#the fact that this keeps happening means I should probably come up with a default answer

[hinamie]

wanted 2 make a bit of an update post to get a few things off my chest bc i feel like i've been a bit quiet on here compared 2 normal and for that i apologize gsdhjgfdsj I promise I will do better at being chronically online

in all seriousness though, ever since the jjk manga ended, I've started experiencing th dilemma where I am feeling less inspired but also twice as pressured to continue living up to the standard I set for myself by being so active while the manga was ongoing. i'm finding it's taking longer than it should to finish pieces that are not challenging enough to warrant the extra hours, it's harder to come up with what I think are original concepts, and overall i'm just anxious that the high i've been riding since april has finally begun its descent.

I know logically tht these expectations i'm worried about being unable to meet are entirely self-imposed. I /know/ that not every piece needs to be a profound character tribute packed with symbolism and hidden meanings, but tht doesn't change the fact that it still feels really disappointing when I try to dig for that emotional component that I was really loving in the art that was inspired by later manga chapters, only to come up short. I'm feeling myself defaulting back to drawing My Ship Posed Cutely, or Character Lineup In Cute Outfits, whereas before I was really feeling like my art was touching something beyond just surface-level aesthetic. This isn't to say that I don't think I can ever get back to creating those harder-hitting pieces, or that I /dislike/ my more lighthearted aesthetically-driven work, I'm just frustrated at myself for feeling like I have to now dig for what used to be so readily available.

there's no conclusion to this story gfhjsgd this is rly just a vent post. i've been doing this long enough to know that this is just part of what happens with any creative hobby. periods of feeling uninspired unfortunately come with the territory, n it makes sense that those feelings wld be exacerbated now that the series i take my main inspiration from has come to a standstill for the time being. but I don't feel burnt out on jjk yet, which is reassuring in that it means I know I still Want to draw the characters, no matter how boring or overdone all of my current ideas feel. i'm in no rush to move on from jjk as my main fandom either, although I do see myself sprinkling in more art for other series to pass the time n keep me Inspired while I wait for s3. so for those of you who found me through my art (probably most of u), i guess also pls take this as both warning and reassurance that you most likely Will see me start drawing for other fandoms in the coming months, but don't take it as meaning I've abandoned drawing for jjk

and as always, thank u all for sticking with me and for all the support and lovely words on my art, it rly does make my days brighter <3

[mikajunie]

how to deal with failure when all you know how to do is beat up yourself (as an adhder)

please read this if you are a chronic self-loather like myself.

i used to hate myself for everything i did; the way i talk and walk, my accomplishments, my daily activities, how i cannot keep up with my peers, all that jazz. and especially as a late-diagnosed adhder this gets worse overtime. i ended up getting into a 6-month burnout, failed 3 classes and have to extend one semester, and i had lost my identity as a person.

overall i was just a breathing, walking flesh with depressive thoughts every day.

but after many many months of rediscovering myself, i have come up with the conclusion that life gets easier when i don't fucking hate myself.

shocker, right? ik this is probably like a 'obviously' type of thing, but i think many ppl with adhd can confirm that this is one of the hardest pills to swallow.

but trust me, you don't need to feel bad!!! and i will tell you how to do it down below. pls read, i hope it helps.

(keep in mind im not a psychiatrist or a therapist btw i just wanna help fellow ppl with adhd)

reminder #1: adhd makes you more prone to making mistakes - beating yourself up for every failure is torture.

as people with adhd, we are more prone to making more mistakes and questionable decisions. we are just built that way. we can work on it, but that's our baseline.

self loathing encourages you to beat up your baseline. your default state. your non-productive mode.

beating yourself up for making a mistake is literally like beating up a cat for sleeping. humans are bound to make mistakes, and us with adhd are bound to make more. it's fine, let yourself breathe. im not saying we cannot do anything right or that our mistakes are permissible, but missing an alarm clock or forgetting things we want to say are not surprising. it's just embedded inside us, so either be miserable for the rest of your life or work on reframing your thoughts on failure in general.

reminder #2: you can learn how to be better even if you don't beat yourself up for it

these neurotypical adults who tell you that you should feel bad about failing are stupid. and whoever tell you that negative reinforcement is needed for you to get better are the dumbest motherfuckers ever.

you don't need to feel bad to ge better.

in fact, once you don't feel too bad about it, you can focus more on how to do better in the future instead of replaying the past over and over again.

literally after almost failing college, i only realized that i should not be hard on myself. literally. i remember deciding i should try being nice on myself and now boom! i feel better AND i actually have been working towards fixing my life more and more.

and you know whats the best part?? i can finally start enjoying my life again!!

reminder #3: not everything you do is a failure. seriously.

this is a thought pattern i keep seeing in every person with adhd.

"nothing i can do is right" WRONG!!!! you do some things wrong but you also do some things right!!!! quit discrediting yourself

now try acknowledging your failures:

cry about it first. let yourself sit in and feel your feelings first. you can continue after you finish crying about it

do some form of meditation that helps you clear out your mind. i suggest just 5 minutes or until you don't feel as heavy anymore

let yourself know that failing is an action and consequence, not a part of your identity. it is not you: you are someone who succeeds and fails sometimes. you can fail, but that does not mean everything you do will be a failure.

identify what kind of failure you're thinking about , why you feel so shitty about it, and what you should do for next time. it'd be good if you could write this down. here is an example from me:

failure: failing out of class

what happened: i failed bc i kept procrastinating and ended up sleeping in, so i could not submit on time

consequences of event: i had to retake the class, paid a significant amount of money, and now i cant graduate on time with my friends

why i feel shitty: i feel so left behind and stupid. i feel like this is such a stupid mistake that was easily avoidable.

and now i have so many thoughts in my mind right now, like "how can i be so stupid? how can i be so careless? this is such a stupid mistake."

now notice. if you also think like this, you are actively judging yourself. you are being so mean to yourself, and for what? would you ever told your friends they are so stupid and dumb for making careless mistakes? even if it's stupid, you wouldn't say it to their faces.

after identifying everything, confirm what actually happened, reframe your thoughts, and apologize to yourself:

"How can I be so careless?" -> It's not intentional, and I did try my best to work on it. It's not my fault my executive dysfunction took over the better part of me.

"How can I be so stupid?" -> Just because I cannot initiate tasks as well as the others, it doesn't mean i'm stupid. i am pretty good at other things, i cannot expect myself to be good at everything.

"This is such a stupid mistake." -> It is stupid, and that's... okay. It's fine. I accept it, I'll work on how to make it better in the future.

when you combat negative thoughts, make sure you combat them not only with facts but also with empathy and future action-focused thoughts.

the key is to focus on what you can do now, not what you should have done.

because focusing on the past is very very unhelpful.

now please focus on what you can do now:

Make small goals for the future.

What you should not say:

"I promise I will try harder to focus" -> Nope, you are relying on your ADHD symptom to not be ADHD anymore... which is impossible.

"I promise I won't forget next time" -> Same thing.

"I promise I will make a routine that I will stick to" -> This is too idealist, don't commit to anything for a long run, it's just setting yourself up for more failure.

What you should say instead:

"Next time, I will try to write it down so I won't forget next time" -> Tell yourself the clear steps on what you need to do. You cannot rely on your brain to just be better, come up with actions that can support you!

"Next time, I will set more alarms and ask a friend to remind me. In fact, I will do it now" -> Commit to things you can do immediately! The faster, the better so you won't lose this momentum. Stop thinking that your future self is 100% reliable. Always assume you need to do it as soon as possible to help yourself in the future.

"Next time, I will try out this routine and see if it works or not" -> Experiment with routines. Routines don't last long, so don't give youreelf empty promises. Instead, accept that your routine will chance every once in a while so you need to learn what works or not.

Apologize and forgive yourself

Say sorry to yourself.

It's normal to make mistakes, and it's unrealistic to think you won't make more.

Move on

Seriously. Don't sit on it too much.

Once you know what you need to do to not fail in the future and you have written it down... just let it go.

You don't need to feel bad to grow. You don't need to feel bad to be better.

You are allowed to feel good about yourself.

In fact, you should feel better about yourself now because you are showing your commitment to getting better by reading this long ass post.

Pat yourself in the back.

Failure has its consequences already, you don't need to punish yourself more. Please get something nice.

Failing is EXHAUSTING. Please give yourself a snack or some gaming time.

Allow yourself to breathe.

We are humans, we are not failures. We succeed and fail sometimes, not all the time.

Be nice to yourself, you have been through a lot.

[ozzy-boy]

Jealous headcanons for your faves pls?

oh my god oh my god oh my god.

Cole:

-Jealous Jealous Jealous. The MOST jealous do I even need to say it???

-He's jealous about EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. Hell, he'll be jealous of stuffed animals on your bed or your phone if you're paying attention to it and not him. Cole will get jealous of the pillow you lay your head on and insist you should lay on him instead.

-Horrifically, gut-twistingly jealous of other people. He tries not to let it show around you too much, but he's still pretty obvious about it.

-He gets this tight-lipped smile and talks through his teeth when he's jealous. You'll probably see his eye twitch too.

