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delicate-cupcake · 3 months

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Love Letter From Your Future Spouse

Hello everybody 🌹

Here is another PAC for you guys enjoy it my beautiful people.

Close your eyes and take a deep breath then choose your pile intuitively:)

Pile 1 ---- Pile 2 ---- Pile 3 ----

Pile 4 ---- Pile 5 ---- Pile 6

Pile 1

Hello m'lady

I love you because you actually put effort into me I love you because nobody has ever given me the love that you have given me and you are the only one that would ever love me this way. I love you because you always make me feel that I am worth something I love you because you have a nurturing nature and you take care of me because you made me smile when I almost forgot how to. I love you because you have a huge and honest heart. I love you and every little thing about you. I love you because you are simply you.

If nothing else I hope you know that I love you with everyone ounce of my being I hope you realise your importance not only to me but to everyone who has been lucky enough to know you I hope you know that when you are feeling down I pray for your happiness I hope you remember that no matter what I am here for you and I always will be I won't leave you I am in your life forever I am not going anywhere I hope you recognise the fact that I appreciate and adore you and that this will never change I love you unconditionally

Pile 2

Mi amor,

I love you enough to fight for you, compromise for you enough to miss you deeply no matter the length of time or how far apart we are enough to believe in our relationship to stand by your side to hold your hand through the ups and downs to have faith and strength in our relationship to never give up on you I love you enough to spend forever with you each day I fall more in love with you making me realise no amount of time is ever enough and even one day forever will run out but I have decided that will be fine because getting to love you is worth it And no babes I am not going to lose feelings no I am not going to find someone better no I am not going to cheat on you and no I am not going to leave you I have already made up my mind I want you and only you No one else because to me you are my kind of perfect.

Pile 2 I think you require a lot of reassurance. Don't worry. this person will always be ready to hear you and give you reassurance

Pile 3

My Honeybee 🐝,

I am going to love you I am going to love you in our weakest moment to our strongest ones. I'm going to love you when you are happy and I am going to still love you the most when you are sad. Don't you understand? I am here and I am not going anywhere I want to love you each and every piece of you I want you with your imperfections as much as I want you for you and I am always going to want you and always going to be here loving you with my everything. Because I see it I see getting married , moving in together , cuddling on the couch , waking up to good morning kisses , having arguments , making up after , cooking our favourite food , smiling for no reason , annoying each other , when we are bored having the cutest little babies *not them trying to be funny*, watching them grow up and never leaving each other's side.

Pile 4

Love of my life ❤️,

My dreams came true when I met and fell in love with you what is even more amazing is that we are now building dreams together I cannot thank you enough for coming into my life and making it what it is today. We are perfectly in perfect I love how we are beautiful together and that we continue to help each other become stronger and better both as individuals and as a couple I learn everyday from you you are so genuine and courageous I admire and love so much about you and I can't wait to spend the rest of life with you. And trust me when I say that I did not just fall in love with your body yet your soul I fell in love with the way you look at me with your eyes full of joy the way you smile when you talk about animals that you adore the way that your hair flies in the wind like they have mind of their own the way that you walk the way you speak so politely and calmly the way you love unconditionally and without a request I fell in love with all your flaws so hard that no one could save me

Pile 5

Babes,

I wish I could explain in words how much I love you but I can't because there aren't any words to describe the love I feel for you I miss you also but I am not going to let the distance keep me from loving you even if it's from afar I want you to know that I will always be there for you I will be your shoulder to lean on your distraction when you want to escape and everything else in between I know we have got a long road ahead of us but I am willing to stick it through. And I hope you are as willing too no matter the bad that has happened or will happen always remember that you are so special to me and have a special place in my heart , in my mind I don't know how you see our future but I am going to share my vision with you

We will go out on our own little adventures going places you have always wanted to go but of course we will come back home to see our family and friends whenever you'd like. We will get married and have our first apartment together we will have all the adorable dogs and cats that you want under a reasonable number of course I will constantly be surprising you with gifts and love and I will promise you everyday the same thing. One word. Forever

Pile 6

Baby,

I want you to understand that love was never meant to be easy people fight people make mistakes people walk out and then run back but when it comes to love there is no limit to what you do for one another to protect to provide to profess it's a lot harder to stay together then to fall apart, but for our love for one another being unconditional will make it worth every second But I want you to know and understand that at the end of the day I want it to be you and me I want your early mornings I want your late night I want you on your good days even more on your bad it is like I am yours the way the sea belongs to the moon the way the moon belongs to the sky and even if the jealous stars break and shatter upon the Milky way I will still see heaven in your eyes. *This is a poem written by Mark Anthony*

Thank you so much for reading this PAC. Please remember that this is only for entertainment purposes.

Masterlist : here

#daily tarot #free tarot #tarot art #tarot cards #tarot deck #tarot witch #tarotblr #tarotcommunity #tarotdaily #the fountain tarot #pac #pacs #pick a card #pick an image #pick a photo #pick a picture #pick a pile #pick one

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adrinktostopyourthirst · 5 days

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Bucky Barnes | Series | Loose

Part two of the Rebellion Series

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Plot: You and Bucky have no idea whether you can trust each other. There is an understanding, but you're not sure of what that understanding is and why it seems to run so deep.

Warning: Angst, violence and fluff (?)

Words: 4,1OO

It is hard enough already for Bucky to fall asleep at night. Yes, it has gotten better in recent years, but there will always be that part of him – awake and aware – that registers every sound and movement, even when he should be knocked out. Though he wouldn’t admit it, that part of him sat more alert ever since you had joined the building. Perhaps because Bucky still wasn’t so confident in your allegiance.

He can’t stop overthinking it. He has seen what you’re capable of. Would you be capable of even more if people cornered you? If you felt like you had no other choice but to manipulate and kill your way out? After all, wasn’t it possible that you felt like you had moved from one prison to the next?

You’d been a delight at dinner two nights ago, but Bucky can’t turn off his brain. This is the part that made you win people over. The way you’d gotten along with Natasha like a house on fire, the way you’d shared stories like you and his team had been friends all along… Yet you had no trouble letting a side of yours slip through the cracks that tantalised Bucky beyond belief. The way you had looked at him, teased him–

The faintest rustle has Bucky shooting back to his current place in time. Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. He holds his breath in an effort to hear better.

Nothing.

However, something doesn’t sit right. Something is off. He’d learned that hypervigilance was a side effect of his trauma, but he had a hard time believing his intuition would betray him like that. Not when he had relied on it so successfully for years.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” he whispers to the dark ceiling.

“Yes, sergeant Barnes?”

“Is everyone in their respectable rooms?” he tries.

“I cannot divulge that information,” the voice sounds and Bucky sighs. He musters up some strength and swings off his duvet before climbing out of bed.

Yeah, he doesn’t trust you for a second.

…

Your heart is pounding in your throat. This isn’t part of your skillset – the escape and combat. Though perhaps if you do the former correctly, you won’t have to resort to the latter. Escaping the compound had been surprisingly easy, which strangely made your chest hurt. It was way too easy to escape. But it made sense. Steve had told you that you weren’t being held captive and you being here was all in good faith.

Faith you just broke by making your escape.

You probably should have been more patient. Winning their trust a bit more and then making an escape, make sure they really don’t see it coming. But the dinner had made you antsy and impatient. You had to get out.

If you’re entirely honest with yourself, you know that getting attached to a new group of people and deciding to escape then – or worse, leading them into their demise later – would be worse than getting away now that no one has attached themselves to you. Or you to them…

Breaching the edge of the surrounding forest, you finally let go of the breath you’ve been holding. You did it. Out of sight, out of mind. You’re free. No more captivity, no more expectations. All you need to do now is leave the country, change your name and possibly dye your hair. Sounds easy enough. A bit dramatic, but not impossible.

That is, until you get dragged backwards by a hand over your mouth and you lose your footing. The hard body behind you is the only thing keeping you from tumbling to the muddy forest grounds. Your breathing is ragged as your hands both fly to grab the forearm attached to the hand covering your yelp.

The metal forearm.

“Rule number one of making your escape: never assume you’re in the clear,” Bucky’s voice rumbles through the night air, his mouth so very close to your ear. “Shouldn’t have dropped your guard when you reached the edge of the forest.”

His gloved hand removes itself from your mouth, but you know better than to make a run for it, or to scream. He twists you by your shoulders and you muster some playful guilt to your face, masking your disappointment. Disappointment… but you feel strangely relieved. Maybe the largeness of finally being free felt somewhat overwhelming. Move to another country and change your name? It’s ridiculous. And that, when the people here have been so patient and kind to you…

You let out a soft laugh, “Worth a shot, no?”

Bucky studies you intently and something in your gut stirs at it. Not even Natasha seems to have as good of a read on you as Bucky does. It makes you feel naked. Makes you feel like all of your carefully crafted plans are flimsy and no good. Makes you feel like you have to stay far, far away from Bucky. Like you need to run. Now.

And how the hell did he manage to figure out you were making your escape?

You wait for him to tell you off, preach against your indolence and call in backup to shove you into something more similar to a prison cell. But Bucky sighs, disappointed and tired.

He seems so, so tired.

“Let’s go back inside,” he says and you furrow your brows at him.

His defeat has your chest clenching tightly. You want him to punish you, scold you. At least show that he cares. Why? You’re not sure. Maybe you need to know that the relief you felt from being caught is somewhat mutual in a sense. That the people here don’t just see you as a weapon, despite the burden, but that you’re someone worth saving. Worth keeping around.

Worth healing.

“That’s it?” you ask. “No scolding or punishment?”

Bucky scoffs humourlessly. “You get a kick out of punishment, darling?”

You roll your eyes. “Seriously.”

“I’m not your fucking baby sitter,” he mutters and starts walking back to the building, rightfully assuming you’ll follow. “If you want, I can ask Steve to tell you off in the morning. He’s better at that sort of thing anyway.”

Some pathetic part of you wants to sulk at his response like an ill-tempered child. “Then why come after me?”

It stays quiet for a second as you cross the field towards the compound. “I couldn’t let a poor escape plan be successful.”

You can’t help but snort at that answer and decide that fine, you’d play along for now. But you wonder if the curious Bucky you’d seen a few days ago had completely vanished since that dinner.

…

The next morning, Bucky gets cornered by you after breakfast. He looks down his nose at your defiant face.

“You didn’t tell anyone about last night?” you ask him and he raises his brows, unimpressed.

It had surprised you that no one at breakfast mentioned anything or gave you even so much as a dirty look. Clearly, none of them are aware that you tried to make your escape last night. And you cannot for the life of you figure out why Bucky is taking it easy on you. Is he smart enough to assume that your own guilt will do more damage than he ever could? Is this part of some bigger scheme of his? Perhaps he is actually as tired and unbothered as he looked when you saw him in those woods.

“What happened last night?” he asks with a telling smirk. The current look on your face is worth the lack of sleep he had tonight. It’s too easy to rattle you. You roll your eyes and Bucky smirks even wider at that. Is he… flirting?

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” you try again.

