#yes you have accomplished a great thing! yes you deserve a treat. also people deserve to be able to flee a genocide

[littlevelvette]

Shoutout to me for surviving the racist ableist ass experience that was grad school. 5 years of my mental and physical health being wrecked for this fucking institution.

Fellow graduates, did u know that you can donate a portion of the gift money you got to relief funds for Palestinians?!

Do it!!! :)

It’s easy!

Free Palestine!

Consider these donation links! What if you turned a 20 into four 5 dollar donations!!! It’s that easy!!! Do a lil math if you want to donate more! Spread wealth however you can!!!

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

[dyns33]

The Best Friend part 2

Yes I made a lil 3 parts series for Homelander and his bestie.

If Y/N had to give John one good point, it was that he had been honest.

He could have said nothing, and she probably would have never known.

But at the same time, he wasn't completely stupid, and it wasn't a good idea to keep secrets like that.

Because he himself didn't like being lied to, promising that it would never happen between them, but also that he was giving Firecracker power over him, who could have threatened to tell her everything if he didn't do what she wanted.

Maybe she was blinded by admiration at the moment, claiming that she was at his beck and call and that she wouldn't ask for anything in return, but John knew people. He couldn't trust her.

"I'm not attracted to her at all, I told her that."

"… That reassures and consoles me enormously, John."

"Look, I understand that you're angry. But it was just once, just once ! A moment of weakness. I was exhausted, a lot of things had happened, you weren't there…"

"So it's my fault ?"

"No." He growled before sighing, trying to keep his cool. "I didn't say that. She was very persuasive. How does she know that I… Anyway, it was a mistake. I can fire her, she's no use to me. That idiot is loyal, I can ask her anything I want, but one word from you and she's gone. I can even kill her if you ask."

A lot of people wouldn't know how to react in this situation.

Normally it wasn't a good idea to upset the Homelander. You had to agree with him, not cry, not yell, not talk back. It was already an accomplishment that he admitted he had made a mistake.

Maybe he hadn't apologized, but Y/N was probably smart enough to know that he was sorry and that she should forgive him.

Anyone else would have eventually said sorry, taking the blame on them and making excuses for his cheating.

But besides the fact that she had been his only friend during his childhood, John loved Y/N because she wasn't afraid of him. And that meant she wasn't going to give in when he had hurt her.

"Your solution to a problem always has to be murder. Really, John, we're not eight years old anymore."

"Exactly, that's why we're talking like two adults."

"I'm waiting."

"What ?"

"For you to act like an adult."

Then John chuckled. He put on his eternal air of a guilty child who pretended not to understand what he had done wrong, disturbed that someone dared to corner him in this way, him, the great Homelander.

But seeing that Y/N was staring at him without saying anything, waiting, he quickly regained his seriousness, hiding his embarrassment behind a mask of annoyance.

"I just told you that I wouldn't do it again. She doesn't attract me at all, she's pathetic. I only love you. I've only ever loved you, since forever. The others were nothing, distractions, puppets. You're the only one who really knew me, who made me happy."

"I'm waiting."

"You don't want me to cut her in two, and I can't go back in time by flying around the Earth in the opposite direction of rotation contrary to what some idiots think, I don't see what I can do."

"Apologize."

"… Sorry." he mumbled, looking down, showing a pout.

"No. Better than that, John. Give me your most sincere apologies."

At this point, someone else would already be dead, or at least facing a furious and threatening supe, ready to use his lasers to silence her.

But Y/N was really not just anyone. Realizing that she would not change her mind, John mumbled, hands on his hips, before displaying his fake stage smile.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm still waiting."

"… I should never have done that, it was pathetic of me. I love you more than anything and I shouldn't take it for granted, you deserve to be treated with respect. Forgive me."

"Hmm. Almost but not yet." she decided, holding back a smile.

She was still angry, but Y/N was ready to forgive him. After all these years, she knew how John was. She knew he would never have said the word "sorry" if he didn't mean it, and he wouldn't have confessed anything if he didn't really care about her.

But the moment was tasty and she wanted to make the most of it, so that he would learn his lesson well.

"What ? You want me to get on my knees ?"

"That would be a good start."

"… Fine."

Y/N had said that as a joke. In truth, she didn't really know what she was waiting for, only that she wanted it to last a little longer. It was impossible to tell whether or not she liked seeing John at her feet, staring at her with fear.

"I'm sorry. Don't leave me."

"Oh, John…"

"I know I can be difficult. You're always good and patient with me, even though I don't deserve it at all. I love you. If you left me, I would die, truly. The day they took you from me, I thought I was having a heart attack. I couldn't breathe. I would destroy everything if you disappeared again."

It wasn't exactly a reassuring statement. It could even have been taken as blackmail or a threat. But John would never hurt Y/N, she knew that.

He would kill everyone else, leaving only them, but he would tear off an arm rather than hurt her.

Tenderly, she stroked his hair, then his cheek, before leaning in to kiss him.

"I forgive you, John."

"Hmm."

"I love you too, I'm not going to leave you."

"Thanks."

"Get up now."

"Hmm. I don't know, I like the view." he said with a small smile. She followed his gaze, still leaning over, understanding that this way he had a full view of her chest and crotch.

The small pat he took on your head made him snicker, as did Y/N's falsely outraged look.

"I know another way to make it up to you."

"It wouldn't really be a punishment."

"I'll just be a little sad if I can't find any milk. But we could also do something to change that."

"Why are you never serious ?" she sighed, rolling her eyes.

The apology ended like that, because she received a call that caught her full attention. Y/N didn't look at John either, who never left her, dangerously serious, and fixed on her stomach.

[kittyball23]

Hello How're you ? I wanted to give you an idea to write. What do you think about writing the last act to take place on Wakai Island, like Branch proposing to Papi there or something?

Here it is! It's another minor rewrite of my oneshot "The Proposal"

We Are Family (a Trolls fanfic)

If Branch hadn’t known any better, he could’ve sworn that he was a baby again, standing on the stage with his brothers, feeling happiness fill him with great warmth.

The illusion was a good one, and this time he didn't have to hold any worries over anybody arguing or walking out on each other. If that glorious Family Harmony that they'd accomplished back in Mount Rageous was anything to go by, he, John Dory, Spruce, Clay, and Floyd were tighter than tight - best friends and brothers for life!

And they would prove themselves in that strong bond for their audience.

An excitement built within the quintet as the spotlight turned on them. They stood shoulder to shoulder, hearing Vacay Island's serene waves lap in the background, and hearing the crowd compose of their friends and family clapping and cheering. They grinned at each other. This was going to be a GREAT performance!

"Everyone can see we're together, as we walk on byyy," Branch sang, spreading his arms out wide.

"And we fly just like birds of a feather, I won't tell no lies," Floyd sang, coming alongside his younger brother for a quick side hug.

"All of the people around us they say, can they be that close?" Clay sang, busting a slick breakdancing move that looked to be a combination of a one-armed cartwheel and a split.

“Just let me state for the record…” John Dory sang, making a finger gun, as Spruce finished with “We’re giving love in a family dose!” while winking at his wife, Brandi, and their dozen children.

The five sang the chorus all together, stepping in rhythm with each other, voices strong and proud.

“We are family,

I got all my brothers with me!

We are family,

Get up everybody and sing!”

It was a perfect song to use, because they were a family - a true one, by blood and bond. WIth the rhythm and each other, they were going to be together forever!

From the sidelines, Poppy and Viva cheered enthusiastically, clapping wildly and without end. They just loved the show!

Suddenly, both girls were surprised to find that they were being welcomed onto the stage with them! Branch, in a similar way as he had done the first time on Vacay Island, extended his hand out to Poppy, which she took with a gracious smile. And in a not too differentiating way, Clay extended his hand out to Viva, who blushed slightly as she was brought onstage too. It was then that the two girls, alongside the guys, flowed perfectly together to create a colorful, stunning Family Harmony!

The applause that came afterwards was well-deserved and thunderous. This really was one of the best shows anybody had ever been treated to!

Poppy wrapped her arms around her boyfriend and squeezed tight. “I love you Branch!” she chirped happily.

Branch snuggled and smiled down at her, “Love you too, Poppy,” he whispered. Then, he twirled her flawlessly, suddenly bending down on one knee before her. The motion made the Pop Queen gasp loudly as she realized what was happening.

No... it COULDN'T be... could it??

Is Branch going to ask what I think he's gonna ask?!

“Poppy…”

The Pop Queen almost jumped at her name, brought back to the reality that confirmed that Branch really, really was still kneeled on one knee in front of her. Her heart raced, pounding so fast and so loudly in her chest that she was hoping it wouldn't drown out his words. And the question that he may or may not ask.

But am I REALLY ready for this?

Branch was also thinking the exact same thing as Poppy. Was he ready to do this? One look at his brothers, who were quite delighted with the turn of events, and he knew that the answer was yes. John Dory, Spruce, Clay, and Floyd each wore very supportive look on their faces. They were proud of their little brother taking the initiative, and would back him up. Branch didn’t delay in presenting his question.

"Poppy," he started again, "I, umm... I didn't really plan a big speech or anything. Which, I know, sounds very unlike me – crazy-prepared bunker survivalist guy and all, heh heh..." He paused, letting out a chuckle. "But I did have a question I want to ask you. It's, um... actually something I've been wanting to ask you for a while now. And I'm not sure if you'll say yes, or if you'll say no, if you'll find it cool or too gross and weird. I'm not even sure if you're okay with me asking you in front of everyone like this!" – he gestured to the audience that Poppy had forgotten was even there – "But I won't know the answer to any of that unless I just go ahead and do it." Branch took a deep, calming breath, knowing that Poppy was hooked onto his every word, his every little movement and gesture, watching him closely, anticipating.

Everything felt like it was going in slow motion when he reached for her pink hand, grasping it gently in his, and using the other to reach into his vest pocket.

"Queen Poppy, you're the happiest Troll alive... but you might just end up making me the happiest Troll alive instead if you say yes to my question, which, not required... it IS your choice in the end, but, I uh, I've just really gotta know," Branch said, making sure he didn't continue rambling on and simply cut to the chase of what he was intending to say, the words that had long been aching to leave his mouth finally escaping his lips in a sweet, relieving release. "Will you... marry me?"

There. He'd said it. Finally!

And she'll say yes, right? Branch wondered. I mean, I DID tell her she doesn't HAVE to say yes, but... oh frosting, I really, REALLY hope she does...