-"Ah... you got coffee with them, huh? I'm so... happy you had fun, darling."

-Although he only smiles along with it when you're with him. When Marshmallow isn't around, he really lets it out.

-Pacing back and forth, fingernails digging into his own skin to alleviate all the pent up emotions inside him, all the anger. The dark expression on his face along with his grinding teeth showing a side of him you'll hopefully never get to see.

-He just doesn't understand why you waste your time with these low-lives. They're so far beneath you- they can't possibly love you like he does.

-As far as he's concerned no one else should even breathe the same air or look in your direction. Hates hates hates having to share his beloved with anyone else.

-He knows deep down that it's unreasonable for him to feel this way, but he can't help it! He can't stand having your attention taken away from him.

Scale:

-Despite how much he tries to hide it, deep down, Scale is very insecure.

-He can take lives and throw himself into training like it's nothing. When it comes to his profession, Scale is extremely confident. Relationships are another story.

-Scale is genuinely in disbelief that you like him.

-I feel like he doesn't fully understand why he's jealous of others around you.

-When Scale is jealous, he gets easily annoyed and snippy. Chances are he may say something really mean without intending to.

-He instantly regrets it and looks like a kicked puppy, so it's hard to stay mad at him for it.

-Scale kind of operates under the assumption that eventually, you'll get bored and break up with him. He's defaulted to trying to keep your relationship at arms length so it doesn't hurt as much when it happens.

-Well, that's what he tells himself. It's hard to stay distant from someone like you. Sometimes, seeing you interact so happily with other people reminds him of how temporary your relationship is.

-Little does that idiot know, he's stuck with you for life. Please kiss his dumb face and remind him of that fact.

[transmascutena]

I think it's interesting how one of the healthiest relationships in the show is Wakaba and Utena's friendship. Obviously, it has its flaws and tensions. But those tensions arise directly from the concept of being "special," from Wakaba dealing with their sense of inferiority towards Utena, who actively puts their sense of self-worth in winning these duels to keep Anthy at their side (a noble Prince...) People talk about Tatsuya being rejected as a Black Rose duelist a lot, but it's so notable that he's rejected because he's just...a more emotionally mature, less toxic person. Yeah, his heart is broken, but there is something decidedly human and mundane about how he approaches the conflict by asking, "What's wrong with me?" He sees him and Wakaba as two equals, he doesn't put their love conflicts on a pedestal, and he wants genuine solutions and hopes to confront his own flaws to understand why Wakaba rejected him.

Literally no one else is doing it like him.

A key theme in this show is critique of the nuclear family, but an extension of that theme is how said family unit breeds deep dysfunction into the characters' lives. The lack of communal infrastructure means characters are constantly putting their eggs in one basket. Everyone wants to return to their past because Ohtori and the patriarchal system doesn't offer chances to form new connections outside of the ones born of your trauma/childhood. Their lives are defined by their suffering. I view Wakaba and Utena's relationship as so important BECAUSE of how mundane it is, these 2 people met and they became friends and they eat bentos together and Wakaba views herself as non-special, but she doesn't realize how severely fucked up and lonely all the special people are.

I could go on. I want to write essays about this anime, for real. But it's something that struck me as I watch the show for the first time.

one of the reasons i find utena and wakaba's friendship so interesting and appealing is the fact that it and its issues are so mundane in the middle of all melodrama of the duels and the student council relationships and all of those things. their flaws feel very real for a teenage friendship, and they're all things i can personally relate to on some level. they obviously genuinely care about each other, but their friendships suffers from them not truly understanding each other, mostly because of their own lacking communication (utena doesn't tell wakaba any of the weird things going on in her life, probably out of some desire to protect her from it, and wakaba doesn't tell utena how upset that makes her, and ends up resenting her.) and it's completely accurate what you said about the tragedy of wakaba wanting to be special like utena is, but not realizing that said "specialness" comes at the cost of abuse and trauma. ohtori (akio) purposefully obfuscates that abuse to make it seem like something you should want. trying to disguise grooming as romance, etc. etc. the beauty of the rose hides its thorns and all that.

i'm not sure i'd call it the healthiest relationship in the show (although the bar is so low that it probably is by default) but it's important that the ways in which it is harmful are so normal. who hasn't ever been bad at communicating their feelings to people they care about? who hasn't kept secrets that they probably shouldn't? who hasn't grown apart from a middle school friend once new things started happening in their life? i'd argue that the flaws in the show's other relationships are also pretty normal when you strip away the layers of metaphor and symbolism from them (in the sense that abuse is exceedingly common.) but utena and wakaba's friendship exists almost entirely outside of that, which makes it stand out.

[leniisreallycool]

My mythology class has me thinking about the story of Adam and Eve, and how they got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It's a little fucked up actually and I think it should be talked about more

God made Adam first and Eve second. He put them in a garden full of all the best plants that existed. In fact, the word "Eden" means "pleasure" in Hebrew. They were literally in the Garden of Pleasure.

So God tells them not to eat the fruit from two trees: the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Eternal Life. Some interpretations of the story say it was only one tree, but trees don't produce two different kinds of fruit (apple trees don't grow citrus, for example) so I'm going with the two-tree interpretation.

Adam and Eve don't eat the fruit. They were told not to. They don't know why they were told not to, but there's no reason to disobey, right? They were told no, and that's that.

But not forever. The serpent (in Hebrew, "Na'hash", meaning "shining one", that's the extent of my knowledge on that subject) told Eve that eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would make her like God, so she ate it. She gave some to Adam as well.

As a consequence, God sent them out of the Garden and cursed them with every type of bad thing. Death, hardship, disease, painful childbirth, strife, etc. It was also to keep them from eating the other kind of fruit, which would make them immortal.

Now, here's the fucked up part: they did not know the difference between good and evil. They did not know there would be consequences for taking the fruit, because they had never done anything wrong before. They had no external frame of reference for what they should or shouldn't do. The had no internal compass for right and wrong either until they ate the fruit. They did not know it was wrong to take the fruit.

If you put a plate full of cookies on a table and tell a toddler not to eat them, they probably won't do it, right? Because an authority figure told them no. They don't have any concept of being punished, but no means no so they don't do it. They're following directions because that's what they've been told to do. Now another adult comes along and tells them it's okay to eat the cookie. What is the toddler going to do? They're going to eat the cookie, because now they've been told it's okay. But you told them not to right? Well, the "yes" they received is more recent than the "no". If they have no concept of punishment, or of right from wrong, they're going to eat the cookie.

That's what happened in the Garden of Eden. Neither Adam nor Eve knew right from wrong, good from evil. One authority figure told them no, one told them yes. The yes was more recent and immediate, and the no was more distant.

If they, from the beginning, had been given the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, they never would have taken the fruit. They would have known it was wrong, and would have ignored the temptation regardless of whether there would be punishment or not. But because they didn't know, they did eat the fruit.

Essentially, they didn't have a real choice. They did not have all the information to make a choice. They did not know there was a difference between good and evil because they had never known anything but good. Good was their default, the only thing they knew about.

A little off topic, I've heard theories on why God gave them the opportunity to disobey if He didn't give them the knowledge in the first place. Some people say it was a test, to see if they'd chose Him over the temptation. But He knew they didn't know what was right or wrong. He knew that better than anyone else. So why test them at all? Did He want them to fail, so He could send them out of the Garden? Was that His goal all along? If so, then why did He ever put them in the Garden to being with, if He knew he was going to send them out anyway?

[ryuichirou]

When did Jamil come to the realization that he was a Bottom? That he enjoyed being the Bottom? You can’t convince me that Jamil didn’t go in fully believing he was gonna be a Top.

To be honest, I don’t think Jamil has ever had thoughts about these things prior to getting intimate with Kalim (I’ll use Kalim as an example because KaliJami is the most prominent Jamil ship). His life is full of other things he has to keep in mind and worry about at all times, and even though he’s super overstressed and should probably take some time to let himself ~relax~, getting with someone close enough to actually have sex sounds like a hassle to him. It’s much easier to just masturbate.

So, if he were to imagine himself having sex back then, he probably wouldn’t think outside the “default” box, which means he probably didn’t even think about “top” and “bottom” as categories that apply to him in any way, shape or form.

But once things between him and Kalim begin to get spicier and he realises that Kalim wants to have sex with him, everything will happen naturally… because Kalim definitely wasn’t planning on being a bottom either, he wasn’t even thinking about these things, he just wanted to touch Jamil. And Jamil is someone who gets naturally good at whatever he does, even if he’s still inexperienced, so…

Reflecting on everything that’s going on between them, Jamil could justify his position by thinking that he just gives in to Kalim’s whims, like he always does; but at the same time if he tried to imagine them switching places, he would probably think that bottoming is too difficult of a task for Kalim, and preparing him for it is just going to be another headache for none other than, yep, Jamil again. “It isn’t even worth it”, “it wouldn’t be appropriate, considering my status”, there are tons of excuses Jamil can come up with not to think about the fact that he kind of enjoys bottoming.

Of course, this is our interpretation, Anon. We’re not convincing anyone.

