#ALSO YOURE WELCOME EVERYBODY!!!!!!!! YOURE WELCOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I MANIFESTED THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[specialagentartemis]

Black Women writing SFF

The post about Octavia Butler also made me think about the injustice we do both Butler, SFF readers, and Black women SFF writers by holding her up as the one Black Woman Writing Sci-Fi. She occupies an important place in the genre, for her creativity, the beauty and impact of her writing, and her prolific work... but she's still just one writer, and no one writer works for everybody.

So whether you liked Octavia Butler's books or didn't, here are some of the (many!!! this list is just the authors I've read and liked, or been recommended and been wanting to read) other Black women writing speculative fiction aimed at adults, who might be writing something within your interest:

N. K. Jemisin - a prolific powerhouse of modern sff. Will probably have something you'll like. Won three Hugo awards in a row for her Broken Earth trilogy. I’ve only read her book of short stories, How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? and it is absolutely story after story of bangers. Creative, chilling, beautifully written, make you think. They’re so good and I highly recommend the collection. Several of her novels have spun out of premises she first explored through these short stories, most recently “The City Born Great” giving rise to her novel The City We Became. Leans more fantasy than sci-fi, but has a lot of both, in various permutations. 

Nisi Shawl - EDIT: I have been informed that Nisi Shawl identifies as genderfluid, not as a woman. They primarily write short stories that lean literary. Their one novel that I’ve read, Everfair, is an alternate-history 19th century that asks, what if the Congo had fought off European colonization and became a free and independent African state? Told in vignettes spanning decades of political organization, political movements, war tactics, and social development, among an ensemble of local African people, Black Americans coming to the new country, white and mixed-race Brits, and Chinese immigrants who came as British laborers.

Nnedi Okorafor - American-Nigerian writer of Africanfuturism, sci-fi stories emphasizing life in present, future, and alternate-magical Africa. She has range! From Binti, a trilogy of novellas about a teenage girl in Namibia encountering aliens and balancing her newfound connection to space with expectations of her family; to Akata Witch, a middle-grade series about a Nigerian-American girl moving to Nigeria and learning to use magic powers she didn’t know she had; to Who Fears Death, a brutal depiction of magical-realism in a futuristic, post-war Sudan; to short stories like "Africanfuturism 419", about that poor Nigerian prince who’s desperately sending out those emails looking for help (but with a sci-fi twist), and "Mother of Invention" about a smart house taking care of its human and her baby… she’s done a little bit of everything, but always emphasizes the future, the science, and the magic of (usually western) Africa.

Karen Lord - an Afro-Caribbean author.  I actually didn’t particularly like the one novel by her I’ve read, The Best of All Possible Worlds, but Martha Wells did, so. Lord has more novels set in this world—a Star Trek-esque multicultural, multispecies spacefuture set on a planet that has welcomed immigrants and refugees for a long time, and become a vibrant multicultural planet. I find her stories rooted in near-future Caribbean socio-climatic concerns like "Haven" and "Cities of the Sun" and her folktale-fantasy style Redemption in Indigo more compelling.  And more short stories here.

Bethany C. Morrow - only has one novella (short novel?) for adults, Mem, but it was creative and fascinating and good and I’d be remiss not to shout it out. In an alternate-history 1920s Toronto, scientists have discovered how to extract specific memories from a person—but then those memories are embodied as physical, cloned manifestations of the person at the moment the memory was made. The main character is one such “Mem,” struggling to determine who she is if she was created from and defined by one single traumatic memory that her original-self wanted to remove. It’s mostly quiet, contemplative, and very interesting.  (Morrow has some YA novels too. I read one of them and thought it was okay.)

Rebecca Roanhorse - Afro-Indigenous, Black and "Spanish Indian" and married into Diné (Navajo). I’ve read her ongoing post-apocalyptic fantasy series starting with Trail of Lightning, and am liking it a lot; after a climate catastrophe, the spirits and magic of the Diné awakened to protect Dinetah (the Navajo Nation) from the onslaught; and now magic and monsters are part of life in this fundamentally changed world. Coyote is there and he is only sometimes helpful. She also has a more traditional second-world epic high fantasy, Black Sun, an elaborate fantasy world with quests and prophecies and seafaring adventure that draws inspiration from Indigenous cultures of the US and Mexico rather than Europe. She also has bitingly satirical and very incisive short stories like “Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience” about virtual reality and cultural tourism, and the fantasy-horror "Harvest."

Micaiah Johnson - her multiverse-hopping novel The Space Between Worlds plays with alternate universes and alternate selves in a continuously creative and interesting way! The setup doesn’t take the easy premise that one universe is our own recognizable one that opens up onto strange alternate universes—even the main character’s home universe is wildly different in speculative ways, with the MC coming from a Mad Max-esque desert community abandoned to the elements, while working for the universe-travel company within the climate-controlled walled city where the rich and well-connected live and work. Also, it’s unabashedly gay. 

And if you like audiobooks and audio fiction (I listened to The Space Between Worlds as an audiobook, it’s good), then Jordan Cobb is someone you should check out. She does sci-fi/horror/thriller audio drama. Her works include Janus Descending, a lyrical and eerie sci-fi horror about a small research expedition to a distant planet and how it went so, so wrong; and Descendants, the sequel about its aftermath. She also has Primordial Deep, about a research expedition to the deep undersea, to investigate the apparent re-emergence of a lot of extinct prehistoric sea creatures. She’s a writer/producer I like, and always follow her new releases. Her detailed prose, minimal casts  (especially in Janus Descending), good audio quality, and full-series supercuts make these welcoming to audiobook fans. 

-

Nalo Hopkinson - a writer who should be considered nearly as foundational as Octavia Butler, honestly. A novelist and short story writer with a wide variety of sci-fi, dystopian futures, fairy-tale horror, gods and epics, and space Carnival, drawing heavily from her Caribbean experiences and aesthetics.

Tananarive Due - fantastical/horror. Immortals, vampires, curses, altered reality, unnerving mystery. Also has written a lot of books.

Andrea Hairston - creative and otherworldly, weird and bisexual, with mindscapes and magic and aliens. 

Helen Oyeyemi - I haven’t read her work but she comes highly recommended by a friend. A novelist and short story writer, most of her work leans fairytale fantastical-horror. What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is a collection of short fiction and recc’ed to me as her best work. White is for Witching is a well-regarded haunted house novel. 

Ashia Monet - indie author, writer of The Black Veins, pitched as “the no-love-interest, found family adventure you’ve been searching for.” Magic road trip! Possibly YA? I’m not positive. 

-

This also doesn’t include Black non-binary sff authors I’ve read and liked like An Owomoyela, C. L. Polk, and Rivers Solomon. And this is specifically about adult sff books, so I didn’t include Black women YA sff authors like Kalynn Bayron, Tomi Adeyemi, Tracy Deonn, Justina Ireland, or Alechia Dow, though they’re writing fantasy and sci-fi in the YA world too.

And a lot of short stories are out there in the online magazine world, where so many up and coming authors get their start, and established ones explore offbeat and new ideas.  Pick up an issue (or a subscription!) of FIYAH magazine for the most current Black speculative writing.

#books #book recs #science fiction

[sapphic-gardn]

Willow | joel miller x f!reader | pt. 1

part 2

Summary: When you arrived in Jackson at the age of eighteen, you found a place to rest your mind and live comfortably while keeping to yourself. Five years later, Tommy Miller’s brother arrives and finds a way to get right under your skin.

(no physical description of reader, no use of y/n, enemies to lovers type beat)

Warnings (18+ mdni): mentions of loss/grief, swearing, age gap (reader is 23 Joel is in his 50s), angst, mutual pining kinda?, no physical description of reader, will specify with each chapter

Word count: 1.3k

a/n: Hi guys! This is the first part to my first ever Joel Miller fic. AHHH!! I’m so nervous but I am also really excited. I have planned this out for awhile and I just hope it manifests into something you all can enjoy. This first part is short but it’s kind of a prologue so you get a feel of Joel and reader’s dynamic. Let me know what you think <3 I’m shaking in my boots as I’m posting this

(The title is based off of Taylor Swift’s song Willow. I was listening to it while I wrote this. I just adore her sm)

credit to @cafekitsune for the cutie divider <3

Your cheeks stung as the bitter breeze swept across the dense forest just outside of Jackson. You tugged your heavy coat a little tighter to your chest as your horse trotted over the rough terrain.

“‘S that alright with ya?” Your patrol partner’s voice reeled you back in from your daze.

“Sorry, uh, what did you say, Tommy?” He let out a dry chuckle and you noted his look of amusement before directing your gaze ahead of you once again.

“I’m gonna be helpin’ Maria out with the baby for a few weeks. Gonna have you patrollin’ with Joel for awhile. Alright with you?” Tommy repeated himself with a huff.

Your eyes went wide and you snapped your head to the right where Tommy swayed on his horse and looked back at you with slight desperation.

“Joel?” You cleared your throat and quickly averted your eyes to the trail ahead, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

No no no. That is not fine. Joel? Joel fucking Miller who you have a big fat embarrassing crush on? Joel Miller who is old enough to be your father? The man who only speaks in grunts and groans? Please, let this be some twisted fucking dream.

Tommy sighed in relief, “I’m glad to hear it. Listen, I know you two are barely acquainted—haven’t said more ‘n two words to each other—but he’s good. He won’t give ya a hard time.”

A feeling of unease settled in your gut as you prepared yourself for humiliation on your next patrol with Joel fucking Miller.

Your life before Jackson was not glorious in any way. The bouts of starvation and taking shelter in abandoned homes had you convinced you were going to die alone sooner rather than later. That is, until Maria found you. Doe eyed and shrunken into a fetal position in a dark corner of a crumbling cabin.

It was surreal when you first arrived five years ago. Barely eighteen, grieving the loss of your parents, taking in the settlement before you. Life in Jackson was so peaceful despite the chaos that surrounded its walls.

