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enbycrip · 2 months ago

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Cuddle croissant on my legs ❤️

When we adopted Cynthie just over a year ago the people at the rescue centre asked us “so…are you thinking you’ll take her?” after twenty minutes of careful getting to know each other.

And I stared blankly at them because as far as I was concerned the meetings were for introductions and working out if there were major problems - like if she was terrified of my mobility devices that I can’t move around without and couldn’t stand being around them - and none had arisen. And they told me three former potential adopters had turned her down for “not liking people enough” because she took some time - think 10-20 minutes! - to start getting to know them.

This girl had been horribly abused and neglected, as a puppy too, and had contracted a pretty horrible intestinal parasite it took her months of meds to get clear of, and was clearly finding kennel life tough. And she was curious about my rollator, and within 20 minutes she was snuffling my hands and wanting belly rubs.

And this is her after 14 months with us. She is my sweet Velcro girl.

And it’s not been effortless. She needs three decent walks a day and I’m disabled (luckily my OH does two of them minimum) or she starts getting bored and wanting to chew things. It took us a few weeks to work out the balance of how much exercise she needed minimum, and to work on “these are good things to chew, like toys and bones, and these are *dangerous* things to chew, like cables”.

We took her to Dog’s Trust adolescent puppy training classes to work on chewing and recall so she could get off the lead in the park, and in the meantime we took her to an enclosed dog park we had to drive to as there’s none local to us, and to an indoor doggie soft play place because she *really* needs social time with other pups.

And most of these are things you should do with a puppy you get from a breeder. They aren’t born toilet trained! At least safety training (“drop” for dangerous things and “come” for recall) are essential basics.

Much like kids, and indeed humans of all ages, dogs have needs that will cause problems if they aren’t met. Those needs vary a bit depending on the dog’s size, age, type and personality. Again, like humans.

Please don’t get a dog without making *sure* you can meet those needs. And, if you can, please rescue.

We are in a horrendous dog rescue crisis atm, and a *lot* of that is due to the cost of living crisis. People are losing their homes and temporary accommodation, hostels, shelters etc often won’t take dogs. None of that is anyone’s fault (other than landlords and capitalists ofc).

But I’m still seeing a *lot* of folk spending enormous amounts of money on puppies. And yes, sometimes folk have good reasons for that; a lot of rescues won’t adopt to folk with young children, sometimes people need to train service dogs from early in their lives etc etc. This isn’t shaming individuals; I don’t know your individual circumstances. It’s a plea, if you are thinking about getting a puppy, that you *consider* rescuing instead.

If you’d like a particular breed, the shelters have literally never been fuller of purebred pups whose lives are in imminent danger because pounds and shelters are *full*. If you want a puppy, please think hard about *why* rather than an adult dog, because cute tiny furballs grow up fast and need a lot of training, but you can still ask at shelters about that too. One of my best friends and her partners went to a shelter last year expecting to adopt an older dog and came away with a sighthound puppy from a litter that had been dumped and the shelter had raised.

If an individual shelter is awful to you for disability reasons, please do not be discouraged from asking elsewhere. I was really worried after a friend of mine looking to adopt a dog found a particular breed shelter on social media being incredibly disableist about *autistic* people, for some reason (it was very clear from reading their posts they had very little idea about what autism actually is) and this made me panic horribly that any shelter would see me with my mobility devices and immediately turn me away. Actually the three different ones we checked in with in the process of adopting Cynthie were nothing but helpful and welcoming, and others in other parts of the UK, the US and Australia have been the same in the past year to friends with disabilities as diverse as MS, fibromyalgia and schizophrenia.

Obviously you know your own life and your own circumstances best. This is only a request to *consider* rescue. Right now, you are *very* much saving a dog’s life by doing so.

#animal rescue #rescue dog #siberian husky #husky #rescue crisis #housing crisis #pawrent #disabled #disability #disabled pawrent

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mattoidmeerkat · 7 months ago

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as the number #1 brain parasites truther on here, i'm curious on your feelings about the upcoming bobby plot. do u trust that they're gonna do right by our boy? or do u think it's possible the brain parasites might strike again? 😭

obviously i'm sooooooo excited to get more bobby lore, but there's just a tiny little part of me that's scared we might end up getting some bullshit ass story that's entirely ooc for bobby. ik he's been safe so far w/ the characterization, but idk man. i always get a little anxious when i hear a character's getting new lore drops

Not sure how I feel about that title. 😅️

I have been unhappy with a Bobby arc before. This was at the end of Season 5 after we had seen him struggle with being there for everyone, clearly heading to a breaking point, and then the resolution of his arc was basically a footnote in Eddie's storyline. (With Athena's visible concerns just being forgotten about completely.) This was the first time I was really disappointed in a storyline involving Athena and/or Bobby. (Sure, never dealing with any of his injuries considering his past has always been annoying, but this felt different.) I told myself it was the end of the season, and they just ran out of time to address Bobby's arc properly. The episode still annoys me, but I've made my peace with it because it left enough space for us to fill in the gabs. (There are some amazing writers out there who wrote their takes on how Bathena managed to go from 5x18 to 6x01, and I'm so grateful!)

Then Season 6 aired and that just felt very thought through. The setup for the Tanya storyline was great and 6x03 amazing. While focused on Athena, the story still showed and developed her relationship with Bobby as well. Hoover (my beloved) then also helped explore their new dynamic as empty nesters. We got episodes like What's Your Fantasy? showing us how comfortably they'd settled into their empty nest leading into the Wendall arc (that we all wished had been set up earlier for more emotional impact of his death) which really showed us how far those two have come together and individually. (Athena's approach to addiction and AA in Season 4 vs. attending a meeting with Bobby; Bobby trying to keep Athena out of his AA life vs. inviting her into his this part of his world)

The back half of Season 6 showed us even more of their development and growth. The blind faith in Recovery? Excellent. The adorableness and sexiness of Mixed Feeling? Perfect. The bitter-sweet anniversary in Love is in the Air? What an amazing way to show us how far they've come. Pay it Forward? *chef's kiss* We saw them really grow into a deep, stable relationship where they enjoyed spending time together not only around others but especially finally also just by themselves.

And then 7x01 happened. Abandon 'Ships. What a fitting title. This episode was no comparison to 5x18 because back then the end of the season productions stress and time constraints played a big role. None of that really applied here. They came off the longest hiatus ever. The actor's strike was still going on when the writers came back. It was the beginning of the season. There really was no other explanation for what they did with Athena, then they actively and purposely decided to put a plot they wanted to tell (Athena's increasingly erratic behavior confusing Bobby for what I assume was the laughs?) above who the characters were at that point in time. And that really struck me. This was the old showrunner coming in and just not caring about the previous episode(s) and season(s).

So now we are here, looking forward to (or bracing ourselves for?) this new Bobby arc at the end of an extremely condensed season, with them still filming much later than usual. With a showrunner who under much better circumstances just recently has shown that he will blatantly ignore established timelines and character development when it stands in the way of the particular story he wants to tell. (And I'm not saying he's not entitled to do that. It's his show.) So I'm setting my hopes and expectations very, very low. Because I'd rather be positively surprised by a brilliant continuation of Bobby's character arc than be deeply disappointed by another case of the brain parasites.

#911 on ABC #911 spoilers #not really but just to be on the safe side #Bobby Nash #Athena Grant #Bathena #brain parasites #sorry for the essay #I felt like context was necessary #but that's a loooot of context 😅️

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virgin-martyr · 1 year ago

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MARTHA NUSSBAUM: I wake up at night thinking about Euripides’ Hecuba. That to me is a story that says so much about what it is to be a human being in the middle of a world of unreliable things and people. Do you know the story?

BILL MOYERS: Well, from a long time ago. She was the queen of Troy, whose country was destroyed by war, and her whole life was changed. She fell from here to here.

MARTHA NUSSBAUM: Right, right. She lost her husband, she’s lost most of her children, she’s lost her political power. She’s been made a slave. But up to that point, she remains absolutely firm morally. And she even says she believes that human good character is something extremely stable in adversity and can’t be shaken. But then, her one deepest hope is pulled away from her. She left her youngest child with her best friend, who was supposed to watch over him and watch his money, too, and then bring him back when the war was over. And when she gets to the shore of Thrace, she sees a naked body that’s been washed up on the beach. And she looks at it more closely, and then she notices that it’s the body of her child.

