#In Ye OlDeN TiMeS wOrK wAs So EaSy!!!

[carsonjonesfiance]

Every single one of y'all fuckers who talks like this would die after a week on a farm in the modern day let alone doing pre industrial farming. Apologize to every farmer right fucking now.

[smolsleepyfox]

Okay so, I attended a VERY local event where Falk was a speaker. By very local I mean there were maybe 20 people in a refurbished bar and he hung out with us after the Q&A.

Things that he mentioned in no particular order:

- PW didn't have a crew on tour until around 2008 and it didn't include a sound tech, that came way later

- they used a refurbished truck they bought in ye olden days and one time Matthew said he smelled fire. They told him it was his croissant. It was not his croissant.

- Falk is the organizer and logistics guy for the tour because (my interpretation) he can't stand not knowing if everything is going okay. Including checking the weather constantly during festival season

- he's also super nervous about his keyboards not arriving when they take a flight. Apparently they have been hidden to prank him before.

- the band knows exactly how to push each other's buttons by now and it is being used lmao

- his favorite video shoot was We don't wanna be no saints because his slimy (his words) character was really fun to play and it was a great location

- the tennis video was just a spur of the moment thing. The biggest issue was actually getting a tennis ball because the location is in the middle of nowhere. Roel had to drive to several stores.

- Yes the staff broke, but they fixed it again lmao.

- Falk has murdered at least four harmoniums by now. Most of them were from eBay. One instrument he actually refurbished himself, he showed us photos it was great.

- Also, the guitars in the Sinners of the Seven Seas video were the original stage guitars. They had to have their entire wiring redone after.

- the water corpse pose in Sinners was something he made up because standing in the water, his legs couldn't move the way he wanted them to for his usual poses. Apparently the entire shoot was very physically demanding.

- rain scenes are fine but My Will Be Done was hard because they used water AND wind, and looking chill while being pelted in the face with artificial rain is rough. Also, there were just literally people standing on the sides throwing leaves into the wind for the scene, which is hilarious to me.

- Falk was HORRIBLY seasick during the filming of Sinners. The ship apparently didn't actually move much but the difference in motion patterns to modern ships and the slanted deck was not fun. He was however very appreciative of the ship itself and the crew that worked it.

- Falk forgot the name of Demons are a girl's best friend during the interview lmao

- when i said i liked his tattoos he got excited to show them and seemed almost annoyed that he started so late in life. He's planning a full sleeve apparently (good for him!)

- I was a bit surprised but even when speaking to people who did use heavy dialect, Falk didn't switch from standard German. Some phrases still slipped out certainly and some pronunciation struggles (ch pronounced as sch are an easy tell) but otherwise nope, nothing. I've heard Attila speak more dialect in BtS videos.

- Falk for his perspective on fandom especially in contrast with Ghost and Sleep Token (I answered an ask about that recently) since I was curious if he had an idea why three bands with similar themes have such a different type of fandom around it. His best guess was that Powerwolf are kind of approachable (case in point that I'm writing this) whereas Sleep Token and Tobias from Ghost are more at a distance.

And lastly, not only did I get a picture, I got the title page of my thesis signed (in green marker because I didn't find anything else at my brother's house). And Falk got a copy of my thesis, since he seemed genuinely happy to read it. I really do hope he likes it!

Overall he was an incredibly down to earth, funny, and kind person even four beers in and very very tired. He said bye to us with a hug as well 🥺

[yelow-heart]

Welcome twt immigrants or just newcomers o///

Every week a new wave of twt refugees arrive and so I decided to put together a tumblr 101 to keep ur experience the most stress free and safe as possible

So here it goes:

You can delete comments or plain out disable comments from your posts! So much control.

You can also edit your posts. It even was a meme back on the olden days where a post would go viral and then the op (original poster) would change the post to something silly and the reblogers would look like wierdos or dumdums lol

You can disable your asks or make a rule so people can't ask as anonymous

Report spams!! You can even get rewarded for it. But, even so, report it, they get immediately taken down temporarily

The report system work and the tumblr team is very responsible when investigating an account/post. It's not nuance and easy to make. No one will judge you for it, in fact, it's common culture to do so. It's how we battle pornbots, spams, hate blogs etc.

You have full control of your blog! What people can see, what it can show, block hashtags and the whole shbang.

The algorithm works! Only the things that YOU search for and like will be recommended to you. And if something u no longer has interest in shows up? Just click that u don't want anymore and immediately everything u don't want goes away.

There are many famous blogs that are fun to follow, specifically as newcomer, to really get u on the tumblr experience such as: heritageposts, thebootydiaries, hotboyproblems, showerthoughtsofficial, fartgallery, haikubotofficial and many others. These are just the ones I followed when first arrived back in 2016;

Yes, there are celebrities among us but they're just... here. Vibing, chilling. The most famous ones being Neil Gaiman and Taylor Swift. Here they are just people;

You might have noticed a lot of blogs with blue verification badges. Some with 20 of them. Some are rainbow! That's because Tumblr made a parody of the verification mark from twt and it was fcking hilarius. We loved it so much that it's a thing now. U too can feel very important if u want!

It's worth going the trending tags. Sometimes they are broken, but it's mostly memes or important world news stuff that are actually relevant and helpful. It's safe and you'll have a fun time lurking on other people's fandoms. That's actually how I got into some of my fandoms to begin with;

Crabs.

And there we have it! I might have forgotten something, but I not too worried as I know that people might add it later on. 😉

Welcome welcome!! You'll be safe here. No matter who you are you find a community for you here

It's a hellsite, but it's our hellsite

Remembered something:

It's important to have a profile picture and header image. An reblog a few things before following anyone. Or you will be reported because people will think you're a spam bot kkkkkkkkk so do nurture your blog a little bit before venturing into the unknown.

[hawkinasock]

TELL US ABOUT YOUR OTHER AUS (IF ABLE AND WILLING AND YOU WANT TO) ‼️‼️‼️

Tread carefully, Anon... Once I start yapping, I can't stop (jokes on you tho, I love yapping. Let's go)

I assume you mean aus for HSR specifically? I've got a lot more for genshin, but to stop myself from going on massive tangents, I'll just stick to HSR. I'll keep them all as summaries and go into more depth if there's any interest. Ok here we go:

Chimera Yanqing has kinda become my whole thing now, but I've never actually mentioned the other characters that I've also made chimera forms for. Namely Jing Yuan.

He doesn't really have any lore...? Unlike Yanqing, I was too focused on making him look pretty, which is easy because it's Jing Yuan. I'll make an update if I add anything more to his lore, cause I'd hate to just leave him unfinished forever. I do have a chimera Yunli au too, which I'll also save for another time. (Also keep in mind that he has wayyyy more fur than what I've shown. It just would've made his actual form unclear. He is very, very fluffy, canonically)

Mara-struck Yanqing (aka How the general ate the cabbage). Made a whole fic for this one, the plot is in the pudding, and by pudding I mean my ao3 lol. Instead of deflecting Jingliu's ult, Yanqing is instead killed and mara-stricken, and everything falls apart from there. Keeping it vague since it's still in progress. As of writing this, I'm three chapters in, so check it out if you're interested <3

Band au. I actually forgot about this one until I went through my list. Basically, It's a modern au where the high cloud quintet were a huge band back in ye olden days of the mid 1980s until their downfall, where the lead singer (Baiheng) is killed in an accident, triggering a series of unfortunate fates for 3 of the 4 remaining members. Jing Yuan is the only member still working in the industry and adopted Yanqing roughly 20 years after the the HCQ's fallout. One day, though, after years of no contact, Blade comes back into Jing Yuan's life, seeking refuge from law enforcement, and it all tumbles out of control from there after Jing Yuan accepts. The rest of the story would follow a very suspicious Yanqing wondering what the deal is with his dad's weird new boyfriend, and eventually reuniting the 4 remaining members (getting the band back together, as Phineas would say). There is SO much lore for this one, but it would take up this entire post to explain, so I'll probably just make it into its own post (with designs ofc). Tbh I haven't done as much work on this one as the others simply because I just don't know that much about music? Zel does though, so if I ever come back to it, I can go to him as a consultant.

Kind of an odd one, but I'm including it since it sorta counts, and I've become pretty fond of it over time. Mom Lumine au(s) Xiaother being Yanqing's dads is one of my favorite little crack aus. This au is the brainchild of imagining Yanqing as Lumine's child instead, but me as the author not enjoying xiaolumi as much. Thus, this was born. There's not really a story? Just a bunch of loosely put together concepts with multiple potential narratives that I find fun. Most of the time I default Childe as Yanqing's bio dad. In a weird way, it makes sense in my head? Yanqing resembles Lumine and uses a sword, and has that same go-getting, battle-hungry attitude as Childe, with all the knock-outs to boot. I mainly imagine chilumi as this interstellar crime duo; the Bonnie and Clyde of space, if you will. Because, honestly, if Yanqing's parents are ever to be revealed, would it not be the funniest thing for them to turn out to be criminals? I think it's hilarious, because Yanqing himself would be mortified.

