#I am vaguely aware of the source material

[catd2014]

Binged the whole of Rivals in the last 24 hours, brilliant television

[francy-sketches]

If I'd actually posted all my pjo art when I made it instead of hoarding it like a little goblin for no apparent reason today I might have been known as the octavian guy instead of the joffrey guy...scary thought...

[erstwhilesparrow]

ethubs + desert duo hadestown au. not actually wildly familiar with hadestown but something something seeing and not seeing yourself in the bright young couple at your doorstep who have been separated by tragic circumstances?

notes:

etho + scar -- etho striking a deal with scar for a life for bdubs

grian + bdubs -- not sure this is A Thing in hadestown but i would like to play with bdubs's "he loves me!" thing and grian trying to convince him otherwise?

grian playing this season mean, playing willing to break from his allies at the drop of a hat -- again, don't think this actually lines up with anything in hadestown, but some of that... jadedness from third life, the way he starts his season with "everything that happened last time DOESN'T MATTER"

scar spends the whole season alone atop the mountain. that thing someone said once about how desert duo never left that desert but specifically in the sense that they spend every game after playing out warped versions of what they originally had, never satisfied because that moment is long gone and they can't accept it. seeing the funhouse mirror versions of you maybe succeed and maybe fail and kind of hoping-- what, exactly?

[edgeray]

*presses my face against your tank* HELLO RAY !!! :D I AM FINALLY HERE !! MY BRAINCELLS HAVE COLLIDED AND PRODUCED A THOUGHT !!

or, er, sort of? more like a vague vibe, but i digress. basically, consider: pining arle. how does she realize her feelings for you? how does she cope? how does her behaviour around you change? does it? what is she thinking the whole time? when would she consider making a move? essentially i would like to see you psychologically pick apart this woman. go as in depth into her brain or inner monologue as you want !!! the set dressing can be canon or an au, i’ll eat it up regardless :)) and as a professional angst writer i know you can write some absolutely monstrous (/pos) yearning and i’m frothing at the mouth thinking about it 🤤🤤🤤 lookin forward to your thoughts but also take your time with it !!! godspeed 🫡🫡🫡

An Unfit Role 

(Arlecchino x GN! Reader)

A/N - Oh sev… you spoil me too much. You truly do. Somehow this turned into very ‘Arlecchino is a person'-esque and I don't know how but oh well. I don't know if this answered your questions very well, but hopefully this is what you mean by psychologically picking apart her! Was this enough pining? Content warnings / info - uhh none I think. just a lil bit of angst, 1.4k words

Arlecchino is many things. The Fourth Fatui Harbinger, a Snezynayan diplomat, the head of the House of the Hearth, and simply ‘'Father.’ She takes on many roles, and enforces them with an iron fist, every facade meticulously practiced and rationalized. Perfected as if she were an actor on a stage, every action and step is calculated beforehand. And if external factors or unpredictable variables crop up in the midst of her play? Well, a good actor knows how to improvise. Arlecchino is well aware of her roles, has memorized the lines and drilled through every movement. The Knave has many feats from each character she plays. A flawless performer, in those aspects.

A lover is not a character she can play. Someone who loves. It is a role that she cannot hope to touch, one she cannot imagine assigning herself too. She is far too inexperienced in what it pertains to. Her perception would grossly mischaracterize it, painting a rather crude display of what she knows of but doesn't know. After all, how could one act without an adequate example? No actor would want to showcase a poor impression of an original source material, an actor presents only their most remarkable qualities. A good actor knows what they cannot act, and it is this where her talents reach their limit. It is what her role as a ‘Father’ stems from; this inability to express something far too fragile and flimsy for her to hold. 

Of the few showcases of others playing the role, Arlecchino is knowledgeable enough that they are simply inept showcases. The Tsaritsa, who has shown the capability to act, and yet chooses to conceal her abilities from her audience. Crucabena, an unqualified actor, whose words dripped with far too much venom for the soft-spoken voice that she used. Perhaps Clervie was the only accurate and genuine actor able to play the part, but one cannot appreciate the traits of an unfinished story. And the naive Peruere, who could hardly imitate her counterpart, was maimed by Arlecchino’s own hands. It is here that she learns that the role of a lover earns no applause, because it adds little to the plot, and so it lacks a function in her story.  

Despite this, she finds herself in this scene, where she plays a character unlike her usual, an entirely new character involuntarily thrusted into her by the cruel machinations of her mind. 

It is a subtle thing. First, she was just the Knave to you. But somehow, among your presence, her facade slips, and she dons another character. 

She becomes a character who knows of nothing but the way her sight is captured by a singular person, a character whose dead heart begins to beat, daring to flutter back to life after it was painfully wrenched out of her chest by her favorite story's ending. She becomes acutely aware of this role when her eyes linger on you a moment longer than need be, when she indulges your empty but no less engaging conversations, when she familarizes herself with the particular fauna scent you carry. When she closes her eyes, your smile flashes through her mind, she knows she's fallen. 

An actor knows when to quit, when they misfit the character they're performing. And yet her mind remains stubborn. Acting a role one does not fit will only damage the actor's reputation, and she intends on abandoning it. But it is difficult for her to dismiss how much she yearns for a warmth that the blood flames in her veins cannot bring. It is difficult to deny that she is not momentarily blinded and stunned by your beaming expression, even when you are not looking at her. It is increasingly more difficult to control the pulsing underneath her skin. This is a character she cannot control, instead, it often feels that the character controls her. 

It is an unseemly, disgusting appearance for her. If it were physically possible, she would plunge her very own cursed, clawed hands into her chest, to grasp onto this fickle, volatile organ and crush it just to exhaust the remaining embers of a futile hope. If only it were as simple as that. Love is far too much of a complicated role for her, and yet it is somehow inescapable. Some sort of torment placed onto her by the archons. 

She can long, she can reach, she can prance around you, but never can she touch. For love imprints its scorch marks deeper than any weapon or assault. One of the lessons her story has concluded to. 

So, instead, she reduces its role to a minor character. She lets her stares remain, but she observes you from a distance. She does not dawdle a second longer besides you if she needn't be. She dresses the role of a lover as an observer. Everything she touches with these wretched, blackened hands soon turns into nothing but embers and ashes, and so the only way that you will remain is away from her.

On her desk, sits a vase with a single flower. It is your favorite flower, the flower that you smell of. It does not move from its place, nothing is done to it besides being watered. Its stem is so brittle, and the petals are far too easy to wither away.

(It is a reminder, every time she sits at her desk. Oh, how'd she like to stroke the patels with as much tenderness as she could muster. How'd she like to cradle it in her hands, this source of life, despite being so delicate, is so beautiful. How'd she like to be able to wake up everyday, and view upon this blossoming flower. But she is not a gardener. She knows nothing of how to make a flower bloom.) 

