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libbee · 1 year

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ASTRO OBSERVATIONS April 2023

Scorpio is known for sex but I think it is the earth signs that are actually sensual. Earth signs such as Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn deal with senses and are the most stimulated by touch, visuals, taste, voice, beauty, pleasures of the senses. They are not intuitive but rather sensual, materialistic and interact with what is tangible, seen, physical. While Scorpio is intuitive and deals with intangible, unseen and spiritual.

Then why is Scorpio linked to sex? It is not about sexual pleasure and more about craving rebirth. Fact with Scorpios is that they discover a layer of themselves everyday going through life. Their identity, personality, beliefs need evolving and they need to die to be reborn. That intense sex is them tuning to their intuition and when they orgasm something in them dies. Since it is intuitive, each Scorpio will know what has died but it is not possible to tell it in words because it is a symbolic death. Sex to them is like a ritual, a sacred practice that assists them in passing from one stage to the next.

The force of 8th house is against will power. At best I read on a social media forum it being described like "Plutonic force is like your head being shaved against your will power, no matter how much you resist, it will happen".

Rahu can be such a fake, illusion maker and a mirage. Wherever it is placed in the natal chart can show what area of life is shown as the "ideal, picture perfect, larger than life, wow factor" but it is actually just empty behind the screen. If Rahu is in 1st house, native appears to be this dashing, grand, all-rounder person but actually nobody knows if they are actually that person or not, nobody seen them doing what they claim to do, it is just the image. If Rahu is in 10th house, they have this mirage illusion of being hard working, leader, planner, entrepreneur but they are not actually all that. If Rahu is in 7th house, they have this image of ideal partner, picture perfect couple, dream partner but actually it is just a mirage. It is the social perception that is ideal/mirage but in private something entirely different happens. For eg, they gift 100 roses to their loved one in office. Wow! How lucky, how romantic. Yet at home, they are like the partner does not even exist, totally different.

8th house moons can be hypersensitive to their mom's voice. It is as if they grow up and suddenly they are super reactive to their mom. If she says anything, 8H moon screams. "Be quiet!", "Change your tone of voice", they complain their mom irritates them which can be actually repressed memories of childhood being triggered every time mom says something. In the worst cases, they can even abuse their moms which is called "reactive abuse" where the party can no longer tolerate the abuser and explodes in anger.

Fire sign risings surely give the PERCEPTION of confidence, self assurance, burning hot even if they are extremely insecure inside, it would not appear in their persona. It is the rising sign that is how others see us and how we show ourselves to others, it is autonomous, spontaneous and unchangeable for this lifetime. Fire signs can be going through failures but not show in their faces.

Planets in 1st house emit the energy of themselves. But beware! 1st house is just the persona and your impression on others - not the actual person behind the mask. So Sun in 1st house = public perception is they are so confident and self secure. Mercury = they are so intelligent and cheerful. Jupiter = they are so wise and guide. Even if native is not these things, people are somehow convinced that they are those qualities just because of their facial expressions + language + vibes.

It is very important for 8th housers to be discerning in choosing their company/partner/friends. 8th housers are prone to feeling negative emotional hurts because they have survived extreme emotional situations in childhood, the side effects of which will last a lifetime. I also think that these natives inherit emotional wounds from their ancestors that makes them carry so much burden on their shoulders. So, they should choose such people who are empathetic, emotionally intelligent, know some psychology and know that "the wounds of swords and gun can heal but not that of the tongue". An unhealed 8th houser is like an open invitation to the world "come use me" and when the native has had enough of betrayals and shocks, they turn inwards to start doing self introspection, analysis of human nature and undergo drastic transformation.

#dark astrology #astro tumblr #astrology #astrology blog #astro notes #astro #astro observations #astro placements #astroblr #astro community #astrology community #astrology notes #astrology observations #astrology tumblr #astronotes #sidereal astrology #vedic astro notes #vedic astrology

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wutheringmights · 23 days

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I finished rereading The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce a couple of days back. I already talked about the first book in a post that garnered more attention than it deserved. I guess we were all happily reminiscing about the menstruation scenes together, or Tortall fans are so starved for content they (we) will reblog anything.(Understandable. I too am starved for a thriving Tortall fandom.)

I'm too lazy to make separate posts about each book, so we're just going to do a mega post covering the second, third, and fourth book.

Unlike last time, I will be giving a little criticism to this series. I still love it endlessly, but there were a few things about the prose I thought was interesting that I want to talk about a bit.

So, without further ado~

In the Hand of the Goddess

I think this one is my favorite one, despite how rushed the plot it. It contains all of my favorite plot points, like awkward romances with George and Jon, attending knight lessons, and a little summer war. Fun stuff.

But it definitely feels rushed. I really wish someone told Pierce to make this a 12 book series, expanding on Alanna's years at the castle. It would have gone so far to better develop the romances and the friendships in these books.

I am fascinated by what Pierce chose to skim over. Characters would die or kiss for the first time off screen, with the prose resuming with Alanna reacting to it. It demonstrates an understanding of character work that I personally adore and try to emulate in my own writing-- the real bones of a story being in how characters respond to fantastic events as opposed to the fantastic events themselves.

Also, the whole veil spell Roger cast in objectively stupid, and I mean that in the most affectionate way possible. You're telling me that Roger used magic to make Alanna lose interest in doing anything about the obviously evil things he was doing? That's fucking hilarious. You know an editor came back to Pierce and asked her to come up with a reason why Alanna wasn't just going to spring into action at the first sign of Roger trying to kill her, only for Pierce to come up with this. It's so silly. I love it.

Woman Who Rides Like A Man

Did this book age poorly? Yes, but not as badly as I remembered. That's not a stirring defense, and it's really not meant to be.

The Bahzir are a mess of Orientalism, and Pierce definitely deserves criticism for not only the way she wrote them but for the ways in which she frames their cultural practices as something that needs to be fixed. Having Alanna want to force them to change their culture to suit her beliefs is not a great look for both the character and the writer. And that's not even getting into the whole assimilation plotline.

But I did enjoy Pierce's attempts to expand on the definition of womanhood, especially as a part of Alanna learning to embrace femininity. There is this running thread in these last two books of Alanna learning about all the different ways to be a woman and choosing for herself what her gender means to her. It's not done particularly well, and anyone looking for a revolutionary examination of gender roles and identity is going to be sorely disappointed. But there's an attempt here that I can't help but appreciate.

This book is also where Pierce starts to slow the plot down, which lends it to having the most reasonable pacing out of the bunch. That being said, it's also the book where the lack of development for a bunch of the side characters start to hurt. I really wish Gary or Raoul joined Alanna in the desert. Raoul gets his moment in the sun with the Protector of the Small books, but Gary remains largely forgettable. In fact, I spent this entire read-through convinced this man dies at the end of the last book, if only because I can't remember where he appears in any of the other books.

Lioness Rampant

This book somehow has the improved pacing of the third book while still feeling rushed. The quest for the Dominion Jewel really should have been it's own book, if only to give Thayet and Buri more room for development. Thayet in particular really needs her moment to shine, especially when she continues to be an important character in the other series.

But do you know who did get a lot of screen time? Liam.

Remembered shit about this guy before going into this book. I could only vaguely recalled disliking him as a kid, but not as much as I venomously hated Jon. (Speaking of which-- I love the way this man is realistically shitty. Him getting dumped by Alanna is always my favorite scene.) But Liam? Fuck that guy. Holy shit. I give full applause to Pierce for portraying the important milestones every girl goes through growing up, which includes having a situationship that is so shitty that it becomes essential character development.

Roger's return feels very... cheesy? I think Alex should have stepped up to be the final villain on the story. Unlike Roger, Alex was Alanna's friend. They have history. The betrayal would have imbued that final fight with so many more emotions than it ultimately had. I also would have liked Alanna to have at least meaningfully talked to Alex sometime before the climax.

Honestly, it's impressive how reactive Alanna is as a character in the last half of the book. She doesn't seek out how to stop Roger's plan, or fix Thom, or anything. Other characters make plans and she just... waits for something to go wrong.

That being said, by virtue of Alanna's relationships with George, Liam, and Jon all happening sometime in this plot, this book becomes a good place to look to get the full berth of how Pierce handles romances. Which, I love her approach. The romances are never over the top or, for lack of a better word, too romantic. It's very down to earth, with characters dating, marrying, or breaking up for realistic reasons.

Jon and Alanna were friends who broke up because they had different life plans. Liam and Alanna broke up for having fundamentally different values. As much as I bitch about how shitty Jon and Liam are, they're not cartoonishly evil. They're just a little shitty the way most of your exes will be. Jon and Liam are men could find love with someone else. They just aren't suited for Alanna.

Meanwhile, the most romantic things George does are wait for her and be supportive. He doesn't fight or get territorial. He makes his feelings clear, then waits for Alanna's cues. Alanna definitely loves him, but she ends up with him in the end because their lifestyles and core beliefs meld together. There's no grand romantic gesture or whirlwind affairs. They are just a good pair.

I have read stories with far heavier focuses on romance, and none of those couples feel as perfect as Alanna and George. Those stories prioritize all the gooey moments over showing why the main couple should get together. For how little romantic interactions they have, you believe these two could have a successful marriage. Perfect stuff.

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Over all, I really enjoyed rereading these books. For all my griping, I still love the story. I love Alanna. She's a character who is fundamental to my soul. No matter where I am in life, I will always want to open these books and find her again, to walk back into Tortall and join her on her quest to be a lady knight.

My copies of the series come with forewards from a previous edition. In one of them, Pierce wrote that this series started off as an adult fantasy story that was much darker and edgier. I need to know what that story looks like, what happened in it. Pierce can claim as she wants that she hardly remembers what it looks like, but I refuse to believe that. Release the unedited first draft, Pierce. I am begging you.

#it probably has on screen gay sex for thom and roger #anyway that's the alanna series. the library book i ordered is still not here yet so now I'm off to find another short-ish book to read #this book better come in before june or else i will lose it. i am putting off reading the illiad for this #me rambling #bookish #books and reading #books #bookblr #tortall #song of the lioness #tamora pierce #me reading

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lu-is-not-ok · 10 months

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Lu's Guide to Sin Analysis

Welp, since my brain is too focused on having K Corp Hong Lu go full unga bunga in Mirror Dungeons to write full analyses, I decided I might as well give something else to all the people starving for Limbus Theory content.

So, here we are. A basic guide on how I approach the Sin Analysis portion of my analyses, covering my personal interpretations for each Sin, as well as how to use those when analysing both E.G.Os and Identities.

That way, ya'll can dabble in doing some of this on your own when I'm too busy grinding my way to 400 hours of play time on Limbus to write up full analyses.

Sounds good? Awesome. Under the cut we go, wheeeee!

Sin Interpretations

Let's start with the most important part - the Sins themselves.

I want you to take a moment and think about your own associations with those Sins. Perhaps your immediate thought is to take the words used literally. Maybe you immediately think back to the Biblical ideas of the Seven Deadly Sins. Mayhaps there's some other media you know that also uses Sins in some way, which you subconsciously default to when thinking about them.

Whatever those associations are, I want you to throw them away.

That's right. Whatever is telling you that Lust = Horny, Wrath = Angry, Envy = Jealous, etc, etc? Throw all of those preconcieved notions away.

This is the biggest mistake I see people make when trying to analyse Identities and E.G.O based on their Sins - they assume that those Sins have the same meanings in the context of Limbus as the popular, more common interpretations of them.

And while, sure, some of them can definitely overlap with what one would expect them to be, I think relying on those during analysis instead of trying to understand what the game itself is trying to tell us by using those Sins as symbols is doing its storytelling a massive disservice.

Do I think my personal interpretations of the Sins are a 100% accurate reading? No, of course not. I can't see into the mind of Kim Ji-Hoon or whoever else at Project Moon might have been the mastermind behind deciding what Sins connect to what. I have no way of knowing what exactly they intended here.

However, I do wish to believe that my interpretations not only strive to meet the game's storytelling on its own terms, but also hopefully make further analysis based on those interpretations a bit easier to wrap one's head around.

...God I really need to stop writing massive preambles and just get to the fucking point.

So let's actually get to The Fucking Point. Sin Interpretations, one by one. Let's fucking do it.

Wrath

The flames of revolution burn bright in the face of cold winds.

Wrath is the Sin of self-righteousness and defiance. To act with Wrath is to decide that one deserves better, that things around then should bend to their will, and then take matters into their own hands. It's the Sin of deciding one has the right to change something simply because they don't like the current state of things.

There are many ways one can act because of Wrath. It can show through trying to rebel against authority, to subvert one's fate, to escape one's unfavorable circumstances, or to even reject one's own true nature. To act with Wrath is to stand up for oneself and tell reality "No, I refuse!" loud and clear.

A common misconception of Wrath is the idea that anger is an inherent part of it. While it's true that those feelings often coincide with defiance, they're not required for one's acts to be fueled by Wrath. Some can be Wrathful while being completely calm and collected, as their acts of defiance could be more on the quiet and simmering side.

Likewise, being quick to anger isn't always a sign of Wrath. It's very possible for someone to have a short temper, while also being fully accepting of the reality they live in (Ryoshu, I am looking directly at you), thus lacking Wrath.

Lust

One's base insticts go all the way back to that genetic code.

Lust is the Sin of self-indulgence. It's the Sin of letting one's own desires and whims dictate one's actions. It's also the Sin of seeking personal fulfillment above all else. To act with Lust is to give up one's self-control and let one's instincts and wants guide them.

Unlike what the name and symbol might initially imply, Lust can include many different types of desires, not just the carnal.

Likewise, acts of Lust can be just as varied as one's desires. Satisfying one's most basic of needs, searching for a form of spiritual enlightenment, or even just saying the first thing that comes to mind because one feels like it are just a few examples.

Sloth

A stone will not care for what happens to it, nor the world around it.

Sloth is the Sin of apathy and resignation. Unlike other Sins, which mostly show through one's direct actions, Sloth can also show through inaction.

To act with Sloth is to ignore reality, to let oneself go along with whatever is happening with barely any complaints. As such, Sloth is commonly associated with blind obedience or unwillingness to act out.

Due to its nature as a Sin of resignation, Sloth can be seen as the direct opposite of Wrath, the Sin of defiance. This creates a unique situation where the inclusion of one can drastically shift the context of the other if both are a part of the same Identity or E.G.O.

Gluttony

Plants never stop waging wars, always wanting just a little bit more.

Gluttony is the Sin of hunger, and it's unique from the other Sins in that it equally represents two different ideas of that hunger, which can appear together just as often as they can be completely seperated.

The first type of Gluttony is one of the starving hunger of survival. In this context, to act with Gluttony is to do anything for the sake of scraping by and living to see another day.

The second type of Gluttony is the hunger for more, or in other words: greed. In this context, to act with Gluttony is to do everything for the sake of this idea of "more". To gain more wealth, to find more recognition, to make more progress.

