#and likewise if you are NOT in the same generation

[shorthaltsjester]

once again, begging, BEGGING everyone in the cr fandom to stop making posts critiquing how the fandom is being weird about one cast member by saying "if it was x, the fandom would love this/hate this even more." it turns out the cr fandom contains Multitudes of weird ass people and just because you haven't seen those reactions (or, even funnier if you are making claims about what the fandom does/does not do to other cast members, were not in the fandom during c1/c2) does not mean they do not exist. like there are certainly different social dynamics and injustices at play in some of the reactions the audience has to cast members, but almost always it is less a case of misogyny/queerphobia and more a case of people forgetting that storytelling is about understanding choices you would not yourself make and watching characters develop through conflict/struggle.

like, you can have the most salient point to make in the world about how shitty the reaction of the fandom to a certain cast member's (not their character, but the cast member as a person) choices but you immediately undo that if you make a claim like "if liam did this, the fandom would love it." perhaps the part of the fandom you are in, but certainly not the fandom that wanted to persecute him for having vax choose keyelth over gilmore, certainly not the fandom that consistently manufactured actual dislike between him and marisha throughout campaign 2 because of character choices.

likewise you might be absolutely right in criticizing the choices of the character that one of the cast members is playing, but if then in turn you say, "if this was a female cast member, everyone would hate it." my brother in christ, You are already the person who hates that character choice and it Wasn't a female cast member, so what is the truth? unless you have the statistics on the opinions every person who engages with the cr fandom has, truly just. you can make your point without appealing to a sense of misogyny/queerphobia/favouritism or whatever that you have no actual grounds for believing exists except for the fact that misogyny in general exists.

this isn't to say that things like misogyny don't influence how people react to things, all of our opinions are mediated through the social and material conditions in which we live. obviously, misogyny exists. however, truly, truly, the bigger problem in the cr fandom (at least on twitter/tumblr, idk about reddit and that is a choice I've intentionally made) is the consistent expectation that the cast adheres to what so many fans call 'comfort media' and a requirement that one's own opinions be validated by what the majority of the fandom believes (which aside from the obvious, is also an absurd expectation because trying to gauge the 'majority' of the cr fandom would be truly so much data). the cast have made it explicit many times that they value things like high stakes and big risks in their storytelling, and sometimes that means stupid character choices, character deaths, or interparty conflict. so much of the fandom has decided to engage with cr regardless of this and then gets upset when the liveplay of a ttrpg built around conflict contains conflict. similarly, people who claim to enjoy this conflict then get pissed off when other people in the fandom disagree with them and give away the ghost that what they want is validation by arguing that it is somehow problematic for the other side to have their opinions. it is much easier to blame any lack of satisfaction on how, actually, your section of the fandom has the right opinion and, actually, if everyone else wasn't queerphobic/misogynistic then they would see the proverbial light.

anyway, this is just me ranting out of both literal and metaphorical exhaustion with the "persuasive" (heavy quotes) tactics that some people in this fandom use. please look up some tips on like, how to avoid logical fallacies or formal critical thinking or just like. state your opinions and say you dislike the other options without thinking you need to provide some (often blatantly and horribly incorrect) rationale for how you're right. accept the pretentious bastard within yourself and stop seeking validation for your opinions in the fandom around you, your opinions are already correct if you assume them to be.

#yes this is about the recent ashton shit #yes ashton is a bastard. yes much of the fandom hates what he did. another bunch of the fandom Loves what he did. #i promise if liam had done it the same would be true it would just be different parts of the fandom #likewise if say laura had done something like that it might be opposite parts of the fandom than the opinions on tals choice as ashton #but the fandom would very much still feature both opinions heavily #anyway from one pretentious and exhausted grad student to a multitude of people in the fandom who have accurate things to say that get #undone by their false generalized claims about the fandom. you can just say something is fucked up/fantastic without having to address at #all the people who disagree #critical role #on fandom #my post

[littlespoonevan]

.

#is it just me or is ao3 engagement waaaaaaay down at the moment??? #i just went back through like the last 10 pages of the buddie tag to stuff i'd missed to my marked for later #*to add #and there was only a handful of fics with over 500 kudos #there was only ONE that had over a thousand #(**i shou say these were all complete fics) #and i've noticed it with the last three fics i've posted too #and it's weird bc i would say the amount of notes on the tumblr posts for my fics are still p much the same as before #and likewise i haven't see much of a difference with comments #but kudos have pretty much halved in comparison #and look i know i can't complain i'm very lucky with the response i generally get for my fics #and obviously sometimes you can just write stuff that people don't vibe with #so that could ofc be the reason too #but like i said the tag in general is the same #most of the fics i scrolled past had an average of 300-400 kudos and i went back 12 days #and i know stats aren't everything etc etc write for the love of it whatever #but also it just feels very Not Normal for this fandom #my first ever buddie fic got 400 kudos in one night and i wasn't even IN the fandom #from around february to may of this year my to be read list was neverending bc so many fics had been recommended to me #all of which were around the 1000 mark (or at the very least were over 500) #and i feel like you kind of expect the dip in engagement during hiatus times bc people step back from fandom a little #but i can't ever remember it being like this during a time when the show was actually airing #idk it's just strange and i can't pinpoint the reason??? #is it because they haven't had much interaction on the show so far this season so people are maybe staying out of the tag???? #bc tumblr has been quite quiet too #or is everyone just like. very busy rn askdjfhas #tbd

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States

The vast majority of America's debt collection targets $500-2,000 credit card debts. It is a filthy business, operated by lawless firms who hire unskilled workers drawn from the same economic background as their targets, who routinely and grotesquely flout the law, but only when it comes to the people with the least ability to pay.

America has fairly robust laws to protect debtors from sleazy debt-collection practices, notably the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which has been on the books since 1978. The FDCPA puts strict limits on the conduct of debt collectors, and offers real remedies to debtors when they are abused.

But for FDPCA provisions to be honored, they must be understood. The people who collect these debts are almost entirely untrained. The people they collected the debts from are likewise in the dark. The only specialized expertise debt-collection firms concern themselves with are a series of gotcha tricks and semi-automated legal shenanigans that let them take money they don't deserve from people who can't afford to pay it.

There's no better person to explain this dynamic than Patrick McKenzie, a finance and technology expert whose Bits About Money newsletter is absolutely essential reading. No one breaks down the internal operations of the finance sector like McKenzie. His latest edition, "Credit card debt collection," is a fantastic read:

https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/the-waste-stream-of-consumer-finance/

McKenzie describes how a debt collector who mistook him for a different PJ McKenzie and tried to shake him down for a couple hundred bucks, and how this launched him into a life as a volunteer advocate for debtors who were less equipped to defend themselves from collectors than he was.

McKenzie's conclusion is that "paying consumer debts is basically optional in the United States." If you stand on your rights (which requires that you know your rights), then you will quickly discover that debt collectors don't have – and can't get – the documentation needed to collect on whatever debts they think you owe (even if you really owe them).

The credit card companies are fully aware of this, and bank (literally) on the fact that "the vast majority of consumers, including those with the socioeconomic wherewithal to walk away from their debts, feel themselves morally bound and pay as agreed."

If you find yourself on the business end of a debt collector's harassment campaign, you can generally make it end simply by "carefully sending a series of letters invoking [your] rights under the FDCPA." The debt collector who receives these letters will have bought your debt at five cents on the dollar, and will simply write it off.

By contrast, the mere act of paying anything marks you out as substantially more likely to pay than nearly everyone else on their hit-list. Paying anything doesn't trigger forbearance, it invites a flood of harassing calls and letters, because you've demonstrated that you can be coerced into paying.

But while learning FDCPA rules isn't overly difficult, it's also beyond the wherewithal of the most distressed debtors (and people falsely accused of being debtors). McKenzie recounts that many of the people he helped were living under chaotic circumstances that put seemingly simple things "like writing letters and counting to 30 days" beyond their needs.

This means that the people best able to defend themselves against illegal shakedowns are less likely to be targeted. Instead, debt collectors husband their resources so they can use them "to do abusive and frequently illegal shakedowns of the people the legislation was meant to benefit."

Here's how this debt market works. If you become delinquent in meeting your credit card payments ("delinquent" has a flexible meaning that varies with each issuer), then your debt will be sold to a collector. It is packaged in part of a large spreadsheet – a CSV file – and likely sold to one of 10 large firms that control 75% of the industry.

The "mom and pops" who have the other quarter of the industry might also get your debt, but it's more likely that they'll buy it as a kind of tailings from one of the big guys, who package up the debts they couldn't collect on and sell them at even deeper discounts.

The people who make the calls are often barely better off than the people they're calling. They're minimally trained and required to work at a breakneck pace. Employee turnover is 75-100% annually: imagine the worst call center job in the world, and then make it worse, and make "success" into a moral injury, and you've got the debt-collector rank-and-file.

To improve the yield on this awful process, debt collection companies start by purging these spreadsheets of likely duds: dead people, people with very low credit-scores, and people who appear on a list of debtors who know their rights and are likely to stand on them (that's right, merely insisting on your rights can ensure that the entire debt-collection industry leaves you alone, forever).

The FDPCA gives you rights: for example, you have the right to verify the debt and see the contract you signed when you took it on. The debt collector who calls you almost certainly does not have that contract and can't get it. Your original lender might, but they stopped caring about your debt the minute they sold it to a debt-collector. Their own IT systems are baling-wire-and-spit Rube Goldberg machines that glue together the wheezing computers of all the companies they've bought over the last 25 years. Retrieving your paperwork is a nontrivial task, and the lender doesn't have any reason to perform it.

Debt collectors are bottom feeders. They are buying delinquent debts at 5 cents on the dollar and hoping to recover 8 percent of them; at 7 percent, they're losing money. They aren't "large, nationally scaled, hypercompetent operators" – they're shoestring operations that can only be viable if they hire unskilled workers and fail to train them.

They are subject to automatic damages for illegal behavior, but they still break the law all the time. As McKenzie writes, a debt collector will "commit three federal torts in a few minutes of talking to a debtor then follow up with a confirmation of the same in writing." A statement like "if you don’t pay me I will sue you and then Immigration will take notice of that and yank your green card" makes the requisite three violations: a false threat of legal action, a false statement of affiliation with a federal agency, and "a false alleged consequence for debt nonpayment not provided for in law."

If you know this, you can likely end the process right there. If you don't, buckle in. The one area that debt collectors invest heavily in is the automation that allows them to engage in high-intensity harassment. They use "predictive dialers" to make multiple calls at once, only connecting the collector to the calls that pick up. They will call you repeatedly. They'll call your family, something they're legally prohibited from doing except to get your contact info, but they'll do it anyway, betting that you'll scrape up $250 to keep them from harassing your mother.

These dialing systems are far better organized than any of the company's record keeping about what you owe. A company may sell your debt on and fail to keep track of it, with the effect that multiple collectors will call you about the same debt, and even paying off one of them will not stop the other.

Talking to these people is a bad idea, because the one area where collectors get sophisticated training is in emptying your bank account. If you consent to a "payment plan," they will use your account and routing info to start whacking your bank account, and your bank will let them do it, because the one part of your conversation they reliably record is this payment plan rigamarole. Sending a check won't help – they'll use the account info on the front of your check to undertake "demand debits" from your account, and backstop it with that recorded call.

Any agreement on your part to get on a payment plan transforms the old, low-value debt you incurred with your credit card into a brand new, high value debt that you owe to the bill collector. There's a good chance they'll sell this debt to another collector and take the lump sum – and then the new collector will commence a fresh round of harassment.

McKenzie says you should never talk to a debt collector. Make them put everything in writing. They are almost certain to lie to you and violate your rights, and a written record will help you prove it later. What's more, debt collection agencies just don't have the capacity or competence to engage in written correspondence. Tell them to put it in writing and there's a good chance they'll just give up and move on, hunting softer targets.

One other thing debt collectors due is robo-sue their targets, bulk-filing boilerplate suits against debtors, real and imaginary. If you don't show up for court (which is what usually happens), they'll get a default judgment, and with it, the legal right to raid your bank account and your paycheck. That, in turn, is an asset that, once again, the debt collector can sell to an even scummier bottom-feeder, pocketing a lump sum.

McKenzie doesn't know what will fix this. But Michael Hudson, a renowned scholar of the debt practices of antiquity, has some ideas. Hudson has written eloquently and persuasively about the longstanding practice of jubilee, in which all debts were periodically wiped clean (say, whenever a new king took the throne, or once per generation):

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/24/grandparents-optional-party/#jubilee

Hudson's core maxim is that "debt's that can't be paid won't be paid." The productive economy will have need for credit to secure the inputs to their processes. Farmers need to borrow every year for labor, seed and fertilizer. If all goes according to plan, the producer pays off the lender after the production is done and the goods are sold.

