#the world/environment we live in currently is very different from what they lived in

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

Why are we trying to bring back extinct species? Have y’all never seen or read Jurassic Park??!!??

[stephobrien]

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that.

Note: If you prefer plain text, you can read the plain text version here.

Over the last few days, I’ve had conversations with several Jewish people who told me how hurt and scared they are right now.

To my great regret, some of that pain came from a poorly-thought-out post of mine, which – while not ill-intentioned – WAS hurtful.

And a lot of it came from cruelty they’d experienced at the hands of people who claim to be advocating for Palestine, but are using the very real plight of innocent Palestinians to harm equally innocent Jewish people.

Y’all, we need to do better. (Yes, “we” definitely includes me; this is in no small part a “learn from my fail” post, and also a “making amends” post. Some of these are mistakes I’ve made in the past.)

So if you’re an advocate for Palestine who wants to make sure that your defense of one group of vulnerable people doesn’t harm another, here are some important things to do or keep in mind:

Ask yourself if you’re applying a standard to one group that you aren’t applying to another.

Would you want all white Americans or Canadians to be expelled from America or Canada?

Do you want all Jewish people to be expelled from Israel, as opposed to finding a way to live alongside Palestinian Arabs in peace?

If the answer to those two questions is different, ask yourself WHY.

Do you want to be held responsible for the actions of your nation’s army or government? No? Then don’t hold innocent Jewish people, or Israelis in general (whether Jewish or otherwise), responsible for the actions of the Israeli army and government.

On that subject, be wary of condemning all Israeli people for the actions of the IDF. Large-scale tactical decisions are made by the top brass. Service is compulsory, and very few can reasonably get out of service.

Blaming all Israelis for the military’s actions is like blaming all Vietnam vets for the horrors in Vietnam. They’re not calling the shots. They aren’t Nazis running concentration camps. They are carrying out military operations that SHOULD be criticized.

And do not compare them or ANY JEWISH PERSON to Nazis in general. It is Jewish cultural trauma and not outsiders’ to use against them.

Don’t infuse legitimate criticism with antisemitism.

By all means, spread the word about the crimes committed by the Israeli army and government, and the complicity of their allies. Criticize the people responsible for committing and enabling atrocities.

But if you imply that they’re committing those crimes because they’re Jewish, or because Jewish people have special privileges, then you’re straying into antisemitic territory.

Criticize the crime, not the group. If you believe that collective punishment is wrong, don’t do it yourself.

And do your best to use words that apply directly to the situation, rather than the historical terms for situations with similar features. For example, use “segregation,” “oppression,” or “subjugation,” not “Holocaust” or “Jim Crow.” These other historical events are not the cultural property of Jews OR Palestinians, but also have their own nuances and struggles and historical contexts.

Also, blaming other world events on Jewish people or making Jewish people associated with them (for instance, some people falsely blame Jewish people for the African slave trade) is a key feature of how antisemitism functions.

Please, by all means, be specific and detailed in your critiques. But keep them focused on the current political actors – not other peoples’ or nations’ political or cultural histories and traumas.

Be prepared to accept criticism.

You probably already know that society is infused with a wide array of bigotries, and that people growing up in that environment tend to absorb those beliefs without even realizing it. Antisemitism is no exception.

What that means is, there’s a very real chance that you will screw up, and get called out on it, as I so recently did.

If that happens, please be willing to learn and adapt. If you can educate yourself about the suffering and needs of Palestinians, you can do the same for Jewish people.

Understand that the people you hurt aren’t obligated to baby you. Give them room to be angry.

After I made a post that inadvertently hurt people, some were nice about it, and others weren’t. Some outright insulted my morals and intelligence.

And I had to accept that I’d earned that from them.

I’d hurt them, and they weren’t obligated to be more careful with my feelings than I had been with theirs.

They weren’t obligated to forgive me, trust me, or stop being mad at me right away.

I’ll admit, there were moments when I got defensive. I shouldn’t have. And I encourage you to try not to, if you screw up and hurt people.

I know that’s hard, but it’s important. Getting defensive only tells people you care more about doubling down on your mistake than you do about healing the hurt it caused.

Instead, acknowledge that they have a right to be angry, apologize for the way you hurt them, and try to make amends, while understanding that they don’t owe you trust or forgiveness.

Be aware that some antisemites are using legitimate complaints to “Trojan horse” antisemitism into leftist spaces.

This is a really easy stumbling block to trip over, because most people probably don’t look at every post a creator makes before sharing the one they’re looking at right now.

I recently shared a video that called out some of the Likud and IDF’s atrocities and hypocrisy, and that also noted that many Jewish people are wonderful members of their communities.

I was later informed that, while that video in particular seemed reasonable, the creator behind it is frequently antisemitic.

I deleted the post, and blocked the creator. I encourage you to do the same if it’s brought to your attention that you’ve been ‘Trojan horse’d.

EDIT: Important note about antisemitism in leftist spaces:

While it's true that some blatant antisemites are using seemingly reasonable posts to get their foot in the door of leftist spaces, it's also true that a lot of antisemitism already exists inside those spaces.

This antisemitism is often dressed up in progressive-sounding language, but nonetheless singles Jewish people and places out in ways that aren't applied equally to other groups, or that label Jewish people in ways that portray them as acceptable targets.

If you want to see some specific examples, so you can have a better idea of what to keep an eye out for, I suggest reading this excellent reblog of this post.

Fact-check your doubts about antisemitism.

Depending on which parts of the internet you look at, you’ve probably seen people accused of antisemitism because they complained about the Likud and/or IDF’s actions. So you might be primed to be wary, or feel unsure of how to tell what counts as real antisemitism.

But that doesn’t mean antisemitism isn’t a very real, widespread, and harmful problem. And it doesn’t mean many or even most Jewish people are lying to you or being overly sensitive.

So if someone says something is antisemitic, and you aren’t sure, I encourage you to:

A. Look up the action or thing in question, including its history. Is there an antisemitic history or connotation you aren’t aware of? For best results, include “antisemitic” in your search query, in quotes.

B. Understand that some things, while not inherently antisemitic, have been used by antisemites often enough that Jewish people are understandably wary of them. Schrodinger’s antisemitism, if you will.

C. Ask Jewish people WHO HAVE OFFERED TO HELP EDUCATE YOU. Emphasis on WHO HAVE OFFERED. Random Jewish people aren’t obligated to give you their time and emotional energy, or to educate you – especially on subjects that are scary or painful for them.

@edenfenixblogs has kindly offered her inbox to those who are genuinely trying to learn and do better, and I’ve found her to be very kind, patient, reasonable, and fair-minded.

Understand that this is URGENTLY NEEDED.

In one of my conversations with a Jewish person who’d called me out, they said this was the most productive conversation they’d had with a person with a Palestinian flag in their profile.

THIS IS NOT OKAY.

I didn’t do anything special. All I did was listen, apologize for my mistakes, and learn.

Yes, it feels good to be acknowledged. But I feel like I’ve been praised for peeing IN the toilet, instead of beside it.

Apologizing, learning, and making amends after you hurt people shouldn’t be “the most reasonable thing I’ve heard from a person with a Palestinian flag pfp.”

It should be BASIC DECENCY.

And the fact that it’s apparently so uncommon should tell you how much unnecessary stress and fear Jewish people have been living with because of people who consider themselves defenders of human rights.

By all means, be angry at the Likud, the IDF, and the politicians, reporters, and specific media outlets who choose to enable and cover up for them.

But direct that anger toward the people who deserve it and are in a position to do something about it, not random people who simply happen to be Jewish, or who don’t want millions of people to be turned into refugees when less violent methods of achieving freedom and rights for Palestinians are available.

Stop peeing beside the toilet, people.

[anim-ttrpgs]

Vampire Player Character Rules in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

Eureka has six playable "monster" types, and about ten total supernatural character options all together. Each supernatural trait is taken basically as if it is a normal trait like the ones you have been seeing us post. You cannot give a character more than one supernatural trait--and from what you are about to read, you probably wouldn't want to. Playing monsters is recommended for "advanced" players only, people who like a lot of "crunch" in their games, as require you to keep track of a lot more mechanics than playing a normal human.

Here is the Vampire Trait as it appears in its overhauled state in the patreon release. The August itchio beta does not currently have these overhauled monster traits(though, you could just use this post as reference if you wanted to play with the overhauled vampire rules, we don't mind! They're much better rules and we want people to have the most fun possible!)

If you are reading this past about October 24th, then there is a good chance that the itchio beta actually has been updated to include these improved rules, fingers crossed!

Anyway here we go. This is going under a Read More because it's long as hell but we really hope that you will check it out and comment. This is, like, the whole entire ruleset for playing a vampire in Eureka.

Vampire (Monster Trait) 

Vampires have quite a lot of powers, more than twice as many as any other monster, all informed by pre-1900 vampire legends. As a Narrator or a player portraying a vampire, don't fret about remembering all the vampire's powers at all times - they certainly don't. Some effects of these powers and weaknesses are left intentionally somewhat vague so as to leave them partially up to Narrator/player discretion. This is intentional, and is meant to reflect that no two vampires work exactly the same. 

Eureka presents a particular perspective on the legend of the vampire, while still adhering very strictly to real historical vampire folklore. It is a specific interpretation, which sets the stage for specific themes in the lives of vampiric investigators. 

Vampires, and the legends surrounding them, perhaps more so than any other monster present as a playable monster in the Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy rulebook, are inextricably linked to continental Europe and therefore Abrahamic[1] faiths.[2] Some may argue that vampire legends exist all around the world in every time and place, and that may be true, if you think that the only defining feature of a vampire is that they drink blood. What you are calling “vampires” from other cultures are each actually their own concept, with their own rich folkloric history, only overlapping with the European vampire on the Venn diagram in the fact that they drink blood and perhaps are undead. Loss and fear are universal, but the way different historical cultures interpret and portray these things in their stories are not. If you would like to play one of the many creatures that often gets attributed as “[other culture]’s vampire,” we encourage this and invite you to do some research into them, to see how unique and interesting each of these spirits from around the world really are.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Predominantly Catholic and Orthodox, but enough of it also applies to other Abrahamic faiths.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires are of course not entirely unique in coming from a very specific cultural context, but the authors of this book are writing what they know. If there’s two things that the American South has, it’s vampires and Christianity. The American South is a deeply Christian environment, and we know what that can do to a person (for better or for worse), whereas we have less of a personal connection - and more importantly, less intimate knowledge and access to firsthand accounts - of the cultural heritage of some of the other monsters, so even where a specific cultural background may be additive to the rules thematically, such as the conception of women in historical and modern Greek culture for gorgons, we have chosen not to elaborate. 

Vampiric investigators in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy are all considered to have been raised in cultures of Abrahamic faith. They may have remained unchanged in their faith or lack thereof, found faith, or lost faith[1] in their transition from life to undeath, but no matter what, Abrahamic faith has strongly influenced their life in some way.[2] This is a prerequisite for an investigator being a vampire.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] A vampire who never had any faith to begin with would have to be a very, very young vampire.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] If creating a vampiric investigator with a religious upbringing more than a couple centuries ago, bear in mind that the way historical people related to and conceptualized their faith is often very different than the way modern people do. Try to look into what those historical peoples actually believed; pop-history will tell you that medieval Roman Catholicism and modern American Protestantism are the same. They aren’t. The middle ages were the middle ages, not the 1950s.

[2.1. off to the side in the final formatting] Depending on their place of origin, some “vampires” older than a few centuries may prefer to identify themselves as “revenants” or “draugr.” It would be quite rude to try and correct them.

[Snoop: The tall thin vampire snoopette with hat standing on the ceiling right behind a frightened snoop in a dark room, who does not know she is there. Maybe make the background black and the snoops white to show that it is dark? Give the frightened snoop a flashlight with a white beam?]

Superhuman Strength

When not debilitated by a weakness, vampires are considered to have Superhuman Strength, and a +10 Base bonus to Athletics[4] and +1 Base bonus to Close Combat.[1][2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires do not have stamina in the same sense as living beings do, and may appear to have unlimited energy as far as conventional physical exertion goes. Their extreme and unnatural strength does not actually come from their muscles.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] Despite what the movies say, vampires do not have superhuman speed. Though superhuman strength and seemingly unlimited stamina means they can still move frighteningly fast. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] 1 Samuel 16:14.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] This means that their Athletics bonus will almost always be equal to their current Composure level. 

In Lizard Fashion

When not debilitated by a Weakness, vampires have the ability to walk or climb on any solid surface as if it were a floor.[1][2] Re-orienting to a surface that would be impossible to stand on normally counts as use of a supernatural ability. Additionally, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, if they do choose, vampires are immovable. They will never lose their balance or be able to be knocked off their feet.[3] Their bones will break before they budge. Making use of this power is only possible when they are standing still, and counts as use of a supernatural ability. This cannot be used in response to a Stealth Attack, and if the vampire is otherwise not expecting to need it, they must make a Full Success on a Reflexes roll to be able to do so.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A vampire’s hair and clothes will hang towards whatever surface they are oriented to, rather than the actual ground. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Under most environmental conditions, there is no difference in effort between standing and sitting for a vampire. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Great for parties, and Michael Jackson moves. 

Psycho-Social Phenomenon

When not debilitated by a weakness, vampires have a +3 Contextual bonus to Stealth. This bonus increases by +1 for each point of Composure the vampire is missing.[1][4][5] Additionally, vampires do not have saliva, skin oils, or anything else of the sort. If they lose hair, it will disintegrate like any other post body part, and soon reappear on the body.[3] Vampires will never leave fingerprints[2] or any other DNA evidence behind.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] At 0 Composure, this bonus would be +10.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] One exception may be if they have something else on their fingers besides skin oils. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] This can make shaving very tricky!

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] Even without meaning to, vampires tend to appear “right on top of” people without ever being noticed on the approach. 

[5  off to the side in the final formatting] Sometimes vampires cannot even be seen at all until one looks directly at them. 

The Cave Wall

Any character who makes a Full Success on a Senses roll directed towards a vampire will instantly lose 1 Composure or 1 Morale, with no explanation or description from the Narrator. This is 2 Composure and 2 Morale if the focus of the Senses roll is actually directed to the space behind the vampire, such as looking over their shoulder. Additionally, at times, the motions of the vampire may appear subtly “choppy,” almost as though animated, and at lower frame rate than their surroundings.

Wearing the Evening

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, vampires are capable of instantly relocating in total or near total darkness.[1] This instant relocation cannot pass through solid objects, and there must be an uninterrupted line of darkness between the start point and end point of this relocation. Additionally, a vampire’s vision is not significantly affected by absence of light until there is literally no light present at all.[2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This does not require a Composure roll for use of a supernatural ability. Vampires may not even be fully conscious of the fact that they are instantly relocating in total darkness. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Time to try out echolocation as a bat!

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] With miniscule sources of light, their vision may still feel somewhat impaired, but not enough to warrant a mechanical penalty modifier. 

[3.1. off to the side in the final formatting] Bright light, however, can cause discomfort, even if it is not sunlight. Many vampires may opt to wear sunglasses even indoors or at night. 

Hovering

Vampires are capable of hovering up to three feet off the ground when manifesting as a human,[1] though actually moving while doing this is no faster than walking. This ability must start from the ground, and cannot be done to save a vampire from a freefall. 

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Another great party trick. 

Teeth and Claws

A vampire’s nails are hard and sharp like claws.[1] This allows them to deal Penetrative Damage instead of Superficial Damage with any unarmed melee attack. When they are not debilitated by a weakness, this damage can be doubled due to Superhuman Strength.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A steel file is required for filing these nails down, they tear up lesser files.

Vampires also have fangs.

Hibernation

Vampires do not need to sleep, ever.[1] Their closest equivalent is entering a state of suspended animation for months, years, or even decades at a time. No coffin or grave dirt is required. This is useful for laying low while heat dies down, recovering from destruction of the “physical” body, or simply resetting the vampires ever quickening perception of the passage of time.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Most vampires will remain awake for decades at a time.

Breathing, or Lack Thereof

Vampires have no need to breathe, except to talk or sniff the air.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] It is easy for vampires to forget to breathe.

Remanifestation

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire may manifest in any of the following five ways.[1] Remanifesting as a different manifestation counts as use of a Supernatural Ability, and counts as taking 1 action if done in combat. A vampire cannot manifest as any manifestation that there is not enough empty space available to contain, even if the solid object taking up that space is paper thin.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Nothing is really changing, just another aspect rising to the surface. 

Human Manifestation

This is the default manifestation. All aspects of the Vampire Trait apply. [maybe add the human-only things like claws here]

Bat Manifestation

As this manifestation, the vampire appears as a small bat with a maximum Superficial and Penetrative HP of 3 and Acceleration of +3. They do *not* have superhuman strength, and are limited to only feats of strength and other actions that a small mammal without opposable thumbs could accomplish. Any attack by this manifestation can deal at most 1 Superficial Damage. Any attack against this manifestation suffers a -2 penalty.[1][2]

[1  off to the side in the final formatting] This manifestation may be considered adorable.

[2  off to the side in the final formatting] Trying to do a whole swarm of bats at once is a great way to give yourself one-hundred concurrent head injuries. 

As this manifestation, the vampire may use echolocation to find their way even in total darkness, and have a +5 Contextual bonus to any Senses roll involving sound.

As this manifestation, the vampire has a +4 Contextual bonus to Stealth.

All other aspects of vampirism apply.

Wolf Manifestation

As this manifestation, the vampire appears as a wolf with a +2 Contextual bonus to Close Combat, a +4 Contextual bonus to Senses rolls involving sound and smell, and +4 Acceleration. They maintain superhuman strength, but are limited to actions which a canine without opposable thumbs could accomplish.

As this manifestation, the vampire’s only means of attack is with their jaws. This is a Grab attack. So long as the target is Grabbed, all other aspects of Grabbing apply, but the target also takes 2 Penetrative Damage on each of the vampire’s turn’s with no roll needed.

As this manifestation, the vampire has a +4 Base bonus to Stealth.

All other aspects of vampirism still apply.

