#to accept that and accept that hes wrong. that his beliefs are wrong)

[aventurineswife]

🤔 do u have a thought about shrau with amphoreus ?

If I'm not wrong, they just believe in titan as their god right? What about shrau amphoreus with reader as a creator?

Like just Imagine it, when they knew about reader as a creator or aeon reader and how they will react

OKAY OKAY, I MAY NOT BE GOOD AT THIS BUT HEAR ME OUT!

If Amphoreus is a world that reveres Titans as gods, then suddenly discovering the Reader (aka you) as a Creator/Aeon would shake their entire belief system to its core. The Chrysos Heirs, warriors devoted to slaying corrupted Titans and recovering their Coreflames, would have to face the terrifying realization that the entity they’ve been unknowingly serving might be above the very gods they worship.

The Chrysos Heirs—Mydei, Phainon, Castorice—are devoted to prophecy and divine will. If they discovered that the true weaver of fate, the one who oversees their struggles and triumphs, is actually you, their entire worldview would fracture.

Mydei, the Undying Warrior, might react with reverence, but also conflict.

"The Coreflame trials, the prophecy, the Titans... were they mere threads in your tapestry? Have I only been playing my part in a story you have already written?"

He would feel both honored and trapped—knowing that his fate was not his own but also that his suffering had purpose.

Phainon, the Deliverer, might be the first to fully embrace you.

"If you are the one who spins the threads of destiny, then everything we have done… it has been for you, hasn’t it?"

He’d see it as a blessing, a sign that their struggles were leading toward something far greater. He might fully devote himself to you, no longer just as a warrior, but as a disciple.

Castorice, the Daughter of the River Styx, would have an eerie calm about it.

"Death and fate have always danced hand in hand. If you are the one who weaves, then I have been treading upon your strings all my life."

She might not even be surprised—only resigned, knowing that she had always been walking the path you had set.

The people of Amphoreus, especially those who still worship Titans as gods, would be terrified. If they learn that their world is merely a fragment of your design, it could split the faction into two:

Those who believe the Titans are still divine, and you are merely another force in the cosmos.

Those who believe you are the true god—the one above all, the being who even Titans obey.

Some might fall into despair, realizing that their gods are no more than pieces of a larger game board, and that your will can rewrite their fate at any moment. Others might become fanatical, believing that serving you is the only true path.

The Coreflames, remnants of the Titans’ divine power, might now take on an entirely new meaning—if the Titans were once creations under your will, then does that mean their power also stems from you?

If Mydei and Phainon failed the Coreflame Trial, was it because you willed it?

Phainon, who vanished after the trial, might see it as a test from you—a call to prove himself.

Mydei, bound by honor and sacrifice, might struggle with whether his suffering was truly his own choice… or merely an inevitable step in the story you wrote.

The most horrifying realization for them? That every battle, every struggle, every death was something you already knew would happen.

If Mydei has died a thousand times, then you—the Aeon of Fate—must have allowed it each time.

"You… knew? Every strike, every wound, every death I suffered—you saw them all?"

The idea that they were never free, that their victories and failures were written into existence, could be devastating.

Some would see you as salvation rather than as a distant, cosmic force. They’d offer the Coreflames to you as divine tribute, seeing them not as remnants of fallen Titans, but as pieces of a world you once shaped.

The most devout warriors might seek to serve you personally, casting aside their oaths to the Titans and the prophecy.

Mydei, should he fully accept your will, might become your sword of fate, carrying out your judgment across Amphoreus.

Phainon, ever the perfectionist, might strive to prove himself worthy in your eyes, seeking to become your chosen deliverer.

Castorice, attuned to the whispers of death, might become your priestess, ensuring that those who fall in battle meet their end as fate intended.

Once the truth of your existence reaches Amphoreus, the world would never be the same. The Titans' worshippers, the Chrysos Heirs, the Coreflame Trials—everything would shift under the weight of the realization that you have always been watching.

Some will fight for you.

Some will fear you.

Some will desperately seek your favor.

But no matter how they react, one truth remains: they were never beyond your reach.

[mayanneaa]

always and (not) forever - ʀᴀꜰᴇ ᴄᴀᴍᴇʀᴏɴ.

PAIRING : rafe cameron x reader

SUMMARY : rafe breaks up with you right after you get accepted to stanford university.

WARNING(S) : angst, swearing, not really proofread

A/N : can you tell i just watched to all the boys: always and forever? (divider by @roseraris )

WC : 0.7k

masterlist.

Your heart’s pounding more and more as you click on the email you just got.

It’s late at night, only the crickets outside accompanying your growing emancipation. You squeeze the hem of your pajama shirt, biting your lip almost to blood.

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for forever— the week of acceptance letters from Stanford.

You can’t really remember when exactly you decided that a university across the whole country was good for you. It just… happened.

Your boyfriend, Rafe, wasn’t particularly excited for you to study so far away since he wanted to go to the one in-state. You managed to convince him that you’ll be well.

The email is long, but after the first words, you don’t even bother reading more. You got in.