Bucky remains quiet and fights to keep a straight face. He did expect your question, but why didn’t he tell anyone? Because he thought you and him would get along after those tiny moments during that first dinner. Because the team would have let you walk away. Because Bucky doesn’t want you to go. Because he thinks he can help. Help the world. Help you. He thinks he can help you. And you can help him. And–

“Want me to tell them now?” he says instead.

He barely notices the flash of panic in your eyes before you cover it with an annoyed scoff and turn on your heel to walk away. He watches you. Every step until you are out of sight.

“You said she trusts you,” Steve’s voice sounds from behind him and Bucky schools his face back to bland interest before he turns to Steve. “That doesn’t look like she trusts you.”

“It’s a work in progress.”

Steve frowns pensively. “Well, speed up the process. We have an important mission and we need her for it.”

“What?” Bucky almost loses his restraint, his body flaring in alarm. “Steve, she hasn’t had any training. She was locked up for months. It’s too big of a risk–”

“I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate, Buck,” Steve tells him regretfully, but instantly notices that Bucky isn’t buying it. “This is the thing we needed her for.”

“She isn’t some kind of weapon!” Bucky exclaims and he notices Natasha turning away from her conversation in the nearest common room to see what the commotion is about. He gives her a warning look, then lowers his voice. “Steve. This could’ve been me,” Bucky breathes. And there it is. Recognition flickers in Steve’s eyes. “We can’t use her like this. She’s all alone.”

Steve looks past Bucky’s shoulder as if you’re still walking away from him. Angry frown, uptilted chin and swaying hips– Bucky almost looks. Then Steve sighs and looks back at his friend. “Take all the time you need. If she’s ready, I’ll explain the mission to her. I think she might want to help.”

…

Bucky reads over the file until his eyes turn bleary. Steve was right, you will want to help.

He thinks you can handle it, but… what if you encounter a trigger on the way? What if it all becomes too much? Bucky realises he isn’t nearly close enough to care this much, and he doesn’t, but who else but him is going to care whether you live or die? Sometimes Bucky wonders if even you care whether you live or die. What would have happened to Bucky if everyone had given up on him? He knows damn well that he’d be long dead if not so many people found him useful.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Bucky never had a choice. So he finds himself knocking at your door at 10pm with the file in hand.

After opening the door, you barely manage to get a word out before Bucky extends the folder towards you. “Steve needs your help on this. It should be fine, but the choice is up to you.”

Quick. Brief. He’s just the messenger and the decision is all yours. Bucky turns and makes to walk away – before you can spot all of the thoughts crossing his mind – but your voice stops him.

“Will you be there?”

The question takes him by surprise. Turning back towards you and slowly walking to the doorframe you’re standing under, he creases his brows together. “You need me to come along?”

You shrug abashedly. “Will you?”

Bucky studies your face intently. “Yes,” he lies. He’ll figure something out with Steve.

“What if I can’t do what you need me to do?” There it is again. He doesn’t get why this vulnerable side of you keeps surprising him so much.

“You’ll be useful,” are his terrible words of comfort. He wants to palm himself in the face.

The suppressed smile you give him heats his face and he’s sure you’ll call him out on his horrible people skills, but you stay quiet. The silence grows and grows and Bucky starts to shift nonchalantly, wondering if he should walk off and let you read the file in private.

“Okay,” you say softly.

“You’re coming?”

“Yes,” you affirm and look up at him, handing the file back. “Do you not want me to go?”

“It’s your choice,” he tells you and gently takes the folder.

“That’s not what I’m asking.”

Some wall snaps up inside of him at that tone – at that hopeful look in your eyes. “You could use the mission to make your escape,” he says with a shrug and makes to turn away from you again. “I won’t stop you this time.”

He walks away, leaving you to gape at his retreating form.

…

The mission was simple enough.

Sam, Natasha, Bucky and you would be attending a gala. Supposedly, there is a certain divide between the guests in attendance. Your job is mainly to feel out just who will be willing to join your cause. What goes unsaid is that you’re also required to butter them up to spring into action when your team would deem it necessary.

The party is in full swing and everyone is finally losing their mask of formality and enjoying their evening. You just hit the sweet spot of their susceptibility and you sweep into casual conversation about politics. Seeing who keeps quiet, who isn’t scared to speak up, whose faces harden at the prospect of change, etcetera. All of your antennas are on and when you know people have stopped paying attention to you, that’s when you dare a glance across the room where you know Bucky is standing.

All dapper and handsome, wearing a very expensive suit.

All of you have taken thorough action to look exceptional and to blend in perfectly with the high class crowd. Being charming is easy enough, looking it was a necessity – yet, all of it does still feel very far removed from yourself. Like a betrayal to the woman who was locked up mere weeks ago. However, being a true professional, you don’t allow your thoughts to linger too much and channel back to the matter at hand.

Then you feel it.

The searing heat that starts at your legs and spreads all the way up to your chest and cheeks. Like a virus burning over your skin. And you know what it is – know who it is. So you look back in the direction of Bucky, if only to catch him in the act.

But he’s unbothered. Brooding and observing from the bar in the shadow of the room, somehow alone and undiscovered by most of the crowd (a skill you assume he has acquired over the years). And his eyes are still on you. They glide down and back up for even more emphasis and you swallow away the dryness in your throat.

Gliding a sensual hand over the arm of the man next to you, you excuse yourself with a warm smile and slowly stride over to the culprit. Bucky waits patiently, and you swear you see a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as you walk over. He hands you a spare glass of champagne and turns his back to the room when you’re close enough to hear him.

“It’s working,” he says and you swear he sounds slightly impressed.

“Did you assume I’d fuck up?” you taunt and lean over the bar, sipping at the glass flute between your fingers. Bucky turns to you and his eyes sweep over the curve of your partly exposed back, the hollow of your spine and the curve of your ass. Then he holds his breath for a moment.

“Wouldn’t be mad if you did,” he tells you and his tone sounds gentle. You know that’s why he’s here, even though neither of you said it out loud, you know he’s here to stick up for you if you can’t get it done yet. If you’re not ready to be that person again.

Just like he probably knows that you’re here because the guilt of trying to escape from your saviours was eating you alive. And you didn’t want to prove Bucky right by escaping. You had glanced at the exits a few times and debated it, yes, but then looked at your team and thought against it. Looked at Bucky and–

“We’ll leave in five minutes,” Bucky murmurs as he finishes his glass. “I noted down all the people you signed as potential allies and who definitely isn’t.”

“There’s a few we can convince to help,” you cut in.

“What? The woman who runs that capitalist shitshow?” Bucky frowns. “Nah, she’s only motivated by money.”

You smile at him knowingly. “Money is a great motivator and our movement could benefit her greatly, so you just have to nudge her in the right direction.”

Bucky studies your face then and you might have found it less penetrating when he looked at your body with that stare. That intrigue. “And you already have a plan to tip her over to our side,” he concludes.

“You chose me for this for a reason, did you not?” you ask.

His eyes drop to your mouth. “I like a woman who takes her job seriously.”

You have no idea where that came from, but decide to go along with it anyway. You smirk and empty your flute, gently setting it down on the bar after. “Here I was, thinking you didn’t like anyone,” you purr and saunter off to find your other teammates and round up today’s mission.

You turn around when you hear Bucky yelling out your name, but then the room spins and debris flies everywhere. You’d cry out if the wind didn’t whoosh from your body and your ears don’t hollow out. You want to voice your discovery, as futile as it is, but the scream dies in your throat.

Someone just blew up the building.

…

It feels like there’s ash in your mouth. And throat. Your body bleats in pain, but nothing too severely. Maybe you’re in shock. Maybe you can’t feel a limb that’s no longer there. Maybe–

The room is dark except for an orange hue that travels over the ceiling and walls every few seconds. You’re slumped in a velvet chair and your fingers pluck softly at the fabric. One by one, your senses weave together and you hear the soft sounds of someone working on something. Paper ruffling, some gentle work, someone who’s trying to be quiet. You rasp in a raw breath and see a shadow at the bottom of your vision. But your body is relaxed. Or… Well, as relaxed as it can be.

There was an explosion.

“Have some water,” Bucky offers from his kneeling position between your legs and nudges his chin to the glass at the small table next to your chair. His voice is soft, raw. And when you squint at him while you blindly reach for the glass, you see soot on his face, dust on his suit.

“Are you alright?” you ask and your voice reminds you to take the drink. The water feels like heaven in your throat and you nearly gulp down the whole glass.

Bucky pauses at your question and surely he didn’t expect that to be your first question. “I’m fine,” he grumbles and focuses on the task at hand. Which, you quickly realise, is cleaning up the wound on your thigh.

Next to him, there’s a small container with small shards of glass in there and a used pair of tweezers. You feel the prickle of the wound at your thigh and observe closely as he presses some gauze to the puncture wounds. His hands are firm and steady as he wraps a bandage around your thigh to secure the gauze. His calluses scrape against your soft skin and you almost swear he takes more time than he should securing the bandage.

You heave a deep sigh and straighten up in the chair. “Natasha and Sam?”

“Natasha was sent to hunt down the ones responsible and needed an aerial patrol, so she took Sam.” Bucky clenches his jaw and you have a feeling it took some convincing to get Bucky to not go after the bastards himself, to let Natasha handle it instead. “There were deaths, lots of wounded.”

You flinch at that.

Bucky notices it. The glaze over your eyes and the tightening of your fingers into the soft fabric of the chair. He barely allows himself to hesitate and he cover your left hand with his right one, taking your fingers and stroking his thumb over your knuckles. “We got out as many as we could, no one saw the explosion coming,” he explains and hopes the information brings you some peace. He’s desperate to take that haunted look off your face, but doesn’t know how.

He gives you time then. Allows you to sort through your memories and shush them. He strokes his thumb gently and squeezes your fingers every once in a while to anchor you to here, to being safe. Your breaths go from shallow to deep as they slow. He hears your heartbeat steady and watches clarity fill your eyes again.

Fuck him. Those eyes.

“Tomorrow, we go over your list and see what we can do. Let’s get some rest for now.” He pushes to a stand and moves to remove his hand from yours, but you hold onto him.

“I’m sorry for trying to escape,” you rasp and Bucky tenses at that. He did not expect that confession. Didn’t expect an apology either – he didn’t think one was warranted.

You slowly push to a stand and Bucky’s heartbeat spikes as you wobble on your legs before you steady yourself. His eyes search your face frantically and he tries not to linger at your lips for too long. You gently stroke a hand down his arm before brushing past him in thanks, and Bucky has to take a deep breath. A flash of you doing the same thing to one of tonight’s guests comes to him and jealousy hits him, a little too viciously. Just like it did when he saw it earlier tonight.

He turns around and watches as you walk up the small bag he packed for an instance like this. You pull out some clothes and Bucky shamelessly stares while you do it. He almost sighs as the sight of that orange hue travelling over your form, most of the sleek dress still intact and definitely still doing its job of making you look good enough to eat.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” he blurts. But he stands still as he watches you freeze. You slowly turn to him and tilt your head at him curiously.

