#I have sources for the individual cases on request

[taking-thyme]

The Structure of a Pagan Prayer

When appealing to a deity or making an offering, it’s wise to know how this was traditionally done in the past so you can be as respectful as possible and build a true reciprocity with the gods. This type of prayer structure is found in all manner of pagan religions from Norse paganism, Hellenic (Greek) polytheism, Kemetic (Egyptian) prayer and so on. I got the inspiration and much of the information here from @Ocean Keltoi on Youtube who is a fantastic scholar and Norse heathen who actively stands against prejudice and is all around a wonderful resource. 

Now, there are three main elements of a pagan prayer, which should be done in this order:

1. The Invocation. This is where you call upon the specific god you’re hoping to connect with. Think of it as writing the name and address on your letter to the Gods - it lets the deity know that this prayer is directed at them, which is important in a polytheistic religion with many gods. To start your invocation, address the deity directly by name, or use an epithet or kenning that they're known by. It's especially wise to choose an epithet that relates to what you're praying for, like using one of Apollo's healer epithets while addressing him in a prayer about a loved one's sickness,  for instance. It’s also a good idea to praise them highly and with a certain air of reverence. These are ancient deities after all. 

2. The Argument. Here you give your reasons for why a deity should fulfill your request and favor you. If you’ve brought offerings, cite them here. You can also include reasons for why you’re reaching out, such as love in a prayer for Aphrodite or matters of justice with the god Tyr. This is where you make your case to them. And if you’re reaching out to a deity you don’t have a working relationship with, which let’s be honest will be the case many more times than we’d like, then you can tell them this here also. A good example might be “Oh Tyr, one-handed war god and son of Odin, though we have not met before I have heard your name and been called to it…”

3. The Request. Finally you ask the gods to look kindly on your request and to grant you their blessing. Again, be as respectful and reverent as possible towards them. 

Prayer Example: “Grey-eyed Athena, daughter of thundering Zeus, if ever I have poured out sweet wine for you, look kindly on me and grant me your wisdom.”

How to stand when making the prayer

This depends on which God you’re reaching out to and, of course, your own personal comfort. The most common ways of praying are to stand and perform some gesture of reverence, kneel while praying and even prostrate, kneeling fully on the ground with your head down as you appeal to the gods. Some might also choose to wear veils when performing prayers or rituals for deities, though this is naturally up to the individual. 

In Hellenic tradition, if you’re praying to an Ouranic god (deities of the heavens) you would traditionally wear your hair up and stand with your arms raised to the heavens while reciting your prayer. Meanwhile, if you are praying to a Chthonic god (deities of the underworld), you would kneel and face downwards towards the Earth with your hair flowing freely. 

Some Norse sources tell of ancient pagans prostrating before the gods, and yet this is still not entirely necessary. Pray however you see fit and what is most comfortable for you at the moment. 

^ This is what prostrating looks like

Sources:

Ocean Keltoi's video on pagan prayers

Hearth and Fire Work's blog post on Hellenic prayer structure

[doyoulikethis-videogame-song]

Hello,

I'd just like to clarify a few things going forward, because I think a few people might be upset or confused, and this is a silly gimmick blog, so I don't think there's any need for that.

I post submissions exclusively in the order I receive them. I have only added or inserted songs in three cases:

The first two songs posted on this blog.

#69, where I inserted 'Weight of the World' from NieR:Automata.

The song would not upload to tumblr, and I have typically replaced it with a random fromsoftware song off the top of my head, because I already have the OSTs on my computer.

When I receive multiple songs from the same game in a row, I try my best to space them out between multiple songs. This has typically been every 4-6 songs in the past. I am going to extend this number further as it appears to be a source of frustration for some. When I space out songs, I do not consider DLCS/Extras as new games, so they will be spaced out. I DO consider new entries in a series as new games, so they will not be spaced out. This means you may get a song from Dark Souls I and Dark Souls II right next to one another, but never two songs from Dark Souls I.

I also understand that many are upset that their submission has not been posted yet. At the time of creating the google form, I already had the first 1000 slots of this blog lined up. I now have 4581 additional submissions from the google form, so please understand that it will probably take me a while to reach your submission.

As for how I should remedy this:

Posting more songs each day. I am planning to increase the number of songs I post each day soon. However, I would strongly prefer to not exceed more than five songs a day. This is entirely a personal preference: I often found myself annoyed when my feed was filled with nothing but polls from the same blog, that would post 7, 10, 15 polls a day or even within the same time slot. I love poll blogs, but I also wanted to be able to enjoy taking the time to listen to the music on each one. I created this blog primarily because I wanted to hear new music and find out about new games I've never heard about before, and I wanted others to share that experience. In my opinion, if you don't have the time to listen to each song posted, then it sort of defeats the gimmick of the blog itself. That being said, I will increase the number of songs posted sometime within the next two weeks.

Closing Submissions. I did not want to ever have to close submissions (because I didn't really see a reason to if I was going to post all the submissions eventually), but I now understand it may now be necessary. Starting on 9/7/2024, I am going to close the submissions box, and I am going to reopen it for the first week of each month, every month, only. The google form will remain the only way to submit requests. Hopefully, this will allow individuals who are especially excited to see their request posted gain a bit of an upper hand.

In the end, there is only so much I can do. I am only one person and I do have a life of my own. I am very happy so many people are enjoying this blog, and I will continue posting for as long as I can. If you are not enjoying this blog for any reason, feel free to unfollow it, block it, and make your own. It's nothing personal.

[yourheart-inmyhands]

Hello again! I'm just here to send u another request :P

Could I get Raiden, Focalors, Venti, and the Abyss Princess Lumine for the same request I had for critically injured reader?

Thank you!!

🍌anon

hi tysm for the request! i don't write for lumine unfortunately, she's marked as discontinued on my list since i felt it was difficult to write for someone who is meant to be diverse for each player. so sorry and i hope it doesn't stop you from requesting in the future :D <3

Warning: this post contains yandere-themes, including obsessive behaviors, self blaming behaviors, mentions of falling from great heights, lots of talk of reader being injured/in hospital, and other potential topics. Please read at your own risk!

Raiden:

Raiden was always a little cold, a little distant and standoffish. She didn’t mean any harm by it, she was simply busy and didn’t have a lot of free time for you, even if she wished she had. Staring at you now, her trembling hands holding you tight as she tries to find the source of the bleeding, trying to stop it, trying to do anything. In this moment, Raiden feels the crushing weight of her actions, feels the suffocating pressure of not having loved you enough.

If you died in this moment, protecting her from some daring individuals in Inazuma despite the fact she could easily have protected herself, Raiden would never forgive herself. She’s grateful that you don’t die, nearly bleeding out and being in a medically induced coma aren’t great, but you aren’t dead. It’s in this moment that Raiden is grateful for her immortality, for she can sit eternally by your bedside, waiting for you to wake up.

It nearly makes Raiden sick to see you laid out on a bed like that, far too many machines making noises, more bandages than skin visible. It’s enough to have her flinching, unsure that this was even you anymore. But her heart knows it’s you, and it aches at the sight of the damage it has caused. Raiden finds herself thankful that she isn’t required to sleep, eat, or do any other basic necessities, it gives her more time to sit at your bedside, talking to you and waiting for you to wake up, if you ever do that is. She knows it isn’t enough to make up for all the time she’s thrown away, but as she sits there, staring at her hands in her lap, too nervous to touch you in case she causes more damage, she can’t help but feel like it’s at least a step in the right direction.

Furina:

Furina wasn’t a neglectful lover by any means, and after losing her divinity, she had even more time to spend with you. Except she didn’t, why she did her best to put on a brave, happy face, she was depressed. She needed time to heal and found herself accidentally shutting you out of that healing process. Furina was grateful for your loyalty though, staying around and making sure she continued to care for herself.

That was exactly what led to the accident though. While cooking food for the two of you in her kitchen, something went wrong with the stove, causing a small explosion in the kitchen and setting fire to everything in sight it could reach. Furina was able to get you both out of there, but she hadn’t been able to stop the explosion, leaving you in a critical state.

Standing just outside your room, watching as the Melusines change your bandages and mutter amongst themselves about your condition, Furina can only blame herself. If she hadn’t been so depressed, if she had done the cooking for once, if she- if she just- her thoughts become muddled with more self-loathing and blame, her gaze unfocused until a Melusine approaches. The small creatures had tried to coax her into the room numerous times, telling her that it was ok to sit beside your bed and that you couldn’t feel any pain right now. Furina politely refused every time. She didn’t feel she deserved to sit or even stand near you. She didn’t think she even deserved to stand outside your room, but she couldn’t stand to be apart from you until she knew you were ok. 

