#I love all the names and how unusual and what a variety they are

[leahsgf]

BOUQUETS – leah williamson

in which leah, famous hater of tiktok joins in on a trend, for you.

one thing about your girlfriend that not many people knew - is that she is secretly an absolute dork, through and through. her signature frown and grumpy expression when she focused, meant that not only was she endlessly teased by you for it, and jokingly reminded that if the wind blew she’d be stuck like that - but also that she gained a reputation for being very serious, and rarely showing her emotions, particularly on the pitch.

you however, and anyone who had the pleasure of getting to see her behind closed doors, and truly knowing her - knew that that was the furthest thing from the truth.

which, is what led you to now.

you’d been sprawled almost flat on top of her in bed for what had felt like hours on end, your favourite place to be on the rare occasion that you both had a day off, when an unusual silence settled between the two of you.

unusual, in the sense that these private moments between the pair of you were usually filled by leah’s rambles about anything and everything, a narration of every single thought that had remained unspoken over the time she wasn’t with you.

“what are you doing?” you protested, breaking the silence and grumbling into the crook of your neck, not even a millisecond after her fingers stopped trailing through your hair.

“nothing, grouchy! just trying to figure out this stupid thing. bloody tiktok i swear! i don’t know how you and the girls love it so much, makes no sense!” she waved her phone in the air, eyebrows furrowing and that frown deepening - but her fingers instantly resuming their actions in your hair, causing you to slump once more.

“wait babe why are you on tiktok! you hate tiktok!” the realisation hit you rather slowly due to your state, your mind flashing back to the what must be hundreds of times that you begged her to do a cute video with you - only to be met with a rant about how much she despised the app.

“oi! mind your business. you’ll see! just need some patience my girl!” she chuckled, bopping you on the nose as she tilted her screen just out of your eyes’ reach.

to say you were confused was a major understatement. you knew you could’ve seen her screen if you really wanted to, your position on top of her giving you a rare power.

one that you knew not to test, however. so, you let yourself shrug off her strange behaviour and settle back into her, being pulled in by the addictiveness that was her skin, and her scent.

“there! done!” she pushed her phone into your face, so suddenly it almost made you jump.

and what faced you, confused you almost as much as when it was hidden from you.

it was her lockscreen. a new one, replacing the picture of the two of you.

a bouquet of flowers.

they were cute, undeniably. dainty little illustrated cartoon flowers, in a variety of colours and styles, put together in a bouquet - in the middle of a plain background.

but not enough to match the shit eating, proud yet almost shy grin that was spread across her lips.

“it’s….cute? lee i don’t get why you’re showing me this though?” your frown mirrored her previous one, confusion visible all over your face that made her giggle, and prod at your flushing cheek.

“look silly girl, it’s some trend on tiktok that beth showed me. there’s a flower for each letter of the alphabet, and people have been putting them together and spelling out their partner’s names to make a little bouquet and i thought it was cute, okay!” she said, almost sheepishly - looking away from you as you sat up, grinning.

“you’re so cute oh my god.” you peppered kisses all over her face, ignoring her protests.

“the team cannot hear about this. kay? i’m their captain, i have a reputation to uphold!” she met your lips in a kiss, almost immediately proving her own point wrong.

“i think everyone knows how much of a dork you are baby i’m afraid, we’re way past that point!”

[lucszli]

Having a Dottore segment fall for you –

Part 2 !

part 1 :

——————

; Being in a relationship with Zandik definitely wasn't your usual fairytale love story. You never imagined that your first boyfriend would be someone like him, but that doesn't mean you'd choose anyone else in the world over him.

• You thought you were inexperienced with romance, but upon realizing how inexperienced Zandik was?

• You had to take the obligation of teaching him basic things, such as what love even is, and what lovers are, and what they do.

• You definitely didn't expect him to try and kiss you as soon as you explained what kissing is and the fact that couples usually do it.

• “I thought we were supposed to kiss?” He would ask, innocently tilting his head while you were all flustered up, having to explain that it wasn't necessarily something you two had to do. (Atleast, not yet..!)

• Honestly, for a genius, you were stumped that there was a topic even he was unsure about.

• As the days passed, you noticed he was slowly becoming clingier to you.

• At first, it was small things, like purposely sitting close enough to you so that your bodies would touch, or not moving when your hands brushed.

• When he first initiated holding your hand, you felt yourself smile so wide that it probably looked creepy.

• ... He almost felt worried because he's never seen that expression on you before, but you told him it was a good thing.

• As far as you knew, Zandik would also sneak out just to see you. You were still not that familiar with his family situation, but you assumed it may be similar to yours.

• After all, your parents didn't even notice (or care for that matter) that you were sneaking out practically everyday. Since you still see him, you assumed that his dad hadn't noticed as well.

• Oh, how unfortunately wrong you were.

––––––

“[Name.]” You heard Zandik's voice from behind you, and you turned around and smiled at him. “Zandik, hi! I missed you.” You said without really thinking, and you both awkwardly looked away, either from embarrassment or being flustered. “..Me too.” he paused, looking at the basket you were holding in your hands. “Oh? What's this?”

You got over the initial embarrassment (due to not being used to saying things like that yet,) and went closer to him to grab his hand, and started walking towards your usual spot. “Oh, I thought we could have a picnic! We usually just sit and talk together, which is fine, but.. It would be nice if we did something else,” you explained, letting go of his hand to place the basket down.

Zandik watched as you set up the picnic blanket and started laying out a variety of food on it. “Did you cook all this, [name]?” he asked, kneeling down next to you to help you set up. You smiled at him and nodded. "Mhm! I'm sorry if it's not that good.. I'm not really the best cook, but I usually cook for myself.”

He only nodded in response, but this simple gesture was enough to make him feel that same warmth he was still unfamiliar with. This was the first time someone cooked for him specifically.

You two sat next to eachother, indulging in the food that you made. There were times when you would feed him the food or vice versa, and even if Zandik tried to look annoyed by this, you could tell he was enjoying it atleast.

Time passed by quick, and the sound of laughter and talking filled the atmosphere, as it usually did. Even if you two talked for hours everyday, it was like you never ran out of things to talk about. Once the food was finished, you both cleaned up and put the containers back in the basket.

You set it off to the side, and sat back down next to him. “So.. was my food acceptable?” you laughed nervously, worried whether he actually enjoyed it or if he was just pretending for your sake. “Hm.. It was rather pleasant to eat. Good job.” he replied, same seemingly blank expression as always, but from the twinkle in his eyes, you could tell he was actually happy with it.

You sighed in relief, before smiling again. "That's great! If you want, I can cook for you more.”

You two fell in a comfortable silence at some point, and you held his hand, leaning your head against him to truly enjoy the moment. He didn't make any movements of protest, so you took that as your sign that it was okay for you to be this close to him. Moments like this were a little rare, as you were a bit too shy to initiate any physical touch; so you were glad that he was accepting it.

Zandik was looking out at nothing in particular, just happy that he was with you. If he had to be honest with himself, he was still a little nervous about this whole ordeal with you.

He was worried about what could possibly happen if the others found out about you, what could happen if prime found out. Would he be tossed out for being a defect? Or worse, what if something happened to you?

Since he'd sneak out the lab everyday, he was worried at first that someone would eventually notice, but since he's been doing it for so long, he decided not to worry too much. It's been fine up until this point, what could possibly happen, right?

He glanced over at you, and he could feel his lips turning up ever so slightly in a smile when he saw that smile you'd always give him. Nobody's ever looked at him like that before, and he wasn't sure what you saw in him to look at him like that, but he had no complaints.

The moment just felt right, and he recalled what you explained about kissing and how couples did it. You turned it down the first time, but he had a feeling you wouldn't if he tried again right now.

He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss on your lips. It was a chaste kiss, your lips being pressed together for only a few seconds.

When he pulled away, he couldn't hold back a chuckle from the expression you had on your face. When you started to ramble on about how that was your first kiss (and his), and other things that didn't really make sense to him, he only looked at you in admiration until you finally calmed down, looked back at him and gave him a kiss back.

If his feelings for you made him a defect, he wouldn't mind being seen as one any day.

————

• You two eventually parted ways before it got too dark, and you hugged him goodbye before heading back home.

• He stayed in place until you were out of sight to make sure you were safe, atleast.

• When he got back to the lab, he went on his usual route to stay out of sight.

• He didn't expect to be greeted by prime. He almost flinched, but luckily he held it back.

• He was about to just walk away, assuming it was just a mere coincidence before hearing a question he was dreading to be asked.

• “Would you care to explain where have you been going all this time?”

—————

Authors note : Boom, part two ! I hope you guys enjoyed this, I wanted to make it sweet. :) Thank you to everyone who read part one, and I'll definitely be posting more parts. Maybe 1 or 2 more?

side note: this isn't proofread, apologies for any mistakes !!

[seresinhangmanjake]

From Two to Four

Single Dad!Jake Seresin x Single Mom!reader

Summary: a trip to the movie theater with your son becomes more eventful when you meet a man and manage to save his daughter's birthday from being ruined.

notes: this is going to be a mini series from @rosiahills22 request :)

warnings: none.

Words: 841

----

PART 1:

Your arm is being yanked on but that isn't unusual. With the way your son is, you're surprised you've not had a trip to the hospital to have your shoulder shoved back into its socket. He's strong for his age, and with the handful he is already, you just know you're in for more surprises as he ages; ones you can only hope you'll know how to tackle on your own.

Jamie pulls you through small crowd after small crowd in his effort to make it to the treats. Only when you're in line does he drop your hand so he can press his nose against the glass shelf displaying every variety of candy he could possibly want. A sugar-high child was not in your plans for the day, but you refuse to dull his excitement.

"Mommy, can we get rainbow gummies?"

His voice blends with a sudden cry, and you turn your head to find a small girl leaning against one of the theater's decorative pillars. Her blue tutu is scrunched in her little hands, and the bedazzled tiara on her head is beginning to slip sideways. Softly brushing away her tears is a man crouched in front of her. He tries to right her crown as her finger shoots directly toward the large movie poster behind the man's head.

"Daddy!"

"I know, baby, I know. But it’s sold out," he sighs. "We'll come back tomorrow, OK? I'm sorry."

He stands straight and takes her hand, a look of utter heartbreak marring his handsome features when he begins to lead her past you toward the door. 

"Excuse me,” comes out of your mouth without a thought. 

When he pauses, the little girl nearly bumps into the back of his calf. His eyes meet yours, and the tenseness tightening his brow and the line of his lips soothes. 

“I don’t mean to bother you, but I have two extra tickets to the same movie if you want them."

A dark blond brow raises. “You’re going to see The Dragon Princess of Amethyst Mountain 2?”

“Well, the first one had such a gripping storyline." You chuckle at the amused expression on his face. “My son is with me,” you say and look behind you at the boy all but licking the glass case in anticipation. “Jaime, come here, sweetheart.”

Candy magically forgotten, Jamie bounds over to you with the widest of grins, stopping right beside you to stare up at the man.

“Hi!” he says loudly and clearly, with a certain confident authority only a four-year-old could possess. “I’m Jameson “Jamie”.

The man laughs. “Hi Jameson “Jamie”, I’m Jake, and this is Olive.”

Jamie’s eyes immediately go to the girl. His head tilts. “Like the snack?”

“Jamie, honey, don’t say–”

“Yea,” the girl pipes up, her tiny fist rubbing at the dried tears below her eye. 

Your boy's eyes light up, and you know what he's about to say before it exits his mouth. “I love olives!”

"Really?"

"Yep yep!"

Jake chuckles, releases his daughter's hand, and moves to stand beside you so he may join you in watching your children form an instant bond. 

"Just so you know," he says, leaning closer, "I didn't name my child after a food, intentionally."

You don't care what and why he named his child as you watch Jamie take an immediate liking to her. He needs a friend, and you've never seen him invested quite so quickly. 

"Hey, I don't judge," you reply, making the man laugh again. You're starting to like it. It's deep and husky and has an intoxicating element that wants to lure you into your own fit of giggles. 

"I'm Jake," he formally introduces, sticking out his hand for you to shake. You do so as you offer your name in return. "So how did you end up with extra tickets to the best movie in town?"

"I've got a sister who's a flake and a brother-in-law with a missing backbone," you say before clicking your tongue. "Which is a shame, honestly, because I think he really wanted to see it."

"Well, I hate to say I'm thankful for that, but you've just saved my daughter's birthday, so…"

"Daddy," Olive calls, her entire mood having taken a complete shift, "can we get rainbow gummies?"

"Sure, baby."

Jamie and Olive jump up and down, their hands tightly clasped together. Then your son hurriedly leads the girl back over to the candy case to show her everything she's about to enjoy.

"How old?" you ask.

"Four."

"So is Jamie."

As if on cue, Jamie looks back at you. "Mommy, and cookie dough bites?"

"Your boy's got a good appetite," Jake says, crossing his arms and nodding his head Jamie's way. 

"Oh, just you wait. He'll want–"

"And popcorn, Mommy?"

You snort. "See?"

Jake's eyes travel over your face, pulling forth a light blush that you can already feel heating your cheeks. His wide open lips display pearly whites, and there is a glint in his gaze when he says, "Well we better get them their snacks then."

---

A/N: More to come for this little series! I hope you liked it :)

tags: @wkndwlff @sagittarius-flowerchild @dempy @kmc1989 @oliviah-25 @xoxabs88xox @matisse556 @hardballoonlove @ssa-sadboi @lynnevanss @pono-pura-vida @tgmreader @amgluvsbooks @ravenhood2792

[honey-flustered]

Made With Love (Fluff)

Eddie Munson x Crocheter!Soft!GF!Plus!Reader

Summary: You love making gifts for your boyfriend and his cool uncle. And Eddie just simply adores you.

A/N: Just short draft that ive kept for a while now because i just didn’t know what to do with it. So ive decided to publish it as it is so that in the meantime i can get my shit together.

Word Count: 1.5k+

Summary: inexperienced!reader and eddie, plus size reader, hinted!autistic reader, eddie being a simp for reader, lots of fluff, wayne being reader’s number 1 supporter (don’t tell eddie 🤭), sexually suggestive language and behavior, some body worship, kissing, cuddling

Eddie Munson is the luckiest man in the world. No really because just how did he manage to get a girl like you in his arms? You went beyond his criteria of a perfect girl which was simply to be a woman. But you’ve exceeded in ways he could have never imagined.

For one, you’ve got amazing taste in music. Despite the differences in your music genres, you both appreciate the variety and exchange songs all the time. Second, you’re absolutely gorgeous. Eddie knew he loved rubenesque women but you were all that and more. He swears could die and go to heaven at the feeling of your thick thighs and soft belly as you’d lay his head on either part. And not to mention that beautiful face he yearns to see smiling at him constantly with those enchanting eyes that seem to twinkle endlessly.

Lastly—a fact about you that has both facts, one and two, beat—you’re awfully talented. You bake, paint, and, best of all, you crochet.

You crochet just about everything and he admires it. The best part is you always came up with the most interesting things that even Eddie wasn’t sure he needed.

Currently, you and Eddie were curled up on his couch. Your eyes wandering his shaky lean frame while his eyes stays glued to the television set, a gentle hand caressing your thigh.

You pride yourself for being an observant one, a skill you’ve had to perfect throughout your childhood in order to understand the world around you. And because you’re so observant, nothing gets passed you including the way he continues to shiver beside you.

“Something wrong?” You ask, concerned.

“Just my unusually cold wrists as always,” Eddie sighs. “Strangely specific, I know. It’s the chain bracelet and leather cuffs. The silver and leather are like ice against my skin with this freezing ass weather.”

You smile brightly, clapping your hands in excitement. “Actually, I have just the thing for this little issue.”

“Oh, do you?” Eddie smirks, nose scrunching up in amusement.

“Mhm,” You nod as you began rummaging through your bumblebee bag (crocheted by yours truly). “Close you eyes.”

“‘Kay.” He obeys with a smile never leaving his face.

Rushing up to stand in front of the television set, you held the items behind your back before commanding your boyfriend to open his eyes once more.

“So…I’ve noticed the way you rub your wrists for the friction to radiate some heat because they’re always so cold lately. And I also notice that when the cold becomes to unbearable you’re forced to remove your wrist accessories,” You began your spiel as if you’re in an infomercial. “Why should you sacrifice style or possibly losing your accessories because of naked wrists? Well not anymore with my handy dandy…wrist bands!”

You shoot your hands up and out in front of you, dangling each red and white patterned wristband in either hand. “I also call them Eds Bracelet Warmers as a placeholder product name.”

“That’s metal!” Eddie praises, standing up to study the bands closely. You release them into his hands and he stares down at them in awe, sliding each onto his arm and making a little show of them before his attention resumes back on you.

“Do you like it?” You say rocking back and forth on your heels anxiously.

“I love it! It’s the best gift you’ve ever given me.”

You snort out a giggle. “You say that with every crochet I’ve made you.”

