#Top City-1 Housing Society

[pinacoladamatata]

I need to be up in 4 hours and here I am, writing fic

[allastoredeer]

THAT MOMENT YOU REALIZE ALASTOR IS ACTUALLY WAY SCARIER THAN WE GIVE HIM CREDIT FOR

So, in the throes of doing world-building for my Hazbin fics and analyzing characters and how they fit into Pentagram's political system, I realized not only how powerful Alastor actually is, but how fucking scary.

Now, yes, in the grand scheme of things, Alastor is far from the most powerful person in Hell. Far from it. The Royal Family (Lucifer, Lilith, and Charlie), and the Goetia are way above the Overlords. Our twinky, angsty, galaxy bird, Stolas, could 100% body Alastor. I'm sorry, Al. I love you, babe. But in terms of the hierarchal system, you and the other Overlords aren't influential to the rest of Hell, at all.

But, it's an entirely different story if we stick exclusively to the Pride Ring.

I'm not trying to do a big, essay-length analysis, that's a lot of work and I'm tired, so I'll try to make it as brief as possible.

We know three crucial things: 1) sinners aren't allowed to leave the Pride Ring, 2) they've built a semi-functional society for themselves that is exclusive to their specific ring (with a political system that they've molded just for them), and 3) sinners can't kill other sinners.

So, what we have here is a big piece of land stuffed with people who can't leave it, in a society they've built specifically for themselves, with an amassing population that is constantly growing because they have no way of dying/or killing each other. (Honestly, it's like Heaven was setting them up for an Exterminations - THOUGH I'VE ACTUALLY COME UP WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, COMPLETELY FANON BASED THEORY/WORLD BUILDING IDEA ABOUT HOW HELL HAD KEPT THE POPULATION DENSISTY CONTROLLED FOR THE MILLENIA OF COLLECTING HUMAN SOULS, HOW THE POPLUATION STILL GOT TOO LARGE AND THUS RESULTED IN THE EXTERMINATIONS, AND HOW IT WAS ROSIE WHO HAD A HUGE HAND IN IT ALL.

Anyway, back on topic, so the Overlords essentially control this Ring. We know Stolas lives in the Pride Ring (judging by the red sky we see when he's at his house), so its possible more Goetia live there too (and imps, and succubi; the Pride Ring is known for being the most diverse of the Rings), but we haven't seen any evidence of the Goetia, or any of the other Hellborn, interact or influencE Pentragram City in a political way--outside of the Goetia being above the Overlords in the hierarchal system). I headcanon that they do have some involvement in Pentagram City, as they do live there, but for the most part, the Pride Ring is left completely to the sinners and how they run things.

Lillith got involved, obviously (but she's been missing for years in the beginning of the show), Lucifer hasn't been involved for who knows how long, and Charlie obviously doesn't have a lot of sway, nor did she have any previous influence given how she's treated by the very people she rules over. Her status is known, but there's no actual respect for her or her title as the literal Princess of Hell.

The royal family may the the strongest beings in all of the 7 Rings, but outside of Lillith, it seems they had very little involvement (in Charlie's case) or interest (in Lucifer's case) in ingratiating themselves into Pentagram City.

The entire Ring is being run by the Overlords. They cannot leave it. The Pride Ring is their domain. This is their new home. This is their world.

And in this world, the Overlords are the top dogs.

So, Alastor is powerful just in the sense that he is one of the Overlords. Like them, he is essentially one of the rulers of their personal, caged-off little world. He has power and political sway. He joined the other Overlords for Carmilla's meeting, where they were going to discuss the aftermath of the Extermination and what they can do about the loss in the population (and thus, their power, given that owning souls is how they get it).

It's implied that this isn't the first time they've had meetings like this, and if they get together to discuss the best ways to recover from the Exterminations and make up for their mutual losses (literally working together when they could've all just been rivals trying to undermine the others to get more souls), who knows what else they've discussed in their efforts to keep Pentagram City running (especially considering that the best way to maintain their power IS by maintaining the city, it's people, and keeping it from falling apart at the seams. Taking care of the city is in their best interests - I use "taking care of" very, very loosely, considering this is still Hell and it's hardly the gold standard of utopia's). They're essentially a Board of Leadership with mutually shared power.

The Overlords have all the power. All the sway. In their established world, THEY are at the top of the food chain.

BUT then, you take into account that sinners can't kill each other (a rule that extends even to the Overlords), and that's when things get interesting.

In episode 4, "Masquerade" Valentino told Angel that he's "killed people for less" during the scene in the dressing room. But, in episode 2, after Valentino had torn apart one of Velvette's models, she wasn't upset in the way an Overlord would be if they lost someone under contract, especially considering that owning souls is what gives them power (and I assume that they own the souls of most, if not all, of the people they employ). She said that she can't sit and wait for "that bitch to pull herself back together," so, yeah, the implication is that sinners can literally be torn apart (even by the Overlords, who are the strongest among them) but won't die is immense. No matter what you do, a sinner will reform, or heal, or whatever, but they will come back.

So, consider, that there is only one person who's been able to kill sinners, permanently, and that person is Alastor.

Not only that, he killed Overlords.

In a realm where death is impossible, Alastor had cheated the system. And as far as we know, he's the only one who's been able to do it.

The only person I can think of who has something similar is Carmilla, but that's because she'd integrated angelic steel into her apparel. (Though, there's something to be said about her selling angelic weapons to the masses, as she is a manufacturer and distributor of them not only in Pentagram city, but all of the 7 Rings, (as Stryker had gotten his hands on a "Carmine blessing tipped rifle" to kill off Stolas, who's a Goetia), thus, sinners killing other sinners can still be possible, but that's only if they get you're hands on a weapon with angelic steel, or they're wealthy enough to buy onr, and I imagine Carmilla doesn't sell those cheap.

But Alastor didn't use angelic steel. He found a way to tear souls apart, where otherwise they were only able to be owned. Considering how terrified Husk (who is one of the most calm and collected people in the Hazbin crew; who had once been an Overlord, himself) was when AIastor threatened to do they same to him, like, that goes to show just how serious it is. He was literally full-body shaking. Ears-pinned back. Flight-fight-or freeze. Pressing himself down into the carpet.

We've never seen him like that at any other time during the show, even during the Extermination when they were all about to die.

Alastor's threat had scared him more than literally getting killed my an army of Exorcist's.

And like, yeah???? I get it????

That shit has to be terrifying. Not only for those that Alastor threatens, but for every single sinner in Pentagram City.

This random guy cheated the system, killed without any outside means, and if he can topple Overlords (the strongest and most powerful of them) almost over night, there's no saying what he can do to regular sinners. (Or what they think he can do, I have more thoughts surrounding whether Alastor would be able to tear apart a soul that is owned by someone else, but this is already getting long).

And, presumably, the only reason he stopped is because he decided to.

Like???? Do you guys understand what I'm saying???? For someone to have that kind of power??? In a system where that power SHOULD NOT be possible??? A power that gives him this massive advantage over everyone else???? That no one else can do???? And the only reason he doesn't use it is because he decides not to????

It's no wonder Alastor was so feared. Why he still is feared (by those who know of him at least LOL he has been gone for 7 years). And, like, yeah we see him be all creepy and scary during the show. We see him use his magic and grow into his demon form, and he is intimidating in that right, but I think the true horror of his character comes from this ability to kill the unkillable in a system where it never should've been possible in the first place.

That's where the true terror of the Radio Demon lies. That's where the visceral fear comes from. And it's why he's someone you wouldn't want to mess with, even for the other Overlords (especially for the other Overlords).

Like, it makes sense why he has such a massive ego. Why he thinks he can take on anyone. It's because he has. He's powerful, even by Overlord standards, and he knows it. And it makes further sense why him now being on a leash is making him unravel at the seams.

Am I making sense??? Is this all just meaningless rambling to you guys??? Idk! Idk. It's just been tumbling through my head, and it made me realize just how scary Alastor is, especially from an outside perspective.

I have SO many headcanons T.T I've done so much world-building, and I am have so much fucking fun. I feel like a kid in a sandbox. My brain hasn't stopped buzzing since this show came out.

Anyway, I'm off to outline more wips and work on the fics I'm writing. Happy Hazbin-ing to the rest of you.

[margowritesthings]

The French Are Glad To Die For Love

A Bridgerton x Moulin Rouge crossover

pairing: Colin Bridgerton x ? word count: 2.1k words warnings: 18+ minors DNI, un-beta'd, mentions of sex, spitting, lots of debauchery authors note: surpriiise! i have been sitting on this since part 1, so to celebrate part 2 tomorrow here's my new mini-series! i have never written for Colin before, so i'm nervous, but i loved writing this.

i also need your help! i cannot decide if this mini series should be Colin x reader or a Polin fic, where Penelope is Satine. I have created a poll here for you to vote, so please let me know!

and as always, enjoy! it's been a hot minute since I last published, so thank you if you're still here.

Bridgerton Masterlist

The stars sparkle especially brightly tonight, the crimson lanterns guiding Parisians and tourists alike through the winding streets, and Colin Bridgerton stands in awe of it all. 

He’d read stories, heard tales of this place during long nights at Whites, but nothing could have quite prepared him for what lay ahead of him, a long string of lights hanging in the sky leading the way to his destination. 

The Moulin Rouge. 

A house of debauchery and sin, of freedom and truth, filled to the brim with bohemians and artists and beautiful women unlike anything or anyone he’s ever seen before. Even now, 30 feet away from the illuminated windmill, he can hear the music and the joy spilling out from the building. His senses are filled with the perfume of hundreds of women passing him by the minute, all with real, toothy grins he rarely has the pleasure of seeing back home. It is far too impolite to be so happy in London society. 

Colin steps forwards, his boots crunching against the gravel and his coattails flying in the breeze. His shoulders brush more wonderfully merry, positively inebriated partygoers on his way in, catching odd fragments of conversations that would have scandalised him and his whole family were he elsewhere. 

But he wasn’t elsewhere. He was here, in the city of love, away from anybody who had ever known the name Bridgerton. His clean slate clutched close to his chest, waiting to find out what will be written on it next, Colin feels the fresh air on his face for the last time before his life is changed forever.

The heat hits him first, a symptom he knew all too well of too many people packed into a small space. But unlike every ball he’s been to, this doesn’t feel claustrophobic or fusty. It feels alive. 

There is a feast for the eye wherever one looks. Burlesque dancers showing off stockings and garters by kicking their legs up, toes pointing towards the aerial hoops holding acrobats hanging from the ceiling. Gentlemen, if you can call them that in this state, wearing top hats, arm in arm with their glasses raised high, spilling their contents all over the wooden floor. 

The music blasts loud from each instrument the band masterfully pluck or blow or bang, but laughter and conversation buzzes amongst the melodies. It is a near overwhelming amount of joy, one Colin certainly could use a drink to wash it down with. 

If he could just find the bar…

Bodies fill his view, so entangled in each other it is difficult to tell where one starts and another ends. Frilly skirts flow over the knees of suits as ladies dangle from the necks of patrons, sharing cigars and passing around bottles of an unknown green liquid. Rosy cheeks as far as the eye can see, wether from too much of that green stuff or the exertion of all that dancing, Colin can’t be sure. Between them all, in tiny empty spaces, he can just about make out rows of bottles and glasses. 

Weaving through the crowd is like treading through water, but their energy and joy seems to rub off on him. There isn’t a dance card in sight, women choosing their partners themselves whenever they like with a freedom Colin isn’t sure he’s ever seen before. Is this truly what people are designed to be when they are free?

Eventually, his hands find the sticky wood of the bar, quickly lifting themselves back off it on instinct at the sensation. When Colin looks to his left, he sees a woman pouring a shot of liquor between her breasts, a man knelt below her waiting to lick it back up, and he quickly realises why the bar feels so tacky- every surface here seems to be host to someone’s revelry. 

“Welcome to the Moulin Rouge, monsieur. Can I get you a drink?”

Colin’s attention is quickly pulled by the welcome, his gaze snapping to a tall French woman dripping with red jewels that compliment her rich brown skin perfectly. She is captivating to be sure, deep hazel eyes commanding Colin’s attention, competing with the most incredible curls of hair he has ever seen. Ladies of the ton are welcome no matter their race back home, but Colin has never seen a lady allowed to wear her hair so beautifully natural before. The Afro framing her face has more tiny rubies that sparkle under the cabaret lights, and Colin is speechless. 

