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leeofthevoid · 2 months

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Cold-blooded Beings - Part 2

Farleigh Start x Reader

a/n: Hello all! Super huge thanks to those who helped me change my perspective and gave good criticisms on the last chapter. I hope you liked this one, took a bit longer to write but a bit more slow. Might re-edit later and think about the kissing scene. Not Beta Read.

Warnings: Mentions of Alcohol, Strong language, Sex, Nudity

Word Count: 1951

|| Part One, Part Three, Part Four

Alcohol and Money

You weren’t a stranger to the Cattons’ wild side. They were known to throw parties, banquets, and get-togethers that could turn very out of hand after a few rounds of their expensive alcohol being passed around to people as young as thirteen. This rave or club was not any crazier; sure, there were a handful of borderline public sex acts going around, and people here were under the age of twenty-five, but it really had nothing against the Cattons.

Felix wasn’t known to be a guy to keep his hands to himself. He took his chance to steal you away from the guy you were making out with to get you dancing, his hand roaming while his other hand held his beer bottle. You didn’t mind; he was always like this, always a tad bit too touchy, just like the rest of them, save for Sir James. He was always childlike and in his own world.

“Why’d you steal me from Mr. Hottie, Fee?” You asked or screamed at him over the music. He chuckled and scrunched his nose. “Can’t have you doing sinful things you might regret.” You laughed as you swayed your hips to the music, dancing with him. “A bit too late for that, Fee. Been doing some very sinful things since I last saw you Love.”

“Color me impressed. You better tell me all about those,” he said with a wink while pulling you closer to him, leading you to the bar where Farleigh was eating some random guy’s face out. It was a little more quiet and a little bit more organized than the dance floor, a good chance to have a breather and enjoy the atmosphere. Felix slid away to order a few drinks for you when Farleigh pushed his little gent away. He looked so disheveled, with swollen lips and lust-filled eyes. My, my. These boys really grew into their family antics. “A little more snogging; I thought you’d be eating him, Farleigh.” He scoffed playfully and pulled you to sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around your waist, and resting his head on the crook of your shoulder. “If you could call it one; he was so bad. Probably better than Oliver, but fuck, it was so bad.” You gave him a few head pats as you teased him about his weird knowledge of Oliver’s kissing techniques when Felix handed you your drink before walking away to probably look for Oliver. Oh god, Oliver… It was crazy how you caught a glimpse of him staring at you while you danced with Felix; he was just gone so fast when you wanted to call him over. Kind of creepy.

“How was your little date with the cockless duo?” Farleigh whispered in your ear, teasing and all. You situated yourself on his lap in a way that you’d be able to see what his face looked like. That mischievous glint and smirk on his stupid face were laughable but also seriously? He just had to remind you? “Got stood up by the Math know-it-all and the lifeless writer.” Bastard.

“Jesus, Farleigh, your mouth needs cleansing.” He found humor in your censorship. Honestly, though, why do you even defend those two? You'll never know. “Oh come on! That other guy looked like he would have fucked his mom if he had the chance.” Your face twisted into a horrified expression, mouth hung ajar from the atrocities he’s telling you. “Farleigh! Is there any way for you to not say such things?” You slapped his chest, grumbling underneath you as he laughed his heart out.

“You know… Not to be one with a savior complex, but I do have an offer that’s a little tempting.” He bit his lower lip, rubbing small circles on your exposed thighs, the feeling making you shiver. You tried to play it cool by drinking some of the mimosa Felix gave you while looking at him, challenging his confidence that barely wavered.

“Do you Cattons have a kink for being handsy with childhood friends?” Farleigh chuckled as his hands traveled further up your dress. “Maybe? Is that bad?” Of course, that didn’t stop his hand from playing with your thighs and squeezing them every once in a while.

“Maybe. So… about this offer to relieve my heartache from being stood up by Oliver and Michael?” You put your drink down to wrap your arms around his neck. His eyes dropped down to your lips, heart beating fast under your hand resting on his chest. “Well, I’m not one to pity people, but you seem to be a lucky one.” He seemed to wait for your first move, but his eyes betrayed him. He looked like he was ready to pounce at any given moment anyway, and you loved the tension. Slowly sliding your hands up and down his exposed chest, you closed the gap as painstakingly slowly as possible. He rolled his eyes and closed the gap himself, earning him a small gasp from you.

His lips were soft and warm. He was delicate yet vicious as he sucked on your lower lip, hands on your back and thigh. He tasted so… different and so good you just had to pull him closer, as close as humanly possible to appease your hunger for him. He tasted like cigarettes with a hint of mint and oranges. What the hell has he been consuming to taste this good? This is probably the alcohol; for sure the alcohol making you insane and loving every second of your kiss. He slowly slipped his tongue into your mouth, swiping down your lips then nibbling with his teeth. You sucked on his lips, earning a faint groan, tightening his hold on you.

You pushed him with a smirk on your face, slightly shaking your head while he tried to pull you back. “Free taste could only give so much.” You whispered in his ear as you stood up from his lap, leaving him confused and empty-handed. You danced more that night, had a few more drinks, and woke up in a stranger’s bed. It was normal. This life was normal for you, but what about the plaything Felix found?

After a few weeks of hanging out with Felix and Farleigh, you were embarrassingly worn out on the tutoring session Mr. Ware told you to facilitate while he was out of town. Oliver seemed a little more confident and laid back now that Felix influenced him so much, but you can’t help but notice the little cracks this shy little man still had. “And life, though always heartbreaking, finds a way to course through the minds and hearts of even the most loveless individuals…” You sent an assignment last week to Oliver and Farleigh, ‘Write about life as tragic as you can.’ Farleigh seemed at least prepared for this session, but he remained quiet, and comfortably sat cross-legged on the other chair parallel to yours as Oliver continued his monotone reading. “Okay, so Oliver you have improved, and I am proud!” You interrupted, “But I still think you fail to capture a little bit more of the emotions we need to fully express to the readers and listeners about what you want them to think about your work.” Oliver pursed his lips, brows furrowing deep in thought, “I just thought maybe I’d let the readers perceive it as they want. Let them have the freedom, unlike the prison life has given to them.” It was smart and very interesting, but the exercise was for them to be able to focus on the subject they wrote about. You heard Farleigh blow raspberries as he settled back in his chair. “You know, Ollie, what she meant to say was that it was boring, again. It lacked life and the lust for things surrounding the tragedy life brings us.” He clicked his tongue and looked at you.

You sighed at his observation and gave a slight wink your way. “She was right in saying you’ve improved, but you lost your objective. You think you’re so smart in deviating from what you’re supposed to do and what you’re supposed to be, that you became too complacent.” Oliver looked at Farleigh, confused and angry, standing up abruptly after a few moments, excusing himself from the room.

“Farleigh!” You looked at him pointedly and watched Oliver disappear into the hallway. “What? Was I wrong? He was still so intolerable you almost fell asleep.”

“It does not give you an excuse to bash him like that.”

“Like what?” He chuckled lowly. “Like he’s one of us? Like he can use you and Felix as safety nets?” You chose to ignore him and stood up to fix the files in Mr. Ware’s office without another word. “I see how you give him money when he hangs out with you. How he looks at you when we go and get drinks, while Felix whispers in your ear about whose turn it was. Y/N, fucking talk to me! What is up with you and that leeching cunt?”

You sharply turned around to find Farleigh behind you, looking down at you as he waited for answers. “He’s already struggling enough, Far. Felix and I just talk sometimes about how he reminds us of the little kids our housekeepers had over when my parents threw charity parties.” He looked at you with disbelief in his eyes, biting his cheek. “You’re such a fucking Martyr. You and Felix both.” He humorlessly laughed as he backed away, throwing the essay he made on the table. “Please excuse me, Saint Therese.” He turned and left the room, giving a slight sarcastic bow in the process. What the fuck is his problem? You were only being kind, just like what Mother and Father taught you. What’s so wrong about it?

That night, you talked to Felix about the whole thing. Farleigh is right and wrong. He was right and you both knew it. While you were talking, you couldn’t help but feel a wave of disinterest from Felix. Like talking about Oliver was making him bored and he would much rather talk about something else. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Felix looked up from his laptop and blew out some smoke. You too had a lit cigarette in between your lips, unable to save yourself from the temptations of its relief. “It’s just… Ollie is…”

“Getting boring?” A silence hung in the air. You were right and Felix just didn’t want to say it. “He just doesn’t feel as excited anymore, you know?” If there’s one thing you knew about Felix, it was that he had always been the type of kid who would love his toys so much at the start but discard them when they got tired of them. Right now, Oliver was the pitiful toy. “Hey, if you’re getting tired of him then it must be the same for me?” You looked at him from the other end of the bed you were lying on as he sat up and held onto your knees in a comforting way. “You? No way! No fucking way am I going to get tired of our lovely Monarch.” You rolled your eyes at the nickname and raised both your eyebrows. “Why are we so different then, hm?” The answer was obvious and it was the bloody truth. Oliver was the scholar kid, smarter than the rest, got into a good school, had enough allowance to buy cafeteria food, and was an outcast. He was not like you. He was not from your world, only dragged because of Felix and your kindness (Pity). Felix kissed your cheek after you got pulled into your thoughts and went back to talking about everything else, lightening up the mood.

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#farleigh x reader #farleigh start #saltburn movie #saltburn fics #saltburn #felix catton #oliver quick #michael gavey #farleigh x you #childhood friends #friends to lovers #So tired I need coffee

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toomanystoriessolittletime · 10 months

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Counting Stars

Summary: Maria tries to warn Mel about Joel, but she's not having it. Ellie reflects on her bond with Mel. Joel finally asks Mel out on a date.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Melanie Summer

Wordcount: 2.8k

Rating: T

Warnings: Soulmate AU, Angst, Pregnancy, slowish burn, changing POV's, feelings

follow @toomanystoriessolittletime-fics to get notified for updates

Counting Stars Masterlist

✨three✨

Maria Miller was a strong woman, of course she was. She was seen as the strong leader and one of the founders of this community and even though the town had a council, it was her opinion that seemed to count the most.