Then, a slow smirk spreads over your face and your brows raise playfully. Bucky frowns as he tries to read the expression on your face, even if the lightness of it makes him want to drop to his knees in relief. This is much, much better than that haunted look that was there mere minutes ago.

Until one of your hands lifts from the bag, a small scrap of lace dangling from your fingers. “I am never letting you pack our getaway bag again.”

Bucky matches your smirk and strides over to you, close enough that you have to tip your chin up to remain eye contact. “You can choose not to wear it,” he shrugs and the nonchalant gesture makes your legs weak. Slowly, he starts unbuttoning his own pants and shirt, stripping himself of his clothes and tempting you to break that eye contact. “But we’re sharing a bed, so you decide what is less tempting for me to look at.”

It takes everything inside of you not to balk at this… flirtation. But it’s nice – so fucking nice to deflate that balloon of tension after a mission like the one you had tonight. To have banter and humour and perhaps a little friendship.

“I better not catch you looking at all,” you snipe, but have a hard time keeping the smile off your face.

Bucky smiles too then and gives you a wink powerful enough to set your clothes aflame. “Too bad. You can’t ask that of me and look like that.”

That does render you a bit speechless and Bucky takes his win as he strips himself to his boxers. Climbing under the sheets, Bucky’s powerful body shifts and ripples with movement.

This is going to be a long night.

#ok this is NOT worth the wait #but its here which is a HUGE win for me #i hope you like it #not me being way too impatient to write a slow burn #the upcoming smut better be good too #pls tell me what u think i have obviouslty not forgotten about you guys #<3 #rebellion series #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes x reader #writing #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes oneshot #oneshot #series

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rippleclan · 5 months

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[Image ID: Twinekit and Moonpaw in their StarClan forms. The title above them says "StarClan: Structures & Basics of Power"]

So, StarClan is… an interesting group. Everyone has their own take on them, because almost no one likes how they are written in canon. The Erins clearly want StarClan to be a Christian analogy. They want interaction with StarClan to be a story about having faith in an omnipotent, benevolent force despite the challenges you face. I don’t think this is a bad thing, per se. However, the basic world building of StarClan makes this almost impossible to effectively portray for two reasons.

A: The living cats speak to StarClan all the time. This means that the writers must write dead characters in a character-accurate way while giving them divine knowledge and power. StarClan lacks the separation needed to say “we may not understand them but we need to trust they’re working towards a greater purpose”. When our heroes can actively talk to God, God needs to have something of value to say, something that would contradict the characterization of whatever dead cat you’ve chosen to deliver the information.

B: StarClan is a body of dead spirits who make terrible decisions. As readers, we can scan through the entire Warriors timeline, and that makes a lot of decisions seem ridiculous, contradictory, or outright cruel. Some notable examples include the Leafpool and Squirrelflight issues, Goosefeather, Jayfeather, letting Ashfur into StarClan but sending Frecklewish to the Dark Forest, and more. Some of these could work if we weren’t in constant communication with StarClan, but we are.

With all these issues, every AU or FanClan needs to explain how they view StarClan in an effort to craft better world building and useful tension. For RippleClan’s Promise, I take some inspiration from @bonefall and his Better Bones AU (hi bone love your work hope you like this). Other details are based around the mechanics of Clangen and my own personal tastes. For this lore post, we’ll discuss the basics of StarClan and what they are capable of.

Positions In StarClan

Clan culture is based on hierarchy and on listening to figures of authority, so why would StarClan not have their own unique positions? In this series, positions are based on how long someone has been dead, their reputation among the living, their personal interests, and the occasional bout of StarClan politics. In StarClan, all are meant to be equal, but authority is to be respected when working towards the good of the living.

The Newly-Dead are StarClan's most recent arrivals. They are often chosen to present information to the living due to their close ties to living friends and family. They could also be called the "face" of StarClan. They spend their time learning about StarClan, reuniting with loved ones, and delivering prophecies/visions/omens under the orders of others. After some time, they can move onto other roles, although some prefer just to rest.

Fetchers spend their time escorting the souls of the Clan's dead away from Earth. When a Clan cat dies, their soul sticks around for a while. Their souls can be stuck on Earth if their deaths are not properly acknowledged and/or the Fetcher cannot find them. There are stories of souls hiding from Fetchers long enough to return to their bodies, but the Clans aren't sure if they are stories for historians or artisans. Fetchers also protect the souls of leaders as their bodies recover from a lost life.

Judges keep an eye on the choices of the living to see who deserves to join their ranks. When someone dies, if there is a chance they do not deserve StarClan, the Judges will host a trial, like those of codekeepers on Earth. One judge will defend the soul while another accuses them of breaking the code one too many times and standing against the values of the Clans.

Blessed Ones can create blessings and miracles for the living. When the living have earned their favor, Blessed Ones encourage the growth of certain plants, foster the expansion of prey, and design kits in the bellies of pregnant queens. If StarClan is angry, the Blessed Ones help guide that anger into a specific manifestation.

Rather than fading, if a cat is forgotten by the living and has grown tired, they join the All-Seeing. The All-Seeing is considered a singular deity who stores the memories and personalities of every StarClan cat within them. If they push themself, they can separate a soul from themselves to present as an individual, but they prefer to stay whole. Few living cats have ever met them, for they stay out of living affairs. They tend to the river of space and time, which shows them all events of the past, present, and future concerning the Clans. They share these notes with other StarClan cats through prophecies and orders for dreams and visions. It's hard to tell if the All-Seeing truly cares about the Clans, or if they just want to watch a story unfold.

Sometimes a cat reincarnates rather than joining the All-Seeing. They can be dead for any length of time, but the act of reincarnation is a sacrifice. Their next self will recognize who they once were after they die, but their own personality will be gone.

Cats who want to stick around or have a strong memory in the Clans gain more power and authority in their chosen roles. These cats are known as Celestials and are similar to Christian saints or niche gods in a pantheon. Celestials can display god-like forms and are considered the guardians of a specific domain.

The highest of the Celestials is a small group known as the Guides. There are five Guides, one for each Clan. They can be considered the leaders of StarClan due to their determination to maintain their beloved Clans. Each Guide died or lived in such a way to permanently tie them to their Clan. Moonpaw was chosen as the guide of RippleClan and is therefore the Celestial of RippleClan.

What Can StarClan Do?

StarClan's power is largely based on individual prestige and collective emotion. All StarClan cats can take a form matching any part of their lives and visit the living Clans. Fetchers have unique abilities that allow for the manipulation of souls. Judges have the power to take cats between StarClan and the Dark Forest. The Blessed Ones work together to bless the territory. Celestials have some special abilities connected to what they represent. However, all these cats only have power because they have a community to look after so they can one day join them in their peaceful, starry abode.

The All-Seeing is the only one who actually receives knowledge of the future. Their rather neutral perspective on life, death, and what the living need to know is a source of frustration for anyone who isn't ready to join them. Sure, StarClan sees a lot, but the All-Seeing gets mad if they reveal too much to the living. Even the Guides don't want to piss off the All-Seeing.

In terms of influencing events, StarClan's power is limited by their emotion. Some of their greatest signs are the result of moments of utter rage. The Blessed Ones manage the collective emotion of StarClan and guide each boost of emotional power into a stronger blessing or curse outside of their own limited abilities.

There is more to StarClan, such as their relationship with the Dark Forest, but I'll save that for another day. I'll leave you with this: Twinekit may be a Newly-Dead as of Moon 8, but she will eventually become a Fetcher for RippleClan.

#rippleclan #clangen #rippleclan clangen #warrior cats #warrior cats clangen #rippleclan lore #starclan #clan culture #better bones au

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laurasbailey · 5 months

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if i may add re: one of the women pulling something like that, i always find that such a funny argument in any fandom because, you know. we do #Live In A Society. so them being women Is actually a pretty crucial difference lmao and yes i might very well have liked it if it had been one of them because of it?

(prefacing the rest of this by asking everyone to bear with me and read this in good faith, i’m talking about a character and not trying to say or imply anything about any players)

which kind of tangentially ties into my biggest beef with ashton (and i understand that this is probably harsh and unfair), but between the acting like they always know better than everyone else, the arrogance and massive ego, the martyr/hero complex combo, the dismissiveness of others' feelings, the anger issues and propensity to violent outbursts etc, this is a character that acts and speaks in ways that are virtually indistinguishable from your average misogynist. i don’t think that this is intentional or even conscious (and definitely not malicious) on tal’s part, I think it’s more likely an unfortunate confluence of circumstances with this particular story (ie the campaign being heavily focused on women, so they’re in a position within the story where they're the natural point one would turn to with disagreements and stuff); but it’s like, no amount of dissecting motivations changes the objective fact of how they behave. and to me that makes for a character who’s about as interesting as idk, an asshole coworker. obviously this is all very subjective, and i know a lot of people find him compelling and write very good analysis, and love and light to them, but i personally cannot get past this and bring myself to give a shit you know.

absolutely get where you're coming from, and it's super interesting because as someone who doesn't see a lot of fandom opinion anymore, i wonder how many people also see this? or do most people just adore ashton and this is the minority opinion?

i usually find taliesin to be very self aware about the flaws of his characters, but i think you're right, without context it could very well come across as misogynistic due to the circumstances of the campaign being very female-centric. personally i think he's just being an asshole and by process of elimination, the women end up in the firing line because they're in the spotlight story-wise and are, let's be real, the leaders of the group. fcg is typically agreeable, nobody butts heads with orym, and chetney generally sits back during any verbal conflict. ashton just seems to have a general lack of respect for everyone and just uses the 'i don't know how to show it' excuse.

i think ashton wants to be a leader (whether they know it or not) but right now they just don't have the qualities to be one. in many situations they're like 'i don't like this', 'we shouldn't do this', but offers no alternatives. and sometimes he'll try to take charge in situations where he should really be taking a backseat (i.e. when they were trying to resurrect laudna) and he'll speak way out of turn on things he knows nothing about (again, that time he said he knows loneliness in a way laudna doesn't ??? lmao). it's like he has a compulsive need to always share his opinion and somehow prove he's suffering more than you, and nobody likes that guy at the party.

it's obvious taliesin is playing a lot of these flaws as a character who was raised by, well, no one, which makes sense! but there's been so little character development for 70+ episodes and very little effort made on ashton's part (up until now where he's supposedly going to change) that i just don't have an interest in it. it just bothers me now because characters i do really love will be caught up in the consequences.

#ask #anonymous #i think the whole 'contradictory for the sake of being contradictory' 'punk' aspect of his design #is so ingrained that it has bled into every aspect of the character lmao #which is funny because i remember avantika once described beau that way #but beau had a maturity and self-awareness from the get-go that ashton just doesn't

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the-desert-beast · 7 months

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A villain AU for Kynwyl.