But even the most competent producer will eventually find themselves unable to pay. The best-prepared farmer can't save every harvest from blight, hailstorms or fire. When the producer can't pay the creditor, they go a little deeper into debt. That debt accumulates, getting worse with interest and with each bad beat.

Run this process long enough and the entire productive economy will be captive to lenders, who will be able to direct production for follies and fripperies. Farmers stop producing the food the people need so they can devote their land to ornamental flowers for creditors' tables. Left to themselves, credit markets produce hereditary castes of lenders and debtors, with lenders exercising ever-more power over debtors.

This is socially destabilizing; you can feel it in McKenzie's eloquent, barely controlled rage at the hopeless structural knot that produces the abusive and predatory debt industry. Hudson's claim is that the rulers of antiquity knew this – and that we forgot it. Jubilee was key to producing long term political stability. Take away Jubilee and civilizations collapse:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/08/jubilant/#construire-des-passerelles

Debts that can't be paid won't be paid. Debt collectors know this. It's irrefutable. The point of debt markets isn't to ensure that debts are discharged – it's to ensure that every penny the hereditary debtor class has is transferred to the creditor class, at the hands of their fellow debtors.

In her 2021 Paris Review article "America's Dead Souls," Molly McGhee gives a haunting, wrenching account of the debts her parents incurred and the harassment they endured:

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2021/05/17/americas-dead-souls/

After I published on it, many readers wrote in disbelief, insisting that the debt collection practices McGhee described were illegal:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/19/zombie-debt/#damnation

And they are illegal. But debt collection is a trade founded on lawlessness, and its core competence is to identify and target people who can't invoke the law in their own defense.

Going to Defcon this weekend? I’m giving a keynote, “An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse,” today (Aug 12) at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/12/do-not-pay/#fair-debt-collection-practices-act

#pluralistic #jubilee #debts that cant be paid wont be paid #Patrick McKenzie #patio11 #bits about money #debt #debt collection #do not pay #bottom feeders #Fair Debt Collection Practices Act #fdcpa #finance #armbreakers

[racefortheironthrone]

Nobody is making anyone go into scriptwriting. No one is born in a Netflix company town where their dad takes them into the script mines at age 12. Fuck writers who want to get paid more than once for the same job. They should only get residuals AFTER all the people who do REAL WORK, like construction, grips, costume, makeup & animators etc. Most of them are much better at their jobs than writers especially for streaming services, and they are what screenwriters can lean on & novelists can't.

People need to realize that the unions for white collar people like WGA or SIEU or NEA (public sector unions are why cops who kill the people they were supposed to serve & protect remain employed get pensions) is not the AFL-CIO or any other historical union fighting for the lives of the people who built the country's industry and made it run, any more than the NRA are the Minutemen of 1775 New England.

First, go fuck yourself, you fucking scab. No, seriously - you don't come to my blog and spout off about what workers deserve unions and decent pay and what ones don't, like it's your fucking decision. The intellectual labor that writers perform is just as real as any other work done on a film set - "all who labor by hand or brain" is the inherent logic of industrial unionism for a reason.

Second, writers aren't asking to get paid more than once: residuals are deferred pay, you absolute moron. In Hollywood, whether it's writers or actors or voice talent or whatever, you get a small fraction up front - it's usually an ok check, depending on the union's day rates and so forth, but you can't make a living off stitching these together - and then most of your pay comes from monthly royalty checks that provide you with the income you need to live off when you're between jobs.

The problem is that, historically in Hollywood, residuals have been structured with a very long "tail" - the payments start out relatively low and then get more generous over time as the show has more seasons and (presumably) goes into syndication. This doesn't work with streaming's new business model, where increasingly shows are getting 2-3 seasons max and streaming services have become increasingly quick to not just cancel shows but yank them off their servers in order to avoid paying residuals.

So what WGA writers are fighting for is a system that ensures writers (but also actors and other creative workers, because the unions pattern bargain) get a fair share of the show's revenue, even if the show is only given 2-3 seasons.

Third, the U.S labor movement would not exist today if it wasn't for white collar workers and public sector workers. About half of the U.S labor movement - 7 million workers - is public sector, and those workers are overwhelmingly women of color, mostly working as either teachers or postal workers. Likewise, about half the U.S labor movement is made up of white collar workers, and we're graduate students and adjuncts and lab researchers, teachers and social workers, administrators and IT departments.

I'm both public sector and white collar, and I'm a member of an NEA union. I'm an adjunct professor who earns $6,000 a course and it's my job to get working adults with jobs and families who've never gone to college or who've been out of higher ed for a decade to graduate with a bachelor's or a master's. If you don't think that's real work, you're free to research and write all the lectures and powerpoints, deliver those in an entertaining and educational fashion, answer a flood of questions from students who need help navigating academia, and then grade all the midterms and finals and research papers.

#labor #wga strike #unions

[rongzhi]

hey (culture ask incoming) im wondering about weddings in china and whether people generally wear more western style wedding clothes or traditional chinese style?

(Long-winded answer incoming)

Depends.

I would say Chinese/hanfu style wedding attire has been making a big comeback (so to speak) in recent years as a side effect of the hanfu revival movement, but there is also Chinese wedding attire that is distinctly it's own genre of clothing, i.e, bridal/groom wear. When you look at it, you know (if you know) that it's wedding attire. More on this in a second.

Still, for those who can afford it, it is popular these days to wear both western style wedding attire and Chinese wedding attire. Most people who I've seen wear both change into the Chinese attire for the wedding banquet. If they wear a western wedding dress, it will be at the ceremony/walking down the aisle. Likewise, if they wear both hanfu and Chinese wedding attire, they will wear the hanfu for the ceremony. Another thing to keep in mind is that in China, it is quite popular to take wedding photos in a myriad of outfits, not just the one you will be wearing on the occasion. So people nowadays may take photos in all the different kinds of wedding attire (via clothing rentals), whether they are going to wear it at their wedding or not. In that spirit, they still technically wear both western and Chinese style wedding clothes.

Hopefully that answers your question there. I have a #chinese wedding that covers a lot of videos but in which you can see the types of gowns and all that which I will briefly go into below.

So: when it comes to "traditional Chinese style" wedding attire, what does that really mean?

To me, three main types of clothing come to mind: 1) Chinese Wedding Attire™ , 2) Chinese style wedding attire, 3) Wedding hanfu

1) Chinese Wedding Attire™, AKA 秀禾服 Xiùhé

Visually distinct, it is not really hanfu nor qizhuang but a secret third thing.... In this case, it is a blend of Qing dynasty and Republican era styles dubbed "xiuhe". As bridal wear specifically, it is actually a rather recent trend (21st century), but it's become a fixture in Chinese wedding wear. While the colors can vary wildly and magnificently, the classic colors here are gold and red.

The style that exists today shows Qing dynasty influence in its construction and at its core consists of both bride and groom wearing embroidered tang suit tops and a matching silk skirt. The bride usually wears hair ornaments/pins in place of a veil. Since there are pins in the hair, brides may wear a xiapei/cape with a long train instead.

A few bridal styles (keep in mind that these are just the classic cuts and colors—there are other styles/colors that contain recognisable elements of bridal wear but are made of different fabrics, have different draping, have more tassels, have a softer look, etc):

2) Chinese style wedding attire

This is admittedly somewhat of the same thing as Wedding Attire™, just toned down as it was more popular/commonplace in the last century, when it was what was most affordable for most, but it's a style that nonetheless comes to mind. With this, the key is simply that the bride wears a mostly all red dress/top+skirt and the groom wears a suit. Bride and groom will also often wear a red flower/ribbon pinned to their top or worn around them gift-wrapped style, haha. My mom just wore a red top and bottom to her wedding dinner (that's as much detail as I've ever gotten out of her lol) when she got married in the early 80s. Another thing is, since white is a funerary color/color of death in Asian cultures, some people also just wear Western style wedding dresses that are red.

3) Wedding hanfu

As you can imagine, this is ornate hanfu that is worn for weddings. Song/Ming style hanfu is particularly popular here.This clothing is traditional in the sense that it has historical basis and is what those who could afford to word for weddings historically. Historical wedding colors varied but color pairings like red & blue and red & green are traditional (man wears red, woman wears blue/green; 红男绿女). Wearing hanfu for weddings is a trend that has become popular with the hanfu revival movement and is, as you might guess, a trend for Han Chinese people

Chinese ethnic minorities have their own wedding attire that they may choose to wear/wear as well (if they do a banquet, etc). Or they might just wear red/xiuhe/western style dresses, too—this is another area where wedding photos let you basically wear everything.

(just a few examples:)

#text #answered ask #chinese wedding #hanfu #long post #少数民族 #LMAO I just noticed I accidentally included the same couple twice in the hanfu section 💀 #…it’s ok her makeup and hairpiece is slightly different

[katakaluptastrophy]

I want to continue pushing my 'Magnus Quinn wasn't actually a terrible swordfighter' agenda.

Obviously, he wasn't on the same level as professional duelists Babs or Pro, or soldiers Marta or Jean. He was a guy who did some kind of fencing in high school and then picked it up again in his 30s, presumably with some degree of seriousness.

When Gideon joins the other cavaliers in the training room, Magnus and Jean are sparring. He jokes about how badly Jean is beating him, but he must have some degree of competence for aspiring soldier Jean to find him worth training with. Babs then mocks him for getting beaten by a teenager and Magnus jokes, describes himself as "absolutely no good", and praises Jean's abilities...before giving Babs such a death glare he gets obviously embarrassed.

It's worth bearing in mind that there's some degree of tension between the Third and the Fifth. Babs will have know Magnus since he was small and has almost certainly seen him fight before. But the Fifth, their relationship, and the relative freedom that Magnus has to not be a perfect fighter (because his necromancer values him as a human being) is clearly something that rankles the Third. In TUG, when Ianthe talks about Babs, she explicitly references Abigail and Magnus. And what's interesting is that she makes a comparison not just between Abigail's husband-with-a-sword and her perfect tool to be moulded and used, but also to Corona's aspirations to swordcraft:

IANTHE (Playing a card) She’s not here, so let me be fully honest, Sextus: my sister is not a swordswoman. She loves to wear big boots and wave a sword around, and she looks wonderful doing it, but her actual competence … well, put it this way: she’d lose to Magnus Quinn.

PALAMEDES Magnus Quinn was a cavalier primary.

IANTHE No, I mean Magnus Quinn now.

There's...a lot...to unpack here: the comparison of Corona to the husband-cavalier is intriguing in and of itself on a psychosexual level, as is the contradiction between Ianthe and Corona's own versions of Corona's competence. But Palamedes' response is also interesting, suggesting that Magnus was up to an acceptable standard for a cavalier, which Ianthe's joking response seems to back up.

So Babs' rudeness towards Magnus and Jean may have a lot to do with the internal dynamics of his own necromancer-cavalier relationship and not necessarily be an accurate reflection of Magnus' abilities.

Likewise, Judith's comment in the Cohort Intelligence Files that the Fifth is 'undoubtedly chagrined" to have "schoolboy fighter" Magnus representing them had to be read against the fact that we know from the Sermon on Necromancers and Cavaliers by Second House stooge M. Bias that the Cohort has a very low opinion of unranked "social cavaliers". And Judith Deuteros may have her own reasons for being disdainful of a cavalier who is so...cavalier...about his intimate relationship with his adept.

Magnus' own self-deprecating comment on his ability is:

"I didn’t get to be cavalier primary due to being the best with a rapier. I’m cavalier primary only because my adept is also my wife. I suppose you could say that I—ha, ha—cavalier primarried!”

But again, there's a difference between becoming cavalier primary because you're the best sword fighter and getting up to a vaguely competent level once you've become cavalier primary (guys in their 30s with high powered jobs tend to be scarily into their hobbies...) He is definitely the worst cavalier there (or would be, if Pro were actually alive), but on a general standard he probably isn't as terrible as people like to joke.

Another important bit of context here is that all of his comments about his own ability occur in the context of Corona trying to get him to fight Gideon. The shy, silent 18 year old from the cult planet whose practice of cavaliership is generally acknowledged to mostly consist of carrying buckets of bones.

She gets paired with Magnus because they assume she's not going to be much of a fighter and Magnus - neither a professional duelist nor a soldier - would therefore be the fairest opponent. Magnus is clearly uncomfortable. And Gideon is certainly Intimidating. But when you consider that most of his previous interactions with her have been trying to coax her out of her shell and clearly feeling rather sorry for her, his comments take on a bit of a different tone.

