#getting philosophical over soul bonds

[staytinyville]

The Thoughts of a Lover

↣ Summary: You meet your soulmates at one of their concerts. From there you guys decide to wait for their tour to finish before meeting up with each other to start the rest of your lives together. However, that didn’t stop you from doing things while overseas. 

↣ Characters/Pairing: Yunho x Mingi x reader

↣ Genre: Mature/Smut (MDNI)

↣ AU/Trope info: Soulmate!au (You can see/hear your soulmate’s thoughts)

↣ Word Count: 5.8k

↣ Warnings: dom!Yunho, sub!Mingi, phone sex, mxm, oral (m receiving), threesome,

↣ A/N: BETA READER @mariana-mmtz Honestly I didn't know I had this in me. I was heckin proud. I was kicking my feet and giggling the whole time. This is my first post to the networks I've joined and I'm so happy about it!

At a certain age–usually around puberty–people get what is known as The Thoughts of a Lover in their head. It’s a terrible name really, but it’s what philosophers from Roman time decided to call it. Those Romans were clearly very passionate people.

It was meant to signify that somewhere in the world someone was connected to your spiritual essence. It was the will of the universe, knowing exactly what it was doing when it created humans. They knew their creations needed to be procreated somehow, so what better way to do that than by making a destined person for you personally.

Times changed, of course, people didn’t feel the need to fall in love with their destined person much. They realized that while there would always be someone there who was like their other half, people knew that they had free will. It wasn’t common though, to go about without finding your destined soulmate. The universe knew what it was doing every time it pulled apart a soul to place down on Earth.

Sometimes though, the universe would pull it apart more than once.

The myth goes; the creators pull apart a soul to create two and then toss them into a bucket. Another creator then grabs one and throws it down to earth. Every few years or so, there can be a creator who forgets they had already split a soul apart and ends up doing it again. Thus creating more than one soulmate.

Multiple soulmates were rare, but not unheard of. The most a soul was considered to be pulled apart was 4 times with a total of 5 soulmates. And that was at millennia ago. Now, at most, someone had four soulmates.

You had considered yourself special when you had turned 14 and suddenly heard not one but two voices in your head. Their random thoughts often surprised you but still somehow brought a smile to your face to know they were real and out there for you to find.

You were the kind of person who believed in destiny and staying with your soulmate. It was a bit intimidating to know that you had two–worry frequently creeped into your head when you thought about how you could possibly manage the two, but if their souls were just a separation from yours, you knew they too were meant to be together.

The day you met your own soulmates was the day you went to their concert. You attended their soundcheck and tried to get them to notice you from the floor. The universe, however, only allowed certain thoughts that didn’t involve speaking to them directly to pass through the bond. So you had to speak as though you weren’t actually talking to them.

Yunho had been the one to spot you first after you had started to think about rock, paper, scissors and play it out with him. They were overjoyed at the discovery, getting you to meet them at their hotel, where you spent the night with them.

It hadn’t been that long ago, only four months having passed since then. It gave you time to get your life together for when the boys would come back. There was a lot of texting and calling over the phone, which left you happy enough. All three of you would always express how much you miss each other, but it wouldn’t be long before you saw them again.

You had been going over some assignments, Yunho on the phone telling you all about their concert of the night. You would laugh at the things he would tell you, enjoying his voice over the speakerphone. As you began to type out some response to an email, one of the boy’s thoughts drifted over to your head.

I wonder if her thighs are soft. They felt soft last time. Mingi’s voice resounded.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked over at your phone. “Where’s Mingi?” You asked Yunho.

“He’s in the shower.” The man answered you.

You hummed to yourself, looking over at your computer screen.

I want to be smothered in them. Really I do. His thoughts once again penetrated your mind.

You shut your laptop closed, picking up your phone and moving from the computer. You felt a shiver go down your spine as dirty images seemed to pop up in your head. Your eyes went wide, making quick work to reach your bedroom and lay down.

“Angel, are you okay?” Yunho asked, shuffling around in the hotel room.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” You told him, sitting on your bed.

“Mingi!” You heard Yunho shout. “Hurry up.”

“Don’t lie to me. I saw them too.” The man sighed over the phone.

An unbearing heat crept over your body, your muscles twitching at the revelation Yunho had just told you. Of course, he had heard Mingi too.

“It’s nothing I’m not used to.” You told him quietly.

Yunho snorted. “I’m realizing how terrible that must have been. We’re so sorry you had to witness those things.” He laughed.

“I mean, I had needs too. You weren’t the only one I would assume.” You giggled.

“You are in fact right. Choi Minho? I see.” Yunho laughed out loud.

“Yunho!” Your face turned hot.

You fell back onto your bed, phone pressed to your ear. As you heard Mingi step out of the shower and get scolded by Yunho, the only thing that was brought to your mind was the amount of times you would scold yourself for thinking filthy things, knowing your soulmates were probably seeing them as well.

Was Mingi really thinking about me that way? You asked yourself.

You subconsciously began to rub at your thighs, lightly skimming your fingers over the tops of them and up to your hips. The shirt you wore to bed raised up with your hands, allowing the air in the room to cool your skin.

They are in fact soft. Thank you for noticing. You giggled in your head.

Just as your fingers were about to slip under your panties to touch your hip bone, Yunho called out for you over the phone.

“Angel?” He spoke quietly.

“Yes?” You spoke quickly, dropping your hand from your hips and sitting up.

“Everything okay over there?” He asked breathlessly.

“Yes. I’m fine.” You moved along the bed, wanting to get comfortable.

“We beg to differ.” Mingi’s voice was heard over the phone, closer to the speaker.

“Don’t stop on our account.” He told you.

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Finish what?”

“Angel, we saw everything.” Yunho laughed. He took a deep breath, speaking closer to the phone in a breathless whisper. “What else you want to think about? We want to see more.”

Your breath got caught in your throat, huffing out air, which made the boys sigh as they heard you. You sighed deeply, suddenly thinking about how the boys might be waiting for your response on the other end. Their excited wide eyes, mouth hung open at the imagines you could be sending them.

You took one glance at your phone before quickly taking off your shirt. You had always enjoyed the feeling of something brushing along your skin. So your soft fingers drifting over your torso and legs only made you think about all the things that you wanted the boys to see.

You thought about their own hands drifting along your skin. Yunho’s hands softly glide over your rib cage and past the slope of your breasts–skipping over your nipples. His nails would lightly scratch you, causing shivers to wrack through your body. His touch would burn trails as he went along, leaving your skin cold the more he traveled further down your body.

Mingi would use his entire palm, giving a message of sorts. He would allow his palm to grip over your neck, not knowing how to be light with his touches. His warm hand would allow itself to settle over one of your breasts, rolling your nipple over between his fingers. He would be mesmerized by it, mouth wide open as he thought about taking it into his mouth.

“Please let me.” You opened your eyes at Mingi’s whimper.

You gasped, having forgotten they were on the phone listening in. Your hand had drifted down to feel rub at your hips, the band snapping back as you pulled your hand out.

“Mingi?” You questioned, pulling the phone closer.

“Please. Can I suck on your tits?” He moaned out, huffing into the mic of the phone.

“Mingi.” Yunho whined, shuffling on the other side. “Come here.”

You could only think about the older boy pulling Mingi into his arms, softly rubbing at his back to calm him down.

“Please, Mingi.” You huffed.

You closed your eyes when all of a sudden the image of Mingi’s hot mouth on your breast filled your head. The boy was suckling softly, allowing his mouth to fill with your skin. One of his hands would squeeze at it, messaging. He moved it towards the valley between them, gripping onto the other one. Your back arched, blissful sighs slipping past your mouth.

Your fingers moved in between your thighs, finally slipping further down. You dug your fingers further, knees jerking when they felt the warm, wet skin. You withered on the bed, a moan slipping out and into the phone at your side.

“Angel,” Yunho breathed out. “Are you touching yourself?” He asked you quietly.

You could hear Mingi’s whimpers on the other end, wondering what it was they were doing.

“Angel, I’m speaking to you.” Yunho growled quietly.

Mingi’s cry made you flinch, but you answered Yunho anyway. “Yes.” You whispered.

“I would hope so.” He chuckled. “Keep going. Mingi wants more.”

“What about you?” You asked quietly.

“You think I’m not enjoying myself? I have to keep my pretty babies happy first.”

Your breath got caught in your throat from the way he was speaking. It was clear he was someone who took charge of things. He knew how to talk to people and get them to do what he wanted. And if you weren’t about to listen, you would force yourself to.

Your head began to come up with scenarios where you were at Yunho’s mercy, Mingi going along with it all. He would move to the end of the bed, kneeled between your legs as Mingi kept your breasts in his mouth but turned, so he could watch Yunho.

The image was wiped out as Yunho’s thoughts quickly overpowered your own. You moaned out loudly when Yunho was suddenly leaned down between your thighs, face pressed tightly to your core. His large hands held your hips down tightly, keeping you from moving too much. You could only imagine what his tongue must have felt like in real life.

Your hips bucked up as your fingers moved faster. You withered on the bed, clenching the muscles in your thighs as you panted over the image. Mingi cried out again, hearing your whimpered moan.

“Yunho.” He cried out, rutting his hips into the older man’s hand.

You whined along with him, wanting to know what it was they were up to. “Please, tell me what you’re doing.”

Instead, you only got an image. Mingi was sprawled out on top of Yunho, while the older bot moved his hand up and down on Mingi’s shaft. Mingi was a moaning mess, allowing himself to submit to Yunho’s grasps. He kept rutting his hips up and down, cheek pressed to Yunho’s chest.

You moaned out again, finally reaching where you needed the most attention. You could feel the wetness that was slowly seeping out, rubbing it around to add more slick to your clit.

You flinched, whimpering from the stimulation.

“Doll, please. I want more.” Mingi huffed.

“You heard him, Angel.” Yunho chuckled, squeezing at the man’s base.

You allowed yourself to fall prey to the thoughts of being filled by them. The moment you allowed your fingers to slip into your hole, was the moment you started to think about Yunho pounding into you.

He had taken your ankles in his hands, holding your legs up as his mouth hung open from the feeling of your walls tightening around him. Mingi was holding your face as his lips moved over yours, fingers pressing into your neck. You had your hand wrapped around him, giving him pumps every once in a while.

Mingi suddenly let out a loud moan when your thoughts came into his head. Yunho laughed, rutting his hips into Mingi’s torso that was covering him. At the man’s movements, Mingi was quick to move down and place Yunho’s tip into his mouth. This caused the man to grunt.

“Angel, you're so good.” Yunho huffed, patting Mingi’s head as he spoke to you over the phone. “You’re such a good boy.” He turned to Mingi, dragging his fingers through the boy's hair.

Yunho allowed the image to be engraved into his head, giving you a sneak peek at what was going on. Mingi had his nose pressed to Yunho’s hips, cheeks hollowed out. His head bobbed up and down, hands jerking off the parts that were out of his mouth.