Without realizing it, Poppy had started to almost hyperventilate, her breaths coming fast, and her cheeks wet with tears that she hadn't even realized were even pooling up in her eyes.

Branch looked concerned. "Poppy?"

The brothers were watching in awe, Spruce nudging JD. "Dude, I think he broke her!"

But Poppy was not broken. She was the opposite of broken. She was… ecstatic!

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!"

She screamed her answer so loud that it almost felt like it had broken the sound barrier itself, bursting across the land like a sonic boom! A scream that shook all of Vacay Island like a rumbling earthquake, even more intense than when the isle’s volcano erupted! And she continued to affirm her answer with dozens upon dozens of kisses on her now-fiance’s face.

"YES! – mwah – YES!  – mwah – YES!  – mwah – YES!  – mwah – YES! YES! YES! YEEEESSS!!"

Branch gladly allowed himself to be smothered in her affection, as she made sure that no part was left unkissed. His cheeks. His forehead. His chin. His brows. His lips...

Branch's eyes bulged and a gasp escaped him right after he felt her sweet mouth press against his, even if it was for just one brief second. Reacting upon him, Poppy too gasped. She was about to apologize, when Branch swept her in and closed the gap between them. Poppy’s mind blanked from bliss. It was their first kiss.

Or should she say, kisses, plural.

Because there seemed to be no end to the kisses. Each time they parted, they went in for more, making up for every time they’d had to urge to engage but hadn’t.

Clay raised his brows. “Wow! You’d think they never kissed before,” he murmured.

“You don’t say,” Viva giggled. Then, suddenly, she got up on her tiptoes and pressed her own sweet peck against Clay’s cheek! The lime-green-haired Troll gasped and then blushed heavily, his face growing warm in the spot where her lips had been. John Dory and Spruce nudged him knowingly, while Floyd shook his head in amusement.

“Sis! This means I get to plan your wedding, right?” Viva asked giddily.

Poppy giggled, still clinging onto Branch and not intending to let go anytime soon. “You bet you can!”

[theambitiouswoman]

How do I stop feeling so ugly? I feel like my looks hold me back so much and then I just get depressed, so I look worse … it’s a never ending cycle. My lack of self esteem is ruining my life but I just don’t know how to stop.

I'm sorry you're struggling with low self-esteem. Please remember that your worth isn’t tied to your physical appearance!

I want to completely start off by saying that you’re not ugly. None of you reading this are ugly. You may feel ugly, and that’s what shows in your appearance. The universe responds to how you treat yourself. How you treat yourself is how others will perceive and treat you.

You can work on yourself from the inside out or the outside in. Let’s discuss outside in, first.

Make a list and write down what you don’t like, and what you need to do to improve or how would your ideal self look. Don’t compare yourself to other girls. Focus on just YOU. Becoming your favorite version of you and not anyone else.

The first thing I recommend is for you to start working out and eating healthy foods. This is not me saying that your body needs to look a certain way. But feeling healthy contributes to a better self esteem. Working out releases endorphins, will help you feel better about yourself internally. And if body is a goal for you, then this is something you should focus on anyway.

Proper grooming and hygiene, changing your wardrobe and figuring out which compliments your body will quickly easily make you feel prettier and look more attractive. Yes, it’s true. Looking clean and polished shows people that you care about yourself and your appearance. It also makes you look more welcoming by just those little tweaks.

I strongly recommend you start by putting in the effort with that. People will notice, and you will notice people noticing- and it will help you feel better. Your confidence shouldn’t be based on external validation- but I do think it’s a great motivator.

Remember that hating yourself is not going to make you feel better or change the way you look for the better. You have to take the initiative. You have to be tired of feeling how you feel and start making changes for YOU. You are in control. And you deserve to feel good about yourself. Don’t throw yourself a pity party. You are a strong girl. You are a brave girl. You are a capable girl. You are a beautiful girl. And you are not going to get in the way of what feels good to you or your goals because you deserve those things too!

When it comes to doing the work from the inside out.. “if you feel pretty you look pretty” start by focusing on your positive qualities: Instead of fixating on your perceived flaws, try to focus on your positive qualities. Think about your strengths, talents, and accomplishments. Make a list of all the things you like about yourself that have nothing to do with your appearance.

Take care of yourself physically and emotionally. Eat a balanced diet, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Treat yourself to things that make you feel good, like a bubble bath, a good book, or a movie night.

When negative thoughts about your appearance arise, try to challenge them. Ask yourself if they are based in reality or if they are just your own negative self-talk. Replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.

I love you! I hope you realize how beautiful and deserving you are soon 🫶

[redjadethewriter]

Age Superiority and Toxic Views on Age Differences in Blank The Series

Yes, I'm back to ranting about this series. You would think I had enough by now, but there's so much to talk about that my mind goes rampant, thinking about it. Okay... Let's get into it.

First, age superiority is a silly thing. I'm not gonna lie; it erks me.

Storytime to start this off.

Once, I shared with someone the secret to my youthful appearance, saying, “I hang around a lot of young people.” This statement made him laugh uncontrollably, likely because of the sly grin on my face as I said it. However, my words were both a joke and a reflection of my true beliefs. I hold a great deal of respect for the younger generations and have cultivated a mindset that values respect for all individuals, regardless of their age, gender, culture, or ethnic background.

My guiding motto is simple: “I respect those who respect me.” If someone shows disrespect towards me, it matters little what their status, wealth, or accomplishments may be—I will not tolerate it. In such situations, I prefer to turn my back and walk away, as no one is deserving of my time and energy, not even in pointless arguments. Overcoming highly emotional states and the passage of time have taught me this lesson.

As time goes on, some things can be learned, while others require dedicated effort and experience to truly grasp. My effort has always been about becoming aware, and the only way to gain awareness is through knowledge and experience. However, some go through life not learning from their mistakes or grow from certain experiences. Some choose to ignore the surrounding people, not listen to them, or have a superiority complex, especially around younger folk or someone who’s less fortunate. This triggered me in Blank the Series. Look, I understand certain cultures its ingrained in us to respect our elders. I come from a background as such. It may not be an Eastern Asian background, but it parallels on a similar level.

Okay, let me share my opinion on something that bothered me in the series, even though I know the story intentionally crafted it that way. In the novel, I can understand why everyone would treat Anueng like a child. After all, she was written as only 18 years old, and in my country, we still consider that too young. However, in the series, she was 20, almost 21. At that age, I had a lot more freedom compared to her. I had a job; I was going to university; I was going out, drinking, and even hooking up with older women facing no judgment from my parents or society. Although the standards in my country may be more relaxed, it’s not something that would shock anyone, I know.

So, when I watched Anueng, an adult woman, being treated as less than an adult, it really bothered me. Yes, she acted annoying most of the time, but I understood she used it as a way to get a reaction from Khun Nueng and to hide her true feelings. It was her way of wearing a mask, just like we all do. I mean, who really acts like themselves in public?

Throughout the show, I witnessed a scared Anueng who simply wanted others to see her as an adult and not subject her to abuse, control, or assumptions about her best interests. She wanted to be able to decide for herself and express her true feelings. And let me tell you, I’ve worked in retail and have interacted with people of all ages, from 18 to senior years. I’ve talked to them, listened to them, and got to know them. And using age as a measure of superiority is just plain dumb. I’ve met older people who make unwise choices and never learn from them, while I’ve also met young people who are wise beyond their years. So, I never judge a book by its cover.

Some young people I’ve had the privilege of getting to know have had experiences just as crazy as mine, if not crazier than someone twice their age. And then there are those who still have a lot to learn. That’s why I never assume their level of experience. And that’s also why older women who dated me were okay with pursuing a relationship with me. They saw my book was thick, filled with experiences and wisdom or… I was just a good…cough… LOL!

So, in the series, when Khun Nueng invited Folk to the amusement park, I couldn’t help but interject. Assuming Anueng would be bored with the adults infuriated me. I coughed and said, “Excuse me, but she’s an adult, too.” It’s unfair to assume that a 20-year-old wouldn’t enjoy the company of 36-year-olds. “What the fuck are you talking about,” I thought. That girl would have a blast with me. I’m sure she would have had an awesome time with Khun Nueng if she wasn’t falling for the Fah’s cruel antics to gain the love of her daughter after abandoning her most of her life.

Rant moment about Fah:

“Excuse me, I don’t care if you gave birth to Anueng. You're a dang stranger to her and you have to earn her love. At this rate, you’re just a child yourself, pretending to be a mother.” I’m not sorry for saying it, but Anueng deserves so much better. If Fah truly wanted to be a part of her daughter’s life, she would have defied her own mother and been there from the beginning. But she didn’t. She only showed up when Anueng turned 20, after all the difficult times were over, and suddenly wanted to play the mother role. Hell no. Even if there wasn’t a romantic involvement between Anueng and Khun Nueng, Khun Nueng acted more like a mother figure than both the biological mother and grandmother did. Family doesn’t have to be defined by blood relations. I can easily envision a scenario where a lonely artist adopts a mistreated, abandoned girl, and they become a genuine family. Then, the royal grandmother would throw a fit over Khun Nueng adopting a daughter. Oh my, that would just cause a stir.

But back to age insecurities.

Even to this day, as a 38-year-old, I still ride rollercoasters and explore various interests. It’s why young people are drawn to me everywhere I work and go. I have a wide range of interests that appeal to people of all ages. I can spend hours talking and listening to 19-year-olds and those in their twenties without any of us getting bored. It’s all about having charisma that goes beyond the norm.

Moreover, it was clear to anyone that Anueng truly desired to spend her birthday with Khun Nueng. However, following Fah’s orders, Khun Nueng attempted to distance herself from Anueng. This action deeply hurt Anueng, especially because she expected someone she loved to offer support and not to push her away. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh, my gosh! It’s her birthday! Can you please respect that she’s an adult? It’s her special day, and she wants you to acknowledge that!”

In romantic relationships, simply being in the same space as the person you are interested in, even with no activities, is not boring at all. However, it is important to note that Khun Nueng has never experienced being in love or loving someone before, which justifies her ignorance in this matter. Nevertheless, I cannot stress enough that Anueng is not naïve. She can sense that Khun Nueng’s feelings for her run deeper than she lets on. This is why it was incredibly frustrating for her to get Khun Nueng to be open and honest about her emotions.

