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kalki-tarot · 4 months

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A Past Life's promise ✧˖°.

Pick only one picture from above.

This tarot reading will include :

A significant past life love story of you and your lover in this lifetime

Any events / promises / situations that took place in that lifetime

Anything which is affecting your current life

Disclaimer : kalki tarot is not responsible for any decisions you make on behalf of this reading. tarot is not 100% accurate all the times. this reading is only for entertainment purposes.

PILE 01.

who were you ?

You guys were rich and wealthy people, both you and your lover, in this past life. Or you guys belonged to super powerful families and you kind of knew each other through professional means. But you guys had a mutual attraction towards eachother. But maybe you did not turn it into a relationship because of societal norms or restrictions.

what happened in this significant past life ?

The feminine in this connection (most probably the one who's reading this can be the feminine but does not matter) had to go through a contract marriage in return of money or because of some political benefits with someone else whom your family selected for you. This felt very shocking and unexpected to both of you. But with the queen of cups, you had to accept this unwanted marriage because you couldn't deny your family and you had to act like a good and faithful daughter. Even though your heart still belonged to the person you loved. Although, this contract marriage was not that special and it didn't have any love.

Later on, after this heartbreaking situation, your lover went through a very tough time accepting the reality, that you are now married to someone else. You guys never communicated to each other about this love that you shared. But you guys knew it that you both love each other intuitively.

After some time passed your lover started traveling through different countries and states to distract himself. Later on, he moved to a total different place to forget all the silent memories he created with you.

In this lifetime

The same situation of restrictions or societal norms will be created in this life time maybe due to cultural differences, or different religions etc. And you guys will have to break these restrictions for each other's love in this life. You guys promised this to each other and yourselves.

This lifetime will test your love for each other but once you guys are ready to fight for eachother, crossing all boundaries, things will fall into place and you both will get to live a very happy and sweet family life together. ♥️

PILE 02.

who were you ?

Hmm, this lifetime feels like the medieval times. Someone was a very rich and well established business man here. Most probably your lover. You loved them very much, like very much. But maybe you thought that you will get rejected by them, or you did not have guts to tell them about this. I'm seeing you being a normal person unlike their high social status, you were someone very ordinary. And due to this difference you faced disappointment in yourself and in your in love. I'm not seeing a relationship here at this point. I guess you assumed that you are in unrequited or one sided love. I can see your lover being very famous and popular, like a war hero or smth. And they too felt trapped whether to move forward woth you or not as their social image would get affected by getting involved with someone of a low class.

what happened in this past life?

You were someone who had a lot of fears and issues with your self worth, maybe in this lifetime too. Your mind would overthink of stressing situations. It's like you had a fear of getting rejected by this love of yours cuz you thought you were nothing for them. You felt like walking away.

While on the other hand, your lover too had many options in love. Many people proposed marriage to them but they too did not move forward with any of these people.

Wow, okay, this is interesting. Something shocking or unexpected took place and your feelings of love were exposed to them. Maybe your friends told them or they just somehow got to know. And you felt very scared but somehow you managed hope and strength and you confessed to them directly.

But you won't believe what happened next. They reciprocated your feelings. They too loved you. They started a relationship with you and people started making rumors about you guys. This news spread like a wild fire and their status was taken away. They hit the rock bottom. They were left with no money or home in return of loving you. But they did not give up. You guys moved to a new place with the world card here. You guys then got married and lived your life happily earning a small but decent amount of money.

You guys can be soulmates.

In this lifetime

You will struggle with self worth and uncertainty in this lifetime too. And you will have to fight it for your own betterment before meeting this person. This is a fated situation.

You'll first have to complete this cycle of not loving or believing in yourself enough only then you will be able to meet your soulmate.

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unprettyg1rl · 1 year

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I’m reading a book on the history of invention and how our cultural views of masculinity vs femininity affect our progress and holy shit if women’s needs and preferences were taken seriously we would’ve been using electric cars since the late 1800s instead of just starting to use them now.

In “Att uppfinna världen” (Mother of Invention in the English translation) by Katrine Marçal there is a chapter dedicated to the process of inventing the modern automobile, where I read that there were multiple ways of constructing a car when the invention was relatively recent, as the field was still open to experimentation. Petrol wasn’t an obvious choice for fuelling the engine – in fact, around the year 1900 a third of all cars in Europe were electric cars, and the percentage was even bigger in America. Electrically powered cars were superior to petrol-fuelled ones in many ways: they were quieter, didn’t expel smelly gas, much safer and more reliable, and easy to start and control from the driver’s seat. Cars fuelled by petrol, on the other hand, were loud, more unreliable and required a lot more maintenance, and to start the engine one had to do some serious manual labour involving a crank – which would often leave you sweaty and with oil stains on your clothes, plus a constant risk of causing an explosion if you weren’t careful enough. Naturally, women preferred the former, being more convenient and comfortable and thus more suited to their travel needs, whereas the petrol-fuelled car was marketed as the more adventurous, macho choice for men.

The one downside to electric cars was that the battery didn’t last for longer journeys, which in the case for women wasn’t that much of a problem since the majority mainly just made trips within the city or town. This was also an issue that could’ve been fixed, and there were many plans to do so, mainly infrastructure-related ones like battery-switching stations and developing better battery solutions. There were even plans for a net of rentable electric cars for anyone to use, and electric trains, trams, and taxis for public transport (seems very ahead of its time, doesn’t it? A much more environmentally conscious system than our good ol’ “everyone has one or multiple cars that individually expel copious amounts of greenhouse gasses” method). However, investments were too few since the male-dominated society deemed these “women’s cars”. After all, a real man isn’t soft, safe and comfortable – he cranks his own car to life and makes a lot of noise as he travels. A report from 1916 by the magazine Electric Vehicle stated that “The thing that is effeminate, or that has that reputation, does not find favor with the American man. Whether or not he is ‘red-blooded’ or ‘virile’ in the ordinary physical sense, at least his ideals are. The fact that anything from a car to a color is the delight of the ladies is enough to change his interest to mere amused tolerance.”

Like, it’s insane that values such as comfort, safety and convenience were seen as “feminine” and thus dismissed, leading to petrol-fuelled cars completely taking over the market in the end. Imagine what the world would’ve looked like if women were the standard instead of men. It really pains me to think how much damage we’ve done to the planet just because of men’s stubborn macho ideals.

(a lot of this research is quoted from The Electric Vehicle: Technology and Expectations in the Automobile Age by Gijs Mom, a book I’m now very interested in reading in full)

#feminism #radical feminism #climate change #environment #radfem #electric cars #fun fact is that eventually some of these aspects (such as comfort) were developed in petrol cars as well #but by then they were already dominating the market and there was no chance people would make the switch back to electric

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starkeysmoon · 1 year

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୧ starkeysmoon’s avatar fic recs ׅ𖥔 ۫ ⋄ ᥫ᭡

includes (some of) the men of avatar — aonung, roxto, tonowari, and tsu’tey

rotxo !

lovely by @victoirey

preview: "be calm , y/n." he instructed, gently. you were meditating once again, with tsireya, lo'ak , and neteyam. you were doing good, so far — until rotxo placed his unbelievably soft hands onto your stomach to really get you to be calm. (one shot & fluff)

dating awa'atlu's resident soft boy by @jeojake

preview: rotxo takes a lot of pride in being reef na'vi—that's why he's assigned to teach the sully's despite not being tonowari's son. his abundance of knowledge and passion for his culture is invaluableand that's how the two of you meet (headcanons & fluff)

aonung !

a necklace by @neteyamslovrr

synopsis: y/n s not a well-known member of the metkayina, yet she yearns for the olo’eyktan’s son ao’nung, so she makes him a gift to show her affection towards the boy (one shot & fluff)

no ordinary love by @loakism

preview: "i love you so much that- that i'd- okay wait. let me restart. i lo-" you're rudely interrupted- far from the first or last time- by your clearly disrespectful boyfriend. his hand swats your own away from its resting place on top of his other hand. (one shot & fluff)

i see you by @aonungobsession

synopsis: you overhear aonung and his friends picking on the sully kid, and give them a taste of their own medicine. (one shot & fluff)

tsu’tey !