Does Magnus worry Corona has dragged along this poor kid out of interest or curiosity, and that she's going to be humiliated and never want to interact with them again? As Corona says “Come—Gideon the Ninth, right?—why don’t you try Sir Magnus instead? Don’t believe him when he says he’s rubbish. The Fifth House is meant to turn out very fine cavaliers," Magnus is politely dissembling, telling exactly the sort of jokes that would appeal to a teenager.

As everyone else mocks or is intrigued by Gideon's knuckle-knives, Magnus is trying to look her in the eye through her sunglasses, bewildered that she doesn't know to take off her robes or glasses to fight and then...suddenly realising that she is dead serious and perhaps he has dramatically underestimated her.

After his defeat, we hear him saying to Jean "I'm not quite that out of form, am I?". Gideon's abilities were totally unexpected: she severely tests a top duelist like Babs, and Magnus is surprised to be beaten in three moves. That suggests he's been holding his own rather more comprehensively in previous sparring.

And while he certainly wasn't up to Gideon's standard, he may have managed to draw his sword before Cytherea took him out...

#the locked tomb #tlt meta #magnus quinn #gideon nav #gideon the ninth

[phasecornnuts]

Hiiiiiiii! If you’re still open for requests maybe you might wanna write something where the reader casually mentioned that they/she had a partner on earth before they died and Alastor takes it a bit too drastically and has just been very salty and asking too many questions 😭 if you like that

Please & thanks ❤️

Hey guys I've returned! Sorry for taking a little while, I was busy with finals/I wanted to relax on my spring break so I didn't have a lot of time. I lowkey kind of cooked with this one too so enjoy :3

Also, I sorta made the reader be from around the same time period as Alastor (sorta late 1910s early 1930s) for extra spice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had become a daily routine for you and Alastor to have afternoon tea together in cannibal town. Always, between the hours and four and six o’ clock after Alastor had finished his broadcast and you, your hotel duties, the both of you would walk down to Rosie’s Emporium to nibble on finger sandwiches, candied eyeballs, and other treats. 

The sun was still high in the sky, sending fingers of light through the windows of the cafe; the building was alive with the chatter of demons and hell-born alike. You and Alastor had just sat down, a short cannibal girl with a heart-shaped face and glowing brown ringlets placing your usuals on the table. Oh how beautiful they were! Too pretty to eat, garnished with tiny sprigs of mint (or, at least, it may have been mint) and resting on plates of delicate porcelain. With polished silver beside them, and matching teacups and saucers too, it all looked like a party for a girl’s favorite doll.

That is, if it weren’t human meat. 

Looking up from your plate, you saw Alastor turn his head to follow the cannibal girl making you frown. His gaze returned to you before he caught you staring, a chipper grin on his face as always.

“She could be a dead ringer for Mary Pickford, don’t you think?”

Your eyebrows perked. You hadn’t looked long at the girl admittedly, though you stared long enough to know that she was no Pickford. You pursed your lips,

“I don’t see it, Lillian Gish maybe.”

He looked at you like a mad-woman, “You don’t!?”

“No! Her eyes are much too large!”

Alastor chuffed, proceeding to rest his chin on his dark hand, “In the eye of the beholder I suppose.” 

You rolled your eyes, “You only say that because of her curls,” you stated while picking up the teapot and pouring yourself and Alastor your cups, “Now, drink before it gets cold.”

For much of your lunch neither of you spoke, merely enjoying each other’s presence while pecking on some food here and there. Throughout the meal the waitress brought more plates, pancreas tarts, minced tongues coated with cinnamon sugar, and sweet pies filled with rotted venison and cooked kidneys, all Rosie’s treat. Alastor had been taken by the small pies in their mulled deliciousness, the meat so tender you saw his eyes water. He pleaded you to try one, though you couldn’t, your stomach filled to the brim from the other treats and delicacies. 

Alastor picked up the small pair of silver tongs from beside him and placed two sugar cubes in his tea, “I do say, it’s nice to have a meal companion again.” He took a sip from his teacup and grinned. 

You nodded in agreement, lifting the milk jug from the table and pouring a generous amount into your cup. “Likewise. Good dinner conversation is a horrid thing to lose.”

“Truly.” He took another drink. “Before you, I hadn’t had a proper luncheon since my mother.”

“From what you tell she sounded like a fine woman.” His grin lost its eeriness, becoming fond instead. 

“She truly was, and such a fine cook too.” Alastor gazed at the fine pattern painted on the rim of his saucer, “her jambalaya was the best, our side of the Mississippi” he chuckled. He began to remember then, “And her gumbo and her crawfish etouffee and her pecan pralines”

It was odd to hear his voice so full of affection, but nice too. So strange, to think a man who broadcasted his murders of other overlords and feasted on their flesh was once a little boy who clung to his mothers skirt and happily ate her cooking. 

“Maybe one day you’ll cook for me then?” you teased

“Oh why wouldn’t I for my favoritest of sinners?” He took your hand.

You leaned in towards him, a silent flirtation. “Or perhaps I could prepare something for you?”

He looked at you from his dark, hooded eyes, a certain intrigue radiating from them. “Would you now?” he said, leaning in closer. 

“Oh I would, anything you’d like.” the tip of your oxford lingering at his ankle. “My food was good enough for my darling back on earth, why would an overlord of hell have any complaints? Other than not enough seasoning I suppose.” 

That was when the laughter in his eyes died. Alastor bit the inside of his cheek before finding the words to speak, “Your darling?”

 “Pardon?”

“You had someone,” He straightened up, pulling himself away from you, “back on earth?”

“I hardly see how it matters now.” 

Alastor’s tone grew curt, had such a simple word bruised his ego? 

He crossed his arms, “What were they like?” each word as sharp as his teeth.

You pulled your hands close to you, confused at his curtness, “They were….they were nice. Cordial, spirited, vivacious, however you would put it. If you’re-” Alastor cut you off. 

“How did you meet them?”

“On the trolley.” That only served to make him scoff.

“Tch, how common. The trolley.”

You chewed your bottom lip, trying to deny the anger towards him that began to knot in your belly. “It was a different lifetime.” You asserted, a hard finality to it. Pushing yourself from the small table you smoothed your skirt and adjusted the ribbon that was tied so nicely in your hair. 

Without looking at him you said, “Tell Rosie I’m grateful for her hospitality and I will try to find a way to repay her. Also that I’m sorry that I had to retire without saying hello but I feel rather…faint.” Before leaving completely you said, “See you back at the hotel.”

The rest of the day you hid in your room, sulking and pacing. Charlie had tried to coax you out, seeing how angry you’d been when you came back, but you denied every effort she had. 

“It’s not good to stay cooped up in there,” the Princess pleaded.

“I like my alone time.”

 “But- but I had games planned! Husk was going to show us how to play Blackjack and Dominoes!”

“I prefer bridge, and he’ll just cheat us anyways.”

She gave a disappointed sigh, and outside the door you could hear Vaggie talking to her, telling Charlie to give you your space. 

For three nights straight you avoided Alastor, finishing up your hotel duties quickly before hiding in your room. You grew bored after the first day admittedly, a person could only sleep and bathe and read so much. The fourth night is when he knocked on your door while you lied draped on your couch, your nose in a book you’d already finished before. Thinking it was Charlie, you ignored it, sure she’d get the message. It insisted however, rapping harder the second time. You sighed, annoyed. “Who is it?”

“Alastor, may I come in?”

A sour taste came in your mouth, “No.”

“You cannot lock yourself away from me forever.” 

You lifted yourself off the couch, full of bitterness, “I can and I will!”

An electric hum filled your ears, the sound of Alastor weighing his words, “Could you at least entertain my attempt?”

Walking to the door and opening it slightly you saw his face, those deep, hooded eyes dark as blood, cracked lips, and hollow cheekbones. All of those beautiful, haunting features draped in remorse. You sighed, cursing the affection you had for him. 

“Fine, but I’m still cross with you.” That made him smile, if only a tad. 

Opening the door fully, you saw he’d brought one of the dining carts from the unused kitchen clad in a clean white sheet. Alastor pushed it to the center of the room before spiritedly ripping the cover from the cart, presenting polished silver dishes of raw meat and organs. From the bottom shelf of it, he had pulled a fine bottle of wine and two shining glasses.

“I helped myself to a bottle of Husk’s finest, the patrons here don’t have as refined tastes as you and I.” He gave a small grin. So this is what he brought with him, a peace offering. Your stomach was empty from only eating a small meal earlier in the day, so perhaps it was not in vain, though you weren’t sure if you were ready to forgive him. 

“I’ll help you set the table,” you offered, feeling guilty he put so much effort into pleasing you. 

Alastor held his hands up, “No need darling.” He put his hand on his throat, “What I said the other day was very…” he coughed into his hand, “ungentlemanly of me, and I wanted to make it up to you.” 

You folded your hands and held them to your chest, looking at the embarrassment he tried to hide. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath, and raised your gaze to his. “Thank you, Alastor.” His grin widened as he sat down beside you. 

He uncorked the bottle of wine, beginning to pour it into the glasses, “Of course.” He handed you the glass which you took gladly. The vintage was so dark it looked black, reflecting the lights that glowed from the ceiling. Swishing it, you could see the hidden shades of red that the wine hid.

“Demon’s blood, Husk calls it.” Alastor told you before he took a long sip. 

“Fitting. Do you know how long he’s aged it?” Alastor shrugged, taking another swallow. 

“I didn’t care to ask, but it tastes so good going down. Come, drink, I didn’t bring this up so I could get drunk by myself.” That made you giggle, how much he valued the both of you eating and drinking together. 

Taking his lead, you titled your head back, savoring the warm burn of the wine going down. Its hot fingers lingered in your chest before fading, like drinking cold medicine. In three large gulps you finished your glass, noticing the way Alastor’s eyes watched your throat as you drank. After finishing your second glass you began to dig into the food he’d brought, pancreas tarts, cooked kidneys and…oh good god! On the largest plate was a raw heart, fresh and bloody. 

“Where did you get this? You shouldn’t have!” Your eyes went wide and your mouth began to salivate. A raw heart! Oh and it was human too! Such a fine delicacy must have taken so much begging from Alastor!

“Rosie owed me a favor. And I owe it to you, for making such a jackass of myself.” 

You took another sip of your wine, feeling your face begin to flush. You helped yourself to a tart while Alastor poured himself another glass. As you ate you felt his eyes on you again, focusing on the way your teeth bit into the pastry, your swan’s neck showing your swallow, and how your tongue dragged across your lips. Feeling bold, you placed your feet in his lap and wiped the corner of your mouth with your finger, licking the tip of it with your tongue. He swallowed, hard, his eyes growing wide. 

“Are you looking at something?” Your voice a heavy seduction.

“Possibly.” He drank again. Leaning back on the arm of the couch, he placed his glass on the floor. The tips of his fingers grazed your legs, “Though I do have another question for you, if I may.”

A sultry smirk grew on your face, “That depends on what it is, Al.” God, you could see the glint in his eyes then.

Alastor looked up at you from his hooded eyes, “I’ve been wondering…about your “darling.” You arched an eyebrow; your interest piqued. “Did they ever have…you?” His breath shuddered. 

“Have me, how?” You teased.

“Oh humor me my dear,” He purred

You smirked and shifted your legs in his lap. “Hmm, maybe once or twice…” You sit up from your recline and crawl onto his lap.

“What sorts of things did they do to you?” 

Running your fingers down his chest you savored the way he squirmed and shifted, “All sorts of unholy things” 

Alastor choked on his breath, his eyes transfixed on your face. Slowly, he caught it, regaining a certain boldness afterwards. His hand found the top of your stocking, fingering the nylon taut to your thighs. “Getting rather comfortable aren’t we my dear?”

The smirk you had deepened and you pulled in closer, feeling the heat of his breath tickle your cheeks. You looked into his eyes, “I could get much more comfortable if you like, Al.” For what seemed like ages you lingered, until you felt you had tortured the man enough. Slowly, you leaned in, seemingly ready to kiss his shiny red lips. Grinning, you pulled a piece of dry skin from his bottom lip between your teeth, peeling it to show the bleeding flesh beneath. 

You sat back on his lap and spat out the skin. Looking at him, you saw that hunger in his eyes again. That fine line of decorum the two of you had with one another, ignoring the lingering gazes and longing touches, all thrown away with one bite. Underneath, you could feel his arousal beginning to grow hard. You rolled your hips slightly into him, earning a throaty groan from Alastor. From the silver dining cart you pulled the piece de resistance, that raw bleeding heart, and sunk your teeth into it, tasting the sweet flavor of iron. Trails of blood dripped from your mouth onto your decolletage, slowly turning brown and flaky.