Eventually, in the end of episode 4, Khun Nueng reached a breaking point. She grabbed Anueng by the arm, preventing her from walking away, and expressed her desire for her to stay. Furthermore, in episode 5, she attempted to convince the family that Anueng wanted to remain in Thailand and even volunteered to help her study and prepare for the university entrance exam. Ultimately, her efforts succeeded.

Spoiler alert: Since I read the novel, I’m going to reveal the chaotic age insecurities Khun Nueng has. I don’t think they will use the scene in the series, but Anueng and Khun Nueng go on a run together. Khun Nueng basically can’t keep up with her and automatically goes into doom and gloom about getting older and not being able to physically keep up with Anueng’s stamina. I laughed so hard at that passage in the book that I cried because I couldn’t breathe from laughing so dang hard. I’m like, “Woman, how long has it been since you’ve done legit exercise such as running?” Because I know that being an artist, you are not active in heavier impact exercises. “Girl, please. At 36, I was running circles around ladies younger than me. I could sprint 3 miles and lift 50 to 75 pounds daily, like the bitch of steel.” I’ve met 40- and 50-year-old women that could break me in half. So, please… don’t feed me that bullshit. Age is not a factor in performance; it’s keeping up with activities and pushing your body to work that keeps you mobile and strong as fuck to take on a lady in her 20s with no issues. I’ve known 70-year-olds that can out-bench ladies younger than them. No one can use the excuse of age with me.

Now, I can see certain challenges that come with being in a romantic relationship with someone younger. One major factor is the ability to connect with them, considering the generational gap. Different time periods bring different mindsets. Khun Nueng, 36, probably grew up in a time when same-sex relationships were deemed unacceptable. I can relate to that. Being 38, I witnessed the tail end of a time when it was dangerous to be a lesbian. Nevertheless, I understand her concerns about being forgotten. In episode 6, she expressed her fear that Anueng will eventually make new friends, flirt with other people, and move on. But honestly, I can’t help but think and laugh. “Yeah, right! No one’s ever gonna leave you, let alone forget about you.” A woman like Khun Nueng leaves an indelible mark on your soul. Her eyes pierce through you like daggers, leaving you exposed. She’s fierce and full of spice. No one will forget Khun Nueng for generations to come. She’s absolutely crazy, in the best way possible.

Khun Nueng…Just openly love that girl already, and stop torturing yourself like a masochistic princess. We all know you’re head over heels for her. She’s an adult, so let go of your worries. Thank you.

[fledermaus-mainblog]

If I am to say anything of use in these last hours I have before the clock strikes twelve, I hope that it is something worthwhile and something others can use for their benefit.

This year has been one of great lessons for me. As difficult as it has been, I have made progressions I would have never thought possible only a year prior. What I have accomplished may seem simple to others, but to me, it has been a monumental journey, and I am so glad to have finally started it. I am meeting people. I am learning new skills. I am becoming a little less afraid. Earning money, yes (a VERY nice positive, might I add!) but also learning to cope with my past traumas and coming to terms with it. Learning to be honest with myself and others, even if it may mean hurt feelings. I am a person and I deserve to act and be treated as one.

I thank everyone for the support they have given me, and the patience that follows with it. I cannot always be 100% present in the communities I participate in, nor the ones I have built myself, but I try very hard to extend my hand to the people I care about.

I would like to extend a special thank you to @pointdointy​, who has seen me through the past few years with unending kindness and willing to understand. I believe that the key to our great friendship is merely our communication. I value that we are always able to openly discuss when things go wrong, and we always find a way to make it right again. To everyone reading, I wish these same kind of relationships. May you all find something good to come from this new year.

— Fledermaus / Sawyer

[witchthewriter]

𝑆𝘩𝑖𝑝 𝑓𝑜𝑟 @highladyofanarchy.

𝐓𝐎𝐆

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐼 𝑠𝘩𝑖𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝐶𝘩𝑎𝑜𝑙! (And yes I fancast Bob Morley as Chaol). Chaol is a very mature person, he has a strong moral code that he always follows. He needs someone who can both go along with that but also challenge it. You would be perfect together. 

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

Actually hates the company of most people, and tolerates those around him. But with you, god, it’s different. He can’t get enough of you. 

Is actually really jealous. He doesn’t like any guys talking with you for too long

Likes to run his finger down your spine. He revels in the goosebumps that form on your skin

Seeing you sad breaks his heart. He will go out and buy all your favourite things and surprise you in the afternoon. Definitely uses his standing to get you out of work

Will wake up earlier than you just to watch you sleep. It puts his mind at ease seeing you next to him

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

Beautiful War by Kings of Leon

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

”I love you, wholeheartedly.” (You) x “You shouldn’t, I don’t deserve it.” (Chaol)

I Don’t Know What I’m Doing But At Least I’m Alive, Right? (You) x You’re Doing Great, Sweetie (Chaol)

Grumpy Boyfriend x Caring Girlfriend 

𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Only one bed; this is how he realised his feelings for you. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

How thoughtful you are; you do little things knowing that Chaol would like them - and it’s so touching to him that the first time he cried. He isn’t used to being remembered like that. And it made him fall in love with you even more. 

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅

Aelin! Yes, she has a lot of power but you absolutely love her because of who she is - not what she has. 

𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆

A mix between Elide, Yrene and Manon. I think you have such a healer type of energy about you, but also a lil witchy and dark academia. There’s so many elements to your personality. But ultimately - you do have a maternal energy about you. 

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒕

You found a baby dragon egg (not knowing what it was) and kept it at home. You thought it was a bird’s egg. And thought you were saving the potential chick - however it was not a bird. But a deformed dragon egg. And a month later out cracked a leathered, winged creature. Who ended up breathing fire. 

𝐇𝐨𝐭𝐃

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐼 𝑠𝘩𝑖𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑛! GOD I LOVE THIS MAN. He would treat you RIGHT. He would treat you PERFECTLY. Harwin would do WHATEVER YOU WANTED. IM SERIOUS, HE’S PERFECT. Protect you? YES. Love and adore you? YES. Make sure that you’re thriving, that you’ve eaten and that you’re hydrated? YES, YES AND YES. He just wants the best for you. He just wants you to thrrriiivvveeeeeeeeeee.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

Absolutely loves giving you piggy back rides

Types of husband to talk about you to everyone with such pride. Talking of your accomplishments, or even your hobbies! He just wants people to know how amazing you are 

Massages your feet after a long day

You like braiding his hair and he ... absolutely loves it. You do it at night, like a protective hairstyle, so in the morning he has glorious hair

Automatically gives you his cloak, even if it isn’t cold. He just goes, “ah yes you need more warmth,” even if you’re sweating...

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

Dumbass (Harwin) x Oh God I Guess That’s My Dumbass (You)

The Gomez & Morticia Adams

Malewife x Girlboss

𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Literally the perfect character for The Body Guard™

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

The way you care so much for people. It’s rare. Especially in this world. Everyone is always wanting something, their ambition is overwhelming. You can smell it throughout King’s Landing. But you, no. You actually want to be there for others, to make a change. A good change. 

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅

Rhaenyra!!! She would absolutely adore your company. You would be the person who gives her brilliant advice. She would come to you with her most inner worries. You helped her a lot during her mother’s passing. 

𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆

A mixture between Alicent, Rhaenyra and Helaena. There aren’t a lot of people like you in this world - you seem like such a lovely, well-grounded person. 

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒕

(I just made you of Valyria descent so you could have a dragon because it would be unfair if you didn’t get one-)

You would have the dragon, Dreamfyre. I think you have this otherworldy, fae vibe to you. Like you could be Queen of the Fae themselves. And with Dreamfyre, she’s the mount to those who are dreamy yet bold. You two would bond at a young age - and you would be inseparable. 

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝐼 𝑠𝘩𝑖𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝘩 𝐾𝑎𝑧! He would work well with you because you both have a love for a calmer atmosphere. You’re both introverts and prefer the company of each other. He’d also be incredibly loyal to you, and protect you without hesitation. He’s the type of guy to burn the world if it meant saving you. 

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

You knew who he was, and had no need for him at all. But god did he need your services. 

A grisha yourself, he needed you for a specific job. And it was during this job that he caught feelings. He didn’t mean to, nor did he want to. But it happened. It was goddamn destiny. You two were soulmates. 

You’re quite good with herbs and healing. So you help Kaz with his aches and pains. He really appreciates it. Because it’s such kindness that he isn’t used to. 

You’re the ONLY PERSON who can make him smile. Or who he will let touch him. 

He treats you like a goddamn Queen. Say what you will about Kaz, but he will do whatever for the people he cares about. He loves buying you jewels, presenting you with jewellery. He loves the way your eyes light up. The blush that forms on your cheeks. 

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

I Want Your Love by the Toadies

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

The Moon and His Star

Cheerful Optimist x Grumpy Asshole

Moral/Emotional Support

𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Enemies to Lovers

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖

That you stand strong in your opinions and your beliefs.You don’t let anyone stand in your way or tell you what to do. 

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅

Jesper!!! He makes you laugh all. the. time. And you two have a lot of chemistry. He had a bit of a crush on you but then Wylan came along and he fell in love with the bomb artist. But Jesper never forgot your friendship. You’re the person he automatically seeks out. Even if you’re with Kaz, he’ll third wheel without shame. 

𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆

A mix between Inej and Zoya. I think you have a stoicness to yourself. Grace, poise and maturity. You know what you believe and don’t care what others say. 

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒕

A black cat that follows you evERYWHERE. You’ve called him Shadow. He goes wherever you go. You don’t even have to call him. He’s just ... there. 

[goldsrc-hl1]

Actually Ironwood is a great example of what I was talking about earlier, I think we can agree ironwood wasn’t racist right? He seemed to treat Faunus the same as humans,

And yet despite him holding two seats on the atlas council, he has done nothing to actually attempt to inhibit Jacques’ constant abuse of his workers (who side note, aren’t slaves according to everything within the main show). Hell despite ironwood clearly hating Jacques he still partnered with the SDC to keep the atlesian knights.

