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#literally WHERE did that mindset come from?? like for real
theygender · 2 years
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The more I learn about judaism the more I wonder where tf christianity got all its bad shit. Why is divorce a sin in christianity when judaism has recognized the right to divorce for nearly a millennia and has codified religious laws for it. Why does christianity consider sex to be dirty (to the point where puritans considered it a sin to enjoy having sex with your own spouse) when in judaism it's considered holy and it's a literal mitzvah to have sex with your spouse on the sabbath. Why does christianity consider it a sign that you're faithless if you question your religion when in judaism that's considered an essential part to developing your faith. I'm probably stating the obvious here but I still can't get over the fact that there's no historical basis to any of this shit before christianity started, it's like christians just said "hey guys what if we took the torah and built a new religion around it but this time it was actively hostile to human life"
#rambling#disclaimer this isnt about individual christians im speaking about the religious trauma i experienced in my own life etc etc#these are just a few examples that I've noticed but they're definitely something#the part about sex in particular shocked me bc sex is pretty much viewed as actively evil in a lot of christian denominations#like you should only do it to create children and if you take pleasure in it (even if its with your own spouse) youre a dirty sinner#there arent as many examples like this nowadays but if you read puritan laws about sex it's like#you're allowed to have sex with your wife basically 10 times a year but you have to be fully clothed with the lights off#and you cant have sex on a holiday or a sunday and you cant touch each other and you have to try as hard as possible to hate it#literally WHERE did that mindset come from?? like for real#in judaism having sex with your spouse is basically considered a celebration of everything holy#and if you have sex on the sabbath (the holiest day in the jewish calendar—above every holiday)#its considered TWICE as holy#make it make sense#this is one of the things people mean when they say that lumping judaism in with christianity as 'abrahamic' religions is meaningless#theyre literally nothing alike#the only similarity is the torah but thats only half of the christian bible and one third of the jewish one#AND christianity interprets most of it completely differently from how judaism does#im tired#greatest hits#hall of fame
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Like with all Mike Flanagan shows, I have to sit and stew on The Fall of the Huse of Usher for a bit to let it fully settle, and then I'll probably have to rewatch it to get the full picture.
But what I can say now after the first watch has sat with me for 2 days is that compared to Hill House which dealt with grief, Bly Manor which dealt with love, and Midnight Mass which dealt with faith, House of Usher for me dealt with consequences. Madeline and Roderick were offered the deal that they could basically do whatever the heck they wanted, and all the consequences of their horrible actions would not be suffered by them. Which is essentially what capitalist super-rich experience all the time - and we, the ordinary people, suffer the consequences. It's funny that they thought it worked like that, but I guess they saw their father who suffered no consequences for abuse and for mistreating their mother whom he had ann affair with (if it even was that, and not rape) - but he did suffer consequences, he was strangeled to death by a dead woman. And Griswold, who seemingly suffered no consequences for his fraud and the many crimes of his company, except he did - he was literally cask of Amontillado'ed which is honestly the funniest thing! But for the Ushers, the consequences were suffered not just by the anonymous masses, not just by the thousands upon thousands that suffered and died because of their actions (powerfully depicted by the rain of bodies Verna showed Roderick in their meeting in his tower) and not by Madeline nd Roderick themselves, but very directly, very brutally, by their own children - who all in the span of a few days were driven insane and horrifically killed. They were offered this deal, and while Madeline had no children and made sure afterwards that she never would, Roderick already had two children by that point. He signed that deal not for some hypothetical children he might have, but for Frederick and Tammerlane who were already alive then, and for his 4 as of yet unborn children! They barely hesitated. The Ushers TOOK that choice away from their children, they doomed these children before they were even born. And they doomed even their grandchild before she was born. If that doesn't show the crippling consequences of actions we take today, I don't know what does. Every decision the rich and powerful make today has devastatign consequences for generations to come - not hypothetical, but very real and very dire consequences. But these people don't care about that, because it's not consequences they suffer NOW, so it's not their problem. The Ushers are charicaturized representations of that mindset, their children representations of the generations of people fucked over by their decisions. That's why I am torn between feeling glee at the bizarre demise each of the Usher children met (cause let's face it, they were all assholes and messed up) and at the same time feel immense pity for them (because the fact that they were assholes and messed up was almost not their fault but a product of growing up under the trauma Roderick and Madeleine suffered when they were children, and in a mindset where they genuinely believed being richer than God made them immune to cosequence, and because their fate had been decided for them without their knowledge).
But also, Verna gave EACH of these kids an option. They were all going to die, sure, but they were given the choice to do the right thing. Prospero was offered the chance to end his orgy and his filming of incriminating material but he chose to continue. Camille was offered the chance to turn around and go home and instead die peacefully in her sleep. Napoleon was offered the chance not to lie to his boyfriend and bring a fake 'cat' home, and instead go home, sober up, get his shit together, be honest about his fuck-ups. But he didn't. Victorine was offered the chance to say 'no, this treatment is not ready for human testing' but instead she deceived what she believed to be an innocent, desperate woman into essentially signing away her life. Tammerlane could have stopped her jealousy, her envy, and instead reach out to her husband, actually communicate, actually appreciate him, but she didn't. And Frederick, well, Verna spelled it out for him, didn't she? He had to bring her home, he had to bring out the pliers. He CHOSE to abuse and brutalize and mutilate his wife when she was completely defenseless, helpless, and innocent - yes she had gone to the orgy because she felt unappreciated, unseen, and nothing actually happened, she didn't cheat, her only 'crime' was chosing to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He chose to be a monster to her and to their child. All of them could have stopped, could have chosen to reflect on their actions and be better, do BETTER. Instead, they doubled down on their horrific behaviour, and sealed their own fate. All except Lenore, who until the very end chose to be good, chose to be kind, chose to see the best in people. That's why she was the only one to whom Verna appeared with kindness, giving her the certainty that her life mattered, that her sacrifice would save thousands, that her mother would do incredibly good in her name in the future, and she did not die with horror and suffering, she died peaceful, quick, quiet, like Verna had offered all the others. Verna was not so much a demon as she was the personification of "actions, meet consequences".
TLDR: The Fall of the House of Usher is the hardcore version of 'play stupid games, win stupid prizes' and will for me be part of the 'rich people actually suffer consequences for their shitty actions' cinematic universe.
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crystallizsch · 1 month
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these valentines day cards for scarabia got me blushing, giggling, and kicking my feet fr (also featuring me unnecessarily analyzing them) (i really hope the cards are in the right order i think they are or else everything that i say here will look incredibly silly)
━━━━━━━━━━━━✦ kalim al-asim:
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To my dear friend— Thanks for the present! What colorful and sparkly sweets. They look delicious! I just had an idea! How about we eat them together after school? Gifts like this taste better when shared, after all. I'll pick out a good tea to go with them. Can't wait to see you later! ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
To my dear friend— Thanks for the gift! It's flattering to know you picked this out for me! I'll treat you to anything you like in return—food, live entertainment, an item you've been pining after... You just say the word. ...On second thought, no. I'll come up with something myself! Just like you came up with this gift to give me. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Hey love, Thank you for that wonderful gift! Getting something like this from you just put a smile on my face! Let me throw you a feast to show my gratitude! After that, I'll take you on a magic carpet ride, it'll be really fun! ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
SO LET ME TALK ABOUT THE PROGRESSION BETWEEN THE CARDS???
on kalim's first card, it's really cute but it also feels just like his usual demeanor where he treats everyone as a friend.
but on to the second card, it looks like he's definitely feeling more strongly enough about you to think "hey let me get you something too!! let me be your genie of the lamp!" at least right before realizing it would be more meaningful to give you a surprise gift as well like you did.
his "dear friend" on the second card is more real this time.
BUT OMG THE WHIPLASH TO THE THIRD CARD
"HEY LOVE" ???? KALIM WHAT WHEN I TELL YOU MY HEART JUST WENT HFDSNSFHDJFDK PLSS HE CANT DO THIS TO ME 💀💀💀 THE "MY DEAR FRIEND" -> "HEY LOVE" PROGRESSION YOUR HONOR HE IS IN LOVE(???) NO IT’S PROBABLY JUST A REALLY AFFECTIONATE TERM OF ENDEARMENT CONSIDERING THAT IT’S KALIM (*denial* *denial* *denial*)
the closest ones (that are available) to doing something similar is jade who goes from "my good friend" -> "my dearest" and vil who goes from "dearest friend" to "my dear"
anyways, the third card is kalim finally wanting to go ALL OUT as a way to show you how he feels about you and how thankful he is. he's literally all about having fun with the person he cares about. making every moment memorable.
kalim's love language is also very much extravagant gifts since he's raised in a wealthy family where everything has been handed to him. that's probably how he got the mindset that gifts are the way to show love and affection because that's how his family did it for him. so the bigger the gift the better he can show you how he feels.
━━━━━━━━━━━━✦ jamil viper:
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Hello— I was surprised to see you gifted me sweets. At first I wondered if you were hinting for me to make you something similar... But when I pulled the gift out of the bag, I saw all the details you put into it, right down to the ribbon. It's clear this was a heartfelt gesture. I'll treasure these treats as I eat them. Thank you. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Hello— I'll admit it. I'm beyond surprised. I suppose a heartfelt "thank you" is in order. In fact, why don't we meet at the school store after class tomorrow? Hopefully I'll be able to find you something to return the favor. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
Dear friend, Thank you for the gift. To think I would receive something from you... Well, it caught me off guard. I'd like to give you something in return. Hmm... What should it be? What might you like? Why don't you come down to Scarabia sometime and we'll discuss over a cup of tea. ━━━━━━━━━━━━✦
jamillll;;;
on the first card, he was suspicious of receiving a gift. at first he's like "are you just giving me something so i could give you something as well?" until he realized "oh this is legit" and that you’re not expecting anything back. and then he just enjoys it which is hella cute.
on the second card (unlike the last one) he's now like "let me get you something in return because i really appreciate the gesture". here i think he's still genuinely confused that you still decided to give him a gift. but at this point it feels like he's only offering to get you something in return because he feels like he has to just to show his gratitude. kinda like a fair transaction.
it seems that jamil is still like "why me". like, you cared enough to see and acknowledge him to even consider getting him a gift. which i believe is something he's not used to. so he just wants to "return the favor" by offering you to go find something you like :)
and the third card;;;
"DEAR FRIEND" GOT. MEEE. YOUR HONOR I LOVE HIMMMMM
i know for other people "friend" is not on the same level as the romantic "love" but i personally feel as strong with platonic relationships as with romantic ones (if not more) and this hit me HARD.
for the third one he's finally comfortable enough to consider you a friend. but he still sounds flabbergasted that you still even thought of him (and **you** specifically) (like he didn't imagine that you'd even give him a gift).
and now this is less of a transaction but more of like he *wants* to make sure that he gets you something that you'd really like. it's not simply just "hey let's go to the school store and see what's available as a thanks", this time it's "hey i really appreciate that you got me something so let's discuss what i can get you as well. i'll be your genie of the lamp, anything is possible (within reason)"
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(original twitter thread with these cards)
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haechurch · 1 year
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forgetting me, forgetting you
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It's not the way that jeno doesn't look at you the same. It's not the way of him chasing after a girl and leaving you behind in the evening downpour. It's not the way jeno said he didn't even love you that night. It's just nothing but your broken heart.
pairing: idol!jeno x fem!reader
genre: smut, fluff (kinda), angstt
wc: 4.8+k
warnings: minors dni, unprotected sex, oral (m, f receive), spitting, kind of meanie jeno, implied exhibitionist, degrading, praising, spanking, teasing, fingering, tons of pet name, hard and soft sex, etc etc, you know when i said idol and fan relationship its just so unreal as well as how their jobs work lmao ((i had a problem to make this at least a lil bit realistic) also not seem too delusional but- just pls dont @ me, i mean its a fic)
! how embarrassing that this shit got posted accidentally (i hate tmblr) my pupils were literally shaking lol. for those who might accidentally saw this (i know theres not even a soul who cares abt it..) ofc i had this to be revised also its inspired by rv song, in my dreams, (originally the title for this one but i changed it!) i might also have songs recommendation, its [coldplay-yellow > conan gray-astronomy > yoari-dice game > exo-hurt > davichi-forgetting you > red velvet-in my dreams]
Everything was pandemonium from the start. You saw jeno in person for the first time in the concert venue. Yes. He is the singer. That singer. A born-talented, handsome, lovable idol from nct. He didn't even know you were there, in the crowd of audience hyping his band up. Never in your dreams you thought you'd met him in person, but fate brings you two together. It was what you believed until then. Fate brings your jeno who has never been yours in the first place to kindly remind you that he will never be yours even at the end of the time.