Alastor’s breath heaved, growing even harder from that sultry cannibalistic display. He pulled you towards him and pressed your mouth to his, saccharine saliva mixing with sanguine. His tongue slid and twisted about yours, savoring every inch of its taste. You pulled away from him to catch your breath, making him whine. Leaning in again, he dragged his tongue along your neck, cleaning up the drying strings of blood. 

Both of you straightened up then, him holding you proper now. One hand ran its fingers through his shiny red hair and the other cupped his aching sex, so taut against his trousers. 

“Is that what you were so upset about Al? If they fucked me or not?” You purred into his ear.

The tips of your fingers fluttered over his hip, tracing its edge before returning to his cock. “I bet you wondered if I did this to them, didn’t you?” A small nip was placed on his neck, leaving a red half-moon. Your breath grew hot against his cheek as you whispered into his ear again, 

“Maybe I did, and maybe I did so many more dirty things to them.” 

Alastor enraptured your mouth in another needy kiss. His words heavy with radio static, “What sort of things my dear? Or are you all talk?” Your grin widened seeing the shock in his eyes when you began to unbutton his overcoat.

“Let me show you.”

Four little words was all it took to send him over the edge. Picking you up, his hands traced over all the parts of your succulent body. When he flopped you on the bed, hair as tousled as a pin-up, you reached out a stockinged leg to him, that devious look on your face growing. Oh how badly he wanted to have you, hastily unzipping your dress as you stripped him down to his undershirt and trousers. Deft fingers hooked around the tops of your stockings, pulling them down as fast as they could. You dropped his trousers and took off his shirt, admiring all of that soft, gray skin.

You pressed your mouth to the flesh of his stomach, blessing it with small love-bites that made him shudder. All along his torso you left red patches and traced your cool fingertips along the hard edges where his ribs poked out. You tilted your head up and moved his hands to the straps of your brasserie, exposing all of your hot, yearning flesh. He cupped a breast and lied on top of you. Grinding his sex to yours he moaned into your mouth. It had been so…so long since you’d been wanted, since someone pressed their body to yours and you felt all of their heat as they slid into you, over and over again. 

“Al,” You breathed

“What is it?”

“Get on your back.” 

And so he did. 

Alastor’s back against the mattress and your palms against his chest, you let him enter you. He let out a string of curses when you did, and even more when you started moving in those easy rolling motions. Those large hands of his held the curve of your waist as you rode him, his eyes half-lidded as he watched your breasts bounce. 

“The first time I saw you…” You began, going a little faster, “I wanted you,” You heard a small thud as he dropped his head against the pillows.

“I thought about you kissing me and touching me all over” That’s when the pulses of pleasure started to build up, prickling you in sweet needles that went all the way up your spine.

“And about you sticking your fingers in me and..and your tongue too” You felt your face heat up and your sex grow slicker, admitting those indecent thoughts you only entertained during late nights when your fingers wandered. Alastor gripped your waist tighter, making your rhythm harsher. You looked down on him, his eyes glazed over with euphoria, and felt your mouth pool with saliva.

Digging your nails into the skin of his chest you kept on. “For a whole week I couldn’t keep from slipping my hands between my legs.” Your voice, thick and hoarse. “I wanted to know what you tasted like, if-if your mouth tasted like blood,” that was when he quickened the pace even more. Your sex was so hot and wet, all the way at the base of your spine you could feel your orgasm coming to you, a full-body shiver that made your eyes well with tears. 

The last part was what sent him over the edge though. 

“Sometimes, I’d bite myself so I could taste the blood when I’d touch-” was all it took to make him come. 

Fuck it felt good too. A weak falsetto escaped your mouth when he released, so warm and filling. That’s what made you reach your end too. You clawed your nails in his skin so deep there were two broken half-moons on his chest. Your thighs clenched against his torso, quivering, as you could feel your body become as light and floaty as chiffon. 

Alastor let the both of you ride it out, that sweet joyous bliss. When your mind returned from the heaven it was sent to, you leaned over, resting on top of him. He moved you gently, pressing you closely to his chest. For a while, neither of you spoke, the air lingering with the smell of sweat and blood and sex. You ran your fingers through his hair again; He kissed the back of your hand before speaking. 

“If I’d known all that would come out of making you angry at me, I would’ve earned your ire a long while ago.” You rolled your eyes, flicking his chest playfully. 

“Perhaps we could do this again, without the arguing?” You propose, “You’re quite good at it.” 

A smile stretched across his face as he played with a lock of hair that rested near your face, “Expect nothing less from an overlord of hell cher.” One of his hands slid to your lower back, tracing small circles on that creamy flesh. 

“How about we try one more time without the arguing, for good measure?”

You smirked and kissed him again. All for good measure.

#hazbin hotel #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel x reader #alastor #alastor the radio demon #hazbin hotel smut #alastor x y/n #hazbin hotel alastor x reader #hazbin alastor x reader #hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbin hotel imagines #fanfic request

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

A character reference based on all four Steps of Our Life! It's only "sort of" a height reference as well since obviously they're not 100% accurate (the devs don't have specific heights for everyone to my knowledge).

I did dig into the code to try and get characters at their "normal" heights but there are other matters at play too (example: Nicolas is obviously "taller" than he should be because he needs to be pushed upwards to be visible enough above the game's text box; likewise with other very short characters).

Still, this should serve as either a nice reference guide for every character or a "height reference" in the sense of getting an idea of which characters are shorter/taller than others.

I'm also going to detail some extra notes below the break, including posts from GB Patch's Tumblr that reference any defined heights (with Cove being the obvious one) or general height things, as well as some more stuff about the MC's height in comparison to the three love interests depending on what you pick.

Cove's height is listed on GB Patch's FAQ as 4' 1" in Step 1 (also stated as "mostly average, perhaps a bit on the short side"), 5' 4" in Step 2 (in-game this is defined as "very tall" on the MC's potential height spectrum, as that is the only option considered on par with Cove's height), 6' 0" in Step 3, and 6' 4" in Step 4. A fun fact is that Cove's final height was originally 6' 3" (191cm) instead.

Derek in Step 2 is under five feet tall (this post also lists Cove as "around 5 and a half feet tall" which you could take as either close enough to 5' 4" as stated above or a potential original height he had that got changed). In-game, he's "short" but not "very short", as having your MC be "very short" will prompt narration telling you that you're shorter than Derek, whereas "short" only has you relate to him in smolness generally.

Step 4 Derek is "mostly average." He wouldn't be considered tall nor would he be considered short. His youngest brother Nicolas will "probably end up as a similar height to him" once he's more grown up.

Step 4 Baxter is "taller than average, but not especially tall."

I've been informed that, on the Our Life Patreon Discord, Step 4 Derek's height is listed as 5' 9" (175cm) whereas Step 4 Baxter's is listed as 5' 11" (180cm), so those are their defined heights. Before that, both of their heights had jumped around somewhat. A post from 2019 said that Derek was 5' 11", but a post from June 2021 said that Baxter was 5' 11" and Derek was 5' 9" (so consistent with the Discord). Then there's also another post from July 2021 (you'll have to scroll down for this one) that listed Baxter at around 5' 10" while Derek was 5' 8"/5' 9". If you're insane enough to try and use the character reference too, then Baxter would actually be around 6'1" at minimum since he's taller than Step 3 Cove (though you could also make the same argument that this means the mom trio of Pamela, Noelani, and Kyra must be decently tall as well since they're so close to Cove on the character reference).

I don't have any experience with GB Patch's other game, XOXO Droplets, so I don't know what ages the characters are in it, but since both Shiloh and Jeremy are characters seen visibly in Our Life, I thought I'd also mention that they're listed as 5' 10" and 5' 5" (or 5' 5 1/2") respectively in XOXO Droplets. Jeremy also apparently grows to 5' 8" in his 20s and he's 22 in the Our Life Cove Wedding DLC (I don't think this is spoken of in the game specifically but he's labeled as 22 in the code).

As for the MC and how their height plays into things, "tall" and "very tall" as well as "short" and "very short" tend to be considered the same for the most part in the game's code. It's not that there isn't a difference at all (I would say it's still notable), it's just that sometimes the game may be more vague about height differences. My post about Errands references this where you don't need more athletic points due to being "very short" instead of "short" to give Cove a piggyback ride.

A guesstimate I'd make is that about 5% of the time, the game will take note of whether you're "very tall" instead of "tall" or "very short" instead of "short." Otherwise, you're either "generally tall," "average," or "generally short." There are also other instances (usually with Cove) where the game might just check if you're either generally tall (around Cove's height) or not generally tall (i.e: definitely shorter than him).

This is actually relevant to the heights because, following all above information, one would assume that Step 4 Derek is average, Step 4 Baxter is tall, and Step 4 Cove is very tall going off the MC's potential "height spectrum" of very short, short, average, tall, and very tall, but it's not entirely the case.

A "tall" MC (generally tall) will look "down" at Step 4 Baxter just as he will look "up" at them or they'll look directly at each other if the MC is "average," same as Step 3 Baxter, but--

when the game has any instance of differentiating between "tall" and "very tall" (they never do this for Step 3 Baxter so the base assumption would have to be that he's just average height), things change.

During Baxter's apology in the wedding of his Step 4, Baxter dips his chin to look at the MC if they're "short"/"very short," levels his chin to look at the MC if they're "average"/"tall," and then lifts his chin to look at the MC if they're "very tall." A generally tall MC still has to lean down to kiss him if they choose to do so though.

Also, during the intimacy scene with Baxter (either in his office or his living room), if the MC is "very short," "short," or "average," it states that Baxter is taller than them. If they're "very tall," then Baxter is shorter than them, but a "tall" MC is "almost the exact same height" as him.

This is all a really long-winded way of saying that GB Patch referring to Step 4 Baxter being "taller than average but not especially tall" might mean that he's some infuriating middle ground between average and tall where he's not quite one but not quite the other either (which honestly is very Baxter of him so I can't even be mad).

#type: helpful #type: cracking the cove #our life #olba #our life: beginnings & always #((If you line up the images yourself then make sure the height of the original images are all the same)) #((I don't know if Tumblr squished any.)) #((Let me know if I'm missing anyone!)) #((I know there's Step 3 Jeremy and someone named Cala in Derek's Step 4 (haven't gotten there yet))) #((but you only see those two on the phone so there is no ''default'' position/size for them.)) #((Also I was worried that Tumblr would eat the quality if I uploaded such long images)) #((so I separated Steps 2 and 3 and 4 into multiple images.)) #((Hopefully that's fine; if you line them up side-by-side it still works out.)) #((Me feeling so exposed because now how I design my Coves is here for everyone to see.)) #((Feel free to judge my bias towards the color blue.))

[qqueenofhades]

Hi! I know Charles is terrible for a number of reasons, but if it’s not too much trouble can I get like, a top 10 list or something lol, that I may be able to pull out over the following months when people are like “well he’s not thaaaat bad.” I wouldn’t even know where to start looking, not to mention what might be buried or hard to find.

Oh boy, this is my time. (Well, again.)

Aside from how awfully Charles treated Diana while they were married, let's start with the massive ongoing cash-for-honors scandal and the investigation into his private charity for basically selling personal access to him (the future British monarch) in exchange for, sometimes, literal duffel bags of black cash. (Don't worry, they promised with all seriousness that next time, they would absolutely stop taking those!) This was also happening at the same time as the police probe into his younger brother Andrew for, y'know, being a statutory rapist and sex trafficker who hosted Kevin Spacey and Ghislaine Maxwell as his personal guests at Buckingham Palace. Yet again, the Palace bureaucracy tried to insist that Charles Didn't Know About This Personally!!!, because the "good prince" is exempt from the dealings of his treacherous and corrupt advisors. Mmmmhmmm.

In another case of being the most oblivious person ever, at best, Charles's charity also happily took a donation of one million pounds from the bin Laden family (yes, THAT bin Laden family). Of course when it came out, they insisted that it had been properly vetted and it was from the respectable Saudi business bin Laden! Not, y'know, the terrorist ones! I guess money from anywhere for any reason is just fine, at least until you get caught and have to do some fast talking. Possibly this is because Charles and Camilla's fancy-health-food Waitrose brand, "Duchy Originals," got busted for fraud and advocating dangerous and ineffective homeopathic remedies (which Charles has also used his public platform to advocate for, including his batshit belief that coffee enemas can cure cancer). He also likewise used his platform to interfere in civic and architectural plans that he didn't like, and is generally known for being much more outspoken and politically visible than his mother. I mean sure, his parents sucked and were physically and emotionally distant, so that can't really help growing up in such a fucked-up environment, but still.