She also very much disliked her brother-in-law.

Something even Mel noticed out of the handful of times she had met the woman.

And while she did not know exactly why Maria wasn’t Joel’s biggest fan, she was really not gonna let someone talk shit about the man who saved her life and had become one of the most important persons in her life.

“How much do you know about him?” Maria was walking next to Mel as she took the little walk from her house towards the school to pick Ellie up. It seemed like she appeared out of thin air as soon as Mel stepped out of the door.

Ellie very much hated school and thought it was stupid to learn about anything that had to do with numbers.

Something Mel could very much understand (she hated maths with a passion) but bribed her into going (and staying) in school with the promise of teaching her some more about everything that was growing in their wild little garden seemed to work on her.

Ellie was fascinated to learn about how resourceful plants could be for all kinds of things. Something Mel had learned since she was a child from her parents.

Mel looked at Maria from her side, a frown coming to her face.

“I know that he’s kind to me, that he saved my life and I know that he’s a good father to Ellie,” Mel said after a while, seeing Maria nod.

“So you know nothing about him really?” she said and Mell rolled her eyes and stopped walking.

“Look, I know you don’t like him. And whatever reason you have for it, that is your problem.”

“You don’t know what he has done…”

“You’re right. I don’t. But for one, we all have done things we’re not proud of since the outbreak. Whoever says they didn’t is lying. And second… If I want to know more about Joel and what he has done, I will ask him myself. I appreciate your concern and I am sure you think it’s coming from a good place, but your opinion of whatever you think of him is clouding your judgement.”

She sighed.

“I only want to look out for you and your child…”

“Thank you, but I did not ask you for that. And if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be,” Mel said, before she turned away from her and continued her walk towards the school.

Not for the first time she asked herself what it was that made Maria think so lowly of Joel Miller. Yes, Mel did not know much about him. But she knew he was a protector who would do everything to protect the people he loved, no matter the costs.

Mel knew that it had been him and his brother for a long time after the outbreak, so she was sure there were some things both of the Miller brothers had done for the sake of survival that they weren’t proud of.

But since the outbreak the world was either kill or be killed.

And even though she could see in his eyes that the things he had done haunted him, a big part of her was relieved he had done those things.

Otherwise she would maybe have never met him.

Ellie was waiting for Mel in front of the school.

She still did not understand why she had to learn maths when she could help otherwise in town, but deep down she knew the people around her only wanted her best.

Things between Joel and her were still tense. She knew that he did not tell her the truth when he talked about Salt Lake City. In her mind she had a version of what must have happened, but not knowing was slowly driving her insane.

Joel was the one person who she had learned to trust. The one person who became family, even though she never had one before.

She knew whatever he had done, he had done for a reason.

And maybe if he had told her the truth, she wouldn’t be so angry and hurt towards him.

And then there was Mel.

She had just been there ever since Salt Lake city and as dumb as it sounded, Ellie felt a connection with her she had never felt before. She could talk to her about everything and the weirdest part was, Mel listened to her.

For the longest time she felt like nobody listened to her.

But Mel did.

A part of her allowed herself to imagine that this was what it was like when she had a mother. Someone who lov… liked her as she was and accepted her with every little thing that came with her.

She had never felt like she belonged anywhere, but she felt like she belonged with Mel. And yeah, Joel too. Because of course she knew that these two were soulmates, she wasn’t stupid or blind.

She saw the scars. She saw the tattoo.

And she saw how they made eyes at each other which to be honest was a little disgusting, but at the same time it made her happy. Because Mel (and yeah, Joel too) deserved to be happy.

“How was school?” Mel asked with a grin.

Ellie made a face and shrugged.

“Still don’t see the point.”

“Made any friends?” Mel asked. Ellie shook her head slowly but Mel could see the blush rising to the teenagers cheeks. She chose not to tease her, only winked before they both started to walk towards the cantine.

“What did Maria want from you?” Ellie asked, making Mel sigh.

“It was about Joel, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

Ellie stopped walking, looking up at Mel.

“She tried to warn me about him too when we first got here. Something about what he did after the outbreak that she blamed him for….” Mel held her hand up.

“I am going to talk about it with Joel directly. It should be him telling me about everything,” Mel said. Ellie nodded, before they continued to walk.

“Let’s hope he tells one of us the truth for a change…” she mumbled under her breath, hearing Mel sigh, before she felt an arm around her shoulder. Ellie looked up at Mel.

“You know he loves you right?” Mel asked. Ellie groaned.

“I know you hate talking about feelings and stuff, but believe me he does. And sometimes when we love someone, we do things that do not seem to make sense to anyone else. Because we want to protect the people that we love.”

“He lied to me,” Ellie whispered.

“Did you ask him why?” Mel asked. Ellie shook her head.

“While I can not tell you why he lied, just know that whatever he did to get you out of there alive? I would have done the same thing. The fireflies might have had good intentions in the beginning but…” her hand came down to rub over her belly as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “trust me when I say, they became just as bad as FEDRA with time.”

It was late when Joel came home. They ran into some raiders on Patrol and then did a longer round than their usual route to make sure they got rid of everyone.

He was tired and sweaty and he just wanted a shower and sleep. He was also craving a Big Mac but that would probably never happen again.

But as soon as Joel walked into his house he saw her.

Mel.

She had fallen asleep on the couch, Ellie’s head in her lap. Mel had the remote still in one of her hands, her other hand in Ellie’s hair. The TV still on in the background.

A rare smile sneaked to his lips as he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he watched the two people that had become his whole world being safe and sound in his home.

It was getting harder for Joel to not give into his feelings.

He loved before, but that was nothing in comparison to how he felt about Mel.

He missed her as soon as he walked out of the door in the morning. Hell, he missed her when she walked out of the room. He wanted to touch her, to hold her. He wanted to know everything about her and how she had survived these last years.

He just wanted her.

He wanted to be the reason for those little dreamy smiles he caught on her face sometimes. He didn’t know that he already was the reason for most of them.

It was moments like this that he wanted to have a camera to take a picture.

Ellie mumbled in her sleep and with a fond smile he stepped towards the couch, carefully picking her up to carry her upstairs. She spread out like a starfish on her bed as soon as he had laid her down, sighing contently. He chuckled to himself, pulling the blanket over her, before he walked out of her room, closing the door behind him.

Things with Ellie were still tense, but they were making progress.

He arranged for everything they needed to turn the garage into her new room for next week and he was looking forward to spending some more time with her.

Joel would also tell her the truth.

He knew she knew he lied to her about what happened in Salt Lake City. He hoped she would understand he only did this to protect her. And him.

He wouldn’t be able to survive losing Ellie.

Not after she single handedly healed him on their journey across the states.

He went into his room to take his work clothes off and change into sweatpants and a shirt before he went downstairs again.

Mel was still sleeping on the couch.

Joel just looked at her while he thought about trying to carry her to her bed too, but before he came to a decision her eyes fluttered open with a groan, one of her hands rubbing over her belly.

“Stop using my bladder as a trampoline,” she grunted and Joel’s lips twitched into a smile. She kept rubbing over her swollen belly before she frowned, probably realising Ellie was missing and looked up to see Joel.

“Hi,” she smiled tiredly.

“Hey,” he hummed back, walking over to her. He sat down next to her, leaving some space between them.

“When did you come back?” she asked.

“Couple minutes ago.”

She frowned again.

“How late is it?”

“Just after 11pm. We…. We ran into some raiders…” he said and her eyes widened.

“Are you okay?” her hand reached over, touching his cheek and then his chest and shoulders as if to check for injuries. He nodded.

“I’m okay. We took care of them. They aren’t gonna bother anyone ever again,” he said quietly. She breathed out, relief on her face. The hint of a smile was on her lips as she looked at him.

Mel knew she was still touching Joel. She knew that she probably had been touching him for longer than was normal. Yet she couldn’t bring herself to let go, her fingers carefully coming up to rub over the scar on his temple. His eyes fluttered closed as he released a long breath.

Even though a big part of herself was in denial of… well of everything, she could not deny how she felt about the man, her soulmate, in front of her.

She never really believed in soulmates. She was only in her late teens during the outbreak and she had never once met someone who actually met her soulmate. It seemed to be a myth. Something so rare that it had taken her a while to get used to the thought that all those scars that showed up on her body on the day she turned 21 were not of her doing, but of someone else’s.

Mel never really allowed herself to dream about her soulmate.

Yet the knowledge that somewhere on this cursed planet, someone was out there (and alive, because she knew that if her soulmate would happen to die, the scars would disappear) that the universe deemed perfect for her, was what made her keep going through all the shit she was put through.

She knew she loved Joel without even knowing who he was.

But know that she knew?

How could she not love him?

“One day you have to tell me what gave us this scar,” she whispered before she could stop herself, his eyes blinking open. Slowly his hand came up, his fingers carefully touching the scar on her temple that he put there. He swallowed harshly, his tongue wetting his lip to play over the guilt he was feeling.

“One day,” he promised, and her eyes softened.

“Why did you fall asleep on the couch?” he asked, his fingers brushing over her cheek. She sighed.

“I had a nightmare and Ellie insisted we had to watch the Simpsons to make me forget about it.”

Joel snorted. He put his hand on top of hers on his face until she let go to take his hand.

“You wanna tell me about your nightmare?” he asked.

“One day,” she whispered with a sad smile. He nodded, bringing their joined hands up to kiss the back of hers.

She yawned in the next moment, both of them chuckling.

“Joel…” she began, before her eyes widened, bringing their joined hands to the side of her belly where Joel gasped as he felt the kick against his hand. He kept looking at Mel as memories he hadn’t allowed himself to think about for a long time came back to his mind. The first time he felt Sarah kick inside his ex-wife’s belly. The first time he heard Sarah cry. The first time she fell asleep in his arms….