Guardian Blade/Stellaron Hunter Yanqing au. These names are kinda lazy cause I usually don't make official titles for them unless their a fic, which this one happens to be. Here, Yanqing is an abomination of abundance, and as my interpretation usually goes, the only person who knows about this is Jing Yuan. Him and one other - blade, who was confided in the secret shortly after Jing Yuan had taken baby Yanqing in. Jing Yuan made Blade promise that, should the truth ever be uncovered and Jing Yuan punished, Blade is to take Yanqing and protect him. And years down the line, when the truth does finally reveal itself, Blade fulfills his promise. Theoretically, Yanqing would then join the stellaron hunters, albeit unenthusiastically. I haven't actually made any plans for that concept outside of a single one-shot. I still need to finish the actual fic first lmao.

Mara-struck Jing Yuan au. Probably the least original one I have to offer, because there's nothing particularly unique about it aside from one little twist I added that I think differentiates it, and that's that Yanqing doesn't actually kill Jing Yuan, or vice versa. Instead, Jing Yuan, in his current state, attacks everyone and everything except for Yanqing, and actually goes out of his way to keep Yanqing away from danger. The way I rationalize this (and this is me stretching the mara lore a LOT) is that Yanqing is so important to Jing Yuan that he creates a sort of blind spot to the mara when present; he is both innately precious and harbors only positive memories in Jing Yuan's mind, so in a way, he retroactively contradicts the way mara-struck!Jing Yuan would normally perceive him, seeing Yanqing as something to protect rather than attack (i hope that made any sense </3). This would probably never actually happen in canon. I just really like the idea of Jing Yuan's love for his son being so strong that it stays with him even after he's gone mad and can no longer remember what Yanqing means to him.

Progenitor au. Saved this one for last because it's been occupying my entire brain for the past few days. It's based on Dillongoo's Progenitor Albedo series, and by based, I mean it's just the same au, same universe and everything, but HSR. I won't go into the details because I'm planning to make it its own dedicated post as well, but I think its safe to say its becoming my favorite au out of all of these. I already have some designs and original lore cooked up, so hopefully I can post about it soon.

I think that's all of them? Debatable if some of these even count as aus, but who cares. I hope you enjoyed my rambles and found my ideas interesting enough to read through. I'm hoping to eventually give them some more life and make actual content with them.

Till next time <3

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

The Darling Who Beats Their Yandere at Yandering 

As a darling too many times have you been abducted, manipulated, blackmailed by your yandere. Well, how would they like it if they had to go through everything you go through? 

“So How do you like it huh? Do you like how I tied you up and gagged you? No? Well too bad it's what I went through! How do you feel not being able to do anything, huh? To have your freedom stripped away?” 

Whether you’ve been a good darling for a long time now or narrowly had escaped their attempts to have you. 

“Oh~ I love it! Keep going, baby! Tie me! Gag me! Baby, please do what you want~!” 

André Mortesque both pre-househusband era and after dude’s obsessed with you up and down. Punch him, kick him, kiss him, kill him for all he cares; the very air you breathe is sacred to him. If he has to kidnap you at any time it doesn’t really break his obsessive love for you. Your tied or he’s tied or you both are just naked in bed he loves it all.

“Go ahead baby~! A-actually i-if y-your doing what I did can you get my aphrodisiac pills from my bedside table!” 

“Hehehe love bug…okay…I get it.”

Morgan Jox pre-househusband era is put in his place. He’s tucking his non-existent tail between his legs. He really did plan to scoop up your unconscious body and lightly tie it to a bed. He didn’t mean to make you feel bad or trapped. He’ll sob and cry for your forgiveness after all he just wants to protect and love you the most. But househusband Morgan has a different reaction altogether if you are able to tie down this himbo hunk of muscle in the first place he’s tilting his head, in confusion. “But that’s all just minor in the shadow of our love.” He’s a hopeless romantic who doesn’t mind the journey rather than the destination. He thought by now you would have understood that…maybe the journey for your love hasn’t quite reached its destination.

“Lovebug, maybe you should spend some more time in the ropes then after we can both talk about how we feel. Does that sound like a plan?”

“Well isn’t this a familiar position? Tell me, darling, are we reverting back to our…hehehe…old ways?”

Wezley is an enigma to most and it's probably best it stays that way. After all, it is the reason why he’s agreed to be a househusband in the first place. But long before all that you’ve replayed this scenario with him. This time it's with rope but one time it could have been electric chords or steel chains. As well as who’s within those binds in the first place. You can say he’s simply ecstatic he’s getting a taste of your original rodeo. He gets bored of the home life

“Ah my (Y/n)! Shall we do the other thing we used to do?”

“Well yes but this means something completely different when you know how to get out.”

Michael Froth your dear eldest brother knows how to tie a good knot and how to undo them. He’s your wretched mother’s favorite child(after you) after all having taken all of her worst traits. He sees now. You’re frustrated, huh? Then the color therapy must not be working then. No matter, he has a contingency plan I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better once he starts that routine with the sleeping meds. He’ll enjoy it when you drunkenly let him rock you to sleep, like in the olden days.

“That’s fine (Y/n). I understand where you’re coming from but this charade has been fun. Time to sleep.”

“So unfair (Y/n)! You’ve put me in this horrible situation! All because you don’t think.

Rue, the roommate turned villain, is amused but he doesn’t appreciate you switching roles. He’s already felt helpless before, helpless when you refused him for who he is, helpless when you didn’t support him in his true occupation. You made him feel absolutely trapped when you almost died; now this! It’s simply unfair! Now its only right he give you one of his special punishments! He’ll make sure you’ll be forgetting your own name by the end of it.

“Ah darling I’ve decided I’ll be picking your punishment tonight and I promise I won’t go easy!”

[orlissa]

How Not to Commit a Crime Against Historical Fashion–A Basic Guide for Writers

I have been reading a lot (mostly YA) (pseudo)historical (fantasy) novels (and let’s not even get started on what’s going on TV), and I’m stunned and horrified by the complete lack of basic understanding of historical fashion most authors display (not you, Rebecca Ross, darling, you didn’t do anything wrong). So here is a little guide from a miffed little gremlin who knows just a tad bit more about what people wore in the ye olden days than the average person (really, I’m no expert), so YOU don’t commit these heinous crimes:

First and foremost, and I cannot stress this enough: clothing and fashion don’t exist in vacuum. They are intrinsically tied to culture, climate, and, maybe most importantly, technology.

For the most of history (and I’m primarily talking about Western history here, sorry), people wore a simple base layer under their clothing: chemises, shifts, undershirts, underpants, drawers, combinations. Women and men! These had a very important function: they protected the actual outer layers from sweat, and protected the skin from chafing (e.g. from a corset). In the time and day when you didn’t have sewing and washing machines, outer clothes were relatively super expensive, while doing laundry was an actual nightmare. You didn’t want to wash you gowns much, because it was hard on your hands and on the fabric as well. So instead you wore a chemise–made of, most likely, some inexpensive, white material, in an easy-to-sew shape–, and changed and washed that chemise frequently. So as long as your worldbuilding doesn’t include (basically) fast fashion and washing machines (washing spells?), you really, really wanna have your characters to wear an undershirt/chemise.

You also have to think about colors. Chemical dying had a great advancement in the 1860s, which brought on a plethora of new and bright shades that actually lasted. Women’s clothing thus became extra and blindingly colorful, while men’s clothing went… black. As before these chemical dies black dye was hard to make and it also faded fast. (So yeah, your medieval bad guy is actually not that likely to wear black.) Purple is extra tricky, as it was traditionally made from a little creature called the purple dye murex, and making such dye was a lot of work and thus super expensive–so for the longest time only the wealthiest wore purple: senators, cardinals, kings…

(I just read a scene today where in the late 1800s Sicily a male character exchanged a leather shirt for a black (linen?) one at the town market, which he put right on the skin. I was understandably upset and manifested the author stepping on a piece of Lego.)

Climate really determines what people wear: think not only about the temperatures, but what raw materials are available at the climate. (Like, can they wear silk? Are there silk worms in this world? If yes, where? How can the characters have access to it?) Also, do not be daunted by the layers and think that your characters would be sweating buckets in the summer: we are talking about natural materials here which breathe.

Also, I’m not happy to rain on your parade, but generally speaking your (pseudo)historical character wouldn’t be showing too much skin in public. They don’t have sun screen, so they’d be protecting their skin from the sun by covering up–no short sleeves and super low necklines for you! However, evening attire can be more daring (short sleeves! Uncovered shoulders! Décolletage!)