In his (very limited) defense, I will say that he has, for quite a while, advocated for sustainability programs and action on climate change, but considering all the efforts that he himself would have to make to truly support those actions on more than just a vocal or interest-based level, that is not something that we can hang on him as a laurel. Besides, he's still the inheritor of the entire British monarchy and its whole fucked-up system, and unless he plans to change literally all of that, yeah.

#rosi3333 #ask

[elysiansparadise]

Full of surprises, you never finish getting to know them but as time goes by, your affection for them grows. Lighthearted outside, profound personality on the inside. 

Gemini Rising: Fascinating Mind & Heart

Charming smile, well accompanied by an inquisitive, agile and curious mind, complement a personality endowed with depth and many layers that protect someone who fears feeling lost and directionless, someone who puts a lot of pressure on themselves and who often overanalyzes the things they happen around you. They have a strong need to understand what is really happening around them, to not miss anything and to achieve that stability that they have not felt throughout their lives. Your mind is a temple full of knowledge, interesting things to say and share, but most importantly, it keeps great abilities, intelligence and enchanting qualities.

Security is something crucial for them, both emotional and economic, and they are willing to give everything of themselves so as not to lose it once they achieve it. This behavior and way of seeing things is attributed to them by Cancer in the 2nd house. They tend to be very protective people with what they consider important in their lives, some of these natives can become attached to their material goods for the simple fact that it has taken them time to obtain them, despite this, they are generous people when it comes to those. To those who love. Being a house ruled by the Moon when it is in Cancer, these people can experience economic ups and downs in their lives. Likewise, this house, beyond talking about our material goods, talks about our self-esteem, which is stressed throughout their life. They are people who take great care of their money, but may have a tendency to spend it on one whim or another. Many of them may make purchases when they are emotionally down as a way to find comfort. They have the need for constancy on an emotional level, keeping promises, demonstrating through actions that the native is important and providing them with reaffirmation and reliability, in return, these natives give exactly the same to the other person.

The presence of Leo in the 3rd house makes these natives have great intellectual ability. Being a house ruled by the Sun, it makes them capable of standing out and shining for their surprising intellect. Accompanied by the ease of learning new skills and highlighting their hobbies, this native has great charisma and an ability to move, entertain and communicate exactly what is going through their minds. Academically they may have been very successful, stood out for their performance or even been seen as charming and fun by their peers, this however also makes them prone to attracting some envy. They passionately share what crosses their mind and are able to spread passion and interest through their speech. Many of these natives are great communicators and have great abilities to understand all kinds of ideas, no matter how complex they may be. They are determined to continue obtaining knowledge in areas that arouse their interest, in which they are certainly very selective. They are people who hold tightly to their opinions and can become very good at convincing people that they are right. Many of them can enjoy debating and communicating ideas contrary to those that are established. They speak from the heart, they hate speeches that are too technical, boring or not very dynamic, they will always seek to add fun, a touch of comedy or at least interesting to a conversation. They stand out for their creativity and wittiness, traits that make them very loved by others.

These people are lighthearted and very accepting of those things that seem different or unknown to them, but there is a quality about themselves that only those who are very close to them know, their tendency towards perfectionism and that desire to want to have things under control, shown par excellence with Virgo in the 4th house. These natives like to have things under control, especially their emotional world and themselves. They tend to show these traits especially with themselves, in some cases they may want to take care of some things themselves in order for things to be done well and in their own way, especially if Saturn is in this house or if the ruler is making a hard aspect with Saturn [conjunction, square, opposition, quincunx]. They dislike uncertainty and what is not certain, as it makes them anxious and uncomfortable to a certain extent. They are very analytical people even with their emotions, they like to know why they feel what they feel and they can spend a lot of time in their inner world trying to figure out who they really are. They are very private people when it comes to their family life and emotional vulnerability. It is very likely that they have experienced some emotionally complex moment that has made them partially or temporarily distance themselves from some family members.

A unique charm, a personality so interesting and sublime that it envelops you with a simple glance. Their voice, their ethereal beauty, their charisma and their enchanting skills make those with Libra in the 5th house the target of all those looking for a romantic lover who adds excitement to their lives. They are thoughtful, loving people who give their best in their love relationships, they have a desire to love deeply and be loved in that way, with perseverance, meaningful details and feel that deep connection that awakens that spark of inspiration in them. Love with them feels like heaven itself, a perfect mix of passion and affection, friendship and love. They can have many artistic gifts, especially those related to design and aesthetics, their beauty makes them stand out and they have a unique quality that makes them easily loved by the public. Being ruled by Venus, makes these natives like and attracted to the interesting, the fun and, why not, the risk and intensity of this fire house [naturally ruled by Leo]. They can greatly enjoy movies, cinema and music, in general have a great appreciation of art. In the case that they decide to have children, they will treat them gently and teach them kindness and good values, at the same time they will do activities that they enjoy with them and they will be very caring and loving. They can have very sociable, kind and graceful children. 

One of the reasons why this particular rising is attributed its sharp and impressive analytical capabilities is because of Scorpio in the 6th house, this overlay makes them extremely observant, reaching the point that nothing slips and nothing easy to lie or hide things about them. They have research skills, an outstanding intellect and an excellent eye for detail. Many of them can work in the economics sector due to their analysis skills, others can opt for the health field, whether as doctors, psychologists, veterinarians or in another area that involves healing, and finally they can obtain the field of the industry for the quality of transformation. Most of these natives, being very independent and disliking feeling controlled in any way, may choose to work on their own and many of them [especially if Saturn is there or aspecting the 6th house ruler] may prefer or achieve leadership roles in their works. Their work environment is usually tense, they may have co-workers who envy their promotions or abilities, or who have lots of disagreements with them. In terms of health, the native enjoys vitality and good health, it is necessary that they learn to manage their thoughts because they have a tendency to deal with anxiety, intrusive thoughts or intense fears/phobias. Likewise, they may have hormonal problems. These people reject monotony and feel the need to feel mentally stimulated, so they may seem busy most of the time by the various interests they have or how busy their mind can be.

When these natives commit to someone to have a serious relationship, they are adventure personified, this is shown with Sagittarius in the 7th house. There is something so radiant and touching about them and it is that they are like a ray of light for their partners, they are the ones who, after the torrid storms that life can give them, return that hope, give them that support and are there by their side ready to continue accompanying them. They give their partner many joys and unforgettable moments, new experiences and a partner who loves them for who they are. These natives are looking for a partner who will give them those experiences and sensations that they thought they would never have on those dark nights, someone who excites them, is the reason for their mischievous smiles and who is that partner who teaches and guides them when they are most nervous or insecure. they can feel. Someone who contributes positively to their lives, who gives as much as they know they can give and who addresses them with transparency and honesty. They look for certainty from their partner, someone who does not hesitate to say and feel that the native is the one, someone who makes obvious the interest they feel towards them and constantly reaffirms it but in the process makes things interesting and intriguing. Future spouse is likely to be older in experience or age but very young at heart, someone with wisdom and a lot of experiences to tell the native, in some cases they are usually from a different continent, country or state and are usually like a teacher for the native. Something incredible about these natives is that they tend to have a positive influence on others, who perceive them to be more passionate, happy, and optimistic than they perceive themselves to be. They always leave an important lesson wherever they go and their warmth and good nature remains with others. 

When we see Capricorn in the 8th house, the native who fears the idea of ​​being perceived as uninteresting, predictable and superficial, they fear other people imposing rules or expectations on them and, in some cases they may fear feeling that they are like one of their parents, or an older member of their family. May have difficulty feeling intimate with someone, because this house is ruled by Saturn after all which adds obstacles when it comes to becoming intimate on a deep level with someone. They look for stability and trust as well as the feeling of having reliability from the other person. They love being with people with whom they share points of view and ways of seeing life, since many of them find it very difficult to be with someone who has very different ideals from their own in terms of relationships. In sex, they can enjoy being with partners who are older than them, with more experience or who simply teach them new things, they have an intense drive and can be more passionate than they first appear. Something that goes hand in hand with the feeling of desire that they may have towards someone is admiration. If the other person does not inspire them, does not seek to improve themselves and has no ambition, it can be a huge turn off for them. Physical contact for them is something crucial in a relationship, they will love to touch and turn on their partner in this way, but they can like it even if there is no sex involved, hugs, massages or holding hands can even be something that makes them feel safe or happy with their partner. There is a mix between the desire to dominate or be dominated by your partner in bed but also to protect and be protected by them. As time goes by, the native connects more with their sexual energy and their sex appeal increases as they grow.

With Aquarius in the 9th house the native has an insatiable thirst for new knowledge, it is never usually enough for them to learn new things or skills and they seek to delve deeply into a topic. They may have a tendency to get fixated on a specific topic quickly but become disinterested once they feel they have already explored everything. They are curious about the idea of ​​visiting distant places and it is likely that they will do several of them throughout their lives. Being ruled by Uranus, surprising and unexpected things can happen to them on trips, and this also indicates many plane trips. In terms of career, they may opt for a career that no one in their family has studied, or that they don't like, or simply something that seems very complex in the eyes of others. The decision to take a gap year is likely, and if Uranus is making tense aspects to Saturn, they will likely decide not to study at university. Even so, the native will possess great wisdom and a very unique way of seeing the world. They may have many friends who live far from them or, to be more specific, in other countries, but despite the distance they feel a genuine and close touch to them.

Pisces in the 10th house makes them people who can give different impressions, and each one is very different from the other. Many people tend to project themselves onto natives more frequently than they would like, in the same way, people tend to idealize them constantly. It is very likely that parents will place many expectations on the native, especially if the ruler is making a tense aspect with the Moon or Saturn. This overlay usually gives the native a wide variety of interests, so the decision of what career to study can be a big and difficult decision that they face when they are young. What they know for sure is that they need a job in which They can learn a lot and use their talents and creative abilities. These people may work in the art field or in places where they can help other people. With this position of Pisces, the natives usually give an ethereal impression, they charm the public and strangers easily, their beauty can be something that makes them stand out among the crowd, also due to the nature of this sign, this person can contribute a lot to others through your work, you can impact the lives of others in a favorable way, you can help and inspire many with ease.

There is something admirable about the independence of these people, the confidence with which they project themselves and how they seem to be very well on their own, what makes them even more inspiring is the quality they can offer in their friendships, all of this a product of Aries in the 11th house. These people focus a lot on their friendships, on being there for them and making them have a good time after a difficult day. Although they do not seem very emotional with them, their support is unconditional and they fervently support those they call friends. Speaking of this area, they tend to be people who attract some drama in their groups of friends, which makes them opt for small groups. In personal terms, this house also governs economic income, so Aries here indicates a person who seeks to generate money, an enterprising soul to whom the doors of money are not closed and can work a lot or in one or more things to have your desired income. They like to be financially independent and take pride in achieving things on their own. They will fight to achieve their goals and to make come true what they aspired to at some point in their life.

Life has been a complex journey, hasn't it? One where you have been tested an enormous number of times, how much you can tolerate, how much you can change, how many changes you can adapt to. It seems that life has a fast pace, and that leads you to adapt to the flow of it. When will it be my turn? Can someone or something adapt to me? Taurus in the 12th house makes you want a minute of peace, but at the same time it brings with it the fear of being left behind, of stagnating but also of not finding tranquility. You want to be able to take a breath, to enjoy the feeling of having a safe place, and experience stability for the first time. You don't allow yourself to stop, be still and you put a lot of pressure on yourself, but deep down you would like to feel that you are not being rushed, that there is no rush to make a decision, that there is no rush to grow, that there is no need to run if you have doubts. You may be carrying a feeling of little stability from a very young age, the idea of ​​creating your own stability or being the only person in whom you can find reliability. Doubts or feeling unconfident overwhelm you, but it has never been enough to stop you, you have the will and the desire to move forward, even if you would silently like someone to be by your side to guide and guide you when the paths become very dark. Unconsciously you evoke this feeling of companionship and stability, many people really feel that you are a beyond trustworthy person, someone with whom life seems like an entertaining and interesting journey. You evoke a feeling of peace and you can see that throughout your life many people will trust you and feel secure with your presence. With this overlay, you can have very intense variations in self-esteem, some of these natives may be afraid of not knowing what is going to happen and losing control of themselves and their life. They dream of being able to have everything they ever wanted to have [material and emotional] even if at some point they thought they would never have it or experience it. 

#astrology #gemini rising #gemini ascendant #gemini in the 1st house #gemini asc #gemini #natal chart #birth chart #ascendant

[janearts]

Roisia Lydgate: Character Overview

This is really more of a background introduction to her character, but I'm trying to put as much information in one place for future reference or for anyone who wants to get a better idea of her character. Details underneath the cut!

