#also a great time to pay attention to your emotional investments. making sure youre putting your eggs in the right baskets too.

[stardaimon]

.

#*looks at current transit chart* #*everything is in taurus with mars and venus in cancer* #*and saturn is in pisces rn* #wow were just so so comfy rn huh #thats fine #i was wondering where all the energy went lmao #now is a good time to participate in your support systems #also a great time to pay attention to your emotional investments. making sure youre putting your eggs in the right baskets too. #i want to start looking at peoples charts again #less focus on humanistic/psychological astrology and moreso incorporating the transiting planets #i used to read charts as a party trick but now its just taxing. mostly because people dont actually want me to help them recognize #reoccurring patterns in their life. they just want me to fan their ego or have me tell them the fun parts #also ive hit a wall and i need to change the way I use astrology I think

[inalignment]

GET OUR SH*T TOGETHER IN 2024

If you are someone like me and you have been slacking in the self department in 2023 join me and we can do it together! <3

I have been drafting up for the last couple of days some tips and tricks that I feel will help me and hopefully you too :)

Firstly I want to say that glowing up or trying to work for the better version of you can be manageable, by starting small and building the certain habits that you feel will suit you, at first it doesn't even have to cost money or a lot of your time, however it does require a lot of discipline and patience with yourself.

Journaling

How does Journaling help?

Journaling helps you understand your emotional reactions more clearly, and puts you in control of your emotions instead of the other way around.

Meaning that through this you will be able to figure out the things you might feel might be harder for you at the beginning, its important not to rush this progress.

2. Routine

I know everybody often talks about this topic, and often times no one talks about how hard the adjusting period actually is, it is hard to change everything or even a small significant thing around you especially when you've been getting used to not having such an active life or perhaps some of us feel additionally on top of our other lifestyle arrangements to add ourselves on top is too much which takes me to my next point which is time blocking.

3. Time Blocking

Time blocking is the process of breaking your schedule down into individual blocks of time  it can be a great way to increase focus and productivity. I usually do this in 3 steps

Choose in advance what to work on. (I usually do it 2 nights or the night before)

Decide when to tackle priority tasks, this can be done in whichever interval you would like, I usually do it hourly.

Block off a chunk of time on your calendar for each task.

Now that we have the 3 basics down, we can create the routine we want to and implement the goals we wish to achieve:

BODY

In 2024 I certainly and Im sure alot of us have certain gym goals that we would like to achieve, this in turn working out has great benefit not only to your body but also your mental health over time. Even 30 minutes a day will make a big impact especially at the beginning if you are someone like me who hates the gym at the beginning but feel great afterwards, try to start small, a small walk, a small 10 minute YouTube video work out and slowly add more time as more weeks go by.

SKINCARE

One of my biggest goal is definitely towards my skin.

Its important to get out of the habit of not washing or being gentle with your skin, whatever you do one thing i will always say to prioritise is moisturising, MOISTURISE, MOISTURISE!

I have had acne and bad skin since I was a teenager no matter what I've put on my face from retinoids, to all these different creams and acids one thing I will ALWAYS say makes all the difference now and even long term is keeping your skin hydrated and wearing sunscreen, you can even get a 2 in 1 moisturiser and sun cream.

CLOTHES

Basics will be the way to go, if you're looking to investing into a new wardrobe in 2024 one thing my mother and over time i have learned that basics will never run out of fashion its the accessories that you'll need to put an extra time and eye on, a bag, jewellery, coats, sunglasses, focus on certain things that will bring out a staple to your outfit.

BONUS

I am of course adding manifestation and the songs, reprograming your thinking into this as a bonus, this is for the ones that want to either practice this or already do BUT I feel that making your affirmation playlist/ song will work better at time rather than the ones on youtube, don't get me wrong subliminal on YT they do work but if you were to make it yourself it has that extra pull. I made my own about a month ago and it has been working great for me.

Additionally I would also like to mention the importance of paying more attention to the songs and the words you listen to, the things you watch on social media, not everything has to be consumed, either a social media cleanse or trying to change your algorithm I feel is a key when it comes to wanting to grow within one self.

GRATITUDE

When you journal, try to leave a section at the end of the day for the things you feel grateful, i promise, try it for a week, it'll change your life.

Andddd that's it for now! If anyone else has any tips and tricks please drop them in the comments! Lets help each other by also reposting this <333

#acne #2024 #makeup #natural hair #glow up #becoming that girl #growth #women #mua #ootdinspiration #fashion #skincare routine #skincare tips #law of attraction #manifestation #gym routine #morning routine #night routine #self improvement #self healing #self care #self gratitude #grattitude

[lorei-writes]

Emoji Prompts: Masamune

Masamune x Reader Fluff

I took the liberty to include a small bonus >:3

Request: @afi-sakamaki Prompt list

Content Warnings: none

❣️ What makes them blush/gets their heart pounding?

‘When it is burning, tell yourself it is cold. When you risk crying, laugh.’ -- or so Masamune was instructed to think to himself, thus adapting to becoming a leader through wearing a fearless and ever-cool mask. To throw him off balance? No, impossible, for even if his inner-self was screaming, he’ll remain composed on the outside...

At least such was the story, for you most definitely have your ways to get your lover to blush, even if just a little bit. Mercifully so, you tend to reserve them for when you both are in private, though.

Your first weapon is a mix of pure eagerness and sincerity. If you’re invested into something, you put your entire heart into it -- and words are no exception to this rule. Telling him you love him? Listing the reasons why? Making him realise why exactly you consider him to be an amazing person? He is not used to such open praise, especially when it comes unprompted. More often than not, it will catch him off-guard.

Your second weapon is at least equally effective, if not more: unrestrained affection. Being bold and unapologetic in your kisses, showing him exactly how you want for him to cherish you, taking the initiative, but also spoiling him a little with soft caresses when he needs them most -- all are his secret weak spots. For one thing, he loves to see just how much you desire him; for another, he still needs to learn that no matter how vulnerable he may be in the moment, your feelings will not change.

[...] “No, I’m not.” [...] “I’m not blushing.” [...] “What do you mean ‘cute’? C’mere, kitten, I’ll show you ‘cute’.” [...] “Mhmm...” “Maybe I should kiss you some more... The face you make in anticipation is the very definition of ���cute’.”

🎁 What gift would they get their s/o?

There is never one thing in particular he’d choose -- it always depends on circumstances. However, there is a certain reasoning behind his choices.

Obviously, Masamune is very observant. He’s also supportive of your wishes and aspirations, and as such, he oftentimes is aware of the issues you may be facing in the moment. Of course, he cannot solve your problems for you, but if there is an item that could perhaps help you, he is fairly likely to gift it to you.

However, that’s not all, for Masamune pays a lot of attention to what you tell him. Knowledge he gained this way is always put to good use, sooner or later.

So, to answer the question -- what would he gift to you? Who knows. It may be new needles if the old ones became dull. It may be the fabric you stared at for quite a while when you were out shopping together. Perhaps it will be dress sewn according to one of your designs? Or maybe something else entirely... Whichever the case, you can be sure, he put quite a lot of thought into it.

“Huh? What is it, kitten?” [...] “Nothing? But I can see you’re hiding something from me. Heh, tell me, what is it?” [...] “A thank-you gift... I see. Thank you, I will take good care of it. Although your smile would have been enough. Maybe we can make up for it later today?”

Bonus: 💋 How do they kiss?

Can some feelings even be explained with words? Surely, one can try, and Masamune certainly did... But kissing seems to be a much simpler option.

He doesn’t hold back his emotion when kissing. What would be the point then? They can be voracious, leaving behind marks on your skin; they can involve teeth and border nibbles and bites; they most definitely can be deep, his arms holding you close to him the entire time. They can last long, the both of you only ever parting to catch your breaths... And yet, they can be short and sweet at times too, barely a peck snuck here and there. Whichever the case, Masamune is a great observer, so as much as he may sweep you away, it is guaranteed he won’t force anything on you -- pleasure has to be mutual, after all. He will test your limits, and he will go just as far as you’ll allow him, so prepare for the challenge.

Try not to lose yourself, or perhaps try to best him -- keeping up with his pace is sure to result in some rather pleasant surprises.

“Kitten, if you keep on making this cute face... I don’t think I will be able to stop myself from kissing you.” [...] “We’ve got until morning? Heh, that’s my bold lass...Hmm...”

#masamune date #ikesen masamune #ikemen sengoku masamune #ikesen #ikemen sengoku #ikemen series

[keatingvad28]

What Everyone Should Know About Managing Their Stock Portfolio

The stock market can be a great way to ease yourself into the world of investments. Many stocks can be bought cheaply and therefore, can be used to help you learn investing without risking everything. Take the time to learn how to invest in the stock market and use the tips from this article to help you along. The time you take to arm yourself with knowledge is an investment that will pay off. Keep in mind that investing should not be treated lightly. Banks treat stock market investing seriously and so should you. Even though one may first think of the stock market as gambling, it is more serious than that. Take the time to understand thoroughly everything about the companies that you are investing. Your investing plan should include a list of reasons for investing. Figuring out why you want to invest, and what you are going to do with the money you earn can help you formulate the rest of your investment plan. It will also help you stay motivated to contribute to your investments. To increase your profits in the stock market, create a sensible plan and avoid picking your stocks emotionally. The benefit of developing a strategy that you can use to guide your stock choices will make it less like that you will make an emotional buy. Acting on a hot tip with out doing research is a dangerous way to invest. If you are new to stock investing, understand that financial success takes some time, possibly several months or a few years. Most often, it takes time for any stock to build in strength and increase in value, and some find the wait unbearable and will even give up. When you get involved with investing, patience is going to have to be something you're good at managing. Use rating systems cautiously in a bear market. These rating systems may be untrustworthy during this time, and you could wind up losing a lot of money if you rely solely on them. Instead of using them as a guide, use them a means of secondary information and factor the rating into your decisions with a grain of salt. It is important to buy a stock when it has fallen and to sell it when it is high. People think that the best time to buy a stock when it is high, and they sell it when it is low. This is how so many people end up losing large amounts of money in the stock market. Do not allow your fears to take over your decision making. Know what blue chips stocks are. These market-leading businesses are known publicly for their safety, quality and ability to manifest revenue throughout times both good and lean. However, this means that their stocks are priced fully and hard to get at a bargain price outside of a serious market downturn. Keep an eye out for them, but do not hold your breath on having them in your portfolio soon. Before you find a platform or broker and start putting money in the market, put your eyes on a book about the stock market. Get a basic comprehension of what it is and how it works. Then move on to more advanced texts and resources. Even if you rely on a financial advisor, read all you can so you can speak his language. Keep up with the latest developments. Find a reputable stock broker. Look for a broker who specializes in the type of stocks you are looking to invest in. A good broker will be easy to contact and treats their customers equally, regardless of how much money they are investing. They can also advise you on your stock purchases, instead of simply placing orders. Be sure you're following the dividend history of companies you own stock in. Hypra need to pay special attention to investing in stable companies which pay reliable dividends. Companies with large profit tend to reinvest in their company or pay dividends to stockholders. The yield of a dividend is easy to understand: The annual dividend figure is simply divided by the current stock price. As you have probably already learned, the stock market can be a great place to become a beginning investors. You don't need massive amounts of money to buy a few stocks to get some experience in the stock market. Apply the advice from this article, to help guide you, as you learn about the stock market.