Maria carved out a place for you in the community. She placed you in a little cottage a few houses down from her and Tommy. You were assigned to different jobs around the commune before discovering your strong suit was gardening. It was beyond anything you could’ve hoped for—a home.

You mostly kept to yourself. Everybody was so kind and welcoming but with the state of the world and the recent loss of your parents, it was easier to create a barrier. Your trust was sparse and only extended as far as Tommy and Maria. There was always something missing, though. Someone missing. And then, Joel Miller showed up five years later.

When you first met Joel, it was through Tommy’s efforts. You had been in the garden, harvesting vegetables when Tommy called out your name, “I want ya to meet my brother, Joel, he’ll be livin’ right next door to you. Thought it’d be best to introduce y’all.”

When you turned around, your breath hitched at the sight of him. Tousled gray hair framing his stoic expression complimented with deep brown eyes that looked right through you.

Joel grumbled something that sounded like a greeting, ignoring your outstretched hand in front of him.

“A man of few words, I guess.” You let out a humorless chuckle and placed your hand on your hip. Joel just walked away in response to your commentary. Asshole.

“Don’t take it personal. He’s like that with everyone.” Tommy ran a hand through his hair and sighed, “Alright, I’ll let ya get back to it, then. See you tomorrow at the stables. Patrol at 7 a.m. sharp, miss.” You nodded in affirmative and waved him goodbye.

The rest of the day was spent distracted by thoughts of Joel occupying your brain. What was his problem? Why didn’t he say anything to you? Did he always wear that scowl on his face? That damned gorgeous face.

The following month you had successfully dodged Joel like the plague. Sure, you wanted to see him but avoiding another interaction with him was a top priority. And you were happy with that. You could yearn from a distance—or so you thought.

You were tossing and turning in your bed unable to slow your heart rate. In the morning, you were to meet Joel at the stables for patrol. Fuck. The anticipation was unbearable. How would you act around him? No one has ever gotten to you like he has. What if you say something stupid? What if he doesn’t say anything at all?

You don’t know what time it was when you finally got some shut eye but you were awoken from your sleep by the sound of pounding on your front door. You looked at your watch and cursed under your breath. You shuffled to your front door, too blanketed in sleep to care that you had on a tank top that left barely anything to the imagination.

“I ain’t waiting all damn day!” You heard the gruff voice call out from the other side of the door before you swung it open. You were confronted with none other than Joel Miller. He took in your appearance and his look of anger momentarily turned into a look of bashfulness. Joel cleared his throat and looked down at his worn boots.

“Aren’t you just sunshine? Look, I’m sorry. I slept like shit and didn’t wake up to my alarm. Give me a few minutes, I’ll be right out.” You were rattled but didn’t let your expression show it.

Before you could retreat, Joel spoke up once more, “Five minutes ‘s all I’m givin’ ya. Hurry it up, little girl.” With that, you slammed the door in his face.

You swear that was the fastest you’d ever gotten ready in your life. Before leaving, you gave yourself a once over in the bathroom mirror—you looked far from pristine but at least your breath smelled fresh and your jeans fit just right.

As you stepped out the door, you eluded eye contact with Joel. And with a grunt, you both descended your front steps to walk to the stables.

The walk was silent for the first few minutes until you decided to speak up, “I’m not a little girl, y’know. Don’t fuckin’ call me that.” Sure, you were young, but he had no idea what you were capable of. Anger and embarrassment started bubbling up in your throat.

Joel just chuckled and quirked an eyebrow at you. It bothered you that he didn’t say anything back, but you just pushed it aside and started walking ahead of him. You had quite the mouth on you and it stirred something inside of Joel. You were a willing opponent fighting to put him in his place.

At the stables, you and Joel barely exchanged words, all of which consisted of double checking supplies and grumbles of confirmation before heading out.

Once both of you made it about a mile out of the gates, Joel began thinking of what to say to you. He was content with silence, he liked his solitude—but when it came to you, curiosity got the best of him.

“So—“ Joel started but you were quick to cut him off.

“Don’t have to say anything to me. Next few weeks’ll be painless if you keep to yourself and I do the same.” You kept your eyes ahead as you spoke. If you looked at him, your cold facade would simply melt under his gaze.

Joel didn’t try to rebuke. He figured it was best to keep you at arms length. A woman like you was nothing but trouble for an old man like him. But how he craved to know what was going on in that pretty little head of yours.

a/n: I hope you like it so far! I am working on the next part already. Let me know your thoughts :) love you -Jen 🤓

Taglist: @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @alejaa-a @cool-iguana @littleshadow17 @planet-marz1 @alyhull

#joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller x you #joel miller #joel miller x reader #joel miller apologist #jenispunk #joel miller x female reader #joel miller the last of us

[punkpandapatrixk]

🐶The Moon’s Message to Your Inner Child ♦︎ Timeless Pick A Card

This PAC is in collaboration with @faerytreealtars and her part of the PAC covers a message from the Sun🌞Check out her PAC to get a full circle reading~🍃😉

["Wisdom from the Sun" – how to reach your divine self]

‘Do you like to draw with crayons? I’m not very good at it. But it doesn’t matter. It’s the fun of doing it that’s important. Now, I wouldn’t have made that if I’d just thought about it. No matter how anybody says it is, it feels good to have made something. The best thing is that each person’s would be different. In a way, you’ve already won in this world. Because you’re the only one who can be you. And that’s the way it’s supposed to be.’ – Mr Rogers

SONG: Take Me by Miso

MOVIE: Finding Neverland (2004) & Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

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Pile 1 – Kinder and Kinder to Your Younger Self

VIBE: BAD MODE by Utada Hikaru

your heart’s secret desires – XIX The Sun

You are actually somebody who believes deeply in world peace. You desperately want to see the world become a sweetly welcoming place for all, especially children and animals. You have a belief that children and animals are so deserving of gentleness and safety. But you often forget that all adults are just as deserving of the same kindness we bestow children and cute animals.

At some point if Life, you grew up and became tough. I think you thought that you needed to become so. I think your environment made you believe it was important to become so tough the world you wouldn’t beat you to it. You’ve experienced quite a bit of hardships, too, so it was rather easy to fall prey to this cruel notion that adults must all toughen up.

‘If you’re tough with yourself, the world will be gentle with you.’ ??

Though it may seem like those words contain so much practical wisdom, deep down, your heart is terribly disturbed by it. There’s just something that’s not quite right about it. If everybody is hard on themselves… how can anybody be gentle with someone else?

in your element – 2 of Swords

Irrespective of what your Moon Sign is or where in your natal chart it is placed, you’re technically not a person who wants to toughen up. I think you’re a deeply sensitive Soul who still believes that patience and compassion can solve many of the world’s problems. Because in fact, your Higher Heart knows this to be true. You’re somebody who can make real compromises to accommodate the needs of others and you’re genuinely capable of real charity because you’re the type that tries to understand wholeheartedly where somebody else is coming from.

When you help others, you do so with their best interest at heart and you don’t even expect anything in return. When you are useful to other people, when your existence can improve other people’s life situations, you feel most like yourself. All that you hope for is that people are at minimum grateful because when people are grateful, they’re really only increasing their own ability to manifest even more ease and abundance. You’re not even expecting them to be grateful to you. My goodness, you must be God🤩

But uhm… You sure, honey, you’re not compromising way too much because you’re also somewhat people pleasing for a lack of gentleness in your childhood?

making dreams a Reality – V The Hierophant

See, The Sun is no.19 in the Major Arcana; that reduces to 10. The Hierophant is no.5 and this is telling me that you’re about halfway to manifesting all your dreams of ease and world peace. The half of your manifestation is already stored in your Higher Heart and you have nothing to worry about it. What you do need to focus on is learning to be kinder and gentler with your own younger self. You’re so kind and accommodating to others but often forget that you need tender care yourself.

There’s a possibility that you grew up with stern adults who didn’t know how to be gentle with children. You grew up being a victim to this kind of behaviour so you overcompensate by being overly nice to others because you don’t want to become like them. But you’re still hard on yourself because this is like already programmed in your subconscious, and if you notice, you have a tendency to also be quite stern with those closest to you. And wow… that often kinda gets messy.

Can you imagine if you became a parent yourself? You could become a perpetrator of a cycle of old people pointing fingers at young people who are still trying to figure out their place in the world. I don’t think you’d be happy with yourself in your older years when you realise you haven’t broken this pattern yourself. I believe you’re someone who wants to leave a legacy of a more peaceful nature🍂It begins by creating a new world by creating a new you, after forgiving yourself for past mistakes you made when you didn’t yet know so much🍃

INNER ALCHEMY🔻❤️

balancing logic and emotions – Silver Astrologer (John Dee)

speaking with conviction – Priestess of Inspiration

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Pile 2 – Baby Venus, You Came Here to Beautify This World

VIBE: Forever by aespa

your heart’s secret desires – Ace of Cups

You are for sure a Lightworker. Maybe even a Starseed. Or something of a cosmic mystic. Could also be from the faery or elven realm. The point is, your Soul is deeply connected to a realm other than this Earth we perceive consciously right now. That makes your heart EXTRA pure and sparkly because the essence of your being is more refined, baby!

What does it even mean to be Human? Often you don’t have an answer to that. Only thing is, a lot of things about common human conducts that seem to denote their humanness don’t seem all too humane for you. It’s like you’re wondering, ‘If these are the traits that make people Human… then what am I? Because I certainly am not that harsh, deceitful, destructive, or whatever else!’

You have a strong morality about you and you should damn well honour this. The Human world is ugly, indeed, and from your place of beauty, your Soul volunteered to be born here to teach Humans about beauty. Beauty is nice. Beauty is good. Beauty elevates the Human Spirit and if only more people would open themselves to the possibilities, surely everyone would be a lot happier than they are now.

