t tell you outright about his identity, but he’s can’t help nudging you towards it… so every time he’s around you in either form, he’s probing lightly into what you think of his other ego and dropping not-so-subtle hints about his identity — think about how, if you played the Arataki Touring for Life whatever festival event, Heizou left that note at the end essentially telling-but-not-telling the Traveller what happened. He does that. A lot. Maybe you’re just wilfully ignorant at this point for his own sake.

I’m also wondering what kind of person the reader is. I’ve got this idea that the two first met at some mystery novel society and grew closer from there — possibly, if we want some lovely romantic cliches, they met Spider-Man that very night when he helped them out with something (either getting them out of danger or even, like, noticing they’re struggling with their bags and offering to carry a few things lmao).

Anyway, so, reader. I’m not quite sure what they study—potentially law, to complement Heizou’s detective work, or something like biochem for a future career in forensics, or psychology, or… you get the idea. It’s pretty much throwing darts and seeing what sticks at this point.

One thing I thought might be a nice little hobby for them is drawing comics — and then their little crush on a certain local hero starts creeping into their stories and illustrations, and… hey, when did your OC superhero start looking so much like Spider-Man? (Also, the moment Heizou finds out about your comics, you can bet he’s following each one to the T, theorising story beats… maybe he off-handedly mentions your art accounts in an interview with the police, and now you’ve got, like, 50k followers. Whoops!)

Spidey!Heizou is also normal Heizou’s teasing amped up 200%. You will not catch a break. Sorry. I’m not sure what nicknames he uses for the reader yet, though… any thoughts?

That’s all I’ve got for now… he’ll definitely be ticking over in my brain for the next few days.

-🎻 anon

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHSDUISHFKDJFHSDFJADFHAS OKAY OKAY OKAY WAIT HOLD ONNNJKNFKBJKDBFS FUCK THIS IS SO COOL HNNNGG

reader being a forensics student would be pretty silly, no? in my city we have a school for criminal justice, so being a forensics major isn't too out of the ordinary for me to imagine -- the hard part is figuring out what type of forensics the reader would go into, because there are so many different sub-categories for forensics.

but maybe psychology would suit them better since they could discuss what they think spider-man is thinking with heizou, and he could give some... insight. OR since you said he's more about rehabilitation, reader could be going into some sort of prisoner reform program where they help the people that spider-man sends their way?

either way, while spider-man's teasing might increase, your ability to keep up could be tested since you two just. play mind games with each other. he plays the detective who analyzes your every move behind the mask and you try to rely on wordplay rather than give him the satisfaction of reading your expressions.

(it'd be a real shame if you became a criminal who used the malleability of words to get away with crimes somehow, hm. a perfect counter to spider-man -- while he may be one step ahead, he can't really account for the many implications of your every word.)

[teawiththegods]

My friend who is pagan for 10+ years recently told that Gods can easily curse a person if they, for example, approach Gods in wrong time (like Persephone in winter). Or simply don't like a person. I worship Hellenic Gods for two years. I'm not very skilled at divination, so I rarely do it. I have problems concentrating, so my communication with Gods is..Bad? But I give them libations and offerings daily. But now I think what if they hate me? What if I'm already cursed by them just because?

This belief that the gods are vengeful, petty, cruel, and meant to be feared is a very Christian one. Why worship these nasty “demons” when you can give yourself over to a just, kind, and loving God? (Old Testament God DNI).

Essentially we have been conditioned by Christian propaganda to view ALL pagan gods in a negative light. It’s also why everyone can tell you all about Zeus’ mythical exploits but have no idea about his rule over friendship, Xenia, and all the sacrifices he has made for the world.

It’s also the reason many pagans make these generalized statements about ALL gods as if each culture, civilization, pantheon, and individual god are exactly the same and have zero autonomy.

But let’s talk specifically about you and your relationship with your gods. It’s moments like these why I tell people to begin building a foundation for worship early on. Because you’re going to encounter people who think they know what they’re talking about and who very much come across like know what they’re talking about but in reality they are spreading a false narrative and continuing the cycle of fear mongering. When you have your foundation in place you can look to it to remind yourself why you worship these gods and your own personal beliefs about them so it’s less likely you get swept away by what others say.

So the questions you have to ask yourself are do you really think these gods would curse you over something so trivial? And why on earth would ANY of us worship gods like that?? How could we form such deep life changing connections with gods like that?

Also if approaching Persephone in the winter time is bad how do I have a beautiful relationship with her when I ONLY work with her during the fall/winter time?? I mean yeah I get dragged into intense shadow work which I guess can be seen like a curse but Persephone holds my hand, gives me snacks, and tells me I’m doing a great job 🥺so not sure where the danger is here.

I encourage you, love, to try and wrestle a bit with what others say to you before you immediately digest it. Ponder it and ask questions. Also start building that foundation! Think about your whys of worship and what you truly believe about the gods. And to help with both of those, I highly recommend reading about the Ancient Greeks and how they practiced their religion and how they interacted with their gods. Trust me, it’ll make it easier to brush off things when you know for a fact they aren’t true.

I hope that helps ease your fears and worries! 💕

[dreamwritesimagines]

It’s CMA-

I lied I got started on part 3 almost immediately after I sent that last ask about part 2. I told myself I would go to bed and wait for the morning and yet here I am.

It’s interesting that in chapter 7(?) we see clover lash out as a result of her fear. It’s the first time of many that we see, and I’m sure that it happens a lot. I think that she’ll have to learn to stop herself and be careful before she gets to that place of being so triggered that she hurts everyone around her, but that’s much easier said than done.

I wonder if she realizes that she hurts the people around her more when she bottles things up than when she talks about them. Not that she’s in a position to be worried about everyone else when she’s in those states, and I understand the temptation of bottling things up (I am a master of that particular skill), but I do wonder if she’ll become self aware enough or have the hindsight to realize that the ways that she’s trying to protect everyone is actually hurting her and by extension everyone around her as well.

Actually I was going to mention that Ben could identify her warning signs before she herself can recognize them, and then I realized something kind of funny, which is that for people who have service dogs, one of the things they do is to warn their owner of potentially triggering events and protect them from them. Not only that, but service dogs, especially those for mental health conditions, are trained to identify early warning signals (fidgeting, shallow breathing, accelerated heart rate, rigid body language, literally smelling fear, etc.) in order to prevent the situation from escalating.

Many animals do this because they are experts at reading body language- it’s the way that they’re able to communicate with us and everything else in the world. It’s not unusual at all for a pet dog or cat to respond to their owner/person they’re bonded to’s distress by comforting them in some way. It’s the entire reason why dogs will come up and cuddle you when you’re crying or whatever.

(Actually I now would love for them to get a pet who naturally does this for clover and signals her by distracting her or barking or something, so that she and benedict both know and can do something about it. This is going into my personal headcanons about their future lmao)

Anyway this is funny because Ben is essentially her service dog: an outside observer that can let her know when she’s showing signs of distress since she is incapable of/has trouble with recognizing these signs within herself on her own. Ben or the pet could also teach her how to recognize these signs within herself, so it would be really great all around.

I’m so in love with the Perseus/andromeda analogy it’s not even funny. Greek mythology paired with your work>>>>>>> (and I know you do it a lot and I love it so much, idk if I’d ever mentioned that)

It’s an interesting parallel of clover being able to see every pairing besides her own, and nobody else is able to see any pairing but hers.

OMG what if during Ben and Charlie’s shenanigans Ben always makes Charlie the lookout and has her distract whoever’s coming to get them in trouble, aka Anthony. Ben and Charlie think it’s because they’re both very sneaky and good at what they do, but really anthony fully knows what they are up to and only lets them get away with it because it’s charlie, makes her laugh, and gives him an excuse to talk to her.

Bonus of sometimes Anthony straight up forgets or doesn’t realize what’s happening because he’s too besotted with her lol.