Also on that note, despite atlas’ classism, the working class humans also benefited from faunus oppression, and where actively racist, as we clearly see with the “no Faunus” sign in front of pietro’s office, drunk guy, and the old lady in mantle

It’s not an “either/or” scenario

Drunk guy can be oppressed by atlas’ classism while still benefiting from the oppression of Faunus,

I think you have arguably more faith in people then I do, can people change? Absolutely, but i think banking you’re entire fucking civil rights battle on your oppressors having a “change of heart” is a rather stupid plan all things considered, some people,will change their views, hell I used to be rather ignorant, not an ardent racist more so right leaning centrist,

but the majority of raging bigots will absolutely just fall back on their hate no matter how hard you “disprove” them and that doesn’t just apply to people like Jacques who hold the most power, you mention people who don’t know about black peoples accomplishments in American history, but here’s the thing, they don’t NEED any “accomplishments” to deserve equal fucking rights. A right needs to be inherent or it’s not a fucking right, and even if,you did explain to these bigots why they’re wrong they wouldn’t listen, because bigotry is not based on logic or reason.

Minority groups don’t have to,prove shit, if your oppressors are preventing you from having your basic rights then you take those rights,

It’s not about “changing a bigot’s heart”it’s about removing their power to act on that bigotry,

I don’t see why the Faunus can’t focus on mutual aid networks and taking power within society since it has been so clearly denied to them. Trying to please your opressors is a fools errand

Yes, because Ironwood benefits from the racism. Dust is needed for an army, and Jacques provides dust on Faunus labor.

Do I need to say once again that the lesson in Mistral doesn't apply to Atlas? It's a completely different situation in Atlas.

It's not shown once that Mantle's working class benefits from Faunus oppression. Matter of fact, chances are they suffer because of it due to not being able to get jobs as easily as Faunus since Faunus will work for less money. Not blaming that on the Faunus though, it's the SDC that underpays Faunus and hires them more for the mines because they'll work for less and are more destitute.

We don't see Ghira's current methods, so the idea that all he's doing is trying to change minds is completely a headcanon.

Once again, the show doesn't have a message on how to deal with racism. It has a message about how terrorism can make people hate you more and treat you worse, which is true, but it doesn't treat this like it's the answer to racism. Hell, it actually says it isn't.

Blake: Humans didn't do this. We did this: Faunus. We did this to ourselves. We are just as capable of hate and violence as the humans, but I don't think any of us would jump at the chance to point that out. So why are we letting Adam do it for us?! By doing nothing and staying silent, we let others speak and act in our place. And if we're not proud of the choices they make, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. This is the message that Adam Taurus will bring to the world if no one stops him. But we can stop him! You have to understand that all of you are looking for simple answers to a very complicated problem. And I can't give that to you. I don't know how to make hate go away, I don't. But I know that this kind of violence is not the solution. I understand that to ask you to leave your homes and protect Haven Academy is asking you to put your lives at risk. But that's what's at stake. So I'm going, and I'll stand by myself if I have to.

RWBY completely acknowledges that doing this won't make racism go away, it acknowledges that this isn't a 100% guaranteed solution.

I do have a lot of faith that people can change, I consider myself a bit of an idealist, but I also know damn well there are people that will never change.

However, you're wrong about bigotry not being based on logic or reason. It absolutely is, it's just that those reasons and the logic backing bigotry up is completely wrong. There is still logic and reasons behind it, but those reasons are bad and the logic is bad too.

The people at the top won't ever change, cause they actively benefit from the racism. However, most people don't directly benefit from it, and if their logic is disproven, there is a chance that they will change.

The reason why this line of thinking isn't applied to Atlas is because Atlas benefits from Faunus racism. Not just the upper class of Atlas, literally all of Atlas benefits from it, and Atlas holds all the power. There's no hope that changing their minds about whether you're inferior or not will make them stop oppressing you, because they have a reason to oppress you regardless - they benefit from it.

Mistral is not like that. Mistral is poor, crime ridden, and overpopulated. The SDC has no presence there after Ironwood's dust embargo, so no one there is gaining anything out of Faunus racism except the upper class who are able to control people better with a scapegoat to blame for everything, since it creates unity.

The regular people have nothing to gain out of being racist, it's just been drilled into their minds so that the upper class can get away with their racist policies and continue to benefit from it.

I 100% agree that accomplishments shouldn't be needed to guarantee equal rights, but it's pretty much the only way to convince them that you aren't inferior. Convincing people to be less racist is, surprise surprise, a better option than just beating up all the lower class racists. Beat up the upper class racists instead. Convince the lower class that their racism is unjustified, and they'll stop condoning racist policies.

I agree that you should take those rights, but this is a method of taking those rights. You're convincing the lower class that their racism is incorrect, and since they have nothing to gain out of racism, they'll change and end up opposing the racist policies that don't benefit them and only harm them.

Do I have to say it again? The show doesn't have a message on how to deal with racism, it has a message about how terrorism can make racism even worse and how in order to stop the racism from getting worse you should stand up for yourself and show that you're not to be represented by terrorists. Getting more people to believe you're not inferior lowers support for racists in the government and allows change to start happening.

[olivebranchtherapygroup]

11 Self Care Tips for College Students on a Budget

It goes without saying that college can be stressful. Test anxiety, full course loads, financial worries, relationships, and much more can overwhelm anyone. It’s no surprise that nearly 39% of college students report struggling with at least one mental illness. So what’s a college student to do to help mitigate all this stress and anxiety, without worrying about spending too much money?

“Self care” seems to be the new buzz words when it comes to mental health. Whatever you’d like to call it, the point remains the same: you deserve to take time out of your busy college schedule to de-stress and really focus on yourself. Just like you care for your body when it gets sick, your mental health relies on you to take the time to slow down and “breathe easy.”

Here are 11 self care tips for college students that won’t cause extra stress by breaking the bank:

1. Take a walk outside.

Some time in nature does the body, and mind, good. Get away from that computer screen, even if it’s only for ten minutes, and appreciate the scenery around you. Even if you’re located in a busy city, stepping away from school work and heading to the local park can be a nice break for your overcrowded mind.

2. Write down what you’re grateful for.

Sometimes, to stop the cycle of negative, or anxious thinking, it helps to write down things you are thankful for. By listing what we’re happy to have in our lives, it reminds us that there are indeed good things to look forward to. Journaling in general can also help you clear your burdened mind.

3. Volunteer

Sometimes it helps to get “outside of yourself” and help others. Whether through volunteering at the local animal shelter or offering to help out at a nursing home, volunteering can help build meaningful connections and give your mind a break from your own problems.

4. Do something creative.

It’s perfectly ok to have a little fun and let your mind take a break from studies. Drawing, creative writing, taking pictures, coloring, whatever you like to do. Creativity can even help stimulate your mind in ways that can help with your studies.

5. Take a coffee break.

A cup of coffee can sometimes be just the thing you need. Take a trip to the local coffee shop, or take the time to brew yourself a special cup of joe. While we all know caffeine is a great stimulante, it’s also good to keep in mind that drinking enough water is also important when it comes to staying healthy.

6. Hang out with a friend.

Get out of that dorm room (or apartment/basement/whatever!) Surround yourself with people that appreciate your company and help you grow. College is also a great opportunity to build meaningful relationships, something that is as equally important as education!

7. Take a nap.

We’ve all heard the old adage that college students don’t get enough sleep, but it’s true! Those late nights out partying (or studying) are sabotaging your physical and mental health. Know that when you take the time to take a quick nap, you’re taking care of yourself both in body and mind.

8. Listen to music/a podcast, or read a book.

Breaking away from your current state of mind is easier when you have a good book to read or a favorite album to relax to. Take a trip to the library to pick out something other than a textbook. Don’t want to read? Find new music or a podcast to listen to!

9. Eat a healthy snack.

Just like your body, your mind thrives when it’s treated well. Eating poorly can have negative effects on your state of mind, so take the time to prepare a wholesome snack. Raw fruits and veggies are great inexpensive options.

10. Set some goals.

Find yourself not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Preparing for the future can help you destress and motivate you. Set some S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Timely and Realistic,) put them somewhere you’ll see everyday, and last, but not least, don’t forget to reward yourself when you accomplish them!

11. Go to therapy.

You might be pleasantly surprised that yes, therapy can be affordable. Therapy is an excellent way to relieve emotional distress and treat mental illnesses. When researching therapy, look into whether your insurance covers mental health care, and which therapists accept your insurance. If your insurance isn’t covered, or insurance isn’t an option for you, don’t be afraid to ask about payment options. Here at Olive Branch Therapy Group, we accept multiple insurances. Some of our therapists even have sliding payment scales. Find a therapist that resonates with you and give our team a call.

We hope these tips will help you thrive and mitigate the stress that college can sometimes cause. You deserve a break every once in a while!

If you need any additional assistance with managing stress, anxiety, depression or other mental health issues, the team at Olive Branch Therapy Group are always here for you. Feel free to contact us today!

[mixelation]

One of the Fandom takes that make me genuinely angry is the Sakura is weak and useless take that's literally everywhere.

Hinata barely fights yet no one argues that she's weak becuase we all know she's strong. She's a capable ninja.

But Sakura? Break mountains and throw trees Sakura? Sakura who can heal even the most deadly of wounds and cure impossibly complex poisons Sakura? Sakura who has shown time and time again that she's strong and capable, that Sakura? No, she's weak. She's trash. She's worst girl 0/10.

It makes me so angry becuase she's genuinely a great character once you push kishimotos sexist bullshit out of the way. "Why didn't Sakura have any more good fights?" I don't know why don't you ask 'I dont know how to write women' Kishimoto over there. Ask him why Tenten or Hinata or Ino didn't get more fights either.

To me the take that Sakura is weak and the worst is a vile take and it will never not fill me with visceral rage.

God, YES, it's fine to not really like Sakura for whatever reason (including "well, the things that make me like characters usually involve cool fights"), but these arguments trying to PROVE why she's useless to the story are like 90% misogyny. 7/10 for rancid (EDIT: lowered this because some people do act like this to justify Sakura being sexually assaulted or murdered in fics which uhh 10/10 rancid, don't do that, but most people are just writing her as a screechy child who needs to be taught to not be so girly, which is gross but not AS gross).

First, I will admit that I think it's fine to hold Sakura to different standards than the other female characters, because she's the Main Girl. She should be getting cool fights while side characters don't really need them. She should have wider audience appeal (just from a writing perspective) than the other girls because we spend more time with her. These are fine things to point out when discussing Sakura's writing.

But some people genuinely spend time and energy writing up lists of reasons why Sakura is objectively not just a bad character, but a bad person who didn't deserve to be on Team 7. These usually either don't put things in context or make wild leaps of logic to justify why fic writers should abuse her, humiliate her, have horrible things happen to her, etc, because she "deserves" it. Even fans of Sakura will do this, writing her being shown how she's a stupid horrible person for being a normal young girl and having to learn to be better and become "BAMF."