You worked hard for your pay. You work as an employee (that mostly work for dreamies) under jeno's company after you earned your post graduate title while studying in korea. That point when you made it out, you never even thought that this was a real chance to finally get him.
That's just insane, to get lee jeno, in a somehow, romantic way. But you tried anyway. Ordinary person with an extraordinary person? Or can you just say idols and fans relationship? That jeno from all the people living on this earth? Mostly impossible. Those who live around you will think you're crazy for wanting someone who literally exists in a different world from you. Even though you're 'coexisting' with him and seeing him from time to time, that would not be enough; so near yet so far.
It's so hard to work under the company and let it flow at first. Without a will, you'll never get what you want. Even though this one is nearly impossible, you attempt to keep the mindset that revolves around you: it will work if you try, try, try and try.
But it's useless. Who do you think you are? You can't even be allowed to speak nor get close to him except if it's necessary. It's hard to work with him like a normal acquaintance. To them, to jeno, you're simply invisible. 
However, you did make it clear enough. No surrendering. That's the least you can keep in mind. 
But again, he didn't even spare you a glimpse.
Then there was this day when you two were put together in the same dressing room, waiting for some interviews coming up. There's actually no reason for you to not share the same room because technically, you're their regular staff. The rest of the members and other staff were nowhere to be found, it was you and him. You and jeno all alone in the same room. You nearly choked yourself when you were about to open your mouth as jeno scooted to where you sat. 
"Hi." He lightly started the conversation. You swear to god you can hear your own heartbeat. Keeping yourself calm and professional, you hum and put the sweetest smile to him. "Hello."
"I'm so sorry if i sound rude, but i believe we're around the same age? I've been seen you around and i just knew you're a regular staff in here," you intensely stared at him, eyes widened in disbelief that he just casually- 
"We can be friends if you wan-" 
"We can?!"
-asked you to be his friend.
Realizing you just replied to him in 0,023 seconds, you covered your mouth and muttered 'sorry' to him. He just laughed. Oh. That laugh.
That's when you feel like you two were 'getting closer' as he asked you to be his friend for some idiotic reason (u really have no idea why the universe would gave you this kind of, miracle, you'd say, but you're fucking grateful).
Of course you can be friends with everyone. Also a staff (fan) and an artist couldn't be an exception, right? But once again who are you kidding, lee jeno is super busy, and you should know it could probably the friendship that only lasts for four hours.
You didn't meet jeno for weeks and you missed him so bad. Sometimes you got to talk to him after he befriend you (tho it happens only if you had that rare chance) but both of you didn't get a long time to properly talk and have a good conversation. And it's been a long time, you just missed him.
Did he perhaps miss you too? Did he ever think about you even just for a split second? You shake your head from the thoughts and scoff at yourself. He probably already erased you from his memory. And that night, you drifted into a deep slumber whilst thinking about how he wouldn't remember you.
But you were dead wrong. That day was very hot because apparently, it's in the middle of summer, and you were called for a job in a broadcasting house which happened to be the same place for the band to attend their schedule.
You're standing in front of a vending machine, getting a drink when you hear someone call your name. You turned around and found jeno, looking at you with his smiling eyes.
"Jeno!? What are you doing here?" You can't hide your pearly whites when you see him, so please meet him again after a while.
"We're having some jobs here. How about you?" He asked. 
"Um, me too! But mine's still running, i take a little coffee break right before come back to the site. Have you finished yours?"
"Yes, actually," jeno scratched his nape awkwardly before he continued. "Uhh, do you perhaps want to meet me after you are done? Just for a sec?" He asked.
"Sure! I'll text you when i'm done?" 
Yes, you both are having each other's numbers but can't even communicate a single thing through it. He didn't text you. And you, being the one who shamelessly asked for his numbers which he gladly gave it, never once texts him because as you can see, you're being professional enough to keep your words that it's only for the matter of work.
"Cool." You both smiled to each other and stood awkwardly for a good seconds until jeno left. 
So, did he just wait for you until you're done because he said he just finished his schedule? Is that even possible for him to do that?
The answer is yes. Though with a little bit of delay. He asked you to meet him after you're done, just to have you wait for him in the nearby cafe for nearly 20 minutes.
Jeno: uhh hi its jeno
Jeno: im so sorry for keeping you waiting
You: oh hii
You: nah its okayy not a biggie
Jeno: its the manager hyung, i told him i have to go somewhere but you know its hard to cooperate with them :/
Jeno: look i promise it will just need to b arranged real fast okay
You: okaaay i know youre busy you can really take your time tho
Jeno: so sorry ;(((
You: jeno its fine :*
You: :(
Jeno: thanjk you for the understanding ;)
Jeno: ill be there in.. 5 mins?
You: ill be here waiting!
You were smiling like crazy reading his texts. All you did was blushing and heart skipping while replying to him. He was so cute. And it's the first time you guys exchange texts. And he did it first! (how its a big deal for you)
Then there he is. Entering the cafe with a little skip and making a bee line to your table then sit down in front of you. 
"Right on time." He said jokingly. You just chuckled at him.
"Sooo what's up? What is it that you wanted to talk about in your very packed schedule, busy bee?"
He exhaled harshly before replying. "Nothing. Just wanna get out and have some fresh air."
He averted his gaze to yours before continue, "with my new friend." 
You raised one of your eyebrows at the boy. "Yeah? I thought you already forgot me because i was just simply a girl that worked at your company," you talk as you fold your hands.
"Why would i? I'll remember you anyway. You once fell in front of me when you were about to open some door and that actually was funny as hell. Shouldn't laugh but i can't help it. Oops. Should have not told you this part too..."
Your face heated in a second, and yes, you did that and it was humiliating and you felt very stupid. That time you were about to enter the conference room at the company building, but jeno (also the other members were there) was opening the door at the same time, unfortunately you stumbled on your feet and ended up kneeling at his.
He take a glance at you again then continue. "And you're pretty pretty."
You immediately looked up to him. You can't explain how his sudden confession affect you so much and leave your heart throbbing like crazy. 
Fortunately you can keep your act.
You chuckled and replied, "and what's that supposed to mean."
"I'm just saying that you're beautiful." 
He surely knows how to mess with your heart.
"And i'm getting worried that your eyes might have a problem," you laughed, more to laughing at yourself.
"No. I meant it."
You looked at him again, flustered, and he smiled when he saw you taken aback. A mischievous smile to be exact.
"Are you flirting with me?" Of course you were kidding. Asking that kind of question sounds nonchalant, even have no shame. But you had nothing to lose anyway.
"Would you accept it?" 
You blinked rapidly, your heart beating so fast in your chest, your palms were sweaty. He got you questioning yourself on how you can not fall for him even more? It's getting even deeper every minute you spend your time with him. He's dangerous. 
You were stunned for a moment. You felt like your cheeks burned, they're emitting flame. Your head short circuited for a while yet all you can think about is jeno. Jeno jeno jeno and jeno. The moment you can't hold it back from spilling, you just let it burst.
"I like you." 
Oh, you don't even care anymore about your image. The moment you spit that you felt like the most stupid, dense person alive on earth.
"I know." 
He responded in a heartbeat, and you felt fire burn a hole into you.
"You what?"
"I said i know. I noticed. And i do to."
"I'm so lost." You started to believe that you're out of your mind.
"I'm saying that i like you too."
Your pupils doesn't even falter when you stare at his face. You might just scream or gasp or even cry, but you were too stunned to speak, the way you were so calm also surprised yourself. You shake your head as you doubt your hearing and gave him a bitter smile.
"You're joking."
"Yes." 
Your eyes widen from his answer. He's such a prankster. 
"Jeno!"
He laughed. His laugh is so carefree but feels shy at the same time, that is just screaming lee jeno so much.
"So what am i supposed to say? You already heard me."
"I'm just trying to seek clarity." You narrow your eyes playfully. Now you don't even know where the confidence in you came from.
"You're my clarity." 
Now that sounds straight up came from a song lyric.
This whole time you think that you're crazy for wanting lee jeno, but here you are having a little cafe date and knowing him to have the same feeling as you are.
-
"Ah!" you squeal as your head thud against the hard surface.
"Sorry," jeno apologized as he giggled, then continue to peppering kisses down your neck.
Both of you were alone in a room at the backstage, making out like crazy before he bring you to the nearest table and pin you down. You sigh blissfully, thanking heaven every time your bodies this close, that you finally have jeno for your own and not anybody else. It's not the first time that he finally touched you, but every single one of his touches feels like the first time.
Oh, of course that didn't just happen in a night. He's been so sweet and kind to you that you mistaken his deed as something more than platonic relationship.
He bought you food. He told the manager to drop you off at your apartment at night when the schedule's over. You both go to the staff's cafeteria and eat lunch together. You offer him to go cycling together when he's off, and he did. He lent you his airpods when you lost one. You brewed his morning coffee. He called you one night and said that he's missing you. You asked him if you can do the same, texting or calling him as a normal friend would do despite both of your jobs. And that one night where he sneaked out to your apartment just to say that he wanted you.
That moment you thought everything is indeed possible. 
"Jen! Wait!"
He's currently railing you stupid at the backstage.
Now both of your hands were on the wall, legs spread open for him to easily pound you from the back. 
"Shit, this pussy's so tight." He slowed down, dragging his cock precise and keen, watching how his length appeared then disappeared inside your pussy.
"You like that baby?"
Your ears are buzzing, eyes fluttering, you only mewl and all you can hear is squelching sounds from how wet your pussy is before he sped up, skins clapping resonated all over the room.
When you didn't answered, he stopped and brings your hair to a ponytail then yanked your head up so your back is now against him as he whispered, "i said, am i fucking you good, little slut?" Well he can be cruel sometimes, but both of you know his mouth isn't that dirty on daily basis. He's just having his moment.
"Fuck yes," you finally speak.
Jeno railed into you again, he prop you to stand up, right hand on your hip, clamping so hard it'll leave bruises, and left hand grasping at your jaw to make you face him, his lips ghosting between your ear and lips, heavy breathing and all.
When he brushed against your earlobe, he whispered right onto your ear, "open your fucking mouth."
You obliged, as he bent your neck back and you presented all of yourself in front of him, he spit into your mouth. "Perfect. Keep it there like a good girl you are." 
Jeno started to pick up pace again, this time hitting your spot deliciously over and over, sending you to the cloud nine.
You agape as you moan, all while your mouth full of your and his spit, nonetheless making an effort to keep jeno's words but you're already drooling all over your chin.
"J-jen.."
"Shh, no need to say a thing baby girl, keep your pretty mouth shut."
Jeno suddenly lift you up and prop your back against the table. He's hovering over you, tapping your cheek, oblige you to open your mouth again, and spit another glob into yours.