Let’s be real: half the reason why pen has the early scoop on all the couples before anyone else realizes is because clover is pointing them out and no one else is listening to her lmao

A/N: I wrote everything up to hear weeks ago when I sent the other parts of my reread but then I got sidetracked by finals and a different fandom and a lot of life stuff happened, but I’m back and determined to write more analysis for them; let’s do this thing

(probably will have to break it off soon tho cuz it’s already pretty long)

(actually I’m debating straight up starting from the beginning because so much has happened since I was writing this)

(actually amendment, fuck it I’m going to start from the beginning and go to a different ask so it doesn’t get confusing. guess it will just be another night where I should be going to bed but instead am obsessing over ur work lmao)

OMG OMG CMA MY BELOVED😍❤️

I needed this so much rn, you're amazing! ❤️ Aaaaaa I'm so excited! ❤️

So I totally think that being with Benedict makes her improve not with her reactions to other people but also herself🥰 Like, it is second nature to her to lash out especially considering her trauma, but also, Benedict is being so soft and careful with her that she is actually turning soft and careful as well❤️ Like how she was with Eloise the last chapter, if it were any other time she wouldn't have bothered to make her feel calm and assured, but she actually made an effort and that's Benedict's influence on her😍

Service dogs omg YES🥰 She and Benedict needs to have a cute dog! Everyone in the world needs a dog thank you for coming to my TED talk 😂

Golden retriever bf - black cat gf dynamic strikes again! 😂❤️

MYTHOLOGY IS MY PASSION 😍 Aw I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy it as well my love!🥰

Anthony has had a soft spot for Charlie ever since they were all little ❤️ That's so cuteeee! ❤️

Charlie distracts Anthony so well 😏🥰

WAIT OH MY GOD I AM ALREADY SCREAMING-

I love love LOVE your analyses and I'm legit giggling already, thank you so so so much darling! ❤️🥰 ILY! ❤️❤️❤️

[creativeenquirypiotrgacmenga]

18/30 Writing Retreat Wednesday 13-03-2024

How and where do I begin? With a silly question of course. I am hoping this piece of writing will piece together some of my disparate thoughts and ideas about my critical enquiry module. Over the course of the year there has been a lot of thinking and whilst useful, I think it has bogged me down causing severe issue with the practical part of the project. I often find myself lost and overwhelmed by my thoughts. I don’t think this is a bad thing but it also needs reigned in, especially as we are coming up to the last stretch of fourth year, a scary thought. I was reading a review, critical one, of course, silly me thinking review would make sense without context, and found that the student spoke about a source that talked about how we as art students make work to pass, rather than the work we want to make. I kind of feel like that right now and want to make work that digresses from the work I have already generated for creative enquiry. I think part if it is that I’m aware that the undertaking of my work is huge and I’m worried I wont be able to complete it to a well enough quality for my liking. I don’t want someone else, aka Alan, to do all the work for me so I’ve been reluctant to ask for advice when I’ve needed it. Anyways, that’s my rant over, and now onto the juicy stuff like what my thoughts have been about recently.

My critical enquiry module focuses on uncanny representations of myself through sculpture and casting from my body which, no that sounds bad, start again. My critical enquiry module is an investigation into the uncanny through sculpture and body casting. These works are combined with found materials that are alluring and evocative for me. This, I think, is too broad from the get go. I want to create life-size casts of my body using materials like concrete and plaster but have fallen into issues like what materials to use for a mould. I have been able to use simple methods like modrock and alginate (in low amounts. I’m not rich, yet), which have served their purpose in a smaller scale, however now that I have made hands etc, I want to move onto the larger parts of my body but don’t have the technical skills to be able to achieve that in my opinion. How do I join parts together? Will my materials hold their own weight? This has slowed down my already slow making process and I worry that the making has ended, as I’m in a big rut right now that I’m struggling to get out of. I think partly knowing that I have an almost guaranteed place into my next year of university is to blame, as I have taken a foot of the gas physically, yet in my mind I stress so much about the amount of work I need and want to make.

I know why I want to make my work crude, I think it’s essential for evoking feelings of uncanniness in viewers. Whilst realism is also a nice way to achieve this, like Andy always says, why try to make something look realistic when you can’t and will make a half arsed job of it, when you can make something that is a bit tongue in cheek and/or crude. I think this approach will work and create pieces that are uncanny.

The main element that I have struggled with is the found object. Why am I using them? Why am I drawn to them? etc. I initially wanted to combine parts I have found with sculptural forms of the body. For example, a plaster cast arm, combined with a bike chain, to create a sort of hybrid collage that would unsettle the viewer. A face cast with a piece of wire embedded inside it. I began to make hands and arms and legs but what now? They aren’t connectable to anything without a lot of difficulty and struggle which I worry will damage my work. Woah, maybe I start from scratch? I begin to make what I said I would? I accept that what I have now, is finished, and that I should begin to make what I originally wanted to make! Wow why didn’t I think of this months ago, fucking idiot. These writing retreats are class they really help with getting your thoughts on paper, thank you Louise. Anyways back on track! So I begin from the start duh. So I start all over again. What now? I need a to-do list, a clear plan, and I think, an end goal. New paragraph please.

Found objects. When I walk down the street I tend to look around. I hate my generation and the younger ones that spend all their times on their phones, absorbed in their little devices. Are they the ones being taken on a walk? Are we pets to our phones? I always get annoyed when my girlfriend doesn’t notice the things I do when we are on walks, just look. I think phones have made us passive and flat beings that don’t know how to stay focused for long periods of time. Thanks TikTok. When walking I notice objects (this term is loose, ie OOO definition of objects) and whilst most just look like an object on the ground, many also have something to them. Recently when walking to work, I saw an empty meal deal sandwich packet on the grass and just saw it as rubbish, but beside it lay two vapes that spoke to me. They lay side by side, almost like they were displayed like that on purpose. It was here I realised that these objects react with each other and their environments without our own intervention, something Jane Bennett spoke about in Vibrant Matter. I think moving forward I need to make a journal of these objects and go out my way to remember them for what they really are and how they made me feel. Too many times I’ve walked past these objects and not recorded or taken them, which has resulted in severe regret, This is where my side project comes in. I have began to use AI to create representations of what I remember these objects to look like and so far it has worked great. AI is a scary thing. This works great as I’ve been combining them with very emotive pieces of writing which seems more serious than it is. To me it is serious, it is torment, but to someone else it may seem over the top. I wish I got my pal to drive me to this underpass on the motorway at night, stopped on the motorway, we break a few laws and health and safety regulations and I pick up that fucking fedora. Why didn’t I take that umbrella handle, I was out looking for objects and I just walked past it because it was in grass and the grass was wet and I didn’t have suitable footwear. What else was there? My mind is blank I looked at the time and I have 11 minutes left? Ooft. 1200 words going to try write my post-grad dissertation in one night. Back on track. There’s a bollard lying outside the college that I need to pick up and carve into an arm I think that would be fucking sick, that’s going in my end of year show 100%.

I’m really happy with my writing today. I feel class about where I am and feel confident going forward. It will be hard, to begin a new process from scratch but I look forward to it.

I guess I should come up with my 5 words ae?

TORMENT              FOUND OBJECT                   COLLAGE                     DOUBLE              LOST                           EVOCATIVE             JOURNEY                       EVOLUTION                          CRUDE                                    UNCANNY

Worries and doubts are starting to come back up again but I just need to get through today, I can’t come into college tomorrow as its my first driving lesson at 1 and then I’ll be doing a lot of thinking and organising on Friday, beginning the next stage of my project. Then the week after is install, but a lot of work can be done on Wednesday if we make an invigilation rota for our exhibition. Then Thursday is de-install and lesson and Friday we are back babbyyyyy.

[piotrgacreativenquiry]

Wednesday 13-03-2024 Writing Retreat

How and where do I begin? With a silly question of course. I am hoping this piece of writing will piece together some of my disparate thoughts and ideas about my critical enquiry module. Over the course of the year there has been a lot of thinking and whilst useful, I think it has bogged me down causing severe issue with the practical part of the project. I often find myself lost and overwhelmed by my thoughts. I don’t think this is a bad thing but it also needs reigned in, especially as we are coming up to the last stretch of fourth year, a scary thought. I was reading a review, critical one, of course, silly me thinking review would make sense without context, and found that the student spoke about a source that talked about how we as art students make work to pass, rather than the work we want to make. I kind of feel like that right now and want to make work that digresses from the work I have already generated for creative enquiry. I think part if it is that I’m aware that the undertaking of my work is huge and I’m worried I wont be able to complete it to a well enough quality for my liking. I don’t want someone else, aka Alan, to do all the work for me so I’ve been reluctant to ask for advice when I’ve needed it. Anyways, that’s my rant over, and now onto the juicy stuff like what my thoughts have been about recently.

My critical enquiry module focuses on uncanny representations of myself through sculpture and casting from my body which, no that sounds bad, start again. My critical enquiry module is an investigation into the uncanny through sculpture and body casting. These works are combined with found materials that are alluring and evocative for me. This, I think, is too broad from the get go. I want to create life-size casts of my body using materials like concrete and plaster but have fallen into issues like what materials to use for a mould. I have been able to use simple methods like modrock and alginate (in low amounts. I’m not rich, yet), which have served their purpose in a smaller scale, however now that I have made hands etc, I want to move onto the larger parts of my body but don’t have the technical skills to be able to achieve that in my opinion. How do I join parts together? Will my materials hold their own weight? This has slowed down my already slow making process and I worry that the making has ended, as I’m in a big rut right now that I’m struggling to get out of. I think partly knowing that I have an almost guaranteed place into my next year of university is to blame, as I have taken a foot of the gas physically, yet in my mind I stress so much about the amount of work I need and want to make.

I know why I want to make my work crude, I think it’s essential for evoking feelings of uncanniness in viewers. Whilst realism is also a nice way to achieve this, like Andy always says, why try to make something look realistic when you can’t and will make a half arsed job of it, when you can make something that is a bit tongue in cheek and/or crude. I think this approach will work and create pieces that are uncanny.