Humans are the only viable actors for the role of a lover. A curse is not. 

(In her dreams, sometimes you are in place of Clervie. Yet, like Clervie, the only moment she is able to cradle you is when her sword impales you. She will not let another flower wilt, she will not burn another flower.)

It is why you baffle her. Why do you gaze upon her with that expression, as if her claws are not one one more inch from piercing your skin and ripping into your flesh? How do you take her hands in yours, somehow slotting them as if they were always meant to, when they’re soiled with vulgar blood? Her cutting words and sharp tongue, how do they not dissuade you? How do you see her blackened skin, and not be driven away by such a mark of impurity and depravity? 

How could you not tell that she is improper for the role that you seek?

She wonders if a flower is a poor description of you. She wonders if you are instead a Sundew ensnaring a spider, unwilling to let it escape. No, perhaps that is not fitting for you, because you are unaware how effortlessly she can char you–unaware of the imminent danger that comes with keeping such a venomous creature.

Arlecchino is many things. She is a coward, if only for you. She cannot abandon her role, but she cannot perform better, floating in the state of inadequacy that she so despises. Playing a lover makes her foolish, and it is a compromising role. 

She is foolish, but she is despicable. She is selfish. And though she is perfect actor, even performers must fail to succeed. One day, her mental will and patience crumbles. She requests you into her office, your doe-eyed expression widens when she gives you the flower that sits lone in a glass vase on her desk. She tells you that you plague her thoughts, every feeling and emotion is muddied when they concern you, a culmination of things not within her grasp, not within her control. 

It is your performance that finally teaches her what she lacked before: playing the role of a lover requires another. It is a role dependent on another character, otherwise it cannot succeed. It matters not how experienced one is with the other, as long as the characters are committed to it.

There is another lesson that she learned from you.

“I cannot act as a lover.”

“Why must you act to love me?”

Love is a fickle, unpredictable thing. There is no words to be practiced, no actions to be scripted. 

Arlecchino is many things. A lover may be one of them. 

[mossstep]

More sagau (self aware genshin au) headcanons(plus a little bit of writing) These ones are a bit more focused instead of general.

Ghost!reader sagau headcanons

As always: I am a minor, don’t be weird with my posts!

Note: these posts are made with the intention of lightening up the sagau tag, also, if you’re interested in me writing an entire story using my headcanons just ask and I’ll be happy to!

Tw/cw: sagau, swearing, references to the 4.2 archon quest (not 100% sure if this is needed)

Arriving in teyvat

Waking up in teyvat was certainly not on your bingo card for this year. You had only been playing genshin seriously for about a year or so. You had played before that, but had gotten bored after the Monstadt archon quest, because of the steep ar requirements for the Liyue archon quest.

So waking up in Liyue, specifically wuwang hill was, jarring to say the least. You had recognized the area immediately. You had basically lived in the crimson witch domain farming for your Hu Tao. Not that you had Hu Tao yet, having lost your 50/50 on each of her reruns. (Seriously! Talk about bad luck!)

As you get up you notice a vague feeling weightlessness, looking down, you noticed that you were partially see-through? What?

-

So the creator would probably meet Hu Tao first, as she likes the hang around wuwang (I don’t know her lore to correct me if I’m wrong) and Hu Tao would almost immediately recognize the reader as the creator due to their “golden aura.” Despite this, she’d treat you as your average ghost

-

The creator’s appearance would be like the ghosts seen in a game. But instead of that blueish-white color outline, the creator’s would be golden.

-

The creator’s ability to interact with things would be limited, only being able to slightly nudge or push things. They wouldn’t be able to pick anything up, or eat anything.

Despite this, they’re able to be seen/talk to vision holders and other elemental beings. While regular humans would only be able to sense them.

Also, the creator can possess shit, because ghost!

-

It’s likely that Zhongli, after catching wind of the creator’s arrival in not only teyvat, but also Liyue, would try to meet with them.

I can see the geo archon getting in contact with Ei or Neuvillette about making a mechanical puppet/body for the creator, since they were very limited in what they could do.

-

In their ghost form the creator would likely be able to take advantage of laylines/teleport waypoints/statues of the seven/etc. to travel around teyvat, which is how they meet with their favorite characters, wether or not they know about the creator’s arrival

Creator: hi tighnari :3

Tighnari: ARCHONS WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!?

Creator: secret :3

Alternatively

Creator: Hi Kaveh

Kaveh: OH SHIT A GHOST (unaware they’re the creator)

-

The creator would probably spend a whole 6 months or longer in teyvat without a body, because the people of teyvat would make sure only the best body is given to them.

If the people of Fontaine make a body for the creator they’d probably have the the fortress of meropide temporarily stop production on gardemeks to put all their energy in making the perfect mechanical body for the creator of teyvat.

If Ei instead uses the technique she used to create the shogun and scaramouche she’d source only the highest quality materials, then spend ages meticulously working on every little detail to make sure it’s perfect

No matter how much you say you don’t care about it being perfect, the people of teyvat would consider it blasphemy to give anything less than the best for their creator.

[katyspersonal]

hey sorry i know you get a lot of asks but i really wanted to know if you think midra and shabriri could be related by blood? i am not sure who else to ask.

Awhhh it isn't just this, it is also that I am stuck on my phone and only got so many pictures here, when I prefer to answer asks with screenshots spam! XD But this question doesn't offer very much to bounce off of from what the source material offers so time to use my imagination..? 🤔

I did an analysis of Frenzied Flame's and Three Fingers' "timeline" in this ( x ) post, but the thing is! Previously those afflicted by Frenzied Flame had to contact the Three Fingers and had to be grasped by them directly, not only if they wanted to be a Lord, whereas the "become too sad and you will get Frenzied Flame" disease is stated to start FROM Shabriri! Even when eyeballs afflicted by it across Lands Between carry his name now:

^ Vyke's one is unique in this case, because he WAS grabbed by the Three Fingers! Meanwhile, as for the Shadow Realm:

So, in case of Shabriri's relation, I believe he'd have to be of younger generation than Midra and his servants! I also think this because Three Fingers are imprisoned under Leyendell. In fact, BURIED there!

(Tomb of an ancient god line) Also, there are no Winter Lanterns (the ER edition I mean xD) or wandering Aging Untoucheable that apparently are heralds of big Frenzy Nuke that collect the frenzied eyeballs in the Lands Between where Frenzied Flame is! It is also a pointer towards Three Fingers having been weakened/"killed" since the time Midra himself was grabbed by them!