"dada??" " do i look-” by @victoirey

synopsis: tsu'tey as a father figure. and how he would react to being your father figure. (one shot & fluff)

domestic life with tsu’tey by @atokirina-writings

preview: you and tsu’tey grew up together as young hunters. you would train with him, fly with him, and most importantly be his best friend. (drabble & fluff)

tsu’tey being courted by a human reader by @kiiyevame

preview: after everything was said and done, you’d found the linkpod right in omatikaya territory. the others there accepted you, they weren’t heartless, and frankly you were not much of a threat. (one shot & fluff)

tonowari !

tonowari general headcannons by @harvensukehiro

synopsis: tonowari headcannons on what it would be like dating him (headcanons & fluff)

#avatar fic recs #avatar #atwow #tsu’tey #tsu’tey x reader #avatar the way of water #tonowari #tonowari x reader #aonung #ao’nung #ao’nung x reader #aonung x reader #rotxo #rotxo x reader #avatar rotxo #neteyam #avatar (2009)#avatar 2022

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saturnrevolution · 1 year

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mercury through houses

1st house

The forever overthinker, the one that looks for flaws in order to feel alive. The wise one. You are someone that values honesty and speaking up, but you might not always feel confident in your words. Your mind changes a lot - which is not a bad, thing as it is tied up to your personality, your mood, and your view of the world. You enjoy traveling with your body & mind. Practicing mindfulness and meditation are tools you can use to get over blockages and fully express your authentic self. You live to express your thoughts and your purpose is to inspire others with your stories & way of thinking, appearance, or style. This also makes you sensitive to words, and other people’s opinions & hyper-aware of your surroundings. It’s important to ask questions, but learn when it’s time to listen and not research, but rather observe.

2nd house

You have a practical mind, and you select the subjects that are worthy of your attention. Sometimes, this can make people feel left out, but when it comes to being focused on what really interests you - you are able to master any skill. You might be into self-development and are solution-oriented. Money comes easily to you if you think of a clear strategy of how to earn it or you could manifest it if you tried. You enjoy spending money on anything that gets your mind excited: courses, podcasts, books, tech, and business. Communication for you can become a source of income if you do use it wisely. You might get bored easily and can sometimes find it hard to decide on a single career path. Your self-worth is connected to high expectations and that might make you attached to a certain ideal or status in life.

3rd house

Idea-driven, thinks in stories and is a great storyteller. Your voice was made to be heard, if only you trust yourself enough to get it out there. You might have a talent for writing, public speaking, visually representing your thoughts, and singing. You have a great ability to make connections and have a good memory when learning. You are able to store a lot of information, sometimes useless and you get inspired by the ordinary, daily activities of life. Your attention to detail might sometimes make you overly critical, but your ability to not hold grudges against people helps you adapt quite easily. You are friendly and open to conversation, humorous and social when wanting to be. You might have siblings, but might sometimes put your ideas in front of others, while disregarding theirs. Your anxiety can affect your need to be social, so try less noise and more presence.

4th house

Your feelings travel through the mind, you always need to be understanding them on a deeper, rational level. This is why you only open up about your struggles to those people with whom you have built a strong emotional connection and feel comfortable around. In your private moments, you enjoy learning or consuming the type of information you are interested in. You like staying connected to your family members and you usually relate stories of the past, living off nostalgia. Your home is often your place of study or work. You might move out a lot. Your cultural background might be important to you or your ancestry, you might have inherited talents from generations. You might find it difficult to decide between wanting stability or freedom, but spending time alone is the best way to understand your needs.

5th house

Your childhood self might have been talkative or loud, always having something to say. You are someone that’s really talented and has an innate sense of mastering their hobbies, while you’re young. Growing up makes it harder for you to enjoy life, as you start asking too many questions. Your journey is to go back to the things that made you enthusiastic when a kid. That’s when you truly allow your life to flow and trust your instincts. You might have a few flings, might think a lot about having kids though. If you do have kids, they will bring out this playful side of you that you tend to bury within worries. Allowing yourself to endure the pleasures of life, in hobbies, in going out, and away from putting too much pressure on performing - will improve your overall well-being & love life.

6th house

You are the analyst. You enjoy directing information and making sure things are in order in your life. Your routine and keeping up with it is what gives you a sense of stability, but also you find it kind of fun. You are interested in the way your body works and reacts to different foods and changes in the environment. You can sometimes get so caught up in the daily that you actually forget to truly take care of it, by allowing yourself to take a break, take a breather, and rest, away from schedules and perfection. Your co-workers are important and you need to feel like your ideas are being appreciated in order to perform well at work. People come to you when they need recommendations, as you have tried everything and were able to find just the right balance of things. Don’t forget about your mental health & breathe.

7th house

Communication is the main factor that helps you build long-lasting relationships, but also the factor that might ruin them if you do not open up enough. You might have a fear of showing your opinions in romantic relationships, as you would be scared of being judged or misunderstood. In reality, the relationships you attract are here to teach you more about your mindset than you think. You are not a fan of oversharing, but often end up doing so. You have the potential of marrying your best friend - someone that understands your intellect and to whom you have a strong mental connection, which can also increase arguments, sometimes just for fun. You might work best or learn best when in a team, sharing ideas with others generates more ideas and you can create new business models if you find the right match.

8th house

Your mind is always looking to find the deeper meaning of things, whether you are aware of it or not. You might also be extra naughty sometimes, but this side of you is only shared with those you feel safe to do so or you’d rather keep it to yourself. You might be psychic or have a strong intuition, but need to allow it to grow and not deny it. Your thoughts about the inexplicable or weird subjects no one seems to care about are what keep you up at night. You have a way of attracting money through inheritance or pairing up with others, a relationship, a marriage, or gaining money together. Intimacy to you is the moment in which you are able to share anything without shame. When drunk, you might overshare, but usually, you are quite private with your feelings, especially when intense.

9th house

If you could, you would travel with your mind everywhere. There is only so much you can know about the world and you want to experience it all and then talk about it. Mostly the talking part though. You are open-minded and ready for a new challenge, get bored easily if not provoked mentally, and love to jump from one subject to another. You might be passionate about travel, foreign cultures, languages, philosophy, ethics, law, society, and purpose - the big questions of life. But when it comes to the small ones - related to daily duties, it might be harder for you to be able to promptly answer. Details are cool and all, but what about history, right? Humor might be your go-to bible. You might travel a lot or meet people from different backgrounds and be interested in your own cultural heritage. You have the potential to teach.

10th house

You are extremely goal-oriented, always looking for the next thing to achieve, and never stopping to understand how much you have actually done. Hard-working and future-oriented, you can sometimes get lost in your career with your mind and ignore other, more personal matters. Your feelings are sometimes numbed by your busy nature. This comes from a lack of emotional understanding when young & a heavier set of expectations set on you from early on. You have the potential to own a company or to be in a managing position. But sometimes you need to enjoy life a little more - this will inspire you and offer you a greater vision. Your career should be intellectually stimulating and the environment needs to be one where your ideas are implemented.

11th house

Forward-thinking and open to new experiences, you are a social butterfly. You are someone that gets mental stimulation through friendships, discussions, debates, groups of people with common interests, and talking on injustice and social issues. You are not the one to shut up about the things you believe in, especially when you feel that someone is being left out or misunderstood. You need a place where you feel safe to be your authentic self and this usually translates into your friend group or a community of people that have the same hobbies or views on life as you. You might be the one that is in charge, as you have a future vision and are able to mediate conflict. This makes you quite impartial, but can also make you cold, not being able to tell who is really there for you.