"Now keep that warm and safe, you could do that, right angel?"
He asked and you only nodded in response. "That's it. Now let me make you feel good."
He spread your dangling legs by pushing on your thighs then dragging his hard and big cock along your slit, making a quite lubrication.
You're a whiny mess, never in your life you thought you'd have sex with lee jeno in a random room on their backstage, and he's pretty wild at the moment.
Before you can process a thing, he's already on his knee, eating you out slowly. You tug at his hair and hoist your hip up, but he's keeping you in place. He's taking his time, kitten licking at your opening with a slow pace, sucking softly at the clit, but it already making you tremble and wanting more. He's keeping the act for a while before the frustrations hit you.
"Jeno, hurry the fuck up."
He stop doing his ministrations, and as he pissed off, he suddenly lift you up again, your front pushed to the nearest wall.
"What did i just say to you? Shut your fucking mouth. Don't fucking speak. Why did you speak?"
He landed a couple of hard slap against your ass, making you yelp and shriek, "i-m sorry, please," your head drooped, your body trembling, but not from fear.
It's excitement.
Another slap on your ass. "Please what? Tell me, angel, what is it?
He kneaded your flesh and put his length between your ass cheek, nuzzling it sensually, and it made you bite your lip hard, can't take his teasing no more.
"Please," you almost sob. "Please, jeno, fuck me."
You beg, and he immediately bend you fully over again, both of his hands were on your hips as he fuck you into oblivion.
"Princess wanna get fucked. What she wants, she gets." 
He kissed his teeth before he rammed into you, hitting that sweet spot precisely over and over again it felt so good. Your hands and legs almost gave up, but he grabbed your hip in place. As you moan and scream for him, he keep chanting that he want you to come for him.
"Jeno, i'm fucking close- fuck," your hair is tangled, you're a drooling mess, your eyes rolled up. He fuck you so good it leave you dumb. Jeno's hips never once falter, he keep fucking into you rapidly as you whine non stop.
"Fuck, come all over me. Come on," he encouraged you.
"Coming!" You're a moaning mess, pussy can't help but tightened around him, making him curse under his breath. He continue to pistoning as he chasing his high, prolonged your own orgasm.
"Fuck, gonna cum," his thrust remain steady until it finally stopped, buried so deep inside you as he fill you up to the brim. Jeno finally pulled out, your hands and elbow propped against the wall as you arched your back while bending over, giving him a full sight of your ass and pussy overflowing with his cum. 
"Shit.." jeno cursed as he ran a hand through his fringe.
You felt your bodies emitting fog from the fever, glistening with sweat.
Just after that, you both heard a knock and someone's shouting.
"Are you guys done there? Jeno, get your loud ass out there right now, we're running out of time." 
You wouldn't miss whose voice it was.
It's fucking na jaemin. You felt embarrassment creep down your spine when you realized he found out, although nothing like the rest of the members doesn't know about the relationship you two have. But still, caught red handed fucking in the backstage with his band mate is a little bit..
"That's embarrassing.." you sigh while covering your face, making jeno chuckled as he patted your head.
"He'll get used to it." He smiled like a puppy, as he not merely fuck you senseless just now.
-
You said that it's embarrassing. But it seems like you're liking how unusual things did give you some thrilling sensations you can't explain. Since then, you've had sex with jeno in the void meeting room when everybody's leaving from work. It's giving you anxiety on what if someone's barge in, or the worst-you'd get kicked out from the company and never ever get the same job even at the different place again-but funnily, you can't resist the good feeling jeno made you and the realization that you were actually enjoying the shit, eventually not giving any fuck if someone know.
Another day of you and jeno spending time together in the same room, giving some different kind of affections to each other. And you're just too afraid to say something; to ask him: 'what are we?' Because you couldn't be more happy with what's happening between you two now. And tonight is a bit different because you feel your heart ache in the way he hold you as he won't let go.
"Jeno.." you arched your back when his tongue trailed from your abdomen up to your breasts while he attempted to unclasp your bra.
After freeing the flesh, he mumbled in awe, "beautiful."
He latched his tongue on your nipple, swirling it with purpose, to make you even wet just for him, and him only, just like the way he liked it.
"Fuck, it feels so good, don't stop," you pulled on his hair, a signal for him to keep going. 
"Yeah? You like that, pretty girl?" Jeno kneaded on your swell as he sucked again on your nipple.
"Louder. Moan louder for me." And that's what you did. Your fucked up sounds is a music to his ears, railing him up to the extent where he just wanted to sink in you. 
Jeno cupped your sex, your panties were damp in arousal. "Shit, look at you. So fucking wet." He slid his fingers up and down your panties before he slipped his fingers in. You whimpered when his cold digit met your folds. He only play with your opening and clit, but it already drive you crazy. You're practically drooling, he's collecting your essence on his fingers before he bring it up to his mouth, tasting your arousal. You huff and puff, look already fucked up before him when he barely did anything.
"So pretty. So fucked up. So needy for me."
All you did is fucking whine. Lee jeno is driving you insane.
"Please," you plead. "Jeno,"
"Hm? What is it princess?" He asked with a sweet mocking tone.
"Fingers. Want your fingers inside me." You sternly told him, but your gaze was infirm.
He chuckled then replied, "of course baby, you'll have it. But later. I have to taste you first. Will you let me?"
He asked for your permission and what on earth is stopping you from letting him eat you out? Of course you would never say no.
"Pleasee," your whiny voice made him smile from ear to ear in satisfaction.
"Love it when you beg."
Jeno get down to eye level with your pussy before dive in. Your hips wouldn't stop thrusting up to him and pulling his hair, his strong hands looping on your thighs. At this rate his face buried deep between you legs and tongue prod into your cunt, exploring your hole, lips trying so hard to swallow you up, open mouthed kiss at your pussy, sucking and lapping. He's eating you out like there's no tomorrow. 
"Fuck, i think i'm gonna cum."
Jeno chuckled, "already? So spoilt."
Jeno bring his fingers down and curled the digit expertly inside your pussy, you're wiggling like crazy when he reached that sweet spot that got your pussy tightening around him, then he sucked your clit hard, made you cum in instant at his doing.
You gradually came down from your high and stared at him in the eye, begging.
"Jeno, please, let me suck you off."
He feels like he's flying up the cloud seeing you prettily begged for him. Then he smiled, "can't say no to a pretty girl like you."
You bit your lip before you kneeled in front of him, taking a hand of his hard cock and kissed the tip. You hold onto his balls while you licked and sucked along his shaft until your tongue met with the tip, then sink into his cock, swallowing him whole. You bobbed your head up and down, sucking in intensity. He groaned and bring his hand through your hair, while he got his head thrown back against the headboard.
"You're doing so good baby, keep going."
He hissed painfully, his muscles clenched and his grab on your hair is getting tight. Your left hand massaging his balls, mouth sucking at the tip, the other hand stroking the rest of his shaft.
"Fuck, i'm not gonna last." He hold your head and thrust into your mouth, chasing his high. Your gagged sound heard all over the room, eyes pricked from tears. His groan went louder and that's when he came all over your mouth, and you swallowed all of his seed like a good girl, his good girl.
You lap all of his fluid, cleaning his cock clean, and lick your own lips.
"God you're pretty." His stare full with admiration, then he caged you between his arms, locked your lips with his in a passionate kiss. Tongue dancing with each other, nipping at one's lip. Both of you moan into the kiss, until he break it first.
Your back arched so high, hips pressed against his own, wanted more just than kissing him, but he pushed your belly down and leaned in.
"Need you now. Need to make love to you."
Once again, your heart sank at his confession. You're already tearing up as he pushed his big cock into you, soon picking up a steady pace to thrust between your wall, all while kissing you out. His kiss felt so soft and sweet, but also fragile at the same time. Your bodies met, no space in between. You hug him tightly, so afraid that he might just run away or disappear in the blink of an eye. He made you feel so good you're crying, can't even think or talk straight, your mind felt numb.
That night, you remembered vividly the last word he said before you passed out.
"I love you."
-
The rainy night made you feel all lazy. You wouldn't get up from bed if you just didn't feel the urge to go to the convenience store and fulfill your craving with some warm food. You're definitely starving.
You take out your umbrella because it's still raining, but as you nearly arrived, it's became a drizzle before it came to a stop.
You fold your umbrella as you walk closer, but before entering the place, you definitely saw jeno at the dark aisle between two buildings; making out with who the fuck you don't care, as if someone could've not just pass by and saw them two passionately changing spits.
You froze in your place, can't even walk any closer to where jeno was. You felt anger bubbling up to your chest and at the same time, you can't help your heart from breaking into pieces.
But as someone's controlling you, you suddenly stomped on your feet, making a way to them with balled fists, and you nearly scream when you call him out.
"Jeno."
The two broke the kiss after couple of seconds as if they're unbothered, both dripping from the drizzle. He turned at you, eyes dark and indicating that he wasn't even surprised to see you there. 
But then he opened his mouth, "how th-"
"What the fuck?" You cut him before he talk, spitting your anger out, voice all husky and spiteful, extremely vulnerable at the same time.
"Who the fuck is that?" Your eyes burned from restraining tears roll down your cheeks.
"What happened with the other days when we literally spent time together? Yesterday, you just- we just- fuck, i- i thought you just said that you lo-"
You can't help but blubbering, can't even say the last word you meant from spilling out. It's too much.
The girl he was making out with tried to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist.
You scoffed, speechless.
Did he just stop her?
Sickeningly, he just walked by you as he made a way out while dragging her with him.
You swear you just felt so fucking dumbfounded. He didn't even say a word since earlier.
When you can't hold your tears back again, you break out and scream his name out. 
"LEE JENO!"
He looked back from his shoulder, but he still put the same blank expression in front of you before he chuckled.
"Well. Looks like i've got nothing to explain since you already saw it."
Still standing with the balled fists, you can't even talk as you were trying so hard to figure things out. Why the fuck did he do this? Did this to you?
"I believe you're capable enough to think with your little brain, princess."
Suddenly, the rain started to pouring again, leaving you all soaked up gradually.
He's giving you the nastiest smile he have ever showed you as he made his getaway with the girl and said,
"Wake the fuck up. I have never loved you."
And that's when you wake up from your dreams.
As your eyes fluttered, you felt tears running from the corner of your eyes, making your sideburns damp uncomfortably.
This fucking whole thing is a dream. A dream that's so real.
No wonder that all of it was happening so fast; and absurd.
Now you can't even think of jeno the same way anymore if you see him at work. 
You checked your phone. Of course it's december. You laughed bitterly at yourself when you realized you trapped with jeno in your dreams when it's fucking summer. You swear you can even feel the heat. It just felt so true.
You get up on your elbows then cursed under your breath before muttered to yourself, "never thought you'd love and hurt me at the same time."
And it's not even in the real world.
Is it better because it's just a dream? Or is it not because the real thing is even more an awful truth you need to accept?
That's when you realized that the meaning of impossible is literally as it is. It's the time for you to understand that both of you is poles apart, that he is different.
You'll never ever get him, and you need to forget him; as he might already forget you.
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mymarifae · 3 months
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i just want to share my thoughts about akito and Death. because even now—even off the back of an event like burn my soul—people STILL talk about him like he's an explicitly depressed, suicidal character whose every action is cause for concern.