[marshmallowprotection]

From a creepy dark and deranged perspective- which Saeran is most likely to have a creepy cult wedding / binding ritual to Mc . BE style

Ray. I don't think I need to go into detail about this, either. You probably already had him in mind when you asked the question. I think we're all in agreement that it would be Ray, if no one else. He has enough fantasies in that pretty little head of his about keeping you in this castle until the universe collapses and the sun is blowing up. I don't dare put it past him to think a wedding would be a good idea to tie you together to him forever. He can’t lose you if you’re bound in matrimony.

I can't see Suit Saeran or Unknown leaning toward this angle in the slightest. It’s not like Unknown wants to commit to anything. He doesn’t like labels, in fact, the man just lets you see him as nameless, a default setting, a man without a name in all regard. You’re a tool. You’re his eyes. Why would you be his partner? Now, the only way I could see him leaning that way would be if it hurt Saeyoung in any way. That’s about it. He would go through with it if it meant that he could hurt the RFA.

Suit Saeran wouldn’t do it. No, i can see why it would be easy to assume that he would choose this path to take something from Ray, but no. There’s something... terrifying to him about being trapped in a box. Funny coming from a guy that said your room his personal toy box.

But, marrying you like this... sure, maybe there’s room to argue that he might toy with the idea to see your expression, to tell you that he’d marry you thinking that it would placate his Savior enough to allow him to keep you, but... it’s no different than you being his toy or the party coordinator. Not even a marriage would keep you safe. You know, the very thing he realizes he wants to do after his cycle of confusion and anger.

But, you are specifically talking about the act of a marriage within Mint Eye as something that is intended to bind you to him. So, who else but Ray would want to do something so binding and tight with you in the first place? This would be a band-aid for his paranoia when it comes to losing you. If he has proof that you’re tied to him this way, should he be afraid? He can’t lose you if you’re married and the confines of marriage mean that you’re only with him.

So Ray Route Bad Ending 1, Another Story Prologue Bad Ending, Another Story Day 4 Bad Ending, and V Route Bad Relationship Ending 1 are timelines where I can see this playing out. There is a way to rationalize these endings as paths to this conclusion, though, there the way that you get to him suggesting marriage is different since these endings have vastly different angles that lead you inside of them. Like, V’s BRE1, for example.

You showed no interest in V the way Rika wanted. She shrugged and decided to give you back to Ray since she has no benefit in being interested in you if there is nothing tying you back to V’s interest. Ray wants you to forget about the RFA now and you bring them up much to his chagrin. So, he decides to lock up in the suite until he decides how to fix this. It isn’t a stretch for me to imagine that in his little fairytale fantasy brain that the way to bring you back to him would be to give you that happily ever after and show you the way to be truly happy with your real prince.

Or, perhaps, in the Prologue BE, after he takes you on his assistant for some time, his paranoia at losing you for not being able to keep up with his work ethic would bring him to realize that his Savior could take you away. He would search his brain for hours to find something that could keep you with him, and since this is a cult loaded with Catholic trauma, he might just assume that being married to you would keep you safe. Now, that hugely depends on how useful Rika thinks it might be. Hell, she’d probably agree to it if it meant that she had another pawn in her hands to incentivize Ray.

So, I very much believe that this could happen in a Bad Ending at some point if the idea is presented to Ray as something that will fix it. [Spoiler Alert: it doesn’t fix anything.]

[oldestenemy]

lost, losing, loss

The young wizard finds themself in the center of Dragonspyre’s newly rebuilt academy grounds.

Curled up against the statue on the lower level, arms wrapped around their torso which is wet and warm in a way that should probably concern them more than it does.

How they got here is hazy.

They remember…

They remember—

“Dyvim!”

Are they just going to keep losing?

Are they just going to keep getting angrier?

How many adversaries now have they run into—battle won and over—who ask them why they didn’t just request the information they needed? How long has it been since they asked first before defaulting to the deck burning a hole in their pocket? Nothing feels like victory anymore.

All of it is sour.

They are fighting, yes, always fighting.

For what?

For those of the council of light to tell them they are doing a good job? On to the next?

Shadow seeps through them now. Maybe it had always been there, under the surface, waiting for release. Cold and creeping. It feels so different than all their other magic. But then… the Astral schools had felt different too, and the wizard is now well used to the echo of the cosmos on their tongue. That mouse had been right, Shadow was a corruption of Moon. It felt almost the same, like a cold spotlight, like plunging into dark water. Momentary powerful change, with a cost.

A cost to yourself or to those you aim to strike down…

But a cost either way.

They had felt it before it was unleashed.

Ever since Xiablaba.

Those moments where things had gone cold and dark.

When they felt their magic slipping out without direction, without intent.

“What are you doing down there?”

“Duncan?” If it weren’t for the slight note of condescension ever-present in his voice, they might not have recognized it.

“You’re covered in pollen and—” he stops, crouching in front of them and looking at where the wizard’s arms are wrapped tightly around their middle. “—is that your blood?”

It must be. The bugs don’t bleed red and Dyvim was too far away too—

“Stop.” The wizard’s head lifts up and they shoot out an arm to catch Duncan’s as he reaches for his deck. “No necromantic healing. I’m fine.” Eyes shimmer, brown—gold—brown again. “It’s not mine.” Just lie. Just make it easy. Death Heals cause damage. Minimize the damage.

Duncan huffs like he doesn’t believe them. “You’re not actually invincible you know. Here,” He pulls a potion bottle off his belt, “if you won’t let me heal you at least do it yourself.”

The wizard hates the way potions heal.

It’s like an electric burn down their esophagus, like six shots of room temperature grape flavored espresso. They always feel shaky and a little sick afterwards.

But it knits the hole in their abdomen back together.

“What happened?” Duncan asks, kneeling next to them before the statue, using his staff—is that his staff? It looks different—as a support.

“You don’t like me.” The wizard says, handing back the empty potion bottle. “Why would you care.”

“Aside from the fact that I think Ashthorn and Dreadful would put my head on a pike if I left you for dead? I respect what you’re putting yourself through—but I think you’re too obedient for your own good.”

The wizard snorts, and immediately regrets it for how their newly healed stomach aches. But it’s surprisingly earnest coming from Duncan, and they can’t even argue. “I don’t have much of a choice.”

“Right, savior of wizard city, how many titles has Ambrose hoisted onto you now?”

“Does it matter?” The wizard asks, unable to keep a bitter note from the words. “Everyone needs something to call me.”

Duncan tilts his head slightly, like he doesn’t quite get what they mean.

“What’s my name, Duncan?”

He just stares for a moment, the wizard watches as the frown begins. It knits his brow together and sours his expression. “I— it’s—”

“Right.” The wizard mumbles, slowly trying to push themselves back up.

“—No, wait it’s— it’s something with an… with a, it starts with—”

The wizard just shakes their head at him. “It doesn’t matter.” They say softly, “Nobody can actually say it. You may as well call me Spellbinder like the bugs and mice do.”

“But—”

“—I said it doesn’t matter. I’d really prefer it if you just let it go. I have to get back.” With a wince they remember they hadn’t had enough mana left to mark the hive.

“You’re barely recovered—”

“—So what!” They snap, eyes flaring not flat gold this time but brilliant and shining. “I’m alive aren’t I? I don’t have the luxury of running away for more than a few seconds, I’ve already lost enough—I won’t be the reason another civilisation dies under Morganthe.” The gold glows brighter, shot through with deep purple.

Duncan steps between them and the tunnel that leads back towards the Crucible. “At least let the Life students take a look at you—Sabrina is probably—”

The ground flickers and flashes briefly, an old training duel circle under their feet. “I don’t have time.” The wizard insists, one hand slipping into their deck pouch as though it may quiet the humming in their head. “Get out of the way.”

Duncan’s hands curl tighter around his staff, eyes flickering downward to the circle and back up. “Really?”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” They don’t. Desperately. But they need to get back and they’re too exhausted for the teleportation sigil right now. They have to use the doors. “Please, just move.”

Just let me go, don’t make me do this.

When was the last time they’d fought another student?

Had they ever?

Would this even take long?

After a moment that feels to stretch on forever, Duncan steps aside. He’s glaring them down like his very gaze could sap energy and power. Like he’s trying to make them collapse on the spot.

“Thank you.” The wizard breathes, shoulders dropping in relief.

“You’re going to regret this.”

I know. They think, the shadow of the celestial calendar tugging at their mind. I know, I know, I know.

But the wizard doesn’t respond.

They run for the doors, for the Basilica, and for the crumbling ruins of Bastion.

Read more here <3

[panthera-tigris-venenata]

If you're still doing the Descendants prompts? "What do you mean I'm grounded?" CJ yelled into the phone. "You can't ground me!"

I am still doing the prompts! When I have the time and when I like them, anyway.

I hope you enjoy this!

And al tinny bit of background info for this fic. There are following background relationships at play: Harriet Hook/Anthony Tremaine (Because that’s my default by now, honestly), and Ben/Harry Hook/Uma (Because it’s funny in this prompt.) If you look for it, you might also find CJ/Freddie, but, you know. Romantic relationships are a suggestion, and the only characters that appear are Ben and CJ anyway.