My idea is that whereas Three Fingers are called readerless, technically Shabriri was the one and only "reader" for them! Functionally he is comparable with Gowry more than with Enia, but I have the mental image of him having the glimpse at these fingerprints desperately trying to get out, and deciding that it was a good idea to bring about what they wanted rather than personal pain/revenge or some grand idea of ending all suffering. (As much as I LOVE the joke that Allant and Shabriri are depressed and manic side of the same concept hdgfjfhfjgdf)

^ The crime of slander he got punished for WAS accusing Nomads of worshiping the Frenzied Flame, and judging from his expression he knew it wasn't the end 🌛 That's why I think he knew what he was doing all along, playing with Marika's fear of fire because no way any of that shit gets anywhere near her precious Erdtree *looks at Fire Monks incantations repeatedly stating Fire of Giants was enemy for GO it could burn the Erdtree* *looks at her being scared of Messmer's flame*

So, if we say he is a later relative of Midra, there is still the important factor that he inflicted Frenzied Flame on himself rather than was already infected by it! If we say he had a natural affinity to "listen" to Three Fingers because of being born by someone in Midra's Manse who was infected, that'd be direct relation! I do think that the torch Nanaya is cradling IS that of hers and Midra's son, so let's say they had another child who they yeeted out of their place for hopeful adoption so Inquisitors don't kill them or at least they have a better life 🤔 Either that child then would be ancestor of Shabriri, or Shabriri himself! He could have still had a natural hunch, or be vaguely aware that his ancestors were isolated and perished by Frenzied Flame and got curious to learn what it WAS! Maybe that's why he went digging into the tomb, rather than just found it?

Personally, I think emotionally it works better if Midra and Nanaya only had one child, who failed to become a Lord! But as I was typing this response, the idea of them getting (another) child outta here for better life started to look fun x) Coincidentally, 1) I draw Shabriri's original body with black hair that Nanaya has and 2) I was discussing the similar "dooming self by getting curious about heritage your ancestors SAVED you from" trope recently about Beatrice from DS1 vfhgfhh It looks like I can't escape this trope xdd

^ I also can offer an idea of collateral/distant relation, since devs made darn sure you can see Midra's Manse used to have the same flowers as Shaman's Village! Midra's servants, who were Hornsent unlike him, were hunted by Hornsent Inquisitors as "heretics", and tolerating all that WAS what brought Midra and his people to Frenzied Flame! They probably bullied fellow Hornsent exactly for serving the shamans (or closely related people) as nobles when by their understanding shamans were unworthy of living!

I insist that Dominula Celebrants are descendants of surviving shamans (here ( x ) are more justifications for that), so, say, Midra's relatives from there escaped, and Shabriri was amongst their descendants! + yeeted to live in another place because apparently no shamans not celebrants keep males around jfggvbgh

Latter one would imply a very long generational gap though! However, this idea might have given more insight on why Shabriri's word had a weight to begin with! The interesting detail is, developers edited out the part about him having been a noble! It was in the original unpatched version, then patched out:

And for now, the mention of him being a noble is only saved in Shabriri's Woe version as one of keepsakes we choose at the start of the game.. but that is only in localization! The Japanese original DID patch it out as well!

Fuckin sneaky patching out Nameless Moon Presence flashback hfgyygjg And before, I didn't second-guess it! If his word mattered so much as to people to believe his slander about something so crucial for the fate of the Erdtree, he had to hold an important position anyways! But after the DLC I start to question whether instead, he was amongst the people Marika held dear due to sentimentality 🤔 Especially much earlier in the timeline. Maybe she was slightly more willing to trust what little was left of her folks than anyone else! She might have even been aware of what happened with Midra's Manse if he was connected with the shamans (or just shaman but not living in the village as a male), let alone the possibility of sealing Three Fingers herself, so the "not this shit again" effect worked very well!

___________________

In the conclusion, I think the relation is possible! I AM weak for "consider not being so curious about (bad) fate of your ancestors because nothing good will come of it" trope it seems hfgthvgg It could even solve the weirdness of editing out his noble status! I am still giving him pretty clothes tho

[ollyou]

!!WARNING FOR PMTOK FANS!!

Please reblog for awareness.

Someone has attempted to grab my IP address using a Grabify link. Thankfully I was smart enough to instantly recognize the link as malicious, but there’s no telling if this person is sending the same link to followers or other PMTOK fandom members in general.

I have reason to believe this is likely a targeted attack on me, due to a sudden influx of threats from a certain PMTOK fan’s follower base towards me that happened after I vaguely described I found out someone who used to follow me is a lolicon on my alt Twitter to ~20 followers. I will not be sharing names because as I had stated in my original thread, I have no intention of starting drama, just sharing my disgust and shock at something that happened. The point of me describing this is only to explain why this may have happened.

DO NOT LOOK UP THE LINK BELOW UNLESS YOU ARE FINE WITH POTENTIALLY HAVING YOUR LOCATION SHARED WITH THIS PERSON.

I HAVE NO IDEA IF THE LINK CONTAINS ANY GRAPHIC MATERIAL, AS IT HAS A PNG FILE ATTACHED. PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION.

THE MESSAGE:

PROOF OF IT BEING MALICIOUS:

There are many dangerous and manipulative people in this fandom, and I want everyone to stay safe. I will be contacting law enforcement if this escalates further, though thankfully at the time of being sent this link, I was already far from home and so my IP changed to match that. I did not load the particular link so I don’t believe I am in any immediate danger, but THIS COULD VERY WELL PUT OTHERS INCLUDING YOURSELF IN DANGER.

Do NOT click any suspicious links sent to you— heck, don’t click links sent by anonymous sources at ALL. ALWAYS use a website checker if you’re that curious and need to click it. Please do not make a fool of yourself and wind up with your info in dangerous people’s hands.

Thank you for reading and remember to stay safe online. Please contact me if you’re in the PMTOK fandom and/or are following me and receive any strange links from anonymous or burner accounts.

[soundcrusher]

Hi! 🩹🗑💎 for an OC of your choosing, please

Okay, considering you’re the only one who sent an ask (and I got my laptop back), I’m gonna give you a two for one deal.

People familiar with my Transformers OCs will recognize Flinch, and the newer ones will, hopefully, have a vague awareness of my FF7 OC Valerian.

(If someone else wants to send me an ask, here is the ask game.)

Flinch! MA BOY! (Going with the Unicron Trilogy -mainly Armada- here)

🩹 - Someone who was a source of trauma

Fucking Unicron.

Like, seriously, not only did that fucker possess him, but he also left him mentally scared enough, that Flinch lost some of his happy-go-lucky demeanour. Growing more paranoid and scared as the story progressed, until he refused to recharge all together.

Adding to that, Flinch also secluded himself from his family by shutting himself into his room or staying out for longer than usual.

He did get better, yes, and regained some of his happy-go-lucky personality, but by the time Cybertron rolls around, my boy’s having the worst of times again.  

🗑️ - "It's complicated"

His dad.