“I was wrong all the other times. I mean, as much as I love the crocheted mug warmers, pillows, and seat cover…I’m thinking this might top them all. Just look at the detailing on this. You’re like a goddamn Picasso. Thank you, sweetheart,” Eddie says with a hand on his chest, letting you know just how much you’ve touched his heart. Then he suddenly grows shy, tapping his index fingers together as he avoids your gaze. “Permission to hold you. Maybe…kiss you a little.”

“You don’t have to ask,” You run into his embrace, cupping his face in your hands to plant a searing hot kiss onto his lips. With the mixture of your forwardness and his knee-buckling reaction, he’s sent falling back against the couch with you still in his arms.

You scramble to peel yourself off from above him, not wanting to put to much pressure on his slender frame. And yet he interlocks his fingers together right on your lower back, keeping you still. “Wait, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You could never, baby,” Eddie says, bringing a hand up to your face to caress your cheek. He then traces his thumb faintly around your lips. “I want you on me all the time.”

He suddenly becomes nervous, a tinge of pink coloring his cheeks. He’s nervous under your alluring gaze, aware that you’re clocking every shift and change in his facial features and mood. Embarrassingly, he had an erection that you no doubt felt in between your bodies and pressing against your belly. Eddie decides to release you from his full grasp.

Instead of pulling away, you draw his thumb into your mouth slowly, pursing your lips around them as you look him through your lashes and half-lidded eyes.

He chokes out an audible whine, even the inside of your mouth felt good. He’s never wanted to explore it this badly. When you pull your mouth around the digit with a pop, Eddie’s quick to cup your face now and shoves his tongue into your mouth. He takes control of the motions, gradually rolling your bodies over so that he’d end up on top.

His eager hands glide up your smooth skin of your thighs, pushing up your dress that fit snug around you. Your hands entangle themselves in his hair, letting your long nails lightly scratch his scalp.

You and Eddie have been soft lovers with one another, taking your time and being patient with one another regarding physical affection. It took a lot for the two of you to feel comfortable enough to ask each other for touches and eventual kisses. You’d say you’ve gotten pretty far.

Sometimes, things would get heated and you’d be concerned that it might lead to sex considering you’re both virgins. However, aside from your anxieties and insecurities, you actually did feel as if you’re ready to give yourself to him. But ever the gentleman, Eddie is usually one to call it quits.

But with his lips moving against your own so passionately, you couldn’t see how he’d pull away now. Especially not when you’ve got fistful of his Hellfire club shirt in your hands to prevent him from doing so.

Nonetheless, he pulls away much to your chagrin. The faint reminder of his lips against yours still felt by you in the span of a millisecond. You wish that feeling could linger forever.

He stares down at you, examining the look on your face. It’s your turn to hold him still against you, your nails burrowing in his exposed lower back.

“Sweetheart…” Eddie begins as if in a trance.

“Yes…Eddie.”

“I think…that I—”

The swinging of the creaky, trailer door is enough to lurch you both apart, sitting in your designated seats on the couch. Uncle Wayne enters the room with a hand over one eye and an outstretched hand to guide himself into the home.

“All clear?” He asks.

Eddie rolls his eyes. “All clear, Waydog. We’ve been good.”

Wayne opens his eyes slowly, his gaze landing on you on the couch. He perks up with a bright smile. “Oh, y/n, what a pleasant surprise! I wasn’t sure you’d be here. I was actually worried I was going to walk into Eddie watching—“

“Dude!” Eddie interrupts, staring at his uncle in incredulous betrayal.

“Aw come on. I kid, I kid. You know that’s what we Munson men do. She’s used to that by now.” Wayne chuckles, placing some bags of grocery on the counter.

You giggle, soothing Eddie’s hair as way of ensuring him that it’s okay. Going over to the kitchen, you and Eddie help Wayne unload the groceries when Wayne notices the crochet bands around his nephew’s wrists.

“Those look neat! You think you could make me a pair?” Wayne asks you with hopeful eyes.

“Of course! And don’t you worry, I’ll even get them to match the beanie hat I’m still making for you.” You beam.

“Woah, woah. Wait a minute. He gets a matching hat?” Eddie inquires with a pout.

“Oh, like you haven’t stolen the first hat she’s made me.” Wayne chuckles.

“I didn’t steal. I borrowed.”

“For 4 whole months?”

“There isn’t a time limit for borrowing something. If there is, I’d like to see the rule.” Eddie challenges.

“I think you’re just jealous of us,” Wayne says, standing beside you with you nodding in agreement. “Why else would you take my gifts if not to have them all to yourself?”

“My girlfriend and my uncle in alliance against me.” Eddie laughs, shaking his head in bewilderment. “Didn’t think I’d see the day coming so soon.”

[jacarandaaaas]

Mirabel Madrigal: A Character Analysis

Today I’m here to discuss all the attributes that make Mirabel Madrigal such a fantastical and magical character despite not having any magic herself. it’s all in her charm! I truly believe that Mirabel is one of the best protagonists! Shes such an endearing, sensitive, and strong character so I’m here to offer her some appreciation.

Right from the beginning of the story, one of the first things we learn about our protagonist is her mantra “make your family proud”. This phrase is Mirabel's driving motivation for the entire film and from what we can assume, her entire life. Mirabel makes it no secret that she is family orientated and she is full of pride for them, wanting to be like them and live up to the madrigal name. She introduces us to her family in a fun song praising each member. To her they are a “perfect constellation”. They are always her number one priority throughout the story as we see how she supports her sisters and encourages them to be themselves. One moment I feel truly highlights her love for her family is at the climax of the movie, whilst she consistently has shown what lengths she's willing to go to for her family this moment stood out the most to me. After her intense argument with alma casita starts to fall apart, at this moment everyone is yelling at mirabel to get out of the collapsing house but mirabel isnt thinking about herself. She's thinking about her family and getting the candle for them. What really stands out to me is Mirabel was willing to sacrifice her own life for her family, an eerie parallel to what Pedro did for them all those years ago.

Something that we learn about Mirabel immediately is that she's a go-getter, she's determined and persistent. What we also come to realize is that sometimes Mirabel doesn't realize when she's being overly persistent to the point of coming off as pushy to others. Both Julieta and Isabela point out that Mirabel has a tendency to “over do it”. We see how she wants to be useful in any way and she's taken up a variety of hobbies to prove this. Mirabel's incredibly creative doing everything from embroidery and sewing to playing the accordion. It's no secret she's talented but she always feels like she needs to do more. Upon overhearing Alma talking about the cracks Mirabel decides in that moment “I will save the miracle”. Instead of rushing in without a plan Mirabel knows Dolores would have intel due to her gift therefore she would know the most about the magic. It's also important to note that Mirabel decides to save the miracle before she even knows anything about the prophecy, she took it upon herself to do that! At breakfast when trying to get information from Dolores Mirabel decides to try complimenting her into it, showing early on how unintentionally pushy she can be. After breakfast she's no better, Mirabel is so determined to get answers that even when Luisa is working, she's pestering her. Mirabel is so overly focused on her mission that she can’t see Luisa gradually becoming more frustrated. “Luisa will you just tell me what it is!”, she’s frustrated that Luisa isn't giving her any information but she also seems hurt that Luisa doesn't trust her enough to tell her. Showing how Mirabel desperately wants a better relationship with her sisters.

Mirabel is so persistent in getting information about the magic that she causes luisa to snap at her. When climbing Bruno's tower Mirabel perseveres, as she forces herself up an unusually long flight of stairs and is exhausted by the end of it. Yet Mirabel persists because “I need to do this, for you for abuela”. She's so determined in fact to find this vision that she almost dies, twice. Mirabel doesn't care about the risks, she's aware of them but it doesn't deter her. She's willing to look at the situation about Bruno from a different angle than everyone else, questioning “what if you didn't understand what he saw?”. Mirabel's entire verse in “we don't talk about bruno” is just her pressing for the truth, she wants the whole story not just one perspective and she's driven to discover it. We've already established by now that Mirabel's persistence can be dangerous and this holds true once again as she chases Bruno through the walls and almost falls into a chasm, in pursuit of answers. Bruno tries to leave but she still pursues him, no way she's leaving without an answer or multiple answers to her many questions, she also cleverly pieces together here that it was actually Bruno who's been patching the cracks all along.

Pushy Mirabel is back in full force when she gets the idea for Bruno to have another vision to which he’s not enthusiastic about and tells her no. But Mirabel’s no quitter and her sole focus in the moment is her mission, to save the miracle. So when Bruno tells her he doesn't do visions anymore, Mirabel casually replies “but ya could!”, another instance of her being too focused on her goal that she doesn't take into consideration how Bruno would feel about this. She has no bad intentions and like with Luisa earlier Mirabel is unaware how she sounds. She tells Bruno “our family needs help and you need to get outta here” and as she realizes how broken the family truly is, she's more determined than ever to help them. Even when bruno tries to give up during the vision Mirabel encourages him to keep going to find another perspective “something we’re not seeing?” she ends up inspiring Bruno with this viewpoint. Before she goes to confront Isabela Mirabel tells Bruno “after I save the miracle I’m bringing you home” showing how that's now become part of her mission. As Isabela reveals a massive secret Mirabel instead keeps pressing for that hug she assumes will solve all their problems, once again she's so focused on her mission she isn't paying attention to Isabela’s revelation. Mirabel's determination and persistence is admirable but it's also a character flaw for her as we see she often takes it too far unintentionally.

One of Mirabel's most noticeable traits is her optimistic outlook. She's full of energy as she dances through the town singing about her family and whilst we know she's insecure, her enthusiasm towards her family and home is completely genuine. Mirabel is a true extrovert as we see how much she loves interacting with her community and wanting to help in any way she can. We see how she's always trying to see the bright side. Mirabel is optimistic and bright but even she has her limits and can't be optimistic all the time, as her song tells us she's truly not fine. However despite all her pain she still chooses to be optimistic, to be loving and to be hopeful.

Arguably the two scenes I believe emphasize her optimistic nature the most are when she helps Bruno through the vision and the final song of the movie. During the vision Bruno is deflated, he doesn't believe in the idea and Mirabel simply offers him some words of encouragement “you can do this”, she's already showing Bruno that she has faith in him, something Bruno isn't used to. When he fails to see anything other than what was shown in his last vision Mirabel begs him to keep trying, she's always looking for a brightside and she ends up finding it. As for the final scene, when returning from the river Casita is still a pile of rubble in front of them, Mirabel however sees this as an opportunity. To rebuild casita with better, stronger foundations and a chance for the family to build stronger foundations too, “look at this home we need a new foundation”. Mirabel really grows into herself as she leads the rebuilding efforts with her persistence and optimism, inspiring the whole family to view things from a different perspective.

An underrated trait for Mirabel is her humor. No seriously she's hilarious! humor is shown continuously to be one of her coping mechanisms along with her optimism. Whilst she is funny Mirabel is also incredibly snarky particularly towards her older sister Isabela, she can come off as slightly judgemental at times, very teenage of her. Her jealousy peeks through during the opening song, but towards the end of it when she runs into Mariano she not so subtly disses Isabela (as Isabela is walking by) “between you and me she's kinda a primadonna”. Unlike the better disguised insults at the beginning mirabel is not even trying to hide her disdain towards isabela this time. This continues directly after the song as she goes back to casita, Isabela gracefully descends on her vines and Mirabel’s expression is hilariously unimpressed. When Isabela notices her she tells her to stop trying so hard, we see Mirabel actually seems upset by that comment but as soon as Isabela looks back at her she masks that sadness as she bites back “actually Isa this is called helping and i'm not in the way you are”. We also see her mock Isabela as previously mentioned, unable to hide her disdain towards her. Mirabel's humor as a coping mechanism is emphasized when she's climbing Bruno's tower, giving us a half assed reprise of “the family madrigal” and of course one of her most iconic lines “BRUNO YOUR ROOM IS THE WORST!!”. Mirabel is also incredibly petty, my favorite example of this is not only her rolling her eyes during Isabela’s solo verse of “we don't talk about bruno” but also how Isabela tells her during that “hey sis I want not a sound out of you” and Mirabel who was silent until this point starts singing immediately out of spite.

She's also slightly judgemental when she first encounters resident wall man Bruno Madrigal. She's weirded out by him and her face does not hide this, “how long have you been back here?” with that concerned tone also didn't help her case. Although in this case who could blame her for that reaction? It's not everyday you find your estranged uncle in the walls of your house. Mirabel is not thrilled when the vision reveals she has to hug Isabela, so much so that she begins ranting about how she hates her and gives us a line nothing short of pure gold. “She's the one with flowers coming outta her-'' Bruno had to remind her to keep it pg! Even when mirabel is meant to apologize to Isa she can’t resist making a snarky comment about her older sister “I’m sorry that your life is soooo great!” this ends up spawning an argument between the two in which Mirabel unceremoniously yells out “some of us have bigger problems YOU SELFISH ENTITLED PRINCESS!” which is quite a humorous moment but also really shows Mirabel’s jealousy towards Isabela. As Isabela admits a very huge secret Mirabel’s reaction is one of complete sarcasm “that is a very serious confession” despite empathy being Mirabel’s strongest trait somehow her hatred for isabela overpowers it.

Mirabel as a person is incredibly selfless, this is both good and bad in her case. Whilst caring about others so much is admirable like how mentioned previously Mirabel can go too far, putting her life on the line multiple times! In one movie! One of the first examples of her selflessness is shown during Antonios gift ceremony. Antonio is incredibly nervous and calls out to her saying “I need you”, it's already a hard night for mirabel in general as people have been reminding her “last gift ceremony was a bummer”. However despite already finding it hard she knows Antonio needs her and she walks him to his door taking a deep breath, pushing through her own traumatic memories to support her favorite cousin. This scene is incredibly admirable to me as it takes a lot of courage to force yourself to relive the worst night of your life for the sake of supporting someone else. Here it's an example of mirabels selflessness being a positive trait and not a dangerous one.

Hey you know what's a great combination with being selfless? Being reckless!! Unfortunately for mirabel we can also add stubborn to the mix. Which makes for an ultra combination of self sacrificing nature and putting her life in danger! Brunos room is a scene that truly highlights these traits, especially recklessness. Mirabel throws herself across a giant chasm using rope from the fencing around her and whilst her resourcefulness is impressive it's still incredibly risky. Which ties into her selflessness! Mirabel has very little regard for her own safety and is willing to die in that vision cave if it means she helps the family. Almost suffocating to death in sand just while trying to get the vision shards. Mirabel also throws herself across a chasm twice, the second time isn't as dangerous but initially it looks very dangerous. Mirabel knows it's dangerous and still recklessly persists. Once again revealing how little regard she has for her own safety.

Arguably the biggest case of Mirabel's selflessness is when she tries to save the candle as the house is crumbling around her. This was also her most reckless act of the whole movie as she ignores everyone yelling at her to save herself, she covers the candle and not her head when the debris is crashing down on her. Really highlighting just how little she cares about what happened to her in that moment, valuing a candle over her own life. As selfless as Mirabel is, there are also times she like anyone else, can be selfish. Mirabel herself is aware of this as she says to herself, “for you, for abuela… maybe a little for me” she sounds almost embarrassed by the fact part of her motivation for saving the miracle is proving herself, even if it's only a tiny part. Other moments she can come off as selfish is when she's pestering Luisa about the magic and being dismissive, as well as when she dismisses Isabelas revelation in favor of getting a miracle saving hug. Whilst technically Mirabel isn't being selfish here as she's doing everything for saving the miracle, to others she seems selfish. Another trait Mirabel has is stubbornness and this is really highlighted when Isabela is around. Possibly Mirabel's most stubborn moment of the entire movie, is when Isabela asks her to apologize. Even though Mirabel knows that doing this will help her save the miracle she can't bring herself to give a sincere apology.

I think something that is less talked about than it should be is Mirabel's guilt and tendency to blame herself. A scene that I feel truly highlights her guilt is when Bruno tells her that he left to protect her. Mirabels responds to this saying “you left to protect me?” and she almost sounds in disbelief at this realization. The look on her face here is also one of deep concern, whilst she appreciates that he would sacrifice so much for it also reinforces a thought that had always been on her mind. That she was the cause of all this, that Bruno left due to her own failure, whilst we know this is untrue I strongly feel Mirabel believes this. After all, Bruno did disappear the same night as her gift ceremony. She feels guilty that Bruno left because of her even if he tells her it was for good reason.

A smaller example of Mirabels tendency to blame herself is when she tells Bruno “I ruined her proposal”, whilst mirabel had part in ruining it she was also trying to prevent disaster and ultimately she played the smallest role in ruining Isas night, yet Mirabel still believes it was entirely her fault. The biggest moment for Mirabel's guilt is right after Casita falls, the candle goes out after Mirabel almost gives her life to save it. Believing it's entirely her fault she runs off when nobody is watching.