He didn’t even realise that he was crying until he felt her fingers brush his tears away while he kept his hand on her belly.

He took a deep, shuddering breath.

“You okay?” she asked quietly. He gulped, but nodded.

“Maybe…. Maybe tomorrow we could…. Go out and talk?” he asked. He was surprised by the fact that he wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted her to know every single part of him.

And while he felt scared to be judged or turned away before, a part of him knew that she would understand him and the things he did.

A smile sneaked to her lips.

“Are you asking me out on a date, Joel Miller?” she teased and his lips twitched into a small grin.

“I guess I am,” he nodded.

She got on her tiptoes, her hands coming to rest on his chest, to keep balance, her lips softly pressing against his cheek.

“I’d love to go out and talk with you, Joel,” she whispered.

He let his head fall down, his forehead resting against hers.

“Good. That’s…. That’s good,” he mumbled. Her lips were so close. He could just lean in and….

“Hate to ruin this moment but I gotta pee,” she sighed and Joel chuckled. He took her hand again and led her to her bedroom, kissing her forehead outside of her door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he hummed.

Mel nodded.

“I can’t wait to get to know you Joel Miller.”

He huffed.

“Let’s see if you still feel like that after you know everything,” Joel joked.

“I will. The universe has plans for us Joel. Do you think it would have finally put us together, if whatever we did to get here would change how we feel about each other?” she asked.

She gave him an encouraging smile.

“Good Night, Joel,” she squeezed his hands before she turned away and walked into her room.

He looked after her before he went to his room and finally took the shower he had been looking forward to when he came home.

And for the first time in a long time, he fell asleep looking forward to the next day.

#my fic #Joel Miller #Joel Miller x OFC #Pedro Pascal #fanfiction #fanfic #fan fiction #tlou fanfiction #Pedro pascal fanfiction

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msscorpiomoon · 11 months

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Tarot Birth cards

little note: I had a lot of trouble proof reading this lol so bear with me if there are spelling errors or sentences that don't make a lot of sense. And feel free to correct me. What is a Tarot Birth Card? A tarot birth card is sort of similar to your astrological sun sign, just like certain birth dates have a zodiac sign associated with them, certain birth dates have some tarot cards (the major arcana) associated with them.

Everyone has two (sometimes three) I believe that birth cards are here to help you find your inner most spiritual self. You can find your inner energy, your core, your soul's purpose, and even your talents or what your soul is here to learn.

How do I find my birth card? Your birth card is based pretty heavily on numerology (both of the cards, and the numbers of your birth date)

There are websites for finding your birth card! Like: https://tarotschool.com/Calculator.html

But, there are also more hands on ways of calculating your own birth card. Using math. (But I'm really bad at math so I'll be reaching to outer sources to explain this better) - I got these screenshots from The tarot school website linked above

For example, my birthday is May 13th, 2006. 05 + 13 + 20 + 06 = 44 4 + 4 = 8 which means my birth card is Strength. However, it's partnered card is The Star (The star is the number 17 - 1 + 7 = 8) Ikik It's confusing, but here are the birth card pairs for you, so you only have to find one, and then it's counterpart. Birth card pairs (and their numbers) (1.) The Magician/(10.)The Wheel of Fortune (1.) The Magician/(10.) The Wheel of Fortune/(19.)The Sun - You get three cards if your sum is 19 (lucky you~) (2.) The High Priestess/(11.)Justice (2.) The High Priestess/(20.)Judgement (3.) The Empress/(12.)The Hanged Man (3.) The Empress/(21.)The World (4.) The Emperor/(13.)Death (5.)The Hierophant /(14.)Temperance (6.)The Lovers/(15.)The Devil (7.)The Chariot/(16.)The Tower (8.) Strength/(17.) The Star (9.)The Hermit/(18.)The Moon - you get three cards if your sum is 19 (lucky you~) -And in case you are wondering, the fool is not a birth card even though it is a Major Arcana. Going deeper into the meanings - Each of the birth card pairs, and my takes on what they mean for you.

1 and 10 = The Magician, The Wheel of Fortune

The first things that I see between these two cards is the big contrast that they have, The Magician is a figure who represents will, infinite power, the ability to take matters into your own hands and recognizing your own power. I think of this as a good manifesting cards. All of his tools lay in front of him, the infinity symbol above his head representing power, opportunities, and ability. However, the Wheel of Fortune is all about fate, leaving things to the Universe's hands, fate.

I believe that even though these are very opposite forces, having these cards shows that you have the ability (or will be able to catch onto it very quickly) to work with the universe to bring any of your ideas to life. Great manifesting cards, great cards for a leader, an idealist, etc. You might like to change and bounce between all kinds of interests and subjects, a jack of all trades. You excel in things easily, so you'll find success in finding those few things that really spark your interest and following through with it until the end.

I see the Magician card as an Alchemist, lead into gold, as well as his hand placements representing "As Above So Below" .. with this Alchemist mentality you are probably an extremely resourceful and adaptable person. A good talent that not a lot of people have, you can make use of any situation you are put in. Thinking simply (Starting from The Magician) allows you to turn the wheels of the world itself (The Wheel of Fortune).. Hopefully I'm making some sense.

Words of advice: stay focused on your goals and keep an open mind, yet stay fixed on your goals, and always complete what you finish. Set goals and stick to them, it'll bring you good success.

A weakness or downside of people with these cards (both with or without the sun) is that you may get side tracked a lot. There's a lot you want to be good at or you might get into one thing, and then something else catches your interest and now you're deeply involved with that. Don't let that curiosity consume you too much, and be sure to get yourself focused every once in a while.

19 = The Magician, The Wheel of Fortune, The Sun

This doesn't alter a lot of the meaning from the last section, so if your number is 19, I do suggest reading the section above this one as well! This is simply adding The Sun card onto The Magician and The Wheel of Fortune. This brings much more of a carefree, fun energy to things. You have a great lust for life and always seem to shine light onto every situation. The Magician and the Wheel of Fortune cards often bring a lot of drastic change and experiences to people with this energy, yet The Sun energy gives you the ability to see the light in spite of everything that is happening around you. The Sun, as a representation of light, optimism and joy. When night falls, you know deep down that the sun isn't gone, you always know that it comes right back.

Not only do you bring light in your own life, but others see it as well. And you will achieve the most when you keep this childlike imagination and optimistic side of you.

2 and 11 = The High Priestess, Justice

Starting with the imagery, their thrones, crowns, and seated position show that they are figures of high power, good judgement, and they are very straightforward. I like to think of the planet mercury, these people are likely great at communicating. Wise, logical, and analytical. But, there is also this duality between the two figures as well. Unlike the previous cards and their duality, the differences between these cards show incredible balance. Starting with the energies, The Justice card shows more masculine energy, with the colors, the person, but also the sword in his hand. The element of air and fire. The colors of red and yellow bring the sun's masculine energy into play. A figure that does. Meanwhile, The High Priestess is a feminine figure, with more blue colors, the green in the background, colder colors. Along with the moon symbol at her feet. A figure that feels. Although there isn't any huge indication of elements, her dress starts to pool at the end like water. Showing her being more in tune with her emotions, she is wise because she knows her inner self. (Along with the fruit or plant or vegetation that is behind her representing the element of Earth) She is her emotions. But she doesn't get lost in them, she is just in tune with them. The two of these cards coming together to represent one person shows a great balance. Here are some other dualities.

Doing vs Thinking/Feeling Harsh vs Gentle Loud vs Silent

If you have these as your cards you may be all about fairness, equality, and seeing things for as they are. You may be one to play devil's advocate often in order to see all perspectives of a situation, and you likely aren't one to come to assumptions quickly. You also might be really intuitive to truth, like being a lie detector lol. You can see through people well, and this could be why you are so big on equality, you simply see people as people and nothing more. We are all human and deserve to be on the same level. In that case, you might not be big on authority that likes playing with their power. Although these cards balance each other greatly, it might take a little bit for you to be balanced yourself. But you will find or do find great success once you find that balance between the two and learn to embody these figures at once. 2 and 20 = The High Priestess, Judgement

The people with these birth cards I feel like have an incredibly high emotional intelligence. Although the angel (I believe it's archangel Gabriel?) in the Judgement card is a representation of the element of fire, the water in the background and the blues all around, I see both of these cards as incredibly intuitive and emotional. People with these cards are meant for great things and will probably often tell themselves things along the lines of "I'm meant for more." You will likely find the most success through following whatever your heart tells you to. I think a big lesson for you in this life will be about finding your own path, beliefs, and making your own judgements on things around you. Although it can be difficult not to, other's beliefs and the beliefs you were raised on will result in you ultimately settling for way less than what you are meant for. I'm not really talking religious beliefs, but beliefs about jobs, money, life, all that in general. Follow the path you build for yourself. At some point (or multiple points) in your life, you will have to unlearn either what you have been taught or what you have taught yourself. It'll take work but you will need to break out of any limiting beliefs that you have in order to take on something bigger in life. Don't let anybody keep you confined in a box, not even yourself! Not only do you need to wake yourself up and lift yourself up, but I also believe you are meant to lift up others around you as well. With the High Priestess you may have this keen ability to see right through people, you may feel like you just know somebody deep down, the Judgement card is a call to an awakening, or reflection. It's knowing your purpose, I think you are also meant to bring awakenings to other people. Just as much as you break yourself out of limiting beliefs and lift yourself up, try to help others as well. Your downfall will be not listening to your intuition, I believe people with these cards have amazing spiritual gifts, trust your gut and trust your Judgement.