#Hypra #Hypra Blockchain

[pitchworx]

How To Create A Corporate Video That Customers Want To Watch?

If you're a medium to small-sized business struggling to boost your customer engagement online with a modest marketing/advertising budget, then corporate video is the silver bullet you’re looking for.

Shareable, engaging and dynamic—simply put, corporate videos are a must-have tool to breathe new life into antiquated corporate communication strategies. Hire PitchWorx, a corporate video production in Gurgaon, to promote your brand image via impactful audiovisual content.

Adding short, compelling videos can make viewers 10 times more likely to engage and share your post across social media forums. And the cherry on top is the fact that research projects that video content alone will account for 84% of global Internet traffic in 2020.

Here are a few golden rules to ensure that your corporate video is a head-turner:

1. Create a perfect video storyboard

Storyboarding not only helps organize ideas, but is also a great way to visualize them. Be sure to keep the script concise and solid. Avoid any irrelevant information, cut redundancies and keep the language simple. Next, create a visual outline of the sequence of events. Once you’ve settled on a video format, create an outline and then fill in the details. A corporate video production agency can help you achieve these.

2. Focus on the target audience

No two corporate videos are the same. Aim to create a video that resonates with your customers based on the core values of your company. Some videos aim to sell a product, others may be more about raising brand awareness. Some are designed to get new customers, others to get new employees. Think about what your business has to offer and how it can be translated in a video. How-To videos and explainers can help buyers make more informed purchasing decisions. While, customer testimonials can affirm the value of your product or service.

3. Focus on aesthetics and creativity

Corporate videos are a reflection of your brand personality. Pay special attention to imagery and colours that will help bring your ideas to life. Experiment with live action video shoot, 2D/3D animations, special effects, dynamic transitions can add some pizzazz to your video message. Ensure every frame is eye-catching to build intrigue at first glance.

4. Share your video on the right platforms

Use the right channels to ensure your video reaches as many people as it  possibly can. While corporate videos are a powerful tool to attract new audiences, a video doesn’t just promote itself. Some platforms have built-in tools for promotion, while others need more time and investment to draw more eyeballs. Think about where you’re going to broadcast considering view time; size and sound limitations; communities and budget. To ensure  maximum viewership post on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and promote your video via email newsletter or a press release.

5. Appeal to audience’s emotions

To effectively reach your target audience, make sure the main theme of the video is emotionally appealing. Consumers rarely purchase products based on a purely rational decision. Avoid corporate jargons, facts, figures or making the video too analytical. Focus on consumer needs in a simple intriguing manner to capture your audience’s imagination.

Conclusion

A well-made corporate video, can seamlessly bring together the highly impressionable spoken word and the allure of visual storytelling. Listing your products is informative, but it does not make your audience see how your service or product is right for them. You can greatly improve your website clicks by simply coming up with a great mix of audio and visual elements. If you need help making your corporate video, reach out to PitchWorx, a corporate video production in Gurgaon.

#corporate branding agency in gurgaon #video #production #pitchworx

[salinas96holdt]

What Everyone Should Know About Managing Their Stock Portfolio

The stock market can be a great way to ease yourself into the world of investments. Many stocks can be bought cheaply and therefore, can be used to help you learn investing without risking everything. Take the time to learn how to invest in the stock market and use the tips from this article to help you along. The time you take to arm yourself with knowledge is an investment that will pay off. Keep in mind that investing should not be treated lightly. Banks treat stock market investing seriously and so should you. Even though one may first think of the stock market as gambling, it is more serious than that. Take the time to understand thoroughly everything about the companies that you are investing. Your investing plan should include a list of reasons for investing. Figuring out why you want to invest, and what you are going to do with the money you earn can help you formulate the rest of your investment plan. It will also help you stay motivated to contribute to your investments. To increase your profits in the stock market, create a sensible plan and avoid picking your stocks emotionally. The benefit of developing a strategy that you can use to guide your stock choices will make it less like that you will make an emotional buy. Acting on a hot tip with out doing research is a dangerous way to invest. If you are new to stock investing, understand that financial success takes some time, possibly several months or a few years. Most often, it takes time for any stock to build in strength and increase in value, and some find the wait unbearable and will even give up. When you get involved with investing, patience is going to have to be something you're good at managing. Use rating systems cautiously in a bear market. These rating systems may be untrustworthy during this time, and you could wind up losing a lot of money if you rely solely on them. Instead of using them as a guide, use them a means of secondary information and factor the rating into your decisions with a grain of salt. It is important to buy a stock when it has fallen and to sell it when it is high. People think that the best time to buy a stock when it is high, and they sell it when it is low. This is how so many people end up losing large amounts of money in the stock market. Do not allow your fears to take over your decision making. Know what blue chips stocks are. These market-leading businesses are known publicly for their safety, quality and ability to manifest revenue throughout times both good and lean. However, this means that their stocks are priced fully and hard to get at a bargain price outside of a serious market downturn. Keep an eye out for them, but do not hold your breath on having them in your portfolio soon. Before you find a platform or broker and start putting money in the market, put your eyes on a book about the stock market. Get a basic comprehension of what it is and how it works. Then move on to recover scammed bitcoin advanced texts and resources. Even if you rely on a financial advisor, read all you can so you can speak his language. Keep up with the latest developments. Find a reputable stock broker. Look for a broker who specializes in the type of stocks you are looking to invest in. A good broker will be easy to contact and treats their customers equally, regardless of how much money they are investing. They can also advise you on your stock purchases, instead of simply placing orders. Be sure you're following the dividend history of companies you own stock in. Older investors need to pay special attention to investing in stable companies which pay reliable dividends. Companies with large profit tend to reinvest in their company or pay dividends to stockholders. The yield of a dividend is easy to understand: The annual dividend figure is simply divided by the current stock price. As you have probably already learned, the stock market can be a great place to become a beginning investors. You don't need massive amounts of money to buy a few stocks to get some experience in the stock market. Apply the advice from this article, to help guide you, as you learn about the stock market.

#scam help

[cash81salisbury]

Article Marketing Tips That You Need To Know

One popular way to promote services and products is to submit articles to online directories. The best part is you can earn commissions for every product that is purchased through a link you provide. This article contains many suggestions on how to effectively utilize marketing on your website. When writing an article to promote your site, you need to ensure that the content is entertaining to a reader. Write your articles in a friendly and informal style. Create a personable writing style, even if the topic you are writing on is boring. Don't build a wedge between your readers and your writing by talking above them and boring them. Don't pack too much into the emails you send out. There are best cryptocurrencies against spam, and people don't like it, so be sure that your readers know that they can get relevant content from you that won't be spammy in nature. If you spam people, you will lose customers. Make sure that the first paragraph in your article is very well-written. Readers and search engines alike believe that the first paragraph of your article is the most important one. Putting the most useful information in this area is the best way to hold an audience's attention. Use that information as a prelude to denser content in the rest of the article. Keep them interested in reading more. It's a good idea to submit many articles. If blogging is your primary marketing method, then pay attention to how often you post articles. If you want to promote a single keyword, you must submit lots of articles that contain it. Most keywords are now highly competitive. To counter this, you must provide at a minimum five articles to various directories and at least ten to different public blog networks. If you desire a high rank, you should post at least 50 times in blogs. Headlines are important to article writing. Interesting, unique headlines are more likely to grab people's attention than dull ones. Brainstorm a bit before settling for a headline. Ask others for input on several possible headlines and then pick the one that gets the best response. Try to reduce the uninteresting articles that you write as the year goes on. invest in cryptocurrencies will be able to feel your emotion through your writing. Disinterest can easily permeate your content, and become apparent to readers. Boring topics won't be very useful for marketing purposes, as compared to a legitimately interesting topic. It is important to write in your native language. If you are not completely fluent and can be mistaken for a native speaker, you should not try to market to this different audience. You can easily slaughter the grammar and sentence structures of the language. Your context will also be different, so this can confuse readers. Certain sites will pay you a small fee every time someone clicks on or views your article. With all the different choices, you should have no problem making money writing articles online. It can become very lucrative. You want to hook your readers right from the beginning. Have a great opening to anything you publish on the internet. Use whatever means you can to attract the attention of readers and keep them there reading. The opening is what will draw in your readers. best crypto to invest means a reader who sticks around and clicks into your website, while a poor opening means a visitor who just leaves. Develop a distinctive writing voice and use it when writing content for youself. Avoid needlessly filling your writing with big words in an effort to sound professional. Your readers will appreciate the article you write whether beginner or advanced because they may be in the same place you are. Bullet lists are a great way to include large amounts of information quickly. Varying sentence length is important to good writing, and a string of short sentences can bore readers. If you separate your ideas into a bullet list, though, you add novelty by varying the article's structure. This is a good way to keep readers interested. Your articles can target specific products, reaching an audience that is looking for more information in this category. You'll also have the opportunity to earn money through commissions if viewers become buyers after reading your article marketing piece. Use the tips in this article to be successful with article marketing.

#i

[tarotnoob]

PAC: Your Career Path

1: Magician

2: Star

3. World

Pile 1

Your strengths: So, your core universal strengths are that you have integrity and you tend to want to help those in need. These are the qualities that could be applied to a career that would be an ideal match for you. You aren't in it for the money necessarily, you're in it for the passion or desire to help others or create something of value. This would make you a great candidate for careers that involve social equality, nursing, artists, social worker, teachers, caregivers, etc...

How to apply your strengths: Make time for self love; Attend to the details: Virgo to Libra season may be an important time in regard to career, especially if you're in the process of looking for a job, it would also signify going back to school for the fall semester. These seem to be closely tied to your obstacle cards. Before you can do this type of work without burning yourself, you have to acknowledge and work on some personal things, such as learning boundaries and learning to say no. With the "prostitute" card and doing things without expectation of rewards - this makes it seem you're a contender for having people walk all over you. So, when you go into a field where there's high emotional investment that could drain you, or you needing to help a lot of people at once, you have to make sure that you 1. have boundaries and can say no 2. are doing what you do for your own desire/sake and not just trying to make others happy

So, when you are ready to go out there into a career with these skills, you won't have as many issues in an emotionally high-maintenance or driven career. An example being, okay you want to help out in other countries, but you end up seeing tons of horrible things and sleep about 4 hours a night. It's great that you want to help people and are putting it into action BUT you also have to put yourself first before you can help others - and that's okay!

Short-term/career start: Ace of cups; luck. There seems to be a deeply (pure) emotional component or creative element that starts your career off. At the start of your career, you may receive an offer out of the blue just by being at the right place at the right time. It also may be that some of you are particularly drawn to working with animals, especially veterinarians or even biologists, etc... I think this is another sign that whatever work you're drawn to requires a strong emotional investment on your part.