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: before the… say second third of the 19th century, you don’t have corsets. You have stays, that give the body a conical shape. Then at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries you have transitional stays, which might be closer to modern bras/bralettes than you’d think. The point of these is to push the boobs up (since the gown is loose around the stomach, there is no point in trying to shape the silhouette there). Then you have corsets. You cannot tightlace (drastically shrink the waist) until the mid-19th century, when metal eyelets in corsets are introduced (and so they can take more tension). Still, it was more like an exception than a rule.

“Whalebone” is not actual bone. It’s baleen, those thingies in the whales’ mouth they use to filter their food from the water. Baleen is made of keratin, the same substance that makes up your fingernails, making them flexible.

Also, it’s just my general advice: try not to conceptualize corsets as bras, but as shoes: they need to be broken in, but once they are molded to your body, they are rather comfortable.

Clothes also play a cultural function–they have a meaning, a function. E.g. the point of panniers (those wide hip-thingies in 18th century gowns) and crinolines was that the women who wore them took up a lot of physical space. Women might not really had much say in everyday life, but they used fashion to show that they are there (men hated it, btw).

General silhouette guide to the 19th century, very roughly:

1800-1820s: Regency (brr, I’m gonna say it… Bridgerton). Boobs up, waistline right under the boobs, skirt is light and loose, with not much volume (will end up looking like a nightgown if the costume designer is not careful enough)

1820s-1830s: waistlines are going down (but still kinda up), skirts are getting fuller, sleeves puffier

1840s-1860s: waistline down to the natural waist, skirts are getting really full with huge crinolines, sleeves slim down, pagoda sleeves (getting wider down from the elbow) later down the road

1870s: First bustle period. Skirts get flat in the front and the sides, stick out in the back.

Turn of the 1870s-1880s: Natural form era. The bustle shrinks.

1880s: Second bustle period. The bustle comes back, gets even bigger.

1890s: Skirts become more A-lined, sleeves get puffed up (till they are ridiculous), chest shaped like a dove’s

[deathbxnny]

Omg official first request I've made ever?

Okay so hear me out, Dragonkin Reader, Dragon of war at a point of time in the past who was best friends with Morax in ye olden days. Reader who use to drink Osmanthus wine with everyone and such, ended up in a marriage with the great Morax and over time things got shaky, when he faked his death and took the name Zhongli and decided that having a dragon partner with obvious features of Dragonkin isn't great for his whole Human(tm) brand he has going on so he just neglects the reader except for during meetings with Childe on occasion, and reader just so happens to befriend Childe who definitely has his eyes for the stunning dragonkin...and perhaps even challenges them to a spar in which Reader wins and he just falls over head in heels with them..and perhaps reader shows up soggy in the rain at the inn room he's in when Zhongli presented Divorce papers and essentially kicked them out 👀 or something of the sort. Extra angst extra forbidden(ish) romance 👀👀👀

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A/N: Why hello there! I am honoured to be the recepient of your request, dear definitely-a-stranger of mine! I love the idea, but have changed it maybe a little bit too much on accident, so I hope that you'll like it anyways!<33 Content: Mention of non-sexual nudity!!!, some light flirting, neglect, Zhongli being a bad husband (like in most of my writing for him-), some angst, emotional adultery???, hurt/kind of comfort, talks of divorce, Childe being a sly homewrecker, somewhat forbidden romance, romantic tension, characters might be ooc?? idk- Female reader, who has some dragon-like features! Word count: 2.2k ((Not proofread at all!!!))

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"Take a leap into the waters below with me, won't you?"

It was a cold and misty morning, when Ajax decided to take a nice swim in an uncharted lake he had found during his travels. It was close to the borders of Liyue city, hidden in a lush field of tall grass, and yet no map seemed to acknowledge it's existence. This intriuged him greatly, as not even locals seemed to be aware of it. And so, whenever the tempratures dropped, he ventured out for a quick dip in the cold water, a familiar tradition from back home. He trudged through the thick grass, his eyes narrowing against the mist. It was easy to miss the lake and so he was always very careful in looking for it, having even gone as far making a small pathway for himself.

A content smile pulled at his lips, when he finally saw the still surface of it in the distance, his steps speeding up, until he stood at the small part of the shoreline that wasn't covered in rocks. His boots came off first, then his shirt and jacket, then his pants. All unceremoniously thrown onto a nearby rock, right next to the foreign silken robes he hadn't seen in his eagerness to get in. Ignorant to what may linger below, he was quick to lower himself into the water, letting out a soft hiss at how cold it was.

Just like how it was back home.

He closed his eyes, muscles tensing and flexing, before they relaxed and his mind drifted into thoughtless dreams of work and his family. It was quiet and peaceful here... perhaps a little too unnaturally quiet. But his apparent fearlessness didn't allow him any doubt or worry. Every now and then, he'd hear the soft movement of the water in the subconsciousness of his mind, until it became a little too often and began near approaching him. He cracked a tired eye open, his arms crossed over his broad chest, as he tried seeing what the source of the sound was. was it a fish? Frog? ... A woman?

The young man gasped softly, his body straightening up in surprise, when he saw her carelessly step out of the water, goosebumps spreading across her body when the cold breeze hit her skin. He opened his mouth to perhaps apologise or question her... yet not a word was able to escape his lips. And she didn't seem to particularly acknowledge him either. Instead, she just now stood next to him, calmly looking off into the distance, before her head slowly turned to look down at him.

The silence was suffocating, but Ajax's mind was racing with millions of thoughts at once. He should be looking away from her nude form. He should get up and... No, he can't do that either, as he was in a similar state. Yet he seemed to have more shame than her. So instead, he could only blink in surprise, when he noticed the scales, horns and cat-like slitted, intense eyes. She was no human, he then determined. A siren maybe? Was she going to rip him apart with the sharp teeth he spied under her lips? Was she going to dig her sharp nails into his heart and take it for herself? Was she going to seduce him and drag him into the depths of the lake as punishment for being so careless? Ajax fidgeted nervously. At least she was beautiful, he supposed. Breathtaking, in a literal sense, if you will.

And yet, his creative imagination came to an end, when the woman finally spoke up, still so unbothered by it all. "It's been a while, since a human decided to lose it's way into my territory..." She hummed, before just stepping out of the water and collecting the robes the harbinger had ignored. "... Have any of them survived to tell the tale?" He asked, trying to retain some semblance of his composure, which seemed impossible in her presence. He heard a small huff, perhaps a chuckle. "Some, yes." She mused, but her voice was oddly devoid of any emotions. Or perhaps, human emotions.

Childe dared to look behind him then, his eyes catching as her bare shoulder disappeared under the silk. "I won't go down so easily, if you happen to be in a bad mood today then." The man near challenged, but he was only met with a slight turn of her head in his directon, as she halted her movements. "I doubt, that you'll ever be a match forme, even in a good mood." She replied, before slowly walking away, her hands gently brushing against the tall grass. But her words only ticked off Ajax's challenging nature, which made him swiftly stand and give her a slight grin. "Then fight me. I assume you are an ancient creature, one with great power. I'd appreciate the challenge-" "-Maybe next time." Was all she said, as her form merged with the mist and disappeared soundlessly. Childe stood in the still water for a while after, his breathing a little laboured from the excitement that had filled him from her words alone.

So much for relaxation...

--

He visited the lake often afterwards, in hopes of seeing the woman again. And every now and then, he'd be lucky enough to do so, even if she never agreed to a fight. Instead, he'd spend his time speaking to her, although that was a little difficult at first due to her reserved nature. Something that Ajax was eventually able to break through as well. He learned three things about her over the few weeks he had spent here. Her name was (Y/N), she was once an ancient, powerful dragon... and she is married, unfortunately. To who exactly however, she refused to say. Not that it mattered anyways, since childe's brewing, selfish jealousy only saw it as a challenge too, if anything. Especially when he learned that your dear husband wasn't very attentive to you in the first place.

"Say, wouldn't your husband get quite angry, if he saw his wife and a foreign man sitting in a lake together... naked?" He one day asked, loosely gesturing between the two of them lazily to empathise his point. But he had learned over time, that dragons didn't care about nudity all that much. They techincally usually didn't wear clothes anyways, right? (Y/N) seemed to have learned some human customs at least regarding that, but her lake, her rules, he supposed. "He forgets I'm there most of the time. I doubt he'll care now." She hummed, her body laying across the warm sand. It was a hot day, the sun shining down and reflecting against the lakes still surface. Ajax kept his eyes away from her, mainly out of odd embarrassment, that he usually couldn't care to feel. But she made him feel alot of similar emotions against his will anyways.