That’s your philosophy, more or less✨🪷

in your element – VI The Lovers Rx

You may resonate to a large extent with being an activist of sort. Whether or not you call yourself an activist or are involved in any real activist project, you know deep down that you’ve always been an activist before even knowing such a term exists. You want to fight for something good in this world. You want to bring an end to all these uncomfortable things that you are witnessing being perpetuated in the Human world. Problem is…

It's been quite hard for you to find people who are on the same bandwidth of frequency as yourself. I think you have a lifelong mission to find your Soul Tribe whilst being incarnate on Earth. I mean, your kind is far and between, honey. It may take some time to find each other and unite for a good cause.

Although you may feel misunderstood and lonely from time to time, the way I see it, you could view this whole journey to finding kindred spirits as a wholesome adventure story. Like a fairy tale, you know. After all, you are a faery. Your Life Story has a purpose to beautify the human spirit later when all’s weaved together to create a grander story with your kindred spirits. It’s all written in the stars already, so might as well enjoy the story writing itself from now🧚🏻‍♀️

making dreams a Reality – II The High Priestess

For you really aren’t of this world, I sense that you actually possess some kind of a superpower. Sure, others might think you’re a weirdo (even a freak for some of you) and that your interests and hobbies are strange and taboo. But what do they know? These mortals are prisoners of their own fake realities.

Since you were a kid, you’ve always known there are holes within this perceived reality and somehow, you’ve always believed there are ways you can bend reality with thought alone. You kinda just didn’t know exactly how that works, you just know it. Like breathing—unless you’ve studied biology, you wouldn’t know how to explain how breathing works but you just know that it happens and how it feels. Something like that.

Your connection to your personal spirituality, your personal occult practices, and everything else of that nature, holds the key to making your Divine Dreams a part of this mortal reality. It’s a beautiful process that only you can experience in your own divine ways, so I can’t tell you what to do exactly to manifest your Destiny. You’ve just gotta keep going at what you know to be your truth🧜🏻‍♀️

And the truth is, you are a magical being who doesn’t even play in the same dimension as the mortals😉Keep doing your magical shit!

INNER ALCHEMY🔻💗

balancing logic and emotions – Silver Astronomer (Galileo Galilei)

speaking with conviction – Priestess of Illumination

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

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Pile 3 – Don’t Kill Your Dreams No Matter How Wild

VIBE: Anata (Darling) by Utada Hikaru

your heart’s secret desires – 5 of Cups

Hellow, wildchild. It seems you’ve been through quite a bit in Life. There was something in your childhood that erupted in ways your child mind couldn’t have anticipated and it broke you emotionally and spiritually. You’re a pretty logical person, actually, so there’s a part of you that’s been wishing you could get over this heartache. But it hasn’t been easy, at all.

The reason for that is that you care too much. Because you’re incredibly sensitive and kind, you couldn’t help but care. Your heart gets easily disturbed by any small distortion you perceive in this Matrix Reality. You have spidey senses for this kind of thing. Your inner world is so expansive and this is partly why you always feel like you want to help. You want justice to win over evil.

You tend to feel like you’re the one who has to be strong and prove everything to everyone. Not only are you helpful, but you’re truly heroic! That’s how I see it😎The problematic thing is… human beings are not exactly a grateful bunch, so… Maybe being so helpful and heroic isn’t always the best way to nurture your Soul whilst living in this human world?

in your element – Page of Wands Rx

I’m not saying you should stop caring and become a coldhearted bitch. But perhaps posing to be one is a good strategy to preserve your sanity?😜The truth of the matter is that you’re really too precious for this world. You know when people say, ‘We don’t deserve this man or woman or dog or cat.’ You’re exactly like that.

Your passion for making the world a better place is often used against you. I’m kind of thinking of someone like Elon Musk in your case. He was bullied badly at school, but look what he’s doing now. He’s making attempts to improve the lives of everybody that even those bullies are bound to benefit from his passionate work. The haters today are probably gonna benefit just the same, right?

Well, I’m a coldhearted bitch, so my petty view is that these losers don’t deserve to benefit from the works of Elon Musk LMAO But what do you think of yourself? I know that in this lifetime you are going to make great leaps that will improve the lives of those you care about. But what about your heart? Will you be able to forgive those who have made hell out of your Life? Or will you become a vengeful barbie bitch who shows them the door to hell of their own making?

It’s up to you and it should be a very exciting spectacle to anticipate👻

making dreams a Reality – XII The Hanged Man Rx

The Hanged Man is a card that has some relations to The Lovers (to think you even get the Priestess of Love for the bonus content🤯). The Hanged Man often talks about compromises and sacrifices. It’s like, when you love and care so much you’re bound to make sacrifices because the world is far from utopian. In an ideal world we wouldn’t have to hurt just to manifest blessings and abundance, for ourselves or everybody else. But… this is what we have, so…

But although this world is messy and hurtful, it wouldn’t be wise for you to reduce the brilliance of your dreams just to avoid heartache or disappointments. You’re avantgarde; not that many people can see the value of what you wish to achieve with your talents. Never kowtow to the convention. Although you’re helpful and a very pleasant person to be around, you’ve got your own big dreams that are needed by the community. I think you just haven’t allowed yourself to fully embrace this idea.

Know that you’re supported by the cosmos in pursuing to improve what you know to be your true talents. One day, the world will be so grateful that you never gave up on your Light. But when that day comes, what’s your care? Gratitude is the least of your concerns. Basically you just want to live on your own terms and create magical pathways for the world to enter into🌏Whilst at it, might as well do whatever you like🌞

INNER ALCHEMY🔻🧡

balancing logic and emotions – Gold Historian (Raphael Holinshed)

speaking with conviction – Priestess of Love

Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸

☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.

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#Punk Panda Pick A Pic #pick a card #pick a card reading #tarot pick a card #pac #pac reading #tarot pac #inner child #mental health #spiritualhealing #mindset #positivity #productivity #artists on tumblr #astroblr #tarotblr #writblr #witchblr #witchythings #future spouse

[misty-howler]

Your Next 3 Months... (Timeless)

Hello everybody 🌸 Welcome to another Pick a card reading. This is an old pac I did on my lost and forgotten account @luminarygirl (R.I.P) but my heartiest thanks to @pyramerex for retrieving a few of my posts. I really love you for what you have done for me. Thank you ❤️

DISCLAIMER : All my Readings are for entertainment purposes only and it is a general reading so it may or may not resonate.

I hope you enjoy your time here:) Please choose your pile intuitively...



Pile 1

Cards : The fool; The magician and nine of swords

First Month : The Fool

I see that you will be, in this month, embarking on something new. It could be honestly anything as it is a general reading it could be someone new entering your life or you moving out of your house or you just going to visit some place you have never been before. That is the main highlight of the month for you. Whatever it is there is this feeling of newness. Some of you could even be starting up your own business whatever it is. It has something to do with taking risk and the universe is telling you that take this risk. Take the leap of faith as everything will turn into your favour at the end of the day. In short a new beginning is coming to you.

Second Month : The Magician

In the second month, you are manifesting your dreams into reality and the universe is saying keep going and dream big because I see your manifestations coming true due to the willpower and hard work you are putting. Mostly in the second month you will be manifesting what you want from the universe in this new journey of yours.

Third Month : Nine of swords

In the third month you might have sleeping problems and maybe something went wrong and you are worrying about it. The person in the card looks like they just woke up in the middle of the night due to something uncomforting so it is possible that you might have nightmares about something. Mostly I see that there is some person or people who are holding you back trying to tell you that your life is more negative than positive. Don't listen to these people because the first two month are so beautiful. So, just take some time alone sit with yourself and think what you are doing is wrong or right according to you.

Pile 2

Cards : nine of wands;seven of wands and the lovers.

First Month : Nine of Wands

In the first month I see that you might fear the future. overthink it a lot like what is gonna happen? it is going to work out or not? am I gonna get this grade? or will I get into this university? but worrying about future doesn't help. I mean you can't just predict it accurately no matter what. So why to worry about it. You know universe will never give you something that you can't deal with. Enjoy the moment you are in and don't worry about the future. We have daydreamers here as well it is good to daydream but not all the time you have to see the reality and you have to be in this world as well. Be careful and step out of your comfy bubble.

Second Month : Seven of wands

You started something new in the second month it could be a new business or you just started a new job or a new hobby it could be anything. Do you expect it to grow fast and just explode with whatever it requires that is not how it works you have to be patient with the universe You can manifest it but you have to give some time it just can't overflow and happen within a night. I know this could be overwhelming but don't get discouraged take a small break and start again it would help.

Third Month : The lovers

Do I even have to explain it but for this pile I see it is more of like something related to your career it could also be that you are coming into a new relationship which is very passionate right off the bat but for some of you it is also possible that the new business you started is growing because now you are passionate about it. you know the worth of what you are doing and that is the reason it is growing. It only doesn't have to be a business maybe a hobby or a project.

Pile 3

Cards : Wheel of fortune;the world and justice.

First of all you got all three major arcanas. So it is possible that these three months hold a lot of importance in your life. Be careful although I don't see anything going wrong here but still.

First Month : Wheel of fortune

Life is about to get exciting. There are some big changes coming your way. Whatever you have been asking for from the universe it is being manifested in a positive way. I see you getting so many opportunities in this first month. So, I can't predict everything but all I have to say is stay flexible and till the time you are flexible everything will turn out in your favour.

Second Month : The world

Sheesh. So much positivity. your second month is gonna go brilliant you are on the right track and your spirit guides are asking you to keep going. I see you are gonna enter a new cycle of your life and a wish is gonna get fulfilled. There might be some travel involved maybe you are going overseas or just changing City or you are going on a vacation is also possible. But everything is going great for you pile 3.