3 and 12 = The Empress, The Hanged Man

Both of these cards bring a very calm, collected, and nurturing tone to it. Both to me give Earth element vibes meaning people with this card combination are often very grounded and down to Earth. Although The Hanged Man's element is water, the tree provides some groundedness to it. The Empress is a natural creator, think mother nature. She is nurturing, and puts careful work into the world around her that she makes. She represents care, nurturing, divine femininity, fertility, creativity/creating, and nature. The Hanged Man is a character that's seen hanging upside down on a tree, with the calm look on his face, and his hands behind his back, a lot of people believe that he's there on his own will. The Hanged Man represents a stagnancy, a period in which you are simply observing, not moving forward. He also is a big representation on how spiritual people see the world differently, because he is perceiving things upside down. With the combination of these two cards together, people with these cards are extremely creative and natural inventors. They're talented at seeing the world in a completely different way and it allows them opportunities to create beautiful, out of the box things. These people are incredibly unique and success comes when they learn to embrace it, and be open about their outlook on the world. There are going to be times in your life where life will feel unbearably stagnant, not really moving forwards or backwards and it's because you are meant to reflect in those moments. These are the best opportunities for you to simply sit and think, and although you might not like doing that often, you will find the most success from the ideas that show up in your head. Don't force stagnant periods, but when they come to you, they are present for a reason. I also feel like people with these cards are really good with finding solutions and being adaptable to situations (when they aren't anxiously overthinking) 3 and 21 = The Empress, The World

People with these cards I call "doers" these people have big goals that often have to do with humanities or environmental causes. The Empress is a natural creator, to me she represents Mother Nature, being it paired with The World Card, not only physically the world but also spiritually and metaphorically. You are a big thinker and often people with these cards accomplish a lot. Bring your ideas to life, it should come to you with ease. Do not repress your dreams, because they come to you for a reason. You are meant to attract great abundance in this lifetime! You are a nurturer, you will thrive being connected to the world and the people around you. Think of like "As Above So Below" or "You are a manifestation of the absolute." You resonate strongly with the idea that everything is connected and your ideals show it. These cards are also an indication of having a really big family or just being close with a lot of people. You may travel a lot in this lifetime, see a lot of cultures and see the world. I feel like people with these cards are often pretty balanced as a person, they're well rounded and often.. complete. Prioritize your nurturing, feminine side in this life time! Create things, connect with Mother Nature, and remember you are divine. 4 and 13 = The Emperor, Death

Both of these cards combined give me very heavy warrior vibes, they are forces to be reckoned with and they bring about change wherever they go. I find that people with these birth cards tend to be brutally honest and may come across as harsh because they are very straight to the point. I will say, The Emperor represents authority, structure, discipline, and masculine energy. The Death card represents change, transformation, and cycles. So, no need to worry about the death card if you were worrying about it. These cards hold very masculine energy, having masculine energy means you do a lot, you conquer a lot and you may be incredibly ambitious. The difference between the feminine and masculine energy is that the feminine energy creates, but masculine energy utilizes what has been created. So, they balance each other out. I feel like you will (or already have) overcome a lot in your life, you are a conqueror and are here to withstand a lot of changes in your life but also bring a lot of changes to other people as well. I feel like your resilience and strength brings inspiration to others. With the obstacles you overcome in life you will end up wise, likely with a lot of good advice for others. I do see that possibly in the beginning of your life time you being on the fence between being very resistant to (or even afraid of) change. The soldier on the horse in the death card is constantly moving, changing everything he passes by, however The Emperor is forever stationary. The Emperor follows structure and leads armies, however the soldier acts on whim. And paying closer attention to the art work, the soldier on the horse (or the reaper) has conquered or defeated an authority figure, the king underneath him. So, there is a big contrast here. However, if you find the balance between not resisting change but also not embracing or initiating chaos, you'll be good. Remember to not fear change, in the back of the death card you see the sun on the horizon, which is a representation and a reminder that good things come from transformation. Or through the death of one thing, there is the birth of another. You will likely be constantly changing and evolving, you will achieve a lot in this life! You are not meant to stay stagnant for long. 5 and 14 = The Hierophant, Temperance

These cards unite representing passion for the things they love, faith, and ambition. I see these cards as people who always try to do what is right in their eyes, and people who always try to put everything they can into something. The Hierophant is a teacher, earth/taurus energy, it represents tradition(generally religious/spiritual tradition but can represent it as a whole), education, beliefs, and groups. Temperance is a warrior, thing warriors like archangels. Temperance represents true balance, this card to me represents all the elements. His wings and the triangle on his chest are representations of air, the cups he is pouring from and the pool of water he is stepping into is water, his foot on the ground and the mountains being earth, and the sun and his halo representing fire. He is a representation of true balance. At their highest selves, people with these cards are incredibly charismatic, ambitious, inspired, and focused. Who speak, act, think, and trust from their highest self. Their highest truth and intuition. These people go through plenty of life lessons and are often found thriving in situations where they can freely be leaders. People with these cards are often very naturally curious and want to learn and study a lot. In all aspects, people, subjects, situations, etc. If you happen to have a role model, anyone you really look up to and gather inspiration from.. know that some of your greatest success will come from listening to their word, and learning from them! You're going to learn a lot in your life and I think that will lead you to being able to be a great mentor figure, and be able to give great advice. 6 and 15 = The Lovers, The Devil

Oh I love this card combination because of the EXTREMELY obvious duality between these cards. The two figures here are the same people, but on one end there is the peace, balance, and well.. love. And on the other hand there is being bound by chains, addiction, obsession. Although these are the exact same people, the exact same energy, there are two very extreme sides to it. A lot of your life and your life/spiritual lessons will have to do with relationships. Although most of the people I know with these cards do revolve a lot around romantic relationships, this is talking about any relationship. With friends, family, partners, coworkers, etc. Relationships in general. Often, you'll have to learn how to get out of toxic situations, or possibly how to not be a toxic situation yourself. There's that pull between desire/lust and love. The Devil is a very indulgent symbol, you'll likely struggle with self control. Naturally, you are pulled to others, you're more likely to be an extrovert or a people person when it comes to these having cards, I also find that people with these cards loveee to help others out. They love to lend a hand and often they will bend over backwards for others. And remember to be cautious about who you help, people will try to push your limits on what you have to offer. (Another lesson you have to learn, living for yourself and not for others.) People with these cards are incredibly curious. They love doing things for the experience, or just because they love to know how things will turn out. Be careful to not lose yourself in others, because people with these cards are often so involved with others it is very easy for you guys to lose sight of who you truly are. You'll be at your best when you find your authenticity and balance it with people who love you for you, not people who love you for who you actually aren't. Do not confine yourself into other people's boxes and stereotypes that they have for you. Don't let others put those chains on you, you are not meant to follow other people's standards and other people's beliefs. 7 and 16= The Chariot, The Tower

The Chariot is an adventurer, a warrior, and represents adventures and journeys. And let me tell you your life is a journey for sure. You might be naturally curious, you want to see the world and you want to enjoy a lot in life, despite your want to be adventurous, and your need for new experiences, you are trapped inside your tower, or your box. You are confined by your own fears and that will be your greatest failure. I think your biggest goal in life or your life lesson is learning to overcome your personal challenges and mental blockages. I see you going through a lot of tough things early on which might be the start of why you've decided to confine yourself and not allow yourself the adventure you so desire. Get out of your comfort zone!!! You are meant to be an explorer, a free spirit, and your inner desires might contradict the fears that you have! I would consider you guys overcomers, break down your limitations, destroy the tower you confined yourself in, in order to start new. I feel like as rough as it sounds, you guys are constantly meant to be moving forward. Constantly destroying your "tower" and rebuilding with new foundations. You guys are meant to live for the adventure and for the advancement. There might be a divide within you between loving your comfort zone and feeling the need to reach out for more. The Chariot's sphinxes before it represent two paths, balance, or duality. You'll find a lot of success when you reach further than you thought you could. Although it's important to have a foundation and have time to relax and just exist, these cards suggest it is a big part of your life's lessons to be here to move forward and continue to expand. :) 8 and 17 = Strength, The Star

A true empowerer. People with these cards are natural dreamers and love to uplift others. The two of these cards both are very closely connected with nature, (people with these birth cards will thrive in nature and with nature. It is also good to be as true to yourself as possible.) The Star represents the cool, collected, and calmness of nature, notice the flowing water, the calmness and the focused look ont he girls face. Things look calm, and serene. Strength leans towards the more powerful, to be reckoned with forces of nature, the girl is taming a lion in front of her, whether it's prying the lion's mouth open, or keeping it shut/closing it. The infinity symbol above her head represents endless possibilities and the ability to do and achieve anything. Seriously, dream big because when you master your emotions you can accomplish absolutely anything. I feel like both the water in the Star and the lion in Strength represent your emotions. Both of the figures here have tamed/controlled them, and so can you! You'll find the most success in life when you learn to balance the polar opposites within you, and you overcome your internal obstacles. The balance between mercy and vengeance, patience and temper, calmness and vitality. When you become truly balanced, your energy shows it. You are known as soon as you walk into a room, your energy is.. well, strong. And I also see people with these cards being incredible leaders, mentor figures, and people who are great at healing and empowering people's inner selves. These people make amazing guides and people may often come to your for advice, guidance, and wisdom. You're great at making people feel seen and you give other's the strength to get through life. Although you're great at helping others, take your own advice too! I feel like people with these cards are meant to grow and go through hard things in life, not only to uplift others but to also uplift themselves. Do not forget about yourself, you can bring the very best or you can bring the very worst in everything. You are a true conqueror with great strength and willpower, so be mindful of where your energy flows and water your own garden before watering anybody else's. 9 and 19 = The Hermit, The Moon

I see people with these cards as incredibly independent and very curious. These people are meant to explore their inner selves the most. While the strength and the star from the previous explanation are huge on thriving around others and helping others, these cards are here to help themselves. You are meant to develop a great, deep understanding for yourself. You may get interested in astrology and natal charts, or possibly psychology and understanding your subconscious. You may naturally reflect and question yourself a lot. I can see people with these cards always asking for an explanation on why they did something a certain way. You thrive a lot on your own, and this doesn't mean you will be alone in life or you aren't meant to be with others, but you should feel very at peace when you're alone and your soul's journey is internal. Both of these cards represent discovering the hidden, although the moon shows something a little more illuminated, there is a direction to go, a path to be travelled. The Hermit however, there is no path necessarily, you are travelling uncharted waters and you're completely in the dark with where you are going.. besides the little light you carry. Or the light within you. Regarding others, you are also probably very observant with others and you may be able to read other's energies or thoughts relatively easily. You find that there are two sides to everyone, a tame, lit path and then one that is inner, primal, instinctual, and extremely hidden. That hidden side may ignite your curiosity.. explore it! You are meant to discover what is hidden and internal reflection is where you will most likely thrive. You are curious beyond the face value and you can do this with yourself internally, but also with others as well!