A scream escapes your lips, quickly muffled by your hands. You sit there wide-eyed, the faint light of your laptop’s screen falling on your face.

“Oh my God.”

You immediately grab your phone, trembling fingers dialing Rafe’s number. He answers faster than the first ding.

“What’s up, baby?” His voice’s a little raspy and low as if he was falling asleep.

“I got into Stanford,” you whisper, the words feeling unreal once they leave your mouth. “Can you believe it, Rafe?”

There’s a silence, followed by a hum. “That’s… great. I mean, you’re happy, right?”

“Yeah, of course!”

There’s a silence— a moment where you can let your emotions cool off a bit, followed by Rafe clearing his throat.

“Actually… Can we meet?”

You knit your eyebrows. His voice is steady but distant. Something you haven’t heard in a while. “Like, right now?”

Rafe hums in response, and you feel the confusion bubbling up. “Well, if you want to you can come over, but be quiet. My parents are asleep.”

“I’ll be there in five.”

You hang up the phone, your hand lingering as you glance at the laptop screen.

Was Rafe overthinking this whole ‘distance’ thing once again?

You’ve already told him a million times that it will work out. So why the sudden change of mind?

You slip your feet into your slippers and grab a hoodie you throw on on the stairs.

The light from Rafe’s motorcycle flashes through the windows, a quiet buzz filling the natural silence. You quickly open the door and get outside, a chilly breeze hitting your bare legs.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, crossing your arms on your chest.

Rafe takes off his helmet and looks at the ground. “I think we should break up before you go to Stanford.”

You grimace, scrunching your nose. “What are you talking about? Rafe, we’ve been through this. I know it’s hard to be this long distance, but we can do it—”

“No.” The word comes out of his mouth so quickly, you gasp under your breath. “Honestly, how do you see that? Going from what we are now, from me getting to your door in five fucking minutes to seeing each other once God knows how much time?”

“But… you agreed to that earlier…”

“I was wrong,” Rafe says as quietly as a whisper, his voice cracking. “I’m not going to watch it all fall apart in two, four, or even six months. It’s better if we just end it now.”

You squeeze your arms and clench your jaw so tight it almost hurts.

How dare he just stand there, not even looking at you, as your life seems to split in two?

“Don’t say that, Rafe. You don’t mean it…” You say, your voice is small, but you know better than this. Rafe doesn’t just say things.

“I do.”

Two words. Those two words were enough to let the tears pushing onto your eyelids fall.

“Are you serious? After all we’ve been through, you leave me because of some stupid belief that we will not make it?” You sigh, anger spilling out with each breath you take.

“Go, Rafe. I don’t want to see your face.”

He inhales sharply as if you just slapped him. Maybe you should’ve done that. Instead, you turn on your heels and storm into the house, not giving Rafe another glance.

All you hear is the engine running, and the quiet sound of your heart breaking.

taglist :

@amterasuu

[eregar]

actually, i am somewhat surprised that heinrix wasn’t a romance option for male rogue traders because he seems primed for a conversation surrounding identity, sexuality, and masculinity. he’s a man who was reared to be a knight, this emblem of the masculine ideal, and due to an uncontrollable, innate quality of his personhood he had that brutally stripped away from him. he was rejected by his family. cast out of the only home he ever knew. and so he does everything to turn this part of himself into something acceptable, constructing his mask after a man that he views as the pinnacle of humanity. in doing this, he finds himself becoming colder. harsher. more dogmatic and rigid in his views, and with it, his self-loathing. at the core of him is still this fundamental belief that he is Wrong and every action he has ever taken is penance for that. his journey with the rogue trader is about him softening that dogmatism: towards others, sure, but more importantly, towards himself. what part about that doesn’t sound like a phenomenal queer narrative?

[hallowpen]

The Idea of Shared/Linked Karma as it Relates to Home and Peach in Peaceful Property

I made a comment in my last post about Peaceful Property that Home and Peach exist in balance of one another... and that if I were to elaborate on that, it would make that post longer than it needed to be.

Well, thanks to @thebroccolination, I have once again boarded the Peaceful Property train... and the time is nigh!!!

I just want to preface this by saying, this is all just my own personal read of the series and I, in no way, hold any of this to be an absolute interpretation. Ideas of cyclical karma and karmic soulmates / linked karma have always interested me... if my love of The Sign is anything to go by hehe

So, what are the beliefs around shared/linked karma? It's basically the idea that two or more spirits are interconnected through their actions and inactions. The karma created by one will affect the experiences of the others through shared circumstance and interaction. This interdependence would create shared karmic consequences. An example of this would be familial karma, which is dispersed throughout the series as the "curse" (or negative karma) of the Vimarnsukman family.

The relationship between Home and Peach can represent the ideas of a negative karmic relationship blossoming into a positive one. And their linked connection started the instant Home hit Peach with his car.

Buddhism doesn't necessarily propagate "predetermined destinies" so much as "fates" or karma born of individual choice. Circumstances will always present you with a choice, and your decision is what will determine your karmic fate. The choices that are presented throughout one's lifetime, give one with the opportunity to balance their karmic scale... but only if they are willing to pursue positive actions that foster good karma.