You cried out, causing Yunho to laugh. “Be a good girl, keep sending us your dirty thoughts.”

With the image of Mingi over Yunho’s cock, you began to think about how they could do that with you there. Your first deduction would be you on top of Mingi, moving your hips up and down along his shaft, causing him to whine out from the pressure. He would be loud, or at least try to be.

Yunho was over him, rutting his hips into the boy’s mouth. He would have Mingi’s head hanging off the edge of the bed, enjoying the view of you swiveling your hips. As Yunho would hold back, he moans and grunts, his hand reaching over to your clit, moving his fingers quickly.

You cried out, head falling back as your nails scraped against Mingi’s chest. With Yunho’s fingers stimulating you and Mingi’s cock hitting that perfect spot every time, you found yourself quickly reaching the point of no return.

Just as the “you” in your vision reached her climax, you cried out into the phone, legs tightening up from the stimulation. Yunho let out a loud groan, shoving his hips deeper into Mingi’s mouth from hearing you climax.

“Come here, sweet boy.” He quickly pulled Mingi up to his knees, leaning down to suck Mingi off.

The boy was already overstimulated, so it didn’t take long for him to cum with a cry. You moaned loudly along with him, whining at the sound that came from his throat. Yunho swiped his tongue along his lip, licking up the mess. As he leaned back into the pillow, Mingi was quick to take Yunho again, wanting him to reach his orgasm as well.

Yunho didn’t hold back this time, using Mingi’s mouth as he pleased. He held the boy’s head down, trying to reach his high, just as you and Mingi had. His eyes rolled to the back of his head when a new image turned up.

Both you and Mingi leaned over his cock, tongues swiping over the length of it. You both looked up at him with glossy eyes, waiting for him to cum. It was when he saw you both open your mouths that his eyes closed and he shoved Mingi’s head down.

His loud moan made you twitch from over stimulation, having continued touching yourself until you knew they both had come. You clenched your legs, fingers keeping still inside yourself. You could feel the throb going through your cunt, which only made you hum at the sensation.

“Angel, are you okay?” Yunho asked you from the phone.

“Is Mingi okay?” You asked back.

Yunho looked down at the boy who had licked his lips cleaned as he had, slumped over to the side as he cuddled into Yunho. The older man laughed lightly, rubbing fingers through Mingi’s hair.

“He’s perfect.” He told you.

“Then I’m perfect, too.” You lazily smiled.

“A month until we go home.” Yunho told you.

Your eyes were drifting shut, as your body tried to come down from the high you had experienced. “I can’t wait to see you.” You softly told him.

“We can’t either.”

NETWORKS:

@cultofdionysusnet @pirateeznet @sandsofire

#ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez imagines #ateez mingi #mingi x reader #mingi x y/n #mingi x you #yunho x reader #yunho x you #yunho x y/n #song mingi smut #mingi smut #ateez hard thoughts #yunho smut #jeong yunho smut #jeong yunho x reader #song mingi x reader #song mingi ateez #jeong yunho ateez #kpop smut #ateez smut #cultofdionysusnet #pirateeznet

[umnitsa]

The Sailor's Knot

Summary: Thinking about what you lost throws you into a depression spiral. A handsome man brings you some help.

A/N: I had a dream and made it into a fanfic. This is written fully for myself and it's just two old people bonding over an old dog. <3 It's written from my experience with ADHD and I hope you guys enjoy it. Banner from @cafekitsune <3

Written with unholy eagerness and no proofreading!

Pairing: ADHD!Reader x Joel (Reader is also plus size, it just isn't an issue yet. Reader is about Joel's age.)

CW: Giant dog. Just that, this is very sweet and sad, in fact. Porn may come in later parts, because I enjoy it! <3

“So, what do you miss from before?”

The question took you by surprise as you raised your fork. You stopped, thinking of the zombie apocalypse, how life was and how happy you were for having reached Jackson. You shook your head, trying to avoid the bad feelings and memories from the early days of infection.

“To be honest? Dogs. Cats. Fuck, I miss house pets.” You sighed, looking at your friends. “I really enjoy the horses, but sometimes I wonder if we will ever be able to domesticate them again, I mean, the ones who were not spayed turned feral by now. And bred with wolves and wildcats.” You rambled away, and the people nodded around you. “Hell, I’d try if I ever knew how to do it. I mean, I know some about training dogs, but only the ones that are socialized from birth with humans… And cats… Damn, they chose to live with us, I never taught a cat to do one thing, just fed them and loved them.”

People nodded, smiling, and the older traded their memories with the younger as dinner continued. You felt it was a good way to keep history alive with these children. As you looked around, you tried to smile.

You missed your medicine too. It made life easier then, and it would make work damn easier now.

At least you could make yourself useful in the kitchen, and taking care of kids. You learned enough to help with the horses and the livestock, you learned to fix small things.

At least the community didn’t take your rambling as annoying. Most of them. And your distracted, wandering overactive mind, focused in all the wrong things at the wrong time, your bursts of weirdly philosophical irrelevant questions were seen as if you are a fae. An old soul. Someone disconnected from time and space, but useful and entertaining. You were a good storyteller and people enjoyed your silly performances and the comedy nights.

At least people know better than to get angry with you.

At least you found a way to survive.

You also missed books being widely available. And you missed all the stories that didn’t get to be told, drowned by natures own revenge. All the songs you didn’t get to hear, because they never existed. All the beautiful people that didn’t get to touch your heart acting, and singing, and performing.

You missed comedy. And the close proximity of a stranger in a crowded movie theater.

You missed the quiet inside your mind.

You felt two tears running through your cheeks. A hand heavily descended over your shoulder. You nodded, blindly. With a sad smile, you pat the person’s arm and stand up; you finish your food quickly, wash your plate and leave. They could take care of themselves for one day. ***

You loved Maria. And she really liked you back. She understood whenever you needed some time for yourself. She knew you would pay it back with work later.

That innocent question threw you into a wave of memories, and you had to ride your feelings by yourself. You felt glad you could.

The kids still came into your house to borrow books. With shy smiles, they quietly made their requests and politely asked how were you doing (as their parents asked them to do). You made an effort not to cry in front of them.

You were reading when you heard noise in front of your house. You opened the door, carelessly.

A man was standing in front of your house, with a giant dog in a makeshift leash.

You blinked, the surprise taking your ability to even process the moment.

“Found this fella in patrol.” The man’s voice was grave, almost a growl. “Thought you would like to meet him.”

The man was tall, his shoulders large. His hair unruly, more pepper than salt (probably looked like yours). He had round brown eyes, squashed by a frown. He had something heavy about him. An air of someone who had seen everything and the scars on his face alone are the only proof you need to believe it. You wondered how he would look laughing. His hawkish nose towered over thick, plush lips. You knew him.

Joel. He was ‘Tommy’s Brother’. And Tommy was ‘Maria’s Husband’.

The dog was immense, just like Joel. He looked like a german shepherd, with thick caramel fur blending into black, his ears floppy. You marveled looking at his massive frame, your heart tightening as you noticed a scar on his head, close to his eye, covered by the fur. The dog had the biggest, roundest dark eyes you’ve ever seen. He looked immensely dangerous, he could snap your hand off with his powerful jaws, but his eyes made him look gentle. The tip of his snout had a ring of white hair, silver peppering his snout gently. An old dog. Old like Joel, like you.

You approached, slowly, palms facing the dog, giving him time to get used to your presence. The dog leaned forward, sniffing your palms, huffing and shaking his giant head gently, floppy ears moving around his head. You kept your palm turned to the dog, who pressed his snout to your hand, watching you with his big eyes.

“He started following me out there.” Joel cocked his head. “Shared my hunt with him, and he slept around the fire. He’s well behaved. Think he lost his owner.”

“You should keep him.” You said softly, feeling into yourself to be generous. This dog was Joel’s luck and he should take him. It didn’t occur to you to ask him why he was bringing the dog, you weren’t even that close. “He’s a very handsome dangerous-looking gentleman. Like you.”

Joel blushed, a small smile on his face. He looked down and shook his head. You felt like he was saying something, you just couldn’t understand.

“I heard you the other day.” Joel held your hand and placed the leash in your hands. “I know…” Joel looked around awkwardly, like he was trying to piece a feeling into words. “I know this fella won’t fix things. I understand. But maybe he can bring our sunshine back.”

Joel nodded, looking into your eyes, and you could see his brown eyes peering into your soul, for one moment. It made you want to cry. You nodded, swallowing your feelings.

“Thank you.” You turned your eyes to the dog. He seemed to understand, sitting with his whole body pressed against your leg, up to your waist. His head heavily pressed against your hip, the dog waited patiently.

“Talked to Maria. It’s ok.” Joel cleaned his throat, clearing his voice. “You can keep him. Keep him inside, I’ll build the fence so you can have some space for him.” Joel shifted his weight from one leg to the other and got a fabric wrapped package from his pocket. He puts the package on your free hand. The dog raises his head, interested, which makes Joel chuckle. “Those are treats. He ate today, we just arrived, brought him right here.”

You nodded, smiling.

“We need to make sure he’s safe and you can help.” Joel nodded. “You can walk him in the leash, I’ve already asked Tommy to help us make a good one. Just for safety, I think he’s a good boy.”

You just watched as Joel offered his palm to the dog, then scratched behind his ear.

“He was really well behaved on the trail.” Joel said, softly, his fingers running through the dog’s fur. “I… I would like to visit. Play with him. Maybe help you. He was good company out there.”

“Of course!” You eagerly accepted, infinitely grateful for his gesture. You didn’t overthink why he brought you the dog, what did it mean that he saw your outburst. That would be for later. You just accepted, the dog’s eyes bringing you more joy than you could imagine. “You found him, you were the first friend he made around Jackson. Why shouldn’t you visit him?”

“I’ll be here in the morning. I’ll try and get him some hunt, then we can build the fence.” Joel nodded, stepping back. The dog sniffed the air, gently. Joel scratched the dog’s chin and stepped back, moving away from you.

“Thank you!” You shouted one last time, and he waved. The dog followed you inside. You locked the door, not wanting one of your frequent visitors to get scared with your new roommate, hid the treats in the cupboard, then placed a water bowl on the floor. The dog quietly watched you, sitting in the living room.

You finally sat, and the dog curled up against you, between your feet. He slept, leaving you to your tears as you caressed his scar.

#joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller x you #joel miller x oc #pedro pascal characters #joel miller x reader #joel miller fanfiction #the last of us fanfic #the last of us fanfiction #mayb writes

[loveemagicpeace]

How Venuses Signs Love🫀

🦋Venus in Scorpio- want to be in a deep relationship with you, share deep conversations, value honesty & loyalty, love the ugly side of people. They value your secrets and the things you only tell them. They want to maintain a bond with you that is just the two of you. Their actions in love tend to promise deep commitment and sexual pleasure. These people are very focused on their partners. Their body-and-soul love and commitment can be so intense&loving them a very heavy experience. Loving a Venus in Scorpio is sometimes about loving the suffering that is love.