Mirabel's rock bottom moment is when she's by the river crying, feeling like she's ruined everything and doesn’t know what to do other than to let out all of her bottled emotions. It's important to note that whilst there’s many points she comes close to crying, this is the only time we actually see her let the tears fall. When Alma discovers her Mirabel's reaction is to apologize, “I'm sorry I didn't wanna hurt us, I just wanted to be something I'm not”, again placing all of the blame on herself when the entire family is at fault for casitas collapse. I find this reaction interesting as during the climax Mirabel blames Alma in her anger but when her attempts to save the miracle fail she believes it’s her and her only to blame. This is also incredibly sad as it just shows how riddled by insecurity Mirabel is.

Throughout this story Mirabel is a person ruled by her insecurities, she lacks self esteem and confidence in general. However she's great at faking it and a prime example of this is the opening song, “the family madrigal”. A fun, upbeat tune but the entire song happens because of Mirabel's insecurity. As the children are asking her questions about her gift Mirabel responds with “I can't just talk about myself” and deflects into talking about her family instead. Her love for her family is entirely genuine but she puts on a facade to hide her own insecurities from everyone else, overcompensating to make up for what she lacks. Hidden in the lyrics of the song are her real feelings of worthlessness and jealousy, this especially shows in lines that refer to her two older sisters. When telling the kids about Isabela she sings “grows a flower the town goes wild'', there's a clear sarcastic tone to her voice. This instantly introduces us to Mirabel's envy of her oldest sister and the strained relationship between the two. Her envy is strongest when she sings “she's the perfect golden child” with such longing, illustrating how she actually seems to admire her sister as well as resent her. When she's describing both sisters she sings “the beauty and the brawn do no wrong” implying that she unlike them does do wrong. As the kids pester her more and more her insecurities only grow stronger and she's desperately trying to avoid the question, “I never meant this to get autobiographical”. She stays true to her word and successfully avoids talking about herself for the entire song. At the end she's so desperate to get out of the situation and hide the fact she has no gift that she sings “my family's amazing and i'm in my family so”, trying to convince herself more than anyone else that she's amazing by association.

There's little instances where her insecurity comes out such as when Osvaldo points out multiple times how un-special she is, he turns away for a brief moment and mirabel's painfully strained smile drops before she slips back into her act effortlessly. She also tries to act like this insecurity doesn’t affect her, a great example is when Alma tells her to step aside and nods in response but her expression is pained. Mirabel is hiding her problems from everyone else, even lying to herself. We see just how deep her insecurities go as Alma only tells her to step aside from the decorations but Mirabel interprets this as to stay away for the whole night, so when the whole family is out in the crowd she hides behind the curtain. When Alma tells Antonio that he got “a gift just as special as you” it forces Mirabel to remember when those very same words were said to her, and her smile fades away, her insecurities coming out. Most obviously, her insecurities are on full display during her solo number, “waiting on a miracle”, if you’re interested in more about that song I have a waiting on a miracle analysis !

The song starts with Mirabel pushing down her feelings as usual telling herself she's fine and she shouldn't be upset because the night isn't about her. In the song Mirabel refers to her pain as “unspoken” and “invisible”, displaying how she's not only been lying to everyone around her feelings but also to herself. When Mirabel tries to explain the cracks, Julieta doesn't seem to believe her and Mirabel believes it's because she “might not be super strong like Luisa or effortlessly perfect like senorita perfecta Isabela”. Whilst she's coming from a place of envy she's also speaking from insecurity here, believing that the only reason she isn't being taken seriously is because of her lack of a gift. When Julieta still doesn't believe her Mirabel appears to be hurt by this refusing to open up to her mother. Until she meets Bruno, Mirabel has actively been repressing all her insecurities and focusing solely on her mission. However when she realizes how similar she and Bruno really are, she's comfortable enough to fully open up about her insecurities for the first time. She admits her greatest fear and gets emotional about it, proving just how repressed those feelings are. When it's revealed in the vision she has to hug Isabela Mirabel starts ranting about how Isa hates her and seems like she has no faith in herself that she's able to do this.

One moment that truly highlights her insecurity is when Alma blames her for everything and she finally admits in front of the family that she feels she will “never be good enough for you”. A sharp contrast to Mirabel's denial at the beginning of the movie. In this moment, Mirabel has the courage to stand up not only for herself but for the entire family. Whilst we seen in previous scenes she can defend herself “I’m not doing anything! It’s Bruno’s vision”, here she fully commits to calling alma out in front of everyone. Whilst it’s painful for Mirabel to do, we see her come to the realization that this conversation is necessary. “He loves this family, I love this family we all LOVE this family!”. After this argument Mirabel is heartbroken and so insecure to the point of running to risk her own life just to prove something, anything to her abuela. Her character arc comes full circle at the ending of “all of you” when she looks at the doorknob and finally acknowledges herself for who she is, no longer a person controlled by her insecurities but one who's willing to challenge them.

Empathy & emotional intelligence are what I believe to be Mirabel's biggest strengths as a character. They’re often traits I see people try to argue make her weak, but I heavily disagree, I believe these traits are what make Mirabel such a resilient character. One of my favorite scenes in the whole movie is one where Mirabel's empathy truly shines, when she finds Antonio under her bed. This scene happening so early in the movie yet being so intimate and gentle instantly made me love Mirabel as a character. Her demeanor in this scene is so warm and loving. She knows Antonio is nervous about turning out like her yet she pushes her own feelings aside to support him, “you're gonna open that door and it's gonna be the coolest ever I know it”. This also showcases another strong trait of Mirabels, her emotional intelligence. She's able to gauge that Antonio is scared and needs comfort and she's willing to offer that to him. Antonio is still doubtful, questioning if it doesn't work and once again Mirabel reassures him, referring to the scenario as “impossible”. It's a very cute scene that sets up Mirabel and Antonios relationship. Mirabel's empathy shines here as there were many moments she could have made this about herself but she chooses not to. Other instances of Mirabel's recurring empathy are when she hugs Luisa offering her comfort ,some of her interactions with Bruno as well as when she empathizes with Isabela during their song. During “what else can I do”, Mirabel is able to admit she was wrong about her sister saying she barely knew her but Isa “changed” her mind, realizing that she finally understands Isabelas perspective.

A key scene for me that demonstrates both Mirabel's empathy and emotional intelligence is the “dos oruguitas” scene. After Alma shares her tragic past with Mirabel, despite Mirabel being upset, her reaction to Alma's story is an empathetic one. She tells her abuela “I can finally see” showcasing how similar to isabela, Mirabel finally sees her grandmother's perspective. Her emotional intelligence shines here as upon realizing the truth behind Alma's actions, she changes the words she spat so venomously during their argument. Stating that they were saved because of Alma and given a miracle because of her, she also tells her abuela that “nothing could ever be broken that we can't fix together” highlighting Mirabel’s growth and emotional maturity over the course of the film. Once again, as mentioned in the scene with Antonio, Mirabel had every opportunity to make this moment about her own suffering but she instead acknowledges Alma's feelings and offers her a chance to rebuild their relationship. Perhaps even the chance for forgiveness in the future.

These traits display for me what makes Mirabel such a well rounded and memorable character. Despite her flaws I adore how mirabel has always had her family's best interest at heart. She learns and grows a lot throughout this story and to me her flaws are what make her more interesting to follow and her flaws dont take away from her many positive traits. She's not a perfect protagonist, she's just a good person trying to help her family any way she can. She’s unapologetically loving and empathetic and willing to do anything for her family. To quote Stephanie Beatriz herself: “ I think one of the greatest things about this story is that she dares herself to go on that journey. I think that is so special because its telling an audience many of them impressionable young people, that by daring yourself to believe in yourself, you could possibly become the hero of your own story.”

[vashvenus]

★ミ serpentine.

synopsis: naga knives has a sort of morbid fascination with you than manifests in a strangely sexual manner.

contains: naga/serpent knives, knives’ taxidermy hobby is mentioned, sort of medical? but he’s just exploring and weird, dubcon i think?, he has two weewees, and afab reader. 3.5k words.

note: teehee!! this is a (late) christmas present for my BEST FRIEND!! my cool, adorable, and wonderful bff @knivesbunny <33 hehehe enjoy bee + everyone else!!

it was about time you moved on in the world. getting a fresh start in the form of a cozy cabin at the edge of the woods sung your name and the price point was staggeringly low so, after confirming there were no safety hazards, you took the place. with dark wood and muted tones alongside a beautifully kept garden by the previous owners, how could you possibly go wrong? well, ‘wrong’ is an arbitrary term and ultimately up to the individual for judgement.

your moving process went without a hitch. furniture and belongings all being placed properly following a good deep clean plus a couple coats of paint, things any place would need upon a new owner arriving. you'd been rather happy at the final product, something dreary at first taking the form of your own home; a fond word. trinkets, cupboards of dishes, and an amalgamation of photos and artworks lining the walls to create an atmosphere you almost wished you could share but, alas, a solitary life was your preference.

the garden out back was complete with a greenhouse tucked to the side, surrounded by an abundance of flora and fauna that also colourfully dotted the rest of the greenery. small plots had been sectioned out for different fruits and herbs and the idea of being able to grow a large quantity of your own food was an exciting new feeling, one that you couldn't wait to grasp. thusly, it wasn't long until you found yourself kneeling in the grass and working new seeds into the dirt. a variety of the basics alongside some of your favourites was the route of action, one also deemed reasonable. between fondly nestling new seeds and sipping at cool beverages, the thought of the greenhouse slowly slipped your mind despite how vital it was to your task. swiping the gathered sweat from your forehead, you rose up to analyze your progress to which brought your eyes back to that small addition cozied up to the side of the property. the bags of dirt and tools resting on the ground would need a place to go after all... so, you wandered over to that little building and fiddled with the door.

the wooden door was slightly overgrown and gave you a good fight to open, weeds and rust seemingly actively working to keep you out of the space. stepping back, you looked it over a bit more, not wanting any splinters, before pressing your shoulder into it for added force. with a combined 'bang' and 'groan,' the door scraped across the inner concrete floor before coming to a stop about three quarters open. you huffed and slipped in, cursing the rotten chunk of wood and attempting to get a good look at what you were working with. eyes glazing over various rickety shelves, a sharp and icy chill rolled down your spine. a small nagging voice in the back of your head whispered ‘something isn’t right,’ in response to the unusual, for lack of better words, appearance of the inside.

atop aforementioned delicate shelves lay different jars full of an indistinguishable liquid and what appeared to be organs, small ones so hopefully not human, as well as a range of entire animals fully submerged in their own watery tombs. wind chimes made of bones twinkled from the ceiling above firmly locked chests and you weren’t totally sure you were interested in the contents. the previous owners, an old couple, didn’t seem like the type to hoard such morbid trinkets but sometimes it’s the most innocent ones, you figure. still, the lingering idea of this being the work of some beast that had chased them away from their lovely home rattled at the back of your mind ominously. shifting on shaky knees and feet, you contemplated poking around a bit but rationality told you to at least find a sturdy pair of gloves first. though, as it would seem, the choice wasn’t yours to make judging by that same yet more aggressive scraping and slamming door.

whipping around, you came face to face with… a man? one with frosty eyes, near white hair, and a scowl that could skin you alive. more importantly, he was hanging from the ceiling of the small shed you were now trapped in; stuck. with him. this… not quite man, if your judgment of his long serpentine looking lower half meant anything. all wide eyes and dry mouth, you gaped helplessly at him, attempting to find some sort of explanation for what exactly you’re doing, as if this isn’t your property he’s on. his eyes turned to slits seeing you fumble for words and, with an amount of grace that shouldn’t be possible, he slithered off the ceiling to instead… stand? lay? rest? you’re not too sure but he’s in front of you now right side up. pupils merely scratches inside his powdery blue eyes, you fear he’s deciding if you’ll make a good meal and you’ve half the mind to assure him you’re not as tasty as he may think. alas, he speaks before you get the chance.

“name,” it’s a simple but firm commanding question you weren’t quite expecting but, to be real, what were you expecting from an interaction with a snake man? you stutter out a whimper of a reply and he clicks his tongue; it’s forked, you note. with all confidence you can muster, not much, you promptly for his own. he hums low. “millions knives. shorten it to knives at most. don’t dare to give me any sort of nickname, as you humans often do; it’s abhorrent,” and you’re shocked he’s so eloquently spoken. perhaps there’s snake people schools you aren’t aware of?

“right. noted, millions knives,” you hesitate, not keen on irritating him further, as clearly just your presence has perturbed him, “i… apologize if i’ve intruded but… this is my property after all. some sort of explanation on your,” you gesture widely at the space, “hobby would be appreciated.” your poor attempt at mimicking his speech pattern has him letting out a chuckle that sounds more like an array of chitters. palms sweaty and desperately avoiding eye contact, you gulp hoping he’ll entertain your question before potentially swallowing you whole; snakes can do that. his tail flicks your shin jolting you to bring your eyes back to his, admittedly handsome, face.

“my… hobby, hm? it’s nothing to you,” a disappointing response, “were you hoping i’d have a jar your size, little human?” you’re positive he’s making fun of your fear yet somehow his words feel flirtatious in a way that has your brain swinging like a pendulum between crying out of petrification and placing a hand on his built chest. “i’ve been watching you for some time now. you’re utterly,” his tail wiggles up to grip your waist, “fascinating. a perfect experiment.” if he didn’t sound like he was flirting before, he sure does now.

his words were true to an extent beyond your knowledge. ever since the first tour you took of the place, he had kept an eye on your every move. knives hadn’t found an ounce of appeal in new people moving into the small home but, if he had it his way, it would turn abandoned for him to find sanctuary in. alas, the housing market wasn’t on his side as people inspected the place top to bottom and he was stuck merely seething beyond view; that was until you came along. all bright smiles and eager nods, he was beyond irritated with the way he found you undeniably irresistible. something so... keen would make a lovely study after all, he thought, though destroying you utterly and completely was off the table for he'd never be able to poke and prod at you after that. unfortunately, in the time it took for him to mull over a game plan, your first visit was over and he slithered back into the thick woods while scowling; unfair. the jump knives felt in his heart upon your second visit was one that caught even him off-guard, an emotion towards humans beyond that of revolt? unheard of and vile. yet, he was the one who had it and couldn't simply deny that he was feeling something beyond curiosity. your scent, perhaps? he muses over a handful of biologically reasonable conclusions for his reaction to a distantly nodding vash whos already figured out the truth. he saves it though, as to not have his other arm lobbed off, and instead hums along agreeing to every point with faint amusement.

it's with thoughts racing past at speeds no human could match, that knives brings himself back to the present, large palms and boney fingers coming to trail your jaw. another flick of his tongue appears between the grin now forming along his pink lips and impossibly long teeth; even a playful nip would draw extensive blood. he makes a sound between a hiss and growl as one sharp nail trails along your neck down to your sternum slowly, as if assessing a piece of meat; perhaps, in a way, he was. silvery tail wrapping around your left ankle, he tugs your leg up with his head dipping to peer curiously at the limb. you can't really blame him considering legs are the only human trait he lacks but the unsettling nature still makes you shiver. knives takes turns with each of your legs and arms, taking them in at all angles and seemingly pleased with what he was seeing. sure, he wasn't fond of humans at all but, he can appreciate when one is well made; easy on the eyes. a slightly morbid fascination, maybe. finally letting you go from his clawed grasp, he nods, satisfied.

"alluring. remove these pesky clothes," he scrunches up his nose while pinching the fabric of your shirt, "and seat yourself atop that cabinet." his gaze never once easing up, you're between bolting or following his instructions. the former would rely on you being stronger and faster than the behemoth of a man-snake standing directly in front of the door and you're positive you'd be dead two steps in. with trembling fingers, you pull the dirt dusted shirt from your body and shiver at cool air ghosting across your bare chest, only held back by the simple bra clinging to your breasts. you swallow thickly before shimmying off your denim shorts past your thighs and awkwardly down your feet. having not removed your socks or shoes, it was quite the task, but potential tetanus from the rickety floors wasn’t on the menu today. knives found amusement in your struggle, if the chittering in front of you meant anything though, in truth, he was rather charmed. such clumsy behaviour almost reminded him of a newborn bunny. face flushed, you finally unclasp your bra and slip off your panties with no more grace than your shorts had been discarded with, before perching yourself on the cabinet knives had dully gestured to.

“is this… is this good?” the words slide past your lips before you let them, sounding too pleading for your liking but knives seemed to enjoy that despite a hum being all he offered in return. his strong chest was quickly in front of your eyes, curse his fast snake body, while his hands found purchase on your legs again. with one palm on each of your knees, he gently eased them open, nearly purring at the sight.

