#Unknown facts about desert animals

[plaguedocboi]

Bottomless Pits

We post holes here, sir.

Sinkholes, pit caves, wells and cenotes all have one thing in common; sometimes they’re bottomless. Not truly “bottomless”, of course, but in appearance, reputation, or of incredible depth. We’ve seen a few of these “bottomless pits” in prior lists such as the Lost Sea in Tennessee or the Devil’s Hole in Nevada, but today we will focus on those strange places in the earth that seem to be endless.

1. Laguna Kaan Luum, Mexico

This one threw me for a loop because I was originally only seeing pictures like the one above, so I was like ‘oh, that’s cool, so it’s kinda like Dean’s Blue Hole, where it’s an ocean sinkhole right off the shore…’

No. It’s not that. Let’s zoom out a bit.

Yeah. This is a lake with one giant sinkhole in the middle! It’s about 2,000 feet across and reaches depths of 278 feet, with the surrounding shallows a very pleasant 4 feet deep! I’m mostly including it on the list because the full image hit me like a bus.

2. Sima Humboldt, Venezuela

Tepuis are large plateau mountains found across Venezuela, often with sheer sides and inaccessible tops that inspired explorers to imagine dinosaurs still surviving on these isolated mesas. Even on their own, tepuis are incredible, beautiful and mysterious. Add a sinkhole with an even more isolated forest at the bottom, and you have all the ingredients for some crazy shit to happen. Sima Humboldt and Sima Martel are two enormous sinkholes at the top of Cerro Sarisariñama. Humboldt is the largest at over a thousand feet across and nearly the same in depth, with a jungle flourishing at the bottom. The sinkhole forests are home to many endemic species of both plant and animals, but so far, no prehistoric monsters have been found in any of them.

3. Well of Barhout, Yemen

The “well of hell” is a massive sinkhole in the desert, measuring about 100 feet in diameter and plunging down over 300 feet. Understandably, there are many myths and legends about this place, including a story about an evil djinn which lives at the bottom and takes the head of anyone foolish enough to climb in. In fact, so pervasive are these legends that the sinkhole was only formally explored in 2021! Luckily they did not find any evil spirits, but they did find stalagmites which reached 30 feet tall, cave pearls, and waterfalls which provided refuge for frogs and snakes.

4. Myakka sinkhole, Florida

This murky abyss is filled with more than just water, it is also home to over a hundred alligators. Due to the poor visibility and very high concentration of large carnivores, it is very difficult to study this pit. Only a few people have ever glimpsed the bottom of this 134-foot deep sinkhole, but apparently we aren’t missing much because the water down there is stagnant and inhospitable to most life. Exactly why this area is so popular among alligators is still unknown, but it’s likely due to a combination of food availability and ideal temperatures.

5. The Pit cenote, Mexico

Like Cenote Angelita, The Pit is a layered cenote. The first 88 feet is freshwater, then there is a “fog” of hydrogen sulfide, below which lies over 300 feet of brackish water. The Pit is a spectacular-looking cenote, with an almost otherworldly quality, which makes it very popular among divers. So far, this pit has been explored to a depth of 390 feet, but unexplored passages extend further.

6. Thor’s well, Oregon

Like a drainpipe continuously swallowing an unbroken stream of ocean water, Thor’s well is often likened to a bottomless pit. However, it is actually only about 20 feet deep, and the drain effect is due to the fact that it connects back to the ocean, not swallowing the water but simply rerouting it. This does not mean that there is no danger, though. The rocks are slippery and sharp, and this area sees a higher than average number of ‘sneaker waves’; waves that look normal as they roll in but are actually much larger than they appear, potentially sweeping people out to sea as they retreat. The true danger here is the ocean, not the well.

7. Vouliagmeni Lake, Greece

This incredibly beautiful saltwater lake has been rumored to have healing properties for thousands of years, and today continues to draw in visitors for its medicinal minerals and “doctor fish”. But this famous lake hides a secret; a labyrinth of caves whose depths have never been fully explored, and whose connection to the ocean remains undiscovered. Passages stretch over a mile into the mountains, with an average depth of 260 feet. The largest of these caverns is nearly 500 feet wide and full of warm sea water. Although a spectacular diving spot, these unknown caverns are best not underestimated.