And she realizes right away that what this friend has done is to murder the child for his money, and to do it in a callous, heedless way, without even taking thought for burying the child, just has tossed it out into the waves. And all of a sudden, the roots of her moral life are undone. She looks around, and she says, “Everything is untrustworthy. Everything that I see is untrustworthy,” because her moral life had been based on the ability to trust things and people that were not under her own control. And if this deepest and best friendship proves untrustworthy, then it seems to her that nothing can be trusted, and she bas to turn to a life of solitary revenge.

BILL MOYERS: Against the friend.

MARTHA NUSSBAUM: And we see her at the end of the play putting out the eyes of this former best friend, and turning herself into, what the chorus says is in effect, a dog. I mean, they predict that she will literally turn into a dog. But we know that the story of metamorphosis from the human to something less than human has really taken place before our very eyes.

No, I think it’s pretty clear that this comes about not because she’s a bad person, but in a sense because she’s a good person, because she has had deep friendships on which she staked her moral life. And So what this play says that’s so disturbing, is that the condition of being good is such that it should always possible for you to be morally destroyed by something that you couldn’t prevent. To be a good human being is to have a kind of openness to the world, an ability to trust certain things beyond your own control that can lead you to be shattered in very extreme circumstances, in circumstances for which you are not yourself to blame.

And I think that says something very important about the condition of the ethical life. That it is based on a trust in the uncertain, a willingness to be exposed. It’s based on being more like a plant than like a jewel, something rather fragile, but whose very particular beauty is inseparable from that fragility.

Martha Nussbaum: Applying the Lessons of Ancient Greece

#martha nussbaum #favorite

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pharaohbean · 9 months ago

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Hey, saw your Prsk Unit Shuffle AU and am very interested in seeing more.

In particular, I'm interested in hearing more about how the groups formed. It's always neat to see how these characters first meet and interact under different circumstances. And, as a little bonus, maybe what their "Untitled"/theme song is, because I feel like that's a very key part of a unit's identity that tends to be overlooked.

(Not sure if you're still interested in asks about this AU. If not, sorry for bugging you about it)

GASP HELLO I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MY UNIT SHUFFLE AU im so sorry this too forever to get u back on!! schoolwork is a pain and then i went SHOPPING (which takes forever :sob:)

okok so i haven't really thought about all the details of how they get together? so bear with me this is a rough draft lol

SSS: the idea at the core of this group is that its a family with different strengths coming together to make music. so tsukasa is the scriptwriter, saki is the lyricist, toya is the choreographer, and kanade is the composer! the group is headed by tsukasa, who's actually been putting on these shows for all of them since he was a kid. as he got older, he started taking stardom more seriously (leading into canon), but an incident in middle school ended up with the tenmas legally adopting toya, so that definitely shook things up for tsukasa (in a good way!). so i think that (+ l/n not reforming, which does happen in the SSS main story) allowed tsukasa and saki to consider banding their strengths together, since tsukasa loved putting on shows and saki loved seeing them, but she would also help put them on for toya (and later kanade, when she joins them not long after toya does). the two of them very quickly realize that they need more hands, and although recruiting kanade as composer is easy (bc 25ji never forms- dont ask why im still figuring that out lol) toya is a lot harder bc he's still active under BAD DOGS with akito. however, with akito picking up AWR around the same time (+ hatsune freaking miku appearing to toya), toya does join under their choreographer as for their untitled, their song is Wonderland and the Sheep's Song by Hachi, but I worked out their line distributions to this lovely KYO cover! you can see my color-coded lyrics for them here if you're interested :)

R/l: im gonna be 100% honest with you SSS and AWR are the only ones with any semblance of a plot rn LOL but here's the base idea around R/l: mizuki and rui both congregate on the kami school rooftop bc, yknow, loners (mizuki is never reached out to by kanamafu, so not 25ji on their part. tsukasa doesnt end up applying for phoenix so wxs doesn't have a chance of forming). at some point, i imagine they got talking about music, but never did anything concrete. but not long into the main story (probably the very start) an also joins them, her dream of surpassing rad weekend getting weaker as she struggles to find a partner (koha will be explained later) so she goes to hang with her friend on the rooftop. at some point, mizu and an both accidentally enter sekai, where they meet miku and len. those two tell them that there's still two others they need to find because they also made the sekai. mizu and an get.... maybe a little too excited over this. an takes this chance to invite her friend haruka over to kami (so she transfers) and join the group, but in their search for their fourth member they end up accidentally alienating rui (ironic). they fix that tho-- although HOW i dont know lol their untitled was one i went back and forth on (tbh only SSS and AWR i didnt lol), but i eventually decided on Untitled Hymn by shaito! their color-coded lyrics are here (i just realized you can barely tell where an is in lines but ehhh)

ATD: okay so. ATD is the group thats given the most gosh-darn trouble. ive revised their cast motivations like, TWICE now. but basically it goes like this: shizuku and mafuyu are both members of the archery club, with mafuyu trusting shizuku so much that her public mask slips a couple of times (against her will). shizuku's not dumb, but she doesn't say anything bc i think she understands that mafu has her secrets. after shizuku quits being an idol (on more of her own terms), she still wants to find a way to share the light she had before that seemed to reach mafu a few times. enter: accidental sekai trip! this trip both gives shizu the idea for an online group (which could sorta count as MMJ but i think the big distinction is they do more streamer/vtuber stuff and less purely idol stuff?? im still working on that) and lets her see mafu with her mask fully off. eventually, shizu drags nene into the business (nene never attends kami here, workin on that) bc shizu and mafu have no idea how streaming works and nene does, but nene likes hiding behind the camera but is still a part of the group bc who can say no to shizu? and hona joins at shizu's request bc they're both beautification members (and apparently hona+mafu are both honors students so i wonder if they have some overlap?? can you tell ive never attended public school lol) their untitled gave me SO MUCH TROUBLE. because ATD is supposed to be a weird mix of 25ji and mmj? but all of their songs get swiped by either R/l, AWR, or even SSS, so it was hard to find something that i thought could be specifically them. eventually, i finally decided on Common World Domination by PinocchioP! Their color-coded lyrics can be found here :)

MxC: oh boy this one's a doozy. so the idea here is like... there are underground music rings? which sounds wild but like if music is vaguely the lifeblood of this world i DONT CARE it can happen! i don't wanna make it life-threatening tho so its more like... you get blacklisted from everything. which for shiho--who got sucked into this world in an attempt to find bandmates--is VERY BAD. but shiho's given a little bit to find a band before their first performance, but with l/n definitely gone their separate ways (and she never wanted to involve them in the first place) she's kinda stuck. enter: airi and ena! both of them had been watching the music battles, unsatisfied with their current lives (airi having just quit idol/tv work, ena just frustrated over her art), but airi knows shiho thru miya, and when she heard about shiho's impending doom, she resolved herself to very quickly learn guitar and join her group, roping ena (who has a little bit of drum experience from akito and mom) into it as well. meanwhile, while all of this is going on, kohane (being the sweet soul she is) has been trailing shiho out of concern, but then is entirely horrified at the underground battles bc shes still pre-canon meek. but she really wants to help shiho, so she agrees to try and learn keyboard. after clearing the first battle, shiho and her group are safe--for now. they'll have to clear a lot more battles if they want to escape the underground their untitled is Hello Builder by UtsuP since i wanted them to have harsher rock songs than l/n (bordering on metal-ish)! color-coded lyrics here :)

AWR: funny story--all of the above units were made in the order listed! so i got to AWR and... i have ichika, minori, emu, and akito. and im like "NONE OF THESE PEOPLE HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON". and then i went. "WAIT. THATS IT!" so here's how AWR goes: ichika still tries to reform l/n, but fails; minori is still trying to become an idol; and emu is still trying to revive the wonder stage. all three of them, all attending miya ofc, end up bonding over this and they start thinking. is there a way to satisfy all three of their dreams (band, idol, and show) at once? and at FIRST the answer is "no lol" so they go exploring. and somehow someway (workin on that) word finds out about this and some guy on vivid street dares akito to try and fix em into shape in a week. akito--being akito--accepts quite hotheadedly, then quickly realizes that maybe this wasnt a good idea?? because EVERYONE has a different music taste and its almost impossible to keep up with them all!!! but eventually they do figure it all out, and by the end none of them wanted to split apart or anything. AWR is i think the group that has the least amount of direction which might be on purpose. i think (again im rambling rn so) part of their story is figuring out what their direction is going to be! their untitled is Lip Sync by DECO*27, written as a part of holo*27 (hi no im not rlly into vtubers i just like their music) but i count it bc its written by a voca producer and this would not be the first time a non-vocaloid sung a unit song (cough cough mafumafu and tuyu). you CAN find my color-coded lyrics here.... but i did the translations. which means they're pretty much 98% google translated then bonked around to make sense. i dont know japanese please dont sue me

i hope you enjoy my indepth explanation!!! im always happy to talk about these guys :D

#zero thoughts #unit shuffle au #zero shuffle sss #zero shuffle r/l #zero shuffle atd #zero shuffle mxc #zero shuffle awr #project sekai #proseka #pjsk #prsk

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bhaalsdeepbat · 10 months ago

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I saw a post on reddit a while back just asking for people's thoughts on the Emperor, his trustworthiness, and his alignment. I had written some thoughts down and put it away, but today. Today I am having more thoughts about Emps, especially his subterfuge and his romance scene. I'm obsessed with the way he tries to manipulate the player, and how it gets even more intense after you make it to the Elfsong basement and find all those books on Mindflayer Manipulation tactics.