“you’re something of a gem, hm?” his voice was low, hands inching up your thighs with sharp nails leaving a trail of goosebumps. “how very kind of you to welcome me with such a,” the forked tongue of his makes a third appearance, “wonderfully prepared gift? such a lovely homeowner…” though sarcastically sweet in tone, his words did nothing but shoot directly between your legs. “i’ve got a keen nose, little rabbit, are you enjoying being my area of study?” his gaze was hard as he looked at you down his nose and from between long lashes. “your most intimate nodes are crying out ‘yes’.” he presses against your folds to spread them with feather light fingertips, much like one would a dissection. spreading you softly, his head tilts to one side while his eyes seem to slowly drag up and down the weeping slit of yours he's not fully exposed. knives wedges himself fully between both of your legs as to not allow you to close them and his other hand joins in on the fun, prodding softly at your entrance. he seems to revel in the small whimpers you make, crystalline tears clinging to your lashes from a mixture of desperation and humiliation at letting him do such to you so easily.

employing a sort of gentleness and patience you didn't think he had, knives slowly eases in one of his fingers down to the second knuckle before pulling it out with a wet 'schlick' to wrap his mouth around it. the taste seemed to please him based on his own moan and he returned to his previous ministrations, softly thrusting the finger in and out of you. with the hand that had been used to spread you, he smoothly switched to rolling gentle circles over your clit, eyes still fixed firmly on watching the way your body reacts. a second finger accompanies the first in its delicate rock, encouraging more of the sweet sticky essence of you to drool out and across his hands. panting and whining, you buck pathetically into his hands with closed eyes and red bitten lips; you miss the way he slides to his knees. for a man so large he is more than quiet, something you can't match with the harsh suckling on your clit coaxing loud cries from you. his mouth curls the slightest bit with a smug smile and you can feel it past the swirling of his tongue and sharp incisors teasing your skin. briefly, you hope he won't bite. the soft plunging motions of his fingers turns harsh alongside the movements of his mouth. he seems eager to have you unravel on his face and, despite your own tattered pride, you can't stave off the shuddering of the orgasm that washes over in the most intense waves you've ever felt. embarrassingly loud slurps echo around the small shed as knives continues his own motions with glee. it's only when you gently push at his forehead that he shifts backwards and up, allowing you some reprieve from what he had just done. you're breathless, to say the least, having been made to come so shamefully on the handsome mouth and hands of this stranger but somehow you don't feel as though you were the only one who had fun despite his firm acclaims of experimentation.

you're struggling to regain your breath while knives looks you over with thinly veiled lust, you figure teasing him for it wouldn't go well so you restrain despite the thick atmosphere begging for some reprieve. while still gasping for air and shaking the post-orgasm fog from your head, he's pushing you down with his body weight and adjusting the way you lay across the cabinet to his personal preference; legs bent around his waist and hand beside your head. with hazy eyes, you look down to catch the way not one but two thick cocks slide out from the slit they had previously been held in. hanging heavy but curved up slightly, thick arousal is pooling at the tips and you think you can see ridges along the base of each. your jaw is slack as knives lets out another one of those chittery laughs.

"scared, bunny? no need, i'll make it work," his smarmy expression is nearly enough to have you shooting something snide back but he's lining up the tip of the lower cock and sinking himself in faster than you can think. "let go of any premonitions, this will be mutually beneficial."

if you could have any thoughts, they'd be nothing more than slurred curses but with the thickness and impossible length occupying and stretching your insides, you're rendered incapable. he's slow enough to give you some time to adjust but still fast enough that your body can't quite keep up with what he's giving; a pleasurable form of purgatory. knives allows his hands to wander your body, one coming to grip and gather your wrists to now rest above your head while the other fondles your breasts harshly. he's grabbing you in a way that feels inexperienced and almost charming though the harsh penetration is tearing you away from the idea. knives trails his hand from your breasts, to your stomach, and back up to grip your throat as he finally bottoms out inside of your tight heat. the wetness and warmth covering him is seeping out and down his tail to leave a lewd trail of combined juices he briefly admires the shimmer of before he's sliding himself out and roughly back in with a resounding slap. a high and needy sound escapes your throat as the tip of his cock taps your cervix and the rest of it rubs across your walls, eagerly taunting all of what's to come. the hand around your throat compresses your blood flow just enough to have your head feeling like it's full of cotton and your body even more pliant for his use. nails tilt your chin to have you make eye contact with the man currently deep in your guts, a glittering and dangerous grin spread across his face. with your eyes on his, knives begins pounding into you with earnest.

all of the sounds that leave you are high-pitched and warbled with unshed tears borne of the hand around your neck and stretch of your cunt. he's letting out strangled grunts and eager clicks at the grip of your wet pussy trying to milk him dry. his second cock his sliding against your clit and lower stomach with every harsh thrust he gives you, rubbing and pulling pleasurably. all of your nerve endings feel ablaze with the way he's using your body in a way that's filled with determination. his head drops down to make contact with your shoulder, his mouth sliding up your neck to replace his hand and add plentiful marks along the untouched skin; he figures an array of bruises will decorate it better than any necklace. dark indigo and rouge dappling the skin as blood comes to the surface, he's enamoured with how it looks tainting your flesh. both of his hands are now around your hips to hold you still for every pump of his cocks along and into your body, forcing you to take it all in full. you're crying with your back arched and chest forced to the ceiling as he continues his fast pace with teeth grazing your nipples. knives is biting numerous times across your tits, imprints of his fangs left in the wake akin to a path on a trail; he's oddly proud of his work. you're beyond your own body, desperate for him to bring you to a second high of the day, hips trying in vain to undilate against his own but his grip is too firm; his unnaturally strong. tongue flicking at your nipples, one cock deep in your guts, and the other beating against your clit, it's not long before you're babbling useless pleas for him to not stop. through choked sobs and moans, you're falling to pieces with his cock nestled deep inside of you. your brain is blank as lights splatter across your vision, eyes rolled to the back of your head and drool leaking from the corners of your mouth. still, his heavy rutting hasn't ceased. every limb of yours is twitching as sobs move past your lips without permission and your hands slide from his grip to claw uselessly at his back from overstimulation until knives is letting out an otherworldly growl as he sinks to the hilt one final time. you can feel the thick ropes of his seed coat your insides as his body curls around you protectively; a mating instinct maybe. he's grumbling lowly as an impossible amount of his spend leaks in and out of you with each twitch of his shaft.

you're still feeling a touch foggy when he pulls out, globs of shared slick pooling beneath you. knives is assessing your form critically, hands and eyes sliding over every bruise and bite left behind from his own roughness. it's almost sweet, how he seems to care for your well being despite his words claiming otherwise, and you simply allow yourself to enjoy the way he's fussing over you. once satisfied, he nods to himself and moves to scoop you up in his arms despite your small whines of protest but your indignation doesn't last long as he slithers you both over to your home, mumbling something about a shared bath; for purely experimental purposes, of course.

[shunin-gumis]

Designs of Happiness - Track A06

L4mps Main story Translation

Title: Cafe369’s New Flavored Bun

Characters: Toi, Daniel, Netaro, Nagi

Summary: To find the fated person who would lead him to his brother, Toi guides the protagonist to the local meatbun shop. But as they were about to enter, strange noises echo throughout the premises… 

JP Proofreading: aca @463ce6 and tsukimi @rurumiiii on twt EN Proofreading: jes @arcanecrayonn and tsukimi @rurumiiii on twt

Also big thanks to you three for helping me with Netaro speech!

Location: A Town in HAMA

Toi: Ani-sama… please be safe, wherever you are… I’ll bring you back soon… 

Momiji: He’s been praying this whole time we were walking… I can tell he loves his brother very much.

Momiji: 5 minutes to 11 pm… 

Momiji: Toi-kun, how’s it going? It’s almost 11 pm, do you think we can make it in time?

Toi: It’s ok, we’re almost– Ah!

Toi: That’s the place! I’m sure of it!

Location: Cafe369

Momiji: Wait, this is Cafe369… 

Daniel: You been here before?

Momiji: I’ve dined here once, with Akuta-kun. It’s advertised as a meat bun shop, but there are  quite the unusual variety of buns sold here, including fillings other than meat… All of which are equally delicious.

Toi: Wow, it’s wonderful to see fate already at work again!

Daniel: I’m glad yer getting along with those kids but– Was this meatbun place always here?

Toi: Eh?

Momiji: What are you talking about? This place has been around for a long time. Right, Toi-kun?

Toi: Even though I’ve never gone in before, I do remember passing by it often… But, when did they first open…? 

Momiji: Now that I think about it, I’m not sure either… 

Daniel: I swear this was just an empty lot until recently though… 

Momiji: But… it’s right there.

Toi: Right?

Daniel: … Well, whatever. Can’t say much when it’s right in front of us. Maybe I’m just rememberin’ it wrong.

Daniel: …Hm?

Daniel: That’s… You two go on ahead.

Momiji: Daniel-san? Where are you–

Momiji: Aaaand he’s gone… Well, I guess the two of us can go in first. Though, considering how late it is, the shop might be closed already… 

Toi: That’s true… 

Toi: Ah, there’s a notice put up on the entrance.

Momiji: “Temporarily closed for ingredient procurement”...? No way–

*loud explosive noises*

Momiji: Woah!?

Toi: *startled gasp*

Momiji: Ah, did it stop…?

Momiji: What was that just now? So loud too… 

Toi: It came from inside the cafe! Maybe someone’s in trouble…!

Momiji: That may be so, but…  

Momiji: We don’t know what went down in there, so I don’t think heading in without Daniel-san would be a good idea… 

Momiji: Toi-kun, you should wait here–

???: Boo!

Pet Robot: Bwoo!

Momiji: AAAHHHHHHH!!! 

Toi: AAAHHHHHHH!!

???: WOOOAHH!

Toi: Eek…!

???: Ahaha~ Did I frighten you?

Momiji: H-huh? This person is… 

~~~(flashback)

???: Hrmm… Indeed, I do catch a whiff of it around here but…

Momiji: …..

???: You, human.

???: Tell me, would you know where my missing item might have wandered off to?

~~~(end flashback)

Momiji: Ah! You were the person who came by HAMA house the other day!!

???: Hm?

???: Oh~ You’re from that place where that green-pea canine resides. 

Momiji: Yes, I remember you saying you were in the mood for some green peas… So you’re the owner of this cafe? 

Toi: Um, do you know this person?

Momiji: I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say that… We did have a chat in passing a while ago. 

Toi: … Is that your pet robot next to you? Good evening, little one.

Laika: La~ i~ ka~

Momiji: So your name’s Laika! It’s nice to meet you.

Cafe Owner?: More importantly, do you have time to spare right now? I’m in a bit of a pickle, you see~

Momiji: In a... pickle?

Cafe Owner?: I simply do not have enough hands to get the job done right now… At this rate, perhaps it would be better if I just have this entire place go up in flames… 

Momiji: Huh!? That’s more than just a “bit” of a pickle!

Toi: We’ll help you however we can! I’m sure that’s the reason we were guided here! 