Third Month : Justice

Now in the third month you guys might get a little dreamy. This card is warning you to stay balanced and I see that there might be some problem maybe in your friend circle or in your family where you will be asked for your opinion. So don't rush with the decision listen to both the parties and try to understand the feelings and everything weight other people's opinions with the opinions you have. You can take help of someone who is older than you. Everything will work out if you have good faith and you genuinely would want the problem to solve the problem then the lady justice will reward you with a solution.

Pile 4



Cards : three of cups; the Empress and king of cups.

First Month : Three of cups

I am seeing that you will take a break from your work life because a balance between personal and professional life is very important and you understand that. It is possible that you will run into an old friend whom you have not met since ages. Maybe you are gonna go to a party or a wedding or reunion where you are gonna meet new people, old people, so many people and that is the highlight of your first month.

Second Month : The Empress

In the second month thier are definitely some pleasures coming your way. And you are about to manifest your desires. I see good fortune coming your way. The Empress is that one card which represents abundance in all fields. There might be a news of pregnancy in the second month it doesn't have to be you it could be someone who is close to you as well. Things are about to get good in second month.

Third Month : King of Cups

Pile 4 in the third month you will be looking for someone who can help you. probably someone older than you maybe in your assignments or in your project. Because maybe you are lacking behind of the break you took. I see you having a happy and balanced life after you have find this person. Now it is not necessary that this person is someone new. It could be your old friend or maybe a relative or a senior it has to be someone who can help you.

I hope you enjoyed the reading:)

🔗 To The Masterlist

#tarot #personal reading #masterlist #personal #tarot deck #tarotcommunity #tarot cards #free readings #ask games #astrology #pac #pacs #pick a card #next 3 months #free tarot #tarot online

[starsandhughes]

Penalty Box— Trevor Zegras (Part Five)

SERIES MASTERLIST

previous: four

next: six

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023

PREGAME

yourusername

liked by anaheimducks, trevorzegras, and 7,486 others

yourusername welcome to my pregame penalty box update! the star of my show and world— trevor zegras— is currently at 2 games without a penalty! on february 20th, when he reached one game, he said “i’ll make it to three out of spite” to none other than quinn hughes. let’s see if he can do it! (ps good luck huggy and jacky boy!) #FlyTogether

tagged trevorzegras, and anaheimducks

view all 562 comments

trevorzegras oh i’ll do it

_quinnhughes bold claim from someone only at 2 straight games

yourusername @_quinnhughes you just want the win the bet huggy!! you got this z-baby!!

_quinnhughes thank you for the good luck y/n/n💙

trevorzegras get that blue heart out of here this is a ducks post

_quinnhughes @/trevorzegras she wished us good luck!

jackhughes❤️🖤❤️

_quinnhughes💙💚💙

yourusername sometimes i question if i actually love you guys (you’re welcome quinner)

user1 me and my friends also started a bet! i’m betting on you Z!!

jackhughes @/trevorzegras i’m rooting for you, z!! and thanks for the good luck y/n/n <3

jamie.drysdale your bet says otherwise

trevorzegras is anybody but y/n betting on me?

lhughes_06 @/trevorzegras i am don’t worry

yourusername ignoring their shenanigans- you’re welcome jacky boy <3

user2 i might love y/n’s posts more than the actual game

anaheimducks he can do it! #FlyTogether

jamie.drysdale betting on our baby boy!

yourusername big night for him!!

trevorzegras 🙄

POSTGAME

yourusername

liked by trevorzegras, _quinnhughes, and 7,924 others

yourusername BREAKING NEWS (brought to you by a very drunk y/n): my boyfriend TREVOR “Z” ZEGRAS has made it to 3 GAMES WITHOUT A PENALTY!!! he has spited quinn “huggy bear” hughes!! AND the ducks won 4-2!! AND there were 2 fights!! what a game!!

bet winners: me👸, jimmy6️⃣, and lukey moosey〽️!

bet losers: huggy🧸, jacky boy😈, and alex👑

(last photo is of quinn obviously crying because he got spited obviously)

tagged trevorzegras and anaheimducks

view all 368 comments

trevorzegras HELL YEAH

yourusername scrapbook moment! i love you, always, and am so proud of you!!!

trevorzegras i love you, forever

_quinnhughes how do you dislike a post

yourusername you’re just mad because you’re out $150

trevorzegras @_quinnhughes you bet $50 i’d lose?!

_quinnhughes @/trevorzegras maybe

user1 i won my bet, too!!

jackhughes i vote me and quinny get our money back because we won tonight

_quinnhughes i agree

trevorzegras @/jackhughes @_quinnhughes we won too?

yourusername @/jackhughes @_quinnhughes that wasn’t in the bet contract you signed! sorry, hughesy boys

user2 WOOO GO Z!!

anaheimducks he’s making us all proud!

jamie.drysdale that’s our boy!!

yourusername they grow up so fast🥹

trevorzegras this is my least favorite joke

yourusername @/trevorzegras in other news, i’m no longer splitting the money with you

user3 a ducks win AND trevor’s at 3 games without a penalty??? manifesting does work

user4 lmao hughes nation rise all three brothers won something tonight

lhughes_06 congrats z!

trevorzegras thanks moose! this is why you’re my favorite hughes

yourusername me🤝luke

yourusername betting on Z

lhughes_06 @/yourusername did you just comment twice for the meme

trevorzegras @/lhughes_06 it’s cute shut up i loved it and you did, too

lhughes_06 @/yourusername i loved it and he did, too

user5 i love how unhinged y/n’s comment section is

_alexturcotte proud but heartbroken

yourusername now playing “get over it” by the eagles

trevorzegras my girlfriend everybody^^🫶👏

#i really was intoxicated writing most of the postgame #it matched the vibes #trevor zegras #trevor zegras imagine #trevor zegras fic #trevor zegras insta edit #trevor zegras x reader #jamie drysdale #quinn hughes #luke hughes #jack hughes #alex turcotte #nhl players #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic

[counter-culture-christian]

Firstly, I am a woman, in my late twenties and in a relationship to clarify that. Secondly, listen this blog is not for everybody, not everybody will agree with what I have to say or what I believe in and that's okay; I'm not going to force that on you but don't mistake me answering you from a frame of reference that is biblical, scriptural as me "proselytizing" because I've observed those who want to start debates and can't handle when I use the Scripture against them and reject it as an answer. Well I am believer and follower of Jesus Christ/His teachings, His ways (a Christian) and I'm standing on the Word of God. The Word of God, has and still is considered "controversial", "bigoted", "hateful" etc. because those in disbelief get cut by the Sword of The Spirit, which is God's Word and because it lives, it is useful for many things. The Word of God is considered a weapon in the spiritual armor of God and as a Christian, I recognize my fight isn't against flesh and blood, so I fight in the Spirit when I use the Word of God and the demons in those people get manifested when the truth gets shared. I am a Christian, a Bible reading, believer and strive to be a doer as well. I am going to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit leads, not only that but I will speak on certain things that people won't like me speaking on. I will shed light on that darkness, as I am a light of Christ Jesus. I will not stop sharing the Truth and telling people to repent. I will edify, encourage and let people (who are willing to receive it) know that there is a Way to Heaven as well as I will let them know there's a Way to be freed from the bondages of sin, to be healed, cleansed and forgiven and it's ONLY through Christ Jesus. I will speak to those willing to receive and listen, telling them that there's Life (eternally) and even now on earth because life with Jesus is better than it was without (and that's just from personal experience). Life with Christ Jesus, as a Christian has it's trials because He said if the world hates you, remember it hated me first but He also said be of good cheer, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD. Nevertheless life with Christ Jesus also has its joys, peace, laughter, blessings, love, and much more that outweighs the trials. I am grateful to be with Christ Jesus, there is VICTORY WITH HIM, IN THIS LIFE AND THE NEXT. My ask is open for those who want to ask or tell me something, you're welcome to message me but I reserve the right to respond/when to respond. Lastly, so, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, continue in this marathon, continue standing firm in your faith (in Christ Jesus) and the Word of God. Embody the love and light of His, and share the Gospel (without forcing or in anger/hatred) for those who receive it is because God has drawn them to Christ Jesus and for those who don't, that's their choice and it's on them, shake the dust off your sandals and move on. I love y'all with the love of the Lord and mistake not that love for hatred when I rebuke you or such, for many spirits (who are deep in their darkness) will cry hatred, etc. Be blessed y'all ✝️🤍.

#christianity #jesus christ #christian #christblr #god #jesus #christian faith #spiritual enlightment #faith in jesus #god's word #christian blog

[gethimbackpdf]

Finitar except it's written like a sokeefe fanfic from wattpad

[!! all characters are the same except for sophie, keefe, and fitz who have been replaced with fintan, dimitar, and bronte]

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first fanfic so please be nice 😃 also fintan x bronte shippers are not welcome here!1!!!1

I woke up at dawn because my pet imp Iggy farted on my face. I kept him in his usual place. He was now a silvery colour, the same shade as my friend dimitars eyes. I looked at myself in the mirror. Since it was still dark I lit up a flame becuase I'm a pyrokinetic. a few years ago I had also manifested as an empath, charger, velociferator and telepath. I had very dark eye bags and my long pointy ears seemed even more pointier than usual. I wore my favorite, most comfortable outfit (A/N: outfit given below!)

I lught leaped to everglen because I was bored and we were having a sleep over with the whole group. Biana took me to her room and we talked for a while until she said "can I give you a makeover?"I groaned, "No Bianca i dont want to wear make up" but of course biana didn't listen.

She put up my hair in an elaborate hairdo and gave me one of her gowns - red because that's my colour.

The door suddenly opend and Dimitar came in "How much longer do we have to wai- Wow Pyren, you look gorgeous" he said looking at me and I blushed. He was wearing a particularly nice arnour today that brought my attention to his bulging muscles. He caught me staring and I went red.

Biana's older brother Bronte entered He was a member of the council and something about his grayish blue eyes gave me butterflies in my stomach..