Both of these types of Gluttony are unified in one main point - they are, by definition, endless. The struggle for survival never ends, unless one fails to survive. Likewise, there is no finite "more" that greed is reaching towards, it's a neverending process of one-upmanship.

Gloom

When a wave of emotion rises, many will be swept away in its wake.

Gloom is the Sin of dwelling on feelings. To act with Gloom is to be guided by one's negative emotions, to buckle under stress and let it control one's mind and actions.

While sadness, grief, and depression are the states of mind most commonly associated with Gloom, and are often a part of it, they're not inherent to it. The only "requirement" here is the experience of severe emotional duress, and acting out in direct response to it.

In a way, Gloom is the Sin of losing control over oneself, not dissimilar to Lust. However, the main difference here is the cause of losing that control. Gloom is the loss of self-control due to being overwhelmed by negative experiences, while Lust is the loss of self-control due to seeking out positive experiences.

Pride

Be careful, for that double-edged sword may cut you as well.

Pride is the Sin of ignoring consequences. Acts of Pride are all actions taken because of the belief that their benefits outweigh the cost in some way. While the most common way this can present is through actions that benefit oneself at the cost of others, it's not the only way Pride can manifest.

One can be Prideful when believing the benefit to many outweighs the consequences. Likewise, refusing to acknowledge the harm one brings to themself because their actions benefit them in some other way also counts as Pride.

The idea that Pride is inherently tied to selfishness or self-confidence is another common misconception. In fact, Prideful acts can manifest just as often from a lack of self-confidence or a misguided selflessness. Rather, one could interpret Pride as a form of willful ignorance, in a way.

Envy

Thorns don't go out of their way to harm, they merely react to your touch.

Envy is the Sin of reaction and retribution. It's the idea of doing something because of what someone else has done. By definition, one cannot act with Envy without some form of provocation.

Like is the case with many other Sins, acts of Envy can take many forms, from taking revenge to following orders. The main connecting idea here is letting oneself be influenced by another person, whether it's being coerced, provoked, ordered, or otherwise manipulated.

Out of all of the Sin misconceptions, seeing Envy as inherently tied to jealousy might be the worst one of all. While acts done out of jealousy would likely count as acts of Envy, they are but a miniscule part of the sheer scope that Envy represents.

...

Alright, so you know what each of those Sins means. Now it's time to figure out how to Actually Apply Them.

Sin Affinities in the context of Identities

The main way Sins play a role in a given Sinner's Identity is through their Sin Affinities. Mechanically, these are the Sins attributed to each of their skills, signifying both their type of Sin damage and what Sin resource they generate upon being used.

However, this is Project Moon we're talking about, and these fuckers can't keep their gameplay mechanics seperate from the story to save their lives.

So, this begs the question: what can we learn about a Sinner's given Identity through their Sin Affinities?

Here is the method that I believe works best in my experience:

The Sin affinities of each of an Identity's skills represent a different layer of their psyche and motivations. I'm going to try to show what I mean by using base Identities of the four Sinners who already had their own Canto.

Skill 1's Sin Affinity is the surface level motivation of the Sinner's actions. This is the most obvious and "shallow" reading of them and their actions, and also likely the one the Sinners themselves are most aware of.

Gregor's Skill 1 is Gloom due to him being constatly haunted by his trauma, with much of his cynicism and dark-ish sense of humor being shaped by his war experiences. Rodya's Skill 1 is Gluttony due to her tendency to value material goods and love for food, which are signs of her greed and will to survive respectively. Sinclair's Skill 1 is Pride due to him taking many actions (such as sharing his father's secrets or giving Kromer his basement key) for their immediate benefits, without considering the consequences. Yi Sang's Skill 1 is Gloom due to him falling into deep depression and letting the trauma of the past shape his current actions.

Skill 2's Sin Affinity is a deeper motivation of the Sinner's actions. It's delving deeper into their psyche to see what guides them in less obvious ways. This Sin Affinity can also have noticeably closer ties to the Sinner's background in one way or another.

Gregor's Skill 2 is Gluttony due to him being driven by the will to survive, most notably expressed by him leaving the rest of the veterans to escape the war and try to live after it ended. Rodya's Skill 2 is Pride due to her fully believing in what she does working out in her favor, completely ignoring consequences on the way. Her killing the pawnbroker is the biggest example of an act of Pride, as she fully believed that it would help her neighbourhood despite the consequences that murder would bring. Sinclair's Skill 2 is Wrath due to him not accepting his circumstances. His want to defy his future prosthetics procedure is what eventually led him to agreeing with Kromer, and his will to defy her is what drove him through the events of his chapter. Yi Sang's Skill 2 is Envy due to his passive nature and how easily he lets other people dictate his actions. It's especially notable in how after the League fell apart, he would have been willing to do anything Gubo told him at that moment.

Skill 3's Sin Affinity is what I would like to call a Sinner's Core Sin. It's the true main reason behind their actions, and has a much closer and direct tie into their past than the other Sin Affinities. In a way, this is the deepest layer of their psyche.

Gregor's Skill 3 is Sloth as his resignation to his circumstances is what colors much of his past. He learned that resistance is futile early in life, and it shows. Though he didn't want to fight in the war, he felt like he had no choice but to. All of his life, he simply listened to orders without complaint, unable to see a way to change his situation. Rodya's Skill 3 is Wrath as her self-righteousness and defiance is what drove her actions at the deepest level. She first joined the Yurodiviye because she wanted to bring change the state of her neighbourhood, and likewise left them when she no longer agreed with how they did things. Her murder of the pawnbroker was her biggest act of defiance, of taking matters into her own hands and trying to bring change to her reality at all cost. Sinclair's Skill 3 is Envy as much of his actions were dictated by other people. Social pressure was what led to him first breaching the trust of his family, and Kromer's coercion and manipulation is what then led to his family's death. In a way, you could also interpret Sinclair's arc in Canto III as one big act of Envy, as he finally tries to take revenge on Kromer for what she has done. Yi Sang's Skill 3 is Sloth as his apathy to the reality around him is what led to him ignoring the warnings signs of the League falling apart, and the resignation that followed could have resulted in him helping Gubo and the New League out with their horrible plans had there not been an intervention. It's only by the end of Canto IV that he finally manages to break out of this state for long enough to stand up for himself and decide to keep on living.

So, that's the basics of Sin Affinities when it comes to Identities! Now, some of you might be asking, "Hey Lu, what about Sin resources needed for Passives?", and my answer to that is...

Honestly, I don't entirely know! I do think there probably is some reason beyond pure gameplay mechanics... Buuuuut I don't think their importance is as major as the main Sin Affinities of a given Identity, especially since there isn't a single Passive that is activated by a Sin that the given Identity doesn't have any Affinity to.

Sin Affinities in the context of E.G.Os

Alright, so, when it comes to E.G.O, we run into some additional complexities. Unlike Identities, which can usually have their Sins Analysed with minimal additional context, E.G.O Sin Analysis has to be done under a specific angle.

This is because while Identities represent the Sinner as a whole person, E.G.Os represent a specific singular part of that Sinner.

Base E.G.Os usually seem to tie back to a specific event or action or some other thing in that Sinner's past. Likewise, E.G.Os derived from Abnormalities represent the ways that Sinner connects to that Abnormality's own themes.

In a way, the game's worldbuilding even acknowledges the fact that a Sinner can only use the E.G.O of an Abnormality they relate to in some way, as Dante's Notes describe the process of the Sinners using E.G.O as trying to make the Abnormality's emotions and identity their own.

That little tangent aside, there are two main things to analyze sin-wise when it comes to E.G.O - the Sin Affinity, and the Sin Resources necessary to use that E.G.O.

An E.G.O Sin Affinity works similarly to an Identity's Sin Affinities - for a Base E.G.O, it's the main Sin that action manifests as. For an Abno-derived E.G.O, it's the Sin that contextulizes the way the Abno's themes connect to the Sinner in question.

The Sin Resources an E.G.O needs is where things get fun. These are what a Sinner needs to be able to use the E.G.O, both mechanically AND story-wise. The Sins here represent what a Sinner has as their motivation and drive to fully reflect what that E.G.O represents. For Base E.G.Os, it's why they took the actions they did. For Abno E.G.Os, it's why they connect to that Abno's themes and why they're able to relate to it.

Now... There is one more thing about E.G.Os that I don't really talk about.

Sin Resistances.

The reason why I don't talk about them... Is because I have No Fucking Clue how to interpret them. There has to be some importance to them (Hong Lu being weak to Wrath in all of his E.G.O thus far, I am looking at you), I just don't know what it is. In fact, I doubt we even have enough information available to us right now to be able to say for sure.

I don't know how to end these posts dear fucking lord-

So uh. Yeah. That's. Everything that I think is important to mention on the topic of Sin Analysis and how I do it. If I ever change my mind on something or have an epiphany regarding one of the things I currently have no idea about, I'll probably reblog this post with an addendum or something, but until then...

Uh. Yeah. Hope this helps the people who wanna get into analyzing Limbus stuff but don't know where to begin. Or just people who wanna understand the method to my madness a little bit better.

I'm gonna go to sleep now, cause it's 4 AM already and I spent like the whole fucking night writing this post.

#limbus company #limbus company project moon #lcb analysis #lcb canto iv #lcb spoilers #lu speaketh #god help me

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hothammies · 2 months

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an analysis of clothes in st (part i) - the meaning of yellow within the party

so, this analysis is one that has been in the making since before s4 came out - i literally had to dig through old discord messages to look for what i was talking about two years ago. i'm hoping to make this into a series because i loved analyzing the outfits back then and i wanted to share what i thought about them! the costume designers put so much thought and effort into all the clothes and i'd love to try to understand why they chose what they did for specific moments. heads up! - this analysis series will mainly cover the party members. outfits are important within the entire context of the show as well, so i may include other group members from time to time. however, my primary focus on st has always been the party members, so i'm gonna be giving them the main focus in all of the posts.

let's start with my favorite meaning for the clothes: yellow.

when party members wear yellow, they tend to be in situations where they are trying to fit in or act normal, typically when regarding relationships, but could also be within society, a situation, or in general. i have four examples of yellow being used as a signal that these characters are put in situations where they're trying to fit in / act normal - one of max, one of the entire party, and two of mike. let's start with max!

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example one: in s2e3, we watch max trying her best to fit in with the boys when dustin is showing them dart. despite her attitude when they first meet her, she obviously does want to be friends with these guys regardless. in this episode, max wears a yellow hoodie while all the boys wear variants of the same neutral grays/whites, dark blues and reds, showing the difference between max and the other party members. she has not "earned" her keep yet, and she's trying to fit in but she is not yet in the know of the upside down.

even el is wearing similar colors to the rest of the boys, another clear sign that she is "in" the party too, despite being away from them. they did something similar in the previous episode as well, where the boys + el wore matching costumes (boys were ghostbusters and el was a ghost), while max wore a costume that didn't have her fit in (michael myers).

all of the current party members have the colors gray, red and/or blue that tie them all together in that scene, so max's yellow hoodie makes her stick out like a sore thumb. a side note is that mike and will are the only members to have all three colors on them, and matching color outfits between couples tend to be common in the show.

example two: in s3e1, the opposite happens. everyone in the party except dustin is wearing a combination of blue and/or yellow. dustin is wearing primarily green, which i will explain the meaning of in another post. all i'll say about it now is that the color green most likely has to do with being comfortable or confident in your own identity.

will, however, is a special case, because he was actually not wearing yellow in that scene, only blue and a stripe of red. personally, i thought it was to set up how will's growth that season wasn't completely about societal expectations regarding romantic relationships like the rest of his season group. his character arc was much more about having to grow up and understand change when he doesn't want to because of the trauma he'd experienced the previous seasons. this is actually also reflected in his clothes - will is the only one that season to not wear any new colors (he only wears the three primary colors -> red, blue and yellow) while the rest of the party got to wear both secondary and primary colors (mike wore teal, el and max wore many different colors, lucas wore purple, and dustin wore green + orange).

back to the party - in that scene, the couples also match each others outfits. mike and el's have the same color scheme, being mainly blues with a small hint of yellow, and lumax having the perfect blend of yellow and blue together. this may be a stretch, but its a possible hint to show that lumax fit together, while mike and el don't.

the party members that were dating each other wearing yellow that season was to show their attempts to act normal via relationships. season 3 was also the one that the duffers kept referencing as the summer of love, despite all the couples that season being dysfunctional.

examples three and four: now, we're at the section of mike wheeler, my favorite closet case. he is the main reason as to why i noticed that there was a small pattern with the color yellow being used in the party's wardrobe.

i think we've all noticed that mike has a tendency to act very... straight when he's wearing the color yellow as his main color. this can be seen in both s3 and s4, especially during the episodes where mike is hyperfocused on his relationship with el.

when mike was wearing the first outfit in s3, he was searching for a way to make it up to el because he lied to her. though he was trying to act normal or learn to be normal for their relationship, he wasn't doing a great job of it. during that entire section, mike was going through the motions of learning how a straight man is supposed to act, with lucas by his side giving constant straight man advice. he was also not getting it.

now, onto what is possibly my favorite outfit in the entire series - mike's s4e2 outfit. first of all, he's wearing a yellow shirt over a purple undershirt, presumably for el because that's her favorite colors apparently. obviously, mike is not himself in this outfit, but he's trying to fit into this california tourist look for his girlfriend.

in this outfit, mike was trying extremely hard to only focus on being el's boyfriend and not will's best friend. we know how that went, and this outfit helped us realize how badly mike was doing trying to follow that mindset.

before s4, we were never given any indication that mike's style would be like this. michael wheeler should not be wearing an outfit that has a yellow hawaiian shirt, the color purple, a visor and sunglasses, and flip flops to top it all off. it doesn't fit his normal style that he's normally been shown wearing throughout the show, being button ups, polos, and for that season, black jeans and chuck taylors.

he was intentionally put in an outfit that did not follow his true identity. the shirt, thus the outfit and the het identity that mike was attempting to fit into, was literally called a "shitty knockoff" by argyle.

------

i'm positive there are way more examples that can be used, but these are the ones that stuck out to me the most. i'll leave off with some ending thoughts:

we as bylers have always considered will's main color to be yellow, but from what i've noticed in each season, the majority of his outfits have blue, same as mike (matching couple's colors)! in fact, s4 was the first time where the majority of the season had will wearing yellow, probably because of how he was dealing with his crush on mike at the time. i'd like to point out that the main colors that lucas and max wear are also the same, being red.

i'd love to do another one of these, the next one probably being about the color green because i think i have a grasp on the reasoning behind that color. other than that, i still really need to analyze the colors of their outfits again because i think the party's clothes specifically are most indicative of their behavior. since they are the youngest group, they are the ones who are the most volatile and it's reflected in everything, especially their clothes!