Cafe Owner?: Ooh~ How wonderfully helpful indeed! 

~~~

Location: Inside Cafe369

Momiji: Woah, I can barely see in here… 

Momiji: Toi-kun, are you alright? Maybe it’d be better if you just wait outside… 

Toi: I feel terribly lonely and afraid without Ani-sama but… I can’t just stand back when I know this path will lead me to him! 

Cafe Owner?: Shh–! Hush now! Lower your volume, lest we be overheard by the pesky trespasser!

Momiji: An intruder!? Are you sure it’s not just a customer or an employee who got lost…? 

Cafe Owner?: Indeed.

Toi: Oh no…!

Cafe Owner?: This is a tale of what unfolded this very evening, when I was about to take a respite… I had been in the middle of picking my brain, pondering what new ingredient I could possibly stuff into my meat buns, when suddenly, my sixth sense went zing! and… EUREKA!

Cafe Owner?: It drew my attention to the fact that there was a suspicious individual inside the building, watching me…!

Toi: Eek… 

Cafe Owner?: I could sense their gaze drilling into me…  And so, I took a big gulp, steadied my beating heart… and BAM! I turned right around to face them!

Cafe Owner?: But alas, their presence had already faded away like mist… I’m certain the fellow is still lurking somewhere, within these walls… 

Laika: Lurker.

Momiji: … I really, really hope he’s not talking about a cockr*ach… 

Toi: What do we do if they’re a bad person… I’m not really strong so… 

Cafe Owner?: This particular individual is adorned with wings, sips the sweet nectar from blossoms, scatters pollen across the lands, and wields a deadly stinger….

Momiji: Wait… 

Toi: That’s… 

Laika: Bzzz… 

Toi: A bumblebee?

Cafe Owner?: Indeed, you got it right.

Toi: Yay!

Momiji: So all those explosions we heard were from when you were trying to… deal with the bees?

Cafe Owner?: Ehehe~ I simply had to have my hands on them, so I made a little bit of a mess, you could say. Back home, we don’t have these critters–

Cafe Owner?: Bees… Insecta class: Hymenoptera. This order includes both bees and ants, and as implied by the etymology, they are classified by their transparent but membranous forewings and hindwings.

Cafe Owner?: All hymenoptera are capable of undergoing complete metamorphosis. While ants are not as widely recognized as being part of the order, the others are generally considered so.

Cafe Owner?: These include Siricidae, Tenthredinidae, Pamphiliidae, Cimbicidae, Argidae, Orussidae, Evanioidea, Ichneumonoidea, and much more… 

Cafe Owner?: Such variety~ It certainly follows that there even exist cultures that consume insects! I must also mention, they are explosively nutritious as well!

Cafe Owner?: And so~  As you may have put two and two together, I had set up various, perhaps potentially dangerous, contraptions to ensnare some of these critters so that I may procure some fresh ingredients. This is all for the sake of experimenting with new flavors for my buns, you see!

So here, catch this!

Momiji: Woah, hey…!

Momiji: This is… a fishing reel…?

Cafe Owner?: It would be unwise to space out at this time, lest you commit a blunder.  Make sure to hold it properly!

Momiji: Sorry, that was an… extraordinary amount of information you just dumped on us. I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed for a moment there… 

Toi: You must be an expert on bumblebees!

Cafe Owner?: Ho ho ho!

Momiji: So, what am I supposed to do with this reel?

Cafe Owner?: You must reel it in at my signal. In the event the pest escapes the trap, I must give chase immediately. So, you will have to spin the reel in my stead!

Momiji: O-okay, got it… Well, I didn’t get it at all but if this helps you, then I’ll do it.

Toi: Please give it your best pull!

Momiji: I’ll give it my all.

Cafe Owner?: …..

Toi: ….. 

Momiji: ….. 

???: Um–

Cafe Owner?: NOW—!!!

Momiji: Got it!!!

Momiji: This is some heavy reel…! Since it’s so sturdy, it should be alright even when pulling in a heavy load…!

Momiji: The grip on this handle is good, and the line seems pretty strong! There’s little drag too– I’m sure we can haul in a big one!

Toi: Wow! You sound just like a professional fisherman! 

Momiji: Ahaha…! All of that info was drilled into me… by a friend of mine… named Kafka…! 

Momiji: C’mon!

Momiji: We’re… bringing… you… home…!

Momiji: *grunts*

Momiji: Got it…! 

Cafe Owner?: Huzzah!

Toi: Wow, that’s a big bumblebee… (?)

Momiji: Huh…?

Momiji: That’s… a human, right?

Cafe Owner?: Bumbling humans are acceptable ingredients as well!

Momiji: What!?

Daniel: Yo! I’m pretty sure the SR parked outside is the bike that fella had–

Nagi: …..

Daniel: What, found him already?

Momiji: Daniel-san… Please help me get him down…!

Notes:

Netaro’s Bug Report: Siricidae | Tenthredinidae | Pamphiliidae | Cimbicidae | Argidae | Orussidae | Evanioidea | Ichneumonoidea Also in the original Japanese, I believe they either typo’d the bug family names of Argidae (In script: ミツフシハバチ科, Correct name: ミフシハバチ科) and Orussidae (In script: ヤドリギキバチ科, Correct name: ヤドリキバチ科) or they are somehow two new bug families in the future.  The pdf I referred to is the Hymenoptera classification by Hirohiko Nagase

Green-pea canine is what Netaro calls Shuumai.

The Hachi Pun: Netaro wants to capture a bee(ハチ hachi in Japanese) to test them out as a new flavor for his buns, so he set a trap. But in the end it was actually Nagi (whose last name is Hachinoya) who was caught in the trap. 

Nagi’s bike is the Yamaha SR400, or at least a futuristic bike modeled after one.

<- Previous | Next ->

Masterlist

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Catra is a Mary Sue.

i can already hear the aggressive clicking of keyboards as fans write an essay on how catra is flawed and therefore not a mary sue. but just stay with me here. here's what TV tropes has to say about this archetype:

“The prototypical Mary Sue is a female character in a fanfic who obviously serves as an idealized version of the author mainly for the purpose of Wish-Fulfillment. She's exotically beautiful, often having an unusual hair or eye color, and has a similarly cool and exotic name. She's exceptionally talented in an implausibly wide variety of areas, and may possess skills that are rare or nonexistent in the canon setting. She also lacks any realistic, or at least story-relevant, character flaws — either that or her "flaws" are obviously meant to be endearing.”

so.. let's run through the list, shall we? the exotically beautiful thing isn't really mentioned much in canon, but it's clear that catra was designed to be seductive and romantically appealing.

she certainly has her fair share of “unique” features with the heterochromia, the freckles, the fangs, the claws, and her other feline features. this isn't inherently a bad thing. it's okay to want your characters to look cool. besides, some of the other characters also have really defining features (except for adora who, despite being the protagonist, has the blandest character design ever. she doesn't even get a wardrobe change, outside of her new she-ra form. and don't even get me started on bow.)

“she's exceptionally talented in an implausibly wide variety of areas” — this definitely matches up with catra. she is supposedly the "lazy" cadet, the one who only shows up at the end of each training session and doesn't put enough effort into training. now i understand that she may still have had the potential to be a strong fighter, but you really mean to say that a teenager — who is rarely ever shown training or polishing her skills — easily beats up the evil dictator who conquered several regions and likely killed thousands of people?

i get that catra was just exploiting hordak's disability but if it was this easy to defeat hordak, wouldn't someone have done this sooner? even if he is disabled, he had to be intelligent and calculating enough to do what he did so far. but no, that's not the point here. catra didn't defeat hordak because she was somehow stronger or because hordak was weak. she defeated him because the writers wanted her to. she's a girlboss and she doesn't lose to anybody, not even a centuries old tyrant who has presumably conquered half of etheria.

“she also lacks any realistic, or at least story-relevant, character flaws — either that or her "flaws" are obviously meant to be endearing.”

yeah, you get the point. she's not flawless but most of her flaws are either swept under the rug or shown to be this cute and endearing thing. oh catra is possessive over adora and attacked her for making new friends? she's just so in love with adora. catra tried to commit mass genocide because of spite? she's just heartbroken because adora dumped her. catra constantly touches people without their consent and borderline harrasses them? she's just a cute disaster lesbian.

so there it is. catra is certainly a heavily flawed character but she's a mary sue (or a "jerk sue" as some people call these type of characters) because no matter what she does or who she hurts, she is forgiven and coddled. no one mentions angella's death in s5, not even glimmer who lashed out at adora earlier for the same reason.

all of catra's actions are just vaguely put as "she made some mistakes" or "she hurt people". making mistakes and hurting people can range anywhere from accidentally calling a person stupid to murdering someone's entire family, and spop doesn't mention where catra lies on that scale. because at the end of the day, all that matters is that catra gets a happy ending at the cost of the other characters' development and happiness. basically, a mary sue is like a blackhole. they are the “best” character, according to the author, and all the characters around them have to act horribly out of character so that this character gets all the spotlight.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Interested in Writing But Can't Seem to Write

Anonymous asked: I've been interested in writing since I was a child. Used to be a bookworm. Whole chapter books in one night, completely addicted as a form of escapism. My first real dream job was to be an author - I decided this at around 11 maybe. No matter how many phases I've had, I always return to wanting to be an author. I am 22 now. I have not written a single thing. I vaguely remember writing like, maybe 3 things at most. Incomplete works that I just had fun with. And this was before I even turned 14. But in all those years of "loving writing and books" and "wanting to be an author" I did straight up nothing. Didn't even contribute to fanfics for the fandoms I was deeply obsessed with (I do remember trying once but wasn't into it). At some point reading was out of my life too.

I'm going to start here, because of these conflicting statements:

-- "I have not written a single thing." -- "I vaguely remember writing like, maybe 3 things at most."

See the issue? ;) If you've written "maybe 3 things" you have written something. They may have been incomplete, and you may not even remember what you were, but that doesn't mean you should discount them. You have written. That experience is still in there somewhere.

One of my biggest pet peeves as a longtime writer is hearing newer writers refer to themselves as "aspiring writers." If you write, you're a writer. Period. It doesn't matter if you journal, write poetry, write fan-fiction, or wrote a middle-school round robin with friends where you all married your favorite K-Pop stars. You write. You're a writer. And, honestly, even if you're not actively writing right now, if you want to write--if you think about writing, are constantly jotting down story ideas and character names, and are eagerly gathering inspiration from all around you... guess what? You're still a writer.

Now I'm trying to take my interest in writing more seriously, but I just can't sit down and write. I'm good at storing notes and ideas and daydreaming what my stories are about, but nothing is ever produced. If I think about it I immediately lose interest - even if I am in fact still interested in writing and publishing? I'm very confused by my behaviour and I wonder if it's normal.

What you're experiencing isn't unusual. In fact, most writers experience it from time to time, though usually it happens at points further into the writing journey and not right at the start. But I still wouldn't call that "abnormal." It happens.

There are a hundred-million reasons why it happens, and the only way to figure out why it's happening for you right now is to do some soul-searching. At your age, I think a prime suspect would be that you're in the jumping off point for your adult life. This can be a tumultuous time for a variety of reasons, and your focus and energy may be naturally geared toward the things that help you explore and settle into this new phase of life. Even beyond that, if you have have a demanding job (including being a parent or caregiver), are going to school or studying for job-related tests/classes, or have a lot going on right now (multiple projects, lots of travel, lots of appointments and social commitments, etc.)--your focus and energy is probably running thin as it is, so finding a way to funnel what's left into writing is going to take some finesse. And that's if this is even the right time for it, which I'll get to later on.

Writing Stress = Writing Avoidance

One of the most mind-blowing things I've learned about writing is that writing avoidance often comes down to writing feeling stressful for whatever reason. If you're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to write, write a certain amount, meet goals or deadlines, that translates to stress. It makes writing stressful, and the problem with that is evolution has wired our brains to avoid things that are stressful. At its most basic level, stress is a response to danger--you hear a lion roar in the distance, it causes you stress, you turn and run in the opposite direction. Stress triggers the "fight or flight response," a defense mechanism that protects us from the impending danger. With writing, "fight" shows up as self-criticism. "Flight" shows up as avoidance.

So, if you find that you want to write but are avoiding it, it's worth considering if you're avoiding it because it feels stressful to you. If so, there are things you can do to de-stress writing. For one thing, let go of the notion that you have to write any particular thing or amount in order to be a writer. Set yourself a bare minimum writing goal to reach every day... like writing for 10 minutes. That can be any writing--journaling, writing prompts, working on a story, fleshing out story ideas, fluffy fan-fiction, poetry, writing down a favorite memory, doing a book or movie review, anything. Try to do it every day, but don't beat yourself up if you sit down and aren't able to write anything, don't write a lot, or never sit down at all. Just try, every day, do your best. Also, try setting up a writing routine that you do every day when you sit down for that little writing session. Try to pick the same or similar time each day, do a little meditation or stretch beforehand, put on some soft music or light a candle, get your favorite drink or small snack. If you do this almost every day, what you'll start to find is that the writing happens more and more easily. Eventually you'll be spend more and more time doing it.

Why can I say I'm interested in writing when I don't write at all?

I'm interested in traveling to England but I haven't yet and have no current plans to. Does that mean I'm not allowed to say I'm interested in traveling to England?

Being interested in something doesn't mean you have to do that thing right now or you can't say you're interested in it.

And even if you can't write right now for whatever reason, there are still plenty of writerly things you CAN do. Following writing blogs and vlogs is a good start. You can listen to writing podcasts and read writing craft books. You can keep a notebook full of plot and character ideas, setting inspiration, favorite quotes, interesting words, and overheard bits of dialogue. You can watch TV shows and movies (and read books, which includes listening to audiiobooks!) You don't even have to do these things all the time or everyday. Just periodically, when you can. It all goes into your creative well and will be there to draw from when you are able to write.

One final word...

You do not have to be in a hurry to be a writer or to be a published writer. The average age of first-time publication is mid-30s. I was mid-40s. Jane Austen was 35. Toni Morrison was 40. J.R.R. Tolkien was 45. Richard Adams was 52. Annie Proulx was 57. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65. National Book Award winner Harriet Doerr was 74. Poet Sarah Yerkes started writing poetry at 97 and was published at 101.

So, be interested in writing. Own that interest. Figure out if and how writing fits into your life right now. If it doesn't, do the other things. Fill your creative well so it will be ready when writing does fit into your life. ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Learn more about WQA

Visit my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

[horriblehistorieslandfill]

youve gotten me interested in horrible histories, could we get a lil rundown of it all? what is the idea behind it? :D

GLADLY !! I’m feel so honored that I was able to get you interested in this wonderful show :-) !! I’m assuming you’re only asking about the show BUTT you’re also gonna get an explanation about the books, Horrible Histories: Gory Games show AND the animated Horrible History characters too hehe

HORRIBLE HISTORIES 2009 SERIES:

Horrible Histories, a British sketch comedy and educational television series, first aired its 2009 season on CBBC. The show, primarily aimed at children, uses humor and parody to teach viewers about various historical events and figures. Each episode focuses on specific periods, cultures, or historical topics, presenting the information in a fun and engaging manner.

The series is based on the bestselling children's books of the same name by Terry Deary. It uses a combination of live-action sketches, animations, and musical numbers to make history more accessible and entertaining for its audience. The show's cast (Season 1 to 5), which includes Matthew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard, and Ben Willbond portrays a range of historical characters, often in a comedic or exaggerated manner.

Today’s Horrible Histories (Season 6 to 10) isn’t as much as loved compared to the older Seasons, and I see why. The main reasons as to why the recent Horrible History seasons aren’t as loved is because of some controversial topics and some rewrites of history (So I recommend maybe just watching the earlier seasons).

(Just a quick note that I do not support nor condone any of the controversial topics that were written in the recent seasons, the only reason why I visit the recent episodes are to fast forward to the parts to where they show the animated clips.)

Back to the older seasons, Season 1-5 shows a great way of explaining and presenting historical topics in a fun, harmless and amusing way to its audience. There are also a bunch of British references and subtle jokes that will get a laugh out of you. The songs are quite catchy too :-D

If you are interested in watching Horrible Histories, you could always go to the BBC Horrible Histories Iplayer website or use this google drive I found on Reddit to all the episodes of Season 1-5 !!

Pros of watching Horrible Histories:

COOL FUNFACTS THAT YOU CAN FLEX TO YOUR FRIENDS THAT DON’T KNOW JACK ABOUT HISTORY !!!!!

FUN CAST I ABSOLUTELYLOVE THE SIX IDIOTS GO CHECK OUT THEIR OTHER PROJECTS

FUNNY SIDE CHARACTERS LIKE DEATH, RATTUS, SAM, CLIFF WHITELEY AND MORE !!!!!

someone kissed a priest idk

THE SONGS ??? THEY’RE THE BEST I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM

Cons of watching Horrible Histories:

getting the Monarchs song stuck in your head for months

sad song ending :-(

there will never be another season of horrible histories with the original cast (six idiots)

Summary: silly history show that is hosted by a talking rat with a variety of fun signs and fun other characters like Death and a historical news report guy with ADHD. also uhm a lot of people really like Matt Baynton dick turnip for some reason

HORRIBLE HISTORIES BOOK FRANCHISE:

Horrible Histories is a series of non-fiction children's books written by Terry Deary. The books, published by Scholastic, delve into different periods of history, presenting facts in a humorous and often gory manner. The series aims to make history fun and engaging for readers by focusing on the unusual, terrible, and gruesome aspects of the past.

Each book in the series covers a specific historical era, such as the Awful Egyptians, the Measly Middle Ages, or the Terrible Tudors. The stories are told through amusing anecdotes, illustrations by Martin Brown, and timelines, often featuring shocking facts, jokes, and quirky characters. Some books also include activities, such as puzzles and quizzes, to further engage the reader.

The first titles in the series, “Terrible Tudors” and “Awesome Egyptians”, was published in 1993, and since then, the series has expanded to include more than 30 titles, covering various historical time periods and regions, like the Rotten Romans, the Vile Victorians, the Cut-Throat Celts and even gruesome guides to places you may know such as the USA, France, London and more !

The books have been translated into multiple languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. By presenting history in this unique and irreverent manner, Horrible Histories has played a significant role in making history more appealing to readers, helping to inspire their interest and encourage further exploration.

Martin Brown is an illustrator best known for his work with Terry Deary on the popular children's book franchise, Horrible Histories. He started off with illustrating greeting cards and now writes his own projects and draws illustrations for the recent Horrible History books such as “Up in the air”, “Right on Track”, Paws, Claws and Jaws”, and the upcoming new Horrible History book “The Truly Terrible History of the Toilet”.

Martin Brown’s illustrations play a significant role in the franchises' success, as they bring the gruesome and humorous aspects of history to life. His unique style combines a cartoonish aesthetic with realistic detail, creating a vivid and engaging visual experience for readers.