Karma has a funny way of trying to balance the scales. Peach and Home reconnecting after the hit and run was the universe's way of presenting Home with the choice to correct his past mistakes... but only happens because of that mistake. Home hits Peach with his car, Peach dies and is resuscitated... but with the ability to see ghosts, Peach's friend Best purchases one of Home's properties that is haunted by a ghost only Peach can see and exorcise, Home wants to hire Peach for his ability. Home needed Peach to help "see" the manifestation of his family's negligence and ignorance, and Peach's ability to do that was granted to him only after Home's own negligence and ignorance. Karma is such a tangled web hehe

In developing a relationship with Peach, someone who Home has wronged in the past, Home can begin to foster enough good karma to counteract his (and his family's) negative actions. Their working together to alleviate the suffering of other spirits creates a positive and important karmic bond, which perpetuates a sense of shared communal well-being that mitigates Home's negative karma. (A lot of this also falls into the idea of harmonious justice which was another prominent concept throughout the series... this is a much larger discussion that I lack the mental capacity to delve into right now).

Home eventually gaining the ability to "hear" those who were never listened to... when the thing him and his family struggle with the most is communication, when he wanted Peach to hear him out after finding out about the hit and run, when his spirit seeks to connect with Peach after his own accident. If Peach can see the ghosts, then in order for them to continue down this shared karmic path, Home must hear them (whether literal or figurative). Balance!!!

Home helps Peach to overcome his fears, Peach helps Home to be aware of and accept his wrong behaviors. Without each other, their cycles of fear and harm would continue. Them "choosing" each other, is what allows them to acknowledge and change their own self-damaging and isolating tendencies... to learn and experience forgiveness, and to find inner peace within themselves. They find a community within each other and use that community to help others. That's the ultimate definition of harmonious karma.

[redpill-tfs]

Bro I saw you turn Brody into that crony ass senator. My bro would never do that. I'm gonna come and rescue him from whatever game you're playing.

You head into the senator's house, an ornate mansion in southern Virginia earned from years of a Congress salary. There has to be something here that can help you save "Brody." You'd do anything for him after all.

The house is quiet right now, the senator in Washington D.C. spreading conservative values and passing bills. His wife is out doing the weekly shopping and the kids are at their private Christian school. It's the perfect time to get some information on what happened.

Your search leads you into a separate wing of the house, with a smaller bedroom and connected bathroom. A grand dressing mirror stands on one of the walls, completely free of any objects. You decide to search through the drawers for anything that could save your bro when your eyes lock onto the mirror again.

You find your body completely frozen in place, unable to move or even look away from the mirror. You're starting to get nervous now. How are you going to get out of this?

Your clothes suddenly vanish, leaving you completely naked. Your old pastel shirt and shorts are no more, the jacket around your neck gone too. New clothes start to form in their place. A pristine white dress shirt drapes around your body, buttoning all the way up. A pair of simple underwear appears and is soon covered by a pair of suit pants, tucking the shirt into them. A red vest comes next, securing itself on your body. A tuxedo jacket joins the ensemble, complete with a white pocket square tucked neatly into the pocket. Finally, a red bow tie ties itself around your neck, completing the look.

Some physical changes accompany the wardrobe. Your hair is slicked back and darkens into a deep brown, giving a nice professional look. Your face becomes a bit more chiseled and younger, looking like you are in your early twenties. Any imperfections on your face are erased, giving a perfect look.

You stare in the mirror in horror at your new appearance, still unable to move. As you start to panic more, your mind suddenly goes blank and your memories are rewritten. What were you doing in this room again? What was your name again? You find yourself unable to remember, but also unable to care. You're just a servant after all. You don't need to worry about your own needs and wants. The only thing that matters is serving Sir and making sure his needs are met.

You remember meeting Sir just after high school, being a liberal atheist with big aspirations in life at the time. You had been accepted into your dream college with plans to marry your high school boyfriend not long after. Your memory of meeting Sir is a little hazy, but you remember the both of you agreeing that your life would be better spent in service to a superior man like him. In the years that have followed, you couldn't agree more. Your "old life" feels like a distant memory now.

Sir has taught you a lot since taking you in. Important skills like cooking, cleaning, and how to give a perfect blow job. Any mistakes made were swiftly punished. You've learned to do your jobs perfectly to serve him better. You want to serve him better.

He taught you how your old political beliefs were all wrong, "outdated communist bullshit" as he'd put it. You couldn't agree more. Right is right. Red is superior, hence the accent on your uniform. He let you watch the news on election night and you were elated when the entire government got a conservative majority. With all three branches of government under Republican and MAGA control, you can't wait to see what the future holds with men like Sir in control.

Sir also introduced you to religion, how your old ways were damning you to an afterlife of torture. You've started praying every night after your chores are completed and attending church with Sir's family every Sunday, still in your suits of course.