#stranger things #the party #byler #<- target audience #this analysis is for the byler nation #byler theory #byler analysis #st analysis #byler proof #i'd love to do more of these honestly #it's fun as hell #not art #sammi's brain was used

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yaeggravate · 6 months

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Theory: Kaeya's Vision was Given to Him by The Sinner and his Vision Gives us a Major Hint as to The Sinner's Identity.

can we talk about kaeya's vision? i've been dying to talk about kaeya's vision again.

(spoilers for everything up until 4.2)

good news, we finally got some more insight on what visions are! according to neuvilette's character story, when a person's desire reaches the heavens, archons are dutybound to put aside a shard of their mastery for them. this "mastery" originally belongs to the seven sovereigns.

To continue to subdue and control the resentments and loathing of the world, the usurper and one who came after created the Gnoses together. So it came to be that an order was made to be upheld, and thus did humans come to only possess these seven remembrances, and all fragments of the primordial were driven to devour each other. From that day on, whenever a person's wishes reached the heavens, the seven overseers of the material realm were duty-bound to grant them a gift. Though they might know nothing of who or what wish had stepped into the threshold of the sacred, the Seven Archons still had to impart a shattered shard of their mastery to that person.

after focalors destroyed the throne of the hydro archon, neuvilette gained complete authority over the hydro element. because he's a nice guy, he decided to also put aside some of his mastery to grant visions to people.

furina is one such person.

here's the cool part; her vision looks different from other fontainians. the decoration combines ousia and pneuma elements and there are four little fangs holding the vision in place.

KAEYA'S VISION

that brings me back to the conundrum that is kaeya's vision. before furina, he was the only character with a vision that deviated from the norm.

there are two unique oddities about his standard vision: it's missing two wings; the strings on the back are on the other side: this is an indication that it's mirrored.

(for simplicity's sake i will ignore the vision on his other outfit since it's essentially modified to match zosimos' design.)

what if kaeya's situation is similar to furina's? and i'm not just talking about their never-ending masquerade… what if his vision was granted by someone else?

WHY ARE THE STRINGS ON THE RIGHT SIDE?

i have briefly talked about this before but mirrors are associated with the abyss. this lead me to believe that it's possible that kaeya's vision might have been given by the abyss/the sinner.

note how the strings on furina's gem also switch sides when she changes from pneuma to ousia. (pneuma (light) on the left and ousia (dark) on the right.)

it's relatively common knowledge by now that kaeya's kit shares similarities with abyss mages and heralds and that many khaenri'ahns were turned into abyssal creatures, (possibly due to them being in a similar situation as jakob ingold who possessed a "bit of the dark cold cosmos's power").

Paimon: And you said the people turned into monsters... You're trying to tell Paimon that the Abyss Order is not only related to Khaenri'ah but is actually the people of Khaenri'ah themselves!?

with the new information given, this theory seems more plausible. if neuvilette can give out visions, why not mr. purple crystal as well? if wishes can reach the "heavens", couldn't they also reach the abyss? we saw the crystal respond to clothar's praying and display a bit of creepy omniscience so you know it's powerful.

WHY IS THE VISION MISSING WINGS?

consider that the fangs on furina's vision is neuvilette's tongue-in-cheek way of hinting at him being a dragon, as his own personal touch. then could clipped wings hint towards the identity of whoever gave kaeya his vision? what do clipped wings indicate? fallen angels. what's a fallen angel? a sinner. 😏💯

Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven or angels who sinned. Such angels often tempt humans to sin.

fun fact, the abyss mages are always chanting in ENOCHIAN which is popularized as the language of the angels.

The script for this language appears while Abyss Mages are chanting to regenerate their shields as well as over their heads when performing spells outside of combat. […] The script also appears in the yellow protective runes around the weak points of Automatons, where the mirrored glyphs for B, L, and G circle around the core. Ruin Guards are known to have been made by the people of Khaenri'ah, many of whom turned into "monsters of the Abyss," so this script was possibly used in Khaenri'ah as well.

way back in the first archon quest, an abyss mage speaks to kaeya in enochian. it's significant enough that they give us a subtitle to imply kaeya can understand this angelic language; we have been shown he knows other ancient languages as well, like the language of the hilichurls and a strange script in the manga.

Kaeya: There's no way hilichurls organized an ambush like this themselves — not with their limited mental capacity... Kaeya: Thus YOU were behind this. Hydro Abyss Mage: Gohus, Chiso Vonph.

perhaps a reach but kaeya has one giant wing on his outfit, possibly a reference to the most famous video game villain in history, sephiroth, the one-winged angel?

this one is not a reach because kaeya also owns a book called the adventures of angelos. angelos is from greek ἄγγελος which means angel.

Between the pages of "The Adventures of Angelos," you find a list of names written on a sheet of official Knights of Favonius letterhead paper.

a book named angel containing a list of names, just to show the traveler he has eyes everywhere is a little on the nose if you ask me.

*edit: i forgot to include the most obvious hint, kaeya's favorite hangout: angel's share. and in the book of revelation there is a star or angel that fell to earth known as wormwood, (apsinthion in greek), which is the name of a plant used to make absinthe, which in turn is thee main ingredient of death (in the) afternoon, kaeya's favorite drink. dainsleif also likes this drink.

Wormwood (ἀψίνθιον apsinthion or ἄψινθος apsinthos in Greek) is a star or angel which appears in the Book of Revelation.

another fun fact, nabu malikata's last name malikata, besides meaning queen, could also mean angels.

In Islam, angels (Arabic: ملاك٬ ملك‎, romanized: malāk; plural: ملائِكة‎, malāʾik/malāʾikah) are believed to be heavenly beings.

nabu malikata is a survivor of the seelie race who were abandoned by the heavens; they are heavily implied to be angels. she is also the originator of the jinn. huh, i wonder why kaeya gifted us a seemingly random lamp which is said to have housed a powerful jinni...

all this is pointing to the sinner being a fallen angel which makes sense since the archons have demonic names from the ars goetia, it stands to reason that higher abyssal beings should have angelic names.

in islam, there is a fallen angel named iblis who had four wings (like kaeya's vision) and who was chained up in the deepest part of hell (like the sinner), whose original name was azazil. khaenri'ah has some ties to arabic mythology, so who knows? this is just one possibility. interestingly enough, the names of four of the archangels ARE referenced in mona's magic circle but not azazil.

the interesting part about the crystal is that he denies being a god and addresses the traveller as "creature"… there has been some speculation that the dragon king nibelung is the sinner, but we honestly don't have enough information to make that leap.

**edit: the domain we find the sinner in is located inside the chasm. thousands of years ago, back when zhongli was still young, an entity known as the sun or solar chariot fell to teyvat forming the chasm. this was during the time the moon sisters fell.

according to one legend, they refer to the entity as a fallen star. the star stayed in the chasm until the archon war, but before it returned to the sky it permanently left a piece of itself behind.

also, the sinner's domain has enkanomiyan statues and architecture. in enkanomiya, there is an achievement you can get called phosphorus' guidance, which you get by following seelies. phosphorus is the greek name for the morning star. the latin name for the morning star is lucifer, now best known as the name of a fallen angel.

The Ancient Greeks called the morning star Φωσφόρος, Phosphoros, the "Bringer of Light". Another Greek name for the morning star was Heosphoros, meaning "Dawn-Bringer".

dawn-bringer, you say? reminds me of the harbinger of dawn kaeya gives you in the very beginning of the game. what are you trying to tell us, bud?

lastly, the traveler notes the upside down defiled statue of the anemo archon is similar to the sinner. the statue, of course, has wings. it's funny because when we meet kaeya for the very first time, it's in front of the anemo god statue in front of the cathedral... notably, both dainsleif, and kaeya in his hangout route do not go inside the cathedral.

Kaeya: Perfect. (Traveler), why don't you head into the Cathedral and invite Sister Barbara to join us? I'll look for another friend who's interested in helping us.

Dainsleif: When a non-believer steps onto holy ground, the result is never pretty.

WHY DOES THE VISION HAVE A MONDSTADT CASING?

khaenri'ah was outside of the rule of the seven, hidden from the gaze of the gods. we don't know yet if in days of old khaenri'ahns could receive visions but we do have dainsleif's character card to give us a clue.

The listed name of his Vision's element, as announced on his Chinese Character Card, is a set of indecipherable symbols.

so dainsleif does have a vision; it's just that it has manifested as something else, possibly because unlike kaeya-seemingly a normal human-he is cursed.

in any case, we've seen wanderer receive a complete sumeru vision despite not even being from there and arlecchino has a shneznayan casing despite loving her homeland fontaine. (although there might be some other shit going on with her.)

this means vision casings are tied to the region the receiver is in and has nothing to do with where a person is born. if neuvilette were to gift someone from outside fontaine a hydro vision, they would receive a casing from the region they're in. fontainians have pneuma or ousia alignments but arlecchino's shneznayan vision has no indication of what she is aligned with. though again, arlecchino is not a normal human being, who knows what's going on there.

Along with Divinity: Prologue [...] we should be conscious of the fact that what shapes our thinking, logic, culture, philosophy and aesthetics is not the archons themselves, but the objective environment that exists around us. This world around us is what we have inherited, and what this book shows is that the people of Teyvat have always been, and always will be, heirs to a divine legacy — but not to divinity itself.

(also thought it was pretty interesting how capitano calls the gnosis, the gnosis from inazuma instead of "the electro gnosis" or the "gnosis from the electro archon".)

aaand scene. please note that this is all kind of jumbled wild speculation and should not be taken as fact! this is all in good fun.

#kaeya #kaeya alberich #who is kaeya we just don't know #i need to stop before i fall into another rabbit hole #.txt #lore bytes

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lipstick-stain · 1 year

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can we always be this close? — ft. ruggie bucchi, floyd leech, and jamil viper

synopsis: touching moments with your crush

Ruggie Bucchi — “At every table, I’ll save you a seat.”

It’s rare for Ruggie Bucchi to have a moment to spare. Apart from Leona running him ragged, his odd jobs, early morning spelldrive practices, and the mountain of school work keep him busier than the average college student. He’s so used to having a never-ending pile of work pushed onto him that he actually doesn’t know what to do when he does have room to breathe. He only has ten minutes— actually, seven minutes, until his next class starts. He already delivered Leona’s lunch, so all he needs to do is scarf down his meal and rush to change into his gym uniform.

Before Ruggie can even remove the plastic wrapped around his sandwich, he hears his name being yelled from across the dining hall. Dreading it might be an angry student from another scam of his, he slowly turns his head around, only to find that it’s you yelling his name. He lets out his infamous laugh before strolling to the empty seat next to you.

“Wow, (y/n), ya like me so much, ya saved me a seat?” Ruggie jokes while sitting down.

The table is spacious enough to fit ten people, but the way Ruggie sits down makes his knees touch yours. His body subconsciously leans into yours to search for your warmth, but his mind catches up to his actions. He quickly pulls his body away from you.

When he finishes his sandwich, he pats your head and rushes off in hopes that he won’t be chewed out by Vargas. Although his schedule doesn’t allow him to spend much time with you, you’ll always make time for him.

Floyd Leech — “You’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me.”

Floyd Leech shows you how much of a predator he can be when he traps you between his body and the booth during his fifteen-minute break. His soft lips are pressed to your ear as the moody twin whispers words that paint your cheeks in the brightest pink hues. When he pulls back, he admires your blush with a toothy smirk. He notices your quickening heartbeat and feels the warmth radiating from your cheeks as he moves in to mumble another dirty joke in your ear. Between his arms, you are unable to escape his crude words or hide your pretty flushed cheeks.

When you try to move away from Floyd’s grasp, he tightens his hold on you. “Stay with me, Shrimpy. I wanna keep playing with you,” he whines softly.

Floyd’s dilated pupils bore holes into yours, but the intensity of his affection is not unique to this moment. He’s always affectionate. He gives you hugs in the hallways, lifts your books above his head to tease you, and sometimes even dances with you when he’s in an especially good mood.

But you’re not special. You’ve seen him squeeze just about anyone if they strike his interest, he’s held books away from Riddle before, and Floyd would probably dance with the closest person to him, whether they be willing or not.

Yet, the look in Floyd’s eyes is one of longing. Maybe he wishes for you to read his emotions and tell him what he’s feeling, or maybe he wants you to never leave his side because you just interest him so much. Either way, you’re here to stay.

Jamil Viper — “All's well that ends well to end up with you.”

For everything that Jamil Viper is worth, as a cook, a therapist, a servant, and Kalim’s “best friend,” he’s never appreciated. A small “thank you” leaves Kalim’s lips from time to time, but his duties never change after each exchange. Jamil is left with the same amount of overbearing work. To cook, to clean, to pick up the responsibilities of Kalim, to babysit.

Jamil wonders if his entire identity is based around Kalim, and Kalim alone. He thinks for a moment while thinly slicing onions for one of the thousand dishes Kalim requested him to make for yet another feast. Does Jamil even enjoy cooking? It’s certainly a talent of his, but it began because of the Asim clan’s need to monitor Kalim’s food. They don’t want to lose their precious heir, after all. What about dancing? He became enamored by it only after his outings with Kalim in his youth. ...Basketball is the only interest that has no correlation to the Asim heir.

His unintentional scowl deepens until a soft, tiny hand makes its way onto the small of Jamil’s back. “Sorry,” you whisper, as you move your hand away from his body. You begin to dump the contents of your bowl into the large heating pot next to him. Crushed cardamon pods, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste. You look at him pointedly until he silently places his thinly-sliced onions into the cookware.

As you mix the beginnings of one of Jamil’s favorite dishes, he thinks to himself that being bound to Kalim isn’t so bad, if it meant meeting you.

a/n: sorry if this isn’t good! i have a tendency to think that my writing is really boring, and my boyfriend isn’t the best judge for whether the boys are ooc or if the scenes are cute and romantic enough.

#twisted wonderland #ruggie bucchi #ruggie bucchi x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader #jamil viper #jamil viper x reader #twst #💌.txt

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dankmaths · 10 months

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god fuckign dammit i cant stop thinking about thefucking hospital scene

just rewatched it and i don't want to spend 5 hours formatting a long unhinged twitter thread so here we are. i am mishmashing the game and anime and manga scenes together in my personal canon blender. p4 spoilers of course

cause like, naoto is the one to suggest they throw namatame into the TV. and kanji's on board with it too. but the one yu has to fight over it, the one yu has to think carefully about and talk down, is fucking yosuke hanamura.

of course everyone has a personal stake in it considering namatame was going around kidnapping everyone, but yosuke specifically...

he phrases it like "we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else," but it seems like a big part of his motive is revenge. saki's kindness meant a lot to him, regardless of how real it was, or selfish his motive is, and it wasn't fair she had to die. so now he's gonna kill namatame. and it doesn't matter if that goes against his morals, or if no one else is willing to do it. he is absolutely dead set on killing namatame (pun intended). the only thing stopping him from doing it is yu.

it's ironic looking back. because like yosuke, namatame also lost someone important to him, and is trying to use his power to do what he thinks is right in his own way... just like yosuke wanted to be a hero, namatame wanted to be a savior, but yosuke is too blinded by rage in the moment to see that. the big difference is who got to them first. yosuke's had yu with him the whole time to keep him grounded, and eventually, the whole investigation team- namatame got adachi.