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i think the idea that akito is suicidal has been floating around for a very long time. and while it's not entirely without merit (more on this in a bit), it's still a misconception. and it really feels like kashika exacerbated the issue. which is unfortunate! it's sad to see such a beautiful song be misinterpreted like this.
now don't get me wrong! kashika is about death. but two things:
1. kashika may have been written for akito, but it's not just for him. it's also deeply personal to ryo haruka. there are certainly similarities and haruryo undoubtedly understood everything akito felt during the events that led up to the crawl green incident, but i don't think it's entirely fair to equate his very real emotions and struggles to those of a fictional character. he and akito share kashika! you can interpret it through either lens, but trying to do so through both is where things start getting messy
2. whiiiiich leads me to my second point. who decided that the only way to interpret kashika and its themes of death is literally?
i think it's pretty common for people to automatically interpret any themes of death literally—or at least very negatively. we're naturally conditioned to fear death, and then we're taught to fear it even more. it's the change. it's the unknown. it's the very idea of an "end." most people aren't very fond of these things! understandably so. but personally? i think the symbolism that can exist behind death is beautiful.
Death is the 13th card of the major arcana. above all else, it symbolizes change (positive change; it's always, always about what's ultimately best for you). Death tells you it's time to move forward; this part of your life is done. there is more waiting for you—new opportunities, new experiences, a brighter, more fulfilling future—but you must be prepared to let go.
the habits and routines you have now? the mindsets that have kept you alive? your current sense of self? whatever it is, whatever Death is asking for, you have to let it "die." it won't serve you anymore. it will only drag you down. and it might be terrifying and you might not be able to comprehend what lies ahead and you might want to kick and scream and struggle, but you can't cling forever. endings are never easy, and sometimes they hurt like hell, but with each end comes a new beginning.
and yes if you've read burn my soul this should all sound very familiar lol:
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looking at death from this perspective, kashika and the entirety of find a way out should read a lot more like akito caught on the cusp of a monumental transformation. suspended between "life" (the old) and "death" (the new) so to speak.
up to this point he's been fueled by spite and desperation. two very intense, very negative emotions—but it's an intensity that worked. everyone else on vivid street had years of musical experience, and he had 0. he needed to catch up and he needed to catch up quickly because it's not like he could put the whole world on pause. he could take his time to learn the basics, sure, but every other vivid street musician would continue improving and growing while he did that. there would always be a gap between him and Them.
unless... he worked harder—WAY harder—than all of them combined.
and maybe that wouldn't do it either. maybe he would be stuck in place forever, always playing catch-up, always struggling to stay afloat, always being left behind. he knew this. and he knew the amount of destruction he'd end up inflicting upon himself if he went down this path. but in his mind, it was okay. it was worth it. because he'd rather die endlessly pursuing what he loves most than live not trying at all.
but in find a way out, when facing off against his old bullies, he starts to realize that he was wrong. he's not just stuck in place. he bridged the gap a long time ago, and he almost didn't even notice. and where he's going now, spite and desperation are the wrong emotions to sing from. he needs to let the unhealthy, extreme mindsets die, but also it's hard to let go of something when you would have given up a long long long LONG time ago without it.
but with time, and enough poking and prodding from ken and luka, he does it. he lets go. he lets the old parts of him die, and he passes on to the next stage of his life.
akito's character arc has always been about growth. improvement. learning. Becoming Better. and not just in a musical sense although Yes That Is A Huge Part Of It. his arc is also about his growth as a person. it's about him becoming more confident, and learning how to be kinder and more patient with both himself and other people. it's about him learning how to let his walls down and let his loved ones in. and to trust that they won't start kicking him to death once they're in there.
it's about him learning to exchange the Spite and Desperation for Passion and Love.
it's about him becoming happier.
which is why it's so fucking startling when people talk about him like he's suicidal and on the verge of a breakdown. like, woah, what?
as i said though, kashika isn't the only source of this misconception and i find more merit in the other sources because they're actual aspects of his character and scenes in the story and not song lyrics that shouldn't have been read so literally in the first place. like, yeah. we've seen a ton of unhealthy behavior out of akito. he's had a very extreme perspective on his place in the world from a super early age, and while the severity frequently gets exaggerated in fanon spaces, the shinonome household isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows.
he's been moody, he's been prickly and abrasive, he's lashed out. he keeps most people at arm's length and builds walls so high not even toya can get through them at first. he had to! he wouldn't have survived if he didn't! like, he was targeted and bullied by a group of adults when he first started singing on vivid street. that is actually a genuinely traumatizing thing to happen to a kid!
so no, i'm not against the idea that akito has experienced depression and suicidal ideation in the past. kinda comes naturally with the territory he ended up in. but that's the key word: past.
i get confused when the idea is dragged into the present. because again! the whole point of his character arc is he's overcome all that PAST adversity! recovery isn't linear but we're not about to see him hit rock bottom any time soon. or ever, actually. you know why? because we've already seen his rock bottom. stray bad dog. that event was his big breakdown moment. that's what opened him up to try to start healing.
we're not getting another stray bad dog. stop expecting another stray bad dog.
he's alright, i promise. he's growing up. he's gotten better. he knows he belongs in vivid bad squad. he knows he's loved. he knows his friends will be there to catch him when he falls. he's always been strong, but now he's even stronger. he's excited for his future, and i think we should be too.
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meraki-yao · 1 month
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Some people say Nick posts about mary & george when there is something about Taylor because he wants to show that he has real jobs and shift the focus to real projects god, they're so evil
Jesus Christ, fuck them. They're stirring drama for drama's sake. That's their FUCKING JOB. M&G is literally 2 weeks, 14 days away, why wouldn't Nick post about M&G? Like they didn't choose for these dates to collide, it just did.
So yeah you're right, those people are fucking evil who can't leave a good thing alone.
But honestly, I'm amused by this "argument"/"criticism", and I'll tell you why (warning: discussion of real-person shipping under the cut, please don't read if you're uncomfortable with the subject)
Also warning, I ended up with a short-essay, because I'm me lmao
As I mentioned before, for rwrb I'm mostly active here; but I also look at the posts and opinions of the Chinese rwrb fandom (i don't post there though, I don't have nor want to have Chinese social media accounts)
and the thing about shipping culture in China is that RP shipping is almost DEFAULT (and I can write a whole dissertation on this phenomenon if anyone wants to read it) like, if you ship a pair in a show/movie unless the actor/actress is publicly in a long term MARRIAGE, not just relationship, MARRIAGE FOR LIKE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS, the audience will automatically ship the actors too. So much so that this is part of THE MARKETING STRATEGY of all locally-produced streaming shows
Also, when I say ship, I don't mean "aww that's cute they're cute together", I mean tin hatters. I mean they genuinely try to find snips and bits in photos that might serve as proof that they're together. We call it 嗑(磕)糖 ke tang (Eating/Drugged by Candy), because in Chinese weddings candy (called 喜糖 Xi Tang "happiness"-"candy") is given to guests, and because it's sweet. The "evidence" is called "candy", and the act of looking and finding "candies" is called "eating candies".
all this to say, nearly all rwrb fans in China ship Taylor and Nick together, and they're genuinely convinced that they're together. I've seen my fair share of "candy"/"evidence" and they keep coming. (some of those i genuinely think they're trying too hard but there are really some that I see and go "...damn.")
now finally back to this ask. Nick posting when Taylor has an event, what the people mentioned in the ask is bitching about, IS CONSIDERED A CANDY. EVERYBODY IS GIGGLING AND GRINNING OVER THE FACT THAT NICK AND TAYLOR POPPED OUT TOGETHER IN THE PAST COUPLE OF EVENTS LIKE THE GQ, THE ACADEMY GALA, MILAN AND TODAY. IT'S LITERALLY THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM.
a last little tidbit from me and my opinion on the whole shipping thing for now: personally I don't entirely agree with the default real-person shipping, it has proven to be problematic in the past and honestly I hate how monetized it is, but 1, it's such an "everybody in the country does it" thing that I... would be lying if I said I'm not influenced by that mindset at all, 2, I know where this mindset came from and it has stuff to do with the societal pressure of young adults in the country and rebellion against traditional concepts of marriage and stuff. It's a sociology phenomenon, and when I look at it as an outsider, I find it kind of fascinating.
As for my opinion on the boy's relationship, I don't...care? I know they have a good relationship and that's all I want for them. As for what type of relationship they have, I don't really mind/care, and I don't think we should look too much into that. That's their relationship for them to define and them to publicize if they want to. I know for a fact, that they are great friends. Are they more than friends? That's unfalsifiable, and that's no one's business but their own. So that's my stance.
But I had to choose one extreme fan's reaction, rps is a much less harmful thing than the sheer amount of hate and deliberate drama-stirring I've seen. So there.
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reasonsforhope · 11 months
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"If I wanted to convince you of the reality of human progress, of the fact that we as a species have advanced materially, morally, and politically over our time on this planet, I could quote you chapter and verse from a thick stack of development statistics.
I could tell you that a little more than 200 years ago, nearly half of all children born died before they reached their 15th birthday, and that today it’s less than 5 percent globally. I could tell you that in pre-industrial times, starvation was a constant specter and life expectancy was in the 30s at best. [Note: This is average life expectancy, old people did still exist in olden times] I could tell you that at the dawn of the 19th century, barely more than one person in 10 was literate, while today that ratio has been nearly reversed. I could tell you that today is, on average, the best time to be alive in human history.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll be convinced.
In one 2017 Pew poll, a plurality of Americans — people who, perhaps more than anywhere else, are heirs to the benefits of centuries of material and political progress — reported that life was better 50 years ago than it is today. A 2015 survey of thousands of adults in nine rich countries found that 10 percent or fewer believed that the world was getting better. On the internet, a strange nostalgia persists for the supposedly better times before industrialization, when ordinary people supposedly worked less and life was allegedly simpler and healthier. (They didn’t and it wasn’t.)
Looking backward, we imagine a halcyon past that never was; looking forward, it seems to many as if, in the words of young environmental activist Greta Thunberg, “the world is getting more and more grim every day.”
So it’s boom times for doom times. But the apocalyptic mindset that has gripped so many of us not only understates how far we’ve come, but how much further we can still go. The real story of progress today is its remarkable expansion to the rest of the world in recent decades. In 1950, life expectancy in Africa was just 40; today, it’s past 62. Meanwhile more than 1 billion people have moved out of extreme poverty since 1990 alone.
But there’s more to do — much more. That hundreds of millions of people still go without the benefit of electricity or live in states still racked by violence and injustice isn’t so much an indictment of progress as it is an indication that there is still more low-hanging fruit to harvest.
The world hasn’t become a better place for nearly everyone who lives on it because we wished it so. The astounding economic and technological progress made over the past 200 years has been the result of deliberate policies, a drive to invent and innovate, one advance building upon another. And as our material condition improved, so, for the most part, did our morals and politics — not as a side effect, but as a direct consequence. It’s simply easier to be good when the world isn’t zero-sum.
Which isn’t to say that the record of progress is one of unending wins. For every problem it solved — the lack of usable energy in the pre-fossil fuel days, for instance — it often created a new one, like climate change. But just as a primary way climate change is being addressed is through innovation that has drastically reduced the price of clean energy, so progress tends to be the best route to solving the problems that progress itself can create.
The biggest danger we face today, if we care about actually making the future a more perfect place, isn’t that industrial civilization will choke on its own exhaust or that democracy will crumble or that AI will rise up and overthrow us all. It’s that we will cease believing in the one force that raised humanity out of tens of thousands of years of general misery: the very idea of progress.
Changing Humanity's "Normal" Forever
Progress may be about where we’re going, but it’s impossible to understand without returning to where we’ve been. So let’s take a trip back to the foreign country that was the early years of the 19th century.
In 1820, according to data compiled by the historian Michail Moatsos, about three-quarters of the world’s population earned so little that they could not afford even a tiny living space, some heat and, hopefully, enough food to stave off malnutrition.