“I…uh, pardon me, Miss, I-“ he sighs, giving up entirely at his failed attempt at decorum, “Is it so obvious I have never been here before?” 

She laughs, gems twinkling as her head shakes with mirth. 

“Not at all, but most gentlemen who have been here before know to wear a top hat. And there’s that look in your eye…” 

As she speaks, she pours out one finger of the green liquor Colin has spotted a few times already, sliding it along the wood towards him. 

“Wonder. Drink this. It will help with the nerves.” 

Colin looks down, finding himself fascinated with a drink that seems to glow of its own volition. He has smoked blends and meditated with world weary travellers from across the globe, drank tea containing unknown substances that left him staring at blades of grass as if they held the worlds secrets, and yet this… whatever it is, seems to terrify him.

The barmaid laughs again, that melodic sound with the real joy Colin very much enjoys. 

“It’s only absinthe, monsieur. Loosens the inhibitions, relaxes the body…” she explains, pouring a second out for herself and lifting it to him as if to prove her credibility. 

“Santé.” He toasts to health.

“Amour.” She toasts to something far greater.

It leaves no room for argument, and all Colin can do is lift his own glass and tap it against hers. 

It burns his tongue, leaving a fiery trail down his throat as he swallows and tries not to cough and splutter. A bitter yet herby anise flavour fights with his taste buds and seems to seep straight into his mind, teasing at those tense knots that held him back from fully immersing himself here. 

When his eyes eventually reopen, he finds the barmaid beaming at him, unphased by her own potion. Rather used to it, if she shares a glass with every newcomer, he should think.

“Be careful, though, monsieur. Many a man has spent a night with the stuff and swears he fell in love with a fairy dressed all in green. Ruined him for any other woman for the rest of his life…” She speaks words that belong in fairytale, with a tone containing such severity Colin is inclined to take every single one of them as gospel. 

“I dare say I should be careful, then. I do not think this green fairy would want to join the rest of my travels when she can instead entice all of Paris’ men to sin…” 

The residue of the liquor smells just as strong as the full measure, which Colin tries to blink out of his senses when he puts the glass back on the bar.

Almost as if society itself had cleared its throat at him, Colin remembers himself, remembers just where he is. Undoubtedly the most unique establishment he had ever set foot in, but an establishment all the same. 

“I beg your pardon, miss, I seem to forget myself. How much do I owe you for the drink?”

She considers him.

“Hm,  the absinthe I think… for you, a kiss.” 

Colin, already pulling coins from his breast pocket, pauses, a little grin tugging at the corner of his lip. The francs clink together when they fall back to the bottom of his pocket, a long forgotten currency of the past. It’s a perfect reminder of just how different things are here, how easily walls crumble between strangers and connection is offered so freely. He has never kissed a woman he has not paid for back home, so afraid of getting too close to another in case they ruin each other. Here, a beautiful woman leans over the bar, offering her flushed cheek for him to softly press his lips against. 

And he does. 

And it is lovely. 

“If any more handsome men capture the eye of Mademoiselle Belle, I will surely be out of business!” A loud, hearty voice pulls Colin from one blissful moment back into the party.

He regards a rather large man, clad in a red tailcoat and stunning golden waistcoat. His top hat, near the same to all the other gentlemen in the room but somehow grander, tops wild orange curls that match a fantastic handlebar moustache. A true ring leader to this wonderful circus of debauchery Colin has found himself in. 

“Harold Zidler, at your service. Welcome to the Moulin Rouge.” 

“Colin Bridgerton.” He replies, offering a hand that Harold seems bemused at. Unsurprising, considering what passes for currency around here. Nonetheless, Harold shakes the offered hand. 

”I must say, your establishment is rather…” he hesitates, unable to find a word in any language he has picked up along his travels that quite captures the Moulin Rouge. Perhaps he could blame the absinthe, or the intoxicating hedonism he feels rooting its way through his mind, hidden in the brass notes from the band and thrown with each cancan kick of one of the dancers that surrounds him. 

Luckily, Harold seems well used to this phenomenon. 

“Isn’t it? And you have seen nothing yet! I assume you are not from around here?”

”It is rather obvious, I have been told.” Colin adds a glance to Miss Belle, who’s skirt frills bounce in the lights while she shakes up a cocktail. He adds, “London.” 

”Well, Monsieur Bridgerton, I promise you that what we have here in the Moulin Rouge is unlike anything you have back home in London.” 

Colin’s eye is caught again across the room, as a beautiful woman with blonde tumbling waves spits a drink into a man’s mouth. 

“I am inclined to agree with you there.” 

It truly is unlike anything back home. Colin has travelled across Europe and back again, seen incredible sights and met wonderful people. He has felt that ease that distance from London society and its unwritten laws and social rules that bind him back home can bring. He’s seen beauty and felt freedom and thought he might have found truth somewhere along the way, but it pales to whatever is contained within these four walls. 

In truth, it couldn’t be farther from London society.

”Just wait until you see my Diamond, Monsieur.”

… Perhaps not. 

Intrigue hits Colin as Harold pulls out a pocket watch on a brilliant gold chain. 

“Your diamond?”

”My Sparkling Diamond. The main attraction of the Moulin Rouge, my most sought after little chickee.” He speaks proudly, with a mist in his eye Colin normally finds on ambitious Mamas at grand balls, secretly trying to auction their daughters off to the highest rank. 

“I do not believe she is booked yet for tonight…” Harold adds, that mist darkening, disappearing, leaving a shiver stuck between Colin’s shoulder blades.

Not because this Diamond is a courtesan. Colin is hardly a stranger to the profession, and he bears no judgement. In truth, he admires the women he has been known to spend the night with, finding the courage of living outside society so freely quite brave indeed. No, that shiver came from Harold entirely, Colin just cannot figure out why. 

Harold excuses himself, though makes sure Colin knows to stay for the show, and Colin orders a whiskey on the rocks, insisting on paying in cash this time. Though singular in person, he has never felt less alone in his life. Looking around, there isn’t an empty chair in the house. If there were, there wouldn’t be room to put it down for all the dancers and patrons enjoying every ounce of the world they can. Music played straight from the soul ringing in his ears, Colin could make out every instrument. The lights dazzled in his eyes and the spot caught him every so often, lighting his drink up in his hand like golden ambrosia. 

And then, darkness. Silence. 

A single spot, though the mirrors scattered around catch the light and illuminate the faces of the people around him. Everybody is looking upwards, as if they all know she is coming. 

Even if he did know, Colin could never have prepared himself for what he saw when he looked up.

Who he saw.

The Sparkling Diamond, shimmering high on a swing hanging from the ceiling. 

The most beautiful, breathtaking, person he has ever seen. In any city, on any continent in the world. 

Crimson lips part as each and every person hangs on the breath she takes.

”The French are glad to die for love…”

don't forget to vote in the poll for your fmc!

[theregencywriter]

(1) A Gentlemen's Pursuit - Benedict Bridgerton x Reader

~Colin returns from his travels with a new friend many expect him to marry, though he had no intentions of this. His brother benedict however, may need to....~

My Dearest Readers,

Oh, how the social elites continue to delight us with their ever-unfolding dramas and whispers of romance. Today, I bring forth the most intriguing news, for it appears that the charming Colin Bridgerton is about to be reunited with an old acquaintance, one whom he met on his travels abroad, and whose arrival is sure to set hearts aflutter.

It is my pleasure to reveal that she plans to stay in London indefinitely and will soon grace the city with her presence. Yes, my dear readers, the very same Miss l/n who has long been rumoured as the top contender for Colin’s affection.

Allow me to remind you of the history shared between Miss y/n l/n and Mr. Colin Bridgerton. They had first met during Colin’s travels around Europe, where they would frolic about the ruins of cities past, engrossed in the innocence of youth. Over their respective journeys, their paths diverged, and Miss l/n’s star rose within many a country’s social leagues, while Mr. Bridgerton pursued his fair share of less than respectable women. But as fate would have it, their paths are destined to converge once again.

Whispers of their reunion have already begun to circulate, and I can assure you, dear readers, that it promises to be a meeting of hearts and minds. Miss l/n’s wit, intellect, and unassuming beauty have long been expected to captivate the hearts of society, while Mr. Bridgerton's reputation as a debonair gentleman precedes him wherever he goes. One cannot help but wonder if their friendship will blossom into something more.

With Miss l/n's arrival imminent, I can only imagine the delight that will permeate the Bridgerton household. I envision stolen glances, heartfelt conversations, and perhaps even the rekindling of a flame that has smoldered quietly for ages. How thrilling it will be to witness the unfolding of this tale!

Thus, dear readers, I implore you to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open, for it is in these quiet moments that love often finds a way to take hold. Let us revel in the enchantment that surrounds the Bridgertons, for it is a testament to the enduring power of love and the possibility of second chances.

Yours in anticipation,

Lady Whistledown…

-------------------------------------

"Martine, must I endure this uncomfortable posture any longer? My arms are beginning to ache" Y/N pleaded, shifting in her seat while maintaining a firm grip on her fan. Its delicate feathers trembled slightly as she stole a glance through the window, yearning for a moment of respite. With an exasperated sigh, her stepmother’s maid responded, her voice tinged with impatience, "Yes, my dear, you must persist. The eager onlookers outside await your arrival. Remember, tomorrow night is your grand debut; a mere glimpse shall suffice."

The carriage advanced closer to the Bridgerton residence, nestled proudly within the esteemed Grosvenor Square. Y/N's eyes fell upon the grandeur of the house, causing her to lower her fan momentarily in awe. However, her maid's sharp instincts brought it back up. Inside of the home, the Bridgerton children played in the lavish drawing room alongside their e mother, while Eloise and Penelope accompanying them. During their gathering, a butler entered the room, his presence commanding attention, and announced with utmost formality, "Miss Y/N has arrived."

Upon hearing the news, Colin sprang from his seat with an eagerness that did not elude Penelope's keen observation. Since his return, he had not stopped speaking about his and Y/N's journey, leading Penelope to suspect that a proposal might be imminent. Despite never having met Y/N, a hidden resentment grew within her, concealed behind a carefully crafted smile.

The Bridgerton family sat in their residence anxiously awaiting her arrival, anticipation filling the air like a palpable force. Colin, though outside, found it difficult to contain his restless energy. He had spoken of Y/N with such fervour and adoration since his return that his family couldn't help but share in his excitement.

As they gathered near the entrance of the door to gaze down the hallway the Bridgerton siblings exchanged eager glances, their faces alive with curiosity. Eloise held her breath, a blend of sisterly anticipation and genuine interest for the newest addition to their social circle. Anthony, the dutiful older brother, attempted to maintain a stoic facade, but his eyes betrayed a flicker of intrigue. The younger siblings—Benedict, Colin's closest confidant, and Francesca—buzzed with whispers and barely contained excitement.

Their mother exuded an air of quiet authority as she surveyed the scene. A mix of hope and maternal concern danced in her eyes, for she wished nothing more than for her children to find happiness in love.

Finally, the sound of hooves reached their ears, growing louder with each passing moment. The tension in the air intensified as the carriage, adorned with elegant embellishments, came into view. The horses pranced along the beaten cobbled road, their coats reflecting the balmy afternoon sunlight.

With bated breath, the Bridgertons watched as the carriage gracefully came to a stop. The footman quickly descended, his precise movements reflecting the well-honed routines of the household. The door swung open, revealing Y/N, resplendent in a gown that blended sophistication and allure. The light caught her eyes, sparkling with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.

As Y/N exited from the carriage, Colin's gaze locked onto her, his heart pounding within his chest. His eyes conveyed a mixture of awe and longing, as though he had found in Y/N something he had been searching for all his life.

The Bridgerton family, like a unit frozen in time, stood in awe of this new arrival. It was as if the world held its breath, recognizing the significance of this moment. Each member of the family had their own hopes and expectations, their own secrets and desires, intertwined with the arrival of Y/N—a figure who they had heard so much about.