You shake your head, pulling yourself out of memory lane. Adjusting your bowtie in the mirror to perfect your appearance for Sir. You suddenly receive a message from Sir on your phone:

"Make sure every room is spotless, Boy. Dinner on the table by the time I get home. If you do a good job, I might let you suck me off as a reward."

You smile at that, eager to please him. You'd better get back to work. You still have several rooms to dust and vacuum and a three course meal to prepare. You take one final look in the mirror before leaving your quarters, heading back to work.

[lightlycareless]

Do you think because of Y/N helping him like grow as a person, do you think this groan version of him would take an interest in Megumi after Toji dies? I don’t think he’d be necessarily try to take care of Megumi full time but I could see him being invested in his care. I feel like Naoya wouldn’t have let Megumi go into his teen years not knowing much about his father lol

I HIT SEND TOO QUICKLY Hi, I’m the Naoya and Megumi anon. I also wanted to mention how I think it’d be cute to see how Y/N would interact with Megumi as well. I feel like Megumi would grow closer to Y/N faster than he would go both Naoya and Satoru since I’m sure those two could be annoying to him lol

Hi anon hehehehehehe. Sorry for taking a while to respond 🥹 I couldn't really think much about a scenario between the two interacting, but after a while, I think I finally got it!

This was nice to write, it's like a nothing goes terribly wrong AU. One can certainly dream.

Warnings: nothing major, just naoya being a tiny douchebag before realizing his mistakes :) also, I had to change the timelines because when satoru met megumi you were like 15 and that's the age I envisioned you meeting naoya for the first time lol (me taking creative liberties, as usual); but outside of that, fluff.

Happy reading!!

I’m going to be honest with you, I do not think Naoya would care much about Megumi initially outside of his similarities to Toji, but even then, it doesn’t last that long because he rather have the real deal, if that makes sense. Megumi’s relationship to his favorite person in the whole wide world is actually to his detriment.

However, things don’t turn out for the worse until he finds out why he was welcomed into the Zen’in estate in the first place.

Because he’s essentially his replacement! If not the preferred option… and this revelation has Naoya seething with anger. How dare his family do that to him, after all he’s done for them?!

And believe me when I say Naoya was more than ready to retaliate, find a way to sabotage the poor kid—

Until you stepped in and disapproved of his actions.

But not only that, your engagement too, and possibly even your relationship.

“Can’t you see how critical this is?! I am to lose my title, my place in this family because of this—kid!” Naoya tries to justify his actions, attempts to convince you of his erroneous beliefs and support him. “We’re going to lose everything! Is that the life you want?! To be thrown out into the streets?!”

But you’re not having it, because that’s not why you fell in love with him in the first place.

“I don’t care if we live in poverty, Naoya. However, I do care if I am to face those struggles with a man I’m suddenly surprised to learn he’s not the type of father I want for my future children.”

Your statement certainly shakes the foundations of his behavior for a bit, though he’s kind of back at it again soon after, believing you’d return to your usual self in no time. Like it always goes…

However, it’s not until your prolonged, absolutely painful silence towards him, enough to refuse to sleep in the same bed as him, that he finally snaps out of his delusions.

It’s now clear to him that your words referred to your reconsideration of this engagement, fearing that the way he behaved towards his innocent nephew might actually be a direct reflection of his fatherhood. One of the many things you are non-negotiable about.

He’d have to be naïve to think his relationship, his future children, couldn’t entail a possibility like this. Like his clan hadn’t accepted his engagement to you for the slightest possibility of begetting a son with their inherited technique.

Neither had thought much about it, perhaps too enthralled with the idea of spending the rest of their lives together—but this was a very plausible circumstance. Or at least it was until the obnoxious white-haired heir came along and dragged poor Megumi and his sister into a world he was previously unaware of.

…

And he just had to go ahead and disappoint you, didn’t he? Eagerly considering doing things he would never attempt against his own children… all because he was jealous.

No wonder you didn’t want to relate to him anymore. He was acting the same way his family did! How they taught him to be.

The same behavior that once threatened this relationship to never exist, unless he changed for the good.

Naoya thought he did, but with the prospect of his future marriage now hanging by a string, he’s not so sure anymore.

Still, hope remains. A sliver of opportunity for him to retract his denouncing actions and do what’s right before it’s too late.

For you.

For Megumi.

So, willing to put his (imaginary) differences aside, he approaches young Megumi with intentions of bridging the gap between the two and getting to actually know him; his first and perhaps only relative to care enough to do so, it seems.

Unfortunately, Megumi wasn’t too keen on following his lead. In fact, he didn’t want to entertain anything that might entail the heir, which honestly surprised Naoya since his preconceived notions influenced him to believe otherwise. This kid is essentially going to get his job, wouldn’t he like to know more about it??

Not really. For all he could care for was the wellbeing of his sister, another young child Naoya grew slightly indifferent to after hearing she wasn’t really related to his cousin, a stepchild. He had no quarrel with her, but he wasn’t the best “in-law” either.