12th house

You allow your mind to be taken over by emotions. You are a dreamer and you might actually have really vivid dreams at night, but also by day. You need to be careful to not get stuck in a fantasy that doesn’t have the potential to manifest into reality. Unless you get to know your subconscious mind better, through meditation, through sitting in solitude and listening to your thoughts, you will always be putting the needs of others first and adjusting based on what they want. What is it that you want? Truly? What have you always wanted, for yourself? Your imagination and ability to manifest have no boundaries, so trust that inner calling. You would make a great researcher, artist, or spiritual worker. Finding characters in books, movies, and games that you relate to will be a way to get to know yourself better.

#astrology #houses #mercury #planets #signs #zodiac

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mr2swap · 11 months

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The incident: This man is my son

- Nate What the hell are you doing? -From falling my Briefcase to the ground while The funny creature that was in my new armchair began to bark without moving from its comfortable place in the muscular arms of my little son Nate, the long and smelly feet of my son stank the entire room with the musky odor of the sweat from his feet.

- Isn't it great dad? her name is Zoey, Mom and I rescued her on the way home, and don't worry about taking her for a walk I'm going to start jogging in the mornings before I go to school, and I'll pick up everything I do in the garden and I'm going to…- I made a hand gesture for her to stop and immediately there was silence, with the same hand I rubbed my hundred to try to alleviate the migraine that was beginning to attack me -Just... it's fine just don't put her on the sofa and clean what she does- I continued on my way towards the kitchen while Nate smiled at me with those lips hidden in a beard recently shaved by my wife Naina, in a second Nate wrapped his long arms around the dog and lowered her to the ground.

-And don't put your feet up on the table! - I yelled before entering the kitchen, once again Zoey the new member of the family barked at me and stayed while she and my huge and noisy son stayed in the living room, as soon as I entered the kitchen I almost tripped over one of my son's toys, put away the little red tricycle with a soft kick that my son usually plays with after coming home from the gym, maybe I should buy him a bike before he breaks it with his new weight of 265 pounds and his height of 6.5 feet tall but I should teach him how to drive it first just like I taught him how to shave.

The government psychologist assured me that it was only a matter of time before me to get used to my new son and his new body, but for me, it is still embarrassing to have to explain to the neighbors that the manly, muscular, shirtless white man who is playing basketball in our front yard is actually my little son Nate.

I couldn't do anything but get used to having another "man" at home, the government is trying to reverse the random exchanges but the terrorists altered the gas so that the effects would be indefinite, maybe forever, I went to the stove to prepare a chamomile tea, while I waited for the sound of the kettle to alert me, I tried to remember my life before that stupid accident in the subway.

Before Nate was the huge 6.5 feet tall hairy gorilla sitting in my living room he was an ordinary kid coming home to his grandfather from elementary school, the same way thousands of people inhaled the gas that a group of terrorists had stolen from a Swap Corp truck and when they woke up they found themselves trapped in the body of some stranger next to them!

The incident destroyed many lives and separated many families But Nate doesn't seem upset with his new body I don't think I've ever seen him smile so much now that he's a 33-year-old man, He doesn't have to go to school so while I and his mom are working he spends his mornings at the gym or playing video games but he still visits his old friends from elementary school to beat them at basketball and tell them all about his new life as a white man.

Of course, my father was also affected by the body-swapping gas, and right now he is spending his retirement money on his vacation in South Korea Before he left he said something about connecting with his new culture and his new age.

He was really lucky to end up in the body of “Yoon” a 25-year-old Korean man who was just at the station to take a couple of photos for his Instagram, at first Grandpa was puzzled by his adorable face and body. of a Greek god but now from all the pictures on the beach and in clubs on the other side of the world, it seems that he is having fun with his second chance. I can't say the same for the real Yoon, The term in my father's fat and old African-American body, and is living in a government asylum for people affected by the incident that's another story...

Hey folks! if you like bodyswap stories take a look at my patreon, I have a lot of more stories, and you can help me keep creating more stories!

#body swap #male body swap #bodyswap #body switch #male transformation

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novlr · 2 months

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I’ve been reading some craft books and online posts about the world building because my story is an urban fantasy set in present day US, in a fictional town, and theres not a secondary world where the fantasy happens, it’s all in the real world, except the magic is a secret that only certain people know about, but all of the resources I find about world building only talk about fantastical worlds that exist by themselves and not the kind of more subtle world building that I’d have to do. Do you have any tips?

Worldbuilding for urban fantasy is the perfect opportunity to explore the mix of the mundane and the magical. It involves crafting a universe where the impossible becomes possible, yet is grounded within the familiar settings of our own world. This requires a delicate balance—immersing readers in the fantastical without breaking the spell of believability. Here are some essential tips on worldbuilding for urban fantasy writers.

Understanding urban fantasy

Before delving into building your urban fantasy world, it’s crucial to understand what sets this subgenre apart from other forms of fantasy.

Recognise the defining traits of urban fantasy, which typically include a contemporary setting combined with supernatural elements.

Familiarise yourself with the genre’s common tropes and themes, like hidden magical societies, the coexistence of magical and non-magical beings, and the contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary.

Critically read successful urban fantasy novels to see how other authors have balanced the real and the fantastical.

Consider reader expectations for the genre, and the flexibility it has for innovation and subversion of norms.

Determine the tone and mood you want for your setting, as this will influence all other aspects of your worldbuilding.

Creating your magical systems

The magical systems in your urban fantasy will offer a unique flavour to your world, determining the capabilities of your characters and the challenges they face.

Where does the magic in your world come from—is it drawn from nature, ancient artefacts, parallel dimensions, or something else?

Decide if magic is commonly known or if it’s a secret kept from the general populace. If it’s a secret, why? And what are the consequences if it becomes known?

Develop the limitations and costs of magic, as these constraints can drive conflict and plot development.

Invent magical organisations, guilds, or societies, detailing their roles, influence, and how they operate in your story world.

Create distinct magical phenomena that occur within your urban setting, which can become landmarks or points of interest in your narrative.

Consider how technology and magic interact; do they coexist harmoniously, or are they in constant contention?

Creating realism in your urban setting

Realism in urban fantasy is about making the reader recognise and connect with the world you have created as something that is both other and familiar.

Include lots of real-world details, including accurate descriptions of city life, technology, and culture. Make sure you research for accuracy.

Use sensory details to make the urban environment come alive—smells, sounds, textures, and tastes that the reader can relate to.

Include social and political issues that resonate with contemporary society, allowing readers to draw parallels with their own experiences.

Develop a diverse cast of characters whose life experiences and backgrounds reflect the complexity of a modern urban society.

Integrate authentic dialogue that mirrors the way people communicate in modern life, including local slang and mannerisms, both real-world accurate and unique to your setting.

Consider the logistics of an urban environment, like transportation, law enforcement, and the economy, and how these are affected by the presence of magic.

Character development in an urban fantasy

Characters are the heart of your story, and the way they react to fantasy elements in their real-world environments will drive a lot of your narrative.

Create protagonists and antagonists whose motivations are shaped by the intersection of the real and the magical in their lives.

Develop backstories for your characters that explain their relationship to the urban setting and the magical elements within it.

Design character arcs that reflect the challenges and growth that come with living in a world where fantasy is reality.

Introduce secondary characters that highlight the diversity of the urban fantasy landscape, from magical creatures to human allies and adversaries.

Explore the psychological impact of a dual-world existence on your characters, including the strain of keeping secrets and the wonder of discovering magic.

Use character relationships to explore the nuances and complexities of your urban fantasy world.

Plotting your urban fantasy

Your plot is the vehicle through which readers experience your story world. Urban fantasy requires careful attention to pacing to give both elements equal weight.

Construct a plot that intertwines the urban and the fantastical, using the unique aspects of your setting to drive the story forward, rather than relying on the mundane.

Introduce conflicts that arise from the overlap of the magical and the mundane, be they societal, personal, or existential.

Use the setting itself as a character, with its own moods, secrets, and evolving role in the narrative.

Create set pieces that showcase the extraordinary within the ordinary—magical battles on the rooftops, secret meetings in subways, or enchanted parks hidden in plain sight.