Mist/Smoke Manifestation

As this manifestation, the vampire appears as a cloud of autonomously mobile smoke or mist with a volume of at most 4,000 cubic feet,[2] capable of squeezing through any gap that is not perfectly air-tight.[1] This manifestation has very limited ability to interact with or even perceive the physical world. They can only feel their surroundings, meaning their “vision” is limited to only the vague outlines of what the cloud is touching.[3]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Black, grey, or red are common colorations.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] This is a lot smaller than it sounds, a little bigger than a bedroom.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Skin and assimilated clothing evaporates, then muscle, then bone. When the vampire takes on a solid manifestation, the sequence will be reversed.

As this manifestation, though the vampire does maintain their Superhuman Strength bonuses, they cannot pick up, assimilate, or otherwise exert their will on physical objects. They cannot be attacked in any way, though they will need to make a Full Success on an Athletics roll to resist powerful suction or other strong air currents.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Though remanifesting as smoke properly requires an action, any missed attack against a vampire or other sort of dodge may be described as the vampire spontaneously evaporating for a split second before resolidifying.

This manifestation is not ordinarily heavy enough to suffocate a human being or cause any damage at all, but can be made vicious by spending of Eureka! Points. The cloud becomes oppressive, choking, and even capable of causing very small lacerations on the body, inside and out. The effect is somewhat like being in a sandstorm made of broken glass. Up to the vampire, any number of characters within the cloud may be targeted.[1] For the duration the manifestation is maintained, targets will take 2 Superficial Damage per turn per Eureka! Point spent. Targets forced to take Injury rolls or killed[2] as a result of this damage will be considered to be partially drained of blood by the vampire and restore the vampire’s Composure appropriately.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It may be difficult for a vampire to tell friend from foe by their fuzzy, colorless outlines alone.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Hardly anything may remain of targets killed in this way.

All other aspects of vampirism apply.

Monstrous Beast Manifestation

As this manifestation, a vampire appears as a monstrously massive bat-like[2] beast larger than most cars, but maintaining this manifestation in the world requires a near constant intake of fresh human blood. This manifestation has 17 of both types of HP, a +2 Contextual bonus to Close Combat, a +4 Contextual bonus to Senses involving hearing and smell, a +4 Acceleration bonus, and a -10 penalty to Stealth.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Seven is the Biblical number of perfection.

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Now you are thinking like a vampire.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] It is most common for it to resemble a bat, but the exact shape and size of the monstrous beast varies from vampire to vampire. 

This manifestation is considered to have Superhuman Strength, and the Base bonuses from Superhuman Strength become *Contextual*.

As this manifestation, the vampire loses 6 Composure per round.

This manifestation has two effective means of attack, a Vehicle Attack using their Athletics divided by 2 (rounded up) instead of Driving, and their enormous jaws. The vampire can use their jaw to make Grab attacks. So long as the target is grabbed by the vampire’s jaw, they automatically take 4 Penetrative Damage each time it is the vampire’s turn with no roll needed. The vampire can continue to perform other actions while Grabbing a target with their jaws and movement is unimpeded. Rather than deal the 4 Penetrative Damage, if the vampire is Grabbing a target of human or smaller size with their jaws, they may make a Hold attack using either Athletics or Close Combat to simply swallow them whole.[1] This manifestation can stomach at most two humans at a time.[2] For a target swallowed alive, depending on the context and circumstances, the Narrator may simply declare them as good as dead and not make any rolls, or apply the Drowning/Suffocation rules. The only chance this target would have of damaging the vampire from the inside would be with a small piercing weapon. They may also make an Escape attempt, but attacking or attempting to escape would be considered exertion for the purposes of the Drowning/Suffocation rules. However, the first successful Escape attempt will put them in the beast’s jaws, not totally free. They must also Escape from the beast’s jaws to be totally free. 

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Flesh is blood.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] It is not known what will happen to a person in the beast’s stomach if the vampire remanifests as something much smaller. 

Remanifestation and Items

Small and/or low-density items that have been in contact with a particular manifestation for a long period of time will be “assimilated” by this manifestation. Assimilation by a manifestation means that when a vampire remanifests to a different manifestation, those items will vanish along with the previous manifestation, and reappear along with it.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Maybe someday vampires could be explained by a physicist, but not by a biologist, like the shadows on the cave wall.

For gameplay purposes, this concept is simplified to where certain items will always count as assimilated and others items will never count. Unassimilated items will fall to the ground when the vampire shifts manifestations.[1][3]

Always Counts as Assimilated:

Basic clothing and accessories the vampire is wearing, including hats, cloaks, and shoes.

Wallets and their contents.

Small electronics such as cellphones.

Never Counts as Assimilated:

Any clothing which provides Armor.

Any weaponry.

Larger electronics such as laptops.

Anything made of silver.

Larger accessories such as purses or backpacks.

People and other living things.

Anything that is both recently obtained and narratively important.[2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Before remanifesting, a vampire should ask a friend to hold her purse, leather jacket, gun, but not worry about her cellphone or the rest of her outfit.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] A vampire may be able to sneak into room as a cloud of smoke, but once they have the documents or other item they’re trying to steal, they will have to find their way out as a manifestation that can actually carry it.

[3. Off to the side in the final formatting] Assimilated objects will lose their vampiric properties if separated from the vampire for long enough.

An Object at Rest Cannot be Stopped

Vampires take half-damage from all damage sources, the only exception being HP that results from loss of Composure. If a vampire wears armor that protects against whatever is dealing the damage, this damage is halved again, for one quarter damage, rounding up. Apply a -2 modifier to attacks against the vampire from 1-damage weapons.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires take half-damage not because their flesh is extraordinarily durable, but because they just don’t need it to ‘live.’ Wolfmen, however, take half-damage because they are extraordinarily dense and durable. 

Decentralized Animation

One round after a body part is severed, a vampire will be able to reassert control over it, even in the event of decapitation. Any Skill check taken by a detached body part will have a -3 penalty applied, unless the vampire can see the body part, in which case it is -2.[1] [Maybe call this or something else “extrinsic animation.”]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] After death, every motion of the body is something which must be entirely relearned, even the act of standing and walking is an entirely different experience. Doing so under the sun’s rays, and around fast-moving water, are similarly distinct forms of animation. 

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Many say the hardest thing is relearning how to dance. 

Healing

Regular first-aide will work on vampires in most cases within reason, but, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, their “physical” bodies return to their basic state over time. Vampires automatically recover 1 point of Superficial and Penetrative HP at the beginning of every game session, and 1 point of Superficial HP at the end of each day, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness. 

Additionally, so long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, if they took damage to either HP type during an instance of combat, they restore 1 HP of the same type as soon as the combat is resolved.

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire may take 1 action to reattach a severed body part at the stump and have it work again good as new after 1 turn.

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, if a vampire’s Penetrative HP is full, instead of recovering Penetrative HP from any of the above rules, they recover from one Grievous Wound, permanent or not.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] If this is a missing body part, the severed body part will disintegrate and reintegrate back where it’s supposed to be.

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire may spend 1 Eureka! Point to instantly recover all Superficial and Penetrative HP, and from all Grievous Wounds. This takes 1 action.

Unkillable

If a vampire is reduced to 0 Penetrative HP, they do “die” instantly, but they will not stay “dead” permanently, barring specific circumstances. (See: How to “Kill” a Vampire p.Xx) It may take weeks, months, or years, but the vampire will eventually return, even if their “physical” body is absolutely obliterated. A “dead” vampire investigator is removed from the current adventure same as a regular dead investigator, but may return and be played in any subsequent adventure.[1][2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Can the fact that it appears that someone is continuing to live when they should not be considered anything short of a miracle? 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] The Not Finished Yet Trait increases an investigator’s Penetrative HP dramatically, with the caveat that they will die at the end of the adventure if they take too much damage. Well, unless they’re killed in a very specific way, vampires revive in between adventures, so that kind of negates the entire downside of the Trait, doesn’t it? Well, not exactly. There’s two ways we suggest handling this. The first way is to have it represent a vampire who is on the verge of passing on, whether they know it or not, by reaching certain personal revelations, accomplishing their unfinished business, and that this time it will be permanent - peaceful, even. Alternatively, it could represent that, not unlike a mortal with the same Trait, this vampire is pushing themselves past any remotely sustainable level of bodily damage, and if it goes too far this *will* catch up to them at the end of the adventure. Should they drop below the threshold for Penetrative HP, regardless of Eureka! Points spent to restore their HP or revive them, they will fall into hibernation or fade away and remain “dead” for *decades* or more. Yes, they will eventually return, but it won’t be any time soon. This happened to Yvette Preux in the 1890s and that’s why she slept through most of the 20th century. 

A vampire whom has been reduced to 0 Penetrative HP does not heal from first-aide or any of the other rules mentioned under “Healing.”

Revival

So long as they are not debilitated by a weakness, a vampire that has been reduced to 0 Penetrative HP and “killed” for the adventure may spend 2 Eureka! Points to revive with 1 of both types of HP, but only once a minimum of 5 Scenes have passed. A vampire may instead spend 3 Eureka! Points to revive instantly, so long as they have been “dead” for at least 1 round.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] John 11:1-44.

Threatening Presence

It’s subtle, but something about vampires will always make the hair on the back of people’s necks stand up, or send a chill down their spine, like their body is trying to warn them of what they’re really talking to. Vampires have a +1 Contextual bonus to Threaten rolls and a -1 to Comfort rolls. Any other mortal human investigators, including monsters, take a -1 penalty to all Composure rolls so long as they are sharing a Scene with the vampire.[1][2] 

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] It should not be explained how or why this -1 applies. Even veteran Eureka players will not be able to know for sure whether this -1 is from vampirism or from the Wicked Trait.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Even if you don’t know why, being in a room with a vampire can be like being in a room with a bug that might start flying at any moment, especially when the vampire starts moving suddenly again after standing still.

[2.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] When a vampire stands still, they stand perfectly still. More motions are a conscious decision than not.

The Creeps

If playing with “The Creeps” optional rule, the vampire’s player rolls a hidden D6 at the start of every Scene. On a 6, they will privately message or signal the Narrator, and the Narrator will call for “The Creeps” at the next available opportunity, without revealing that it is the result of having a vampire present. Players and investigators alike will wonder what is so anxiety-inducing about this clean office building or peaceful elevator ride. Add +1 to any The Creeps Composure roll by investigators who are friends with the vampire and are aware of the vampirism.

Bloodthirsty (Vampire True Nature)

[Snoop: That tall skinny lady vampire snoop with the big hat biting into another snoop’s neck. Use a pose where she is holding the other snoop in front of herself. I’ll find or make a reference I don’t know what the pose is called.]

Vampires do not need to eat regular meals,[1][2] nor do they need to sleep, so they suffer no Flat Composure Damage from skipping meals nor from staying up all night. However, they also do not gain any Composure Points from eating normal food or getting sleep. 

Flat Composure Damage from Skipping Meals = No 

Composure restoration from Three Meals a Day  = No 

Flat Composure Damage from Skipping Sleep = No 

Composure restoration from Full Night’s Sleep = No

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Though their sensitivity to spices and their lack of saliva can sometimes prove an obstacle, vampires actually can eat and even enjoy ‘normal food,’ though it provides no nutritional benefit. It is not actually known what happens to ‘normal food’ consumed by vampires, except that it doesn’t seem to come out.  

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires do not have to drink blood with any sort of regularity, only when they need it, which is something that may vary from vampire to vampire, and in the case of vampire investigators, depend on how much Composure they are losing. 

Vampires need to drink fresh, living human blood, and a lot of it, in order to exist in any degree of comfort. Animal blood does nothing for them.[1][2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] If this really needs to be stated, no, menstrual blood isn’t really blood and does not work.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Though they are unlikely to ever “lose control,” at least not more so than a famished mortal, a vampire will almost never feel completely satiated.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] 2:173. 

Making a Wound

A vampire does not have to use their fangs to make a wound and drink blood, they may use their claws, a knife, or even a phlebotomy needle if the other person would just hold still.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A vampire is a gaping wound left where a life used to be, and now the world is bleeding out. 

When Grabbing or Holding a target, the vampire can use their fangs, claws, a knife, or whatever else they prefer to open a large blood vessel and press their lips to it to drink blood. These wounds are not magical and will heal like any other wound if allowed to, and do not transform the victim into a vampire or anything else of the sort.

This attack uses Athletics or Close Combat and, regardless of superhuman strength, does 4 damage on a Full Success, 2 damage on a Partial Success, and no damage on a Failure. The type of damage is up to the vampire.

They may choose to do 4 Superficial Damage by making a smaller wound and/or targeting a less critical blood vessel, such as the radial or elbow brachial;[1] or they may choose to do 4 Penetrative Damage by creating a larger wound and/or targeting a more critical vessel, such as the carotid, jugular, shoulder brachial, or femoral.[2]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] All of these blood vessels are critical to the human body. 4 Superficial Damage from attacking a “less critical” vessel can still result in loss of consciousness or even death. 

[2 Off to the side in the final formatting] Arterial blood is oxygenated and relatively free of debris compared to venous blood, and as such it is preferred by most vampires.

In order for the vampire to be considered to have consumed a sufficient amount of blood, the victim must be forced to make an Injury roll as a direct result of the damage from this attack. The success or failure of the victim’s Injury roll is irrelevant.

Drinking copious amounts of blood is not something that can be done as speedily as any regular combat action. It is simply not viable to measure this in Rounds. Once the vampire starts drinking, they will be drinking for the remainder of the combat. The victim gets to make only one Escape attempt for the duration of the blood draining.[1]

Superficial Damage

Time to Injury Roll: 10 minutes

Time to Death: 30 minutes.

Penetrative Damage

Time to Injury Roll: 1 minute.

Time to Death: 2 minutes.

Once the victim expires, their blood is no-longer nutritious.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires are not people who are cursed with vampirism, they are the curse–everyone else who has to deal with them are who’s cursed. The suffering of their prey is part of the feeding process. They are ghosts, dead, the blood they drink is life. The vampire legend largely arises from the grief of losing family members by watching them suffer slow, very painful deaths from illnesses, the vampire is representative of the pain of having to watch a loved one waste away. The blood has to be preferably taken by force and it has to hurt, because what they’re really consuming is the slow and agonizing extraction of life from the living. This is why there can be no substitute for human blood. 

[1.1. off to the side in the final formatting] Why was this allowed to happen to them?

[1.2. off to the side in the final formatting]  Why are they allowed to happen to other people?

[1.3. off to the side in the final formatting] Are they real?

During this process, if they are going for Penetrative damage, the vampire must also make a Reflexes roll to attempt to remain clean while drinking blood. If they just don’t care about manners, however, they can choose to simply Fail and skip the roll.[1]

Full Success: They do not spill a drop, leaving no evidence on their person that they just drank blood.

Partial Success: They are not fast enough to drink from the wound, and blood spirts onto their face and mouth.

Failure: They are not fast enough to drink from the wound, and blood gets everywhere. On the ground, on their face, on their clothes. This will be very hard to explain.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Most vampires’ fangs will take on a slight curve when they are allowed to grow out long enough, perfect for sinking in behind large arteries and pulling them out, where they can then be used like a straw. This is, of course, very efficient, but always fatal. More conscientious vampires may create smaller cuts or puncture marks in major blood vessels from which to drink.

Willing Donors 

If the other person is cooperative, there is no need to roll the Grabs, Holds, bites, etc. The vampire can just deal the damage using their teeth, claws, knife, or even a phlebotomy needle, if they’d just hold still. Choosing to deal Superficial Damage consumes 2 Ticks. Penetrative Damage consumes 1 Tick, and still requires a Reflexes (or Medicine in this case) roll to avoid a mess.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] The vampire is nourished by the suffering of those who care about them the most.

Blood Banks 

There are of course establishments which keep large quantities of human blood in stock. However, this doesn’t provide an easy solution to a vampire’s problem. They are always at least somewhat secure, and their stock is carefully tracked. What’s more, for blood to be any good to a vampire, it has to be fresh, nothing that’s been separated from the body for too long. If it’s near expiry, it’s worthless. A haul of fresh blood bags will restore at most 1 point of Composure.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Someone will be liable for that missing inventory, and someone else will go without a vital transfusion. There is always a wound.

Composure Restoration

A vampire recovers 1 point of Composure when they cause a victim to make an Injury roll as a result of the damage dealt by having their blood drained. A vampire can gain at most 1 Composure from the same victim this way within a single Scene, no matter how many subsequent Injury rolls within the same Scene.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Does communion wine count for blood to a vampire? Do you believe in transubstantiation? Is a vampire not equally the person they once were, and something much greater and more terrible at the same time?

Continuing to drain blood until the victim expires will restore 1 additional point of Composure.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] In the event that the victim dies before they are caused to make an Injury roll, the vampire will still regain 2 Composure.

When a vampire drinks blood, they will also regain 1 additional point of Composure if they do at least 5 Morale damage,[1] or 3 points of Composure damage, to the victim within the same Scene before or during the blood draining.[2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This is possible even if the victim does not have 5 total Morale to loose, so long as the vampire does enough Morale-lowering things to be equivalent to 5 Morale damage. It is recommended that the vampire’s player keep track of this, to lighten the load on the Narrator. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting]   This does have the added benefit of getting the victim’s adrenaline going and their heart pumping fast. After all, vampires feed on human suffering as much as the literal blood itself.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Terrifying or tormenting a victim alone without actually drinking blood will not restore any of the vampire’s Composure.

Where Does the Blood Go?

When fresh human blood enters a vampire’s stomach, it soon finds its way into the vampire’s own blood vessels through unknown means, their own heart even fluttering back to life to circulate it evenly, filling the vampire with warmth and life again from the inside out. This blood remains in their system for an irregular amount of time before eventually fading away to nothingness. If cut, they will bleed the victim’s blood.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Though they have no reason to fear (permanent) death from weapons, when vampires make Composure rolls for being damaged by weapons, it could be considered that that which nourishes them is being drawn from their body. It’s almost like food being taken right out of their stomach.

For gameplay purposes, consider a vampire to have their most recent victim’s blood flowing through their veins so long as they are at 4 Composure or above,[1] with a higher level of realistic human warmth the closer they are to 7 Composure. Below the threshold of 4 Composure, the inside of their body will be dry, starchy, and off-black.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Yes, this does mean that some small amount of liveliness can seemingly return to them through other means of Composure restoration.

When that which is not living human flesh and blood enters a vampire’s stomach, it does nothing to nourish the vampire, merely sitting in the stomach until suddenly vanishes after 1 Tick.[1][2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] No one knows where used up blood and other food items end up, least of all the vampire. They don’t seem to come out of either end, and most vampires would be hesitant to search too hard for answers.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires truly give nothing back, not even to the soil.