It was a state that we would now call “extreme poverty,” except that for most people back then, it wasn’t extreme — it was simply life.
What matters here for the story of progress isn’t the fact that the overwhelming majority of humankind lived in destitution. It’s that this was the norm, and had been the norm since essentially… forever. Poverty, illiteracy, premature death — these weren’t problems, as we would come to define them in our time. They were simply the background reality of being human, as largely unchangeable as birth and death itself...
Between 10,000 BCE and 1700, the average global population growth rate was just 0.04 percent per year. And that wasn’t because human beings weren’t having babies. They were simply dying, in great numbers: at birth, giving birth, in childhood from now-preventable diseases, and in young adulthood from now-preventable wars and violence.
It was only with the progress of industrialization that we broke out of [this long cycle], producing enough food to feed the mounting billions, enough scientific breakthroughs to conquer old killers like smallpox and the measles, and enough political advances to dwindle violent death.
Between 1800 and today, our numbers grew from around 1 billion to 8 billion. And that 8 billion aren’t just healthier, richer, and better educated. On average, they can expect to live more than twice as long. The writer Steven Johnson has called this achievement humanity’s “extra life” — but that extra isn’t just the decades that have been added to our lifespans. It’s the extra people that have been added to our numbers. I’m probably one of them, and you probably are too...
The progress we’ve earned has hardly been uninterrupted or perfectly distributed... [But] once we could prove in practice that the lot of humanity didn’t have to be hand-to-mouth existence, we could see that progress could continue to expand.
Current Progress "Flows Overwhelmingly" to the Developing World
The long twentieth century came late to the Global South, but it did get there. Between 1960 and today, India and China, together home to nearly one in every three people alive today, have seen life expectancy rise from 45 to 70 and 33 to 78, respectively. Per-capita GDP over those years rose some 2,600 percent for India and an astounding 13,400 percent for China, with the latter lifting an estimated 800 million people out of extreme poverty.
In the poorer countries of sub-Saharan Africa, progress has been slower and later, but shouldn’t be underestimated. When we see the drastic decline in child mortality — which has fallen since 1990 from 18.1 percent of all children in that region to 7.4 percent in 2021 — or the more than 20 million measles deaths that have been prevented since 2000 in Africa alone, this is progress continuing to happen now, with the benefits overwhelmingly flowing to the poorest among us.
Vanishing Autocracies
In 1800, according to Our World in Data, zero — none, nada, zip — people lived in what we would now classify as a liberal democracy. Just 22 million people — about 2 percent of the global population — lived in what the site classifies as “electoral autocracies,” meaning that what democracy they had was limited, and limited to a subset of the population.
One hundred years later, things weren’t much better — there were actual liberal democracies, but fewer than 1 percent of the world’s population lived in them...
Today just 2 billion people live in countries that are classified as closed autocracies — relatively few legal rights, no real electoral democracy — and most of them are in China...
Expanding Human Rights
All you have to do is roll the clock back a few decades to see the way that rights, on the whole, have been extended wider and wider: to LGBTQ citizens, to people of color, to women. The fundamental fact is that as much as the technological and economic world of 2023 would be unrecognizable to people in 1800, the same is true of the political world.
Nor can you disentangle that political progress from material progress. Take the gradual but definitive emancipation of women. That has been a hard-fought, ongoing battle, chiefly waged by women who saw the inherent unfairness of a male-dominated society.
But it was aided by the invention of labor-saving technologies in the home like washing machines and refrigerators that primarily gave time back to women and made it easier for them to move into the workforce.
These are all examples of the expansion of the circle of moral concern — the enlargement of who and what is considered worthy of respect and rights, from the foundation of the family or tribe all the way to humans around the world (and increasingly non-human animals as well). And it can’t be separated from the hard fact of material progress.
Leaving a Zero-Sum World Behind
The pre-industrial world was a zero-sum one... In a zero-sum world, you advance only at the expense of others, by taking from a set stock, not by adding, which is why wars of conquest between great powers were so common hundreds of years ago, or why homicide between neighbors was so much more frequent in the pre-industrial era.
We have obviously not eradicated violence, including by the state itself. But a society that can produce more of what it needs and wants is one that will be less inclined to fight over what it has, either with its neighbors or with itself. It’s not that the humans of 2023 are necessarily better, more moral, than their ancestors 200 or more years ago. It’s that war and violence cease to make economic sense...
Doomerism, at its heart, may be that exhaustion made manifest.
But just as we need continued advances in clean tech or biosecurity to protect ourselves from some of the existential threats we’ve inadvertently created, so do we need continued progress to address the problems that have been with us always: of want, of freedom, even of mortality. Nothing can dispel the terminal exhaustion that seems endemic in 2023 better than the idea that there is so much more left to do to lift millions out of poverty and misery while protecting the future — which is possible, thanks to the path of the progress we’ve made.
And we’ll know we’re successful if our descendants can one day look back on the present with the same mix of sympathy and relief with which we should look back on our past. How, they’ll wonder, did they ever live like that?"
-via Vox, 3/20/23
Note: I would seriously recommend reading the whole article--because as long as this post is, this is only about half of it! The article contains a lot more information about the hows and whys of human progress, and it also definitely made me cry the first time I read it.
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artist-issues · 2 months
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Cinderella's ball gown transformation (1950) or Elsa's ice gown transformation (2013)?
Cinderella's! You're not surprised.
Cinderella's came first. She's the OG of princess dress transformations. Elsa's is derivative of it. Cinderella's gets brownie points.
Cinderella's dress transformation was a reward from a higher power for her faith and strength of character. Elsa's dress transformation, on the other hand, was just her treating herself to a glow-up for...running away from her responsibikities and fears.
Both dresses are supposed to reflect the true-self of the girl wearing it. The difference is, Elsa's came at a time when she was literally singing about the mindset she needed to grow out of. It would be like Simba manifesting a crown in the middle of singing "Hakuna Matata." When he's run from his responsibility, abandoned the people who relied on him, rejected who he really is, and is running from his past mistakes and present flaws. Sureeee. Let's celebrate, have a fancy new outfit, Simba, so we can commemorate your moment of triumph, going from crown prince to lazy bug-eating mother-abandoning loafer in the woods. Elsa's doing the same thing. She's singing about "letting it go," but it's not "let go of my inhibitions," because her "inhibitions" were only in place to make her feel like she had control over whether or not she hurt others. And she doesn't gain that until after embracing self-sacrificial love. So what's she really "letting go" of? Responsibility. The environment where she had to think about others instead of herself. Risk. 🙄 And that's her big dress-transformation moment.
Meanwhile Cinderella's dress comes at a moment where she's done everything she can do, she's had faith, and a good attitude, and so much good will toward the mean, low creatures who are her stepfamily that the last thing she did was run down and ask them, sweetly, if they like her dress before they rip it to pieces. She's been kicked to her lowest moment, and all along, she's never lost faith.
And right when she's about to, her Fairy Godmother appears and shows her that she was right to be good, kind, faithful, no matter what her circumstances were. Her dress is a reminder of a real triumph: you're not a friendless ragged orphan servant. You're really a queen, on the inside, because you're high above the villains in virtue. You're compassionate, you're gracious, you're selfless, you're kind. You take care of others, like a benevolent Queen: That's who you are, no matter what your circumstances tell you, and here's a dress to illustrate it.
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Elsa's dress is all about her circumstances and how happy she is that she's run from them. Cinderella's dress is all about who she is on the inside, regardless of her circumstances.
...and it's prettier and more iconic and the animation is both those things, too.
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monsterhighlovurr · 1 month
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Rehabklok-Explained
Alot of people dind it very confusing on Nathan supposdley making Pickles forgive his absuer brother in order to get sober, this is not what Nathan means, lets look into it.
Its very obvious that Nathan doesnt have a “forgive and forget abusers no matter what because family😊” mindset from his view of pickles family and the rest of the bands bio family in dethfam, dethchristmas, and motherklok, where he outright tells pickles that his mom is a pos and he needs to stop fucking with her. “You should tell your mom to fuck herself”-Nathan Explosion
Pickles bio fam dynamic is very complicated but easily summed up, his parents are abusers, Seth is the golden child and Pickles is the scape goat. Pickles developed his addiction at age six from an event were his brother burned down the garage and blamed it on him (keep in mind his brother was only a couple years older than Pickles here, probably around 8 or 9, this is very important).
The thing about Pickles, is that Pickles blames little kid Seth for the abuse he received as a child, ignoring the fact that Seth was also a child living in that same abusive household dealing with those same abusive parents. Like burning down a garage is NOT the trait of a healthy well adjusted little boy with a good home life, Little Seth was obviously looking for some form of attention and affection from their shitty parents too. But that moment was a major catalyst in Pickles life, as it not only permanently cemented him as the scape goat and Seth as the golden child in the family dynamics, but also was the start of his alcoholism, which aides in the overall decline of his life.
Instead of Pickles holding the real problem accountable for their actions(his abusive parents) he blames little Seth for the abuse and holds resentment for little Seth, and uses that event and that family dynamic as an excuse to binge drink, instead of an explanation for his binge drinking.
ADULT Seth however, is an abusive pos who constantly harrasses and manipulates Pickles, taking advantage of Pickles and constantly begging for *huge* sums of cash, even physically assaulting him in dethwedding. Seth is just an overall pos in general, beating up hookers, getting with barely legal teenagers, regular douchebaggery. ADULT Seth should not be forgiven, especially since he makes zero effort to change his ways and uses every moment he can to join in with his parents to make Pickles life as miserable as possible. ADULT Seth is a grown ass man who knows what hes doing and has no excuse for his shitty actions, little Seth however…
Pickles wont be able to move on with his sobriety until he forgives little Seth for what he did that day and stops blaming little Seth for the actions of their abuser parents. HOWEVER, he also wont be able to move on with his sobriety if he *keeps* forgiving ADULT Seth and enabling him. He literally apologizes to Seth in this episode, not for blaming him for the abuse their parents did, but instead for being reasonably upset at Seth for abusing him as a grown ass man and constantly taking advantage of him and his money??? Pickles sweetie that is literally the complete opposite of what Nathan wanted you to do😫. And on top of that he CONTINUES to let Seth take advantage of him and gives him millions of dollars??? Pickles what??!? The lesson was supposed to be, forgive your brother for the shitty things he did as a helpless abused child and hold him accountable for the shitty things he does as a grown adult, not harbor resentment for him as a helpless abused child but forgive and forget his abuse as an adult and continue to enable him??? Theres still hope since he stands up to his abusive mom in motherklok, hopefully Seth is next ☺️.
His moment was Seth was so fucking unsatisfying like plzzz bro, plzzz. Nathan needed to come down there and clarify what he meant because watching Seth use Pickles moment of vulnerability in order to swindle MILLIONS of dollars from him made me so sad for Pickles :(.
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pinkerino · 5 days
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Hello!! If I may ask, how was your experience other times you shifted? Did it feel the same as the first time?Im curious to know if it gets easier to get in that mindset/headspace/ belief, etc. I personally believe it does but I want to hear it from someone.
anyway, hearing that everything feels natural in other realities as this one is such a relief because it does show that this is normal and we’ve been existing there and its not something in our heads.
Hey! Thanks for the ask.
First off, shifting feels like nothing. There isn't a build of symptoms, weird portals or things like these- one moment you are in your CR, the next you are in your DR, just like that. There is a really really, really fast moment where you sort of go unconscious and then get conscious in your DR, but it happens so fast you don't even notice it. (btw this is my personal experience and if you have felt differently don't come for me I'm literally just a guy)
Now back to your question: yes, it does get easy in the sense of, you now know its real, you've been there so it is easier to do your method/ get into the headspace to shift, you also don't let negative emotions influence you since you have actual experience now.