Well, at least this made his job easier when it came to getting into Megumi’s good graces, all he had to do was order a better life for her and that was set. However, the kid’s coldness towards him remained, and at the prospect of his options quickly running out, Naoya grows desperate—anxious.

What if he never makes amends for his acts?

Would you… leave him?

“Stupid Satoru, this is all his fault! If he had only come to me first instead of dumping all his problems to us, this would’ve been way different!”

Who would’ve thought, however, that he and Megumi would end up bonding over their shared distaste for the Gojo heir?

“So, he’s always like that?” Megumi quietly asks upon hearing Naoya curse out his frustrations.

“Huh? Who?” Naoya asks, unsure if he’s talking to him.

“Satoru, has he always been this immature?”

Your fiancée blinks.

“Yeah, since he was a kid.” Naoya continues. “An obnoxious, irritating—”

“White-haired creep.” Megumi finishes, he grins.

“I knew I couldn’t be the only one that saw Gojo for what he really is!” Naoya proudly states, as if he hadn’t previously admired the man for as long as he could remember, the epitome of strength but only behind his cousin!

Though his disdain only came much later upon learning of a particular succession that happened between you and him; since then, he’s been persona non grata in his life.

“Makes sense why his friends look at him the way they do.” Megumi continues. “How can he even have friends in the first place??”

“No idea, might pay them for their time or something.”

“Yeah, definitely.”

It marked the beginning of a new friendship, one that Naoya genuinely enjoyed past making amends and getting back to your good graces, enough so for him to actually invite him to train; Megumi refused his initial invitation, citing he really didn’t have much interest about sorcery and such, but eventually agreed after realizing all of the things he could accomplish by becoming strong…

Such as protecting his sister.

Besides, Naoya ought to be a far better adequate training partner than those goons in the kukuru and akashi units, or old geezers like this father and uncle.

“It’d be my privilege to train you.” Naoya continues. “And perhaps, in due time, you’ll be able to beat Gojo yourself.”

Consider him sold.

Though some restraints must still be employed.

“You better not be encouraging to do anything bad, Naoya.” You say after bumping into him just around the corner, once their training session was over and both were dismissed to clean up.

“Y/N!” Naoya gasps, thrilled to see you again; he tried to play it cool but, well, he never could contain himself with the love of his life. “I—… I don’t know what to say, I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I hear that you were actually getting along, so… I just came by to check in on the two.”

“We have. He’s quite entertaining, you know?”

“I know. He’s very sweet too.”

“Really?” Naoya raises an eyebrow.

“When no one’s watching, of course. Kind of reminds me of someone…”

…

…

…

“Are you still… disappointed with me?”

You sigh.

“No, not really.” You admit. “But I did get a bit… worried.”

About what he’d do if one of his children had inherited his family’s technique.

“I’d still love them, like I love you.” Naoya reassures, a sentiment you know to be true now. “I could only love all that comes from you.”

“I’m glad I wasn’t wrong.” You smile, taking his hand with yours and pulling him closer.

“Does this mean��?”

“Yeah, we have lots of catching up to.” You tease. “But—I need you to promise me something before that.”

“Anything.”

“That you’d be careful about what you say about Satoru in front of Megumi; I wouldn’t want him to do something by accident in the days he’s here and… well, you know, make things awkward.”

Naoya laughs.

“I mean, we wouldn’t be lying…”

“Naoya.”

“Alright, I promise. No more trash talking.”

“Keep it to the minimum at least… I get how annoying he can be, but… well, we have to be the bigger person in this situation.” you pout, inviting Naoya to lean down and steal a kiss from your lips.

“I’ll deal with it, don’t worry your pretty little head about anything” He kisses you again. “Outside of our wedding, of course. Have you thought about the venue you want?”

You smile.

“Not yet, but I’ve seen some beautiful options we should definitely go look!”

Unfortunately, you wouldn’t have much time to do so, because this promise would be broken not so long after by you (the irony of it all!). A slip of your tongue and their words would inundate Satoru’s mind with nothing less than skepticism.

But far from prompting an expected reaction, it triggered a far worse consequence: a competition with the sole purpose of demonstrating which one of the heirs was better. There were no limits, only points to prove.

…

You suppose there is no better training for patience when you finally have children of your own, than this.

Also, to not leave that major question unanswered: I feel like Megumi would be the one to eventually ask Naoya about his dad; Naoya for sure wanted to tell him all the amazing things Toji seemingly did, but you convinced him not to because...

"He sold him, Naoya. What do you think Megumi feels about that?"

Not sure if it's ooc, but I also believe Naoya's perspective of him might change a bit.... he'll still admire the crap out of him, but there's just things that he doesn't perceive so happily anymore.

Anyways, there's my interpretation of the relationship they could have hehehe it began with Naoya trying to mend things because of you but they ended up being somewhat amicable with one another :) to torment Satoru is their main motivation. (don't get me wrong, Megumi eventually finds Naoya annoying too, but, well, he can benefit out of the two one way or the other hahah)

I hope you enjoyed it 🥹❤️ I strive to write more about Megumi in the future.