Soon everybody entered and after dinner we all sat down for a game of truth or dare.

"Hey marrlla" I said "truth or dare?" "truth" she said, flipping her blonde hair.

"okaaayyyyyy.. who do you have a crush on?" she blushed "uhh" she said giving a shy glance towards dex."me?!" asked dex shocked. "yes you, it's always been you" she told him. they both looked at each other and smiled.

"Ok fintan your turn now" said lihn. "truth or dare?""I choose dare"

"kiss the person you have a crush on"

"OOOOOOH ARE YOU FINALLY GOING TO KISS DIMITAR??" asked Ro (when did she come in here?)

"WHAT? NO!" I said. I blushed and looked at bronte.. I slowly crept towards him and kissed him.

"Ugh did you seriously just kiss Lord Sparkly Pointy Ears??" asked Ro.

I ignored her because of what Bronte said next. "Ive loved you for a long time."

"Really?"

"Yes"

"it's been obvious to everyone except you two" said dimiatr with a smirk.. but it wasn't his usual smirk.. it seemed sad? But for that moment I didn't care because I was happy about what happened with Bronte.

A/N: poor dimitar he doesn't deserve to be tortured this way.... fintan should realise his feelings for him!!11!😭 so that was the first chapter! how was it?? I'm sorry for all the sophitz fintan x bronte but next chapter will have more finitar xx

taglist : @kale-of-the-forbidden-cities @worldsunlikemyown

if I was good at drawing human figures I would've drawn fintan in those outfits tbh

I swear I am not this bad at writing, all grammatical errors are intentional😭

#kotlc #guys if you want to bleach your eyes I understand #finitar

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading updates: october 2023

hi everybody!!! things (by which I mean everything) have been a little bit hectic lately (by which I mean it feels like everything is one fire 100% of the time), which I guess explains why I'm late posting this AND why I only finished four books in all of October.

I would be very sad about this if the number of books I read had any correlation to my value as a person, but luckily it doesn't! so I don't give a shit, I am literally just vibing and trying to have a good time reading my silly little stories. here's a book report about it.

what I've been reading:

The Goblin Emperor (Katherine Addison, 2014) - okay, so picture this: you're the fucking elf king's least favorite son. you're not a bastard, but he didn't love your mom and after she died he basically banished you to a miserable little estate in bumfuck nowhere with no one but your abusive older cousin for company. probably he was going to leave you out there forever and hope that you would die quietly so no one would ever have to remember you existed. (un)fortunately, your shitty dad and all of his male heirs just died in a blimp accident and now you're the emperor. GOOD LUCK. this book is political fantasy of the highest order, with loads of machinations and intrigue and chewy worldbuilding interspersed with genuinely sweet moments between characters as one very good boy befriends his way to power. blah blah empires are inherently evil, obviously yes but this is a made up empire with 0 real consequences and Maia is my little dude. the only way I could love him more would be if he'd just nutted up and kissed his boy secretary on the mouth.

Happy Hour (Marlowe Granados, 2020) - I kept seeing this book enthusiastically as kind of a light fizzy funtime celebrating being young and free and running around New York City with no plans, and man... that was not my experience! Isa and Gala are maybe the most stressful girls I've ever encountered in fiction: perpetually broke and hungry, absolutely lacking in direction or ambition, always ricocheting listlessly from one situation to another in search of a good time and mostly only discovering disappointment, I need these girlies to get their lives together for my sake as a reader. there's one scene in particular where Isa is crashing with some disgustingly wealthy friends at the beach and keeps getting callously dismissed while sweating profusely and trying to figure out how she's going to convince them to keep paying for her food and it was so visceral that I developed a second, worse anxiety disorder because of it. Granados' writing is stylish, to be sure, but drama was not worth it for me.

The Magpie Lord (KJ Charles, 2013) - this historical fantasy romance is quick, dynamic, and horny. I can't actually say that I'm particularly charmed by the quality of the writing, which is there to hurtle you at warp speed between scenes of homoeroticism and bald exposition about magic, but I do admire Charles' panache. the book opens on a rather gruesome scene of our protagonist, Lord Crane, attempting to slit his own wrist; it quickly becomes clear that this isn't because he's genuinely suicidal, but because he's been cursed by persons unknown in an attempt to drive him to ruin. enter Stephen Day, a magic practitioner who hated Crane's deceased father and brother but is determined to help him all the same. some plot happens, but also a lot of flirting and (spoilers) sex that comes with an actual power-up for Stephen due to the wonders of blood magic. a pulpy good-time all around, and short enough that it doesn't overstay its welcome.

The Fervor (Alma Katsu, 2022) - The Fervor is a historical horror with a tantalizing premise: in the 1940s, Japanese demons begin to manifest inside of an Idaho internment camp for Japanese-Americans, adding a swirl of the supernatural to a situation that's already rife with mundane horrors. the actual execution is... lacking. Katsu's prose is blunt at best; when I call it "unsubtle" I don't mean the way some racist might mean when they inevitably go on a ramble about how Katsu beats her readers over the head with how racism is bad. racism is bad, duh, and it's hardly unrealistic to emphasize the fear and hatred that dogged the lives of Japanese-Americans during WW2. when I say this book is unsubtle I mean Katsu approaches each chapter like her readers have maybe forgotten everything they read leading up to that moment; you will be reminded frequently of characters' names, relationships, and straightforward motivations. and yet, somehow, the actual plot is still pretty murky. much is hinted at in the protagonist's past in Japan, then never actually elucidated, a main POV character falls clean out of the plot without resolution just before the climax, I still don't know what was up with those goddamn demon spiders. disappointing!

there was also one very specific, GLARING thing in the ending of The Fervor that I did not care for in the slightest, but that's tucked away on my Patreon in the monthly hater post. pay me if you want to hear about some CRAZY copaganda!

#bookblr #reading updates

[chouthechaoticraccoon]

About Me

My name is Morgan Alexander but I also go by Chou and Cedar

My pronouns are he/they, but neos are fine too :)

I am 15 and going on 16 though I’m somewhere above 60 in my heart

I am a… hoo boy, this is complicated. Um, I'm transnasculine and nonbinary as well as an oriented aroace (bi/omni cupio/quoiromantic graysexual, to be specific), so… gay af but also no, thank you. I’m also romance-positive and sex-neutral

I have a spicy brain (also known as Asperger's, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and MaDD with some gender dysphoria and unlabeled weirdness sprinkled in for good measure)

I also have a weird body (Type 1 diabetes, Celiac disease, Hashimoto’s, and chronic pain from joints and headaches and shit as well as some other symptoms)

My ethnicity is confusing because my family didn't keep good records, but I'm mixed (about ⅓-½ Blackfoot, ⅔-½ European) and white-passing

Very introverted, I like my alone time more than being around another person no matter who they are. Honestly, I might be a little socially anxious…

A dual high school and college student set to graduate in 2026

INTx-T (can be either INTJ or INTP)

Leo, I guess? Born August 16, so yeah. Not really into that astrology stuff, though

Converting to Reform Judaism as soon as I’m able to

Everybody deserves equal rights no matter skin color, religion, gender, orientation, physical appearance, or class. I'll respect your opinion as long as it doesn't disrespect anybody's existence. Don't agree with this, don't interact with me and get off my page

AKA transphobes, homophobes, ableists, racists, MAPs, zoophiles, etc aren’t welcome

Inbox and DMs are open, happy to make friends or mutuals (and might be open to a QPR or romantic relationship after I get to know you :) )

Asks are fine, and I love talking to people (online, that is) so just reach out if you want to know more about me

Don’t send me NSFW content. Like, ever. I may dabble in writing it (I write SA sometimes, varying from not-at-all to moderately graphic, but to be honest I only really write it so that there can be major hurt/comfort and I always depict it as a horrific act of violence and in some cases torture), but that doesn’t mean that I am interested in sexual content or comfortable with it. I am also a minor and asexual so it’s a big no-no

Artist (drawing, painting, and photography), comedian (stand-up), musician (piano, violin, vocals, and guitar), poet, and writer (original novels, short stories, and fanfics). Happy to do commissions on any of my chosen art forms, just DM me :)

I speak and am learning to speak ASL, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, and Yiddish (I alphabetized lol)

I like pretty much all music except country (Jolene is an exception)

I have precisely 69 Spotify playlists and am very proud of it

I’m actually starting an alternative rock band called Blue Humor. I’ll let you know when our first album drops

I like a lot of music, with over 32 pages on my list of bands I like (actual thing, might post the link later but it’s a list of over 1200 bands that I enjoy and am constantly expanding)

My fandoms include Abbott Elementary, Adventure Time, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Aurora Cycle, Big Hero 6, Bo Burnham, Brooklyn 99, Cavetown, Coraline, Creepypasta, Danny Phantom, the DCU, Deadpool, Derry Girls, Disenchantment, Disney, Doctor Who, Downton Abbey, Good Omens, Game of Thrones, Gravity Falls, Gregor the Overlander, Heartstopper/Osemanverse, Hunger Games, I Am Not Okay With This, In a Heartbeat, Into/Across the Spider-Verse, IT (2017/19), Jamie Dodger, John Mulaney, Jurassic Park/World, Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, Les Miserables, Lord of the Rings, Manifest, Marvel, Merlin, Monk, Monty Python, Mythic Quest, Narnia, Night at the Museum, NOAHFINNCE, Our Flag Means Death, Over the Garden Wall, Once Upon a Time, ParaNorman, Parks & Recreation, Red, White, and Royal Blue, Riordanverse (Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase, etc), Shaaba, Sherlock (BBC), Star Trek, Star Wars, Steven Universe, Stranger Things, Supernatural, Ted Lasso, The Adam Project, The Afterparty, The Good Place, The Goldfinch, The Hollow, The Office, The Simpsons, The Sims, The X-Files, Tim Burton, The Owl House, The Umbrella Academy, TwoSet Violin, Wednesday, Wings of Fire, and Young Royals.