[3. off to the side in the final formatting] Substances which cause altered states of consciousness, such as alcohol and narcotics, will have no effect on a vampire if taken by mouth. However, chemicals in a victim’s blood can affect the vampire, such that drinking from an inebriated victim could inebriate the vampire. If the vampire’s own veins are flowing with blood, substances taken through injection could also affect them. Substances taken by smoke inhalation will likely irritate a vampire due to the smell, but may or may not otherwise affect them.

Smelling Blood

Vampires use their heightened sense of taste and smell to sniff out human blood. A vampire can confirm if there is human blood - inside or outside a person - within the vicinity with a Partial Success on a Senses roll. With a Full Success, they can identify approximate number of individuals, their general direction and proximity, and in some cases may be able to recognize individuals whose blood they have smelled or tasted before.

Scent Tracking 

Vampires are capable of Scent Tracking. (See p.xx “Scent Tracking”.) Apply a -2 penalty to the roll if the scent trail and scent example do not involve the target’s blood in any way.

I Burn Easily (Vampire Weakness)

Vampires have several literally “debilitating” weaknesses, other weaknesses that appear more neurotic, a special method required to kill them permanently, and many noteworthy tells.

Sunlight

Direct sunlight will debilitate a vampire for the duration of their exposure, rendering them unable to use or benefit from powers marked as such above. “Direct” sunlight exposure means being outside during the day, in the sun’s rays pouring through a window, or similar direct exposure.[1] Artificial UV light also counts. Shady areas and clouds will not prevent debilitation, but may help mitigate the worst of the sun’s effects.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Moonlight is not strong enough exposure to debilitate the vampire or impose penalties, though it may still feel like it stings a bit.

In addition to debilitation from their powers, when exposed to direct sunlight vampires suffer a -7 penalty to all rolls, including Composure rolls, representing painful rapid onset sunburn and eventual degradation of the skin as strength is sapped from their body. Sunlight does not do any direct HP damage to vampires, though the Composure damage could dip into HP.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] It is unknown whether this sunburn and degradation of the skin will eventually escalate to disintegration, most vampires are not interested in staying exposed long enough to find out. The earliest depiction of a vampire being killed by sunlight is Nosferatu(1922).

While nothing short of a full-body radiation suit can prevent debilitation, there are a few things a vampire can do or wear to mitigate the worst of the effects. Each of the following will lessen the severity of the sunlight penalty by 1, to a minimum of -0.

High SPF Sunscreen

Sunglasses

Hood or Wide Brimmed Hat

Full Body Coverage Below Neck (including feet but not hands)

Gloves

Umbrella or Parasol

Cloak, Jacket, or Overcoat

Heavy Shade

Overcast or Rainy Day

Once per Scene, upon being exposed to direct sunlight, a vampire must make a +3 Composure roll. This Composure roll is affected by the sunlight penalty as well as the mitigating factors thereof.

Silver

Direct physical contact with silver will debilitate a vampire for the duration of their exposure, rendering them unable to use or benefit from powers marked as such above.

Silver burns a vampire’s body as though it is white hot, and this disruption of their being confers a -4 penalty to all rolls, including Composure rolls, for as long as they are in contact. Silver does not do any direct HP damage to vampires, but being damaged by a silver weapon will apply the -4 penalty to the resulting Composure roll.

Silver Bullets

Silver is a particularly soft metal. A bullet made of silver, or even just plated in silver, when penetrating a target at high velocity is likely to shatter within the body and leave small pieces of silver residue behind.[1] Each time this character is shot with a silver bullet, look at the physical dice that were rolled. If they are both odd numbers or both even numbers, the bullet does leave a bit of silver in the body and the character is considered to be in physical contact with silver for all rules purposes until these pieces are dug out.[2]

[1 off to the side in final formatting] At the time of writing this, a single, fireable, professionally manufactured silver bullet costs $150+Shipping.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] To be perfectly clear, this is not about modifiers or cumulative value of the dice. If you roll the dice and see two odd numbers or two even numbers on the physical dice, that is when there are bits of silver left in the body. For D12s, silver is left in the body if any D12 in the roll shows an 8 or a 9, even if that specific die did not cause a hit–so long as another D12 in the same group did cause a hit. 

Silver Hollow Points

Silver hollow point bullets will always leave what counts as a single piece of silver stuck in the body.

Silver Pellets

Silver shotgun shell pellets, flechettes, or other weapons which hit with numerous pieces of silver at once will always leave silver stuck in or clinging to the body.

Silver Melee Weapons

Silver melee weapons must be stuck in and left in the vampire’s physical body in order to fully debilitate them.

Digging Silver Out

Silver lodged in the vampire’s physical body will obviously be in contact with them and debilitating them indefinitely until it is removed. These can be carefully surgically removed with professional medical aid, or dug out hastily by the vampire (or someone else) on the spot. For a vampire to rip or cut silver out of their body on the spot, they must take an action and cause 1 Penetrative Damage to themselves to remove a single piece, or 2 Penetrative Damage to remove every piece at once in the case of multiple pieces, such as silver shotgun pellets.[1]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This damage is not reduced by their innate damage reduction, the values present already account for that.

Nasal Sensitivity

Vampires must have “Nasal Sensitivity" somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. Strong-scented herbs, such as garlic, onions, spices, etc. overwhelm the vampire’s keen sense of smell and they will usually attempt to avoid these scents when possible, though it does not damage them.[1]

One per Scene, upon breathing in or tasting these or similar strong-scented herbs will prompt a Nasal Sensitivity Composure check.[1][2]

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] Remember, vampires only need to breathe for the purposes of smelling and talking.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Having something to put over their nose and mouth when they breathe, such as a handkerchief, may serve as a comforting factor for this Composure roll, or just negate the need for it altogether if the scent is not particularly strong.

Sometimes it is as simple as not breathing, but more aggressive irritants, such as pepper spray or tear gas will be extremely effective against a vampire regardless. Irritant weapons will immediately impose a (Superficial) Injury roll upon vampires, regardless of actual damage done. The result of this Injury roll will always count as one degree of success lower than the actual result.

There is a silver lining to a vampire’s hypersensitivities. They have a Base bonus to any Senses roll involving taste or smell based on the severity of their Nasal Sensitivity. 

The Base modifier for taste and smell based Senses rolls is as follows:

Nasal Sensitivity -3 = +7 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity -2 = +6 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity -1 = +5 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +0 = +4 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +1 = +3 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +2 = +2 Base Bonus 

Nasal Sensitivity +3 = +1 Base Bonus 

If the vampire is an NPC, consider them to have a +4 Base bonus. Breathing in or tasting strong-scented herbs or spices will cost them -1 Morale, and being sprayed with irritant weapons will cost them -2 Morale.

Religious Iconography and Holy Grounds

A vampire must have “Religious Iconography” and “Holy Grounds” as separate entries at some rank on their Tiers of Fear.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] This weakness does not necessarily mean they have renounced or turned against their religion, often quite the opposite.

The vampire does not need to make a Composure check just from seeing or touching a holy symbol. However, if someone hides behind a symbol of their faith from the vampire, and the vampire attacks or otherwise physically harms them regardless, then the vampire must make the Religious Iconography Composure check.[1][2][3][4][5] 

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting.] If a vampire attacks someone and only finds the symbol afterwards, this still calls for a Composure check.

[1.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] The holy symbol does not literally have to be brandished for it to make the vampire reconsider harming someone. A visible cross necklace, or a cross hanging on the wall above a potential victim’s bed would also be sufficient.

[1.2.  Off to the side in the final formatting] Audible prayer, or gestures such as the sign of the cross, may also be considered “holy symbols” for the purposes of this rule.

[2. Off to the side in the final formatting.] It is up to the vampire whether the particular culture or religion of the holy symbol counts as a Comforting Factor or not.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Some vampires who have just woken up may not be fully up-to-date on their holy symbols. For instance, the Star of David only became a definitive symbol of Judaism during the Holocaust.

[4 off to the side in the final formatting] For defining what does and does not count as a “holy symbol”, simply ask “Would you kneel and pray before it?” Do two yardstick or fireplace pokers laid across each other count as a cross? Would you pray before them? Perhaps the answer lies in how desperate you are. 

[5 off to the side in the final formatting] They have been 'alive' for hundreds of years, and no punishment has come for them, but what kind of a world are they creating if they devour someone who has nothing to protect them but their faith? Don’t they want faith to be an aegis, a safe refuge? 

[5.1. Off to the side in the final formatting] Do they fear the crucifix as they fear punishment from God, or do they fear a world where not even God protects the meek and helpless? 

[5.2. Off to the side in the final formatting] Don’t they want faith to save them? 

If a vampire knowingly intrudes upon holy/consecrated grounds, they must make a Holy Grounds Composure check.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Holy ground that has been desecrated in some way may reduce the penalty on a vampire’s Composure Roll. In other cases, the sight of holy ground being desecrated may be distressing enough to the vampire to negate any “comforting factor.”

If the vampire is an NPC, then seeking protection from a holy symbol is considered to lower Morale by -2. (This only works once per encounter.) A vampire investigator can also make a Social Cues roll to determine if a victim hiding behind a holy symbol really has faith in the symbol to protect them. If the vampire can be confident that they do not, this can count as a “comforting factor” for the purposes of Composure Rolls. If an investigator is hiding behind a holy symbol from an NPC vampire, and they do not have any actual faith in the holy symbol, they must make a Manipulate Roll to at least look like they do. If it is a Failure, the vampire will be able to tell, and the symbol will reduce their morale by one less point.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] A vampire can tell when you are smugly using their own faith against them. 

Intruding

Vampires must have “Intruding” somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. Vampires posses a neurotic, compulsive respect for others’ privacy and the sanctity of their home, a deep-seated feeling of not belonging or being unwanted, a desire to make the sport fair, or all of the above.[1] They will not willingly enter a private residence without a direct invitation from the residents.[2] The vampire knowingly entering a private residence uninvited prompts an Intruding Composure roll. If the vampire is directly told to leave a residence by a resident, failure to do so will also prompt an Intruding Composure roll.[3][4][5]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] It is possible that their centuries of consciousness has given them certain irrational hangups regarding etiquette, or it is possible that they want there to be a space of safe refuge for each person somewhere on Earth. Maybe they’re just accustomed to being the last thing anyone ever wants to see. 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] In the case of rented private residences, it is up to the vampire’s opinion whether a landlord, renter, or both has the authority to invite them in. In the case of hotel rooms, it is up to the vampire’s opinion if the resident, an employee, and/or the hotel owner has the authority to invite them in. (This only applies to the room, not the hotel lobby or halls.) 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] A “welcome” mat may serve as a comforting factor for this Composure roll if the vampire is pedantic enough, but not allow it to be bypassed entirely. 

[4  off to the side in the final formatting] Depending on the social awareness of the vampire in question, these invitations and uninvitations will often need to be clear and obvious, such as saying “Come in.” or “Get out!” Merely opening the door will not count as an invitation, and merely acting hostile or rude will rarely, if ever, count as an uninvitation.

[5 off to the side in the final formatting] It takes a very specific kind of person to become a vampire, and many elements of “vampirism” may actually be elements of them.

Running Water

When passing over any significant amount of running water, whether jumping, wading through, crossing a bridge, taking a boat, flying over, etc., a vampire risks becoming dizzy and disoriented. They must make a Reflexes roll.

Full Success: They are able to keep their bearings without issue.

Partial Success: They are affected badly enough to stumble, but not completely lose their bearings. This may lose them a Tick, or a movement action in combat.

Failure: The vampire loses their bearings completely and falls to the ground. This may lose them a Tick, or an entire turn in combat. In the worst case scenario, such as if they are wading through the water or crossing a narrow bridge with no guard rails, this may cause them to fall and become fully submerged in the water.

Crossing over still water, small sources of running water such as indoor plumbing, or walking around in a city that has a sewer system will not affect the vampire. Narrators should only call for this Reflexes roll when success or failure would actually affect or alter the situation.

The ocean will always count as running water.

Submersion in Water

If a vampire becomes completely submerged in water, they will cease to function completely, their body totally paralyzed. The vampire is considered debilitated and cannot take any action under these circumstances. They cannot drown, and will revive as soon as any part of themselves surfaces.

Vampires with a Composure level of 4 or more can move through water normally so long as they do not fully submerge at any point. Vampires with a Composure level of 3 or less are not buoyant, and sink, applying a -2 penalty to any roll to swim or keep themselves afloat.

Arithmomania

Either a result of hundreds of years of consciousness, or because they’re just like that, many vampires possess a compulsive need to know the quantity of large numbers of small objects, such as grains of rice, or even sand in extreme cases.[1] They must have “Ignorance of Quantity” somewhere on their Tiers of Fear. If the vampire is confronted with something like this, ignoring it will prompt an Ignorance of Quantity Composure roll. If they choose to count it, they must make a Paperwork roll. (Particularly large amounts of objects may take longer to count than listed below, up to the Narrator's discretion.)[2][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] In extreme cases where knowing the exact quantity isn’t humanly possible, this character is too smart to be stuck counting literally forever. If this character feels they must know the number of grains of sand on a beach, consider a Technology roll instead of a Paperwork roll as they use their phone to Internet search the approximate packing density of sand and the square footage of the beach they’re on.  

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] There is no need to give vampires the Arithmomania mundane Trait. 

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] While numbers are the most documented, any particular vampire may have an entirely different obsessive compulsion. 

Full Success: They count it quickly enough to not disrupt what they were doing. 

Partial Success: They must spend one turn (or one Tick) counting and can do nothing else for the duration. 

Failure They must spend two turns (or two Ticks) counting and can do nothing else for the duration. 

Despite the drawbacks of this compulsion, the vampire has a +2 Contextual bonus to any rolls involving numbers or math (including those induced by their compulsion), such as a Paperwork roll to figure out if numbers in an account book add up or recognizing a pattern in a string of seemingly random numbers. In addition, when this bonus is applied to an Investigative roll, this character gets additional Investigation Points. They get more Investigation Points the more severe their compulsion, as noted below:

Ignorance of Quantity -3 = +6 Investigation Points 

Ignorance of Quantity -2 = +5 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity -1 = +4 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +0 = +3 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +1 = +2 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +2 = +1 Investigation Points

Ignorance of Quantity +3 = +0 Investigation Points

Once per Scene, they also gain 1 Investigation Point each time they make note of the quantity of a set of objects.

If the vampire is an NPC, then consider ignoring countable objects to cost them -1 Morale. If they choose to count them, make them roll at +2.[1]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] In south Louisiana, it is tradition to leave a colander or a cheese grater on your porch over night, so that if a vampire or loup-garou tries to approach, they will get distracted and be stuck counting all the holes until the sun chases them away in the morning.

[1.1 off to the side in the final formatting] but most vampires would think that’s pretty stupid, because they can just count the holes on one edge and then multiply.

Stakes

If any object, wooden or otherwise, is driven completely through and through a vampire’s heart, they will cease to function completely, their body totally paralyzed. The vampire is considered debilitated and cannot take *any* action under these circumstances.[1] This applies even if the heart is not currently in the vampire’s chest.

[1. Off to the side in the final formatting] This does not kill the vampire, turn them to dust, or anything of the sort.

The vampire will revive immediately as soon as the object is removed.

Light Sensitivity

For the purposes of flashbangs, add a +3 Contextual bonus to the resulting Senses roll for vampires.

How to Kill a Vampire For Good

Following these steps in the correct order may be able to permanently get rid of a vampire. 

Drive a long object, wooden or otherwise, through and through the vampire’s heart to paralyze them. 

Decapitate the vampire while they are still paralyzed. 

Incinerate both the severed head and the body in separate fires–careful, if the stake is made of wood, it may burn up before the body does, rendering the vampire able to move again even if they are decapitated. 

Mix the resulting ashes from both fires with blessed water. 

If possible, have blood relatives of the vampire in question drink the ashes with the water. There is still no guarantee that following these steps will permanently prevent a vampire’s return, but following through to the last step will give the best possible chance of destroying them for good. 

To determine if a vampire will return, the Narrator should roll a hidden D6, adding a +1 modifier for each of the above steps that were completed. Subtract -2 if the steps were not done in exactly the sequence listed above. On a result of 8 or more, the vampire will not return. 

Misc. Tells

Spectral

The higher a vampire’s Composure, the more “normal” and biological they will seem, with more flushed and warmer skin, and even often a real heartbeat.

The lower a vampire’s Composure, the more spectral, palled, cold, and sometimes even “fuzzy” they will seem. Touching them may even have the tiniest bit of give, as if one could phase right through them with enough pressure, and may evoke the feeling of touching a CRT screen. The vampire themselves will experience physical numbness.

Vampires are likely to express mild discomfort in colder environments, unless they have recently inundated themselves with warm blood.

Eyes

While normal at first glance, under low-light conditions, a vampire’s eyes reflect red light with a shine not unlike those of an animal.

Vampires also have no need to blink, and will often forget to unless they are consciously thinking to do it.

Fangs

A vampire’s fangs are growing out at a constant rate, and must be filed down to a manageable size every few months or so. Larger fangs are quite easy to spot for anyone looking at the vampire’s mouth, especially when they speak. Vampires will often cover their mouths when they speak directly at someone, disguising it as scratching their nose or some other innocuous action.[2] Of course, they could also easily pass them off as well-made dental prosthetics.[1][3]

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] What, did you think they were a real vampire? 

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] The vampire’s player should mention this in descriptions but not draw too much emphasis to it.

[3 off to the side in the final formatting] Some vampires may not have fangs. The question isn’t why they don't, but why others do.

Additionally, the fangs can make it quite hard to pronounce TH and W sounds. 

Reflections and Photography

Neither vampires, nor objects on their person considered assimilated, appear in any sort of reflection nor in analogue photography. Items that are not assimilated will appear to float in mid air in reflections and analogue photography.

Vampires do appear in digital imaging, but facial recognition and other image analysis software will not be able to detect or identify them.

Electromagnetic Field

Vampires seem to produce an exceptionally strong electromagnetic field. It is not enough to severely damage most modern electronics, but it would make an EMF detector go off immediately.[1][2]

[1 off to the side in final formatting] Some experts claim that the vampire in fact is this electromagnetic field, and the person one sees while looking at the vampire is a hallucination brought on by this field’s effect on the human brain.