Flinch has a very complicated relationship with his dad. Not because Primus is the god of all Cybertronians, and all that jazz, but rather because he has been absent for most of Flinch’s live and he doesn’t know how to deal with that. Like, it’s great that he gets to know something about his actual parents, but why does it have to be mech that’s not only God, but also the planet they live on?

Primus sure enough causes Flinch some kind of existential crisis.

💎 - Chosen family (including warband)

The Minicon pair that adopted Flinch, when they stumbled upon him, and all the other Minicons they found on their way through the galaxy.

They might be all broken from the war they were forced to fight in, and try to hide their more evil deeds from the sunshine that’s Flinch, but damn it all, if they aren’t a good family.

Also, It’s pretty much a fact that @tachyon-omlette's Eda didn’t have a choice, when Flinch decided that he was prime Dad-Material. Eda might not see it, but Flinch wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world/galaxy. (If the topic of custody would ever come up, Flinch would choose Eda over Primus any time.)

Valerian! BABY BOY BABY!

🩹 - Someone who was a source of trauma

I want to say the scientist who made him, but IV was a bigger source of trauma than them.

I went more into detail in that story I wrote, but IV’s presumed death at the hands of some unknown foe/the facility staff left Valerian traumatized to a point, where he even avoided the single though of dreaming about the outside world.

After all, IV dreamed of what was behind the walls they knew, and when he was taken outside, he never returned. And despite Valerian’s memories of his brother being good ones, him never coming back made them bitter. To a point, where he can’t even fall asleep without holding something to ground him.

🗑️ - "It's complicated"

I am tempted to say, “Everyone he meets”.

Valerian spent too much time isolated from humans that weren’t facility staff/scientist, so, meeting people who aren’t out to harm him is a little weird, dare I say scary in some strange way.

Like, he knows that they aren’t going to hurt him, as long as he doesn’t give them a reason to, but at the same time, kindness is rare. Especially in grown-ups that glare at you, whenever you try to carefully walk around them, or yell at you for getting into their way.

He will get better over time, especially when he finds people who care about him, but strangers will always make him feel complicated.

Another person would be his father/the person he calls “DNA-Donor”. Valerian is still young and has spend most of his freedom traveling with a robot cat, before living with his creator. So, meeting the man who’s DNA was used to create him awakens many complicated feelings. Especially in the “Do I call him dad, or not? He never really showed any signs of caring for me…” side of things. It’s definitely something he and Vincent have to work on. But hey! Valerian’s around 14 when they meet, so, they have the rest of their lives to do so!

💎 - Chosen family (including warband)

The Cait Sith that found Valerian in his cell/room, and Reeve. No fighting over that.

Cait was the first person/robot, who wasn’t IV, that ever showed compassion towards Valerian, and the boy grew attached. I mean, why else would he follow the cat over all of Gaia like a lost chocobo-chick? That’s both his emotional support robo-cat and his caretaker.

Reeve came later, when both showed up on his doorsteps. Drenched by rain and muddied from a tumble down a cliff. They haven’t left ever since.

[yamayuandadu]

regarding the sogdians and foxes. do you know if the sogdians themselves practiced a fox cult of some kind? also an unrelated question but i was wondering. was Taoism practiced westwards in the sogdian heartland?

I am not aware of that. I don't really think there was much in the way of animal cults in Sogdia in general. While many deities were associated with specifica animals and in fact in art some can only be identified by their animal attribute (a mount, a throne with animal decorations, or an accessory), foxes aren't among them. Comparative evidence from other contemporary or slightly more recent sources pertaining to other Iranian peoples doesn't really hint at anything similar to the Chinese fox cults either. In Zoroastrian tradition some favorable description can be found but this reflects the fact Avesta considers the fox a type of dog and by extension presents it as one of the animals created to counter malign influence (source), there's no fox yazata or anything of that sort. Al-Biruni might be describing depictions of the simurg as "flying foxes" (ﺧﺮﺳﺎنخﺮ, hurasan-xvarra) but that's an isolated example. The only information about Sogdian or at least Sogdian-adjacent perception of the matter of foxes in Cult of the Fox is that we at the very least know An Lushan and his contemporary Geshu Han were aware of the derogatory implications. Doubtlessly there were more foregners who had opinions on that since there's a fair share of evidence the fox comparisons were employed casually in everyday speech, but so far I failed to find any first hand accounts. Individual Chinese stories might portray foreigners as well versed in fox affairs - for example in Shen Jiji's Tale of Miss Ren a foreign food vendor living next to the eponymous character is well aware she is a fox and doesn't really seem to be bothered - but there are ultimately just literary fiction. I do think it would be interesting to wonder how the matter was seen by "naturalized citizens" so to speak - whether they saw a mirror of own struggles in fox tales, whether they took part in domestic fox cults in areas where they were prevalent etc. - but I don't think there's any material evidence which would make it possible to explore that.

As for the second question, I am not aware of Taoism spreading that far westwards. It also doesn't come up in any publications I read which deal with religions present in Sogdia - and most of these do highlight plurality. An indigenous set of beliefs (whether it can be considered a form of Zoroastrianism or merely something vaguely related remains a matter of debate), Buddhism, (Nestorian) Christianity and Manichaeism are all well attested. I read a few surveys of Sogdian theophoric names too, and no Taoist figures come up (while Buddha and Jesus are comparably well attested as local variants of Mithra and Nanaya). For the most part I'm only aware of Taoism spreading in some capacity to Vietnam, Korea and Japan in the first millennium - in other words, eastwards, not westwards. However, there is some evidence of Xuanzang being provided with Sanskrit translations of Taoist classics before embarking on his journey to India (see Daoism in the Tang (618-907) in the Brill Daoism Handbook), so it does seem fair to say attempts must have been made.

The possible attempts at westward transfer of Taoism were seemingly generally tied to interactions between this religion and Buddhism. This is highlighted in particular by the rise of a popular legend according to which Laozi was also the source of many other teachings because he was identical with the historical Buddha (or vice versa; see here for full context).

[littlestsnicket]

Questions 7, 26, 45, and 50. 28 made me giggle.

7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?

as a fic writer i somewhat avoid doing world building… the world is there in the source material. but for my longer witcher fics, i did have to work out how i thought magic works in that world, and even though very little of it ended up on the page, i am quite pleased with what is in my head and how it let me feel more comfortable writing ciri and yen doing magic. (that’s probably what makes it good world building in my opinion, that it’s not really on the page.)

other things are more like, how do i jam my headcanons about how this world works into the story, which i think is fundamentally different than world building (like when ciri&jaskier talk about being queer in the post season 2 fic).

26. already answered this one (writing fic that’s only dialogue sounds like fun!)