So, right. The story. Enjoy!

Ben takes a deep breath and presses the call button: The cheery dial tone sounds through the otherwise empty room. He should figure out how to change it, but oh, well. Still better than the Auradonian hymn his previous phone had as a default for everything.

The tone stops, replaced by mildly annoyed „Yeah?“ and a blur of gold and red appears on the screen. He stares at it for a bit.

Well.

He did not expect her to actually pick up.

„Hey? Beastie-princeling?“ 

Ben frowns at the unnecessarily elaborate and also factually incorrect nickname.

„What d’ya want?“

The camera jumps and jumbles around and momentarily focuses on the background, and, oh sweet heavens, she is running. She is running.

That, knowing CJ Hook, is never a good sign. (There are no good signs whatsoever when it comes to her, Ben thinks.)

Anyway, he gathers all his nerves and calmly states:

„CJ. You are grounded.“

The picture comes to halt and the camera abruptly focuses on CJ’s dishevelled expression, and, wait, is that soot on her cheek?!

„What?!“ she yells into the phone, „You can’t do that!“

„Why not?“ he asks, trying very hard to start calm.

She looks into the distance, frowns, and then grins: „You don’t have the authority to do so! Now, excuse me for a moment–“

The video starts jumping around again, and Ben tries very hard to ignore the faint curses and, wait, are those gunshots?!

What on Earth is she doing?!

„CJ!“ he calls out, „What is going on?!“

Harry would probably be upset if anything happened to his little sister, and, goodness, Ben himself has grown somewhat attached to the troublemaker. Against his better judgement, but hey. The other people who kidnapped him also turned out to be quite great, so honestly, cease point.

No answer, though. Just more blurry lines and more shouting and CJ‘s fast breathing. He is surprised she didn’t hang up yet, but honestly, maybe she just forgot he was calling. That happens.

„CJ!“ He calls out again anyway.

„Ssh!“ she shushes him, whisper-yelling, „Not now, princey boy! I’m running for my life, can’t you see?!“

…Is it bad that he can’t actually tell if she’s exaggerating or not? It is, right?

What did she do this time?

Honestly, as if the robbed bank from yesterday  wasn’t enough!

(The only reason why she isn’t running from the police right now is that when she robbed the bank, she proceeded to throw the money up in the air at the steps and throw a dance party to It’s Raining Men for all the bystanders and staff to attend. Oh, and the fact that he still doesn’t have a functional police force, as Uma keeps reminding him.)

So Ben is left staring at blurry colours and imagining the worst case scenario. He’d rather not, thank you.

And thankfully, it’s not too long until CJ’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts again.

„Yeah?“ she asks, „What did you want, majesty?“

Ben knows only about four other people who can say „Majesty“ like it is an insulting nickname at best. Two of them are her siblings.

He breathes out and for the second time that day, he tells her that she is grounded.

„What?! You can’t do that!“

Yep. Just like the first time. He can’t help the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

„Why not?“

„Eh, I don’t know. You just don’t have the authority to do so,“ she waves her hand dismissively, flashing bloodied knuckles in front of the camera. Oh, dear.

Now, ben doesn’t really like pulling rank, however much certain other people seem to enjoy doing so, but in this case? He genuinely thinks CJ forgot that he is the High King of Auradon.

„…And?“

„I’m the High King, CJ.“

„…I heard you the first time. I just don’t know how that gives you the authority to ground me.“

Of course she doesn’t.

„Hey, excuse me for a moment–“ She partially covers the camera with her palm and yells something Ben is fairly sure are horrific death threats in pirate slang, too wild for him to keep up. Not that he particularly wishes to hear her death threats. Just saying. She can be very creative, and, in fact, Ben would be very glad if she toned that down a little.

„Yeah, we’re good. Where were we? Oh, right! Just because you are the king doesn’t mean that I have to listen to you!“

Ben silently starts praying.

Then he says: „I’m also dating your older brother. That gives me some authority to ground you, right?“

She giggles. She giggles and giggles, like the insufferable menace she is.

„No!“ she tells him, voice chiming like jingle bells, „It does not!“

„What? But Uma grounds you all the time!“

CJ makes a face at him, sticking her lips out in a caricature of a pout: „Well, yes, but, you see, boy king, Uma is actually scary. Unlike you.“

Well. That hurt. 

But it was also true.

Uma is scary, in the best and nicest way possible.

So, you know what, fair.

But…

„And what about Anthony Tremaine?“

And she goes into a ramble. Of course she does. Ben quietly ponders his life decisions as CJ explains that no, while Anthony is not really that scary, he will bitch about her and Dizzy might overhear and Dizzy will definitely tell Celia and then Freddie will know and Freddie will then be cross with her and she doesn’t  like when Freddie does that and also Anthony knows where her blackmail book is–

And Ben would say that this whole affair has more to do with the fact that Anthony has no qualms calling Harriet the second CJ starts being annoying than anything else.

Speaking of which.

„Either you and I come to an understanding, or I call Harriet.“

She whistles and grins into the camera: „You are learning, baby beast, you are learning. You must have some good influence on you. I’m willing to lay low for, say, two days if you don’t tell Harriet.“

„That–“ In the second it takes Ben’s brain to catch up, she is speaking again, because god forbid a Hook ever gave him a time to think.

„Great! See ya later, Benny boo! Gotta go, running for my life and all that! Anyway, salutations and all that, and don’t bother giving my greetings to Harry! Byeee!“

And she hung up. 

Of course she did.

But, well, Ben tried. And two days is better than nothing, right? 

…Right?

[unladielike]

𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐑𝐏 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖.

I like to be called: Livi, but I don’t mind any other nicknames used for me!

one thing you should know about me: Despite being a queue-based blog, I tend to be very fast with replies if only because I just generally don’t have a lot on my plate, meaning I very often have nothing I owe even after reblogging memes or posting open starters... to the point where it’s quite common my replies would either post later on today or tomorrow. That, though, is no fault of my mutuals! I just happen to have abysmal luck when it comes to posting at a time where my stuff isn’t easily drowned out by more active folks or when more of my partners are active. However, to prevent burn out, I’m more than happy to slow down my reply speed for those who might already be overwhelmed and would appreciate a longer turn about time when it comes to threads! I’m unable to take hints, though, so unless you request me to withhold replies, chances are high I will keep replying very fast without really knowing you’re overwhelmed by my speediness.

thing you should know about rping with my character(s): Vivian isn’t very easy to ship with. Granted, as long as she happens to like a muse platonically, chances are high she would agree to date them (especially when it comes to her default modern verse where she’s 20-22), but her actually being happy in that relationship would be another story altogether, so there’s a chance she would grow to resent your muse for trapping her in a monogamous relationship she can’t escape from.

And even in the event she does fall in love with your muse, Vivian is still a very obsessive/destructive person, so unless they happen to be fem-aligned, she will attempt to push boundaries and do very questionable/inappropriate things (like tattooing their name somewhere on her body, stealing their underwear, etc), to the point where your muse would potentially have trouble staying in love with her.

Fem-aligned muses have it way better, though, because she generally tends to be less sexually attracted towards them compared to masc-aligned muses, but her having compulsive sexual behaviour means she still might send them inappropriate texts when they’re out with friends or say very questionable things to them (ie: ‘You know, your clothes would look much better on the floor’) very impulsively.

In her older modern verse (where she’s 24+), however, Vivian is more likely to turn others down/enforce boundaries, especially since I default her to have gotten out of an abusive relationship with her ex-girlfriend and ended up having these sorts of thoughts when it comes to love; therefore, she’s less receptive to the idea of commitment/being in a relationship overall. Either way, she’s very much a slowburn oriented muse and will probably spend a long time, remaining oblivious to the fact your muse views her in a romantic light.

joy to work with: ...Gosh, that is certainly an open-ended question. Of course, those I have actually gotten around to writing with (and who I have not unfollowed/blocked at some point) are all genuine gems to me, but as of now, the ones I talk most with are @spiritpyro​ and @eliteimperialism, if only because I’ve known them the longest and find myself being the most comfortable around them. Then again, even though I have no qualms really communicating with others, I’m also not exactly much of a talker, so my social circle on Discord happens to be very small; therefore, I’ll sometimes end up feeling very lonely/inept due to this.

It also doesn’t help that I have more creative energy than social energy, meaning I often spend a long while, typing and re-reading what I wrote like a paranoid autistic bean because I’m terrified of accidentally offending someone... that trying to maintain conversations with others is very draining for me. In short, I suck at befriending most of my partners without writing with them/feeling them out for a while.

first language: Cantonese, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve lost most of my ability to actually speak it, OTL.

age range: under 13 | 14–17 | 18–22 | 23–25 | 26–29 | 30+ | 40+ | 70+

am I okay with nsfw?: yes | no | some nsfw (While I don’t mind NSFW themes, I’m very picky with who I actually write smut with.)

my favorite/most common thing to rp is: angst | adventure | fluff | smut | crack | action | plots | AUs | violence | darker themes | other

this rp blog: does contain ooc posts | doesn’t contain ooc posts | occasionally contains ooc

TAGGED BY: Nobody. I ended up stealing this from Rae!