Venti: 

Gliding from the mountaintop was supposed to be a fun little date between the two of you. The gentle breeze coaxing you from the cliffside down to the sprawling fields below, it was supposed to be fun. Venti even went out and bought you both new gliders, ones that matched. It was cute and fun, up until yours broke. He wasn’t sure how, but one of the wings managed to disconnect from the other, leaving you wobbling before the winds turned against you, tipping you over and sending you plummeting.

He could only react so fast, hastily trying to unclip his own glider so that he could go after you. Venti hadn’t even thought about using the power of the wind, he was panicking, wasn’t thinking straight. He couldn’t wrap his brain around the fact that you were actually falling. The sickening crunch was enough to snap him out of his panic, allowing him to finally unsecure his own wings and drop down. He didn’t take any damage though, landing safely thanks to the wind.

Rushing you to Mondstat felt longer than it took, it really had only been a few minutes, but it felt like hours. You were laid on a cot in the Cathedral, all the sisters rushing about trying to help you. Several of your bones had been broken and Sister Barbara was doing her best to heal them. Grand Master Jean even came to help, taking shifts with her sister to give the younger girl some rest. It seemed as though all of Mondstat came to your aid, with the Librarian and Alchemist of the Knights working together to find some sort of healing potion. Everyone was doing something, except Venti. He sat on the roof of the building, crying and cursing his own name. He prayed that Celestia would take his remaining divinity, that they would cut him off and grant him humanity, grant him death. Venti was to blame for this, it had been his idea, he hadn’t reacted fast enough to catch you with the wind. He was sure you were going to hate him after this. 

[aces-and-angels]

seeing the influx of gfm campaigns on your dash may be overwhelming- the purpose of this post is to help others navigate through the many gfm links that are circulating here on this site- esp. those that find their way directly to you via your inbox. this advice is specific to tumblr- i cannot speak on other platforms (instagram, twitter, etc.) though some things i say may be applicable

disclaimer: i do not vet/verify any campaigns myself. i simply want people who are willing to engage with these types of posts to do so in a safe manner

read more below:

---

what to do if you get a message from an account claiming to be 🇵🇸 in your inbox:

-> step 1: do not immediately dismiss it as spam

to quote one of nabulsi's posts:

"... you cannot generalise with Gazans if their tumblr blog is only a few days or a few hours old.

Gazans on tumblr are making accounts for the express purpose of spreading their fundraisers because it is spreading amongst Gazans that tumblr is a safe place to do so.

They could often be making multiple blogs and even remaking after staff flags them as spam. But don't blanket assume that Gazans are scammers if they're on a new tumblr blog with no pfp or content.

I agree that until a fundraiser is vetted you shouldn't reblog it in case it is someone dishonest taking advantage of the circumstances in Gaza. But you cannot do the opposite and immediately assume they're a scammer. I'm seeing people harass Gazans sometimes who genuinely are people who just don't know how to use tumblr and are falsely raising red flags because of it." (read full post here)

to sum it up: don't hit 'report' right away- marinate a lil and put on a detective hat

-> step 2: background check

the following are accounts that are known to vet/verify gfm campaigns here on tumblr. note- this is not a comprehensive list:

el-shab-hussein

nabulsi

90-ghost* (edit 8/4: recently announced that ahmed will no longer be vetting/verifying new campaigns)

ibtisams* (only has done it on situational basis; is not currently vetting new campaigns- read post here)

rubashabansblog (has been promoting other palestinians who lost their tumblr accounts; currently living under occupation)

heba-20 (unsure if heba takes request to vet others personally but is a reliable source for finding legitimate campaigns)

northgazaupdates

fairuzfan (says they are less active on tumblr these days/not currently vetting new campaigns but is a reliable source)

i recommend giving these individuals a follow if you haven't already as they provide far more information regarding all things 🇵🇸. they've all put in a lot of work to make the process i'm sharing with y'all as simple as possible. also please be respectful if you try reaching out to any of them. they are likely getting a high volume of asks and may not be able to respond to you quickly

important note: it has been recently announced that nabulsi + el-shab-hussein have stopped vetting new accounts for the time being and are only focusing on campaigns that have already been vetted. read their full statement here and here

to start- check out the person's account. this can be a hit or miss depending on how new the account is. however- you may notice that the person in question has stated that they have been vetted:

good signs so far- but better to be safe than sorry. next thing to do is search the username of the person who messaged you on tumblr. it's likely if you got a message like the one pictured above, others may have received one as well and did the digging for you:

if you can't find a clear answer with tumblr's illustrious search bar/want to confirm someone's claim that the campaign in question was already verified, the next thing to do is check one of the following:

el-shab-hussein's pinned post

el-shab-hussein/nabulsi's google sheet

imo, this process is far easier to do while on a laptop/desktop vs. mobile app. ctrl+f is your friend in this scenario as is the ability to click through multiple tabs. for el-shab-hussein's pinned post, i click through the multiple lists and see if any names match. in ruba's case, she was found under List of fundraisers for my direct contacts from Ghazzah & Sudan:

and for the google sheet- her campaign is no. 90 on the list:

tip: to narrow down your search even further- ctrl+f the title of the person's gfm campaign that they've linked on their tumblr account:

-> step 3: share your findings + follow that account

if everything checks out- ✨share le campaign✨ provide the link to it in your response to the ask + where it was verified. make it easier for the next person who gets a message to figure out that the gfm is real

following 🍉accounts is esp. important since the forces that be are keen on suppressing them at every turn. the more eyes on these accounts- the easier it'll be to determine the legitimacy of any new accounts they may need to make

---

okay, but... scams 😬:

-> step 1: seek a master

people can be assholes- and anyone trying to make a profit off of an ongoing genocide can eat glass

anyways- the following are accounts that are known to identify scam posts on tumblr (again, not a comprehensive list. these are just the one's ive seen/most familiar with):

mangocheesecakes

kyra45

kyra45's pinned post contains a plethora of resources to help determine if a post/message is a scam- and not just in regards to 🇵🇸- key goes in on many types of scams. please refer to their guides (and be sure that you are reading the most recent version of key's posts)

-> step 2: if you see sumn, say sumn

we're human and sometimes things slip our radar. so if you ever see someone on here sharing a known scam, do 'em a solid and let them know about it regardless if you are mutuals or not

---

final/misc. thoughts:

it's good practice to double check a campaign's verification with these tools for yourself regardless of how legitimate it looks. note that checking for a gfm's verification is not the same as verifying them. that work should be left to qualified individuals with experience in doing so. this is why it's bad to attempt things you are not qualified to tackle also- i think it's important to remember that transferring 💵 from a gfm campaign to those in need requires a lot of pieces to be perfectly set in place. if you see 🇵🇸 blogs linking alt. methods of raising funds (ex. p*ypal/k*fi) the reason could be that their gfms were frozen/suspended for a myriad of reasons. as always- check credible sources if you are unsure about a campaign you may come across notice how the spreadsheet provided here has over 100+ campaigns listed. generating a list that extensive requires hard work that is undoubtedly both physically and mentally straining to the individuals who are involved in making it. i've seen some accounts myself that have had to announce that they can no longer continue to vet campaigns because it has taken that much of a toll on their wellbeing. do not let their efforts go wasted

other resources:

some other places/grassroot organizations where you can find vetted campaigns:

operation olive branch (oob)

gazafunds

operation poppy flower (now also linked in oob's sheet)

operation watermelon

project watermelon

strawberry seeds collective

ottawa4palestine

camps breakerz crew

gofund(water)me(lons)

flowersfromfalasteen

[fanaticsnail]

Something Like That

Masterlist here, Request link and mood board here.

Word Count: 4,048

Hi everyone! This is the last x-mas fic I can push out before my time away over the holiday period interstate. I hope you enjoy reading for our boy Zoro. Thank you @sordidmusings for keeping me motivated! Merry Christmas, Anon! Just in case it peaks your interest @gingernut1314

Warnings: Fluff, Christmas, talks of battle scars, kissing, dancing

Just like all of the times you had ventured to Baratie, this time had every intention of being no more than passing time with delicious food. The floating restaurant atop a mighty ship was your favorite stop-off on your way home to Lougetown to visit with your extended family; the food’s glowing reputation almost did justice to the divine quality and the accompanying drinks were what dreams were made of. The fact that the staff was comprised of reformed pirates also held an appeal, considering your ties to that lifestyle as a skilled archer.