45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?

i think the biggest thing is the ability to write longer works? the fact that i’ve written two thinks over 10k now is still absolutely shocking to me.

i think i’ve also gotten a lot better at figuring out why a story isn’t working. i used to just wander away from things and not find my way back to them, or chop the bits that were working into drabbles instead of figuring out the whole story. that’s also, on reflection, a big part of being able to write longer stories.

but also a lot of both of these things is less real improvement in my writing and more having a beta reader (you) and how the way i engage with fandom has changed a bit over time/across fandoms.

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!

the thing i want to get better at (which i think i’ve vaguely talked about in my sprint retro notes), is learning how to create inspiration rather than waiting around for it. it’s an interesting self-awareness exercise. like if i go for a long walk or do the dishes while listening to music instead of a podcast, usually my brain does things. what else makes my brain do things and how do i guide the brain-doing-things in the direction of the thing i want to be working on?

did that make any sense?

(bonus 28, lol, yes. you read my fic before i post it, either when it’s almost done or when i need validation that i put words on the page so you get to see my disaster drafts :D and you get to deal with how i didn’t write the two pivotal scenes for the ciri&jaskier fic until very late in my out of order writing process and i had to keep trying to explain what the fic was actually about to you because based on what was on the page it seemed like it was about something else—in so much as that fic is actually about anything.)

[lightbringer-morningstar]

Guidelines and Rules

I'm not really one for rules so I'm gonna call them guidelines for interaction.

This blog is mostly active via mobile for the time being.

On This blog I am highly selective and mutuals only for threads.

Selective follow. I prefer a dashboard that is current and relevant to partners who interact with my muse, so please don't take it personal if unfollowing occurs at some point due to lack of interaction. Follow status always has the ability to change if interactions occur through inbox.

Content. Things here will be 18+/25+ meaning content may at any given moment include topics that are not suitable for minors, such as but not limited to violence, gore, cannibalism, blood, death, alcohol use, drug use, and other mature-related themes. Anyone familiar with the source material: Hazbin Hotel &&Helluva Boss would be well aware of the correlations. Expect nsfw. By following this blog you agree to acknowledging possible explicit content and explicit themes that may or may not be tagged. I will do my best to tag accordingly but if something doesn't appear excessive in my perspective there is the possibility it will not get a tag. Apologies in advanced for any possible triggering content but please consider yourself warned and please request tags if needed. I shouldn't need to state this but blogs posting content such as racism, bigotry, discrimination, hate of any kind, lgbt+ phobia or hate, incest, noncon ect. will be instantly unfollowed for my own wellbeing and mental health.

Frequent posts of ooc drama or callout culture related involvement will lead to immediate unfollow or Block. Also any posts, comments or replies expressing derogatory commenting towards others or noticeable passive aggressive behavior will lead to unfollow or Block. Vague blogging will not be tolerated, be mature and talk things out or learn to block and move on, respectfully.

Interactions. Some muses here are rude and some are flat out dangerous. If they are approached with lack of caution I will not sit by and be accused of God-modding/Meta-gaming. Please do not prod/provoke or instigate muses into action unless ready for the repercussion. I do not god-mod or meta-game (unless it comes up in crack-posts/jokes on dashboard) and I also don't accept it from others during threads. This has happened to me before, and I'd rather avoid it. I'm always willing to chat about/discuss actions that occurred if outcomes are upsetting or uncomfortable in hindsight so there's always the possibility for a do-over, just ask.

Uncomfortable situations. Sometimes uncomfortable dialogue or actions may occur between muses, should this happen please reach out and express the discomfort and we can quickly agree to amend it/change it. Maybe a muse gets too mean or aggressive during chatter or they use possible flirtatious advancements when that sort of attention is unwanted. Talk to me and it won't happen again. Just gotta let me know if something isn't being enjoyed and it will immediately stop.

Replies will be done when I have time, should any need to be dropped a courtesy discussion attempt will be made as notification. Activity will be sporadic, but my aim is to be online often. This is a hobby, and I do it to de-stress. If you at any time find yourself not wanting to drop an interaction, reach out and let me know. Should the opposite be true, and you find you want to drop any threads then same would apply. Asking about certain threads or interactions to get an idea of whether they are being continued or dropped is perfectly acceptable but please do not repeatedly ask/spam or hound me, that could result in an unfollow from me.

Any Anon hate will be promptly discarded and will result in an automatic block. This includes Policing anons. Do not go on anon to police what I post on my blog. Please consider unfollowing. Egotistical Anons who decide to abuse the anonymous function on my blog run the risk of being blocked on sight. I will not apologize or explain my posts or my opinions to anons who disagree with me or those who seek to be some sort of authority on what I choose to post on my blog simply because they disagree with me or my point of view or believe I should be "educated" by their standards. Do not impose yourself onto me. Please unfollow if it gets to that point. I would never intentionally offend or insult anyone, but I do reserve the right to formulate my own opinions and to thereby express them as such should I feel the need. I understand that doing so could possibly result in unintentional offense or misunderstandings and so should anyone deciding to follow this blog after reading the guidelines/rules outlined within this post. If you find this unacceptable, please consider either unfollowing or not following to begin with.

Friendly, neutral, or curious Anons are always welcomed.

Manipulation between muns ooc. Do not do it. If I find out it's your intention or you have actively persisted in certain behavioral patterns I will block without warning or explanation. Let's be transparent, direct and mature about things, please. Open and Direct Communication works best.

Writing. Micro, One-liners, Para, Multi-para and Novella are all welcome. I will be honest, I prefer shorter rather than longer when things have not been plotted. I will be putting my best effort forward but I will not be struggling to match length and hopefully writing partners will not either. Please don't ever feel pressured to write more than motivation will allow, it's completely understandable. I'm the flexible type when in comes to rp here.

Shipping. Please don't force it on my muses. Please don't write on behalf of my muses during replies. This is a cooperative endeavor, and consent should be at the forefront of interactions. I ship for chemistry, please be respectful if it just isn't there between muses. Multiship and multiverse. Love it, can't get enough of it but I do ship and write for chemistry. I'm not likely to autoship. The only exceptions will be the ones I agree on during plotting discussion ooc with other muns. Will not be shipping with minors.

Portrayal. Please don't press personal headcanons onto my muses. Don't press on about inferred or implied assumptions from canon material, don't use knowledge derived from source material to tell me through your muses about my muses, it may seem like a fun idea, but it ends up feeling redundant. Especially if we've just begun interactions. [Example: "Oh hey, don't you LOVE ducks???, you're so in LOVE with ducks, I bet you've got some under your bed! Right?

Multi-verse. Multi-ship. All ships will be treated as though occurring in separate universes unless discussed between writers/muns and/or stated otherwise.

Blocking, &&Unfollowing. If I, at any given point sense that my guidelines or personal boundaries are ignored too many times, I will unfollow and/or block with no warnings or explanations. Please respect my decisions and do not choose to harass me, thereafter, thank you.