"How can he forget you? I certainly think about you all the time." "About me? Or the duel you are itching to have?" He simply grinned knowingly in response. It was both, ofcourse. "I guessed so... but I'll have to disappoint you once again, I'm afraid. There is a meeting I have to attend with my husband." She muttered, sighing as she sat up with a slight frown. Ajax raised a brow, a silent question she understood. "Appearances are important to him." "I see... but what about your...?" He trailed off, eyes daring steal a glance at her horns, that made her nod. "Yes, I hide them around him... or other people for that matter." "Ah, so, I'm special then?" He teased, making her huff and pull on her thin robe. "Perhaps in a way, you are... but then again, you are in my domain." She said, which made the man smirk a little. He'll take that for now.

She took her leave then, a small wave and bow of her head, before she disappeared in the tall grass. Ajax sighed to himself and sunk deeper into the water. He also had a meeting to get to... but for now, he'll stay in your domain to relax in your comfort, that even lingered in your absence.

--

"Perhaps I shouldn't have done that..." He cursed, when he was running late from falling asleep in the lake. He didn't know how it happened and was quite irritated at himself. This was a mess, but knowing him, he'd always find a way out of everything. So when he arrived at the restaurant, he put on his best, apologetic smile, as he went to greet the man. "Ahaha.... my apologies, Mr. Zhongli! Last minute work came up, that I had to take care of and..." His words trailed off, when his eyes found the familiar gaze of the dragonic woman. He gulped, when it all dawned on him... but then the confusion settled in. Why would such a powerful, ancient dragon be with a funeral consultant? Unless... he didn't know? Yes, that made alot of sense, especially when she looked so human-like now. Somehting that irked Ajax deep down, for some reason.

"That's alright, things happen." Zhongli hummed, ushering the man to take a seat, when he absently waved a hand into the direction of his near stoic wife. "I hope you don't mind my wife joining us for the evening?" He asked, making the harbinger clear his throat. "No, ofcourse not... it's an honour.." (Y/N) seemed less affected by the whole ordeal and so he decided to reel himself in as well and go ahead with the meeting. Every now and then, his eyes would find her calm form picking at her food or idly looking off at a nearby wall. He also quickly noticed how... indifferent Zhongli was to her.

His eyes never trailed to her breathtaking form in her fancy, silken robes. He never spoke a word to her, never asked for her opinion. It irritated Ajax. If she was his, he'd show her off, boast bout the strong, powerful wife he had at his side. He'd never allow her to hide her dragonic features either. She was to be worshipped, just like she told him she once was... but then again, Childe was selfish. He'd rather just worship her all on his own.

And by the end of the evening, it took all his strength to not rip her away from the other man's unworthy grasp. What did he have, that Ajax didn't? But all he could really do, was watch the two walk away, her eyes meeting his briefly, before she disappeared after her husband in the dense crowd.

--

"Even after a nice evening, you can't seem to acknowledge me, Morax." (Y/N) said, although she knew her word would just fall on deaf ears. Especially when she used his old name, actual name. "I don't expect much else from you however.... Would you like it, if I simply disappeared into the depths of my lake forever? Far away from any civilisation, forever alone?" More silence, as the man simply took off his coat and shoes. He only responded when she used that pathetic human name of his. But she'd be damned, before she allowed herself to sink that low. "I will warn you, that I will not be alone however. I have perhaps found someoneelse. Someone who appreciates the war and carnage of love much more than you ever could have."

Zhongli stopped in his tracks, his head tilting ever so slightly in her direction. He wouldn't even spare her a last glance it seemed. He had fully given up on his past and his wife of eons with it. "Then leave." "Very well, Morax." She saw his jaw clench, a last dig at revenge, the sound of a ring hitting the marble floor blending in with the door falling shut.

--

The moon was high up in the sky, by the time (Y/N) arrived at her lake. As expected, Ajax was already resting in it and for a while it seemed. "It's a little late for a swim, don't you think?" He asked, making the woman hum in response, as she shrugged her clothes off and walked past him into the lake, until it reached her hips. "Says who? I make the rules here." The man sat up, his head tilted back a little to laugh softly. "My, when did you get so sassy? Seems like I'm rubbing off on you." "Perhaps so... why are you here?" She finally asked the obvious question, that earned her a smirk. But it was a dangerous one. "It's not for a duel, for once." He mused, the message clear.

This type of burning love he felt was forbidden and perhaps for a good reason. A dragon and a human couldn't possibly be together, and then there was Zhongli, who he still assumed was just a mere human. People would call him a homewrecker, or maybe they'd dare to blame you. But alas... when was Childe ever the one to back down from anything? Especially when he wanted something? It was a risky, uncharted part of life for him... yet that alone seemed to have worked out for him before with this lake, right? "I see... then what is it?" She asked carefully, eyes narrowing a little, when he chuckled.

"I'd like to take a leap of faith." "A leap of faith?" "Yes." His answers were clear and confident, filled with an arrogance only he perhaps could have. But that intriuged the woman, who hummed and reluctantly held her hand out to him then; A final test.

"Then come... Take a leap into the waters below with me, won't you?"

"Challenge accepted."

-----

A/N: Alrighttt, my back hurts! And this took me about 3 hours to write... and I maybe went off the idea alot... BUT I know you'll appreciate it anyways. I hope everyone else enjoyed this too and thank you again for the request, dear!<33

[revenantghost]

I really want to thank you for throwing together Trigun Bookclub! I lurked, but it was a ton of fun seeing all the art and meta. I missed out on all this fun fandom stuff when I first saw Trigun cuz I didn’t know where it was on the internet or if it even was around. I appreciate your hard work!

Oh man, I feel like I've said this too many times, I'm like a broken record, but I'm so surprised and thrilled with how it turned out myself?! I really just slapped down the dates, threw some resources out there, and the bookclubbers carried this through to the very end--including lurkers! I've loved seeing people react to and support posts. It's really been an amazing experience, and I'm honored to have been a part of it.

I wasn't a part of Trigun back in ye olden days (I was a weeb, but I was painfully hipster about it, forgive me for my sins), but I can only imagine how isolated it was in the wild west of the internet! And yeah, from what I hear from the fandom olds, it was only a small percentage of the fandom that had even read Trimax because, like you said, it wasn't easy to find (and the only version for a hot second was the infamous bad translation), and it took awhile for Dark Horse to complete its run. I'm thrilled so many people are finding it now, because it absolutely rewrote my DNA upon reading. I'm just doing my part to spread the Trimax propaganda lol

[cupidjyu]

when we sway, i go weak

hyunjae x reader

genre: hyunjae teaches you how to dance!!!!! spy au, slow dancing, this takes place in the olden times with those fancy ball dance parties, friends to lovers, flirting, first kiss, few suggestive jokes because that's my immature humor, tension, i purposely made them talk fancier because i think it’s fun to write LOL, prince hyunjae??? notes: i got this idea from a movie i watched (enola holmes 2) that scene got me giggling like omg you guys should totally search up the dance scene hahahaha word count: 2.5k

Your mission was simply impossible.

“Dance with a man, they said?” You scoffed, leaning over the railing as you peered over the dance floor below you. You could see a few couples, dressed in their most fancy and expensive clothing, gracefully weaving in and out as if they were professionals. “Dance with a man to get the information that I need? This is… absurd.”

As a spy, you often needed to disguise in order to get what you wanted. You were used to it anyway. You’ve done tons of them and the roles you had to act out were fairly easy. A servant? All you had to do was listen to what the others needed. An elderly person? Just walk really slowly.

But to act like a rich, well-dressed magnate is where you crossed the line. Acting elegant and proper wasn’t your forte and you didn’t quite enjoy it. At all. But, you had a target and the only way to talk to him was by… asking him for a dance.

“Ridiculous,” You mumbled to yourself, collapsing against the railing.

A shuffle of footsteps next to you.

“What is ridiculous?”

You raised an eyebrow and turned. That was when you came face-to-face with Hyunjae. Hyunjae, Jaehyun, he went by many formal names.

He himself was actually a rich, well-dressed magnate.

“You.” You narrowed your eyes.

“Me?” His shoulders raised and his eyes widened.

“Yes, you!”

“Okay, so I’m ridiculous.” He goofily smiled. You groaned in frustration. Hyunjae, an affluent person, a man who knew much about business and money, was frankly a doofus. You had worked with him a few times and you had found that he was much, much different from how he looked. Despite his tall build, broad shoulders, and objectively… handsome face, he was a complete fool. And he accepted that. Because he was a fool.

He liked to joke and he would always point out when your lips curled up into a smile. He also liked to hug. A lot. Even when you insisted that he didn’t need to, he would only hug tighter.

Putting it simply, Hyunjae is a friend. A slow, slightly dense, friend who you could rely on. No matter how many times you complained about him, you always found him right by your side. 

“I only worry for you.” 

Hyunjae had once replied this when you asked him why he continued to help you, even during the more hazardous tasks. He couldn’t even fight.