(side note- i more often think about yosuke+adachi parallels; how they're both bored with everything, but yosuke has the team and adachi pushes everyone away, but that's not really relevant rn lol)

there's also the scene where yu goes to confront the true killer alone, and yosuke's waiting outside when he comes back. and at that point he's not angry anymore, just… disappointed. (feelsbadman) but i don't think it's because he changed his mind.

after you calm him down in the hospital, he's STILL thinking about doing it:

(another side note- the va in this scene is top notch. this line gave me chills rewatching it. first time i saw the hospital scene i was getting a little scared lol)

and after learning the true killer's identity he fucking hates adachi. even after defeating him he never really forgives him. he still gets pissed and tries to attack adachi when he shows up unexpectedly in ultimax:

yosuke was 100% willing to kill someone, and he'd 100% do it again if his partner gave the okay. but as much as he hates adachi, he understands that he's important to yu, enough to know yu would break their promise and sneak into the TV alone. and despite how he might feel, he doesn't want yu to lose someone important to him too.

there's also the scene in the anime after the hospital, where after yu tries to send everyone home promising he'll be okay, yosuke comes back to comfort him. he's still upset, but he's deferring to yu's leadership and more importantly, making sure that his partner is okay comes first.

that's why i think it's great the anime puts the fist fight after the hospital scene. cause he spends his whole social link struggling with his grief and insecurity and jealousy; and then, in december, with tensions running high and these nasty revelations about himself and awful feelings swirling inside, it all finally comes to a head. and he tries to get it all out in the only way he knows how: two dudes beating the shit out of each other. Thats True Love Babey.

not much of a point to all this, except that i really love yosuke's character (and souyo) lol. something is wrong with him. I Know What He Is. he's like the team mood maker and he's always joking around (and i think golden especially looooves to play him up for comic relief), but perhaps the moments when he lets the veneer slip are the moments where he shines the most.

#p4 spoilers #“i like it when yosuke stops joking around”#(draws almost exclusively yosuke joking around)#“i dont want to spend 5 hrs formatting a twitter thread”#(spends 5 hrs formatting a tumblr essay)#Welp #i usu keep the musings to myself cause saying all this shit out loud makes me feel delusional #persona 4

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athenaistired · 8 months

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𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐄 ❞

— 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐞 //

ʜɪ! ɪ’ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ! ᴡᴏᴡ! ᴡᴀꜱ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ꜰɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ɪɴ! ᴛ��ʜ ɪ’ᴠᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴡʀɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ Qᴜɪᴛᴇ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇ ᴀꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪꜱ ꜰɪᴄ, ꜱᴏ ᴘʟꜱ, ɪ ᴀᴅᴠɪᴄᴇ ᴄʜᴇᴄᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ.

word count: 2538

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ ꜰɪɴᴀɴᴄɪᴀʟ ᴅᴇʙᴛ, ꜰɪɴᴀɴᴄɪᴀʟ ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ, ꜰɪɴᴀɴᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴀʙᴜꜱɪᴠᴇ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ, ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇʟʏ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟʟɪɴɢ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ, ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴘʜʏꜱɪᴄᴀʟ ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ, ᴘꜱʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ ᴀʙᴜꜱᴇ, ᴍᴀɴɪᴘᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ ᴅᴇᴄᴇɪᴛ

— 𝑴𝑨𝑫𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺 !1!

You met Childe in the most bizarre way one could imagine. Just in the beginning of your rising fame, the redheaded man knocked on the door of your very well-hidden house in the heights of Liyue mountains demanding the money which you had borrowed from the Northland bank. You were at least a few million Mora in debt, and you knew that very well, but didn’t think that’d come for you this soon — all money was going into your management team, on your tours, on the best performance equipment, and on the highest quality outfits for each one of your public appearances. You had no clue how he had tracked you down, but clearly that was a mistake on your part.

“Who would have guessed that this is where you choose to live?” The man grinned with a slightly sadistic smile; he was looking down at you like you were a lower life form than him.

You didn’t let his loud and proud ego phase you. Instead, you shined with your picture-perfect smile and adjusted your voice to the same tune that you used whenever interacting with anyone outside your close circle. No, who were you kidding. You had no close circle. You’ve abandoned everything for your dream. You ran away from your family, you changed your looks, you faked your identity, you even swapped your birth name to the one which pleased your ears more — you were a walking, living fake doll. People loved that about you (your wallet, however, didn’t love it very much).

“Oh, my! How did such a handsome man managed to find me this far away in the unknown? Do you happen to be one of my stalkers?” You waved one of your hands while showing off your long, golden nails. Your other palm rested against your cheek, “Well, congratulations! I guess I’ll have no choice but to move away again!”

“Too bad that you won’t be moving anywhere else anytime soon.” The man cocked his head to the side while pulling out a long list out of his inner pocket. You knitted your eyebrows; acting completely clueless, “Usually, I don’t show up to collect money from people who don’t require physical force, but you know what our personal investigation had concluded?”

“Mm?” You puffed out your cheeks and leaned against the doorframe.

“You borrowed at least 5.9 million Mora from the bank yourself, completely destroying your credit score. And when the bank had declined you any more credit, you went to your most loyal fans and convinced them into borrowing money in your stead. If we were to count up the total of how much money had went missing due to your charades.. It’d be estimated around 25 million Mora. And that’s with counting the percentages.” As he finished, Childe looked up at you to see you ‘panicking’.

“T-there must be a mistake! I would never do such a thing to my own fans.. I love them more than anything in this world.” You scrunched up your face until salty droplets began to form at the edges of your beautiful silver eyes, “P-please don’t hurt me.. I’ll give it all back next month..”

The man got taken aback by the sudden tearful breakdown. He expected to be met with some evil manipulative witch, but instead got this circus of crocodile tears. But he was no idiot. He knew that you wouldn’t give the money back next month. You would take off and run away, or would convince another one of your fans to take the fall. And the bank would only continue to suffer from the insane amounts of credit being borrowed left and right. He had to solve this issue - now and today.

“Stop with this nonsense.” He cut you off shortly, and you froze while wondering if the man had already seen through your act, “We’ll make a deal.”

“W-what is it..?” Your throat was beginning to hurt from raising it so high. You wanted to appear fragile and sad; so that he’d feel bad for you and leave you be. These tactics always worked on your idiotic fans, but they did not seem to phase the man before you.

“All the money that you will make from now on — will go straight to me. I’ll pay for your equipment and outfits. Whatever it is. But you’ll pay me back the money with hard work. The amount you’ve stacked up will probably take at least half of your lifetime to pay off. If not more..”

You were getting involved with some serious life-changing shit. You felt your stomach tense up in a knot.

“Are you saying that you want to be my manager or something?” You giggled like a clueless idiot.

“No. You’ll sign this contract—“

The man pulled out a pre-written paper out of his bag.

So, he had seen this all coming.

“—and from now on everything you’ll ever be or ever achieve will be under my name. You’ll be a mascot for which people will pay crazy money to see, but you’ll have no freedom of your own. All you’ll ever be is just a famous pretty face, and my extra income.”

Your fake expression finally fell. There was no point in playing pretend games anymore. Seeing how serious you suddenly got; the man smirked with amusement. He made you crack under pressure and reveal your true self. He was in control of the situation, and you had nowhere to run.

“You’re not joking, huh..” You rolled your eyes.

“That’s what happens when you get yourself involved with wrong people. Don’t worry, of course. I’ll send off a big percentage to the bank until all your debts are done.” You wanted to smash his face in. Cocky, selfish bastards was the type you’ve despised the most.

“How charming. What happens if I run away and you’ll never see me again?” You challenged him back, to which a dark shade coated his eyes. He was lifeless and cruel inside — just like you.

“I will find you.”

The pause was short, but felt like a lifetime.

“And you will die.”

You got the chills.

He was no joke. He could easily end you in one blow if he so desired, but instead he was playing the long game. He wanted for you to become nothing but his puppet. You couldn’t help but also feel excitement creep up your back all the way towards the roots of your brain. They say that famous people sell their soul to the Devil to get where they do. Was this the evil by your door awaiting to collect your life in exchange for the crowd’s love and fame?

“You’re not asking me, are you? That’s the only way I can escape our meeting tonight alive.” You stated, to which he nodded with a pleased smile.

“I see you’ve got brains after all!”

And that was how the two of you met.

Your life would change forever, and never be the same again. Now, you had your own mastermind controlling every move and breath you took. He knew where you were going and for how long, he knew everything you ate and drank, he knew what you wore and what you would wear tomorrow. You had no desires, no wishes, no freedom. Everything was under his whim, and there was no opportunity of escape.

All for the price of fame.

“Y/N, it is your time to get up.”

You quickly opened your eyes and looked around. You’ve been awake for a while now, but you knew that you weren’t allow to leave the room until one of Childe’s assistants would come in to wake you.

It had been 3 years, 4 months, and 12 days since you’ve been financially imprisoned by the Harbinger. Meanwhile, today the world celebrated your 3rd year anniversary with your soon-to-be-husband. For his presence to appear natural, on the 4th month of the contract he had announced to everyone that the two of you were together. Every single fan and worker of his thought the same. If only they knew.. If only they knew..

“Master Childe had requested for your breakfast today to be a detoxing tea with mint salad.” Your eyes widened in surprise. Usually, breakfast meant you would go hungry all the way until dinner.

Ever since you moved into his house in Liyue, he had set many rules for you. Those included what you eat, which supplements you take, how much you drink, and even how much makeup you use. He wanted for your diet and looks to be perfect, so you reach the highest success. No acne, no breakouts, no greasy hair, no dark circles — none of that was allowed. You had to look like you were not a real person, but a painting. Someone’s imagination. An angel that had come down from the skies of Celestia.

“And a salad too? How generous.” You snorted with sarcasm, and stared down at the miserable small bowl of the green leaves with mint spices sprinkled on top.

“Master Childe had expressed his concerns over your drastic weight loss in the last 3 weeks. You’ll be seen by the general practitioner, nutritionist and dietician who came all the way from Sumeru to see you.” You rose your brows, but let it stay as subtle as you could.

“Understood.” You nodded, and proceeded to eat your breakfast, “Prepare me a bath, Chan’er.”

“Of course, Y/N.” The woman bowed to you before exiting the room to run you a bath.

The moment she was outside, you felt your heart rate pick up its pace and your stomach twisting in a knot. It worked.. It worked!

For the past weeks, you’ve done everything in your power to make yourself sick, so that you would get to see the doctor alone. It was crucial for it to be today — because Childe was far away in Fontaine dealing with some personal business. Even if he were to hear that you ran away, you’d have an advantage of at least a week to run away as far as possible and seek shelter in Mondstat. You knew that you could make it. No. You had to make it!

You had to be patient. No one could suspect anything. No one could know anything.

You took a bath, combed your hair, put on a silk robe as you applied finest makeup and shades. Later, the maids came in to show you your outfit and style your hairstyle for the day. In the end, you came out gorgeous. Y/N from 3 years ago wouldn’t believe that the person staring back at them was the same Y/N. The price for beauty was happiness. The price for fame was freedom. The price for surviving, was giving up on living.

“You’re gorgeous as always, Y/N!” One of the girls in the room cooed at you.

“Master Childe was so lucky to have found you.” Another maid chimed in, and all you could do was give the two of them a petite smirk. Well, he was lucky, meanwhile for you, it was the worst day of your life.

“None of that. It is truly a blessing to have Master Childe be a part of me and my future.” It was a curse. “I couldn’t be happier.” You have never been this miserable.

“True love does exist after all!” The third one — you also liked to call her ‘the romantic’ — couldn’t get over of how ‘sweet’ and ‘doting’ your relationship with Childe was.

True love, huh..

Such thing does not exist after all.

“My name is Dr. Amal, it is a true pleasure to meet you, Y/N.” The doctor shook your hand and you politely greeted him while taking a seat.

“Thank you for making the time to come and see me.. This is a bit awkward, my fiancé can be such a worry-head.” You fake-laughed, but the other male easily bought into it.

“Master Childe had notified me that you lost quite some weight.” The doctor looked at a document (most likely a letter to him from the Harbinger), “So, let’s talk about that. How have you been eating?”

“Oh, I love eating. I always have 3 balanced meals and a snack. And don’t even get me started on the sweet tooth of mine!” You blushed. The doctor looked you up and down, and furrowed his brows.

“Is that so?”

The conversation went back and forth. Dr. Amal would throw a question at you, and you would easily dodge it with an easy smile and pre-practiced answers. Eventually, you noticed that the doctor quickly came to a dead-end. Now, was the moment for show-time.

“Although.. There has been something going on with me. I’ve been feeling touch which hadn’t been around me. I hear voices which aren’t present! The smells which aren’t being spread.. Doctor..” The more you spoke; the more your bottom lip trembled, and your hands shook in ‘terror’.

“May I be going mad?” In that moment — on queue — you broke down in tears with your face buried in your palms, “I’m afraid my fiancé were to leave me had he known he’s with a mad person! Doctor, whatever should I do?” Dr. Amal blinked at you in worry and confusion, “I love my fiancé more than life itself, I couldn’t live were he to leave me!” The doctor reached forward to place a comforting hand on your shoulder. You sniffed up and locked your eyes with him.

“This.. Is not my expertise, Y/N, but I know the doctor who could help. He’s originally from Inazuma, but right now he’s visiting Lisa the Librarian in Mondstat. He’s on a journey to learn more, but I’m certain he’d make time for you. I’ll send him the letter.”

Your palms hid away the maniacal grin on your face.

“Doctor, I have no clue how to thank you!” You stood up to hug the man. Dr. Amal quickly pulled you off himself.

“Y/N, there’s only so much I can do, and as a doctor I am obliged to help you. So, no need to thank me.”

“No, Doctor! Thank you! Thank you! I shall be thankful to you until the end of time!” You bowed to him over and over again, until taking a seat back at your chair, “But.. Doctor, you mustn’t tell my fiancé! He’ll beat the madness out of me!”

“M-master Childe beats you?”

“No, no! But sometimes, I’ve seen him raise his hand at maids, assistants and workers. I wouldn’t wanna disappoint him, Doctor, so please do not tell him! Say that I went into intensive treatment for a viral infection. Say that I mustn’t see anyone for weeks if not months! Help me, Doctor. You’re the only one who can..”

You started crying again to play as much of the pity party as you could. The man gritted his teeth and lowered his head.