8. Santa Rosa blue hole, New Mexico

A gorgeous natural swimming hole, this cenote is roughly 80 feet wide and 80 feet deep (in most places) and is a popular destination for tourists. It was also used for diving certification tests, until an incident in 1976. There is one spot in this picturesque cenote that goes down much further than 80 feet; the entrance to a cave. In the dark, twisting passages, two young divers got lost and died, and the cave was later sealed with a metal grate to prevent other divers from attempting to enter. The cave was mostly forgotten about until 2013, when cave divers were given permission to attempt to map the area. The blue hole is at least 200 feet deep, but the bottom of the cave still has not been found.

9. Roaring River Spring, Missouri

This turquoise river bubbles up from a ten-foot wide pool of deep water hidden within a sheer-sided canyon. But despite its peaceful appearance, this spring discharges 20 million gallons of water a day, and the exact source is still unknown. In 1979, divers attempted to map the cave, but reached a point 225 feet down where the passage constricted and had a water flow like “the force of an open fire hydrant”, preventing them from going any further. In 2020, divers waited until the water flow was lowest in the summer and descended to a depth of 472 feet with no bottom in sight, making this the deepest spring in the US!

10. Your Mom.

I jest, of course. Here’s the real one:

Hranice Abyss, Czech Republic

A tiny greenish lake in the forest is the opening to the deepest freshwater cave in the world, deeper than the Empire State Building is high and still seemingly bottomless. It is so deep that scientists think it may have been formed by a totally different process than most freshwater caves; instead of water eroding away the ground from above, it may have been created by acidic groundwater coming up from below. And this water is extremely acidic, able to burn a diver’s skin if not covered properly. This, combined with fallen trees and other debris, poor visibility, and the sheer vertical drop of the cave, creates incredibly dangerous conditions for diving. Because of this, no diver or ROV has reached the bottom yet. But with a recent study using seismic sensors, scientists have estimated that the abyss may be over a kilometer deep, twice what was previously thought.

[kat-124]

Walks over and flutters my eyelashes…you should totally tell me about your region genetic headcanons

ACKKKKK hey.

michael vsauce here, first i gotta explain another system i have in my headcanons. because goodness these guys are very, very diverse! and theres subcategories! my favorite! (everything below is headcanon territory, however I'll be formatting it as if its a fact or sm)

all demons belong to a 1st species, which basically means they have traits from whatever region they're spawned in.

theres Lost Temple demons, Thieve's Den, Playground, and Blackrock.

if you want, in another part i can talk abt how evolution/genes occurs in the first place when theres not really a 'passing down' of genes because i have explanations for that aswell! infact I'll happily explain anything further on request, i loove yapping

a 2nd species is basically a second set of traits mixed with the 1st species, this can be animalistic, object, concept, etc. (for example: wolf, fishing hook, music)

a 2nd species isnt always present, but when it is it can override 1st species traits, seemingly at random with less concern for survivability according to environment.

however, animalistic 2nd species are seen to commonly reflect the region theyre born into, whether this is because matching-animal 2nd species are more common or just that they survive more is unknown.