[2 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires often struggle with touch screen devices, and not just because they’re old. They tend to prefer physical buttons.

Shadows

Vampires, and anything they have assimilated, do not cast shadows from most artificial light, such as flashlights and ceiling lights, but do cast shadows from sunlight and moonlight. Sometimes, regardless of their current manifestation, a vampire’s shadow will be that of the Monstrous Beast manifestation. 

Gaunt Appearance

Vampires usually, but not always, appear as a ‘snapshot’ of themselves upon death. Therefore, it is not uncommon for vampires to appear gaunt, emaciated, or otherwise unhealthy, though the degree may be subjective to the viewer.[1] Vampires who were missing body parts for a significant amount of time in life will still be missing them in death.

[1 off to the side in the final formatting] Vampires are subjective. 

Animals

When a vampire encounters animals of any degree of intelligence, the Narrator will roll a hidden D6. If 1: The animal will react with extreme fear and hostility towards the vampire, though will likely be afraid to outright attack. If 2-5: The animal will not distinguish between the vampire and a normal person. If 6: The animal will be unable to perceive the vampire at all. 

Exact Orientation

When not debilitated by a weakness, vampires may sometimes accidentally “orient” themselves to surfaces that they do not need to, such that they will appear to be standing at a slight angle on slopes surfaces while everyone else is standing directly up. This is often hardly noticeable, and the steeper the slope, the more likely the vampire is to catch themselves and stand “correctly.”

[elysiansparadise]

Welcome back! 💗 How nice that you are currently writing posts again. I really missed your content, it is always so enlightening. May I ask what your thoughts are on Uranus in the 4th house? 🔮

Hello love. Thank you so much, we are finally back on track. And sure, I can give some insights about this placement.💗

Uranus in the 4th house

The emotional world of these natives can seem complex, their calm attitude can make them seem detached, when in reality they have the ability to take their emotions and analyze them in detail. There may be in them a feeling of not belonging, of being very different from other members of their family and a peculiar sensation when faced with the term "home", bringing with it a set of complex emotions, from longing for some security, to feeling that they have not explored that as such. It is likely that throughout their life they have experienced changes at home, that they have an unusual family or home situation or that there is a certain disconnection, whether physical or emotional, with their family. They learned to adapt and go with the flow, due to sudden changes in their family dynamics or in their parents' mood. In some cases and depending on how well Uranus is aspected, there may be the feeling that one or both parents are more friends than parents. From a very young age they learned to rely on themselves and not depend on anyone, probably not even needing anyone. A feeling of loneliness or having been misunderstood at some point in your childhood. 

These people recognize their friends as family, generating stronger and more emotional ties with them, which makes them quite selective when choosing them. "I'm not limited to my biological family, I can start my own family." They may find that sense of family in friends, groups, or even their friends' families. In the same way, these natives tend to be caring and attentive friends, always making sure that those to whom they give such a title are comfortable, happy and safe. They can be very reserved with their things, as they will always choose to make their own decisions and not let anyone tell them how to live their lives. They have a great ability to adapt to any situation with resilience and a down-to-earth perspective. Many of them may be very nervous or anxious when it comes to the topic of family, not necessarily out of fear of commitment, rather a terror of making the same mistakes as their parents or some concern about the idea of ​​having children. Many of them can find comfort in things like the internet, video games, music and whatever their hobbies are, beyond being something they do just out of boredom, they are things they put their heart into and make them feel good.

One of the things that makes them most nervous is seeing how the ties they build or what makes their heart happy end, although it is something in which they realize that it can end, it makes them have a harsher time with breakups of any kind. This is because they are afraid to surrender, but when they do they know it is totally true. Emotional intimacy is liberating for them even if it is difficult for them. They look for a soft spot or place to feel like they can be themselves uninhibitedly. They look for that because they know that they are able to give it in return, an environment of acceptance and encouragement instead of a place full of criticism and finger-pointing. They can be very self-analytical people, always keeping themselves in check, seeing what is happening in their inner world and exploring themselves to know themselves completely. Many of them have been very creative since they were children and although they are somewhat reserved with their authentic and emotional side, once you are someone they appreciate a lot, spontaneous displays of affection will await you.

-> Go back to the masterlist

[wachinyeya]

How do you live with the sorrow and fear because of the horrifying predictions of our future that will likely be and the earth becoming uninhabitable, and it happening faster than expected? I'm trying to learn how not to have panic attacks about it every day so I can actually live my life while I still can and try and make at least some difference

let me just say that you're not alone in your pain, in your feelings and in your fears, in your grief...it is REAL--it can feel like a wound. you're like many, many people who know and have known that things are wrong and that things must be done. there are lots of reasons to be afraid, to feel sorrow and you're right in that we have to find a way to not be struck down by it so that we can act.

and let me tell you...people ARE acting. people ARE changing. things ARE changing. it won't happen as quickly as we want it to because nature and people are slow, and we've been wanting these things for years already and we've been screaming about these issues at the tops of our lungs and it feels as though there is always something that seems to stand in the way--there are those who want things to stay the same or who want to go back. or who believe there is no point in trying.

but, there is such a thing as a self fulfilling prophecy. we cannot truly know the future. we have predictions and we have knowledge, we have data, we have our problems and we have solutions, and we have MANY, MANY people out there willing to change and do better for a better future.

the simple hard fact is, my friend, is that We Can Not Give Up. There is no other option than to keep trying, to keep going, to keep finding the good as it comes with the bad. Even if it looks absolutely harrowing, even if some people tell you that we have no chance, that it's too late, we CANNOT GIVE UP. Because it isn't over until it is over. We have everything to gain by continuing to try, by learning from failures and from the past.

Nature adapts, and we are nature. Humanity is not evil. We are not inherently bad for this planet. We have this amazing world, this amazing creation all around us. And we are the younger siblings of all of it--We Have Everything We Need. We have each other. We have the world. And we can't give up.

You must have hope. When I am extra anxious about this, I like to go outside. I don't know if you're religious or spiritual but, I do like to just be thankful for the world around me and the fact that I am alive--that I have all I have in my life. I was taught that we are all related, that we are connected to the world around us in so many ways. I like to spend the time and pick up any trash I find. I like to admire the birds, the plants and the insects I find. I want to encourage you to, if at all possible, step away from any news sources that are currently stressing you out. This does not mean that you do not care about this...but I genuinely don't think we were meant to know all of the awful things happening around the world. It's okay to take a break from it. I've tried very hard to find positive news sources because I KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE TRYING, People are doing THINGS and making changes and movements...and by caring about the world and your place in it and the future of it, you are a part of that....Find what you are passionate about in terms of nature, the environment and focus on ONE part, on ONE thing you can do and put your heart into that because you would be surprised the ripples effect you will have. I'm sending you all my love, friend.

[cyb3rtarot]

Pick a Pile: Your Manifesting Analysis | Tarot Edition

Disclaimer: readings are not replacements for professional advice. Take what confirms and not what confuses. I’m reading a 9-card tarot spread about your manifesting style, and an extra general message. Both conscious & subconscious manifestation, both things physically worked for and spiritually manifested. You create your own fate. This is called “tarot edition” as I would like to make a Lenormand edition eventually :]

Links to help Palestinian families, even $1 helps!!! Family #5 is very close to the goal!! 1 2 3 4 5

pile 1 𓇼 pile 2 𓇼 pile 3 pile 4 𓇼 pile 5 𓇼 pile 6

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

Pile 1

[Wheel of Fortune rx, the Moon rx, four of wands, two of wands, the Emperor rx (clarified by Jera), Justice, the Lovers, the Master, We Are the World rx]

Helloo pile 1! I loved you guys’ energy, it was so unique!  There’s a lot of scenarios that don’t necessarily overlap; don’t force anything to fit. This pile has a complicated relationship with conscious manifestation, especially seen in the first card being the Wheel of Fortune rx. But, you have a very strong manifesting power if you wanted to tap into it. You’re aware of manifesting techniques and could be very observant when it comes to patterns between your mind and real life. But, there may be something off-putting about using this personally. A lot of you feel like you’re messing with the natural order if you consciously manifest. You could feel hesitant to change your environment or affect others’ lives. Some of you feel it’s pointless to manifest things for yourself, you’re not sure if you want to try, or you can’t choose something to go for. This could be because you’re very upset with the state of the world, or you’re more focused on your loved ones, so you’re like “we don’t have time for this!” with personal desire. There’s a constant focus on others. You may make collective justice and balance your responsibility. Or, feel like it’s a job/mission to take care of loved ones. I don’t get people-pleaser vibes; your brains inherently function this way. Many of you take the state of the collective personally, like a personal failing. You could have blamed yourself for things that happened in your environment, like family financial issues or relationship issues even when there were other factors. There’s just a gigantic pool of latent potential and a purposeful way you currently don’t use it to the fullest. This doesn’t mean you don’t manifest, but that your energy is on the passive side currently. You may prefer observing what naturally happens, or you’re always waiting for the “right time.”

You manifest naturally for others, particularly loved ones. You automatically think of the collective before yourself. Not necessarily because you want to be a helper or be liked, your mind just functions in a wide perspective. Someone could mention something specific they want, and then within the week they (or both of you) suddenly have the opportunity to do that. Most of you are aware of this pattern and it mostly happens without trying, but you’re not opposed either. 

This pile is very open & accepting. You’re understanding of walking one's own path and of light & shadow coexisting. You accept people as they are and not just their potential, and this may be part of why you’re not as drawn to conscious manifestation. You have gigantic compassion for humanity, and it empowers manifesting for others. You show what's possible, not just materially but also as a great learning environment. I don’t think you necessarily like people themselves so you could be like :| but you give others space to be as they are even when you do have higher hopes. That’s compassion—an expression of  love, even if it doesn’t feel like what you’d consider love. You may have associated with people from many different areas of life, including those looked down upon (or you yourself have come up from rougher places). People who don’t understand you may view you as silly or naive, but most of you know what you’re doing. It’s ironic, your compassion fuels your abilities but also fuels a lack of interest in using them.

Your easy-going tendencies act like a magnet. People may easily get comfortable after knowing you for a short time (I see a random person gravitating towards you in a quiet lobby and suddenly chatting you up). Or, you’re very adept at reading others, so people don’t necessarily need to tell you a lot for you to know. But, you guys need to be careful of who’s allowed in your energy. Hold on before you lose interest because ik most of you don’t gaf LOL. But people get very deeply interlinked with your energy to the point where your realities can mirror. The example I got is a friend could lose a job but get another one very quickly, and then the exact chain of events happens to you. You should care about yourselves too. I’m not picking up on esteem issues, so you may not apply advice about protecting yourself because you chose this path and you’re not doing it based on something you lack in yourself. You know what people are like and choose others anyway. But it’s still important, you need the same self care to produce your best lifetime just like others. I heard “emotional & spiritual hygiene;” be aware of how people in your energy influence your life and those tied to you (and effects can linger). Grounding & cleansing practices after interacting with others a lot will be beneficial (it can be spiritual, or it can be practical like showers and time by yourself). Be mindful of the consequences of who you associate with. If you hang out with someone who does unsafe activities, you potentially allow danger to carry over. Sometimes it doesn’t help the collective to be completely accessible, it can make it harder for others to learn (especially on a soul level, if you believe in reincarnation), and you sacrifice your learning too. What is imbalanced eventually returns to balance. 

You may notice something very specific passes through your thoughts or dreams and then you see a close manifestation of it in real life shortly after. I read this as intuition, but this pile is not as into spirituality as others so you may take this as pattern recognition. Maybe this is why some of you may blame yourself for bad things happening? Being able to pick up on patterns does not make you a harbinger of doom. Life is a group project, many things have to transpire for one event to potentially occur, don’t make everything your personal burden. Take care of your mental health even when you feel ok.

Message [All Must Have Prizes rx, Bluff (Jupiter in Gemini, 3rd house), Woman, Scythe]: 

You may be moving out this energy already, but there’s emphasis on releasing people-pleasing tendencies, even if you’re not doing anything with that intent. There may be an impending situation where it’s impossible to please everyone. You may only have enough resources/ time to give one person/group/yourself, or you might have to say something that doesn’t make everyone happy. This pile is used to diplomacy or bluffing through since you’re intuitive & good at reading others. But, this situation may show that diplomacy is not always the highest outcome, or the extent of what you don’t know can surprise you. A possible example is you could be surprised by the extent someone goes to get something, or someone could have an unexpected reaction to you. It’s not that you can’t work through this, but your immediate instincts or usual perspective may be shaken. You might need a logical perspective instead of trying to consider everyone’s emotions. This situation may seem sudden or feel like you’re on a timer, so be aware of default approaches and your blind spots. 

For conscious manifesting, pick something! For you. It doesn’t have to be big or related to someone else. Something doesn’t have to be important, amazing, or a passion to manifest it. Manifesting little things that cross your mind is great practice. If you keep looking for something “important enough,” you’ll stay in a loop forever. You’re not taking away from someone else by getting a treat. Focusing on your own thoughts and desires will help you find what’s left to be discovered in you. Treat it as an experiment, game, or side quest if that makes you more likely to do it.

Most of you had a vacuum of support you had to fill. Maybe most around you are not quite where you are in your journey. They may be more unstable, not as responsible in decision-making, less independent, or in more shaky times. Not to say you don’t have your own problems, but when you look at the lessons you go through by yourself these days compared to those around you, others seem to have more “imminent” needs, a crisis, or are asking for more support (this can just be how it appears). It’s like you’ve reached this place in your journey where there’s not many others who you can reflect off of constructively, have new experiences with, or an even exchange. If you read collective readings, or you hear advice, you may already understand it on an intrinsic level, so you don’t take it in very much. You’re used to everything and just looking towards others and helping. This is what has created a blind spot. If a situation like I described above happens, it may throw you for a loop because you’re not used to your wisdom or observation skills not working as usual. You’re not used to hearing new things that feel applicable to your life. And you’ve been looking back towards the collective so long to lend a helping hand that your own path forward is also in your blind spot. But, it’s still there. You have your own page in the collective story. Maybe this can be something to manifest, new experiences or people that advance your journey and show what’s left to learn?

Extra Details: swimming or hanging out in water (I saw really clear ocean water but could be a pool/etc), blocked/ “stuffy” heart energy,  Virgo rising/Libra 2nd house (twin), Libra rising/Sun/Moon/Mercury/Jupiter/ stellium, Mercury as a dominant planet, valley or west coast accent [US], living vicariously, apathetic or appears so, blaming yourself for negative events, Masochism by Ky Voss. I’m picking up some of you hang with a rougher crowd but if you feel unsafe around one person in particular pay attention to that! Sisyphus, songwriting (don’t give up hobbies just to focus on others!), not knowing where you stand with a higher power or the universe, feeling like you have a higher mission/calling for the collective, food service (servers/hostess), projector or reflector human design type, craving hamburgers, drawing/doodling (esp fanart?) or some kind of crafts (this may be something to try rather than something you already do), stationary, Quizilla, left-handed or ambidextrous, feeling like any change is too much/too fast, going along with what the other person in a relationship wants even if it's not preferred (especially pacing?), could be a lot more dominant or self-assured than you appear, INxJ or ISxJ personality type, if you already felt drawn to pile 2 it may resonate

Specific message: I keep getting some of you drawing connections between yourself (especially your body) and what happens around you but not in a positive way—maybe you use this as reason to deny yourself. You might have masochistic habits & thoughts. You need to apply a continuous, conscious effort to curate your life and change those thought patterns. Take care of yourself and don’t try to carry the whole collective. It’s not a disservice to tend to yourself and let others work through their lessons and wants, everyone needs their own learning experiences. Go to doctors if you have health concerns; don’t draw random conclusions!

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

Pile 2

[8 of Hearts rx, Temperance rx, Four of Swords, Going with the Flow, Success (clarified by Uruz), New Vision, Wheel of Fortune, the Emperor rx, the Moon]

Hi pile two! You excel at emotional transmutation, taking upsetting or imbalanced circumstances and transforming them. This returns you to a more stable state and fuels manifestation. Though all imbalanced things must eventually return to another state, you speed up this process through will & determination. I don’t get that you’re very spiteful but the energy is similar—the brute force of doing something just because you can. You take what would be major roadblocks or letdowns and use them as a drive forward. You might appear naive, flighty, or like you have unrealistic dreams, but then shock people when you do what you said you would or get where you said you’d be. This is not to say you don’t experience disappointment or low moods, but they energetically move you. You may be motivated by your loved ones’ wishes or moods too. There’s a “fake it til’ you make it” vibe; in day to day as well as manifesting. However, Temperance rx indicates an imbalanced approach. I see you giving 95% of whatever effort or thought you need to put in, riding on the motivation of it being a new idea or wanting to see if you can do it. Afterwards, you may quickly lose interest or move to something else, letting it come to fruition with the initial effort. You may get re-interested and return little by little over a long period, but I feel you put in big bursts of energy rather than a steady amount over a long time. This can cause random timing, some things happening very quickly and others taking years and years—you may forget you were supposed to be working towards something until years later. Others see the surface level of this, getting randomly interested and dropping things, and don’t see how loose ends get tied up over time. This is why you may have that surprising effect. I also pick up lighthearted energy when approaching challenges, which helps you to tap into emotional alchemy. That doesn’t have to be being sad and writing a song about it or something. It’s more about how energy produced by emotional movement keeps you going—literally you have “going with the flow.” Instead of sitting in one thing too long and anchoring yourself to that, you have a deeper sense of self, not needing to attach to one state or idea. However, you may be used to things finding a way to work out, so things that ask for a more continuous effort may get to you. Remember to return to your fluid nature if you find yourself obsessing; you just need to shift your mindset and approach. Especially if you only tried spiritual manifestation methods, as you may default to those and feel like you can’t go do something for some reason? Ask yourself what’s the unfulfilled need that’s making you hound over one thing; how can you provide for that need? If you have physical restrictions then you need creative methods when you feel trapped, such as online resources, or I see you mailing something.