TAGGING: Anyone who is currently wearing socks, i guess.

[uncle-fruity]

The unsettling thing about smart appliances is that the companies can control them. Or update the app so older "smart" appliances are no longer supported and will need to be upgraded to new, "smarter" appliances. Not to mention what happens when the internet is down. I mean, the fact that you have to have internet at all! It's hostile towards poor folks who might not want to spend money on something that's free at their local library, but who still need a place to keep their food cold. It's hostile towards anyone who doesn't want to buy a smartphone or download a billion apps. Are they going to pay me for the storage space they're forcing me to use on my device? Definitely not. Or, as we're already seeing with some printers: the "smart" application is to make it impossible to use a competitor's ink once you're low. So if you don't like their ink or if you find ink that's cheaper, well...fuck you! Fuck you, and pay them money to do it. Idk, I'm just saying that adding apps & shit to appliances that demonstratively *do not need them* should either have an alternative not-smart option or should be outright illegal.

I am not anti-technology, either. Like, I don't tend to keep up with the trends, and I super don't *care* about a lot of the technology that comes out (I don't find much of the new stuff to do anything of consequence aside from complicating problems we've already solved (and the stuff that IS of consequence gets so little attention)), but in general I think technology has a place in the world & makes things easier/more convenient in many ways. However, I feel that we are misusing precious fucking resources for the likes of corporate greed and individual comforts that were not asked for and are not needed. I think the people supplying the technology are fucking power-hungry goons who wouldn't hesitate to set their grandmas on fire if it would save them a buck or if her ashes turned to data by the end of it.

In short, it's not that new stuff is bad, it's just that new stuff isn't by default *better* than older models, and tbh we all need to complain as loudly as we can against these corporate chucklefucks. Make everyone involved in the process hate "smart" appliances as much as we do for how ferociously we voice our hatred and how much we complain & demand alternative options. Tbh, we probably need to do a big protest and shut down of a major company to show that the people Do Not Want these "innovations" and the companies had better fucking do something about it.

Please, kids, listen to me: it's not because we hate technology; it's not because we hate you; it's not because we can't cope with the changing times -- it's that we SEE the changes that you never saw because you're growing up in a "smart" world and so it's automatically normalized for you, and that's a dangerous precedent. These appliances are sinister and do not do anything better than the old-ass "dumb" appliances. You are trading your privacy for Nothing. For Whistles and Bells. For things that Do Not Matter.

[uboat53]

More political strategy? The debt ceiling is probably going to make for an interesting several months.

THE PROBLEM FOR REPUBLICANS

The GOP plan, such as it is, is starting to come into focus. They will attempt to keep the debt ceiling from being raised, which would trigger a catastrophic default for the United States if it were to happen, in order to secure spending cuts, and it's becoming clear that they intend to target Medicare and Social Security.

Now, the politics of this are bad, and I mean really bad. These programs are known as the "third rails" (named after the third rail of a light rail system which is electrified and will kill you if you touch it) of politics for a reason. They are unbelievably popular and are even more so with the older voters who tend to vote Republican. In other words, Republicans, who are already doing poorly with the electorate in general, are targeting the one group that actually still supports them.

In fact, if you want to know how bad the politics are, you should be aware that former President Trump, who rarely cares much about policy, has publicly ordered the party not to touch those two programs. He's not particularly skilled at much, but he is very skilled at reading the political preferences of the kind of older, whiter Americans who form the GOP base and he understands exactly how badly this will go for Republicans.

Source

What makes this even worse for Republicans is the fact that the Biden Administration is refusing to negotiate over the debt ceiling. You see, when negotiations take place directly and out of public view, it's easier to press an unpopular demand and get it included in a bill before you experience lethal backlash. By refusing direct negotiations, Biden is forcing Republicans to make their unpopular demands in public.

Finally, as the real kicker on how bad their situation is, this isn't the platform the GOP ran on. If they had talked about their desire to cut these programs during the campaign and won they would at least have the ability to claim some sort of mandate. But they didn't campaign on this. In fact, they deliberately avoided answering questions about it over the months leading up to the 2022 election which makes them vulnerable to accusations of running a bait-and-switch since they're doing this instead of working on inflation, immigration, gas prices, or any of the things they DID actually campaign on.

More importantly, since this is wildly unpopular with political moderates and even many conservatives, they can end up looking as if their party is controlled by its most extreme elements.

THE WAY FORWARD

Well, I don't see Biden agreeing to negotiate. The GOP position is insanely bad politically and it's way better for Democrats if they express it publicly rather than in the negotiating room.

The question now is how far the GOP is willing to take this. Crashing the US economy in order to achieve something most people absolutely hate is a recipe for disaster, but do they have the wherewithal to stop before it's too late? The danger right now is that they've set themselves up to sleepwalk into oblivion at the hands of their five or ten most extreme members.

As I see it, there are three ways that the debt ceiling dilemma can end: (1) Democrats cave and give the Republicans what they want, (2) Speaker McCarthy caves and allows a vote on a clean(ish) debt ceiling bill which passes with Democratic support, or (3) moderate Republicans join with Democrats and force a discharge petition to pass a clean debt ceiling bill.

Number one is extremely unlikely at this point, Democrats are winning the politics on this one and will likely keep to their strategy as long as it's working. And I don't see it not working as long as what the Republicans are demanding is extremely unpopular.

Number three seems possible, but it requires a long time to wind up. Discharge petitions have lots of delay points and they can take months in order to get from "I propose this" to "it passed". In other words, if we don't see the first steps happening in the next month or so then it's probably not going to happen.

Number two seems to me to be the most likely and it's usually how these things tend to end. However, there's a wrinkle here.

Let's say we're a week or so from default and Speaker McCarthy decides it's time to throw in the towel, he brings up a clean debt limit bill for a vote. If even one of the extremists that's pushing this hostage taking decides to call for a vote to oust him as speaker, it happens. Now there's a bit of trouble. If even five extremists line up against him, then McCarthy can only win with the help of Democratic votes. That raises two further questions:

1) Do the Democrats help him out?

2) What kinds of impacts does McCarthy and the other moderate Republicans who support him suffer for being seen as working with Democrats against "conservative" priorities?

I'm pretty sure the answer to #1 there is "yes" which hopefully means that we wouldn't default under that scenario, but #2 then sets up a situation where our government falls further into chaos, raising the question of whether we could prevent any other catastrophe from occurring.

So yeah, all of this is still developing, but wow has McCarthy put himself in a position to lose pretty much no matter what happens.

[saltylandland]

Random characterization for Leona

He cares so much. Part of the reason why I relate to him so much is because I can tell that he cares as much as he tries to prove otherwise. A good parallel I see is with Jamil, Leona always felt like he was pushing down any shred of energy or ambition he has, but he radiates energy regardless. With his mindset (no matter what he does he will never win/be good enough) he has to discourage himself every day because he doesn’t want to be let down again. He stifles himself out of spite, he knows he is and can be great but it’ll never be good enough for people, so why should he try for anyone? He doesn’t want their pity (bc he believes everyone knows he’s fighting a losing game) but In contrast Jamil has to stifle himself, his talents and ambition. It feels like Jamil is legitimately tired but Leona is only pretending to be tired. ‘fake it til you make it I suppose’.

He loves his family, but the resentment he’s built makes it hard to talk to them. Due to the purposeful hate from the servants but there was also probably some damaging habits done from his family. You don’t have to be an evil mastermind to hurt or abuse someone. A lot of abusers don’t recognise the damage they do for one reason or the other. (another thing I can relate to) regardless I think he definitely has self sabotaging thoughts especially when it comes to his family. Also keeping up with a little kid is exhausting lol, especially when you don’t like kids. Especially when you see that kid grow up with everything you ever wanted (load of attention, praise, love) it’s more visceral watching that happen a second time, not just to your brother. (also it strangely reminds me of those situations, say you grow up with an emotionally absent father/mother, maybe they were not ready to be a parent so they couldn’t be there for you, whatever, right? But then when you’ve grown up you visit them and they have a completely new life, giving your younger sibling the things you had always wanted but never got, so they are capable to love like that, they just couldn’t do that for you. That is just gut wrenching right?) one thing I think that makes Leona’s backstory more tragic to me than riddles (bc they were back to back Leonas backstory and riddles are compared a lot) is that riddle had friends, and he later had them help him through all this shit as he is becoming better and recognising the trauma his mother put him through. Leona had and has nothing, ruggie isn’t his friend and considering he’s freaking 20, the self sabotaging habits have probably set in a long time ago. Which means he’s definitely self isolated from anyone that could have helped. Plus he’s a prince so it’s not like making friends would be easy even if he had a good childhood. It’s also a lot harder to see a grown adult act spitefully then watch a child break down sobbing. Not to mention chapter 2 was so badly handled and written.