Long-term career: Knight of Wands, Queen of Pentacles, Layers. Layers is a card that also mentions paying attention to details, but what this card brings to long-term is that the long-term goals or journey of your career may be more than you expected at the start. As the cards were already pointing to, you might have picked a field out of "pure" intentions or even simple ones, but as you progress in your career, you find it's a lot more difficult or more emotionally impactful than you thought, that your idea of what you were meant to do is going to be... more complicated in some way. I do see you as being very self-sufficient, creative, capable. There's the potential for travel in this job, or still being highly creative (but you're making money doing it). It feels like someone who might have multiple responsibilities. You could be in charge of others and have to delegate or lead them, you could have expanded your network, you could be in charge of communicating with a lot of people, you could be juggling multiple tasks that are quite intricate and complex. It feels like you're running this way and that. It might even be that people give you a lot of tasks because you're so reliable (or because you always say yes?). But, from where you begin to where you end up, it goes from like 0 to 80... it could be, too, that you start in one area of a field and end up somewhere else, as in start at the bottom and move more into a management position.

Potential obstacles: 8 of swords, 10 of cups R, Invitation. As was mentioned, 8 of swords is a lot about mental traps... negative thinking or... having limiting beliefs, a sense of being trapped. I should point out, too, that when I was shuffling for pile one I felt levels of frustration that were really annoying. So, part of your 8 of swords journey might be that frustration with progress or the people around you. 10 of cups is that emotional fulfillment/joy/happiness. I think this harkens back to the allowing too many people to take advantage of your high work ethic and good heart. People will constantly be asking you to do stuff or asking for your help, and you may struggle to say no or feel trapped in this type of responsibility. For some of you, it's going to be that your family doesn't approve of your career choice for whatever reason and so you feel stuck. There may be times you doubt whether this is your path or think it's so hard and draining. People think you're constantly "open" and will ask you for a lot - so again you really need to make sure you know how to create boundaries. You, even at a demanding job, have the right to assert boundaries! I think you're a good person who will try to do a lot to help others, and it may not always be appreciated or you may get taken advantage of, or you may try to do more than you're capable because it seems the "right" thing to do, but... well, that's not okay. So, just make sure you're aware of this before you dive in!

---

Pile 2

Strengths: Goddess/Advocate. So, in terms of universal core strengths, you seem to have a lot of divine feminine powers or traits and then also a desire to advocate for others, perhaps particularly around social justice. This doesn't mean this is the career you go into BUT these are your "universe-given" soul trait strengths. I feel like this could be any career in which there's a level of patience, nurturing, quiet but strong guidance, leading people in a particular direction that could empower them, whether it's through teaching them things or acting as a role model through your actions. But there's a very soft component here to your energy. It wouldn't be someone who jumps blindly into a riot or something, but would be more calm or strategic or empathetic in how they help others. Careers that come to mind are teachers, scientists, business or inventors who create things that HELP others in need or empower others to live their best life. All types of social or psychological jobs, politics, etc...

How to apply these strengths: Be proud of yourself. So, be true to who you are, be your authentic self, believe in who you are, know you're worth. Taurus energy could suggest to stick to what you believe in or know is right. Also, that you deserve good things and a good life. Don't compare yourself to others; don't do something one way because others have done it that way - do it the way you feel is right for you because probably your choices and how you make them with confidence are going to affect others in a positive way, too! You can lead by example!

Short-term/start of career: 7 of pentacles, ascension, patience, agreement. So, a double point to having patience or to investing in something for the long-term. Maybe what you want to go into is going to require more years than the average degree, more tests, more skills that have to be learned. If you want to be on a higher level in your job, it does seem like extra training or learning is required, as if there are multiple steps to the job. Agreement may actually be "commitment" so some of you may want to be professors or doctors or get multiple degrees, lawyers, psychologists, etc... but the profession seems to have some type of ladder toward success, but it will take time and investing your time (into your self/skills) before you achieve a higher level in that field. It may definitely point to folks going into fields where law is involved or having to work closely with others in ways where you must find a consensus or agreement - likely you won't be just an individual/freelance type, you'll probably often be working as a team or having to communicate with others, having to make deals, trying to keep things fair and equal.

Long-term: Wheel of Fortune, King of Pentacles, Ask. This seems to repeat the short-term, in that there's continuing expansion of your knowledge or education, in particular to a job or some type of material skills. I think you've also acquired enough education/skills at this point that people are coming to you for answers on how to do things. Your connections regarding this job have also expanded, so have responsibilities. What you have been doing has started impacting the world for the better. Things in your career are changing for the better. You are definitely beginning to impart the things you've learned on others but also making physical changes in the world. As in, you are seeing the effects of your life of work. You seem very well respected. You may even travel around to give lectures or do research or receive education abroad. But you seem to be someone well respected in your field. Your position will probably be more fixed at present and there won't be a lot of disruptive, unexpected changes unless it's for the better. I think also at this point you're very spiritually aligned with your purpose. As in your career will suit your spiritual strengths and your reason you're on this planet!

Potential career obstacles: 8 of cups, listen. Before 8 of cups fell out there were like four and I don't remember them except 10 of swords, 8 of swords, page of wands... and I don't know. So, there is a sense of a point where you might have to leave something behind that you've outgrown. This could be changing a job or going abroad for education. What listen is about is making sure your intuition is paying attention to signs from the universe or patterns in life. When you start noticing a pattern... and it feels like you're stuck... or if you've reached a point in a position or in learning a new subject... and you've learned everything you can there, making sure you realize when it's time to move on. This could apply to anything in life though whether it's career or personal... but there will come a time when something needs to end, you feel stuck or trapped, there's a new journey to be had that's more fulfilling. When your gut is telling you it's time to move on and move forward, listen to it!

---

Pile 3

Strengths: Teacher/Lover. Well, that makes it easy. Definitely a good pile for teachers of any sort, but this is also about having the ability or desire to communicate about a passion you love/are devoted to. So, this could include artists, writers, journalists, researchers, scientists, people interested in nature/environment - spreading information about a thing you are passionate in (in any way/form)

How to apply those strengths in your career: Make Time for Self-Love, Trust All Will Be Well. There may be some who were also drawn to Pile 1, so if so, check that out. Because Virgo-Libra may be significant in terms of signs or timing for you. As I pointed out in Pile 1, it might have to do with studies beginning in the fall, but it could be the start of a job, as well. Self-Love will be an important component in your career, relating to confidence, worth, or boundaries. Also, keeping a positive mindset, being patient while your career unfolds or goals manifest, that divine timing may have something to do with your career and then while you're waiting for a certain goal, keep yourself distracted by helping others in some way to build up karma. Just having and keeping the faith, especially when you start new phases in your career - but I get the feeling that there won't be some rapid ascension to success. It may be... a more long and winding progression from when you start or discover what you want to achieve long-term. I feel like along the route, you may have side jobs or side hustles or projects to work on before you... really get into the groove of the most ideal career or job for you.

Short-term/start of career: Your first offer may be something you take because of the money you're offered more than anything, which could be just fine, no worries. Your first job may also offer a sense of financial independence you haven't experienced before. Your first job offer might feel like it came out of nowhere, as well. It might be that your first job will give you a better idea of what you want or don't want to do in a career, but it does seem that you learn something important that also gives you a feeling of independence or empowerment. There could be an element of luck involved in how you start your career or receive an offer; focus and determination, bold action may be needed to get in to where you want to go.

Long-term: Queen of Cups clarified by Chariot, Magic, Unplugged, Survival. Lots of nature imagery for those who really are interested in nature/environmental jobs. So, there seems to be something here about being very focused and in control, especially when it comes to emotions or being very skilled at using your intuition when it comes to career judgments or decisions. There are 3 cards here that indicate to me about moon/spirituality here, so perhaps there's a spiritual element to your work or your empathy/intuition are big players later on in your career. It's like you've honed your intuition to a fine point, you're able to read people, you seem to have developed strong boundaries. Life experiences have taught you a lot, maybe even how to survive or discern when it comes to people or what you want. There's also an element of "detachment" of... being off the grid... maybe your career in the later years is unusual or a niche but you seem to be extremely reliable or experienced and focused and disciplined. You are strong but empathetic, you'd be a compassionate leader, you seem ambitious and driven to make some type of difference, but it's related to... your heart or emotions or a passion project. It could even be a leader in a creative field, but you are respected for your work/talent but also for your... sense or being a good person or having good instincts. I definitely see having learned things from hard times that come into play later on. But maybe it brought you some type of clarity about the world?

Potential obstacles: 9 of swords, Moon (R?), undulation (R?) - there's some anxiety or fear around a lack of clarity or just double the anxiety or a sense of feeling stuck, uncertain. Life or career may experience some highs and lows that are significant and mess with your self worth or confidence... it could be a fear of never achieving what you want or a lot of self doubt about you, the world, your career, things you were meant to do... maybe that's why the self love card came out and all will be well because you worry so much about what's going to happen and are really hard on yourself. I mean it's easy to say "just keep a positive mindset" but when you have ups and downs... sometimes you go: is it ever going to work out? So, yeah this will be part of your journey but it seems to be... well I won't say necessary, but it leads to you being highly empathetic toward others, to maybe being driven to help others because of your own struggles, to a tendency to be strong for other's sake as opposed to for your own... you may be more focused on others' needs wants than your own (like pile 1 again). I do think at the start or middle I should say - maybe there's a lack of focus or something that changes/altars your career path in some way... but at the end... I guess in my mind I'm imagining someone with strong spiritual/emotional instincts and has now taken a path more toward that and probably quite different than where they started? Maybe at first, you're more moved by freedom or money but then you go on this journey to discover what really makes you happy or what you really would prefer to do... but that could be for specific folks. I do see a high amount of... emotional/spiritual uncertainty at some point... but it's... mostly coming from self-doubt or 8 of swords type limiting beliefs... but you have to keep in mind your potential is queen of cups/chariot and that you've been through a lot, are very strong, very capable, and able to help people with your psychic or mental or emotional sense... at the end, again, a very high level of discernment and better boundaries and more in touch with who you are and less comparing yourself to others... it's like either it's necessary or it's how you end up but... you've unplugged from social media/common social... constructs.... you've risen above that... so I can't say like your path will be easy (for some of you) because sure some of you may be successful at start but there's def a feel of... rising to a whole new spiritual level by the end... that... is because of... hard experiences or lessons and... going into the spiritual side of life. Being more open to universal theories/spiritual law.... but yeah in general there's also a lot of moon/cancer/pisces/water energy here... but sure also libra/virgo. also i feel like a lot of you are very unique in the way you think or view things, even when you're young. granted if you're very young and reading this, there's a lot of life for you to live with ups and downs... but that may always be because you tend to think outside of the box and have strong principles... being an independent thinker can sometimes... put you on the outskirts of stuff or make things difficult... but i mean we all were made the way we are for a reason... so just make sure you learn all the self-love tools necessary to protect yourself along the way so not too much gets you down!

#tarot #pick a card #career #tarot reading #work #pick a pile #general reading #spirituality #astrology #free tarot #tarotcommunity #daily tarot

[fenristheorem]

Hi! First of all, I just wanted to say that I fell in love with your writing and the way you analyze the characters. Now, there is something that has been on my mind for some time, since I found out that Huang Hua can feel other people's feelings, I just imagine that she found out how Lance started to develop feelings for the Guardian. The secret looks he gives her, the restlessness he feels when she enters.