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historia-vitae-magistras · 5 months

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🎮 🎻 🚫 🍔 for my north american trio

🎮 VIDEO GAME CONTROLLER — what are three of your OC's favourite hobbies?

Mari - I've always had a very enlightenment-era baby intellectual bent to her. So, reading and participating in literary culture and criticism over time returned to Juana Inés de la Cruz. There's a mix of her old-school education and folk culture in her love and talent for art. She's got a real knack for beekeeping, too.

Alfred - Lives and dies by his love of math and engineering; he was getting twitchy with the lack of Calculus right before Isaac Newton got on that shit finally, so he became an eternal tinkerer. He loves a good drive and a sky-watching session.

Matt - Woodworking, gardening, hiking.

🎻 VIOLIN — does your oc play any instruments? What is their skill level (beginner/intermediate/advanced/virtuoso/etc)?

In childhood, Maria played the vihuela and baroque guitar and later picked up the bajo de uña and the resulting base guitar. I don't know why I associate her with a drumset, but I like that mental image for some reason, too. She's excellent on all of them.

Alfred is one of those types who skipped from hobby to hobby to hobby as a child and has picked up practically every instrument at some point or another. He played the fucking church organ sometimes, especially when he was feeling weird about religion.

Matt - He's pretty goddamn good on a fiddle, and he can hold a tune, but most of his music is meant for some type of work and the folk scenes are pretty disparate so it's kind of hard to nail down a specifically Canadian musical instrument that hasn't been by and large surpassed by the US.

🚫 PROHIBITED — does your oc drink/smoke? Do they do it regularly, or is it more on occasion or for special events?

Mari - She does mostly beer with some harder alcohol, I think. Not very high consumption; she strikes me as more of a social drinker on special occasions. She can party, but I think she has some pretty hard limits on anything more than the very mainstream.

Alfred - He flies between teetotaller and binge drinker, like that with most things. He can go years with just drinking, but my man likes his stimulants, alas. But the very functional kind. He can

Matt - He would rather not be sober in general.

🍔 HAMBURGER — is your oc good at cooking? are they good at baking? Which one do they prefer?

Mari is pretty good at both but doesn't do it as much as people might think. She's been a very urbanized society for a very long time and various kinds of communal cooking. She knows the best places for Pescado a la talla or who makes the best tlacoyos in the tianguis nearest her primary home but all over the place. I don't know if she'd prefer one or the other. A thought I had is that some of her best cooking exploits are for herself. She participates in a communal culture where cooking and baking are the realm of women in many ways, so being alone in the kitchen and experimenting with her own arroz con leche or barbacoa varieties is an almost self-care ritual she holds.

Alfred - Def more of a cook than a baker. He can bake when he wants to; it's just following the steps of a recipe, but he could be more motivated by domestic things for their own sake. He will cook and bake when people are over, and people are often surprised at the quality of what makes it onto the table. He can eat seven-layer salad and jello monstrosities at a Southern or Midwest table or pull out a Napa Valley salad and wine pairing much to the ire of the old world. Food is one of the few things his hyper-individualism has yet to completely destroy.

Matt - Surprisingly good baker and cook, but not really anything anyone would write home about. Except maybe bread, he bakes a lot of bread and has had a freakishly high consumption of it since the 18th century, so archeologists can tell the bones from the New Englanders who ate a lot more corn. Not exactly internationally renowned for anything except poutine and weed scones, though, rest in pieces. If you've ever eaten anything you thought was pretty good at the time but will never ever think about again, that's Matt in the kitchen, except when he busts out the rye bread but even then no one will really believe he made it.

Character Details Ask Game

#the ask box || probis pateo #Maria || lo que viví lo estoy muriendo todavía #Alfred || o beautiful for spacious skies #Matthew || my country is winter

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wanderlustmagician · 4 months

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hi friend I am respectfully making demands at risk of siege that you talk about something in your modern au that might never come up in text but is a piece of it nonetheless

you have 72 hours otw canadas next

Somer. You nearly made the temptation to wait on this too much. Luckily I’m a Grade A rambler being asked to ramble and there is a good bit that either won’t or might not ever be in this. Buckle up buttercup. 🤪

So I have included, in some of my ramblings, references that the First Hero (ie the one mentioned in Skyward Sword as being Sky’s predecessor) and that trains will be in this AU. Currently the plan is to make this very slice of life, one-two shot set up for the Before the Adventure stuff and then have a “introduction of plot” fic that’s chaptered… before the rest is back to the one-three shot slice of life stuff. So my opportunity to have many things be brought outa the vault is pretty high. So that said…. This will be pretty much bits and pieces of ideas I had and scrapped but still like or things I’m holding onto but likely won’t write;

That said… Mister First will likely stay as just referenced as the Queen’s companion, until or unless he appears in LU canon and I feel it necessary to include him more. Mostly cause nine is the biggest cast I’ve written for… ever. Which isn’t even the full number for LU but it’s the most consistent one. Also because i don’t know enough to feel like I’ve got a good grasp. Plus it’s fun to make him kind of cryptid like in this quasi-political court field I’ve created.

Then the trains! Spirit Tracks is really cute and very much set far after Wind’s time. So I thought it could be fun to have that as a little teaser to maybe having the train boy come in. We’ll see. I want to go through a little more and see how some others shake out with the plot I currently have.

The Champions were actual people in this! Not just constellations. They did pass in The Calamity and I will likely only ever reference them briefly for feels. Urbosa was the soccer coach at Wild and Flora’s school. Revali was Link’s rival in archery. Mipha was Swim Captain and in a flirtationship with Wild. Daruk was the wrestling coach. Both Urbosa and Daruk taught actual classes. Daruk did Math, don’t ask me which.. pls I don’t like math. Urbosa did the Gerudo language class.

Urbosa was Riju’s cousin, it was distanced though. Daruk was Yunobo’s grandfather still. Mipha and Sidon still siblings, can’t change that. Revali was Saki’s nephew.

None of this will ever really come up because Wild’s past amnesia will only come up occasionally. It’s said that in BOTW that he has regained his memory by the end, so im going to run with a version of Wild who remembers, is grieving, and is trying to move on. So at most there will be a reference to them as his still healing grief comes and goes.

A lot of my world building are things that likely will not be big big in the story, just things I’ve made note of so I remember that they’re important references.

Like Sky and Twi’s nicknames for each other! They defend them ruthlessly, even if they’re a little embarrassed by them. They were penpals as kids, a program ran by their schools to encourage the grade schoolers to practice writing, and got made fun of by their classmates because their names are the same! So the usual school yard taunts of their penpal being themself and things a long those lines. Little kid logic of let’s give each other nicknames and that’ll solve the problem! It didn’t but it made them feel better and special, so they stuck. The nicknames come from their middle names and I haven’t decided if those get revealed in story or not, so no sharing here yet.

There is some funky magic stuff that happened, happens, and will happen. Time and Lullaby do have the whole time magic stuff. So while Time remembers meeting Warriors… Warriors remembers meeting someone much younger and thinks Time is his own younger brother (this may come up, it may not). Warriors did deal with some funky portal magic stuff like from his game, yes Cia was in the middle of it, and The Calamity was a magically driven disaster.

I played around with the idea of the depths also being a part of the Hyrule map and having it be the home of the Twili people… except that was going to be a little much to handle as far as keeping track and mentioning. So I scrapped it.

The Twili people do have a land of their own, it is outside of Hyrule, but it is not a part of Hyrule. Midna lived with Dusk when she was an exchange student. Her phone number was turned off because Hylian phone carriers don’t work in the Twili lands. The Twili people are more nomadic despite being modern times, they still move from place to place. They have ‘Village Sites’ where there are some buildings that they move into when they move. Their clothing reflects that more nomadic lifestyle and they tend to not keep anything that can’t be carried easily.

There will be more probably… once I start actually hammering out full pieces, there will be for sure.

#wandering thoughts #somer writes #asks #Lu modern au #this is really all over the place #but I haven’t scrapped a lot yet #I’m still deciding on some things #like who will be with who when what happens #and what concepts will and won’t stay #I have a mini blurp written of Sky losing his shit in the intro for the adventure that I don’t know if I’m keeping #things like that #it’s really close to me starting to actually post though #I’ve got some things I’m putting together #i just keep struggling with warriors

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keycrash · 1 year

Text

mini life update as i slog thru my last semester of college oh christ i accidentally made a poll ok i made it go away. anyway. god did they move the bullet points

three years strong with my girlfriend as of last month ò_ó)9

my theses have been going really well, last semester i did one on tarot inspired by thought experiments (and am gonna get those printed with holographic film) and this semester i’m doing horror fashion pieces with fun gore

i am in the world’s worst math class my professor called 32 a prime number yesterday

i’m planning my senior thesis show!! exciting!!!! scary!!! but itll be fun!! i graduate in like 2.5 months!!! what the hell!!!!!!!!!

i had a lot of fun TAing for an illustrated product design & manufacturing class and may look into teaching in the future

after graduating i plan on taking some time to bulk up and establish my online shop before job searching— with ze stuff, xiv stuff, original stuff… and also likely some commissions as well. so watch out!! id love to ask around after i graduate to see what kind of merch people would like from me, so perhaps sometime…

after that!! who knows. art is goin good. i’m doing good.