Develop a pace that balances the exploration of your urban world with the unfolding of magical elements and plot progression.

Consider the use of multiple viewpoints to give a broader perspective on how the urban fantasy elements affect different characters and society at large.

Blending the real and magical

The key to urban fantasy is making the reader believe that magic could exist in their own world, interwoven with the everyday.

Introduce the fantastic elements gradually, allowing the real world to serve as an anchor for the reader’s suspension of disbelief.

Develop a set of rules for how magic operates in your world to maintain consistency and a sense of order.

Use recognisable landmarks and urban elements as grounding points, then twist them with your fantasy elements.

Establish the history of magic in your world and how (or if) it has shaped society and its infrastructure.

Consider the impact of magical events or beings on the everyday lives of both your characters and the city’s unsuspecting inhabitants.

Intertwine the real and the fantastic so that they feel inseparable, each substantiating the other’s existence.

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forkshighschooler · 7 months

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Imprinted Hearts

Paul Lahote x reader

Y/N Black, sister of Jacob Black, had always been protective of her brother and the Quileute pack. Little did she know that her life was about to take an unexpected turn. It was during a routine patrol in the forest when a primal force suddenly enveloped Y/N, and she found herself drawn towards an unseen presence.

As she followed the mystical pull, her heart raced with anticipation. It led her to a clearing where Paul Lahote awaited, his eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and awe. Unbeknownst to Y/N, in that moment, their destinies became forever entwined.

“I-I can’t explain it,” Paul stammered, his voice laced with wonder. “You’re my imprint, Y/N. My soul recognizes you, and I am forever bound to you.” His words were filled with a mix of confusion and undeniable affection.

Y/N’s breath caught in her throat as she absorbed the enormity of the situation. Imprinting was a supernatural phenomenon within the Quileute culture, an unbreakable bond forged by destiny. She stared into Paul’s eyes, sensing the depth of their connection.

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she responded, “I feel it too, Paul. It’s like an invisible thread that has been woven between us, pulling us together.”

They stood there, encapsulated by the silence of the forest, their hearts yearning to explore the uncharted territory of their newfound bond. The imprinting created a sense of completeness in both of them, a feeling that they were meant to be together, regardless of the challenges that lay ahead.

As they tentatively reached out to touch, the electric current that flowed between their fingertips confirmed the intensity of their connection. Words were no longer necessary as their eyes communicated a profound understanding, a shared language that only imprints could comprehend.

In that moment, Y/N realized that her world had forever changed. Her role as Jacob’s sister had taken on a new dimension, intertwining her with the pack in ways she could never have imagined. She knew that navigating the intricate dynamics would be a daunting task, but she was willing to embrace the challenges for the sake of the love that had blossomed between her and Paul.

With the full moon casting its gentle glow upon them, Y/N wrapped her arms around Paul, feeling the warmth his embrace and the reassuring thump of his heart against her own. They were imprint-mates connected on a level that surpassed the boundaries of ordinary love.

As they stood together, their destinies forever intertwined, they were ready to embrace their love and face whatever trials lay ahead. Bound by the imprint, Y/N and Paul were united in a profound way, their hearts beating as one, and their souls forever linked in an unbreakable bond

#twilight fanfic #forkshighschooler #twilight wolfpack #twilight x reader #paul lahote x reader #twilight #Paul Lahote x yn

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semisomnosres · 5 months

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What do you think makes Chase obsess over First Ninja?

Weeelll, these are purely my headcanons (and desire to have fun. The way these two flirt/fight makes me very happy) It’s difficult for me to express my thoughts, so I apologize for the confusion:

1 Chase has been collecting strong warriors for his army for many years. The First Ninja is very strong, experienced, with a great track record and serious discipline. Many people want to get such a warrior 2 It seems to me that Chase is the type of person who likes to challenge himself and not take the easy way (for this reason he does not like Shen-Gong-Wu) and to make such a proud warrior throw away his ideals is an interesting challenge (or maybe later it got out of control. Decide exactly how and in which direction based on your depravity. I’ve vulgarized everything) and when you live +1500 years, such challenges help you cope with boredom 3 He is also immortal, having lived many centuries (though he's younger than him), so there are moments in life that they both share to some extent. (idk for example: the world is changing quickly - people/culture/values/nature even the taste of food, everything will never be the same as before. Even if they leave everything they have and become ordinary - in the current world they are strangers, and not that they can) 4 (AND HE'S ALSO SEXY)

this is the first thing that came to my mind

The First Ninja one resembles as a cat, in the sense that his love/affection must be earned

#semisomnosres #rc9gn #ninja showdown #my immortal soul #first ninja x chase young #chase young #rc9gn first ninja #first ninja #xiaolin showdown #crossover #randy cunningham 9th grade ninja

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malewgtfstories · 2 months

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One man, one GIANT!

Special thanks to @kadegreene18plus/kadegreene18plus.tumblr.com for this wonderful idea. If y'all have any ideas shoot me up.

Once upon a time, in a small town nestled at the edge of a dense forest, there lived a young man named David and a giant named Jeff. David was an ordinary human with average features, standing at a modest 5 feet 2 inches tall. His lively disposition and infectious enthusiasm for life were well-known throughout the town, and he had an uncanny ability to bring joy to everyone he met. His brown eyes sparkled with curiosity, always eager for the next adventure.

Jeff, on the other hand, was a giant of a man. Towering over everyone at a staggering 7 feet tall, he had broad shoulders and a muscular frame that made him stand out in any crowd. Despite his imposing stature, Jeff was gentle and kind-hearted, known for his warm smile and generous spirit. His presence alone could light up any room, and the townspeople admired Jeff for his strength and treated him with respect and affection.

One day, while wandering through a vibrant market in a nearby town, David and Jeff discovered a charming café renowned for its unique and innovative dishes. The enticing aromas drew them in, and they were warmly welcomed by the owner. David eagerly tasted the chef's specialties, sharing the experience with Jeff, who nodded in agreement, his eyes twinkling with satisfaction.

Their culinary journey expanded as they explored the town and its neighboring areas, constantly discovering new flavors and dishes that delighted their senses. David's adventurous palate led him to indulge in rich and decadent meals at various restaurants they visited, while Jeff was always by his side, offering encouragement and sharing in the experience.

As David savored each bite, he began to notice changes in his body. His once-slender frame started to soften and round out, his waistline gradually expanding as he enjoyed the sumptuous dishes. His once-loose shirts began to stretch across his body, while his stomach rounded and plumped, turning into a noticeable, protruding gut that seemed to push out from his midsection. David's transformation was gradual but undeniable, and he found himself embracing these changes with curiosity and acceptance.

Initially, David noticed his pants becoming tighter around his waist, and as time went on, his wardrobe struggled to keep up with his evolving physique. His once-comfortable and loose clothing became snug, emphasizing his changing shape. His chest filled out, taking on a fuller and softer shape that resembled moobs. His shirts stretched tightly across his chest, accentuating the new roundness of his body. His face took on a rounder appearance as well, giving him a cherubic and youthful look.

Despite his evolving physique, David approached these changes with a sense of acceptance and even pride, viewing them as part of his journey and a reflection of the happiness he shared with Jeff. Though his friends and family were taken aback by his rapid weight gain, David remained focused on the joy he found in his relationship with Jeff and their culinary adventures.

David's transformation became a source of laughter and affection between him and Jeff. They often joked about David's changing appearance and the challenge of finding clothes that fit his new form. Jeff, however, never expressed disapproval of David's transformation; instead, he showered him with admiration and affection, fully supporting him every step of the way.

David embraced his new body with confidence, finding strength in his ability to adapt to change. As his physical transformation continued, he took it all in stride, knowing that his journey was made all the more special by his adventures with Jeff.

As the months passed, David and Jeff continued to travel, exploring distant lands and introducing themselves to new cultures and flavors. David's weight gain became a mark of pride, a testament to his love of life and his adventurous spirit. The two friends continued to bond over their shared experiences, building lasting memories and unbreakable ties.