He values emotional and mental strength not just physical strength [going on a lil side tangent, I know the reasons why they made beastwomen physically stronger than the men but I don’t like how that was the default? Nothing wrong with physically strong women but that still petuates the belief that the only valuable strength is traditionally masculane traits like physical power and stubbornness, and twst is just a small example hollywood in general has a huge problem with this, why does any ‘strong female character’ need to always display masculane traits in order to be recognised as strong?] Even as an emotionally stunted character that he is, I think he begrudgingly (and secretly) admires those who still manage to be kind even though the majority of his brain thinks that person is just foolish. Also we all know that he values strategy just as much as physical strength.

He is kind. Despite the fact that he’s a classic tsundere, he has never really fought anyone unless he’s provoked? He’s more of a ‘scare them off’ kind of guy and he avoids using excessive force (for lots of other reasons that aren’t from the kindness from his heart, yes, but still) and he’s generous. Weirdly it’s kind of the same criticism aimed at Lottie from the princess and the frog? The ‘rich person won’t give their money to their poor friend and has them work for them ):|’ But do you really think ruggie would take handouts? Yeah I think that ruggie does way too much for leona but ruggie is the one who benefits from it. That’s how ruggie makes easy money, by picking up after leona lol

I'll definitely add more to this list as I think of more, this is just the tip of the iceberg hooooo boi. 

Also if you disagree or have more to add feel free to tell me in an ask! Just be respectful please!

[familyagrestefanblog]

Actually, the Noire does not necessarily imply its a female character. The french name refers to an object and a color, Griffe Noire (Black Claw), and griffe simply is a female noun in French and that means Noir gets conjugated into Noire. That's not a stylistic choice because of the person's gender the way they did with Kitty Noire in the English dub for example (whose name is Blaqueminette in French if im not completely wrong), that's just how the language works. The option of keeping it Noir for Griffe Noire was never there.

In English they theoretically absolutely could have kept the second part of Zoe's name also as Noir too because the english word 'Kitty' isn't explicitly female coded - and especially not in this show - and neither chat nor chaton are female words in French either, they are male. Conjugating the gender in the french language (and other languages) is alot of times not necessarily actually a GENDER gender thing. No one is making the active choice to gender objects etc according to gender associations or because that's what we see. Alot of gendering is simply used in a neutral way because that's how it always was and therefore that's also how it's heard.

So with Kitty Noire in English it really was just a way to put extra emphasis on Zoé being female and to probably make it easier to seperate her name from Chat Noir and his nicknames (why they didn't get more creative with her name in the first place is beyond me though), even though the english naming system on paper wouldn't have required it. Her name would have worked too if they kept it Kitty Noir and honestly criticizing stuff like that on a gender basis when it comes to animals and colors is high-key a nitpick in my opinion.

Zoé wouldn't have been suddenly less of a girl just because there was no e on the Noir, especially when it wasn't combined with a female word anyway (though for LGBT purposes it could be very useful). And the same goes the other way around. But for comparison, Lady Noire DOES need the e because lady is a female word, whereas Kitty is not.

Griffe is a French word of an object and since it's the french version everyone watching it knows that and therefore hears it more as a "titel" or, well, a hero/ villain secret identitiy name rather than making a legit name out of it the way the english speaking Fandom turned Chat into Chad and Rena (Fox) into just a first name too. Those words are animals first and foremost, not first names.

The english language doesn't gender everything the way french does so I totally get taking the Noire at face value because up til now almost all french miraculous names were chosen accordingly to the characters gender but the name goes back to Claw Noir in English, so here we most likely simply have the case that the name sounded cool in French and the show said fuck it and didn't wanted to limit the naming system by gender anymore (which, if I may point out should rather be seen as a step forward for this show in terms of equality. Why it has taken THIS long for them to stop strictly limiting the names to what object and animal words just so happen to correspond with the genders by coincidence is a loaded question)

My native language German also has claw as a female noun (Kralle) and when I image a hero/ villain name for a male character with that word it sounds cool as hell and unisex by default. That wouldn't change if the character were female either.

The fact that claw is female changes nothing about how cool the name sounds and that's how I'm reading Griffe Noire too. It's just a cool name.

Although I do have to say, "Griffe Noire" in this regard does sounds more like an hero/ villain identity on top of an already existing individual name than an actual name because of the gender thing the same way Kitty Noir would have done, while Toxinette on paper could remain a villain character of her own without a secret identitiy. Like Shego, that's the vibe.

Though im pretty sure the only reason for why Griffe Noire being for a male character now reads with the direct implication of "whoever that is, he definitely has a secret real name" is simply because the show itself trained you from the start to put more emphasis on what gender the names have than it was ever actually necessary in the first place. If the show had from the start went with more unisex names for the holders because, again, it's just animals and colors, then Adrien's name here would have never causes confusion.

if it does take place directly after destruction, that would explain the shot of adrien sitting in his room in the dark staring at his ring. the plot of the movie may or may not tie in to the two of them coming to grips (or failing to come to grips) with possibly killing a man, reflected in whatever's going on with the alternate versions. (shadybug seems to be marinette, but claw noire isn't adrien- or is she?)

I'm not counting on Shadybug being Marinette just yet - that's the most likely explanation, but we haven't seen a clear enough shot to be sure. Especially since Socqueline exists.

And as for Claw Noire... yeah, the fact that the name ends in "Noire", with an "e", definitely implies female. I'm betting that "what happened with Adrien" is gonna be a major plot point in the movie. Maybe Claw Noire is Zoe?

[wack-ashimself]

2008 Financial crisis dumbed down.

Watched 'The Big Short' (again), and I wanted to sum it up for people who didn't get it (cuz I did NOT the first time around).

About 2 years-ish before this all went down, a super smart guy noticed inconsistencies in what the banks AND (eventually) the government claimed about subprime (another word for weaker credit) home loans. He noticed that the weakest that were most likely to default were packaged up so they seemed more appealing, but they were way worse than the government was rating them at (in the movie, rating approval standards and practices lady basically says if we do not give them good ratings, they'll <the banks> just go down the street to a competitor, which is NOT something you want said by a government sanctioned organization.) The banks & the raters were approving everyone cuz it made them money right then and there. Both the banks and the rating's agency which answered to the government. That means THREE different organizations set up the dominoes. Big banks, the ratings board, and the government for not keeping either in check. Maybe not knocked them down, but set them up.

The smart guy realized: the lower ones rated we will call them a C, were actually closer to E's, and thus, also brought down everything above them. AAA goes to A. AA to C. Etc. (something like that). Loss of rating, loss of money. But with the banks getting higher ratings, they would look like they had stronger assets. Thus more money. More to wager. And how did they inflate this? The casino. They took those low level packages, and took bets on if they would rise or fall. THEN they took bets on THAT bet. Seriously; it is as fucking stupid and crazy as it sounds. As the movie said, it's highly complex and hard to understand BECAUSE they want you to feel like they're the only ones who can operate/navigate it. They make it difficult so you have to come to them.

So smart guy (and a few others) convinced the banks to do the stupidest thing I have ever heard: the banks created this whole new thing for them in which they bet, HARD, that these super low level home mortgage packages would utterly fail (and some mid/top level. Because remember, if the bottom falls out, everything above is then lowered. So you can bet on all of it going down, which is what happened.) Like 25 to 1 odds. And it did take 2 years, but eventually, it did fall, and create new billionaires.

The movie exaggerated a lot, but some of the main themes are:

1-the bankers NEVER cared if they failed cuz they ALWAYS knew they were 'too big to fail' (to which I've always replied: Should have failed. And gone to the locals.)

2-the bankers were not SMART, just greedy and careless.

3-banks are casinos. I mean, the complexity yet stupidity of that whole betting scheme. And then creating a WHOLE NEW casino game without checking the odds? Geez. The House lost. Banks should not be able to gamble with YOUR livelihoods. Clearly, they have nothing to lose, but WE DO!

4-Banks do control the government. Probably the federal reserve too. That's never discussed.

5-Again, how much money was lost AND created from NOTHING but...bets? That is creating nothing.

6-The movie said a fact (I think) that fucks with my head. 2 of the younger ones just got good news about their bet. Cheering, dancing, etc. Brad Pitt's character gets PISSED, and tells them to stop it. He points how many lives are going to be ruined. Jobs lost. Homelessness. Then says 'Did you know for every 1% in the rise of unemployment, 40,000 people die?' WHAT!? Everything should be locally owned and controlled. Every business worker owned. FUCK that shit.

7-The government changed nothing to stop this from happening again. IMO-about to drop hard, same way, but with student loans and car loans. I know more people who have car loans than house loans...you think they learned? Fuck no. It's a casino, and they will never stop playing the game till we check if their games are rigged (they are.)

8-When this all started to fall apart, the shady thing banks did was take these worst of the worst low level packages, sell them off, THEN report the actual numbers they were rated at, fucking whoever just bought them. AND they initially refused payout on the MASSIVE bets they just lost until they could get the money.

I just...what bugged me was for how many people placing billions on the line, losing multi millions in losses in the 2 years till it actually occurred, why NONE of the banks looked into these people's backgrounds, histories, etc? Like, if a guy comes up to me and says 'I want to give you money for two years on a stupid ass bet', if that same guy got stupid rich predicting the market, HE FUCKING KNOWS SOMETHING. Intentional negligence.