Take care, and hope to see you soon ❤️

[postsforposting]

Had his hand been splayed nobody would be calling it a nazi gesture. Same as people don't call other such gestures a salute, even though there's been lots of "this angle makes you a nazi" type graphs. I have seen tons of people hail taxis with the "tight" as opposed to splayed hand, though, and no one in the USA gets huffy about it. I'm inclined to agree he did it to be a jackass, so he could mock everyone in the aftermath.

About two decades ago there was a "have you seen Kyle, he's about this tall" meme. It was a nazi gesture, not out of sincere belief but because people found the dark humor funny. Not particularly something you'd do in open public where people will reflexively insist it's nothing but criminal.

A gesture can be a heil, and the heil can be a joke. Whether anyone in particular finds that funny is their own business, but "it's not funny" doesn't make it anything other than a joke you don't like. Same as any other topic used for humor that people don't like. Doing it in public where you know you're going to offend people is not a nice thing to do, but again, that kind of behavior isn't diagnostic of nazism.

Musk strikes me as the kind who would do it in public. Which he did.

I was surprised to see people projecting the video on Tesla buildings in Germany, of all places, where it's highly illegal to do anything akin to the heil. If we're upset Musk did this in public, then surely the projectors are just as evilly Nazi? Regardless of if they wanted to "prove he's a bigot"? There's plenty of AfD people who would love him to come out as a full nazi, and there's plenty of people who would be disgusted by it. So who was behind the projector, and why? Does it matter what their intentions were, who's side they're on, when that's the same argument we're having here about Musk doing it?

I don't particularly care what Musk's intentions were. He's well aware of people's "determination to make everything Trump-related out to be Nazi-ish", and he's the kind of Edgy to deliberately set those people off. He's right that people are freakishly obsessed with symbology; doesn't make it acceptable for a quasi-government official to deliberately act like this though. We really gotta move away from trying to enshrine what's effectively linguistic astrology, valuing the euphemistic treadmill over actual meaning. "Tranny fags got the same freedoms you do, Earl" is a lot better than "We need to be careful about allowing non gender conforming people access to anything beyond the mental institutionalization they clearly need for self hatred and self harming uwu".

The other thing is that I haven't really seen any agreement about what a "nazi" is, other than "he did the signal". Does it mean ONLY hatred of Jewish people? How so, when the OG nazis started with queer and disabled people, and the west itself forced those people to continue their nazi-assigned sentences long after the war was over? When those policies are still present in many countries, if not all, to this day? Antisemitism is pretty prevalent worldwide, does that mean everyone globally is a nazi too? What about the other economic and cultural beliefs?

Laypeople use facism, nazism, and authoritarianism interchangeably, but they're really not. I don't think many people can actually articulate the differences at all, let alone to the satisfaction of basic academics. I think expanding people's vocabulary about what exactly these things entail would go a long way to being able to say what's actually wrong and why. Though given that people also generally dismiss anything that isn't Le Srs Enough To Matter, I think that's the real problem. Musk MUST be a nazi, or nothing he does matters, because only that matters enough to require concern, let alone action. Things that are only "slightly bad" should get fixed too. Even good things, if they can be improved, should get fixed. The limbo bar should not need to be set at The Worst Ever. Frankly it feels nice to improve things, even if only a little bit. But we teach people that "cleaning up", literally and metaphorically, is a shameful punishment because you are a Bad Person Responsible For This Mess, instead of the self and community care it actually is.

I wish people more easily were able to separate "this is horrifyingly insensitive/offensive/inappropriate and nobody should do it and I have a right to be angry that someone did/said the thing" from "this is a confirmation of the offender actually having the worst-case belief whose existence is the reason for the thing being considered so offensive, and so I should feel unsafe because they did/said the thing".

[mordredhnoc-rp]

Marrow here again, not with research this time.

I hate to interfere, but out of curiosity-

What if someone could prove that the Hanged Man's words held merit? If someone had evidence, from this chunk of time or otherwise, that his prophecies were true? Would you listen then?

What would it take?

I--

...don't know. It just wouldn't make any sense.

I saw their remains. They were all dead, killed by ghouls. It wouldn't make any sense, 'cause what kinda person can just inact that kinda senseless violence but a heartless monster? What would the point be?

I don't know what would make me believe the Hanged Man.

[good-beanswrites]

I can't stop thinking of Kyanako's Order of Attack au... there's something so moving to me about how things getting so much worse could be what finally causes Amane to get better -- seeing Fuuta dying may be the final straw of getting her to rethink her rejection of medicine. Been a while since I've attempted something whump-y, this was fun to work with.

Tw for mentions/contemplation of death. I don't go into detail about the cult but the doctrines are implied through it all.

Fuuta was not a big fan of dying.

When he imagined his own death, he always pictured it as something dramatic and fast. Action heroes going out in a show of explosions and gunfire. Fantasy characters meeting the shining end of a blade. Even when he accepted his place in Milgram, it filled his mind with images of gallows and electric chairs. 

Whatever this slow, lengthy fever was, it was pissing him off. 