Together, they discovered hidden gems in bustling cities and remote villages, forming new friendships and savoring the unique tastes each place had to offer. With Jeff's support and David's openness to change, their journey was filled with laughter, love, and a deep appreciation for life's simple pleasures.

Their extraordinary friendship only grew stronger as they journeyed through the world, proving that true companionship and shared adventures could transcend any boundaries. David and Jeff's story is one of growth, acceptance, and the joy of living life to the fullest, regardless of the twists and turns along the way.

#thin to chunky #male weight gain stories #permanent tf #fat gain tf #fat tf #male tf #bhm weight gain #fat gut

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barrenclan · 7 months

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begging some of yall not to idolize deepdark and defiance how you do. i have a friend who’s actually lived through a cult’s wrath and they r mega not cool. like i know defiance is narratively AMAZING but we. shouldn’t put it on a pedestal of “oh this thing is so cool and its leaders are amazing” because ultimately it’s safer for everyone if we start recognizing that while yea defiance + deepgang are cool… theyre still a cult. and we should not be viewing them positively at all. cults are inherently models of rigorous and severe repeated abuse, and by romanticizing them you are inherently romanticizing abuse. i don’t think you’re bad for letting this happen, raz, i just think that if you have any sympathy for cult survivors you should have stopped it before now. Especially as the comic ramps up towards the inevitable climax of the cult in it doing many awful things to the main characters. I know no one here intended to romanticize it, but by treating deepdark and other leaders of this cult as silly uwu murder cult guys we are actively doing that.

thank you for listening if you did, and i hope this feedback helps us all grow.

Well, thank you for sharing your concerns, I appreciate it a lot, as well as explaining the reasons this is important to you. Nothing you said is incorrect or invalid! I do have a few other thoughts I wanna share along with this ask.

Firstly; Defiance is fictional, and more than that it's not based on any real world cult. I obviously had to do some research and take some general real-world influence, mostly because I wanted to capture the kind of personality that exists in cult leaders with Deepdark, but in the end it's a completely made-up group. I actually based their group structure much more on a mafia-like organization than a traditional religious cult. There is a sliding scale for these sorts of things in stories of course, topics that are treated with varying levels of severity based on our culture, and everyone is going to be affected by them differently based on personal experience anyways. I refer to Defiance as a "combination death cult and mafia" sort of flippantly (which is my own fault) because just calling it a "group" is sort of vague, non-descript term. But its structure and actions are way, way more dramatic and obvious than any cult that exists today, or existed previously.

With the kind of fanbase I've gathered, I would like to believe my readership is able to separate the difference between talking about real-world cults and fictional ones. No one I've seen is actually idolizing Defiance as something to genuinely be admired, outside of talking about and making up in-universe characters who do so. Deepdark is fun, and dramatic, and over-the-top, because I made him that way, so it's natural that people like him. But no one is saying that it's good to be like Deepdark, or that he's some sort of aspirational goal (I hope! If you are, we'll have words!). I do believe that in the story itself I've pretty thoroughly conveyed how cruel and malicious Defiance & its members are. In fact I've pretty intensely tried to emphasize the insidious way that cults hurt people, and the danger of charismatic leaders like Deepdark! Maybe I've failed a bit in that regard, then.

But besides all that - your points are very valuable and worth repeating, and I will be more on the lookout for anything treating Defiance's impact irreverantly, and either delete or correct it. I have a feeling people are not going to be happy with them anyways, as they continue to hurt more of our main characters.

Real-life cults are not as obvious and over-dramatic like Defiance. Many ordinary people like you and me are deeply hurt by them all the time, and any time you joke about Deepdark's murdering or silly lieutenant shenanigans, it's always important to keep in mind that there are tons of real-life people like Deepdark out there. I never wanted to come across as unsympathetic for real-world victims of cults. Making people think more deeply about the various shades of gray and subtle acts of evil that exist in our world, as well as the inherent humanity that exists in people who do terrible things regardless, are some of my goals with creating PATFW in the first place.

#ask #anon #deepdark #defiance #advice

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jacquelynlscott · 1 year

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🥉 Three Elements for Writing the Setting of Your Story

🔑 The setting of a story is where and when your book happens. Your book setting is important because almost everything your character does will be affected by when and where they do them.

The three elements for how to write your story setting are time, location, and environment.

⌛ Time

Time is the when of your story. When thinking about your book, consider these when’s:

📅 What year? Your time period affects everything about your character. What clothes they wear, the technology and language they use, and their ability to move and interact in the world. A person in 1700 Europe isn’t going to use a cell phone to call someone, just like a person in 2023 United States isn’t going to speak Middle English.

🍁 What time of year? Is it winter, spring, summer, or fall? A character living in a Canadian winter isn’t going to spend time outdoors in a t-shirt and shorts. A person visiting Arizona in the middle of summer likely isn’t going to walk around in a jacket and jeans, no matter how stylish.

⌚ What time of day? This is more significant for scenes than the book as a whole. You can use the time of day to create a particular mood, such as nighttime for a feeling of danger or mystery. You should also consider the time of day for what your character is about to do. For example, someone likely isn’t going jewelry heisting at noon on a Monday.

⏳ Is time passing? Pay attention to how time is unfolding throughout your scenes and story as a whole. You have to account for any time that passes between scenes, when characters travel, or when you insert a flashback. Make sure your reader knows when your scene is happening, or they’ll be lost.

🗺️ Location

The location of your story is as broad as the country and region and as specific as the neighborhood or house. Like the time period, the location of your setting will affect your characters in all aspects of their lives: what they wear, how they speak, if they walk or drive or take the bus, etc.

If your book is fantasy, you will need to do some very detailed world-building work. A fantastic resource for this is The World Building Leviathan from Kittyspace.

🌲 Environment

The environment of your manuscript includes the physical world and social, political, and cultural influences of the time and location.

Take into consideration the environment’s climate and how it impacts your characters. For example, a character living in the tropics will have a vastly different life than someone living in the mountains of North Carolina.

What is the cultural, political, and social environment like in your character’s time period and hometown? These aspects can impact what your character believes in and the different values they hold dear. Societal norms vary across time and place, and it will take a lot of research to make sure you’re getting it right.

🙅‍♀️ Setting Don’ts

Newer authors often think they need a lot of exposition about the setting up front. This is called a “data dump,” and they are often very difficult to read. You don’t want to bore your readers with a lot of information about your world upfront. Rather, allow your setting to reveal itself slowly, either through your character or short bits of exposition throughout.

If you’re writing a fantasy or historical novel, avoid treating everyday objects as novelties. Even if that object is unique to you, it would not be unique to your character. If something is supposed to be ordinary to your character, treat it like it’s ordinary.

Check out jacquelynlscott.com for a free downloadable setting worksheet to help you think through the setting of your book or scene.

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thesecretcornerintheroom · 2 days

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Don’t forget about me

Pairing: Kid (Dev Patel) x Female reader

Warnings: Tears, blood and injuries, angst and a lot of smut

🔞+

Word count: 1,897

CRASH! That’s the sound u heard that awoke u from your sleep. It was a hot summer night. The only sound in your room was an old fan running at the highest setting and the crickets from outside. You turn to the window, shocked to see your nightstand chaotic with all your belongings knocked over, the window wide open, and you look to the floor to see Kid sitting under the window, panting and holding his side. “did I wake you?” He said through quick breaths. His eye closed from sweat getting in, and his other eye squinting at you. You looked at kid's hand clutching his side, realizing he was bleeding. “Oh my god, what happened?” you said, discarding your thin bed sheets, running over to the window, closing it, and pulling the curtain forward, squatting next to him to meet his eyes on the floor. You grabbed his face, looking for any more bruises out of the ordinary from what he would usually get in a fight. He had a slight cut above his eye and a bruise on his arm, but the worst was the cut on his side. At least you prayed it was just a cut. You quickly put your arm under him to lift him “quickly to the bathroom.” as he rose, he grunted.