Hello! Thank you so much for the compliment! ❤

The request wasn’t exactly formatted in the way of the typical ask, so I wasn’t exactly sure if you were requesting this as a hc / scenario or just commenting for a discussion, but since my page is primarily writing requests I can only assume it’s a request lol.

I’m not entirely sure what Huang Hua’s special power exactly is to be honest. Some people say it’s the ability to read souls, or sort of read minds, or emotions, things along those lines. I have a general idea that she can read someone’s inner heart, energy/aura, and true intentions, which sort of combines many of those ideas as well as your ideas in the request, so I’ll be writing with that in mind. I hope you don’t mind! It won’t really have much of a difference on how I write this as the general idea (how it’s used) is the same.

~ Under the cut ~

Huang Hua’s observations as Lance falls in love with Guardienne:

Huang Hua, of course, observed Lance during his years of change at the guard. He certainly did become someone different; wiser, more resilient, more composed. She knew him once before his years of being Ashkore, but if asked, she would say that she would like this new Lance better. His actions have humbled him and made him wiser, and he has a more realistic perspective on life now. She’s not pleased with what he’s done in the past, but she realizes that sometimes someone can be their own worst enemy, and if they rise above that and don’t give in to living their life in self-pity, they can become even greater than they once were and provide greater things than they once could have. It seems like this was one of those cases, so instead of holding his past against him, Huang Hua lets him thrive in his new era and provide what he can for the guard.

However, there was one thing that always bothered Huang Hua about Lance: it was nothing but work with him.

Even prior to being Ashkore, Lance spent very little time to himself. He would take care of himself, of course, but aside from the occasional friends or acquaintances, or the occasional one night stands (I don’t think it’s confirmed that Lance had a lot of one night stands, but looking at Valk’s history we can say it’s probably true), he didn’t really spend much time to himself.

This still holds true in this new era, but Huang Hua understands his reasoning better. Even so, everyone needs a bit of a break sometimes; a time to wind down and de-stress. She’s mentioned this once or twice to him when he seems to be carrying the weight of the guard on his back, and he says he’ll keep it in mind... but never really does anything different.

This changes when Guardienne emerges from the crystal.

Immediately, Huang Hua picks up that Lance is high strung and stressed - although he hides it very well (after all, a soldier shouldn’t be easily visibly stressed out right?) - at her presence... but there’s something else, too. Something... deeper. Admiration? Respect? ... Fear?

And even deeper than that seems to be some other sort of distress... Longing?

This genuinely shocks Huang Hua.

Lance, the destroyer of Eldarya, is scared of Guardienne? Sure she saved the world and put up a good fight, but physically she’s completely out of shape now! A great warrior like him has nothing to fear now!

Except, she’s aware that Lance knows the art of warfare much better than her, and he knows personal things about himself that she doesn’t know, even despite her abilities, so perhaps there’s something she’s overlooking or can’t see.

As leader of the guard - with the ability to learn about some of the most private areas of someone’s life by simply wishing to know - she’s basically promised herself to not use her ability unless necessary.

But Lance being terrified of Guardienne is a valid call for her to use this ability to monitor him, right?

Huang Hua has roughly mastered the art of balancing work and her personal life, so she carries on day to day life with little issues relating to this. She knows how to not let this effect the guard, and knows how to hide it so well that nobody would know that anything is going on, so she allows herself to indulge in the sudden mystery that is Lance and his emotions.

And then she realizes just how deeply Lance feels emotions, and just how influential they can be, and it nearly takes her breath away.

All of the emotions flooding through him at once; the regret, shame, sorrow, anger, and even fear, all have a special place in him. They’re always so consistent, and so overwhelming. For a while, Huang Hua wonders if it’s these emotions that drive him in general.

Yes, this is not the first time she's looked into his inner being to know him better - after all, looking into him is how she knew it was safe to release him back into the guard to train new recruits - but this is the first time since then that she's bothered to truly observe him again, and she's shocked by what is revealed. Huang Hua did not know that Lance still carried the burden of his past actions so heavily upon his heart.

But every once in a while, when Lance and Guardienne aren’t feuding with each other, Huang Hua sees the dark cloud of those horrific emotions clear away, and something... wonderful happens.

Lance holds a tender spot in his heart for Guardienne.

Beyond all of that fear, and anger, and sorrow for everything that’s happened to him and because of him - including what Guardienne went through - is a soft spot for the woman he hurt most.

Huang Hua nearly gets whiplash from the sudden realization.

And then she gets curious, perhaps more curious than she should have been.

How long has that been going on for? Did he feel this way before the final war? Is this another reason why he kidnapped her and ran to Memoria? ... Would he have even have been able to feel this way back then?

Huang Hua has never been more interested in someone else’s relationship drama.

She takes to observing his actions over time, trying to decipher what he does for what reasons, and then finds that when he’s not doing things out of responsibility, he tries to make things a bit easier for Guardienne. He keeps his distance, sure, but if there’s anything subtle that he can do behind the scenes to help her, he typically does so.

On occasion - when Guardienne isn’t paying attention to him - he’ll observe her as Huang Hua observes him. She can’t read his thoughts, but she can at least guess what’s going through his mind by the emotions that flood through him, and a common emotion she’s picked up on is cautious hope. 

Hope for what? That Guardienne will manage to fix a future mistake he fears making on accident? That she’ll someday forgive him, or move past looking at him and always seeing his past actions? That perhaps someday they can actually be close with each other?

As much as Huang Hua understands why Guardienne is so persistent on being cautious about Lance, she can’t help but hope that one day soon she may relax around him and trust him, perhaps even grow closer than just co-workers or friends.

After all, the savior of Eldarya and destroyer of Eldarya in love? That’s a story of impossible odds, tragic stories, and bending the world’s rules that people write legends and stories about! But it’s also a symbol of hope and faith; that if Eldarya’s savior can one day look past the actions of Eldarya’s destroyer and fall in love with him, then who’s to say that anything is in vain? Who’s to say that moving forward alongside one’s past enemy - despite their past wars - is a fate hopeless and filled with inevitable hurt? Their story could be passed down through legends, and teach important stories to future generations. Among that, she would be a good influence on him! She knows how to relax and spend time with friends, and knows how to stand up and fight and hope for the best even in the darkest times. If the sky were to fall in their future, and their loyalty lie with each other, Guardienne’s hope and faith could be the sole driving force for Lance to perform wonderful miracles. He has the strength, stubbornness, and resources to do so, he just needs the faith.

And then Huang Hua realizes he does have hope and faith... but it’s invested in her.

Guardienne - just like for everyone else - is a representation of hope, but in different ways for Lance than with everyone else. He’s aware of the possibility that she may never be able to see past his former actions but he still works hard regardless, and not to impress her or make anything up, but because he knows that that’s what she would want from him, even if she has her doubts about him.

The Phoenix begins to see a side of the Dragon that she’s never seen before, and she doesn’t know if she approves or disapproves.

Lance begins to work even harder in Guardienne’s presence, and this concerns Huang Hua for a while. He works himself hard enough, how is it possible that he can still give more? Doesn’t he ever get stressed? Will this somehow kill him from overworking? And yet, as she continues to observe him, he still manages himself just fine, and now he’s even more driven to protect Eldarya. 

These observations carry on for a long time, and as time continues on, Lance manages to sort out his emotions a bit more, identifying exactly how he feels about Guardienne and learning exactly what pleases her. He does his best to provide what he can for Guardienne, in all aspects of life. However, Huang Hua notices that Lance continues to keep a distance from the Aengel.

This makes her wonder; why is he being so cautious with her? Surely they’ve calmed down to each other by now?

But a small look at how Guardienne is feeling makes her realize why Lance is still keeping away from her; she’s still scared of him, and Lance can sense this.

The Phoenix gains a deeper sense of respect for Lance.

He loves Guardienne, and craves to be closer to her, but notices subtle gestures that she may not even know she does that tell him she still can’t fully accept being around him. Despite his want to be closer, he respects her need for space, and Huang Hua has a feeling that he would keep doing that for the rest of his life if that’s what Guardienne needed. However, even while knowing that she can’t stand to be around him, he still works hard with her in mind.

His loyalty to a woman who can barely stand him nearly makes Huang Hua swoon. This is not a common thing with people, others rarely have this deep of a sense of loyalty to one person - especially someone they hurt who keeps pushing them away; they usually just split up in time - but Lance is firm in his loyalty and persistence for Guardienne.

And then Huang Hua starts to catch him displaying subtle physical signs of his interest. Perhaps he’s decided it’s time to push the boundary? Was he really willing to take the risk of upsetting her?

His eyes will linger on her, no matter where they are, only looking away when he feels as though he’s at risk of being caught. He’ll try and stay physically close to Guardienne when he can, standing close to her side, and on occasion when he leads her somewhere he’ll touch her gently, even if for a moment. He’ll place his hand on her back or shoulder for a few heartbeats, guiding her in the direction they need to head in, and he’ll take her arm softly when he pulls her aside from somewhere to talk to her. Guardienne’s reaction really depends on her mood. If she’s irritated or is feeling threatened, Huang Hua observed, she’ll pull away from him, possibly even snapping back with a blatant statement of “don’t touch me!”. Lance remains calm and collected, but Huang Hua is aware of the jolt of pain that thunders through him when she rejects him, as that same jolt ripples through her as she observes his emotions. However, he never holds it against her, and almost seems to be expecting this sometimes.

On the other hand, every once in a while when Guardienne is having a good moment where she seems to be more trusting of Lance, she’ll allow him to touch her for longer, and Huang Hua could swear she could pick up some sort of... longing, or perhaps disappointment, from her when he pulls away.

And during these times, there’s something that happens between them when they touch. A tension seems to crackle in the air, so thick that Huang Hua is sure that they can see it, and is shocked that no one else can see it. But how could they? No one else has her powers.

This tension is what sparks Huang Hua to become truly invested in their possible relationship. Most of the time Lance and Guardienne don’t seem to know what to make of their relationship, but Huang Hua knows there’s something there that can’t be ignored. Sometimes she finds herself thinking to Guardienne “Oh, kiss him you fool!” when Lance is being particularly tender with her, laying all his tragic emotions bare in front of her as they talk about a harsh topic for him, or when he tells her that he’s glad she talks about important things with him every once in a while, even if it is hard for him. Guardienne didn’t seem to realize that this wasn’t a common thing with Lance; he wouldn’t lie about his emotions, but he was very evasive with talking about his past. To get him to talk openly about his past and have him openly admit his regrets was a rare sight - not because he didn’t like to admit his regrets, but because he felt it wasn’t relevant anymore. It was seven years ago, and he had clearly changed since. He regretted his actions, he wished it never turned out this way, he tries to keep it from repeating in the future; what more needed to be said about the subject?

In this time, Huang Hua begins to realize just how deep his emotions for her run.

Lance had a respect for Guardienne, for every part of her, even when she screwed up a bit or caused a bit of chaos, even if he was angry with her. He admired her stubbornness and diligence at defending the guard and Eldarya, and her optimism even in the darkest hours always had a tendency to shake him to his core and snap some sense back into him. Huang Hua began to notice that his emotions on him pursuing her reflected her emotions during dark hours of their story; it wasn’t over until it was over, and as long as there was a possibility that something could change for the better, that possibility should be sought after.