Like, for example, people will come after her about that horrible line where she's like "Naruto misbehaves because he doesn't have parents" and argue she was consistently "awful to him." They do not mention Naruto trying to trick her into kissing him immediately before, or that we do see Naruto acting obnoxious to/around her, because no way could a TWLEVE YEAR OLD GIRL be justified in being annoyed by the class clown!! They also do not mention that after Sasuke tells her off, Sakura does treat Naruto much better, and most of the times she yells at him are when he is being genuinely obnoxious (and yes, she does hit him a few times, but those are all slapstick moments we're not suppose to take seriously, which is why Naruto is always 100% fine afterwards). No, instead they attack her for saying "Well, I'm on a diet anyway!" when she gives Naruto her food when he's hungry because "she's not a serious ninja is she's dieting." There is no way for Sakura to win, because anything she does is just proof she's horrible.

Not to mention the twisted sort of logic these fans go through to deny Sakura any of her on-screen accomplishments. Healing isn't a useful combat skill, duh. Her enhanced strength doesn't count because she's just a Tsunade knock off. She's stupid because she's not as smart as Shikamaru. What?? Like I said, it's fine to not like her, and it's fine to think her character went in a boring direction because you don't want her to just be a Tsunade #2. But the frequency with which people act like these things make her objectively a bad person is baffling. If you applied this logic to like 90% of the cast, you'd see people being like "well Hinata watched Naruto be lonely and never talked to him, so she obviously doesn't care about him and doesn't deserve his love" but you DON'T because Hinata has big tits because these arguments only make sense if you want to go out of your way to bash a character.

Just say you don't like her and move on. If you try to argue no one should like her, you just end up being like "Well, things girls do are STUPID AND BAD" and that's not a good look.

[astrobyoph]

Pick a perfume; Current situation + What do you need to hear

Hello everybody, hope y’all are having a great day/night wherever you are. Anyways I’m here with a Pick a pile post, kinda nervous because it’s my first time doing something like this, but hope y’all enjoy this! Everything is done intuitively btw so let me know if it resonated :)

What will be in the readings; Your current situation, What do you need to hear, Possible placements 

We have 4 piles today, with a perfume theme because I’m a sucker for that. Unfortunately, I’m broke so I can’t afford these but let’s just admire how pretty they are LOL. Take a deep breath, and pick the one that you’re most drawn to! Lets get started;

Pile 1: Good girl by Carolina Herrera

Your current situation; Gosh are you guys okay? HAHAHA but for real though. I’m sensing a lot of dark, tired vibes here. Some of you might be undergoing a certain change right now perhaps? Maybe emotionally, or even physically for some of you. You’re tired of the things around you, and it’s been draining you. I heard “backstabbing” maybe some of you got backstabbed as well, really sorry if you did, you don’t deserve it :( But yes, generally very tired and exhausted energy here.

What do you need to hear; There’s change coming for you. Definitely. I sensed a butterfly, so maybe at the end of this phase you’d be like a butterfly and look completely different. Whatever it is, it’s not your fault, you are enough. You got this, and you have the strength to get through this too. Oh and if anything feels too good to be true, don’t take it. Trust your gut always. Your guides are with you, pile 1. Hang in there baby

Possible placements; Water placements/dominant, Scorpio, Sag placements. 2/7H emphasis, Pluto/Venus dominant perhaps. Maybe you can go near a water body to recharge, meditation might help too. Or maybe swimming can be theraputic too. Take care pile 1, sending you lots of love <3

Pile 2: Black Opium by Yves Saint Laurent

Your current situation; I feel like some of you just entered a relationship perhaps? Or you might be in the talking stage, or maybe one is coming into your life soon. I sense a lot of happiness, content in this pile. You’ve gone through a lot in the past and I feel like you’re in the prime right now. So happy for you guys arhasdjh. I sensed a flower, perhaps you like flowers or it might have a significance to you, I think this also showss growth in you, pile 2. Do some of you like pink as well? It feels as though some of you picked up a new hobby/recreation as well. Cute vibes overall you guys

What do you need to hear; So with your new beginning here, or better life whatsoever, you should keep going at it! This is bringing you happiness and change. I feel like abundance and rewards are coming your way too? However I think you need to learn how to manage your time, segregate your days well. Prioritise the things that you still need to do too. Protect yourselves as well, in the sense of don’t let anyone take advantage of you and let slip kind of thing.

Possible placements; Cancer, Virgo, Mars/Saturn dominant, Aquarius placements, Air/earth dominant. Remember to treat yourself, go out, take a deep breath of fresh air. You got this pile 2, sending you lots of love <3

Pile 3: Chanel No.5 by Coco Chanel

Current situation; There’s a really consistent vibe here guys, and I think it has to do with desire. Some of you are really desiring something, desperate for something? I heard widow, maybe some of you are widows (for the older people), or maybe you come from a single parent family. Sending you love. Anyways, you guys probably need a hug pile 3. There’s a vibe of healing, protection here too. You guys might be healers, empaths maybe? You have a tendency to take care of the people around you and not yourself as well.

What do you need to hear; Definitely protect yourself that’s for sure. I felt it in the previous paragraph, and now again. Be careful of energy vamps, people who feed off your energy. Some of you might be intuitive readers/creators here? Hello if you are haha. Be careful of people taking advantage of you, I heard short, close friend so maybe that might be them. But yes, cut off what’s bad for you. Cut off the things that are toxic to you as well, do yourself that favour. It’s self protection for you. (18+) Sorry this just popped in my mind but if anyone here’s going to have sex, protection if you do! Just be careful :)

Possible placements; Pisces, Aries, Leo, Sag, Water dominant, Earth dominant, Sun/Mercury/Venus dominant. Definitely take care of yourself, you deserve better. Your energy is precious as well, I feel like some people here like bread too lol. Take care of yourselves pile 3, sending you love <3

Pile 4: Hypnotic poison by Dior

Current situation; Right off the bat there’s very strong bad bitch energy HAHAH. Y’all are the ones who have been through everything, maybe some of you were attracted to pile 2. There’s a similar energy of accomplishment with both piles, but this has more of the firey and bad bitch energy. I think you guys have learnt to know your worth, and to be content with yourselves. You might be nearing an end in something, maybe education? Some of you might be finishing a certain level in education soon. I think there’s a lot of rewards coming your way too. There’s really the emphasis of growth in this pile.

What do you need to know; So immediately I felt the feeling of being overconfident. Now I’m not saying being confident is bad, but overconfidence might be a little bad. You guys might be hiding something too, something you’re scared to show other’s in the fear that your reputation might be tarnished? This might not be for all, but I felt “Sexual orientation”, that might be something you’re hiding? But yes, I think as much as it is good that you’ve grown to be comfortable and confident, remember to be considerate to people around you too. Be careful of their emotions and feelings, and don’t be too absorbed in yourself, or this might drive people away and I don’t want that for you guys 

Possible placements; Fire/Earth dominant, Leo, Aries, Aquarius, heavy Plutonian energy, Saturn as well. I’d say be cautious of what you say and do, remember to process before letting things leave your mouth sometimes. But no harm, you guys still mean good for everybody I know. Continue to be badass pile 4, sending you love <3

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Thank you for reading to the end guys, I really hope you enjoyed the Pick a pile! If you can reblog and share what you think, I’d love to hear your opinions as this is my first time doing something like this haha. Anyways take care and stay safe everyone, sending you all lots of love.

See you next time! ❤️😮‍💨

[cooliogirl101]

From a very young age, Obito's grandmother had cautioned him to guard his heart.

"There is nothing more dangerous than an Uchiha in love," she warned him. "If you're not careful, caring too deeply will destroy you, drive you to madness."

For a five-year-old Obito, all it took to fall in love were three words, coming from a girl with sparkling brown eyes and the brightest smile he'd ever seen.

"Hey, nice goggles!"

~~

Obito, as a general rule, tried to avoid thinking too much about Hatake Kakashi. As far as he was concerned, stupid Bakashi already had too many people thinking about him. It felt like Obito couldn't go five minutes without hearing the whispers of "prodigy" and "genius" and "future-Hokage" trailing Kakashi everywhere he went (and what really stung was that they probably weren't wrong-- what Obito worked at for hours upon hours to accomplish, Kakashi managed in minutes without breaking a sweat).

Obito thought he'd been doing a pretty good job of ignoring Kakashi all things considered, despite the other boy's annoying attitude and annoying hair and annoying voice and annoying mask and annoying everything. He didn't even care (much) about Kakashi's annoyingly large number of fangirls-- up until he noticed that Rin had also started watching him.

He lasted three days before he confronted her about it.

"Why're you watching Kakashi?" Obito blurted out. He'd considered straight up asking her if she had a crush on him-- like half the girls in their class, he thought bitterly-- but had chickened out at the last moment. He wasn't sure what he'd do if the answer was yes--probably something that would land him in detention again.

"He's walking home alone again," Rin said quietly, gaze still fixated on Kakashi's departing figure. "It's been weeks now."

"So?" Obito asked. "He walks home by himself all the time."

Rin shook her head.

"Only when his father's on a mission. Which he might be, I don't know, but given what happened--" Her voice trailed off. Obito didn't need her to complete the sentence, anyway. Everyone in the village knew what had happened on Hatake Sakumo's disastrous mission.

"We're going to follow him," Rin decided. That got Obito's attention.

"What? Why?" He wasn't whining. He wasn't.

"Because something's not right here. And until we figure out what it is, I'd feel better watching over him to make sure he's safe." She glanced at him and grinned. "Besides, this will allow you to practice your stealth skills. And my Henge skills. Think I can make a convincing bush?"

~~

Through some miracle, because Rin did not make a convincing bush-- bushes didn't move for one thing, nor did they have legs-- they managed to follow Kakashi back to the Hatake Compound undetected. The moment the compound came into sight, Rin jolted, her henge dropping away completely.

"Oh," she whispered, eyes widening. Obito swallowed, feeling rather sick to the stomach himself.

The wall of the compound was completely covered by graffiti. Obito clenched his fists, mouth going dry-- there were words on there that would make Obito's grandmother scrub his mouth with soap if he even thought of saying them but worse than that were the words scattered between the cursing and insults:

Failure

Disgrace

Weak

Monster

Shameful

Your fault

Your fault

Your fault

"Obito." Rin's voice was strangely calm.