Success as your center card? More likely than you think! Many figures in your cards are look upwards. There’s also angels and a monk. A major factor in your approach & manifestations may be belief placed in a higher power (or yourself/life, if you don't believe in one). I’m not getting very traditionally religious but a personal inner knowing. You may pray a little bit, though I feel like this pile generally likes to do it themselves. These cards reiterate the message about things returning to equilibrium. This is also a present message. If you’ve been experiencing a lot of little challenges—but you’ve continued to work with your shadow & perspective, you may soon embody a celebratory energy. However, returning to 0 applies to high points also. Make the most of times you like because these too eventually shift. Knowing this makes the dance smoother. You may feel like you’re going along with this energy rather than it coming from you. The metaphor I think of is a parade (that’s what’s on this success card) or being at someone’s party. Like the vibes around you are temporary but you enjoy the ride. For some there may be a specific person or group who will be riding out this energy with you (or you with them). In terms of overall manifestation, your cards suggest success with whatever approaches you use to bring your interests to reality. It may not be perfect but it’s suited to you, because you acknowledge your changing mind, emotions, and self. It’s hard to completely trap you in an energy because you don’t hold yourself to who you were 2 minutes ago. You may switch between physically working on goals and letting your faith do some things. You’re like a cheetah using its tail to stay on target during a chase—even if you have to change your approach or yourself you do it almost without thinking. Some of you recognize this but struggle with manifestation; there may be a disconnect with the constant shifts you go through, whether that’s in identifying your moods, or a need to develop grounding habits to cope with changes. 

I know this is a controversial phrase, but this pile takes “delulu is the solulu” as a life approach. Law of assumption could be relevant, or other manifesting methods where you feel the wish fulfilled. You keep it pushing regardless of what’s physically in front of you. You find little point in focusing on what is/was for too long and would rather find joy in your wildest dreams. For example, even if you didn’t get into the school or job you wanted at first you may continue to imagine what it would be like and just reapply. You could romanticize your life a lot, so you find some way to feel like you’re already living your best life. You may do this as a manifesting method, but it seems like who you are as a person.

A few of your cards were also in pile one’s reading (different decks). You don’t seem as averse to manifesting for yourselves, but if you were already drawn to that pile, some of it may be significant. It could also be relevant to someone you know or a different part of yourself (you have dual characteristics so maybe you embody this pile half the time and that pile the other half).

You have detached energy without purposefully detaching. You may hold the same goals for a long time even when it seems impossible, but you accept this and let time do its thing. You may really enjoy the mystery of “craving” something, the excitement and anticipation. Specific people here may have felt content with one-sided love or something similar without trying to go after the person or thing you loved? Seeing them or loving it was enough. You can appreciate the depth of desire as much as the satisfaction of getting the desire, very cool! This appreciation helps keep your wheel of fortune turning, like gratitude.

With the Uruz rune, something about you embodies manifestation itself? It’s like you understand the willpower and determination associated with manifesting, even against odds. You exercise this energy through acknowledging the process of manifesting— reality as it plays out, and not just the end story. Living is a success for you (?). Maybe something about your life is against the odds, maybe some of you are survivors? You have a very dynamic & active energy. You may struggle to tap into this all the time with chronic mental/physical health struggles, but you have a huge well of determination running under you even when not accessed.

Message [Curioser and Curioser, Riches (Saturn in Capricorn, 10th house), heart, bouquet]:

I got a lot of different potentialities so don’t force anything. The broadest explanation of what may be manifesting is your curious nature and willingness to live outside the box will have a good payoff. You kept questioning, researching, or engaging with something to learn more and now you’re making a discovery. This could also refer to choosing to follow along with something even though it’s not traditionally accepted. This may have been a long process or a struggle where you didn’t have a lot of support from those close. But, following your heart and continuing your pursuit of knowledge or skill—especially something unconventional or “never before done”—has culminated in something satisfactory. You may also receive something of physical value, especially through a relationship (not necessarily romantic, this could also be something like recognition at work or in a hobby, platonic gifts, even something from an institution like the local government?). An event that happened or will be happening at night is significant to this situation (or maybe you accomplish a lot at night).

Some of you have a connection to gaming. You could stream, work in game development, or may be playing a game that’s important to you. You may receive some kind of breakthrough in this area, have an idea for your game that really helps development, or if you’re playing something then you may have a breakthrough in the game lol. Especially if it’s a horror game.

Some of you are songwriters or another kind of writer. Many of you didn’t have family support on this but you may soon have an idea with a song or plot point. Or experience positive recognition for your work.

Tbh what came out here is freaky/18+ and I don’t wanna go there 😅 I will say if you’re in a relationship, you may soon learn more about your partner through intimacy; you may both open up to each other in a new way. Especially if this relationship is unconventional or very unique somehow, or if you were with this person out of curiosity? Maybe they were hesitant to talk about something important and you kept wanting to know more. You may enjoy a new activity with your partner you both like, maybe playing horror games or doing something with an adrenaline rush. If you’re not in a relationship, you may be receiving something heartfelt, important, or passionate. Or otherwise having a similar moment.

[CW traumatic event, family trauma] If something awful was done to you (especially by family) and you have been researching something regarding this, then some of you may find something that helps you better understand this event. Could be something that happened at night.

Extra Details: the scene where Patrick’s like “BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME TO!,” “THIS IS SPARTA!,” misunderstood as spiteful, upbeat or jokester, the tortoise and the hare (could embody both), talks or types in long sentences, S Asia, Non-traditional faith practice, making spirituality/religion contemporary, spiritual tattoos & art (especially Buddhist), stick-n-poke, blue & red tattoos, 2000s pop/internet culture, dualistic, yin & yang, Taoism, Libra (especially ascendant), retrograde natal planet in Libra/ Taurus/ Sagittarius (esp Mercury, Venus), trees, INxJ or ISxJ personality type, manifesting generator or reflector human design type, “if you don’t succeed try and try again,” “mind over matter,” relying on others physically, maybe you talk to your boss more than average or work closely with a supervisor, disabled, treated as naive. Office job with a lot of meetings or projects, development/tech/promotional work (your team may bring creativity to what the company does). May work with executives. Many of you seem indifferent or have a disconnect with the work environment. “Malcontent." Sonic, Gameboy, Undertale, 33, Cinderella especially the Grimm version, investigation about something that happened to you, work bonus, forbidden fruit—maybe a taboo or heavy relationship, some of you are restricted by family and your relationship rebels against that, or it’s helping heal inner child trauma. Some of you, for medical or cultural reasons your family has access to everything you do—even like a conservatorship. Be mindful of watchful eyes if so! Don’t get so excited you do something physically risky (having someone over when it’s likely to be caught, not using protection, etc) or let secrets slip. A relationship to the Earth, whether this is your mindset or being vegan/vegetarian, fruit gardeners? Could describe a partner. Night, esp late night is very significant. Lover with many earth placements, air mail, using physical activity to shift mood

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

Pile 3

[Silence, Politics, Mind, Knight of swords rx, the Chariot rx, Page of Pentacles, King of Wands, 4 of cups, 5 of wands rx]

Hello pile three! Tapping into your inner self, your inner “silence” is very important for your manifesting, but this may have been a struggle. When I imagine your inner self I see a calm void. Like the vast emptiness of the universe. But, on the outside, there’s a persona you’ve defaulted to. This developed so you could maneuver your environment or handle trauma, but now it’s entangled in your sense of self. It makes me think of a computer program that doesn’t exist anymore. Like if you click on a shortcut to a program that was deleted or moved. There’s this disembodied or dissociative energy when it comes to external behavior, like you’re acting on muscle memory. You could suddenly realize you’ve been talking to someone for the past 12 minutes but have no idea what was being said, but almost every social interaction may feel like this. There may be some kind of mental block that stops you from looking deeper within, such as chaotic memories or thoughts. You may have convinced yourself you must be a certain way even though it doesn’t feel right. This may be a blockage with vulnerability. It’s like there’s your inner self, and this persona is one manifestation of your inner self, and the “inner silence” is another, but the former creates blockages to accessing the latter sometimes. You might feel like you need to protect the inner version of yourself or your pride with your persona, or like if you embody your inner self that it’ll be a disservice somehow. 

First, this is not an uncommon experience; it’s just the realization that you’ve changed. The pattern continues because it’s an intricate web of learned behavior; it takes time to unthread. A serious reflection of whether your thoughts and actions align with you—and how you’ll respond if they don’t—may be necessary. I’m hearing even if you need to go one by one through a list of your thoughts to review them. Journaling may be helpful but meditation especially will be. Of course, seek medical advice if dissociation affects your functioning. Regardless, finding some way to tap into this inner void you’ve got inside is one key to your manifesting power. Detaching from the bells and whistles of your external “setup” and connecting more personally to oneness. It’s like you need or had to decondition things you’ve been taught or “trained” to do, especially by family. What does it mean to be connected to everything for you? There’s magic in the specific relationship you form with the universe. There’s a big emphasis on silence and stillness, as one might feel in a meditative state but also to emphasize that only by detaching from facades can you “hear” or feel you. Even if you’re not spiritual and do not do manifesting techniques, this process might ground you and help you find physical opportunities; you’ll more clearly see what’s available for you. Literally for some, someone may have offered you an opportunity but you rejected it because of external influence. 

There’s energy that reminds me of ego death. That may be significant even if you’ve never experienced it. Your inner world embodies that vast feeling. Some of you feel strangely familiar with the concept, maybe you remember a feeling of oneness or no ego but don’t remember when or why? The detachment process I mentioned will help quiet your mind. I am not suggesting anyone try to experience ego death, btw.

Let go of managing others’ expectations. There’s this wealth of knowledge or “universal strength” you have just inside the door, but you can’t get fully inside because everyone is hovering on your porch and you’re too polite to tell them to leave lol. Activities that reconnect you with quiet solitude are important. You don’t have to become a loner, but whatever relationships you have require a lot of mental energy. There’s a recurring theme of juggling others’ emotions, desires, or strategizing to make it to the other side of a conversation. That is so draining. Sometimes this is the place you find yourself in and sometimes we have to do this to protect our wellbeing. However, there’s a lot of pouring into this external drain but not enough rejuvenation to return to yourself afterwards. I think your natural manifesting tendencies are simple and naturally reveal themselves as long as you have quiet space and time to decompress. That means lessening the space you give to these draining energies and creating more space for yourself. Especially if you feel like you’re going through a transformation, you may need more rest. I’m not sure if you feel others are blocking your path? This reconnection with yourself may help you feel better about that or be able to analyze the situation. I don’t think everyone in your world is a villain; I really didn’t pick up on malicious energy—though maybe what makes them draining is a lack of self awareness or a certain selfishness. But I do see there are external things that are good for you, maybe a genuine friend or someone similar, this could also be activities you truly like and not ones you do because others do them. You may need to really reflect on what these are as the person in this 4 of cups has their back turned to who’s trying to shield them. This could still represent your need to reconnect more to the true you and understand that inner you can protect itself without acts. Overall, there’s a need for things that bring out your underlying confidence. Focus on what brings you out of your head. Though meditation is a mental activity, again it’s very beneficial for this pile (or similar things where you let thoughts pass). You may be surprised by what all can manifest or be perceived in a new light without going out and changing everything around. You may feel like manifesting a better life is physically impossible or very challenging, but letting yourself just be while you explore this transformation can bring opportunities, or let you see ones already here. (Again, not sure but there’s an opportunity close or already presented to many of you). This may also discuss your relationship with yourself, maybe you feel like you have to fight a battle with yourself or have something to prove to yourself? Detach from “have to’s” and ��what if’s.” 

If you’ve tried thought-based manifestation techniques, you may prefer other methods while your thoughts clear. Maybe during or after meditation you can “listen” to what desires you have and separate these from old or external ones. Or, exert physical effort into what you want. Though, I do feel this period is more about relearning yourself rather than manifesting everything.

Message [A Moment’s Regret, Ostentation (Saturn in Taurus, 2nd house), Coffin, Man]: 

This message is about the personality hurdles mentioned above, but another side. What I’m getting is most of you could compulsively act out old behaviors because there’s something you dislike about your present self. In your transformation, maybe you did something hurtful or regretful, and that has turned you off of exploring who your new self may be. Maybe there’s also an aspect of your lifestyle you want to bring forward but you’re unsure how to do it, or you don’t want to lose some of yourself. Either way, there’s some way you’re indulging in these behaviors, people, or places that no longer serve you, but it’s coming from a blurry perspective. While reading your cards I heard the word “integrate” a lot. If you did something you regret, you need to integrate those emotions into your conscious mind so you can purposefully choose how to interact with that part of yourself. Shying away from something internal will not make it go away. It’ll fester in your mind or subconsciously direct you. If you’re afraid you might do something you regret if you live as you are, you may need to integrate other lessons related to shame and lack of trust in oneself. Especially because whatever this is seems tied to your sense of security and self, whether that’s material resources or a more abstract fear regarding security. We all do things we regret. Being able to face and accept these parts of ourselves is crucial. This is a call for shadow work and reflection. It’s time to end the control these patterns have on you. Also no offense but as I read this I kept wanting to laugh for some reason. Whatever you’ve done that you'd rather not think about may feel very big because it’s steeped in emotion. But, from an outsider’s perspective, most of you have actually not done something so terrible that you need to hide away. I think in the future, you’ll look at it and be like no way this is what I was so caught up on. It’s like you’re despairing, slamming your fist on the floor and your guides/higher self are looking at you like “lol." I know it’s hard, but the laughter stood out to me, so maybe humor can help you integrate or when you finally do you’ll have a much different perspective on life. Either way, integration is important, and it can help you access your manifesting potential. Also, integrate hidden versions of yourself with your apparent personas.

Extra Details [alcohol/substance use, DUI mention]: peanut butter jelly, family w problematic beliefs, strict or conservative family, [name] Christina, tradition, really patriotic family/friends, regretting something you did to show off/out of spite/ because you could (for some, a friend got arrested because of a thing your group did?), family trauma or pressure, calculators, one close friend who understands you, lingering regret or shame, avoiding change to avoid the past, politics, period of regretful financial decisions, friendships built on falsities/ old versions of yourself, not trusting yourself with resources, fiery or “dynamic” personality in the past (to compensate?). Attack on Titan, pine trees, bullying, strained mother relationship, personality duality or two sides of you that seem irreconcilable, your friends may have helped you through times you felt less nurtured but now maybe your lifestyles are different, “wildcard” friends (never know what they’ll say or do), Jekyll and Hyde, partying, unsure when you should speak up, using friends’ transportation, blackouts, childhood friends (like infancy), zombies/zombie apocalypse (something about zombies at night idk what this is, I see Halloween costumes/makeup, or goofing around at night in creepy places. Or substances make you or someone else feel like a zombie), drunk walks, regretting old habits or things you did not sober (don’t DUI but if you did in the past, integrate it and move forward), morning-after debriefs, rich friends. Some of you had speech issues or didn’t talk a lot as a child—if so, inner child work is especially important; this part of yourself needs acknowledgment

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

Pile 4

[the Moon rx, King of Wands, princess of hearts rx, 6 of swords, 3 of cups, 8 of pentacles, Harmony, Celebration, Exhaustion]

Hi pile 4!  You’ve come out of a time where you were more in the dark, whether in direction or in regards to what you really wanted. This period was driven by emotion which was causing the confusion. You may not indulge your emotions as much now to retain a higher perspective. You’re not moving based on wanting something emotionally—it has to have another aspect to “justify” your attention. This is more from the cards than your energy so maybe this is a new way of living, maybe you don’t think about it too much, or maybe it’s shifting energy. This pile’s message seems relevant to this time of your life rather than in general. You’re focused on embodying this King of Wands energy—confidence & success, and your manifestation is focused on the self. If it’s not directly contributing to you, your growth, or a sense of accomplishment, you’re not really interested right now. It’s like focusing on leveling up rather than whims. That doesn’t mean you don’t want those things, but your energy is going elsewhere. This might also be because you're unsure what your emotional goals are, so you’re more focused on peace & smaller joys rather than large wants. You may not be focused on manifestation as a concept at all. I get the sense you’re going with the flow and adapting to life as it comes rather than doing a lot of specific manifestation practices. Maybe you’re not as focused on that as you used to be. If you’re still struggling in emotional confusion, focus on detachment and the self (more King of Wands energy) to connect with your manifesting abilities, and a joy of living.

You’re very connected to your subconscious right now, although you may not be consciously connected to some deeper emotions in your psyche (it’s like you're connected to yourself except this emotional ocean that’s on the backburner). This can show up as feeling guided towards certain things or pieces of information without knowing why. You may manifest information or insight easily, especially in regards to feelings or relationships. For example, you may manifest info to clarify strange feelings or “disordered thoughts” I hear (?) related to others (I’m mostly getting friends, so for example if you get a hunch that a friend is lying (by omission?), you might manifest clarity). This is also related to what I said about manifesting for the self. You may manifest a lot of self discovery at this time, or use your self knowledge to manifest other things. For example, you may realize some things you thought were “you” actually come from emotions or attachments. Or, doing emotional work could lead to a lot of discoveries, not only of yourself but also your perspective of the world. This actually might be a bit overwhelming right now, in which case meditation may help, or another practice that grounds your emotional body so feelings don’t crash through unexpectedly. I don’t get a lot of spiritual vibes, but the Moon [rx] always has a hint of that to me. Maybe most of you are not really spiritual or don’t work with intuition as a “gift,” but you have heightened awareness at this time. This may be why you’re manifesting clarity. Your feelings provide strings of thought to investigate, and the focus on this may manifest more ideas based on the original hunch. You could apply this to your professional life or whatever area you’re seeking success in. Random flashes of ideas may provide unconsidered paths to interesting outcomes. You do this more easily in your relationships, and maybe don’t notice your intuition in other places as much. But this isn't something you need to focus on if you don’t want to, especially as this pile is more in the energy of doing rather than being in the inner world where you've already spent a lot of time.