The Phoenix begins to understand why Miiko once had such intense feelings for the Ice Dragon. Even though so many things have happened to him and because of him, he refuses to be held back or muted. He still allows himself to be who he is at heart, and doesn’t care if others like his personality or not. He had confidence in himself, even after the terrible things he’s done. Lance knew very well the extent of his abilities, and was aware that the most important thing about those abilities were how they were used. He had committed atrocities, sure, but he was confident in himself now because he knows he’s not using his strengths for wrong anymore. He has chosen to fight for good, he can see clearly now, and his loyalties lie with the guard, and, overall, with Guardienne.

However, Huang Hua picks up another emotion as she observes Lance over time, and she’s unsure of if it comes from him, or from herself because of what's beginning to be revealed to her about him.

Some sort of hollow loneliness pierces her chest every once in a while as she watches him. He doesn’t have close friends, he doesn’t pursue any other women, and he doesn’t allow himself much time to relax. Lance is a ghost that drifts around the guard, searching for some true place not within the responsibilities, but within the people he protects.

His past makes him hard to relate to, his perception vastly differs from most faeries, and his emotions are a deep well of running water, constantly shifting and redesigning who he is in any given moment, and yet he strives to find his own place within the guard, not as the Leader of Obsidian, but as Lance; the Ice Dragon, the man, the deep ocean of emotions and history who may very well never find a home among a people he can truly call his. Still he remains the same person inside, but always he is adjusting for the outside world, and he had yet to find someone who would risk unraveling his constant adapting to truly know the man underneath.

But everyday he rises to that challenge, brushing off the echoing thought that perhaps he doesn’t belong among these people - that perhaps he may never find peace here at the guard - because he knows he’s best fit for this responsibility. He can protect these faeries better than anyone else could, and his morals lie first with that, and second with his own fantasies.

Even so, Huang Hua doesn’t miss the hollow echo in Lance’s soul as he watches the guard celebrate, or witnesses close friends embrace each other and confide in each other, and she realizes that Lance doesn’t truly feel at peace here, not at all - not among the people who he’s betrayed and become an outcast from. He feels no peace at all among these people, they are not his people... but perhaps, when he looks at her - Guardienne - within her hope he finds peace, and someday, perhaps, he may find peace, a home, within her arms. 

Was it possible that, even as Ashkore, he felt he felt he could find solace within her? Some opening within the dark clouds that overshadowed his existence for him to strive towards?

Did Lance believe that Guardienne made him a better man, even more so than he already is?

By mere chance Huang Hua managed to piece together everything she knew of Lance and his relationship to Guardienne, and she came to realize that there was something between them for a long time. It was deep, and complicated, and was never able to be pursued until now. The Dragon’s emotions for Guardienne ran deeper than any of Eldarya’s oceans, farther than the furthest mapped points, and was purer than even the Aengel’s powers. 

Lance was truly in love with her. Not her powers, not her history, he fell in love with a woman who moved something within him that no one has ever touched before.

The Phoenix almost begins to feel guilty over time.

There was something there for a long time. Did Guardienne know this? Did she need a wake up call in order to realize what was happening before her? Was Huang Hua supposed to intervene and help get their relationship going?

If only she knew...

I shouldn’t interfere with this, Lance would feel violated and Guardienne wouldn’t trust me ever again...

But isn’t it a shame to let them possibly waste their life away not telling each other how they feel, or giving this a chance?

Stress eventually invades Huang Hua throughout her days, even when she's not around Lance and Guardienne. The Dragon and the Aengel, in time, grow ever closer, ever more comfortable with each other, and may even be expressing signs of interest for each other! But no one is doing anything about it!

But no one can see the deep roots of their feelings like Huang Hua can, and she's nearly certain that Lance and Guardienne will continue to tip toe around each other in a fearful dance of figuring out where they fit into each other's lives, never daring to test deeper waters in fear of hurting the other and sparking off another bout of painful emotions that may haunt them, and the guard, for years.

It's very possible that their relationship could change the guard and Eldarya - positively - forever, so doesn't this give Huang Hua some right to try and push them together? But romantic relationships are so personal, especially ones as special as this. A unique relationship like theirs shouldn't be interfered with, it will bloom in time if given the right opportunity... but what if Huang Hua can create the right opportunity!? But that's still interfering in their relationship!

Without even knowing, the emotional toll of observing and pondering over Lance and Guardienne's relationship does begin to take effect on her, and Huang Hua's own partner, Ewelein, is the first to notice and call it out.

The leader of the guard then needed to decide if she was willing to indulge her partner, someone completely unrelated to the matter, in her almost stalker-like tendencies of observing the simmering relationship between the guard's resident Dragon and Aengel.

Eventually she breaks and admits to the Elf that she's been observing the inner worlds of Lance and Guardienne as of late, and has realized just how much of a mistake and a blessing it's been.

The first thing Ewelein jumps to is the fact that it's an invasion of privacy, something that - of everyone in the guard - the leader especially should not be partaking in. Huang Hua doesn't really fight back on that idea; she knows it was inappropriate, she should have just approached Lance and asked if he was alright.

"But of course he would say that he's alright! Maybe a bit unsettled, but come on, at the end of the day nothing shakes him for long, and to him that translates to he's alright!"

Eventually its clear to Ewelein that regardless of how Huang Hua came to be in this position, she's trapped in it now, and feels very passionately about the possible romance brewing within the guard, to the point where it truly is stressing her in possibly unhealthy ways.

Ewelein does her best to comfort Huang Hua as she spills everything that's been revealed to her, starting from the beginning of when Lance and Guardienne were still fearful of each other, to the most current moments of when they've been relying on each other, talking civilly, and even possibly shyly flirting. The Elf is quiet and attentive all throughout, knowing that - even as she's surprised in many ways as well by the things time has revealed about Lance and Guardienne - her shock and emotions couldn't begin to rival what Huang Hua has been feeling for the past endless days that she's been observing them.

“I can’t believe it! This is love that stories are written about, that changes worlds and changes people. And he’s hiding it so easily!”

"But would it be right of you to intervene? This is their story, not yours."

"I know, but couldn't this be good for the guard, too? And possibly even Eldarya? And as the leader of the guard, shouldn't I try and do what I think could benefit us?"

"You first started observing Lance under the excuse that it was for professional reasons, to make sure that he was alright to remain in power and carry out his responsibilities despite her presence, but we both know you did it for selfish reasons, too. You were curious as to why Lance felt what he did about her, and now you have your answer. However, you kept observing them after that, even going as far as reading into Guardienne's responses to Lance. Is that professional at all? And instead of invading her privacy, don't you think she would have told you the truth of her fearful emotions for Lance if you asked her heart to heart?"

Huang Hua lowered her head and avoided her gaze.

"You've gotten your professional answers and now you've seen into a very private portion of two people's lives. None of this is professional anymore, so you can't act professionally on it. You need to treat this as what it is; intimate, personal, and something that should be respected, not exploited. I know it would make sense to try and get this to help the guard, but really, there is no guarantee of that. What if they got together and then broke up a while after? What would the message be then, especially if it were known that you set them up together? My advice is to stay back and let this develop in time. Sometimes when I'm with a patient there is nothing I can do for them, sometimes leaving the body alone to heal itself is the best thing to do. I think this is a case where that rule should be applied. The best thing you can do is let them figure out their relationship in time. You can support them, but do not influence them."

Huang Hua knows Ewelein is right, and forever appreciates her partner listening to her thoughts. If Lance and Guardienne's relationship were to be true, they needed to figure out what they meant to each other in their own time.

So Huang Hua follows the Elf's advice. She bites her tongue and hides the fact that she’s witnessed almost every moment of him falling in love with Guardienne, vigilantly awaiting the day where Lance decided to emerge from the dark and shake the guard’s history for a second time.

Goodness this took a while to write, but I'm very pleased with the results! I think I got a good idea of Huang Hua's reaction and how her reaction developed in time in response to Lance and Guardienne growing closer, especially since I don't think her reaction would begin and end within one day of realizing what was going on.

Thanks for asking!

Have a request? Ask them here!

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#eldarya #eldarya ane #eldarya lance #eldarya huang hua #eldarya lance ane #eldarya lance headcanons #fenristheorem writing #askfenris

[victorianpining]

Hi!! To preface, this is /not/ intended to be rude in any way, feel free to disagree or ignore if you want. Just wanted to say, TAB said the line about it seeming fake because it is, then TFP happened in such a similar wild dream-sequence-esque way, and as you keep saying, there are so many things that could be them specifically mocking us- or, more likely imo, just them continuing to use these symbols and themes we picked up on- and most importantly, no one has said the show is over (on the contrary, mofftiss have specifically said it isn’t, a bunch of times). So why not assume tjlc is on track? Also, have you read amy’s metas? They help explain the Why. (Just thought I’d suggest cuz the continuing meta and theorizing is smth that brings me joy so i thought maybe you’d like it too! Understandable if you’d rather wait and see tho, and sorry if you’ve already essentially answered this and i just haven’t seen it) (also you’re awesome btw)

Not rude at all! To answer your question, I guess self preservation. Having that bad of a reaction to this once and regretting putting myself into that position to begin with, I don't think I'm ever going to fully be signed on like I was then.

Do I think it's possible that this stuff is meant to point at a plan?

Yes.

And that's more than I ever thought I would say. I see what you all are seeing. I don't think you're crazy for seeing it, I think it's within the realm of possibility that it might eventually pay off.

Do I think it's possible that what appears to be bad TV might just actually be bad TV?

Yes.

With how vehemently they have responded to any criticism of the show.... How they have specifically stated that we ruined the show for them.... It's hard for me to justify giving them the benefit of the doubt when they don't seem to want it. Sure, they could be saying that to draw attention to the theory. If that was true though, this is being done in the most hurtful way possible, and really the only people paying attention to the game are the people most hurt by it.

(Yes I know, theater of the absurd, recreating the great hiatus and the original Sherlockian experience, I haven't read the meta yet but I am aware of the general ideas. None of that makes any of this less hurtful).

At this point I can engage with the theory in a more abstract way. And if I do it that way, it's sort of fun, but I'm very deliberate about not putting any emotional investment in being right again.

I wanted to watch s4 for myself with more or less fresh eyes, and to try to analyze it myself (which is why I've watched it now a few months before the final video) before I read anyone else's meta on it. But I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Amy's work and am very much looking forward to reading it eventually!

#sorry this came out so long #this is the closest I have come to actually answering the question of 'what do i think is happening' #the answer is it depends on when you ask me but these are the things i think about #asks

[the-lone-witch-and-secret-room]

So I got this comment on Locked Out a while ago:

This is not the compliment that person thinks it is, and is instead incredibly rude, for several reasons.

I have something to say about these kinds of comments in general, so strap in and let me break down why this is not an okay thing to say to any author.

[Before anyone goes looking for the comment: I’ve deleted it now, both because I don’t want anyone to attack that person since that would not be helpful, and because looking at it made me feel awful and I just wanted it out of my sight for that reason.]