The main element that I have struggled with is the found object. Why am I using them? Why am I drawn to them? etc. I initially wanted to combine parts I have found with sculptural forms of the body. For example, a plaster cast arm, combined with a bike chain, to create a sort of hybrid collage that would unsettle the viewer. A face cast with a piece of wire embedded inside it. I began to make hands and arms and legs but what now? They aren’t connectable to anything without a lot of difficulty and struggle which I worry will damage my work. Woah, maybe I start from scratch? I begin to make what I said I would? I accept that what I have now, is finished, and that I should begin to make what I originally wanted to make! Wow why didn’t I think of this months ago, fucking idiot. These writing retreats are class they really help with getting your thoughts on paper, thank you Louise. Anyways back on track! So I begin from the start duh. So I start all over again. What now? I need a to-do list, a clear plan, and I think, an end goal. New paragraph please.

Found objects. When I walk down the street I tend to look around. I hate my generation and the younger ones that spend all their times on their phones, absorbed in their little devices. Are they the ones being taken on a walk? Are we pets to our phones? I always get annoyed when my girlfriend doesn’t notice the things I do when we are on walks, just look. I think phones have made us passive and flat beings that don’t know how to stay focused for long periods of time. Thanks TikTok. When walking I notice objects (this term is loose, ie OOO definition of objects) and whilst most just look like an object on the ground, many also have something to them. Recently when walking to work, I saw an empty meal deal sandwich packet on the grass and just saw it as rubbish, but beside it lay two vapes that spoke to me. They lay side by side, almost like they were displayed like that on purpose. It was here I realised that these objects react with each other and their environments without our own intervention, something Jane Bennett spoke about in Vibrant Matter. I think moving forward I need to make a journal of these objects and go out my way to remember them for what they really are and how they made me feel. Too many times I’ve walked past these objects and not recorded or taken them, which has resulted in severe regret, This is where my side project comes in. I have began to use AI to create representations of what I remember these objects to look like and so far it has worked great. AI is a scary thing. This works great as I’ve been combining them with very emotive pieces of writing which seems more serious than it is. To me it is serious, it is torment, but to someone else it may seem over the top. I wish I got my pal to drive me to this underpass on the motorway at night, stopped on the motorway, we break a few laws and health and safety regulations and I pick up that fucking fedora. Why didn’t I take that umbrella handle, I was out looking for objects and I just walked past it because it was in grass and the grass was wet and I didn’t have suitable footwear. What else was there? My mind is blank I looked at the time and I have 11 minutes left? Ooft. 1200 words going to try write my post-grad dissertation in one night. Back on track. There’s a bollard lying outside the college that I need to pick up and carve into an arm I think that would be fucking sick, that’s going in my end of year show 100%.

I’m really happy with my writing today. I feel class about where I am and feel confident going forward. It will be hard, to begin a new process from scratch but I look forward to it.

I guess I should come up with my 5 words ae?

TORMENT              FOUND OBJECT                   COLLAGE                     DOUBLE              LOST                           EVOCATIVE             JOURNEY                       EVOLUTION                          CRUDE                                    UNCANNY

Worries and doubts are starting to come back up again but I just need to get through today, I can’t come into college tomorrow as its my first driving lesson at 1 and then I’ll be doing a lot of thinking and organising on Friday, beginning the next stage of my project. Then the week after is install, but a lot of work can be done on Wednesday if we make an invigilation rota for our exhibition. Then Thursday is de-install and lesson and Friday we are back babbyyyyy.

[yumezaii]

Personally I could not live with Eden I would die. his possessive streak kind of scares me ^^; But fem!eden maybe as a last resort? But i’m going off my main PC settings

I would probably go with my bird husband on this. I could probably learn to like the lurkers maybe if I gain the harpy TF? And Great Hawk respects PC’s boundaries so I would just ask him to pull out before cumming. Unlike Eden who would fuck me whenever and doesn’t carry condoms. Well…Great Hawk doesn’t either but he will probably pull out, he doesn’t even fuck us before stockholm syndrome unlike Eden again.

Would get out of the initial phase pretty fast. I would probably put together a comfortable nest and get all the upgrades since no way in hell can I survive in town. I would categorize as small in my opinion so it would make it harder to fight off people and also for money i would not be able to sell my body ^^;

Great Hawk is isolated from the outside so i’d be safe. This applies to Eden and Black Wolf…but they are rather forcing. So essentially Id just spend my whole life with a cute harpy husband just sleeping, bathing, and hunting with no worry of money. If I really needed to go into town i’d probably bring Great Hawk with me and just say it’s a cosplay or something…can count on them to beat up strangers.

But in the pretext I need to stay in town I would rely on Avery heavily, would get all dolled up do whatever they say for the money. Would also work at the spa and would unlock the brothel to just use my body parts to raise the skill in the glory hole? I forget what it’s called. Would not pay for Robin he could screw off would ask him for money whenever I can though. I’d get a chastity belt at the temple as well, since I do not plan on using my body, maybe even sign up as an initiate. I would always walk never take the bus, because that’s erm very dangerous. Would unlock Kylar as a LI for the free pepper spray. If I got enough money which I probably wouldn’t I would unlock the pepper spray lab in the loft. For Whitney I would try to lower his dominance by really working out and maxing my physique to beat him up. Try to dismiss him as soon as possible. I would also try and sway Kylar into not announcing our status with some sweet talk. Sydney, I would be neutral on. No real benefits from unlocking her. Same with robin except it would heavily affect me to be paying for two people sooo.

I would talk defiantly to put on a persona which other people would be intimidated by. Try to keep Kylar jealously real low too. Ultimately I would most likely die in the first week, but this is how I would plan it.

So I've seen this trend around a couple times but I haven't seen it herr on tumblr, so I'm just gonna ask this:

If you got trapped in the DoL universe, what's your survival strategy?

Personally I'd just get sold (not kidnapped!) to Eden as soon as possible. Get over the initial phase, and then be his wife for as long as this condition lasts.

Go to town only if needed. Fuck school, fuck the police, my forest husband has a big ass gun and Bailey won't be an issue. He'll keep me safe from ANYONE (exept himself and his monstrous libido, which I'm cool with.)

Let me know what other strategies you come up with!!

[kitsuna-ri]

So I lost my job yesterday and while I know it’s for the best (because ooh boy constant anxiety and stress) things were kinda fucked how it went down and I just want to make sure I’m not crazy. Here’s the rundown (it’s long, sorry):

Accepted SM assistant role last August. Was upfront about having limited experience, mostly either with accounts that had no budget or having long steps to go through to get a post approved. Said I was primarily a social WRITER but could make simple graphics and what not because I can use Photoshop and Canva. Basically hit the ground running, had virtually no real training and vague instructions. I was also suddenly in charge of way more categories, some of which had their own separate pages on social platforms and I would have to be responsible for all of them. I started with 5 categories, three of which consistently had multiple weekly or monthly events that needed posts. I also had to help boost, do mild comment and message moderation, and live tweet well into late hours or over the weekend. After getting settled I took on more work because we were a small team and I wanted to be as helpful as possible. I ended up taking on a weekly filming task that meant filming and editing the video in less than a day’s time. It took time because I had mentioned I don’t have strong video editing skills but I was willing to learn and try my best.

In late January, I was hit with a surprise move. I was told I had to be out by March and it was a few days from February. I was scrambled. But I still continued to take on what I could while panicking about my living situation. I get the move scheduled to not cost me too much missed time in the office. I asked my manager if I could WFH the day before my move just to wrap things up and was told to come in. I complied.

All this time, I have never once been approached about my quality of work from my clients or my boss. In fact, I even received a glowing yearly review and told I’m doing wonderful and I work great with my clients. We did have one of my categories break off and essentially took over their own social media with an influencer. It came as a big shock but I tried to roll with the punches and keep working hard for my other clients.

Then we had a HUGE event, like all hands on deck kind of thing. Still not given a ton of direction just “make as much content for this event as possible.” So I did. Now, around the end, I was having some trouble in my life (worries about my health, parents, etc) so I was admittedly burned out. I dropped a few balls. Nothing bad happened, no social catastrophe or anything, just didn’t pay attention when reposting a post and didn’t realize it was a carousel and not just one photo. I used a photo by prof photographer from a preview party and my manager felt the angle wasn’t good and took it down. Then, after she talked to me and was wanting to offer to show me some tips and tricks which I was eager for. Then there was an issue with a department she had basically dumped on me with little explanation and told me to use artist bios and I used one from the artist’s site and apparently that wasn’t ok. I told her I’d definitely be much more careful.

Then, I asked our intern to post a video on TT to continue a series we had started. Our intern was out but told me she could post things no problem even when I voiced concerns. She posted the video and apparently there was a typo. My manager completely loses it in in Teams but worse yet, in a group chat with one of my coworkers. I had a panic attack and was trying to explain what happened, apologizing and taking the Ls and offering solutions. She demands a conversation the next day so I agree.