💘Venus in Sagittarius-appreciate the moments with you, the energy they get when hanging out with you. They like to travel and have people who are fun and sarcastic. They cherish the experience they have with you. They will like you if they can feel alive around you. They also value conversations and openness. They want to learn new things, and experience everything together. They are attracted to people in love with life. Also they love romantic adventures. They enjoy getting to know a lover on a philosophical level. They love unique people & travel souls. Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who chooses to stay everyday. Loving Venus in Sagittarius is loving someone who wants to give you the world.

💋Venus in Libra- want romantic adventures. They like to experience the idea of ​​love they have in their head with you. They focus on the relationship they have with you and try to maintain the bond. When they love you, they will literally want to do anything with you. They are gentle lovers who hate to be offended. They don’t like imbalance in relationship. They tend to seek balance in their personal environment, and can be quite picky. Loving Venus in Libra is loving someone who is competent in the art of relationship making. It’s loving a Venus that takes its sweet time because it always has larger plans that grow larger by the day.

🌙Venus in Virgo-appreciate the most when you do something useful with them. Also they appreciate food, art, nature. Virgos want a perfect relationship. When they love you, you will be able to see that they will always tell you everything honestly. And that they won't criticize you. If they choose you, you have to be really special for them. It’s loving a Venus that simply is incapable of being anyone other than exactly who they are. It’s a Venus that can’t pretend. Loving Venus in Virgo is loving someone who will be there for you when things get hard.

🧚🏼‍♀️Venus in Pisces- want to create their own world with you and stay in it. They will only see you and no one else. Pisces will do anything. They are very self-sacrificing and can really sacrifice a lot for the person they love. A lot of cute things they will do for you. If they really love you, they will share all their subconscious thoughts with you. They appreciate romance and poetry. Loving Venus in Pisces is loving someone who is in love with the world. It's like loving someone who doesn't know what they're doing but knows what they're doing when they're with you.

🧞‍♀️Venus in Capricorn- are slow lovers who love for the long haul. It is very important to them that you appreciate their efforts. It is important to them that you support them in their career. If they really love you, they will do a lot for you, buy you things, and expect nothing in return. Sometimes, loving Venus in Capricorn is loving someone who will do it for you even when they don’t want to—someone who picks up groceries to make you dinner.

❤️‍🔥Venus in Aries - get tired of someone quickly/ get over it quickly. But when they love, they will do a lot for a person and stay even when it's hard. They will stand up for you when someone treats you badly. Many times the person's body will be important to them. There’s no games with a Venus in Aries. Sometimes, loving a Venus in Aries is about loving adrenaline and fear. When they love you, they will care to stay.

💚Venus in Leo- when they love you, they will want to show you off to everyone. They will invest a lot in the relationship and want to do everything with you. You like charismatic people and people who stand out. Though really quite loyal to their partners, they thrive on romantic attention. Venus in Leo looks at someone and, instantly, sees the biggest and brightest thing about that person. They could be dramatic but they love you. Leo see the sun in you.

🐭Venus in Cancer- will want to start a family with you. They will want to go through things at home with you. They will love to spend cozy days with you. They like to create a family and a home with a person in which they feel safe and satisfied. They like the feeling of home that a person brings them. They are sweet and sensitive. They pay more attention to your feelings than your words, and observe you rather carefully.

🙈Venus in Taurus-centers on the physical world and creature comforts — they revel in sensual surroundings. They love natural beauty. If they really love you, they will be very persistent in their love and also less stubborn. Taurus can be possessive in love, and they are threatened by fast-paced, high-energy situations in the context of relationships and love. They have to see the value in you. They will buy you expensive gifts and appreciate your love. When they love you, it's like loving a garden full of flowers.

🎢Venus in Gemini- love communication and also value this most in relationships. They like someone they can always talk to. They express love through words. It is very important for them not to get bored, you can be interesting for them to choose. Curiosity motivates them on romantic and social levels. Gemini Venus is like a teenager in love. When they love u they like to share everything with u. When Gemini Venus falls for you, it’s like they can hardly believe that you exist in the way you do at all.

⛲️Venus in Aquarius- want a different love, something that is not usual but something that is strange, fun and interesting. They appreciate the strangest things in people. They also value open-mindedness and intellectual exchange in their romantic partnerships. They want a friendship with their lover. People are attracted to unconventionality, independence, and freedom as themes in their social relationships. They will love you without rules.

-if u are interested maybe I will do part 2 mars signs

-Rebekah💘🧚🏼‍♀️🌊

#astrology #energy #zodiac signs #planets #my notes #astrology observations #astrological houses #venus speaks #deep love

[yourbittertarottruth]

Jk's future spouse bonding with BTS members n their first impressions about each other. Wanna say something to you that I truly appreciate your honesty & love you for that 💞

Ooh, this might be a bit of a long one, so sit tight and enjoy! Thank you so much for the support, btw <3 BTS Members First Impression of Jungkook's Future Spouse : Namjoon/RM : *Knight of Swords Reversed* - He might not be too pleased, he'll feel like she's too opinionated, which will anger him a bit. He may feel like Jungkook was reckless and impulsive when getting into this relationship at first, he'll feel like there's too much going on with her and that she might drag Jungkook into her own personal problems. Seokjin/Jin : *Knight of Wands Reversed* Damn, again?? I suppose they'll have similar opinions, especially since him and Namjoon are like the parents of the group. So, same opinion as Namjoon but he may be a bit more guarded with her than Namjoon. JHope : *4 of Cups* - He'll feel a bit disconnected from her at first, since she'll be a bit of an outsider to the group, he won't know her at all, etc. Jungkook's like a younger brother to him, so he'll heavily contemplate/question if Jk really knows what he's getting into. He may find her somewhat apathetic at first too? Yoongi : *7 of Swords Reversed* - Oo, this is quite different. He'll find her as quite an intellectual person to speak to, as shown by Swords. He'll feel as though she has some sort of desire to change and reform, she may even discuss that with him a little. He'll want to help her turn over this new leaf and will offer insightful advice to her. They may also talk about spirituality or philosophical topics as shown via the number 7. Jimin : *The Wheel of Fortune Reversed* - He'll feel as though she has no control over her life or is clinging to that control, despite it slipping through her fingers like sand. As the wheel turns and changes, so will his opinion of her. He'll grow fond of her VERY quickly and view her as a younger sister. V/Taehyung : *8 of Pentacles Reversed* - He'll feel like she's very emotionally out of touch and like she has no focus/direction as to where she wants to go in life. He'll feel like she's looking for change and will be worried that she doesn't love Jungkook and is only with him because she doesn't know what she's doing. More importantly, he's worried that the 2 of them will get caught by the media as they'll both be in the beginning stages of the relationship and love tends to grow quickly during this period. However, his worries will be cooled quickly by Jk's FS and he'll soon become close friends with her. So, in order of most-least fond of her when they first meet during Jk's dating phase with her; Yoongi, Jimin, Taehyung, JHope, Namjoon, Jin. I hope you enjoyed this reading, dear soul, thank you for joining me <3

#pagan witch #kpop tarot #tarot #bts #kpop #bts jungkook #jungkook #bts army #bangtan #future spouse #rm bts #bts rm #namjoon #bangtan rm #jin #rm #jhope #yoongi #suga #seokjin #suchwita #bts taehyung #taehyung #bts v #bts jimin #jimin #park jimin

[royedismyaesthetic]

RoyEd Week Day 2: Soulmate AU

Okay, so for this AU, everyone has heterochromia, and the color of your right eye matches the color of your soulmate’s left eye, and vice versa. That way, when you face each other, your soulmates’ eyes are a mirror image of your own. Multiple people can have your corresponding eye colors and can potentially be your soulmate. However, Roy is pretty confident that he’s just found his, seeing as how Edward is the only person alive who has a golden left eye and a black right one. 

Keep reading for the full summary:

Throughout his life, Roy gets a lot of attention due to his unusual eye color. Seeing as how no one else has possessed a golden eye since the fall of Xerxes (or so he believes), Roy concludes that this is the universe’s way of telling him that he doesn’t have a soulmate. He eventually meets Edward of course, but while their eye colors do match up, the idea of them being soulmates… it just can’t be true. 

While Edward is under Roy’s command, Roy has him wear an eyepatch over his gold eye whenever he is in public. That way, rumors won’t spread about who Edward’s soulmate might be. (I think the covering of one eye would be somewhat popular in this society, particularly among those who reject the idea of predestined soulmates and instead wish to seek out their own romantic and platonic connections. When you look at your soulmate with both eyes however, you are able to gain an innate understanding of their emotions. The eyes are the windows to the soul, as they say.) 

Edward spends the following years in denial about Roy being his soulmate, and as he searches for the Philosopher’s Stone, he also secretly searches for someone else who could possibly be his other half. He comes up empty handed however, and over time, he finds himself developing feelings for Roy. 

Sometime before Roy loses his eyesight, Edward reports to him in Central. For the first time, Edward refrains from wearing his eyepatch because he lost it somewhere along his travels. However, when Edward goes to meet with Roy, Roy refuses to speak with him without his eyepatch on. Roy also avoids looking Edward directly in the eyes, and Edward notices this. Because Edward is looking at Roy with both eyes for the first time since they first met, Edward can finally see into Roy’s soul, and he realizes that Roy is actually afraid to look at him. 

Edward gets angry because he realizes that they could have had this profound emotional connection this entire time, and Roy denied him of that. Also, Edward has come to almost resent Roy for forcing him to hide a part of who he is. 

Roy did this both to protect Edward, and to prevent something from happening that could maybe make it more difficult for himself to reach his ultimate goal. But also, Roy did it because he simply can’t bear the sight of Edward. It makes him sick to his stomach to think that Edward is destined to be with a monster like him. Whether Roy realizes it or not, he wants Edward to hate him. He wants Edward to love him. He wants to punish himself for his past mistakes by denying himself of this bond that he was destined to have. 

Edward realizes this, and he tells Roy that punishing himself accomplishes nothing. Roy is just hurting himself. He is hurting Edward too on an emotional level, and maybe if he looked Edward in the eyes sooner, he would have realized that. 

When Roy and Edward part ways, they still aren’t on good terms. But later on, when Roy chooses to use the Philosopher's Stone to regain his sight, Edward understands that Roy is breaking away from his previously held mentality. Roy is not forgetting about his mistakes, but he’s leaving the past in the past, and he’s looking forward and seeing what he can do to make a better future. And maybe in that better future, Roy will finally be willing to share his soul with Edward. The end.    

@royedweek2023

#royed #i made fanart for this but i wasn't happy with it #so this edit is what you get #i also didn't have time to write the fic out in full #as you can see #royedweek2023 #alphonse has a gold left eye and blue right one if you were wondering #so roy knows from pictures that al is not his soulmate

[stealthisplanet]

New Mutants vol. 4 #18 – Homecoming

The imperative of a mutant community

Vita Ayala (Writer), Rod Reis (Artist), Travis Lanham (Letterer)

Let’s begin with first principles.