Cross-over enthusiast. Open to writing with characters from various outside fandoms.

OC friendly. I am always open to writing with ocs provided it isn't only done with intention to ship. I enjoy interactions with some ocs but I do not prioritize ocs over canon. I prefer for there to be some believable explanation behind how the ocs are fluidly integrated into the universe and for them to be fully aware of their place within it prior to beginning interactions as well as awareness of my muse's status and the overall "established world/verse/reality rules". If not please ask.

Mains, &&Affliates. I don't mind adding associated or affiliated rpers/blogs if we've known each other awhile and have been writing together regularly and communicating ooc frequently, and for a long time. If we have a shared formed continuity, it's fine. I'm not likely to take on mains or any 'status' such as married due to being multiverse and multiship. Each relationship is in it's own separate universe unless discussed between writers/muns. Now, I will be transparent here, when I see these things on other blogs: "mains" or "married to" I will be less likely to initiate any interactions as I take it that those blogs prefer to default to their "mains" or "spouses" as priority, so I prefer to either be tagged directly or prompted via inbox in those situations, thanks for understanding.

Duplicate friendly. This means I am interested in writing with duplicates as though they are multiverse variants or clones of some sort, plotted or not. Usually in cases of multimuse blogs. But I will unfollow or block if duplicates of single-muse blogs never interact.

Gaphics and icons. The majority are made and edited by me. Please do not use them without permission. Thank you. Any that are not made by me will be credited if needed.

I'm here to have fun. I'll basically be doing my best to enjoy myself and bypass any drama.

[wigglesforonce]

thank u for the tag keeb @vroombeams <3

Who is your favorite driver? Toss up between George and Oscar, depending on the day, vibes, and how many posts from Mark or Rosie i have recently read

Do you have other favorite drivers? i am known to enjoy logan-posting, and i always cheer for yuki points!! ill also say alex and lewis are up there

Who is your least favorite driver? obvious question to anyone who asks me. verstappen #1 (im enough of a hater to not realise that mv00 was meant as an insult as his championship, and not just what ppl would write to avoid using his name), and i am a respectful hater for norris, i keep it to myself and a specific whatsapp chat w someone

Do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well? i am more of a fan of drivers than teams, but i do appreciate the legacies and histories of the constructors on the grid, as well as the camradery of everyone on track! love watching teams celebrate wins/points etc together

If you like teams, what team do you pull for? i am a fan of the more historical side of f1, so i am nostalgic for williams (even tho i wasnt even watching and/or alive lmao), but i will say if i buy official team merch it'll probably be merc stuff

How long have you been into F1? i've always been vaguely aware of it, but i first rly learnt abt it mid 2021, and then the first race i watched live was COTA 2021 (rip why did i miss half the best season ever for like 0 reason)

What got you into F1? if we're being hyperspecific, the trailer for DTS that had grosjean's crash from Bahrain 2020 - i decided to watch Telly during a holiday in like. march, and was scrolling netflix and saw a massive explosion and went 'oh SICK', and accidentally watched all of that season of DTS in one day. i then spent the next like 2 months just watching youtube videos abt f1 and went 'no i cant be obsessed w cars going around in circles' and voila. we're here

Do you enjoy Fanfic/RPF? as with the way i enjoy any piece of media, i read fanfiction before actually consuming the source material, so to answer the question: yes (i've stopped reading it much nowadays, just a few stories ive been long time subbed to cough jeddah george cough)

How do you view new fans? love to chat w them, and figure out how much they know! (in a fun 'omg ur into my fav topic' kind of way, not a 'list every race winner since 1950' kind of way). i was a new fan rather recently, so i remind myself of that whenever i eyeroll at a bad take on twitter.

If you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why? redbull and sabotage the Hell out of the team. also earn some nice cash at the same time.

Are your friends and family into F1 as well? it took me a year and a half of being into f1 to find out that not only did my mum used to watch f1 in the 80s/90s, that my grandfather used to watch f1 WITH her but my UNCLE on the OTHER side of the FAMILY has a SIGNED AUTOGRAPH from SENNA that was sent off like a week before he DIED. i thought i was ALONE in my enjoyment GENUINELY.

i also got many of my friends into f1, and have made new friends both irl and online through shared love of it, so u know. Skillz.

Are you open to talking to other fans/making friends? uh ALWAYS. as i just said, i have made many a friend this way, and its just fun to talk abt the sport w other ppl, esp when they have different opinions to u!!

anyways looong post and i shall tag (w/ no pressure): @toilethamster @russilton @ininininininstayoutstayout @georgierre @gayorphandepression :D

[one-winged-dreams]

Rate Your Pain

ship: we came alive somehow (Adriel Wrynn + Vincent Valentine) word count: 1648 source: Final Fantasy VII (Dirge of Cerberus canon included)

oops, angsty monster lover fic ~oooOOOOooo~ i am LIVIIIIING for remake Vincent, let's fucking GOOOO

"So does it… hurt?"

Vincent regarded the gaze that accompanied bloodstained corneas and blank white where the iris should have been colored. He'd seen pictures, and he mourned for the earthy color of them he had never known.

"The…" he started, gesturing vaguely, to which Adriel nodded.

"The… changes. Do they… hurt you?" the researcher wrung his hands in his lap, possibly mulling over whether he should have bothered to ask.

An expanse of stars glittered overhead, the roof of one of the WRO buildings as close as they could be to reaching them, at least at that moment. Adriel had stated that he had never been on a proper airship before. At least that he could remember.

Vincent's own gaze turned back up to the night sky. He considered for a minute, then gave a light shrug.

"Never really paid enough attention to know, I guess."

Adriel frowned at this, his glasses slipping down his nose before he numbly adjusted them. "I see…" he half-mumbled as he kicked his feet.

There was a mostly comfortable silence for a few beats.

"Any particular interest, or…?" Vincent glanced over again with no particular expression.

This flustered Adriel, who blinked those wide eyes of his. Vincent always likened them to those of a doe. "I-I mean, from a certain standpoint, I g-g-guess."

"Which would be?" Vincent hadn't MEANT to box him into a corner. He probably wasn't even aware of the position he had put the researcher in.

Adriel puzzled for a moment, his sheets of black hair obscuring an amount of his face as he hunched over. "Uhm, well. You know I'm- Well, I am a biologist. Xenobiologist. Something like that. It's in my line of interest, I guess." As he spoke, he seemed to crumple a bit.

That was evidence enough, at least for Vincent.

"That's not what you mean, though."

This made Adriel perk a bit, peeking out through his hair curtains. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he afforded himself a moment to offer an honest reply. "N-No, I… You're right… I just…"

Vincent's hand coming down on his shoulder must have been a shock, the way his spine straightened so abruptly. Adriel blinked at him in bewilderment, his mouth opening and closing as if to try to find words where his mind could not.