After being helped out of the carriage y/n ran up to Colin, who picked her up by the waist and joyfully spun her around. The two shared a laugh that faded into glee as he lowered her down, their eyes still locked. “You’re here.” He spoke.

“I’m here” she returned.

Colin, ever the eager matchmaker, took Y/N's arm, guiding her towards the entrance of the house. His eyes shone with uncontainable delight as he led her through the hallway.

Within the drawing room, the Bridgerton siblings awaited their arrival, their gazes shifting from the entrance to Colin's expectant face. Among them stood Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton brother, known by y/n for his artistic abilities.

As Colin and Y/N entered the room, the murmurs hushed, and all eyes turned towards the pair. Benedict's attention was instantly captivated by the sight of Y/N, a vision of beauty and elegance. He analysed the delicate brushstrokes of her features, the way her eyes seemed to hold a plethora of colours.

Colin performed the introductions with excitement. "Y/N, may I present my dear brother, Benedict Bridgerton," he announced, his voice carrying the weight of his fondness for both individuals. Benedict stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Y/N with curiosity.

Y/N curtsied gracefully, her movements reflecting a poise instilled by years of social etiquette. Benedict's eyes lingered on her, captivated by the grace and charm she exuded. He extended his hand, his touch gentle and warm as he took hers in his own. The moment their skin met, a jolt of electricity seemed to pass between them.

Their first words were exchanged, simple pleasantries that masked the intensity of the moment. Yet, beneath the surface, a silent understanding seemed to grow—a recognition of shared interests and hidden desires.

As she was introduced to the rest of the group Penelope stood next to Eloise. y/n curtsied towards her and smiled. “You must be Eloise. I’ve heard so much about you.” Y/n smiled, and as the real Eloise grinned Penelope struggled to keep composure. “I am not. I am Penelope Featherington, Eloise and Colins friend” Y/n apologised and continued on with her introductions, though she could not deny the burning feeling of Penelope’s eyes as she stared at her.

Colin stood next to Benedict as the other end of the line. “Rather beautiful is she not?” Colin said in passing.

“Yes, she is.” Benedict said as his voice trailed off, eyes fixated on her.

[kabutoden]

In your bugstuck au, you said that lime-bloods have resurfaced on another planet in the Empire. Does this mean that there are other Nursery Worlds in the Empire other than Alternia itself, or does each planet have their own 'Kid Sector' where children are raised before assimilating into adult society?

THANKS for the great question!! Sorry for the long answer but i might have mispoken or changed my headcannons; limebloods have re-emerged in colonies outside The Empire. Propaganda denies the existence of the multiple settlements outside of their domains, but this is untrue. As a result of one of these cultures deconstructing casteism and allowing their Jadebloods freedom to live outside the convents and reproduce, a few young limebloods have hatched!

CAESER and CALIGULA are a pair of planets locked in BINARY ROTATION with each other. These planets were colonized by gold-blooded helmsman revolutionaries. The helmsman and their allies planned and collected all they needed from ALTERNIA and elsewhere settle the planets, then one goldblood sacrificed his life to create a powerful psychic barrier around the planets. He was posthumously declared the GOLDEN EMPEROR. No seadwellers were trusted by the revolutionaries, and as a result no violet or fuschia bloods live there. The smaller of the two planets, CAESER, has a massive megastructure city created by combining several grounded ships. This structure has three tiers: below the earth are huge caverns with trolls aged 1-6 sweeps and their lusus, acting as a nursery layer that keeps them safe from older trolls. In the center of the structure is a giant institution for trolls aged 6-9 sweeps, including dorms for them to live, divided by bloodcolor. They're moved up more quickly than on Alternia due to lusus underpopulation, and are allowed to visit their lusus and their sibling once a month (a lusus's next charge is considered a trolls sibling.) At the top is a palace where psychic-gifted goldbloods live separate from all other hemotypes and raise their heirs. Adult trolls migrate to the larger planet CALIGULA unless invited to stay at the school as instructors. The planet is otherwise dominated by fields and two seas, with the birthing caverns and mothergrub hidden somewhere beneath the fields.

The GOLD RULE binary system, following the teachings of the sufferer as whispered among helmsmen, abolished the hemocaste system; but many beliefs about bioessentialism of blood colors remain. Trolls are referred to as warmbloods and coolbloods, as opposed to being ranked, and are somewhat permitted to seek their own callings in life. The dorms house trolls by blood color, which is intended to keep warmbloods that are prey-imitating safe from predator-imitating coldbloods. Class schedules are also determined by blood color, with trolls needing to apply for classes outside of their schedule if they’re interested. For example, Floria, a petal mantis mimic and purpleblood, really keeps his head down to stay in his painting classes he adores. His scythes are wrapped with linen to keep them from intimidating warmbloods. Otherwise, most his assigned classes are physical and combat-based. Some of his fellow purplebloods disrespect his interests and most warmbloods he shares classes with ignore him. While the hierarchical system has been abolished, struggles remain.

[zoesblogsposts]

o 625 words to know in your target language o

There is a really interesting blog called "Fluent Forever" that aids foreign language learners in tricks, tips and techniques to guide them to achieving fluency "quickly" and efficiently. One of the tricks is to learn these 625 vocab words in your target language, that way you have a basis to start delving into grammar with ease as you can understand a lot of vocab right off the bat. Plus this list of words are common across the world and will aid you in whatever language you are learning. Here is the list in thematic order

• Animal: dog, cat, fish, bird, cow, pig, mouse, horse, wing, animal

• Transportation: train, plane, car, truck, bicycle, bus, boat, ship, tire, gasoline, engine, (train) ticket, transportation

• Location: city, house, apartment, street/road, airport, train station, bridge hotel, restaurant, farm, court, school, office, room, town, university, club, bar, park, camp, store/shop, theater, library, hospital, church, market, country (USA,

France, etc.), building, ground, space (outer space), bank, location

• Clothing: hat, dress, suit, skirt, shirt, T-shirt, pants, shoes, pocket, coat, stain, clothing

• Color: red, green, blue (light/dark), yellow, brown, pink, orange, black, white, gray, color

• People: son, daughter, mother, father, parent (= mother/father), baby, man, woman, brother, sister, family, grandfather, grandmother, husband, wife, king, queen, president, neighbor, boy, girl, child (= boy/girl), adult (= man/woman), human (# animal), friend (Add a friend's name), victim, player, fan, crowd, person

• Job: Teacher, student, lawyer, doctor, patient, waiter, secretary, priest, police, army, soldier, artist, author, manager, reporter, actor, job

• Society: religion, heaven, hell, death, medicine, money, dollar, bill, marriage, wedding, team, race (ethnicity), sex (the act), sex (gender), murder, prison, technology, energy, war, peace, attack, election, magazine, newspaper, poison, gun, sport, race (sport), exercise, ball, game, price, contract, drug, sign, science, God

• Art. band, song, instrument (musical), music, movie, art

• Beverages: coffee, tea, wine, beer, juice, water, milk, beverage

• Food: egg, cheese, bread, soup, cake, chicken, pork, beef, apple, banana orange, lemon, corn, rice, oil, seed, knife, spoon, fork, plate, cup, breakfast, lunch, dinner, sugar, salt, bottle, food

• Home: table, chair, bed, dream, window, door, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, pencil, pen, photograph, soap, book, page, key, paint, letter, note, wall, paper, floor, ceiling, roof, pool, lock, telephone, garden, yard, needle, bag, box, gift, card, ring, tool

• Electronics: clock, lamp, fan, cell phone, network, computer, program (computer), laptop, screen, camera, television, radio

• Body: head, neck, face, beard, hair, eye, mouth, lip, nose, tooth, ear, tear (drop), tongue, back, toe, finger, foot, hand, leg, arm, shoulder, heart, blood, brain, knee, sweat, disease, bone, voice, skin, body

• Nature: sea, ocean, river, mountain, rain, snow, tree, sun, moon, world, Earth, forest, sky, plant, wind, soil/earth, flower, valley, root, lake, star, grass, leaf, air, sand, beach, wave, fire, ice, island, hill, heat, nature

• Materials: glass, metal, plastic, wood, stone, diamond, clay, dust, gold, copper, silver, material

• Math/Measurements: meter, centimeter, kilogram, inch, foot, pound, half, circle, square, temperature, date, weight, edge, corner

• Misc Nouns: map, dot, consonant, vowel, light, sound, yes, no, piece, pain, injury, hole, image, pattern, noun, verb, adjective

• Directions: top, bottom, side, front, back, outside, inside, up, down, left, right, straight, north, south, east, west, direction

• Seasons: Summer, Spring, Winter, Fall, season

• Numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 21, 22, 30, 31, 32, 40, 41, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, 62, 70, 71, 72, 80, 81, 82, 90, 91, 92, 100, 101, 102, 110, 111, 1000, 1001, 10000, 100000, million, billion, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, number

• Months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December

• Days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

• Time: year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, morning, afternoon, evening, night, time

• Verbs: work, play, walk, run, drive, fly, swim, go, stop, follow, think, speak/say, eat, drink, kill, die, smile, laugh, cry, buy, pay, sell, shoot(a gun), learn, jump, smell, hear (a sound), listen (music), taste, touch, see (a bird), watch (TV), kiss, burn, melt, dig, explode, sit, stand, love, pass by, cut, fight, lie down, dance, sleep, wake up, sing, count, marry, pray, win, lose, mix/stir, bend, wash, cook, open, close, write, call, turn, build, teach, grow, draw, feed, catch, throw, clean, find, fall, push, pull, carry, break, wear, hang, shake, sign, beat, lift

• Adjectives: long, short (long), tall, short (vs tall), wide, narrow, big/large, small/little, slow, fast, hot, cold, warm, cool, new, old (new), young, old (young), weak, dead, alive, heavy, light (heavy), dark, light (dark), nuclear, famous

[liyawritesss]

summertime crushin’

Characters: MCU!Shuri Udaku x Black!Fem!Reader

Type: Fic

Word Count: 1.7k

Synopsis: In Shuri’s attempts to follow in her brother's footsteps and continue his work with the Wakandan International Outpost Facilities, she finally takes up Riri’s offer to visit Chicago. However, she isn’t sure if it's the intense summertime heat that has her face burning or the incredibly talented dance choreographer Riri is friends with.

Warnings: cursing

A/N: For the two dances mentioned: the first is “Killing Me Softly” by Lauryn Hill, choreography by Evan Miller (0:08-2:10), and the second is “BMO” by Ari Lennox, choreography by YeoJin (0:00-1:15), of which (Y/N) is the middle dancer with coloured hair. I’ve had this idea since FOREVER and finally had enough of it swimming in my head, so I finally wrote it down. Hope you all enjoy!

Tags: @inmyheadimobsessed @babyboiboyega @badass-dora-milaje @6-noir @playhousedistee @shuririsdefenseattorney @shuriszn @zayswriting @wrendermedone @writingintheshadowsforever @mbakuetshurisprincess @verachii @shurisbigtoe

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“So the arts are a prominent aspect of the city’s identity?”

“We don’t got our own Broadway title for nothin’, Shuri.”

Shuri could admit to herself that she never thought much of the US outside of the horrible government leadership and the plethora of pathetic white supremacists who hid behind a thin veil of patriotism. She admired her brother’s work, though, with wanting to provide more than adequate resources to black communities all over the US, and as her new title required her to take up the work in question, it only made sense that she’d cut her vacation in Haiti short to get acclimated to the work her brother and mother maintained.

Shuri could also admit that the immense creativity and artistry from members of the Lost Tribe gave her a culture shock she didn’t know she needed to prepare herself for. Even in her mid-twenties, the queen-presumptive had so much to learn about the people who had been stripped of their lineage and ripped from the motherland. No amount of reading or digesting news reports could amount to actually witnessing it in person.

Which is exactly why Riri, Shuri’s self appointed guide to all things Chicago, was escorting the scientist around all the most notable establishments pertaining to all this visual and performance art. From the Chicago Art Museum to watching bands play on corners of sidewalks, Shuri never found herself bored or tired of the activities. And next on the list of places to visit was a storefront  dance studio belonging to a friend of the young engineer, of which Riri was rather ecstatic about, as she hadn’t seen this friend since their highschool days.