Though I want to say that, shifting isn't a skill that you develop, you either shift or you don't, and the most important thing you can have is a really good mindest: accepting shifting as something you can do, and knowing its actually easy. That's it.
The last part was a bit off topic, but I know what its like not to have shifted and the despair you feel from that, so it was just a reminder to anyone who needs it!
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outro-jo · 1 year
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nct 127 with autistic partners
pairing: nct 127 members x reader
type: scenario
summary: how the nct 127 members help their autistic partners
request: yes
warning: mentions overstimulation, touch, food, meltdown in johnny’s, stimming
a/n: please lmk if johnny’s makes any of you uncomfortable. i’m hesitant to talk about the topic even though it’s necessary to talk about and normalize. it’s just difficult and i know that VERY well. 🤍 also please know that these (and the skz one) are just small examples of what some autistic people can experience and these may not be the only ways they would help their partners. 
masterlist | info
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taeyong- you were surprised to find out that despite being so busy and having to worry about 20+ “kids” of his own, taeyong is really good about texting and checking in on you. not only with basics like, “did you eat today? drink your water? take your vitamins?” but he spends a lot of time away from you and he doesn’t want you to get anxious or worry about his feelings towards you. he never assumes that his actions are speaking louder than his words when a lot of the time you struggle to interpret the feeling behind actions anyways. he’s very forthcoming with how he feels about you and will often just tell you he’s been thinking about you and misses you even when he’s been gone for just hours. (which like why… you just left how do you miss me?? 😂😂) 
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taeil- the patience on this man is surprising. something that can be difficult for allistics to deal with is when autistic people get stuck on something in their head or just stuck in a mindset in general. taeil is very calm when explaining things to you as many times as you need to get on the different train of thought. he does his best to let you work through whatever it is that has you stuck. when it’s a difficult or dangerous mindset that your brain has you trapped in, he’s there for whatever you need and is great at reassuring you that everything is ok. 
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johnny- johnny is really good under stress. he’s steady as a rock and it comes in handy in stressful situations which you can’t really handle all that much. you feel all the intense energy and it usually gets loud so it immediately triggers a meltdown. he’s just really good in any type of meltdown situation, whether it builds from the day and something small makes you snap or you’re relatively fine but something intense sets it off. he makes sure you have your headphones on and holds you tight to him. also talking you through the post meltdown guilt after bc it’s so real 😩
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yuta- he LOVES hearing about all your special interests. he loves when you like sit and fidget with something and just ramble away about whatever it is you know literally everything about. he also loves to take you places where you can experience your special interest in a deeper way. i.e. special museums or experiences. even if he has no interest in the topic whatsoever, he just loves that you love it.
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doyoung- he’s a very affectionate person but he’s very respectful and understanding which makes him perfect for you since you don’t like to be touched. he always asks for permission before touching you in any way first, even if it’s a small gesture like wiping your face when you’re eating (bc he just does that for people anyways). although at first when you rejected a hug from him, he was a little hurt and confused but did his best not to show it. once you explained it though, he was much more aware of his actions and if he needs a hug he’ll find one of the boys. 
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jaehyun- this man knows the importance of a safe space not just emotionally in your relationship together but also physically like in your shared home. he worked really hard to make sure the lights weren’t too much, none of the blankets and furniture felt weird, all the smells in the house were mild and pleasant, safe foods always stocked, he even went as far to soundproof the bedroom so outside noise isn’t an issue. he also has lots of fidgets around the house and on his person for when you need to stim. 
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jungwoo- similar to taeyong but in a different sense, hear me out. he knows how overwhelmed you get when you have to be around more people and especially people you’re not used to. it can kinda feel like you’re a sim without someone at the controller. you walk in the room of people and immediately feel like it’s too much and not do basic things that most people do easily. your default is just to stand at the edge of the room awkwardly, totally unsure of how to function. people may ask, “are you hungry? can i get you a drink? you can sit here if you want!” and you’ll deny everything despite being hungry, thirsty, or needing to sit. playing the “human part” can get so confusing when you’re overwhelmed and you may feel like your basic needs are burdensome to others even when it’s literally a party and every one is eating, drinking, and relaxing. so jungwoo is always at your side with his hand in yours to reassure you. he feels like a safer person you can say your needs too without feeling like a burden. he’s always so sweet and patient with you to make sure you get everything you want. 
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mark- mark pays close attention to the sounds in the room. it’s something he never thought much about before he met you but when you explained it to him, it actually made a lot of sense to him. he always keeps you close by in case of a particularly loud noise he can cover your ears in time or be there to reassure you. he also keeps an extra pair of noise canceling headphones with him or at least some little ear buds in his pocket. he becomes attuned to helping you with some of your other sensory issues but sound is one that triggers you more often so he knows what to look out for. 
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haechan- he found you intriguing when he first met you mostly bc you were kinda concerned with how he was being treated, especially by yuta. he thought it was really endearing when you’d get upset that he was being “slighted” but he explained that it was all a joke… you didn’t find it that funny. donghyuk loved that you cared so much for him so quickly and that you always wanted to show that you cared even if it meant you doing things you weren’t entirely comfortable with like hugging or other skinship. haechan was equally careful not to push skinship so much or just throw it on you without any warning. he was also careful with his jokes and not to tease you too much and upset you. overall he’s just very considerate. 
taglist: @ujejdjd
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sicklyseraphnsuch · 3 months
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RotG and HiJack Recs
Alright, I'm building this list because some of these fics are just a tad dusty, and they could use more love. (A lot more love, I am literally dying from how much I adored these.) But note that a good few are incomplete.
Let's start with:
INCOMPLETE FICS
The Long Road:
Presently Gen, but Hiccup very much falls for Jack. He does however retain his feelings for Astrid, so bear that in mind. There's the classic Viking mindset when it comes to homosexual relationships that's pretty much giving Hiccup like a lot of anxiety.
But beyond that! I cannot shower this fic with enough praises! It gives me the same sort of excitement that the RotG movie does. Jack's characterization is Spot On. He's friendly and outgoing and also incredibly secretive and flighty. It balances out Jack's blunt mannerisms with a joyous charm and just that hint of vulnerability (which he keeps so well hidden lol).
The plots take place after HttyD, during the Riders of Berk TV series. Jack is folded into the Dragon Rider group who considers him some kind of Elf. Yes, this is Jack Frost in all his frosty glory. The way the story builds on a solid foundation of camaraderie and friendship, giving plenty of scenes to show how Hiccup and Jack became great friends, lends well to the Hiccup's realization of: "Oh I'm into him". Without giving too many spoilers, that "oh" moment is forever ingrained into my memory because of how PERFECTLY timed it is.
This blends Guardians of Childhood book verse with HttyD book verse, mostly via cameos over lore. Overall, a beautiful, fun, and simply enchanting read. I cannot recommend this enough.
A Story about Ice, Dragon Fire, and Belief:
Another gen fic. Mostly, it's about North looking at Jack and going, "he's my son now", and Jack having absolutely none of it. When placed together with Stoik and Hiccup's relationship, it becomes an almost interesting study of contrasts. North is the guy who's trying to prove something to a boy that he disappointed. Hiccup is the guy who's trying to prove something to a man that he disappointed. But ultimately, it ends up the same with a schism forming between the two pairs the harder one of them tries to breach it.
Also, it talks about how Jack is a force of fucking nature? And his blizzards can kill and have killed in the past? There's a little bit of trying to reconcile that with his new ID as a guardian. North is not doing a great job helping here.
But really the Crown Jewel of this fic is North and Berk's reactions to North (and by proxy his relationship to Jack). We go a little into the historical Viking side of things (like the pillaging et al), and apply that lens to this jolly old man. Let's just say some troubling (hilarious) assumptions are drawn. Also...
Everyone loves the sleigh.
I think this is one of the few RotG and HttyD crossovers that really do a good job of merging the two movies. Primarily because it's not just Jack in Berk. And this just made me hungry for more fics where more of the RotG cast arrive as Berk, and be just 100% fantastical and strange as the bedtime stories they are. Put some respect on the Guardians name, if you know what I'm saying.
In the Shadows of My Mind:
This one is an RotG only fic. No pairings except for whatever's going on between Pitch and Nightlight (and by proxy Jack). It's not a for real pairing. That said, it's such a complex and intricate relationship that doesn't resemble a romance but remains markedly intimate. Basically, this fic takes advantage of Pitch and Nightlight's ridiculously long history then throws Jack into the mix. Alive, human Jack in an early 18th century colonial town wherein he very recently did not drown (and boy, isn't that suspicious?)
My favorite thing about this fic is how spot on the dialogue feels? The lexicon, the syntax feels true to the time its set in. Although, I can't say that it is accurate as I'm not an expert of this time period in this region. Regardless, it certainly appears that a good stack of research went into this.
All that said, this fic has captured Bill Joyce's writing style the best, but with a deeper, more complex, more mature layer underpining that bedtime like vibe. There's a good host of OCs but genuinely, I didn't notice them as OCs. I could really believe they were characters of Joyce's books. Not to mention, they feel like fully fleshed out individuals even if they have like maybe two paragraphs of screentime.
The entire premise hinges on the idea of "what if Jack survived the skating accident" and everyone's reactions to that, as well as... the hidden secret thing that involves Nightlight. GoC spoilers are hinted so beware. But the little interplay between Nightlight and Jack is such a delicious little mystery, and also makes me so sad. These two boys deserved better.
Then we throw in Pitch for fun, because Pitch is always fun, and he just makes the whole thing even more complicated or as Jack calls it, "unnatural". But he's not even the main villain. It's Christianity. JK. That said, the fic does explore the idea of well, how would a fairly backwater colony be able to explain how Jack survived or... the powers that's slowly revealing itself from within him. There's a particularly nasty boy (around Jack's age), who is an OC and I believe an exceptionally well placed one. The OC understood his role to play and he plays it fantastically. Everytime he shows up, I too feel scared and indignant and excited all at once.
Speaking of great OCs, shoutout to Jack's Da. His appearances are brief but the impact is maximized with each appearance. He has that sense of realism and whimsy baked into him that I could gush endlessly about.
Overall, just a pure delight to read. Will re-read again and again.
Zastruga:
Total Gen fic. And a classic in my opinion.
I started reading this when I was in college - note the publish date. Nevermind the update date. Because even after all these years, this story? Still good. Still very very good.
This takes the original RotG plot and makes it more epic, and also more sad. RotG was very joyful at its core, which this fic somehow manages to retain. But it's just under a layer of sad. It's not overwhelming angst though, just enough to really pinch your heart.
Also whereas the movie has a few epic battles before things go really wrong, this fic stretches that out into a proper war against Pitch (and Jack). That's right. Jack is with Pitch ala Mother Gothel/Judge Frollo style. Jack isn't locked up entirely. He's given just enough rope to hang himself with. Mind the Jack whump is what I'm saying. But also do note that Jack's character remains as steadfast and loyal as he ever was in RotG, so the whump just hits nicer since this Jack isn't so irrevocably changed.
I have re-read this before. I will re-read this again. Nevermind the incomplete status. There's plenty of chapters that simply give me great joy.
COMPLETE FICS
It's the Great Spirit Sleigh, Hiccup Haddock:
Gen fic, in that there's no pairing actively getting together. But remains faithful to the original canon's hinted love interests. So Hiccup has a big crush on Astrid and Jack leans towards Tooth. That said, the relationship between Hiccup and Jack is just plain adorable and also heart-wrenching. They care about each other. So Much.
Now this is just a good holiday cheer. It literally has the Hallmark movie template, which is the point really. You know, the whole "oh no, a holiday is ruined" followed by "clever and charming ways to fix the holiday". With Hiccup and Jack taking the starring roles.