Bidding farewell to the vessel you had bartered onto for voyage, you heard a strange amount of merriment floating melodically from the wide fish-mouth at the bar lounge of the grand restaurant. You furrowed your brows, arching one up as curiosity held you captivated by the songs seeping to the surface with a wide array of demonstrated skill. Some vocals were sung blissfully, others shouted with no skill depicted within their throats. 

Taking deliberate steps with your bow in hand, quiver strapped firmly against your waistbelt and traveling satchel thrown over your shoulder, you sauntered to the grand doors and lobby of the restaurant to meet the matradee. He welcomed you with a broad smile, which rose to sit comfortably and warmly, peaking at the apples of his cheeks. His regular white formal garb was replaced with a deep emerald green dinner jacket, a small bushel of pointed leaves with red shimmery berries strung together by twine.

“Welcome back to Baratie!” He exclaimed with glee, “I have your usual table awaiting you.” He gestured a guiding hand to the right and indicated for you to follow his direction to the bottom of the twirled staircase.

Your confusion seemed to set in further as you took in your surroundings. The usual bare bars of the railing were ornately decorated with vines of sharpened, needle-like sprigs and small warm lights shining amongst the shrubbery akin to starlight. Your gaze was drawn upwards, noticing a small and sporadic assortment of floral clusters clinging to the roof and down the pillars of the supporting canopy. The bunches were of pale sage green, floating romantically down and arching their spindles out to grasp the pearled white flowers amongst the greenery.

As your gaze fell to rest upon the circular room, you noticed individuals joining against each other in embraces of romantic twirling and swaying. Their voices would raise to join with the tune regardless of how skilled they were to carry the tune, prompting you to raise an apprehensive smile to your lips.

“What is going on, sir?” you asked the fishman matradee as he chaperoned you to your regular table, “this all seems rather strange and unusual for a Monday afternoon, don’t you think?” Your tone of playful jest prompted him to chuckle in response, pulling out your chair for you to sit within your corner booth. Wordlessly, he took your bow and satchel while you unstrapped your quiver to disarm yourself to place your valuable items to be placed in the cloakroom.

“One of our kitchen-hands has returned to us, settling his dining debt from his time with us,” the matradee informed you, a playful twinkle drawn up to his eye, “and in celebration, we’re attempting to showcase a custom he had picked up on his travels.”

You hummed in response with a polite nod, brows raising with interest as you pulled your gaze over to view the diners amongst the crowd. Noticing jovial laughter and an uproar of cheers, you pulled your gaze to seek out its source. A young man with a straw hat atop dark loose curls immediately captured your attention, his eyes upturned and jaw hanging wide as he allowed another heartily laugh escape from his chest. His arms were hooked around the necks of two of his companions, drawing them in closer to his chest; a woman with short orange hair clutched within his right arm, while a bandana-clad man with a similar cheery expression lay gathered within his left.

Scanning over the remainder of the party members surrounding him, your eyes first drew to examine the tall, blonde companion. His hair skewed the view of his left eye, but what you could make of his right; he was a delight to look at. After holding your eyes against the blonde for longer than you truly thought appropriate, your eyes met with the final stranger of the party. His dark hazelnut orbs immediately locked on your probing gaze, bearing a protective intensity, his moss-coloured locks raised without much care as to which direction the strands fell.

As his eyes continued to hold your attention, you stared him down to reciprocate his wordless challenge. His brows furrowed briefly before a wolf-like grin rose to his lips, smirking up to the right-hand side of his face with an air of arrogance. Training as a skilled archer had drilled the practice of continual focus on a multitude of targets. This small challenge set your heart alight with a similar thrill to hunting a foe, the green-haired man not shying away from your attention and focus.

He was captivating. His air of protection and loyalty to his companions transferred without question of translation. You watched as he drew his dominant hand to fall to rest against a white blade hilt at his side, his wrist hanging limply against the handle atop the scabbard. He arched his left brow up at you and gestured with his chin, indicating to you that he would not shy away from a fight if one was to be offered to him. You arched up your brow with your own smirk, gesturing lightly with your hands over your torso and falling down to your waist; indicating you were currently unarmed.

Without breaking your gaze from his challenge, you reached your hand below the white tablecloth, shielding your hand from retrieving an item from your handbag beside you. You let out an audible laugh as you watched him fix his posture more upright, his smirk falling from his lips as his frown deepened in partial alarm. After feeling the hard object you were searching for, you raised it to no longer be obscured from view and rotated it within your hands to demonstrate how non-threatening the item was.

His face immediately dropped at his idiocy as his eyes took in the novel you were holding within your hands, closing his eyes and having a small smile rise to his lips. As soon as his eyes closed and soft chuckle fell from his lips, you relished in the knowledge that he was the first to back away from the intense wordless challenge he initiated with his eyes, indicating that you had won the small victory. 

While his eyes were closed, you fully examined his face. Eyes first shamelessly raking over his hair, trailing down and over his closed eyes and settling on his parted lips. His coy smile now completely risen against his lips held a foreign beauty, the creases of his cheeks indicating such softness was not a common occurrence. He was intriguing, someone you would have considered pursuing should you have had more time between your usual meal at Baratie and the upcoming ferry you had booked to shepherd the remainder of your journey. 

You shook your head, uncaring whether he would meet his intense gaze against yours again as you opened the pages of the novel you had begun reading on your journey out to sea, picking up where you last left off. The words whittled within the pages were of a variety of archery techniques and forms, a gift bestowed upon you by your favorite uncle - the one you held the most joy in rejoining with in Lougetown. 

A gentle cough interrupts the passage you were skimming, drawing your attention up to the waiter beside you. He placed down in front of you a seasonal beverage, the steam rising from the rim wafting towards your nose to envelop your senses with its rich, velvety and creamy scent. You thanked the waiter as he placed an accompanying biscotti beside the treat, the crumbled texture littering the small side dish with pebbles of its buttery substance. 

Reaching towards the handle, you raised the drink to your face, gently parting your lips and circling them to blow on the scorching liquid. After relinquishing your gentle blows to your particular satisfaction, you drew up the mug and took a quick sip of the contents. Immediately flooded by the indulgent flavor of the caramelized chocolate mixing with the creamy and decadent texture of the frothed milk. You sighed, breathing out your pleasure at being once again welcomed by the perfect combination of flavors offered to you at Baratie. Placing down again onto the circular, ceramic dish, you lifted your novel to continue reading from the last page you left of; blissfully ignorant or willfully ignoring the intense pair of eyes continuing to hold firm their locked gaze upon you.

“Something the matter, Zoro?” the Straw-Hat captain asked from beside the swordsman, clutching the bone of a perfectly prepared tomahawk steak within his right hand while chewing on the sinew, “you’ve been staring at that table for a long time now.” The swordsman remained quiet, not truly hearing the words spoken to him.

“”M’fine, Captain,” He mumbled. It was true, he had become entranced by the person he was currently inspecting. His bewitchment had only intensified as he witnessed your knowing and examining gaze falling to seek out the loud and joyous laughter falling in the air of the surroundings. You had to be a hunter, by the looks of you: whether it be seeking bounties, hunting animals or contesting mark-matching with the bow you allowed the fishman to leave with. 

“You sure there, Moss-Head?” Sanji taunted him, his signature smirk ruffling the temperament of the swordsman further, “you seem awfully focussed on the-... -Oh. Oh, they’re quite pretty, aren’t they?” Zoro snapped his gaze up to focus on the chef whose head was now shamelessly pointed directly at you, eyes searching your body and examining him the way Zoro was trying hard not to. 

“What of it, waiter?” he growled in a disinterested snarl. Sanji slowly dragged his gaze from your body over to face the swordsman once more, eyes darkening with a challenging intensity. 

“I think they’re very pretty, indeed,” Sanji’s exposed brow twitched in an upturned flirtatious suggestion. Usopp smirked, leaning in on his elbows to get a better view of the show Sanji was absolutely going to engage against the swordsman while Nami shook her head. Rolling her eyes, she sat back to rest her shoulders against the plush booth, tilting her head down to shield her smirk to remain hidden in her expression of amusement at their rivalry. 

“I think they’re so pretty, in fact,” Sanji snuck another glance at you, watching as you pursed your lips while turning another page of your novel, “I think I’m going to ask them to dance the next round.”

“What’d you say, waiter?” Zoro tilted his head, attempting to hold his composure and feign disinterest at the challenge. The subtle gruff anchor of his voice gave him away, Zoro winced at his own vocal tone. Sanji chuckled at the failed attempt, choosing to draw his elbows against the table and cradle his chin to rest atop his laced fingertips. 