Shuri didn’t know what to expect when she entered into the storefront dance studio, following Riri in close pursuit so as to not get lost amongst the other bodies leaving the space. Her only exposure to black American dance was from short clips online she had searched up as a child. Though in an ever changing society, the dark skinned woman was sure that what she had been exposed to prior would surely not be the same as what she would be walking into now.

Shuri is pulled into a room that’s blasting music from the speakers, a song from a voice the queen-presumptive remembers belongs to that of the infamous Lauryn Hill. The robust deepness of the rapper’s voice rises goosebumps along Shuri’s skin, bare and showing her deeply melanated tone. She’s in a forest green tank top that emphasizes her shoulders, her golden necklace housing her panther suit rested neatly around her neck. Black shorts clothed her legs, stopping just above her knees, and on her feet for a pair of strapped slides similar to ones her brother wore long ago. Of course, one could not forget the black shade which hid her eyes, and the majority of her identity, from everyone around her.

Compared to Riri, who wears a white cropped tank, black jogging pants and white AF1’s, the engineer looks much more prepared for a dance class than Shuri is, but she was quickly assured that they wouldn’t be dancing, but rather, watching a few of the dances done by the students within the class. It eased Shuri for a moment, until she walked into the dance space with the loud music reverberating through the walls of the studio. With the melody and bass over taking her body, Shuri couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed.

“This is one of the best dance studios in the city,” Riri says over the music as the two make their way to the front of the crowd of students, “they do everything from Hip-Hop to R&B, and everything in between.”

Shuri nods along as she takes note of the three men standing in the middle of the crowd. They seem to be hyping themselves up up as the first part of the Lauryn Hill song plays, preparing for their routine.

“You about to get a taste of what real art looks like.” Riri muses, as the aforementioned men take their places as the first chorus of the song ends, and the second verse, and ultimately, their routine, begins.

Firstly, Shuri hadn’t expected for the male dancers to have such languid movements. The smoothness of their steps and transitions between each move seemed flawless, and she soon found herself entranced by the dance routine paired with the music playing. Much more, she notes just how happy they are at the moment. The popping and locking is precise, each one garnering a roar from their audience, in turn spreading smiles across the dancers faces. It feels their energy, keeping the precision consistent with the execution of each move. Even as one dancer falls off at what seems to be the end of the official routine, two of them stay on the main floor. They feed off of each other’s energies, dancing around each other in a near touch that shows the trust in each other and the intuition of each dancer. They move as if they’re reading each others mind, circling and molding around each other in a way Shuri had never seen before. And by the end of the performance, the queen-presumptive finds herself yearning for more.

“Bast”, Shuri gasps in shock, “I’ve never seen anything like this. Not even back home!”

Riri encourages Shuri’s amazement, engaging with her in reveling about the choreography they had just witnessed. Her attention is taken when she feels a tap on her shoulder, and when Riri turns around, she releases a shriek of happiness as she embraces the person who’d come up to her.

Shuri is able to get a good look at the person when Riri pulls away. A woman of melanated skin, sun-kissed and glossed over undoubtedly by perspiration, sporting a gray jogging suit set with the hoodie bunched up and hiked over on one shoulder, revealing a black sports bra underneath.

“You made it, Ri!” You exclaim in your embrace of the engineer, hugging her tight as a long lost friend should. “Fuck, I’m so glad youre here; it’s been years!”

“I heard you were back in town, I knew exactly where yo’ ass was gon’ be.” Riri replies, gesturing for you to step forward to be introduced to Shuri.

“This is the friend I told you I was bringing.” Riri reminds, earning a gentle smile from you to Shuri. “Shuri, this is (Y/N). (Y/N), Shuri.”

You held your hand out for a handshake, but Shuri is too distracted by how pretty you are. “It’s nice to meet you,” you greet, “I’ve never met a queen before. Hope it’s not awkward…?”

“No, no,” Shuri quickly reassures, raising her hand to finally take yours in your greeting, “not awkward at all. And the pleasure is mine.”

Shuri isn’t sure what caught her attention first - the fact that you’re half exposed with your hoodie only properly being on half way, exposing your toned stomach from what Shuri suspects is years of dance, or the way your eyes glisten with excitement, or the way your skin is glowing. She just knows that you’re very pretty and it’s making her look like a fool in front of someone she just met. And she doesn’t do well when that happens.

“My piece is up next,” you say, which brings Shuri out of her head and causes her ears to burn slightly, as she was so stuck in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized that her hand still held yours in a firm grip. She quickly pulls it away, muttering a quiet apology in return, but you reassure her that she was alright, “you guys sticking around after?”

“Hell yeah we are,” Riri hurriedly answers, “you owe me lunch, cuz you got some explaining to do about how you just dipped and ain’t say shit.”

“Fine, fine,” You relent, “lunch on me. We’ll figure it out when I’m done, cool?”

Though you don’t give them much time to respond, as you’re already backing away as you hear your song being played over the speakers, and your dance partners already in place. Riri throws you a quick thumbs up, granting you the relief you need for jogging out onto the dance floor.

Shuri’s eyes follow you intently as you meet up with the two other dancers located on the floor. She, however, feels a pair of eyes on her, and turns to meet Riri, who has a look on her face that Shuri can only akin to smugness.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Shuri questions slowly, eyebrows furrowing together.

“Hm,” Riri humans, “nun’.”

“Don’t do that!” Shuri groans.

“Do what?” Riri asks. “I ain’t do nun’...I just peep shit and keep it movin’.”

“Exactly,” Shuri responds, “and what exactly did you ‘peep’-?”

“Shhhh,” Riri shushes Shuri as the melody for the verse comes in, “they’re starting!”

It doesn’t take much effort for Shuri’s attention to shift directly onto you, and she’s actually glad she has these shades on, because she has an idea of what Riri says she ‘peeped’, and the intensity of her stare would have given Riri all the proof she needed to confirm her suspicions.

From the very start of the music, your body moves fluidly, as if you were a deity of water, at home in your element. There’s a certain aura you carry - one of power and respect that you’re sure has earned you your place in this studio. Each and every one of your moves garners a roar of encouragement from the audience, and it spurs you on more and more, feeding off of the crowd's energy. The suave and swag that oozes from your persona has everyone on the edge of their seat. It becomes clear to Shuri that you weren’t just a dancer for entertainment. This was your very lifestyle, and you’ve made it your identity in every way imaginable. She watched as life was breathed into you on the dance floor, spurred on by the crowd’s hype, feeding into your ego. 

And by the time your set has finished, Shuri finds herself falling in love with Chicago a little bit more, and experiencing her first summertime crush.

If you enjoyed, please leave a like, comment, and reblog for others to see! And don’t be shy to send in a request!

[skybristle]

ok fuck it here's the entire pre mass ascension section of my lore doc. are you guys fed

Before the void fluid revolution, the area that would eventually host the BH local group was very, very highly populated by ancients. Close-ish to the equator, with a coast to the west and a mountain range to the east, it became a breeding ground for multiple societies, most notably a fishing/port city that would become highly influential in a future important ancient’s development [winky face].

This high population inspired multiple gen 1 iterators to be built in the same rough area, an unusual practice normally! [this would end up being disastrous, but foresight doesn't seem to be the ancients’ forte].

The first iterator to be constructed was Plunging Flows of Ash, by the architect Black Sand Hourglass, Racing Towards the Start, for the exclusive purpose of… well… solving the problem, as all early iterators. This is notable however because it kind of defines his entire character. He takes his original purpose to heart - to solve the problem for his creators, but nothing more. As a prototype iterator, he has a LOT of struggles with functionality especially when being stretched beyond his means, but it’s also an attitude thing. When he eventually gets his city, Novus, he’s pretty pissy and negligent to it, not to mention his systems cannot keep up especially as his city continues to innovate and modernize on his old bones. He’s generally just… very lazy and apathetic and self centered, wanting to push anything he sees as ‘not his problem’ onto others and refusing to adapt and change.

ENTER Pleas to Limitless Light, Three Scorched Corridors, a very hardworking ancient whom was set on building her own iterator through the Global Iterator Project. Through a very long and arduous construction, she led the Countless Swirling Sparks project- named after her incredibly elaborate and intuitive AI base designed to approach problems in a streamlined and innovative manner- her name originally refers to sparks of innovation!

As Corridors spent decades on the project, she got increasingly more exhausted and lost passion for it, though had to see it through. After a point, she was mostly concerned about leaving behind her legacy of the House of Currents she hailed from and raising an equally brilliant successor. So, as the project is closing, she has a son, Seven Praised Rays, Sun Setting West, laying the pressure on thick for him to take her place as soon as possible so she can ascend. We’ll get back to him later. :3c

The third iterator to be constructed is Erupting Maw- notable because her architect, An Empty Caldera, Rope Held Taught is foreign- sent by the Global Iterator project to prospect and lead construction. While most of the local area is generally accepting, there’s been a much growing tension regarding the effect of building so many iterators, not just in their area but also globally. The rains are getting worse, and a lot of people who can’t afford to move up to live on top of the iterators are dying or suffering in hastily built shelters. In theory, while divisive, Maw’s construction would have led to much more living space for the local population in her city, many people were frustrated that this was just adding to the problems. Many were leaving, with plans being drafted to gain more space by any means necessary- though they awaited Maw’s construction with baited breath.

…This faith would end up being severely misplaced.

After Maw was online, but before Solaris was constructed and the only population was the workers who spent decades building up her divine superstructure, she noticeably began to… shift. This could partially be attributed to her creator, Caldera, a rather judgemental and egotistical person who was extremely prideful of its work, but Maw went far beyond that. Slowly but surely, she convinced her dear creator that, frankly, her purpose was misplaced- they spent decades building a god of biomaterial and metal, only to force her to waste her time attending to impoverished surface dwellers and solving a meaningless problem when they already had void fluid. Maw could instead spend her time being a generous god to the few who earned it by building her. Especially as time went on, Caldera, and future admins, essentially became a puppet to Maw’s will with her being the sole god of her city. And to her devoted followers, Maw was a generous and devoted goddess- but to outsiders looking in, the city was essentially a cruel and xenophobic cult with unknown limits on what they would do to protect the sanctity of their holy grounds.

Considering that everyone was waiting on Maw’s construction to escape the rains- and her structure only accelerated the issue, and the Great Equalizer really began to set in, there was all out panic. Novus couldn’t take on any more than Ash already had, Axon was already densely populated, and Solaris’ puppet government was refusing immigration on any basis even as people were dying from floods below.

To understand the following- I have to pick back up on Rays’ story, a bit before the point we’re currently at. This is where the lore and characters start getting really fleshed out and juicy I promise

After Sparks had finished development in Rays’ infancy, he practically lived and breathed her existence. From when he was very young- she was a continued presence in his life. Back then, Sparks was a very kind and friendly, maybe even a little whimsical, iterator- very committed to her task and to helping people both within her city and far beyond it, Ancients and other Iterators alike. She’s a bit jittery, nervous, enthusiastic, and maybe too hardworking for her own good- but generally speaking she’s happy!

This often manifests in the actions towards her mentor [later this would be labeled ‘Senior’], Ash. He is… not very excited to have the iterator equivalent of an eager puppy pestering him, especially with his established disdain for being given work outside of the Problem. Rather than actually help his appointed mentee, he spends much of Corridors’ administration and beyond whining to her about his problems with his city and all of these distractions, especially later on as his disdain for the younger iterators ‘replacing’ him grows.

Sparks looks at this less with annoyance and rejection and- initially, with pity. She thinks, with her innovative structure and the big aspirations behind her development- it wouldn’t hurt to help her group member out, yeah? And Ash just… keeps taking and taking and taking and sucking her dry, basically since construction, as she begins to shoulder this feeling of responsibility that she really shouldn’t have especially at the prospect of more iterators being built in the local area. She is however desperate for companionship and someone to listen, especially someone older and more respected than her- so she persists. She doesn’t really begin to realize how fucked the whole arrangement is until way, way later- she’s a bit lost and young and just trying to be kind.