#peko.txt #college almost accomplished…

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sherifftillman · 2 years

Text

Tutoring

Summary: You're pretty well-known for your straight As, and your aptitude for helping others get there. So much so, that you attract the attention of the world's most impossible client, Edward Munson.

Word count: 1732

A/N: FIRST FIC HERE AHHHH. I hope you all like it!

You're walking through the hallways of Hawkins High with your best friend, plotting how you're going to spend your weekend. You've learned from past years that the last few weeks before finals is not the time to be tutoring people - if they wanted your services, they should have sought you from the beginning of the year, or even semester, if they were that desperate. Anyone who wants to start tutoring now is a lost cause.

"Yeah, it's so weird, just... Having my weekends open, now. I could do anything. And yet, all I really want to do is just hermit up," you shrug.

Your friend sidles up to you. "Maybe we could both hermit up together?" she suggests. "Get a pizza in, rent a movie..."

"Totally not so you can go ogle those employees at the rental place, right?" you smirk, and your friend shoves you in the side playfully.

"Shut up! Life's too short to not look at hot people. Besides, Robin's in my math class, and I don't even think she's into girls. I think I would have picked up on that by now. It's fine," she sticks her hand out in front of herself defiantly, as though proving to herself, as well.

You shake your head and laugh. "Sure. Saturday, we'll go skating, because I miss that, we'll go - I'll go pick a movie while you dream about your ideal three-way wedding, then we'll get back, get in our jammies, and watch some absolute cheese. Sound good?" Your friend nods, and you grin. "God, I've been waiting for a weekend like this."

You get to your locker and begin the act of juggling the morning's textbooks with the afternoon's. As they all start spilling out beyond your bookbag, you hear a knock at your locker door. Swinging it over a little, you see none other than Eddie "The Freak" Munson's head leaning against your neighbour's locker. His tongue is poking out just a little, and while his index knuckle still rests on your locker door, his thumb twirls the ring beneath it almost hypnotically.

You clear your throat. "Can I help you, Munson?"

"Yeah, hi, uh, I kind of, sort of... Desperately need your services. Like, ASAP," he explains.

Trying to keep your books under control, you scoff, "Your timekeeping skills are not my responsibility. I'm sorry, but I have a cut-off time for a reason. Trying to tutor this late on, it's just not feasible."

Eddie groans, squeezing his eyes shut. "C'mon, please! I literally just need to get a D in English, surely you have time to get me there."

In disbelief, you shove your entire bag, fit to burst, into your locker, just to slam the door on him. "You think I teach to a D-grade level?!"

He lifts his hands up in accusation. "No, not at all! But if you don't have time to teach me all the way, that's fine, I just need enough to get a D so I can graduate. Please. I'll pay top dollar." He puts his hands together in a praying motion and presses them to his mouth.

You sigh and roll your eyes. "Look, as much as I'd now love to prove to you that I don't just teach to each grade at a time, I really don't have the time, and what makes you think I would make an exception for you?"

"Because! Us nerdy folks, we gotta look out for each other, right?" Eddie asks.

"Right, but if you're going to compartmentalise us, we are not even the same calibre of nerds. I'm a book geek, and you're a..." You hold your hands out in claw shapes and pull a face, making Eddie laugh. You ignore the small part of your brain that shot volts straight to your heart at that. "You've never once had my back about anything."

"So I'll owe you! And I meant what I said, money is no object here."

"Ah, shoot, all this talk reminds me," your friend pipes up, "I meant to tell you earlier, Y/N, that thing that was planned this weekend, it's not happening anymore."

Your brow furrows as you look at her. "What? But we literally just -"

"Yeah, it's, uh... Been... Postponed... Indefinitely. Other stuff came up," your friend's eyes keep flitting quickly towards Eddie and then back at you, with subtle eyebrow motions. You groan internally as you realise what she's trying to do. Just because she's obsessed with finding a relationship, she wants you to want to be in one, too. So this is her... Trying to set you up... With Eddie Munson.

Maybe you won't hit it off, you tell yourself. Or maybe you will. Stranger things have happened. No, no, you stop yourself there. This is a professional transaction. You go to open your locker, and sure enough, your entire bookbag explodes out onto the floor. Eddie immediately bends down to pick it all up, and your heart skips a beat at the gentle gesture. His helpful smile is barely visible amongst the pile of books in his arms when he jumps back up with them all.

You sigh in resignation as you scoop the whole pile out from him. "Take my notebook out from there," you gesture with your head into your locker, "and write your address. I'll be there by noon Saturday. Be up, be ready to learn, 12 sharp, or I'm out. Got it?"

Dipping his knees and bending his arms in celebration, Eddie scrawls a quick note onto your notepad and quickly runs away, yelling some form of thanks.

You turn from watching him run, to glare at your friend. "And why would you do that?!"

She shrugs. "I saw how he looked at you. You'll thank me later, I'm sure."

-~-

You study your map for what must be the tenth time now, looking at the written address, where that puts you on the map, and up through the windshield at where that's gotten you. You don't want to be judgemental, but for someone who said money isn't an object, you're not sure how much you trust that from where you're sitting in the middle of a trailer park. You notice a window cracks open on one of them, and sure enough, Eddie comes tumbling out of it. Why didn't he use the door? He runs up to your car and beams, "Hi! You made it! Just feel free to park anywhere outside this one," he points to the trailer he just fell out of.

"Will I have to climb back in?" you ask, already defeated.

He rubs the back of his neck. A small sliver of his torso shows, along with the trim of his boxers. You quickly look back up at his face. "Yeah, look, my keys are in the trailer somewhere, I just didn't have time to look for them."

"Great." You deadpan as you start to slowly drive up towards the trailer. You park up, and Eddie gives you a hand up. There's a small moment where you feel his hand on your butt to guide you in, followed very quickly by him replacing it onto your knee instead. You dive in less than elegantly, and he leaps in shortly after.

He leads you to sit on his bed, but you hesitate. "Yeah, sorry, not many seating options here," he explains, and so you sit on the edge of his bed tentatively. He gives you a respectable amount of space.

"So, what is it that you're studying in Ms O'Donnall's class?" you ask, and Eddie waves you off.

"Oh, I'm already coasting a D, if not even a C, don't sweat it."

You look at him incredulously. "Then why am I here?!"

"Don't worry, I'm not flaking out on our deal. I just didn't... Know how else I could get close to you, I guess," Eddie looks awkward, flustered.

That's when it hits you. In disgust, you stand up off the bed. "Are you... Paying me to date me?! Is that what you think I do?!"

"Look, when you put it like that..." He sighs, standing to join you. "I didn't know if you'd freak out if I straight up asked you out, so I thought maybe I could start things off a little and build it from there, okay?!"

Not even comprehending the idea that anyone would want to ask you out, other than as a joke, you scoff, "Yeah, right. What, you and your Hellfire boys got one of those 'ask out the ugliest' bets going on?! Too bad, I've seen enough of those to know better!" You try to storm out, but in a whirlwind, Eddie grabs your wrist, pulls you towards him and, holding your face delicately, presses your lips against his.

His cool metal rings against your warm, flushed face, the electric sensation that passes through your lips to every part of your body, the way that with your eyes closed, even the grip of his other hand on your arm feels so much more intense.

He eventually breaks away to look deep into your eyes. What always felt like dark voids, his eyes now told a different story. Two black holes, sucking your attention into them forevermore. "I... You point me towards those assholes that ever made you feel like that and they are fucking goners. You're the most beautiful person I've ever laid eyes on, Y/N." With the hand still cradling your jaw, he strokes your cheek gently with his thumb. "I will proudly stand with you, should you want to stand with me. You and me, against all the preppy jerks we can handle. Whaddaya say?"

"I say I think I need to sit down," you deliberate, which he understands and lets go of you. Smiling to yourself at his lack of awareness at what you plan to do, you back away until you feel his bed beneath you. Sitting on the edge once again, you shuffle back until you're sat more comfortably on the actual bed, then look at him with a coy smirk, reaching your arms out to him. "Care to join me?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Eddie runs across the room, straddling your lap and cradling you in his arms, pressing his forehead against yours as he leans you down to lay on your back. "I've been waiting to hear that all year."

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson reader insert #stranger things reader insert #stranger things imagine #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #*myfics

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lunarsilkscreen · 2 months

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Comedy, Prophets, and the Bible

Humor is an important facet of life. Why does it seem like biblical study is devoid of it?

Some of the subject matter in the Bible is not very funny. Slavery, Crucifixion, Being eaten by a whale and surviving.

I don't know if service has changed; but service was always a somber thing to do. You sit and listen to a preacher; and sit quietly in contemplation, instead of anything else you could be doing.

Quietly relearning the same three passages; and zoning out until the community notes.

That's not quite true, because some services have excitement, performance, and sometimes dancing. But those are the "wrong kind of services" to the more snooty religious people.

What point does religious mass serve?

The point of religious mass is serveral-fold. To teach people is one.

"Follow along with me as *we* read our Bibles."

Some chapters teach maths, important concepts such as "Why must we farm/work? Why must we learn new things? What's the dangers of the world? What is our history?"

These days mass religion has been forced into a role that only caters to the spirit.

Depending on how you interpret "Spirit", this includes "Comedy" and the spectacle that some churches are known for these days, despite forcing it into the singular lens of exactly how you should keep your spirits up.

To Stave off depression, as with the case with Covid shutting down the churches and the churches reasonably refusing.

Prophets and ministers also *used to* do a lot more than to cater to the spirit. There are chapters of the Bible dedicated to physical health and wellness of the people, of the farmland. One section is even dedicated to keeping your home free of mold.

These are not directly related to "spirit" but they improve a person's well-being so that they may be better able to interact with their community and be in "good spirits".

Heck, they even serve wine.

Joke; this is probably closer to an early dental hygiene thing--As alcohol could be known to Stave off halitosis, same way we use mouthwash today. (Yes a form of hippie-"new age" health trend.)