“It’s not like you’re man enough to ask her to dance, anyway,” Sanji’s smirk rose into a broader grin, relishing in Zoro’s physical reaction of sharpening his posture to rise against the jab. The blonde chef chuckled darkly, drawing his lips to press against his fingertips before suggesting with another jab: “Someone like that looks like they’d prefer to be held in the arms of a real man, not something like you, Demon.”

“I’ll let the two of you know when I see one,” the orange-haired navigator murmured in a low tone, her voice immediately capturing the attention of the two bickering crewmates. Usopp feigned pain, clutching at his heart briefly before nodding in confirmation of her comments: both flinging their heads back in unbridled laughter at the motion. Luffy continued to remain blissfully ignorant, finally sucking at the large bone to rid the object from all edible elements of the dish while offering a small laugh of his own. Although he truly had no idea why they were laughing at that moment, he was happy his crew was getting along - to the best of his knowledge, anyway.

That was the occasion after all: merriment and joyfulness being the central point of the entire reason for this celebration. Sanji and Zoro turned back to face each other again, eyes bearing an electric intensity as they met their rival’s challenge. 

“No,” Zoro gruffly growled, his lips curling in a small snarl. Sanji arched his head to stretch out his neck, eyes closing as he felt a gentle ‘pop’ and sighing in reaction. 

“You gonna actually approach them and ask them to dance?” Sanji lazily taunted him, his smirk returning, “or am I going to get there first?”

At that final nudge, Zoro was away from the table and almost stomping his heavy boots against the polished floorboards like a chastised toddler. Sanji chuckled at the response, reaching forward to claim a portion of the confit potatoes to place on his plate. 

“I gotta know, man,” Usopp leant in towards Sanji, his broad smile rising to his cheeks, “were you that interested in them, or just wanted to get a rise from Zoro? I can never tell with you.”

“That’s my secret, Great Captain Usopp,” Sanji’s left corner of his lip curled up in a smirk with a playful glimmer in his eye returning, “I’m always interested in getting a rise out of him. Beautiful strangers are always a bonus. My favorite is when those two things are not mutually exclusive,” he chuckled, collecting an assortment of ingredients on his fork and raising the utensil up to his lips, “two birds with one stone, and all that.”

The thud of heavy boots alerted you to a figure closing the distance between themselves and your body. The thumps of the hard boots against the polished floor reverberated with a sense of danger. Patiently, with a sigh exiting your parted lips, you placed a small piece of parchment back into your novel to tab the chapter and slowly turned to look at the approaching figure. 

“Can I help you?” you asked, a bored tone with a subtle air of cautious warning befalling your cadence. As you drew your eyes up, you noticed the same intense gaze from earlier falling to meet your sat position on the table. His eyebrow seemed to twitch, indicating slight agitation as his jaw was clenched tightly shut. Cocking your head to the side, you allowed a partial softness to grace your features as you danced your eyes between focussing on each of his hazelnut orbs.

“I-, uh-,” the man was stumbling over his words, unable to string a sentence of cohesion together. He raised his hand to the scruff of his neck, pinching the flesh with his calloused hands and grimacing at his expression. 

“You?” you cooed up at him, a smirk rising once more to your lips. You shook your head, hair dancing at the small sway of movement. Your attention was once again captivated by him; the arrogant energy you had initially met your gaze with was dismantled under his apprehensive aura. 

Zoro had every intention of proving how much of a ‘real man’ he was to his crew, although not so much of a display in masculinity; but more of a need to not allow Sanji the pleasure or satisfaction of flirting with someone so enchanting as you. He was going to simply offer his hand to you, smirk in a gesture to ask you to join him on the dance floor and parade you in front of his crew. But alas, as soon as his eyes met with yours once again; he felt helpless and small under your huntress eyes.

“Well, are you going to stand there all rigid, swordsman?” you taunted, reclining in your seat and resting your elbow atop the backrest, “Or are you going to take a seat?”

Again, Zoro found himself taken aback by your direct approach. He followed your index and middle finger as you gestured to the empty seat in front of you. He shook his head a little to rid him of his prior bewilderment and then apprehensively moved to withdraw the chair to take a seat. You took him in, watching his deliberate movements in the way he sat atop the chair: every action intentional. As he sat, he offered no conversation other than broody silence. His eyes would flitter over to check-in on his prior dining companions and grimacing as his gaze was met with taunting gestures from his crew.

“Friends of yours?” you asked him, brow arched and reaching for the handle of your mug. 

“Something like that,” he uttered in a gruff tone, arms folding abrasively over his chest. You chuckled at his tone, taking a small sip from your mug and eyeing him deliberately. 

“Care to share further, or would you prefer having another wordless exchange?” you placed the empty cup back down on the dish and offered another challenging smile. He snapped his eyes back to yours and his smirk rose again to his lips. 

“They’re my crew,” his rumbly chuckle was withheld in his chest beneath his smirk, “I like half of them, but respect the lot of them.”

You hummed in response, index finger dancing atop the rim of your relinquished mug of hot chocolate. “Would you like to tell me more? I’m all ears about the ones you like and the ones you’re less fond of.”

Over the course of the next few hours, the swordsman and you would swap tales of travels throughout the East Blue and the Grand Line. Foes bested, beasts conquered and sorrows overcome: the tales of injuries you had both granted to opponents and received at the hands of them. He leant back against the back of his chair and slowly unbuttoned his shirt and hooked his fingers within the collar and hemline of his shirt to draw it back to showcase proudly to you. You felt your breath hitching in your throat at not only the physique of the swordsman, but in awe at the large healed mark slashed across his torso. You felt utterly ill-seasoned with your smaller indents of arrows and thrown dagger marks littering your shoulders. As you hooked your middle finger in your left shoulder strap and coyly revealed the small silver, healed markings, Zoro was held captivated by the marks to showcase your tales of battle. 

Enamored, awestruck and enchanted; you both held a small lilt of encaptured silence, leaning in on your forearms against the white tablecloth and gazing into the eyes of one another. Respecting your mutual combatant skill, both you and Zoro’s eyes fell half-lidded in adoration as you held each other’s undivided attention. 

The music and merriment fell into a slow tune, reflective of the seasonal tradition Baratie was attempting to celebrate with succession. Zoro was the first to break the silence between you, placing his left hand on the table with his palm up.

“Would you wanna dance?” he asked, his drawl gruff but attempting to remain polite in his request. You smiled, reaching your right hand to fall within his own, his hand immediately circling around your fingers firmly. His thumb circled over your four fingers, caressing his calloused and experienced hands over your skin.

“You don’t seem like much of a dancer, Zoro,” you commented, both rising to your feet. He drew you in close. Keeping his left hand extended upwards, and raking his right over the mid of your back to draw your torso flush with his, he uttered: “I’m not, but it seemed appropriate. Considering the holiday, and all.”

“Ah, yes. We never did quite get to discussing what all this,” you gestured with your chin, smiling at the decorations surrounding the room, “was all about.”

“I’m not really sure on the minor details,” he shrugged, awkwardly swaying you to the music, “Cap’n just said something about different traditions needing to be incorporated. Something about food, music, dancing, and decoration-...-oh. Oh, no-.”

You furrowed your brows, looking up at the roof to follow after his risen gaze. A small sprig of white, pearled flowers hung over your heads, accompanied by sage-coloured oblong leaves wrapped in ribbons of satin and twine. You cocked your head, left brow raising in curiosity at the flowers and their significance. Drawing your gaze back to the swordsman in front of you, you noticed he was stooping himself all the more closer to you.

“What are you doing, swordsman?” you questioned, halting him in his descention towards you. 

“This is one of those traditions,” he said, unlacing your right hand from his left and wordlessly asking with his eyes for permission to cradle your cheek within his palm. You looked at the hand first, then drew your eyes back up to meet his intense gaze. Smiling, you placed your cheek into his awaiting palm while holding his gaze firmly against your own. 

“Touching a stranger’s face beneath strange flowers is a strange tradition,” you furrowed your brows at him once more in curiosity.

“Kissing them beneath strange flowers,” he corrected you, leaning to join his lips immediately against your own. A small squeak fled from your lips, eyes widening as you felt the intensity falling from his chapped lips onto your own.

This was not how you pictured your return to Baratie to go at all. Sure, you had dreamed of meeting a handsome stranger and sharing an embrace with them. The stars just never aligned for you in any way that drew you close enough to share a kiss with them, only ever moments of story swapping or sharing a meal or two with many travelers accompanying you. 