#get to know the blogger #get to know the person behind the blog #introductory post #introducing myself

[fioras-resolve]

So like, representation in games is weird. It's critically important, but uniquely challenging due to the nature of interactivity. And a big part of this is that there's, by my estimate, two separate tracks for how representation works in video games. I'm going to be talking primarily about queer rep here, because I am a white, American, and (mostly) able-bodied transbian. If anyone wants to add on to this conversation, I absolutely encourage it, so long as you don't fling shit at people. So!

The first track of representation is one that's mostly unique to games. Representation as player empowerment. This manifests as giving players the freedom to be and express themselves in the game world.

So like, character creators are the most obvious example. What gender can you be? What race? What body type? A thing I've seen a few games do that I love is letting you pick any voice set regardless of the rest of your character, so like in Baldur's Gate III, you can pick a masculine voice but a feminine body, and that's just really cool.

Another way it's important is with romance options when applicable. Like, it was a problem with the early Mass Effect games that you couldn't enter a gay male relationship. It was a problem with Fire Emblem Awakening that for all of its marriage options across characters, apparently none of your 30+ units were interested in a same-gender marriage. Functionally, you aren't allowed to be gay in these games. So Mass Effect 3 letting you date Steve Cortez, and Fire Emblem Three Houses giving several options for queer S-Supports (although I haven't played the Mass Effect games and some of FE3H's romances are controversial) were welcome changes.

But the other track is representation as storytelling, and this is pretty broad. Basically every topic in the representation discourse surrounding other forms of media also applies here. I'm not gonna go into this too much because you've heard a lot about this already, but in my opinion it's important to have positive representation that mainstreams us to society, but also diverse representation because the human experience is vast. We need the joy, the sorrow, the rage, all of it, and games offer a unique artistic space to convey all of this.

...But sometimes, these two tracks rub up against each other. Because storytelling sometimes means disempowerment, but a disempowered player can often be viewed as "bad game design" by people who aren't thinking of video games as stories or art, but as entertainment or toys.

For example, remember when I mentioned Three Houses? That game was a massive stride in queer rep for Fire Emblem. But I had an annoyance as I looked through these romantic options. While yes, some characters can married as the same gender, all of them can also be married as the opposite gender. In fact, there is nobody in this game that a straight person can't date. Opposite-gender attraction is a given and the default. Everybody is either straight or bisexual.

To be clear here, because I know people are going to get at me for this, no I'm not against bisexual representation in Fire Emblem. I'm not even criticizing any individual example, Dorothea is one of my favorite characters. But what I am saying is that, in real life, some people are exclusively gay. There are a lot of men who a woman would never be able to date, and vice versa. I don't think that's a bad thing to want to express.

But from a pure empowerment angle, having a woman that a straight man can't marry is incomprehensible. Isn't having more choices better, rather than blocking someone off for "choosing the wrong gender?" I've actually heard this point from someone, phrased in this exact way, and I can't really sugarcoat this: I find it repugnant.

It's a stance that views these characters as entitlements and not as people worthy of respect. And I know that these are fictional characters and not real people, but a good character isn't just a proxy for audience expression. Also, if we take "romance as player expression" to its natural conclusion, then having a character who is asexual becomes bad game design. A character romantically inaccessible to me, the protagonist of the world? Blasphemy.

I think the real important thing about games is that, even outside of representation, "the player should be empowered" is a view that's often unspoken but unquestioned. A game can be moving, tragic, heartfelt, but it must also be an experience where you, the audience, are fucking cool. Every obstacle exists for you to rise above, every entity in the world that isn't you is either a tool or an adversary. Meg Jayanth calls this "White Protagonism" in her excellent piece that I couldn't do justice here. Keep in mind as always that it's both possible and necessary to enjoy media while also being critical of its more problematic aspects.

Empowerment is a valuable tool in game design like any other, but the issue is that it's also extremely popular, to the point where it's just become what games are. And it's worth pushing back against that, so games can grow as a medium. So that we can tell stories, and have characters, and convey themes, that aren't tied up in a game designer's quest to make the protagonist the coolest guy.

But despite how critical I've been, these two tracks aren't mutually exclusive. They do clash with each other sometimes, but ultimately there's room for both. I look forward to the day I can play a bog-standard RPG that lets me change gender mid-game. I look forward to playing a polyamorous character, in a game that recognizes that as valid. But I also look forward to more characters like Guilty Gear's Bridget, an actual character who goes through a genuine journey of discovery, in a way that's warmed the hearts of so many trans women, including me. Ultimately, we just need queer rep in games, more of it, and it's never been a better time to make some. Just remember, there's a difference between letting the player be queer, and having a queer character.

#game design #fire emblem #queer representation

[ammg-old2]

“The history of all coalitions is a tale of the reciprocal complaints of allies.” Thus said Winston Churchill, who knew whereof he spoke. This summer of discontent has been one punctuated by complaints: from Ukrainian officials desperate for weapons, and from Western diplomats and soldiers who think that the Ukrainians are ungrateful for the tanks, training, and other goods they have received.

Most of the Western sputtering occurred in and around last month’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, through anonymous leaks and public grumbles. Indeed, according to one report, the U.S. administration was so miffed by Volodymyr Zelensky’s complaint about the slowness of the NATO accession process that some advocated watering down language about NATO membership for Kyiv. Withdrawing the word invitation from the communiqué would, in their view, be a suitable punishment for a mean tweet.

One gasps at the petulance on display here, as at otherwise staunch British Defense Minister Ben Wallace’s snap about Ukraine treating its Western suppliers as a kind of Amazon of weaponry.

Peevishness about allies is a common and understandable mood that all senior diplomats and national-security officials eventually experience. A monologue sooner or later goes on in their heads that sounds something like this:

I’m lucky if I get a decent night’s sleep once a week. I leave work before my kids are up and get back after they’re asleep, six and sometimes seven days a week. I stress eat and can’t take a vacation without being called back to the office. Meanwhile, everybody thinks that the [insert ally’s name] are a bunch of victims or heroes, when they are, in fact, manipulative, ungrateful little bastards who don’t have a clue what I am doing to save them from [name a rival official, nation, or department of government]. And their American sympathizers are a bunch of nasty dupes who are just as ignorant, but with fewer excuses.

The adult thing to do in such cases is to get in a workout, complain to one’s loving spouse, or commit these thoughts to a diary for the delectation of historians who will read too much into what are, in sober hindsight, mere tantrums. To mention them to the press, or, even worse, act upon them is unfair and irresponsible.

Such eruptions occur when officials let their irritations suppress their empathy. At the moment of peak whine, they forget what it means to have a fifth of your country occupied, or to know that a far bigger country is attempting, every night, to smash your power plants, blockade your ports, and destroy your crops. They are not holding in the forefront of their minds obliterated towns and mass graves. They do not know what it is to welcome back exchanged prisoners of war who have been castrated. Or to mourn old men and women murdered, or younger men and women tortured and raped. Or to worry frantically about thousands of children kidnapped. They forget that while a Western official’s sleep may be interrupted by a phone call or an alarm clock, a Ukrainian official’s sleep is more likely (and more often) interrupted by a siren or the crash of a missile slamming into an apartment block.

Ukrainian officials are thankful. Analysis of their speeches reveals plenty of expressions of gratitude. But they are also insistent and vociferous in their cries for help. They would be both inhuman and derelict in their duty if they were to be anything else. Hopefully, after a whiskey (or two) on the plane back to Washington or London, Western officials simmer down and return to some level of maturity in understanding their beleaguered ally.

Unfortunately, the impulse behind the whining can also manifest in subtler, but no less pernicious, forms. Much of the public discussion of Ukraine reveals a tendency to patronize that country and others that escaped Russian rule. As Toomas Ilves, a former president of Estonia, acidly observed, “When I was at university in the mid-1970s, no one referred to Germany as ‘the former Third Reich.’ And yet today, more than 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we keep on being referred to as ‘former Soviet bloc countries.’” Tropes about Ukrainian corruption abound, not without reason—but one may also legitimately ask why so many members of Congress enter the House or Senate with modest means and leave as multimillionaires, or why the children of U.S. presidents make fortunes off foreign countries, or, for that matter, why building in New York City is so infernally expensive.

The latest, richest example of Western condescension came in a report by German military intelligence that complains that although the Ukrainians are good students in their training courses, they are not following Western doctrine and, worse, are promoting officers on the basis of combat experience rather than theoretical knowledge. Similar, if less cutting, views have leaked out of the Pentagon.

Criticism by the German military of any country’s combat performance may be taken with a grain of salt. After all, the Bundeswehr has not seen serious combat in nearly eight decades. In Afghanistan, Germany was notorious for having considerably fewer than 10 percent of its thousands of in-country troops outside the wire of its forward operating bases at any time. One might further observe that when, long ago, the German army did fight wars, it, too, tended to promote experienced and successful combat leaders, as wartime armies usually do.

American complaints about the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and its failure to achieve rapid breakthroughs are similarly misplaced. The Ukrainians indeed received a diverse array of tanks and armored vehicles, but they have far less mine-clearing equipment than they need. They tried doing it our way—attempting to pierce dense Russian defenses and break out into open territory—and paid a price. After 10 days they decided to take a different approach, more careful and incremental, and better suited to their own capabilities (particularly their precision long-range weapons) and the challenge they faced. That is, by historical standards, fast adaptation. By contrast, the United States Army took a good four years to develop an operational approach to counterinsurgency in Iraq that yielded success in defeating the remnants of the Baathist regime and al-Qaeda-oriented terrorists.

A besetting sin of big militaries, particularly America’s, is to think that their way is either the best way or the only way. As a result of this assumption, the United States builds inferior, mirror-image militaries in smaller allies facing insurgency or external threat. These forces tend to fail because they are unsuited to their environment or simply lack the resources that the U.S. military possesses in plenty. The Vietnamese and, later, the Afghan armies are good examples of this tendency—and Washington’s postwar bad-mouthing of its slaughtered clients, rather than critical self-examination of what it set them up for, is reprehensible.