He's so cool because will do anything it takes to maintain his own freedom, but he also is attracted to power. He was pulling SO many strings with the Knights of Shield and clearly enjoyed both power AND the art of manipulation. I see him as leaning Neutral Evil after finding out about the Knights of Shiel, and then him fucking turning on my first Durge when they freed Orpheus.

Duke Stelmane felt more like a means to an end than an actual relationship, though I do NOT doubt that the companionship mattered to him. However, the relationship between Mindflayer and Thrall seemed to be enough for him, and I think he would have been content with the same arrangement. I don't believe he refined his methods for the sake of his next thrall, but because of the circumstances of what he was facing. He needs more than a meat puppet to get through everything with the Absolute, REQUIRING him to give the player more freedom than he gave Stelmane. He is also using so much energy and concentration on keeping the Gith from Orpheus and keeping the squad from transforming, I doubt he even would have been able to have that level of control if he wanted.

He also threatens the player if they aren't completely trusting of him. You do NOT have to call him a freak for it, either. You get a harsher response, but the distrust is enough to trigger frustration. He thinks the protection he offers should automatically earn him trust, despite all the subterfuge required. Like he is beside himself with disbelief if the player is distrusting from start to finish. It's quite funny, imo. I love him, but he got wrecked on my first Durge run lol

I have two Durges that were friendly with their Guardians and didn't immediately reject him after the Emperor reveal on either. One has slurped every tadpole up, the other is very adamant they remain tadpole free.

The one who took the tadpoles didn't reject him harshly, but it actually made the manipulations more apparent to me because of how the encounter ends. I've ran the encounter twice on that Durge. Ashe turned down Emperor after clarifying if he was flirting, but she also did it again when I tried to get the achievement for fucking him and pussied out when I read he smelled like garlic. Regardless of when you end the scene, this is how it closes out:

The entire night seems to be set up to encourage the player to take the Astral Tadpole. The Emperor approaches you with vulnerability to gain your trust and use that trust to make the player think he has their best interest at heart. His interest in the player also immediately drops the moment the Emperor realizes it's not there for him to play with, which leads me to believe it isn't genuine with any of his affections UNLESS you become a Mindflayer. It feels more like Tav / Durge is equal to a pet that needs direction (and to be leashed).

This is also one of the many parallels I've seen between him and Ascended Astarion on that particular run. (just to add bc it's interesting to me lol)

Players who have the moment of intimacy also are able to see they won't lose the ability to experience that if they transform. Like he is trying to get them to see the full spectrum of what a Mindflayer is capable of and cannot even fathom someone NOT wanting min-max but irl.

I don't think the Emperor would ever come clean about Stelmane if the player didn't find out about it, but I think he realizes he can use the reveal to his advantage by assuring the player that he's changed! He tells the player he appreciates their mind. Not their body nor their abilities. No matter how much he appreciates the player's mind, he thinks they're wasting all that potential by not further embracing their Illithid potential.

It felt like the attempt at sleeping with the player is to try and make them question their attachment to their physical form. If the player is willing to be intimate with him, then clearly they appreciate the "devastating beauty" of a Mindflayer. No matter what your decision is, in terms of how you respond to the romance, the scene ends with him pressuring the player to take the Astral Tadpole (if they haven't already).

Here's the full ending dialogue from Emps romance scene:

Emps said "This pathetic lifeform will be desperate to evolve if I just show it what my beautiful body can do"

Also, just to clarify, I don't think the Emperor thinks of you any lower than he does anyone who isn't a Mindflayer. In fact, I do think he has great respect for them when they've proven themself competent. However, he is an elitist and sees ANY creature that isn't a Mindflayer as a lesser being. I think the respect is just what makes him see the value in those "lesser beings." If the player fully evolves, they're no longer lesser, and become an equal, worthy partner.

This is forever long, so I'm going to leave it here for now while I go back to find some books that I want SCs of to show where some more of my thoughts are coming from.

#bat plays bg3 #the emperor #bg3 #bat analysis #dream guardian

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mathlann · 5 months ago

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Thinking/Rambling about Heinrix's Merciful/Radical turn post-game because its messy

So, I like the idea that exposure to Cas eventually makes Heinrix more merciful, less judgemental (to humans), but not really enough for her to fully trust him. The Emelina decision still kinda fucks me up because it is better than what the Inquisition would've given her, but a mercy kill is still a kill y'know? And so it's kind of a two steps forward, one step back, for Cas in that he will maybe understand her point of view on things more and he wouldn't want her harmed if it came down to it, but she doesn't fully trust his decision-making on when she's "gone too far" because her particular flavor of heresy is also deeply entwined with the thing Heinrix shows an unrelenting and virulent hatred for. At most, I think a Radical Heinrix probably moves ideologically closer to Jae, in that humanity can be better, but xenos are still tools to be kept at arms length should you need them for something. And that's the Heinrix that ends up becoming Lord-Inquisitor and Warden of the Expanse after they kill Calcazar. Which leads into

Can of Worms 1.

He technically outranks Casimira, and now has to deal with the fact that she's created a Xenos-friendly, "human rights"-having pocket of space in direct violation of Imperial dogma. And she is also the only Rogue Trader of note really left standing. On the one hand, the part of Heinrix that is maybe more understanding of human vices and circumstances would know she's definitely not the worst ruler the Expanse could have. Notable extracurricular activities aside, she has proven herself reasonable when it comes to dealing with common folk, and for all her faults, she is anti-Chaos enough that that particular flavor of heresy won't find purchase under her watch. But on the other hand, Heinrix never shakes off his hatred of Xenos and so that's where most of his reprimands of her would approach from, even if he ultimately doesn't do anything to punish her in specific. And I would think perhaps his colleagues in the Inquisition might view him with suspicion due to his former ties to Casimira, romantic and not. So being lenient with her might give rise to internal dissent amongst the Puritanical factions in the Ordo, but at the same time, cracking down on a popular Rogue Trader so soon after a major disruption would also massively increase the instability of the region. Especially with the whole, "Alaitoc will hit our space in about 50 years to wreck shit" hanging over everyone's heads, letting her be and perhaps waiting for the eventual invasion hit might do its job for them. (It will not, thanks Muaran and Marazhai.) But also that process gets interrupted by

Can of Worms 2

Any power Heinrix can wield over Casimira is ultimately short-lived because the Imperium has no control over the Expanse after a couple decades or so, after Casimira and NOMOS cut off their access. As for where Heinrix sits on that decision, I'm not sure! Again it's all very give and take with Cas and her version of the Expanse does have a higher quality of life than what the Imperium would allow, which Heinrix approves of, but also if he didn't join her against the Imperium, her victory is a failure of his job.

For purposes of story, I'd think the Ordo Xenos probably has to make a similar choice to the Navy, in that they can keep their station and function if they can adapt to the new way of things, or they disband/try their chances against NOMOS. Which then creates another conflict because while the Ordo Xenos still definitely has its uses (like the war with Alaitoc coming up in a few years), 60% of its former functionality goes out the window once non-hostile Aeldari are allowed to cohabitate with humanity, the Cold Trade is pretty much legalized, and Dargonus has a giant Librarium of Xenos Knowledge you don't need a fancy Inquisition badge to use.