It’s interesting you got the 3 of cups as your center card and again you got another deck’s 3 of cups under it. There’s a sense of your reality being very focused on external factors right now. I feel like this represents a sense of support to lean on, whether this is social support or something else. There’s also something you’ve really poured yourself into recently. I’m not sure if this is your relationships or something separate, as I was getting something that feels like work but isn’t a job. This feels like a passion, hobby, niche, training for a career, or maybe just the amount of time you’ve poured into self discovery. Maybe the support you’ve found recently is related to this, like friends from a hobby. Either way, this is where your attention is going, so this is where many of your manifestations will be. If there’s something within this area that you'd like to bring to fruition, now would be a good time to set that intention. Visualizing before you get really focused or channeling determination into your new idea are examples of how you could apply this. Especially if you do something with your hands, like artistic crafts? What’s powerful is how you pour yourself into something functions like an acknowledgment and celebration of reality. When you become that focused (like making something, or training for something genuinely), the outside noise falls away and you pour into your will. You are literally creating—manifesting in real time. Recreating that concentration is very useful for manifesting other things. Also, incorporating more celebration & appreciation into your day will help you tap into that in a similar way—by being present. I feel like you’re already engaging in this appreciative energy, though maybe not consciously for some.

I’m getting a big message about what I said in the beginning, a time period where your emotions were confusing. For some this happened because you got hurt by friends or a partner (maybe they lied by not telling you something?). I keep hearing “blinding.” Your emotions were overwhelming at this time or you felt like you had the rug pulled from under you. To get through this, your focus shifted away from stronger emotions or previous hopes and more towards yourself + present reality. However, this is a transitory period. Like I mentioned, compared to other piles your analysis is more time specific, and this can also be seen in most of your cards being minor arcana. Being in touch with your emotions and heart is a big avenue for your manifestations. Right now is a time to gain your footing. But, eventually I see exhaustion from the amount of energy you’re pouring into balancing all these external things, and also from this emotional pain needing to be processed. At that point, it’s time to do some healing and shadow work so that you can integrate your emotions with the growth you’re doing right now. This will be a time of learning more about your emotions in relation to yourself with the new perspectives gained. For example, if you’re practicing confidence, maybe in the near future you'll to be confident even when anxious. If you’re learning independence, maybe you'll learn what healthy emotional independence looks like for you. Integrating these different parts will help you have a multifaceted manifesting ability, and also help with emotional stability. Your reality & manifesting habits may feel more concrete as your inner world becomes more “patched,” I hear.

Message [Law is Not Justice rx, Authority (Mars in Capricorn, 10th house), cross, fish]:

Your message is about commanding authority. Taking an unfair or crappy experience and deciding what you will do with it. By becoming the authority of yourself, you can take the unfair and make it fair. Not because you controlled others or changed their actions, but because you controlled your own perspective and turned what was once bad into something useful or good. And not because you need to feel good about it, but because authority transcends feeling. Instead of being controlled by the experience, you make the experience. I heard “rewriting” or “reframing the narrative.” We perceive stories by the way the narrator frames that experience. Know you are the narrator, not just a character in the story. This also applies to the characters. An “evil” character can become inconsequential or neutral if we remove the magnitude the narrative places on them, or tell the story from a different angle. That concept may have significance, even about yourself. You guys also have impending emotional work; maybe not part of this season but the next. The type of person you’re becoming is preparing you for the next season so that you’re better equipped to do that emotional analysis. It’s not that you can’t do shadow or emotional work now, that’s just not the main focus energetically.

The second part of this message is to say you’re already doing what you can to make the most of this, or you’re encouraged to try. If you've been embodying that wands energy by taking action, “owning” up to your behavior, and doing what you can to improve yourself, this definitely applies (or is a message to keep aiming for that). Yes, you've been through a tribulation that even now may seem unfeasible to get through, however this activated parts of yourself that allow for growth and success. Transmuting this pain into other energy, such as by pouring yourself into a craft, is not easy but you've been doing this all along. I feel something reminiscent of pride, but it seems to be directed at you rather than coming from you. So, I don’t know if this is your guides’ (I thought I picked up on them before)/higher self’s feelings, someone around you, my own congrats to you, or some other recognition, but you certainly have accomplishments to be proud of. Even surviving can be hard when you’re in the trenches but here you are doing it and then some! And I keep getting that you’re just doing it, you’re not even thinking about it in this way. It’s a lovely bravery to face life this way, so not only congrats to you, but know the more you transmute the old energy, the more abundance can become available. The cross is about difficulties, and the fish is about bounty, especially (but not only) materially. This is that preparation for the next season I was talking about, it is creating a cushioning, as well as endurance and victories you can rest on when you're revisiting some harder transmutations. I channeled a lot of this part; just know there’s a strong heartwarming sense of appreciation and pride for you from somewhere, whether that’s your spiritual team or maybe this is energy you can embody when you're having harder days. Keep going pile 4 pls 😁!!

Extra Details: pompompurin, flan, plushies (making plushies?). Interpreting dreams, blockage in expressing emotions (feeling your thoughts are too crazy or fragile to explain. Maybe it’s not possible to communicate, especially if not on speaking terms). Learning where you stand with others. I see an image of a wave crashing against rocks, an active/frothy ocean. That may be significant to your emotions; ground yourself and stay present as emotions bubble up. More younger people here like teens-22 year olds (just a specific detail. You might be feeling like you’ve just grown up or like you’re old? You’re not too old to accomplish something. Get creative with your resources/researching if you feel limited by age). Whatever you’re pouring yourself into seems fruitful! Tired of putting on a happy face, might see a lot of results from effort right now, fateful experience (such as a low period starting you on a better path), I channeled energy from pile 3 so if you already felt a pull it may resonate. Jester/fool, feeling goofy. Felt someone made a fool of you, or April Fools is significant. Joker card. Feeling like time is running out, fire mercury, fire or fire-earth heavy natal chart. Most recent mercury retrograde is significant. May have had car privileges taken as punishment. Or maybe there’s a current conflict about transportation, especially at work. I saw a bus or prison bus. Maybe some feel limited by a commute or there’s a link between punishment and someone’s ability to go places. Carpool, house arrest or someone brought to justice? If this is you, use your resources/be creative in how you can explore even if transportation is limited, especially online or through books. VHS, security and regular camera footage. Death penalty may be significant, working in law or transitioning into/out of law. I see someone going through these flame blowers idk if that’s relevant, maybe you're studying macabre topics such as death penalty/ torture, maybe you feel like you went through a trial by fire metaphorically, or watched something graphic (could also be flame effects at an event like a concert?). Caught on tape? There’s a link between a punishment and recorded media for some but I’m not sure what exactly, maybe even watching something as a punishment like at work or school (if this has no relevance don’t make it fit since I don’t even know lol). Processing a death from your past. Boss energy [you]

For those that believe in spirit guides: yours are coming through with happiness at your accomplishments & support for you, it’s a very strong message. Some of you are already entering that next period I mentioned, so you’re in or exiting celebration mode like one celebrates the harvest as part of prep for the next season. Congrats, even if you just survived!

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

Pile 5

[8 of wands, page of wands, 8 of swords rx, 4 of wands, 4 of pentacles rx, 4 of cups, two of pentacles, the Hierophant, the Empress rx]

Hi pile five! A limitation (real or perceived) has been lifted, there’s been a perspective shift, or you’ve recently let go of something that was keeping you trapped. I got images of something being lifted away to reveal something new, someone coming out of the dark, or a cage. Now you’re excited to see what can be done with all this new energy. Though the magician hasn’t come out it reminds me of that energy, or like a kid in a candy shop. There’s innocent enthusiasm and fiery energy behind everything, or at least behind steps you take towards things you like. Even if you’re just planning or dreaming, I’m getting a sense of rejuvenation, like maybe you were not enthusiastic before but now there’s some excitement in possibilities. You’re encouraged to ride the wave of any extra energy you’re feeling, and especially use this time to build some dreams that you can act more on later. There’s also a sense of investigation or curiosity. Maybe part of this period is being interested in things you felt restricted from before, or looking into something that's piqued your curiosity. In general, your curiosity and ability to switch interest in many things can be a bonus to you when organized. Maybe this felt like some kind of fault, and now you’re encouraged to see how you can benefit from this fast-paced life, or this tendency to always move on to something else. If you do embody this, you may want to set smaller benchmarks for yourself. Manifesting is easier when you work with how you are vs how others seem to manifest. Setting a large, distant goal can make someone with a shifting life (some of you move a lot) or ideas feel bad about never reaching those , even though they operate fine from a short-term perspective. It’s not that you can’t have larger goals, but some of you need to focus on the rungs of the ladder you’re metaphorically climbing rather than just on what waits at the top. This fast-paced energy may also refer to this specific time in your life. What was lifted may actually be you. Some of you have this “up up & away” energy like stepping into an exciting era all of a sudden, and these themes are in the imagery of the cards.

This momentum you carry swinging between different interests is as I said beneficial when organized. “Cleaning” things out your energy can be very potent in inviting new things in, and you seem to be doing this energetically as you explore new things + leave the old behind. Starting new things at this time and then deciding which of those things you'd like to invest more in during the long term may be fruitful. I see you manifesting quickly when you let go of expectations & over-contemplation (“do I really want this, but what if I like this better, what if it’s all bad or I never get it…”) and embrace a whimsy for life. 

Like pile 4, your message seems relevant to the current time rather than overall. For some of you this new energy is overwhelming a bit. Maybe there's so many possibilities you’re not sure what to focus on, or maybe there’s a choice that has a lot of different options. Especially if you’re weighing your family or home life into the decision, or making a choice for yourself compared to making one for the family (was this what was trapping some of you?). It might feel like you wanted this for a long time and now that it’s more reachable you’re like well now what. Right now, what brings you joy and keeps your interest alive is a good place to return to. If you're struggling in choosing things to go for or knowing how exactly you want to polish these, return to that which makes YOU feel excited or satisfied. Focusing on that is like a resting point from which you can plan other things.

You may have struggled with knowing when to act. Maybe you read a lot of teachings on manifestation about action being unnecessary, or you were in a mental place where it was difficult to balance different sides of yourself, such as the desire to act with a desire to be faithful to your wishes. But again, I think this is about finding the right way to manifest for you. When you let go of wanting to wait for something or wanting to act/not act, and simply do and be according to how your inner self guides you, you’ll experience more stability that’s not based in the external world but something deeper. To let go of expectations is a repeating theme, letting go of how you think you should be doing things or how things should be, and simply being true to what you're feeling. Especially if you live a fast-paced life, it’s important to go with the flow instead of creating artificial rigidity or a false sense of control. When you accept your changeability, you may be able to manifest with more ease/speed (but again, the enjoyment or appreciation is also the point and not just the end). This is especially true for those that have this struggle because of teachings or expectations from family or from a sense of “tradition” & “propriety.” 

With the entire center row being 4s, there's huge stability or rest available. But, I keep getting a sense of it not being immediately accessed by you. Like when you can trust yourself, you throw yourself back into a loop of thoughts and never let yourself feel calm or stillness, and this can bleed into your manifestations or goals. Some of you do this like self punishment, or because you don’t feel like you can let yourself be calm and collected? Or due to fear about your desires. You give and take away from yourself, you constantly shove something in your face to ruminate on or be in a loop about. Some of you left this energy but maybe it’s a continuous struggle, and for many this comes from how your parents interacted with you. If your parents always shoved something in your face to do or critique, or never let you feel assured, you may be repeating this in your internal monologue. It’s like you’re standing on the precipice of peace and your mind is like BUT WAIT! If you struggle with anxiety or obsessive thoughts then I encourage using mental health resources available to you, but for many this is about catching the pattern in the moment and deciding to be present to what’s in front of you.

Message [Such a Curious Dream, Quarrel, lily, garden, Uruz]:

 I originally wrote this in the details but it came out as your message. Something about an argument between this pile and another keeps popping up. Maybe some of you wanted this, like manifesting a needed disagreement. There's a strong message about staying calm or walking away if needed. It’s not about whether it’s right or wrong to argue, but staying level-headed is much more important. Something to do with your image, reputation, or maturity, values. There’s possibly someone in the vicinity or related to this that you would not want to see you “blow up” or stoop low. There’s some kind of public aspect, whether it happens in public or others hear of it (for some this is a place of worship or about beliefs). Or, that could be a reminder you don’t have to engage if you don’t want to—you can go elsewhere. This could show yourself you can take confrontation in a dignified way, if you’ve had trouble with that. Someone/ something may try to get a reaction or do something that makes you irate; breathe! Even if you’re right, unbridled emotion takes our ability to make good decisions and say what we need to; it’s about retaining control even when a nerve is hit. It reminds me of that meme where the guy is yelling with a tiny brain and the other one is like :), big brained lol. For some, this could be run of the mill with your job and you may need to stop yourself from going ham on a customer or manager if you’ve been snapping. Don’t do things that could get law enforcement called on you, like putting hands on someone first. Not saying you can’t argue or defend yourself, but don’t do things you’ll need to clean up later. Sometimes our emotional response comes from an automatic or unconscious place, but being present and grounded will make you aware as it happens. Focus on yourself, not on trying to keep up with the argument.

Extra Details [TW burn mention]: “euphemism”, cafes (I see someone throwing a hot drink, so sorry if that happened! Or maybe there are burn patients?), Crime and Punishment, yellow & black butterflies, felt you can’t build certain things in your life because you move/ travel a lot, 4/44/444 & 8, I’m not getting black sheep energy but you may be one to do things differently in your family or to shed old beliefs (example, maybe your family believes women don’t do certain things but you’re deciding this isn’t true for you), modest or religious attire (is this what some of you are deciding on?), a family that could've been more supportive (or maybe you struggle to identify toxicity in your family because they’re usually nice or helpful), suddenly leaving home/workplace or having a major perspective shift on these, sudden/quick heated convo especially over text (esp if you’re disagreeing, or separating from family/a job?). Being reprimanded over something you wrote (already happened)? Quitting/ being fired (already happened) or maybe a dispute that happened at a public place/work, Patrick Star lol? (that ep where Squidward hires him for the fancy Krusty Krab), healing oneself through confrontation or facing unpleasant events, bravery, mind over matter. I got a lot about religion and spirituality at the end so those may have more focus, if you already felt drawn to pile 2 it may resonate

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

Pile 6

[Ace of wands, King of Pentacles, Five of Pentacles rx, Innocence, Clinging to the Past (clarified by Eihwaz), Celebration, Queen of Pentacles, 6 of wands, The Sun]

Hi pile six! You have a knack for manifesting material and creative success. With the ace of wands mirroring the Sun, you have a well of good ideas or opportunities—especially for business with these pentacles. It’s like you’ve retained a level of creativity or ingenuity that many struggle with once they get older.This may also be the better part of naivety: you’re able to bring amazing things into reality because you’re able to dream and believe instead of being limited by others’ faith. If there’s one idea or “mission” in particular that drives you, this passion is especially great for your manifestations. I also see your inner need to feel secure or establish something real for yourself does the same, especially if you once experienced more destitute times. You may have already focused on manifesting inner stability or improvement, and now there’s more focus towards manifesting this in your material world. This Sun card in particular emphasizes how great things coincide with a little darkness, and with the five of pentacles rx mirroring the ace of wands I would say that’s an important theme for you. This pile has the ability to transmute harsher lessons back into great ideas or new paths. That’s not to say you don’t struggle, but this is natural fuel for your creativity and  brainstorming. A specific message for some is you may be struggling with shedding an ingrained or familial belief, especially but not only about money? You may have been taught limiting or negative beliefs regarding prosperity and you’re grappling with whether you should keep internalizing this because it seems realistic/someone you value taught you this, or if you should be true to what you believe. It’s important to return to who you are regardless of the circumstances. Everyone must come to their own understandings; trying to be true to someone else’s reality makes you disconnected from your own. Tradition for tradition’s sake does not create growth or new stories. Pessimism is also not inherently more realistic or mature than optimism. For many of you, optimism helps you manifest, so don’t feel like this is something childish or a hindrance even if others are more pessimistic.

What sticks out is you have an amazing spread of cards that indicate ideas/opportunities, internal and external security, all around happiness and success. The Sun even came out twice; “Innocence” is another version of the Sun. But your center card is not as positive, comparable to the 5 of cups, and this “celebration” also came out in reverse initially (but I don’t usually read this deck reversed). I’m not sure if you guys are going through a hard time with past hurts or a loss right now, but the person in this center card can’t “see” the other good cards in the spread; their vision is completely blocked by the past. Trauma or pain is making it harder for you to connect with the good within and around you. This could also be old perspectives or emotions. Some of this may be purposeful, you may be staying in the past intentionally or holding onto things in a detrimental way (especially with family/home, spite/bitterness/grief? For some there’s something you physically don’t want to let go of, or you’re romanticizing something, and somebody needs to hear you’re not betraying anyone by continuing to live your life after loss). There’s a deep want for your positive qualities to be recognized (by yourself or others) despite this potentially being blocked by current emotional struggles. I feel if you focus on building this appreciation of your natural worth and talents, you’ll be able to ground yourself again. The good things around and within you are so blaring that I think even a small perspective shift will help you tap back into your potential. Even though there’s something about the past holding you, returning to your roots in a different way may be beneficial. Finding positive or healthy things about the past to comfort you rather than things which keep you in painful memories. For example, you may need to incorporate more playfulness into your lifestyle like child-you would have, or you may need to reconnect to that child-like perspective of the world. If there’s something you really wanted when you were younger or would have made you feel secure, see how you can fulfill that feeling for adult you. Maybe there was an idea that seemed impractical as a kid, but now you have the knowledge to develop it differently. If you’ve been having a hard time with loss, you may need to revisit activities or memories of good times rather than the loss itself. Basically, your feeling, nostalgia, or desire for things to be a certain way are not necessarily an issue, you just need to focus these energies into something material or an idea you can work on. A passion or certain view of the world from earlier in your studies/career could also be helpful to your manifesting right now.

Having fun and letting loose with others can also help you tap back into your manifesting potential, especially if it was people who upset you in the first place. For some, if there’s a set of people from earlier in your life that you still have a positive connection to, spending time with them may be good. It’s important to make an honest distinction between those you have a decent relationship with and those who you wish to have a relationship with but are not a positive influence on your life right now. This doesn’t have to be with others, though. Even just doing something by yourself that grounds you or makes you focus on positive emotions for a small time will be helpful. Something that connects you to your body or the physical world may be good (such as hanging out somewhere outside the home, dancing, playing games (like at an arcade/shop?), being in the sunshine, I am getting night out vibes but during the day). Cleaning may also clear stagnant energy (especially going through and organizing items from the past).