“Alright, Y/N. I’ll help you. Plus, patient confidentiality means that I can’t disclose information to anyone, which includes your fiancé too.”

Your plan was officially in action.

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agent-calivide · 8 months

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IEYTD 3 Theory

I fully plan on making a full blown theory video compiling all of my evidence, HOWEVER, I am also an impatient bitch who wants to be able to say "I called it" in case this ends up taking a month to make or something like that- so enjoy a new textwall :)

MAJOR IEYTD 3 SPOILERS

In the latest game, you can find seven coins known as phantom coins that are left by a mysterious person known only as the Phantom. Six of them are hidden in each level and then one additional one you find in your main hub that you unlock after beating the game. Getting all the coins reveals a note left by the phantom that reads: “It seems you’re as good as they say, Phoenix. They used to say I was good, too. But I made a choice. And before they get you killed, I hope you realize you have the same choice: to die or to live.”

At the bottom there's a code that reads “I Expect You To Live” when deciphered. There's also notably a line from the Handler where he comments on how the person who gets those coins where they need to be has to be even stealthier than Phoenix, which is impressive since Phoenix is the top agent currently.

But it wasn’t always that way. Phoenix has only recently risen to Agency Fame, there was an agent that was number one before them, and we know who it is. At the end of every level in IEYTD 3, we open in a board room of sorts, looking down at our office in the Babadag EOD base, and to the side of us there’s a wall of portraits, all of various important figureheads of the EOD. The director, the our handler, doctor Prism, etcetera, but one of them is missing. Snoop around, and you find a portrait of a young, brunette woman, V. Vitti, reveled to be Valeri Vitti if you play with subtitles on, and she is labeled as the lead field agent. The previous number one.

Between the fact that she was taken off the wall and hidden, it didn’t take long to conclude that VV was the Phantom, supported by the fact that the star icon that’s associated with the phantom looks like two interlocking V’s. Valeri Vitti.

Now we know who the phantom is, but that doesn’t really do much for us story wise other than maybe the promise of facing our predecessor in a future game, how does a character that’s never been mentioned even in passing until now really pack a narrative punch? Except, the phantom has been there, even if she was never mentioned.

In the first game, in operation Winter Break, we see a portrait of a young brunette woman in Zor’s office. The very same woman who’s in a group photo with all of the other figureheads, V. Vitti. I’ve seen a lot of people conclude that this means that either Vitti is Zor, or she’s working with Zor, but I don’t personally buy it.

When it comes to her being Zor, it doesn’t really make sense. Zor is shown to be very protective of their identity, not only using voice modulators any time they talk to Phoenix, but also using the neutral terms “they/them” according to the devs in the official discord. As far as I know, this has not changed, even if Schell uses “he” on occasion while talking about the game in interviews. Functionally, when talking about the context of the games and what we’ve been presented, we aren’t supposed to know anything about Zor. Race, gender, age, it’s all up in the air, a nebulous void of information. And we’re supposed to think this person? Who has hidden their identity to the point of having a completely blank file with nothing but “confidential” slapped all over it also has a massive portrait of themselves in their office? Not only that, but in their office that’s primed to go off with traps in case an agent gets in? It seems reckless at best, and honestly really out of character to me.

Zor having an egotistical display of themselves in their office is more like something Juniper would do. Zor isn’t one to lavish themselves in attention and make themselves the focus of anything. They only come out of the shadows when things get serious. Phoenix interrupting the peacekeeper, finding their hidden lab where they ran the kinesium experiments that could foil their entire plot, getting to Operation K-Boom and working with Prism to thwart their other major scheme. They wouldn’t just have their whole identity on display and risk losing their anonymity. But you know what it does look like? A photo of a loved one on your desk. It’s quite common in offices, be it corporate or cubical, to have photos of your loved ones to get you through the day, to remember what you’re doing it for while you’re making a thousand spreadsheets and wanting to bash your head into your desk. It’s a way to have a piece of yourself and what you care about at work.

So Zor knows the Phantom but isn’t her, why would they not be working together in that case? After all, the Phantom seems just on keen on getting Phoenix off the field as Zor, isn’t that a good sign that they have the same goals?

Not exactly.

Zor shows such contempt for Phoenix, they want that agent dead, and they want it to be as soon as possible. They don’t want Phoenix off the field by any means necessary, even if that’s a comfy retirement, they want them gone. Out of the picture, they celebrate when Phoenix dies. If you look at the coroner report, there’s a note in the corner from Zor that says they understand if people want to take time to celebrate. Zor, the person who has crummy escape pods for their workers that frequently lead to their Operatives getting killed, has little qualms about dropping their scientists into fiery infernos over who knows how minor of an infraction, has their workers in the mines do inhumanly long shifts and simply won’t let them leave, and in some cases outright lies to their workers and leaves them abandoned at work sites like Ollie in the underwater lab, gives permission for their workers to party, if for a short while, in the event of the death of the Phoenix.

That goes beyond some minor or even major inconvenience, Zor puts their basic fundamentals aside to allow everyone a window of celebration in the even of Phoenix’s death. There is no way they’d leave a note saying they expect Phoenix to put themselves first and take care of themselves, to put themselves before the EOD. Nor would any of their top operatives or moles, everyone at Zoraxis despises Phoenix, and it’s Phoenix in specific. None of these people want Phoenix to go have a peaceful life in the country side, they want to mount the agents head on a wall like a trophy.

But someone who would?

A former agent who was in Phoenix’s exact shoes.

Throughout IEYTD 3, you can flip between Public Radio and Agency Radio. The public radio is mostly just the game soundtrack with a few little advertisements that tell you more about the world, but the Agency radio is much more interesting. Through it, we get updates on the EOD’s world, we hear a handler give run-downs to all of the agents about what’s going on with the Kinesium experiments, what’s going on with Prism, rules about staying a football field away from other agents, things like that. But one of the first things we hear from this agency broadcast is that Agent Phoenix is not just a secret agent. They’re a famous secret agent. One so big that the amount of agents joining the EOD is staggering, and they’ll run out of kinesium for their TK chips at this rate.

A funny little side tangent for sure, but consider: What’s keeping former agents off of those radio waves? Nothing, in fact, we see that the station is compromised in a note left BY the Phantom, and the last phantom coin you get is by entering a code left on your desk by them with said note. So who’s to say Vitti didn’t have access to an agency radio, heard everything that was going on with the Phoenix, and chose to step in. To let them know that there is another option. That Phoenix doesn’t have to keep risking their life for an agency that treats them like a number and a trophy rather than a person. But she didn't want her identity potentially outed, so she quickly took her photo off the wall and tucked it into a hiding space in hopes of Phoenix not finding it.

But Zor does know Vitti. After all, her portrait is in their office. Which leads to my next point, we hear in Operation: Squeaky Clean from the first game that Zor’s not doing these things because they’re just a bad person who wants to watch the world burn. They specifically want vengeance on the agency, but vengeance for what? Sure, it could just be the agency constantly getting in the way of their plans, but what made them start in the first place? What drove them to decide that they wanted to go down this route of villainy? Surely there’s gotta be something other than just “they want to rule the world”, Zor basically already ruled it at the beginning of the series. They’re a corporate billionaire that was able to get away with filling popsicles with enough lead to kill a person instantly, and they didn’t get anything more than a slap on the wrist? They could have done anything they wanted at that point, why make a giant death laser in outer space, they coulda spent that money doing literally anything else?

But who do they aim it at? Not the heads of state. Not a symbol of peace. Not even a test run in the ocean. Their first ever laser strike is aimed at an EOD base. An EOD base with the man that at some point was the lead support agent, someone who knew Vitti personally, Reginald Crane. Our Handler. That wasn’t a random shot, nor was it a scheme to take over the world. It was a personal attack on the Enhanced Operatives Division.

So, jump a few pet sharks with me as I spin a story for you. The EOD is established and has dozens, hundreds of competent agents even, and they’re able to stop international global crisis and villainous organizations by working underground. As time goes on, one agent stands out from the rest, Valari Vitti, an agent so good at sneaking in without a trace, she quickly climbs the ranks and becomes the lead field agent at the EOD.

But people are more than just their work, as is Vitti. She could be a friend, a sister, or, and this is my personal theory, someone’s lover. Their wife. Sure, working at the EOD is dangerous, but that’s just part of it, and if her partner knew, say they too worked at the EOD or Vitti was simply able to open up about her work, then there’d be no secrets. A needed relief from the stress of agency things. No need for a double life, she’d be able to be herself around them.

But as she keeps progressing up the ranks, she realizes things can’t go on like this forever. She can’t keep going to this dangerous job, there are risks! How long until she was hurt? Maimed? Killed!? She can’t keep doing this. It’s not viable, she likely will die if she doesn’t make this decision for herself and leave.

So. She does. She doesn’t resign, doesn’t go through the process of making an official exit, she just disappears. If she simply resigned, her photo wouldn’t still be up, and it sure as heck wouldn’t be tucked away in the pot of a random snake plant. The EOD could have found her a replacement, some sort of backup, anyone who’s worked in business has watched a coworker die and get replaced in chillingly short time, something the EOD doesn’t seem to be above. They can’t afford to be above it, agents die every day.

So there’s no reason for Vitti’s portrait to still be in that frame if she died. But if she simply vanished, then that could explain why she’s still up there on that wall. The EOD didn’t replace her, because they may have still been looking for her. We know that when an agent vanishes, the EOD sends people to try and recover them. The site of the PeaceKeeper is checked for Phoenix’s body, we know it is thanks to Reginald’s recording at the end of IEYTD 2. The EOD always will try to find an agent or what remains of them.

Over time, perhaps they gave up. Went to close the case but never got around to it because the EOD is always busy.

But Vitti’s spouse never forgot. They sure as hell never forgave either. Their wife was gone without a trace, and they had nothing left of her but her photos and an EOD lighter that they keep in a safe in their office. They knew they had to get revenge, they had to make the people that took their loved one suffer. So, they went to work. They established a business and gave themselves the fake name Zor and called the business Zoraxis.

They hunker down, and simply plot and scheme for a while. They claw their way up the social and economic ladder. They cut every corner, take every shortcut, and they hoard as much money as they possibly can and establish themselves as a cruel, immoral person that doesn’t care about the health or safety of their workers on the way up. As time goes on, they start their second half of their plan: Creating an entire establishment with the main goal of taking down the EOD.

They take in anyone who will help with their goals, the more deranged the better. A scientist who loves to burn things and wants to create a super laser? Give her the money and tell her to fire her first shot at the building their late wife used to work at. An unhinged fashion designer obsessed with maiming and death? Wonderful, you can deal with all the pains in my side that get in the way. Anything to finally bring down the people who cost them everything.

But the Death Engine didn’t work. Not only did some random pest destroy it, it didn’t even take down one of the people they wanted dead the most, the lead Support Agent. Maybe Zor particularly hates the man who was supposed to be watching Vitti, keeping her safe. And now?

Not only is he alive, but he’s taken on a new agent who’s taking Vitti’s place? Some random nobody who’s been a pest, who should have died ages ago, not only was getting in their way, but was also apparently good enough to replace their lost loved one without so much as a passing glance? No. They were going to take down the EOD one way or another. The EOD’s a secret organization from even the government, maybe if they take hostile control then they’ll be able to take them down. Sure, the EOD survived a laser, but there’s no way they’ll survive nukes, right? Surely, surely that will get them their revenge-

But no. That agent comes back. They come back and ruin everything. By the time Operation K-Boom happens, not only has the Phoenix ruined several of their most complicated plans that were years in the making, but they had solidly taken the position of their late wife. They took the only thing she had left. A legacy. How dare that pesky Phoenix think they can just step in and replace the one they hold dearly so carelessly? So thoughtlessly? They. Had. To. Die.

Of course, it doesn’t work. Phoenix wins, and Zor is back to the drawing board. The only major thing that gets in the way of this is why wouldn’t Vitti tell her partner that she was leaving the EOD? Going into hiding? Well, the IEYTD franchise isn’t a stranger to having agents split off. In Operation Fifth Class, we see Phoenix try to rescue a woman known as Anna Ulanova. Anna says a few things to the agent, but the last thing we hear is her saying she’d try to come find them, but she had a suspicion that they wouldn’t leave their life. They wouldn’t quit fieldwork.

So we’ve seen cases where there’s an agent and someone who’s not quite in the circle but is aware of what’s going on splitting off because the agent can’t stop putting work first. In the same vein, we’ve seen other relationships fall apart due to someone being unable to stop putting work first.

Leading up to the third game, Schell games released a bunch of ciphers and puzzles that lead to minor lore drops. One of them was shawnsdesk, a collection of files made by Shawn in HR about various characters from the franchise. Most of them were important characters. Solaris, Fabricator, Juniper, Zor, but there were two that were notable.

Shawn in HR, and Sam in accounting. Shawn’s is, of course, mostly just him inflating his own ego and talking about how good he is at making files on all of the people at the EOD, but Sam is where it gets interesting.

We have heard nothing about Sam at this point, and looking over the file, it’s messy. Full of snide insults, catty remarks, Shawn filling this report with resentment, but over what? A bad breakup. Sam telling Shawn that he can’t be with him because Shawn won’t stop putting work first. Why would Schell show us this now, during this window of time where everyone's clawing for more lore and content of the third game? Why show a random lover's quarrel in the middle of all of this story relevant content? I suspect that it's because Shawn and Sam's story is lore relevant, it's just not their lore we're meant to be focused on.

This series has a running theme of two people getting along, maybe even being in love or romantically inclined, and then it falling apart because someone can’t stop putting work first. Phoenix and Anna, Sam and Shawn, and now, or rather long in the past, Vitti and Zor. Maybe, the two were in a rough patch, or had gotten into arguments about Vitti's dangerous work. Maybe she was sick of feeling this upset resentment for her partner and decided she didn’t just want to quit the EOD and try to fix things with Zor. She wanted out. She wanted to start over. Completely over. She wanted to live.

#i expect you to die #ieytd2 #ieytd #ieytd fandom #i expect you to die 2 #agent phoenix #i expect you to die 3 #ieytd 3 #ieytd spoilers #ieytd 3 spoilers #ieytd theory

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frameacloud · 1 year

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A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes

“A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes,” by Orion Scribner. Version 2.4.6, updated February 11, 2023. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

This short piece of writing is for anyone to start learning about us therianthropes and otherkin. The piece uses only common words and simple sentences. Readers can put it into other languages more easily.^1 The statistics come from surveys that had a sample size greater than one hundred people. The endnotes and references give the origins of all the information.