But these days?

Like we know of "Eastern medicine"; it works but does it work as well as what we have now?

And so Organized Religion is stuck in-between remembering the "old-ways" and being a conduit for "Spirit". And depending on how zealous your religion is; God and Morality before even that.

And in some cases; God is the *only* thing that matters. Despite these Minister's actual connection to, or lack of connection to their personal Deity, who they claim is the one true "Jehova" or "Yahweh".

"Ask not what God can do for you, ask what you can do for your God."

And so we see these drives to make our Nations an [insert religion here] Nation, that serves no purpose; not even God's.

Religion has a purpose; but religion has lost its way. And it's in the Bible, especially the good Christian Holy Bible; that we often see that Religion has lost its way.

We can read of the prophets and the "Son of God" as they fight against the mainstream religions of their days; why they needed to do so. We can see them fight against their governments, and why they needed to do so.

We can see the separation between church and state represented in the U.S. constitution and the groundwork laid by these texts and reasoning it was necessary.

So what is Religion?

Religion used to be something to make accessible to humanity the tools kept away from them by Industry and Government. Education, Mental and physical health care, services in which to aid the common man, and their communities, a voice of morality, and the teachings of something outside the physical world that we live in. Something we cannot reach while in the flesh.

But it has since been reduced to only the latter thing. Teachings of a God, only in such a way that the teachers believe; instead of as a being that helps all. The one true God, who knows and loves all. That thing that is unknown to humans as they live and breathe, but claimed to be known by those who teach it, and only them, as long as you pay a fee and are loyal.

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comradekatara · 2 years

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What kind of fanfics (or books in general) would the Gaang+other characters write?

i can no longer find the post, but someone once told me that they once read a fanfic of aang helping sasuke from naruto work through his internalized homophobia. i like to think aang himself wrote that fanfic :)

i also think he would make an artbook of his crafts and paintings and jewelry and photography. it has a very special place on katara's shelf, next to her volumes of indigenous postcolonial intersectional feminist theory and (ethical yet deeply horny) romance novels <3

also, obviously, aang's memories of growing up as an air nomad before the war are recorded, both as a record of prewar air nomad culture, and as a biography of the avatar's childhood. it's taught in schools and stuff

katara wrote a lot of stories as a kid that were clearly just about thinly veiled self-inserts who join robin hood's band of merry men and become the new leader who not only robs rich people, but steals robin hood's heart <3 and other similar characters who fight sexily against injustice. she probably had a big magneto phase and thought professor x was the biggest clown ("dude can't even walk, meanwhile i am so good at hockey, swimming, basketball, soccer, etc. erik lehnsherr needs a real man like me")

in the avatar world they have different dominating cultural stories and also she was too busy practicing waterbending and complaining about doing laundry to write down her little fantasies about having a bad boy revolutionary bf, but she still contemplated them (by which i mean the equivalents of these stories) of course.

also katara writes rly important, groundbreaking theory that issues in a new wave of feminism, specifically in the water tribes. essays/manifestos on sexism, colonialism, imperialism, violence. they're thoughtful and accessibly written, based on her own experiences, which she explicitly describes within the essays, which read like memoirs in parts. her books are very grounded in her own lived realities, direct and to the point, a clear call to action, and very inspiring.

sokka had a really big crush on mulan as a kid and when he saw the garbage straight to dvd sequel it disappointed him so badly that he vowed to rewrite it so that it was good now actually. he got three pages in before it occurred to him that this was a waste of time because no one but him would ever actually read it, and he abandoned it. little did he know that suki would have loved to read it, but he didn't know suki yet. alas

he's also one of those nerds who wrote an unauthorized sequel to flatland. it was for a creative writing assignment in school, and his teacher, who didn't understand a single word of it, gave him a C. he let mai read it and she loved it, though, so that's what matters.

like katara, sokka also pens a lot of theory. unlike katara, his writing is very dense, sprawling, overly cerebral, highly abstract, and borderline illegible. his works are sort of like if feynman and derrida had a baby and also that baby was in desperate need of an editor who could whittle down every four pages into one sentence. he writes theory in pretty much every field imaginable, including fields he all but invented. which means that every single student of something has to read at least one of his texts at least once in their life. people who can actually figure out what the hell he's saying swear that he's an absolute genius and that his ideas changed their life, but most people just pretend to have read his stuff, because there's no way in hell they're reading an 800 page book about how bending is actually math.

toph has never written anything, nor has she any desire to. the most she ever writes is when she dictates letters to sokka, which always say the same thing, "hey, come over here so i can talk to you in person. fuck you, toph"

zuko writes cringey self-insert fanfic both in modern au and in the avatar world. he writes blue spirit x zuko selfcest (but you don't get it it's actually a metaphor about the duality of the self, and he's working out his inner demons UGH dont make fun of him!!!!!!!) and is that guy who writes really dark fucked up fanfic about cartoons (he's watched. a lot. of anime). he's really into theatre – plays, operas, musicals, you name it. he went through a big tennessee williams phase, and tried to write exactly like him, to.... middling success. he tried to write a musical once, only to realize one song in, that playing some instruments and appreciating mitski's genius doesn't actually equate to having any compositional talent. he'll stick to critiquing, and leave the creative writing to people with more style and imagination.

suki doesn't even read books and you want her to write one??

ty lee wrote touching and hilarious letters to mai whenever they were apart, which mai keeps stored in a small wooden chest and pulls out to read whenever she is feeling wistful. otherwise, you'd be lucky to even get a text back from her

mai once wrote a story inspired by over the garden wall about two characters who are clearly just her and tom-tom navigating a mysterious a sinister forest together. it really helped her work through some stuff

she also writes academic criticism/theory/research, which is ever so slightly more lucid and succinct than sokka's.

and she's also incredible at writing roasts. she gives a speech every year at zuko's birthday (an official holiday now that he's firelord) and it fucking kills.

azula was discouraged from attempting to write fiction at a young age, when ursa admonished her after she made zuko cry upon devising a truly gruesome tale about woodland creatures. considering that she finds most novels insipid, poetry either boring at best or nauseating at worst, and fanfiction a hobby practiced by only the most pathetic of simple-minded losers, she doesn't think she's missing out.

many many many years down the road, azula writes a series of essays on how to identify and resist indoctrination (from a totalitarian state, abusive father, etc). umberto eco's ur-fascism for fire nation girls <33

aunt wu publishes a book that is one part self-help, one part gloating memoir, one part spiritual guide, one part personality quiz, and 100% barf. sokka cannot believe that katara has read it cover to cover multiple times, as if it contains wisdom deserving of being gleaned even once. he'd burn it if he didn't know that katara would just immediately go out and buy another copy, giving even more of her money to that glorious scammer.

of course we all know about yue's beautiful epic poetry, but lesser known are her diary entries, which served as her treasured outlet through which to vent her suppressed and overwhelming feelings while serving as the northern water tribe's princess. she didn't write every day, and sometimes her entries were longer than others. in the weeks between meeting sokka and the siege of the north, yue's diary entries took a turn for the messy, rambling, dramatic, and graphic. thankfully her diaries were well-hid under a rug in her room, and arnook never found them.

king bumi spent a couple decades or so publishing a series of action-adventure-erotica novels under a pseudonym. once you've been around for long enough, you start to do things just for the hell of it. especially if you're bumi.

that girl jin from zuko's failed first date in ba sing se def has "went thru a phase of writing hardcore slash fic" vibes. i can't explain it she just does. i wouldn't know what about, though, because zuko never asked her what her interests were.

pakku once wrote a novella about a very miserable man who causes problems for himself for no reason. many years down the line, sokka read it and was like "wow, pakku, this is an amazing piece of satire. i never knew you had such a great sense of humor!" and pakku is just like "it wasn't meant to be funny." and sokka's like ".........oh."

combustion man may be a man of few words, but the novel in verse he's been writing (with his meat hand) paints a portrait of a surprisingly sensitive soul, and it may move you to tears.

#sorry this is so long tumblr wouldnt let me add a readmore bc it SUCKS #the gaang and #also #aunt wu #yue #bumi #jin #pakku #combustion man #the big six #modern au #postwargaang #asks #anadventurerisfail #sokkademia

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kmlaney · 5 months

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tag game whee!!!

I was tagged by @clevermird! Thank you! Haven’t done one of these in a while.

1) Are you named after anyone?

No. I recall my parents specifically chose my name so it had no obvious handy nicknames, but not that it was after anyone in particular.

2) When was the last time you cried?

Couple weeks ago over irl stuff that I’m not getting into.

3) Do you have kids?

I have one child. He’s 19.

4) What sports do you play/have you played?

I am terrible at most every sport. Certainly nearly everything offered at school. You know, all the standard sportsballs, tennis, track, you name it. I was on a swim team ages ago and I enjoyed that and was good at it. I’m good at archery and shooting; those are both fun. I have done equestrian stuff (trail riding, intro to show jumping and dressage) but I never had a horse so those were either rentals or classes.

5) Do you use sarcasm?

Constantly. I think it is my native language. Or dialect.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Eyeglasses. I was an optician for a long time; it’s still the first thing I notice. Then earrings/piercings/tattoos. Or funky-colored hair.

7. What's your eye colour?

Dark brown.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Depends on what I’m in the mood for. They’re also not mutually exclusive. When I get attached to a character in a scary movie I want them to get their happy ending. Aka survival. They’ve earned it. Unless it’s Samuel L, Jackson’s character in Deep Blue Sea. Best moment in the movie from a meta standpoint imo. IYKYK.

9. Any talents?

In videogames I have the unique ability to find edges to fall of, things to get stuck on, and freak ways to glitch out of the terrain. Not the fun, youtubeable ways. The annoying, have to alt-F4 and start over kind. And hope I haven’t died in the interim. Seriously, I should test games for terrain flaws. It’s a gift.