Meta-Knowledge

Roisia is my Source Hunter from Divinity: Original Sin, but I recreated her in Baldur’s Gate 3 as a way to continue her story albeit in a completely different universe. The story and events of DOS have since become part of her backstory, and tweaked to fit the world of Faerûn.

Name Pronunciation

I’m honestly none too fussed about pronunciation. Her name is an 11th century mediaeval name that would later become “Rose” in Middle English. Roisia is probably meant to be pronounced something like /ɹɔɪːsiːɑ/ (Roy-see-ah) based on other name variants found around the same time. Her nicknames, as given to her by her parents, include: Rose, Rosie, petal, pet, rosebud, bud, so on and so forth.

Personality

Roisia is charming, adventurous, with a voracious curiosity, and a deeply analytical mind. She believes that taking care of the dead and providing a voice for the dead is her life’s calling. She was formerly raised to be a Cleric of Kelemvor, but believes that her god has disowned her since she reanimated her father. She now believes herself to be deemed among the Faithless. She’s compassionate to those in need and is willing to break rules (and the law) to help others. While she is generally a law-abiding citizen, she is dogged in pursuing the whims of her curiosity and will likewise do whatever it takes to solve a puzzle, a mystery, or a murder… or simply answer a question that has occurred to her. She is sociable, prefers when everyone gets along, and will try to talk her way into and out of most situations. This includes charming, reasoning, intimidating, and/or deceiving others to get her desired outcome. Ultimately, she finds solace and comfort in the company of animals, the dead, and books. Her favourite animal is the noble spider, and she breeds and raises some species in her spare time.

Spells and Such

I tried as best I could to replicate Roisia’s DOS character. In DOS, she was classed as a Witch. Witchcraft spells in DOS are a mixture of Necromancy spells and Enchantment spells, and I chose my spells in BG3 to imitate the ones that you get in DOS. As a witch in DOS, Roisia also had the ability to talk to animals and summon a spider. (I cheesed this in BG3 with the Find Familiar spell—technically a Conjuration spell—and having her drink a potion after every long rest.) To be more in keeping with her backstory, I gave her a Guild Artisan background and invested skill points in skills like Medicine.

Backstory

Roisia grew up in Eastway of Baldur’s Gate. Her father worked in the Gray Harbor shipyard as a shipwright and her mother was a Mortarch, running the Eastway Cemetery & Lydgate Funeral Service. She was raised to follow in her mother’s footsteps as a Cleric of Kelemvor, and specifically as a Mortarch, from an early age. She assisted her mother in managing the burial customs and rites for the Lower City’s diverse community (from embalming to ritualistic cannibalism to poisonings), comforting grieving family members of the deceased, and tending to the dead buried in the cemetery.

Her life took an unexpected turn when her father drowned during a sea trial. Grieving for her father, Roisia made her first attempt at Necromancy. She unwittingly used a wish spell in the process and reanimated him as a skeleton. Because it was the wish spell, not her first attempt at a necromantic ritual, that bound the soul of her father to his bones, Roisia is determined to master the School of Necromancy and truly resurrect her father.

She is interrupted in her early studies by the appearance of Eustace, who recruited her into the Source Hunters, an organisation dedicated to eradicating dangerous magic users (like… Necromancers). “We need you,” he said. “… and you need us.” Roisia & Eustace (or Roy & Stacey as they became known to each other) investigated the mysterious murder of a town counsellor and uncovered a Necromantic cult in the process. As they adventured together, Roisia began to develop feelings for Eustace, but as their adventure concluded and they returned to the Source Hunter Academy, Eustace did not return those feelings. Dejected, Roisia left the Source Hunters and returned to her home in Baldur’s Gate.

To “cure” herself of her heartbreak, Roisia drew up a list of lifelong goals for herself. They are:

1. A cemetery or plot of land of her own to oversee. 2. “Tenants”/”Residents” (aka The Deceased) to house and tend to on this land. 3. To master Necromancy such that she can extend indefinitely her own life and the lives of her loved ones. 4. One (1) Spouse (*not of the squeamish variety) 5. Children (*ideally 3-5)

Refocused aggressively on her list, Roisia returned to her duties during the day and her studies during the night. She was abducted by the nautiloid one night while she was off to dig up a new test subject.

Playlist

#BG3 Roisia #Roisia #taggin #tatterings #here you go! #rosecanons #roisiacanons #Spotify

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 3, Episode 4

Last episode ended with Simon coming home to a smashed window, this episode starts the morning after, Simon takes the bus to school, while Wilhelm is anxiously waiting for him.

Culture: At a high school level in Sweden, there's national tests in Swedish, English, and Math. Like everywhere else, the purpose of these tests is not only to grade students, but to align all schools across the country to combat grade inflation.

Blink and you miss it: Vincent is trying to cheat by looking at Nils' answers.

Blink and you miss it: Vincent draws a dick in the gravel while waiting for the others to be done with the test.

Subtext: This entire episode is overflowing with examples of privilege. For Vincent, and many other rich kids like him, studying and learning doesn't matter, they'll graduate regardless, so he doesn't care about the exam, he only cares about the graduation party.

Cinematography: Even with Felice and friends being completely blurred out in the background, you can still see Stella and Fredrika turning to look at Sara, and then turning their backs on her.

Culture: In the US, a lot of people are using "socialism" as a catch-all phrase which means politics they don't agree with, regardless of its actual ideology. Likewise, in Sweden, a lot of people use "communist" in the same way about generally left-wing politics, which is what Vincent is doing here.

Subtext: Wilhelm asks Simon if he can reconcile the conflict of dating a royal while being anti-monarchy, but the real question is of course if Wilhelm can reconcile the conflict in himself.

Subtext: This is where the show's political stance shines through, and this argument, that Wilhelm wasn't allowed to choose his life for himself, is the main argument they're gonna use in the finale.

Subtext: Wilhelm is weakly defending the monarchy, but just ends up repeating what his mother told him; it's a privilege, not a punishment, but does he believe it himself?

Subtext: The letter-to-yourself plot is mainly there in order to help August along his redemption arc, but here the show is using it to reinforce the point of the previous scene. Who does Wilhelm want to become? Does he have a choice?

Culture: In Sweden, Säkerhetspolisen, SÄPO, is the government agency in charge of national security, which includes providing security and assigning bodyguards to the royal family.

Subtext: Note the great use of passive voice here by Farima to avoid taking responsibility for the decision to force August to join the birthday foundation event. She's also expertly bargaining with Wilhelm to get what she wants.

Subtext: We know it was the far-right assholes who posted comments to Simon's videos a couple of episodes ago.

Blink and you miss it: Jan-Olof really perks up when Linda talks about moving to Gothenburg, because that would probably mean the end to the relationship between Wilhelm and Simon, which would solve all of his current problems.

Subtext: Like Farima, he bargains with Linda and Simon to get what he wants, for Simon to stop posting things to social media. It's almost as if their strategy was to do nothing at the start, waiting for things to blow up so they could swoop in, help out, and start making demands in exchange...

Blink and you miss it: The option to inactivate and hide your social media account is right there, but of course Simon has to choose to delete everything, because it will cause more drama and anguish.

Blink and you miss it: Fencing! Woohoo! I did fencing for five years as a kid until 8th grade or something, but I only did foil, and not épée like these students. I have absolutely no idea where these two are coming from or going to though, where would they practice? Is there a hidden fencing hall somewhere on the grounds that we haven't seen yet? How many kids at Hillerska are fencing? Also, he's carrying a practice blade and not an electric competition blade, so that checks out. Of the three types of modern fencing, épée is unique in that the entire body counts as a valid target, while in foil only the torso counts, and in sabre only the upper half counts. Oh wow, it looks like the gear is now wireless and every fencer carries their own indicator lights. Cool! Back in my day you had to be strapped in with a cord for competitions.

This tumblr is now about French School fencing. Allez! Touché!

Subtext: The narrative is that it's perfectly ok for the crown prince to be gay, as long as he's not gay gay.

Culture: The show keeps saying this, but in real world Sweden it's no longer the case. Supporting los jibbities is viewed as a completely mainstream and inoffensive opinion, on par with supporting human rights in general.

Subtext: Another example of privilege is being in a position to do a lot of good, and then just not caring about it. Simon is fighting for the causes he believes in, so seeing Wilhelm just casually throw it away is extremely disappointing for him.

Subtext: Unlike Vincent, August is actually a natural leader, someone people listen to, which is why he manages to quiet down the room when Vincent is unable to. Maybe a good quality in a future king?

Subtext: Simon is continuing the argument from before. Wilhelm could have shown solidarity with mental health causes or LGBT causes, but chose not to. However, he immediately decided to join in solidarity with the other rich kids protesting the school rules, which is rather selfish.

Subtext: Colour theory! Sara in purple, because part of the reason she's back at school is that August asked her to? And Simon in yellow, because he sure isn't loving Wilhelm very much right now.

Subtext: Just a reminder that Sara has actually been completely out of the loop since the end of season 2. She has no idea about the school rules, what's happened at home, how it's going with Simon and Wilhelm, or what's happening at school.

Blink and you miss it: Fredrika is so close to stop striking as soon as she's threatened with repercussions.

Subtext: I keep hammering this point home: The culture is in the walls, it's not something some of the kids made up. The visiting alumni were also hazed as new students and kept it going as third years. Same for the parents of all these kids. They're all part of the system, they all kept the cycles of abuse going, because they want the school to be like that.

Subtext: Privilege is thinking you can get things your way with almost no effort. None of these kids have ever struggled or protested something for real and then not been given what they wanted, so they seriously believed they'd win immediately.

Subtext: Another theme of this season is bringing secrets out in the open. We've all seen August struggling with body dysmorphia and an eating disorder since season 1, but no-one has ever called it out and put words on it, until Simon immediately recognizes it and calls it out.

Subtext: ...while the rich kids are just stuck in denial, because eating disorders is for poor people or something, it's not something that happens to them. And if it did, you certainly wouldn't admit it to anyone else.

Subtext: August tries to jokingly fend off Nils because he doesn't want anyone to know that the letter actually meant something to him, until Nils pushes too hard, and August punches him.

Subtext: Vincent talked a big game about striking in solidarity, but when they're caught as hilariously unprepared as they are, they're not pooling their resources in solidarity with each other, and instead resort to selling them to the highest bidder. Capitalism in a nutshell, illustrated perfectly by the behaviour of spoiled rich kids. Also, pet peeve, the English word for the currency of Sweden is "kronor", not "crowns".

Lost in translation: They're actually repeating a single word in Swedish, "svikare", which is pretty hard to translate. The verb, "svika", is a bit worse than letting someone down, but not as bad as betraying someone. The adjective, "besviken" typically means disappointed. So "svikare" means a person who is letting other people down, disappointing them, or betraying them.

Subtext: The culture is in the walls of the place, but the kids are also pretty damn complicit in continuing all the shitty traditions. This looks like a game of strip poker or truth or dare that went off the rails and just resulted in more bullying, with everyone joining in.

Subtext: The other girls are upset with Felice because she broke the code. You don't snitch to outsiders, you don't tell the truth, you keep up appearances.

Blink and you miss it: Henry won the potato chip auction, happily ate the entire bag, and passed out in a chair, clutching the bag. Mmmm, sourcream and onion.

Subtext: Speaking of closing ranks towards the outside, this also applies to this strike. It would be bad PR for the school if anyone outside found out that it happened, so it's better to solve it quietly and discreetly. Vanessa can trust the kids not to snitch. Vincent is also right, the parents, who are paying the tuition fees, are on their side.

Subtext: Felice can't be seen talking to Sara, so she checks that the coast is clear, and then drags Sara into a private bathroom to have their conversation.

Subtext: Likewise, Sara was probably Felice's first real friend.

Subtext: Nice little foreshadowing. I would have loved seeing Simon's drawing though!

Subtext: Well, he could have just made his social media private, but the show has to maximize the drama, so here we are, piling on more examples of how Simon is losing himself to the monarchy, that maybe he can't reconcile the conflict.

Subtext: Erik spent three years living at Hillerska, of course he wouldn't have told his then twelve year old kid brother about all the shit going on at the school. August spent an entire year living with Erik at the school, seeing what went on first hand, so of course he knows a side of Erik that Wilhelm doesn't.

Subtext: August has been trying to keep his mouth shut and avoid Wilhelm, but since they have yet another fight, he decides to drop the bomb about Erik to hurt Wilhelm.