He’d lost all sense of time. He could no longer tell which hour the prison bells were marking -- morning and night blended together. Dreaming and waking blended together. His head injury and broken leg and broken bones blended together. It was all just pain at the end of the day. He had nonstop visitors that kept him awake and asked him too many questions and prodded his injuries and made his head spin. Somehow, he was simultaneously alone every time he rolled over to talk to someone. Painfully, suffocatingly alone. 

If Kotoko was going to kill him with those ridiculous emo boots of hers, she should have just done it. He was losing his mind here: devoid of all energy, suffering through broken bones and a cracked head, and boiling in an increasingly fiery fever. Maybe that was the reason he stopped commenting when he watched Amane pocket the medicine Shidou had left him. Maybe that was why he’d stopped following Shidou’s instructions himself. Even after losing an eye and taking a beating herself, Amane always looked at peace. He was tired of dealing with all of this. He wanted a bit of that peace.

Regardless of why, it was working. His fever had quickly gone from the biggest pain in his ass to the very thing that dulled his racing thoughts. 

He awoke suddenly, or maybe he’d already been awake. He couldn’t feel anything in his limbs. There was only a breathless heat around him. He raised himself into a sitting position, looking for a drink. Moving his head felt like one of those glitching computer windows that leaves a trail of copies behind it. The room swam around him. His eyes moved absently around him.

Fuuta picked up the glass that someone had left him. His fingers were clumsy, and it immediately went crashing to the ground. He hardly heard the noise as it broke apart on the concrete below. 

He swung his legs over the side of the bed. He’d just go get a drink himself. Shidou told him not to get up without help. But what did he know? Thinking of the man ordering him around only drove Fuuta to step out of bed even quicker. He cried out, pain shooting through his leg. That was right, it was broken… 

Fuuta looked down, finding himself on the ground. It was so hot. Maybe this is what she felt, he thought numbly. Was it this slow for her too? Probably not. She had no regrets to fill the time like he did. The heroes got quick, beautiful deaths, and it was the villains who had to suffer the long ones. 

He lifted his right palm from where it had caught his fall. The shattered glass on the floor had cut into it. Shattered glass? What had broken? He stared blankly at the blood dripping down. 

He didn’t have the strength to raise himself up. He was burning. Why was he on the ground? Was he bleeding? He could barely breathe. What was he doing here, anyway? He just wanted to curl up and sleep. He was so weak... just to lie down... he wouldn't have the strength to get back up again. Was that such a bad thing...?

A voice caught his attention. His eyes struggled to focus on the figure who’d come running into the cell. He couldn’t understand a word of what she was saying, but he was happy when she pressed her cool little hands against his forehead. 

He allowed her to prop him up next to the bed. She held onto his hand, squeezing it tight. Why was she holding it like that? That hand was bleeding. When did that happen?

Her arms wrapped tightly around him. He wanted to shove her away -- it was too hot -- but couldn’t. In his ear, he could make out her words. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please, Fuuta. Don’t leave me alone. I’m so sorry...”

As she pulled back, he recognized Amane. Her uninjured eye was filled with tears. Was she upset? He thought he’d been making her happy. He wanted to keep making her happy. He’d never made anyone happy before. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but no words would come out. They all scrambled up in his mouth. He felt the cell swirling around him.

Amane raised her voice. She looked desperately upwards. “This can’t be --! This isn’t right!” 

Fuuta looked up at the ceiling. There was nothing there. 

“I can’t do this anymore.”

She continued talking. Fuuta was too busy studying the ceiling. She was shouting. Or maybe crying. Fuuta didn’t like that she was so upset. Huh, had there been someone there? He surveyed the empty cell. What was he doing on the ground?

He looked down at his hand. The sheet from his bed had been pulled down and wrapped hastily around it. Why? His eyes felt sticky as he blinked. Everything hurt. It was so hot. What was going on? He was so angry. He was so scared. He wanted to cry. Why was he here? Why couldn’t he just hurry up and die already?

The next time she entered, Fuuta recognized Amane instantly. Her one hand pointed to him, the other held onto someone else. The second figure hurried over to him. 

Fuuta was not a big fan of dying. Shidou reassured him he wouldn’t.

—

“You’re wearing the eyepatch,” Fuuta observed. 

He was playing a dangerous game, drawing attention to it like that. He was too exhausted, and his curiosity won out over his better judgment. If Amane was going to explode with one of her typical speeches, he’d just let her.

She didn’t. 

Amane’s hand drifted up to her eye. It had been hastily covered before, but now it was cleaned and wrapped in professional-grade materials. She simply said,  “Kajiyama Fuuta. How do you feel?”

“Like shit.”

“But--”

“-- But I’m better, yeah.”

Amane nodded, her shoulders releasing. 

“Oi, I haven’t seen you in a while. Not since…” He wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence. Shidou had told him what happened, but it was difficult to believe. He couldn’t quite trust his own memory of the night. No matter how much clearer his mind felt since receiving proper treatment, those days of fever still muddled together. He heard that Amane had up and switched her beliefs overnight -- she was now complacent about all of Shidou's treatments -- but Fuuta knew people didn't just change like that. He wanted to hear it for himself.