She realizes like late morning that she had berated me in front of our coworker and apologized. But we were still having our convo. In this talk she’s telling me suddenly that my work has only ever just been “ok” which is the first time I’m ever hearing this feedback. We had monthly one on ones and she Never. Said. Anything. But now suddenly I was a problem and I needed to reconsider things, see if this is the right position, and she said she’d work with me and I was like “ok. I’m going to improve, I’m not going to screw up like this again.”

So the process was I sent her the design and proposed copy of what I wanted to post and she’d give me feedback. She NEVER came to shoot with me or show me tricks or tips except like once near the end. Instead she started “not giving a fuck” Because she was getting demoted from director to manager and was mad about it. She started half assing things and even being really curt and rude to clients. Meanwhile, I’m busting my ass to create only the best with minimal to no direction or real advice but I was noticing improvement. Plus, my clients were so happy with the work I was creating and how I was working with them.

I had another one on one and she tells me I’m doing great, she’s happy to see me taking everything to heart, etc etc.

This continues and other than one misunderstanding, I thought everything was great! I was doing more with video editing and really trying to make dynamic designs.

This month comes around and we’re suddenly hit with three BIG events in one of my categories, all happening at the same time, two events in one of my other categories, and I had also agreed to take one one other category which had weekly events as well. That meant for this month I ended up having 10 events to promote. We also lost our ability to boost ads so everything was relying on purely organic engagement. I made assets, I tried to balance posting with the three big events because they all had to post on the same IG/FB page. I didn’t want any one to be out shined and wanted to make sure the page didn’t seem spammy with so many posts each day because my other coworker also had two categories that shared the same page. So A LOT was being posted.

We have a meeting and someone asked if we were posting about a specific collection on social. We said yes, for sure. Because I had been posting. Then he continued on to say that he knew the lack of bids was just because this collection had way too high prices. Didn’t say anything else about social or our posts.

But my manager messages me basically berating me for not posting enough and why the fuck wasn’t I working hard. I was like ???? And explained my reasoning and immediately got told I was wrong and I had ten days to get posts up to three per event per day. So I proceeded to bust my ass.

Now, here’s the thing, I couldn’t post if she didn’t review my stuff. So I sent her all these posts to hit this new goal annnnnnnnnnnnd I got nothing back. For a day and a half. I had to ask for them three times before finally getting the feedback. But I still kept working. Then I unfortunately got food poisoning.

BUT because we had our new director starting, I took pepto and sipped on ginger ale so I could make it into the office. And I did. I did wind up leaving early but I had still been creating work and sending it.

However, because I suppressed my food poisoning the next day I was MISERABLE. So I finally decided to take the day. I sent my manager a message and hear nothing back so I make sure all my shit is handled and ended up having to do a whole video while feeling like death. But I did it.

I still had things ready and scheduled so I at least would be good to go. Now, in the afternoon my manager finally messaged me only to try and yell at me about a post my other coworker had done. She did say “apologies” and then asked if I’d be in the next day. I said I was going to do everything I could do I wouldn’t fall behind.

The next day, I did go in. A few hours later she suddenly showed up (she doesn’t work in office on Fridays). I’m working on some stuff, I had already sent her some things to approve, and she suddenly messaged me asking if I had a sec.

And that’s when she walked me to a conference room that HR was in. I even asked her if everything was ok while we were walking and she was like “mmhmm”

They didn’t let me pack my stuff, I had to ask my friend to get my things. They tried to be like “this isn’t a firing for anything bad…you just weren’t the right fit.” And my manager kept saying “we had all those discussions” but I’m over here like ?????? We’ve had maybe TWO and one was THIS WEEK!!! And it takes more than a day, hell a week, for HR to process a firing. I had formal write ups and yet I was done.

I’m so mad and also scared and just ugh. Fuck Capitalism, fuck that lying bitch, and just…fuck my life.

[psychometrys]

i think the biggest thing i’m taking away from battle scars right now is how cal’s trauma responses are manifesting post fallen order.

“So, what.” Cal frowned. "You're worried about wisdom for people in the future. I'm worried about survival for people now. That's why we destroyed the holocron, Cere. To avoid exposing those kids to this kind of life.” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "We're a weapon, Cere. I'm a weapon. Point me in a direction, let me go, I'll do damage. But building something?" He shook his head. "I don't know how to do that. I've never had to."

cal has never not known the jedi order separate from war, at least not in any conscious way. the clone wars started when he was ten, he wasn’t even a padawan at that point (if we take that excerpt in brotherhood at face value). cere already had her own padawan when the order fell and had a very different view of it too thanks to eno cordova. she was researching artefacts and history, so it’s a given that’s what she’s trying to protect as it’s what she knows best. through order 66, the empire took everything from cal - his home, his family, his purpose. he spent his teenage years hiding an essential part of who he is and then took down two inquisitors at the age of 18 which is wildly impressive! but at his core he’s a kid who grew up with nothing but trying to live from one day to the next. he can’t see a point in making a future when the only future he’s had to worry about is in short increments, the next hour, the next day.

i think it’s also important to stress that he’s still isolated from the rest of the galaxy. yes he has the rest of the mantis crew which he very much considers family, but he hasn’t met another jedi other than cere. paired with the fact he has a pretty big savior complex, that’s why he’s so stuck in this mindset of going after the empire to stop the cycle of trauma repeating. he only knows the fight, only knows how to use his skills with the force and a lightsaber to try and hurt the empire. he’s not aware of other pockets of resistance or that the path exists or any of it! and i think partially he’s resigned himself to this fate because he’s so reluctant to be left on his own again. to lose the mantis crew, the closest thing he’s had to a family since the purge, would put him right back at square one and he desperately doesn’t want to go back there.

[yhwhsdaughter]

L as a sugar daddy 🍰🍦🫖🍫

strangers to lovers, fluff, angst, main character death, ooc near, gender neutral, 1 mention of sex, depression, grief

I wanted it to be fun and cute but this turned dark so fast 😬 enjoy?

. It all started with you trying to score a free ice cream by flirting with the vendor at the park, having no money for food, when you noticed a weirdo sitting oddly in the bench—earning himself strange glances from parents

. Even so, you had no choice but sit next to him—at the very end of the bench—since the rest were occupied. That, or sit on the dirty cement. “Hello” he said. You nodded in acknowledgment, choosing to concentrate on the melting cone

. The two of you sat there, childless, eating ice cream in silence. After a while, the dark haired man stood up to leave. Glancing in his direction, your eyes bulged when he entered a sleek, black car. He was rich???!!

. Dumping the nearly finished treat on the trash, you mounted your bike and followed his car. Oh! Life had given you lemons and you sprayed them on your eye instead of making lemonade !

. Not planning to fumble the bag twice, you pedaled continuously, stalking following your potential future bank. L was quick to notice of this and allowed you to do so

. It wasn’t til you arrived at a luxurious hotel that things went south. Knocked out by an unknown force, you woke up tied and blindfolded

. After a thorough interrogation, you were free to go. You’d also been forced to reveal your intentions. L, despite being the greatest detective in the world, was rather lost when you revealed in wanting him as a sugar daddy

“Why would I want to be your fructose father?”

. Watari had to, painfully, explain what being a sugar daddy entailed. This just resulted in L asking if Watari was HIS sugar daddy. Unknowingly, you’ve caused the old man so much trauma

. As you were being released from the restraints ooh kinky, L managed to get a good look at your face and body. Coincidentally, he was working a case in which models had been disfigured and brutally murdered

. Normally, he wouldn’t take such a case but the killer was incredibly interesting. Suddenly he wanted your input.

“I’m not a model, but thanks.”

. He offered money. Lives were at stake here, you guess you could offer some insight

. Being his consultant was basically the position of a glorified wall. Most of the time your ideas were ignored because L had already thought them and discarded them before your brain could even formulate one

. Still, you couldn’t complain. There was a lot of desserts and even though eating too much sweets would upset your stomach, you were too starved to notice. Watari, bless his heart, brought you actual meals

. You were essentially getting paid to keep Ryuzaki (as he said to call him) company. So in a way, to an extent, he was your sugar daddy.

. Eventually, you had to leave. L spun in his chair, looking slightly confused at the suggestion

“Where are you going?”

. The restroom was next door, why’d you have to announce it? Since he was unable to get the hint (social skills zero) you had to reveal that you were literally about to get evicted and you needed to pack your stuff before it was thrown out

. L, in all honesty, had gotten used to your presence, regardless how useless it was. Kind of like Watari, but in more friendly manner

. Spinning back, L casually said that he would pay for your rent as long as you came back. He needed someone to bounce ideas off …. as if he couldn’t already do that with Watari 🙄

. Things were fine, until they were not. L kept getting annoyed at the time it took you to get to the hotels. It wasn’t your fault that they kept changing places everytime

. To the detective, there was one simple solution… he asked you to move in with him. You blinked. He probably did not realize how intimate that proposal sounded, but it was L so perhaps it was just more of a roommates situation..?