Besides reading the books, you could also play some Gruesome (not really, I just added that word for fun) Games like the Horrible Histories: The Board Game, Horrible Histories jigsaw puzzles, Horrible Histories Battle cards, Horrible Histories: Gruesome Game-A-Thons and many more !

Pros of reading Horrible History books:

FRIGHTENING FACTS !!!!!

MORE ILLUSTRATIONS !! PICTURE BOOKS 🔛🔝 !!!

dude the books are genuinely so fun theres pop up books, sicker activity books, coloring books, journals, puzzles and MORE ?????? also horrible history themed stationary stuff ANDD horrible history figurines which is like ,, well wicked.

Cons of reading horrible history books:

I haven’t ran into any cons yet so THATS A WIN FOR THE BOOKS !

Summary: READ THE BOOKS DAMN YOUR EYES !!!! god I absolutely love the books so much they’re so fun to read when ur bored and the illustrations were the reason why I even got into Horrible Histories so let’s all say “Thank you Martin Brown” I’ve learned so much from reading these books ANDDDD I spend less time on my devices woohoo !

HORRIBLE HISTORIES: GORY GAMES:

(I don’t know much about Gory Games because uhm I haven’t watched them yet I’m too busy watching Horrible Histories and the Beatles Saturday morning cartoons archived on youtube)

"Horrible Histories: Gory Games," a spin-off of the well-known BBC historical comedy sketch series, “Horrible Histories," is a children's game show that premiered in 2011. Created by the same team behind the original series, it's aired on CBBC. It also has a companion app for iOS and Android.

Hosted by Dave Lamb and Rattus Rattus, the show focuses on obscure historical facts. Three young contestants, known as "Horrible Historians," compete to collect "Year Spheres." These spheres represent years, either A.D. or B.C. Scoring A.D. years adds to their point total, while B.C. subtracts. The winner is determined by the contestant with the highest score after three rounds of historically-themed challenges or quizzes.

Pros of watching Horrible Histories: Gory Games:

THE ANIMATED CHARACTERS ARE THERE WHATT !! AMAZING RIGHT

You get to see Ben Willbond is a georgian costume

WATCH THE SHOW FOR YOURSELF I HAVEN’T WATCHED IT YET

Summary: if you wanna watch kids answer historical trivias then watch Horrible Histories: Gory Games (episodes can be found on youtube !!)

ANIMATED HORRIBLE HISTORY CHARACTERS:

(prepare for a long long LONGG explanation)

Canon/Official Information:

The reoccurring animated characters you may remember seeing in a normal Horrible Histories episode are probably the Rotten Romans soldier, Gorgeous Georgian lady, Frightful First World War british soldier or the Measly Middle Ages peasant. But do they have any background other than being a character from that era ?

[DING, DING, DING !]

These lovable but forgettable cartoon characters you’ve probably seen before make appearances in Horrible Histories: Gory Games, Horrible History book covers, Horrible History merchandise and even in the Horrible History games.

The animated/cartoon characters are used for the animated sketches or era headings in the 2009 Horrible Histories show. They also made multiple appearances in the Horrible Histories: Gory Games show, usually introducing the era topic, questions and answers. While most of the characters are recognized from the shows, almost all of them originated from the Horrible Histories book covers.

You may be surprised to hear that some characters have official names like this Victorian Gentleman, did you know his name was Howard ? Now you do.

How about this Tudor lady from an animated Terrible Tudors sketch ? Her name is Alice.

The Roundhead chief ? Oh yeah, his name is Victory.

We don’t get much information/background about these little shits, but when we do it’s usually shown in a subtle or way that wouldn’t be mentioned again. So what do I do ? LIST DOWN EVERY SINGLE FACT ABOUT THEM. (Probably not every single thing about them, but a lot of facts that you may not know !)

Since my discussion about the animated characters might be a bit too long, i’ll be breaking some of the subjects I’ll be talking about into 3 topics:

Canon facts

Fanon information (Things I made up about them)

Crabby Clash (Fanon once again !)

CANON/OFFICIAL ANIMATED CHARACTER FACTS:

The animated characters can interact with non-animated characters.

The mummy giggles alot

The Vicious Viking has a daughter (Fanon name: Eirunn)

The caveman is a father of 2 boys.

The Measly Middle Ages peasant’s family business is pig farming.

The Terrible Tudors headsman (Book cover character) does doodling

The (other) Measly Middle Ages peasant is a pilgrim.

The miner minor’s (Wales book cover character) father is shown in “When I grow up”

The Viles Victorian gentleman has a wife (Name unknown).

⬆️ He also sells cakes at science fairs !

The FWWI soldier has a trench mate (Shown in HH: Gruesome Game-A-Thons)

The Terrible Tudors Headsman has an official voice claim, voice actor unknown

There’s an animated HHTV News reporter named “Simon Skirmish” (Shown in “Protesting with Pankhurst” S9 EP3)

Animated Simon Cowell is canon in the animated Horrible Histories dimension

The Vile Victorian gentleman was ran over twice

I would name abunch of other facts I know, but I don’t want to make this post longer than it already is.

FANON INFORMATION:

(Note: This is just MY personal fanon opinions, other people have their own views, names and headcanons for these characters :-D)

Since BBC won’t give us more background about the animated characters, we’ll settle this the old way like any other fandom would; MAKE HEADCANONS !!!

Me and a few other HH fans gave most of the characters their own backgrounds and who they are, I’m truly taken back with what their creative minds came up with. You can check some of the names I’ve given the characters with the help of a friend in this post !!

I really don’t know where to start since there are so much fanon topics I could discuss right now, but here are a 2 topics I chose to discuss for now :-)

RELATIONSHIPS:

Headcanons:

(You may want to read the fanon names before reading my headcanons)

Ma-Nefer is blind (due to the fact that his pet falcon that Senouphis trained to rip his brother’s eyes out so he could become Pharaoh), his artificial eyes serve no purpose.

While Ma-Nefer was stuck at his burial, his only companion was a mummified cat he named “Geb”.

Senouphis gets a reoccurring nightmare where Ma-Nefer comes back from the dead and takes his revenge, of course that would never happen ,, yeah right.

Wycliff used to have a pet parrot, unfortunately he still hasn’t gotten over his parrot’s death.

They all hate Rattus (except for Médard aka the frenchie)

If Madeleine was ever to die during a bombing, Madeleine’s daughter would think of her doll as her mother and treat the doll as how Madeleine treated her.

Ma-Nefer is willing to forgive Senouphis.

Egbert is unaware that he’s related to the other medieval peasant.

Archie is the troublemaker, Toby is the problem solver.

Eirunn wants to be a vicious Viking just like her father, Ragnar supports her decisions but thinks that she shouldn’t be adventuring at her age.

Chopsalot loves plum pies he would devour one in SECONDS.

Rip Chopsalot you would’ve loved raisin muffins.

Ronnie likes to write poems and record his life in the trenches.

Lady Jane despises Egbert (peasants), she will not survive 5 seconds standing near him.

Benjamin is BALDING.

My mind has gone blank at the moment, so I don’t really know what else to say but I post a lot of animated HH character stuff so if you’re willing to listen to me ramble, then make sure to stay tuned :-)

CRABBY CLASH:

“What is ‘Crabby Clash’ anyways ?”

It’s an HHAC (Horrible Histories Animated Characters) AU where all historical periods/eras go to war against eachother, some eras/periods will have alliances while some will be on their own.

As of right now, I stil haven't figured out the alliances yet, but the whole story is completely up to you! Who wins in the Crabby Clash? Yes, that's the name of the AU (corny I know :-( ).

FUN FACTS about the Crabby Clash/HHAC:

The non-animated HH characters (Bob hale, Charles the II, Mike Peabody, Sue, Death, etc ..) are canon in the universe too.

A little conflict between 2 eras was the reason for the war (just like any other world war).

Women from some eras are able to go to war (because I SAY SO IT’S MY AU).

there will be yuri angst and brotherly angst so you should totally be interested in my au

The AU is still in the making, if you’d ever like to suggest something for my AU that would be heavily appreciated <3

And that’s about it I suppose :-) thank you for coming to my ted Jimb talk and see you next Friday night folks ! walks off stage and gets swallowed by an ottoman

[builtbybrokenbells]

Fade Into You

A particularly bad day leaves y/n yearning for nothing other than the comfort of her boyfriend, Danny. Without question, he comes to the rescue where need be and makes sure she knows just how loved she is. With his help, she begins to see that bad days don’t last forever, especially with a boyfriend like him by her side.

listen while reading: fade into you - mazzy star

Pairing: Danny Wagner x f!reader

Word Count: 6k

Warnings: not too much for this one! bad day angst, mentions of depression/anxiety, swearing, smidgen of drinking, mostly just fluff!! sorry if i miss any!

hey, so this is a short little draft i kind of rewrote today. no smut in this one, just fluff. I’ve been having a particularly rough time the last few days, so it’s kind of a pick-me-up, i guess. boyfriend danny fucks me up fr. drew some inspo from one of my fav sad songs, cause it’s got such a variety of interpretations. also this is very poorly edited and probably not the best, so please forgive me. as always, hope you enjoy, please be kind, and don’t mind any grammar mistakes 🫶🏻

~

The morning came like a river of discomfort. When your eyes focused for the first time after a long nights rest, you were met with an empty space next to you in bed. The sight sent a wave of disappointment washing over you. Many mornings ago, you’d become certain that there was no better sight than waking to your boyfriend sleeping soundly. Days where he was gone before you were always miserable, and this one was shaping up to be as such. You didn’t have time to dwell on his absence; the next thing to catch your attention was the sun shining just a little too brightly in the sky. Once you clued in to the unusual scene, a jolt of panic ran through you. You you reached for your phone to check the time, but you were quite aware of what you were going to discover. While your thumb prodded the screen, trying to awaken it, you were already swinging your legs over the side of the mattress to get up.

Your screen displayed the time as 8:30; an hour later than you were supposed to be waking up. Your alarm hadn’t gone off, and you only had a half an hour to get ready and drive to work. There was enough time to brush your teeth and wash your face, and in your rush, you managed to make a big enough cup of coffee to get you started in lieu of breakfast. As hungry as you were, you knew you’d need the caffeine more than anything. By the time you were out the door, you had maybe ten minutes to get to your job, and even that was a generous time frame. It was a miserable way to start a Friday, you concluded. No joy for the weekend was present, just annoyance at how the morning had begun.

The drive was a blur; you pushed the boundaries of the speed limit the entire time, laser focused on the clock as if your staring would change the time. Between slow drivers and stop lights, there was no way you could avoid being late. When you pulled into your parking spot, the vehicle was barely in park before you were gathering your things and jumping out. In reality, you weren’t dramatically late, but you knew your boss all too well to think you could get away with missing even a few minutes of work. As you placed your items on your desk, your worry was solidified when your name was called from the door of your office.

“Y/n, you know we don’t tolerate this kind of behaviour.” He said, a disapproving tone very apparent.

“I know, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” You said, logging into your computer as you sat down.

“Next time I’ll have to write it up. I’ll let you go with a warning.”

“Thank you.” You looked up over your laptop, managing a small smile.

“I don’t want to have to dock your pay, but I will if this becomes a regular issue.” He explained, leaving you to sit with the information. He closed the door behind him as he walked out.

“Dick,” you mumbled, taking a sip out of your mug.

They morning dragged on without much interruption, filled mostly with mind-numbing reports and the occasional email filtering through your inbox. You couldn’t seem to shake yourself from the poor mood, finding it growing worse with each second that passed. By the time noon rolled around, you were all but focused on work, and your stomach was begging you for a bite to eat. You grabbed your phone and keys, making your way outside for a minute of freedom. You hoped the hour would allow you to rid yourself of the cloud of darkness that was looming over your head.

You climbed into your car and checked your phone, but you were met with another staggering disappointment. No text messages were received from the one person you’d hoped to hear from, so you clicked on his contact. Instead of waiting on a word from him, you called him, first. The phone rang for a moment, leaving you wondering if he was going to answer. As you listened to the dial tone, anxiety bubbled in your chest, fearing that you were interrupting something important. Just as you were getting ready to hang up, his cheery voice filled the stale air.

“Hi, beautiful.” Danny greeted. You could hear the smile in his words. His cheery tone eased your worry of him not wanting to talk to you. As ridiculous as the fear was, your brain wouldn’t give it up. You were constantly nervous that you were interrupting, or being a burden, and days like this one only made your brain scream it even louder.

“Hi,” You sighed, feeling your lips upturn into a little grin. It was the first time you’d done anything but frown all day. You slipped your car keys into the ignition, allowing your call to connect to the Bluetooth feature. “I miss you.” You said, unable to hold the confession back.

“I miss you,” He replied, sincerity dripping from his tone. “You okay?” He knew you well enough to tell your mood just from the tone of voice. He was nothing if not attentive, and always willing to listen if you wanted to air out your thoughts.

“No.” You were honest. “I was late to work. Slept in.” You explained as you pulled out of the parking lot. He knew all too well how you felt about your boss, not needing to ask about his reaction. “I think it’s just another one of those days,” you mumbled. He gave a hum of understanding, also aware of how much your bad days could affect you. “Any chance you can meet me for lunch? I know it’s a long shot, but I could really use a hug.” You felt guilty for even asking, but you couldn’t help it. He was your comfort person, and he always seemed to make the bad feelings go away.

“I’m sorry, baby. I would if I could, but we’re at the studio right now. We have a meeting right after we finish up, too.” He sounded sad for having to turn you down, almost making you feel even worse for asking. You hated when was upset, and knowing that he was upset on behalf of how you were feeling didn’t make it any better.

“That’s okay,” you knew it was a big ask, and you also knew he would absolutely be on his way if the situation allowed it. “I’m okay with just hearing your voice.”

“Promise I’ll make it up to you tonight?” He asked, hopeful.

“Don’t have to make it up to me.” You laughed. “It’s not your fault.”

“I’ll bring home dinner, and we can do whatever you want.” He told you, not willing to bargain.

“Okay.” You conceded, pulling into a cafe you frequented.

“I’m sorry I was gone before you woke up. We wanted to get here early so we could get as much done as possible.”

“I know, you don’t have to apologize, baby.” You repeated your earlier reassurance, hating the fact that he always felt like he had to apologize, even when there was nothing to apologize for. You never wanted him to feel remorseful over things he couldn’t control. He put so much effort into you and your happiness, but for some reason it seemed like he felt the need to give even more. “As long as I get you all to myself tonight, I don’t care.” You parked, unbuckling your seatbelt.

“You can always have that, bug. I’m all yours, remember?” He assured you. You smiled at the words, eternally grateful to have someone as kind as him.

“I’m gonna go eat, I won’t keep you any longer. I love you.”

“I love you, baby. I can’t wait to see you later.” The sincerity was thick in his tone, wanting you to know he meant it. “I hope your afternoon goes better than the morning.”

“I can’t wait either, and I hope you have a good day, too.” You smiled. You two uttered a small goodbye, ending the call without another word.

You went into the small shop, thankful for the short line. You gazed up at the menu, pondering what to get. As you stared, your mind drifted off to the boy you’d just been on the phone with. He was your rock, your best friend, and the love of your life; the only thing that gave you true motivation to get through the shitty days. The bad days didn’t come often, but when they did, they were horrid. It was never a just minor incident that caused a disturbance, it always seemed to be written in the stars that everything that could go bad, went badly. When the cashier called you over to order, you settled on another coffee and a sandwich.

After you paid, you made sure to leave a nice tip, hoping that the universe would send some good karma back your way. You moved over to the waiting area, pulling your phone from your pocket to pass the time. When you clicked it on, you immediately relaxed at the sight of your screensaver. It was a picture Sam had sneakily taken of you and Danny; you were looking off in the distance, completely taken off guard when your boyfriend had snuck up behind you and pulled you into a hug. His lips were pressed to your cheek and you were caught in a shriek of laughter. It was your favourite photo to ever exist, and it always made your day better when you saw it.

You’d been dating Danny for a few years now, having moved in together just about a year prior. It had been nothing short of fantastic, aside from the times he was travelling for his career in music. The big home was a bit lonely without him, but you were more than happy to watch him live his dream. There was rarely an argument, and your life was completely filled with love. Still, that didn’t rid your life of days like today, where you couldn’t find it in yourself to see the brighter side of things. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the world that could. Bad days were normal, and everyone had them, but it always felt like yours were catastrophic. They were the type of bad days that made you want to crawl into bed and never leave, plagued with the kind of misery that ached all over and settled deep in your bones.

Danny was like a ray of light, the only aura that could penetrate the cloud of emotion you found yourself caught in. He was well aware he couldn’t solve the issues, but was completely content with just guiding you through it. He did a fantastic job, showering you with love and support. He always quick with positive affirmations in argument to your insecurities, and if words couldn’t help, he was happy to hold you all night if it meant you would feel better. He was beyond anything you ever could have hoped for in a partner, and you were incredibly lucky to have him. At the same time, it sucked that he was the only thing that could truly help you in your bad times, because that meant you had to suffer through until you could see his smiling face. You were sure now that he was aware of the mood you were in, he’d use every spare second of time to send you messages reminding you of how much he adored you.

The barista called your name for the order, catching your attention. You have a half-assed smile and a thank you, reaching out to grab your drink. When you wrapped your hands around it and pulled it towards you, the force from your fingers knocked the poorly secured lid off. The flimsy cardboard cup collapsed inwards, spilling the contents down the front of you. You hissed at the heat from the liquid, closing your eyes at the burning sensation. “Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” The barista blurted out, scrambling for napkins. She handed them across the counter and you grabbed them, dabbing at your clothes. Thankfully, they were black, so the liquid wouldn’t stain them.

“No, it’s okay. It’s not your fault.” You assured her.

“I should have checked the lid.” She sighed. “I’ll get you another one.” She told you before bustling away. You cleaned yourself up as best you could, knowing the thin paper napkins weren’t much of a help. You prayed you had a change of clothes in your car, but didn’t hold onto too much hope. You never seemed to have that type of luck in your life. When your replacement drink was safely in your hand, you mumbled another thank you and quickly bustled out the door to avoid any further embarrassment.

You scavenged your backseat for any other clothes, but you were quickly met with disappointment. You got in the drivers seat, fighting back tears, realizing that the day was not going to get any better. As you drove back to work, your skin was tingling with residual pain, and you wished for nothing more than to just go home. You walked back inside with your head down and your lunch in your hands, praying nobody would stop you and try to spark a conversation. When you got to your office, you closed the door behind you and collapsed into your chair, defeated from the days events. You noticed that your phone was vibrating in your pocket again, and your stomach was still growling with violent hunger.

As you began to eat, you read over the texts you’d received. The first was from Danny, telling you how much he loved you in addition to a plethora of hearts. The rest were from his bandmates, all along the same lines of them wishing you a good day and telling you they missed you. Danny had likely told them you were having a bad day, urging them to show you some love, too. They were nothing short of your best friends, and they always wanted to play a helping hand in making you feel better, so they obliged without issue. You replied to all of them as you ate, finding yourself giving a few genuine smiles at their uplifting words.