"Y-Yeah?" Obito cleared his throat, tearing his gaze away from the Hatake Compound. Kakashi didn't deserve that, he found himself thinking. His dad didn't deserve it either. No one deserved that.

Rin glanced at him, eyes hard.

"Do you think your grandmother would be okay with you sleeping over at my house tonight?"

Obito blinked, then slowly began to smile.

"I think I can convince her."

"Great." Rin folded her arms across her chest. "How are your painting skills?"

~~

Of all the things Sakumo expected to find outside his house in the middle of the night, two kids wearing badly-made face masks painting his wall was not one of them.

"What are you guys doing?" Kakashi demanded, looking like he wasn't sure whether to be angry or confused.

"What does it look like we're doing, Bakashi?" The kid in the orange eye-mask retorted. "Everyone calls you a genius, figure it out."

This night was getting weirder and weirder, Sakumo thought bemusedly to himself.

"You're...vandalizing my house. At two in the morning," Kakashi replied. It looked like the confusion was winning out over the anger.

"It's not vandalism if it's done with good intentions," the girl in the purple eye mask said primly. Sakumo resisted the urge to rub at his eyes.

"Friends of yours, Kakashi?" Sakumo asked, and received an immediate flurry of responses.

"No, I hardly even know them, they're just some kids from my class--"

"Friends with Bakashi? No way, I--"

"Not yet at least."

Sakumo let them talk over each other, gaze drifting back over to the half-completed paint job. They'd...done a surprisingly good job, actually. He could barely see the words underneath anymore.

He held up a hand, causing all three kids to go quiet.

"Why?" He asked finally, addressing the two kids who apparently weren't friends with Kakashi and yet had gone to the trouble to do all...this.

"Why not?" the boy said defiantly, jutting his chin up. "We felt like it and your wall is messed up, so we're painting it to look better."

The girl remained silent for a beat longer, before turning to look him in the eye.

"Because you deserve better," she said. Sakumo's mouth twisted.

"I'm not sure I do," he murmured, almost inaudibly. He blinked as the girl suddenly narrowed her eyes, brandishing her paintbrush at him like a kunai.

"Don't say that," she hissed, glaring fiercely at him "Don't you dare say that! The first thing they teach us in the Academy is that your teammates always, always come first. You acted according to that and the fact that people are treating you like a monster for it is wrong."

"It's not that simple--"

"It's not your fault that Konoha is on the brink of war,” she interrupted sharply. "If you didn't trigger it, someone else would have. You don't teach five year olds wartime tactics if you're not expecting...if you're not preparing for a war. People don't want to admit that, so they look for someone to blame-- but that's their problem, not yours."

She turned around, re-coating her brush with paint.

"I can't make you believe me, Hatake-san. But what I can do is cover up this wall of yours. At the very least, Kakashi-kun doesn't deserve to look at this every day."

At that, Kakashi straightened up, scowling at her. If his glare seemed rather halfhearted, no one pointed it out.

"I don't need you to do it, I can do it myself," he grumbled.

"Great," the girl said without missing a beat. "While you're here, you can settle a debate between me and Obito-- hypothetically speaking, would you prefer snakes painted on the wall or dragons?"

"C'mon Rin, dragons are so much cooler, what kind of person would prefer snakes--"

"Obito, neither of us can even draw a dragon and besides, they summon snakes--"

"What? No we don't! We summon dogs!"

"Oh. Really? But your dad is called the White Fang. That wasn't a reference to snake fangs?"

"No!"

"Huh. Who summons snakes then? Someone summons snakes."

"Forget the snakes, is there a dragon contract I can sign?"

"They'd take one look at you and eat you, dead last."

"Shut up, Bakashi!"

Sakumo felt his lips twitch. He turned around to walk back inside, feeling lighter than he had in weeks.

And to think, he'd been worried about Kakashi making friends.

[salvatoreren]

Differentiating Eren and Shitz

Hi so this is a post or whatever it is on why Eren and Shitz are not alike, never have, never fucking will

If any of you find yourself disagreeing or getting offended the deeper you read into these i suggest you back off and never look back thanks

Where did this came up with?

As we all know Chapter 139 definitely started this. Because of the birth of that chapter many shit came and some were good but mostly bad, because of Mikasa paralleling Ymir i guess, there came the Eren paralleling Shitz. anyways the reasons

1. Eren wanted to destroy the Titans

- Idk if people read chapter 122 or watched episode 80 but Shitz: Even after I die...my Eldians will rule the great lands of this world with their enormity. And my Titans shall reign forever and ever.

He wanted them to rule till the end of the Earth because of his revolting desires

- Eren on the other hand: I'll kill them all! I'll wipe every last one of them off this Earth!

Destroying the Titans not the beings but the power of it as the series progressed is one of its main topics

Eren hated the Titans, yes his hate did mellow for it as he learned the truth but he hated the idea of someone turning into a mindless eating giants

2. Shitz abused Ymir

-We all know what happened, it's so disgusting but people forget about this all to enforce the Mikasa-Ymir parallel to make 139 make sense, so yeah Shitz abused Ymir, had her hunted and possibly have her eyes poked, r/ped her, used her to kill people, dehumanized her into nothing but a slave, to the very end, showed no absolute appreciation for Ymir because he's nothing but a fucking slimy selfish disgusting son of a bitch moronic asshole who started this fucking mess and deserves nothing but pain because i have never ever seen a character do revolting things to a goddamn child and lose all morals all for the sake of his humongous ego that Ymir had to inflate her goddamn life, it wasn't even his accomplishments

gosh imagine my reaction when i read that seed part; but she's a kid!

- Eren treated her like any decent human being which isn't a lot but he did, Idk it seems like Eren is manipulating Ymir to me, How? How is telling someone you have a choice manipulating? To choose? That everything is in your fucking control? Eren gave her a choice to lend her power to him or not.

3. Eren would never want his friends or anyone for that matter to chew his spine

- See Shitz wanted to pass that power to his children. IDK maybe he didn't know that their was a limit, uh idk have you checked the part where he said hey kids, have children and have them eat your spine like???

-Are we forgetting Eren stood up for Historia and again told his friends to like hey dont, you dont have to make sacrifices for this titan bullshit because it sucks eating someone you love quite literally and also bcus you ppl are special to me and should live deserved long lives and to

Eren experienced the suffering that Fritz never got to, thought i wish he did because fuck that loser

4. Horrific acts for different reasons

-Yeah Shitz was all imma conquer everything bcus apparently this empire consisting of like idk 1 million people and shit isnt enough for me, why dont we go and kill people bcus idk its fun, i want more ppl to kneel before me and tell me im a great king despite r/ping a literal child and also bcus im just really bored

-Eren did the Rumbling not because he wanted to conquer the goddamn world but to free his people and friends and because the rest of the world left him no choice [This doesn't excuse his actions tho, killing is still killing]

5. "All i ever wanted to do was do right things, I never wanted to be the king"

- First of all I love this line so much, because Eren never wanted those kind of shit

And I have two interpretations for this line

- This may refer to the fact that Eren has to act like ugh Shitz for the whole thing to work, yk setting Ymir free thru mikasa yeah

- And like i said Eren never wanted to any of this shit, a hero yeah but not a king

6. Eren saved Mikasa

- So yeah, Shitz made Ymir a slave, Eren saved Mikasa from being a sex slave, completely different things, get me?

7. Eren is hot, has great qualities, has lots of stans, and Shitz is not and never will be the only thing he's attracting is all of the morons of this Earth and dirt there

Eren is also the protag and hes not yey!

In conclusion Eren and Shitz are not the same, fuck you, whoever thought of this, you must be fucked in the head and I can only wish for you to seek help like right away

if you guys have anything else to add in here go ahead just make them make sense, also sorry for this being sloppy i have other things to prioritize about

[crusherthedoctor]

Infinite, Eggman, Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Silver

(I apologize for dumping so many characters in here, I just really want to hear your opinions on them!)

Let's see if I can think of a divisive opinion for each of them...

Infinite: I think he succeeds as a deconstruction of Mephiles-type villains, whether that was the intention with him or not. (I think it genuinely is, unlike what Flynn likes to say about Scourge being a "parody".) They could have admittedly done more with him, and you could argue that the focus on him took away much needed time for Eggman and his conquest, but despite all that, I still like the guy, and it's probably a secret act of mercy that he's apparently not allowed to feature in IDW.

Eggman: Obvious one incoming: I prefer Eggman to actually be a villain, and a competent villain at that. This should not be a controversial statement, but here we are.

Also, while Jimbotnik is still widely beloved, I'm aware that more fans have been getting vocal about their issues with this portrayal for his differences to Game Eggman... not me though. I still wholeheartedly love this portrayal, because I believe he's similar where it counts, and the differences that do exist work to said portrayal's benefit, even if they wouldn't work as well for Game Eggman. Compare that to something like SatAM Robotnik, where I just cannot see Eggman at all.

Shadow: I'm not convinced that the Vegeta!Shadow mandate actually exists, since he wasn't all that Vegeta-esque in Forces or even TSR. With all the discussions that have resulted from it, I don't think I've ever seen any proper confirmation that didn't come from the mouth of either Flynn himself, or someone else who coincidentally has a bone to pick with SEGA.

Also, I feel that even before ShtH came along and shoehorned Black Doom Ten Packs a Day Man into it, Shadow's backstory already veered a tad too close to inappropriate territory, namely with the way certain elements were executed. Maria getting capped by the military and Gerald being executed by them is a tad too specific for a franchise like this, compared to if Maria died to her illness, and Gerald blamed G.U.N. for cutting off the funding to his efforts to create a cure.

Sonic: Certain problems that people have with Pontaff!Sonic - namely making jokes when he should be getting serious - have existed long before Colours came along. It's one thing to argue that it became more frequent by that point, but to say it never happened at all in the previous games is pure nostalgic bias. Even Unleashed was guilty of this on more than one occasion.

I also feel that people have been exaggerating how morally grey Sonic actually is. Yes, he's willing to make tough decisions regardless of how he may be judged for them, like in Black Knight. But he's still unambiguously heroic, always striving to do the right thing even when it's not the easy one, and a legitimately nice guy all the same. Occasionally making hard decisions does not automatically make him an anti-hero.

Tails: Fans that say he shouldn't be able to do as much as the big guns (Sonic, Shadow, etc) because he's "just a kid" have been influenced too much by the DBZ era of Sonic. Like it or not, Tails is the Luigi of the franchise, and he deserves to be treated as such. He's proven that he can accomplish just as great achievements as the rest, with or without a super form.