ANYWAYS

region genetics (aka 1st species)

~~~~ Lost Temple

lost temple demons tend to have thicker, rougher skin all over, rougher palms/soles, longer eyelashes, etc.

claws: longest of all the regions, demons tend to trim them though, to make modern life things easier. tend to be nonretractable. duller than other regions, in color and appearance. very sturdy, can be used for digging through materials like softer rocks, dirt, etc.

skin: lost temple demons tend to have darker skin when spawned, but many also just tan (grey-en? idk) from the sun. skin colors are random when spawned, but think of it as just being more common to be darker.

diet: omnivores. dried insects or lizards, beans, cacti, etc. seen as cultural foods and are quite common to find.

horns: Lost Temple horns can start to flake if not maintained, they are very sturdy, and are the heaviest out of the regions. they are quite solid, seeing a Lost Temple demon with a broken horn is a rare sight as it tends to be easier for the whole thing to be detached from the skull rather than fracturing. this makes them harder to customize shape-wise.

scutes: tend to line the upper side of the hands and feet, (think like reptiles or bird feet) scutes would also sometimes appear in 'armored' areas, like outside of forearm, shoulder, back of neck, along back, shins, outer thighs, etc.

while 'inside' softer skin areas would not have scutes. like the belly, inside of forearm, upper arm, inner thighs, etc.

scutes are shed periodically, and tend to be a mix or offset of horn + skin color. can be polished, traded or gifted afterward.

temp sensitivity: very temperature resistant, as the desert has an incredibly harsh climate (hot during the day, freezing at night) they have to in order to survive, even with shelter.

they dont tend to sweat very much, if at all, as it conserves water amounts.

Lost temple demons tend to be naturally nocturnal, as to avoid the heat, but have adjusted to being awake during the day due to the development of towns, the lifestyle of other factions, and such.

towns historically developed around rivers and oasises.

Lost Temple demons are generally quite tall

they tend to have a third eyelid, its a thin membrane they can shut it over their eye. this helps be able to see partially during sandstorms or if its windy. it freaks other regions out though.

Playground

Playground demons tend to have thicker skin especially at the palms and soles, they have

claws: Playgrounders tend to have medium sized claws, shorter than Lost temple ones. non-retractable. noticeably curved, very sharp, used for climbing or grappling easily. Playground demons will also file or trim their claws down to improve dexterity. they come in brighter colors.

skin: Playgrounders tend to be dark-midtone but having more colorful hues, (ie. they might be grey but with an hue overlay of another color, usually matching horn color.) smooth in texture.

diet: omnivores, fruits and vegetation are very common food sources, spices and herbs are also very common here, and are used in cooking often. avian meat is the kind thats most commonly consumed, aswell as reptiles. Playgrounders tend to have a wide diet.

playgrounders horns are the most malleable, they are softer and more sustainable to breaking or chipping. broken, cracked, or chipped horns are a common sight in Playground. they are smooth in texture.

Playgrounders tend to be shorter/smaller, however they tend to have longer tails than other factions. and these tend to be prehensile tails.

decorating yourself with colorful items and foliage used to be a sign that you were stronger/a threat, however, now its moreso just self expression and is very common.

very quick, along with being small they tend to be nimble and agile, good at evading something trying to chase them. theyre strong in a way that would make them not great at arm wrestles, but would be at tug of war.

very resistant to the humidity and heat. they do poorly in colder or less humid environments. they have pretty good poison tolerance.

Playgrounders also tend to be naturally nocturnal, but now are more active in the afternoon, especially at dusk. Playgrounders tend to nap often rather than taking long sleeps. theyre also light sleepers.

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

ok ive been letting this sit in draft for aaaawhile, im gonna post this now, ignore any mistakes they arent there, trust

might yap abt the other two factions in a 2nd part i dunno, feel free to ask me specific questions about my hcs, i find it easier to make a response if the question is more specific/narrow ^_^

[radiojamming]

PLEASE tell us more about mummy types, i know ice is your fave so feel free to go ham on that but all of them are so interesting to me

drives up in my cozy coupe that has MUMMY MOBILE written in sharpie on the side (ALSO PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION WHEN LOOKING THESE UP; SOME OF THEM LOOK VERY GNARLY)

ICE/PERMAFROST - If you've followed me for a little while, you probably know more about these than the average fella! These are your Beechey Island Trio, your Ötzi the Iceman. Ice keeps bacteria from turning the body into a smorgabord, thus keeping these people fresh (and fluid-filled) for hundreds to thousands of years. And maybe some day down the line, some nerd finds you and thinks you're beautiful and never shuts up about you.

THE BOG - It's Tumblr. You all know about The Bog. Bog bodies are essentially turned into leather purses by the tannins and the anaerobic qualities of The Bog, sometimes effectively snapshotting their causes of death (usually something violent). Special shoutouts to fan favorites like Tollund Man, Lindow Man/Pete Marsh, Yde Girl, Grauballe Man, and Windeby I. And Hozier, probably.