Which, the emotional messiness of Cas and Heinrix constantly being at odds about her reckless heresy and his devotion to his job to the point where they have a nasty breakup over it, him having his entire self kinda stripped down by the whole Calcazar affair, and then he finally achieves Peak Job™ only for Cas to use her C'Tan Shard baby to make his promotion functionally useless without her continued allowance. And she would still support him keeping his station and doing the work he was doing (a few exceptions notwithstanding) because she knows him and his competencies. But also I don't think she would fully grasp how bone-deep frustrating the whole situation would be for Heinrix to still be tied to her the way he is. With so much of their conflict being about rank and authority, her winning that with some finality is kind of a cruel joke imo, no matter how much she publicly acknowledges his authority.

Can of Worms 3

So when the Alaitoc War does hit, I think that might be Heinrix's time to shine? Because routing Xenos and protecting humanity is pretty much what his organization is on paper supposed to do. Alaitoc strikes fast and quickly so the Inquisition's information would be invaluable. But he'd still be working closely with Casimira which is fine, because she is reliable in granting access to her resources. But also it's not, because she refuses to let them touch Janus, and is generally protective of her own Aeldari which would probably drudge up old grudges because none of this might have happened if she hadn't punted Yrliet when he told her to. As is cutting them off from Imperium resources that would also maybe be able to help. And sure her spot comes out mostly fine because her pet xenos helped out, but his domain is the whole Expanse and he has so much more to clean up than her. But again, barring maybe Evayne Winterscale, who has his own messes to handle, angrily fussing at her is the best he can do without losing much-needed support. And he knows that, and she knows that, and the universe stays as it does, but at least the Aeldari are eventually routed and they can go back to not interfering with each other.

Bonus: Can of Worms 4

All that to say as well Heinrix is absolutely alive and still in power when Ezhan is born and he remains the most complicated former companion to fit into that future. Because its not just weighing his relationship with Casimira (complicated), its his relationship with Marazhai (it's on-sight), and his job (precarious). Like, he knows her well enough and he is of rank enough that in the name of openness and honesty and avoiding future trouble, Cas isn't going to lie to him or hide anything (although "talking to Heinrix" is probably the second-most nervous/actively scared she's been in awhile—how much does that mercy hold and does it still apply to her?). But then at the same time, her being honest with him presents a no-win situation because if he goes along and let's things slide, and word gets out (or if Ezhan hadn't gotten so lucky with genetics), that's trouble internally and more weight on the scales of "being forced out by his Puritan colleagues and students" or if he doesn't let it slide, that's trouble externally from Cas and company and how far would she be willing to take things? (Could she be persuaded to not make her xenos baby her heir? Probably not. Will she keep her xenos away? Absolutely not.) There's also no reality where Heinrix doesn't keep tabs on him so Cas supervising how much access the Inquisition has to her/her son is probably the best compromise? It'd be an adversarial relationship for sure and there are some things Heinrix and Co will not get to know but keep it anonymous as possible and it's knowledge that could prove useful for the future. Idk lot to think about there.

#thinking out loud #casimira von Valancius

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sunshine-vx · 5 months ago

Text

Across Space, Time and Dreams (ASTaD) (Ch. 25)

(Blankshippers DNI)

(Please refer to beginning of chapter 1 post for complete list of CWs/TWs)

(Extra notes: Yippie! Posting chapter 25, second chapter of the day!)

(This chapter's illustration done by @moonlightalpha666 !)

(Reblogs are appreciated!)

In the passing days and weeks, Ingo had gone on to not only be reintroduced to many of the other important places in his life, but also the activities, roles and ways of living that were precious to him.

Emmet, nor anyone else, wanted to make Ingo live a certain way, but thankfully, it seemed Ingo was content and in favor of returning to his track in Unova.

Of course, Ingo needed some time and practice to get used to his life in Unova once again, although his memory, albeit not all at once, was recovering well. Despite some differences due to circumstance, the never-quite-gone Ingo was experiencing his previous life all over again- and in more ways than one.

Ingo and Emmet walked down the dirt road, heading for a place known as the Celestial Tower- Ingo at least knew that this was where he had met Chandelure when she was but a Litwick.

“Thank you for coming with me, Emmet.” Ingo spoke to his brother.

“Well, of course! It is important that I do so, after all! This was a memory we both share! Besides, I am happy to help!�� Emmet exclaimed.

Ingo smiled, nodding in response. He knew that much, it was just important to him that he showed his gratitude.

Although the sun had barely begun to set, Chandelure had insisted on floating by the brothers’ side and providing them a light source- not that they minded. In fact, Ingo found it quite endearing- not only that, it was incredibly familiar. Ingo could already feel that same buzz in the back of his head and heart.

Soon, the three-car-train made it to the Celestial Tower, walking inside. Ingo was almost immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia, even if the place was more than a little creepy.

Chandelure began to take the lead, the twins following her through the first floor.

“So, this is where I met Chandelure…I have always had a particular interest in Ghost-Types, haven't I?” Ingo states

Emmet nods with a smile, “Indeed! We looked here in hopes to get you a Ghost-Type Pokémon as your very first wild catch, and well, you did it!”

Ingo chuckled at that, feeling a warmth in his heart. The brothers then hear the chime-like sound of Chandelure calling out to them to continue following her.

“We're coming, just don't go too fast!” Ingo responds, and Emmet can't help but laugh.

As they entered the second floor, Ingo could tell that Chandelure had taken on a perky attitude. She had been mostly quiet upon their way through the first floor, but upon reaching the second, she began behaving in a particular manner. As Ingo took in his surroundings, walking slowly through the hall, he noticed what was unmistakably Chandelure zipping around in their peripheral vision, making high-pitched wind and crackling noises, and the like.

“Chandelure, what on Earth are you up to?” Ingo asked with a small laugh.

“She is reliving her wild Litwick days, I presume.” Emmet spoke playfully. The twins could hear Chandelure agree, before she materialized in front of the door to the third floor.

Ingo couldn't help but chuckle at the playful displays- once again, another familiar chord was struck within him.

When they reached the third floor, Ingo and Emmet saw Chandelure de-materialize and float upwards. Ingo raised an eyebrow at this.

“I can't tell if she's trying to hurry up to the roof, or…?” Ingo wondered, then shook his head, “Well, regardless, I can still feel her presence. I suppose that's all that matters.”

Emmet nodded, “Yup, yup. Let us take a look around.”

As the twins took their time inspecting the third floor, more poltergeist-like activities occurred, such as flickering lights.

“Chandelure, I know that's you, silly!” Ingo called out.

“Oh, she knows. Trust me.” Emmet chimed in.

“I know she knows. I just wanted to tell her that I know.”

Emmet snorted, shaking his head.

“Well, we should go to the roof.”

Ingo smiled and nodded, and the brothers made their way to the roof, where Chandelure floated to the side of the bell.

“Let us pay our respects.” Emmet said, before carefully approaching the bell. He rung it gently, Chandelure hovering left to right in approval. Ingo then took his turn, ringing the bell just as cautiously. Chandelure crackled and whispered in more approval, before she went to ring the bell herself, latching onto it with her appendages.

One of those unique smiles spread on Ingo's face. Chandelure didn't let go of the bell as the sound stopped, and after a moment of sharing a glance with his Ace Pokémon, he felt the urge to ring the bell again.

“Can I ring it again?” Ingo inquired

Chandelure patted the bell eagerly, seemingly saying ‘yes, please do!'.

With that, Ingo softly pushed the bell, Chandelure continued to latch onto it, and the older twin watched happily as his Ace rocked back and forth along with the ringing noise.

After the echo of the bell dispersed, Chandelure floated forwards, Ingo taking a few steps back to give her room. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity as The Ace Pokémon then took a powerful stance, crying out with its flames growing brighter.

Ingo recognized it immediately- her battle stance, no doubt about it.

Before Ingo could think of how to respond, he felt one of his Pokéballs on his Pokébelt shake- Klinklang's, which was peculiar.

That buzz in the back of Ingo's head and heart had progressively grown stronger, and suddenly, he felt it all coming back.

Emmet and Ingo paced through Mistralton City, the twins marveling at the tiny, white floating, creature making curious circles around Emmet.

It was a Tynamo, and Emmet had just caught it in Chargestone Cave not even an hour ago.

Today was the day that Ingo and Emmet had decided to go on their first true Pokémon adventure, and during this adventure, to catch their first wild Pokémon. It had always been a promise between Ingo and Emmet that they would do this together, and here they were.

By technicality, it wouldn't be their first Pokémon overall- their Uncle Drayden had gifted the brothers a pair of Klinks for their 11th birthday, and they couldn't have been more grateful. After all, it was better to have at least one partner Pokémon at your side when going on an adventure in the wild.

Ingo and Emmet had been planning this day for a very long time, and preparations had actually begun a few weeks ago.