Some real people are therianthropes and otherkin. We say that we are something other than human. For example, one of us who says, “I am a wolf.” The most common sorts of creatures for us to be are wolves, elves, and dragons. This is always an important part of who we are.^2 These are not characters we invented for play in a game.^3 It is not something we do simply for amusement.^4 It is a real part of us. It is an experience that we have without trying.^5 It is also an identity, because it is what we are.^6

Most of us sometimes have thoughts and feelings that are more similar to our animal side.^7 Some of us have thoughts and feelings that we are part animal all the time.^8 78% of us have instincts that most people do not have.^9 For example, the desire to use body language similar to what our sort of creature uses. We choose what we do with our instincts. We are responsible for what we do, the same as anyone else. Instincts are not an excuse for doing bad things.^10 We know that our bodies never change form. No one can change their body into an animal form. No one has magic powers that go against the laws of physics.^11

We each make our own discovery of how and why we are therianthropes or otherkin. Nobody is able to do that for someone else. Only you can know who you are.^12 Many of us knew that we were other than human before we had heard of anybody else who did.^13

Here is how our communities started. In 1990, a group made the word “otherkin” for themselves. It comes from the words “other kinds.”^14 In 1994, another community took up the word “therianthrope” for themselves. It means “animal person.”^15 The two communities came to have knowledge of each other later, in about 1996.^16 The oldest similar groups have put out writings since 1973.^17

Usually, therianthropes are animals, whereas otherkin are creatures from mythology. This is not a rule. Many therianthropes are creatures from mythology.^18 33.4% of otherkin say they are beings from fiction.^19

What do we look like? Other people only know that we are otherkin or therianthropes if we say that we are. We are women, men, and others.^20 We are young and old.^21 We come from many nations and ethnic groups.^22 We know that we look human. All living people in the world who look human are members of the only living species of human.^23 We have complicated opinions about using the words “human” or “not human” for ourselves.^24 Fewer than 4% of us have unusual sorts of body modifications.^25 What we own or wear does not make us therianthropes and otherkin. We enjoy getting things that look like our sort of creature, though.^26

Many of us see our experiences as therianthropes and otherkin as spiritual. Many of us say our spirits are of a different sort of creature.^27 However, some of us believe that our spirits are the same as anyone’s.^28 Some of us do not believe in spirits.^29 44% of us say we were a different sort of creature in a past life.^30 However, some of us have no memories of past lives, or do not believe in past lives.^31 Some of us prefer explanations that come from psychology instead of spirituality.^32

Therianthropes and otherkin are not a religion.^33 We have whichever religion we each desire. Many of us are members of Christianity, Judaism, Paganism, Buddhism, or other religions.^34 Some of us have no religion.^35 There are no leaders of the therianthrope or otherkin communities.^36

We go about our lives in the same ways as other people do.^37 Our experiences as otherkin and therianthropes give us ideas for important choices we make in our lives. For example, in our education and the work we do for a living.^38 We find people who love us for who we are.^39 Therianthropes and otherkin are neither better nor worse than other people.^40

Mental health professionals say that being a therianthrope or otherkin is not a mental illness.^41 Many of us have normal mental health.^42 The same as in any group of people, some of us have mental illnesses or disabilities.^43 Neither good nor bad health is necessary for us to be otherkin or therianthropes.

In short, otherkin and therianthropes are real people for whom being other than human is always a part of who they are. Our communities have been in existence for tens of years. Many sorts of people are therianthropes and otherkin. Each of us has our own ideas of how and why we are this way. Some of our explanations for this come from spirituality or psychology. We are not a religion, an illness, a look, or a game.

About the writer: Orion Scribner is a dragon otherkin. More than ten years ago, they wrote a history book about the otherkin and therianthrope communities, the Otherkin Timeline.

(The main version of the “Simple Introduction” is seven pages long. I created this shorter version of that post so that it is easier to reblog. In this version, please click “keep reading.” Then you will see the next four pages of endnotes and references. I cited many sources.)

Endnotes

1. This piece of writing is in Simple English. It is not obedient to all the rules of Basic English. All the words in here are common enough to be in a small dictionary. Other than the words “therianthropes” and “otherkin,” anyway.

2. These are simpler words for part of the best definition of “therianthropes.” Sonne wrote it in “Terms and definitions.” It is also true about otherkin.

3. These say it is not an invented character: Baker-Whitelaw, Golden Spirit, Jakkal (“Therianthropy…”), Lupa (pp. 27, 108-109).

4. See Katmandu and Tiernan.

5. Mokele first gave a definition of “therianthropes” saying it is an experience. This is also true of otherkin.

6. See Citrakayah and Baxil.

7. See Baker-Whitelaw and Jakkal (“Therianthropy…”).

8. See Sonne.

9. These statistics come from a survey by Shepard (“Abnormal instincts”). Therianthropes, otherkin, and similar sorts of people took the survey.

10. See Jakkal (“Introduction…”), Katmandu, and Lupa (p. 234, 249-250). A survey by Shepard has proof (“Abnormal instincts,” pp. 24-25).

11. See Clegg (p. 404) and Golden Spirit.

12. Most introductions to otherkin and therianthropes say this. About otherkin, see the Crisses, Golden Spirit, and Tiernan. About therianthropes, see Jakkal (“Introduction…”) and Katmandu. See also Lupa (pp. 243-245).

13. For more information about this part of self discovery, see Baker-Whitelaw, Katmandu, Kusani, and Tiernan.

14. For more, read my history book, the Otherkin Timeline. For information about the origin of this word, see Arethinn.

15. See the book by House of Chimeras.

16. From House of Chimeras (pp. 14, 27).

17. For more information about earlier groups, see my Otherkin Timeline.

18. For proof from community history that therianthropes are not only animals, see Daski.

19. The statistic comes from a survey by Shepard (“2021 Nonhumanity…”, raw data).

20. Some surveys find that more of us are women than men. All surveys find some others who are not simply men or women.

21. Usually, surveys find most of us in our teens and twenties. For one example, we see this in survey results by Clegg (p. 407-408). Year after year, this happens in our surveys. Older people have been in our communities for many years. Younger people have a greater tendency to take the surveys.

22. As Proctor says, surveys find that we live “on all continents … except Antarctica'' (pp. 72-73). For statistics on which ethnic groups are common among us, see Dinocanid.

23. For an explanation of how scientists know this, see Gould (pp. 322-322). Understanding this fact is important for stopping racism and false science. See Gould (pp. 24-25, 113-145).

24. About those complicated feelings, see the writings by Ilrak, Kin Speak, and Proctor (pp. 8, 108, 361).

25. The statistic come from a survey by Shepard (“2021 Nonhumanity…,” p. 12).

26. See Baker-Whitelaw.

27. Nearly all introductions to therianthropes and otherkin talk about how we have the belief that our spirits are not human. For example, see the Crisses, Jakkal (“Therianthropy…”), and Lupa (p. 27).

28. See the writings about this by a therianthrope named Kusani, and an otherkin named Tiernan.

29. See Citrakayah.

30. The statistic comes from Lupa’s survey of otherkin, therianthropes, and similar people (p. 287). Nearly all introductions to therianthropes or otherkin say that many have the belief that they were other than human in a past life. See Akhila, Baxil, the Crisses, Golden Spirit, and Lupa (pp. 57-66).

31. See the Crisses and Kefira.

32. See Akhila and Lupa (pp. 80-86).

33. One of the few things that our communities are in agreement about is that we are not a religion. See Golden Spirit, Lupa (p. 30), and Proctor (pp. 94-95).

34. About how we each have religions as we desire, see Lupa (pp. 30-31, 211-214). About otherkin who say this, see Baxil and Golden Spirit. About therianthropes who say this, see Citrakayah.

35. See Kefira.

36. See Baxil and Proctor (p. 94).

37. See Akhila, Baker-Whitelaw, Golden Spirit, Ilrak, and Lupa (p. 37).

38. See Lupa (p. 240).

39. See the Polyrhythms.

40. Therianthropes say this. For example, see the writings by Akhila and Katmandu. Otherkin say this, too. See Baker-Whitelaw, Baxil, and Golden Spirit.

41. For examples of mental health professionals giving us this advice, see Baker-Whitelaw and Lupa (pp. 86, 261-262).

42. See Akhila, Baxil, and Lupa (pp. 85-86).

43. See Akhila and Lupa (p. 259).

References

Akhila. “‘Different’ isn’t ‘insane.’” Thébaïde. September 2005. Accessed September 9, 2022. https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2005/different-isnt-insane/ Archived October 16, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211016202558/https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2005/different-isnt-insane/

Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia. “Understanding the otherkin.” The Kernel. February 22, 2015. Archived March 18, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318110839/http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/11866/otherkin-tumblr-definition-pronouns/

Baxil. “The Draconity FAQ.” Tomorrowlands. 1998. Accessed November 14, 2022. http://www.tomorrowlands.org/draconity/faq/index.html

Citrakāyaḥ. “A skeptic’s guide to therianthropy.” Spirit of the Wind. No date, before February 20, 2015. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://citrakayah.ucoz.org/index/a_skeptic_39_s_guide_to_therianthropy/0-40 Archived February 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150220005108/https://citrakayah.ucoz.org/index/a_skeptic_39_s_guide_to_therianthropy/0-40

Clegg, H., Collings, R., and Roxburgh, E. C.. “Therianthropy: Wellbeing, Schizotypy, and Autism in Individuals Who Self-Identify as Non-Human.” Society and Animals, 27(4), 2019, pp. 403-426. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/15685306-12341540

Crisses, the, ed., “Otherkin FAQ v 4.0.1.” February 8, 2001. Accessed September 5, 2022. http://kinhost.org/res/Otherfaq.php Archived September 27, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210927165832/https://kinhost.org/res/Otherfaq.php

Daski. “Therian: Dispelling the Earthen Animal Myth.” The River System. August 17, 2022. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth.html Archived August 17, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220817021646/https://theriversystem.neocities.org/essays/EarthenMyth.html

Dinocanid. “POC survey results!” Dino’s Corner. August 24, 2021. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://dinocanid.tumblr.com/post/660444385413087232/

Golden Spirit and MistWolf. “FAQ Otherkin Hispano & Noctalium.” Otherkin Hispano. No date. Accessed September 5, 2022. https://otherkin-hispano.foroactivo.com/t108-faq-otherkin-hispano-noctalium Archived September 5, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220905022917/https://otherkin-hispano.foroactivo.com/t108-faq-otherkin-hispano-noctalium

Gould, Stephen Jay. The Mismeasure of Man. New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1981. https://www.worldcat.org/title/964237978

House of Chimeras. A Timeline of the Therianthrope Community. November 19, 2021. Accessed February 2, 2023. https://houseofchimeras.neocities.org/Nonfiction-Articles

Ilrak. “Triple consciousness.” Radiant Obscurities. April 2021. Accessed November 13, 2022. https://obscurities.sonverrid.org/2021/05/06/triple-consciousness/

Jakkal. “Introduction to the Newbie’s Guide.” Shifters.org. October 6, 2001. Archived October 28, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20021028114201/http://www.shifters.org/newbies/introduction.asp

Jakkal. “Therianthropy- an overview." Shifters.org. October 6, 2001. Archived November 10, 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20021101165313/http://www.shifters.org/overview/therianthropy.asp

Katmandu. “Insta-weres, Part I & II.” Shifters. No date, about 1999. Archived March 5, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010305233827/http://www.shifters.org:80/newbies/katmandu1.shtml

Kefira. “Life and religion.” Thébaïde. December 2004. Accessed September 7, 2022. https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2004/life-and-religion/ Archived September 18, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210918064554/https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2004/life-and-religion/

Kin Speak. “Non-human.” Kin Speak. October 30, 2011. Accessed November 14, 2022. https://kinspeak.tumblr.com/post/12122639053/non-human Archived December 14, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181214163147/https://kinspeak.tumblr.com/post/12122639053/non-human

Kusani. “Soulskins.” Thébaïde. January 2007. https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2007/soulskins/ Archived February 20, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150220035229/https://akhila.feralscribes.org/2007/soulskins/

Lupa. A Field Guide to Otherkin. Stafford, England: Immanion Press, 2007. https://www.worldcat.org/title/137242792

Mokele. “The Experiential Nature of Therianthropy.” The Jungle. No date, about 2004. Archived February 19, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050219234157/http://www.therianthropy.org/mokele/essays/exp.htm

Polyrhythms, the. “Loving someone with all your soul: Having an otherkin significant other.” Otherkin Alliance. No date, about 2012. Archived November 29, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121129104209/http://main.otherkinalliance.org/articles/general-otherkin/loving-someone-with-all-your-soul-having-an-otherkin-significant-other/

Proctor, Devin. On Being Non-Human: Otherkin Identification and Virtual Space. The George Washington University. May 2019. https://search.proquest.com/openview/e156c24bf65c4efb0918a8db37433cce/

Scribner, Orion. Otherkin Timeline. Updated September 8, 2012. https://frameacloud.com/nonfiction/

Shepard, Page. “The 2021 Nonhumanity and Body Modification/Decoration Survey Results Breakdown.” Three Dragons and a Dog. August 28, 2021. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://invisibleotherkin.neocities.org/files/BodyModification-DecorationSurveyResults.pdf

Shepard, Page. “Abnormal Instincts: Statistics and Solutions (18+ Panel).” Three Dragons and a Dog. August 9, 2022. Accessed December 4, 2022. https://invisibleotherkin.neocities.org/Lectures.html

Sonne. “Terms and definitions.” Project Shift. Written 2008. Updated 2021. Accessed September 15, 2022. https://projectshift.therianthropy.info/terms-definitions-by-sonne/

Tiernan. “From the heart out.” Otherkin.net: Harmony and Discord. October 8, 2002. Archived November 2, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20041102205227/http://www.otherkin.net/articles/heartOut.html

#otherkin #therianthrope #therian #therianthropy #original post #Simple English #screen reader friendly #rated G #simple intro #A Simple Introduction to Otherkin and Therianthropes #my art and writing

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mae-i-scribble · 10 months

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I’ve been thinking so much about how ASTV goes out of its way to set up Miles and Gwen as both parallel and directly opposing each other throughout the entire film and going just a little feral so now I am subjecting my essay upon the internet.

First off we have the direct comparisons that can be made between Miles and Gwen as people, the way they both use that awful fake low voice to disguise themselves. Both of them have fathers that are in the police force who were at one point staunchly against spider-man and to whom they have to conceal themselves from. Both of them started out as superheroes around the same age. Both are established as people who despite having support groups around them who support them (miles and ganke plus his parents, gwen with her band and her dad (here on a technicality)) to be desperately lonely people because they can never discuss who they are in full with anyone, and who in turn feel a special connection with each other because of all these similarities in their unique situations. Both of them are also painted as anomalies, with Gwen being a Gwen Stacy who exists outside of the ‘girlfriend who tragically dies’ role given to her other universe counterparts (this may change in BTSV based on some creator statements but for now its all we have to go off of). And Miles, the kid who was never meant to become spider-man but who excelled at the role. Both of them are extremely skilled superheroes who keep up with the older veterans despite their age too.