Take all of his good traits, his diplomatic tendencies, his perceptiveness, his memory of little things about people and their preferences, his charisma, his way with words. And corrupt them. Someone so cunning, so deceptive, so subtly monstrous, that you're in too deep by the time you even realize that something is wrong. A man who can so easily make you feel safe and welcome, slowly but surely isolating you. Promising you that life in his court will be better for you, you'll be safe there, he can watch over you there, no one can hurt you there, you'll be safe. The effort it would take from a courtier to slowly erode Kynwyl's outlook on life; Kynwyl tries to be understanding of everyone, to be good faith and give good will to people unless he's seen them cross a line he cannot forgive. It's exceptionally difficult to convince him of someone being truly irredeemable. They can do that themselves in his eyes just fine. But rumor and gossip means next to nothing to him. Heilyn tries to get his hooks in. He tries, slowly but surely to coax Kynwyl to his point of view. To welcome the Nightmare. To see that others are as cruel as Heilyn is, that even Kynwyl has done cruel things like those strangers. A note, about this AU, is that, Heilyn basically has a less than 5% chance of his bullshit working- even if he plays the really really really slow game. Kynwyl would very quickly catch him. So pretend with me for a moment that Heilyn has 10 more charisma and 5 more braincells in this AU. That's the only way he could pull this off. And slowly but surely it works. Slowly Kynwyl can see the cruelty Heilyn points out, he can see the "poison" in the actions of the ones he loves, the subtle malice in their words that Heilyn has noted. Eventually he agrees to go with Heilyn to his court. And he gets worse from there. Heilyn's words convince him that others are just as bad as the court, convine him that only he can save them, that only they can see the truth. Only they know what's best. Sylas warms up to Kynwyl quickly; The both of them are corrupted knight types, though Kynwyl has much stronger knight vibes than Sylas does. They both enjoy the hunt, they share in the fun of being cruel; the dreamers deserve it after all, they're the ones lying to the saplings of the grove. Luc, however, despises Kynwyl. Kynwyl is everything Luc has pretended to be. Heilyn and Sylas love Kynwyl, they almost worship him. (Though it isn't completely genuine, at first.) Luc begins to feel like he's being replaced as Kynwyl settles in, and he's not entirely wrong. Kynwyl is still kind to Heilyn and Sylas, he still romances them, he still gives them that hopeless romanticity he has in his heart even still. Despite how corrupted it now is. Eventually Luc and Kynwyl are genuine enemies as Luc gets worse and worse and starts acting more and more malicious and violent to Heilyn and Sylas, and even Kynwyl himself. However those threats get Luc into more trouble because Kynwyl still doesn't suffer self-absorbed fools (funny how hypocritical that is in this AU.) Luc gets cast out and is left to be hunted by his now-previous Duchess. Morgana takes a hell of a liking to Kynwyl, and once Luc is gone, Kynwyl beseeches her to forgive Heilyn and Sylas, as using her beloved daughter as a weapon was mostly Luc's idea. Sort of using a, "Look at me, am I not evidence of Heilyn's prowess and dedication?" kind of argument. It works, much to Sylas and Heilyn's nervousness. They do appreciate it however.

Kynwyl in this AU has become a frightening weapon of the Nightmare Court. A beloved precious dark knight of Duchess Morgana's. A man who used to be such a kind and caring, attentive hopeless romantic, is now controlling and obsessive. He's still attentive and sweet, but only for the ones who behave. He might throw you away for his next romance if you prove to be not interesting enough, or you simply weren't "the one." Even Heilyn and Sylas have lost his interest now and again. A man who was once so dedicated to his loved ones is now genuinely convinced that none of them know what's best for themselves. He used to look up to and idolize his older brother (he still does deep down) but now he's awfully convinced that his older brother has been squandering their true potential as sylvari outside the pale dream. All of him has been truly twisted.

okay now because I love kynwyl so much im holding you at gunpoint to imagine Canon him in a snuggle pile with his polycule thank you goodnight.

#oc: kynwyl (he/him)#my ocs #ocposting #gw2 #guild wars 2 #gw2 ocs

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 10 months

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Is It Really That Bad?

I don’t think anyone would call 2006’s Silent Hill the greatest horror film ever, but it’s hard to deny that it is one of the better early attempts at a video game adaptation. The film has some really baffling changes to the plot, sure, but it’s honestly pretty faithful in regards to the visuals and the atmosphere. Sure, some of the symbolism is thrown in to look cool—what the fuck is Pyramid Head doing here, for one—but it’s readily apparent that this film was made by someone who gets the games, who understands the appeal. The result is a film that, again, isn’t beloved like some video game adaptations but most definitely commands a lot of respect and has a respectable fanbase in and of itself.

The same cannot be said for the 2012 sequel, Silent Hill: Revelation.

This movie killed the career of director MJ Bassett, relegating her to television work since then with her only upcoming project the eternally-stuck-in-development-hell reboot of Red Sonja. It also killed any momentum the franchise had, with it taking 11 years for another film to begin development, and who knows if Return to Silent Hill will even come out (I’d love for it to, especially if it really is adapting the second game).

On top of all that, fans weren’t exactly receptive to it. In fact, they were so unperceptive that this film barely registers in discussions of bad movies at all; if I wasn’t a big Silent Hill fan I probably wouldn’t remember it even exists. But maybe people were too harsh on this film; maybe it’s yet another hidden gem among video game movies. Something you may not know about me is I am a huge video game movie apologist; aside from enjoying the obvious stuff like the recent Sonic and Mario movies, I also enjoy the 90s Mario movie, Street Fighter, both takes on Mortal Kombat… Sure, I’ve seen some garbage like Max Payne and Doom, but the reputation of video game movies as unwatchable garbage is greatly exaggerated in my opinion.

So with all that said, I promised to take you to that town I see in my restless dreams and figure out if Revelation is really that bad, or if the hole of negative reception for this movie is gone now.

THE GOOD

Well, the practical effects are all still pretty good, with some really creative monsters. And there are a few scenes here and there with cool and creative imagery.

What else... oh! Adelaide Clemens is actually genuinely good as Heather. I mean, the writing for her is as bad as the writing for everyone else, but by god is Clemens really giving it her all. She manages to outshine veteran actors like Malcolm McDowell, Sean Bean, and Carrie-Anne Moss. So props to her!

The soundtrack is pretty decent… No complaints there. Fuck guys, I’m really trying... Hm... Oh yeah! Pyramid Head is here for some fucking reason! It makes no goddamn sense, but I’m ultimately a simple man. I see Pyramid Head, I am happy.

Yeah okay I’m done trying to be nice.

THE BAD

This film is just ass from start to finish.

Here’s something a lot of people don’t understand when it comes to adaptations: Sometimes it’s best not to be completely accurate to what you’re adapting. The first film has the respect it does because it’s a loose adaptation that tells a familiar story with unique elements to it while keeping the core elements that make the series so beloved—the emotional moments, the horror, the atmosphere, the visuals. This film, on the other hand, swings into being way too faithful and trying to shoehorn the plot of Silent Hill 3 into the continuity of the films, which does nothing but rip a dozen plot holes open and comes off as desperate course correction that wasn’t needed at all. I’ll give it this—the movie is putting in a lot of effort to keeping this movement towards accuracy to the games from feeling too contrived.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to appreciate the efforts the film is going to due to how legitimately bad everything is. The acting is undeniably worse all across the board, even from legendary actors like Malcolm McDowell; the script is amateurish and ludicrous, with stupid twists and unbearably bland or bad dialogue in nearly every scene; and the CGI is just not up to the standard the first film set. In a way, this film is the original The Rise of Skywalker in how it dumped everything from the contentious film before it and tried way too hard to course correct to disastrous results, all while the previous film began to get a second look due to the catastrophic failure of the newer one.

The director said she wanted to deliver a continuation of the first film first, and an adaptation of the third game second, but with all the clunky retcons in a desperate attempt to emulate the game we’re left with a poorly-paced mess of a movie that is cramming way too much into a 90 minute runtime. The film is just a fifty car pileup of bad ideas, and genuinely there’s not much else to say. Revelation is so bereft of anything resembling good ideas that there is so little I could say that was positive and everything bad about it is so broad that it’s just not enjoyable to talk about, since what’s the point of singling out a bad element when all the other elements around it suck ass too?

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

This is genuinely, truly a bad movie, but honestly? It wasn’t a painful experience.

Like this movie pretty obviously sucks. It’s an abject failure at portraying the story of the game it is ostensibly adapting to the silver screen, it has terrible dialogue, it wastes its actors, and it seems more focused on gory visuals and cheap jumpscares than actually trying to be atmospheric or engaging. I don’t know if you noticed, but there wasn’t a lot for me to talk about here, and that’s because this film is so dull and unoriginal that there’s really not much to say. I hate that I couldn’t really dive deeper into how much it sucks, but it just sucks in the most tepid, uninspired ways, ways that don’t invoke much besides an annoyed eyeroll from me. It is genuinely like if Michael Bay tried to make a horror film.

Ultimately, though, that’s the very thing that “saves” this; it is just so dumb that I can easily see how someone could mine entertainment from this in a “so bad it’s good” way. Sure, I didn’t like this film and was bored watching it, but I didn’t feel vitriolic hate for it or anything. I just thought it was a subpar horror film that can’t live up to the games or the previous movie, which is a tall order to begin with. And really, is being a subpar horror film that much of a crime? I’d say it’s better than being as dogshit as Slender Man, Smiley, The Bye Bye Man, or any of the other genuinely abysmal horror films I’ve had to sit through. Horror is a genre of extremes, where typically you’ll either see one of the best and scariest films of your life or the most tedious waste of time imaginable that will have you calling for the director’s head. To find a horror film that’s just perfectly and stupidly mediocre is genuinely impressive. I’m gonna say that 4.9 score is entirely completely fair; the movie is just below average, and while it’s certainly shitty there’s no denying that it has some value as mindless entertainment.

Again, this is a bad film. I am not in any way recommending watching this, especially when you could watch the first film (or better yet just play the games). But when you consider some of the crap I’ve had to sit through for this show, I’ll take a bad movie that only gets me mildly annoyed over a bad movie that makes me legitimately angry or offended like Land of the Lost. And as piss-poor as this film is, it’s still a better adaptation than Ratchet & Clank was!

#Is it really that bad #IIRTB #review #movie review #Silent Hill: Revelation #Silent Hill #horror #horror movie #video game movie

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redcap3 · 1 year

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How is it ok to be at a con when they get targeted by so many predators - like every con has dozens and the neehu is all predaters now

I have this strange feeling that your ask is not really being made in good faith, but let’s do this.

1) When I have traveled to the exactly two cons I have attended, I traveled with friends and family who knew what I was doing, where I would be, and how to reach me pretty much the entire weekend.

2) Every con is not “full of predators.”

The hypnosis community has been working very hard in the time that I have been part of it to identify and publicize missing stairs, call out predatory behavior and people who have been causing harm, and pushing hard towards much more thorough and explicit models of consent.

Do predators still exist? Yes. Are there predators who come to cons? Yes. But the cons I attend and intend to continue intending have made efforts to find and remove anyone who is intentionally violating consent or doing harm, and to keep identified predators out of their spaces.

In my personal history, an online event I attended later admitted to allowing someone to attend that, in my opinion, they should not have.

I have never been back to that event, and I have pulled out of events that I had been willing to teach at or attend to if I learned that similar behavior was possible.