“I’m assuming you did more than just fight tonight,” you said, focusing more on the needle penetrating his skin with the thread to close the open gage on his side. Cause him to grunt in pain and take a breath. Kid was leaning on the sink now with his shirt removed and his sweatpants hanging low on his hips with his damp hair covering his face, peering down at you. Your curls were pulled back, and all you had on was an oversized t-shirt. “I think I’m getting closer to finding him,” he said, his voice deep but calm. You finished sewing him up. “You're not even close to him yet, and you're already hurt. This can only end worse,” you said, looking him in the eye. You knew his situation, you knew who he was talking about, and you hated that his heart was this unsettled, but you couldn’t blame him. “Take a shower. It’s too late at night for you to go home, and seeing how you came through my window and not the front door, I’m assuming you're not safe,” you said, looking him in the eye and his deep brown eyes they held so much emotion and thoughts you knew he was exhausted.

You were in your bed, the hot air sticking to you. You recounted how you got here and met the Kid. You were conducting a research study on poverty and culture. The affects it has on different marginalized countries. That’s how you ended up in India. You meet Kid because you were snooping in places you weren’t supposed to be. You asked questions to some dangerous men. Kid who was secretly stalking you because he watched everyone in the community, he came in and saved you. Ever since he’s been in contact with you (it’s been three months, and you have one more month left), you felt the bed dip beside you.

Taking your eyes off the beige wall of peeling paint, you turned to see a kid in bed lying on his back, his hair wet from the shower. He didn’t have a shirt, a patch adorned his stitches, and he wore a pair of shorts you washed the last time he came over from one of his excursions . His eyes were glossy and heavy and slowly turned to you. “I have to do this. He didn’t even know her name.” His voice was heavy. You turned to place your hands on his face, your thumb caressing his cheek as the tears fell from his face.” “You’re gonna let this consume you, and I’m afraid of how this will end,” I whispered. He looked at you, his eyes saying everything. If I asked him not to hunt down the man who changed his life for the worse, he would have felt torn. I knew the idea of not getting revenge was too strong over choosing me. I let out a deep sigh, holding back my tears. “This will be our last night like this,” you said, your voice dry. You could feel the tears pooling in your eyes. Kid's eyes became heavy, his body rigid. He softly shook his head. No, he knew what you meant by it being our last night. You leaned over, slowly adjusting to the thick air. Your nose met his nose as we kissed. A deep sigh was released from him. He drew the kiss as he rose from the bed, placing his hand on your thigh, gripping your thigh. You let out a gasp. You could feel the textures of his scared palms on your skin and how rough and warm they felt on your skin, taking mental notes of how that felt cause you knew you wouldn’t be feeling this forever.

I kissed him harder before pulling away. “you gotta be careful; you still hurt.” Before I could even regain my breath, he was kissing me again roughly, causing me to whimper. He kissed me as though he knew the moment couldn’t last forever. I felt like I saw stars from how great the kiss felt. “ lay down,” you said softly. Kid looked at you. He lay back down on his back, Kid, usually quiet, but you could tell he was lost for words. You rose off of the bed a little bit to remove your panties as you sling your legs over his waist. You sat on top of his lap, and you felt his hands slowly move from the side of your thighs to grabbing your waist.

You slowly started to move on his lap, your core rubbing up against his clothed member, causing him to moan.” Shit,” he said, his voice dry. You're where grinding on him at a steady pace, trying not to to hurt him. You could feel his member growing hard with his shorts and you becoming wetter. You grabbed his chin to have him look him in your eyes as you leaning over him so you lips caressed his. His mouth opened softly, panting from the feeling you were stirring up within him. You started to move your hips faster. “ promise me you’ll be safe. You said, your lips touching his as he let out soft moans. “Okay, yes, okay,” he said, moaning, looking me in my eyes. “ when this is done, you come to me, okay? You know where I’ll be,” you said, looking deep into his eyes, knowing he understood exactly what you meant.” he nodded yes, breathing deeply. He grabbed you and flipped you on your back now on the mattress. His eyes darkened, and his body glistened with sweat. “okay,” he said before he grabbed the bottom of your shirt and removed it from you. He disregarded his pants. He lowered his head to her neck. His teeth lightly grazed your skin before he nipped at your spot, causing you to moan. As he teased the spot on your neck, moans slipped from your mouth. He started to work his way slowly down his body, leaving bites and kisses on the way down your body, leaving you to shiver as his warm

Lips touched your body you felt the breeze from the fan was in your room take away his warm kisses. Before you knew it, the kid had your legs open, and his hands wrapped around your leg. You gasped moan as you felt him drag his teeth down your inner thigh, kissing and licking your inner thigh. The sting causes you to gasp in surprise from pain, followed by pleasure. You realized he was leaving a hickie on your inner thigh. Uuuh, you said, putting your fingers in his hair near the nape of his neck. “Don’t you forget about me,” he said in a deep voice. Before you could respond, he was blowing on your clit before he went in for a kiss on your clit, causing your body to rise off the bed. You felt his tounge circle your clit back and forth back and forth at a fast pace.was he? Was he making out with your clit? “Please, please, you cried out as he started to suck on your clit. You could feel yourself becoming wet, pooling around his mouth and dripping down your legs. You started to move your hip, subconsciously gripping the sheets. You were panting. No words were coming out. The only sound to be heard was a Kid grunting and your panting, and the sound of the silver fan running in the room. You could feel your breath begin to form in your stomach. “dont stop,” you said, loving this feeling of a tear forming in your eye. “Please, you croaked.”’you could feel Kid doing everything, licking, kissing, penetrating you with his tongue. You were unraveling so fast. The feeling finally hit you, causing you to moan. You felt the release, and your head was dizzy. The air was thick—you were trying to gain your breath. Kid moved back up to your face and kissed your nose. “I’ll find you again, I promise he said, looking into your tear-stained eyes. He entered you without a second thought, looking you in your eyes cause tear-stained eyes were now blurred, and you rolled them at the feeling of him interning you. He grabbed your one leg and brought it to his hip. His hip was now controlling the pace going in you at a steady pace; you were kissing your mind. “Come for me again, okay he said,” as his pace became more demanding. My moan became louder, his eyes not leaving my mind as his face fell into

My face. I love you, Kid said, his brown eyes holding so many emotions. Promise me you’ll still want me, he said as he went faster. The feeling of his warmth inside of me made me bite my lip and moan, his hips moving at a faster pace. He wrapped my leg in his

Waist as his finger played with my clit he started to Let out a slow moan, “Say it,” causing me to gasp, clasping onto his arm. “I love you I said, strained, focusing on this feeling. My body had this sensation that I knew wouldn’t last forever, but I wish it could last a lifetime. As he’s playing with my clit and his hips are moving, I can feel his movements becoming erratic. He let out low grunts. “Shit,” I said, that feeling turning in my stomach agin my legs started to shake “im finna cum” I said, and he grunted in agreement. The feeling was powerful. The air was thick, and our moans were in sync. We both were coming at the same time. I wrapped my leg around kid and brought him

Closer to me, he came within me. I felt the warmth of him within me. He was panting, eyes big, looking at what we had just done. He removed his still-swollen member from me

Seeing both of our juices together inside

I am now pooling on the bed. “Now I have to

Come back to you,” he said, sitting on the bed and looking me in the eyes.

#smut #imagine #monkey man #dev patel imagine #monkey man imagine #Dev Patel #I watched the movie for Dev but stayed for the plot #here’s a random story I made last night #enjoy #I also been wanting to write a dev Patel fanfic cause there’s not a lot on this app #😘🥰

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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 2 years

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“If the practice stopped, top-level women’s sport as we know it might cease to exist.”

Full text below cut

My wife and I are lifelong runners. It’s the sport we fell in love with, and ended up excelling at—during our wedding, every speaker from the preacher to the best man mentioned some variation of “Can you imagine how fast their future kids are going to be?” My wife, Hillary, is by far the more accomplished athlete. I made the NCAA championship; she was an All-American. I had dreams of qualifying for the Olympic trials; she actually did it. By many measures, she’s simply better. But not by all of them.