The Ukrainians are now fighting a slow, patient war in which they are dismantling Russian artillery, ammunition depots, and command posts without weapons such as American ATACMS and German Taurus missiles that would make this sensible approach faster and more effective. They know far more about fighting Russians than anyone in any Western military knows, and they are experiencing a combat environment that no Western military has encountered since World War II. Modesty, never an American strong suit, is in order.

One way to increase understanding among Ukraine’s friends would be to put substantial military legations in Kyiv. American colonels and generals do not have to go on patrols or storm tree lines, but they would benefit from continuous, in-country, face-to-face contact with their Ukrainian counterparts. They would be able to communicate realistic assessments of the fighting and of Ukrainian tactical and operational requirements. They would also convey to Ukraine a reassurance that videoconferences cannot, and perhaps bring a bit of humility to deliberations in Washington.

Such an effort entails risks, but that’s what soldiers sign up for. Maintaining a continuous physical presence in Ukraine with a high-level military mission, supplemented by frequent visits from the head of the U.S. European Command and other senior leaders, would be invaluable in making the judgments that could help Ukraine defeat Russia, regain its territory, and win this war. And winning, not whining, is what it’s all about.

#current events #politics #ukrainian politics #american politics #warfare #diplomacy #russo-ukrainian war #2022 russian invasion of ukraine #ukraine #usa

[spicy-melon]

Melon, you better be skrunklin some more Mack lore, this is a threat

oh no. what is the little kitten gonna do to me im so scared /t

Mack lore, melon style TM

Pre WKM

Macintosh H. Patrick, goes by mack to his close friends

middle name is Harrison both to fuck with you specifically (/aff) and also means "estate ruler", foreshadows dictatory paths >:))

knew actor since late high school, he moved and transferred to a new school in his third year, kind of an outcast/loner type but hated it. very VERY extroverted but never seemed to "fit in"

mark became one of his only and closest friends. they're actually good friends at first, and sees mack's spark/ability to speak well and be over the top

he recommends the drama club to try and expand mack's social circle (idek if drama/theater clubs existed for schools lower than college in the 1920s i may change this to a local theater troupe that mark was already apart of)

let's just say, he's lived in mark's shadow since the beginning.

local troupe puts on romeo and juliet? mack's auditioning for romeo and gets mercutio, while mark gets the lead. And then it happens again, and then again.

it's a pattern that mack understands at first, mark is technically a more experienced actor, it's just show business and honestly he's glad to even get a role

but fast forward to college, when he recites the hamlet soliloquy absolutely perfectly (it's been a dream role of his since he can remember) and mark flubs the lines he chose? and mark still gets the main character role?

he's fuming, accusing mark of sleeping with the director, all that jazz

they both end up not talking for a bit, but stay in the college program and theatre major track because the two nerds love their craft too much to let a petty feud get in between their dreams

Post WKM

i've already said a bit of this in the server but i will reiterate for convenience✨

manor is vacated/abandoned after everything™

mack visits the mansion, trying to make amends after such a long time.

he's not aware of the shenanigans that took place (he was visiting some family in new york, also trying to make broadway connections. found he didn't really like starring in pictures, not at all because that's mark's area or anything and he couldn't deal with any more rejections because of him)

runs into and makes a deal with a version of the house Entity.

a bit different, as some of it's power was exspnged by creatin everybody's favorite red and blue boy.

nerfed down to a deal with a demon sort of thing

makes a deal to get the lead role in anything he auditions for, catch is: he will lose himself in every role, a separate piece of him will break off and manifest (same type of shit i think "makes" the egos exist as separate beings, just weaker)

petty but, yknow, look at him /lht

something goes wrong when the engineer!mack timeline breaks off to make a new one, the universe is corrupted from the start

shit goes sideways as is seen in space

taking mack out of the role negates his very existence because of this

"You do not get to choose whether or not I exist"

anyways welcome to my wonderful world of macktor, may it haunt your dreams (/lh /sar)

#calswriting #actor mark #iswm mack

[sirensplayhouse]

Hey siren so I’m a black girl and I’m like brown skin maybe borderline darkskin, but I keep hearing ppl talk abt light skins and all that. And how light skins are on top. And I didn’t rlly care at first but now it’s bothering me a little bit. When I manifest my appearance change I kinda wanna make myself light skin but I also don’t bcs I feel like I should be more confident in my skin color. I was thinking of manifesting that I’m everyone’s type but then I started thinking as that would feel fake and like that’s not how the world actually is. Idk..

first off babes fuck and i do mean FUCK what everybody thinks , you are a beautiful black girl and ima need you to embrace that to the fullest mmhk ? mmhk . society can be cruel and it would be shit advice for me to say “just ignore it” because coming from a once insecure person i’m well aware of how degrading it can be and feel. it can take time for you to actually love yourself the way you deserve that’s why self care + self concept are so important. people think self concept just relates to how you manifest but it doesn’t. self concept is how you see yourself and how you want others to perceive you. it’s no secret i’m well against changing race /skin color and allat stuff so i’m not gonna agree that you should make yourself a lighter shade because i think your brown skin is absolutely gorgeous and i want you to learn how to love yourself and see yourself how i love see you🫶🏾

so here’s some homework from big sis/mother siren whatever it is you enjoy doing (i use this example all the time but deal with it✋🏾) i love music so i have like ten million playlists that correspond to my different feelings. create a playlist (if you want) filled with songs that make you feel good and get you lost in the words (i will even make a pro black skin playlist for you if you want , yes i am that extra✋🏾but i am that dedicated into showing you that you are worthy of all the love in the world) .

and as far as the manifesting goes you can just manifest that anybody who doesn’t like you for you stays the HELL away from you.

anyways i’d love for you to keep me updated mamas, and my dms are always open if you want to talk so from here on out you’re gonna be my ‘👸🏾’ anon (because look at that lovely shade of black ) WELCOME TO THE FAMILY LOVE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU🕺🏾🫶🏾and i know you will get all the love and happiness you are looking for and if nobody else is rooting for you just know i’m #1🩷

#my ‘👸🏾’ anon #welcome to sirensplayhouse

[sophieinwonderland]

Thank you for ur help on that last post. I am still learning alot about DID and other forms of it. I have been having alot of the symptoms of DID. The out of body feeling, not feeling connected to the world around me and having voices of alters in my head with their distinct tones and being able to describe them cleary to others and on paper. I do feel they are co-fronting/co-concious with me and they effect my behavior and how I react to the world around me.

But I know that my amnesia is something I'm trying to focus on, but it's hard when it's not something I remember. I forget most of my birthdays and can't remember what happened and I also forget others birthdays when I should remember them. Again, i'm still figuring it out but the only times I would say I am forgetful is when I space out or zone out into headspace that I really just go blank and the world around me fades without me hearing or seeing a thing.

Sorry this seemed like not a real ask, just some venting and rambling to see what ur advice/opinion is on it all. I love ur blog and it has helped me alot and not feel like a faker.. cause even though I know i'm not, I still think that I am and I'm just waiting to see a therapist to know fur sure.. Thanks again~

You're welcome, and no problem!

I get your frustration.

I think the memory loss is like a lot of other internal experiences, where if you aren't getting a lot of other perspectives, you may just assume that everyone has the same experiences. We can see this with aphantasia where people who can't visualize assume that nobody can, and those without aphantasia assume everybody can. Likewise, so many plurals have thought it's normal for everyone to think in different voices with different identities, or that changing between different people with their own names and genders is just being "genderfluid."

Memory loss is obviously much worse since, as you say, you can't even remember when you've forgotten things.

It sounds to me like the memory loss you experience may constitute DID, but I'm certainly not qualified to make that type of judgment. And depending on how these manifest, may still be within the bounds normal forgetting.

My host had a Birthday relatively recently, and we can remember most of what happened on that Birthday. We can remember a few gifts from the Birthday before, but it's obviously much more vague. I don't think my host can remember anything from two Birthdays ago. But then, there are more distant Birthdays that are more memorable because something important happened. (Over the last decade, the 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018 Birthdays all seem to have a few memorable parts, but the COVID years seem to be drawing blanks since nothing happened or could happen.)

So I think there are degrees of normal forgetfulness. If you just can't remember certain past Birthdays from years ago... that's probably normal, especially if nothing memorable happened and the Birthday wasn't any different from a lot of other Birthdays.

But if it's the day after your Birthday and you just can't remember anything that happened the day before, that's a red flag.

Also, if you're reminiscing and people are describing something really interesting that you probably shouldn't have forgotten that happened on one of these Birthdays, and you just have no recollection of it, that can also be a warning sign.

So I'll just reiterate what I said on the last post. Talk to people. Share your internal experiences and see how they relate. You can see how well friends and family remember their own Birthdays, for instance, and compare that to your own recollection. I would also suggest writing down an analysis afterwards so that you don't forget what you learn about your own forgetting.

You also mentioned forgetting what you had for breakfast at night. So another thing you could try to test your memory is keeping a meal journal. Make a mental note of what you eat as you eat it, and then before you go to bed, see if you can recall and write down every item. This gives you a tangible way to recognize and measure what you can remember throughout multiple points through the day. (We've actually started doing this ourselves yesterday, hoping that keeping careful track of what we eat will prevent overeating.) If you're doing this and find yourself unable to recall a meal that you should have made a note of, that could signify a blackout.

Hope some of this can prove helpful. Good luck! 💖

#ask box #plural #plurality #multiplicity #system #systems #system stuff #amnesia #memory

[mariacallous]

“The history of all coalitions is a tale of the reciprocal complaints of allies.” Thus said Winston Churchill, who knew whereof he spoke. This summer of discontent has been one punctuated by complaints: from Ukrainian officials desperate for weapons, and from Western diplomats and soldiers who think that the Ukrainians are ungrateful for the tanks, training, and other goods they have received.