"Do you want me to show you?" Vincent offered with a level of sincerity that made the words manage to materialize without thought.

"Would you?" Glasses were once again adjusted as Adriel spoke without realizing. Catching himself, he stammered again, "I-I mean, you absolutely don't have to, I know it can be a sore spot and I-"

But Vincent was already standing, carefully offering his hand out to the researcher. Adriel took it, because of course he would, rising to his feet and picking at the fringes on his lab coat sleeve. He regarded Vincent with an amount of amazement, unable to keep the fascination for his field off of his face. As he made to speak, Vincent lifted a hand to silence him. A mere offer of a slow blink and a nod of his head was enough to satisfy.

There was a building of pressure preluding the transformation, beginning quickly as a tempest of energies that instilled a sense of primordial fear. Adriel could only watch, frozen entirely at the sight of something he couldn't quite describe, unlike the roar that could only be summed up as bestial.

It was over nearly as quickly as it started, and a great maned creature stood before him. Adriel knew it well, he had seen the files.

The galian beast.

For that moment, the only thing remaining unfrozen were his eyes. He wasted no time trailing them up and down Vincent's changed form, taking shuddering breaths as he tried to take in what was being shown to him.

Stillness and silence were the only things that rang out, and the only movement between either of them was the subtle trembling that began to wrack Adriel's body.

"Vincent…" he managed to breathe out.

It seemed as if Vincent didn't realize what kind of power he exuded, or rather, was too preoccupied with idealistic fantasies. He took a step forward, reaching out to his confidant without thinking of the kind of reaction it would instill.

Adriel jerked backward, seeming to have done it without a thought. He realized this in a second, Vincent's clawed hand dropping down to his side in crushing self-realization. His doubt and pain were palpable, wrenching Adriel's heart in a moment of agonized understanding.

"Vincent, wait," he called out, voice wavering.

The beast did not speak, and Adriel didn't even think to wonder if he could. He stumbled forward, Vincent's head lifting slightly at the mirror of an outstretched hand. When the researcher reached him, the massive difference in Vincent's height towered over him. He must have been a menacing sight, unable to keep himself from regarding the way Adriel still trembled.

"Vincent…" Adriel repeated as his hand lifted, wavering only slightly.

Vincent hadn't expected contact, the doubt lingered all the way to the end. Every second Adriel's hand moved towards him was a second he was prepared to see nullified by fear, it was only then that he had begun to regret.

The way Adriel's touch graced the side of his face, all he could feel for that moment was numb. A moment of disbelief so intense it warped perspective reality. Surely this wasn't happening.

And then it was. The walls began to come down, not as a crumble but as a curtain gently floating to the floor. The warmth seeped in as if transferring love and life directly from Adriel's hand. Vincent realized he hadn't been able to bring his gaze to meet his partner's, the thought of it almost making the act harder in its own right. But Adriel's fingers were ever so gentle as they glided through the fur just past those perilous jaws.

Despite the way he looked now, the monstrous visage of a twisted experiment, Vincent's golden gaze was anything but feral. As their eyes met, there was no death and destruction to be dealt. Vincent had never had to consider what this form would do when not serving a violent cause. The thought had never crossed his mind, not once.

And right now, as he pressed the side of his face into that gentle touch, it didn't matter. Nothing to think about, just be. It wasn't so much a profound moment of realization, but maybe that's all he could do, just for a while. No matter what form, he was Vincent.

This moment of awareness was interrupted as he realized that Adriel was crying, tearing up at the minimum. Incapable of speech, he let out an alarmed huff, lifting his lethal claws but pausing as the researcher gave a weary smile, a silent motion to quell his concerns.

"Oh, Vincent. You really are a sweet guy, aren't you?" Adriel's voice wavered with emotion but nothing the least bit negative. He regarded Vincent for a moment - his eyes were soft, so much so that Vincent could practically see that warm brown that was taken from him with such heinous cruelty. A chuckle earned an inquisitive blink, and Adriel's fingers moved through his fur with more intimacy than he could ever conceive this form receiving.

"And not just a little bit handsome… In any shape."

Vincent tried to ponder on this for a moment, that teary-eyed smile confounding him as if a mysterious intrigue lay beyond. All he could do was blink, tilting his head slightly as he was wont to doing.

"And in any shape… I'll always…"

A few beats of silence passed with the thumps of their hearts. Vincent hadn't even been aware of the way his head had begun to dip down with Adriel's gently persuasive touch. Not that he could have prepared for what his intentions were, entirely inconceivable as they were.

The gentle kiss placed upon his muzzle stuttered his reality to another gentle halt. Time did not pass in that instance, the only thing that existed was that delicate display of unconditional affection. A term used only because the deeper alternative was, at the time, too much to bear.

The expression lasted only long enough for Vincent to reach out and grab the moment, consuming it to re-shape the reality that had fallen out from under his feet. It existed within him now, and it would never go away.

Adriel, however, did not give him the chance to see his new expression - vulnerability was still hard to share, and oh, how vulnerable he was. Instead, he bore himself to the very real rhythm of Vincent's heart as he pushed himself under his muzzle, burying his face into the fur on his chest. Vincent unconsciously allowed himself to be embraced, recovering from another bout of existential numbness as that same warmth of life seeped from one to the other again. How fortuitous it was that he could not speak, as he could not currently think of anything appropriate for the occasion. Realization dawned on him - he needn't say anything at all. Adriel did not expect a verbose response or flowery words of affection that would be insultingly incapable of translating the feelings he held. This was fine, this was okay.

They were okay.

As he lowered his head to brush against Adriel's, his arms were no weapon to be brought against violent opposition. They only were, nothing else but a part of him. And this part of him that had always felt like a curse was now a generous gift, one that he could freely use to express his deepest feelings with no particular words.

As he brought those arms around his comparably tiny companion, he closed his eyes.

At least for now, it did not hurt.

[nia-academia]

Can you give tips on how to prepare for physics practical? There are like 9 experiments and 6 activities along with viva + board project viva.....

And our teacher absolutely sucks ugh like we don't know a single experiment properly!!

Hey, that really sucks because practicals can be a very easy scoring opportunity if you actually get the chance to perform them and practice them a few times throughout the year. But it is what it is, here's some stuff you can do to prepare for your physics pracs:

Go through the comprehensive lab manual and try to visualize the experiment, watch a youtube video of the experiment and then re-read the lab manual, this time imagine yourself doing the steps of the experiment.

Make sure you know all the steps of the experiments, focus on understanding the steps rather than memorizing them because you should be writing them in your own words during the exam.

Practical marks come from what you write in your answer sheet, not from how you do the experiment. So make sure your values are within the correct range and all your writing is correct, if your experiment is written nicely it doesn't matter much if your values are not fully correct.