HOT, DRY DESERT AIR - Think the Atacama Desert, the Mummies of Guanajuato, or your pre-embalming times Egyptians. In fact, it was the natural qualities of desert air that probably tipped the Ancient Egyptians off to the fun and fabulousness of preservation. You dry out to potato chip crispness but lose all the wet bits. Also Anubis is probably repping you.

ARID, COLD MOUNTAIN AIR - Same idea as the desert as far as lack of humidity, but better for your skin. Mountaintop mummies are some of the best preserved in the whole world. La Doncella is a fantastic example, as are the rest of the Children of Llullaillaco or the Cherchen Man and Siberian Ice Maiden. Sometimes this was done on purpose (hi bog bodies), but sometimes people just go up to high altitudes, die, and stay there forever.

HONEY/MELLIFICATION - This one doesn't fit the bill of spontaneous mummification, which is what I study. Honey mummies are made on purpose, allegedly by feeding someone honey until they're dead, and then dunking them in a coffin full of honey for them to steep like tea for the next century or so, then digging them up and making medicine/snacks out of them. Lots of alleged's, but still pretty cool if you're into idk becoming one with the slime.

SALT - Human jerky! Salt does to you what it does to all the other edible meats, of which you're just another brand. Salt sucks all the moisture out and keeps you nice, fresh, and flavorful forever and ever. The Saltmen of Iran are Thee Pinnacle of this type of preservation. Bonus is that you get weirdly sparkly when you're salted like a slug.

SAPONIFICATION - You become soap. Actually, if you want to get technical, you turn into what's called corpse wax (which is a surprisingly badass name for turning into a human candle) or adipocere. Mrs. Ellenbogen of the Mütter Museum is probably the best example of this, but it also happens to, uh, cave divers. Which is another great reason not to go cave diving.

PRISTINE AIR OF A SACRED BUILDING - Catacomb mummies! Incorruptible saints! Sokushinbutsu! If you're stuck in a religious house of worship and it just so happens to have its own little ecosystem (usually pretty dry, probably full of resinous incense), there's a non-zero chance that you'll get preserved very similarly to the mountain mummies. Getting stuck in a crystal casket doesn't hurt either. (Disclaimer: this is semi-anthropogenic for those keeping score at home. Some of these mummies are preserved this way on purpose.)

TAR PITS - Like the bog, but hotter, stickier, and smellier. Go in the tar, have no oxygen causing you to fall apart, turn into another leather bag time capsule. This more often happens to animals like those in the La Brea Tar Pits than people. At least that we know of.

WEIRD, AS OF YET UNKNOWN MEANS - Can we say for sure that there was only one reason why Lady Dai/Xin Zhui's stayed so preserved for so long? What about the other wet mummies? What about ones people find in trees? Or whatever the hell was going on with Elmer McCurdy? Maybe it's not unknown, but it doesn't fit the bill of typical mummies, or there are so many factors at play leading to preservation that we can't just call it by one category.

[caffeinated-chaos-bean]

Black★Rock Shooter Lore

The Hollow World

The Hollow World (虚の世界, kyo no sekai) is the main setting of huke's artwork, and the secondary setting of the story of the Black★Rock Shooter OVA and Black★Rock Shooter 2012 anime. Black★Rock Shooter and other characters live in this realm, and the bizarre landscape is a witness to constant fighting between its denizens.

The world depicted in the 2012 TV Anime has several known names:

"Another World", "Other World" // (裏世界, ura sekai)

"Imaginary World" // (虚の世界, kyo no sekai)

Sky Gates

Black★Rock Shooter starts here at the beginning of the anime. The area matches the decor of the Otherworld in general and has pointed, deserted stones everywhere.

Black★Rock Shooter was attacked by a huge King Saw that shot out of the ground from Black Gold Saw's giant eye, which was shortly defeated by Black★Rock Shooter.

Chariot’s Land

Chariot seems to reside here. The pink-tinted area (rather than yellow-tinted) is full of robotic, toy-like creatures that have claws and drills. The background resembles a toy area with baby doll faces and colored blocks.

Inside is a house that floats in the air, suspended by strange string-like objects. Dead Master was dragged here by what were presumably Chariot's minion bugs and chained. Only a single doll covered this up.

Chariot and Black★Rock Shooter fought here until Black Gold Saw intervened and made a fissure, separating Dead Master from Black★Rock Shooter.

Black Gold Saw’s Battlefield

A gray-tinted area (rather than red-tinted), which seems to have ruined Greek-style columns, and multiple chains spread around.

Black★Gold Saw created the strange hooded figures here, and later fought Insane Black★Rock Shooter here using the same hooded figures.

Grey Area

A separate, gray-tinted area which is a vast expanse of land with chains in the sky, and a large hole leading to an abyss where many bodies of dead other selves lay in.

Strength was shown dragging the beheaded body and head of Chariot here, then throwing her into the abyss. She later dragged the body of Dead Master away from Insane Black★Rock Shooter and Black★Gold Saw's fight, presumably to bring her to this area.

Dead Master’s Lair

The strange, green-tinted place where Dead Master was chained might be her lair. In that place, there lies a hidden throne where the Dead Master sits for the duration of time while Black★Rock Shooter fought her skeletal minions. Skeletal columns and Greek-style pillars are scattered about and the entire battlefield has a green tinge.

Covering the floor of some parts of the battlefield is a strange, greenish liquid.

Unknown Battlefield