If you know your Hallmark movies, then you know that the leads get together in the end. And they don't in this fic. But the amount of "Gosh do I care about you" is so good. It's a lot of hurt and a lot of comfort. And I am here for it.
Also, this fic was completed way before the HttyD 3 movie so it doesn't have a canon compliant ending. That may be a bonus for some of you.
Scary Monsters and Super Creeps:
Pre JackRabbit (Bunny/Jack). But honestly the pairing isn't the main focus, mostly that Jack and Bunny admit to liking each other (but not to each other). So their dynamic remains in the best bros category. The pairing mostly shows through the plot machinations.
So long story short, Pitch opens the Guardian-Verse and recruits the other versions of the Guardians - the corrupt versions. And it's good, action/adventure fun. There's some gore, so mind that. Because the corrupt versions are nasty little things that fight dirty. Which makes the action feel like there's legit stakes. Also makes for a quick read because you must know what happens next? Did they get out of this sticky situation? Are they going to be okay? That sort of thing.
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punkpandapatrixk · 2 years
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🐌Destined Person's Spiritual Assistance in Your Personal Development—Timeless Tarot Pick A Card
[Happy Tanabata Festival!🎋Bonus content for this PAC is now Public for everyone! Read here for the whole Orihime and Hikoboshi epic romance if you love cosmic love stories~]
On the glowing surface of the moon, Time sat with Destiny, and over tea pondered the question of reconciliation. The conclusion to Yang and Yin’s melodramatic dance, Destiny told Time there was a particular issue that would need to be addressed:
In the theatre of the Universe, it was all mere performance for the entertainment of Infinite Intelligence; but the divine Lovers had been all too absorbed in their roles they had now begun to lose sight of their true Divine Nature. If they were to meet now, it would be by karma that they reunite; soon enough, tears would spill again and the Lovers would have to do another round of dance. Again and again...
One hundred thousand memories of tears, hatred, vengeance; they would drown all memories of laughter, love, compassion. Destiny said: ‘It has been a while the two Lovers battle each other. If they could learn to assist one another instead in the amelioration of Gaia’s helter-skelter, I promise by Law of the Cosmos they shall be reunited in true happiness. Forever and ever…’
And thus, here we are the sons and daughters of Yang and Yin playing out roles in the vast theatre of the Universe. Our consciousness dances back and forth emerging and submerging between the corporeal and incorporeal realms. Undoing the threads of karma we trace back the root of our service to Infinite Intelligence. Until all sadness dissolves... Until all sadness dissolves... And only memories of Love unite all beings in dharma.
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[Back to Masterlist] [Part 1] [Part 2]
Pile 1 – ‘Your Highness, You Command Magick!’
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Destiny’s Orchestra – Queen of Pentacles Rx
In the drama of Human incarnation, you’ve forgotten your immense power of manifestation. You were born into an environment where most of the time most people operate on poverty mindset. This could translate into various scenarios, i.e.: you were born poor so you believe poverty is the natural state of being; your parents held a poor man’s mindset; your entire society was brimming with stingy and deceitful human beings; or just… you literally grew up with a lot of limitations. All kinds of limitations, even if not financially.
-I remember how the leader and founder of X JAPAN, YOSHIKI told of his childhood: being sickly, he was always confined within the walls of the hospital and doctors telling him he couldn’t do this or that. His entire childhood was just limitations and limitations due to frail health, but he ‘unmei wo sakaratta’—he rebelled against Destiny’s orchestration.-
You have a very similar struggle with the illusion of limitation. The limitation placed in your mind is the creation of your environment, but that is far from the real divine power that you are. You’re essentially this powerhouse of abundance who’s destined for so much you will never go dry no matter how much you’ve spent on both yourself and charity.
YOSHIKI's rockumentary WE ARE X, I feel, will inspire you tons. It is because I feel incredibly strongly for this Pile: you have immense power within you waiting to be released. And that’s because you’re meant to be a Harbinger of a Revolution—like YOSHIKI himself did to Japan’s entire society!
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Destined Person’s Spiritual Assistance – 8 of Wands Rx
You came into this world to play a heroic, albeit somewhat tragic, character who started with a lot of adversity. Manifestation may have been a very difficult thing for you, or if anything, at one point you’ve come to believe you can only manifest unrealistically unideal situations!
‘Honey, it’s all a Game. Remember this isn’t the true you,’ said your Destined Person from the Higher Realms. Even when the progression of your Life feels slow, your Destined Person’s Higher Self is always here with you. They act like a Spirit Guide, which may even feel like a spirit animal to some of you.
From the very beginning of your spiritual transformation—these things people call the Dark Nights of the Soul, etc.—your Destined Person’s Higher Self has been watching you closely to uphold your faith even when you feel like you couldn’t go on anymore. If you listen closely enough, you’ll hear their guidance that seems to constantly direct you towards finding ideas, artwork, public figures (including celebrities), books, movies, music, etc., that seem to remind you of your great Divine Potentials.
Path Towards Your Highest Destiny – Knight of Cups
Your Destined Person is actively seeking to wake you up from this mediocre dream of an Earthly Life. Your essence is regal, and if only you would believe it, the world is quite literally under your command—both the spiritual and the mundane worlds. There is an air of nobility to you, and check this out, this may have something to do with your DNA, too. This may be clear as day for some, and this may be rather murky for some. For example:
You could be descended from blue bloods; maybe one of your great-great-great grandparents or something was the bastard child of a nobleman LMAO; or on a lighter note, you could’ve been kings or queens in previous incarnations; or more magical still, you could be an actual king or queen of the fairies in another realm of existence. Whatever the case may be, you’ve got the regal shit. Okay? And taking full advantage of that would be to your…advantage in this incarnation, regardless of what circumstances you’ve been born into.
In fact, by this energy, I’m sensing that your Destined Person’s human incarnation is also someone who exudes an aura of regality themselves. Heed, my friends: some of you attracted to this Pile, your Destined Person could be someone in the public eye, and if you happen to already know who they are, yes, this is your confirmation. And yes… I know you’re inspired tons by their aura of expensiveness LMAO What you see in them is a mirror reflection of the sparkles you hold within yourself. Now blast~!
Isabella’s Lullaby🔻❤️
Access full reading + cards on Patreon🌸
☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.
Pile 2 – ‘Dear Lovely, You Create Magick!’
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Destiny’s Orchestra – King of Pentacles
In the theatre of Human Incarnation, you grew up thinking you must only be a certain profession that’s been approved by your society. Problem is, the range of approved professions is narrow and they’re, for the most part, boring as fuck for their rigidity and drabness. But worse still, they’re the kind of profession that would require you to really toughen up—both on the inside and outside.
And you agreed almost mindlessly because that’s the world you were born into. No question, this is the only path for me, think you. But that kills you. For little did your little self knew, you’re a natural-born artist—born into this world to flow like water and paint beautiful pictures. Pictures meant to come alive. You’re a painter of life itself and everything that comes out of you breathes beauty.
Beauty permeates you and thus you emanate beauty. If you’re able to break the spell of mundanity, you’ll naturally develop yourself as the talented artist you essentially are. Hard work may have been the setting of your Human drama, but that is not you at all. That cheatful Destiny, sending you off to an environment that’s the complete opposite of what you divinely are!
Destined Person’s Spiritual Assistance – Ace of Pentacles
-Do you notice the contrast between the King and Ace of Pentacles here?-
You were plunged into a hard setting of an environment (like everything was already settled and decided), but here your Destined Person’s Higher Self is guiding you to see things a tad differently. Sure, sure, pentacles are important, but you ought to see them from a different light.
Money/career/status… those things in themselves don’t just bring fulfilment to your Soul. It is what you do to earn money that brings true spiritual satisfaction. It is what you contribute to causes you care about that brings a real sense of meaning to your Earthly life. It is how you have carefully chosen your own path that you will be spared regrets.
Your Destined Person wants to remind you at all times that you needn’t be so hard on yourself. There’s magick in the air which you can rely upon for manifestation. But the most important thing of all is that you must see your worth with brand new eyes. Your Destined Person is someone who sees your natural gentleness, compassion, and dazzling artistic talents. They already see this even before they see you in the physical!
Path Towards Your Highest Destiny – 2 of Pentacles Rx
2 of Pentacles, especially in this deck, talks about weighing options. You’re a very considerate person, but you’re also a worrywart, and I feel that your entire Life you’ve always been the type to carefully plan ahead, but all you’re planning is out of alignment with what your Soul wants. So that’s a lot of sacrifice when you look at things from a grander scale. And not the noble kind of sacrifice.
You should take it easy and take a deep breath of release. Prioritise your mental health and do what you want from the soul—not the ego that wants to fit in and play safe. If you rebel like that against the rules of your society, who knows what might happen to for you? That’s way beyond this PAC can read because you’re meant to tread the path and see for yourself what you’re capable of creating.
Trivia: your Destined Person may be an artist themselves or just someone who truly embodies the artist spirit irrespective of what they do to make money. The essence of their Higher Self wants you to remember this: be slow, and flow with the rhythm of your spiritual/creative/passionate desires.
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Isabella’s Lullaby🔻🧡
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☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・. ☆♪°・.
Pile 3 – ‘You Are Magick, My Dearest~’
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-First of all, on my blog, Pile 3s tend to contain the most complex/complicated/extraterrestrial messages. And if you’ve noticed, words and sentences for Pile 3s tend to be the least logical as they’re structured almost abstractly—they’re intuitive and must be understood by your Higher Intelligence—your Soul.
Now this reading is super visual and there’s a lot more you can understand by noticing the crazy contrasts between the colourful artwork of Amano Yoshitaka and the drabness of your tarot & oracle cards. The only tarot that contains the most colour is in Rx… I just thought I needed to point this out for your analysis pleasure.
And yes… I…have decided to entirely disregard the structure I’d created for all the Piles. You don’t need that. Your message is different…-
Destiny’s Orchestra – 10 of Pentacles
Destined Person’s Spiritual Assistance – 4 of Wands Rx
Path Towards Your Highest Destiny – 7 of Pentacles
I feel very strongly that you and your Destined Person were never even separate, in a sense. On a Soul level, you were never apart. You’ve always been together and even now you’re almost like… One. If you’re currently searching for your other-complete-half like the rest of the awakening population, it’s all just a trick of the Maya—the Matrix—the Human World. Seriously, you’ve never been apart for too long nor too far.
But in this theatre of Human Incarnation, indeed you may have had polar opposite roles and experiences. Mirror opposites? I think that’s what they call such a thing. And out of the blue, I want to introduce you to the weird and tragic dynamic of The Shining Prince Hikaru Genji and his first wife Aoi-no-ue.
Aoi-no-ue was 16 years old when she was arranged to marry 12-year-old Prince Genji (already a man by Heian period’s nobility standard, I guess). The Princess was a proud woman and would not open her heart to Genji, but most of all… She felt a horrible sense of inferiority to her husband’s dazzling beauty (even at the age of 12 LMAO). Never really tasting the sweetness of Love by her own resistance, she died young by a demonic spirit.
This, isn’t the dynamic of your relationship with your Destined Person. This is a cautionary tale and one message your Destined Person wouldn’t shut up about as of right now. Here’s what they’re being super noisy about:
‘Do you see the magnificent beauty that is yourself? To me, you are the most exquisite beauty to ever exist. Blossoming more beautifully than any flower or fairy being. Your scent is the sweetest and your voice the most melodious. There’s a gleam in your eyes that simultaneously shakes my heart and puts it at ease. You are a dreamer—you weave beauty into being by just dreaming it. You are the dream—surpassing any standards of magnificence and beauty by just breathing. Your beauty is so shivering it moves Heaven, Earth and Hell.’