Solid movie. A little showy in places it didn't need to be. But I think I just dumbed down banking for you, and we are dumb for allowing this to continue to exist. If we bailed them out, we own em'. That's it.

tl;dr: the banks acted LITERALLY like casinos, and lost big. So the USA government bailed them out and the banks KNEW it was going to happen which is why they could operate like a casino. And still do.

Update. 1-here's the best scene to sum up their scam part 1 (taking bets on their low levels rising/falling, and bets on THOSE bets). This is what started everything. The ratings technically did, but this made that 10x worse.

part 2 on how standards and practices rigged the ratings:

and finally part 3 explaining how it set up, and how to bet against the banks.

ps-fun note. I forgot a HUGE bombshell they GLOSS over practically. Absolutely NO LAWS saying you can't go work at a big bank after working in standard's and practices. In other words, you give them good ratings, they give you a couchy job 5 years later with a stupid big bonus. EVERYTHING IS CORRUPT! But it makes sense. If you run the country and have inside info, you can still operate in the stock market...it's a big circle jerk.

[cinnamonest]

Diluc Ragnvindr - Yandere Profile

Yall are so kind and I am so undeserving hhhhh

If you stand idly by that flower girl in Mondstadt her idle line is something like "All I can think about is Diluc" And honestly same

This man exudes bde I'm sorry I just... It is a known FACT that Diluc is packing and I refuse to believe otherwise, lord have mercy I'm bout to SIMP

tws: yandere, mentions of violence

tws (below cut): noncon, kinda misogynistic in 1 part

------

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

Acutely aware, and in the beginning, frustrated with his own self. He's very much a loner type of guy, and he likes it that way -- in his mind, people are distractions.

He doesn't talk to you too much, but you'll slowly and subtly notice his presence with increasing frequency. He hovers. Silent, but intimidating. He's always there, in the background. Somehow, everywhere you go, you can spot him somewhere if you try, and even if you don't see him, you know someone is watching you, from the skin crawling feeling of eyes on you. It will never go away, and it's easily enough to drive you to paranoia.

In reality, he'd like to talk, really, but he doesn't know how. For the first time in his life, he actually has the urge to speak with someone, not for his own desire to speak so much as speak with you- to learn about you, to hear your voice. But the poor thing has no idea what to say. He's used to just going about his day and only speaking to others when they need something from him.

When he does talk to you, he finds himself even enjoying the silliest and most trivial of things you say. Normally he hates small talk, and he's normally annoyed by anything outside of very serious matters, but even if you're raving about something he has no interest in, he's happy to listen just because it's you.

He's fairly aware, too. Not a delusional for the most part, and he's honestly a bit afraid of rejection - he knows he's not the most pleasant or charming person to be around, and certainly not the best conversationalist. He tries to make up for it in thinking that his money, status, and protective ability can be something he can use to draw you in, so he makes sure to subtly and frequently remind you of those things.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

Eventually, it's inevitable. It will happen, it's just a matter of time. His reasoning is less about your fragility and safety, even if he pretends it is, and more of a selfish thing. He doesn't want to be, and he'll certainly feel guilty for it, but he's a silently jealous person. Hearing you talk to others, seeing you smile at others, it drives him up the wall. Even during the day, he can't focus, thinking of what you're doing, who you're with, what you're doing with that person, and so on. He can't get anything accomplished, and people notice something is wrong with him. Really, it won't be a very long time at all.

He's not a very good manipulator, and he can't really think of a good reason to get you to walk into the winery backrooms on your own, so as barbaric as it may feel, he'll settle for the old fashioned way, just taking you, probably when you're walking all by yourself late at night. He is��very intelligent, and will most likely formulate a way of making you seen responsible for some crime upon your disappearance, to discourage you from leaving, and to make it seem less mysterious when you disappear. People will assume that the darknight hero got to you. And, well, they’re not wrong.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

Initially, he's watchful, staying at the winery so that you can't get far without him noticing. He'll cancel his plans elsewhere and make sure he's never more than sight distance away from the building. With time, he'll have to leave, and when he does, he'll probably invest in some very high quality locks to keep you in. Should that prove to not be enough, he'll have to use chains to keep you attached to the wall, instead. Needless to say, it's difficult.

If you manage an attempt, he'll be angry, sure, but he understands why. The first time, at least. Don't push it. If you manage to keep trying, his sympathy for you will slowly erode with each successive attempt, and soon he'll run out of mercy, and decide maybe just forgiving you isn't enough, and you actually need to learn a lesson to prevent this from happening again.

"Again? You really... Really don't give up, do you. This is the fourth time now... You've really pushed it, you know, I've tried to be nice. If you're not gonna get that, I'll make you understand."

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

Canonically speaking, he's fairly good at predicting the actions of others. He's clever like that. However, he's not the best at reading faces. As far as lies go, he will detect it maybe 80% of the time, but you can probably get away with a bit - once he catches you doing it once, though, he'll suspect you from there on out, and be much less likely to buy your lies.

When it comes to manipulation, he's one of the ones where it's like, he kinda knows, and lets it happen anyway, if it's for the sake of you being happy with him. That, and he's just flat out weak to your smiles and begging for little things. He's got his limits, though, so you'd be wise to only use this sparingly and not push it.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

Protective to the maximum degree. Probably the worst of genshin boys.

Absolutely zero contact with the outside. No family, no friends, he might even go to the extent of faking your death to ensure there's not even anyone who will look for you.

Unlike Childe, Zhongli, or Albedo that I've mentioned as allowing you for walks or outside visits... That's not happening with Diluc. No, he's insanely protective, to the point that you very well might not see sunlight again, except through a window.

And he gets that it can get depressing, he really does, it's just the one thing he can't do. He'll try to substitute it, get you nice large windows to let the sun in that you can sit in front of - provided he's there - and maybe after a while build a little screened-in porch for the winery that you can walk around on - again, provided he's right there. You really can't expect him to let you out there when you're alone. What if someone saw you and tried to hurt you?

You get the feeling it's less about keeping anything else out, and more about keeping you in, though.

He's actually good about letting you do things for yourself, though. He won't restrain you from cooking or kitchen utensils or anything like that, unless you do something stupid like try to hurt him or yourself, in which case it'll be a revoked privilege.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Initially, he tries to go easy on rules, as part of his attempt to make you more accepting. He'll keep you more restrained for the first little while, and later on you'll be allowed to walk, but certain sections of the building will be off limits. He's fairly simple - be obedient, stay inside, don't try to fight. He'll invent new ones based on your behaviors as time goes on, but for the most part, he doesn't want to control you too much.

He fears getting too mad and making you scared of him, so, he struggles to punish you initially. He's probably willing to let quite a bit slide, but once he senses you're taking advantage of that, he'll put an end to it. Once again, he can thank the fact that he's naturally intimidating - he'll grab your jaw and force you to look at him, and honestly, just the look on his face is enough to send chills down your spine. If you're persistent, he's not able to leave you all alone and isolate you, no, he can't handle being away from you for that long. He'll appeal to the punishment of boredom, tying you to one spot and giving you nothing to entertain yourself with will get you to crack in a fairly short amount of time.

Humiliation works well, too. You're all alone except for him, you don't need clothes. So if you want them, you'll have to behave.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

This man only has to look at people to send them running. He's very grateful for his scowl once he realizes the power it holds. You'll be none the wiser as to why everyone you meet seems to end up avoiding you, why people get nervous when you approach, why you can walk into a public place and it will clear out within minutes of you walking through the door. It's ok, though, since you have him to go to for your problems. He'll shrug and tell you he doesn't know why it happens to you, but it's no big deal, you don't have to worry about it, because you don't need them anyway, right?

He's not above having chats with people either. If they're not driven off by the glares, he'll give them another chance by spelling out very clearly that they should back off.

With persistent offenders, though, he has to come up with other means. He's not a delusional, and he knows deep down that this is selfish, that they're not really doing anything wrong per se, but his anger is violent and ultimately overrides any guilt. He'll find a way to make them out to be criminals, spies, or some other form of bad person, and they'll meet their fate at the hands of Mondstadt's mysterious nighttime vigilante.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

His default personality is... Irritated. He scowls a lot, he gets exasperated easy - even if he tries to be a bit more pleasant for you. His irritation is so common that seeing genuine anger is a bit rarer.

When he does, though, it's one of the worst. To really, really make him mad, you'd have to be exceptionally, intentionally bratty to the point of antagonism - he's understanding and lucid enough to understand why you fight him, why you try to run, but do it over and over relentlessly, or just be a childish brat and ignore his warnings, and he'll snap. His voice bellows when he's mad, it's deep and terrifying and echoes off the walls, his eyes narrow and he stomps heavily with every step. He'll grab you by the arm hard enough to bruise, and if you refuse to follow and dig your heels in, he'll just roughly swing you onto his shoulder and carry you.