. No longer worrying about being kicked to the streets and starving, you enrolled in some online courses. It was better than having to attend university and have to deal with another traveling dilemma

. Actually, you loved online classes. Because if you had a problem, you could ask L for help since he was really smart.

. At this point he had revealed he was L, and you were like 🧍‍♀️ok..? and im (name). He knew that, having done a background check the moment you met. Since you didn’t make a big deal out of it, L shrugged and went back to his laptop

. Anyways, when I say help, it was just code for L answering your question silently and returning to work. He would do the same for tests, even devising a way to cheat

. Academic morality? Gone. Your grades? High. Graduation? Complete. You weren’t sure if you deserve it but L seemed to think it valid so you took it as a yes

. L having you work as his assistant which, again, was a fancy title to keep his company. Him, accidentally admitting you’re his first friend. Kind of sad but you feeling warm upon hearing that??

. Occasionally taking breaks from work and having fun. L liked amusement parks, you didn’t peg him as the type, and he insisted on going on every single ride. A bit excessive but overall an unforgettable experience. The two of you came to a consensus and held hands to avoid losing each other. Your heart went pita patta pita patta though you’re sure it’s from the roller coaster

. You teaming up with Watari to force L into a shower because it’s been days. Heat flared against your cheeks upon fist seeing L’s torso. It wasn’t anything special,, he was skinny and pale but also incredibly soft??

. You also cutting his hair because it’s getting too long. L trying to gaslight you into thinking he DIDN’T moan when you pulled his hair. You complaining about not signing up to be his mother and him saying

“What about a partner?”

. No shut up, because your entire face felt HOT. You would have to tell Watari that the air conditioner was malfunctioning

. Finding out that L had heirs, Near, Mello, and Matt. Your brain going ????? Because when did L have kids? Are they your competition for his fortune now? Wait, are they YOUR kids now too????

. You proposing a friendship bracelet or something and L presenting you with two silver bands, one for him and one for you

. After recovering from the mild concussion you received after fainting from L sliding the ring down his finger and then yours, you finally admitted that you liked him, to which L went

“Aren’t we married already?”

. Um, okay. So you clearly missed some steps there but you’re not exactly against it

. Being intimate with L was difficult because both of you had limited experience. There was a lot of firsts for you both. It was awkward, it was sweet, it was passionate, it was intimate, it was kind of gross, and it was rare

. You enjoyed his presence more than anything. Somehow that was enough. You could honestly admit that he was your soulmate. The two of you understood each other without fail. At a certain point Watari believed you formed a telekinetic bond because one look from L and you were already nodding. Hello???

. L accepting the Kira case, taking risks but absolutely refusing to show others your face and name because you’re the only whose safety he prioritized over everybody

. L leaving you a young widow with a lot money after his death murder so you could live comfortably, until your own time came

. You struggling with grief. Sleeping in L’s clothes for days, hoping to retain his scent for as long as you could. Stuffing yourself with his favorite strawberry cake till you were vomiting. Having no support system because Watari, who was like a father, was gone too

. You searching for his inheritors to bring Kira to justice. Briefly bonding with those genius kids that reminded you a little too much of your beloved

. You breaking down after Mello’s and Matt’s death. It was happening all over again and you couldn’t do anything to stop it

. N having to deal with the fact that L, Mello, Matt, and you were dead. Him catching Kira in honor of those who died trying

. N visiting your grave once, which was situated next to L’s. The time he knew you both was brief but everlasting, not that he would admit it

. You finally reuniting with the weirdo who sat oddly in a bench, eating an ice cream whilst getting looks from concerned parents. Your L.

[valentinerose529]

I checked my copy of Unlocked, and it doesn’t explain anything about the economy and working society besides birth funds, treasury cubes, and deductors (functionally similar to a credit card reader), and the fact that elves don’t need to work and treat it as a hobby or occupation. So *cracks knuckles* it’s theory time!     To be honest, since the series is targeted at kids, the worldbuilding tends to be lax and thin in some places and this is probably the case with money? to a young reader, the explanation need only be “sophie doesn’t have to worry about money when she’s transplanted into the lost cities, because everyone is given money at birth and it’s worth a lot more than human money”     (although i don’t remember how they explained sophie’s birth fund if she legally didn’t exist for the first twelve years of her life?)     tbh that’s probably also why the luster-dollar conversion rate is so astonishingly high, just because “one luster is worth a million human dollars” sounds cool to a young reader without considering all the practicalities.

But as a serious and overthought answer, I’m gonna extrapolate that the actual monetary number value of a luster isn’t the same as the economical worth. If lusters really had the same economical worth as a million dollars does in the human economy, such a high monetary value would probably end in everyone using fractional lusters or exclusively bartering for their things. Since the elven world has very little narrative focus, and a seemingly nonexistent reliance, on business and blue collar jobs (the gnomes almost exclusively handle the Lost Cities food production and distribution, for example), that’s probably not the case. Which means it’s more likely that, in some point in elven history (possibly before the Lost Cities cut contact with humanity, to explain the comparison to human money) all monetary values plummeted and inflation skyrocketed. After the economy stabilized, the actual economical value of a luster stabilized to be something more sustainable, but the now-archaic conversion rate remained the same.

Alternatively, maybe the elves just don’t know diddly-squat about human currency and assume that dollars have a much lower value than lusters, generating that million-dollar conversion rate! Who knows, it’s children’s fantasy; I’m overthinking this!

As for with jobs and working and whatnot, the series says that working is done out of want, not need. Which reads like a watered-down version of the guaranteed living income model seen in certain parts of the real world, although with a lot of unanswered worldbuilding questions. (Maybe this is why there are only two doctors so far in the series, and one of them is a school nurse? Nobody else wants that kind of job?) Unlocked says that elves can earn money through working and they can have more money than others, but this has no social importance. In the real-life guaranteed living income model, humans can and will still choose to work (in jobs that aren’t soul-sucking and exploitative, mind you) simply because we need some way to occupy ourselves and, in the ideal society, because we want to mutually contribute to our community and keep it running. (You’d think in an immortal society with such a high birth rate, a lot more elves would get jobs to occupy themselves and share their skills with the younger generations, but i honestly don’t know what most of the elven population does. Makes art? Eats vegetables? Joins a rebel group?)     It seems like the Lost Cities have a similar business model due to the two factors of birth funds and elective workforces, but as I said above, the series says nothing about the essential services and blue collar jobs of the elven world. Despite the majority of their population having skills and abilities that would improve working conditions considerably, I think the only mention of abilities having practical and everyday uses are in Atlantis when the Psionipaths maintain the shield over the city, or Flashers being well-suited to operating medical technology.     Finally, there’s a dark implication in the series that the Talentless, canonically the secondary social class, can’t get the “good” jobs that the Nobility have and may end up being the ones working the unwanted but essential jobs like waste disposal, power plant production. Which, yikes, I hope that’s not the case.

The economy in the Lost Cities makes… no sense. How do they even get their money? What is it worth on an international scale?

What’s even the point of working when there’s nothing received in return? I know it’s just a pastime, but it’s still kind of… not well thought out. Why do they even have a currency if everything’s passed out by the Nobility government? Are most jobs within the Nobility because it’s said that working within the Nobility is very prestigious… but those are the main jobs shown? Most of the ones that aren’t are looked down upon and seem to be the kind of jobs that don’t require much skill so their wouldn’t be paid as much. Actually, pay doesn’t matter so that last point was kind of irrelevant.

Why is their currency even worth so much in comparison to human money like American dollars when they don’t involve themselves with that species? Do they just use really expensive things to make their money? Why? For such an advanced society, why would it be through physics representation?

Like, Messenger couldn’t have just made it like where free enterprise is a thing so they can make money in the first place then have social institutions and advanced, unbiased tech or other redistribute the money equally through high taxes?

I’m almost certainly over thinking this. It just… I don’t understand it at all. Did I miss something in the books that explains this? I haven’t gone through all the info in Unlocked so maybe that explains it. Idk.

[headspace-hotel]

What’s your take on self diagnosed autism? Personally I’m for it, but I’ve been seeing stuff lately that has me worried. People self-diagnosing based on misinformation, or without a complete understanding of ASD. People see stuff like, ‘autistic people stim’ and ‘autistics struggle with socializing’ and ‘autistics may be sensitive to certain sounds’ etc. And these things are true, yeah, but their also really watered down statements that don’t get to the crux of the issue. So when I see people self dxing based on these kinds a things, it’s really frustrating to me, and I worry about autism being delegitimized.

If self-diagnosis helps someone who struggles with certain things common among autistics find community and coping skills, who cares?