Ingo and Emmet had been having training sessions with their Klinks- Right and Lefty- pretty much ever since they had received them, and for a few weeks, their Uncle Drayden had helped them with this training, aiding them in their preparations for their first adventure. Drayden had also brought the boys to the Pokémart to help them stack on necessary supplies, along with showing them to the local Pokémon Center in case they needed it. Some of this Ingo and Emmet already had knowledge on- but a refresher never hurt anybody.

For as long as the two could remember, Ingo and Emmet had already decided on quite a few factors they wanted regarding their first wild Pokémon. Emmet had always had a fascination with Electric-Type Pokémon, with Ingo having the same captivation for Ghost-Type Pokémon.

Of course, a big part of the thrills of Pokémon adventures was the sights to see, and the places to explore. It was fun enough to skip through the tall grass and see what one could find, but it was even more exciting to investigate the many landmarks throughout the region.

One of these landmarks was the Celestial Tower, a small tower in Route 7 that was a resting place for deceased Pokémon- like many locations similar to this, Ghost-Type Pokémon had the tendency to manifest or settle down in the area.

Ingo had always had a bit of a fascination with the dead, but that interest peaked at the topic of Ghost-Type Pokémon. It wasn't a huge interest of his, but it was certainly a point of focus at times. Ghost Pokémon could be so unique and intriguing- how could one not find them interesting, in one way or another?

Of course, Ingo- as well as Emmet- were not ill-mannered individuals. They knew to respect the dead and their domain. Just like people, Pokémon exist in both the realms of the living and the dead- and just like with people, it's important to respect individuals of both kinds. Just like one would respect a Pokémon they happened to bump into in the tall grass, one should respect a Pokémon that may hover in the path when exploring the twists and turns of The Celestial Tower, and leave the exploration to harmless activities- although that was also a rule in general, both for the respect and safety of others, as well as someone's own.

Although Emmet didn't share Ingo's interest for Ghost-Types in particular, he wasn't the type to turn down the adventuring of a new place with new things. The twins were the type to find intrigue in many things, and weren't bored easily, regardless of whether preferences and focuses were or weren't present- although the level of intrigue could certainly be affected by that.

Emmet knew what to not do and what was encouraged, and was more than glad to accompany his brother- they had agreed to go together, after all.

Emmet had returned Tynamo to its Pokéball so it could rest. Then, with everything in mind, the brothers stepped into The Celestial Tower through the open entrance, Ingo a few steps ahead of Emmet.

The first floor of the Celestial Tower was a simple room with a few rows of graves that marked the resting places of deceased Pokémon. There were a notable amount of items on the floor- some scattered, and others placed in careful order. There were dim lights, along with small amounts of decor, lining the walls. Some of these objects still had traces of their shine, remaining undamaged, while others were coated in layers of dust, littered with cracks and holes. It showed the variety in the ages of the graves, items and other elements within the Tower.

After poking around the first floor of the tower for a bit, Ingo and Emmet made their way to the second floor- it wasn't much different from the first, although the order and amount of the rows differed slightly, along with the other articles present. By the time they had entered the second floor, the twins had begun to feel a strange presence in attendance with them. Ingo felt it in a higher intensity than Emmet, but Emmet agreed that something was there. While a strange event within the Tower wasn't uncommon, things like a peculiar noise or shape in the corner of their eyes seemed to stand out to the twins.

“It does not seem dangerous.” Emmet spoke.

“No, it doesn't. It's harmless, and feels curious,” Ingo added as he looked around, “but I don't see anything.”

Just as Ingo said those words, both twins heard the sound of wind, along with what seemed to be the crackle of a flame.

The brothers turned in the direction of the sounds, spotting a small Pokémon peeking out from behind a pot on the floor.

“A Litwick.” Ingo stated.

The Litwick's gaze was mostly upon Ingo, although it occasionally flicked towards Emmet, before quickly returning to the older twin.

Ingo took a few careful steps towards the Litwick, which kept still, its eyes still looking at Ingo.

Ingo raised his hand in a small wave.

“Hello there! My name is Ingo,” Ingo said, “Are you curious about me? I am a beginner Pokémon Trainer.”

Ingo walked another pace towards the Litwick, before crouching down and offering his hand towards the Ghost-Type.

The Litwick examined Ingo's hand curiously. Its eyes moved towards Emmet, then back towards Ingo and his hand. It glanced around the interior of the floor, then back at Ingo again.

Then, suddenly, the Litwick scuttled away towards the staircase that led towards the third floor of The Celestial Tower. It looked back towards Ingo, with what seemed to be a smile on its face, before turning the corner and becoming obscured by the walls.

Ingo and Emmet quickly followed suite, but upon entering the third floor of the Celestial Tower, they were not able to spot the Litwick.

Ingo's shoulders sank a bit. He was looking forward to perhaps having a Litwick as his first wild Pokémon- but, if Litwick did not wish to be his partner, Ingo would gladly respect its wishes.

Emmet put his hand on Ingo's shoulder, smiling at him.

“Do not fret, brother.” Emmet commented, “You will find a Pokémon, do not worry.”

Ingo smiled at Emmet, his shoulders raising back up.

“Of course. I am determined!” Ingo responded.

Emmet nodded, “Verrry good! Let us continue on our adventure.”

Ingo nodded in return, before the two-car train continued towards the top of the Celestial Tower. He and Emmet investigated the third floor- which, like with the second to the first, was not much different, albeit still had its own unique aspects- thoroughly. Ingo and Emmet saw a few specters float around, appearing and disappearing. The appearance of a small shadow, the flick of a light source, and other strange happenings were particularly eye-catching.

Ingo and Emmet exchanged glances, seemingly thinking the same thing; Was this that same Litwick? But, try as they might, the brothers could not find anything.

With nothing left to inspect within the third floor of the Tower, Emmet and Ingo made their way to the very top of the tower. The roof of The Celestial Tower, shaped somewhat in resemblance to a wide walkway- was empty, save for one thing; an old bell. Those who visited the Celestial Tower often rang the bell to show their respects to the deceased Pokémon.

Emmet motioned for Ingo to have the first turn at ringing the bell. Ingo took the offer with gratitude, approaching the bell and carefully ringing it to pay his respects.

Then, Emmet did the same.

And after that, nothing happened, which was to be expected.

“You think I'll find something on the way down?” Ingo asked Emmet.

“It does not matter. We will find something somehow.” Emmet responded.

Ingo nodded in agreement, not letting his determination waver. As he and Emmet began to attempt to descend the Tower, however, Ingo saw a flame flicker from the corner of his eye. Ingo turned back into the direction of the bell, only to see a Litwick sitting upon it.

Ingo blinked in surprise. He shared a curious glance with Emmet, who was now also looking at the bell. Then, Emmet silently encouraged Ingo to approach the Litwick, and Ingo did just that.

“Are you..the same Litwick from earlier?” Ingo questioned the small Ghost-Type.

The Pokémon made a high-pitched noise akin to wind in response- somehow, Ingo knew it was saying that yes, it was.

“It's good to see you again!” Ingo exclaimed, smiling at the Litwick.

The Litwick spoke in the sound of sparking embers in response, before making a peculiar motion; it tapped onto the bell with its tiny hands.

After a moment, a thought popped into Ingo's head.

“You want me to ring the bell? Again?”

The Litwick bounced up and down on the bell, before tapping it again.

Ingo chuckled to himself, before nodding.

“Alright then. You might want to hold on, though.”

With that, Ingo rang the bell as he had been asked. The Litwick clinged onto the bell, its flame wavering playfully as the bell shook it back and forth.

As the bell became quiet again, the Litwick put its hands together, in a gesture of glee.

Ingo smiled at the creature, reaching out his hand. He hovered it above Litwick's head, which gladly pressed its nubs onto Ingo's hand. Ingo took the signal and patted Litwick gently on the side of its head. After a few pats, Ingo lowered his hand.

“You're quite the lively little thing, aren't you?” Ingo stated.

In response, the Litwick bounced off of the bell and in front of Ingo's feet. Before the older twin could speak, Litwick let out a determined cry, its flame brightening up and getting bigger in its growing intensity.

Ingo blinked, looking in a surprised manner at the Litwick- his eyes sparkled.

“Do you..want to battle me?” Ingo asked the Ghost-Type.

The Litwick bounced up and down, its flame experiencing another surge of power.

A smile grew on Ingo's face, and he turned to glance at Emmet, who was smiling widely. As he met his twin's gaze, the younger twin nodded, and quietly cheered Ingo on.