He has to exert the anger in some way, though. He's not like some yanderes that can be talked down or calmed, or are going to go easy on you if you apologize and beg. Once the anger is there, it's there until he physically takes it out in some way.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

It depends, really, because he's highly lucid, so he has very little delusions about you. Unlike many of the others, he's willing to acknowledge your mental competence, and if you're intelligent and have life experience he'll acknowledge it. He won't recognize physical capability, though, since you're nothing compared to his strength. If you are a capable, independent person, he won't delude himself into thinking otherwise. It will, however, have a negative effect, probably the opposite of what you hope for - he's going to feel a bit intimidated by it, really, because if you're capable and independent, you don't need him as much. He's more likely to find ways to force your dependency on him, if so, but deep down he knows you're an equal on a mental level, and it's frustrating.

Now, otherwise - if you're a little more on the ditzy, airheaded side - it will be below. He's realistic, again, and if you genuinely do fall into the category of being naive and a bit dumb, he'll recognize it. He feels more secure in your dependency, and he's more likely to baby you this way, and will absolutely be more protective.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

He really wants you to. He's not sure if he deserves it, though. He's acutely, painfully aware of how awful the things he's done are, and to top it all off, he knows that he should wish he was a better man that had self control, yet... He doesn't. He can't lie to himself and pretend to even have a shred of regret, even if he feels guilt. If he hadn't done all those things, you wouldn't be here with him like this, and even though he knows it's selfish, so very, very selfish, knowing that the horrible things he did got him the result he wanted makes it worth it. And given the opportunity to go back, he'd do it again.

He wants you to genuinely love him, and even though he struggles with human affection and communication, he'll try his best to be sweet to you, say nice things, try to be less irritable, try to talk more.

But if dependency, isolation-induced attachment love is the best he can get, well, that's still love.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

He likes to just... Spend time in your presence. He's still ultimately not much for talking, he runs out of things to say very quickly and even if you're not talking, he's very very happy to be around you. If you're being cold towards him even, he wants to just sit there and be beside you, if you get up and sit on the other side of the room, or walk to another room (provided you have the privilege to do so), he'll follow you wherever like a little lost puppy and just silently sit right back down next to you again. He soaks in your presence like sunlight, it makes him happy.

If you show him affection, especially after an abduction or when stockholm syndrome starts to set in, it's one of the few times you'll see him smile. His smile is soft and faint, and it's less his mouth so much as his eyes that seem to light up. If you show him affection, you can eventually reach a very vulnerable, very soft side of him. He keeps up walls for everyone else, and he kind of desperately wants someone he doesn't have to do that with, so he'll crumble to your affection fairly quickly, once he's assured of your love.

Also, he's one of the ones who fully understands why you're mad. He gets it, he's lucid, and he honestly knows how awful what he's doing is. He still hopes you'll get over it, though, and if confinement and isolation except for him is what it takes to achieve that... So be it. Rather than justifying his actions, he acknowledges what he's done, but he's aware that psychologically, he's already long past the point of no return, and he can't bring himself to stop.

“I know this wasn’t... what you wanted, and, I know it’s, I know this was really, really bad, but I only did it for your sake. If you just... try to get used to it... maybe you can be happy, if you try.”

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

High, but embarrassed as all hell. He likes to maintain a very respectable and serious image, and people knowing that behind that neutral poker face is a brain running through nasty, nasty fantasies would not be very conductive to that image.

And that's what he does - working the bar gets very, very slow sometimes, and there's not much to do but sit around and let his mind wander. The more bored he gets, the more involved in these fantasies he becomes, and sometimes you might have to tap him on the shoulder to snap him out of it.

He feels guilty, really, for how he feels about you, and he knows that it's wrong and violating... But. But if you don't know, it won't hurt you, now will it? Nothing about the fact that he just thinks about bending you over the bar tables and fucking you raw is going to actually do anything bad. It's harmless.

He won't be touchy or perverse towards you by any means, and while that's nice, it causes something of a... Buildup. A lot of urges and needs have gone unmet, a lot of desperation to just feel you skin that has never been filled, and the thing about buildups is that when you reach a certain point they'll eventually burst, which is going to be what happens once you're in your new home.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

He's moderate. He'd like you to want it, he's not highly sadistic and doesn't get off to your struggling/crying the way Childe or Kaeya would. But, in the end he's very set on what he wants, and if you're not open to it, he's not going to wait long. As aforementioned, he's got a lot of pent-up need that has gone unchecked, and while he normally strives for self control, at the point of kidnapping you, he's built up enough sexual frustration that he's not going to be very patient. Again, he's not going to be mean about it, he's more the type to just kiss your forehead and mutter a few reassuring things, even as you hiss at the pain of being impaled. That's another issue - he's convinced you might just be intimidated by the size, so he'll keep reassuring you that it's not going to last long, your body just needs time to adjust, even though you feel like you're being split in two.

He's content with knowing that, even if you mentally aren't wanting it, your bodily reactions show that you're clearly not repulsed or anything.

He's also another one to use that very thing against you, much like Albedo. He can feel you twitch and clamp down when you're close and he'll tell you that if you love him you'll cum, and if you don't love him, you won't. But no amount of trying to bring yourself down is enough to override the overwhelming stimulation.

He's also one to get rougher/more intense with time. At first, he's a bit afraid of hurting you, and he's not entirely familiar with how this all goes, and even can be a bit prudish and reserved. But the more he fucks you, the more and more he realizes he really likes having a sense of control and dominance over you, and just how nice it feels to come home when he's frustrated from a bad day and just fuck that energy out. Once he realizes you're not going to break or anything, you'll notice him gradually getting rougher and harder with time, until it becomes a norm.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

Stomach bulging/size kink

He's not normally an outwardly prideful person. His pride is more of a silent aloof type of pride, rather than a smug showoff type. He's not one to emphasize his positive traits just to look good. But, fuck, if there isn't something very, very pleasing about being able to physically see his dick making a bulge on your stomach every time he fucks into you. He'll make sure you don't close your eyes, grab your hair and pull your head down so you're forced to watch it fill you more than you can take, over and over.

He doesn't want to hurt you, really, but of all the things to whimper about, you just had to squeal that it's too big, that it hits your cervix, that it's splitting you apart, and as much as he really wants to be a good guy, you're really making it difficult. Hearing that just breaks something primal in him and makes him want to fuck you harder.

It's one of the few things he can actually get smug about, watching you clutch your gut and whimper from bruising and soreness even long after, and as time goes on he might lose enough shame about it all to make a smug comment. He knows he should feel bad. But again, you make it hard to.

Breeding

It's a possession thing, really. There's something so utterly satisfying about just watching cum drip out of you, listening to you whimper whenever you feel it filling you up. It's kind of cute, when he tells you he'll cum inside you and you panic, you squeal and wriggle and unintentionally clench down hard enough to make that happen, you practically just milk the cum out of him when you do.

Forced feminization?/housewife kink/I dont know what to call it but hear me out dammit

He has in his brain this idea of a perfect little housewife and you're going to fit that model whether you want to or not. When he breaks into goes back to your old apartment to bring clothes for your new home he'll only pick the most frilly, feminine of all the things you owned, and if you don't have too many, he'll buy ones for you.

He just likes the idea of having a nice, sweet little wife to come back to, especially after being so stressed with whatever bullshit he's had to put up with that day. Really, any darling in captivity is kinda sorta filling that role, but he's got a very specific image in his mind of you being very... Domestic. Submissive. Frilly little clothes and aprons and cleaning things and making food, it's very cute and gives him a weird sense of dominance that will inevitably turn to arousal - something about the whole ownership and submission aspect of seeing you walk around in those clothes, doing your little chores makes him really want to grab you and bend you over the nearest surface and just - well, you get the idea.

And he's not gonna listen to your whining, either, even if you're a naturally tomboyish person. You could have been the roughest adventurer there was out there, all ragged and getting covered in scrapes and climbing mountains and fighting monsters, but that's in the past, now. Now, is time for you to give that lifestyle up, in favor of a better one, one that will make you happier... if you just let it. 

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

He's yes and no, but mostly yes in theory. It fits into his little housewife fantasy and he feels it would be a good way to keep you attached to him. It would make you less likely to leave, it would give you something to do all day, you'd be happy. He's a bit worried about his own capabilities, though. He's not super empathetic and he's not very talkative. Ultimately, it would probably end up an accident that results from the aforementioned breeding kink.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

Another one kind of like Razor, he's not gonna think it out too much, but holy fuck, if he's mad, just fucking feels like a punishment in and of itself. You'll realize just how much he's holding back on the regular when you see what it's like when he hold nothing back. It's bruising, it's brutal, and it's a little frightening to witness that kind of raw strength. He'd be one to pick you up into the air completely, holding your whole body up with his arms, forcing you to cling to him so as to not fall while he bounces you up and down on him. And really, once you account for the affect of gravity, so it's slamming into you at unprecedented force, and fuck, it's likely horribly painful, even if that pleasure is still there.

If he's exceptionally mad, he's another one willing to belt you, and while he'll certainly get off to it, it's something he'll only do when he genuinely has a reason to punish you.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

Thighs. He likes hooking them over his shoulders, grabbing the fleshy soft parts with his hands, running his hands up and down the sides. One day, one you're comfortable enough, he'd really like to just lay his head down on them like a pillow, they look so soft. And he loves looking at them too, loves things that show just enough of the curve of your hips to your legs and the soft skin underneath.