It's tempting to want to maintain the sanctity of what has been, for many people, a certificate of validation for a deeply alienating and in some cases traumatic experience of life. But autism is a part of human diversity that likely has no single cause, and as a spectrum it probably shades into what we consider the 'general population' as a smooth gradation of 'autistic traits.'

I was diagnosed at 14, but many of the classic 'symptoms' of autism were present throughout my childhood—they just weren't disrupting my life significantly because I was home schooled and extraordinarily well accommodated. The psychologist who diagnosed me said I was 'very high functioning.'

When I entered college, I was not functioning very highly at all, anymore.

Neurodivergence is still diagnosed based on how 'disruptive' it is in your life. In practice, this means many neurodivergent people are diagnosed based on how hostile their environments are to them, or on how traumatized they have become trying to navigate the world.

The line that separates the "neurotypical" from "neurodivergent" isn't fixed, and thinking of them as cleanly divided hurts people on both sides of that line.

The fact is, there's a big population of people that will fall on different sides of that line at different points in their life and/or viewed from different angles, because autism is measured by external traits and 'symptoms' that are inconstant.

Some professionals think you can essentially stop being autistic if your 'symptoms' are sufficiently reduced. I do not believe this. I also do not believe that someone who qualifies for an autism diagnosis after becoming traumatized trying to navigate the 'neurotypical' world is only 'really' autistic if they were recognizable as autistic before.

Does this make any sense?

[tinkerbellwoo]

ATEEZ MTL Survive A Zombie Apocalypse

Most

Yunho

Hongjoong

Jongho

Wooyoung

San

Yeosang

Seonghwa

Mingi

Least

Yunho would be the most likely to survive purely based on his gaming experience, fast reflexes and decision making skills. He’d know how to ration properly and what to prioritise as well as how to make weapons from everyday supplies.

Hongjoong is second because he’s good at thinking outside the box as well as making fast decisions and working under pressure. I firmly believe the key to surviving an apocalypse is based on intelligence and tactics instead of strength, that is why HJ and YH are at the top.

Jongho comes third because he’d remain sensible throughout, although he’d be scared, he knows it’s important to stay in the right frame of mind to make good decisions. He’s also very strong so he’d be able to build things, fight etc.

Wooyoung is fast as fuck, this man ain’t getting caught up in none of this living dead shit. He’s quite strong and super agile, he’s also good at making smart decisions when the time is right. I feel like the thought of using a weapon of some kind would excite him a little... just don't put him in charge if you want to survive.

San has a lot of experience with gaming so I feel like he'd have some kind of idea on what to do in this situation however, I feel like he’d also prefer to just hide away from a long time and only think of collecting supplies when he’s already running critically low and is forced to face the zombies. He’s another one that's fast af and have you seen his fucking flying 360° neck breaker spin kick? Mans moving mad.

Yeosang isn't as high up as the others in terms of intelligence but don't get me wrong, he’d come out with some megamind genius plan when you least expect it, he’d leave it to the others to think of something first though. In terms of strength, this bitch should be at the tippy top, but I believe he wouldn't be that great at fighting. He’d be worried about hurting the zombie even though my guy is in a literal zombie apocalypse and has to fight for his life. He’d be really good at anything strength related though.

Seonghwa is scared, tell him it’s a dream and he can go home because he really doesn't know how much longer he can put up with this. He’d probably be the reason ya’ll almost get killed because he chickens out at the worst moment imaginable... He’d be really good at helping with injuries since he knows a lot about cleanliness and sterilisation which is essential to avoid deadly infections.

Mingi will lose his absolute fucking marbles, is the first to go insane and be tempted to stray from the group because no one will listen to him and he feels he would benefit going his own way to survive... which ultimately, would get him killed pretty damn quick. Have you seen him playing mafia game with the rest of the guys? My boy is stressed, free him.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

A/N - I missed my MTL posts so much, I’m sorry this isn't a very original idea but I’m trying to get my brain working so I can come up with some more creative ideas! This is 100% my opinion and should not be taken seriously, this is for entertainment purposes only and nothing is written with intent to upset or offend anyone :3

Tag List - @simphwa @ateezinmymind @multidreams-and-desires @yunhospuppy @jonghoisbabie @224-12 @woowommy

[glowingbadger]

Hi! Could you do SFW and NSFW relationship headcanons for Raphael and Hubert, please?

(P.S. I swear I sent this in a few weeks ago but you must not have gotten it. I am mortified at the chance I accidentally sent it to another blog!)

Your timing is incredible- your request was literally the next one on my list haha :3 So no worries, it got to the right place! I'm just still catching up a bit lol. Let's talk Raph and Hubie!

Raphael, Hubert x GN Reader

SFW (nsfw below the cut)

Raphael:

- Raphael is such an absolute sweetie as a boyfriend. He's very nurturing and just a healthy level of protective, but he also knows that he's not perfect and is willing to listen to you when you need something different from him, or just to vent. He's also endlessly uplifting, always instinctively looking on the bright side of things and eager to open up that sunny perspective to share with you.

- As we all know, the way to Raph's heart is through his stomach. If you're even a little skilled in the kitchen, you've got an easy in to spending time with him whenever you like. If you're not much of a cook, he's happy to be a taste-tester until you've got it figured out. Though it's not like his palette is incredibly refined, so you might not get the most nuanced feedback.

- It is essential that you meet his little sister's approval- it's practically like courting a single father. Her happiness is his utmost priority, so one day when she mentions off hand that she can't wait for you all to spend time together again, he practically starts tearing up and warmth fills his chest. Knowing that you get along with the other most important person in his life just reaffirms his affections for you a thousand fold.

- His idea of a date pretty much always involves food, and with his energetic and warm personality, those kinds of dates are easy to enjoy. If you suggest other ideas though, while he might not be sure it's his "thing" at first, he'll quickly find something to get excited about and invested in. Besides, when he's with you, he has a hard time caring about anything but watching you just be your wonderful self, all with a wide, goofy smile on his face.

Hubert:

- Hubert quietly dotes on you. His love language is absolutely acts of service. This is largely because he finds it so hard to believe- practically disorienting- that you'd want to be with him of all people. As such, he does everything in his power to ensure that you're provided for. You may not even realize the lengths he's willing to go to for some time, as he has a habit of doing helpful or sweet things for you without your knowledge. Maybe it takes a vaguely threatening "chat" with some disrespectful knave who's been trying to get your attention, or perhaps there's a tear in your favorite shirt that he has sent to be repaired without ever mentioning it. Hubert doesn't seek praise- only your happiness.

- that said... He does absolutely melt when you do praise or compliment him. He does his best to appear stoic, but his face turns bright red when you tell him how lucky you are to be with someone so considerate and conscientious. Funnily, when he's riding high on his adoration for you (whatever you would call Hubert's version of feeling warm and fuzzy), not much changes other than that he's less conversational, appearing exceptionally introspective. The truth is just that he can't stop thinking of you and this bizarre feeling you've nurtured in him.

- he will NEVER admit this and will strike fear into the soul of any who would suggest it- but when others give him romantic advice, he does take note. When Edelgard suggests he have flowers sent to you for no particular reason, or Ferdinand recommends he take you riding through the countryside on a particularly lovely day, he does consider them and possibly even follow through.

- listen. The first time Hubert returns to his quarters from a late night "mission" to see you waiting up for him, struggling to stay awake to greet him and make sure he's okay, he's just... A puddle. He holds you so close and so tight, resting his face in your hair without a word. He's simply so overwhelmed that he should ever be so fortunate as to be welcomed home by someone he loves.

NSFW 18+ v

Raphael:

- Raph is a Big Boy and a Strong Boy, and those two facts are never more relevant than when things start getting heated. He's had one or two prior sexual partners (people from his hometown who came onto him- he enjoyed it well enough, but he's WAY more into it after falling for you), so he generally knows what he's doing, but likes a bit of guidance. He worries a lot about hurting you, but also enjoys showing off his strength and stamina for you- so letting you set the pace tends to work best overall.

- He openly loves it when you compliment his muscles and physique, reminding him of just how big and strong he is compared to you and how easily he lifts and positions you. Hearing it from your lips energizes him and makes him more determined than ever to pleasure you and take care of any and all of your needs. He's a bit clumsy about some of the finer operations involved- but honestly, sometimes it's hot enough just to feel his large and powerful fingers spreading you open. It's hard to lament his lack of dexterity when he can so easily fill you and reach your every sensitive spot at once.

- He's really not much one for power-play, or any kind of spicy roleplay. He simply doesn't see the point. Raphael would always rather just tell you openly how amazing and gorgeous you are as you ride his big, thick cock. You're so small even when you're above him, and he can't help wanting to hold you as your stretched out little hole takes him again and again.

- Raphael can resist cumming for a long time for the privilege of getting to fuck as many orgasms out of you as possible. He's got some impressive stamina. He'll lift and reposition you several times, then very carefully ease his huge member back into you, giving you plenty of time to acclimate to him filling you up from a new angle. There's no question that you'll be satisfied by the time he finally cums- but once he's done, he's done. Raphael cums hard, and a good volume, and once he's ridden out his climax, all he wants is to cuddle you on his broad chest and maybe share a snack, then drift off for a nap together.