Ingo nodded in return, determined and grateful, turning back to look at the Litwick.

Ingo reached into his pocket and took out Righty's Pokéball, making room between himself and the Litwick.

“Alright! Litwick, I happily accept your challenge!” Ingo announced, “In case you're not already aware- I'm not here just to battle, but I'm also here to catch my first wild Pokémon!”

Litwick responded with another determined cry and excited gestures.

“Then, we shall see what happens, yes?” Ingo continued, “Righty, come on out!”

Ingo tossed the Pokéball, a bright blue beam shooting out, Ingo's Klink forming from the light.

Emmet and Ingo walked home on the familiar dirt path, tired but ecstatic from a successful first adventure! All of their Pokémon- Emmet's Klink and Tynamo, and Ingo's Klink and Litwick- rested in their Pokéballs. As the twins continued on their way home, the sun began to fall among the horizon.

“It is getting dark.” Emmet stated, “Do you have the flashlight, Ingo? I believe I gave it to you.”

Ingo nodded, beginning to take off his backpack, “I think so! Let me check in my backpack--"

As Ingo reached for the zipper, however, he stopped as he felt Litwick's Pokéball on his Pokébelt shake. Ingo paused, eyeing his Pokébelt curiously as it shook again, before a bright blue light shot out of the Pokéball and enveloped a small space beside Ingo's feet, forming Litwick.

Ingo blinked, surprised- and curious about the fact- that Litwick had chosen to come out of its Pokéball.

“Oh! Litwick, is there something you need?”

Litwick raised one of its stubby hands in the air, moving it up and down as if to say 'listen to me, please!'

“I think Litwick has something to say.” Emmet spoke.

Ingo nodded in agreement. “It seems so, brother.”

What seemed to be a smile formed on Litwick's tiny face, and it used the same nub to point at the flame on its head.

“Litwick, wick-lit, wick wick, lit lit, Litwick!” The small Ghost-Type Pokémon babbled as it continued its charades. It bounced once in place before pointing at Ingo's head. It used its stubs to point at itself, then Ingo's hands, then his head again, then its flame again, before bouncing a few times in place once more.

Ingo and Emmet looked and listened intently, trying to decipher what Litwick was saying.

“You want me to hold you?” Ingo asked.

Litwick gave an excited gurgling noise in the affirmative, although it continued to communicate for a few more moments. It pointed towards the sunset, then back at its flame, and then back at Ingo's head.

Ingo rotated Litwick's charades in his head for a moment, before it dawned on him.

“You want to light the way for us?”

Litwick bounced in place, waving its stubs around as it let out some more happy gurgling noises, along with the sounds of a comforting fire. Ingo had gotten it.

“I think you are right, brother!” Emmet exclaimed.

Ingo smiled and let out a laugh.

“What an excellent idea, Litwick!”

Ingo exclaimed as he positioned his backpack correctly on his shoulders, before crouching down and picking up Litwick, standing back up afterwards.

Litwick's flame brightened as it gurgled happily once more. It then pointed at itself, then Ingo's head.

“You want me to put you on my head?” Ingo inquired curiously.

Litwick let out yet another gentle sound akin to that of the soft crackle of a fire, waving one of its nubs, as if to say ‘yes!’.

Ingo couldn't help but laugh once again.

“Another excellent idea, Litwick! You'll have a great ride on this cart!”

Ingo temporarily changed his expression and tone of voice to be a bit more serious. He didn't attempt to intimidate Litwick, but he did attempt to be genuine and get his message across. It was an important safety check, after all.

“Just remember what I said before; no feeding on anyone's soul energy or anything like that, okay? Help us home.”

Litwick used one of its stubs and put it on its chest, as if to show mock-offense. It then lowered its stub, however, and moved what would be its head to be a nod in understanding, its mouth morphing into what again seemed to be a gleeful grin. It was clear that Litwick had no bad intentions, and never did.

Ingo smiled, happy to see that Litwick understood, his tone returning to be more lighthearted. “I'm glad you understand, I knew you would. Thank you for your assistance, Litwick!”

Emmet chimed in, “Yup! We appreciate your help!”

With that, Ingo gently lifted Litwick onto his head. Litwick let out another series of happy gurgles and crackles, its flame growing in size and giving off significantly more light.

Ingo laughed once again. It was a bit silly, but he was also grateful to have such a supportive new partner Pokémon. Litwick's light did indeed give off quite the helpful glow!

Emmet smiled widely at Litwick, and then at Ingo.

“Let us continue on our way home!”

Ingo nodded in agreement, before the now-three-car-train kept on the path.

Ingo heard a series of chime-like noises, blinking away his trance and back into reality. Tears once again stained his face, and he saw Chandelure floating in front of him, her flames no longer as strong and her stance gone.

“Chandelure…”

Ingo began. He smiled, more tears welling up in his eyes.

“My first wild catch. It's no wonder you're my Ace Pokémon…that endless battling spirit of yours never extinguishes, and was there from the very start.”

Chandelure's flames crackled softly, and the sound of a gentle wind escaped her. She reached out her appendages to embrace her beloved trainer, who accepted and returned the gesture without hesitation.

Emmet took a few steps forward after a moment.

“May I join?” He inquired quietly.

“Is that even a question?” Ingo answered positively. The older twin reached out to invite Emmet, the younger twin gratefully accepting, Chandelure not minding, either.

“Thank you both. I love you guys so much.” Ingo spoke, choking a bit on tears.

“Chandelure…” Ingo's Ace Pokémon was quiet, but she returned the sentiment just as much, as did Emmet.

“We love you, too, Ingo. We want to support you.”

“I'm so very grateful.” Ingo murmured.

After another moment, the three gave each other their space. Ingo wiped his tears away, smiling.

“We should probably be heading back.” He supposed.

Emmet nodded, “Yes, it is rather late.”

Chandelure hovered around eagerly, its flames brightening, but no battle stance in sight.

Ingo couldn't help but laugh.

“You want to light the way back?” Ingo questioned.

“I think she does, brother.” Emmet added.

Sounds of soft crackling flames, chimes and wind escaped the Ace Pokémon in a happy reply. She did, indeed.

“Then by all means.” Ingo replied, “And Chandelure? Thank you.”

Emmet nodded in agreement, also feeling grateful.

Chandelure's flames brightened and her fire crackled in delight. The three-car-train then began their way back home. Ingo would have to look at the photo album and his diary- he wondered if there was anything else about this to rediscover there.

Chapter 24 (Part 2 of 2)

Chapter 26 (Work In Progress!)

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greypetrel · 9 months ago

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6, 19, and 23 for the edgy OC asks!

Hi Mo! Thank youuu! These were interesting and a very nice character analysis, forgive me if it took a while.

Tis the prompt list

6. How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

Alyra: Not very easily, but would if a person she loves asked her to and insisted. Raina: If it helped her goals on the long run and isn't something too big, possibly. Garrett: Yes, following a person he deeply trust. He's a follower, not a leader, doesn't do well in leading positions. There are limits he won't cross, tho. Aisling: Under few and very strict circumstances. She needs not to have any other choice, sacrificing herself is included, and be absolutely convinced that choosing against her moral compass serves the cause she's fighting for on the long run. Radha: No way in hell without being forced, will hold a grudge if you force her to. Max: Very, very difficultly, and with a person she loves at stake, most likely.