3) If you feel unsafe about NEEHU, which I absolutely understand given some recent community discussions, I agree that you shouldn’t go! I personally have never been and currently don’t intend to unless dramatic changes are made to their organization, safety policies, leadership, and consent team.

But saying that all conventions will automatically be a predatory and harmful space does a major disservice to the many people who are running themselves ragged trying to make spaces for the community where we can meet, interact, play, and most importantly BE SAFE.

If you are concerned, speak with people you trust who have attended these events. Ask what they felt. Ask if they encountered any problems. Ask, if they’re willing to discuss it, if they needed to use the consent reporting system or speak to the concom about an issue, and what happened as a result.

4) I cannot and will not make blanket statements on what people in the hypno community (or the general public!) “should” do. Everyone is going to have their own levels of acceptable risk, comfort, and concerns. All I can tell you is what I think, and what I did.

For me, I accepted the risks, I did what I was comfortable with to prepare and while I was on site, and I took every precaution to keep myself safe from the moment I stepped out of my front door until the night I dragged my suitcases in from the garage.

Attending Charmed was important on a personal level for my own needs and my family’s wants, and that’s why it was “OK” for me.

But most importantly, I went because I promised a friend who I love dearly that I would be there, and I will ask you to respect that.

#asks #hypnokink #conventions

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icharchivist · 1 year

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Your reblog reminded me of the time years ago (2018? 2019?) when I saw someone on twitter say that lancelot/vane was queerbait and I just stared at my screen like that tails meme because I couldn't believe what I was reading

Oh my goddddd

i'm so tired i swear i'm so tired of those things oh my god. oh my gooooood.

I've seen legit Queerbaitings, like, the ones that are from Markettings to the audience fooling us into watching straight shit. It's its own very nasty thing that is different from ship tease and i wish people would understand that.

I especially hate when this framing is attributed to mobage of the type of granblue because it's usually down to the DNA of the game that they're doing that. They usually can't exactly confirm stuff (unless they have to make a big story around it) because they use it also to "tease" self insert shipping with those characters.

They're trying to appeal to demographic that cares about shipping other characters together AND those who ship themselves with the characters in question.

As such i find it especially to be a bad faith critic to call it queerbaiting. Whenever you find this approach tasteful or not, it's mostly a brand of fanservice, but you're expected to know it when you interreact with it.

Queerbaiting is the cast and crew and marketting looking at you directly telling you "don't worry we'll totally give you rep those two chara especially are totally going to be rep for you" and then it never happens. like i'm thinking about the trailer for Riverdale that showed a lesbian kiss without context, so you would be intrigued, and then you watch the episode and you learn they only kissed to try to shock the audience in a staged show, and the person they did it in front of literally calls them out about how "girls kissing isn't as shocking anymore you know". and then the two girls involved in the kiss move on to flirt with guys they end up dating the rest of the show instead. Like. That's textbook Queerbaiting. It doesn't matter that this show has rep, it doesn't matter if ship are teased left and right, it doesn't even matter that they kissed for shock in the episode itself, what matters is that the promo was saying "hey, there's rep for you <3" and then you watch and you realize it's a lie.

There's a subtle line sometimes with just, implied romantic connection toward the show that is then never resolved, which imo, can count or can not count, depends really on context, but even there it gets more blurry (and it also is good to take into account that queerbaiting =/= queercoding from a place where they're not allowed by the studios to go this direction).

but for Mobage i'm really uninterested with any discussion of queerbaiting since imo it feels like people are genuinely refusing to engage with the fact the game is requesting you to interreact differently with its characters than you would watching a TV show. Not all media consumtions come to the same effort.

But also i should mention that the context of the post i reblogged is that people are now using "queerbaiting" to refer to real life people and that's genuinely horrifying, above any fandom petty discussion on it.

This post refers to the fact that the lead actor of Heartstopper, a TV show focusing a gay couple between two teens, was forcefully outed on twitter after people harrassed him for "queerbaiting" everyone by "pretending to be gay on TV while he's likely straight irl" and therefore he's.... baiting people by acting??? somehow???

Even if he was straight this attitude would be unacceptable, but what resulted was that this 19yo was so exhausted by the harassments and bullying he had to come out on twitter.

No real people owe you a coming out. No real people are queerbaiting you. Queerbaiting is a specific media framework you cannot use on people. Real life people don't gain anything by pretending to be queer. People involved in this harassments campaign better be ashamed of their behavior because this is vile.

And in general i'm really annoyed with how specific media analysis/critic framework are being used as means to specifically interreact with real life people while removed from the media analysis context. People are doing the same with Death of the Author which is annoying me to no end but that's another can of worm.

But the Queerbaiting thing is genuinely hurting people and i'm genuinely so angry at those people.

so, yeah, i say it again: i am begging people to learn what words mean. You're just diluting what useful expression mean and make them lose their impact and it is becoming exhausting.

#i also have this problem with the term gaslight so basically: i hate discourses made by people who don't know what they're talking about #god what a headache #i genuinely has no patience left in me anymore for this type of things #ichareply #ichasalty #anonymous

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yhwhrulz · 9 days

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Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer Devotional for April 20

Tozer in the Morning SALVATION'S PRICE

Too many Christian leaders, acting like enthusiastic promoters, are teaching that the essence of faith is this: "Come to Jesus-it will cost you nothing!" The price has all been paid - "it will cost you nothing!" Brethren, that is a dangerous half-truth. There is always a price connected with salvation and with discipleship. God's grace is free, no doubt about that. No one in the wide world can make any human payment towards the plan of salvation or the forgiveness of sins. I take issue on Bible grounds with the statement that "everyone in the world has faith - all you have to do is turn your faith loose." That is truly a misconception of what the Bible teaches about men and God and faith. Actually, faith is a rare and wonderful plant that lives and grows only in the penitent soul. The teaching that every one has faith is simply a form of humanism in the guise of Christianity. I warn you that any faith that belongs to everybody is not the fai th that saves. It is not that faith which is a gift of God to the broken and contrite heart!

Tozer in the Evening Man - The Dwelling Place of God - God Must Be Loved for Himself

GOD BEING WHO HE is must always be sought for Himself, never as a means toward something else.

Whoever seeks other objects and not God is on his own; he may obtain those objects if he is able, but he will never have God. God is never found accidentally. "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13) .

Whoever seeks God as a means toward desired ends will not find God. The mighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will not be one of many treasures, not even the chief of all treasures. He will be all in all or He will be nothing. God will not be used. His mercy and grace are infinite and His patient understanding is beyond measure, but He will not aid men in their selfish striving after personal gain. He will not help men to attain ends which, when attained, usurp the place He by every right should hold in their interest and affection.

Yet popular Christianity has as one of its most effective talking points the idea that God exists to help people to get ahead in this world. The God of the poor has become the God of an affluent society. Christ no longer refuses to be a judge or a divider between money hungry brothers. He can now be persuaded to assist the brother that has accepted Him to get the better of the brother who has not.

A crass example of the modern effort to use God for selfish purposes is the well-known comedian who, after repeated failures, promised someone he called God that if He would help him to make good in the entertainment world he would repay Him by giving generously to the care of sick children. Shortly afterward he hit the big time in the night clubs and on television. He has kept his word and is raising large sums of money to build children's hospitals. These contributions to charity, he feels, are a small price to pay for a success in one of the sleaziest fields of human endeavor.

One might excuse the act of this entertainer as something to be expected of a twentieth century pagan; but that multitudes of evangelicals in North America should actually believe that God had anything to do with the whole business is not so easily overlooked. This low and false view of Deity is one major reason for the immense popularity God enjoys these days among well-fed Westerners.

The teaching of the Bible is that God is Himself the end for which man was created. "Whom have I in heaven but thee?" cried the psalmist, "and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee" (Psalms 73: 25) . The first and greatest commandment is to love God with every power of our entire being. Where love like that exists there can be no place for a second object. If we love God as much as we should surely we cannot dream of a loved object beyond Him which He might help us to obtain.

Bernard of Clairvaux begins his radiant little treatise on the love of God with a question and an answer. The question, Why should we love God? The answer, Because He is God. He develops the idea further, but for the enlightened heart little more need be said. We should love God because He is God. Beyond this the angels cannot think.

Being who He is, God is to be loved for His own sake. He is the reason for our loving Him, just as He is the reason for His loving us and for every other act He has performed, is performing and will perform world without end. God's primary reason for everything is His own good pleasure. The search for secondary reasons is gratuitous and mostly futile. It affords occupation for theologians and adds pages to books on doctrine, but that it ever turns up any true explanations is doubtful.

But it is the nature of God to share. His mighty acts of creation and redemption were done for His good pleasure, but His pleasure extends to all created things. One has but to look at a healthy child at play or listen to the song of a bird at sundown and he will know that God meant His universe to be a joyful one.

Those who have been spiritually enabled to love God for Himself will find a thousand fountains springing up from the rainbowcircled throne and bringing countless treasures which are to be received with reverent thanksgiving as being the overflow of God's love for His children. Each gift is a bonus of grace which because it was not sought for itself may be enjoyed without injury to the soul. These include the simple blessings of life, such as health, a home, a family, congenial friends, food, shelter, the pure joys of nature or the more artificial pleasures of music and art.

The effort to find these treasures by direct search apart from God has been the major activity of mankind through the centuries; and this has been man's burden and man's woe. The effort to gain them as the ulterior motive back of accepting Christ may be something new under the sun; but new or old it is an evil that can only bring judgment at last.

God wills that we should love Him for Himself alone with no hidden reasons, trusting Him to be to us all our natures require. Our Lord said all this much better: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33) .

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that-is-just-so-typically-me · 3 months

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On that note, this absolutely relates to how flimsy the argument is that moneyless societies or UBI economic systems (flawed but you know what I’m getting at) would fail because “people wouldn’t work”… of course they would. We deadass get bored out of our minds without working, it’s why video games are so popular. Hard tasks that are rewarding and still engaging and intriguing with a true buy-in are something with LIVE for - in balance with time for rest and idleness, which are equally as necessary for our wellbeing. We love to work with purpose and dignity and the freedom and knowledge that we are in an environment that is safe for us to self-determine our own needs around rest, like helping a friend move. We are actually really good at pushing ourselves past what we’d maybe ideally want to do in terms of work when we deeply care and want to make sure the work is done right and expeditiously, and then just take even more rest later. It’s actually not remotely toxic to need to feel needed to a degree, it is actually an essential component to bonding especially when it is reciprocated and that smaller percentage of the time where we need/are needed, it’s being met to the best degree of everyone’s abilities without harmful overextension. It’s actually incredible emotional hygiene to let people help you EVEN IF you are technically capable of finding ways to do it on your own or even perfectly capable of doing it on your own. This is one of the essential and dare I say almost sacred places where we connect as living, feeling beings of a social species. We self-mutilate when we cut ourselves off from being generous and receiving/expecting generosity (being understood as the practice of extending ourselves and understanding that occasional overextension when the alternative is unacceptable is inevitable if we want to protect someone’s basic survival, but NOT the practice of continually consciously/unconsciously overextending ourselves when stakes aren’t life or death). If you want the good stuff, you must be willing to give and receive happy work from your people. It is mutually beneficial in ways that total self-reliance and feeling that you don’t owe others occasional discomfort or effort you wouldn’t elect on your is truly a deeply damaging product of modern western culture and it’s harmed us greatly that this is the default. The fairy tale that great love has no trials is simply a false narrative, but we all seem to buy it and believe that the reality of love is “settling”. The truth is that suffering in life is inevitable, and love is not some magic armor that means suffering cannot touch you, that your partner is someone you hired to play a role of someone impervious to the lack of control we have in life who can operate how you want them to at any moment and when they can’t exert omnipotence, they are committing an injustice towards you. Trials are inevitable even among the most evolved and capable people. But the trials are part of the sweetness and they should be a call to do an audit of our own maturity, strength, patience, and actual capacity for knowing and giving love. We need faith in our own critical thinking skills to perceive the difference between the reality of love sometimes not being only ease and happy feelings, and when we are actually being used/abused. Love is an action.