The two foundational, definitional characteristics of the New Mutants are the closeness of their bonds, lines between platonic and romantic almost permanently blurred, and their trauma, both individual and shared. The New Mutants’ mission on Krakoa, explored so beautifully in this issue, is to foster a community strong enough that it can guide and support each of its individuals to unburden themselves of the trauma of the past and flourish in the future.

The New Mutants begin their utopian journey in this fashion by creating a support system for younger mutants, no longer constrained by human frameworks and ideologies. This is symbolised by their new home the Sextant, which is itself a metaphor for charting a new course towards a future with limitless possibilities. When Vita Ayala takes over writing responsibilities from Jonathan Hickman from issue 13, they more closely interrogate how this idealism plays out in practice. As the shadow of the past begins to encroach on the Akademos Habitat in the form of Amahl Farouk, the young students are attracted to the allure of easy solutions to their problems. The teachers also perceive Krakoa as an opportunity to release the trauma they’ve held onto for many years but know that this victory must be hard fought. Enter Dani Moonstar aka Mirage to guide them through.

After Magik becomes a War Captain and de facto combat leader of the team, Dani remains the team’s spiritual and emotional leader, as well as the lead educator for the Lost Club, the island’s youngest mutants. While Mirage doesn’t have a story dedicated to her throughout the run, she remains active rather than passive, supporting the team through the period of introspection and reflection that the safety of Krakoa has afforded them.

Ayala uses Mirage to great effect throughout their run, using her innate skill of empathy to de-emphasis the distinction between individual and shared trauma. Ayala’s approach to this feels so realistic, as Dani does not always get this right, avoiding a trap that writers fall into with the character being so morally upstanding that her judgement is beyond reproach. While issue #18 is a wonderful testament to Dani’s strength as a leader and the nature of her bond with Karma, there’s only so much that a community leader can do for her people without wider structural support.  Wolfsbane and Cosmar are examples of attentions become spread too thinly, which is a catalyst for calamity and guilt that later issues must resolve. All of Dani’s attention is on Karma’s battle to reclaim her identity by separating her from her ‘evil’ brother Tran, who she has stored in her soul for almost her entire life to protect the world around her. In a society that promises amnesty and support for its former villains, New Mutants #18 examines the precarious moral balance of self-actualisation and community protection through one of the Krakoa era’s most controversial plot devices: the Crucible.

The healing rock

The issue begins with Karma and Mirage sat on a rock by a waterfall, hands held in meditation as Dani facilitates a conversation between Xuân and Tran on the astral plane. This is the same rock that Karma finds Wolfsbane sat on in the opening scene to issue 1 and offers her guidance about capitalising on the potential of her rebirth and finding new purpose. It is a space that symbolises the spiritual connections between the team, and the importance of quiet introspection as a way of resolving problems and challenges. It’s representative of Ayala’s approach to the series, which is to buck the superhero comic trend and resolve issues through philosophical debate rather than physical conflict. That’s not to say that action isn’t core to this issue because it is, but the resolution to the problem is arrived at here on this rock which then plays out in the crucible itself.

Rod Reis’ use of pastel tones and inking to differentiate between the corporal and astral figures and between past and present tense is both economical and visually stunning. The washed out tone clearly demarcates the past tense, while the flare ups of Karma’s pink power signature emphasises Karma’s intense frustration and despair at the lack of success of previous attempts to separate her from her brother. Floating ink lines resembling restraints circle Tran’s body loosely throughout the scene, suggesting Xuân’s reluctance to incarcerate him. At the scene’s conclusion, the inks have become thinner, symbolising the loosening of the bonds and his imminent freedom.

“Tôi đã có bạn - I’ve Got You”

So why is the ritual of the Crucible so crucial to Karma’s story? First of all, it demands conviction. It demands that Xuân reckon with the conundrum of whether her full spiritual independence is worth the risk her brother poses to the community around her. And yes, it demands brutality because the foundational principle of the Crucible is rooted in violence, the premise that paradise should never come easily, even to those who deserve it, because it is simply worth so much.

In the Crucible scenes, Ayala and Reis combine to great effect to simultaneously create a violent intensity and gentle intimacy to the fight. The pacing ebbs and flows as Xuân’s creeping doubts are answered with Dani’s violence before the scene breaks away for Karma to “waver here, in this moment between breathes” as her memories of Tran as an innocent child and as a damaged man as the narrative caption boxes pose the question “who is Tran?”. The fluid, sketched panelling gives way to thick bordering on the bottom panel of the page as the reader sees Karma, sword in hand, resolved in her decision: ultimately, it is not for her to choose. Tran must be given the grace to find his own path.

The scene then ramps up to a frenetic yet almost silent crescendo as Dani stabs her with an arrow. Throughout this scene, when the narrative is from the two central figures’ perspectives, the background is dark pink, symbolising Karma’s internality, while everyone else is faded out. It’s just the two of them together, dancing to a song of violence written with pure love. The issue’s closing scene is a moving testament to the love between them, with Karma flirting with Dani as they stare into each other’s eyes in a way that brings us back to first principles: friendship and romance are fluid among the New Mutants, but what is clear is their deep affection for one another.

Other than the potential romantic elements, Ayala’s decision to have Dani be Xuân’s partner is a smart one in that Dani is probably the most self-actualised of the New Mutants. In the original New Mutants series, she was the first to lose her powers, the first to succumb to her trauma in the form of the Demon Bear and therefore the first to be saved by the found family around her. The passing on of care from one community to member to another is contrasted in later issues where the New Mutants talk to the Shadow King about breaking the cycle of trauma and replacing it with something more productive. By separating herself from the pain of her past, symbolised by the influence of her brother, she finally has complete autonomy: freedom to be who she wants but also to pay the kindness forward to others, which she is able to do with Cosmar in a later issue.

So when Karma is resurrected with her prosthetic leg still in place, accompanied by the narrative caption box of “Welcome Home”, the message is loud and clear: mutant paradise is being the version of yourself that you most love and identify with, and the Crucible is the hard road to travel to get there.

The Lost  Club

What is striking on a re-read is how much of this issue is dedicated to the Lost Club and the debate between Gabby Kinney and Cosmar about the efficacy of the Shadow King’s promise to restore the mutants to their idealised self. The scenes are very dialogue heavy, which weigh down the issue slightly, but they are important and completely on theme.

The Lost Club, and Cosmar in particular, present an alternative viewpoint on the theme of self-acceptance. If Karma’s decision to resurrect herself with her prosthesis still in place is a strong message of rejecting disability as something to be fixed, Cosmar’s experience is perhaps an allegory for body dysmorphia or more specifically gender dysphoria. The pop philosophy of self-acceptance generally argues that a person should accept themselves for who they are, which implies a rigidity of identity shaped by a patriarchal view of gender. The point that the children with visible mutations like Cosmar, Anole and Rain Boy make to Gabby is that what if what you see in the mirror prevents you from expressing who you are? How can one accept a version of oneself that is false?

Ayala is challenging a generally held belief in X-Men continuity, perpetuated by the Krakoa era, that possessing a mutant power is necessarily a gift. In the past this notion has generally been challenged by mutants whose powers are destructive, like Rogue or an even more extreme case like Glow Worm, but this comic explicitly is not interested in that. This is about the person behind the powers, and not just whether or not they look “different” from others. This comic is interrogating ways in which people look different from how they perceive themselves, and in that way is an interesting examination of body dysmorphia at the very least.

So while the Crucible scene is a beautiful example of how a community can support the individual, the Lost Club plot is about what happens when a community fails its citizens. The Shadow King, although characterised fairly sympathetically in this run, represents the systems that exploit those left vulnerable by lack of community care. Without spoiling what happens in future issues the seeds of this plot’s central argument are laid here: while they don’t always get it right, the New Mutants have their fellow citizens best interests at heart, and are a positive example of an inclusive and accepting community.

However, the point made by Magik in her letter to the Quiet Council gets to the root of the issue: local communities need the support of central government to best serve its citizens. In an economic and political climate in which vital funding and protective legislation for communities and their vulnerable citizens are being gutted to fund genocide and war, the idealism of Krakoa was always fated to be just another utopia.

#xmen #xmen comics #krakoa #mutants #new mutants #illyana rasputin #dani moonstar

[rinnelovebot]

Talk about snow and white mhyk like youre trying to convince your parents to do something with a power point presentation

I got so fucking excited when I received this ask. I cannot put into words how dear they are to me and how eager I am to be annoying about them at any opportunity I get

so, these two are snow and white, twins from the game mahoutsukai no yakusoku! snow is pictured on the left and has short hair, white is pictured on the right and has longer hair.

general, all-over-the-place rambling and major spoilers under the cut!

I don’t even know where to start oh god. I wanna preface this by saying I’ve never been good at any sort of character explanation or analysis, so please be kind to me or I’ll cry 🎉

for starters, snow and white are the oldest characters in the game — they’re well over two thousand years old, and they’ve been serving as the sages wizards (tm) for longer than anyone else. they’re fond of nighttime, children, and jokes. it’s hard to summarize their complex relationship, but to put it shortly, they are absolutely everything to one another, and they’ve never needed anyone outside of each other.

for fun, or for convenience, they often put on a “sweet, joyful children” act, or, on the flip side, an “old, senile grandpa’s” act. their “true” personalities are somewhere in between; however, they aren’t as harmless as they seem. they’re incredibly powerful wizards from the north — northern wizards are known to be cruel, strong, and act alone — and the twins can be rather sadistic and/or apathetic towards others. despite this, they’re often regarded as the most docile of the northern wizards.

regardless of everything I just saaaaid, they can also be incredibly sweet! they often give gifts to people, and hand out candy to those that they believe are behaving, or as encouragement. this includes the sage; whom they’re rather fond of, and enjoy taking care of. they can often be found holding hands with the sage, or patting their head.

now, into the angst.

white is dead. he’s a ghost, whose soul has been bound to snow’s, allowing him to still freely walk the earth, so long as snow still wants him around. why is he dead, you ask? well I’m about to tell you!

long, long ago, snow and white were living happily together in the north, completely satisfied with one another’s company. until soooomeone, a philosopher, murr hart, asked snow a question about loneliness. he asked snow if he had never really thought about or questioned the fact that he’d never experienced loneliness, and would likely never experience it if his life continued the way it was going.

this questioned lingered in snow’s mind for a while, and eventually, he decided that he wanted to go on a “fantastical journey to discover loneliness”, taking a break from his shared life with white, just for a short while.

upon snow bringing it up to him, white was absolutely livid, and spiraled into an emotional mess — he screamed at snow and insulted him, questioning why he’d ever want to part from him, even if it wasn’t permanently. contrastingly, white’s attitude would change, praising snow and regarding him fondly. this repeated for … a while

eventually, after many threats of murder and suicide, and a long bout of depression, white attacked snow — they fought for three long days and nights, and it ended with white dead, snow having killed him in self defense.

in a sobbing heap, snow clutched white’s corpse, binding white’s soul to the living world in a desperate attempt to bring his brother back. It’s notable that not just any wizard could accomplish this — mithra, the second strongest wizard, states that not even he would be able to bind someone’s soul to the living world, and that snow only accomplished this due to his deep, long-standing bond with white.

as a compromise, they now take some days to spend apart.

as of late, they’re mostly in-tune with one another, but white still gets insecure and questions his place in the world, and his negative emotions often get the better of him, leading to tears … however, he’s mostly come to terms with what happened.