He could probably dance though, right? You sucked up all of your dignity and you reached forward, grabbing his firm arm in yours.

“I need you for something,” You stated, leading him off into a room, any room that would be empty.

“Oh, you need me?” He purred with a cheeky smile. You clicked your tongue and ignored his words.

Finally, you pushed open a door and it seemed to be a library. Bookshelves covered the walls and the floors were empty except for a single desk with ancient-looking books stacked on top. Hurriedly, you closed the door and you pressed him up against it, leaning forward. You were so close that you could feel his breathing against your lips.

“Are we about to kiss, sweetheart?” He smiled.

You jabbed him in the stomach with the blunt side of the pocket knife that you tend to carry around in case someone attempted to stab—no pun intended—you in the back. He hissed in response.

“That hurt,” He grumbled.

“I hope it did.” You scowled. “And no, I don’t want a kiss. Especially from you. I need to learn how to dance.”

“For what exactly?” 

You stuttered, “…nothing.”

“Another one of your missions isn’t it?” He tucked a stray strand of hair away from your face. You swallowed, your mouth going dry.

“Maybe,” You shakily sighed. With his incredibly annoying personality, for some weird reason, you couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous around him. 

It’s definitely because of his obnoxiously charming face.

“You won’t get hurt from this will you?” He gazed at you worriedly.

You recalled the time when you had gotten injured and Hyunjae had brought you into his lap so that he could tend to the cuts. You never mentioned how your heartbeat had stuttered that day.

“I cannot guarantee you anything.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

“Okay?” You looked at him expectantly.

“I’ll teach you how to dance, but not because I want to help you complete your dangerous mission.” You could see the way his smile lilted up mischievously.

“Then what for, Jaehyun?” Hyunjae, Jaehyun. the formal names never mattered to you. In fact, he often smiled dearly when you used his real name.

“Well…” He started with a glint in his eyes. “Simply because I would quite enjoy this opportunity to hold your waist.” And then his hand rested there. His warmth almost pierced your body, making you inhale sharply.

“What are you—“

“I’m teaching you, am I not?” He spoke softly. “First step is to get into position. My hand on your waist.” His thumb stroked your side softly, making you squirm. He gently led you into the center of the room, his hand never leaving its position. 

“That’s it?” You blurted out.

“Of course not,” He laughed. His other hand took yours and he brought it up to his shoulder. “Your left hand stays here, on my shoulder. And the other…” He intertwined your fingers with his, holding firmly. You suppressed the shaky sigh that threatened to leave your parched throat.

Hyunjae easily noticed your silence and he bent closer to study your face.

“Everything alright there, sweetheart?” 

Your hand, still resting on his shoulder, slapped it briefly.

“Refrain from calling me sweetheart, sir.” You whispered. “I’m simply a spy for a good cause.”

“Spy or not, you’re still a sweetheart,” He replied.

You couldn’t help yourself from blushing slightly. Immediately you were conscious of him noticing and so you began to ramble. “You’re obnoxious. If we weren’t friends, I would be taking my knife and—”

“And…” He grinned, cutting you off. “We should start dancing.”

“Yes.” Your eyes widened. “Right, that was what we were doing.”

Hyunjae smirked. “Don’t get too distracted.”

“You underestimate me. I’m a very focused person.”

“It doesn’t seem like that around me.” He hummed.

You grew quiet at that, knowing very well that he was correct.

“I will take the lead. If I step forward,” He proceeded to do so. “You step backward.”

You held your breath. unable to ignore his sweet cologne anymore. 

“I step to the side, then you do the same,” He muttered. 

His hand was warm too, holding you securely.

He looked up briefly and he smiled back down at you. You could only stare, doe-eyed.

“It looks like the music has started.” He grinned. “My instructions might not help. Sometimes you just need to follow the rhythm. It is, what really should lead us.”

“Poetic,” You remarked, trying to ignore the way your heartbeat fastened at the way he gazed at you so tenderly.

“Focus.” He raised an eyebrow with a small smile. With a shaky breath, you began to dance. Stepping forward, right, backwards, and left. His eye contact was almost luring you in, shifting your body impossibly close, right up to his chest. 

“This is easy,” You breathed out.

“You did step on my foot three times,” He pointed out.

“I’m still learning,” You snapped.

“I can say that you’re doing really well.” Hyunjae smiled softly.

“Am I really?” You couldn’t help but smile back.

“Certainly. We can try the twirl now.”

“The what?”

But he didn’t respond. Instead, he led your hand up and over your head, forcing you to twirl. Then, he brought you right back to his chest.

“Like this.” He gazed down at you, his eyes lingering on your lips for a brief second.

“A warning next time would be pleasant.”

“Simply follow the rhythm.”

Your breath hitched when just at that moment, the music had picked up. And so, your steps became faster, that one twirl move coming more frequently. The music was soft really, since it was in the background, playing in the actual ballroom and not in a mere library. Your footsteps and his breathing was much more evident.

After another twirl, you rested your forehead against his chest, taking in a deep breath.

“This is nervewracking,” You spoke with honesty, still following his steps. But there was something else distracting you from the calming music. His pounding heartbeat.

“Is it me who makes you nervous? Or the dancing?” He said, his voice vibrating against his chest.

“I cannot guarantee you an answer to that,” You whispered.

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

You abruptly pulled back, only to meet his knowing smile. “Oh, shut up.”

Hyunjae soon introduced another move. One where you both pull away, drifting off to opposite directions with only his hand grasping yours, and then you gravitate back to the same position, his other hand returning to rest at your waist.

“You look annoyingly good in that suit, you know,” You muttered. And again, he pulled away so you at least had a chance to hide your burning face. But you heard his laugh as he dragged you right back against his body,

“If I’m not mistaken,” He breathed out, searching your face with affection. “You just called me handsome.”

You shut your eyes in embarrassment. “And what about it?”

“Well you…” He brought your intertwined hands up to his chest, right where his heart was. “You have quite the effect on me.” You inhaled sharply when you realized just how fast it was beating. It was beating so fast, that it felt almost like it was on fire.

A moment of silence. The two of you had never once stopped dancing, constantly stepping side to side. But neither of you were focused on the music anymore, instead more on gazing into each other’s eyes, trying to find a non-verbal answer behind them.

Finally, you spoke quietly, breathlessly. “Why?”

Hyunjae stilled for a second, causing you to almost trip on his feet.

“Why is my heart beating so fast?” He chuckled. “I’d figure that as a spy, with your wits, you might have an idea.”

“No, I–” You bit your lip. “I know about that. I’m asking… why do you feel this way?”

He blinked and he gave you a tender smile, before twirling you around again. “Why wouldn’t I?”

You shook your head, frowning. “You don’t understand.” You stumbled against his chest. “I am a spy, Jaehyun. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“You are not just a spy,” The man whispered. “You are more than that. Should that stop me from falling in love with you, is out of the question. You are… beautiful and you make me smile in so many ways possible. There’s so much more to you that I see, and I would be honored to learn more.”

Your eyes fell down to where his hand had slightly tightened at your waist, your cheeks flaming red.

“Focus.” His voice was low. You looked back up. 

“If you are really so certain about your feelings for me, Hyunjae,” You uttered. “Let us continue to dance.”

“What will that resolve, sweetheart?” Another twirl, another step forward and right.

“You must trust me.”

His gaze fell and he nodded. The two of you tuned back into the music. It was different now, you had realized. Slower and more… romantic. Your hand was still resting on his shoulder and his hand was still on your waist. Your other hand continued to be encased in his.

At the change of note, he twirled you around. You began to lose your breath and it wasn’t because of physical exertion. It was something beating in your chest, so strong that you could barely focus anymore. Hyunjae seemed to be the same, his grip on your hand and waist tightening, his eyes searching you with so much endearment that it left you even more breathless.

Another step. Forward, right, backwards, and left. 

Another twirl. 

And with a deep breath, as you were being pulled back, instead of returning to position, you leaned up and pressed your lips against him. Alarms were going off in your brain but you simply ignored them, shutting your eyes and falling into his arms.

Hyunjae didn’t even hesitate to kiss you back, his lips parting and his head tilting. He gave a satisfied hum as both of his hands fell to your waist, pulling you closer. Your hands wrapped around his neck, deepening it in which he happily responded. 

Your lips moved in unison and you could feel his pulse right against you, beating erratically. Just like your own. 

You pulled away first, resting your forehead against his, giving him a shy smile.

“How would you rate my performance today?” You whispered. 

Hyunjae smiled widely and pressed another kiss to your lips. “Outstanding. We shall do this another time… when you aren’t busy.”

You widened your eyes, pulling away abruptly. “My mission.”

“You must go,” He spoke, urging you on. But his hand on your hip said otherwise. You gulped. He wanted you to stay for the rest of the night. You could see the plea in his eyes.