Message [All Must Have Prizes, Resistance (Taurus in Mercury, 2nd H), book, ship]:

Your message is mostly reiterating what I mentioned above. There’s this sense of life or something pulling you forward, but it’s like you don’t want to leave something in the past or you feel duty-bound to something. I feel you’re aware of this, and some of you may be actively resisting moving forward or making a final decision about moving on, especially because it may involve family or long-standing relationships. But movement is inevitable, you can slow down but never stop in life, even if you stop looking at the progression. It’s time to make peace with these things so you can move forward as your own choice instead of being dragged forward. You don’t have to perfectly master your emotions/grief, nor do you have to find a perfect conclusion that suits everyone. You either already have the knowledge and skills you need to keep going or its within your grasp. This may manifest as a lightbulb moment or acceptance for you. Especially if you've been hesitating because you’re trying to please or consider everyone in your life plans, you may soon reach a point where you don’t wish to do this anymore. Basically, a mental connection will be made that returns you to the present or your path (but the quality of this experience depends on the effort you put into yourself/your life).

Specific messages: if you've been waiting on some info regarding travel/moving, or you're hesitating on this, then you may receive that info or realization that makes the final decisions for these plans possible. If you've been having a lot of disagreements or long conversations in regards to financial/career plans (such as family trying to persuade you to a specific route), then realizations you have may be tied to this and self-acceptance of what you want.

Extra Details: I’m seeing an empty house or property, a home or neighborhood built a very long time ago maybe 150+ years, old yellowed family photographs especially wedding or new home photos, cassettes, bright-colored eyes. Dancing (maybe dance classes or going somewhere you can let loose physically would be good? I am seeing disco or 70s/80s vibes, dressing up in a way that’s fun to you may also be helpful), or if not dancing connecting with a hobby or physical activity you can really get into may be good (like a wreck room?), feeling blocked/stagnant in grief, going through old conversations or writings (may be old letters or notes), realizing you have different views than someone you care about, tropical locations, orange/gold (also orange fruit/tree), people who meant well but planted limiting/fear-based/toxic beliefs in you, Cinderella or maybe there’s a moment where you’ll feel like you’re going to the ball metaphorically, luxury or bright-colored cars (especially red/orange? I hear Mustang), renting cars or other things for trips, delayed plans suddenly moving, going through a passed loved one’s things, networking, an event that’s not really fancy but means a lot to you, or alternatively you may switch between a casual to fancy vibe on an upcoming day out/event or dress casually to a fancy event, day at the beach, heavy Taurus placements

𓇼 °.𓇼 ..𓇼 °

[dangermousie]

Sorry, still thinking about The White Olive Tree which is living in my head - I fully accept that the ending could be nothing but what it was but in my head I want to either write a 40k slow healing fic or, since I know I don’t write, rewatch Hidden Love to see Chen Zheyuan as a good guy who gets fluff and happiness.

But aside from that, I am thinking I haven’t seen a drama outside (pun) the old Taiwanese drama The Outsiders (sheltered rich girl rebellious poor boy fall in love, her fam disowns her he becomes a killer for the Triads as the only way to eat, they end up utterly destroyed by the darkness) which went so hard on the “their love was pure and true and it would have been better for both of them if they never met.” Maybe A Love to Kill kdrama?

All I know they don’t really make them much like this any more - fluff yes and overcoming adversity yes and yes gritty “we are cool and world sucks” stuff commissioned by Netflix and co. But not something that is delicate and tender and following two gentle people and yet such an utter slow thorough breakdown.

It’s old school in the best way which might explain why I love it. I am thinking of Taiwanese Silence and Japanese Taiyou No Uta and Korean Snow Queen - being good not really resulting in a happy ending. (The ending of Silence with Vic Chou’s character speaking into the camera about how terrified he is still stays with me - ooof.) I genuinely think this is one of the reasons this wasn’t a big hit - this sort of vibe is not one current audience see much of and not sure want much of. (Compare it to CZY’s own mega hit Hidden Love which I adore but which is very much on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of just world paradigm. His character has some tragedies in his background but they never take over the narrative and he ends up loved and happy. It is a much more comforting narrative.)

I think the sort of narrative Olive gives us - trauma stays and heroism sometimes is not enough - isn’t even that common in costume dramas any more (Eternal Brotherhood and Heroes 2024 gave it to us and both were small dramas for a reason - I cannot think of a big budget costume production with that theme in the last five years. LYF got close but ultimately chickened out.) And it is hugely uncommon in moderns. I don’t have any issue with that because everyone has different tastes and I am not one to mandate to others - but for someone who loves the Olive type narrative, it was like water in the desert. (And of course even old dramas or shows from most anywhere rarely dwell on trauma the way Olive did - not inspirational, not dark/cynical. And to give it to one’s male lead, and one in such a macho profession and one who is a bona fide hero, is freaking wild in how unusual it is.)

I mean, Olive stands out in its themes even from my other favorite modern cdramas. If we take a look at Lighter and Princess (another modern love story with a driven damaged ML and a ride or die FL who has been hurt herself but takes on his demons repeatedly) or Will Love In Spring (two differently damaged people discovering love with each other) or Go Ahead (damaged quasi adopted boys healing with help of found fam) - they all have happy endings with the mains so much better off than they started. Because the degree of damage is different and less, because the world is kinder and the environment less extreme. The FL of L&P would follow ML into hell if she had to but she didn’t have to, maybe just a little bit of the purgatory. He’s quite damaged (especially after jail) but it’s the kind of damage that can be slowly healed with love and support, it doesn’t need diagnosis and meds. Olive could have perhaps gone that way before Zan went back for the last time but as is…

Anyway, I am not sure I even have a point other than I love this drama so so so so much. I never thought anything would displace the perfection that is Lighter and Princess from my first place as a modern cdrama but here we are…

PS still shocked how hard Olive went. I was so sure they’d never go as hard as the novel. And then they chopped off his fingers.

[thana-topsy]

So wait, are you implying that Falmer babies are born like normal, but since they're raised by other Falmer, that's why they become animalistic?? But they can be raised by people, and develop normally?? I'm assuming they're born blind tho?? Genuinely, I am curious, not trying to sound accusatory :')

Ahhh my friend, it is safe to say at this point that I have dedicated nearly two years of my life to exploring this question lol. Apologies in advance. You've activated my trap card special interest.

Sarel comes from my fanfic "Halfway to the Sky", in which a mage kidnaps a Falmer child and raises him as an experiment to see if he can be taught to live as a "civilized" person. The short answer to that initial question is: yes, Sarel is just a normal elf child, though still blind.

As to the other part of your question, (if Sarel had been raised among the Falmer, would he become "animalistic"?), I'm going to answer charitably by pointing out that we are dealing with Fictional Races of People, in which our interpretations of these races are going to vary, and that's okay. First off, my interpretation is not "the correct" one. So any answer I give is just my personal take. Second, the way we are told to play the game (by the mechanics of the game) also informs our perception of these races. And lastly, there is no one-to-one allegory at play here in terms of "The Falmer represent [x] race in our world." I just wanna get that out of the way.

So, all that being said, the question always comes back to "what does it mean to be civilized"?

In the game, we are told that the Falmer are hostile and violent, so we must kill them, and that they are 'devolved', even though evolution cannot move backwards. So, to correct that second misunderstanding, the Falmer are actually evolved to better suit their current living environment, and as to the first, we (the player) are intruding on their settlements. I can only imagine anyone with a sense of self-preservation would react with some amount of hostility to the loud, shouty person carrying weapons.

To continue to use game-logic, we are shown that the Falmer construct buildings, create weapons and armor, craft potions, lay traps, enchant objects, and use magic. Already, these are things that animals, by definition, cannot do. To be a magic user, a character must have a relatively high Intelligence stat, (we see this in the older games more than in Skyrim). In order to construct settlements, people must also have the ability to work in groups and communicate. We never hear the Falmer speak to each other in-game, but the implication that they have language and a social structure is right there in what we're shown.

So, in this long-winded, roundabout answer to your original question: I do not think that the Falmer are animalistic at all. I think they are culturally different, but made of the same stuff as Joe Thalmor over there. They have a different way of living in the world, and they adapted to their environment as best they could. This does not mean that they are perfect or better. But I think that referring to them as animalistic plays into what the game tells you to think, all while giving you a lot of evidence to the contrary. They're very much a complex, functioning society of people. We just never see their side of the story.

[outrunningthedark]

Tinaaaa did u see the new Ryan interview???

Not until I opened your ask, friend 😄😘

Let’s talk highlights!

-> “…So yeah, there has been so many times in my personal life that’s kind of like - What would Jesus do? - but instead of Jesus, like - What would Eddie do? - moment. It’s been really nice.”

If you (gen) know anything about Ryan’s personal life the last seven years you know how accurate this is 🤭🤫

-> “Yes, I feel that there is a sense of truth now that I pull from. I think if we live in the truth for the character itself, it gets beyond a ‘tit for tat’ or a back-and-forth between me or writers or the showrunner. There’s more substance now and then more opportunity to have a healthy conversation about where the character should stay in the truth.”

First of all…the petty side of me has to point out that Ryan does, in fact, have a say in his character’s direction. Just because he’s open to ideas doesn’t mean he’ll go along with them in the end. 😉

But This. This right here. Is why fandom isn’t getting what they want. If people choose to make Ryan’s feelings on playing a queer character about homophobia I can’t stop them, but Eddie’s truth is rooted in his love for his wife. Eddie’s truth is about the struggle to move on from that relationship and let another woman into his life for the purpose of building a future with her.

Ryan has not and will not sign off on Queer Eddie as long as he continues to see it as something invented by the fandom rather than something the show has been “hinting at for years” because he is not reading between the lines that closely.

-> “I see something very specific. I pull from my own experience. I’ve had plenty of friends - not so much bisexual, but more so homosexual - that I’ve seen them live their lives. I like to advocate the environment of safety and the ability of trust between different sexualities and different individuals. So, I think there’s such a strong storyline within that and the opportunity to showcase to the world - and the now ever-changing environment and with the new political environment we’re in, that there shouldn’t be a division between individuals.”

L M A O @ the current administration giving him a “good reason” to express the importance of Buck and Eddie as platonic friends considering he has Trumpies in his family and leans right himself.

(But if you don’t know that, he sounds like he’s saying “The country’s going to shit because of the guy that just got elected.” 😜)

-> “I think that comes priority, to be honest, rather than let’s say leading people on into thinking anything else.”

I rest my case.

/endpost

[website-enjoyer]

Hey I read your post about stuff like UBI still relying on imperialist resource extraction, do you have any resources specifically related to what a healthcare system that isn't imperialist might look like? I've been trying to find some kind of resource about this for two days and haven't come up with anything.

At a certain point it started to feel like maybe there isn't a solution and due to the current Empirical Collapse Era, everyone living in the core is just Fucked and we're about to be sent back to the stone age once infrastructure collapses and we won't have any food, medicine, electricity, etc. And there's nothing we can do to meaningfully stop it.

So I really hope you can at least point me in the right direction cuz I'm really scared about everything happening lately

hi anon, sorry my little screed against social democracy was your wake-up call re: the blood soaking everything in society. it’s understandable to feel distress. yes, things might keep getting worse before they get better. that being said, let’s unpack this worry that there’s nothing we can do to prevent a total collapse of organized society.

there would be a dark comfort in this being the case, right? we wouldn’t have any responsibility to each other, to humanity, to our environment. no need to take action, to organize, to have a political project. nothing left to do but choose how to individually distract yourself as the world ends. doomsday prepping, apocalypse prophecies, noble savage tropes, brunch and cartoons as an act of resistance, getting high, etcetera. convenient, no? i’m not trying to ascribe this viewpoint to you, just pointing out where it leads in practice. it’s self-fulfilling. think for a minute about how people being oppressed by imperialism around the world right now might feel about this outlook amongst people in the core.

so what are the other options? for one, consider that capitalism could survive. food, medicine, electricity, and infrastructure could all continue to exist but in a society with much harsher conditions for the working class, deprived of imperialism’s bribery. this isn’t a question of infrastructure decay, it’s about the system of private property, wage labour, and commodity exchange. never underestimate capitalism’s ability to sustain itself. it’s crucial that in recognizing this possibility we find solidarity with the global working classes, rather than resorting to racist politics in reaction to “falling to their level”. this is what my original post was about. personally, the possibility of capitalist civilization continuing, being reformed, scares me more than any potential break from it.

global working class solidarity brings me to the second option: socialist revolution. when a society is organized around meeting working people’s needs rather than maximizing profits, things are possible that seem unfathomable to those who have only ever known capitalism. countries like cuba and north korea, despite constant imperialist violence in the form of sanctions, isolation, and military threats—and despite the many other contradictions arising from trying to survive in a global capitalist system—maintain universal healthcare systems which result in vastly better health outcomes compared to other countries at similar economic scales. socialized ownership of the means of production is a different game entirely than reformist forms of redistribution like UBI that leave society’s productive forces under the ownership of capitalists.

this requires a revolution. if we recognize revolution as a possibility, as our historical responsibility, what does that lead to in practice? organizing. this is how people under siege by the most powerful countries in the world have been able to build some of the most advanced healthcare systems ever to exist. this is how at the height of the cold war, the ussr was still able to play a primary role in eradicating smallpox globally. i leave you with a few very short reads: che guevara’s on revolutionary medicine, n.a. semashko’s the work of the public health authorities in soviet russia, and wu chieh-ping’s medicine and health: for workers, peasants, and soldiers.

[theresattrpgforthat]

I found a goth speakeasy/coffee shop by my school that does a Thursday tabletop night where you can bring and run your own games and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for games you'd feel comfterble running with a table of strangers / mostly strangers? Thank you!!

THEME: Games to Run with Strangers.

Hello friend, fall comes upon us and I finally get around to answering your ask. Thank you so much for your patience! I’d definitely recommend bringing some safety tools to any of these games, since you’re playing them with strangers. That being said, I tried to pick games that were easy to pick up and quick to learn considering you’d probably want each session to be a standalone one.

I often run games with groups of people who don't know each-other beforehand, and I'd recommend allowing silliness to blossom when possible, even if you're running a spooky game. Let’s see what we can find!

Wizardry and Bureaucracy, by Oh Little Moth.

You are a member of the National Parks Service. You and your team would do just about anything to protect your national park. Also, you’re wizards. But all the magic in the world can’t save you from the slog of paperwork you have to endure as a civil servant. Your mission is to preserve your park and all creatures living in it, promote a love of nature and the environment, and also keep park visitors from seeing through the curtain separating the magical from the mundane.

Like most Lasers and Feelings games, this has quite a bit packed into one page. Easy character generation, a standard list of gear, an introduction where you collaboratively design your park, and the classic Lasers and Feelings mechanic that makes you automatically better at one thing and worse at another. The game is also set up to be raucously silly. This game includes the very good piece of GM advice that I adore for improv: ask questions and build on the answers. You don’t have to come up with the entire story yourself! Give your players the chance to tell you how exactly magic interacts with the local National Park.

The Children of Saturn, by Dan John Crowler.

The people of Petrikstein are tormented by a blood craving beast prowling the night. Players take the roles of parish appointed investigators on a mission to find and slay this alleged Vampyr, before it claims even more lives. Will they be able to find out the truth in web of lies, myths, and fear fueled superstitions? Play to find out!

The Children of Saturn is a neat little game that combines the Keys mechanic from John Harper’s Lady Blackbird with the graded 2d6 roll of Powered by the Apocalypse. You can accumulate dice to roll depending on whether the action in question is in line with your character, and failure increases the chances of success the next time you roll. The characters are pre-made to some extent, but the players will be able to make them unique through names, descriptions, and how they decide to role-play. This game also come with a small hex map for your characters to explore - and everything fits on one page! If you want something spooky and quick to prep, this is definitely worth checking out.

2400, by Jason Tocci.

2400 is lo-fi sci-fi. It’s centuries in the future, and it’s a decades-old modem that screams like a dying robot when it connects to the net. It’s a space ship with an FTL drive, artificial gravity, and a flickering display you gotta tap a few times to see the jump coordinates. It’s hacking something together with whatever cheap materials you have on hand, ignoring the rules until you need them, banging out something that might not sound finished, but definitely sounds fun.

The 2400 system is a stripped-down ruleset inspired by the OSR that has been used to create a number of hacks in different settings. Every time I’ve run a 24XX game, the session lasted about 2 hours, so it definitely has the ability to play quick. The original page for 2400 currently has over 20 different settings to choose from, so if one of them really hits off, you could come back with a different setting each week for your friends to play through!

The Great Soul Train Robbery, by Cloven Pine Games.

On the road to hell there was a railway line. An express train to the infernal city of Dis, crewed by furies and carrying treasure and souls to damnation. You’re going to rob it.

The Great Soul Train Robbery is a tabletop roleplaying game for 2–6 players and 1 gamemaster about Desperados robbing the train to Hell. Spin an allegorical Weird Western yarn as your sharpshooters, fiddlers, homesteader widows, and other Desperados attempt a Hellish train heist. Will you claim your prize from the train, or be overcome, damned, or broken by the heist?

This is probably the biggest Honey Heist - inspired game that I’ve seen to date. It’s a solid pitch, with very little background needed in order for your players to grasp what exactly it is they’re doing. If players aren’t sure what kind of character they want to make, all of the options have d6 roll tables to give your group a goal, your train some complications, and your character a name and a special item. There’s quite a few pages of GM advice in this, which is probably a big boon to anyone running the game, as it allows you to construct a more complex train than what you might have created out of the top of your head. I’d probably even just steal the train construction section to use for other similar games!

Hold Your Own, by Sharkbomb Studios.

It's a time and place, not unlike the one that you, the players, grew up in. A dark mirror of the decade of your youth.  You play as a group of friends at the cusp of adolescence and life is hard. You're unpopular and unwanted. All you've got is each other.

But it comes worse: A strange menace threatens to devour everyone you know. And nobody wants to believe you, not the teachers, not the parents. It looks like it's up to you to save your home.

Fans of It and Stranger Things will probably like this game. This game uses small dice pools and four basic stats. You’ll be facing off against an antagonist called the Menace, a threat that the rest of the community believes doesn’t exist. The Menace will always be strong enough to provide a challenge, and as you play, you’ll learn more and more about what it is exactly that you’re fighting against. This is a great game for fans of suspense, and it’s also small enough to learn it within the few hours that you’d have at a coffee shop.

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Something is Wrong with the Chickens, by Elliot Davis.

Koboldly Go, by CoffeeSnake Studios.

Faewater, by A Smouldering Lighthouse.