I left a LOT out because I was in a frenzy to write this as fast as possible due to excitement BUT. in summary, they’re the perfect little guys and I adore them.

extra info: they’re stained glass artisans, their magical tools are dolls they call mother and father, oz and figaro were once their apprentices, their calamity injury causes them to be trapped within a portrait at night, and they specialize in fortune-telling and prophesies!

#I wasn’t sure what to include and what to leave out soooo I might add to this later #sorry if any of this info is slightly incorrect 👎👎 I don’t have a great memory #marchie responds

[oraclekleo]

Kleo + Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader - Storyteller Tarot Reading

Hello and welcome to my another experiment trying to find out what’s actually possible with tarot and oracle cards.

This time I have asked myself, what if I became a part of my favourite story and could actually meet my favourite fictional characters? What role would I play in the story? How would the original story change if I were a part of it? What kind of relationship would I have with my favourite fictional character? And how would our story end?

This type of tarot reading is similar to the hypothetical scenario of I, Villain tarot readings I did recently, only it simply portrays a full story and interactions with already existing fictional characters. Obviously I wouldn’t be able to be my true self in the story, I would have to be a fictional character, too, to be able to interact with other fictional characters, so this reading might only include some of my real life traits and some of my qualities have to completely change for the sake of the story.

You would probably think, I will go for Mr. Darcy first, but nope! My Mr. Darcy was Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader from the Star Wars universe and so I’m here today to show you how my test round went when I asked my cards what it would look like if I were a part of Anakin’s / Vader’s story.

Let me know what you think! Let me know whether you want to become my next test subject!

P.S. Yes, I know I have a mile long to-do request list but you have to understand that my mind never stops and never rests and if I don’t let at least some ideas out, my head will explode. But don’t worry. I work on the requests, too.

P.P.S. Yes, I'm aware I can't do edits. Shut up! 😂

Kleo + Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader

What would be our story about?

Cards: Alchemist (Archetype Cards), Knight of Swords, Page of Pentacles, Ace of Cups (Dark Wood Tarot), 4 of Swords, Knight of Pentacles, 5 of Wands (Edgar Allan Poe Tarot)

It looks like our story wouldn’t lack some drama. It’s possible that I would clash with Anakin or Darth Vader on intellectual or wit bases. We might struggle to find a common ground, him being the ego driven and fast thinking and acting villain using all his knowledge to assert his dominance and gain more and more power. While I would be the curious one trying to dig through all the smoke and steel and find the real man, probably made of smoky grey steel, underneath. It’s very likely for me to find myself imprisoned and in danger at one point. Anakin / Vader could really consider having me executed in the story, thus those swords hanging over the motionless body. As we would be more or less rivals, but more on the personal level than professional one, arguing and fighting, he might be tempted to just remove me from the picture. On the other hand, the ace of cups suggests I would have something highly desired by him, a holy grail he wants and obsesses about. I can’t really be sure what this ultimate treasure could be - it could be something tangible as a real treasure or something more philosophical as a redemption for his soul through an actual bond with someone. It’s obvious I can see more than he can see, I can read the circumstances with a certain wisdom he’s lacking and might get into trouble due to his short sightedness. 

What relationship would we have?

Cards: Prince (Archetype Cards), 7 of Swords, XVI The Tower, 5 of Swords (Erotic Fantasy Tarot), 10 of Cups (The Slavic Legends Tarot), Mother / Queen of Pentacles, III The Empress (The Wild Unknown Tarot)

Lol! Prince card right from the bet! Anyway! It looks like he would try to hide his romantic feelings slowly building up through the quarrels. You see the prince figure is hiding the flowers behind their back denoting a secret romance, something that’s suppressed. Because this is supposed to describe the relationship from my perspective, it’s possible I’m unaware of his feelings for a long time in the story (especially when he wants to kill me) and I’m trying to get upper hand over him, sneak away, battle him and gain some freedom (the ankle shackles are broken on the 7 of Swords). There’s obviously a breaking point, a plot twist, probably when I think he died and I lost him forever when I realise the true feelings which are far from animosity. The Empress card shows a white tree suddenly blossoming red in the middle of the night, something beautiful emerging from darkness and growing into abundance. Both the Empress and Queen of Pentacles cards suggest connection with nature and healing. It’s possible that the plot twist includes me bringing Anakin / Vader back from death, healing him with my power and ultimately falling in mutual love as depicted in the 10 of Cups (which also show a lot of nature).

What would be the ending of our story?

Cards: Pioneer (Archetype Cards), 7 of Wands, 4 of Shields / Pentacles, 10 of Shields / Pentacles (The Runic Tarot), X The Wheel of Fortune, Page of Swords, 4 of Wands (Tarot of Tales)

Seriously, what are the chances of getting cards which show the higher ground (7 of Wands), flames (4 of Shields) and lava similar to the scene from Star Wars III when Anakin is defeated by Obi-Wan and reduced to like a half of a man, in a tarot reading that’s connected to him? Lol! Okay! Let’s rewrite the Star Wars III ending in this reading. In this story Anakin has me by his side which turns the wheel of fortune to his favour. Obviously. I’m basically a living lucky charm. Anakin’s and mine story ends with us defeating any opposition by working towards goals together, riding the lucky wave and avoiding lava by stepping on the stones and progressing quickly. As the Page of Swords show, together we are more than just a sum of our traits, we are bigger together. Together we can face the thunderstorm and instead of being hit by lightning, utilise its power for our benefit. The end of the story seems to be an open one, though. Actually an opening for more adventures to come.

Okay! This is it.

Thanks for reading this far. Don't be shy to hit my inbox anytime. 😊

Kleo 🦄

#oracle kleo #anakin skywalker was my mr darcy #anakin skywalker #darth vader #tarot #storytelling #storytelling tarot

[elcias-diary]

I find myself thinking a lot about Iroh.

Just casual stuff... Like ... The fact Iroh is a lier.

A Grade A+ lier.

Like, you know, the fact Iroh had been lying about stuff to everyone's face since well before Zuko was even born!

Lying about a lot of "traitorous" stuff... To a whole court and country's worth of people.

Including but not limited to killing the last dragon... Or rather NOT killing the last dragons. Like, straight up lying to his father's face about killing the last of the dragons like grandpa sozin wanted. Like maybe even Azulon himself wanted, we don't actually know.

Oh and being in a super secret club for people who want to maintain harmony and balance and the beauty thereof... probably sneaking out to have long philosophical chats with these likeminded, none war mongering, hateful, spoils of war/gold digging, ladder climbing, Royal Family bum kissers (*cough* Zhao the Moon Slayer *cough* Ozai's Ass Kisser). And worse than just that! He wasn't just hanging out with the wrong crowd (in Ozai's opinion, presumably Azulon's too, but the man was dead before we can get an honest read on him), he was chatting it up with those "lesser foreign folks"! The horror!!! Can you imagine what gramps sozin would have thought? Agni bless his soul!!!

Like Azula wishes her lie game was even close to Uncle Iroh's heavy weight championship lie game.

Azula always lies, duh. But then there's Iroh over there and we can't be sure he's actually lost his Pai Sho tile or if he just needed to nip over to the nearest White Lotus post office to send a proverb coded letter!

Which is it old man? Are you a dork who poisons himself in pursuit of fine tea or the AtlA version of James Bond? Which is it?.... Both... Apparently...

Makes you wonder about everything we never got to see about the man's backstory. Who was his wife? Why's he so short? Where did he meet the White Lotus? How'd he hear about the Sun Warrior dragons? What was it that brought him to heel to Sozin's mission statement as General Iroh, besieger of Ba Sing Se? Exactly how long had he been openly lying about his "traitorous" motives? When did Ozai notice? Why didn't Iroh notice his little brother was so deeply steeped in the poison that he was plotting to usurp the throne? Why was he so very different from his brother, from his grandfather, presumably from his father?

#Iroh is a traitor? #Iroh is a highly intelligent individual with a surprisingly sound moral compass raised on a thinly veiled agenda of blatant colonialism #and rejected the entire thing including his right to the throne #uncle iroh #dragon of the west #avatar: the last airbender #atla #Elcia writes

[canonical-transformation]

Celica gets Engaged(*) [A'lear Part 5]

(* but nobody thinks it's incest this time)

(Spoilers up to Chapter 4 of Fire Emblem: Engage.)

Chapter 4: A Land in Bloom

Florra Mill Town, featuring windmills and fields of blooming flowers, is on the road to Castle Firene. It's beautiful and... being attacked by the Corrupted, apparently.

Prince Alfred will not stand for this. Time to fight.

Meanwhile, near the centre of town, we meet Alfred's sister, Princess Céline, and her retainers Louis and Chloé. They're fending off some Corrupted.

(This pattern of "two royal siblings, each with two retainers" accounts for 2/3rds of the playable roster. Just like Corrin, I guess?)

Céline (unique class, swords+tomes and eventually staves) has the makings of a consummate stateswoman, one who would rule firmly yet kindly. She frets for the health of her brother, the Crown Prince, and in many ways has tried to shape herself to counterbalance his gentleness... despite being a gentle soul herself.

All this is entirely overshadowed by the writers deciding that "enjoying tea" is a quirky personality trait that should be, like, the one and only thing Céline ever talks about. Also the floof skirt. Between her petticoat and her hair, she is the walking definition of A-Line Silhouette. She's lovely, in other words.

Louis (lance armor) is a stocky gentleman whose eyes are permanently doing the ^_^ thing. He is a rather philosophical fellow who spends his time appreciating(?) pretty ladies(???).

Chloé (lance flier) loves fairy tales and will in due course be delighted to find herself living in one. She has enough girl next door vibes to paralyse my little lesbian heart is fond of folk food, the kind that uses whatever ingredients are around. Escargot, unagi, witchetty grub, hormigas culonas, she's into it so long as it's authentically rustic.

Chloé and Louis tell their Princess to run. It's imperative that she finds Alfred and warns him that the castle is under attack (oh no!, the castle is under attack!). Céline reluctantly flees, leaving her retainers to stand back to back and exchange quips. Louis opens his eyes (they're green) for two seconds, which is basically the only time we see them for the rest of the game.

This is more cutscene badassery than most of the other retainers get, which is very sad.