“I must go, yes,” You agreed, nodding. “But, I assure you I will return. You can hold me and… kiss me, all you want.”

Hyunjae smiled, bring his hand up to your cheek and caressing slowly. “Excited?”

“What, for my mission or for your affections?” You raised an eyebrow.

“My affections.”

“Indeed, that I am.” You shied away from his touch, your ears burning. “But do not get so full of yourself, Jaehyun. I have many things to do tonight.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” A corner of his lips raised. “Me being one of those things.”

You gulped and pushed him away. “Desist. You are to be wealthy and unaware. Not lewd.” You then turned on your heel, walking to the door to return to the ballroom. But, you turned back longingly. Oh, how you wanted to just be with him.

“I cannot believe that you’re going to dance with another man right after kissing me.” He shook his head playfully.

“I have a task to complete.” And then you smiled to yourself. “I never took you as the jealous type, Hyunjae.”

“I have a right.” He frowned in response. “I can’t afford to lose someone so pretty, can I?”

You rolled your eyes fondly before opening the door, the bustling of the crowd and the instrumentals of the music interrupting the previous silence. 

“You are insufferable, Jaehyun.”

He once again smiled at your use of his real name.

“I can assure that you love my affections. That in which you will be experiencing more later on tonight.” He winked and tilted his head. 

You winced and stepped through the entrance. “I will see you later. And… thank you for teaching me how to dance.”

[casualsnickers]

Month of Emmet Quick Write #16

Prompt #16: Hat

Back together at last! It's the day Ingo and Emmet are both due to feature on the Multi Line at the same time (with new pokémon to boot). And to celebrate Emmet returning to the station after a much-needed vacation, a few tag-alongs decide to show up and keep him company. One's made of acrylic, though.

Read the whole thing below the cut.

“Bossman! Your coffee has arrived!”

Emmet looked up from his stack of paperwork as both Cameron and Ramses eased their way into his shared office, the two men waltzing up to his desk saddled with bags and drink carriers. “Coffee? For me?” Emmet asked sarcastically. “Oh, you shouldn’t have!”

“We really shouldn’t have. The price has gone up a whole dollar,” Ramses grunted. “Costed me a pretty poké just to get coffee for all the joes on shift. Oh, and apparently, the heating element in the coffee shop was broken so I had them make you cold brew instead, boss. No espresso. No additives.” Ramses then plucked up a clear plastic cup and delicately set it down on the desk, rattling the ice around in the cup. “Bitter and strong, just the way you like it for some reason. Here’s your concrete juice, boss.”

“Oh, that’s a new one,” Cameron commented, stealing his own drink from a drink carrier. “I thought we agreed to call it wet tar. Liquid death. Ye olden sludge- “

Emmet took an experimental sip of the almost black mixture in the cup, not quite sure how to feel about the icy temperature or the strange smoothness of the drink. The flavor of the brew was spot on, though. He took another sip, leaning back in his chair. “Concrete juice is funnier, though. Sounds like poison.”

Ramses smirked. “See? You gotta switch it up, Cam.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Says the guy that only ever orders tea from a coffee shop,” Cameron retorted, taking a muffin from one of the other bags on the desk.

“Listen here. The chai that the shop sells is amazing. Don’t you ever shit on my tea.”

“Whatever, old man.”

“Take you and your overly-sweet, tooth-rotting frappuccino out of here, Cam.”

“You’re just mad your tea has barely any flavor.”

“Stop arguing.” Emmet waved the two depot agents out of his office, immediately going back to his schedule, albeit with his mood brightened by his coffee. It wasn’t his favorite but it was quite good.

Within the hour, Emmet’s break would be over. He was due to board the Multi Line with Ingo and show him the ropes for how it worked and to Emmet’s excitement, they would get to battle in tandem. And to Emmet’s further excitement, both he and Ingo would be battling with new pokémon, something both Cameron and Cloud had been chomping at the bit to see.

The door to the office clicked open, Ingo striding in as he set down his coat on his desk. “Emmet! Good morning!” his brother called, his eyes crinkled in an easy smile.

“Good morning, Ingo!” Emmet grinned. “You seem awfully chipper today. How were the morning lines? Pleasant?”

“They were quite nice, indeed,” Ingo commented, readjusting his shirt and tie as he moved over to the private pc within their office. “Many of the commuters have been very kind and welcoming to me ever since I reappeared at this station. I have received quite a few welcome back presents.” And as if to prove his point, the moment Ingo finished up by the pc and opened his locker, a massive bag fell out and onto the floor. “...Egads.”

Emmet peered over at his brother’s locker, sighting quite a few things. Cards, pens, books, and even a few plush dolls. No foodstuffs.

“Oh! And I have something for you!”

Emmet blinked. “For me? What is it?”

Ingo fixed his hair in the locker mirror before walking over to his brother, holding out a clenched hand. “A commuter wanted me to give this to you on account of allegedly being too afraid to do so themself. Might you know anything about why that might be?”

Emmet shook his head. “I am the scary twin. You should know this by now.”

Regardless, Ingo shook his head and opened his palm revealing- 

“A shiny Joltik charm?!” Emmet immediately snatched up the item, finding out that the tiny accessory was a pin in disguise. “For me? Aww, you shouldn’t have! This is fantastic!”

“The commuter in question was adamant that you would like it. I am happy to see that they were certainly on the right track. If I happen to see them again, I will inform them that their intuition was correct.”

Emmet had a better idea. He picked up his hat from where it sat on the coat rack by the door and carefully affixed the Joltik charm to the top of his hat like a badge of honor. “There! Now, it is obvious that I received it. That way, if I happen to be near the passenger who gifted me with the charm, they will know that I liked their present.”

Ingo smiled. “Very well! But it’s nearing the end of the hour and we must be off toward the Multi platform.”

“Are you excited?” Emmet asked, rising from his chair. “This is going to be the first time we’ve battled side-by-side since you arrived home. You’re sure you’re ready?”

“Positively! I have been waiting earnestly to realign my tracks with yours and battle beside you once again.” Ingo threw his coat back on and straightened out his brand-new cap, checking the line of pokéballs at his side. “Words cannot describe how… uncanny it was not having you to battle alongside so long ago. But! Now we are both coupled together again! Do you think the passengers will be excited that we will once again be a two-car train?”

“Positively! Ingo, all of the challenger spots for the Multi Line have been booked out for an entire month. Or have you just not noticed?”

“I haven’t.” Ingo then shook his head and walked over to Emmet, handing him his coat. “Enough chit-chat. Let us be off, Emmet! We shouldn’t disappoint our challengers by delaying any further.”

“Fine, fine. Right behind you, Ingo!”

As Emmet snagged his hat off of the coat stand, he felt something wiggle around under his cap, tiny poking sensations nestling under his cap. “Hmm?” He then took off his cap, his eyes widening. “Oh! My hat is infested with Joltiks!”

“Woe, the plague be upon ye,” Ingo quoted without missing a beat. He then paused, reaching under his own cap to retrieve a plump Joltik that had tried to nest in his hair. “If only I could hide Litwicks in my own cap.”

“You could if you tried!” Emmet pointed out. “But then you’d have candle wax in your hair.”

“My hat would burst into flames, Emmet. That’s the other important thing.”

“All I’m hearing are excuses.”

[lyss-sketchbox]

... In ye olden times when I didn't have the characters I have now (partially bc my faves for oceanid didn't exist yet :'D) I attempted to fight the Oceanid with Bennett. Yes I attempted to use his hold skill to hit the flying bird mimics. Technically it worked, but it was not particularly efficient or easy.

Ah. Oof. Ow. I feel that.

Wow i miss ye olden times of genshin sometimes. I remember i used to main phys razor and played him with EM xinyan for overload, and noelle is the only healer i liked and built.

Yeah the birds facking suck. I have only tried solo bosh rush with wrio and neuvi. And funfact #1! Only wrio's special CA hits the birds so i had to let the birds hit wrio enough to proc it. Funfact #2 neuvis NA is grounded, not like monas where the NA hits the enemy's hitbox. No Neuvi's NA hits the ground below the hitbox.

SO HIS FACKING NA CANT PROC EYE OF PERCEPTION ON THE BIRDS AT ALL!!!!