Amy: I acknowledge the importance of Amy's crush on Sonic, but I also find it to be the least interesting aspect of her. I'm much more endeared by her interactions with other characters, her endless optimism, her much-forgotten skill with tarot cards, etc.

Knuckles: I don't think the plot needs to revolve around Angel Island or the Master Emerald to justify Knuckles' appearance, but I DO think you have to be more thoughtful about whether his appearance makes sense beyond "there's a bad guy, go stop them", compared to characters with more freedom like Sonic and Eggman. Otherwise you end up with an '06 situation where he's got nothing to do, and his most triumphant moment is going the wrong direction.

Silver: For the love of god, stop handcuffing Blaze to him. Pretty please?

As well as that, one reason why I've never been all that enthusiastic about Silver is because his entire schtick creates a massive roadblock with no easy solution. This franchise is no stranger to characters with similar hiccups (Knuckles and Angel Island, Blaze and her dimension), but it's taken up to eleven with Silver due to the time travel factor. Do you have him time travel to justify his presence every single time, in order to stop yet another threat that's destroyed his future, thereby making him look like the biggest failure ever? Or do you have him cut out the middle man and stick around in the present, and risk fans complaining about losing what made him unique?

There's a lot of clutter with Silver that I can't be bothered with, and on top of everything else... meh.

[aphrostarot]

Future Self Pick a Pile

What does your future self have to say to you?

Remember that this is a general reading and some things may not apply to you. Do not try and force it to fit. If you would like a personal reading I am currently offering free readings. Dm me if you are interested!

Pile One (Fuchsite):

Who are you currently?

The Chariot:

You are constantly striving to achieve your dreams. Constantly on the move, never stopping for anything. You are extremely strong-willed and fearless. Despite not yet fulfilling all your dreams, you are confident nonetheless.

What does your future self have to thank you for?

Temperance:

Since you are constantly striving for success, you don't have time to strive for happiness. You instead live a life of contentment. This is good. The degrees of happiness fluctuates, but contentment is a state of equilibrium, which means there is less risk of things going wrong. Your future self wants to thank you for this. Your constant state of equilibrium has helped you become who you are meant to be.

What does your future self want you to focus on?

Emperor:

Emperors are in charge, and they are surrounded by people who listen to what they have to say. Your future self says that you need to focus on taking charge and being in control. Your future self is showing me that you are in a position of authority and that you should practice being a boss now in order to improve your leadership skills for the future.

Page of Swords:

The Page of Swords is a signal that someone in your life does not have your best interest at heart. They are spying on you in order to feed the people who do not like you. Your future self wants you to pay attention to this, to concentrate on finding out who it is; if you know who it is then you can either try to free yourself from that person or fix the relationship. Note that this person does not have to be literally in your life; they can also be someone who follows you on social media.

What does your future self want you to cut out?

Ten of Pentacles:

From the energy I feel coming from you, I get the impression that you are a person who, yes, keeps moving toward their dreams of success, but you are also always changing what you view as successful. You never stop to realize that who you are right now is who your past self never dreamed you could be. You need to realize that your future self does not recommend this mindset. It's important to slow down and realize what you've accomplished.

Some advice your future self has for you:

Queen of Wands (reversed):

If the Queen of Wands is reversed, it indicates someone who is demanding, vengeful, jealous, selfish, and a bully. In your life, perhaps you know someone like this, and your future self wants you to let this person go since you know deep down that this person isn't healthy for you and shouldn't be in your life, so now's the time to do so. Some of you don't know who this person is, which means that your future self wants you to know that if you don't heed their advice, you will become this person.

Oracle:

Storm:

Every hurricane has an end, says this card. Your future self is telling you that you should maintain your equilibrium and not stress too much about whether you will succeed or not. If anything bad happens in the future, your future self wants you to know that you will get through anything that comes your way.

Shark:

In this card, the message is that you need to get out of this situation quickly. When you hold the mentality that you are constantly striving for success, you will never allow yourself to slow down and realize that where you are now is what your past self could never have imagined.

Pile Two (Amethyst):

Who are you currently?

Eight of Wands:

Currently, you are highly motivated to achieve your goals, and you aren't afraid of change. You are moving through life very quickly. Your motivation comes from your excitement about what lies ahead. Additionally, you may have noticed that your communication has been much better lately than it has been in the past. You're more motivated to write, post on social media, and respond to emails.

What does your future self have to thank you for?

Queen of Swords:

This Queen doesn’t let anyone walk all over them and everyone around them knows where they stand with them. Those are the qualities that define you. Being an advocate for yourself and making sure you are treated properly are two of your strengths. Your future self wants to thank you for that.

The Lovers:

Given that you know what kind of treatment you deserve, it makes sense that you love yourself. The most important thing is to love yourself. In your eyes, if no one likes you, then it is okay because you love yourself. Because you give yourself that kind of love, you know what kind of love you deserve. Your future self wants to also thank you for that.

What does your future self want you to focus on?

Ace of Cups:

Since you know what kind of love you deserve, you refuse to settle for less which is great, but you have reached a point in your life where you believe no one will ever be what you need, so you have stopped looking. Your future self wants you to start looking again because there is someone out there that will give you the love you deserve. According to the energy I'm receiving from them, you will find someone one day who makes you happy and loves you the way you deserve. They don’t want you to give up on love because you may miss out on this.

What does your future self want you to cut out?

The Sun:

Presently, you think that only you can make yourself happy, and that is not a healthy way to live. Let other people make you happy because that's what your future self wants. It is not necessary for you to be the only one in your life. It is okay to let others in.

The Well:

This goes along with The Sun. Taking care of yourself does not necessarily mean you're the only one doing it. It's okay to let other people into your life. It is okay to let other people care for you.

Some advice your future self has for you:

Eight of Cups:

Your future self wants you to let go of the idea that you only have you in your life and that is how it will always be. They want you to accept others into your life, accept love from others because others can give you the love you deserve it doesn’t have to always be you.

Two of Pentacles:

They want you to have a sense of balance in your life. Although you have been alone for so long and that is what makes you happy, there may still be a part of you that hopes someone will break through your walls and make you happy. The problem is that you never allow anyone into your life, so this never happens. According to your future self, you need to find balance, and the best way to do this is to slowly let people into your life.

Oracle:

Feast:

This card urges you to slow down and enjoy your life. You've been living life so fast and focusing on making yourself happy that you haven't realized how much you have accomplished. You are constantly on the move trying to fill the void that you do not realize how much you have accomplished for yourself. It is important to your future self that you slow down and acknowledge how far you have come.

Escapist:

This card's message is to come home to yourself. You have been running for so long trying to fill your void that you don't even realize where you are now. Take a break from that constant running and recognize that you don't have to fill that void constantly by running, but taking a break can fill it too.

Pile Three (Amazonite):

Who are you currently?

Five of Pentacles:

Currently, you are going through a very dark period. There have been many sudden losses for you, and this has made you very depressed. The last few months have been tough for you and you haven't felt like yourself because of it.

What does your future self have to thank you for?

Seven of Swords:

No matter what you've been through in your life, you've never let it stop you. No matter what happens, you continue to fight and stand your ground. As the card of betrayal, you may have had someone in your life who was not healthy for you, they did not treat you the way you deserved. Your future self wants to thank you for being so strong and overcoming all of your struggles.

What does your future self want you to focus on?

Knight of Wands:

The card of enthusiasm. Although your future self knows that you have endured a lot in your life, they say that now is not the time to give up hope because you will get through this. Your focus should be on finding enthusiasm for your life again, that's what they want.

What does your future self want you to cut out?

Seven of Wands:

The Seven of Wands is the card of fights. Someone in your life is causing you a lot of drama. You should cut this person out of your life, according to your future self. They say they are not healthy for you and that your life will be much better when they are not around.

Some advice your future self has for you:

The Sun:

It's time to find happiness again. The most important thing is to figure out what makes you happy right now and to allow yourself to feel that happiness because yes, you have been through a lot, but that doesn't mean you don't need happiness because you do.

Oracle:

Homeward:

This is the card that tells you to take yourself out on a date. To love yourself in the way that you deserve because you do deserve it. Take care of yourself right now. Do something that makes you happy. Do a self-care night, run a bath or shower, lather yourself up in some nice smelling lotion, and put some comfy clothes on. Watch a movie or tv show that you have always wanted to.

Sun:

The sun can always be painted back into your sky. It is up to you to discover and pursue your own happiness. It is not necessary to live in sadness forever. Remember that good mental health is a journey, not a destination. You can get through this, and there will always be things that make you happy. All you have to do is figure out what they are right now. Finding something new to make you happy will assist, it doesn't need to be what made you happy in the past.

Though tips are not required, they are very much appreciated. Thank you!

Venmo: @ aphrostarot

Paypal: paypal/aphrostarot

[pet-genius]

The Death Eaters as a Cult - Part 2

Follow-up post to this post, exploring the DE dynamics and speculating on how Voldemort got them on his hook. Trigger warning: Cult abuse, I suppose.

The Death Eaters’ behavior at the graveyard reflects what was expected of them during the first war. LV refers to his Death Eaters as his “true family”, and yet:

Then one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled toward Voldemort, and kissed the hem of his black robes.

“Master... Master...” he murmured.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same; each of them approaching Voldemort on his knees and kissing his robes, before backing away and standing up, forming a silent circle, which enclosed Tom Riddle’s grave, Harry, Voldemort, and the sobbing and twitching heap that was Wormtail. Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people.

If this is how anyone in your family has EVER treated you, go to the police. No: Death Eaters were expected to crawl on their knees and to kiss their master’s robe. He had enforced such discipline that they all remembered their place in the circle 13 years later. He expected to be worshiped and humiliated his own people.

He also tortures them, for their failure to try to find him and resurrect him:

“It is a disappointment to me... I confess myself disappointed....”

One of the men suddenly flung himself forward, breaking the circle. Trembling from head to foot, he collapsed at Voldemort’s feet. “Master!” he shrieked, “Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!” Voldemort began to laugh. He raised his wand. “Crucio!”

He also manipulates them:

“Get up, Avery,” said Voldemort softly. “Stand up. You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years... I want thirteen years’ repayment before I forgive you.

Wormtail here has paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?”

He looked down at Wormtail, who continued to sob.

“You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don’t you?”