Hubert:

- I've talked about some general spicy ideas for Hubie before in the past, so definitely check my masterlist for those (I love this miserable bastard so fucking much-). Overall, I see him as a classic, domineering Dom in the bedroom. Hubert needs a certain level of control over everything in his life to feel even a little at-ease, and intimacy is no exception. It won't take long into a relationship with him for it to become clear that he's happiest and most satisfied when you're a good, docile little pet for him.

- It's not extremely obvious at first, but Hubert's body is very sensitive and very touch-shy, simply due to lack of exposure. He's had a few sexual partners, though largely for pragmatic, political purposes, so the experience of being with you and wanting so badly to be truly intimate with you is completely new to him. Add this to the fact that, at his core, he still believes you deserve so much better than he could ever give you in all things, and you've got yourself a complex over-thinker in your bed. This is part of why dominating you is so soothing to him. When you're his personal needy kitten, he can direct you as he pleases, catering your treatment to his comfort level.

- Hubert gets very invested in the finer details of your submission. He takes great care to select a collar custom made for you, and will manage everything from your posture to your line of sight to when you're allowed to cum. He does not suffer brats; misbehaving will result in literal hours of punishment, and you're lucky if it only amounts to spanking. He's much more likely to tie you, or even magically restrain you on his bed completely exposed (or in a shamefully erotic outfit) and tease your clit/head of your cock until tears wet your eyes and you beg him to be allowed to cum.

- That all said, if you're a very, very good pet for him- or if you're someone a bit more shy or anxious in bed, he is capable of being a very soft and caring Dom. This even surprises him, but he can't help brushing a gloved hand to your cheek as you take his cock into your pretty lips, and he murmurs, "That's right, my dearest, just like that. You're doing wonderfully- just a little longer for me and I swear that I'll satisfy you."

[sepublic]

The Golden Guard: Eda’s Dark Parallel?

           Does anyone else think that the Golden Guard actually reminds Lilith a LOT of Eda, specifically Eda as a kid, during the good old days before she got cursed?

           Think about it… They’re both sassy, hot-headed teen prodigies with an owl motif and yellow attire. And the way Lilith angrily talks about the Golden Guard, it seems her feelings of resentment mirror how she felt towards Eda back when they were kids? Lilith, who was by-the-book and traditional, worked so hard… And then there’s this younger person with an Owl motif who just swoops in out of nowhere and through talent, completely outclasses her!

           If you go with the idea that Lilith wanted Gwendolyn’s approval and had to compete with Eda over that… Then for all we know, maybe Lilith lowkey wanted Belos’ approval as well, but felt like she was being cheated out of that with the Golden Guard, who kept stealing the spotlight from her! 

          Like she was afraid he’d take her spot as head of the Emperor’s Coven, the way Lilith feared that Eda would win the initiation duel back when they were kids… And lo and behold, the Golden Guard DID take that! Granted Lilith left an obvious vacancy from her own betrayal of Belos so of course he took that spot, but still; It’s quite a sore spot.

           In some ways, perhaps Lilith is aware of this, deep-down or not; She might see the Golden Guard as just Young Eda, but without any of the emotional connection, nor any redeeming qualities; If he does have them, again, it’s not like Lilith knows the Golden Guard well enough to know these traits, much less take them into account.

           LOTS of text and speculation and analyses below!!!

           The Golden Guard is even sixteen years old… Which, is very likely EDA’s age, back when her and Lilith competed for the Emperor’s Coven! That can take on a whole new, dark meaning for her… 

          Perhaps Lilith is low-key disturbed by the Golden Guard’s existence, because he reminds her too much of Young Eda? Eda, before she was cursed- So it’s like the memory of her is coming back to haunt Lilith, in the form of someone who has no concern for Lilith whatsoever to hold him back, unlike the actual Eda.

           And in a way, it’s a horrible reminder that some things never change, that some things stay the same and Lilith can’t get past them, she can’t outgrow it like she thought she did; Because even now, even as head of the Emperor’s Coven, there’s still a 16-year-old prodigy with an owl motif and yellow attire, who is sassy and playful and mischievous, who threatens to upstage Lilith’s self-esteem and sense of power. Somebody Lilith is afraid of; Thirty years later, and she STILL has to deal with this kind of person in her life, but it’s worse because she’s actually older and should be better, yet somehow isn’t…

           Who knows? Maybe Lilith even recognized the similarities to Eda, enough to actually be sympathetic to the Golden Guard at first? Perhaps she, on some level, saw the Golden Guard as a way to vicariously redo her past with Eda, but without the mistakes… Maybe she tried to be nice to the Golden Guard, but then he quickly turned out to be a snob, he’s not REALLY Eda; So Lilith settled on never cursing him like she did Eda, but then otherwise decided that she didn’t owe him any love and could just quietly loathe his guts.

          Lilith failed Eda in part because she was an older sister who abandoned her in a time of need, but there’s not really that expectation with the Golden Guard, so why bother? She’s got enough on her plate as is, and an ACTUAL Eda to worry about, to look after, to be concerned for and patch things up with.

           I’ve even seen people make the very good point that in a lot of ways… The Golden Guard is like a Dark Eda? In the sense that, he’s Eda, had she joined the Emperor’s Coven as a kid. He’s a look at Young Eda, if she didn’t reject the Coven System, and joined Belos- Reveling in her own talent and power as granting her ‘special treatment’ over the rest, so any downsides to the coven system weren’t HER problem anyway!

           Again, this adds another layer to the Golden Guard being very reminiscent of Young Eda, and even current Eda as well… Except, he never lost his magic and was never cursed. Maybe that’s another thing he unknowingly haunts Lilith over; He’s lowkey a reminder of what Eda could’ve been, had Lilith not been selfish and a coward, or had she communicated better. Yet at the same time, he’s frustrating- Because the Golden Guard is like the worst parts of Eda, the parts that Lilith hated and made her resentful…

           And this constant reminder of the past, of her own issues with Eda back then that culminated in the curse- It could’ve made it a LOT harder for Lilith to really resolve things with Eda, because this kid keeps reminding her why she was so angry, and it’s impossible for her to move on because the Golden Guard isn’t some distant memory, but an actual person who continues to threaten her, the way Eda had…

          And of course, the Golden Guard reminds Lilith of the Eda she lost; The happy, carefree Eda who wasn’t cursed, the Eda she could’ve had in a sense. The Eda that Lilith in some ways wanted, yet is forced to confront and acknowledge is a very obnoxious and terrible person that makes her unhappy…

          And this kind of rude reminder that the Eda that Lilith wanted would’ve continued to make her miserable, if not moreso, is not something she appreciates shattering her dreams and low-key denial, of a world where things had just been a little different.

          The person you’re trying to get, maybe get BACK, wasn’t so great after all- So you just have to move on, and be glad for the Eda who IS happier with her life and more mature, despite being older and more cursed. You gotta move past your guilt Lilith, and realize that Eda is in a better place- Not that she ever needed the curse, but she doesn’t quite need saving from the parts of her life she actually chose for herself, in part to be kind to Lilith no less! Because I bet Lilith believes that deep down, she didn’t deserve Eda’s kindness, so she wishes to reverse that compassionate decision of Eda’s that only resulted in Eda suffering because of how terrible Lily secretly is.

           But, back to the subject; There’s more similarities to Eda and the Golden Guard, especially at the end of Separate Tides; How he makes an ominous warning before casually, happily yelling “BYYEEEE!!!”, just like Eda when she warns Luz about trying to have a Moonlight Conjuring in Hooty’s Moving Hassle, before heading off to the Night Market. His widow’s peak even bears a decent resemblance to Eda’s, doesn’t it? Which…

           Combined with all of the talk about bird motifs being a Clawthorne thing, it DOES raise many questions about the Golden Guard’s potential connection to Eda. Is he some long-lost son? A third child that Gwendolyn had later in life, because witch biology might allow them to do that? Some homunculus, crafted from bits of DNA from Eda, and maybe even Belos? Belos does seem weirdly fond and trusting of him, the two are placed together in the Season 2 outro when nobody else, not even Kikimora, is there; And of course, the Golden Guard wields a staff, red magic, and fleshy creations, VERY similar to Belos…

           I can’t say for sure- But the idea of the Golden Guard as an alternate Eda is fascinating. An Eda who became completely arrogant, and didn’t stop to care about others; Her cockiness and mischief becoming cruel and obnoxious, essentially the worst parts of Eda, down the path she’d always dreaded. A look into another life, a different choice in such a pivotal part of her past… Personally, I LOVE this kind of dark parallel of a character, so I’m hoping these similarities are commented upon in-universe, assuming they’re not outright literal!