The first sentence alone could be counted as a compliment, sure. That’s a cool thing to hear as an author. But what follows after... oh boy.

It sounds innocent enough for me to at least consider the possibility that they might have been genuinely thinking this is an okay thing to say and not notice the incredibly bad implications?

But whether it was intentional or not, this comment is emotional manipulation.

“I was sad to see that there was no next chapter yet.”

Great! You’ve just successfully told an author who posted an incredibly long chapter not even two weeks ago they made you upset by not providing you with an update at a faster pace!

Not only that, you tried to use the fact that them not updating made you upset to try and convince them they should write faster so they can update sooner, and thereby implied you’ll be even more upset if they don’t! This puts an insane amount of pressure on the author and is incredibly rude!

This comment is arguably a (to me, at least) worse version of the notorious “pls update soon”-comment that every author gets and will never convince anyone to update sooner than they were planning to.

Quite the opposite actually! Getting comments that try to pressure me into updating, especially when those comments consist of nothing but that, makes me very upset and leads to me becoming less motivated to write, so it will end up taking longer for me to update!

“I am so invested in this story that you not updating is making me upset so you have to update often” is not a compliment! It’s telling me I’m supposed to sacrifice even more of my free time because my updating pace isn’t meeting insane expectations that aren’t even my own!

Let me say this once and for all:

WRITING FANFIC IS NOT MY FUCKING JOB! I DON’T EARN MONEY WITH THIS! YOU’RE NOT PAYING ME TO WRITE FOR YOU! THIS IS NOT HOW I MAKE A LIVING!

YOU. ARE. NOT. ENTITLED. TO. MY. TIME.

If you, in any way, think I need to match your expectations, I don’t care how much you enjoy the story, don’t fucking read it.

Consider writing your own story instead! Then the only person you put pressure on is yourself, and you’ll hopefully see how much work writing actually is!

I know that’s not something all non-writers grasp, but what takes you maybe half an hour to read, or an hour, or two hours? That’s something an author has put six, or ten, or sixteen hours of their time into, maybe even more.

Writing isn’t just “I have an idea I magically put into words in half an hour.”

Writing is “I’m now going to spend half an hour overthinking about how exactly I should word this one sentence that readers will only spend ten seconds reading.”

Writing is “I’m going to invest an immense amount of time to research a serious topic so that I can treat it respectfully, even if it’s only relevant for a couple of scenes.”

Writing is putting sentences down, sometimes whole scenes, and liking them, but then removing them a little while later because they don’t fit the overall tone of the chapter.

Writing is remembering the smallest details that no reader will ever notice as mistakes—was the cup in her left or her right hand in the last chapter? Were there two or three days between these scenes? And it’s going back to reread your own chapters just to make sure you don’t actually make any continuity error, even if you’re pretty sure nobody but you will notice them.

Writing is putting blood and sweat and tears into the kind of thankless, necessary scenes that I personally love, but that I also know won’t get much (if any) attention from readers, because those scenes or characters aren’t the ones the readers are the most interested in.

Writing is rereading my own chapter three times just to make sure it’s coherent and has a minimal amount of typos, and then spending several hours polishing it with my beta.

Writing is having a slight mental breakdown at one in the morning because I’m disappointed in my own writing pace and then staying up until 2:30, just because I’m so desperate to finally finish what I wrote (and instead of getting more sleep, I pull through, because I’m dedicated like that).

Writing is me feeling guilty when I’m trying to relax because there’s always a part of me that thinks I should be writing instead.

Writing is putting a hell ton of pressure on myself because I want my story to be as close to perfect as I possibly can, and because I want people to like the scenes I put so much work into as much as I do.

To sum it up: writing is a ton of effort behind the scenes that readers don’t know about.

A sentence you’re looking at for five seconds might have been written in a minute, or ten, or thirty. It might have gone through several revisions that you’ll never know about. It might have been a simple part of passage that was wonderfully easy to write, or the one sentence I spent an entire day stuck on because I couldn’t figure out how to continue the scene after.

The amount of time I invest in my writing is immense. For the longest time, I barely even managed to find time to read other people’s fics, because I was constantly preoccupied with working on my own!

And I do all of that for free.

Because I love writing.

Because I have a story I want to tell.

And because I’m hoping that what I have to say will touch someone’s, anyone’s, heart and maybe make their day a little better.

The only thing I’m asking for in return is for my writing pace to be respected.

Please remember that I don’t have to be writing this story you enjoy reading. And I don’t have to share it.

I’m doing this because I want to, not because I’m required to do it. I don’t owe it to anyone to write fanfic, and I especially don’t owe it to anyone to sacrifice all my free time to write.

I have a life outside of writing. I have a family I want to spend time with, and shows I want to watch and rewatch, and music I want to listen to, and books and fanfics of my own to read.

I also have a job, and I’m going to apply to university very soon.

My life does not, and will never, revolve entirely around my writing hobby.

The amount of pressure I put on myself when it comes to my writing is already more than enough, and I do not need anyone adding to it, especially not when it’s someone trying to guilt trip me into updating!

Stuff like this hurts me, and makes me feel like no matter how many chapters I give you, no matter how long, they’ll never be enough, and a couple of days after the next update, you’ll come back to nag me about updating again. These kinds of expectations would be impossible to meet, even if I didn’t have a life outside of writing.

In this specific case, I even explicitly stated at the end of the chapter that I’m working on something else that I have to focus on or I’ll end up being super stressed! I’m not just a machine spitting out words! I’m a human being that tries her best to keep functioning! Is it so hard to respect that? Do you care about my well-being so little?

Show creators that give you something you love for free basic decency.

It’s not rocket science, people.

#this has been a rant #long post #the owl house #toh locked out #fanfic #FanFiction #writing #my works #my writing #personal #rant #comments #comment #Ao3 #how not to comment on fics #Wattpad #this is a general thing and not meant to be a callout post #I just had to get this out of my system #this made me upset so I felt like I should talk about it #I doubt I’m the only one in the writer community that’s made experiences like that #feel free to rb and add your experiences if you want to #this goes for art too btw #respect and appreciate the artist that gave you fanart to look at for free #eleena rants

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi. I hope you had/are having a great summer break. I (INTP) am hoping for some perspective about an issue. Recently, my mother, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, became incredibly frustrated that I corrected her with an alleged “I know everything” attitude.

It’s an issue of concern because she revealed that I always do this. I guess this was the straw that broke it, especially given that what we were discussing was very trivial. (Maybe the frivolousness of the subject is precisely what made my correction seem more pedantic, unnecessary, arrogant.) She says that my attitude disregards her long life experience, and that if she were a stranger, she would think of me as a “snot-nosed brat who knows nothing about life” instead of as a “wise young person”, which is the viable alternative. She said that I am closed-minded and that I shoot everything down. (The problem of small-mindedness is what you addressed the only other time I wrote to you.)

I don’t know why I come off as arrogant. I’m sure that I’m not. I asked my mother what it was that made her think that, which she thought was a silly question because what she sensed was a general demeanor rather than specific behaviors. In the end we were only able to establish that my lack of eye contact was one of those factors. I can work on that, but surely that’s not determinant. What makes people think of others as arrogant? Should I stop correcting people? I don’t correct others in order to feel superior to them. I do it because I like to debate, in order to keep my thinking sharp, and because there is something painful about friends/family having false notions. I think it’s fair to say that my intention isn’t rooted in arrogant soils.

Granted, my suggestion of stopping correcting people is black-and-white, given that there is the grey option of changing the *way* I correct people. I’m just wondering if it’s an unhealthy habit in the first place. But given how prevalent a thought process it is (i.e. questioning people’s statements and finding faults), the process of getting rid of it may be akin to self-directed psychological violence. I mean, this is the same mode of being that makes me good at what I’m good at. (There’s also the option of keeping the thought process, but not correcting people aloud, but I don’t know what else there is to talk about other than analyzing ideas and their faults. Maybe I should analyze ideas for their strengths too, and express that side more than the faults.)

So anyway, let’s go with grey: So far I’ve tried thinking of an arrogant person that I know in order to understand my behavior, but I can’t think of anyone. Also, no matter how hard I try to put myself in someone else’s shoes in order to simulate an interaction with myself, it doesn’t really work, and I can’t see the arrogance, except if I were to just tell someone “that’s wrong” without any explanation. (I wonder if that’s what went wrong in the conversation with my mother.) Either way, this whole issue boils down to the fact that I’m not arrogant by any reasonable criteria that I found online, but that I come off as such. This was longer than intended. Thanks for your kindness and help.

-----------------------

Here are some questions for you to reflect on. They are meant to increase awareness of your underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values. Answer honestly:

Do you care about your mom? Do you care about how she's faring, what she's experiencing, what she's thinking or feeling, what she needs and desires, what she hopes for or aspires to, etc?

If you care, how do you SHOW your care to her?

If you don't care, how does that affect your behavior toward her?

Do you believe that the mother-child relationship only goes one-way? (Is it the mom's job to do for you but you owe her nothing?)

You say you like to debate to sharpen your mind. Innocent enough. I like to roller skate to keep myself physically fit. In an ideal world, I would never take my skates off. Does my enthusiasm for roller skating mean that I slap my skates on anywhere, any time? No. Surely it is inappropriate to skate around a hospital or the supermarket. Not only could I seriously harm myself, I would also be exhibiting flagrant disregard for the safety and well-being of others.

What you like to do for yourself sometimes comes into conflict with other people. If you care about people and hope to have healthy and happy relationships with them, you have to take their needs and wants into consideration in every interaction. You have to abide by ethical rules and principles that allow your needs to be met without neglecting the needs of others or interfering with their ability to get their needs met. Without ethics, society wouldn't be able to function, because it would just be a free-for-all.

You mention small-mindedness. It is quite small-minded to walk around the world only thinking about what you need/want. In the best case scenario, you are completely oblivious to others, and they will perceive you as clueless or self-absorbed. In the worst case scenario, you only interact with people for your own personal gain, and that would make you an exploitative or even abusive person. Is that the kind of person you want to be?

Do you basically treat people as though their sole purpose on earth is to debate you and help you sharpen your mind - to serve you? Do you launch into debates with people without asking for consent or checking to see if they want to be corrected? If you do, they will call you arrogant, not because you've put yourself on a pedestal and call yourself superior like an evil cartoon character, but because you are communicating to them that your needs/wants are most important AND you don't give a damn about theirs.

Webster's definition of arrogance: "an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people". You believe that you know better, otherwise, you wouldn't grant yourself the social authority to intrude on people's boundaries, invalidate their experience, and correct them uninvited. You believe that you are smarter, otherwise, you wouldn't automatically assume the dominant social role of corrector. You behave as though you are the more important member of the relationship because your main priority is YOUR need to feel better (about your skills or about what others believe) while overlooking the other person's needs. Seems like you fit the definition quite well.