Why does LV feel that Peter owes him anything? Peter resurrected him. But pleasing LV is impossible. He needs his followers to be driven by loyalty, not fear - they are not even allowed to be self-interested in the sense of wanting not to die. Peter might deserve pain, but one must ask why Voldemort of all people feels this way - Peter never hurt him.

Then, he expects Peter to show gratitude for what he would have had in the first place, had Voldemort not taken it from him: a hand. Peter falls for it:

“Yes, Master,” moaned Wormtail, “please, Master... please...”

“Yet you helped return me to my body,” said Voldemort coolly, watching Wormtail sob on the ground. “Worthless and traitorous as you are, you helped me... and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers....”

[...]

“My Lord,” he whispered. “Master... it is beautiful... thank you... thank you.”

That’s how Voldemort rewards his helpers: He stops the pain he himself inflicted.

These are Death Eaters with obvious vulnerabilities for Voldemort to exploit:

Barty Crouch Jr. has a very dysfunctional relationship with his dad. Sirius: “Crouch’s fatherly affection stretched just far enough to give his son a trial, and by all accounts, it wasn’t much more than an excuse for Crouch to show how much he hated the boy... then he sent him straight to Azkaban”.

Voldemort clearly took advantage of this, played up the parallel between Tom Riddle Sr. and Barty Crouch Sr., and BCJ has clearly come to see him as something of a father figure:

“I will be honored beyond all other Death Eaters. I will be his dearest, his closest supporter... closer than a son....”

[...]

“The Dark Lord and I,” said Moody, and he looked completely insane now, towering over Harry, leering down at him, “have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers... very disappointing indeed. Both of us suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure... the very great pleasure... of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!”

Bellatrix’s vulnerability is obvious: She’s in love with Voldemort. He is constantly toying with her, promising intimacy and reward, but never delivering. He only uses her: Her vault, her duelling skills, her home. It’s interesting that she’s the only female DE outside of Alecto. Perhaps she was insecure about being female, or felt oppressed by her marriage, or perhaps she was failing to live up to her family’s expectation that she make pureblood babies, and Voldemort promised her a future where she’d be free of these constraints.

She’s supposed to be the closest one to him, the one he cares about the most, yet she too fears his wrath. Following the prophecy’s destruction:

“Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!” sobbed Bellatrix, flinging herself down at Voldemort’s feet as he paced slowly nearer.

“Master, you should know —”

“Be quiet, Bella,” said Voldemort dangerously. “I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?”

“But Master — he is here — he is below —”

Voldemort paid no attention.

He really should have paid attention to her warning that Dumbledore was coming. Instead, he threatened her even as she was begging forgiveness for something that was not her fault.

The chapter Spinner’s End shows how giftedVoldemort is at spreading enmity and discord among his followers. Not only do they not all know each other, the ones who do can never conspire against their master, because of the atmosphere of distrust.

“Before I answer you — oh yes, Bellatrix, I am going to answer! You can carry my words back to the others who whisper behind my back, and carry false tales of my treachery to the Dark Lord! Before I answer you, I say, let me ask a question in turn. Do you really think that the Dark Lord has not asked me each and every one of those questions? And do you really think that, had I not been able to give satisfactory answers, I would be sitting here talking to you?”

She hesitated.

“I know he believes you, but...”

“You think he is mistaken? Or that I have somehow hoodwinked him? Fooled the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard, the most accomplished Legilimens the world has ever seen?”

He is accusing Bella of heresy. He has clearly learned a thing or two about manipulation, having spent his entire adult life either under Voldemort or under Dumbledore. He presents himself as selfish for staying with Dumbledore, and he presents Voldemort’s words as gospel: “The Dark Lord does not complain that I stayed, so I do not see why you do.” He also takes pride in being closer to him and more useful:

“But what use have you been?” sneered Bellatrix. “What useful information have we had from you?”

“My information has been conveyed directly to the Dark Lord,” said Snape. “If he chooses not to share it with you —”

“He shares everything with me!” said Bellatrix, firing up at once.

“He calls me his most loyal, his most faithful —”

“Does he?” said Snape, his voice delicately inflected to suggest his disbelief.“Does he still, after the fiasco at the Ministry?”

The master stroke is the subtle insinuation that lowly half-blood Snape is closer to Voldemort than Bellatrix is. This makes her lose what little composure she had, and plays on her insecurity. Her interrogation ends shortly thereafter, and she seems satisfied with explanations that are frankly not very convincing.

“If he has forbidden it, you ought not to speak,” said Snape at once. “The Dark Lord’s word is law.”

Narcissa gasped as though he had doused her with cold water. Bellatrix looked satisfied for the first time since she had entered the house.

“There!” she said triumphantly to her sister. “Even Snape says so: You were told not to talk, so hold your silence!”

Bella is enforcing silence on her sister. This phenomenon exists in real cults too: Members enforce the rules on each other, the leader’s hands are clean.

Bella tells Cissy off for caring whether Draco lives or dies:

“Draco should be proud,” said Bellatrix indifferently. “The Dark Lord is granting him a great honor. And I will say this for Draco: He isn’t shrinking away from his duty, he seems glad of a chance to prove himself, excited at the prospect —”

I think this was LV’s pitch to Bella: She is the one who wanted to prove herself.

Bella is willing to give him so much, and he gives her nothing. Also, twice she claims that it’s a point of pride to be willing to die for the Dark Lord.

In DLA, he is particularly subtly abusive toward her:

“My Lord,” said a dark woman halfway down the table, her voice constricted with emotion, “it is an honor to have you here, in our family’s house. There can be no higher pleasure.”

[...]

Bellatrix leaned toward Voldemort, for mere words could not demonstrate her longing for closeness.

Why is Bellatrix halfway down the table? She has been unfailingly loyal, why is he punishing her with distance? Is he punishing her for being related to Narcissa?

“No higher pleasure,” repeated Voldemort, his head tilted a little to one side as he considered Bellatrix. “That means a great deal, Bellatrix, from you.”

Her face flooded with color; her eyes welled with tears of delight.

“My Lord knows I speak nothing but the truth!”

Look how nice he’s being! Look how happy he makes her! Except this is immediately followed by teasing her about her niece’s marriage:

“No higher pleasure... even compared with the happy event that, I hear, has taken place in your family this week?”

She stared at him, her lips parted, evidently confused.

“I don’t know what you mean, my Lord.”

“I’m talking about your niece, Bellatrix. And yours, Lucius and Narcissa. She has just married the werewolf, Remus Lupin. You must be so proud.”

There was an eruption of jeering laughter from around the table. Many leaned forward to exchange gleeful looks; a few thumped the table with their fists. The great snake, disliking the disturbance, opened its mouth wide and hissed angrily, but the Death Eaters did not hear it, so jubilant were they at Bellatrix and the Malfoys’ humiliation. Bellatrix’s face, so recently flushed with happiness, had turned an ugly, blotchy red.

He is punishing with humiliation. Lucius screwed up the mission at the DOM and Draco didn’t kill Dumbledore, but what did Bella do? Nobody is safe. Instead of resenting the way she is treated, Bellatrix demonstrates her fanaticism:

“She is no niece of ours, my Lord,” she cried over the outpouring of mirth. “We — Narcissa and I — have never set eyes on our sister since she married the Mudblood. This brat has nothing to do with either of us, nor any beast she marries.”

[...]

“Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time,” he said as Bellatrix gazed at him, breathless and imploring.

“You must prune yours, must you not, to keep it healthy? Cut away those parts that threaten the health of the rest.”

“Yes, my Lord,” whispered Bellatrix, and her eyes swam with tears of gratitude again. “At the first chance!”

“You shall have it,” said Voldemort. “And in your family, so in the world... we shall cut away the canker that infects us until only those of the true blood remain....”

Bella does not needanyone (a half-blood!) to teach her she must keep her family tree pure. She clearly doesn’t know crucial things about Tom Riddle, or is in denial. This is the same Bellatrix who killed her own cousin, so she is very capable of “pruning” her own family tree.

At the Malfoy Manor:

“Gold!” laughed Bellatrix, still attempting to throw off her brother-in-law, her free hand groping in her pocket for her wand. “Take your gold, filthy scavenger, what do I want with gold? I seek only the honor of his — of —”

She stopped struggling, her dark eyes fixed upon something Harry could not see. Jubilant at her capitulation, Lucius threw her hand from him and ripped up his own sleeve —

“STOP!” shrieked Bellatrix. “Do not touch it, we shall all perish if the Dark Lord comes now!”

She seeks only the honor of his [something], but she is scared to death of him. She will kill for him and die for him, but she is keenly aware of the possibility that he might kill her - yet she loves him. She is a true believer - without him, she is nothing, and her devotion controls her every interaction. In her defense, he does not let others kill her, at least - he saves her at the end of the battle at the Department of Mysteries and seems upset when she dies.

Bellatrix thinks independently once: She doesn’t trust Snape, even though her master does. This is not so odd - the half-blood appears to be undermining her, to have aspirations to griw even closer to Voldemort than her - her jealousy and insecurity override how brainwashed she is. The dynamic between the Black sisters exemplifies the way cults drive wedges between family members - not that the Black family needed any help with that.

Peter’s vulnerability is obvious: His own friends think he’s worthless. He clearly isn’t - he became an animagus too, and he tricked Sirius, kill 12 Muggles with a single curse, and perform the tasks to revive Voldemort - but Voldemort exploited Peter’s insecurity, and even whatever guilt Peter had felt at betraying his friends. Sirius says Peter always sought the protection of the biggest bully. His “uselessness” was the express reason Sirius switched with Peter - obviously, someone like that could never be pegged for a potential spy. Voldemort must have made Peter feel valuable, like there was something only Peter could do - and when Peter’s choices ran out, he showed Peter his true colors.

We’ve seen how LV treated Peter at the resurrection ceremony. We also have the way he bossed him around in the first chapter of GOF, and that he forced Peter to work as Snape’s “assistant”, as seen in Spinner’s End. Sending Peter to work for Snivellus was brilliantly cruel - Peter must have viewed this as the height of humiliation.

In Dark Lord Ascending, he is shrinking himself to near non-existence:

“Yes, m-my Lord,” gasped a small man halfway down the table, who had been sitting so low in his chair that it had appeared, at first glance, to be unoccupied. Now he scrambled from his seat and scurried from the room, leaving nothing behind him but a curious gleam of silver.

In part 3 - Draco, Regulus, Snape, Lucius, general dynamics, and more speculations!