When your break finished, you returned to work with a steady eye on the time, praying for 5 o’clock to come faster. The afternoon dragged on much like the morning, still feeling like every minute was passing slower and slower. Eventually, when four thirty hit, you started to pack up your bag in anticipation to leave. Five minutes before your shift was through, you logged out of your accounts and gathered your things. Just as you were starting to shut your computer down, a knock sounded on your door. “Come in.” You called. Soon after, the door swung open and your boss appeared with a stack of files. You tried your best to push a smile out to cover up your grimace.

“It’s your turn to do the month-end report.” He said, placing the papers on your desk. You were certain you had done it not too long ago, leading you to believe this was his punishment for you coming in late. You sucked in a breath through your gritted teeth, nodding in response.

“Okay, I’ll get it done Monday.” You said, grabbing the files and placing them in your desk.

“Perfect. See you Monday at nine!” He made sure to emphasize the time before leaving you to yourself. You grumbled a slur of curses before locking your desk drawers and throwing your office keys in your purse. You stood, double checking that you had everything before heading out of the building.

It was raining, now. The grey clouds in the sky had a striking resemblance to your mood. You unlocked your car and threw your stuff on the passenger seat as you climbed in. When you turned the key in the ignition, the engine turned over, but didn’t start. You felt your stomach sink, immediately trying it once more, but you were met with the same result. You let your hand fall with force against the steering wheel, letting out a short-lived scream. The tears you managed to hold back earlier made their way out with a new found force. You fell back into the seat, closing your eyes while you tried to regain yourself.

After a moment, you pulled out your phone and called Danny again. This time, he answered much faster. “Hey, baby, you on your way home?”

“No,” you tried to keep your voice steady, but he could tell you were crying just from the single word.

“What’s wrong?”

“Car won’t start.” You mumbled. “Think the battery’s dead.”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m on my way home, not far from you, actually. I think I have some cables in the back.” He explained. You let out a sigh of relief, wiping away tears. Although it was a pointless effort, because they were falling faster than you could keep up with. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Thank you.” You sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you saying sorry for, bug?” You felt overwhelmed at his never-ending kindness, feeling deep down that you weren’t deserving of it.

“Making you stop, bothering you all day, being sad.” You gave a small, humourless chuckle as you listed the inconveniences.

“Don’t think any of that is deserving of an apology. Having to stop only means I get to see you, sooner. And, you haven’t been bothering me at all.” You could almost hear the frown in his voice, although his tone was comforting. “You never bother me. You’re my favourite thing in the whole world.”

“I just want to go home and go to bed.” You said, feeling another wave of sobs wash over you. You were distraught enough that you couldn’t even respond to his sweet words. “I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”

“I know, bug. I’m pulling in, now. Can you see me?” You looked to the entry of the parking lot, and sure enough, he was there. He pulled up beside you, giving you a goofy smile and a wave. You couldn’t help but laugh through the tears. The sight of him alone was enough to ease the hurt. He rolled his passenger window down, prompting you to roll yours down, too. He ended the call before he spoke. “Hello, beautiful. Fancy meeting you here.”

“Hi,” you greeted, sending him a smile. He climbed out of his vehicle, walking over to your window. He reached in, immediately wiping the tears away from your face.

“No need to cry over a dead battery. Easy fix.” He assured you. He leaned in, giving you a quick kiss. You felt the dread fizzle away, immediately feeling better at the small gesture. “You smell like coffee.” He noted.

“Long story.” You sighed, taking in the sight of him. He was in a cut off t-shirt and jeans, and his hair was pulled back into a bun. He looked tired, but had a permanent smile stuck on his lips. He was gorgeous, even in the simplicity. You thought it would be impossible for someone to be more beautiful than him.

“Care to share?” He asked as he opened the back door of his car. He pulled out a set of jumper cables in triumph, turning to show you. His proud expression was adorable, sending a flood of warmth straight to your heart. His willingness to help was overwhelming in the best possible way. You’d never met someone who cared for you so much, let alone someone who seemed so happy to do so.

“Spilled my drink all over me at the cafe earlier.” You told him, watching him move to the hood of his car. He lifted it, propping it up. He walked over and did the same to yours.

“You’re supposed to drink it, not wear it, silly.” He made a lighthearted pass. “Did it burn you?”

“It hurt, but I don’t think it left any marks or anything. Don’t really feel it, now.” He connected the cables carefully, making sure they were on in the right spots.

“Well that’s good at least, bug. Try starting it now.” He took a step back. You turned the keys over, and the engine sputtered for a moment, but eventually started. You let out a sigh of relief. He removed the cables and threw them back in his car. You left yours running, but got out to join him. “See? Easy fix. Should charge itself on the drive home.” He hummed, holding his arms out to you. You practically fell into them, holding on to him as if your life depended on it. You didn’t care about the rain, just about finally being able to hug him. Everything felt okay when he was holding you. He placed a kiss on the top of your head, gently rubbing his palm over your back.

“You’re the best, Danny. Thank you so much.” You said, fully meaning it. He was the best, you were certain of it. “I love you.” You mumbled, words muffled due to your face being pressed into his chest.

“You’re welcome, baby. I love you, too.” He didn’t let you go until you were ready. Eventually you pulled back, looking up at him with nothing but adoration in your eyes. “I picked up dinner. Your favourite.” He gave a smile, reaching up and brushing your hair from your face. He cupped your cheek in his large hand, causing you to instinctively lean into the touch.

“You’re too good to me.” You closed your eyes, savouring the feeling of his skin on yours.

“As if,” he let out a playful scoff. “Get in, you’re gonna get sick if you stand out in the rain for too long.” He said. You gave a nod, reluctantly pulling back from him. He leaned down, giving you one last kiss before opening your car door for you. “I’ll see you at home.” He said as he closed the door behind you. “Drive safe.”

“You, too. Thank you again.” He waved you off, not willing to accept a thank you for such a small service. He waited for you to pull out and leave before getting back into his vehicle.

The drive home was much better than the rest of your day. Knowing you would get to spend the rest of the night alone with Danny was enough of a consolation for the days suffering. The idea alone was even able to put you in good spirits, finding yourself able to sing along with a few songs on the radio. When you reached your shared home, you parked and hopped out, eager to get inside and get your coffee-stained clothes off. You weren’t even in the house before Danny was driving in, too. You waited for him to join you, watching him as he collected his things. “You threw a hitch in my plan.” He laughed, peeking at you over the roof of his car. You raised an eyebrow as an inquiry. “My big romantic gesture relied on me being home before you.” He explained. You noticed a tinge of red plaster across his cheeks. He pulled out a bouquet of flowers and a little stuffed animal. A box of chocolates was hidden behind the bear, too.

“Danny,” You scolded, feeling your eyes brim with tears again. Although, they were happy ones, this time. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to, baby. It’s not much, but I hope it helps a little bit.” You walked over to him, straining a bit to place a kiss to his cheek. Even with your heels on, he was still a little too tall to reach. “You deserve it. I, uh, got your favourite wine, too. I figured it’s Friday, so…” the dreaded tears ran down your face again, making him nervous that he may have done the wrong thing. “I’m sorry, was it stupid? I just wanted to cheer you up.”

“No! No, I just… I appreciate you. You’re too good to me.” You wiped your cheeks with the back of your hand, trying to compose yourself again.

“I don’t think I could ever be too good to you. You deserve the world.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to yours.

“Thank you so much.” You said as he pulled away.

“You’re welcome, bug. Here,” he handed you the flowers and the bear. You took them, looking over them in gratitude. He grabbed the bag of takeout and the bottle of wine, closing the door with his foot. You both made your way inside, kicking your shoes off and going straight to the kitchen. He placed everything he was carrying on the table and grabbed the stuff from your hands. “Go take a shower, I’ll take care of everything else.” You gave him a soft smile, taking the opportunity to pull him into another hug.

“You’re the best.” You told him, making sure your poor mood didn’t cloud your appreciation.

“Only for you.” He whispered. You almost laughed at the statement.

“Whatever,” you pulled back, looking up at his smiling face. “You’re a ray of sunshine no matter where you go. You know that.”

“Yeah, but I shine the brightest for you.” He reminded. He lifted your chin with his index finger, leaning down for one more kiss before you left.

After you showered, you changed into one of Danny’s t-shirts and a pair of your most comfortable old pyjama pants that you’d word almost to destruction. When you joined him back downstairs, he’d put the flowers in a vase turned all of the lights off. In the living room, you could hear the soft hum of the record player. You followed the sound, seeing him sitting on the couch with the coffee table pulled close. The takeout containers were resting atop of it, with two glasses of wine accompanying them. He had changed, too, now only in a pair of sweatpants. His hair was still tied back, giving you a full view of his face. He’d even lit a few candles around the room, giving some low light after he’d closed the curtains. His lips upturned into a smile at the sight of you

“Come here,” he held his hand out to you. You obliged to his request with no hesitation, joining him on the couch. “Feel better?”

“Much,” You assured him.

“We’ve got the whole night to do whatever you want. We got what we needed done at the studio, today, so we have all day tomorrow, too.” Your heart warmed at his statement, realizing you could spend all day wrapped up in each other. You were eager to get as much time with him as possible, already preparing for the next time he’d have to go on tour.

You two ate in almost silence, enjoying the food and each others company. When you were both full, you took the takeout containers and stored the leftovers in the fridge. You returned and saw that Danny had readjusted himself on the couch, leaning into the arm with his legs strewn across it lengthwise. You changed the record before sitting down, finding home between his legs and resting your back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you closer to him. You relaxed into his hold, closing your eyes and leaning your head against his shoulder. He snaked his hands under your shirt, letting them rest on your stomach. There was no hidden implication, just the desire to feel closer to you.

You slipped your hands on top of his, intertwining your fingers. After a moment, he leaned down, placing a kiss to your cheek. He kept his head down, resting his face on yours. You laughed at the action, leaning into him a bit more. The warmth of his skin felt nice on yours, inviting you into him even further. “I love you more than words, bug.” He hummed. The small things he did were worth more than the entire world, to you. His small gestures and loving words never left any room for doubt, and he loved you better than anyone that came before him. You were sure that nobody would come after him, either. You felt quite confident in saying he was the love of your life, and you’d be damned if you let him get away.

“You have no idea how much I love you.” You replied, feeling his arms squeeze you a little bit tighter.

“Bet you it’s not even close to how much I love you.” He smiled.

“I’m sorry my bad days get so bad.” You whispered. “I know it’s hard to deal with, and I know you’re too nice to tell me.”

“I don’t think you’re hard to deal with at all. I don’t know who made you believe that, because it’s always been a pleasure to love you, even on your bad days. Means you’re comfortable enough to show me all of you, and that’s what I want.” He explained. If it was possible to love him any more, at the sound of his words, you did. He always seemed to know exactly what to say. “You’re human. You’re allowed to be sad, or angry, or whatever you want to feel whenever you want to feel it. When I asked you to be my girlfriend, I didn’t just want to date you for the good times. That would be selfish. I signed up for all of it, the bad days, the sick days, the boring ones, and the really good ones. You take care of me when I’m grumpy, too.” You chuckled.

“As if you’re ever grumpy.”

“You take care of me in all sorts of ways. Don’t discredit yourself.” He said, loosening his grip and reaching over for his wine glass. “I don’t ever want you to feel guilty for being upset. Taking care of you is my favourite thing to do.” The conversation died down, and the wine was coming to an end, too. You were both slightly tipsy; your cheeks rosy and you were both growing more handsy by the second. With enough time, the fog of misery seemed to dissipate as well. It was part of his charm; just knowing he existed was enough to put a smile on your face. Danny was the exception to every bad mood and miserable day. His love was stronger than any horrible thought or emotion your brain could conspire, and it always seemed to chase them away.

You stood, making a move to change the record which had slowed to a stop. You flashed him a cover, silently asking for approval. He gave a hum of affirmation, appreciating your choice. You replaced the record that was already on with the new one, carefully slipping it back in its sleeve. You touched the needle to the vinyl, waiting a second for the music to start. When it did, Danny stood and walked over to you. He held out a hand, resulting in a quizzical look from you.

“Dance with me.” He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. You rolled your eyes, but a smile was growing on your lips. You took his hand, allowing him to carefully twirl you around. He pulled you into him, his hand finding your hip. You brought your arms up to his neck, both of you swaying in time to the music.

“I can’t dance.” You giggled, but he already knew that.

“Me, either.” He laughed, but you knew that, too.

“Four left feet and a bottle of wine don’t mix, Danny.” You explained.

“What’s life without a little risk?” He asked, bracing his arm on your lower back as he pulled you into him and dipped you down towards the floor. You let out a chorus of giggles as he did so, having no fear that he would drop you. If there was one thing you knew about Danny, it was that he’d protect you with his life. If you were falling, he’d always catch you. If he couldn’t, he’d fall, too, just so you wouldn’t have to do it alone. He leaned down and kissed you, holding the position for a moment. He parted from you only slightly, just to give you a grin.

“How romantic.” You poked fun. “You trying to seduce me?”

“Depends,” he said “is it working?”

“Mmm, you’re almost there.” He leaned down, placing a kiss on your exposed neck. Your eyes fluttered closed at the feeling, realizing that there was nothing that could compare. “Better.” He pulled you back upright, making sure you were steady on your feet. He guided your chin upwards with his finger and brought you into another kiss, one where the only thing he had to focus on was you. You let one of your hands fall on his bicep and the other on the back of his neck, bringing him impossibly closer. The wine was clouding your head, enhancing every touch. His hands fell to your hips, pulling you towards him once more. When you parted, you were both breathless and had stars dancing in your eyes.

You watched him for a moment, immersed in his aura. Even the air around him radiated with comfort. He was perfect. He was everything. Unfathomably caring, attentive, and more loving than you ever believed a person could be. You felt extremely blessed to be able to share your life with him, and you were eternally grateful to have someone who was so willing to love you, even when it didn’t serve him any benefit. “What are you thinking about?” He asked, hands still holding you close to him.

“You,” you admitted, giving him a small smile. “I’m always thinking about you.”

“That’s strange,” he hummed, looking quite pensive. “‘Cause I’m always thinking about you, too.”

“That is weird.” You agreed. “You think we should start dating, or something?” You asked, pretending to be bashful about the question.

“Yeah, I think that would be pretty cool.” He nodded. “Should we, like, hold hands or something?” He asked, as if the idea was blasphemous. You shrugged, eventually nodding back at him.

“That would be pretty cool,” you mimicked his statement. In response, he let one hand fall from your hip, extending it out to you. You slipped yours into his, intertwining your fingers. “I love you.” You whispered, a grin eating away at your face. The childish nature of the situation reflected on the purity of the adoration he had for you.

“I love you, bug.” He leaned down, placing a kiss to your forehead. “I’m sorry you had a rough day.”

“It’s okay. You always make it better.” He wrapped his arm around you, holding you with all of the love he could muster within him.

“That’s all I want to do. I’d be more than alright if I spent the rest of my life making you happy.”

“You wouldn’t have to try very hard. Happy is the only thing I know how to feel, when I’m with you.” You laid your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes, completely overtaken with comfort. You were certain that if you got to spend the rest of your life loving him, it would be the happiest lifetime you could live.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Elves: Homes

(At least sun, star, moon and probably wood elven.)

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest. Frankly these posts may get updated now and then. etc]

Physiology and quirks | Names & Clans and Houses || Pan-Cultural things: Social life | Time and Age Categories | Homes | Art | Entertainment | Technology || Elven 'Subraces' still a wip || Philosophy and Religion & Pantheons || Half-elves | [WIP]

Seeing if I can make this easier on myself and move faster by breaking it up into more specific posts.

So here's an idea of what the homes of various elves and half-elves might looked something like.

(From what information I have on hand anyway: information on home décor and the normal life of peasants is so often cast by the wayside so that we can have adventurers and noble idiocy instead.)

-

'Amid the tree castles were lesser mansions of spired stone and what looked like blown, sculpted glass. However it seemed by the hanging gardens that sprawled over such edifices that elves could not bear to live unless growing plants or trees shared the same space with them.' - Elminster in Myth Drannor

'Furs lay everywhere underfoot, and polished wood sculpted into lounges and chairs rose in flowing shapes on all sides. Wealthy elven families seemed to love varicoloured blown glass and chairs that rose into a variety of little armrests and shelves and curved lounging cavities.'

Elves in human lands will usually keep their massive house plant collection to unobtrusive levels, unless the downstair neighbours have earned their ire in which case they will cover the floor with soil and create an indoor forest (and a downstairs flood) out of spite.

As well as turning their homes into walk-in garden centres, surface elves are apparently really fond of glass ornaments, and particularly suncatchers; '[the houses] sparkled back the sun from swirling glass ornaments hanging like frozen raindrops from their balconies and casements.' Drow also like decorating with light, but go in for faerie fire decoration since the Underdark has no sun to catch.

'High' subraces will use the word 'ever' to mean home, wood elves 'vand.' Immeet is the yearning to return home to ones family and hearth.

Your typical basic elven home consists of about three rooms, and regardless of their economic standing an elf will strive to make it aesthetically pleasing: they're very aesthetic oriented beings, and creativity and passion for art/life is a core value so they'll often be unique and unusual in design and décor. Even the homes of the poorest elves, like tiny caves sheltering impoverished drow citizens, will always be made 'as beautiful as possible.' Even wood elves, who live relatively aesthetic lives in quiet little communes have houses built with elaborate decorative wood carvings in their structure. An elven construction is made to express the talent and creativity of the residents, as well as enhancing the beauty of their surroundings and adding to a larger picture without disrupting the natural beauty of the land they're built on too much. Practicality means nothing, it doesn't matter if you can live in it if it's not pretty. 'Functional' buildings like most houses and the tallhouses most N'Quess city dwellers rent rooms in are called 'ridiculous' and 'intrusive.'