Céline runs straight into Alfred and A'lear, who are getting ready to fight. After getting over her shock at seeing A'lear awake and walking about, Céline fills them in. The Queen entrusted an Emblem Ring to Céline before bidding her to flee the castle.

An Emblem Ring? A'lear is something of an expert on those.

Meet Emblem Celica: princess, brother-wedder, and the only(?) female Lord before FE7. She detests war and violence, but she'll do what she must in the name of peace.

Celica is a dedicated magic support, offering a Mag/Res boost (and a little Str) to her sync partner. She offers damage reflection against Corrupted, and after a few bond levels, her Resonance skill(*) is pretty good. When Engaged, she gains a special skill, Echo (🥁), which allows her to perform two magic attacks in a row at 50% damage each. (60% for Mystical units.) (*) What's more, her Seraphim tome is effective against Corrupted.

Celica's ult(**) is Warp Ragnarok, which warps up to 10 tiles away and rains fire down on a single opponent. (100% hit, 0% crit, and no counterattack, like most ults.)

The battle begins with Princess Céline and her retainers unlocked. Céline is perfectly set up to Engage and Echo, killing an armor knight and significantly chipping down another. (She doesn't, because we're saving the Engage, but she could, and that's a lovely bit of hidden tutorial design.)

To begin with, Louis and Chloé are alone in the center-east of the map, fending off enemies from either side. They hint to the player that Chloé should deal with the incoming mages, and Louis with the incoming archers and fighters. They do exactly this, and buy themselves a couple of turns.

(...oh no i forgot to take screenshots during the chapter 😐 Um, have some photos of Céline and co. having drip)

A couple of turns is not enough for A'lear and co. to make it to them, not with the nearest bridge broken. Fortunately, the Emblem rings give us a way of getting there quickly.

First is Sigurd, who, when Engaged, grants an extra 5–7 movement, allowing for huge sprints. But that's not quite enough to reach Chloe and Louis in time, and Sigurd's wearer would probably get killed en route.

Instead, Céline&Celica use Warp Ragnarok to cross the river, helping Chloé fend off an enemy flier who had her on the ropes. Then, the two of them swing around to reinforce Louis. The retainers remark on Céline's changed appearance — glowy magical girl costume, red hair, etc. — while they hold a fortification.

(here's a photo with a Levin sword)

Everyone else makes their merry way along the south bank of the river, watching their footing and fighting enemies like in a normal Fire Emblem game. Vander briefly cavorts off to stall an enemy cavalier, gets his ass handed to him, and runs back to ask for help from Alfred.

Then the boss suddenly decides to move in on Céline and Chloé and Louis, and the rest of the team is nowhere near close enough to help.

A'lear curses. "Everyone, this way! Emblem Sigurd, with me!"

But it's too late. By the time A'lear and the main force catch up, Céline and her retainers are having a tea party on the boss's smouldering remains.

A'lear pauses to admire the scenery, which is gorgeous. Truly the Land of Flowers. But in her musing, she lowers her guard, and a Corrupted nearly gets the drop on her.

She's rescued by a someone wielding a Fire tome. This mage turns out to be a small girl, who shyly introduces herself as Veyle (pronounced like veil).

Veyle has white hair with black highlights, which sort of feels like the devs stole my original character A'lear, but whatever. (It's less of a left-right thing and more evenly distributed.) She's barefoot, wearing a fascinating dress made of cascading white feathers. The feathers have very slight blue and red streaks, the only real colour visible on her besides her violet eyes. A matching headpiece encircles her protectively, obscuring a black circlet. The look is completed with dainty arm-length gloves.

To me, her design evokes "baby bird", or something in that vein.

A'lear thanks Veyle, who says there's no need—she's just doing what anyone would have done. But before they can speak much more, Veyle runs off while A'lear is talking to Marth. (Was she spooked by Marth's appearance?)

What an odd character. I'm sure we'll see her again. After all, this is not the first Fire Emblem game to introduce a mysterious little girl with an exotic hair colour and strange powers wander in from offstage right, seemingly on her own.

(I'm implying that, just like Ninian and Sothis and Tiki and Lilith and etc. and etc., Veyle is [TODO: finish sentence])

Wait, I hear you say, you said barefoot. Does that mean Veyle has feet?

Rest easy, dear reader. Veyle definitely has feet.

But are you sure?, I hear you say. Maybe that was a fluke. Remember Awakening? Intelligent Systems is bad at drawing feet.

Um, let me see if the lead character designer, Mika Pikazo, has anything to say on the subject.

...yep, can confirm, those are some well articulated metatarsals, and some pleasantly long phalanges. Oh, and look how pointy those toes are!

Truly, a vintage year.

Wait, what was I talking about?

----

(*) Resonance is mutual guaranteed damage, a la Echoes: equipping a tome causes Celica's partner to lose 1HP at the start of every combat in exchange for 2 extra damage. (At time of writing, forgetting about Resonance has caused me to get Céline killed in player phase multiple times.)

Echo is great for picking off multiple weakened targets (and/or Armor Knights), for exacerbating flat damage bonuses like Resonance or A'lear's passive or poison, and for triggering tons of Chain Attacks.

(**) The in-game term for a once-per-engage superpower is Engage Attack, but not only is this confusing to distinguish from Engage Skills like Echo, but also: not all "Engage Attacks" are even attacks! I'll go with "ult" because it's short and fairly common parlance.

I might not have mentioned, but Sigurd's ult is Override, which skewers through a group of enemies standing in a line, hitting each of them once and emerging on the other side. (100% hit, 0% crit, no counterattack.) You'll see a screenshot of this next chapter. It's brutal tbh.

Marth's ult is Lodestar Rush, which is more or less like Astra from other Fire Emblem games. It does 7 hits at 30% damage (100% hit, 0% crit, no counterattack). 8 hits for Backup units, 9 for dragons.

Marth's Engage passive skill, Divine Speed, makes an extra 50% damage follow-up attack, which is fine but honestly kinda forgettable.

#apostrophe a'lear liveblog #fe engage #fire emblem engage #fire emblem spoilers #playing engage #fe alear #fe céline #fe chloé #fe louis #cw: celica of zofia

[sereina]

Serena’s bond with Yveltal

Serena’s bond with Yveltal entails a bit more than simply being in-tune with one another, feeling one another’s emotions/pain, being able to communicate over vast distances, being able to share a mindspace, etc. There are a number of other quirks that Serena has picked up on having through her connection to him:

A sense for death - Serena can ‘feel’ death in the air and sense it in ways she cannot explain. She is not as proficient as Yveltal, who can narrow down the exact second that someone will die, but she has a sense for knowing who doesn’t have much time left. This also extends to areas where people have recently died as well, the feeling growing intense and Serena knowing that someone had died there, even if there isn’t obvious signs of such a thing happening.

Stealth - Serena boasts an incredible, almost inhuman level of proficiency when it comes to sneaking. In shadows or darkness, she becomespractically invisible. It is nearly impossible to see her without heat technology of some kind, and she has utilized this to her advantage many times. Her movements are naturally quiet and muffled, even when walking on traditionally noisy ground like gravel or rocks. There is hardly a sound, and it allows her to get away from a situation quietly, or sneak up on others.

Ghosts & Spirits - While Serena can’t perceive/communicate with the dead like Yveltal can, she generally knows when in the presence of a departed soul. She knows the general area the spirit may be inhabiting, which ties in her sense for death as well.

Dark & Flying-types - In general, pokemon of these two typings take an immediate shine to Serena due to her aura. She exerts a presence that is comforting and familiar to the two typings, even more so for pokemon that happen to have both typings like Murkrow and Honchkrow.

Aura - Serena has the ability to see and feel auras, including that of Shadow Pokemon. It’s not something she’s overly familiar with, nor does she know what it actually means and entails. It’s an ability of hers in part from her family lineage, and is only bolstered with Yveltal’s connection, manifesting in her much stronger than it has in her mother’s family.

Brushes with death - Serena has had numerous near-death experiences across her life, with some being more obvious to her than others. She is more predisposed to these life threatening experiences than the average person is. Sometimes, these experiences can be avoided thanks to her death sense, while other times she has no choice but to go in and hope for the best. While still bright, her soul is scarred from all of these experiences within, but only one who can perceive souls (like Yveltal) will ever know.

Soul perception/reading - While Serena can’t see ghosts or spirits, she can see souls. These can either be souls within people, or souls that have been torn/ejected from someone’s body. It is a bit different from a ghost, as ghosts are tethered to the mortal plane for one reason or another. Souls are somewhat different, as souls reaped from the body must be escorted to the next life, lest they fizzle away. Ghosts can be taken to the next life as well, but generally it is done with souls instead. Serena isn’t at Yveltal’s proficiency as far as reading souls go, his perception and philosophical approach unmatched, and she generally doesn’t like to peer at someone’s soul as she feels she’s invading their privacy.

Item/skeletal psychometry - This is the newest ability Serena has found herself having, as her abilities grow and change with her bond to Yveltal over time. She can touch an object of a deceased person, and only a deceased person, or skeletal remains (which, of course, are more difficult to come by), and get a glimpse into their life while they were alive. Touching an object has its limitations, as she can only see memories of the person while around the object in question. It's only if Serena comes into contact with skeletal remains that she can glimpse at more of their life, as any object only offers a small window to her. This also extends with pokemon too, and Yveltal has theorized it may have something to do with residual aura left behind on such objects.

#🌹 headcanon. #death tw #long post #the last one is a new one i thought would be cool to add bc why not make all of my girls just weird af! #gonna be slowly moving over important hcs from the old blog over the week so stay tuned for the Lore

[art-for-my-sake]

“Les Misérables" - encore

On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, I attended “Les Misérables,” my second time seeing it at the Kennedy Center, and the third time I’ve seen it live, and it was every bit as wonderful as before. I walked away from the performance feeling inspired and moved. It was a perfect example of the wonder and magic of live musical theater.

Because I’ve previously chronicled my experiences with Les Miz (here and here), I felt I wanted to add a few thoughts on this particular performance:

- The man performing Valjean (Nick Cartell) was wonderful. He sang notes that I felt resonate in my soul, like the very air was vibrating on such a pure level.

- Javert (Preston Truman Boyd) devolving from self-righteous to self-doubting felt clearer than some productions.

- I’m familiar with Les Miz, so it was peculiar to have some feeling of ‘prescience’ at various moments; I’m not usually upset knowing the outcome of a plot, but I found myself watching the characters interact and felt sorrow that they didn’t realize they were headed toward their doom. Maybe some of this was because this production had a sense of urgency; everything moved faster than I expected. There was very little lingering, some lines felt stepped on or like maybe the musicians were rushing. For the most part, it wasn’t a bad thing because the haste made the action feel more real. However, there were very few moments to stop and savor. It felt very fleeting.