Start your exam by first writing down the experiment till the end, make sure you don't miss anything including sources of error, precautions, diagrams and materials required. This will already have gotten you half the marks allotted to the experiment before you even do it. Then, calmly do the experiment and fill out the observation table, do the calculations, graphs and write the result.

Most people already do this, but in experiments which have linear graphs, only plot your most confident two readings, draw the linear graph and then make random points on the line as your readings. This saves time and also gives an accurate reading.

For the activities, the only option is to memorize because, at least in our case, we didn't do them in the lab just copied it down into our files. Try to understand the material and reasoning behind the result, don't stress too much on memorizing the steps just understand the basic procedure.

For board project (investigatory project), do read everything you've written because this is supposed to be an independent experiment so you should know everything you have written in there. During viva the examiner tends to focus on graphs/ case studies if any so memorize those well if your project has them. Try to have some extra knowledge about the subject, I wish I could tell you what exactly to focus on but I don't know what your project is and I doubt it will be the same as mine so I can't help much with that.

Make sure to read the viva questions given in the back of each experiment in the lab manual. Also, before the exam, try and read through the theory portion in case the examiner asks something from there during the viva. No need to memorize just read through it.

Make sure to properly memorize all the formulas utilized in the experiments. Also try to remember which scientist gave the formula and for what it is used.

During your viva, be confident and professional. If you don't know the answer to something, don't try to fool the examiner. Be honest and say "I am not completely aware of the answer but I know..." and then tell the examiner the closest thing you know about the topic. If you don't know anything at all, tell the examiner that you are not sure of the topic, most of the time the examiner will change the topic and start questioning you about something else, they may even ask you your preferred topic. Instead, if you try to deflect their question and give vague replies they will keep asking you more and more specific questions to catch your lie, so be honest.

[plothooksinc]

fic writer meme: 2, 3, 9, 25?

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Ahh, nope? Nope, not really. If my brain goes "but what is this idea" I then go and write that idea, so inasmuch as I think in terms of tropes (I don't, usually, I look at my writing after the fact and go "oh this contains tropes A B and C" but I've never sat down to go "Imma write a trope") if I have a desire to write it I've already written it. That being said, that doesn't mean there are tropes I haven't done that I will not do in the future! They'll just kind of happen organically at some point I guess.

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Almost certainly! (Though I wonder if tropes is really the right word for the meme maker, honestly...) Um, I don't find any trope in itself awful gross and off limits, but I'd find more than a few either in my list of "I'm not interested in writing this" or "I am not capable of writing this", and anything even vaguely smut related goes into both categories. There are likely a whole bunch that are not smut related that I also wouldn't write, but I don't have the awareness to know what those might be off the top of my head. (this does not include romance, FYI, I'm quite happy to write that, but I generally only write very specific kinds of that, too, because I'm allergic to anything that gets syrupy).

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

Snowblind, without a doubt. "I've got a great idea! Let's take two people who hate each other and ditch them in the middle of the Japanese countryside in winter!" Did I know anything about Japanese countryside, winter, snow and blizzard survival? I'm Australian. Nope. Had I ever written chapters that were 99% description of bitter harsh conditions? Nope. Did I spend hours researching for nearly every paragraph I wrote of chapter 2? Yup. About the only thing I knew was that you could use animal grease to protect your extremities from the cold, and the rest was ferocious research the entire way through, lmao. (Me, a year ago: how...to...survive...an...avalanche...) That being said, Snowblind is also one I'm pretty proud of for the exact same reasons, I had to work for this one.

25. What do you look for in a beta?

Someone who has a good grasp of writing themselves and I know has very similar views to me on the source material. My first fic went un-betaed because I didn't know anyone in fanfiction land, until I hit about chapter 15-ish and developed enough of a rapport with one of my readers that we were talking offline and she agreed to help out. Legacy went unbeta-ed for the most part for the same reasons (new to TMNT fanfiction). I made an exception to the rule for Underdark because I'd gotten like.... 50 pages in before I started posting but I wasn't sure if the story worked, so I asked on LJ if anyone would be willing to help out and got two offers, so I took them both. Sometimes I need a beta before I have the courage to post, ahaha.

When I started writing NRFTW I knew exactly who to go to because we have incredibly similar opinions on TMNT and their characterisation and have known each other and RPed with each other for years, so I just popped on to discord out of the blue and said HEY PI and she said YES GIMME and so I have latched onto @shadowbends for all things TMNT related and she's an excellent writer no matter what she says (I still have a spray bottle, Pi) and has been invaluable on the way through. ♥ So. You know. Find a person you can work with as a partner and go for it.

Thank you for the questions!

Meme for Fic Writers here.

[virdemption]

Seek headcanons in this economy?

Nonbinary and prefers to present semi-masculine but doesn't mind femininity. They/He pronouns but STRONGLY prefers They.

Hydrophobic, you point a drink at them and they will back as far away as they can. Liquids will water down their goo and make them fall quite ill depending on the severity until the goo re-strengthens itself. I am aware this goes against canon but Seek can have a little rabies as a treat.

Glass is the only material they cannot pass through.

They and Figure used to be locked in a rivalry but one day decided they hated Ambush more and, while they still hate Figure's guts, the two hardly ever argue anymore.

Speaking of Ambush, they are THE kismesissitude of the hotel ever. They've been at it for so long that nobody (not even they) remember how the two started hating each other. They argue a lot and Screech hangs around the area whenever she hears them.

Used to be married to Shadow and had two kids with them (Screech who's 13, and Sally who's 6) but they broke up due to Seek's lack of love for all three which concerned Shadow over the wellbeing of their daughters.

This is caused by the goo Seek is made of. It's a manifestation of vile thoughts and actions. It's also why they speak so monotonely, they're vaguely exhausted but they also do it for health complications.

(Not my original idea: it came from an anon) Because Seek can feel love, it's just very rare (I think that it's because unlike their children they are made entirely of the goo). In the chance they do feel positive emotions or love, they will experience a cancerous pain that can and will kill them if not dealt with (e.g. removing the source of affection)

Do not eat their goo. It will make you trip balls for a good few hours. Screech and Sally have this property too but much less strong.

Staring at the eyes on the wall for too long will put whoever is staring into a hypnotic trance that's hard to break out of. Seek uses this to their advantage to lure in and kill things. They can also do this with their torso pattern.

About that, they have a red pattern on their torso that they can morph into whatever shape they desire, though they usually like to make it look like human top surgery scars partly because it looks cool but also to make A-90 feel less dysphoric as quite literally the only boy in the year of 2023.

Oh yeah they're good friends with A-90, he's the one who showed them around the rooms. They're familiar with him and A-120 but never met A-60.

Was the first new-wave hotel entity to discover the rooms, though they were not the one to suspect Curious Light being inside.