19. How does your OC behave when enraged?

Alyra: She gets more oppositive than usual, stops blinking when looking at the object of her rage. She is cunning enough to start debating why and how the other person is wrong. Will yell if yelled at first, can keep a level head otherwise. Speaks her mind, won't be afraid of telling people she thinks they're idiots and either works to find a solution, or if the other person don't agree with her ("the AUDACITY-"), she leaves the field when she's done talking, find a solution on her own. She looks at everyone with a -4 to approval in automatic so you don't really see the difference to that when she's actually angry. Raina: Throws a tantrum, yells, finds the first brawl or group of thugs to beat someone's ass, gets beaten in return. She needs to let out emotion physically, once she has vented out that way, she's good to go and will look up to apologize. With a black eye. Garrett: Doesn't give in to the rage: he'll express he has a problem, but won't seek a discussion if he doesn't have a clear head about it. Will look for some outlet to clear his mind and process his feelings AND THEN discuss. Aisling: It takes a lot to get her angry. If she is cornered enough to confront it right away and the treshold of her people-pleasing is crossed, she'll get absolutely cold and rationally explain her reasons and why the other person is wrong. People would expect her to yell and scream and cry? No, she gets disdainful. (she yells! But you need her to be at VERY HIGH approval to get a negative feeling from her in the open). Then she'll vent it out by herself, isolating and/or occupying herself with something to let steam down until she's calm enough to, if needed be, apologize. Radha: She'll look at you in a way so that you'll know she's angry with you and disappointed. If confronted, she'll tell in no lack of particulars and incredible preciseness of details, such as can have only one person that spent some time in observing the other person, why you're behaving in a way she doesn't think it's suitable. She will judge you and tell you so. As soon as she told you what she needed to, her answers will get scarce and cutting: her thing is knowing stuff, so she'll know where to hit with the least numbers of words. And leave the field when she's done. She'll keep working with the person she's angry with, and honestly she speaks little anyway. She won't hold a grudge in the sense that she'll be petty about it… But she will remember if you don't apologize. Max: Snaps back at you at any given chance. Oppose you and debate everything you say to corner you. She is the one that uses swearwords, so you'll hear a lot of those too. Her voice raises up when she's angry, she gets concitated and sarcastic. After a quarrell, it's time to get in a spar, with either Wrex, Grunt or Garrus. The Krogans have the precedence purely out of the fact that Garrus took a while in understanding she isn't delicate and she is expecting her adversary to go serious on her, she isn't scared of getting hurt. Oh, and pump some music very, very loud. She has an Angry playlist, of course, full of old Metal.

23. What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

Alyra: Hardest to process: Remorse. Hardest to express: Affection/Sadness Raina: Hardest to process and express: Sadness and grief. Garrett: Hardest to process: Guilt. Hardest to express: Anger Aisling: Hardest to process: Anger (she is a people pleaser, Hardest to express: Self-love Radha: Hardest to process: Romantic love. Hardest to express: Guilt Max: Hardest to process: Despair. Hardest to express: Fear

#edgy oc ask #pheeew this was long!#But very interesting thank you hun!#I also tried to be synthetic #character asks

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gridelincarver · 2 years ago

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hey I trust u what are ur top 5 Iorveth songs 👀 im in a creative bind I need inspo (im also @essskel but u know that lmao)

oh my god HI

i know this isn't what u asked but like first off real quick lemme slide this link over... i have a iorveth playlist on spotify (it's meant to be listened on shuffle i know the order i added them is wack)

but uhh ok if i had to pick 5 (also in no particular order)

"Arsonist's Lullabye" - Hozier

"Wretches and Kings" - Linkin Park (i know its linkin park but if you look at the LYRICS)

"Thank You For the Venom" - My Chemical Romance (but i cant not also mention DESTROYA and our lady of sorrows)

"Daniel in the Den" - Bastille

"Satellite" - Rise Against

it PAINS ME to only pick five emblematic ones but i tried lskdghldksjf

(also bonus under the cut some pertinent lyrics. i could do this w the whole playlist and also write paragraphs & more but i am restraining myself)

This is a life that you can't deny us now

(Rise Against) self explanatory, i think, very scoia'tael

When I was a man I thought it ended When I knew love's perfect ache But my peace has always depended On all the ashes in my wake

All you have is your fire And the place you need to reach Don't you ever tame your demons But always keep 'em on a leash

(Hozier) I think Iorveth struggles a lot with feeling like he's incapable of sitting down and being happy (and this lyric plays into how i think his relationship w Cedric went/ended), and the chorus is just very reminiscent of how alone he's always been even among his supposed peers, and also just the strength and power of his character

To save face, how low can you go? Talk a lotta game, but yet you don't know Static on the wind, makes us all say whoa The people up top push the people down low Get down, and obey every word Steady, get in line if you haven't yet heard Wanna take what I got, don't be absurd Don't fight the power, nobody gets hurt

Hear us now, clear and tall Wretches and kings, we come for you

(Linkin Park) I think this is a bit of pointed anger at Francesca Findabair (shakes fist) for acquiescing and betraying her own kind as if that will help any elves besides the few who actually got to dol blathanna, also the "wretches and kings" is reminiscent of "king or beggar, one dh'oine less" (also listen to the speech at the beginning and end of the song. it fucks)

I wouldn't front the scene if you paid me

Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent sun It ain't the mark or the scar that makes you one

You're running after something That you'll never kill If this is what you want Then fire at will

You want to follow something Give me a better cause to lead Just give me what I need Give me a reason to believe

(My Chemical Romance) this goes w MY interpretation of him as someone who wasn't actually gradually made ready for being the face of a movement and instead having it sprung on him by his circumstance (of being the last surviving vrihedd officer), and his own conflicted feelings of nothing getting better while also refusing to give up or do anything else (also it literally says "serpent sun," nilfgaard anyone?)

And you thought the lions were bad Well they tried to kill my brothers And for every king that died Oh they would crown another But it's harder than you think Telling dreams from one another

Oh to see What it means to be free Of the shadows and the dreams That you claim to see

And felled in the night By the ones you think you love They will come for you

(Bastille) the beginning one is I think more self explanatory, and "telling dreams from one another" i think can be applied to all the people who have "allied with" and "helped" the scoia'tael only to really be working for their own gain (like nilfgaard, or even arguably saskia)

the "felled in the night / by the ones you think you love" to ME is more about Francesca Findabair (muffled yelling) and her decision to forsake the Scoia'tael completely from Dol Blathanna

Because we won't back down, we won't run and hide Yeah, 'cause these are the things that we can't deny I'm passing over you like a satellite, so catch me if I fall That's why we stick to your game plans and party lines But at night we're conspiring by candlelight We are the orphans of the American Dream, so Shine a light on me

This is a life that you can't deny us now

(Rise Against)

as u can see i have many thoughts about him all the time and this isn't even all of it for this set of songs but anyway :3

#iorveth #scoia'tael #cafffine #essskel #the witcher #gridelin speaks #answered #gridelin answers #mutuals #it has been too long since i talked abt iorveth on main and i have so many thoughts all the time

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unmeiha-arc · 2 years ago

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✿ sliding nima ur way.......

send me a ✿ and i’ll fill out the template below. bold for things i could definitely see or want, italics for things i could see or am unsure of and striked out for things i don’t want or cannot see. | @eikons

FRIENDSHIP. childhood friends / work buddies or coworkers / family friends / flirtationship / friends with benefits* / smoking buddies / adventure buddies / fake friends / recently friends / party buddies / friendship of need / dying friendship / circumstantial friendship / partners in crime / old friendship / [your muse] is the good influence / [your muse] is the bad influence / [my muse] is the good influence / [my muse] is the bad influence / opposites attract / ride or die / frenemies / roommates or flatmates / penpals / exes to friends / enemies to friends / other

ROMANCE.* childhood sweethearts / [your muse is mines] childhood crush / [my muse is yours] childhood crush / exes / exes to lovers / forbidden lovers / highschool sweethearts / secret relationship / opposites attract / long distance / unrequited [from your muses side] / unrequited [from my muses side] / unrequited [from both sides] / skinny love / friends to lovers / enemies to lovers / spurious relationship / power couple / newly entered / soulmates [ metaphorical ] / soulmates [ literal ] / awkward / turning toxic / toxic love / cheating [on your muse] / cheating [with your muse] / other

FAMILIAL. siblings [half]/ siblings [step]/[my muse] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure /[my muse] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse /[my muse] is a parental figure to yours /[my muse] is a child figure to your muse / guardian figure / legal guardian / adoptive child / foster child /[your muse] is taken under mines wing /[my muse] is taken under yours wing / found family

ANTAGONISTIC.* dangerous to each other / dangerous to others / unpredictable / rivals / petty / developing into sexual or romantic tension / based off family matters / based of off circumstance / based of professional matters / based off misunderstanding or lies / conflict of ideology / betrayal / hero - villain dynamic / enemies / fight club / friends turned enemies / lovers turned enemies / exes turned enemies / other

* heavy discussion and/or plotting required

disclaimer: i tend to default to co-wol interactions because i don't have a non-wol verse, so that's what i've kept in mind while answering this!

keeping in mind that you have two separate main verses for nima, one in which they are a the wol and one in which jiyu is, i've tried to stick to things not related to msq plot so that you can choose which you'd prefer. likewise, in co-wol situations i have a minor canon divergence that both characters involved obtain a convocation crystal or a memory crystal (functionally identical but non-convocation) in 5.3, as koharu's ancient memories are important to her character from that point onward.