She lowered her gaze in shame. “I… I thought you hated me.” Her voice was steady. “As you should. I almost killed you. I accept any ill will you may feel.”

“I -- what? You’re wrong. You… it wasn’t…” He grabbed his head, grunting in frustration.

After standing awkwardly in the entryway the whole time, Amane took a few steps inside. She made it to his bedside when he finally collected his thoughts. 

“It was your fucked up family or whatever that caused everything. They did this. And I went along and made things worse.” He looked away. His next words felt stupid to say to a little kid. He felt like the most pathetic, weak, loser. But it was too important not to say.

“They almost killed me. You saved me.”

[scoobydoodean]

I see this held up as major proof of Dean's badness, but couldn't it also be proof of Cas having faith Dean can get past anything without Cas having to change his behavior? The way it's structured the onus is on DEAN to work through it, not others to change or make amends. ---- CASTIEL: You know, Dean, he – he feels things more acutely than any human I've ever known. So it's possible he could work through this. One day, he may explode and let it all out and breathe deeply and move on.

I see what you mean in a general sense, and it's extremely possible that Cas is thinking about his own past fights with Dean and Dean forgiving him, and from the perspective of the critique you have in mind that you're refuting, I agree. But of course deancrit casgirls will forever insist that Cas has never in his life done anything harmful to Dean either accidentally or on purpose, so any time Dean might dare try to hold him accountable for anything, he's actually just making shit up and being toxic and controlling, so here Cas is just apologizing for his own abusive relationship. You can only get their take by being deliberately obtuse/disingenuous.

That said, the context of that line (from 15.13 "Destinty's Child") is Cas answering soulless Jack's question about whether Dean will eventually forgive him for murdering Mary.

CASTIEL: Hey, Jack. JACK: Cas, you know what's good about being dead? CASTIEL: Uh, as I recall, very little. JACK: Well, when you come back, you – you really get into all that life is. Hot, cold, sweet, spicy, funny, scary. CASTIEL: And are you? "Into it"? JACK: I want to be. But I don't... feel things the way I used to. Before I lost my... CASTIEL: Your soul. JACK: I used to feel things. In my bones. It was glorious, and sometimes unbearable. But I felt them. Now, I understand joy or sadness, but... I know those things aren't in me. I understand why Sam and Dean were angered by what happened to Mary... CASTIEL: By what you did to Mary. JACK: Yes. I see that I've caused them pain. And it's clear that things have changed. Especially with – with Dean. Will he ever forgive me? CASTIEL: You know, Dean, he – he feels things more acutely than any human I've ever known. So it's possible he could work through this. One day, he may explode and let it all out and breathe deeply and move on. JACK: How long will that take? CASTIEL: I don't know.

And yeah—I have seen people refer to Cas's little speech here as "condoning child abuse" and other bullshit. Because how DARE Dean not forgive soulless Jack for murdering his mother (something soulless Jack is unable to actually really acknowledge he did). I mean clearly any time someone murders your mom because she made them mad and threatened their sense of security by asking if they're okay and saying their concerning actions can’t stay a secret… That’s just natural understandable stuff! You need to forgive the person who murdered her instantly and if you don’t idk you’re kinda overreacting don’t you think? :/ I mean your mom probably deserved it kind of anyway for reading the room so wrong and talking about getting a person help. And I mean if you don't forgive the person who killed your mom or do anything trying to stop them from hurting more people you're really a child abuser... toward an adult... who murdered your mother in cold blood and is unable to even understand why it was wrong in any sense other than an intellectual one like he read it from a book... preferring to refer to it as "What happened to Mary" instead of acknowledge it as something he himself did because he was mad and felt threatened—which is what he circled back to in "Jack In The Box" too. It's only when Jack gets his soul back that he's able to actually feel true empathy, acknowledge his real actions and the gravity of them, and give an actual sincere apology. Because his soul is actually important—something this fandom refuses, by and large, to notice.

Anyway, this fandom's take on Mary's murder and soulless Jack vs. regular Jack is overwhelmingly a bag of wet third grader vomit and feces so what can one expect?

[amischiefofmuses]

.

[fingertipsmp3]

Next time I wake up in the middle of the night I’m actually not going back to sleep. Because why did those extra 2.5 hours I got contain the most bizarre storyline ever

[maleficore]

I wish there was an option to tell Shadowheart she's being a shitty Shar follower when she chews Durge out for causing carnage in the Last Light. Girl it was SHAR'S curse that turned all these people into hostile undead, tf do you want from me

[mirchloe]

to whoever wrote donatella's pn wiki, i just wanna talk.

[sherdnerd]

Internet morality is kinda nuts imo because the general response to somebody realising the error of their ways, changing their behaviour, and working to make up for any harm they've caused is to chastise them for having needed to change their ways

[iqmmir]

Soowon is like a son to me (he is older than me)