We both got our start in middle school. When Hillary was in seventh grade, she ran a 5:42 mile. At the same age, my best was virtually identical at 5:40. If we had lined up for a race, there would have been a close dash to the finish line. Fast-forward to ninth grade, and we were both ranked among the top freshman runners in Texas. But a clear difference had emerged: Her time had steadily decreased to 5:13, while mine had shot all the way down to 4:22. At the end of our collegiate running careers, the massive gulf remained: She ran 4:43 and I ran 4:01. I didn’t train more, care more, or possess more grit. She surpasses me on all of those things. I just had an inherent advantage: my biology.

It’s no secret that sports-performance differences between sexes are a flashpoint in an American culture war that goes beyond athletics into ideology and identity. I’m not here to tackle the tough and important questions of sport and sex, such as how to include trans athletes and people who have differences of sexual development in a sporting world that is mostly divided along binary lines. What I am here to address is one of the simplest debates. Over the past few years, some cultural commentators and sociologists have minimized the impact of sex-based biological differences on sporting performance. Some claim that men’s biological advantages in speed, strength, or endurance are scientifically debatable. (This magazine recently published such arguments in an article about youth sports.)

Here is what the facts say. Sport for women is generally undervalued and under-resourced in America, and this can affect women’s performance levels. Coed sports at recreational and youth standards—played as part of living a good life, not to develop elite athletes—can be both fun and competitive. But at the highest, rarefied levels of many professional sports, men and women appear to have different performance ceilings.

The research is clear: The difference in my wife’s and my athletic progression is not unusual. With young kids, the best boys tend to be only a hair better than the best girls. We can see this in age-group records: The boys’ and girls’ records for the 9-to-10-year-old 100-meter-sprint are nearly identical (12.73 versus 12.85). But in the 15-to-16-year-old records, the gap has gone from a crack to a gulf (10.51 versus 11.34).

A study by Mike Joyner and his colleagues at the Mayo Clinic found the same trend when analyzing the top 100 freestyle-swimming times of boys and girls from ages 5 to 18. Before the age of 10, both sexes are remarkably similar in performance, with the best young girls actually tending to swim faster than the best boys. But after 10, the boys get ahead. By 17, the average difference is 8.4 percent. Researchers found the same trend when evaluating more than 400,000 ordinary kids in the P.E.-class shuttle run: similar speeds early on, but an ever-widening gap starting at about age 10.

The reason for this is simple: puberty. The overwhelming driver for the sudden jump in male performance seems to be the surge, at this specific time of an athlete’s life, in the steroid hormone testosterone. This hormone influences muscle size and strength as well as the amount of oxygen-carrying red blood cells in our body. A large analysis on running, jumping, and swimming found that the rise in testosterone during puberty in males coincided with a steep improvement in performance. When puberty occurs, girls, on average, continue steadily improving their sporting performance into their teens. But boys get a rapid shift upward in their trajectory.

When looking at elite runners—whether sprinting 100 meters or racing many miles—once athletes hit physical maturity, the best men have anywhere from a 9 to a 12 percent advantage over the best women. A significant gap can be seen in cycling, swimming, speed skating, high-jumping, and a variety of other athletic feats. The gap is even larger in sports that depend highly on strength. For example, when looking at elite weight lifters in the same weight class, the performance gap is about 24 to 30 percent.

It’s important to note a few caveats. First, most of the best research is on sports that are easily quantifiable. For example, there’s no way to directly compare the skill levels of elite tennis players to measure for tiny performance differences unless they play one another. What we know is that the less a sport relies on speed, power, or endurance, and the more it relies on skill, the smaller the gap is. In sports like shooting and archery, the difference between men and women is negligible at best. Second, the performance gap of course doesn’t mean that all men will triumph over all women all the time. My comparatively unathletic brother would get beaten by thousands of women in a mile-long race. And if my wife showed up to a local turkey trot, she’d likely decimate all the men. Third, because there is significant overlap between males and females in performance, female outliers can shine, particularly in niche sports with a small number of competitors (e.g., ultrarunning).

But at the top of the top of the athletic world, in widely played sports with elite coaching, the gap between the sexes seems almost insurmountable. Take the queen of track and field, Allyson Felix. The 11-time Olympic medalist’s best 400-meter time ever is 49.26. In just the 2022 season, that would have put her 689th on the boys’ high-school performance list.

None of this is meant to disparage the phenomenal women athletes at the top of their game. But if we stopped dividing sport by sex, elite women’s sport as we know it could cease to exist. We might miss out on Megan Rapinoe at the World Cup or the spectacle of Sydney McLaughlin effortlessly gliding over hurdle after hurdle. Acknowledging the performance differential should encourage us to do everything possible to make sure female athletes can keep competing at these levels.

But how do we know that the gap between the sexes isn’t sociological, like we’ve seen in fields such as math, where research suggests that social factors explain much of the gender gap in average performance? The history of sport is rife with sexism that has held back women. Take, for example, the 1928 Olympics, where Knute Rockne, the famed Notre Dame football coach (and newspaper columnist), reported in The Pittsburgh Press that after the 800-meter final, five women collapsed and that “it was not a very edifying spectacle to see a group of fine girls running themselves into a state of exhaustion.” Following public outcry, the 800-meter was removed from the Olympics for 32 years. But the reports were false—women weren’t collapsing left and right. The top-three women actually broke the former women’s world record that day.

Women today still face inequality in sport. Many professional sports have a significant pay gap, limiting the ability of women to focus solely on it as a career. Media attention for women’s sport is severely lacking, with 95 percent of sports TV coverage in 2019 going to men, according to a USC/Purdue University study. In some colleges, a significant difference in funding and severe lack of female coaches—who act as both a role model and an advocate for women’s sport—can impact participation rates. Yet even in sports where sexist sociological barriers have been lowered, a performance gap can persist.

Women were barred from major marathons for much of the 20th century. The Boston Marathon, for example, didn’t allow women to compete until 1971. At that point, the women’s unofficial world record was about 2 hours and 45 minutes. At the same time, the men’s record stood at 2:08:34. That’s a massive 30 percent performance gap. By the summer of 1984, when women were finally able to run the marathon in the Olympics, they’d massively cut into the men’s lead, leaving only a 11 percent gap. These kinds of gains bred a sense of optimism. “We’re nearer and nearer the men now,” said the second-place female finisher of the 1983 Boston Marathon. But the trend faltered. In the nearly four decades since then, women have kept improving, but the current gap still stands at 10.7 percent.

Every sport is different. Some are still like 1970s marathoning—the chasm between men and women is caused in large part by discrimination. Those gaps need shrinking. But the same trajectory we saw in the marathon occurs in most women’s sports that remove sexist barriers. For example, a 2010 study traced the progression of male and female performance across the prior decades in 38 athletic events in five different sports: swimming, cycling, speed skating, weight lifting, and track and field. It found that the gender gap had been fairly stable for more than two decades, and concluded, “After a significant narrowing of gender gaps, women and men now evolve in parallel, in the same direction.”

The upside of acknowledging that sex differences in performance exist is that we can discuss the vital, knotty debates that emerge from this biology. For example, would creating more coed sporting opportunities before, say, age 10, keep girls in sport longer? How should schools and clubs handle a young female athlete who wants to play football even though there’s no girls’ team? Should we get rid of sex-based divisions in sports like shooting, where the performance gap is minimal? We certainly need to figure out better answers for trans athletes and people like Caster Semenya, who, because she has differences of sexual development, is allowed to compete in the 5K but not the 800-meter race.

To solve these questions, we need to first accept the premise that puberty can create unequal sporting ability. Doing so doesn’t mean that we stop fighting inequality or dismiss tricky edge cases. It actually should free us from arguing over what should be a noncontroversial claim. We can then shift our focus to making sure women have the space, resources, and opportunities to show their talents. We can acknowledge that though I might have run faster at my peak, my wife’s performance and achievements are undoubtedly more impressive. We can stop judging female athletes against their male counterparts and enjoy their athleticism on its own accord.