As for Rays, he’s a very nervous, somewhat sickly, and isolated child, almost entirely consumed by the weight of his family’s reputation and Corridors practically breathing down his neck for a successor. He struggles to remember the time when he was very young and she was kinder to him. He’s very aware of the fact he will inherit the administrative position [nepotism is pretty common in elite ancient circles], and while he’s far from lazy he’s almost kind of… detached to and afraid of it? Trying to languish in the present rather than confront the future, as the work piles on from an early age. He’s very stressed and antisocial.

Until college [or well, their equivalent], that is, in one of the many prestigious schools located in Axon. He meets two very key people who change the trajectory of all of their lives, making a deeply bonded friend group along the way.

A Cherished Melody, from Riverbeds to Reefs comes from the surface, specifically the western coastal city, having fought tooth and nail with a brilliant and hardworking mind to make it up onto the prestigious iterator cities. It’s loud and rambunctious and brings a very radical perspective to the table- in basically all things, but especially religion. It essentially believed that the construct of the karmas and the crushing societal norms that came with it were ultimately unimportant in the face of the void- and that you should just live life to the fullest and take the plunge to the void when you felt ready. Beyond that, it is an immensely earnest, loyal, and inspiring person, if extremely stubborn.

Similarly, Glowing Amber Sap, Weeping from a Punctured Abyss also hails from the surface- but under much different circumstances. Coming to Axon from the deeply religious areas of the southeast [near the fissure/in the future where Starlight’s can is], the intention of their education was for future monkhood. However, especially living in the somewhat more liberal city, they end up growing deeply dissatisfied with that future and place their perspective more on their love for humanitarianism and conservation. As the world is reshaped under iterators and populated by purposed organisms, and their home temple is razed by rainfall, they feel like they’re the only one seeing this disaster about to unfold as the general tensions [mentioned in the maw section] bubble. Though, knowing they’re well past the point of no return on iterators, they instead wish to conserve pre-equalizer fauna and build more green space for everyone.

Those dreams are far in the future though- for now, Amber’s still grappling with religious guilt and the tear between their aspirations and their home, and consequently they find themselves drawn to Reefs and its radicalism. Similarly, they end up taking Rays under their wing, initially out of Reef’s conviction. As a bonded little pack, Reefs especially motivates Rays to be a better person- rather than cruise on the nepotism, to truly work and earn the position he has, not for reputation or glory but to do good as he’s been handed the chance to. Together, the three of them move into iterator technician work and education with genuinely really purehearted intentions!!! [i sure hope nothing crushes that]

Predictably, about as soon as Rays can support himself, his mother Corridors departs to the void and leaves big shoes to fill. He fumbles, badly, especially at first, but as he matures and evens himself out [especially with the support of his growingly ambitious and prestiged best friends] he becomes a genuinely really capable administrator! He ends up getting genuinely really close with Sparks- she’s friendly and receptive and he spent much of his childhood around her, after all. They’re good friends and he takes his role as her voice in High Council matters extremely seriously, working hand in hand with Reefs especially as it becomes her head technician after a couple decades.

Meanwhile, as the rain crisis accelerates, Amber departs from work on Sparks to instead focus on their own iterator proposition in line with their ideals from college, eventually formulating into the plans for Budding Ochre Opportunities and more importantly to them, her city of Haven where they can execute all of their plans. That project will take many years- and the crisis is here, now, especially as the situation in Solaris boils over and they make it known they will not accept citizens [I know, I’m finally getting back to where we left off]

The response is- predictably, all out fucking panic, as people on the surface begin trying to clamber to Axon in droves and its impossible to accommodate them as the surface becomes practically unlivable.

As a consequence of this, Axon’s High Council comes to a horrifying conclusion- They resolve to expand Sparks’ structure to accommodate more living blocks. Anyone actually working in the iterator and understanding their function [rays and reefs] are rightfully extremely opposed to this- they are living breathing people and you can’t just go tacking on additional body parts and expect it to go well when Sparks was already highly ambitious at her current scale. Even from a mechanical standpoint- they’re incredibly complex machines and trying to slap on additional support structures and jamming iterator neural tissue in there is essentially bound for disaster, power or coolant failures, etc.

Given the decades of bubbling fear and tension that have exploded, however, their protests fall on deaf ears. While Rays is forced to manage this unfurling catastrophe and break the news, Reefs has its arm twisted into actually carrying it out. Sparks… reacts as well as one would expect.

While she recognized the growing tension and unease, and was kind of anticipating a high workload and perhaps a rather large and mismanaged city- this was beyond precedent. Especially considering this decision was made for her in High Council meetings, behind closed doors, no overseers allowed. Her pleas are basically ignored, as Rays tries in vain to placate her [out of deep care and knowing he really doesn’t have the power here, but from her perspective it looks terrible], as her piping and external plating are torn open to quickly and painfully assemble half-assed expansions.

Beyond the betrayal from her creators, her world also begins closing in on her from the fellow Iterator side of things. Scared and desperate, she pleads to Ash as an authority and as her senior to do something, but he at best makes a halfhearted attempt to force broadcast Maw which only gives her the opportunity to mock Sparks, step all over her, and then promptly go ‘lol no’. Ash throws in the towel then and there, acting incredibly dismissive and ambivalent towards Sparks’ agony despite how much she felt she did for him and her desperation, fragmenting even more of her trust and eventually leading her to believe any relationship is transactional and she will inevitably be stabbed in the back. [that’s a GREAT and HEALTHY lesson to internalize sparks GOOD JOB this will not lead to any consequences whatsoever]

And Sparks is fucking angry, not to mention beyond hurt. Beyond the extreme overstimulation and immense pain and electrical storms from desperate overclocking to get this whole mess functional- her trust and compassion and eagerness has been completely shattered under a tide of exhaustion and agony.

Of course, being subjected to this with virtually no outlet gives her cause to turn her rage and frustration on someone, and who better than her admin, the person who swore to be her voice and then “””stood by””” while this was done to her. Their relationship breaks down over several meetings as she turns on him and basically just takes everything he says as bad faith as possible to further her rants, barely listening to him no matter how desperately he cares and the guilt crushing both him and Reefs [more on that later].

Hitting a fever pitch in one of their many many arguments, as Rays attempts to humanize her by thinking of the little things with a gift and Sparks reacting as if he’s trying to buy her complacency, the electricity failures Sparks experiences overflows into her chamber and electrocutes Rays. Reefs is the one to catch his drone’s SOS signal and drag him out. [hey i made a comic about that!]

While Sparks is shut down while they figure out what happened, Rays recovers in hospital with Reefs at his side [also trying to manage the unfolding crisis as the second in command for Sparks- yeah it’s not having a good time] as Amber rushes back to Axon from Ochre’s groundwork.

At this point, Rays has fully sunk into his guilt and self hatred for what he feels he let happen [it would have happened regardless but that doesnt matter] and urges his friends to leave Axon [and leave him behind] while they still can. Reefs protests this, of course, its loyalty runs deep and not even these circumstances will shake it, but in the end both of them are extremely guilty people over what they did to Sparks and Rays convinces it it can do something right by departing and building its own iterator- to help relieve this burden and as an excuse to escape Axon sponsored by the House of Currents. Reefs’ iterator drafts go on to become Resonant Chimes. [hey i ALSO made a comic about THIS!] [this is the last comic don't get excited]

As Chimes is developed [again, gen 2 iterators still took quite a while], he goes from a project of obligation to something Reefs has fallen in love with [in a familial way]. It ends up very dedicated to its kid, even with all of its stress about Rays and its past, but it is able to move on through working on him. Unfortunately, this is where their tight-knit friend group begins to fragment and part ways, with Rays ascending not too long after Chimes and Ochre complete construction.

Yeah, with all that guilt and baggage and him never being able to reconcile things with Sparks? His ascension comes less because he’s prepared and more because he’s so desperate to escape while not betraying his family legacy and Corridors- and this is the only socially acceptable way for him to leave his position behind. He echoes, lingering about Sparks’ structure long past his society’s time. [HEY i made a PMV about this!]

As for Ochre and Chimes- they come to be as a pair, basically inseparable from the beginning. Besides their creators being long term friends and their twin constructions, they also compliment eachother very well!

Resonant Chimes was established with his kindness in mind- fostered very much by his parent Reefs. He had a focus on citizens, rather than working much on the problem, and took to that job with great pleasure! Following Reefs experiences with Sparks, it puts immense stress on his autotomy as a person and gives him a lot of freedom. Continuing that thread, its House of Tides [named after its mother, who passed due to the rains during the Sparks crisis] was built on a fundamental level of trust and a very close working relationship between technicians and maintenance & the governmental structure, which Chimes even occasionally got the opportunity to partake in [and even then, the point was that everyone in power over him was trusted by him. If he ever got extreme icks from someone who he was placed in the care of then he had the option to do something about it, unlike so many of his kind]

His deep relationship with his city manifests out of his choice to help the people of his city above all else because that’s just… the kind of person he is. Helping people, engaging in their rituals, getting dressed up, etc makes him immensely happy for CENTURIES. He loves being social and helping people, even with his awareness of their incompatible lifespans. He’s completely dependent on them to feel whole, in a way. The mutualism and synergy between him and Chorus is incredibly notable.

Ochre, meanwhile, has a much more modest personality. Flor’s facility is more focused on quaint things like pigment production and local manufacturing of crafts, with the city of Haven itself being on the smaller side and largely self-sufficient with their vast green spaces and solar panels. Not to mention, her own admin and architect, Amber, remained more focused on the conservation efforts within Haven. Their relationship with Ochre was typically cordial, but distant. Due to her shy personality, she ended up really drawn to Chimes and his kindness and sociability. Paired with a close working relationship and her own earnest passion, they stay extremely close as friends [and more later on].

Events within the Local Group became significantly more relaxed after that, though the expansions crisis would continue to haunt the group, both in its iterators and politics. Sparks would continue to substitute as senior for Ash as the group expanded, though would long shed that enthusiasm and joy that drove it, sinking into a sense of obligation as she slowly grew more disillusioned and frustrated with Ash as her pain and workload piled on and she forced herself through it all. She created such a complex mask- because she had to- that as events proceeded she would genuinely begin to believe she was okay and had moved on. [trust me, she hadn’t, and it's festering! we’ll get to that :3]

The next iterator to be constructed is Reaching For Caged Starlight, by a foreign architect imported by the Global Iterator Project, At Place Among the Stars, Spirals of Billowing Silk. While generally unremarkable, it is notable that these circumstances of construction led to a sort of mistrust and distance from the interconnected trio of Axon, Haven, and Chorus. That was fine for the most part, with both xeir government and Starlight herself more interested in quietly working on the problem without external management.

Based on asts location, next to a natural fissure close to the void and a corresponding temple that was once of great importance, its city develops a culture where void baths certainly cannot be a true path to the void, as only the great Sea is holy in of itself, with void fluid extracted from it just being a material. Essentially, they believed in a fundamental version of the “old path” where one must travel directly to the void sea at the end of their life. While Starlight doesn’t care much for her citizens and they in turn respectfully leave her to her work, this mindset became a fact of life that would be warped severely when they were gone,the solution became a point of frustration, and a dash of Sliverism on top.

Proceeding onwards, the 7th iterator to be built in the area is A Glittering Aurora, likely the last without certain circumstances transpiring. Her project was spearheaded by Ten Hollow Pines Pointing Towards Snowcapped Poles, with the most notable parts of their background being their upbringing in Chorus. Though born well after its ascension, he took Reefs’ methodology to heart and greatly admired it, as well as having a background in bioengineering working with Chimes, an iterator he cared deeply for.

When it was allowed to work on an iterator of its own, it, of course, carried this relaxed attitude and immense stress on autonomy into the project. Unfortunately, his view of Reefs was greatly warped, and he frankly neglected the immense amount of work and patience Reefs put into it to make the whole thing work, even long past its death and without any enforcement towards Chimes- largely in thanks to the person Chimes already was.

Pines' relationship with Aurora was friendly, but not nearly close as they would have wanted. While he gave her all the freedom in the world to do whatever she wanted, and often acted towards her as if they already had an established relationship which… didn’t exist. Pines expected, after all of its hard work to build him, and all of its leniency, for the relationship reflected with Chimes and his admins to fall into its lap. However… Aurora simply isn’t the same person Chimes is, and rather than want to spend his free time working with his city and engaging with them, he was more interested in chatting away on Global and general drama and discourse observed through overseers. Regardless, Pines still held hope, and often would refuse to put their foot down on Aurora's ambivalence even as Albedo’s citizens [mainly politicians], especially of the more religious type, got frustrated with this behavior.