           In a way, the Golden Guard could haunt Eda, because he reminds her of herself… Of her carefree youth, but what she could’ve had… But also, the terrible things she’d done. And obviously Eda despises the coven system too much to really change her mind, and it’s safe to say that the Golden Guard is not at all what she wanted to ever become… But still, it’s a neat bit of character writing and parallelism. If Belos is like a Dark Luz, what Luz could’ve been had she not grown… And the same could apply between King and Kikimora;

           Then who knows? The Golden Guard could be a Dark Eda, who got by talent and continued to take things for granted. An Eda who swore loyalty to Belos and was embraced by the emperor for her skill and ability. Jovial and cheery, but without any of the actual compassion that makes this genuine with Eda. An immature brat who never grew up (granted he’s only sixteen and hasn’t gotten the chance), unlike Eda. And if the Golden Guard is an alternate Eda;

           It’s fascinating how his roles are reversed with his alternate Luz… The Eda parallel is younger than the Luz parallel, learning from them, and taking after their motifs as well! But I guess it’s not all too surprising, with how Eda and Luz both learn from one another, though I suspect Belos and the Golden Guard aren’t as mutual, but who knows? 

          It does make you wonder about Kikimora and King as potential mediators between these duos, whose placement remains consistent… How does Kikimora, the King parallel, interact with her Luz and Eda? Did she become close friends with HER Luz, while, as Dana’s art suggests, she seems somewhat irritated by and resentful of her own Eda? So it’s like Eda and King never grew to be friends and conquer differences… As well as if King never grew to respect Luz and saw her as just a “f*cking nerd”?

           With how Luz is taking after Eda, and possibly getting a Cardinal palisman to complete the Clawthorne motif as a new member of the family… Who knows? The Golden Guard could be an intriguing character for her to bounce off of narratively, maybe as someone Luz might have, in another universe, learned to look up to and admire? How well Luz’s relationship be with the Golden Guard, if they are a Dark Eda? And how can this indirectly show us about how Luz and Young Eda would’ve interacted, what Young Eda was like, what Lilith went through as a kid…

           And, for all we know- The Golden Guard’s owl motif doesn’t hint at a pre-existing connection to the Clawthornes, but rather a future one… Maybe he’ll end up being adopted by Eda, the way Luz was? I’d love to see the Golden Guard become an evil older sibling who’s protective of Luz… 

          I ADORE that trope to death; Evil older brother with bright, younger sister, whom he cares about, and the sister cares for him too, even if it’s complicated because the sister believes in the brother to be better, while the brother doesn’t want to be better, or is at least reluctant about having to change…

           I’d love to see another Hugo and Kipo dynamic, and actually… If the Golden Guard parallels Eda, then who’s his Lilith? Could it be Luz herself? I’ve talked before the similarities between Luz and Lilith, as kids who were bullied and struggled with a lack of talent, but made up for it with hard work and ingenuity; They’ll give you a lot of trouble for doing the right thing, but then happily leap at the opportunity if they think someone is improving.

           And, as Separate Tides has also shown us; They both grapple with guilt over making Eda suffer, unintentionally to varying degrees. Luz and Lilith both learn that they’re not a burden and that it’s okay to ask for help, and come to terms with their guilt with Eda… If Belos and the Golden Guard are Luz and Eda reversed, then could Luz and the Golden Guard also be Lilith and Luz, reversed?

          With the Eda parallel being the older sibling in this scenario… An alternate timeline where Eda and Lilith were the same people, but switched places in birth, and it was EDA who ended up being the cruel and toxic sibling who left the younger feeling demeaned and worthless. I imagine if that were the case, the Golden Guard’s toxicity would occur largely in the beginning, as he acts adversarial to Luz and mocks her, taunts her over Eda’s loss of magic, and her own glyphs no doubt; The Golden Guard doesn’t seem to acknowledge glyphs as a valid form of magic himself.

           But then, if he were to get a redemption, the Golden Guard’s tune might change as he matures and learns to treat Luz more kindly… In a way mimicking how Eda really grew to care for Luz, but also the way Eda has begun to reconnect with Lilith, except with the Golden Guard as the one with the baggage and guilt.

           And, a redemption might not be too implausible, because… He is literally only sixteen, the same age as Emira and Edric, and likely the same age as Eda when SHE was cursed. Younger than Lilith, when she made the worst mistake of her life, because she didn’t understand the coven system for what it truly was –and who could blame her?- and was grappling with a likely terrible mother in Gwendolyn… The Golden Guard is literally a minor, and possibly an overworked teen prodigy.

           After all, the first glimpse of his personality Dana gave us, way back in 2020, was of the Golden Guard admitting that he was tired; And despite his usually cheery personality, all of our glimpses at his face behind the mask (symbolism!) have had him look likely serious and glum… But then again, we don’t see the lower half of his face, so who knows? 

          Perhaps the Golden Guard is abused and overworked by Belos, kind of like Amity with her parents… The Golden Guard is a child dealing with a very toxic influence, and a huge burden of responsibility no less. And with all the potential connections to Belos as maybe even a literal father, or at least a parental figure, it’s not hard to see why the Golden Guard would turn out so messed up. And the Golden Guard being ‘tired’ could be a connection to how Eda is left exhausted from her curse, too.

           So, who knows? Because of his age, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect, or at least hope, for a redemption for this kiddo. But a recent sister show to The Owl House has taught me anything, kids aren’t free from death, and Infinity Train made it clear that you can humanize and sympathize and mourn someone who deserved better, yet ultimately dug their grave and was condemned to a sudden death because of that; All because they didn’t know any better, and really couldn’t have.

           And on another note- Maybe the Golden Guard has owl motifs like Eda… Because in a lot of ways, he actually admires her? He admires the Owl Lady, or at least the certain ‘past’ version that others such as Lilith may have brought up… Maybe the Golden Guard seeks to supplant Eda the Owl Lady as The Most Powerful Witch in the Boiling Isles. Maybe he sees himself as Eda, but better, and this rebellious, hot-headed kid feels the need to prove himself by defeating someone he sees himself in.

           Maybe the Golden Guard is like Lilith, as someone who wishes Eda could’ve joined the coven system, and he’s disappointed in how all her talent was ‘wasted’ on other things. Maybe the Golden Guard was disappointed in Eda losing her magic, losing further respect for his ‘problematic idol’, and/or he felt some validation and vindication in being a successor to Eda. 

          Does he hold some grudge? Did the Owl Lady’s power excite him, give the Golden Guard a goal to recklessly challenge and defeat, so he can experience the thrill of victory and add to this feeling of invincibility that teenagers, especially the talented ones, have?

           Eda as a kid, and even now, has always been fond of spiting what others say she can’t do, or setting new precedents and accomplishments to prove herself. Maybe the Golden Guard is like that, and hopes to take on the onus of outdoing the Owl Lady; Perhaps he admires Eda, and wishes she could’ve joined a coven like him. As an outside admirer, he mourns Eda’s ‘potential’ in a way similar to Lilith, but different; Because he’s a kid who looks up to her, and not an older sibling that has an actual childhood with Eda. If so, then that’s another dark parallel to Luz;

           After all, Luz got frustrated by Eda in Adventures in the Elements. So maybe the Golden Guard is someone who grew resentful of Eda for not living up to the legend he hoped, the image he wanted, sort of like Lilith! I’ll go out on a limb and even suggest him as a past apprentice, who unlike Luz, never learned to be patient and appreciate Eda’s teachings, so he turned to the coven system and Belos for easy gratification. He didn’t want to be challenged… And in that way, the Golden Guard could parallel my speculation on Belos, as also a Dark Luz.

          So of course, it makes sense that Belos would recognize this same dilemma in the Golden Guard, and perhaps be sympathetic and take him under his wing for it. Eda might not recognize the Golden Guard because he’s changed a bit himself, is hiding his own identity –Lilith doesn’t seem to know much about the witch beneath the mask either, just the public image and façade- and Eda’s been having memory issues. Maybe this will add to the Golden Guard’s resentment, who knows? He really might just be a rebellious teen who Eda failed, unlike with Luz… And that could add to more envy, perhaps.

           At the very least; Dana’s fondness for the Golden Guard takes on a whole new meaning… What with how Eda is pretty much one of, if not THE most favorite character of hers, the one who really jumpstarted this entire show and world to begin with… Having this other character she likes essentially be a canon AU version of that beloved creation, would certainly make a lot of sense! Dana likes Eda, she likes to show us about Young Eda; So a character who IS Young Eda, just on a different path, would likely appeal to her. We’ll see…

           I think it’s worth noting that in her art of the Golden Guard, it depicts him as essentially a normal, lazy teenager who’s asking someone else to do his chore for him, while he lounges around to do something else. I could see a young Eda as occasionally fulfilling that role and asking her older sister Lily for a favor- And maybe this could allude to the Golden Guard being frequently exhausted from being overworked himself, hence “I’m tired” and wanting to extend his breaks as much as possible. We’ll just have to wait and see…