Despite that, I wouldn't call you arrogant because I understand that small-mindedness is a difficult problem to overcome. I see the effort that you're putting in to understand it. I'm charitable because I'm not the one who was hurt by your behavior. When people feel hurt, they often have difficulty expressing it. Maybe it comes out clumsily or they aren't able to explain their hurt without hurting you in return. Expressing one's true feelings is to make oneself vulnerable. If someone doesn't trust you to understand and validate their feelings or, worse, they believe that you will attack them for their feelings, they will not be completely honest with you. Your mom is trying her best to give you the benefit of the doubt by saying "if you were a stranger...", but she doesn't feel comfortable enough with you to express her hurt fully and explicitly as it happens. Why? Because the very reason she is hurt in the first place is that you have shown very little regard for her feelings. Following from the previous post of yours, the root of the problem is that you have such a poor understanding of feelings to begin with that you view them as inconsequential in yourself and others (very immature Fe).

I believe you have no ill-intent. I have said before that the typical Ti dom never sets out to hurt people on purpose. Rather, they hurt people unintentionally because their perspective is too small: 1) they don't grasp that other people's needs may be very different from their own and thereby fail to consider them, 2) they don't know how to empathize with different perspectives and validate them, and/or 3) they don't understand that SHOWING love and care is necessary for people to justify continued investment in the relationship.

In other words, Ti doms tend to hurt people out of negligence or acts of omission. Some of them get frustrated at not being able to solve their relationship problems. They might try to convince themselves that doing nothing means that no harm can be done, so they adopt a passive stance in the relationship and perhaps even train themselves to keep their mouth shut (self-violence). They fail to understand that there's more than one way to cause hurt. Instead of learning better relationship skills, they check out mentally and emotionally. Being checked out only makes it worse because you hurt yourself and you keep hurting others by being even less attentive to their needs.

The foundation of meaningful relationships is showing care. In a healthy relationship, people trust you to care for their emotional needs and not violate their personal boundaries. If you only attend to your own needs/wants in social interaction, you are signalling that you don't really care about the other person. This problem with your mom shows that you give little to no consideration for emotional needs and personal boundaries. If you don't want friends, it's entirely your choice to be alone for the rest of your life, pretending that you never leave any footprints behind you. If you want friends, you'll have to put out more effort to be a better friend, by paying more attention to the consequences of your behavior.

Doing things that violate trust and boundaries, even if unintentional, causes hurt. When people feel hurt and don't feel safe to express the hurt, they are liable to say/do negative things. To have good emotional intelligence is to see past the surface of their negative words/behavior and grasp the underlying emotional needs that were unmet and/or the personal boundaries that were violated. Only then can you be a morally responsible member of a relationship, in terms of owning all the ways that you impact people, both positively and negatively.

Arrogant people don't care about the social impact they produce. As long as they get what they want and don't lose anything, the existence of others is of little importance to them. If your mom is important to you, then learn how to show it better by listening to her when she tells you about her needs/wants. You hyperfocus on the literal meaning of the word "arrogant" and whether it is true/false of you, as though proving it false means that there's nothing wrong. You need to listen to the people you have hurt, if you want to understand why your behavior is hurtful. Alternatively, you need to educate yourself about emotional needs, interpersonal boundaries, and what constitutes un/ethical behavior and why.

#intp #intp relationships #inferior fe #arrogance #small minded #communication #social skills #people skills #emotional intelligence #relationships #ask

[thr-333]

Drastic Measures- Part 5

@daminette-december2019-2020

~Sweater~

Shoves romance to the side and shoves friendship in your face!!!

Ao3

First< Previous > Next

----------

“Marinette,” Adrien whines as she opens the curtain the second they get back, “Sleep,”

“Just a minute, I want to design Damian something,” Marinette takes up residence at the desk, throwing open her sketchbook, “I will be friends with him!”

“Wasn't he kind of a jerk to you?” Adrien flops onto the bed, Plagg rig after him, "I think we should go back to that point, maybe sleep on it,"

“You were a jerk too~” Marinette sing-songs finishing up a rough sketch of a sweater.

“I was trying to get the gum off your seat!” Adrien slams his hands down.

“Sure you were~”

“Mariiiiiii,” Adrien collapses back into the bed covers, muffling his whining.

“Come on you,” Marinette collects her sketchbook, “Come get material with me,”

“No, it’s time to sleep,”

“It’s midday,”

“Your point?”

"Ok, Plagg 2.0 should I get you some camembert while I'm out too?"

"I'm up!" Adrien sits bolt upright, "Never call me that again,"

Marinette ends up dragging Adrien out of the mansion he pouts as Alfred delivers them into the city she thanks him profusely.

“We were just in the city why didn’t you pick up fabric then?” Adrien walks by her side down the street.

“Because I’m stuck between 2 concepts and I need to see the fabric before going forward,” Marinette bounces along looking through the windows there are quite a few craft shops in the area which suits her just fine.

“Please don’t run off,” Adrien gently holds her sleeve, “Marinette this city…”

“It’s filled with a dark energy,” Marinette agrees, even in this nicer area had something ominous hanging over it, “It’s like it’s seeped into the city’s very bones,”

“And the Akuma aren’t helping things,” A child across the street starts crying and they both instinctively lookout.

“On the plus side at least hawkmoth doesn't send Akuma after every little thing,” Marinette forces herself to relax, moving on as the kids parents comfort them.

“On the downside, he sends them after emotions that are a lot worse,” Adrien follows along into a store as Marinette filters through the shelves.

“Maybe but we can handle this,” Marinette absent-mindedly raises her fist, meeting Adreins, “Do you think I should make something for everyone, you know as a thank you?”

“I haven't gotten them anything,” Adrien takes the armful of fabric Marinette passes him as she brings out her sketchbook to select old designs.

“I’ll handle the making,” Marinette ticks off a vest she thinks with be perfect for Bruce, “And you handle the finances,”

“I stole my father's credit card,” Adrien says with a grin, “He’ll probably find out where I am soon anyway so might as well start using it,”

“In that case,” Marinette pulls out a roll of incredibly expensive fabric, “We also need new phones,”

“And we should go out for lunch,”

“Get our hair done?” Marinette adds, looking at her half hacked off hair “I still need to fix mine from this,”

“I was thinking our room could use a chair?”

“And the bookshelf is looking a bit empty,”

“A nice expensive rug would really liven up the room,”

“Would it be completely inappropriate to get a motorcycle?”

“Yes,” Adrien agrees, “Let's do it,”

They stop to get new phones first, having destroyed their old ones when they ran away. Adrien finds the most expensive restaurant in town, but it's on the far end so they stop to get a motorcycle first.

“I didn’t know you could ride,” Adrien gestures for the waiter in their private room, “Yes can I please have the duck?”

“My Nona taught me,” Marinette sips at the most expensive drink she can legally buy, “I thought you hated duck?”

“Oh I do,” Adrien grins, which drops when his phone starts ringing, “How did he even get this number?”

Marinette looks over his shoulder to see Gabriel trying to call. Adrien purposefully hangs up rolling his eyes.

“We should go do our hair next,” Adrien leans over the table with a manic grin, ”I was thinking of dying it hot pink,”

“Love the concept,” Marinette cringes at the very thought, “But the execution is flawed, you need to dye it a color you actually like not one just to spite your father otherwise he's still just controlling your life, just in a different way,”

“You're right,” Adrien sighs leaning back examining his blonde locks, “What do you think?”

“A nice pastel or cherry blossom pink would look amazing,” Adrien perks up at the suggestion he can still keep the pink, “Actually I might do that too- oh wait! Will that affect our transformation?”

“Not unless you really want to deep down,” Tikki explains, her and Plagg gorging themselves on expensive cheese and treats.

“Well deep down I really don't want to give away our identities like this,”

“It’s a plan then,” Adrien smiles, “Now do you want to order anything else?”

“Thanks but I’m full,”

“What's that got to do with anything?”

 ---

 “Looks great Nette,” Adrien gives her a side hug, the hairdresser shooing him away while he does the final touch-ups.

“Are you talking to me or yourself?” Marinette smiles at the new and improved shock of pink hair.

“Well obviously I look fabulous, but you look great too,” Marinette rolls her eyes at him looking back in the mirror. Instead of evening out her hair, they had made it look like her little episode was actually intentional giving it nice layers and even doing an undercut on the other side. Unlike Adrien, she didn't go all pink, instead the tips being white ombre up to pink and then her natural hair color.

“Thanks, you have to send a picture of your hair to Nino he's more invested in your teenage rebellion than you are, he’s probably also hurt you left him out of the running away part,”

“He has suggested, more than once, running away together,”

“Why what's wrong with Nino's family?”

“Nothing at all,” Adrien quickly covers, “I think he just really wanted me to run away, his mum offered to pack us lunches,”

“Well, maybe we could have used the turtle,” Marinette sighs, “But I could do that to Nino, you already had to leave Kagami behind, have you given her a call yet?”

“Oh um, about that-" Adrien points at her tapping his chin thoughtfully, "Never mention it again,”

“Adrien,” Marinette scowls, “Call your girlfriend,”

“She’ll kill me,” Adrien hides partly behind a seat looking meek, “Also you don't get to lecture me, you haven't called your parents,”

“That's different,” Marinette groans sinking into the seat, only to get told off for moving, “They’ll want me to come home, how am I supposed to explain that I can’t,”

“They’re your parents,” Adrien stresses, “I’m sure they’ll be happy enough to know your ok,”

“Maybe,” Marinette hums, the cloth being removed from her shoulders letting her get up, “I just feel so bad for putting them through this,”

“Maybe one day they’ll understand,” Adrien walks with her to the front to pay.

“Maybe,” Marinette looks down at the bill, “Wow this is a lot more expensive than the usual dye job,”

Made sense because they were in the higher income distinct of the city.

“Why Marinette,” Adrien grins swiping the card, “That's the point,”

Ten minutes later they were laughing as calls kept pouring in one after the other. They are only interrupted when they get the distinct feeling of an Akuma.

“Duty calls,” Adrien sighs putting his phone on silent.

“Seems so, at least we can call out skills multiple times," Marinette walks casually into an alley with him, “What are you up to?”

“About three,” Adrien shrugs transforming, “It takes about double the time for the transformation to drop now,”

“Same, wish I could say that gives us the edge but really it only keeps us from falling off the cliff,” Marinette also transforms, her new costume bringing a smile to her face.

“How eloquent my lady,” Marinette playfully pushes him, Chat catches himself catapulting over the building, she quickly follows behind.

The Akuma is standard, Marinette guesses the akumatized item is the wrist watch. The problem comes with their recurring thorn in her side.

“Ladybug-”

“Get out of the city,” She cuts Batman off, “Yeah, yeah let us handle this first,”

Marinette throws her yoyo out just in time to deflect an attack headed at Chat.

“Do you need any help?” Robin asks, Marinette smiles, partly at the aghast face Batman makes.

“Do you think you could tag-team it with me?” She asks formulating a plan, with the extra help she might not need the lucky charm, “Make your attacks big and draw his attention, grab the wristwatch if you can,”

“On it,” Robin gives her a nod jumping into the fray, Ladybug doesn't give batman a chance to object running after.

Robin does a good job they work in perfect sync falling back when the other moves to make an attack. When the Akuma focuses on them too much Chat swoops in and gets their attention giving them the chance to swipe at the wristwatch. It goes on she sees Robin get thrown back after another failed swipe at the wristwatch. Ladybug takes the chance to move forward grabbing for the wrist, she isn't watching out for the other arm, the impact hitting and sending her flying back.