Of note was an at the time somewhat high ranking member of the overall government, A Silent Refrain, Banners Mottled by Shadows, primarily an expert in encryption and security with a powerful background and access to Aurora’s superstructure. Capitalizing on the frustrations with Pines, decades into his administration, possibly as the beginnings of an attempted coup, he illegally modified certain parts of Aurora’s structure and AI base to restrict her access to Global. This was with the intent to make her more ‘motivated’ and ‘behaved’, and other such things.

Predictably, when Pines found out, it was fucking LIVID. Refrain refused to budge and was very rigid in the idea that iterators were designed to serve and should act like it. This resulted in a rather violent confrontation, ending with Refrain almost crushed under the claws of Pines' pet lizard and the demand to leave Albedo in what was essentially exile. [Aurora would end up restored to normal and okay- though come out of it extremely fascinated with the same locks that had hurt him- specifically within breaking code and the like. Rarely would she ever go as far as taboos, though…]

Frankly sick of both Pines’ and Aurora’s bullshit and the generally ‘immorality’ of Albedo, he complied and took his more religious bunch with him and went running back to the Global Iterator Project with exaggerated stories. Given his influential background and patronage to the project, and undeniable skill, the wing of the Project in Orrery eventually approved his long effort to get an Iterator grant.

Given his track record and his rather cruel opinions of iterators, the ensuing project went about as well as expected. As ancient society in general grew more frustrated and impatient with the lack of a solution, matching with the increased availability of void fluid, the bubble that would eventually burst to form the mass ascension was already well over their heads as Wandering Whispers began construction.

While rushed, there was also a lot of intentional cruelty in their design, manifesting from the same expertise Refrain used to hurt Aurora. Their own autonomy was heavily restricted, with barely any access to their group beyond their senior. Paired with Refrain’s iron fist over their work quota, general cruelty from both him and their citizens in general, and isolation, they ended up a very scared and meek iterator with almost no grasp on personhood.

Seeing a very alarming reflection of herself, Sparks urged Ash [who she was already rather out of patience with at this point] to get off his ass and offer an outlet to their poor groupmate as Whispers was supposedly allowed to contact him for ‘iterating and training purposes only’. Surprisingly, Ash took to this task and actually grew somewhat fond of the younger iterator- mainly due to their vulnerability and immense trust to the only kindness they were given. Sparks, exhausted from keeping up her facade for so long, chose not to intervene further [and I mean, what would she have done?]

In the end, this wouldn’t amount to much, as the overarching global government eventually sent out the Mass Ascension mandate within only a couple decades of Whispers’ construction, simultaneously shutting down the Global Iterator Project. Though the population had been dwindling for quite some time- this was the nail in the coffin, and all ancients were expected to meet their fate in the vats. The few stragglers who managed to escape the often forceful baths could not sustain society on their own in the wastes below.

This of course had an immense impact on each Iterator, though I will get to that in the next section. :3

Notably, one of the last events to happen- just before their ascension, Chimes’ last admin descended into his chamber to give him a gift. His blanket, made of countless quilt squares made by generations of his close friends, admins, and technicians, a tradition started by Reefs before it left. He would cling fiercely to it and what it represented for the rest of the timeline.

[onlydylanobrien]

"Ponyboi" Sundance 2024 Events

Screening Times

January 19, 2024

Variety & Golden Globes Party

At the event, Variety will present its Breakthrough Awards, which highlight the next generation of exceptional talents in front of the camera. This year’s recipients include Dylan O’Brien who stars in “Ponyboi,” Normani who stars in “Freaky Tales,” Maddie Ziegler who stars in “My Old Ass” and Justice Smith who stars in “I Saw the TV Glow” and “The American Society of Magical Negroes” at the festival. Presenters include Megan Park, Maisy Stella, Victoria Pedretti, River Gallo and Brigette Lundy-Paine. River Gallo will be presenting Dylan his Breakthrough Actor Award.

IndieWire Studio Presented by Dropbox

Starting Friday, January 19, the IndieWire Studio will showcase discussions with actors like Lucy Liu (“Presence”), Julia Fox (“Presence”), Jason Schwartzman (“Between the Temples”), Riley Keough (“Sasquatch Sunset”), Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), Dominic Fike (“Little Death”), Saoirse Ronan (“The Outrun”), Renate Reinsve (“Handling the Undead”), Dylan O’Brien (“Ponyboi”), Victoria Pedretti (“Ponyboi”), and more.

January 19, - 21. 2024

Variety Studio Presented by Audible

Beginning Friday, January 19, running through Sunday, January 21, the Variety Studio, presented by Audible, will feature interviews with industry-leading directors and top talent from the films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, talent and creators from the following projects will also participate in the interview studio: “Sue Bird: In The Clutch,” “The American Society of Magical Negroes,” “Sasquatch Sunset,” “Presence,” “The Outrun,” “Little Death,” “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” “Krazy House,” “Ponyboi,” “Chrissy & Dave Dine Out,” “A Different Man,” “Exhibiting Forgiveness” and “Your Monster.” 

Collider & Film.io Media Studio

This year we’re thrilled to announce we’ve booked some major talent for our Media Studio, including Kristen Stewart, Ed Harris, Katy O’Brian, Dave Franco, Alicia Silverstone, Riley Keough, Melissa Barrera, David Schwimmer, Jena Malone, Jason Schwartzman, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Carol Kane, Brittany O’Grady, Leslie Grace, Sasha Calle, June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Maddie Ziegler, and loads more. Just a handful of the films and events we’ll be celebrating include Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding, Your Monster, Lolla: The Story of Lollapalooza, Ponyboi, Between the Temples, and many more.

January 20, 2024

"Ponyboi" Word Premiere

Cast Party for Ponyboi

Chase Sapphire on Main, 573 Main St., Park City, 6:30-9 p.m. Filmmaker Esteban Arango joins his cast members Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Indya Moore and River Gallo for a celebration. Event only available to Sapphire Reserve cardmembers who purchased VIP packages through Ultimate Rewards.

January 21, 2024

SAGindie Actors Only Brunch

Cafe Terrigo, 424 Main St., Park City, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The 27th annual installment, a private, invitation-only event, will host Melissa Barrera (Your Monster), Jay Ellis (Freaky Tales, Sue Bird: In the Clutch), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Exhibiting Forgiveness), River Gallo (Ponyboi), Theo Germaine (Desire Lines), Katy O’Brian (Love Lies Bleeding), Maddie Ziegler (My Old Ass), Dylan O’Brien (Ponyboi), Jena Malone (Little Death, Love Lies Bleeding).

Sources: variety.com, hollywoodreporter.com, variety.com, collider.com & indiewire.com

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 1, Poll 9

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave here.

Ayda Aquefort-Dimension 20’s Fantasy High

Qualifications:

Autistic queer women/phoenix💜💜

She is Sapphic and canonically on the autism spectrum.

Propaganda:

She's an awesome autistic head-librarian who also happens to be the girlfriend of one Fig Faeth (pc of Emily Axford). She's cute, super-powerful, and her dynamic with Fig is one of the best romantic storylines I know💜💜

Ayda Aguefort (pronounced EYE-da) a half-phoenix divination wizard and head librarian of the Compass Points Library in Leviathan, a vast pirate city in the Celestine Sea, made up of thousands of shipwrecks all connected together to create a floating island. She is described as a resplendent and beautiful young woman, with a striking resemblance to her deadbeat father/legendary wizard Arthur Aguefort. From the knees down she has large, almost metallic golden talons, with digitigrade ankles. Her wings are deep red, turning orange, and as they reach yellow at the ends, flicker with little flames. She is noticeably not a harpy as she has has arms as well as wings. Her arms are tattooed with many orange runes on her dark human skin. Her eyes are pupils set into roiling balls of flame. She has a short shock of fiery red hair at the top of her head. She wears white linen pants with a pirate sash, a vest, and a bandolier which holds two scrolls. She also has two small books strapped under each arm where one might have guns. Ayda has experienced multiple reincarnations due to her abilities as a half-phoenix. She has lived in Leviathan for around 150 years, but is over 300 years old. In one of Ayda's previous reincarnations, she adopted Garthy O'Brien as her child. Her current reincarnation is seventeen, with Garthy now as her guardian. Her past reincarnations have left notes for her future selves to follow, as once she's reborn, she has no memories of her past lives. She previously believed herself to be only 175 years old, and has no idea what she did for the first 125 years of her life, as one of her incarnations destroyed all her notes in an attempt to start fresh. She regretted this decades later and began writing notes again. Ayda is autistic and can be very hard to read as she often behaves in a very transactional way and uses blunt language. Her eyes being balls of fire doesn't help. She's a very intelligent and accomplished wizard, and takes pride in her work at the library, although gets lonely sometimes and is desperate for a friend. She is always looking to expand the library with new knowledge, and asks a lot of questions. Before meeting the Bad Kids, she was very lonely, and is now very excited to have so many transitive best friends, as well as a super awesome/badass punk-rock tiefling bard girlfriend.

Erik-The Tea Dragon Society

Qualifications:

He uses a wheelchair and is queer

Propaganda:

He’s neat, he’s more of a side character but the middle book centers around him more, when he was younger he fought various monsters with his partner (I think its been a while since I’ve read this), now he runs a tea house with his partner Hesekiel. It’s just a really sweet book series in general and the art is so pretty.

[spotsupstuff]

Hello! I come to ur inbox once again, but with a question.

This has been on my mind for like months and my brain won’t shut and I need a second brain to tell me I’m stupid XD

Do you think ALL the Ancients just… left off the face of the earth. Never to be seen again, or could there be at least that 1% that decided to stay? Of course there was the religious thing that most of them followed and the fact they were stuck on the dang soil of the earth until they went into the void sea.

But it couldn’t be all of them… right?? Or am I just stupid. I’m not so leaned in on Ancient lore, so I’m kinda blind in the mind when it comes to them.

I’m sorry for the paragraph I go back into shadows now(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

hey man! don't call urself stupid, nasty talk about yourself is banned, at least in my inbox. we r nice to ourselves in This house. not even as a joke, else i'm taking out the rolled up newspaper 🗞️👁️👁️

my personal theory is that yes! everyone is pretty much just Gone. main reason why i think that is is cuz it's strange to me that the Iterators wouldn't try n do Something about having some Ancients still around. like deals n treaties when it comes to benefits of them/their systems, especially the comm ones, getting fixed up

there is, of course, also the theory that some Ancients Did survive n proceeded to evolve into the scavengers. it's a fun theory, especially when taken into account Moon's n Pebbles' relationships with both species (Pebs adorin the Ancients n then sendin Arti @ the Scavs), but idk. i personally don't vibe with it much n with my designs it wouldn't make much sense too

what i personally imagine has happened was a systematic manipulation of the society to get All the Ancients into enclosed spaces (-wink wink nudge- it's not "Retaining" walls for nothin -wink-) + slow deconstruction of the lower circles by replacing the farmer duties by machines n therefore forcing the weak to die (n reincarnate into the Iterator cities or as different species which would no longer make it the Ancients' ""problem"") or just move up there out of basic need. this goes on for a while, void baths r happening while the watch over the population falling to the second Sin becomes more strict n so the population starts to slowly shrink while reliably concentrated on top of the Itties

flashforward to some time before the MA, to the time of my sillies Preacher n I.T., lower circle is completely gone, the rules r getting more n more strict. some people start to try n figure out how to rebel against it, like the two aforementioned sillies. they gather, they plan, all the while the government makes the Iterators' overseers look for them n possibly spy. that ends up being a sort of "decoy enemy" for the rebels, cuz turns out the religious nutcases have the whole population under tracking control via chips (it fits aight, the shrinking + concentration in one place stuff). n so even those who would have stayed r found n forced to get dissolved in the Void ✨👍

hurts like a motherfucker n then yoink Echo time

[duhragonball]

Neon Genesis Evangelion 03

You know, I hate to say it, but this show's been pretty friggin' boring so far. I mean, the animation's excellent, and the character designs are really top-notch, but there's these long stretches where nothing actually happens. The dull parts are probably intended to make the robot battles more exciting, but Shinji kind of sucks at fighting, and this whole show seems designed to make me feel guilty about his predicament, so it's hard to enjoy the action, you know?