Subtext: Again, the culture is in the walls. This is not something that only Erik's class did, once. It's probably been happening to all the boys for decades. It happened to the current second-year students, it happened to Erik, and lots of students before him who kept this shitty initiation tradition going.

Culture: Let's talk about the gay porn hazing a bit more. To me, this is an urban legend. I heard about it when I was a teenager back in the 90's, but I don't personally know anyone it happened to, or anyone who did it to anyone else. It was always hearsay, it happened to a friend of a friend's brother, or a classmate's cousin's friend or something similar, as is typical of urban legends.

Let's also make one thing absolutely clear: It doesn't work. The homophobic idea behind this shit is that if you are forced to watch gay porn and get a boner, you are gay, and if you don't, you're straight. But that is actually not true, erections don't work that way, and the fear of being found out is quite the boner killer. Also, what if you like guys, but the guys in the porno aren't your type? There's just so many ignorant misconceptions behind this idea.

I've also seen a lot of fan comments that keep playing into this ignorance; that the only reason Nils decided to stop the tradition was because he obviously failed it. Or that the only reason August is against it is because he failed, and the only reason he failed is because he's secretly not straight. No. Remember that the test doesn't work. Nils probably passed, despite actually being gay. August might have failed, despite being completely straight. Regardless of what happened, they both found it humiliating, and that is why they made a pact to stop it.

#young royals #young royals subtext #young royals analysis #young royals season 3

[cutielando]

so I just saw the sleep token themed smau you did and it gave me an idea: reader is the daughter of a big new wave rockstar from the 80s (like someone from INXS or Duran Duran), and she’s started dating a driver (Alex or Mick) and now there’s a whole generation of fans who are like ‘her dad is who??? in what band???’

I just thought it could be neat, seeing two of my special interests merge like that lmao god I love the eighties-

a/n: this is so cute !! 🥹 hope you like it!!!❤️

social media au

synopsis: the request 🌸❤️

my masterlist

♡♡♡♡♡

Instagram

liked by lilymhe, landonorris and 3,193,285 others

y/n.rhodes Thank you mercedesamgf1 for having me!❤️ Such a fun weekend!!

view all 392,185 comments

mercedesamgf1 It was a pleasure having you with us for the weekend!❤️

user1 UMMMM????

user2 since when does she go to races?

landonorris such a shame you didn’t wear the papaya shirt i gave you

y/n.rhodes next time, i promise !!!!

landonorris hmmm, okay. mclaren do your thing

mclaren On it! 🫡

lilymhe you’re gorgeous babe 😍😍

y/n.rhodes have you seen yourself???😭❤️

alex_albon please don’t flirt with my girlfriend

y/n.rhodes you can’t stop us now. she’s OUR girlfriend

lilymhe sorry babe

alex_albon ???

zendaya i miss you girl !!!

y/n.rhodes i miss you too !!!!

user3 she is such an icon

user4 we should be grateful to be living in the same era as her

user3 for realllll

user4 i wanna be her so badly😭😭

lewishamilton it was a pleasure meeting you🥂

y/n.rhodes likewise, Sir Hamilton 😮‍💨

lewishamilton i told you not to call me that

y/n.rhodes i must have not heard you, loud garage you see

mickschumacher had a lovely time!❤️

y/n.rhodes so did i❤️

iMessage

sir lewis

hey y/n

y/n

hello sir hamilton

sir lewis

😐woman

y/n

okay sorry sorry

what’s up

sir lewis

what’s the deal with you and Mick?

y/n

what do you mean?

sir lewis

all the flirting in the garage

the comments

what’s going on?

do you have a crush?😉😉😉

y/n

we’re just friends

nothing is going on

sir lewis

are you sure?😌😌

y/n

yes lol

sir lewis

i don’t believe you, but okayyyy

y/n🩵

lewis is onto us

mickie🩵

what?

how?

y/n🩵

unmmm

the comment?????

maybe because we flirted in the garage?

he’s convinced we have crushes on each other

mickie🩵

fuck

what do you want to do?

y/n🩵

i mean

we can just go with the flow

just show up together and that would be it

mickie🩵

are you sure?

we don’t have to

y/n🩵

it’s okay, i wanna

Instagram

liked by y/n.rhodes, estebanocon and 684,195 others

mickschumacher great weekend, time to recharge

view all 89,143 comments

mercedesamgf1 Hope you enjoy your time off ;)

mickschumacher thank you admin :))

georgerussell63 very nice pictures, mate

mickschumacher thank you, i have a talented photographer

georgerussell63 i'm sure you do ;)

estebanocon you went on holiday without me? :(

mickschumacher i had to :( i didn't have a choice

estebanocon you always have a choice

mickschumacher no, he doesn't - the missus

estebanocon sorry ma'am, i take it back

user1 Mick having a girlfriend was not on my bingo card for this year

user2 I need to know who his girlfriend is like YESTERDAY

user3 I might know who she is

user4 BESTIE???????? SPILL

user3 I might be completely wrong and off-track but I believe it might be Y/N Rhodes

user3 isn't she the girl who visited the garage a couple of weeks back?

user4 Yes. She's the daughter of Nick Rhodes, a member of the band Duran Duran

user5 MICK BAGGED A GIRL???

y/n.rhodes those are some very nice pictures, mr. schumacher

mickschumacher i have a very good photographer who took them for me

y/n.rhodes you'll have to introduce them to me, they seem very good at what they do

user5 I wanna be on vacation with him too :(((

user6 NOBODY MOVE, MICKIE HAS A GF

user7 this explains his impressive drive a couple of weeks back

lewishamilton interesting turn of events

mickschumacher i don't know what you're talking about

liked by lewishamilton, mickschumacher and 5,291,825 others

y/n.rhodes i like the view tagged: mickschumacher

view all 602,185 comments

lewishamilton I KNEW IT

y/n.rhodes nostradamus, congratulations

lewishamilton don't mock your seniors

mickschumacher 🩵

y/n.rhodes 🩵

mercedesamgf1 Thank you Y/N for being our lucky charm from here on out! 🩵

y/n.rhodes always a pleasure 🩵🩵

user1 MICK AND Y/N?????

user2 this took me completely by surprise

user3 I TOLD YOU GUYS I KNEW IT

estebanocon finally

mickschumacher :)

y/n.rhodes thank you for keeping quiet, estie bestie

estebanocon i told you not to call me that

y/n.rhodes sucks to suck

user4 Y/N seems like such a menace and I'm here for it

user5 mickschumacher did you meet Nick?

mickschumacher i did

user6 HOW WAS IT?????

mickschumacher intimidating, but we get along great

y/n.rhodes my dad loves him, he's a sucker for blondes

user7 DAMN Y/N

comments and re-blogs help us grow!

much appreciated!!

JOIN MY TAG LIST HERE

REQUEST HERE

♡♡♡♡♡

Tag list: @outerudeth @orlafitz1664 @f1ln4dr3cl16mv33 @lanad3lslay @dardouni @saturnssunflower @lottef1 @moony-artemis @blissfulsunsetstuff @samantha-chicago @nikfigueiredo @therealcap @iloveyou3000morgan @angiesw0rld @cinnamongirlontv @daemyratwst @rqlstefanny @bwormie @betterwhenimeating @hangmandruigandmav @sbrn0905 @kagome45 @enidsinclairaddamsthesecond @tsukishitm-a @tallrock35 @sesamepancakes @hsfallingsky @boywondrgrayson @evlkking @evie-119 @ijustwanttoreadlols @cixrosie @poppyflower-22 @hiireadstuff @ellouisa17 @paintedbypoetry @hellowgoodbye @lpab @xlinxdax0704 @decafmickey @teti-menchon0604 @ctrlyomomma @sya-skies @likedbygaslyy @chilli-sainz @jazzyjade16 @ririyulife

#imagines #oneshots #fanfiction #one shot #formula 1 #formula one #f1 fic #f1 fanfic #f1 imagine #f1 x reader #f1 smau #f1 #mick schumacher #mick schumacher x reader #mick schumacher smau #mick schumacher fluff #mick schumacher drabble #mick schumacher fanfic #mick schumacher imagine #mick schumacher x you #mick schumacher one shot #mick schumacher instagram au #mick schumacher social media au #mick schumacher blurb

[panda-writes-kpop]

Tzuyu - Everything, Everything (Requested!)

A/N: Gonna be honest - this might be one of my favorite requests I've ever done. It's so cute, and Tzuyu is adorable in this, plus we love a happy little family. 💜

TW: Reader and Tzuyu have a kid together, airplanes, reader and Tzuyu's mom do not get along, a little angst with a happy ending :)

Summary: A trip to Taiwan gives Tzuyu and your daughter a chance to see their homeland and a close relative, but you're less than excited to see someone you don't see eye-to-eye with.

♡ Masterlist ♡

“Do you have everything packed?”

“Yeah, I grabbed this!” Your daughter proudly shows you her stuffed deer plushie, and you smile as you zip up her luggage. “I wanna see Grandma.”

I’m glad that one of us wants to.

To you, it wasn’t a secret that Tzuyu’s mother wasn’t a fan of you dating her daughter. You didn’t know if it had to do with the fact that you were a foreigner, or that she just wasn’t a fan of you in general, but her cold glares and pointed words weren’t missed by you at all.

You, however, knew how much this trip would mean to Tzuyu. Her mother had made a few trips over to Korea since the two of you had gotten together and, later in your relationship, adopted your daughter, but Tzuyu wanted her daughter to see the home land that her mother was raised in.

That fact did not calm your nerves about seeing Tzuyu’s mother in Taiwan, but if it would make Tzuyu and your daughter happy, you’d do it.

I’d do anything for either of them, in all honesty.

A gentle hand on the small of your back causes you to snap out of your thoughts.

“Are you ready, love?” Tzuyu asks your daughter, who excitedly nods. “We should be heading out soon. The plane leaves in a few hours.”

Your daughter grabs her suitcase before clambering out of the room. You and Tzuyu laugh before she directs her attention to you.

“Are you packed and ready to leave?”

As ready as I’ll ever be.

“Of course, darling.” You grab her free hand and press a kiss to it. “Let’s head to the airport.”

~

You awkwardly stand back as Tzuyu hugs her mother before gesturing to her daughter. Your daughter hugs her grandmother’s knees before she is scooped up into the latter’s arms.

Why do I feel like a stranger in my own family?

You wrap your arms around your side as you force yourself to smile as Tzuyu’s mother looks towards you.

It’s just a weekend with her. You can last through a weekend.

Her eyes narrow, and your shoulders sink as you take a step towards her.

“It’s great to see you again.” You say, in an effort to offer an olive branch, but she doesn’t budge.

“Likewise.” Her response is curt towards you before she turns towards her granddaughter. 

The two of them start talking, and you sigh before dejectedly walking towards them. Tzuyu’s hand grabs yours, and when you meet her eyes, the concern radiates off of her.

Are you alright? , she mouths to you.

I’ll survive, you mouth back, it’s just a weekend, after all.

She frowns, but you turn away before you can catch the concern in her eyes changing into disappointment.

~

“How has her Chinese lessons been going?” Tzuyu’s mom asks, and you remain silent as Tzuyu, who sits next to you in the cab, speaks up.

“They’ve been going very well.” Tzuyu gestures to your daughter, who says a broken sentence in Mandarin to her grandma.

“Ah, you’re doing well, sweetheart! If only you weren’t forced to learn three languages…” Tzuyu’s mom glares at you, and you bow your head in shame.

You look over to Tzuyu for help, and her eyes widen as she tries to backtrack.

“We think it’s important for her to learn the language of both of her parents, along with the country that she’s raised in.” Tzuyu pointedly says, and you nod in agreement. “Besides, they’ve been learning Chinese to speak with you, and I’ve been learning English to communicate with their parents. I think it’s a matter of give-and-take, don’t you?”

You show the same amount of surprise as Tzuyu’s mother does, but you begin to smile before grabbing her hand. She always stood up for you when you needed her most. She offers you a gentle smile before her mother speaks.

“Right…” Tzuyu’s mother grumbles, and the rest of the cab ride to Tzuyu’s childhood home is peacefully quiet.

~

Another day and night of tension pass before Tzuyu pulls you aside and says something.

“Hey, what’s going on between you and my mother?”

“Huh?” You tilt your head at her. “What do you mean?”

“Please don’t be like that with me, darling.” She places a gentle hand on your shoulder, and you bite your lip as you try to hold back the emotions that are threatening to break through. “I want to know what’s up. I worry about you.”

“It’s not anything major, I-”

“Your daughter knows.” Tzuyu interjects, and you pause as you feel a wave of shame pass you.

“She does?” You flinch at the weakness in your voice, but it’s how you truly feel.