Now we get to the biggest takeaway for me: Grantaire (Kyle Adams) and Gavroche (Milo Maharlika or Henry Kirk). For whatever reason, my favorite character is Grantaire. One of the students, he is the token cynic of the bunch. He is not actively involved in the planning of the revolution but instead drinks a lot and makes snarky comments (“Give me brandy on my breath and I’ll breathe them all to death!”). He is generally portrayed with a suggestion of homoeroticism towards Enjolras, the de facto leader of the students; it’s never explicitly stated, but it’s usually agreed upon. Grantaire does not support The Cause so much as he supports Enjolras. Gavroche is the Parisian street urchin who inserts himself into the group of students, delivering news or providing useful information.

In the lyrics, Grantaire has exactly one line directed to Gavroche, praising him for revealing Javert’s identity to the students. This could be the extent of their interactions, but I really enjoyed that they were given a friendship to be acted out in pantomime when they were out of the central action. They are both on the edges of the group – Grantaire because he isn’t truly committed to the cause, Gavroche because he is a child – so it makes sense for them to have a bond.

During the song “Drink With Me,” Grantaire is not just waxing philosophically about death, but making one last argument for abandoning this suicide mission.

“Drink with me

To days gone by

Can it be

You fear to die?

Will the world remember you

When you fall?

Could it be your death

Means nothing at all?

Is your life just one more lie?”

He’s getting into a confrontation with the others and Enjolras attempts to intercede. Grantaire spits his last line (“Is your life just one more lie?”) at Enjolras as he attempts to touch Grantaire’s face. Grantaire then storms stage left where he turns to face the wall, closing himself off from all the others. Gavroche follows, hesitates, then throws his arms around Grantaire’s waist from behind. It’s an awkward embrace -- Gavroche’s face is planted in Grantaire’s back -- but heartfelt. This child sees his friend in pain and does his best to offer comfort. And Grantaire accepts it; reaching behind, he pats Gavroche on the back.

Usually, Gavroche’s death is off-stage; we do not see him again after he climbs over the barricade to gather ammunition off dead National Guardsmen. In this production, Gavroche is returning triumphant over the center on the barricade when the fatal shot strikes. Enjolras, his hand outstretched to help Gavroche over, now holds the child’s body suspended for a moment before Gavroche tumbles forward into his arms. In that moment of suspension, Gavroche is spot lit center stage, his arms flung outward, the wings of the barricade rising to either side of him. I love that Gavroche gets the most visually striking death of this production.

And then there’s the tenderness of Grantaire receiving Gavroche’s body from Enjolras. Turning his back on the fight, Grantaire carries Gavroche away from the barricade, towards the audience. He stands downstage center somewhat in shadow, holding his little charge, for quite some time before moving stage right. Eventually, he collapses to his knees and lays Gavroche on the ground, carefully arranging the child and oblivious to the chaos behind him. It is only once he has finished whatever funereal rites he needs to observe that Grantaire joins the fray. This is not a Grantaire going boldly to death by standing next to the man for whom he harbors affection. This is a Grantaire consumed by rageful vengeance caused by the loss of the child who showed him affection.

By giving Gavroche an on-stage death, several things are accomplished. Firstly, Gavroche’s death is given the same gravitas as the rest of the deaths. It allows him to be mourned better, by both the characters and the audience. It also takes his death from the theoretical to the actual – children die when men fight.

Showing a friendship between Grantaire and Gavroche, giving Gavroche an onstage death, showing Grantaire’s grief and rage – all these things add to the already complex experience that is “Les Misérables.”

-l'art pour l'amour de moi

#les mis #les miserables #kennedy center #theater #musical theater #les miz

[sereina-archive]

Serena’s bond with Yveltal

Serena’s bond with Yveltal entails a bit more than simply being in-tune with one another, feeling one another’s emotions/pain, being able to communicate over vast distances, etc. There are a number of other quirks that Serena has picked up on having through her connection to him:

A sense for death - Serena can ‘feel’ death in the air and sense it in ways she cannot explain. She is not as proficient as Yveltal, who can narrow down the exact second that someone will die, but she has a sense for knowing who doesn’t have much time left. This also extends to areas where people have recently died as well, the feeling growing intense and Serena knowing that someone had died there, even if there isn’t obvious signs of such a thing happening.

Stealth - Serena boasts an incredible, almost inhuman level of proficiency when it comes to sneaking. In shadows or darkness, she becomes practically invisible. It is nearly impossible to see her without heat technology of some kind, and she has utilized this to her advantage many times. Her movements are naturally quiet and muffled, even when walking on traditionally noisy ground like gravel or rocks. There is hardly a sound, and it allows her to get away from a situation quietly, or sneak up on others.

Ghosts & Spirits - While Serena can’t perceive/communicate with the dead like Yveltal can, she generally knows when in the presence of a departed soul. She knows the general area the spirit may be inhabiting, which ties in her sense for death as well.

Dark & Flying-types - In general, pokemon of these two typings take an immediate shine to Serena due to her aura. She exerts a presence that is comforting and familiar to the two typings, even more so for pokemon that happen to have both typings like Murkrow and Honchkrow.

Aura - Serena has the ability to see and feel auras, including that of Shadow Pokemon. It’s not something she’s overly familiar with, nor does she know what it actually means and entails. It’s an ability of hers in part from her family lineage, and is only bolstered with Yveltal’s connection, manifesting in her much stronger than it has in her mother’s family.

Brushes with death - Serena has had numerous near-death experiences across her life, with some being more obvious to her than others. She is more predisposed to these life threatening experiences than the average person is. Sometimes, these experiences can be avoided thanks to her death sense, while other times she has no choice but to go in and hope for the best. While still bright, her soul is scarred from all of these experiences within, but only one who can perceive souls (like Yveltal) will ever know.

Soul perception - While Serena can’t see ghosts or spirits, she can see souls. These can either be souls within people, or souls that have been torn/ejected from someone’s body. It is a bit different from a ghost, as ghosts are tethered to the mortal plane for one reason or another. Souls are somewhat different, as souls reaped from the body must be escorted to the next life, lest they fizzle away. Ghosts can be taken to the next life as well, but generally it is done with souls instead. Serena isn’t at Yveltal’s proficiency as far as reading souls go, his perception and philosophical approach unmatched, and she generally doesn’t like to peer at someone’s soul as she feels she’s invading their privacy.

#🌹 headcanon. #death tw #long post #anyways i did one of these for dawn a while back w giratina so why not one w serena and yvel.... #dawn is like. cryptid fucked up. serena is macabre fucked up. love that #and also in making dawn a bit. Not Normal has given me more courage to make serena just a bit weird. not as weird as dawn ofc but u kno.

[roo-bastmoon]

When i'm having some free time I love watching jikook through the years. they really have such amazing "story" and you can see how vital they are to each other when it comes to support and happiness and trust. I cringe when I see some of their old stuff mainly because they were so young and filled with stress and doubts and hormons but 99% of their videos make me so so endeared. But one video caught my eye. I think it's probably the only time when I felt that Jimin was truly sad and bothered over jungkook as a person and not just over wanting his affection or friendship, and it was in this link 22:00 https://youtu.be/vSYNMGovHDs and I'm saying it only because Hobi seemed angry and Jimin stated that he wants jungkook to leave even when jungkook apologizing and maybe not realizing what's so wrong, which didn't happen often. I feel bad for them having so much of their young lives and past versions of themselves caught on tape ..but something about it makes their now bond even more beautiful. I'm curious about what they would now say about their past behaviours, what changed and what not, how they feel about it looking back now. If the fight in the rain is any indication I feel like JK has been doing a lot of maturing and soul searching and grew up so well probably with advice from people around him. I imagine Jimin gained more self love and realizations that not all people are sharing the same pace and sometimes it's hard being open and vulnerable and authentic right from the start. They are so different yet somehow very similar and just..click and only getting better. I'm really proud of how they and all the guys protected themselves and grew together. I could talk about jikook for hours ❤

Dear Jikook Watcher,

You and me both. I love watching them together. Even the cringey stuff in their youth has a certain sweet vulnerability to it. I die of second-hand embarrassment and yet it also makes me endeared.

And just from a philosophical perspective, regardless of the subject we're watching... it's fascinating to see human beings change from what society molds them to be, to watch them make different choices as they grow up and mature, and then the absolute joy we feel when we witness them evolve into their true actualized selves.

The video you linked to... I'm not familiar with the context. It looks like Jimin had a long shoot where the concept required him to look angry and he was tired and JK was up in his face with his Vlog making jokes and he didn't want that, but JK apologized and kept filming, and Jimin couldn't stay mad. I mean, that's what I'm gleaning just from the few seconds of this clip. If I'm missing backstory, please fill me in!

But more to your larger point, I think Jimin and Jungkook's teenage environment was absolutely RIFE with stress, competition, insecurity, hormones, self-doubt, school work, work work, sexual awakenings (see Stormblessed95's amazing post about compulsory heterosexuality here), and scrutiny. Even if they signed up for it, how could a 13- and 15-year-old boy truly know the impact of having every waking moment monitored, pressured to be the perfect boyfriend material, the perfect beauty standard, the perfect performer--an "idol" to be worshipped?

To be so raw and real with us at any point was an act of courage.

No doubt there was a lot of push and pull and some hurt feelings along the way. The whole situation is a powder keg for emotional meltdowns. Fights over dumplings and bananas are actually about respect and autonomy--something teenagers have in short supply, never mind celebrities. And yet, thankfully, everyone in BTS has an inherently kind nature and they've all found their ways to relate and support and love each other. I truly believe BTS would have fallen apart by now if those boys didn't all love each other.

I'm NOT a K-pop fan (I'm not a popular music fan in general--I like random shit like Enya and Broadway musicals and 40s big bands and anime soundtracks; I am a weirdo). But as I see a bit of the K-pop fandoms on Twitter I am astounded by how cruel, shallow, and fickle that world is. The fact that BTS has consistently found ways to rise above it, spread messages of self-love and kindness and hard work, and to be such upstanding people in their own right... they deserve sincere praise. They are truly unique, and talented. I hate when people reduce them to just being popular. They are visionary.

And as I'm sure you see when you watch fetus Jikook, there's both the sense that some things were the result of tremendous effort and good character, and other things were the result of destiny.

A bit like the Jikook relationship itself.

Yours,

Roo

[randomclicheusername]

Image: 20th Century Studios

The beauty of science-fiction

Slap on your tumbler seatbelts because I’m going to get  philosophical about genetically-engineered autonomous avatars.

The walking jackass now turned into Quaritch. You know, the antagonist played by Stephen Lang is back in… blue?

How?! Why?! Didn’t he take an arrow to the heart worse than a Skyrim guard who used to be an adventurer until an arrow took their knee out?

Due to the magic of sci-Fi science, he’s back and bluer than ever!!!

His return is believable. I mean, we’re already suspending our belief to accept the idea that you can link your mind to an avatar to infiltrate a sentient, civilization established alien society.

Jake Sully, the protagonist of the franchise, original body was mortally wounded. Granted, his consciousness was permanently transferred into his avatar via the Tree of Souls and not via humankind’s technology.