Holy shit it’s been a hot second since a proper midnight ramble that somehow drifts ten miles downstream from the original thesis but I’m wired from having such a different schedule the last couple of nights (no regrets).

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rosarrie · 2 years

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It would be so fucking easy for you to AT THE VERY LEAST not use the term cottagecore and yet, despite being aware of its racism, you continue to spit in the face of First Nations people. You prioritize your racist little aesthetic over listening to First Nations people and you cannot be bothered to take even the most easy and basic of actions to stand with them. You cannot put even the most minimum of effort in and you continue to tie your art into a racist sunculture. You’re a racist, you don’t give a fuck about Indigenous people and you can go to hell.

I've gotten multiple messages about this now in the same tone so I'm going to assume it's the same person sending them.

I’m going to use this as a chance to talk about the aesthetic of cottagecore as a whole in this post so it’s gonna be a long one. Hopefully this sheds more light on my current stance on the matter.

(I literally have no credibility aside from the fact i draw cute animals on the internet and call it cottagecore but I just gotta make my peace w this person)

I’d like to start by saying I never want to hurt people with my art, that is never my intention, whether intentionally or unintentionally. My art is made to make people happy and so being accused of hurting anyone with what I make upsets me and urges me to make things right.

There’s plenty of arguments to be made about the aesthetic, and I’m not here to be it’s guardian angel, this isn’t a hill I’m gonna die on. I acknowledge that there's problems even within the very concept of the aesthetic itself, but I also don't believe repeatedly accusing me of supporting harmful behavior is the right way of changing this and I'd like to respond to it in a constructive way. I'm also gonna be linking to a bunch of articles/posts regarding the conversation that I think were insightful.

Here’s the main points/problems I'm gonna talk about

To romanticise the idea of living in a house amongst nature away from society is ignoring the struggles of many indigenous people still trying to reclaim land. If everyone were to uproot and go live in a house in the forest away from civilization, you're taking away potentially important land to indigenous people in that area.

It is VERY white. There is an imbalance of POC creators in the cottagecore space, just type in “cottagecore” to google images or pinterest and there’s your proof.

The visuals are closely related to the trad-wife subculture, which is deeply rooted in white-supremacy and the alt-right.

Here’s my take:

Cottagecore is a form of escapism, easily evident in the aesthetic’s rise during the beginning of COVID-19. It’s a form of escapism the same way movies and books are. I can appreciate it’s visual elements while not actively participating in a lot of the activities depicted. I promise you I’m not going to go running off to the woods and building a cabin any time soon. I can understand the anger over trivializing the action of taking away potentially important land for its aesthetic value, but I also don’t think it’s in good faith to assume this is a genuine reality that is going to happen. The majority of people appreciating cottagecore are young, often times queer people looking to it as a form of escapism, not a step-by-step guide.

With that being said, there are however core principles within the subculture. It prioritizes handmade ethically sourced products and sustainability. It thrives off the importance of caring for the space u live in, actively shunning things like fast-fashion and encouraging the integration of slow-living practices into your own life (gardening, growing ur own fruit and veg, learning to cook, etc)

Cottagecore is incredibly white. Very rarely do I see non-white creators being spotlighted, and even when I do, their reach and audience is not nearly as much as their white counterparts. Addressing this issue through actionable achievable tasks feels like, where do u even begin. but I guess talking about the issue? Lifting poc voices within the community? I’m really not someone who should be a voice for this (as a white bitch myself) but I can acknowledge that there is actionable tasks I can take as someone with somewhat of a platform to at least help. I acknowledge the issue, I don’t know entirely what the solution is, but I’ll try to do better.

In regards to the trad-wife similarities, I can understand the argument being made, but the values of each subculture are so vastly different that it seems unreasonable to put them in the same category. Cottagecore is built on the fact that it’s a queer-centric feminist form of escapism, while Trad-wife principles originate from traditionalist christian values of being a mother and providing for your family. I think the overall intention of the comparison is to be made aware of how easily conversation around idyllic cottagecore lifestyle can blend into far-right rhetoric (this post does a great job of highlighting the similarities), but to say the two cannot exist separate of each other feels wrong. I’d like to think I am able to enjoy the cottagecore aesthetic while still critically consuming its content.

At it’s core (lol), cottagecore is a queer-friendly sub-culture that prioritizes nature, slow-living and the soft dainty aesthetic that can be associated. I am able to be critical of it’s downfalls while also still actively appreciating it for all it’s positive elements.

I am always open to the conversation around this topic! There’s definitely still plenty I don’t know about, and I am always eager to learn and better my judgment on things like this.

However! This is the last message I’m going to engage with that immediately jumps to accusatory language! Telling me to “go to hell” for using #cottagecore on my dumb cute art because it proves to u that I'm a racist is not a good use of ur efforts. PLEASE direct your anger somewhere else, I know this is coming from a well-intending place because you’re rightfully angry about injustices that are still present today, but pointing that anger at a 20-something-yr-old artist on the internet that draw frogs and calls it cottagecore is not a productive use of ur time.

Anyway thank u for listening, my dm’s are always open. feel free to reply with ur thoughts. Much love

#txt #rosy speaks #cottagecore #a long read #hope it makes sense #i am not engaging in discourse like this anymore this is the first and last time #if u wanna talk to me about something like this dont do it on anon thats just..... cmon #ask

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antidotefortheawkward-art · 3 years

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I just got into the Lego Monkie Kid fandom recently, and I must ask. How do you feel about the Wukong/Macaque shipping? I've seen a lot of people say it's inappropriate because they're commonly interpreted as brothers. But others say it's okay cause it's not set in stone and lmk has changed some details on the original story, including Wukong & Mac's relationship.

I will be frank and say that Sun Wukong x Liu'er Mihou (Six-Eared Macaque) shipping grosses me the hell out, and it is one of the biggest reasons I'm hesitant in involving myself with the Lego Monkie Kid fandom, due to its domination of the fandom.

This will be a long post, so here's a bulleted TLDR:

I feel it is unfair to consider LMK independent from JTTW, given just how much LMK draws from JTTW.

I feel that the fandom's earnestness to detach LMK from JTTW does not consider how LMK is a Chinese piece of media and is thus insensitive of JTTW's place in Chinese culture.

JTTW functions as a Buddhist allegory. Within this, Six-Eared Macaque represents Sun Wukong's flaws and strife, and is literally created from him. Therefore sharing the same DNA while being two separate people, functionally siblings. Which is what has led Chinese popular culture to commonly interpret these two as such.

That being said, even if LMK makes them beyond a shadow of a doubt not siblings, I still think it's gross to ship people who were siblings in the source material. Shipping is not the only way to interact with media.

Why It's Important to Consider JTTW in Relation to LMK

While Lego Monkie Kid has changed details in the original story, I do not think it's fair to consider it as independent from Journey to the West. As a Chinese person, I feel the fandom's earnestness to separate JTTW from LMK is insensitive at best.

Journey to the West is one of the 四大名著 [Four Classical Novels of China]. Not only that, it is arguably the most accessible of the four, and as such, it occupies a very special place in Chinese culture. JTTW is a story everyone grows up with, whether it be the actual text, adaptations, or even just a bedtime story from a family member. Nearly everyone can name the main pilgrims, notable antagonists, chapter titles, and weapon names. The story is basically a backdrop to everyday life due to how much it's casually referenced, whether it be in pop culture or even food names. As such, much of the story is considered general knowledge. Changing details and rewriting parts of JTTW for an adaptation is expected because everyone's already so intimately familiar with the original story. It doesn't make an adaptation any less of an adaptation. With the case of LMK, I don't think you can reasonably consider it independent of JTTW. Not only are the majority of the cast lifted directly from JTTW, but Qi Xiaotian makes a point to directly quote chapter titles in the literal first and second episodes. If you want to call LMK anything, it's honestly a fan continuation.

Similar to how I've spoken on my discomfort regarding people using the Arthur Waley names for the pilgrims, I'm uncomfortable with people detaching LMK from JTTW because it feels like an avoidance of the original Chinese culture and context. LMK was originally produced with a Chinese audience in mind. As such, the target audience would have gone into LMK with the cultural context JTTW holds. Detaching JTTW is insensitive to the original intent of the producers, insensitive to the fact that LMK was produced for an audience that isn't just white westerners, and insensitive to JTTW. Therefore I think it is disrespectful to consider LMK without considering JTTW.

It will take time to understand Journey to the West, especially if you're not a fan who grew up with the story. However, I believe that if you're interacting with media from a culture not your own, you hold a responsibility to take measures in order to interact with said media and its culture respectfully. If creators are going to share an important part of their culture with you, then it is common decency and courtesy to interact responsibly. It's better to expend the effort to familiarize yourself with JTTW than to act insensitively, watering down its significance for the sake of digestibility.

Sun Wukong and Six-Eared Macaque within JTTW

Before going into my JTTW-grounded reasons for being uncomfortable with Sun Wukong x Six-Eared Macaque, I'd like to make a point in bringing up how JTTW is, at its core, a very Buddhist story and that you cannot, in good faith, separate the religious aspects from this story. JTTW is often read as a Buddhist allegory, and as with any allegory, thoughtful analysis and interpretation is a must.

(Chapter 58- Photos from my copy of 西游记 and screenshots from Vol. 3 of Anthony C. Yu's translation)

Please note the title of Chapter 58 uses the wording 二心 for "two minds" and that these are the same characters for 二心, the Buddhist concept of double-mindedness referenced in the screenshots below.

(Screenshots of Anthony C. Yu's JTTW footnotes regarding the Buddhist thought behind Six-Eared Macaque, provided by my friend @uwukong -who has xyr own post with further reading on interpretation of Six-Eared Macaque functionally being Sun Wukong's brother)

It is commonly accepted that Six-Eared Macaque was literally created from Sun Wukong and is a personification of his strife, his flaws, and the things generally holding him back from the true path to enlightenment. Some adaptations go as far as to depict Sun Wukong in genuine pain when killing Six-Eared Macaque since the act of killing Six-Eared is actually hurting a part of himself. While "sibling" may not be the completely technically correct term for their relationship, Six-Eared Macaque shares DNA with Sun Wukong, since he was created from Sun Wukong. However, as a separate person with identical genetics, Six-Eared Macaque is functionally his sibling. If you have to pull the "technically it's not incest" card, then I don't really think there's ground to stand on. The "grey area" this ship resides in is too thoroughly debunked by the text.