“She does. She asked me why you and grandma don’t like each other.”

You place a hand on your forehead before looking at Tzuyu.

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her that sometimes adults don’t see eye-to-eye, especially when it comes to their concern over a loved one.”

“Tzuyu, did you talk to your mother?” You ask with concern, and she nods, which causes you to panic. “It’s true, isn’t it? She really doesn’t like me at all.”

You only curl up into yourself when Tzuyu nods her head. She sits next to you, on the bed, before removing her hand from your shoulder. You place your head on her shoulder as she wraps a loose arm around you.

“I’m sorry for ruining the trip.”

“You didn’t ruin the trip.” She tries to reassure you, but it doesn’t help. “At least, you didn’t mean to ruin the trip. I should’ve-”

“Don’t bring this back on yourself, Tzuyu.” You gently scold her, but she sighs in response.

“How can I not? How can I not blame myself for being ignorant that my lover and mother didn’t get along until it was made blatantly obvious?”

“How do we fix this, baby?” You softly ask with the remaining strength that’s in your body.

“I already did. Don’t worry about it.” Her free hand combs through your hair, and you yawn as you snuggle against her body.

“Y’know, you might act nonchalant and unbothered, but you really cannot help to be involve yourself with other people, huh?”

With sleepy eyes, you look up at Tzuyu one more time before you’re lulled to sleep.

“I suppose you’re right. You always see the best in people, don’t you?”

~

You smile at your daughter as she excitedly bounces around the room.

“Do we have to leave?!?! I wanna stay with Grandma for longer.”

You wrap your arms around Tzuyu, who blushes slightly before brushing a piece of hair out of her face.

“We will come back soon, I promise.” Tzuyu says before laughing at you trying to eat a piece of her hair. “You are a dork, darling.”

“But I’m your dork.” You joke before Tzuyu laughs again.

“I suppose so.”

“You suppose?” You jokingly say with anger as your daughter laughs at your antics.

Someone clears their throat, and the three of you direct your attention towards the doorway where Tzuyu’s mother stands.

“You three are welcome back anytime.” She emphasizes before her granddaughter runs over and hugs her.

“Three?” You mutter breathlessly as Tzuyu squeezes your arm.

"Three."

#kpop x reader #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop #kpopidol #kpop fanfic #kpop girls #kpop gg #girl group imagines #girl group scenarios #girl group x reader #girl group #girl group fanfic #girl group au #kpop au #twice fanfic #twice scenarios #twice x you #twice x reader #twice imagines #twice #twice tzuyu #tzuyu scenarios #tzuyu imagines #tzuyu #chou tzuyu #tzuyu x you #tzuyu x reader #fanfic #twice au

[youkissedareaderinthedark]

Expectations

Synopsis: To keep it short, the grid’s reaction of you dating Jude

young female mercedes driver reader x 2024 F1 grid

A/N: technically, this is a part 2 to “don’t expect the expected” and while you could probably read this as a stand-alone, it’s recommended to read pt1 🫶

. so

. the drivers on the grid kind of had an idea you were dating jude before the rest of the world did

. you were suddenly spending most of your free time in madrid

. you expressed a lot more interest in la liga than they would’ve expected

. they saw your recent instagram posts

. and after your first few posts about seeing real madrid games, it wasn’t hard to narrow it down to who you might be dating

. also, watching jude walk through the paddock with you and sit in the mercedes garage was all they needed as confirmation

. carlos is the most excited about your relationship

. he’s been a real madrid fan for forever

. he thinks jude’s a really good addition to the team

. and carlos just likes the guy in general

. he’s the first driver on the grid to welcome and befriend jude

. he helps set an example of how the other drivers should treat him

. because the grid isn’t used to having a boyfriend around instead of a wag

. they didn’t really know how to act

. as your teammate and one of your closest friends on the grid, george goes kind of “big brother” on him

. he acts friendly and everything, but he makes sure jude is treating you right

. “are you okay?” “yeah, why?” “oh, well I just saw jude storm out of your driver’s room, I wanted to make sure everything was okay between you two”

. “y/n, you said jude met your family over winter break, how’d it go?” “everyone liked him! they said he was very nice and they thought he was good for me” “good, i’m think he’s good for you too. not that you need my permission or anything I just-“ “I get it george, thank you”

. lando forms an almost sibling-like bond with jude

. because even though lando’s 4 years older than him, they’re at the same level matutrity wise

. this could include teaming up with him to make fun of you

. “stealing” jude away and wondering off in the paddock

. and accompanying you to real madrid games when he’s in spain

. the two of them become goods friends in a short period of time and even though they’re pretty chaotic together, you’re happy they’re getting along

. charles befriends jude surprisingly quickly

. at first, he gets to know your boyfriend because of how much he’s with carlos

. but eventually their own friendship forms

. it mostly consisting of jude teasing charles about his unimpressive football skills

. and charles’ jokes about jude being a terrible driver

. you know they have plans to teach each other their professions at some point

. and you can’t wait to watch and laugh at them

. you expected nothing less of daniel to get along with jude faster than everybody else

. jude told you multiple times how excited he was to meet danny

. and likewise for daniel

. they get along super well, they have similar senses of humor and clicked very quickly

. danny also has too much fun teasing you two all the time

. “oh look, the lovebirds are here”

. “jude, your girl just got a podium, how are you gonna spoil her?”

. “y/n come get your boyfriend he’s been so depressed without you”

. anyway

. the point is

. unless the guy gives them something to be upset about

. everyone likes jude

something short and sweet for now. i have so many ideas that i cannot wait to write and i’m so excited for you all to see them

#reader insert #formula 1 #driver reader #f1 grid x reader #platonic f1 grid #f1 imagine #formula 1 driver imagines #f1 2023 grid x y/n #f1 2024 grid x y/n #would it be 2023 or 2024 I haven’t decided yet #female driver reader #jude bellingham x reader #jude bellingham x you #jude bellingham imagine #jude bellingham #headcannons

[prokopetz]

Star-spawned

A game of tentacles and self-discovery, for 3–5 players

One unearthly night, a ray of colourless light descended from the stars, and under its warping radiance, creatures unlike any the world has ever seen were born. They do not know the world, and they do not know themselves. Unfortunately for the world, they’re quick learners!

What You’ll Need

Star-spawned requires three six-sided dice, a large sheet of blank paper – or, alternatively, a shared spreadsheet or text document – called the Discovery Sheet, and some way of noting the values of each player’s Facets.

Some rules refer to the player to your left or right; if you’re not seated around a table, work out a virtual seating order amongst yourselves before play begins.

Character Creation

Character creation in Star-spawned is undertaken as a group, and consists of two main phases: generating Facets, and assigning Facets.

Generate Facets

Roll a six-sided die twice, reading the first roll as the “tens” place and the second roll as the “ones” place, yielding a number in the range from 11 to 66. Find the corresponding row of the following table, and write down the contents of the first column. Repeat this process for the second and third columns, and arrange the results in order to find the name of a Facet. For example, if you rolled 23, 41, and 31, this would yield a Facet name of “Desmatence”.

Generate a number of Facet names equal to the number of players, and write them on the Discovery Sheet, each in a separate column with plenty of space under it.

11–12. ab | bles | age 13–14. an | cap | and 15–16. bi | cim | ary 21–22. con | dab | ate 23–24. des | dor | dom 25–26. flam | glan | en 31–32. gen | gov | ence 33–34. gro | kin | ess 35–36. jav | lin | ice 41–42. ka | mat | ing 43–44. pur | ned | ion 45–46. re | nil | ity 51–52. sle | nov | le 53–54. sun | quir | ma 55–56. tab | sped | ood 61–62. tri | sib | on 63–64. ven | tin | ous 65–66. war | tog | yle

Assign Facets

Your character begins with a rating of 1 in each Facet generated in the previous step. Distribute a number of additional points equal to the number of players (or, equivalently, equal to the number of Facets). No Facet may have a final value greater than 3. Try to avoid having two characters with the exact same spread of Facets.

Note: at the time that you assign your Facets, you will have no idea what they mean. This is intentional.

Finishing Touches

No human eye may apprehend nor human tongue express what you are. Roll or choose up to three adjectives from the following table to define the impression you leave upon others – your form is otherwise utterly indescribable. Your nameless name likewise cannot be inscribed or uttered; you may amuse yourself by imagining the epithets that will inevitably be bestowed upon you.

11–12. ancient 13–14. bulbous 15–16. cyclopean 21–22. distorted 23–24. enveloping 25–26. fluid 31–32. grasping 33–34. howling 35–36. iridescent 41–42. lurking 43–44. membranous 45–46. nebulous 51–52. oily 53–54. porous 55–56. refulgent 61–62. squamous 63–64. tentacled 65–66. throbbing

Playing the Game

The sole pursuit of Star-spawned is to discover the world, and in so doing, discover yourselves. Play proceeds without a GM: simply describe what do you and ask the group what you see: any other player may answer.

In the course of your explorations, there must come a time when you are not content merely to observe, but find yourself driven to engage in some fashion. When this time comes, you must essay one of your Facets to work your will upon the world. This can be accomplished in one of three ways: Proposing a Hypothesis, Refining a Hypothesis, or Putting Theory into Practice.

Proposing a Hypothesis

Choose a Facet which currently has fewer than three statements written under it on the Discovery Sheet. (Crossed-off statements don’t count for this purpose.) Propose a hypothesis about what that Facet does, in the following form:

“[Facet name] must [up to six words, no more]”

This statement may freely contradict existing statements written under the chosen Facet if you wish; the ways of the star-spawned are ineffable.

Next, roll a number of dice equal to your rating in the chosen Facet, and sum their values. If the sum of the dice is equal to one of the first seven prime numbers – that is, a sum of 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13 or 17 – then your unworldly intuition regarding the Facet’s purpose has led you rightly, and the hypothesis is confirmed; otherwise, it has led you astray: either the Facet is not what you think it is, or you’ve employed it incorrectly, and in both cases the hypothesis is refuted.

Note: the statistically astute may realise that the likelihood of rolling a prime sum decreases as more dice are rolled, from one in two with a single die, to two in five with two dice, to scarcely one in three with three dice. This is as it should be; the powerful are often overconfident!

If the sum of the roll is prime, find the row corresponding to the highest single die on the following table; otherwise, find the row corresponding to the lowest single die. Do not re-roll.

1. Unthinkable ruin 2. Vile ruin 3. Dreary ruin 4. Subtle glory 5. Stark glory 6. Ineffable glory

If you achieve glory, the player to your left describes the outcome of your overture; otherwise, the player to your right does. Their descriptions should bear in mind whether the hypothesis was confirmed or refuted: glory as a result of pursuing a refuted hypothesis is likely to take unexpected forms!

Finally, if the hypothesis was confirmed (i.e., the sum of the roll was prime), write it down near the top of the Discovery Sheet, under the appropriate Facet’s column, then add a question mark to remind yourself that it is, as yet, only a hypothesis. Otherwise, write it near the bottom, and cross it out to remind you that it’s been refuted.

Refining a Hypothesis

Choose an existing statement from the Discovery Sheet that’s followed by at least one question mark. Roll a number of dice equal to your rating in the statement’s associated Facet.

Next, you may – but are not required to – discard a number of dice up to the number of question marks following the chosen statement. (i.e., if there is one question mark, you may discard zero or one dice; if there are two question marks, you may discard zero, one, or two dice.) You may not discard all of the dice that you rolled – at least one must remain.

After making your discards, if any, sum the remaining dice.

If the sum of the dice is prime, your understanding of the Facet is deepened. Read the highest single die as your result, using the table above, and have the appropriate player describe the outcome. Then, add another question mark after the chosen statement.

If the sum of the dice is not prime, something unexpected happens, and your understanding of the Facet is transformed.  Read the lowest single die as your result, using the table above, and have the appropriate player describe the outcome. Then, choose one:

Modify the chosen statement on the Discovery Sheet by adding, removing, or changing a single word (observing the overall limit of six words following “must”, of course).

Remove a question mark from the chosen statement.

Finally, if the chosen statement now has three or more question marks next to it, erase them and write a period in their place: the hypothesis is now a theory. Conversely, if the chosen statement now has no question marks next to it at all, cross it off the Discovery Sheet.

Putting Theory into Practice

Choose an existing statement from the Discovery Sheet that’s followed by a period. As you’re falling back on well-understood principles, simply roll dice equal to your rating in the statement’s associated Facet, reading the highest single die as your result.

Concluding the Game

Play concludes when every Facet has at least one statement followed by a period written under it. Take what you’ve learned about yourselves and collectively describe the transformation you wreak upon the world.

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #star-spawned #game design