Yet, it was humankind’s technology that transferred Sully’s consensus over to the avatar. They just had to maintain his human body in order for the avatar to keep functioning or the connection would be lost.

So, it isn’t much of a leap to imagine that they would already have the capabilities to copy someone’s consciousness, memories and personality and hold all that biological data until they improve the technology to store that data into an avatar without needing the hosts’ original body to be maintained.

Thus I do not feel that Quaritch resurrection was cheap. I feel that it enhances the franchise moving forward on whole because it allows an intimate story to continue to be told amongst a planet-conflict between the original inhabitants and humanity.

It also plants the seeds to multiple potential plot lines that add spice to the overreaching story.

This Quaritch, isn’t the on that died because the memory was saved before the OG Quaritch died. He even says in the film that he’s not even the same guy but just has all that information stored within his now blue skull.

It’s oddly a new character while also being an old one one. His baby is now a sixteen year old who feels more connected to the indigenous community than his own species.

The boy never knew his father. Now his father is back. That internal conflict is evident. It bleeds through the 3D IMAX screen. The kid has a chance to meet his father and a possible chance at a relationship.

Spoiler apart: Quaritch survives in the sequel (his son saved him) thus that internal conflict is threaded through the franchise now.

Not to mention, Quaritch wants a relationship with his son too. He realizes that he has a second chance at life and an opportunity to maybe change.

He could’ve slaughter one of the Navi but listened to his son Spider to not proceed. He wanted his son to escape with him towards the end of the movie. He made genuine effort to bond with his son and cared for his safety.

The OG Quaritch didn’t have that capacity. Granted, Avatar Quaritch did kill Sully’s kid. So, both characters will still have serious beef and another conflict to be threaded through the franchise.

Will Quaritch evolve from a villain to an anti-hero? Will his son teach him the error of his ways and he goes out in a heroic blaze of glory? Will he just be more emboldened to become even more villainous? Would Quaritch begin to sympathize with the indigenous population due to his son?

Don’t you see? There’s an untapped potential in character growth with an avatar Quaritch than we had with the human Quaritch. This untapped potential is also beneficial to other character’s own growth.

Also, if such technology existed in the real world then it would fundamentally change society as a whole. People could change their body’s or transfer to a younger version of themselves. Maybe people would be able to transfer their consciousness before death thus a sort of cheat to immortality.

It also leads to certain questions beyond the scientific variety.

Who would have access to the technology? Will it be gatekept from underprivileged segments of society? What happens if it falls into the hands of someone that would be a  genocidal dictator that could rival the atrocities committed by some of the worst in humankind’s history?

How could the technology be abused? Rewarded? What kind of ethical dilemma could arise from its utilization?

What if such bodies, avatars or whatever form the technology takes… is viewed as not sentient when they are? Will it become a futuristic form of slavery? What happens if multiple of the same consciousness exist?

I highly doubt James Cameron would answer any of those questions in his movies. Yet, they’re questions whose potential answers could be worth pondering upon.

I don’t know if I personally would allow my consciousness to be transferred even once or continuously. I wouldn’t even behind to know how to answer those questions as the implications are massive.

Would such a technology demean the value of life? Yes… but a thing doesn’t lose its value because it lasts. It retains its value by being unique. One of a kind.

Also, how does one label or classify a body but not human, and now a memory made real? As sub-humans? Demigods? Still human in soul? Or a pale imitation? Would you still have rights?

There’s a frightening side to that possibility. Maybe it’s ethical to disallow a creation of such a thing to avoid the negative consequences.

It’s a shame we’re not going to explore any of that in the story of Sully and Quaritch. I don’t think Cameron has the foresight to explore any of that. If he did had interest in exploring that uncharted ground then we would’ve seen it by now.

Yet, it’s fun to think about all that. Run scenarios of implications within your imagination. That’s the beauty of science fiction.

#avatar #way of the water #avatar quaritch #jake sully #science fiction #hesitant alien #philosophy #storytelling #james cameron #blue people avatar #navi avatar

[starryskyspectacle]

Got another old hc sheet i wanna drop down here so i can get motivated to revise them. This time it's for Marx and Magolor

Marx

-Tends to like poetry and other pieces of philosophical or fictional literature. Last name is Tempora, mostly by Nova's insistence.

-Actually pretty intelligent, taught himself how to read and write at an early age. Can also speak different languages.

-Makes masks and theatre like props for fun or attacks (ex: the whole face splitting thing to reveal a blackhole is actually done with the masks)

-Seems to tolerate Bandana and Gooey enough to hang out with them on occasion.

-Also close friends with Noddy, having grown up in the same orphanage with them. Considers them like a sibling.

-Finds Magolor annoying but still tends to visit his ship for a chat. Magolor takes advantage of this to poke fun at him.

-Tsundere. Likely very tsundere.

-Dislikes Meta's constant stalking anytime he is near Kirby. Actually kind of scared of the knight.

-Knows how to dance due to growing up in taverns and bars to perform. Kirby sometimes asks him to teach him how.

-Gets flustered or angered easily.

-Drama sap.

-Considers Nova as a father figure.

-Hyperactive as a child, sometimes he would be called crazy but in reality he was just really energetic and filled with ideas. Now he is more on the "not sane" category due to the side effects of his wish.

-Very agile and skilled in magic and acrobatic ability. Wings help with speed and flight along with attack if used right.

-The same rainbowlike scales on his wings sometimes tend to appear on his body during combat.

-Has a clear distaste for being ordered around, would rather do his own thing or call the shots. Tends to get scolded by the other Dream Friends on occasion and ends up arguing with them. It doesn't get too heated unless it's with Dark Meta Knight or Susie. Wouldn't dare argue with Meta Knight.

-Hates incompetence. Whether of his teammates or of his enemies.

-Still trying to be better for Kirby. Fears he won't be helpful over the course of Star Allies.

-Had first returned to Popstar a year after Magolor had tried taking it over. By then Magolor was already through his redemption.

-Didn't die after the events of Milkyway Wishes, Nova took him in instead to fix the starship Marx crashed into. They end up traveling space for a few years and becoming close. By this time Marx isn't sure if he should go back to Popstar.

-He eventually returns once he hears Magolor (who he met in Nova's ship) tried to take over Popstar. It ends with a pissed off Marx ready to pound the Halcandran into the ground but instead of that, Kirby appears to be in the ship and causes Marx to back down.

-Relationship with Kirby is complicated. Atmosphere is usually awkward between them unless they're fighting together or such. Still has guilt from before and doesn't know how to talk to him on occasion.

-Both tend to bond over food. They raid the Lor Starcutter's food supply and fridge at least twice a month much to Magolor's distress.

-Can access his Soul form only through pure chaotic energy. If he is extremely emotionally unstable at a given time, he might start turning into his Soul form and become completely unhinged. This has happened a few times during his travels with Nova but he has since then learned to control it better.

-Used to be a performer of sorts when he was younger, a street magician. Often did tricks with cards and beach balls. Could also somewhat summon roses before gaining his current power.

-Also enjoyed pranking others for the fun of it and for seeing people's reactions. Being usually unsupervised due to lack of parenting, he seemed to be interested in what someone would do if he threw a few obstacles their way.

-Used to be extremely curious and excitable as a kid. Mischievous too.

-Often passionate over certain things he likes. Will defend then to death and dislikes any tease over those things or people he has a soft spot for (Noddy, Gooey, Bandana, Kirby)

-Likely knows how Shakespearean language works. Will use that to his advantage.

-Likely refuses to use a cellphone.

-Humor is pretty warped, but that's to be expected from a crazed magic jester.

-Would find horror movies boring as hell. Or funny.

-Don't flirt with him please he might have rabies.

-Insults whoever he is irritated with often. Jabs at Magolor constantly but the wizard usually jabs back, making for a worthy opponent.

-Keeps journals of random thoughts he has. Some have poems he's written while others have his days living on Nova's ship recorded.

-Tongue. Long. Pointy. Could stab.

-Yeah he has teal blood and blushes light teal.

-Dark Meta calls him "toothpaste blood" cause of this.

-Dark Meta often gets a kick to the face because of this.

-Gets along somewhat with other Dream Friends as long as he isn't provoked.

-In my canon at least, he is forced to fight as a boss in Smash Ultimate. Once recovered he regrets it a hell ton due to promising to not hurt Kirby again. Becomes angsty and withdrawn for a while despite Kirby's insistence that he had no choice and it wasn't his fault.

-Probably smells like roses. And bodypaint. Hair fluffy and kind of long. Usually has two poofy pigtails under hat.

Magolor

-Full name is Magolor Koronius.

-Belongs to a working class Halcandran family, initially left Halcandra to live a better life as his mother fell ill.

-The runt of the litter, the youngest and smallest of 6 children.

-Physically the weakest but magically the strongest.

-Part dragonlike and catlike variant, can purr and roar. Tends to hide his Halcandran attributes with his clothing.

-Grew a tail at teen age. Cut it off afterwards but it doesn't stop growing back. Eventually stops trying after the events of Return to Dreamland.

-Revolts against Halcandran hierarchy in his time there.

-Blood is orange colored and burning hot like magma. Most volcanic Halcandrans have burning blood that turns to stone once cooled down.

-Scales tend to get incredibly warm if he's agitated or unhappy. They grow itchy and uncomfortable until Gem Apple nectar is applied to soothe them.

-Interest in mechanics started at a young age, since he couldn't hunt he could assist in working at factories.

-Knows how to communicate with sphere doomers.

-Nicknamed "Eggy" by his older siblings, having been born from an egg due to complications.

-Was considered unfit to survive so he was sent off to an orphanage. He came back to his family after a few years and was taken back in after they see he was alive.

-Smartest one in the family. Knows how to read and write. Can speak Halcandran and Common Galactic (language in Popstar) while only some of his siblings can speak a small bit of common galactic.

-Scales get more heated than skin.

-Has fluffy fur on his chest and tip of tail.

-Very competitive. Highly so. He might even put himself in danger to be in first place.

-Gets along with most people. Friendly but can be withdrawn at moments.

-Permanent scars from using the Master Crown and being beaten include a broken horn, a large gash across his chest and slash marks on his arms.

-Remnants of dark energy from the crown enhance his powers slightly. He considers it a curse over a blessing however.

-Likely the guy to send stupid memes to the group chat at 3 am in the morning because sleep is for casuals.

-Takes gaming too seriously. Also competitive in this area.

-Fond of Kirby and his friends for letting him be back as their buddy. Lets them visit often. Has made a few amusement park attractions and has more blueprints for any yet to come. Constantly taking new ideas for courses and rides.

-Met Marx during his first time in the Lor. They communicated a bit and Magolor insisted to know more about Popstar. His plan to take over had formed since then.

-Refuses to leave the Lor unless it is required of him to do so.

#marx #magolor #kirby #au #kirby gijinka #my headcanons #old ideas #need revision #need to rework a lot of stuff #especially magolor