You allowed yourself to become relaxed into the embrace, reaching your hands up to circle his neck below the assortment of flowers. His brows furrowed in concentration as he inhaled sharply through his nose in reaction to your reciprocation. You smiled, closing your eyes and tickling the scruff of his neck beneath your fingertips; lacing his untamed sea-sprayed locks within them. He expertly opened your mouth to taste more of your lips by angling his chin upwards against your own. A small groan rumbled within his chest, passing from his mouth to fall against your own as he continued to cradle you against himself.

Reluctantly, you pulled away from his embrace with your eyes remaining closed. You felt a small pause falling with his next actions, before you felt a warm forehead press against your own. You reopened your eyes, your half-lidded and lazy smile mirrored against the face of the swordsman you just shared a kiss with. 

Interrupting your embrace, an announcement was called over the speakers. The crackle of cables and wires sprung to life within the metal relay, alerting you with a vocal command: “The next vessel to Lougetown has arrived. All those traveling to Lougetown, report to the peer with your documents. Next vessel to Lougetown will depart in twenty minutes.”

“That’s me, unfortunately,” you sighed, eyes remaining closed but lips drawn up in a wide smile. 

“Business in Lougetown?” Zoro’s whisper rumbled within his chest. 

“Something like that,” you withdrew your forehead from its place resting against his own, “much akin to your crew, although I’m held attached by biological relation.”

“Anyone I’d know?” Zoro smirked, eyes remaining partly glazed over enamored by your small daliance. 

“I never ‘name drop’, swordsman,” you cooed up at him while unlacing your arms from his embrace, “but if you’re in the general area,” you retrieved your belongings from your table and laced your handbag and novel over your shoulder, “I’ll be at the G-5 Marine Base with my uncle for the next month for training.”

“I’ll look forward to it,” he smirked, eyes upturning to indicate his joy at the thought of meeting with you once again.

[0lshadyl0]

Let's talk about Umbratras Part 1/?

All this is a reference to this post where I published this idea in case anyone was interested in knowing, and seeing the positive responses from people, well here we go.

In this post I will leave the basic information (that I have invented) about the umbratra species (basically the alien version of vampires) so that when I name them in future stories or requests we are all on the same page and no one gets lost wondering what is an umbratra? Ok? With that clarification in place, let's begin

Tenebrae Prime, the planet that does not know the light

We begin by talking about a planet located in the most remote parts of a dark galaxy that humanity has not discovered, which is why it has no name in human language. The only ones who more or less had knowledge of this place were those from the planet Krypton, who in a stroke of overwhelming originality they called it that place the dark zone, (honestly, I wouldn't complicate my life by giving names, there, I'm with the Kryptonians, good job Kryptonians), they were doing research to explore this mysterious galaxy before its inevitable destruction, (at least they managed to give the planet a cool name before they died, again, good job Kryptonians)

In this galaxy where the stars never became so big or bright to be considered suns like the sun that illuminates our planet, so at most there were only red suns and their light did not reach the planet we are going to talk about, which is the one the Kryptonians named Tenebrae Prime, the only planet with signs of life in that entire dark galaxy; but it is a very old world reaching its moment of extinction, where it is mostly jungle and mountains, where instead of technology there is magic, in this place two dominant species inhabit

One of these species were baptized as the Abyssale Deinos, enormous monsters consisting of a large mouth with rows and rows of sharp teeth, beings that were a type of black rubbery mass, (let's say they were a physical manifestation of darkness itself), with tentacles, of reduced intelligence, almost primitive that act under instinct, these ferocious beasts feed on all other species that inhabit the planet and can even eat each other, after all, only the strongest among them survive, this species was mostly male since the females being a little weaker were eaten first, the few survivors were raped for reproductive purposes and usually died giving birth to several litters where most were born males (because they ate their sisters at birth)

The other species was called Noctis Arcaiver, these individuals unlike the previous ones, had more intelligence so much so that they developed magical abilities, they were harmonious and beautiful beings (by the standards of Tenebrae Prime that honestly were not very high those standards, at least the Kryptonians found them somewhat pretty), extremely connected to the nature of the planet, since they depended on it to feed themselves, especially on certain trees from which the Sanguivium flourished, some flowers that stored the precious red liquid from which the Noctis had as their main source of food, this species was mostly female since they were a species that reproduces through magic and the females were more receptive to absorbing enough magic to be born, but the most notable thing about this species was their way of speaking (it was basically like listening to flutes) their voices were melodious and their songs very enchanting

These two species at some point began to relate and (because previously each species was on its side of the planet) when they saw themselves in imminent extinction since there were no beings of the opposite sex in each species to continue reproduction (that is, all the females of the Abyssale Deinos had already died or were devoured and no more males of the Noctis Arcaiver were born)

Basically the Noctis Arcaiver hypnotized the other species using their melodious voice to basically kill them and absorb their life energy to transform it into magic and thus give birth (to make it clear right here from now because I don't know when I will explain this in depth, in Tenebrae Prime, morality does not exist, neither do the concepts of rape and those things that we see as bad okay?, is it clear? Okay, let's continue)

But oh, surprise surprise, from that encounter no more Noctis Arcaiver were born but a new species, those who would later be called Umbratra.

[mspopstar]

What does the gang do for a living?

"When I'm in need of some gold I'll go an' run package deliveries for Delivery Waddle Dee all over Dream Land! If I can't do that then I run a small Maxim Tomato to sell off excess or undesirable stock from the Waddle Dee farmers! The best part is that anything that doesn't sell I get to eat at the end of the day!" -Kirby!

"Hah, well in my case, I work as the Great King's royal advisor! I make sure His Highness is kept up to date on all proceedings within his territory and I am given permission to give His Greatness suggestions and advice to better the people and land he rules. Such a high position isn't given to anybody! I'm also the Royal General of the King's Royal Waddle Dee Army. Otherwise known as the K.R.W.D.A.! I hope that one day, I'll ready the Waddle Dees to be as strong as I am, when that day comes Great King will be unstoppable! Sir Meta Knight can't see this, right?" -B.W.D.

"I truly believe that we, myself and my men, are the closest thing Dream Land and His Highness have as a means of in-planet, interplanetary and outer-planet military defense and interplanetary communication. For myself as an individual, I am a knight who patrols, uplifts, and protects all of Dream Land. I patrol the main areas of Dream Land morning, afternoon and night. I stop trouble in its tracts and help those in need. I occasionally do what I can to help out in the community and promote healthy and knightly ideals to better the citizens. While I do not earn coin, the safety I provide to the citizens is more than enough. To earn capital, it is thanks to my men and the vessel that I command. For lack of a better term, outside of protecting Pop Star, the Legendary Halberd works as a means of defense and freight for hire. Providing safe-travels for space faring vessels and transporting a manner of all kinds of goods for these vessels. Not only that, the Halberd is the main source of exporting and importing of goods to and from Dream Land usually at King Dedede's request. The gold gained from these ventures provides more than enough for me and my men to live comfortably and for me to continue my duties as the protector of Dream Land." -Lord Meta Knight of The Legendary Battleship Halberd

"Well, ain't it obvious! I get ta' do whatever I want, whenever I want! Course' I care for and protect my people but that's a given!" -The Great King, King Dedede The First

[adventuringblind]

Oscar Piastri Ghoulverse HC's

Oscar won the poll I put out, so now I am subjecting you to all the ideas that have been rolling around my head. I'll do a whole fic, eventually, but to give you an idea, I present you with this!

Specific scenarios are always welcome, and my inbox is open to questions!! If you want to make a request, it's an option on my request form, which you can find HERE!

I'm super excited to share this, and feedback is always appreciated! What do y'all want to see more of?

GORE, VIOLENCE, AND NSFW CONTENT BELOW THE CUT!!

IMAGES NOT MINE

Appearance

A trait amongst all ghouls is dark eyes. Docile, unhungry ghouls have iris' but they are hard to make out if you aren't staring at them from at least four inches away. Oscar's are golden, and you can't change my mind.

See images for horn and tail references

His tail, although it has sharp ends, is olldly soft to the touch. It's nice to cuddle with and be wrapped in. Soft tails are prone to getting matted, but Oscar hates anything to do with combs. It's a struggle to get him to his tail groomed.

Ghoul horns can range in neutral colors and shades. Oscar's are black. Some horns are scaley, where others are more bone like. Oscar's horns are bone material and shed away the out layers ever so often. Oscar's are ridged, but the flat surfaces are smooth.

Similar to Max's due to the Ao3 fic. I just haven't been able to picture him any other way.