10. Where were you born?

In a hospital. Lol yeah ok recall the sarcasm question earlier? USA.

11. What are your hobbies?

Reading, writing (not so much a hobby as an obsession), drawing, TTRPGs where I get way too attached to my characters and write elaborate backstories and playlists and fics for them. I want to get back into guitar; I haven’t played in a while and the bass is calling me.

12. Do you have any pets?

I am down to one cat and three houseplants. The cat is smaller than two of the plants.

13. How tall are you?

5'4" (if you're American, Liberian, or Burmese) or 163cm (if you're anywhere else in the world.)

14. Favourite subject in school?

History, science, choir, and this one math class that was all word problems. That one was fun.

15. Dream job?

Writer? That’s the one constant career I’ve always wanted for as long as I can remember. If not that then a paleontologist specializing in dinosaurs, which is probably way less awesome than I think it is. Oceanographer and geologist were in the running too.

Dream job would be one where I get to do the parts of that job that I really enjoy and none of the parts that I don’t.

tagging uhh... @depizan, @serialephemera, @kodrevas, @knamil (I think you got double-tagged, sorry!), and anyone else who wants to play! No obligation to participate whether I tagged you or not.

#kmlaney answers #tag game

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sleepysigh · 11 months

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5-25-23 Culmination, Climax, Summit

Yesterday I told my mother that she has never believed me when I honestly attempted to help her understand that I could not give her the kind of love she wanted when I was a kid, but that does not mean I don't love her.

All my poetry, the crucible of my life, all the ways I folded myself down into a singularity and then looked inside it to find a star when I need one,

Every lie I've ever told, especially to her, and every time I've been honest, every relationship and metaphor, every single decision I didn't realize I was making,

Was all so I would know how to say to her, "You were a good mother. It isn't your fault. I love you the way I can. I know it's painful not having the child you wanted. You raised a fantastic person, though. My love is like Oliver's Hawk, it is harder than love. It is exacting, just like you agreed you are. I don't want people to be happy. I want them to be better.

The moment you reacted badly to the start of this conversation I began doing the mental math on getting home from this place 2 hours away if you chose to drive off and leave me. I know people who could get me home. If you chose not to help me get a car, I have a contingency to make an income. I am unstoppable. I am ruthless and pitiless and indestructible. People cannot hurt me except physically, and they don't want to hurt me physically because I make sure they don't.

You told me you wanted me to hide who I was so society wouldn't hurt me. I became the best liar you will ever know. I became the best chameleon in existence.

You wanted me to have good morals, to value curiosity, to be patient and less anxious and explore. I have become a knife that cuts through every emotional Gordian knot it can, all towards a singleminded moral imperative. I have become a pile of ethical determinations in a trench coat.

I couldn't be the little girl you wanted who was warm and fuzzy because I spent the first years of my life watching you and dad hurt each other. But I could be everything else and now even if I don't have much humanity I have become someone who will be a force for good in this world. I followed all of your instructions completely. I am the most possible of the thing you asked me to be.

So I hope you understand that I DO love you because I can't find any better proof than that."

I was asking her to forgive me for not being enough. That is, after all, why I am so tempered. That is the pressure that collapsed this star into a singularity and asked it to vomit up all its light anyway. Which I have done, impossibly, like a god and machine.

She responded by telling me "I understand all that but you have no idea how hard it was because your friend Scarlett had all the same problems and she was SWEET and she hugged her mom and she always said please and thank you."

So I dissociated and tried not to throw up for three more hours in the car with her.

I realized why I have been spending my time making cooperative people fall apart for me. I love them. They return it. Magnets, how do they work? Now I understand polarity, which means I can always point North.

I recognize acceptance. I have identified the manner in which I give and receive love. I have identified my right to do so. I have determined, at last, that there is a place for me where I do not have to use tricks of light to bend and filter and soften my love which has always been a devastating laser seeking to cauterize every possible wound and cut away every obstacle between the object of my attention and the path they must take through life.

Amoral in action, moral only in choosing who moves me to act. A weapon of spite for cowardice and devotion to honor. A challenge that rewards those who recognize it and rise to meet it. A cruel and necessary demand for adaptation exactly like that which forced a bunch of helpless specks in an ocean to work together for billions of years if it meant eventually coughing up a little beauty.

And to me that is precisely the god I was always taught was man's best friend in the opposite way a dog might be. I play at being a dog and being a god because I contain my own negation, which means no one else can. That's why the fixation on Kabbalah. That's why the love for balance, equations, math, games of ironies and trust that mean more than earnestness can. Because it is not enough to be good.

I have to be both good and evil, master and servant, myself and the Other. I am everything because everything was required of me. I am a fun, friend-shaped, soft mortal creature of immense and near inexhaustible power.

I am just as excellent and sublime a phenomenon as I thought, and she doesn't care. Her loss. A weight is lifted in a way. I don't feel a need to ever be sorry again.

In summary, not NPD, RAD. Reactive attachment disorder. This is why I fear humans but do not hate them and have struggled to understand well enough how to handle them with care that I am safe for them to be around. I am basically a cat, self-taming and therefore not entirely tamed. My life is defined by the good tension of keeping an ironclad will intact while being malleable enough to flow through the world. Of course I feel like a god. Of course I feel magnetic. The core of the earth is so much more like me than a star could ever be, and the earth is the only place in this universe capable of providing a home for love.

I have not become my mother or my father, but rather I have become everything each of them needed to survive, improbably, by burning and freezing and flooding myself for a far longer time than anyone could have expected. And now I am going to get to work finding out what sort of things I can grow.

#writing #autobiographical #me #mommy issues #morality #ethics #reactive attachment disorder

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thessalian · 8 months

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Thess vs D&D Maths

I am not good at maths. I generally feel bad about this, because one of the hobbies I have chosen (namely D&D) requires a lot of maths.

I feel less bad now, because I have just encountered someone who is apparently worse at maths than me. Reddit again. (I should know better, I really should.) I was talking about having had to graduate to ancient dragons sooner than the average party because my party is so large, and this individual butted in with, "Party size doesn't matter if players need to roll a nat 20 to hit it, so something else is up".

Which.

I mean.

I'm not great at maths, but that didn't sound right to me. Especially not for level 13. So I went and looked at my players' sheets and ran some figures compared to the AC of an ancient red dragon (the biggest and baddest ancient of Tiamat's chromatic bunch). I may have been slightly generous with magical weapons of late (though I took that and everything else away the last combat they had, so they're not exactly taking it for granted) but I ignored that in the immediate for my calculations.

Base Proficiency Bonus: I would hope that if you are unwise enough to be attacking an ancient dragon, you are attacking said dragon with a weapon with which you are actively proficient. Your proficiency bonus at level 13 is +5. Add that to the roll of a d20, and you need ... well, okay, say an 18 because ties go to defender in my world. (I know this is probably not how this works and it should be "you meet this target number and you hit" ... but let me tell you, my players love it when the same applies to something huge going after them with a mega-attack and it misses because the tie went to them as the defender.)

Ability Modifier: We're also hoping that by level 13, you have an actual ability modifier in the key areas. I mean, you should have had some kind of modifier in whatever your main area of attack is since level 1, and it should have grown from there. By level 13, a player has had up to three opportunities to increase their ability modifiers, because levels 4, 8, and 12 are when you get to pick feats or ability score improvements. So if we're looking at a low average of +3 on your ability score for a +8 to hit total, that takes what you have to roll to hit an ancient red dragon (AC 22, remember) down to 15.

Magical Weapons: I should hope a few people have a magic weapon by level 13. If not, the DM is being a dick. So that's at least +1 to attacks, so that brings the base number you have to roll to hit down to 14.

Feats and Abilities: I'm sure this individual is counting on things like wing attacks to knock people prone. Well, that goes out the window if the party's smart and has a few people who specialise in ranged attacks, who should be staying well out of range of that kind of thing. But even with a DC 25 Dexterity check, those with Dex proficiency don't need to roll a nat 20 to save against it. Yes, the roll is high, but it's not nearly impossible. And by level 13, anyone who does make that save probably won't take damage from it (as my former monk said once, "yay Evasion"; also "yay Shield Master feat"). Either way, the front line melee is holding. If your ancient dragon has blown their legendary actions for the round on Wing Blast and Tail Attack, and can't use Detect that round as a result, a rogue can still go sneaky and get Sneak Attack advantage bonus to attack.

Helpful Spells and Magic: Perhaps this individual is also going, "Well, the Frightful Presence of an ancient red dragon should impose disadvantage on everyone, right?" However, the save is comparatively low at DC 21, and more to the point, if the party has planned to fight this ancient dragon ... by this level, if you have a druid or a cleric, you've hopefully prepped for this by doing a Heroes' Feast before you even started. Even if you didn't have time for that, if you have a Bard, there's Countercharm. So we're taking the imposed disadvantage out of the equation. And if that doesn't come into play (or even if it does) - does your cleric have Guidance? If so, that's the roll of a d4 added to your roll right there. Maybe the cleric cast Guiding Bolt - there's advantage for the next attacker. Do you have a bard? We have two, and while one tends to burn their Inspiration dice for Swords Bard Flourishes, we have a Valour Bard who's very generous with the Inspiration dice, so a bard at that level is giving out d10s to add to attack rolls (or damage rolls, because yay Valour bards).

Now, obviously there are other issues, like lair actions, that kind of thing. I've used those to great effect with adults, never mind ancients. But what I objected to was being told that you need a nat 20 to hit an ancient dragon. Which ... clearly no. And I was generous to this entity and used the ancient red - again, the baddest of the bunch. The DC for the other ancient chromatic dragons' defensife stuff is lower - though the AC stays the same, more or less.

I always feel like a bit of a dilettante when set up against the roll-players - the ones that live and die by the stats. But when I, the DM who measures that shit with their heart, am better at the mathematics behind an ancient dragon fight than someone who is apparently all about the stats ... my world is askew.

#Thess RPs

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