You can spot the wealth of the elf by how crazy the design is getting and how many extra rooms they have. Glass windows, clear and coloured, are for the poor, elves of means use fancy magic forcefields instead. Although I expect that outside of an elven city you have to deal with human architecture where glass window panes are expensive.

I'm not sure what the layout is. For the 'basic' layout I assume it's common room, contemplation/nesting/bedroom (probably communal in shared homes), and kitchen. Bathing appears to be communal, with (magically heated) bath houses, public fountains, and natural springs. Sanitation never gets covered.

Since elves don't sleep - save an increasing number of drow who are incapable of reverie - they don't have bedrooms. Their personal rooms usually resemble studies or lounges more than bedrooms. While a non-elf might recognise the purpose of a personal room where one keeps ones clothes and possessions and has a comfortable place designated for reclining and relaxing (a 'reverie couch'), and they will term it a bedroom, elves tend to use other names. Said names vary, but Evereskans call them 'contemplations' or 'a/the contemplation,' and the elves of the High Forest call it a 'nesting,' and that's likely what elves encountered in the Western Hinterlands (and further North) call their rooms, assuming they don't just use the common term for it by osmosis.

Tables obviously exist but may be less common than expected, especially in elven settlements and especially amongst the nobility, as magic being more normalised and readily available amongst elves means that floating platters can be provided.

Lighting is preferably done with magic, such as objects imbued with continual flame whose intensity can be adjusted. Fancier versions come with colour and visual effect settings and the ability to be coded to triggers, like being motion sensitive.

Preferably an elf lives above ground level, 20 or more feet into the air (500 feet has been mentioned) in deliberately shaped grown trees or magical structures. For those living subterranean lifestyles, hollowed out stalactite mansions are a popular alternative. Ground level structures are for the young children, elderly and disabled who are at risk that high up (elves don't believe in safety railings). I've seen passing mention of elven homes in human cities which seemed to assume elves will live above the ground floor by default, so I assume their desire to be tall applies to how they chose what apartments to rent.

[daeva-agas]

Speaking of the Senshi/Shitennou pairs. I was kind of curious why those stones in particular, right. Kunzite and zoisite are so unusual that I think only gemstone aficionados know them, and even though jadeite and nephrite are somewhat more commonly known names IIRC it still made people mess up the mineral names back in the day.

Well, uh, so, it was alleged that Takeuchi-sensei chose them to match the character and personalities of the senshi they're partnered with, so... Excuse me while I go overthink this and have a meltdown in suffering.

In the first place, supposedly the "inner senshi" are officially meant to be called "guardians"/"guardian deities" (守護 or 守護神). Haven't seen the raws, so I can't confirm, but that's what the JP media says. The term "Shitennou", as many are already aware of, are originally a term used to refer to a set of 4 Buddhist guardian deities.

If true then it just feels like they're all intended to be perfectly matching sets from the start, and it just never made it into the story.

I read that Sailor Moon was originally meant to just end with the Dark Kingdom plot, so maybe sensei intended to have a Romeo and Juliet sad ending where everyone just dies in the end?

These are all based on Japanese gemology guides (same as what I used to research for the Shitennou knight titles), since I imagine it's more likely to be the one Takeuchi-sensei had access to. These may differ from international ones.

(Warning: Long post)

In the manga sensei specified that the zoisite is the blue one, that's also known as "tanzanite". The blue variety of zoisite, among other things, means "calm and intelligence".

The connection to Ami/Mercury's character is very straightforward and obvious.

In terms of romance, a zoisite also means "subdued expressions of love". It really makes me think of how gentle this pair looks in the splash art sensei drew.

Kunzite means "premonition of a lover". It's specifically oh dang when I saw this because Minako was "special" among the senshi in the way that her character vibes are based on "love" (because Venus, goddess of love), rather than the original elemental name attached to the planet. It fits enough to make you pause and wonder if this it truly a coincidence.

The planet venus originally has the element of "gold/metal". The gold is reflected in her design somewhat, but her senshi identity is more related to "love". The other girls' names matches their planets' element names. E.g Jupiter = mokusei = wood, Ki(no) = wood/tree. Mercury = suisei = water, Mizu(no) = water.

Also Venus's relationship with Kunzite ended up being the one who got the most hints actually shown in the manga, so... I do wonder.

The two jades are less overly specific like this, especially Nephrite, but well.

Jadeite is the native jade from Japan, and has been long used to make magatama since ancient times. As such it's always seen as a deeply spiritual stone, that can protect against and/or ward off evil. A perfect match for Rei, who is a miko. One wonders if sensei chose the stone because of Rei being a miko, or if she made Rei a miko after choosing this name for the one matched with her.

Edit: Japanese Wiki claims Rei being a miko was based on Takeuchi-sensei's personal experience as a part time miko. So then Jadeite had to have been named/chosen to fit her, if this theory is true.

Not to mention that Akuryou Taisan, the evil-banishing spell, is something that she uses quite often.

Nephrite is the most confusing one here, because I'm not really able to find the connection. That's why I initially had strong doubts about the rumour/claim about the gemstone names' connection to the senshi.

In the gemology guide that I referenced, its meaning is "charm of maturity". I suppose Mako has always felt like she's older than the other girls, because her hobbies (cooking and home decor) feels really motherly.

Other than that and the stone being a deep green colour similar to Jupiter's senshi outfit I'm not entirely sure. (in the manga, sensei says nephrites are "always deep green" even though IRL that's not the case)

----

Just my additional comments after reading everything that I did:

In terms of colour, I like to think Jadeite is a red jade. Not just to match Rei, but in the manga Jadeite's stone is always coloured the darkest (it's almost all-black). Of all the various jades, red is one of the darker-toned ones.

The shading can be arbitrary, especially if sensei was just tracing from reference photos. Dark green jadeite also exist, so for all I know this is intended to be green too.

But if I use the logic that the stones are matched with the girls' character, I think red just fits the best. In gemstone language the red jade means "tenacity" and "willpower". Green jades tends to be associated with things like harmony, prosperity, luck, and so on. It doesn't feel very Rei-like.

Also, the nephrite jade being a "soft jade", it's associated with very cuddly meanings such as "warm" or "gentle", which makes me laugh even more than the "wisdom" one.

Unless, again, these words are more attached to the matching girls' character, rather than the guy in question, because yes I think Mako is definitely very warm and gentle and fluffy and very huggable.

Although other-coloured zoisite varieties were said to have different meaning, it looks like blue is the predominant zoisite colour in Japan. A lot of Japanese gem sites tend to automatically just say "it's blue" while describing zoisite, even though there's obviously other colours out there.

Sensei did specify it's "blue zoisite, a.k.a tanzanite" in the manga, so I think she's aware of the other colours having different meanings attached. Some articles also had mentioned Takeuchi-sensei's family runs a jewellery store?

I wonder if this is why Crystal went with the gemstone's healing properties for Zoi's title though, because the gemstone words overlaps too much with Mercury in a very in-the-face way. The other meanings are Hope, Mystery, Pride, and Noble, and maybe those don't make very good title names? Like, the only viable one is probably Hope, though I feel like it would be even more confusing if Crystal said Zoi is the "Knight of Hope" or whatever.

Another thing about Kunzite is that its meaning also include "pure and everlasting love", but the website caveated this that this is a saintly kind of love (for the gem's association with Holy Mother Mary). So it's not necessarily something to get overly excited about in terms of SenShi headcanoning, but, well, it's there.

"Shitennou" in Japanese pop culture is generally used to just mean "4 very important people", so it didn't have to actually mean anything. Like, a few samurai in history had their "shitennou", who are just the best 4 generals serving under them. Most famous being the Tokugawa shitennou, but other samurai lords actually have their own so-called shitennou. It's just that if the senshi are officially named "Guardians", then this changes the context.

[imonthemoonitsmadeofcheese]

okay last thing for now I swear. But I realized that you might get joy from all the things I thought Eris Mourn was before I gave up and asked.

(Very important note is I was going in blind except for a handful of factoids that a friend gave me. As it turns out this friend was very bad at video game lore.)

'That Wizard came from the moon' is referring to Eris Mourn. She looked like a wizard from the moon to me. This one was probably the closest tbh.

After finding out what a wizard was I just assumed she was an Awoken and that's what powerful Awoken look like. Wrong direction, past me.

Mara doesn't have three eyes so obviously that's wrong. Did the Traveler just bring her back weird?

No ghost? Okay so she's an Ahamkara. I heard that word used a couple times around her so clearly that's what she's supposed to be!

Eris Mourn is Hive God Savathun. This was from my friend attempting to course-correct the Ahamkara theory but they corrected me from flying into a brick wall to flying into a different, closer, brick wall. I don't know why they told me this.

Thank you for tolerating my silliness, feel free to ignore or also point and laugh at past me XD The fun part of going into games blind is coming up with absolutely wild theories that aren't even a little bit true. Like thinking the Cabal aren't real and I was misremembering how many factions there are.

Ok so, these are all pretty close to the mark, narratively speaking, and not silly at all.

I mean, "that Wizard came from the Moon" is... a reasonable assumption. She wields Hive magic and lives on the Moon. (Although Eris would probably be deeply insulted because she can probably murder Hive Wizards in her sleep.)

For the longest time the lore was ambiguous and people did think Eris was Awoken because she calls Asher Mir (who is Awoken) "cousin" and she has a very sickly skin tone. But, as it turns out, she was born in the Last City, which makes her a garden variety boring normal human. Being underground for a century in a hostile environment while being hunted to death by Hive just does really terrible things to your skin.

Brought back weird is also a good theory. Especially now that we have Lucent Hive. Eris is definitely weird. Not a bad conjecture, all things considered.

Ahamkara is also a good guess - for anything, really. They're shape-shifters and can look like anyone so "when in doubt maybe Ahamkara?" is generally Destiny-plausible, albeit rare and unusual, (not to mention, her glowing ball is an Ahamkara bone and she was only able to learn how to escape the Hellmouth because of a wish so your intuition was bang-on, just not for the right target).

Now the last one you came up with is especially interesting, lore-wise, because Sav did infiltrate the Hidden network and impersonated Eris in several lore entries. It is infamously referenced online as "the time Savathun wrote Eris fanfiction" and is debunked by the Hidden in other lore entries later. So, again, while missing the mark, it's shockingly accurate as far as intuitive leaps in story go and that does happen, just not in that specific way.

But, if you will forgive me for doing so, there's one more misonception in your ask that you may not be aware of that I want to tell you about: the spelling of Eris' last name.

And the only reason I point it out is not to tease you about a spelling mistake but because it is an exquisitely beautiful resonant and powerful bit of imagery and wordplay that I don't think a lot of people realize.

You've been referencing her above as Eris Mourn.

Mourn: Feel or show deep sorrow or regret for (someone or their death).

But, while it sounds exactly the same, Eris' last name in game is spelled Morn.

Morn: Dawn. Morning.

The dual nature of her last name is already lovely because it encapsulates so much of her character but the fact that it is Morn and not Mourn ties in very closely with two specific pieces of dialogue in game:

In the Prophesy dungeon:

Drifter: Hey, Three Eyes. You spending all your time on Io now? Eris Morn: Or the Moon. Depending on the weather. Drifter: What do you think of all this? Eris Morn: All of what? Drifter: The black fleet. The end of the line. End of the Light. Eris Morn: It hasn't come to that. Not yet. Drifter: How do you know? Eris: It hasn't been dark enough. Drifter: Look at the sky. Nightfall's comin'. Eris Morn: We'll live in the night if we have to. I've been there before. So have you. So has the Guardian. Drifter: It ain't pleasant. Eris Morn: No. But necessary. For what follows. Drifter: And what's that? Eris Morn: Dawn.

And then brought up again, this time by Drifter to Eris in Gloaming Journeyer:

"I remember what you said. I think about it more than I should these days." "What did I say?" "That we'll live in the night if we have to. We do it for what comes after."

Eris, while her entire backstory is about the loss of her fireteam, and she becomes a full-on Hive god to avenge them, really is the embodiment of hope within Destiny.

And this is nowhere more true than in her interactions with… Dredgen Hope, named by the Darkness itself after that which he did not, and could not, have because of who he was and what he had experienced: the drifter with no family and no name, who trusted no one, and who, upon befriending us, told us not to give in to hope because that would only ever get us killed.

Eris is named after morning, dawn, daybreak.

Because, within the narrative of Destiny, the image of dawn breaking over the darkest part of the night is not a soft angelic light, sweet and gentle.

It's the grim snarl of a Forgotten Blade dragging itself, broken and bloodied, out of the deepest pit of hell.

The glow of Morn comes, not from some distant star, but from the three eyes she cut from the face of the enemy she killed while blind and lightless, which she then embedded in holes she carved into her body, cutting out her own sightless eyes and piercing her own skull to do so because, despite everything, in an inescapable situation, against all logic and reason, facing absolute certain death, she refused to fucking die.

Aiat.

[greatwyrmgold]

Reading the Amazon Lily arc gave me some thoughts about how One Piece handles women.

I'll start with something positive: The Kuja tribe proves that Eiichiro Oda can draw women who aren't either fat hags or supermodels with I-cups and waists too thin for their intestines. The background characters show almost as much variety in visual design as One Piece's male characters.

On the other hand, this kinda draws attention to the fact that most of One Piece's female characters (especially the named ones) are supermodels with different wigs and sometimes fish tails, while most of the rest are oval-shaped and often have jokes made about how ugly and undesirable they are. (Poor Kokoro.) And to be clear, Oda still defaults to the supermodel shape for lots of the Kuja.

While I'm talking about character design, I'm not a fan of the Kuja tribe's clothes. Most of them wear as little clothing as possible, either a bikini with accessories or unusually skimpy variations on other outfits, like that one Kuja pirate who wears a jacket that leaves her midriff and the middle of her chest bare.

Also, they give Luffy clothes after he arrives, and they're flowery and frilly. Few of the Kuja wear floral clothes and IIRC none have frilly ones; the flowers and frills are just added because they're stereotypically girly, and Oda thought it would be funny to put Luffy in emasculating clothes.

The scene where Luffy accidentally smashes into Boa Hancock's bath was...I'd ask why it had to be her bath and not Hancock doing literally anything else, but I think we know the reason.

Not sure how to feel about Luffy beating up the warrior-women tribe's best warriors without significant effort, even though they're proficient with Haki and he thinks it's that ice sport.* On one hand, it feels awfully close to that stupid trope where women are treated as automatically weaker than men.

On the other hand, the man in question is Monkey D. Luffy, who has fought multiple Warlords of the Sea and usually come out ahead. Also, the Kuja tribe's best warrior, Boa Hancock, doesn't actually fight him. If that status doesn't just come from the Devil Fruit that can't affect Luffy's aroace ass (or any other aroace part of him), maybe a fight between them would have been more even.

*This joke was not made in the actual manga. It should have been, though.

Speaking of Boa Hancock and Luffy, though...the absolute worst part of Kuja Tribe lore is fucking Love Sickness. Apparently some Kuja women suffer literal lovesickness when they fall in love with a guy. It's fatal, unless they leave the island to be with the man they love. Gross.

If Boa Hancock had fallen in love with Luffy after he beat up his sisters, that would have been dumb but tolerable. But making it an actual physiological ailment that's common among the Kuja when they meet men...that feels way too close to saying women need a man to be healthy. I mean, that is literally true for these women who live among other women. And it's apparently a leading cause of death among their empresses. I hate it. Love Sickness should have been damned to editorial hell.

Revealing that the Boa sisters used to be slaves wasn't a big problem. But having that revealed a few chapters apart from Robin getting enslaved on the island she landed on (long story), when that didn't happen to any of the other Straw Hats, when Robin is one of only two women in the Straw Hats...petty, but I mostly want to complain about Robin getting enslaved. I don't think they even put seastone cuffs on her. Why is she just accepting this.

The general tropes about a land of woman being fascinated by the first man they see are a bit irksome, but on reflection, I think they only bother me because of all the other stuff. The Kuja tribe's reactions are mostly expressions of ignorance rather than innately feminine attributes, as expressed in the running gag where they keep assuming that the weird Luffy things Luffy does are what all men must be like. So mark that as another positive.

[george-weasleys-girl]

GWG Ramblings

Gred and Forge

~•~

"You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed, "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid – we know we're called Gred and Forge."

~•~

I've mentioned a few times that I didn't feel like George and Fred were really given their own separate voices in the series. George in particular. They had one voice, and that voice was Fred's. (Fred is, after all, mentioned almost 200 more times than George in the books.) So, when fanfic writers portray George as feeling like an afterthought or just an extension of his twin, we're not pulling the idea out of nothing.

But, I digress. Back to the matter at hand.

When George referred to himself and Fred as "Gred and Forge," it was more than just some silly joke. He was making light of the fact that people generally wrote them off as the same person. And why wouldn't they? Rowling wrote them as interchangeable cogs in the machine.

Same clothes.

Same haircut.

Same love of pranks.

Same passion for inventing.

Same life path.

Same patronus.

Same woman.

Damn...Gred and Forge, indeed.

Of course, it's not unusual for twins to share some of the same interests, however, as they grow older, they'll begin asserting their independence from one another as they try to figure out who they are as individuals.

As we all do.

"It insults twins to assume that they do everything together just because they are twins; it diminishes their individuality." ~Pamela Prindle Fierro

We see the beginnings of these changes when George and Fred start wearing different colors in HBP & DH (the movies, not the books). But, sadly, we don't get to see how their twinship evolves. And even sadder still, after Fred's death, Rowling continues with the interchangeable cog theme and married George off to his twin's ex-girlfriend.

Because, why not? George and Fred were effectively the same person anyway. Right?🙄 (Pardon the snark. I, like so many others, have strong opinions on this particular matter. If you're interested in my take, I devoted an entire post to it. You can find it here.)

Anyway...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Rowling did little to no research on twins. She just went with the popular but damaging one-and-the-same stereotype of twinship.

I'll leave you with this quote:

"...it’s what pop culture promises. Twins are people who dress alike, talk alike, think alike, finish one another’s sentences, and are alike in every way. Pop culture promises a variety of stereotypes from the nice twins, the creepy twins, the long lost twin, the troublesome twins, but in all these varieties, these twins are the same person. Twins aren't supposed to have an identity outside of being a twin."

~ Sarah O'Conner (twin & individual trying to break the stereotype)

@milivanili99 @fancy-pantaloons @turvi @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @georgie-weasley @kaysau2510

~•~

Part 2