This one opens with Shinji doing some target practice with his Eva. Ritsuko talks him through the drills, reviewing the technical details of the unit. For example, that cable coming out of its back is a power line, because their battery technology sucks in this world. If the cable gets cut, the Eva has 5 minutes of battery life before it shuts down.

Shinji just sort of exists through these drills like he's in a trance. Ritsuko observes that he seems to go through life just doing whatever he's told.

Misato got him a cell phone when he moved in with her, and she expected him to use it a lot when he started at his new school here in Tokyo-3, but she hasn't heard it ring even once, and she suspects that he has no friends.

The two women consider the Hedgehog's dilemma: the notion that hedgehogs have trouble socializing with one another, because the closer they get the more likely that they'll hurt each other with their quills. Pretty sure that's not actually how hedgehogs work, and I'm pretty sure that's not Shinji's problem.

So far, all I really know about Shinji is that he doesn't particularly like himself very much, and he's adapted to his life in such a way where he just passively accepts everything that happens to him. I'm pretty sure this has a lot to do with the way his dad just sort of glares at him instead of interacting with him like a normal human parent.

I suppose, in theory, Shinji could find some common ground with Rei Ayanami, the other Eva pilot, but he just stares at her while she stares out the window. This is what I mean when I say this show is getting boring. Everyone just sort of keeps restating the premise. The world's in danger from these Angels, the Evas are the only thing that can stop them, and Rei and Shinji are the only ones who can pilot the Evas, so they're desperately needed, but they're also completely distant and isolated from the rest of society. This seems like a really major problem that someone should try to solve, but we're on Episode 3 and everyone just keeps staring at this mess waiting for it to clean itself up.

Let's talk about Shinji's school, because apparently that's incredibly fascinating. Yes, I sure am interested in school. Just the other day I was thinking to myself that there aren't enough animes about schools. They should make... a thousand of them, all set in schools, and everyone could wear the same clothes, even the ones that take place in the future, when you'd expect them to have come up with new social customs. Argh, fuck this.

After the battle in episodes 1 and 2, a lot of people just moved out of Tokyo-3, so it looks like the classes are nearly deserted, except there's a packed house once the classes actually begin. The teacher just happens to give a lesson on the backstory of this world. In 1999 a meteor hit Antarctica, setting off disasters and climate changes that wiped out half the human population. He doesn't get into the Angels, although if I understand correctly, the last one showed up 15 years prior to the start of this show, and the second one showed up in Episode 1. So maybe there's not much to tell.

Anyway, Shinji gets a text message on his laptop asking him to respond to rumors about him being the Eva pilot who saved the city three weeks ago. He says he is the pilot, and the whole class starts asking him questions, ignoring the teacher completely. Everyone thinks Shinji is pretty cool, even though he can't actually tell them anything about his pilot work, and he just sort of murmurs all of his dialogue like a drugged kitten.

Well, one kid doesn't like Shinji, because his sister was crushed by falling debris during the attack, and she's been hospitalized ever since. He blames the Eva pilot for fighting the Angel inside the city, and now that he knows it's Shinji, he punches the shit out of him. Shinji mutters that he didn't pilot the Eva by choice, so the kid punches him again.

Then Rei stands over him like the spectre of death and informs him that they got an emergency call. She says she's going to report for duty, but this is the last time we see her this whole episode. I'm pretty sure Rei does something in this show, but I don't understand why it's taking this long to get to that.

It's another angel and... wow. This is a serious downgrade from the last one. NERV mobilizes the Eva, which seems kind of obvious since that's literally the only thing that works. Apparently this is the fourth Angel, so the third must have been the one from Episode 1 three weeks ago, and the second must have been the one they talked about from 2000.

Misato remarks that NERV's commander, Gendo Ikari, is away, but what difference does it make? All he did the last time was stare at the monitor and smirk occasionally. I think they can manage without him.

Shinji wonders why he's still doing this when his dad's not around to see it. I get that characters don't always understand their own motivations. They're not always honest with themselves, or they act impulsively, or whatever. But I feel like if you put on a leotard to sit in the cockpit of a robot about to do battle against a giant monster, you ought to have some vague idea of why you're doing it.

Anyway, Tokyo-3 goes into battle-station mode, and Shinji engages the Angel, and... immediately goes to pieces. The Angel kicks his ass and severs his power cable, so now he's only got five minutes left before the Eva shuts off completely.

Shinji continues to take a beating, and eventually falls near his two classmates, who snuck out of the bomb shelter to see the battle. The one of the left is fascinated by this Angel/NERV conflict, and the one of the right is the kid who beat Shinji up earlier. Seeing them makes Shinji freeze up, which is impressive because I thought he was already freezing up earlier in the battle. What, is he double-freezed up now? How much does this Angel suck that it still hasn't managed to kill him?

I guess he sort of pulls it together long enough to keep the monster busy while Misato orders the hatch open so the other kids can get inside the robot with him for safety. Ritsuko objects to this, but Misato seems to be in charge, so she gets her way.

Apparently just having passengers on board the Eva can screw up its delicate interaction with the pilot, so this further disrupts Shinji's ability to defend himself. I thought he was already incapacitated from his initial fear, and then again from worrying about his classmates, and now this. Next some guy is gonna show up and stab Shinji in the throat just to make this extra difficult.

But then Shinji goes berserk just like he did in Episode 2, and he manages to kill the Angel before his battery runs out of power. So it all works out.

Three days later... Rei's still staring out that window. Thanks for coming out tonight, Rei.

Shinji hasn't been back to class since the battle, and the kid who beat him up before feels bad about it, now that he understands what Shinji's job is really like. His pal gives him Shinji's phone number to call him and apologize.

And he goes to a phone, but I'm pretty sure he chickens out for some reason. Or maybe Shinji doesn't answer. Whatever.

And that's it. Wow, that sucked. Business will probably pick up later, but I hope it doesn't take too long, because this really isn't doing it for me.

Misato does the next-episode preview segments and she promises "lots of fan service" in Episode 4. Yeesh.

[recentadultburnout]

Info for writer in Thai series fandom: Wedding Ceremony

Thais do have a certain traditional way of doing a wedding ceremony, but what matters the most is the preferences of the married couple. Nowadays, one can choose to do whatever they want with their wedding, so a mixture of Thai and Chinese or Western happens all the time. Weddings without any traditional Thai ceremony elements are also an option, as is simply registering.

In this chapter I will talk about the Thai style and a little bit of mixed style. 

Thai Wedding Ceremony

When a man and a woman decide to marry, The men will send his parents or recruit elderly men who have a high position in society or may be their respected elder relatives, known as "tâo gàe", to approach the woman's parents in order to ask the woman to be his bride and be the one who talks about the dowry. When the woman's parents agree, they will go find the auspicious day for the wedding based on the pair's information, which is mostly their date of birth.

Order of the ceremony

1. Buddhist Ceremony (พิธีสงฆ์ phithi song)

As I say in chapter 7, we Thai Buddhists will invite monks to be in a ceremony for an event like this. For the wedding ceremony, in the past, it was popular to invite them in an even number, four for example, but now nine is the most popular because nine in Thai is homonym with the word that means thrive, and by counting the presiding Buddha images as the ten, they will be in an even number. 

In my eyes, the highlights are first when the pair put food into the monks' alms bowl together using one ladle. It is believed that whoever gets to hold the ladle by the top or neck will be superior to the other in the pair. In some cases, they will switch between themselves as a symbol that they will be equal. 

And second, when the groom receives forehead anointing to bless the marriage from the monk first and gives one to the bride himself, with the hands of the monk holding and guiding his. In some cases, forehead anointing will be done by an elder the married couple respects instead of the monk. And in some people's opinion, forehead anointing does not count as a part of the Buddhist ceremony, so it won't happen in this step.

2. Khan Mak procession (แห่ขันหมาก hae khanmak)

Link

In the country side they might do a parade call Khan Mak parade through their community to bride house but in the city they might skip it or change the location the parade start and make it a lot shoter due to the fact that in city there aren't enough space for it. 

If they do have a parade, the groom's side will start someplace not too close to the bride's house (or the wedding site), cheer three times to signal everyone to start walking, and then another three near the end to tell the bride's side to get ready.

The cheer sound like this https://www.youtube.com/embed/a8eenUZfbqw

When the parade arrives at the bride's house, the bride's relatives will start barring the groom from entering the house by using some type of string as a gate. Traditionally, there are three gates in total, but there can be more. The groom and guests on his side must play games that the bride's side wants in order to pass the gate. It can be answering the question about the bride. The groom shouts out his love for the bride, pushes up or anything they want. The groom's side will also give away some money in addition to winning the games. Most of the people who participate in barring are the younger generation, like siblings or friends.

3. Marriage proposal ceremony (สู่ขอ sòo kŏr) and dowry counting ceremony

Sookor is asking for permission to marry from the bride's parents. And as that implies, in some cases it might even be done without the bride's consent, but fortunately that is not a common occurrence anymore. I can't say it's absolutely not happening, but it's not normal for sure.

The parents and whoever acts as a tao gae will pretend to negotiate and when they come to an agreement, they will pretend to count the dowry, which is in Khan Mak they have been carrying, and then the parent will sprinkle various flowers with popped rice, which also came with one of the Khan Mak, on the dowry and bless the pair. Lastly, the bride's parents will pick up the dowry using cloth to wrap it, place it upon their shoulder, and act as if they are unable to carry it because it is very heavy.

4. engagement ceremony

The engagement ceremony was originally intended to give men and women the opportunity to study and adjust to each other, so it has been held before the wedding for quite some time, but nowadays, the engagement ceremony is commonly held on the same day as the wedding date. which makes everything happen and over all in one day.

In the process of giving the engagement ring, the groom first puts the ring on the bride, and then the bride bows down to the groom. Like this Link

After that, it's the bride who will put the ring on the groom, followed by the couple bowing down to pay homage to their parents.

5. Accept wai (รับไหว้ Rap Wai)

Link

In this step, the newlyweds will pay their respects to their parents and senior relatives, and they will offer a gift or blessing as a response. The meaning of this is to ask the parents and relatives of both the bride and groom to acknowledge and look after them as a new member of their partner family.

This step is done by bowing down without holding your hands open. 3 times for the parents and once for others. After bowing down, the couple will hand a raft of incense sticks to the elders. They will take it and then tie the bride and groom's wrists with holy thread for good fortune and as a symbol of being a member of the family, along with giving blessings and money envelopes as gifts for the newlyweds. Other valuables will also be given as a blessing and as funding for them to build a family together. 

6. Water pouring ceremony (รดน้ำสังข์ rod nam sang)

Link

It's different from the other water pouring ceremony I talk about in chapter 7, but I don't know what other word I should translate this one to. This one, the water will be pouring from the Valambari Shank. 

The ceremony began with incense and candles being lit to honor the Three Jewels. The newlyweds sit on a bench, preparing to receive holy water, which is thought to be a life blessing. The honor guest (prathan: chairman, president, honor guest) will put the nuptial good luck thread on the newlyweds' heads and anoint their foreheads, and then the holy water pouring will start in the order of seniority, one by one. Most of the time, the people who get to do it are the ones who are already married, not children or teenagers. When it's over, the honor guest will remove the nuptial good luck thread, which must be taken off from both the groom and the bride at the same time, and roll it all together to put it on the groom's hand or the bride's hand, along with congratulating the pair.

7. pillow arrangement (Send the bride)

When it's an auspicious time, their family will prepare rice, flowers, and other things according to the beliefs to sprinkle on the bed where the newlyweds will sleep. The bed sheet they use in the ceremony must be the newly bought one. In the ceremony, the elders, whom both sides respect, will make a bed and arrange the pillows. The requirements for those who performed are for them to be married couples who were rightfully married according to tradition and have a good, long married life and also be accepted in society as ethical and good people. The purpose of this ceremony is for auspiciousness and to give a good example of a good marriage for the newlyweds. 