And then we have some of the hard hitting differences. The polar opposite relationship these two have with both their fathers and with family in general. Even as spider-man, Miles has kept a good rapport up with his father and the police, if met with a little more annoyance from the police. Gwen on the other hand, has been hunting down like a criminal for most of her vigilante life, doubly so by her own father who even when confronted with the fact that his daughter is spider-woman, tries to lock her up anyways. Something we know with absolute certainty Miles’ dad would not do. Gwen’s dad is also the only family she has left, and even before that it seems that her support group was very small and limited to Peter and Aunt May. On the other hand Miles has both his parents and a lot of people he can at least call acquaintances (we see this in the first movie as he has always been a bit of a people person, well loved at his old school). We also see a stark difference in how they would have handled being told they couldn’t use the watches to visit. Gwen, clearly afraid of losing the one safe space she has left, keeps in line regardless of her own feelings because she cannot risk it. Miles, on the other hand, had he been put in a position to join spider-society before Gwen, would have gone to see her by any means- he was already trying to see both her and Peter from his own dimension.

There are some other scenes and visuals that also continue this trend, screencaps and explanations of those below the readmore.

First off we have the visual contrast between Miles and Gwen’s respective dimensions. Gwen’s world is a blur of color, the cityscape blends together only to focus on the things Gwen cares about. It’s painted together.

Miles’ world, on the other hand, while having a slight blur that is reminiscent of older comics, stands out much more sharply. And while not as distinctly colorful as Gwen’s world, its a much brighter take on our everyday reality (mostly this one shot is not the best example).

When Miles and Gwen first meet and start talking on the bank building, this shot happens. As Gwen sits with a backdrop of shadows we pan up to see Miles standing, the archway giving him the bright backdrop of sky. Right here, as they talk about what could happen if Miles’ were to reveal his identity, visually they are on two opposite sides of one story to reflect how ideologically separated they are on this topic. There’s a physical divide between them. This is coupled by the way ATSV uses the imagery of people being oriented in different directions to show their separation. It’s used in the promo art for Miles vs spider-society, and twice in relation to Miles and Gwen specifically.

But despite their vastly different experiences, the way that their lives have played out so differently, they still have a connection, shown by the way that Miles gets down to match Gwen’s perspective. He literally meets her at her level, and by doing so they get a view that only the two of them can share. Miles is what brings them back onto the same parallel track by orienting himself to match Gwen. That divide doesn’t exist anymore.

This one is less meaningful I just kinda thought it was cute how they essentially had the same reaction to watching the Spot’s plan play out.

The most meaningful shot in this scene though once more brings back the separation via oriented in opposite directions though. The backdrop behind them is open, connecting them together, and they’re on the same level face to face. However, Miles is upside down. Rather than Gwen being the one in strong disagreement, now Miles is with the fact that Gwen would choose to abandon him without telling him anything. And unlike Miles, Gwen doesn’t have the chance to try and see it from his perspective.

The last point I want to bring up is two paralleled shots in the movie. The first being when Miles catches Gwen with his web when she falls in Mumbattan. Here, the only thing that makes the web snap is when Miles’ starts glitching, literally the only thing the could have made him drop her is the universe itself interfering.

Vs when Gwen returns the favor in Nueva York. Only this time it isn’t about the universe interfering, it’s about how she’s lost Miles’ trust so completely, so utterly, that he would rather break off this connection himself than have Gwen save him.

All these things come together to just break my heart over what’s happened to their friendship- I really want some solid resolution to just how much both Gwen and Peter have hurt Miles in the next movie. But also the levels this movie goes to show just how these two are connected to make their intense bond over such a short period more believable is just superior film making at its best. If anyone has more examples I didn’t point out here please let me know I would love to see them.

#ATSV #atsv spoilers #across the spiderverse #miles morales #gwen stacy #analysis #if you can't tell im going fucking feral over here in my corner #its so good you guys its so fucking good

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jefferkyleson · 3 months

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As a Jew who has recently been undergoing an identity crisis about my Judaism due to my father's passing and the conflict in Israel and Palestine, I just want to say, try to assume good in people.

First of all, genocide is horrible and what the Israeli government is doing is reprehensible. I will not indulge in a both sides argument. The numbers of civilians deaths speak for themselves.

Real quick, let me tell you a story. My father was Jewish. He grew up in a rural town in America. You can imagine how that went. Day after day he was belittled and beaten. He was mostly known as "Jew" and would often be called that followed by a swift punch to the gut.

As he got older, things didn't get much better. In High School, he and his friend were in the same class. He got a B, she got an A. They both knew each other well and knew he got better scores, so they went to the teacher for clarification. The teacher had a simple response. "You're the Jewish kid, right?" he said. My dad responded, "Yeah?" "That's all I need," he said. If he wasn't Jewish, he probably would've had straight A's.

Throughout his career, again, little changed. Dog whistles and insults and fear were thrown around wherever he went. And after he had me, that fear only grew. Of course it did. You would do anything to protect your child and you fear whatever the world may do to hurt them.

Now, only 8 years ago, he had to watch a man become president who was being openly supported by nazis. He had to watch people march in the street and chant "Jews will not replace us!" He had to watch as some of the last holocaust survivors started to die out and he had to watch as the neo-nazis grew louder and bolder.

To drive my point home, I've only ever seen this man cry once. It was when he watched Schindler's List with me in the room.

So when my father spoke about supporting Israel, I was confused. "How could he stand for genocide?" "How could he support colonialism?" "Is everything he taught me about the middle east a lie?"

But I knew my father well.

He did not support genocide. He has always stood for equality and peace. He did not support colonialism. At home, he has helped support native populations in every way his job allowed. He knew a lot about the middle east. He had a PhD and had bookshelves of history books.

I think deep down, Judaism can often be tied to fear. When you look at Jewish history, it's hard to notice anything but enslavement and genocide. When you live a Jewish life, it's hard to notice anything but fear and hate.

All he wanted was for Jews everywhere to be safe. All he wanted was for me to be safe. All he wanted was to be safe. So when he stood with Israel, he still did not support the genocide. But he grew up in fear and hoped that Israel could one day become a peaceful place where Jews could be safe.

Did I agree with him on everything? No. He would always jokingly call me a Commie. We did not agree on the situation on Israel. But I knew him. I understood where he was coming from. I understood what he meant and what he was truly fighting for. He wanted a world where everyone could be safe. He personally felt that Jews could be safe in Israel and lived a life that made him feel like we couldn't be safe anywhere else. He also felt that Israel's actions were wrong and that Israel needed to undergo a lot of changes so that the middle east could be safe for everyone. He did not support genocide, he did not support Israel's current actions, but he still supported Israel. And you know what, maybe with more time, he would've condemned Israel entirely, but when he passed, he still supported Israel, and the least I can do is understand where he was coming from.

This has gotten pretty long-winded, but what I'm trying to say is, look at who people truly are. When my dad grew up, "Zionist" was often code for "Jew" and "From the River to the Sea" may as well have been saying "Jews will not replace us." But when I see the people calling for an end to genocide, I believe that is what they are fighting for. When I see Jewish organizations, politicians, teachers, rabbis, and kids on splatoon saying "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," I truly believe they are against genocide and are advocating for freedom, equality, and peace. And when I see celebrities and Jewish organizations and my dad supporting Israel, I truly believe they are against genocide and are advocating for freedom, equality, and peace. And when I think of the millions of people in the middle east, I know the vast majority of them just want to live lives of freedom, equality, and peace.

Now don't get me wrong. Again, I'm not trying to make a both sides argument. I personally believe that what Israel is doing is wrong and the bloodshed needs to stop immediately.

I also know that there is going to be the occasional douchebag who hides behind rhetoric in order to be hateful. I also know this situation is extremely complicated with history and experiences going back for thousands of years. I also know people have things they need to learn and things they need to unlearn and that process might take more than a week.

But before we go firing and censuring and yelling at other people, all I ask is, look at who they really are, what they are really trying to say, where they are coming from, be patient and understanding with them, and try to assume they are coming from a place of good before you assume they are coming from a place of hate.

#everybody love everybody #jewish #free palestine

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miss0atae · 2 months

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Random thoughts about Dead Friend Forever the series episode 10 :

I finally could watch the latest episode and it was great as always. I’m truly enjoying every moments. You never get bored and they always manage to grab your attention so you’ll want to see the next episode.

▪️ Phee finally revealed the truth to Jin about everything he planned with Tan/New when joining the group. It seems Phee is not on board anymore with whatever Tan/New wants to do to know what happens to his brother if the results is more death. Phee always had this guilt about Non and he wanted to have answer but he draws the line at killing others to know it. I understand why. They have different motives in this quest. I would also said how his feelings for Jin made him rethink his “partnership” with Tan/New. Now, he wants to put an end to Tan/New’s schemes before it gets to crazy. I do agree with @mikuni14 about how it makes sense they forgave each other. We have to see them as a pair now. Phee said again how he will protect Jin and I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Now they admitted they had feelings for each other, so they will try to get out together or they would die together. I don’t think, it would be another way for them in the future.

▪️ Back in the house, White convinced Tee to not use the gun against Fluke and Top. We could say it’s the power of love. Tee really is listening to what White has to say. I also gave him the gun and it’s again a proof of how he trusts his boyfriend. There is one thing annoying me in this scene and it’s how long it took Tee to stop pointing his gun at the Fluke or Top. No one can just stand there pointing a gun for so long without making a mistake. But anyway, that’s not important. My favorite boy, White is more intelligent than any of these idiots because he was the first one to question the so-called possession of Top and to recognize he was acting like he is high. Of course, Fluke and Tee didn’t really listen. Then, there was a fight between Fluke and Tee about Non.

▪️ Phee and Jin, after spending a lot of time going around in circle in the forest (apart from losing the ax in front of the house, I’m still trying to find what it means for them to have spend that amount of time going in circles. There must be a reason!) came back to the house and stopped Fluke and Tee from fighting. It became the grand moment of reveal about the true identity of Tan. I laughed a bit when Tee didn’t really reacted when the name New was said. Those guys never cared for Non and his life. They didn’t even know the name of his brother. They just used him and tossed him after it. It was only Jin who liked him and even his love was not enough for him to actually do something to help him (quick aside about how I was socked to learn he knew about Non having a boyfriend… How?! Did he saw the phone calls? I can’t seem to remember when he would have learn about that). Tan/New tried to deny but Phee admitted he told everything to Jin. I think if anything happens to Phee in the coming episodes it’s because he did revealed Tan’s identity. Maybe Tan/New had suspicious about Phee before, but he never did anything to him and gladly accepted his help. Now, things may change because Phee choose to side with Jin and Tan/New really saw it at this time.

▪️ Fluke decided it was the moment to act like stupidly again and took the gun from White to threaten him with it. I don’t know why he is always the one to torment White but it’s really starting to piss me off. Among all of them, White is still, so far, the only innocent person in this house. Tee, again, was really scared for him. It’s really hard to accept that he was a terrible person to Non, but at the same time he is ready to die for White if it means saving him. That’s the moment Top decided to free himself and he died. I won’t say I will miss him because it’s a miracle he survived until now. I thought he would have died before. Better him than my favorite character. Finally, we got the confession from Tee. He brought Non to his Uncle. Non was then beaten black and blue by his Uncle’s minions and he asked them to get rid of them and find any excuses to explain their disappearance. We already knew something like that happen so it wasn’t exactly fresh news for us. Tee admitted to everyone he has no idea what happened to Non after. I felt mostly sad for White because he discovered his considerate and loving boyfriend is not what he seems to be. It must hurt a lot. Jin and Tan/New vented their anger at Tee after learning the truth. Only thing I really appreciated from Fluke is how he stopped Tee from playing the victim card to make excuses for what he did. It’s not like he had no idea about what his Uncle was doing or what could happen to Non. You don’t have to be a genius to know.

▪️ Now what is very interesting is the preview for the next episode. I don’t know how they do it but the always manage to keep you hooked for the next one. It seems like Non is still alive and was working at Tee’s Uncle hidden place. Tee knows it and said he will help Non. The scene seems to be after the beating of Non, so why did he say he had no idea what happens to Non? I don’t like this small apparition of White in the preview. What does it mean? Does he know about Non too? Does it have nothing to do with anything? It’s in the past so it must mean something… Also, Tee gave Non an envelop. What is inside? Is it a way to get the hell away from this place? Is it money? If Non is alive why has he not tried to contact his brother/family (he may not know his parents are dead… or maybe he knows, couldn’t find New because he was masquerading as Tan at that time and thought he was alone… Or something else...) This preview is raising so much more questions. What is Tan/New going to do now? They can’t stay much longer in the house. Will they try to find Non? I think Tan/New is going to get crazy and kill all of them because what else can he do at that point?

I really love this series. It’s a pleasure to watch but also debate about it. All the theories or thoughts about it are also really fun to read. Next Saturday won’t come fast enough.

#my thoughts #thai series #thai bl #bl drama #bl series #dff the series #dead friend forever the series #dff #dead friend forever #be on cloud #dff spoilers #episode 10 #This series is truly engaging #I'm never bored #Can't believe White may not be as innocent as it seems #Finally Top is dead and he won't be missed #Next one must be Fluke. I can't stand him

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hold-your-applause · 2 years

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Can I request for a human!fem!reader who is friends with the owl house fam and has serious big sister energy but takes no shit and will throw hands w anyone who threatens her fam. But turns soft and real affectionate when she actually interacts w Hunter (when he's not in Golden Guard mentality)

I just wanted to say I really love your work and hope you continue. Your writing is really good!!!

My dear, I thank you for the praise. I apologize for the delay, but I would be more than happy to grant your wish.

Whiplash

It had seemed like only yesterday that Hunter had learned the truth about Belos and his entire world had been turned upside down. It wasn't accurate to say that he never knew fear before that night; it was more like he finally learned what true terror felt like. He knew he was taking a risk defecting, but if he could manage to stay hidden, he was safer than within his uncle's grasp.

That all changed when he helped the students of Hexside get rid of Coven Head Adrian Graye Vernworth.

Despite sharing what he knew with everyone to allow them to prepare for the Day of Unity, he refused to tell anyone what he discovered about his own identity. Gus and Willow accepted him as they currently knew him, but would that change if they learned the truth?

He couldn't be sure.

It had taken a lot of effort on his part to calm himself over the idea of them discovering who-- or what-- he really was, but he had managed to do it.

Only for his anxiety to spike again when they told him the humans were on their way.

Luz wasn't anything to worry about. The night everything happened, he recalled Luz wanting to offer a helping hand to him, but he was so frenzied that all he could do was run out the door.

You were a completely different story.

He'd met you a handful of times as the Golden Guard, and each one had been as unpleasant as the last. The first meeting had perhaps been the roughest, given he had captured your friend King and was holding him hostage in order to compel you to do his bidding.

The fight that ensued had him very worried that you would knock his head clean off his shoulders, and you didn't even need magic to do it.