[zhongrin]

dear mei and her dearly beloved,

how have you both been? days have been harsher here, and in spite of our hard efforts to overcome these barriers, times have been tougher recently. jiaoqiu appears rather at peace with his condition, but i'm afraid something darker is rotting inside his heart. if only i knew.

on the brighter side, we have been closer than ever these few days, and he seems rather at peace with not running about the place due to his duties; much like he was all those years ago. i'm certain you remember, back when we were in university together. those were easier days, and love was easy to maintain as it was to blossom.

when zhongli would be busy with other duties, i would drag you to the cafeteria to ask you about everything you knew about boys and their likes. you seemed to be rather fond of the fact that i had never been in the company of many, and would often tease me, but answer my incessant questions regardless. beautiful days, those were.

oh, and do you remember that time the four of us were a part of the same team that went to the swamps as a part of our educational tour? best memory ever! zhongli would be so cheesy all the time, always telling jiaoqiu and i to leave you two to your privacies for a while and go 'enjoy our few days of single-ness' and we'd never understand what you meant until one of those days of wandering off resulted in us falling for each other, and you both resulting in a hearty fit of laughter when we told you both about it.

alas, all good days come to an end. although i must say; every day spent thinking about our memories together is a day cherished. jiaoqiu speaks of zhongli often, and hopes you two will drop by some time. he seems to be of the impression that zhongli is an 'old man' who struggles with his vision all the time so he would be able to give amazing tips with his current condition. zhongli would be amused, i bet.

take care, mei. attached with this letter is a tin box of the lotus candies that you both love, made with care by jiaoqiu. he hopes it will be enough an apology for not having dropped by when he was in your city, and is rather disappointed about it. do console him. he refuses to listen to me, and is too nervous to speak to zhongli on his own. i also hope zhongli has been doing well, and wish good luck upon the both of you.

with love, cherry and jiaoqiu.

dear chryseis and jiaoqiu,

i have routed your letter to meirin, but she seems to be particularly taken with some work and house chores at the moment, so i have been given the liberty to reply, i hope you do not mind.

my heart goes out to the both of you. if you ever need any help, please remember that we are always here for you two. it may be hard to initiate such sensitive topics directly, so if you ever need us to become the middleman to kickstart the topic just so you both could talk about it in private afterward, please do not hesitate to let us know.

ah, yes, the olden university days. i am constantly reminded of them whenever i walk the university halls. i find myself seeing us in some of my students as well. looking at it from this perspective, it all feels almost surreal sometimes.

i had no idea you would talk about 'boys and their likes' with mei back then. i'm glad you both could bond and support each other over such topics. but i have to ask, did she ever say anything about myself back then? foolish and young as i was, she must have had a multitude of complaints about me.

i'm afraid the glasses you may have seen in our photos only serves an aesthetical purpose. meirin insists that i wear them sporadically, and my students encourages me to abide by her wishes. after a while, i find myself taking a liking for it as an accessory myself. i do, however, have a few acquaintances who might be knowledgeable about this issue jiaoqiu is facing. let me forward you their contacts when i have the details.

please extend my gratitude to jiaoqiu for the lotus candies. it's not much, but meirin had baked some banana oat cookies the other day. i hope you both will enjoy her latest baking endeavors. i've relayed your message to her, and the following is her reply, which i have transcribed word-by-word: "you think some lotus candies is enough apology? come apologize properly to our faces! …. haha, i'm kidding. wow, i feel mean saying that. i meant, don't worry about it, but be sure to drop in next time!".

lastly, while the good old days may not return, let us continue to look forward to the infinite possibilities of even better days which are to come.

postscriptum. i hope the both of us may reconvene soon; meirin has been cooking more often lately and wanted some guidance from an expert. i think she's just excited to show you the progress of her culinary skills and is itching to catch up with the two of you, but i implore you to entertain her. you have my thanks.

always wishing the best for the two of you, zhongli and meirin

[nickgerlich]

Sweet Pie And By

Unexpected guests these days is probably a rarity, thanks to our always-on communication channels. It’s easy to let folks know in advance. But trust me, in ye olden days it was a very real possibility that your long lost cousins might just wind up on your front porch unannounced. Worse yet, it was dinner time, and you had only baked one pie.

Being the nice person you are, you welcomed them inside with open arms, and set out a few more plates. But what to do about that pie? You had planned on it being enough for your family, not anyone else, and there isn’t time to bake another.So you do what you have to do: slice it into smaller pieces.

The pie metaphor is a perfect one for when it comes to displaying information, whether it is sales, demographics, budgets, or whatever. And ever since digital marketing became a thing in the last 30 years, it applied even more so. You see, back when I took my first marketing course at university, that topic had not really been considered, and all that marketers had to consider were print, broadcast, and outdoor. When digital arrived, it meant there were unexpected guests at the table.

As I explain to my students, the advertising pie did not get bigger just because there were more places to spend it. No, it meant that the slices got smaller. Now that we have had quite a few years of juggling both traditional and digital marketing, we can see trends at work, because unlike when serving food to yourself and guests, there is no reason to expect that both traditional and digital will be treated as equals.

And the trend is definitely pointing toward digital these days, with digital growing 8.7% in 2Q, and traditional shrinking 4.1%.

That’s not to say that traditional will go away any time soon, although I suspect it will continue to decline in allocations. After all, Baby Boomers will be fading into the sunset, replaced by tech-savvy Gen-Zers who tilt toward digital. Still, there will likely always be a place for traditional media to some extent.

We may stream most or all of our content these days, but unless you opt for the premium package, you’re still going to be seeing ads. Outdoor still works, and is far safer than the driver playing with his phone. While newspapers are in steep decline, magazines are holding their own.

Digital’s hunger, though, is allowing it to get more of the pie, and that hunger is turned into eyeballs who might just reach for their wallet. It’s all about spending your money wisely, not equally.

In fact, digital will account for 68% of ad spending this year, with Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon accounting for 59% of all ad spending. Think about that. These three companies—social, search, and stuff—are really just giant ad agencies masquerading as household words.

Naturally, ad budgets will ebb and flow from year to year, based on corporate needs, the state of the economy, and so forth. It’s just that now, still a mere three decades since the current era began, the paradigm shift keeps shifting. When two out of three ad dollars are spent on platforms that did not exist until recently, you can begin to appreciate just how much of a tidal shift there has been.

Now you know why traditional media—God love ‘em—are nervous. If a traditional media outlet has not yet found a way to offer digital options, they may be out of business soon. Clinging only to the old school is a recipe for short-term demise. Sure, there will be people who read a newspaper and watch linear broadcast television until their dying day, but the number of those people is dwindling fast. Remember, they are being replaced by Gen-Zers, who have no attachments to ink smudges on their fingers or having to watch a show when it airs.

And me, I just love having a ring side seat to it all. I have loved being in the middle of all this change, from my very first course in 1977, to teaching it starting in 1983, all the way to the present. Let the evolution—of marketing, of me, of you—continue. And when the next unexpected guest shows up, because you know that something new will come along in this field, then welcome it inside and set another place at the table.

Dr “Slice It Thinner” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[masiy-blooms]

Daily life of a high school vigilante: chapter 1 “ordinary life”

Today was normal like any other day, except it isn’t. The whole city of Cephelone was a city filled with wonders, magic, super powers, the whole shabang. But the thing is this city has some bad apples….villains. Villains in this city are major threats, they can kill, hypnotize, shapeshift, the list goes on every day. However…I am sometimes glad they do exist, we barely have any school days because of them, that's something they do good. You know sometimes I wish I could fight the villains and be a hero, but my powers are a freaking threat to society itself…I almost killed my bully for god sakes in 3rd grade for stealing my crayons, serves them right I guess. I swear to god if those villains plan to convert me, my reputation for a scholarship would be ruined”... 

Tomorrow is gonna be the big project on “Who's your hero?” or something like that. I hate these types of projects…I don't really like the heroes here that much…especially dream…god how dislike him so much. The crazy thing is…I don't really know why, is it envy, jealousy, or I just hate him for existing? Kind of a tough choice to pick. 

I didn’t feel like doing this type of project. I mean it’s an easy day, but I want cost of your mental state. Am I right? To be honest with you, I might as well rather talk about who’s your favorite villain or better yet hypothetically who would you fight? I would rather fight the siren honestly, look at him, handsome, sexy, popular with the girls, the weird ones specifically to be honest with you. I gotta ask this who in the right mind would be him, hypnotized by a psychopathic singer he could literally hypnotize you and kill yourself right away just for his entertainment scary right? I got to tell you he’s a great looker, but I just want to know what’s underneath that mask. What kind of eye color is it? Is it hazel, blue, red, Crimson, or green the color of every siren back in the olden days. Heck one of my friends like Andrea would fight the Zephyrus or even…The Blade… I told her that was suicide like can you believe how strong those guys are? I told her multiple times that’s a freaking suicide. She could literally die in 10 seconds but Andrea is a crazy girl after all she is my best friend. I don’t blame her. She just wants to do it just to get no homework for the rest of life, maybe even a scholarship so me and her can go to SnowChester together. But I always ask her this… would she still be my friend if I was a villain? Andrea always said yes, and she didn’t care but I don’t know what will happen realistically in the future I don’t plan or intend to be a villain. I don’t hate babies well only when they cry, I don’t skip lines I don’t steal while I used to when I was young, but that’s besides the point the point is I’m kind of scared I’ll lose the person who relates to the things I like she’s a weird kid and I’m a weird kid. We have both things in common, but she’s just that she may say these things and have a smile on her face and say she doesn’t care if I was a villain, but I don’t know…. What will happen in the future? What fate would me and My Friends have when we’re 25 in the future? Will we either die a hero or live to see ourselves become the villains in our stories?