That being said, even if LMK decides to change Sun Wukong and Six-Eared Macaque to be explicitly, unequivocally, undoubtedly unrelated, I still find it really uncomfortable to ship characters who were brothers in the source material.

Please don't go through such lengths to ignore the original text and its significant Buddhist context just to justify a ship. There are other ways to interact with media other than shipping. I'm a gay Chinese man and I too want to see more gay rep in Chinese media, but let me tell you, the monkey brothers are not a healthy place to look for them.

#asks #anonymous #incest tw #lego monkie kid #sun wukong #monkey king #six-eared macaque #liu'er mihou

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drabblesfromthevoid · 2 years

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Fic: fear did not stop me from changing

aka the Anakin becomes Plo Koon's Padawan fic no one asked for

[First] [Previous]

“Fear,” Master Plo Koon begins, and his voice is low and harsh through his rebreather but warm, “is not something that just goes away if you try to ignore it, have you ever noticed that?”

Anakin hesitates, because he has lived his whole life denying fear. ‘The slavers always knew they were afraid. What stands out is telling them you’re not,’ his mother had explained to him, when he was young enough to take every word from her mouth as gospel.

He hasn’t been that naive child for years now. Slaves learned to grow up fast or died, and Anakin has always been a quick learner.

(“Are you afraid?” the slaver asks.

“No,” the Torguta states and meets the slaver’s eyes boldly.

Anakin has never seen someone spit at a slaver before. He lifts his head up for a better look, but his mother pushes his head down before he can catch more than a glimpse of the anger that flashes across the slaver’s face.

His eyes are fixed on the ground when the Torguta screams.)

He can’t tell what Master Plo Koon wants from him. What’s the right answer to his question? There’s always a right answer, and Anakin has already answered Master Yoda’s question wrongly earlier. He’d never met someone who was able to tell when he lied.

He’s already flirting with the edge of leaving Master Plo Koon unanswered for too long, so Anakin nods hurriedly.

Something flashes through Master Plo Koon - an emotion too fast for him to decipher before it’s gone - but Master Plo Koon continues, “Fear is not a bad thing. It helps us identify and avoid threats to our safety. But when we allow fear to grow too much, we run into the edges of letting it consume us. If we don’t acknowledge to ourselves that we fear, we cannot identify it, and we run the risk of letting it take us over and ruling our actions. Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” Anakin says quickly. He needs to show that he can learn fast, that he’s a good investment, or they might not keep him. He’s heard enough of Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s conversations on the trip to Coruscant to understand that, at least. Slavers always wanted younger slaves, because older ones were harder to train.

Master Plo Koon asks, “Are you afraid, Anakin? I would like it if you were honest with us, but if you don’t feel safe enough, that is perfectly fine. I want you to know that you will not be harmed here.”

And he feels warm and safe but Anakin - Anakin doesn’t know if he’s supposed to be honest or lie and tell them what they want to hear. Like the other slave children, he’s grown up with Jedi as the heroes of all the stories - had dreamed of them coming to Tatooine with their lightsabers, setting everyone free. They’d be mad if he was afraid, wouldn’t they? After all the effort it took to set him free?

He doesn’t want them to be mad at him.

(“Be brave, Anakin,” his mother says, and the warmth of her hand on his face lingers even when he can no longer see her.”)

Is it bravery to take a leap of faith with the truth or does bravery mean he shouldn’t be afraid? Anakin wishes for his mother here - wishes she was here to tell him what to do. He had always felt safest with her.

There’s a sudden warmth - like the spirit of his mother hugging him. Trust, the Force says and promises not to lead him astray.

“Yes,” Anakin replies.

Joy - pride - affection bursts from Master Plo Koon, and Anakin has to catch himself before he can lean into the warmth too obviously.

“Thank you for your honesty,” Master Plo Koon says solemnly, an impression of a smile on his features. “That was very brave of you. I think that’s enough for today, don’t you? Are you comfortable waiting outside with Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi while we wrap things up here or would you rather stay?”

Anakin glances surreptitiously at the other members of the Council from the corner of his eyes, and while he likes Master Plo Koon’s warmth, he knows Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan better, and Padme might even be there, but-

“There are no wrong answers,” Master Plo Koon says.

“I’d like to wait outside,” Anakin replies after a second, then belatedly adds, “please.”

“All right,” Master Plo Koon says, and with a nod to the doors, they slide open.

Anakin shrugs off the robes around his shoulders - trying to bundle them up so they don’t drape on the ground any more than they already have. His mother is good at this part - she folds clothes until they’re all flat and crisp, not a single wrinkle on them. Anakin isn’t as good, but he’s willing to try.

Master Plo Koon reaches out a hand and tugs the robes back around his shoulders. When Anakin looks up at him with wide eyes, there’s a smile in his voice as he says, “Why don’t you keep it? Coruscant can be cold, especially in the evening. We’ll see about getting you some better fitting clothes later on, but I think you’ll be able to grow into this one, don’t you?”

“I–” Anakin clutches at the robes tighter. As a slave, he doesn’t have many personal items - had boarded the ship with nothing but a backpack full of items scavenged from the junk yards and other bits Shmi figured wouldn’t be noticed missing. This is the nicest robe he’s ever worn - even if it is much too large. “Thank you,” he replies belatedly, because his mother didn’t raise a cretin. Then, before Master Plo Koon can say anything else, he bows hurriedly to him and the rest of the Council members. “I’m going to go wait outside now.”

And it may be a little rude, but he hurries out of the room without waiting for a dismissal. Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are waiting outside when he exits. The Padawan raises a brow in amusement at his no-doubt red face, but it is Master Qui-Gon who asks, “Anakin? What’s wrong?”

“Jedi are weird,” Anakin grumbles, but his hands around the robes are gentle, and he is no longer cold.

#fear did not stop me from changing #star wars au #star wars #anakin skywalker #plo koon #the phantom menace #sw #sw au #thinking about how to link to the other posts? it's getting a little long help #Might jump between scenes a bit since these are basically just my thoughts #so some scenes may be far in the future probably #while others are linear #so i think if i jump then head back for a scene in the past I'll just slot it in probably #and the prev and next links would work better for that #rather than going [1] [2] [3] and so on #anyways if you're waiting for a cleaned up nice flowing piece you're in the wrong place #going to want to wait to see if I ever end up posting an actual fic of this in AO3 or something

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solomonish · 3 years

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selfless (to a fault?) [demon brothers]

CW: allusions to past toxic relationships. minor description of injury in beel’s. belphie’s is a bit sad (happy ending! just melancholic vibes) and alludes to chapter 16.

no problem nonnie! i hope this is to your liking <3

nowdateables: here!

---

Lucifer

Honestly, he'd be a tough one to get to allow you to do anything for him. You know, the whole avatar of pride thing….and he also just generally has a habit of holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. He thinks - no, he knows he can handle everything on his own

If he's letting you in enough to help him - not only trusting you enough to think the tasks he delegates to you will be done to his liking, but allowing you to help and opening up the possibility that he might be risking his image of perfection - he can only expect you'll let him do the same for you. It's like your own special love language, right?

He does NOT like how jumpy you are about the subject. At first, he's miffed. Do you not think he can do the task to your liking? Has he given off the false impression that he cannot take any more work than he already has? Was your offer to help not based on affection, but pity??? It really ruffles his feathers.

He's the type to confront you head-on. At first, his voice is harsh because he's talked himself into thinking you've offended him, but when you start backing away and trying to dodge the conversation, apologies falling from your mouth about how the last thing you wanted to do was upset him, he softens. He doesn’t understand yet, but something is upsetting you and he intends to get to the bottom of it.

Not one who would pester you about opening up to him, but the sooner you do, the more of a show of good faith it is. He’ll trust your word entirely regardless, but it does a lot to soothe the upset of his own creation if you come back to explain sooner rather than later. After all, being vulnerable is perhaps Lucifer’s greatest show of love - it does not go unnoticed when you do the same.

Doing his best to talk through a solution is act of kindness #1 - and it helps you adjust a little since you worked with him rather than completely handed him the reins. He starts off his own plan to help you out by bringing in things he was already going to do for himself - offering you coffee when he gets his own, for example. He uses the fact that you’d feel bad for refusing against you for a little bit, but he means well!

You might notice him going softer on you for just a little bit - don’t say anything about it. He’s worried that he gave off the impression of using things against you because of how much of a disciplinarian he is. Besides, the two of you normally don’t get into arguments (he doesn’t have the time to let things simmer - if he’s that upset about something, he’ll try to address it immediately), so he doesn’t really know how else to change his behavior. He just hopes that allowing you the opportunity to open up to him again, should you need it, will alleviate the feeling that he’d ever use your kindness against you.

Mammon

The first time you stiffened up after he tried to help you, he thought you were crazy. Lucifer had just given you a punishment for one of his schemes that you took the fall for (and he still isn’t sure why Lucifer let you take the fall when it was obviously Not You), and you insisted that you could do it by yourself! He wasn’t too keen on cleaning every window in the House of Lamentation himself, so he left soon after placing the offer, but his time was spent mindlessly wondering about you.

The next time was shortly after, when you came into his room and crashed on his bed. He offered you a hand massage, although he did it in a very muttered voice with dark cheeks - and you said no again! Forget being offended that the romantic hand-holding idea he totally didn’t get from a magazine he was reading waiting for you (that would’ve somehow ended in disaster anyway) wouldn’t play out - he was getting worried.

He doesn’t bring anything up immediately, but he worries about you and watches you intently. Sometimes you’ll catch him staring at you, and he flips out when you ask him what’s up. The only clue Mammon gathers is that you don’t seem to be angry with him, so what’s up? He’s used to his backwards advances working against him, but he’s making a genuine effort here!

He finally gets pent up in his frustration and asks you head-on. Mammon isn’t known for his tact - “Oi, why won’t you just let me take over once in a while? Cut yerself a break, MC!” - but there’s a certain...desperate tinge to his voice that makes you realize he really does care (and is driving himself crazy trying to figure things out on his own). When you DO finally tell him, he sort of deflates and his voice goes to that softer, more genuine tone.

“H-hey, I would never do that kind of thing to ya…” He starts shuffling in place, kicking at rocks (if there are any) and you realize he kinda looks like a kid. “You do so much for everyone, and it makes me feel real good inside. I just wanna make you feel that, too. Besides, we don’t need TWO cranky workaholics in the house. Lucifer is plenty.”

He knows one moment of honesty isn’t going to fix your entire way of thinking, but he goes right back to his blatant offers after that. Maybe if he desensitizes you to it, you’ll feel less weird about accepting his help! It doesn’t work, so he shifts to little things. Catch him running across classrooms as soon as you’re dismissed so he can grab your textbooks to carry for you off the desk before you can.