Every meeting after that had shown you to be just as vicious, and he wasn't sure if that was your default state or if it was reserved for him personally, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid to find out.

He felt his stomach churn as he watched you and Luz reunite with Gus and Willow, standing off to the side as he gathered his courage for the exchange he knew was coming.

Your eyes were on him before he had a chance to open his mouth, and he almost stopped in his tracks when you moved towards him. He flinched when he saw your arm move towards his face, closing his eyes to wait for the impact.

He yelped in surprise when he felt two gentle hands on his cheeks instead, his eyes snapping right back open to see your wide eyes staring straight into his.

"I can't believe you're okay!"

His mind was blank as you moved his head, looking him over.

"I was so worried about you. We thought they found you."

His mouth was dry, and when you threw your arms around him to embrace him, he felt his entire body begin to overheat.

For some reason, in that moment, he was suddenly very aware of the fact that you were a girl.

Where were his hands supposed to go?

It didn't matter, because you pulled away a moment later to look at him again. Your eyes held sympathy and your voice was soft.

"How are you feeling?"

He was so used to you shouting at him, he couldn't think of anything to say.

What was happening?

He finally coughed in response, his eyes still wide as he stared at you.

"F-Fine."

He mentally kicked himself at the way his voice cracked.

He didn't know why, but the relieved smile that spread across your face made his pulse quicken.

"I'm so glad. We tried to find you after--"

His sudden and loud, nervous laughter cut you off. "After finding out Belos is evil? Don't worry, I'm A-Okay!" He almost shouted, feeling a quick wave of relief wash over him when Gus reached over to do their own special fist bump.

You blinked, and when his eyes looked at you again, he silently begged you not to say a word. Luck was on his side, because he saw the recognition on your face before you nodded and closed your mouth.

As Gus turned his attention away from the two of you to speak with Luz, Hunter lowered his voice to keep him and Willow from overhearing.

"I haven't told them about--"

"You don't need to explain. That's your secret to tell, not ours. They won't hear it from us."

He let out a breath and nodded. As reassuring as those words were, it did nothing for his nerves.

He was still terrified of you, but in a completely new way.

#toh hunter x reader #toh hunter imagine #toh hunter #the owl house x reader #the owl house imagine #the owl house #scenario #fluff #director fugue

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miracles-and-butterflies · 6 months

Text

For @ellipsis-dotdotdot, based on the prompt: “one of the Pedro Lives!Isabelas running away, if you please?”

I went with Fracture AU.

Isabela plans to run away. Thoughts of identity, change and freedom.

(As she’s kicked out anyways in Imperfect, her disappearance wouldn’t be noticed; and Luminous Isabela would be very open about it and that takes away the drama).

Comments are always appreciated.

~~~~~~

Perfect Practiced Poses

While flittering around Antonio’s party, one question pops into her mind.

She had passed a group of kids talking, describing each of the gifted Madrigals - their traits and abilities - only for Isabela to wonder the same thing.

Of course, living in the family and outside of it warrant very different viewpoints from herself and the kids. And then there’s the age and education differences too. But one thing remains the same:

Who is Isabela Madrigal?

She was never herself for more than two minutes.

She was everyone else on a daily basis. It was brief, it was harmless, it was helpful, it was fun. And she didn’t mind that.

She was the echo of her late Abuela. As far as appearance was considered. She was the only resemblance of her left - Isabela had destroyed the one portrait years ago.

Despite their strained relationship, Abuelo often had her painted or photographed. Just so he had something to remember his beloved Alma by.

At the same time, he had her shapeshifting as much as possible. Not only while working, but even just at home. Just so he didn’t have to have a reminder of what he’d lost. Just so he didn’t have to see her face of anger and hatred.

And she did mind that.

Not at first. No, she could understand. If she lost a loved one, it would be hard for her too. And she was a child, who didn’t look to much like her at that point.

But as she got older and her sympathy for such a terrible person wore incredibly thin, she really started to mind.

Why are the Madrigals always going to church with Señora Alonso?

How lucky for Señorita Martinez to be invited to dinner at La Casa Madrigal!

It is so considerate of Isabela to change her appearance for her poor Abuelo!

The whisperings of the townspeople didn’t help either. She knows they mean well. To an outsider, it must be strange or compassionate (that Pedro does not deserve).

She is so sick of it.

She’d do anything to put an end to it.

~~~~~~

It was a day like any other.

“Okay, everyone to the table. Now.” Abuelo called as he stepped outside. The family fell into line as usual. Or most of them, anyways. “I said now, Luisa.”

“Ah well, I was just—”

“Now means now.”

Luisa stopped talking and took her seat with the others.

“You aren’t still making stuff up about the cracks?” Camilo whispered, leaning up to his cousin. “Like it was a good joke and seeing Abuelo yell at Mirabel was utterly hilarious - highlight of the evening if you ask me - but it’s kinda dry now.”

“Will you two shut up? I can’t hear.” Isabela, who was unfortunately sat on Camilo’s other side, grumbled.

“I wasn’t even talking!”

“LUISA!”

Her sister slowly turned around, eye-twitching under the confused and irritated gazes of the rest of the family from her outburst.

Abuelo sighed with disappointment. “Luisa, if you are struggling to act properly at the table, perhaps it is best you sit closer to the front, where I can keep an eye on you. Casita?”

Before Luisa could make an argument, Casita shifted her chair. The seating plan rearranging itself to leave her directly beside the patriarch.

“As I was saying,” he said. “Antonio’s gift could not have come at a more perfect time. But we should not take our miracle for granted, so today we will work twice as hard.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” offered an enthusiastic Luisa. “Isabela would benefit greatly from my—”

“In case it wasn’t clear for some of us, the non-gifted family members will be staying at home to complete their usual chores.”

With a hard glare, Luisa changed her focus onto drinking her coffee.

Pedro took a breath, standing up. “In other news, how goes our arrangement with the Guzmáns?”

Isabela opens her mouth, but doesn’t get the chance to answer herself.

“Dolores?” He inquired.

The woman paused. Her irises briefly flashed red. “I foresee that he is going to propose tonight, with a song on the piano that he has composed himself. And I see five cribs.”

Isabela felt her soul leave her body.

“Five new blessings? At least we’ll get some use out of Isabela. Thank you, Dolores. That will be all. There will be lots to prepare for tonight - Isabela, you’ve dropped your form. Control yourself. …Back to the point, Antonio, this is a wonderful opportunity to make the most out of your new gift. You can help your father with the decorations.”

“Okay, Abuelo!” Antonio beamed, orange flowers blossoming in hair in excitement.

“Our community is counting on us. ¡La familia Madrigal!”

“¡La familia Madrigal!”

Isabela doesn’t blame Mariano.

Not at all.

She blames her family.

She gets made to hold some random townsperson’s form at every meal - she isn’t allowed to be herself - and nobody has defended her or pointed out this unreasonable request of Abuelo’s.

She is getting made to marry and produce more little miracles because she isn’t useful at anything else, and nobody has thought to ask how she feels about it all.

Hell, Pedro has her valued like a donkey at market and nobody is even batting an eye!

The bitter irony is not lost on Isabela.

Her parents are always praised, both inside the family and out, by what great parents they are.

The greatest parents of all of Encanto… One daughter who is only useful as a wife and mother or when she’s anyone but herself. One daughter who has absolutely no worth at all. One daughter who barely associates herself as part of the family now.

This house is a fucking nightmare.

No wonder Bruno left.

~~~~~~

January 1940

“What do you think would happen if we left?”

The question takes her sister by shock.

The eight-year-old arched a brow. “You mean like… running away? Like Tío Bruno did?”

“Luisa, you aren’t suppose to say that!” Mirabel gasped in horror, replicating the shushing motion the adults often did by pressing a finger to Luisa’s lips.

“Yeah,” Isabela nodded. She looked up at the mountains. “When I’m suppose to be listening to the teacher, I think about it. What I’d take. How I’d do it. Where I’d go. …Don’t you ever think of just packing a bag and running away?”

“No! You can’t do that! You’d be in so much trouble!” Mirabel was completely appalled. Age four and her moral compass was already developed.

“You’d die, sis.” Chimes Luisa. “Nobody knows what’s out there - except bad people. That’s how Abuela died.”

“Not even just running away… what if we were just a normal family? Without gifts?”

Luisa shifted away.

“You’re asking the wrong people, Bela. I am normal and Mirabel doesn’t have a gift yet.”

The ten-year-old looked guilty. “Right. My bad. I forgot.”

“You forgot?” Luisa questions, hurt.

Nobody said anything.

“Say sorry, Isa,” Mirabel offers, helpfully, from where she’s sat in Luisa’s lap. “Sorry makes everything better. That’s what Mama says.”

“…Luisa, I’m—”

“No. I don’t wanna hear it.” Luisa grumbled.

Luisa stands up then, setting Mirabel aside.

“Where are you going?” Isabela asks, after a beat.

“Inside,” she huffs. “I got homework to do.” Isabela has a feeling that Luisa might be lying; just wants an excuse to leave.

Mirabel squeaked, “Can I come too? Can I help, Luisa?”

Luisa nods, holding out an open hand for Mirabel to take. They start walking.

Isabela pulls herself to her feet and runs after them. “I could help,” she suggests, as a way of an apology. And she’d like to think she is going to be more help than a kid who hasn’t yet started school. “I mean, I probably did it a few years ago, when I was your age.”

Her sister just growls at her. “Don’t you have magic stuff to be doing, princesa?”

With that, they were gone and Isabela was left alone.

She really doesn’t belong anywhere, does she?

~~~~~~

Screw it, Isabela thinks.

There’s nothing for her here.

And if Bruno managed to leave, why couldn’t she do the same?

She packs a bag - money, some clothes, some food and drinks. She won’t need much else.

She shifts into some random townsperson before leaving her (soundproof) room for the last time. The rest of the family are busy working, as usual.

And starts walking. She doesn’t know where she’s going, but anything would be better than here.

She barely makes it through one street before a man is already coming to greet her.

“Ah, Isabela! I was wondering if you could help me with my door again?” He asked. “It appears to have gotten stuck and I could use another me to help balance it.”

“I’m not Isabela.” She replied, waving him off.

“Uh… yes, you are?”

Isabela turned on her heel, ready to argue that she definitely was Señora Alonzo, but only caught that flash of indigo fabric and black hair as she did.

“What the fuck?” She questioned, looking down at her own hands.

She hadn’t changed back into her own form.

She headed up to the nearby bride, dropping her bag to the side for a moment. She leaned over and looking at her own rippled reflection in the water.

“What the fuck!?” She said again, louder this time.

She kept repeating the phrase as she tried concentrating on shifting but her reflection didn’t change once. It stayed perfectly the same.

She couldn’t even get rid of her mole.

Her outburst had clearly spooked off the man who had asked for her help, as she found herself alone. Carefully examining and prodding each part of her features, only for nothing to change.

Or she thought she was alone.

“Hey, Isabela! Am I glad I found you! I was just wondering if you maybe knew something about the magic last night?”

#encanto #encanto fracture au #isabela madrigal #luisa madrigal #pedro madrigal #camilo madrigal #dolores madrigal #antonio madrigal #bruno madrigal #mirabel madrigal #julieta madrigal #agustín madrigal #mariano guzmán #my writing

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utilitycaster · 3 months

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I will say the current discourse becomes a lot funnier when you remember that Imogen suggested to and in front of Laudna (she did it more than once!) potentially siding the Vanguard AFTER one of them murdered her in cold blood just to get a rise out of Imogen -

- and *somehow* that hasn’t had the lasting impact on fandom that Orym fucking nodding at Laudna as she kills someone who just tried to murder them has?

Truly, bowlgate could *never*.

Hey anon,

Honestly while this is all very speculative and based on the relatively small cross-section of the fandom I see, as a person who will not touch Reddit and barely checks Twitter, the Orym and Laudna stuff feels cut from the same cloth as Bowlgate.

For reasons I cannot accurately pinpoint, though I have my theories, since I started watching and joined the fandom with the start of C2 there seem to have been people - maybe the same people, maybe there's been turnover - who have decided any interaction Marisha and Liam's characters have that isn't clearly entirely amicable (and some that are) is in fact an act of hostility. This has always baffled me, given that in Campaigns 1 and 2 they played characters who are particularly close, and that in Campaign 3 Liam's character is very much in homage to Keyleth. Insofarasmuch as I know the lives of the cast (ie, I don't), they seem to be extremely good friends, and from what I see at the table they have remarkably similar styles, a shared love of character conflict, and excellent chemistry (platonic or romantic). It has never made sense to me how intensely some people pit them against each other, either as Beau and Caleb or as Laudna and Orym, particularly when Marisha and Liam have never seemed to have even an ounce of rancor towards each other.

It feels very much born out of the "the only way to be a good character (or fan) is to be entirely deferential to my personal favorite character" mentality, and I've always found that mentality to be...deeply sad, honestly. I've said before that it baffles me that people watch a show with an ensemble cast of 7 players and act repulsed and offended when it's not a solo act. And for a fandom for a show where we just, demonstrably, treated a 3.5 hour episode as "unexpectedly short?" That is a huge amount of time to sink into something where you are miserable every minute that Laudna, or Marisha (or whoever your favorite character or actor is) isn't in the spotlight and leading the charge and given the royal treatment - let alone to watch CR with what appears to be an assumption that nearly everyone else at the table is actively out to undermine your favorite actor. That sounds exhausting and painful, and once I started thinking about that it made much more sense how vile and bitter these comments about an extremely mild choice from Liam and Orym is; because it's not really about Orym. It's about the nature of the show itself, which has always been the case and is unlikely to change. It might be other long-untended resentments as well. I'm reminded, tangentially, of how when I was frustrated with FCG as a character early on, I'd occasionally get people piling on in my inbox for utterly unrelated criticisms not of FCG but of Sam as a player that I found really offputting and which often made me pretty uncomfortable.

I do wonder if these people are not just upset that Orym (and Liam) are simply present; but if they are also frustrated with other things - perhaps with the campaign generally, or perhaps with Laudna herself - that they are afraid to admit they feel given how much they have staked their identity on their fandom preferences. Which again, sounds terribly lonely and draining and something to be pitied, irritating as it is for the rest of us.

Anyway, I think the best thing for everyone in the fandom not trapped in that particular mire of bad faith, cognitive dissonance, and curdled resentment to do is move on. I actually found it really heartening how many people on my post about Laudna's anger at Orym being entirely about the power from the siphon and nothing personal to Orym were like "until I saw this post it did not even occur to me that there was another interpretation of this scene." I certainly haven't been as good about this as I'd like to be, but I've really been trying as of late to approach the above paranoid reading mentality by depriving it of oxygen. In addition to the interesting conflicts brewing, there's been some great lore drops as of late. How about that portal?

#answered #Anonymous #cr spoilers #long post

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