Steve Magness is a performance coach and sports scientist. He is the author of Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness.

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gatheringbones · 2 years

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[“In talking about gentrification in New York City, you write about the “New People” who flocked to New York when it became a whitewashed symbol of post-9/11 patriotism. You say, “Their newness is not the problem,” since new people have always flocked to New York. What is the difference now?

It has long been a struggle to come up with a name for these people. When I started my blog, Vanishing New York, in 2007, I called them “yunnies,” a riff on yuppies that stood for Young Urban Narcissists. But that was too limiting, and too cutesy, so I dropped that. For the book, I wanted to coin some great term, but ended up with New People, which I’m not satisfied with either. What I mean is that these people are a new kind of personality type in the city. They’re not New because they’re newcomers; they’re New because they’re not like the sort of people who’ve historically flocked to the city and, specifically, to countercultural neighborhoods like the East Village. They often don’t feel quite human. They feel android-like, manufactured, and this is because — I believe — their personalities have been engineered by the culture of neoliberal capitalism, especially in the 2000s when social media spreads neoliberalism like a virus. In The New Yorker, Jia Tolentino just published an essay about “Instagram face,” what she calls a “single, cyborgian” look, and this is part of what I’m talking about. The New People are perfect neoliberal subjects, engineered to conform, perform and succeed, and this makes them quite violent in the way they enter and commandeer urban space — and in the way they approach people who are unlike them, who they see as beneath them. They are also violent toward themselves through de-subjectification, the process of hollowing themselves out. I find it difficult to empathize with them, though. I keep trying, but I feel so assaulted by them, I just can’t.

I love how you eavesdrop on your influencer neighbors to give us the flattened details of their lives. Surveillance has stifled so many of the possibilities of urban life, and yet here you’re flipping the gaze to examine the gawkers and their “contemptuous disregard.” What do you find?

“Flattened” is a good word and it describes well what happens when someone de-subjectifies themself; they smooth out all the bumps that make them human and particular. They are the cyborgian Instagram face, the flat sameness of the glossy catalog image, drained of all personality. And — here’s their violence — they aim to de-subjectify everything and everyone around them. This goes way beyond gentrification. This is about turning the entire urban landscape into a slick, frictionless, endlessly repeating Instagrammable scene, devoid of affect, risk and surprise. To create this nightmarish hollow city, many of us will have to be removed, and if we refuse to go, we will be controlled — by the police, by systems of surveillance, and by the contemptuous disregard that the New People throw like poison darts from their eyes. They are trying to annihilate us. To make us not exist.

At the beginning of COVID lockdown in New York, so many of these “New People” left the city.

The day lockdown began, in March 2020, they fled in droves. The people who stayed behind and roamed the streets were the sort of New Yorkers I used to know. I’m talking about the ordinary people who aren’t cyborgian, along with the poor and working class, the nonwhite, the queer, the weird, the unhoused, the old, the artists, basically everyone who’s not a New Person. So the city refilled with all this gorgeous subjectivity! It was like a cloud lifted and we could see each other again. We could feel each other and look at each other. We became un-alienated.”]

#wasteland radio

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mermaidchan05 · 1 month

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Vesuvia Weekly: How it Started, How it's Going

Additional entry for the "things that changed" prompt because I will take any chance to dump OC lore on everyone and that is a threat lol

(Slight content warning for very vague mentions of abuse)

Chimalus and Nadia

How it Started

Chimalus and Nadia actually met briefly when they were children.

Chimalus, though a far cry from royalty, was the firstborn of a small but wealthy noble family.

Their father was the type to always find a way to hobnob with those in higher power. If he wasn’t throwing a party himself, he was attending someone else’s fancy gathering… and dragging his child along with him.

Chimalus and Nadia both decided to escape a fancy event at the Prakran palace at the exact same time.

And so the two of them wound up accidentally enjoying a moment on their own private balcony.

It was awkward at first, but Nadia was eager to have someone listen to her talk about anything other than the endless fancy-party small talk, and Chimalus was only too happy to listen.

The two of them could just be kids, and it was a beautiful moment for them both.

Sadly, both of their lives fell through many, many dark twists and turns after that party.

And yet, somehow, those twisting paths led them both to Vesuvia.

How it's Going

Chimalus’ life was actually better after waking up in the life of a (relatively) ordinary shopkeep instead of the first in line for head of a noble house.

Their father was the picture of corrupt nobility, obsessed with power in any form over all else... including the welfare and wellbeing of his child.

He actively caused a lot of harm.

But now Chimalus has been given the chance to leave all of that behind.

Learning to be a person again with Asra meant that they actually had someone who encouraged them, who helped them find and pursue their own interests, and actually showed physical affection.

This was one of the biggest things that Chimalus was able to share with Nadia when the two of them finally met again.

Without even realizing it, they did exactly the same thing they had done during that party: they treated her like a person instead of a Countess or Princess.

Now Nadia and Chimalus take on everything together, from the biggest problems in the city to the much lower-stakes but equally challenging book club debates.

Perhaps someday one or the other will remember the moment that started it all.

But either way, in each other they found what they had both longed for as long as they could remember: being together as equals.

Meleia and Asra

How it Started

Meleia had always been an outcast. Even before she moved to Vesuvia.

Living and working with her aunt only made things more difficult.

Meleia came from a very distant place, somewhere literally off the map, and she was forbidden from talking about her past.

Between that, and her foreign magic utterly clashing with her aunt’s magical style, and her general lack of knowledge about Vesuvian culture, she felt trapped and alone.

And then she met Asra.

Asra happened to be in the right place at the right time to help her out of a sticky situation in the market just before the whole “stuck in the same spot during Nadia’s procession” thing happened.

They found kinship in each other, a pair of outcasts with magic they weren’t entirely sure what to do with.

But what had really amazed Meleia about Asra at the time was his willingness to actually help her out. To listen to her.

Even though the fleeting moments at the annual Masquerade were the only times they were “allowed” to run into each other, there was such a sense of hope and relief when they were together.

Her life significantly improved when her aunt eventually moved out of the shop, which let Asra visit much more often.

He helped her learn how to control her magic better.

But their relationship, as much as it was built on trust and sharing their mutual curiosities, was always veiled underneath secrets.

Meleia couldn’t talk about her past. Asra didn’t want to burden her with his.

And Meleia couldn’t explain-- not because she wasn’t allowed to, simply because she didn’t know-- why she never quite managed to control her magic.

Still, it was wonderful to have Asra by her side… until the night of that fateful argument.

How it's Going

It was tough at first, after waking up.

Meleia always felt a little guilty that Asra was so often the one taking care of her, and she longed to take care of him in return.

But now things are better in nearly every way.

Finally, finally, the two of them are exactly where they need to be.

Meleia has someone she can truly be herself around.

Asra has someone both to support him and to help him soldier through the more difficult choices and parts of life without slipping away.

The two of them have a deep understanding and trust of each other. Misfits have to stick together, right?

There are no secrets between them anymore, and ever since Meleia discovered the truth behind her resurrection and her new body, Asra has been more determined than ever to help her reclaim her past.

In all honesty, her new body helps a lot with magical control: one thing they did find out was that Meleia’s parents were both incredibly powerful magicians with two very different styles, leaving her with almost too much power for one person to handle alone. Having the borrowed body of an Arcana grants her the strength she needs.

The rest of her life remains a mystery… so far.

But whether they uncover it or not, Meleia and Asra will always, always have each other. And their friends. And Meleia found her familiar. And Asra found his parents.

They both have a family now, both with each other and beyond. And Meleia finally has a place-- and a person-- to call home.

#vesuvia weekly #things that changed #oc lore #oc info dump #arcana fan apprentice #fan apprentice #apprentice chimalus #apprentice meleia

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