All ghouls get pointed ears and sharp, elongated canines. Oscar has a wickedly sharp set of teeth that he takes pride in.

Abilities

Reminder that all ghouls have really strong senses and are incredibly strong.

Oscar's abilities lie in smell. He's in the select group of ghouls that can pick out individual scents and discover emotions with his nose.

It smells different for each ghoul.

Like sexual frustration smells like a he snorted a sour patch kid and sadness smells like bleach.

That being said, he reads people like an open book.

Heaven forbid you lie to this man... he will know.

The good thing is that he knows when someone you dislike is approaching and can warn you.

Mannerisms

His tail has a mind of its own and betrays his inner emotions that he doesn't show on his face.

Oscar will say he's fine and doesn't need affection, but his tail will refuse to let his partner go.

It you watch carefully enough, it will play charades to reveal what Oscar is truly thinking about.

He's doesn't like to hunt. He'd rather find food sources through morgues or ghouls that do hunt.

However, he's also not afraid of it if it's truly necessary. Especially if it's for his partner.

The tribe the drivers have created usually switches off on who is tasked with finding food. Some get it through trainers that are trying to help them, some have deals with hospitals and morgues, and other prefer to vigilante style that shit.

Oscar does all three. It usually depends on where they are and who he can get in touch with, if anyone. If he can't, then he'll opt to hunt. But that's a worst-case scenario.

He always goes for the throat and the chest. Something about eating a heart is alluring to him, and his tail makes it easy to get to them.

As a romantic partner

POSSESIVE

He is not afraid to admit that he likes people knowing that his partner is claimed.

Furthermore, it's a protective instinct. Oscar knows the dangers that are out there regardless of what species his mate is.

He'd prefer not to have a dead lover, thank you very much!

It doesn't help that ghouls are rather territorial of what's theirs. Oscar behaves, but you can FEEL him growling at people he doesn't want to get too close or he wants to get away.

To the outside world, he's perfectly smiley, and nobody would ever know. In private, he's attached. He just needs to he near you and smell that you are okay and he'll be fine.

Prefers to stay in with the tribe to do anything fun. It's easier when he gets to look like himself.

The most patient of people.

If his partner is a ghoul but hates the eating human dilemma, then he'll try to make it as normal as he can.

If they are fine eating but not gathering, say no more because Oscar will take care of it.

Because he can smell emotions, he is very attentive. He knows you're sick before you even do. He knows every emotion you're feeling and exactly how to respond.

He's a romantic at heart and wants his lover to feel safe and valued. He's willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen.

Sex!

Yes, sex with ghouls is it's own ordeal

They've got feral animalistic instincts.... tell me they aren't good at it

Humans are also naturally drawn to ghouls

Easily seduced

Which is good considering ghouls have these lovely phases where they get riled up with pent up energy and emotions from pretending to be human all the time.

It depends on the ghoul how often this happens.

Oscar's is, at the very least, going to explode twice a year.

He saves it all up and just loses it at some point.

That being said, he's had consistent sex but typically, it's set up by one of the older tribe members until he learns to do it himself.

Also, it should be noted that these phases are all sorts of intense emotions and not just sexual.

Oscar is doubly clingy and possessive and WILL NOT let his partner leave him if he can help it.

Good luck getting away until he's calmed down.

His tail makes a very good rope to hold a partner where he wants them.

If his partner is a ghoul, then you can expect intertwined tails all the time, including any kind of making love.

Biting... this is a thing for most ghouls, but I felt I should mention it. Oscar bites a lot. Especially a human mate because the amount of trust that would take is ridiculous. He'd never break that and wants to show that through his actions.

Plus... you taste like the most delicious god damn meal ever, and all he has to do is lick you to be satisfied.

If you try to feign arousal, he'll lose his shit. Don't lie to him about it because he'll spend hours figuring you out and leaving you a mess in the process.

Oscar is experimental, and let's be real here... the quiet and most unassuming of people are often the kinkiest beings.

He is open to everything as long as he's not actually eating you, and it's SANITARY. Maybe he'll draw blood from a human partner and bite down on the mating bite he's already put there, but he's not insane... he's not going to rip you open in any kind of dangerous fashion.

Unless his partner is a ghoul because that brings in new factors. If his partner likes hunting then they'd do it together and have probably fucked high on adrenaline and covered in blood. He will also pay special attention to a ghoul partners' horns since they are so sensitive. As in... he'll lick them. Maybe he'll use them as guides.

Giving him head? Best believe he's gripping his partners horns instead of their hair.

Depending on the mood, he will either growl or purr during sex. There is no in-between. Oscar is patent and always tame, but when his emotions do breakthrough, then it's an extreme. This is no different.

We're on the dom Oscar agenda for this blog, btw... (if you haven't noticed already).

He can and will man handle you if he's in a mood and you're not cooperating.

You can't really tease him because he'll just give it back worse later on when you're alone. You can certainly try, though! All you have to do is bite him on the clavicle (mating mark spot) and it'll drive him insane.

Why? Because he's possesive and love when the feeling is reciprocated.

[velvetvexations]

Hey ive been stalking your profile and reblogging to my opinions and discourse side blog, but i have finally a darn to send a request

Are there any good sources on lesbian history about specifically non-woman or generally gnc lesbians? Nonbinary, genderfluid, gemigender, xenogender, genders specific to a culture like two spirit, etc. Etc. Etc.

I was "debating" (aguing) with some varipus individuals with a very terfy mindset of wgat is and isnt a lesbian, and anytime i brought up a source talking about history of queer and specifically nonbinary gendered people identify as lesbian, even if the world "nonbinary" wasn't used.

They all have very narrow definations of woman, even if they turn around and have backhandedly worded support for gender queer people, very excluisve "go find your own community" types.

They rattle on and kn about history this and history that, but love to ignore how old nonbinary is as a word or term period, often out dating their own existence.

Im a nonbianry person myself, trans masc and gay, but ive identified nearly with every letter at some point in my life including additional ones like pan, omni, etc. But ive generally settled with nonbinary gay label for years at this point. I thank you a lot for speaking up for people like me. And i value your input on topics i care for a lot.

A lot of people i agrue with assume im a nobinary lesbian and thats why im arguing with them when its very not the case.

Anyways i come you asking about resources cause i figured you might know some trust worth reliable ones that are well praised, its ok if not though! They mostly seem to be adversed to tumblr and listening to literalky hundred if not thousands of other lesbians and generally peoples opinions on the subject but turn around and trust google which last i check allows corpos to buy priority in search energines or even hide results.

Again, thank you thank you!

I truly have no idea, but Velvet Nation might have recommendations.

[void-ink-studios]

The Higher Ups in Wrath of the Wishmaster

So, just wanted to dump my brain worms here, and talk about the OC gods that just got introduced in the 3 part instalment of Wrath of the Wishmaster that I posted.

I'd like to introduce the Higher Ups. They're basically the upper management of the pantheon, only answering to The Boss themselves. Their power and rulings override pretty much everyone else, unless the Boss intervenes. They cannot be removed from reality, stripped of their titles, demoted, or even harmed.

You've already met one, the Organizer but there's two others: the Observer and the Judge! So, let's go through their deal one by one.

The Organizer

Let's start with the one y'all have officially met, the Organizer. As the name would imply, she is the goddess in charge of the organization, planning, and paperwork of the entire pantheon. She's the one to deal with write ups, complaints, requests, and record keeping. She has a file on pretty much everything to have ever lived in the multiverse, all perfectly sorted in an infinite records room. She's always super busy. She's also Orbo's direct supervisor, and by extension Scarab's. She's the one who sends the official orders for Auditors to go after rule breakers.

The Observer

The Observer is a rarely seen god, but he works closely with the Organizer. He is in charge of overseeing all activity across the multiverse, particularly with anyone powerful enough to jump between universes, and the other gods. He has seen everything that has ever happened (and rumor says ever will happen) in the multiverse. He hands off this information to the Organizer for storage, and is the primary source of information for sentencing cosmic crimes. He also is the one to confirm or reject complaints and write ups from the Organizer. He commands any and all gods responsible for gathering information within the cosmos.

The Judge

The Judge is the main authority of what is and isn't a cosmic crime. It is them who decides what punishments are delivered to what write ups, who does and does not belong in the Citadel, and is the one to mark individuals as cosmic threats. If someone is marked a target, the information is given to the Organizer to then give the order to Auditors. Of the higher ups, they're the one most often seen, both by mortals and by other gods. It is them you must plead your case to if you're demanding help or mercy from the gods. Unless the Boss intervenes, the Judge can grant or strip any of the lesser gods their title and immortality. They ultimately created the Citadel and the guardians. Not surprisingly, they were a bit salty after the whole Lich fiasco.