To be continued

by the way, this is a tribute and an AU based on Tommy’s clinic for super villains fanfic, I know it’s been long but God I want to make this story so badly there are more chapters still in the works but I promise you no writers block is required :)

[nidbaes]

outfit august im uhh coming in at the last few minutes before it hits midnight with my witch oc francine! im following along lemonliger's prompts

prompts and thoughts under read more

Day 2: Casual, this already had me looking up a bunch of references for what Francine would wear, I should just start a whole new pintrest board just for her wardrobe

so life smacked me upside the head so its time to catch up, here's day 3: formal and day 4: street wear

day 5: swimwear which francine would def be more embarrassed to show more skin and day 6: sports wear where i think she would be interested in archery!

im gonna go one step down and do lil baby doodles, day 7 work witch!! and day 8 holiday in samhain which would be the same damn outfit

days 9-12 with the seasonal looks!!! francine gets cold easy so she tends to bundle up :>

finally caught up heres day 13, young francine

day 14: old francine! id think she would love to travel and keep her hand staff, ofc she keeps her usual shapeless clothing style

day 15: heritage! i actually didnt think what ethnicity francine was so i went with witch heritage aka stereotype witch

day 16: historic, wasnt sure where to go with this one so i defaulted to ye olden european healer witch

17: fantasy! i wasnt sure how to do this one as well so i just went off thinking about what kind of hermit druid francine would be

day 18: armor, honestly cant imagine francine decked out in full armor so im made it inconvenient

day 19: cyberpunk: cant really see it but half her head is shaved and uh yeah this one was hard because her asethetic is shapeless to the max

day 20: steampunk which was hard because im not going for that iconic dress corset style day 21: mech and i interpreted this as francine being a robot??? tried to make it interesting by mirroring francine's curse

day 22: mermaid! wanted to see how a jellyfish mermaid might work out

day 23: apocalypse, the one instance where i would def give francine shorter hair

day 24: game and what better game to put my oc into than pokemon she'd be known as professor willow but her friends call her francine and she studies poke evolution specifically the interaction between them and evo stones! but probably once she was a trainer...

day 25: hero! i thought itd be easy if i did a mha hero but i spent most of the day figuring out her quirk w/ my friend her hero name is Open Armed and her quirk is emotional shape shifting, different emotions let her shapeshift in different ways!

day 26: villain! i'd like to think francine would be a terrifying dark wizard who does as she pleases!

day 27: cosplay, in which i am a sucker for eclipsa

day 28: monster! i really wanted to try make francine into a lich bc i thought itd be fun

days 29 and 30: halloween and royalty, ngl i dont have enough brain power to make anything creative so francine partying it up during samhain and ??? generic royalty

last day and ive decided to stray away from today's prompt kink and switch it to outfits from my closet!

[crystalelemental]

As you may have heard, I've been replaying all the Pokemon games. Largely in sequence, we'll see if that holds. This started because I was watching someone stream them, many for the first time, and it got me invested in playing them too. As someone with very strong opinions about the games, hearing someone fresh to the scene (more or less) talk about them was interesting, and has me re-assessing things about the games. So my goal was to experience them myself, be a little more free about how I approach the games, and hopefully find something new to talk about. My intent was to do a bunch of posting once I finished the series, but I think I'm ready to start.

For Gen 1, I played Pokemon Blue, because that's the one that has Vulpix in it. My team was Venusaur, Ninetales, Gyarados, Jolteon, Dugtrio, and Articuno.

By and large, the game was a straight shot. This was the shortest play time of any game, at somewhere under 10 hours. I stopped exactly one (1) time to level up Vulpix from level 18 to 30 in the Tower before Erika. The Gyarados was caught via rod in Vermillion, and I did switch it out of every fight to level it up rather than go with the Daycare.

My first big impression of the game was...wow Gen 1 is easy. Like, speaking as an old fan of the series who started with these games, I think there's a perception that the old Pokemon games used to be super tough for serious players, and Gen 1 is...not really that. At all.

The game just has too much working in your favor, between Stat Experience, badge boosting, badge boost stacking when you're buffed/debuffed, and nonsense like the boss AI always using super-effective attacks, resulting in Lance's Dragonite being unable to KO an opposing Fighting or Poison type because he'll just spam Agility/Barrier all day. I walked into the League at level 50 or below, and we swept so hard I felt downright overpowered. Articuno is able to walk into Lance's fight and outspeed and OHKO everything with Ice Beam (barring Gyarados, who still drops). Part of this is wisdom of age, but it takes a long time before a game in the series is this easy to just walk straight through.

On that note: Articuno was of particular interest to me, for a reason tied to older games. In Ye Olden Times, trainer battles didn't reset, which meant cash was finite. Decisions of what to purchase between healing items, stat boosters, coins for TMs at the game corner, etc. all matter now. And one in particular is that of using money to acquire Pokeballs. For someone replaying this, you're not aiming to catch everything, or even all that much beyond your immediate party. But the investment can make sense when going for a Legendary Pokemon, if you opt against the Master Ball. I didn't. But I think the function is still clear.

The fact that Articuno can just instant sweep a member of the Elite Four without any investment is a testament to its abilities, and to the power of Legendary Pokemon. By level, Articuno is way above where my party was, and Lance was its first real battle. I didn't even intend to use it until the idea struck me. But the presence of legends is a sort of instant win card, that continues through most of the series. There are a few points where your big legendary acquisition isn't a sure thing, but starting out, all of them are practically designed to be worldbeaters. Investing in Ultra Balls over other types of items is foregoing the tools to train your main team, in exchange for a single powerhouse, and I think that give and take is interesting.

On the topic of resource management, limited function also incentivizes exploration. There's a reason to keep your Cut user on the team while circling from Celadon to Fuchsia to Lavender, and it's to get the sweet stat boosters hiding behind trees. Those items hold a lot of value when your money goes into other areas. It also incentivizes exploring the optional areas. Yeah, I'll go through Seafoam Caves and the Power Plant for the items. That's a great trade.

That said, unlike later generations, TMs aren't as big a deal on the exploration side, because most TMs are static. Surge gives you Thunderbolt. Ice Beam and Rock Slide you get in Celadon's market, which is a bit of exploration but still. Earthquake is in Silph during the Rocket invasion. You don't really go out of your way to acquire some of the best tools the game has to offer. And Gen 1 in particular really wants you to use them.

Movepools in this generation suck. The reason I went with Dugtrio here was because my initial Golem plan fell through due to lack of trade ability, and Rhydon learns 0 Rock or Ground moves naturally. So I went fine, I'd rather go with Dugtrio and see if we can conserve the TM for a possible later Pokemon. On the one hand, the lack of movepool means that tools have a cost-benefit to them. You can't just rely on learning it later and having two Earthquake users. On the other, TMs are powerful enough at this point that using them at all is a safe call. Some will use them better than others, but you can't really go wrong, so long as you're using them at all.

I'd be lying if I said Gen 1 wasn't fun. The jank is downright hilarious, and some of the bugs and glitches are fun to exploit. But I also don't have much attachment to the region. It lacks for many interesting or noteworthy locations or characters. The only area I like is Seafoam, and the characters...everything I think about them tends to come from the anime, which is an odd thing to reckon with.

Yellow Corner While the two versions that make up the start of each generation are functionally identical, the third game tends to have some variance. My intent is to talk about variance where it may exist, but only in the sense of what I recall of it. I'm not playing them too.

That said, Yellow exists in a fascinating space as the only tertiary game I think is worse. Yes, I know you can get all three starters, but listen to me. It's Pokemon the Anime the Game. And I do not particularly respect the anime. I don't want to play as Ash, and I certainly do not want to run Pikachu.

In fact, this game is directly responsible for my Pikachu hatred. Being forced to cart this slow-leveling thing around, only to find out it refuses to evolve, is infuriating. I liked Raichu, but Pikachu was just kinda okay. And your rival gets an Eevee! Like come on, that's one of my favorites and he literally pushes you out of the way to take it! Add to it that Pikachu has some proto-friendship mechanic that is directly responsible for how you acquire best Kanto starter Bulbasaur, but it's impossible to truly understand what makes it friendly enough with you or not to get Bulbasaur, drives me completely insane. I cannot stand most of these factors. Then you toss in that Koga and Sabrina are both way higher level and harder to beat, despite having less interesting teams, and it's just not as enjoyable. I do not respect Yellow.