Once he realizes you’re more receptive to him helping you, he’s ready to breathe a sigh of relief and be annoying about it again. Generosity doesn’t come easy to him, okay? Besides, he’s The Great Mammon! You should’ve known he’d be better than any other guy you’ve been with!

Leviathan

Of COURSE you wouldn’t want someone like him to help you out. He’d probably mess it up, anyway…

Seriously, Leviathan is very sensitive to rejection, so the moment you politely decline any offers to help he backs up about a thousand miles and sulks when you’re not around. It’s hard for him to get out of his own head, and he’s so ready for you to just tell him what everybody else is thinking and how much he sucks…

It dawns on him, though, that you never gave up on him when he pushed you away. It’s totally not poggers sucky of him to just give up on you like that. You’re his henry! You’re his s/o! He’s totally ready to fight any boss for you!! …..after he levels up a little more.

Levi spends a TON of time looking up ways to talk to you, one-on-one. He isn’t good with emotions like this but he is capable of them and having deep, serious talks. It shouldn’t MATTER that his research material is a bunch of feel-good romance anime scenes that he based his most recent Top 10 OTPs of the season post on!

Surprisingly enough, he brings it up relatively smoothly one night when you’re chilling in his room and he’s playing some relaxing simulator. You’re complaining about the things you have to do in the morning, and when there’s a lull in your conversation Leviathan turns and tentatively asks, “Hey...why don’t you try letting me help you out?” He can feel your refusal before it comes so he hurriedly adds “Please! I just- you stress yourself out so much and what good am I if I can’t even help you at all?”

Is it his impassioned plea for you to let him in? Is it his willingness to obviously step out of his comfort zone? Have your walls just conveniently crumbled at this moment? Whatever it is, you don’t have it in you to reject him when he’s so open about wanting to help you (and the pain it’s caused him not to). Either way, you sigh and give him a few, small tasks that you think you both could manage him having and he swears to do them well!!

Truly opening up to him about the reason why you were so hesitant on letting him help takes a while, and he doesn’t exactly pick up on it himself. Once you do tell him, though, in your journey to help yourself let him in, he holds you a little tighter and mumbles that he’ll never do that to you. Levi knows better than anyone that words can only mean so much, but he’s grateful for the chance to prove it to you. He won’t let his Henry down!

Satan

Satan is perceptive, and he knows how to talk about emotions. He might even have suspicious about the root cause before you even think about letting him know what’s up. He’s already started doing a few things for you - carrying each other’s books, for example. Small acts of kindness to get the both of you through the day.

However, one thing Satan isn’t good with…..is dealing with emotions head-on.

He spends so much time keeping his own under lock and key! After doing his best to keep the most calm, analytical front he can, Satan tends to uh….forget about the emotional part of emotions.

So. When he asks why you won’t let him reciprocate in the relationship, attempting to display that he just wants the two of you to be on equal ground and he is worried about you, he sort of comes off...as cold. And like he’s accusing you of feeling a certain way. He definitely presents it as “I’ve noticed you feel x and i think y would be helpful for us to fix it” rather than “how are you feeling? What is causing you trouble? How can i offer assistance in a way that translates well to you?” And if that doesn’t bring back some memories…

He feels awful, and at the end of it all you’re crying (or presenting your stress and bad memories however you normally do) and he still doesn’t know how to fix things. Counterintuitively, he looks through his books for an answer, and it takes him a few days to realize that’s what got him into this mess.

So he goes to you directly and, albeit a little clumsily, apologizes and asks what he can do to help you through this. You say that’s just the problem - you don’t want his help - and he sits next to you and just asks why? The two of you wind up talking for hours, sitting next to each other and just...really talking. You aren’t the only one feeling vulnerable - Satan is talking about his emotions full-on rather than through a scientific lens and it makes him just as nervous as you are.

Satan doesn’t get into arguments with you. He runs from the possibility because he’s worried about what his wrath could do to you. But he promises you that he could never hold anything against you, especially something like asking him for help. It’s an honor that you let him this close, and he can only return the favor in kind. He hopes you have enough faith to believe in him until he has the opportunity to prove it beyond a doubt.

Asmodeus

Asmo does things for people without asking. He gives unsolicited makeup and relationship advice, he offers to touch-up any products you may have on, he lends you clothes just because he felt like he should…

The thing is, Asmo will start before you even have a chance to ask him to stop. He’ll start before you’re even wondering if you like him. And at first, you’re ok with it. Well, you’re not, but you can decide he’s just testing the waters or that this is some weird demon way to earn your friendship or tell you he considers you a friendly presence, like cats. But it still rubs you the wrong way.

However, Asmo always notices that you...aren’t receiving it the way he wants you to. He invites you out and leaves you an outfit on your bed, and you come out wearing something entirely different. He leaves you a bouquet of flowers, and suddenly the dining room has a new bouquet in the center of it. (and you always avoid his gaze during those dinners, which is totally weird.) It’s almost like you’ve recognized the face he makes when he’s about to touch up your makeup, because you pull out a pocket mirror and check yourself over before he even has a chance to!

Are you leading him on? He doesn’t think so, but you are quite literally the only person he can’t literally charm the pants off of, and he isn’t quite sure how to navigate the signals you’re giving him. You seem fine with the relationship - it felt pretty genuine to him, and you looked thrilled when he made the romantic moves on you - so what was going on?

He finally caves and asks when he’s going through your wardrobe, sifting through it with you on the bed to make room for a shopping spree the two of you had been planning, and sees all the outfits he’d bought you hanging, still in their outfit bags. Some of the bags even had DUST on them!

He turns around and puts on a gentle voice. Though Asmo doesn’t know what’s happening, he can feel the air in the room shift and he knows he’s encroaching on some sensitive territory. “Hey, do you not like when I give you gifts? I haven’t been able to understand what’s been bothering you, but I don’t want to make you uncomfortable…”

He does NOT like the way you turn your face away from him, but he sits a respectable distance away and keeps his hands in his lap. Asmo is as good at genuine advice as he is at gossip, so it isn’t hard for him to get you comfortable enough to open up to him. You don’t have to tell him everything at once - he’ll listen to whatever you’re willing to tell him, letting you lean against him when you’re ready.

Asmo is known for being petty, but you bring out sides of him nobody knew were there. He’ll swear up and down that he’d never turn your good heart against you - after all, it’s one of the many things he loves about you - but he does understand where you’d get that impression. If you’ll let him prove it to you, he will - and he’ll start by only pestering you to let him buy one outfit for you on that shopping spree!

Beelzebub

Listen. Beel is a generous soul (for a demon) ((to those he really loves)). He just doesn’t ever really find himself in possession of anything worth sharing. Really, the only thing he is ever in the possession of is food. When he isn’t at his sports practice, working out or studying, he’s eating, and he’ll gladly share his food with you.

Oh? You don’t want it? He gives you a confused look - he’d ask if you were feeling well if he hadn’t eaten lunch with you just an hour before - but shrugs, his growling stomach winning over his concern. It’s not like you’re skipping meals, anyway. It isn’t until you get hurt helping him work out and refuse to let him pick you up to carry you to medical attention that he gets VERY concerned.

He feels awful enough as is. It was his fault you were even there - he just wanted to add more weight to his workout. (And, he won’t admit it, the idea of using a bench you were sitting on to lift over his head may have been a bit overkill. But he saw that little spark that said ‘that isn’t possible but man i wish it was’ when you saw it happen in that show and mmmmmmaybe he wanted to impress you. How was he supposed to know Mammon had broken it and left it there?) He could practically feel the pain in your ankle from the sound it made, and you were clutching desperately to your shin, wanting to press on the wound but knowing it was a bad idea. MC, there’s no way you can walk on that, why aren’t you letting him help?

The guilty puppy face he’s giving you is making the whole situation worse. It’s taking everything you can not to snap on, from the overwhelming pain in your ankle to the negative thoughts racing in your head to the knowledge that you’ll have to give in eventually. Finally, you face him head on and decide to just rip the band-aid off. “I don’t have the best experience with letting people do things for me. If you’re expecting to use this against me, I’m going to be out of commission for a while, so remember that.”

He is. So confused. Are you really mad at him? What are you talking about? It’s not that he’s stupid - because really, he isn’t - this just kinda came at him from left field and he does not know what to do about.

“What? I’m worried about you, MC, and there’s no way you can walk on your ankle. Come on, please let me take you to get help. I won’t mention it ever again if that’s what will make you happy.”

So maybe it takes a while to get to the nearest infirmary, and maybe he’s going extra slow so as not to jostle our injury, and maybe in the meantime he’s being so contemplative and quiet that you have a heart-to-heart. Beel’s too genuine not to trust him when he swears he’d NEVER use your kindness against you, but he understands it’ll take a while to show you.

Belphegor

So. Um. This is awkward.

Belphie is a smartass, and he’s the youngest and used to getting his way. He’s definitely the type to dig his heels in and fight dirty in an argument, just because he’s used to winning. He’s also sadistic and has plotted with you to use his brothers’ weaknesses against them for fun. So he gets it. He totally gets why you would think he’d do it. Honestly, that’s basically what he did to free himself from the attic, only with more violence involved. He gets it.

Since Belphegor hasn’t exactly been the nicest to you in the past, he isn’t about to make you pity him with words like “yeah, of course you wouldn’t trust me after what I did to you…” First of all, on the off chance that it’s completely unrelated, he doesn’t want to put that idea in your head and give you a resentment you never had, but also he’s getting a hang of this redemption thing. Yes, on an average day he’s still a bratty, selfish little shit, but he does show you how sorry he is for using you and hurting you. It shows in the way he checks up on you in situations he knows you’re uncomfortable in, in the way he cares for you in that gentle way that’s so subtle you wonder if he’s even actively doing anything. (He is - offering you the best spot in a blanket nest, suggesting your favorite meals when the brother on dinner duty needs ideas, little things - and you both know it.) But how does he repent for something he doesn’t even know if he’s doing?

The way you stop cold when you peek in the kitchen and see him (and Beel) cooking the dinner you just complained about wanting hurts. The two of you have a stare-off for a moment, and Beel gets the message to slide out of the room. Belphegor clears his throat.

“What do you want?” You ask with narrowed eyes. Ouch, way to be a Lucifer. He instead says, “Nothing. I just wanted to do something nice for you.” “And you don’t want anything in return?” “Have I given off the impression that I would?”

You sigh and step into the kitchen to wash your hands, asking if he needs help since Beel left. He grabs your wrist. “You’re welcome to keep me company, but I want to do this for you.”

He doesn’t like you looking at him distrustfully, but is relieved you sit at the counter instead of leaving. He wants to ask you what’s up, but something is stopping him - he ignores that what’s stopping him is fear that you’ll have another thing to add onto the list of the unforgivable sins he’s committed. If you feel like telling him, he’ll listen - but until then, he’ll go back to quietly trying to prove his worth to you, hoping one day you’ll see that it’s genuine and let him give you all the good things you deserve.

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