Other notes:

Some gods don't directly answer to one of these three. Gods like Prismo and the Cosmic Owl pretty much only answer to the Boss, as it's their power they're tapping into to grant wishes and make dreams prophetic.

All three of the Higher Ups are able to pass down punishment to gods if the transgression is not considered serious. For example, in the last part of Gala of the Gods, if Prismo and Scarab actually did major damage to the Judgement Hall, the Organizer would be sending them straight to the Judge.

Someone on AO3 suggested it and I liked it a lot so I'm including it: The Organizer was kind of Scarab's mentor figure. She was pretty much the only god he really spoke to as he transitioned from mortal to immortal. They stopped talking after Scarab lost his bid for Wishmaster to Prismo. He kind of blamed her for making him think he had a chance when literally everyone else was telling him to not even bother. More on that relationship in the next chapter.

The Observer is terrifying. No one but other Higher Ups talks to the Observer. Even other gods risk going mad by looking upon him.

The Judge is so tired of everyone's bullshit. So is the Organizer tbh. Get them some coffee, dammit.

Golb/Golbetty can technically be considered a Higher Up since their power overrides Prismo's, but Golb is kind of seperate from the cosmic hierarchy. They're a chaotic nightmare, on the same level as the Higher Ups, but not technically one of them.

[yanderes-galore]

For Overwatch, can I ask for a scenario or concept of Ramattra with the skin Necromancer? I was thinking about Darling being a knight or princess, either fighting him (knight) or being forced to surrender to him for the kingdom's safety (princess) -🐈

Ohhhh! This sounds like such a fun idea to play around with >:)

Yandere! Necromancer! Ramattra Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Female Darling, Obsession, Violence, Threats, Courting, Kidnapping, Denial, Murder, Forced marriage, Sacrifices, Resurrection, Forced relationship.

In this AU, Ramattra would be an infamous Necromancer who is capable of summoning the undead.

However, he primarily summons things similar to Zomnics.

The scariest part is he can summon such undead creatures in mass quantities, allowing him to take over kingdoms.

I chose female darling based on the request, but you can be a knight or a princess.

Either role, Ramattra has now targeted the kingdom you reign from.

Be you a princess who aids her father/mother in locking down the kingdom... or a knight who'd lay down her life to protect her kingdom...

Ramattra falls for you all the same... with some plot element differences.

I imagine somehow you end up a captive in either role.

Maybe as a princess Ramattra storms the castle with his undead troops and takes you as captive until your kingdom submits.

Or maybe as a knight your troops are overrun and you're imprisoned.

Either way, Ramattra has you in his grasp.

He chuckles as he leans forward, watching your glare through the cell.

His staff gives off a menacing purple and green glow... the source of his power.

"Foolish human... to think you could oppose me is a pitiful thought. The faster you agree to surrender... the faster we can get this all over with."

Your dynamic begins as simply captor and captive.

There's no feelings between you at first.

You still hate him and he's indifferent to you.

You're a bargaining chip... that is all.

The longer you stay, however, Ramattra toys with the idea of speaking with you more.

The skeletal being starts being more casual with you.

He pulls a chair beside your cell and speaks to you, sometimes for information... sometimes to make sure you have what you need.

"I am not used to dealing with the living... so pardon me if I forget to give you a necessity. Do let me know if you need anything. You're best alive... for now."

Eventually casual talk turns into more private affairs.

Ramattra is a proud individual, especially in this AU.

So at first he doesn't want to admit he's fallen for this princess/knight.

He's a necromancer who only needs the undead.

He's meant to roam the lands and claim kingdoms for his own empire.

All the inhabitants shall be undead slaves for him to control.

But here he is feeling infatuated over the living prisoner in his castle.

What is wrong with him?

You are so vexed towards him... yet he only finds it adorable.

The necromancer tries to ignore such feelings

Unfortunately... they'll eventually cloud his judgment.

Your kingdom will still fall before him... but he'll spare you.

Now the question is... will he court you while you're still alive... or will you be a sacrifice?

Perhaps for some time before that... he'll court you while you're alive.

He offers proposals and plans, his talks even seem nicer.

You want nothing to do with him... but he can be patient.

Eventually there will be a point in his obsession where he brings up marriage.

You're against it... but you may not have a choice.

What comes with marriage is sacrifice...

In the necromancer's case... that's killing you on an altar and resurrecting you.

"To be my bride you must give up your ties to the realm of the living... I know you must be scared, my dear... but I will make it all quick."

You can try to escape, try to run...

Ramattra won't stop searching until he finds you again.

The moment the ritual is done... there is no more escape.

No one can help you, you can't hide...

You're his and he'll make sure everyone knows that.

So... if you don't find a way to defeat the infamous necromancer, you are to be engaged.

The pain will be momentary... Ramattra is careful to strike your heart quickly.

By the time you wake up again... green and purple magic swirls around you before it fizzles away.

Ramattra stares at you with a content grin.

By the time you're dragged back from where you once were... you're now the bride of the necromancer.

You want to cry... to scream... but you feel hollow.

"The ceremony is complete..." Ramattra chuckles.

"From now on... you are my beloved bride..."

Your cold hand is held in his larger boney one.

"No one can take you away from me now... not unless they wish to perish by my hand."

[adaki]

Hey, I have a question for you. Do you normally do art request? If so, is there any specific rules for it? Do you draw character from different fandoms? And most importantly, but do you draw original characters too?

Hi! So I’ll answer these questions all individually:

1: My requests are always open, they’re not intended to be my primary source of content, but when I’m in a bit of a creativity/art-block (like I am now) I’m usually more than happy to do some when I have time.

2: I don’t really set rules as to what people are or aren’t allowed to request me to draw, only that they’re respectful, and understand that a request is a request, not a commission or something I’m obligated to do.

3: Sure, why not. Though I’m more likely to draw a request for a fandom I’m in (of which there are plenty.) If I’m not familiar with the source or don’t find the character interesting i probably won’t end up fulfilling it. That being said shoot your shot, worst case scenario I just don’t draw it!

4: Under other circumstances I’d say yes, as I’m open to drawing peoples OC’s, but for the sake of not becoming a drawing machine and valuing my time/work (& by extension other artists) I think I’ll have to make OC art requests commission exclusive. If you’re interested feel free to dm me! (This goes for anyone)

Thank you for asking, I hope this helped! :)

[baroque-hashem]

What the anti-Israel student protestors in the US do not seem to understand is that, in the US, their actions and statements can absolutely be defined as, and are, antisemitic. The United States is a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, and since 2016, the federal government of the United States has adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which includes, and I quote: "Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor."

This is the attitude of the governing body of the country in which US Americans are citizens. Your country has adopted a progressive, internationally agreed upon definition of antisemitism, and its government and states will act accordingly to quell antisemitism in their jurisdictions. Over half of the States' governments have also specifically adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism. A great number of the States in which these protests are taking place have individually adopted the IHRA definition.

From a strict legal and ethical standpoint, the campus protestors do not have a leg to stand on in their desire to avoid accusations or prosecution of antisemitism. If anyone in the US wants to take a campus protestor to court and accuse them of antisemitism, they would have a solid case.

The State of New York, for instance, has had several campus protests against Israel; the state government has adopted the IHRA definition of Antisemitism. The state is fully within its rights to use its resources to quell antisemitism on its campuses, at the request or not of university administrators. If a university is within the borders and jurisdiction of the State of New York, then this university must abide by the laws of the State of New York. The IHRA definition of antisemitism is not a legal document, but a government's adoption of it signals a government's views toward antisemitism, and influences how that government and its entities will react to antisemitism. Also, New York does have a Human Rights Law, and this has undoubtedly also influenced the state's reactions to antisemitism in its borders.

No university should be expected to abide terrorists and their sympathizers on its property. And the campus protestors are supporting a legally recognized terrorist group, and engaging in definitionally antisemitic acts and speech.

From a definitional standpoint, at least in the US, the campus protests and their organizers and participants are definitionally antisemitic. They are not "on the right side of history". They are wrong.

Sources:

https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/

https://www.state.gov/defining-antisemitism/

[dearly]

“Sound campaigns” have been an integral part of music marketing since TikTok took off in 2019, but they differ from other paid promotion campaigns on social media. Captioning a video with #ad, or another similar disclosure, is required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when companies “pay you or give you free or discounted products or services” in exchange for featuring their product in a video, but that has never been the standard for the paid promotion of a song. “Any essence of perceived authenticity can be stripped away when a creator tags a video as paid,” says one digital marketing agency CEO. 