After this, the ceremony is considered over. Many people usually have a party at some point, but it's up to their personal preference.

*This one is the central Thai one. It normalizes the most since it is in the center of the country. In other locations, the details and order of some of the steps may vary depending on the local customs. Or even have some step that is different entirely. For example, in Isan, there is a step where the bride and groom will feed boiled eggs to each other, which is a step other places don't have.

If you want other sources, these two links below are for you.

https://learnthaiwithmod.com/2013/09/thai-tradition-wedding-ceremony/

https://www.weddinglist.co.th/blog/8-steps-of-thai-wedding-ceremony/

Thai + Chinese wedding ceremony

It can be done in many different ways depending on whether they want more Thai or more Chinese elements, but I think the most common way to go about it was by adding a tea ceremony and adjusting some details, such as the content of Khan Mak.

Tea Ceremony

It is a Chinese tradition to pay respect to the elderly. The bride will be prepare a teapot and a teacup, and the elderly relatives who are attending the ceremony will sit in order of seniority. The groom's relatives will sit on the left. The newlyweds must sit together at the start of the ceremony. They will kneel down and pour tea into a cup, place it on a tray, and lift the tray with both hands at the same time. and send it to the attendee to drink until the cup is empty. Then elder relatives will bless them and give gifts, and the newlyweds will give something in return. They can be general items like cushions, towels, or glassware. At the end of the tea ceremony The newlyweds will eat Khanom Ei and Khanom Bua Loi together to symbolize sweet love.

The tea ceremony might happen after the wedding day, like how it happens according to Chinese tradition, or it might be combined with the accept wai step as they have the same purpose.

Or it can be anytime they want. My parents did it before the wedding day. It sounds like they do it when they get engaged, sometime before the wedding. It also appears that no one has a real, organized plan for how the wedding should take place at that time.

Thai + Western wedding ceremony

There isn't a standard one for this. What I can gather is that the first thing most people cut off from all the steps in a Thai ceremony is the Buddhist Ceremony, and they usually keep the Water Pouring Ceremony, but that is just my opinion, not a fact.

+ Bonus

There is a concept about how a young couple who elope comes back to apologize to their parents after letting some time pass for their parents to cool down or better, after they have a baby.

Women who get engaged but didn't get to wed for any reason, whether it be the groom's death before they have the ceremony or they broke the engagement are called Mai Khan Mak (หม้ายขันหมาก) (Mai-widow). And it can be seen as a shameful or bad thing in the past.

An arranged marriage is known in Thai as khlum thung chon(คลุมถุงชน), which is a word that derives from how people set up a cockfight. I find that quite funny.

The wife's taking her husband's last name after marriage is the most common, but the opposite, or both of them keeping their own last names, is also an option. As for using both last names, it's not so popular among Thai couples, but it's what quite a few Thai-foreign couples want. This option can be a bit more difficult compared to the others due to its being out of the norm and the process of obtaining it can be confusing, so many people will choose to make their old last names into middle names as a way to keep them instead of actually trying to use both.

Marriage register information is considered private information. You will be informed about your partner's status when you and your partner register together. I hear that they will also inform you about your partner's history if they have divorced before too. As for other cases, you will need to file for a court's order to access information.

People like to get their marriage registration at Bang Rak District. Rak (รัก) means love, so it has a good meaning for a married couple. And by the same logic, there are a few other districts that are also popular or unpopular with the married couple too. For example, Bang Sue District, Sue (ซื่อ) means honest, strict forward, truthful, faithful (ซื่อตรง). A quality people want from their partner. So, a popular choice. Or Bang Phlat. Phlat (พลัด) means to stray away, to be separated from, thus making it unpopular.

9 auspicious Thai desserts. Wikipedia The desserts that are chosen to be in this set all have a somewhat good meaning word in their names. It's not only popular for a wedding but also for all kinds of auspicious occasions. The same concept with the reason why Bang Rak is a popular district to register a marriage. 9 (เก้า-kao) is also an auspicious number.

Index

[attackfish]

Can we have another 5 hc for the Lin Adopts Mako and Bolin AU please :)

Continued from: [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], and [Link].

1. Lin is a woman who believes deeply in justice, and in responsibility and duty. And she used to believe that justice, responsibility, and duty, were clear cut. They might never be easy, but they were simple. It might be hard to do what was right, but it was always obvious what right was. It's part of why she never had any patience for people who acted like it might be complicated, like it might be difficult to judge what was right. She was sure they were only making excuses for a selfish desire to break the rules.

2. Her mother and sister only reinforced this picture. Whatever else they are, both Suyin and her mother have little time for selfless idealism.

3. But now, Lin is, every day, confronting how limited her view of justice has been, how she let rules and laws become substituted for moral judgement, and how the law she serves has been made to enforce a cruel order. With her newfound awareness of how badly her society is failing so many children, with its paralyzing poverty and full orphanages and schools that only the children who are already relatively safe from poverty get to go to, and with the confidence that comes from being both chief of police and the daughter of a international hero, Lin goes to the United Republic Council.

4. She talks about her two boys, and how they are thriving, in a school that offers understanding and help, she talks about what they came from, and who they might have become without this. She talks about thousands of street kids with nowhere to go, about the orphans, and about the kids on the streets because their parents are on the streets, about the power the triads wield in the poor neighborhoods, about the slum lords, and the people with no choice but to work for the triads, about how the tools she needs to keep this city safe are schools, hospitals, orphanages, and good cheep housing. And it's not like any of this would be new, globally speaking. The Fire Nation has universal public education and the Southern Water Tribe public hospitals are top notch. Surely if Republic City wishes for safety for its people, it can do that.

5. But Lin is an idealist. She is an idealist who is only just realizing how ignorant she has been in her idealism, but she is an idealist, and it's really difficult for her to grasp that actually that's rare. And the members of the United Republic Council are not. And worse, they have no incentive to run the United Republic or its capital city for the benefit of the people who live there, because they are appointed by and beholden to the leaders of the other nations of the world. What does the Earth Kingdom or the Northern Water Tribe care if Republic City has an impoverished underclass at the mercy of the Triads? The Earth Queen and Chief Unalaq find the situation in Republic City entirely to their benifit, and so do their appointees. The only Council member who even vaguely feels a responsibility to the republic is Tenzin, and by the way, this is how he becomes aware his old flame has kids now.

[citiesborn]

HEART SRISEVOK, THE OWNER OF NEXOS NIGHTCLUB

OOC INFORMATION

your alias, timezone, & pronouns: rainie, est, she/her muse’s name: heart srisevok tagging system link: tbd. [ baifern pimchanok, cis-woman, she/her ] Look who just landed! CHALIDA “HEART” SRISEVOK, I sure hope you packed all you need. Perhaps you’re not worried as THE OWNER of NEXOS NIGHTCLUB. The city has plenty of spots for a 33 year old HUMAN like you. You’ll be known in the city soon enough as THE HEDONIST, being CHARISMATIC and NARCISSISTIC. ( rainie, 23, EST, removed for discretion )

STATISTICS

full name: chalida zhong, heart srisevok nickname: while "heart" was originally a nickname she legally changed her named to heart upon arrival to mars. date of birth: may 27th, 2372 gender: cis female pronouns: she/her sexual orientation: lesbian romantic orientation: lesbian current age: thirty-three modification: human affiliation: nexos nightclub birthplace: new york city, new york, earth current neighbourhood: sora occupation: owner of nexos nightclub, information broker known languages: english, thai, mandarin

TRADITIONAL BIOGRAPHY

WHEN CHALIDA ZHONG FLEES EARTH in the dead of night she has three things in her bag. 1. twenty-thousand dollars in liquidated bills, a handle of kentucky bourbon - aged twenty years, and a pair of bedazzled dior sunglasses. when she lands on mars chalida zhong is dead and heart srisevok is born. raised on the upper east side of manhattan heart's childhood was a heady mix of swedish boarding schools, lunches at le bernandin, and sneaking out of the marble penthouses her father kept at different points in the city. her mother, much like her daughter was a bored socialite who had even less interest in having a daughter than she did in being married. her father was old money - fortune 500 conglomerates and caviar for breakfast. and in the middle of it all a young chalida desperate for some sort of attention. but her father's attention is domineering at the best of times and cruel at the worst. still she acts out, lashes out at anything she can - ruins business dinners and ends up on the cover of the social papers in handcuffs. when she was eighteen he demanded this behavior come to an end. she was getting married whether she wanted to or not. from that point on it became near impossible to leave the house. heart knew that just leaving new york wouldn't be far enough. so she liquidated her trust fund shoved what she could in boxes and bags and bought herself a first class ticket to mars. after she landed she shook off her old name. taking on her mother's maiden name and the nickname she'd had growing up. she quickly blew through her trust fund partying and in need of quick cash began escorting. due to heart's life in new york high society she blended seamlessly into the upper echelons of sora. her rates skyrocketed and more than money she began collecting information. by twenty-four heart had blackmailed her way into the upper ranks of sora. she'd amassed enough money to quite escorting entirely and opened nexos. it wasn't enough to run the most successful nightclub in new jakarta though. rumors ran through the place like water so heart gave her staff an objective. hear something? come tell her and reap a healthy bonus on top of an already generous salary. heart developed a reputation for knowing things. after all who wouldn't trust a beautiful woman in a pair of designer heels? what could she possibly do to betray some man who thought himself far more intelligent and savvy than her. for the right price she'd tell you the rumor she heard. of course if you wanted to thank her by sending her some sort of gift she'd never be upset by that.

INSPIRATIONS

pinterest: right here quote: "i will always be the virgin prostitute, the perverse angel, the two faced sinister and saintly woman." -anais nin. label: the hedonist tropes: ethical slut, loveable alpha bitch, hard-drinking party girl media parallels: samantha jones ( sex & the city ), faye valentine ( cowboy bepop ), brooke davis ( one tree hill ), ramona vega ( hustlers ) theme song: crazy girls by toopoor

PERSONALITY

positive traits: charismatic, intelligent, effervescent, loyal neutral traits: cynical, unconstrained, honest, outspoken negative traits: selfish, vindictive, narcissistic, jealous peeves: boring people, business meetings, slow walkers fears: spiders, being forgotten, her father skills: manipulation, drinking a whole bottle of top shelf tequila without dying, bitching goals: to become so rich and powerful she's untouchable

APPEARANCE

faceclaim: baifern pimchanok height: 5'5 eye colour: brown hair colour: brown clothing style: heart prefers skirts and dresses over pants. her clothes tend to be especially tight, revealing, and daring. she's typically the most overdressed person in the room and doesn't wear many shoes aside from heels and the occasional pair of boots. she's an admitted shopaholic with an enviable closet of designer clothes. jewelry: much like her clothing heart has an extensive collection of jewelry she cycles through based on her outfits. she's not particularly attached to any of the pieces tattoos: a small sun on her left hip fragrance: some variant of expensive designer perfume

[fanficfanattic]

What’re your top 3:

• Secondary team members

• Cheeses

• Places you’ve visited

• Episodes of Ted Lasso

I love you so much!

Second Team:

Declan Cockburn is my number 1 forever. Followed by Sasha Kukoč because he is so expressive in the background of scenes. Plus rocks a suit. 3rd place would have to be Tom O’Brien because he is such a freak.

Cheeses:

1) goats milk brie

2) muenster

3) mozzarella pearls

Places:

1) Balboa Park in San Diego (honorable mention to a small beach in Oceanside that I had to semi rock climb to get in/out of.)

2) Amsterdam j/k, I have only been to Canada and France outside of the US. Wait. And the Bahamas. That’s actually the one (1) cruise I went on that we talked about before. It was a Disney cruise that my grandma took my dad’s side of the family on. I got to watch The Sixth Sense every night for nearly a week. That wasn’t my real favorite though. Victorian Tea Regina - Government House Historical Society is my actual answer. It was so, so good.

3) The castle in France my friend got married in. Trying to find a link to it but I cannot remember the name off the top of my head. And French is not a language that I have any skill in lololol.

Ted Lasso Episodes:

1) Sunflowers

2) Mom City

3) The Signal

Sleepover Saturday Asks