-Did you take a shot every time they say beauty or magnificent?-
Anyway, that last part is one reason why you’ve been met with so much hardship: enemies from Hell are actively seeking to destroy you—beginning with your self-worth. The environment you were born into did not have the capacity to understand the exquisite beauty that you are and naturally, they could not value you for your real talents or character. And then, you think you’re worthless (or simply worth less, you know) because nobody has ever told you your true value. Does that make sense? That’s why your Destined Person wanted you to know the story of Aoi-no-ue and then wouldn’t shut up with their praises...
Handsome Genji was affectionate towards Aoi-no-ue, but her inferiority complex prevented her from accepting the exquisite love that Genji was capable of giving. They were not a happy couple despite Genji’s gentleness and kind attention. Why is this important? If you haven’t come around yet, it’s because your Destined Person is also someone mega godly beautiful—man or woman or anything else in between!💗🌈💛But different from you, they know this and flaunt their beauty LMAO
NCT Jaehyun is the most exquisitely handsome man in the world, but with that attractive face and charisma he still has the audacity to say: ‘My charm? My charm is the plot twist charm. Whatever you imagine, I’m more attractive than that.’🥵
You ought to develop such confidence because that is your birth right. That is the important assistance I feel your Destined Person has offered you yet, even if only aetherically at the moment you’re reading this. As you continue to develop yourself enveloped in this beautiful loving energy, so your energetic signature comes to resemble that of your Destined One. And in this way you become a perfect vibrational match whom Destiny shall reunite fully in Love. Forever and ever…
Isabella’s Lullaby🔻💗
Time’s Healing Essence – Red Magus (Edward Kelly)
Destiny’s Gift of Reunion – Priestess of Protection
You need only to meditate upon these cards, but more so on Amano Yoshitaka’s artwork used for Pile 3 whilst listening to Neko to Inu (Cat and Dog) by Sakamoto Maaya🥰
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Love yourself. Love your uniqueness. Love all that you are, My Dearest Prettiest Princess~ (or Prince😜)
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tobiasdrake · 5 months
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As much as I loved DBS: Super Hero, it did also serve as a reminder for why modern Dragon Ball gives Gohan so little to do.
What it boils down to is that Dragon Ball writers seem to have difficulty finding new ways for Gohan to develop or evolve as a fighter. This is because Gohan himself isn't interested in developing or evolving as a fighter.
By contrast to the proactive Goku, Gohan is a reactive character. He doesn't want to be a big martial arts super-warrior. He has no ambition to become Next-Gen Son Goku. That doesn't mean he won't Do The Things. He's been Doing The Things since he was four. But he needs to have a reason. Something he's doing it for.
"To be stronger/better, to push myself, to become more than I am now," is Goku's driving motive. Goku is a martial artist driven to surpass his own limits, and this drives him to keep finding new mountains to climb.
Gohan's driving motive is, "To protect my family from that asshole." He needs a reason. Self-improvement for its own sake (or, as some have offered, "to be strong enough to deal with the next guy") isn't his passion. Plus, he's already one of the strongest people in the entire universe. How much stronger should he reasonably need to be?
There are all kinds of stories you can tell with a reactive character like Gohan. He's basically a superhero archetype. Spider-Man doesn't constantly train to make himself a better fighter with every waking moment. He doesn't need to; His genre isn't one of progressive escalation.
The problem is, Dragon Ball is dedicated to progressive escalation, arguably to its detriment as Modern Dragon Ball is well past the point where escalation no longer holds any weight. The powers of the characters are so abstract by this point that they have to be defined solely in relation to each other. "Bob is STRONGER than Alex." "Yeah, well now we're fighting John, who's way stronger than Bob and Alex combined." "Yeah well Mark is 100x stronger than John!" "Frank could flex Mark into oblivion with his pinky finger."
This isn't a problem for Gohan, so much as it is a problem for the mindset people have when writing for Dragon Ball. Whether it's Toei or Toyotaro or even Toriyama himself, nobody ever knows what to do with Gohan.
Even when Gohan's in the driver's seat, he's being written by writers who don't know how to write the kinds of stories that Gohan, as a protagonist, is suited for. So they always wind up going back and rehashing things from the well of past Gohan things.
Goku gets to move forward and do new things, but Gohan is trapped in an endless cycle of doing the same three things and nothing else.
1 - Piccolo's sacrifice. Piccolo throwing himself in front of an attack for Gohan or maybe Gohan throws himself in front of an attack for Piccolo if we're being spicy today. REMEMBER THAT TIME. DO YOU REMEMBER? 2 - Gohan gets a rage boost or turns Super Saiyan 2, and then things get real. Everyone loved his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. They loved it so much they're still finding excuses to have him turn Super Saiyan 2 for the very first time again. 3 - Gohan has the power within him to win but he can't unleash it so Goku appears out of nowhere to save him and give him a pep talk, and then he gains confidence in himself and becomes strong enough to win.
To my knowledge, I don't think #3 has appeared in DBS as of yet but it was all over post-Cell Games. After everyone went nuts for Father-Son Kamehameha, we had "Goku gives Gohan a pep talk so he can win" as the resolution for both Broly: Second Coming and Bojack. Then in the actual manga, Goku made the save on Gohan during the Super Buu fight and then got sick of having to do this and fired him from protag slot entirely, which is worse.
Most of Super Hero was a lot of fun. But that final fight turning into "Let's literally bring Cell back so that we can do 'Gohan turns Super Saiyan 2 and defeat Cell' again but it's actually Cell again for maximum uncreativity"? I see you, writers. I see your total lack of ideas for this character.
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shuttershocky · 7 months
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Hey shutters! While I overall enjoyed FF16, I agree that I wish Jill did more or spoke more. I feel like there was missed potential of having a relationship more like Saber and shirou, where they both have similar mindsets and trauma. Specifically, when it came to overusing their powers and having to face the crystals' curse being similar to how Shirou and Saber did not want the other to fight but how they both needed to.
I'm still in the middle of the game (after Titan's bossfight) but it feels like Jill was written by an Aerith fan that only knew the FF7 cast from fanworks, movies, and Kingdom Hearts rather than the actual FF7, so Tifa's the tough spunky girl and Aerith's the softie flower girl when their original personalities are actually switched lol
Out of all the characters in FF16 I've seen so far, Jill was written for a role the hardest. What I mean by that is that while someone like Benedikta's an extremely standard femme fatale villain type (the kind that Urobochi would strangle midway through the season to be replaced by the real, male villain), she at least gets to revel in it. She gets to kick dogs, lose her composure, she's got at least one loyal minion she's genuinely close to and trusts in when the archetype doesn't usually, all that stuff. She gets to have fun with the role.
Jill? Jill was written to be Clive's woman before she was written to be a character, and it feels so glaringly obvious from how she's treated. She almost never gets to talk to anyone else other than Clive despite having screentime second only to Clive, she doesn't challenge him in any way, all of the other people barely acknowledge she's even there!
Like half of the main quest dialogue is
Plot Person: Bugger me, these Imperials won't live and let live won't they Clive? Plot plot plot dialogue dialogue. We oughta plot plot plot plot and get 'em right in the arse!
Clive: Hmm. Agreed. Plot plot plot important characters plot. We'll ride at dawn.
Plot person: Righto! See you in hell then. *Nods* Lady Jill.
Jill: *smiles meekly*
And it's such a waste because when she's actually allowed to do anything she's fun! Her character design is my favorite in the game, she gets to swing a sword around, when Clive gets bowled over her AI often gets caught too so the two get thrown up into the air screaming and doing a quadruple flip and its funny as fuck, as soon as she's finally given time to express one damn wish she's like "Clive, this priest did unspeakable things to children. I call dibs on killing him." And Clive's all "Of course Jill you'll get to murder him as much as you want" and that's fun!
They're each other's enablers! That's supposed to be their dynamic. Clive was a rejected son and a failure of a bodyguard, Jill's entire life was spent being someone's hostage (of both Rosaria and the Iron Kingdom), so they're the only pillar of support the other has. You can see the intent of their dynamic plain as day when Cid's trying to talk them into joining his merry crew of outlaws and Clive and Jill subconsciously hold hands and squeeze when they're nervous.
But to DO that right Jill has to be allowed to be her own character. Even in the Iron Kingdom level where Clive and Jill go after the High Priest because killing him is what Jill wants, in the ensuing bossfight Jill primes as Shiva while Clive fails to prime, and then instead of Jill taking charge she protects Clive while he fights the boss.
Seriously? One of them is flying around with literal god powers and the other has a bad case of Eikonic Dysfunction and rather than crush the giant lava monster herself, Jill makes sure Clive still gets to fight it in his puny human form and be the big hero? Come on. I was surprised that Jill still ran the High Priest through with her sword, I genuinely expected the game to take that away from her too.
Anyway she's obviously my favorite part of 16 now. Somebody's gotta be in her corner.
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dovabunny · 2 months
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Ok first thing is please don’t take this as a criticism of your replaced au fic. I love it a lot and I think it was written beautifully.
However my dumb ass missed the angst with a happy ending tag
And I was like, why tf is Soap staying with Ghost? He’s obviously supposed to be with Ale and Rudy. My brain was craving more angst than what was provided and now it’s yelling at me for more, so now I’m trying to placate it with sad ending version of that fic that I’m making up in my head. Dw I don’t plan to publish it or anything. The angst was hitting good but then he ended up back with Ghost and my brain was screaming that it was wrong.
However, once again, it’s ur fic. And it was still incredibly written and amazing. I love your writing style.
FIRST - sorry this took so long 🙏 I'm not active much on here.
On the fic - a big thing for me when writing is understanding that 'hurt people hurt people' (people who are hurt, tend to hurt other people). I'm also educated/trained in trauma and psych, so having a grasp on how that can change emotional development, cognitive perceptions, reactivity etc has always been an interest of mine. My father is also an abusive veteran. These are the places I drew a lot of inspo from.
I did have an ending where Soap ends up with Rude and Ale, and even one with Roach, but in the end I felt I wanted to give both Soap AND Ghost a chance to grow. And growth isn't linear, it isn't easy. It often hurts too. For me them not getting back together didn't serve a purpose - it was an easy way out. Ghost would be stagnant and qlone (except for Roach) forever, and Soap would forever carry the bitterness and hurt of what happened from his one-sided view even if he did move on.
People who come from bad backgrounds often need patience as they re-learn and re-write a lot of emotional and behavioural impulses they've had to develop and maintain since childhood. So Ghost needed patience and understanding, and Soap needed to see this was real - that this was true without lies or deceit or deception. Which is why Ghost's reaction when he was drugged was the tipping point for him where he saw that this was Ghost's true feelings, and what he meant to Ghost.
It took strength and growth from Soap to open his heart again, more than it would've if he moved on. Ghost took up therapy, opened up to Roach a bit, and engraved Soap (literally) onto his body - his growth was pushing past his own armour he wore and seeing the strength in vulnerability and honesty through intense therapy. They're two men with a lot of trauma in their past and present, they're complicated men in their own way, so I tried to keep it as realistic to their personal development and mindsets than from an outsiders perspective.
That's a big ramble, I hope it makes sense! I honestly loved seeing readers get emotional over it - whether angry or happy or sad. I got a lot of emojis in my inbox on Twitter 😂 I wanted people to feel for these characters, so I'm so happy to hear you liked it and you felt connected to it in a way that spoke to you.
I think it's kinda the same with fics with heavy themes - there's often something in our own backgrounds that resonates and identifies with something in a character or a struggle they have. So if you empathise with Soap, or Ghost, or you're just here vibing like Roach - it's all good!
Thanks for the ask :) ❤️🌻
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