The Station, by pidj.

[stephobrien]

Is your pro-Palestine activism hurting innocent people? Here's how to avoid that. (Plain text version)

I kept getting "needs pt" tags on the original post, so here's the plain text version:

Over the last few days, I’ve had conversations with several Jewish people who told me how hurt and scared they are right now.

To my great regret, some of that pain came from a poorly-thought-out post of mine, which – while not ill-intentioned – WAS hurtful.

And a lot of it came from cruelty they’d experienced at the hands of people who claim to be advocating for Palestine, but are using the very real plight of innocent Palestinians to harm equally innocent Jewish people.

Y’all, we need to do better. (Yes, “we” definitely includes me; this is in no small part a “learn from my fail” post, and also a “making amends” post. Some of these are mistakes I’ve made in the past.)

So if you’re an advocate for Palestine who wants to make sure that your defense of one group of vulnerable people doesn’t harm another, here are some important things to do or keep in mind:

Ask yourself if you’re applying a standard to one group that you aren’t applying to another.

Would you want all white Americans or Canadians to be expelled from America or Canada?

Do you want all Jewish people to be expelled from Israel, as opposed to finding a way to live alongside Palestinian Arabs in peace?

If the answer to those two questions is different, ask yourself WHY.

Do you want to be held responsible for the actions of your nation’s army or government? No? Then don’t hold innocent Jewish people, or Israelis in general (whether Jewish or otherwise), responsible for the actions of the Israeli army and government.

On that subject, be wary of condemning all Israeli people for the actions of the IDF. Large-scale tactical decisions are made by the top brass. Service is compulsory, and very few can reasonably get out of service.

Blaming all Israelis for the military’s actions is like blaming all Vietnam vets for the horrors in Vietnam. They’re not calling the shots. They aren’t Nazis running concentration camps. They are carrying out military operations that SHOULD be criticized.

And do not compare them or ANY JEWISH PERSON to Nazis in general. It is Jewish cultural trauma and not outsiders’ to use against them.

Don’t infuse legitimate criticism with antisemitism. By all means, spread the word about the crimes committed by the Israeli army and government, and the complicity of their allies. Criticize the people responsible for committing and enabling atrocities.

But if you imply that they’re committing those crimes because they’re Jewish, or because Jewish people have special privileges, then you’re straying into antisemitic territory.

Criticize the crime, not the group. If you believe that collective punishment is wrong, don’t do it yourself.

And do your best to use words that apply directly to the situation, rather than the historical terms for situations with similar features. For example, use “segregation,” “oppression,” or “subjugation,” not “Holocaust” or “Jim Crow.” These other historical events are not the cultural property of Jews OR Palestinians, but also have their own nuances and struggles and historical contexts.

Also, blaming other world events on Jewish people or making Jewish people associated with them (for instance, some people falsely blame Jewish people for the African slave trade) is a key feature of how antisemitism functions.

Please, by all means, be specific and detailed in your critiques. But keep them focused on the current political actors – not other peoples’ or nations’ political or cultural histories and traumas.

Be prepared to accept criticism. You probably already know that society is infused with a wide array of bigotries, and that people growing up in that environment tend to absorb those beliefs without even realizing it. Antisemitism is no exception.

What that means is, there’s a very real chance that you will screw up, and get called out on it, as I so recently did.

If that happens, please be willing to learn and adapt. If you can educate yourself about the suffering and needs of Palestinians, you can do the same for Jewish people.

Understand that the people you hurt aren’t obligated to baby you. Give them room to be angry. After I made a post that inadvertently hurt people, some were nice about it, and others weren’t. Some outright insulted my morals and intelligence.

And I had to accept that I’d earned that from them.

I’d hurt them, and they weren’t obligated to be more careful with my feelings than I had been with theirs.

They weren’t obligated to forgive me, trust me, or stop being mad at me right away.

I’ll admit, there were moments when I got defensive. I shouldn’t have. And I encourage you to try not to, if you screw up and hurt people.

I know that’s hard, but it’s important. Getting defensive only tells people you care more about doubling down on your mistake than you do about healing the hurt it caused.

Instead, acknowledge that they have a right to be angry, apologize for the way you hurt them, and try to make amends, while understanding that they don’t owe you trust or forgiveness.

Be aware that some antisemites are using legitimate complaints to “Trojan horse” antisemitism into leftist spaces. This is a really easy stumbling block to trip over, because most people probably don’t look at every post a creator makes before sharing the one they’re looking at right now.

I recently shared a video that called out some of the Likud and IDF’s atrocities and hypocrisy, and that also noted that many Jewish people are wonderful members of their communities.

I was later informed that, while that video in particular seemed reasonable, the creator behind it is frequently antisemitic.

I deleted the post, and blocked the creator. I encourage you to do the same if it’s brought to your attention that you’ve been ‘Trojan horse’d.

EDIT: Important note about antisemitism in leftist spaces:

While it's true that some blatant antisemites are using seemingly reasonable posts to get their foot in the door of leftist spaces, it's also true that a lot of antisemitism already exists inside those spaces.

This antisemitism is often dressed up in progressive-sounding language, but nonetheless singles Jewish people and places out in ways that aren't applied equally to other groups, or that label Jewish people in ways that portray them as acceptable targets.

If you want to see some specific examples, so you can have a better idea of what to keep an eye out for, I suggest reading this excellent reblog of the original post.

Fact-check your doubts about antisemitism. Depending on which parts of the internet you look at, you’ve probably seen people accused of antisemitism because they complained about the Likud and/or IDF’s actions. So you might be primed to be wary, or feel unsure of how to tell what counts as real antisemitism.

But that doesn’t mean antisemitism isn’t a very real, widespread, and harmful problem. And it doesn’t mean many or even most Jewish people are lying to you or being overly sensitive.

So if someone says something is antisemitic, and you aren’t sure, I encourage you to:

A. Look up the action or thing in question, including its history. Is there an antisemitic history or connotation you aren’t aware of? For best results, include “antisemitic” in your search query, in quotes.

B. Understand that some things, while not inherently antisemitic, have been used by antisemites often enough that Jewish people are understandably wary of them. Schrodinger’s antisemitism, if you will.

C. Ask Jewish people WHO HAVE OFFERED TO HELP EDUCATE YOU. Emphasis on WHO HAVE OFFERED. Random Jewish people aren’t obligated to give you their time and emotional energy, or to educate you – especially on subjects that are scary or painful for them.

@edenfenixblogs has kindly offered her inbox to those who are genuinely trying to learn and do better, and I’ve found her to be very kind, patient, reasonable, and fair-minded.

Understand that this is URGENTLY NEEDED. In one of my conversations with a Jewish person who’d called me out, they said this was the most productive conversation they’d had with a person with a Palestinian flag in their profile.

THIS IS NOT OKAY.

I didn’t do anything special. All I did was listen, apologize for my mistakes, and learn.

Yes, it feels good to be acknowledged. But I feel like I’ve been praised for peeing IN the toilet, instead of beside it.

Apologizing, learning, and making amends after you hurt people shouldn’t be “the most reasonable thing I’ve heard from a person with a Palestinian flag pfp.”

It should be BASIC DECENCY.

And the fact that it’s apparently so uncommon should tell you how much unnecessary stress and fear Jewish people have been living with because of people who consider themselves defenders of human rights.

By all means, be angry at the Likud, the IDF, and the politicians, reporters, and specific media outlets who choose to enable and cover up for them. But direct that anger toward the people who deserve it and are in a position to do something about it, not random people who simply happen to be Jewish, or who don’t want millions of people to be turned into refugees when less violent methods of achieving freedom and rights for Palestinians are available.

Stop peeing beside the toilet, people.

[merakiui]

my favorite thing about twst is that rook is BY FAR the weirdest fucking guy in a school that includes an immortal dragon prince, deranged mafia eels, a guy whose head is literally on fire, and whatever the hell vampire grandpa is doing on any day

Oh, definitely!!! He's so strange and that's what makes him so fun. He's such a talkative character and yet no one knows much about him. He's too mysterious! And is he rich? He must be if his family can afford all of those vacation villas, all of which are connected via mirror teleports. That can't be cheap! What are his brothers and sisters like? What about his parents? What are their professions? Many unanswered questions... I think it's also worth noting that he's a canon stalker and that he keeps pictures behind the wallpaper in his dorm room. He is so not normal and he doesn't try to be because his "normal" is being himself (which is weird to others). <3 I love him.

Compared to some of the other characters, he is absolutely the strangest. I think you can sort of chalk the tweels, Malleus, and Lilia's behaviors up to the fact that they're not human and grew up in a completely different culture and environment with their own ways of living and such. It would make sense for the tweels to be morbid and predatory because they grew up in a place where such things are normal (also mafia family stuff;;;;). Malleus and Lilia are from Briar Valley, a place where magic is so widely used that there is no major technology in sight, so of course they would enter human society with their own curiosities and ways of interacting. Also, Malleus lived a very isolated life inside the palace and Lilia has seen so much of the world (he's also lived through war) and so of course their behaviors would be understandably weird.

And Idia also lived a very secluded life that really wasn't very normal either, where his only social interaction was with his family, the staff at STYX, and the STYX robots. It was also incredibly tragic. >_< and he's a gamer and he likes anime. So,,,,, naturally he's going to be weird.

I think the most unsettling part is that Rook is human, and so there isn't really any way to explain his behavior. From what we currently know, he doesn't seem to have any pressing emotional difficulties that may hinder him and he seems to have lived a relatively comfortable school life. Also, he's so extroverted and so shameless about the fact that he watches Leona nap or that he wants to press the twins' buttons to see them snap... public speaking fears him. >:) but there may very well be some sort of trauma he's endured, or maybe there is no real explanation for his behavior. Maybe that's just how he is. I often cheat and say, "It's because he's Rook," as an easy way for explaining his behaviors, but I feel as if that's the only way to truly describe him. He's just so Rook. Unabashedly.

[cupidastrology]

Pluto ♇ in Aquarius transit through the 12 Houses 🪢📿

Please do not repost or copy.

Associate this post with where Pluto ♇ is moving in Aquarius ♒︎ through your birth chart.

Notes: The house it is transiting through is important to understand in order to know how this transit will affect you directly.

=================

1st house - appearance becomes a highlight to the mind, the way you perceive yourself in mind to your environment makes a grand change. you may want to focus more on the influence you have on your socials, or simply drop it all together.

2nd house - your emotions take on a new desire involving luxury and the state of how you feel about yourself in mind. your self esteem and the way you express yourself becomes a highlight, creating may become beneficial to input details into your new lifestyle.

3rd house - your thoughts start to gather themselves, but not without having to think closely about the associations you communicate with, and the resources you gain knowledge from. reading, writing, and getting into subjects of fact or fiction overtake you.

4th house - the home makes massive changes to how you have seen it in mind; a different course of change in how you see yourself with the subject of family may haunt you. it may be important to start envisioning the life you want outside of the home.

5th house - personal achievement and woes become a big deal in this area, focusing on what creates happiness or attracts creativity into your life will be constant. you may start reading, watching, or searching for new ways of mental stimulation involving the arts.

6th house - you may experience the ups and downs of potential; health or work events, which may require you to dedicate much more time to your mental state, what you choose to intake into your body, and how you choose to be influenced in everyday life. detachment from social media is highlighted here.

7th house - love is handled not only by manifestation but also by obsession. we see a great desire to engage with another, but the close associations you create will not be easy to break. very important deals and contracts to be signed, consideration is constantly recommended.

8th house - long distance connections are broken, or become closer than ever before. a focus on how you make money starts to grow, and new steps may be required in order for you to make even more than what youre comfortable with currently. a need to make or break in life will be important, mainly when it comes to releasing.

9th house - the way you see yourself in this world is heavily important, but to get out of your comfort zone will be next level. you may discover new forms of spiritual belief, break away from what you used to truly desire in mind, and seek out new ventures that many have surrounded their own opinions by. its time to stop caring about what others believe.

10th house - you may start to focus on what happens outside of the beliefs you have been trained to understand; birthing a new self along with a strong path in your life is beneficial here. to understand and research into the evolution or growth of social media may have an impact on you, wanting to make something universal from inside yourself.

11th house - connections and travel buddies become more prominent into your life, to get involved with others in ways where you feel that you're in one space with them is highlighted here. you may start to crave new associations and events to visit in your neighborhood or living location.

12th house - the importance to holding your own is a big deal with this transit; you will seek out ways of handling your own independence. looking into between the lines of what it means to stay involved with others, with a location, or with what has held you back in life may influence you to search for your own meaning in life. detaching completely from online media, and looking into old methods of living may be a curiousity

=================

[iwanthermidnightz]

ST. VINCENT FOR THE BILLBOARD PRIDE ISSUE | photos by Lenne Chai

“It’s about life and death and love,” she explains. “And that’s it.” For the 41-year-old Clark, at least two of those topics are intrinsically linked to her own identity as a queer artist. “Every record I’ve ever made has been so personal about what’s going on in my life at any given time. I’m queer. I know how to code-switch. The idea of identity as performance has been very clear to me since I was a child.” Even so, Clark shuts down the suggestion that she adopted a mask or performative identity for the album: “I’m queer, I’m living in multitudes, but this record in particular is not about persona or deconstruction.”

Code-switching — changing one’s behavior to suit an uncomfortable environment — is nothing new for LGBTQ+ people. Even in the generally progressive-minded music community, Clark says the world queer musicians currently inhabit is “very different” than when she kicked off her recording career in 2006 with the three-song EP Paris Is Burning. “Which is one of those things which gives me a lot of hope,” she notes. “I know there are certain things in the world trending in a scary direction, but all in all, I’d rather live right now than any other time in history. We wouldn’t be having this conversation 60 years ago. I would be a nurse, I would be a secretary, or I would be a mother.”

As she references the hankie code (as early as the ’70s, gay men used different-colored bandannas to signify sexual preferences) and Hal Fischer’s 1977 photo book, Gay Semiotics: A Photographic Study of Visual Coding Among Homosexual Men, it’s clear Clark knows her queer history. “People the world was hostile to developed these secret languages, secret codes, in order to communicate. I find that fascinating,” she says. “You’re very aware there’s a subterranean, subtext layer to everything that’s going on — and you have your antennae up at all times. That is erotic to me. But I’m glad that [I live in this era].”

As for the downside to LGBTQ+ culture going mainstream? “Well, if you’re safe for the TV screen, you also invite an aspect of grift [from the outside world],” she muses. “Which… I raise an eyebrow at.” To emphasize her point, she cocks her left brow; for a moment, she could pass for a hyperlogical Vulcan on Star Trek. “But there have been plenty of queer people in music. Even if the culture was saying no, there were always queer people in the arts. Please. We have built this.”

[wildgoosejpg]

A Quick Analysis on Gojo's Childhood Implication

(This analysis will touch up mildly on child psychology.)

Three points to consider about his childhood: 1) Satoru is revered for his strength since he was a literal infant,

2) he was targeted by bounty hunters ever since he was born, and

3) he's shown to display a stark behavior when he was a child in contrast to his adult self.

To start this off, interpreting a manga is not just about reading the phrases. Manga is a storytelling format that combines drawn art and written words. In character design, artists put stories behind a character's expression (facial expressions, choice of clothes, environment, etc.) deliberately in attempt to express storytelling.

The language of art in this respect is all about interpreting the "show dont tell". And you can gain a lot of information from that alone, if you get the context.

In the manga, kid Gojo is drawn consistently impassive compared to adult Gojo, even as far as to actually contrast him to his adult self in a specific panel. The difference of personality is a deliberate choice to tell a story from his childhood which is in contrast to his current self.

Based on those three points, we can read that:

Gojo did not grow up normally. No normal kid grows up and is already threatened for existing. A kid cannot properly figure out why he's 'a threat', let alone have the mature mind to immediately digest why his environment is treating him a certain way (taking account the amount of fixations on his strength).

It's canon information that Gojo is spoiled as a kid. As children, the desire and need to feel loved and accepted is innate. Since his childhood, boy is fussed with people acknowledging him. However, the question remains, did the people around him accepted him for who he was, or was it for his gifted strength alone? It is fairly obvious why people were eager to meet his existence.

As kids, it's natural to look up to older people who they can trust, figuring out their place in the world, and building their own self-worth. The constant attention makes it a no wonder why Satoru developed to have an intense hyperfixation on his strength alone. It's a reflection of how the world views him, putting his strength before his very being on top of the pedestal.

Rightfully so, in the present day, Gojo grew up to be overly fixated about how strong he is, taking his entire identity. His self-interest lies deep in relation to his strength.

To reiterate, Gojo did not have a healthy and normal childhood circumstance. Take any child into what he has psychologically gone through at his formative and early age, seeing the world through an eyes of a child. The things he experienced can be considered as childhood neglection as he lacked the proper needs as a child (healthy boundaries, security). In present day, his hyperfixation on strength is deeply infrangible. His worth and being is emphasised by the filter of his Six Eyes throughout the manga.

Satoru's relationship with his strength is like a crux to his being. He copes with strength and gains pleasure from strength. Dude keeps yapping, "I'm the strongest." because that alone validates and satisfies his existence and his self-worth. In Satoru's case, him born with the Six Eyes skewed his perception of the world - from the moment he was raised and the moment he was born. Noone is there to truly understand his perspective (thus further isolating him) because noone has the Six Eyes but him. It is bound for him to live with centering his own strength and understanding himself through that.

When I hear people talk about how arrogant or boastful he is, it's because he has the right to given his unavoidable circumstance, a result of years of being validated as the strongest. That said, Satoru is very conscientious with his status which makes it interesting. It shows how layered he is as a character. Rather than questioning his own identity without his power, he seems to think more about his power and how he can live with it for his own sake despite being painfully aware of how it causes him to rift from other people.

From this line, it is implied that Satoru did yearn for other people to understand his loneliness but has come to a conclusion that he will never experience it given his status, and that he's fine with it now. Taking this into consideration of his childhood, a person who's needs are met wouldn't simply yearn to be understood at his current age unless if his needs (feeling loved and understood) aren't met at all. Drawing from this, it's safe to assume that Satoru lacked feeling truly validated as a person growing up, and that his Six Eyes, the blessing he is born with, is indeed a curse in hindsight to a 'living thing' like Satoru. Satoru understands he's not human enough to be human but he is indeed still a living thing.