“I got you,” Her momentum is stopped by a hand bracing at her back, saving her from crashing into the adjacent building.

“Thanks, Robin,” He helps steady her as she finds her footing again, “I’ll move in you follow me up,”

“No need,” He smirks brandishing the watch.

“You did it,” Ladybug beams, taking the watch and smashing it to the ground, “Great job!”

“Ah, thanks,” Ladybug doesn't pay attention to how Robin brushes, focusing on purifying the Akuma and fixing the damage.

“We made a pretty good team,” Ladybug turns to Robin when everything is settled, “Pound it,”

Robin meets her fist with some hesitance, which disappears when she smiles at him again.

“Ladybug!” Batman yells heading their way.

“Ops sorry,” Ladybug cringes, “Sorry! Cant stop gotta go, bye bye!”

They run from the scene faster than Batman can hope to catch them. They end up back at her newly brought bike stacked with fabric and protected by a bit of luck. Marinette races home to make everyone's gifts, knowing just who she wanted to start with.

 ---

 “There you are!” Marinette exclaims, having spent the past half hour searching the manor for him.

“What do you want?” Damian snaps as if he wasn't just playing with the cat on the floor half a second ago.

“Nothing, I made something for you~” He continues to scowl but Marinette doesn't let it discourage her, “Here, I didn’t know your size so I made a baggier style, do you like it?”

Damian takes the sweater holding it up to where she put it on him looking down a little shocked. Marinette almost wants to laugh at the expressions trying to shift back from awe to disinterest, it’s cute. She smiles wondering what his face would look like if she made a matching one for the cat, and maybe Titus too.

“.... It’s well made,” Damian eventually allows, folding it over his arm, Marinette notices how his fingers linger on the soft fabric.

“Good to know,” She smiles, bidding him goodbye before the moment can be ruined. She bounces down the hall humming to herself.

“Someone's happy,” Tikki flies out of her bag.

“He liked it, why wouldn't I be happy?”

“Someones really happy,”

“Stop it Tikki,” Marinette giggles, making the kwami laugh in turn.

“Just like adrien~” Tikki sing songs floating down the hall ahead of her.

“Well then, keep Kagami far away from this one,”

“Don’t turn into a stuttering mess and we have a deal,” Tikki agrees.

“Please Tikki I’m not thirteen anymore,” Marinette brushes her off, ready to go make the others gifts, if she spent the whole time humming to herself Tikki wasn't going to explain why to Adrien.

---------

Taglist? nope don’t have one, horrible at keeping track of them sorry~

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug fic #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #ml fic #ML #MLB #Marinette #miraculous marinette #badass marinette #maribat #daminette

[demonslayedher]

Any Kny character you've grown to love/appreciate more??

Thanks for waiting, Anon, I have been trying to really, really hard to narrow this down, but the answer remains: the vast majority of the cast. The only character I loved right away was Tanjiro and that love kept me watching, as with almost every new character I was like, "ugh, I hate this guy. Here I was, having fun being emotionally invested in a high quality anime, and this might ruin it for me." But then the instant I see a different side of their character, I'm like, "...Oh." To go into some examples...

Zenitsu: I could not stand him right away, I hate womanizers, and his conniptions would go on so long that they held up the story. But Gotouge/Ufotable strung me along perfectly, the first glimpse of Thunder Breath made me immediately pay attention and think, "oh, that was cool. I want to see more of that." Seeing him protect the box pretty firmly put him in the "I need to protect this child" box in my heart. And then the spider demon happens, and I'm sending desperate reaction messages to a friend like "NOOOOOO!!!! BABBBBBBBBBYYYYYYYY!!!!" And then he annoyed me all over again at the start of Functional Recovery, ahaha. It's hard to remember how annoyed I was because I'm such a Zen Stan now, and he was a very firm favorite of mine by the time I finished binging the anime up to the last couple episodes, which I waited for as they came out. Inosuke: He was one of the reasons I was curious about the series, I saw some promotional art and was super curious about Nezuko's muzzle (I was one of the people who thought it was some ancient scroll or something, haha) and the kid with the boar mask. The art I saw showed his face, and I assumed he'd be some kid with a cracking voice performed by a female seiyuu. As much as I love Matsuoka's performance now, initially, since I knew what his face looked like, I found it grossly off-putting the moment I heard it. Then every chaotic thing Inosuke did dug a deeper hole; I very quickly decided I hated him, especially when he started beating up on the kid I was starting to like. As his chaos subsided he just became a character I tolerated, and then this happened:

Images you can hear, am I right? This immediately flipped the "BABY" switch in my heart. It was also a lot of fun to understand the Inosuke memes I was seeing everywhere. So by the end of the anime, I loved, loved, loved, loved the Tanjiro/Zenitsu/Inosuke interactions and desperately wanted more (still didn't like how Zenitsu bothered Nezuko, though). I was so impatient for more, but the manga art looked disappointingly off-putting. I figured the anime was successful enough that there'd eventually be more of it, and I wanted to be patient, but then I poked around, read some spoilers, got back into Tumblr to look at fanart and memes, saw a spoiler image of Tanjiro affected by Muzan's poison and the binge-read began. (That's kind of a lie, but I'll get to that.) Let's back up a few episodes. There I was, having a great time, the guy who I forgot about from Episode 1 was back and haha, I guess everyone hates him, and the chick who I figured was going to be a medic who saves Zenitsu in the nick of time turned out to be savage, awesome. I was sending reactions to my friends who were ahead of me, and then we left off seeing the Pillars staring down Best Boy. And I...

Well. Uh. Here, I've dug up an old convo for you, my comments are in blue.

Immediately followed by a passionate vocal rant, which I have transcribed here:

“I feel like what happened was that the mangaka was sitting around with his assistants and was like, ‘welp, gotta make this whole cast of characters, they gotta be so-o-o-o many more levels of extreme than all the other characters I’ve had so far, which isn’t hard, because all of the background characters are cannon fodder and I’ve just gotta leave them all with black hair and no personality traits. So! Gotta go to the opposite of the spectrum with the BIG! POWERFUL! People so no-o-o-body can be normal.’ And so he and his assistants sat down, and they all wrote down just random words or traits, and them put ‘em all in a hat. And then for each character, they pulled out a few of them and said, ‘OK. We’re gonna put these things together, now we have a character.’ And he was probably also like, ‘Iiiiiiiiiiiii’ll flesh them out later. For now, they just need t’… be there, and make an impact. How do we make an impact? By making sure it’s super, super clear what their character traits are. Here, we’ll have this guy repeat the word //HADE//…. ////HA DEEE//// over and over and over… to show that he’s a /showy/ person. Because he /cares/ about that. And he //should// care because that is his character and that’s why he’s powerful.’ OH MY GOSH, it’s so dumb.”

......orz I feel like Genya looking back at how he acted at the end of the Final Selection. I'm sorry, Gotouge, I had not even encountered your love for these characters yet in your little alligator form. Nor had I encountered the yet unseen-sides of these traumatized dragons and tigers. ...*coughs* Um. So. I was pretty harsh.

So this was my mindset, I went into the manga not caring about most of these characters and just wanting more Kamaboko squad interactions and wanting to hurry up and catch up to the battle with Muzan. And it's worth stating that I didn't mean to read it at first. I encountered a few spoilers, and just wanted to look for the context surrounding those parts, and then hunt for the (non-existent) build-up to those parts, and so... uh.........

I read a lot of the manga out of order, and yeah, that did affect how much I cared about what was going on. I didn't actually properly process a lot of it until later re-reads. But to try to state some things simply about each Pillar:

Giyuu: He was just 'ok' to me for a long time, I could see the appeal for why people I knew were fangirling over him but he didn't do it for me. His soft spot for Tanjiro was indeed endearing, though, and I firmly liked him by the time chapter 200 came out and I was properly heartbroken on his behalf.

Shinobu: She was intriguing, and then I liked her as soon as I saw her savage side, she was one of the characters I went hunting for spoilers for.

Rengoku: That stare really put me off at first, but I fell for him over the process of Tanjiro falling for him. When I first finished the train arc I sat back and said, "wow! That's going to make for a good movie!" and then in psyching myself out for the movie several months in advance, I fell hook, line, and sinker and was totally excited for him each time I saw the trailers. And then the movie was *stunning* and I love him even more. Uzui: He was the Pillar I hated most upon first meeting them. I blame the repeated use of his catchphrase. But then when he let his hair down to sell the kiddos the change in design helped warm me up more to him, like, "oh, there was a human in there." It took a long time for him to become more interesting to me, and an uncharacteristically subtle journey to becoming a character I liked. I am currently getting more and more psyched out for him and eager to see how much more I'm going to like him with the shiny Ufotable treatment. Mitsuri: At first I didn't remember her name, I had code-named her as "Boobs." But I kinda had a feeling she was going to grow on me quickly, and I was right, she's one of my easy favorites now. Muichiro: Who? Oh yeah, that kid who always kinda fell to the wayside in my attention. I'd see a lot of Muichiro-themed blogs and hear a lot of little girls looking at merch and showing a clear favoritism of him, and I'd like always react like Muichiro and just be like, "...", and then when I read his major battles I was more emotionally invested in things going on concurrently with other characters, and I was still like, "...", and then two days ago I revisited a Muichiro scene and was suddenly like, "......OH!!! MUICHIRO!!!!!" Himejima: I never really hated Himejima, even if I found his first impression kind of wimpy (haha... oh, I was so wrong). I had a pretty easy acceptance of him too, so I would generally count him among characters I like, but if you were to ask me why, I'd draw a blank. It's kind of a weirdly mature, subdued appreciation for him rather than passionate fangirling. But weirdly when I was daydreaming the other day I found myself thinking, "if I had to marry someone in the KnY cast, it would be Himejima." So like, not a fiery romance, but I see him as my dependable, sturdy rock to grow old with??? What is up with you, sub-conscious?? Iguro: My interest in him rises and falls. Being a Mitsuri fan helped warm me up to his character in the first place, which was the emotional tie I needed since his backstory didn't grip me much (I found it a frustrating distraction while I was desperately reading weekly updates). Reading more subtle details about his character in the fanbooks has brought me around and made me more curious about him, like I'd really like to be a fly on the wall for the conversation he had with Uzui one day about their pasts.

Sanemi: Hahaha, wow. He was so unlikable in the beginning, wasn't he? His character design (yeah, the eyes) was really off-putting too. But then I got to know him and there was no going back, I got totally played. He's a character I'm pretty fond of now and one of the characters I've enjoyed delving into most in fanfic. To keep this answer from getting too long, for the vaaaaaast majority of the cast, I was initially like, "meh" or "OK" or "ew" but now am like, "EEEEEEEEE, I LOVE THIS TOTALLY RANDOM UNIMPORTANT SIDE CHARACTERRRRRRR" so you know... times change. And the more time I spend obsessed with Kimetsu no Yaiba, the more I like them all, so even the characters I'm lukewarm on will probably have their eventual days when they take over my heart and smash it.

#what do I even tag this? #it's not meta or nerdery #it's just me being a fangirl #Kimetsu no Yaiba #Demon Slayer