As a result, one major label marketer believes “75% of popular songs on TikTok started with a creator marketing campaign,” but says that there’s no way to actually track how many of the songs that go viral on TikTok do so organically or are boosted by thousands to hundreds-of-thousands of dollars’ worth of paid promo.

When asked for clarification about whether or not promoting songs in the background of videos requires disclosure, a representative for the FTC said, “While we can’t comment on any particular example, that practice seems somewhat analogous to a product placement… When there are songs playing in the backgrounds of videos, there are no objective claims made about the songs. The video creator may be communicating implicitly that they like the song, but viewers can judge the song themselves when they listen to it playing in the video. For these reasons, it may not be necessary for a video to disclose that the content creator was compensated for using a particular song in the background in the video. We would evaluate each case individually however.”

While it is not, in most cases, an FTC violation to run undisclosed creator campaigns to promote singles on TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, it remains a little-understood area of music marketing that many music fans are not aware is happening. “The beauty of Tiktok, for me, has disappeared because I’m super cynical and believe everything I see there, disclosed or not, is paid to be promoted,” says the digital marketing agency CEO. (Most of the sources in this story requested anonymity in order to speak freely about how these campaigns work.)

[tsel-bas]

GRAH! No Requests So Take These Bastards!

Warning, Headmate(s) May Not Turn Out Exactly As Described. Anything And Everything Can Be Changed To Fit Your System. !!!THESE HEADMATES ARE IN NO WAY THE CONTENT CREATOR. THESE HEADMATES ARE NOT THEIR OUTERWORLD COUNTERPART!!!

(Made This Because We Have A Fragmented Subsys Floating Around That Are These Silly Specimens And They Need A Bit Of Fleshing Out)

Everything Can Be / Is Divided Amongst Them. Including Names, Pronouns, Genders, Preferences, Orientations, Etc.

Source Names Used In Pack To Distinguish Roles And Such. Headmates May Choose To Use Source Name Instead Of Suggestion.

These Four Are Separate Enough To Gain Their Own Profiles In Wherever You Track, But Are Close Enough That They Still Have To Occasionally Switch With Each Other Because Of Their Status As A Subsystem.

Headmate Count: 4 (Four)

Collective Name(s): Wilbur/Wil, Evergreen, Everest, Everette, Dakota, Vesper, Erakis, Fakier, Vidalia

Collective Pronouns: Hx|Hxm, Zey/Zem, Xe|Xim, It|Its, Angel|Angels, Rot|Rots, Shy|Hyr, Ce|Cir

Collective Gender Identity: Paraboy, Angelcrossed, Etherwinged, Zombieangelgender, Zombiebxyfreak, Eclipsebodiment

Sexual/Romantic Orientation: Gay, Sapphic (Godbur's Case), Arotraloven, Hypersexual, Ambiamorous (Poly Preference)

Preferred Terms: Mainly Masculine/Nonhuman, Godbur Uses Feminine Terms

Age Range: 27-32

Height: 6'3

Subsystem Ranking: Host: R. Fakier Co-Host: Revivebur Traumaholder: Godbur Chaosnaut: ARGbur

Role(s): Symptom Holder, Fixkeeper, Solliciten, Depression Holder, Hyperérosian, Innate Typing Quirk

Type: Willogenic, Shapeshifting, Semi-Separated Subsystem

Species: Angel-Zombie / Undead Angel, Barn Owl Avian, Human

Kins: Aviankin, Foxkin, Wolfdogkin, Multiversekin, ARGkin

Godbur's Typing Quirk: Doubles 'I's' : 'Hii Iim Erakiis! Niice To Meet You!" (Translation: Hi, I'm Erakis! Nice To Meet You!"

Verbality: Verbal, But Chooses Not To Speak Much

Source: @/tsel-bas, WS AU(s) (ARGbur, R. Fakier, Godbur, Revivebur)

Favorite Song(s): CHXSE - Chase Atlantic, Prada & Versace - Chris Grey, Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen, Devil Doesn't Bargain - Alec Benjamin

Positive Triggers/Likes: Reading, Warmth, Physical Affection, Playing The Horizon Games (Zero Dawn / Forbidden West)

Negative Triggers/Dislikes: Being Cold, Loud/Sudden Noises, Asking For / Receiving Help

Boundaries: Pet / Nicknames: Ask Touch: Ask Friend Request: Not Unless We've Interacted A Lot, Then Ask. Flirting (/p): Ask Flirting (/r): Only If Partner Or If We Initiated Venting: Ask Sourcemates: No Source Talk: Ask Doubles: Ask

Description: (Individual Paragraphs For Each Headmate/Member)

Fakier, The Host Of The Subsystem. A Cold, And Somewhat Manipulative Bastard Who Depends On Attention To Function. Hx Is A Depression, BPD, And DPD Symptom Holder. Usually Zey Will Seek Negative Attention, But Giving It Positive Attention Does Xim A Lot Of Good. Hx Is Almost Always Freezing Cold.

Revivebur Or Rev, The Co-Host Of The Subsystem. Takes On Tasks That Fakier Does Not. Hx Is The Hypersexuality Holder Out Of The Four As Well As Holding Some Of The Mania Portion Of Bipolar Symptoms.

Godbur Is The Local Hypersexual Traumaholder. Shy Thrives Off Of Any Sort Of Attention. Ce Also Holds Anxiety And Depressive Symptoms As Well. Overall A Very Kind And Caring Girly Gxrl.

Finally, We Have ARGbur, The Other Mania Holder As Well As The Hyperfixation Keeper. Despite Hxs Calm, Stoic Appearance, Zey Are A Nervous Wreck. Anxiety Holder? No. Anxiety-Bodiment. That Man Is A Walking Depressive Episode High Off Of Mania And Anxiety

Faceclaims: (Top Left: ARGbur, Top Right: R. Fakier, Bottom Left: Godbur, Bottom Right: Revivebur

Moodboard:

[peccatulum-b-gone]

Eisen und Blut, feat. Peccatulum Sweep. A report of the recent events in L Corp. territory

Since I have finally have the time to wind down and write this out, here it is. Note that some of the details were obscured* by myself as they fall under an NDA, but after a brief consultation I was advised to include them. All the same, the information does not fall under Hana Association´s censorship policy, so I had to make do with what resources I have available.

*■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■ is not responsible for any attempts of accessing the obscured information

Following a wave of peculiar inactivity from the peccatula in the fallen L Corp. streets, necessary research was conducted. After studying the resources provided by the Dieci Association´s library, it appeared that a foreign dangerous presence has entered the territory, upsetting the "local ecosystem". This theory was further supported by finding material evidence, an N Corp. Inquisitor seal.

Though approach of the situation was most delicate, the abrupt ambush by N Corp members had pushed me to engage F. Kromer, more commonly known as "The One Who Grips" in a state which resembled the distortion phenomenon. However, it had distinct difference to the distortion phenomenon, as the subject bore peccatulae form with some humanoid traits retained. Such form had not been part of the distortion phenomenon and as the consensus on distortions states that "peccatula are distinctly what becomes of individuals who had failed to enter the distorted state", I will refer to it as "chimera".

Due to past history with the individual prior to entering the chimera form (a brief period of obrumuk uqvrr dll wapw samxpsn), I have attempted to reason with them, as I imagined she was a distortion and thus retained some level of cognition. This was quickly proven as a falsehood, as the chimera attacked with little warning. Though I have successfully fended off the combined forces of a group of armored Inquisitors alongside the chimera, I was injured in the combat.

Following the necessary safety protocol issued following my demotion, I have isolated myself while in the vulnerable state. Thanks to the in-person request made by the @zwei-association-official, I was able to acquire the crucial symptom mitigation substance mix, as delivered by the @zweiassociationfixer.

PECCATULUM SWEEP ADDENDUM

In accordance with the fixer request protocols, I have taken the case as presented by the Zwei reports. Caged peccatula have appeareed around the City in numerous locations with major leads pointing to L Corp. as the source of this "trade".

Working with @zweiassociationfixer, few sites of capture and containment were identified and dismantled within an old L. Corp branch. N Corp. is suspected to have hand in this trade, as vast amount of activity had ceased after the N Corp. Inquisitors were dealt with. Ever since, the number of peccatula running around the L Corp. has stabilized. Whether that is a good thing is up for a debate.

END OF REPORT

Signed, ■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■, more widely known as SnakeHead

ERROR: Insufficient Disclosure Privileges. This information was hidden from you by the Hana Association