that said! overall i think, based off positive traits, nima and koharu would get along well once they open up to each other and learn to trust and rely on one another. it may take a bit of time, since both are or have the potential to be very reserved, and how long would at least partially depend on when they meet, as koharu in particular is far more closed off in arr compared to hw onwards. once they've gotten past that, i think they could have a generally fun relationship. i can definitely see playful teasing and a platonic light flirtationship farther down the line. both koharu and nima being stubborn and reckless can potentially lead them to butting heads, too, which i think is Neat.

if you decide to stick to the verse with jiyu (this would obviously require additional plotting): nima's connection to him may actually help with this, as at least part of koharu's cautiousness stems from being an au ra in a place where they are not commonplace enough to be well-known, though she does not attempt to hide her auri traits. nima being familiar with (and accepting of) au ra because of jiyu being part xaela (and yanxian to boot) may help koharu warm to them a little quicker. it's not dependent on it, though, so ultimately it's up to you!

potential bonding moments outside of having a shared occupation:

koharu is quite well-versed in far eastern teas and dabbles in botany herself, so they would have common ground here and could trade tips on tea blends and brewing. while neither of them especially excel at cooking, at least they'll never run out of good tea. this would be good on a very superficial bonding level, finding something in common outside of their roles as colleagues.

and on the topic of common ground: koharu picks up astrologian at the start of arr (ast quest is canon for her but takes place in coerthas at the observatorium rather than in ishgard for 30-50) on her way into gridania. koharu's knowledge is heavily rooted in far eastern geomancy so while some of the general principals are similar, she... isn't the best ast by any means. it is 100% an intentional handicap for her; she's a melee main and is deliberately avoiding that at this early point in the story. as such, astrology/astromancy is an area in which nima could potentially be somewhat of a mentor for her!

koharu is a patron of the arts and would absolutely love to both see nima dance and would thoroughly enjoy seeing their sketches. she's dabbled in a handful of the arts herself (she was a noblewoman), but isn't exceptional at any outside of perhaps playing the shakuhachi flute and koto, though she only brings a shakuhachi with her to eorzea. her playing her shakuhachi while nima dances to it...

#eikons #I TRIED............. (✿´•̥̥̥ ω •̥̥̥`)

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lingshanhermit · 4 months ago

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Lingshan Hermit: A False and Grand Hope Is Enough to Ruin Your Entire Life

"The reason heaven didn't let you end up with him is actually to protect you, to allow you to meet someone better. You deserve better." I often see people comforting those who have experienced heartbreak with such words. Every time I see this, it fills me with deep concern. I don't doubt whether these words can effectively console others—they certainly can. What worries me is that it provides the other person with a false and grand hope. For most ordinary people, a false and grand hope is enough to ruin their entire life.

In this world, only those with exceptional fortune and special circumstances receive heaven's particular favor and special arrangements. For ordinary people, if you believe in such statements, it will only invite greater pain and frustration. The truth is, many people may encounter someone a hundred times worse than their current situation in the future. He might squander all your money on investments that end up in total loss, he might sleep with your best friend, or more likely, you may never meet a suitable person and end up lonely in old age.

Such words place you in a very special position, as if every move you make is specially arranged. "Everything is the best arrangement; you just need to move forward, and you will encounter it." This is certainly not the truth; it's merely self-deception. Usually, only those who are very special, exceptional practitioners, or those with special missions receive such treatment. Most ordinary people simply unfold their lives according to their predetermined karma, with no special treatment. If they try to forcibly change their fate, they usually encounter greater backlash, and even their original circumstances may disappear as a result.

The reason such sayings are popular and accepted by most people in modern society is that they can satisfy most people's vanity, making them feel specially favored and hopeful for a better future. Although using it to comfort people is effective, it will undoubtedly lead you into greater expectations, resulting in more suffering. It's like praising suffering, telling you that happiness lies at the end of suffering, telling you that you can use pain to increase your life experience and practice, to be reborn from the ashes. But ordinary people do not have the ability or methods to use suffering for spiritual practice. For them, suffering is just suffering, not a path to enlightenment.

Many people, after experiencing great pain, come to hate the world. The light in their eyes disappears, they become colder, their hearts harden, they become more unable to trust others, more intolerant of others' happiness, more prone to hiding themselves, and they develop a more cunning and intrusive self. This is what suffering bestows upon them. Unless you're only two years old, you wouldn't believe that they would experience the feelings of all sentient beings through these sufferings and thus increase their compassion and empathy.

Although all people suffer setbacks to eliminate karma, because non-practitioners are constantly creating new karma 24 hours a day, whether they eliminate karma or not actually has little impact on their lives. The bit of karma they eliminate is like a drop of water evaporating from the ocean, quickly returning to the sea. Only for those great practitioners who understand the techniques of mind cultivation and have mastered how to avoid creating karma, or at least for those who have truly begun to practice and are striving to avoid creating bad karma and can turn suffering into a path, does encountering adversity and suffering have meaning. Because adversities make them experience suffering, suffering makes them see reality clearly and eliminates karmic obstacles. For practitioners, eliminating a bit of karmic habits brings them one step closer to enlightenment and liberation. For ordinary people, because every thought creates karma, suffering has no great significance. Moreover, they have been suffering various pains since beginningless time without interruption. They have neither become enlightened nor better because of this. They can neither transform it into practice nor does it help much in changing their fate.

Over these thousands of years, many concepts in Chinese traditional culture have been severely confused. Many ideas that should only be heard by practitioners have been heard by ordinary people and spread among the common folk. Behind this is the assistance of demonic forces. What I just mentioned is one example of this. Practitioners in their practice trigger past karma, causing karma to ripen prematurely, thus producing various sufferings and obstacles. Some practitioners also encounter various trials due to their guru's training. If they can endure and pass through these challenges one by one, the realization of their true nature is not far ahead. Therefore, for true practitioners, encountering suffering can become a good opportunity for practice. If they can correctly use mind cultivation techniques, they can purify karmic obstacles through this method and thus get closer to enlightenment. However, this concept does not apply to ordinary people. Ordinary people may suffer their entire lives because they are constantly creating new negative karma, their past karmic obstacles are constantly maturing, and they don't have the ability to exhaust past karma. So many of them suffer their whole lives until death without any improvement.

If a person believes in such sayings, believes that happiness lies at the end of suffering, but never reaches happiness, it's almost impossible for them not to think they've been deceived. Now this concept has spread to secular society and is being utilized, making many ordinary people mistakenly believe that suffering is tempering their will, that it's the precursor to success, but this is not the fact. Ordinary people have no special favor; they are not Milarepa. Their suffering has no special meaning, and even if their karma is reduced a little, it will quickly be replenished. If they believe in this saying, they might suffer their whole lives without any reward. Ordinary people also don't need to temper their will. And even if you temper it for a long time, there won't be any result; in the end, you'll just explode when you can't hold it in anymore. Due to the lack of professional practice guidance and teaching, they end up with nothing in the end, only making a mess of things. This is also why many people are dismissive of traditional Chinese culture. They believe they have followed these principles but cannot wait for the desired results. Examples of this are everywhere they look, so it's not surprising that they think traditional culture is all deceptive. But this is entirely because they haven't received the methods and correct teaching guidance. What they hear are words they can neither truly understand nor correctly apply. They use such words to plan and guide their lives, and the result can only be miserable. Chinese traditional culture is extremely complex and profound. Whether it's the high-threshold Zen Buddhism or the relatively low-threshold Confucianism, without true teaching guidance, you absolutely cannot enter its door. So don't try lightly.

Similar to this is the saying "Life is practice." This saying is also aimed at professional practitioners, and moreover, at extremely high-level practitioners. Such practitioners, after long-term practice, have gradually reached a stable state and have the ability to neither grasp nor reject, neither seize nor interpret nor label when in contact with forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas. They can be in phenomena without phenomena, in thoughts without thoughts, create no or little karma in daily life, and temper their minds with circumstances. Only then can their daily life become practice, and only then can they say that life is practice. The daily life of ordinary people is only a process of constantly reinforcing habitual tendencies. They are constantly grasping, interpreting, and labeling at all times, constantly creating new karma, constantly nurturing their greed, anger, and ignorance. Their life state is completely contrary to the path of practice. Unfortunately, these practice concepts that should have been kept secret have been heard by secular society and are being used by people who completely don't understand practice to plan, adjust, and understand their own lives. So various human tragicomedies are inevitably staged.

Written by Lingshan Hermit on May 30, 2024

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灵山居士：一个虚假而巨大的希望足以毁掉你的整个人生

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