Most of the Western sputtering occurred in and around last month’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, through anonymous leaks and public grumbles. Indeed, according to one report, the U.S. administration was so miffed by Volodymyr Zelensky’s complaint about the slowness of the NATO accession process that some advocated watering down language about NATO membership for Kyiv. Withdrawing the word invitation from the communiqué would, in their view, be a suitable punishment for a mean tweet.

One gasps at the petulance on display here, as at otherwise staunch British Defense Minister Ben Wallace’s snap about Ukraine treating its Western suppliers as a kind of Amazon of weaponry.

Peevishness about allies is a common and understandable mood that all senior diplomats and national-security officials eventually experience. A monologue sooner or later goes on in their heads that sounds something like this:

I’m lucky if I get a decent night’s sleep once a week. I leave work before my kids are up and get back after they’re asleep, six and sometimes seven days a week. I stress eat and can’t take a vacation without being called back to the office. Meanwhile, everybody thinks that the [insert ally’s name] are a bunch of victims or heroes, when they are, in fact, manipulative, ungrateful little bastards who don’t have a clue what I am doing to save them from [name a rival official, nation, or department of government]. And their American sympathizers are a bunch of nasty dupes who are just as ignorant, but with fewer excuses.

The adult thing to do in such cases is to get in a workout, complain to one’s loving spouse, or commit these thoughts to a diary for the delectation of historians who will read too much into what are, in sober hindsight, mere tantrums. To mention them to the press, or, even worse, act upon them is unfair and irresponsible.

Such eruptions occur when officials let their irritations suppress their empathy. At the moment of peak whine, they forget what it means to have a fifth of your country occupied, or to know that a far bigger country is attempting, every night, to smash your power plants, blockade your ports, and destroy your crops. They are not holding in the forefront of their minds obliterated towns and mass graves. They do not know what it is to welcome back exchanged prisoners of war who have been castrated. Or to mourn old men and women murdered, or younger men and women tortured and raped. Or to worry frantically about thousands of children kidnapped. They forget that while a Western official’s sleep may be interrupted by a phone call or an alarm clock, a Ukrainian official’s sleep is more likely (and more often) interrupted by a siren or the crash of a missile slamming into an apartment block.

Ukrainian officials are thankful. Analysis of their speeches reveals plenty of expressions of gratitude. But they are also insistent and vociferous in their cries for help. They would be both inhuman and derelict in their duty if they were to be anything else. Hopefully, after a whiskey (or two) on the plane back to Washington or London, Western officials simmer down and return to some level of maturity in understanding their beleaguered ally.

Unfortunately, the impulse behind the whining can also manifest in subtler, but no less pernicious, forms. Much of the public discussion of Ukraine reveals a tendency to patronize that country and others that escaped Russian rule. As Toomas Ilves, a former president of Estonia, acidly observed, “When I was at university in the mid-1970s, no one referred to Germany as ‘the former Third Reich.’ And yet today, more than 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we keep on being referred to as ‘former Soviet bloc countries.’” Tropes about Ukrainian corruption abound, not without reason—but one may also legitimately ask why so many members of Congress enter the House or Senate with modest means and leave as multimillionaires, or why the children of U.S. presidents make fortunes off foreign countries, or, for that matter, why building in New York City is so infernally expensive.

The latest, richest example of Western condescension came in a report by German military intelligence that complains that although the Ukrainians are good students in their training courses, they are not following Western doctrine and, worse, are promoting officers on the basis of combat experience rather than theoretical knowledge. Similar, if less cutting, views have leaked out of the Pentagon.

Criticism by the German military of any country’s combat performance may be taken with a grain of salt. After all, the Bundeswehr has not seen serious combat in nearly eight decades. In Afghanistan, Germany was notorious for having considerably fewer than 10 percent of its thousands of in-country troops outside the wire of its forward operating bases at any time. One might further observe that when, long ago, the German army did fight wars, it, too, tended to promote experienced and successful combat leaders, as wartime armies usually do.

American complaints about the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and its failure to achieve rapid breakthroughs are similarly misplaced. The Ukrainians indeed received a diverse array of tanks and armored vehicles, but they have far less mine-clearing equipment than they need. They tried doing it our way—attempting to pierce dense Russian defenses and break out into open territory—and paid a price. After 10 days they decided to take a different approach, more careful and incremental, and better suited to their own capabilities (particularly their precision long-range weapons) and the challenge they faced. That is, by historical standards, fast adaptation. By contrast, the United States Army took a good four years to develop an operational approach to counterinsurgency in Iraq that yielded success in defeating the remnants of the Baathist regime and al-Qaeda-oriented terrorists.

A besetting sin of big militaries, particularly America’s, is to think that their way is either the best way or the only way. As a result of this assumption, the United States builds inferior, mirror-image militaries in smaller allies facing insurgency or external threat. These forces tend to fail because they are unsuited to their environment or simply lack the resources that the U.S. military possesses in plenty. The Vietnamese and, later, the Afghan armies are good examples of this tendency—and Washington’s postwar bad-mouthing of its slaughtered clients, rather than critical self-examination of what it set them up for, is reprehensible.

The Ukrainians are now fighting a slow, patient war in which they are dismantling Russian artillery, ammunition depots, and command posts without weapons such as American ATACMS and German Taurus missiles that would make this sensible approach faster and more effective. They know far more about fighting Russians than anyone in any Western military knows, and they are experiencing a combat environment that no Western military has encountered since World War II. Modesty, never an American strong suit, is in order.

One way to increase understanding among Ukraine’s friends would be to put substantial military legations in Kyiv. American colonels and generals do not have to go on patrols or storm tree lines, but they would benefit from continuous, in-country, face-to-face contact with their Ukrainian counterparts. They would be able to communicate realistic assessments of the fighting and of Ukrainian tactical and operational requirements. They would also convey to Ukraine a reassurance that videoconferences cannot, and perhaps bring a bit of humility to deliberations in Washington.

Such an effort entails risks, but that’s what soldiers sign up for. Maintaining a continuous physical presence in Ukraine with a high-level military mission, supplemented by frequent visits from the head of the U.S. European Command and other senior leaders, would be invaluable in making the judgments that could help Ukraine defeat Russia, regain its territory, and win this war. And winning, not whining, is what it’s all about.

[flightofaqrow]

Misfortune (Reprise)

I realized I never talked about option 1. Let me back up. And bear with me a moment. We're going to get serious first, and then silly, okay?

I. The Take

I have too many words about it which will probably keep coming and being further refined into new posts, but to put it as simple as possible: My personal portrayal take is that Misfortune is symbolic of a physical disability (aura and semblance are like a muscle, don't u kno) and an allegory for depression/anxiety, and both of these things are further maladapted due to trauma.

We are explicitly told that semblances may or may NOT be reflective of someone's soul, and that if it is, it can be either a semblance shaped by the soul OR a soul shaped by the semblance. ...Remember?

“A common philosophy is that a warrior’s Semblance is a part of who they are. Some say your personality and character can define your Semblance while some claim that it is the other way around. Of course, there are still many who don’t see a connection at all."

We are also explicitly told by qrow that his "semblance isn't like most."

tl;dr (a) people trying to frame Misfortune as some sort of manifestation of qrow's personality or true self just because using that lens does fit a lot of the other characters, or (b) trying to say that having a different perspective about himself and the trauma aspect of things suddenly makes the other parts go away - absolutely smacks of (a) victim blaming and (b) ableism [to me].

This is a me thing, a personal interpretation and portrayal thing. But this is also my muse and my space to talk about it, so I do. No actual hate to people that interpret or have fun with it otherwise, you're valid.

II. The Alternates

On a lighter note, the two alternative options I will accept for Misfortune reflecting some aspect of qrow's true self are:

He wants to stay the hell away from main character drama, so he acknowledges his B Sitcom plot, complete with the stupid slapstick.

and

2. Super secret [til now] background tertiary allusion: Uncle Charlie.

Welcome to doing whatever you wish! you got the wrong guy. Laughing and singing all day! oh, isn't that wonderful. you mean there's no surprises or anything? Oh no, no, no. We know everything here. aw, that's just lovely. the clouds. the grass. the air. [/s] hey. would you like to dance? you must have studied dancing. you have natural rhythm... Ah! I'm getting dizzy... everything is so lovely here. so planned. so ordinary. and that's what's driving me crazy. i need Brazil, the throb, the thrill i've never been there, but someday i will adventure and danger! love from a stranger! let me be surprised! today there's sun, they said there'd be snow when all's said and done, it's fun not to know what keeps my heart humming is guessing what's coming let me be surprised! oh, ain't it great when fate ...makes you wait the world seems mirthless you feel worthless then suddenly, there's a big bone on your plate! Oh, Charlie, please remember Down there's a world of used cars And singles bars, broken dreams And out of reach stars... but it isn't over, not for this rover i don't like to steal... but i don't buy this deal... in 'bout three seconds, she'll have realized... and she's gonna be. wait'll you see. she's gonna be ...surprised!

this is relevant at just face value, but also.

qrow as 'the second child, the twin who never should have been, but came back wrong/cursed from a prior life' has been a brainworm based around this allusion for a very long time, and then Vol 9 came along and we got canon ascension/reincarnation for potentially everybody AND canon time-fuckery based around pocket watch imagery. so you know what, it's the time and place to talk about that too.

Ozma > qrow > Jaune parallel of boys trying so hard to be heroes but just end up dicking around and caught in things they don't understand. delicious.

#* look who's been listening = music * #* legends and stories; some of them true; some made up = meta * #* hey don't get mad cause i'm right = headcanon * #* gotta look inside / a little introspection = character development * #long post tw #rwby vol9 spoilers #but very smol #ruby as anne marie tho #tell me i'm wrong