Until Dead Master was killed by Black★Rock Shooter, this area was Dead Master's lair. The trauma of killing Dead Master transformed Black★Rock Shooter into Insane Black★Rock Shooter, as well as transforming the area into a purple-tinted area filled with spikes and cannon-like objects, possibly meaning this area belongs to Insane Black★Rock Shooter. This is supported by the fact that the area bears an uncanny resemblance to the normal Black★Rock Shooter's realm.

Black★Gold Saw is shown fighting with Insane Black★Rock Shooter here, eventually moving their fight to Black★Gold Saw's own battlefield.

Strength’s Battlefield

Strength's field is like that of an orange rubix cube surrounded in gigantic barbed wire. She can easily change her position on the cube by slamming her fists in one of the blocks. She can easily move through the field from jumping or climbing from block to block. It also seems to react to her emotions for when she starts to go insane the field is engulfed in flames.

After saving Black Gold Saw in her own battlefield, Strength fought Insane Black★Rock Shooter here.

Black★Rock Shooter’s Battlefield

According to Mato and Insane Black★Rock Shooter, this is Black★Rock Shooter's world. However, she is never shown to actually reside here. The world is a wide, empty space with some ruins embedded in the floor. The ground has the typical checkerboard pattern of most locations in the Otherworld, but with a bluish tint. The entire battlefield seems to be surrounded by a black-blue rocky material that prevents those inside it from seeing the outside world. This battlefield resembles a cavern or a large hall. Unlike most of the other battlefields, it is practically empty except for some large, spiky objects stuck in the ground.

Mato Kuroi (as Black★Rock Shooter) fights Insane Black★Rock Shooter here. During the battle, stars begin to appear in the "sky" of the battlefield and eventually the worlds of all the different "other selves" combine with the battlefield, allowing Mato to summon a giant ★Rock Cannon, which she uses to defeat Insane Black★Rock Shooter, and destroy the wall of the battlefield, revealing white space behind it.

The Other Selves

An other self (思念体, shinentai) is an alternate counterpart to a human character that resides in the Hollow World. They are generally described as solitary beings who have the ability to defend themselves using their own weapons, seemingly reflecting the portrayal of the Hollow World as a place filled with dangers. As alternate counterparts, they possess an invisible connection with their respective human counterparts in the real world. The concept of other selves are prominently featured in the Black★Rock Shooter OVA, where they were first introduced, and Black★Rock Shooter 2012 anime. The concept of other selves in the Black★Rock Shooter TV Anime series is similar to that of the OVA's, carrying over the idea of other selves as "otherworldly beings that possess a connection with a human being". However, the anime portrays the connection between the two in a more evident way and expands upon the concept.

Other selves are alternate versions of their human counterparts, born of the Otherworld. They spend their entire lives fighting while bearing their human counterparts' darkest thoughts and fears for them until the bitter end, where upon the other self's death, their human counterpart forgets their pain and what was causing them to suffer, along with the feelings and memories associated with their pain. Other selves do not have emotions of their own, and their actions reflect the feelings of their human counterparts. Strength was no exception until she connected with Yuu Koutari for the first time, allowing her to feel emotions and sense how badly Yuu was suffering in the real world. Strength would come to understand why the other selves fight for their human counterparts, but also sympathized with how the other selves were suffering themselves in the face of constant battle, and agreed with Mato Kuroi disapproving of someone else "having to die for [her] to solve all [her] problems", saying that differences should be resolved directly by talking.

Saya Irino implied the existence of Mato's other self to her by explaining that there is someone out there who takes a person's pain from their hearts so that they will never feel physical pain when they are hurt. That someone is Black★Rock Shooter, who is particularly notable because she reflects Mato's self-sacrificing nature to an extreme, stopping at nothing to destroy other peoples' worst feelings, carried by other selves, without mercy. This resulted in her being as powerful as she is. As stated above, the death of the other self causes their human counterpart to forget their pain and the feelings and memories associated with it. This has been shown three times in the anime: the first was Kagari Izuriha forgetting her past feelings towards Yomi after Chariot's death; the second was Arata Kohata forgetting her memories of Taku Katsuchi after her other self was beheaded; and the third was Yomi Takanashi forgetting all about Mato after Dead Master was killed. All three of their other selves' deaths were at the hands of Black★Rock Shooter.

Since the other selves' actions reflect the feelings of their human counterparts, the battles between other selves also often reflect the experiences of their human counterparts in real time, as shown when Black★Rock Shooter fights Chariot at the same time that Mato and Kagari conflict with each other with Yomi at the center of their conflict. The outcome of these battles, as with the strength of the other selves involved, would also reflect the resolution of that conflict in the real world. At times, the real world can sometimes influence the Otherworld; the voices of human counterparts can be heard in the Otherworld, while a human's physical status may reflect in the Hollow World as well (for example, Chariot's wheeled legs reflecting Kagari's use of the wheelchair and the heart-shaped scar on Yomi's and Dead Master's chests).

It is later shown that human counterparts can enter the Hollow World by transferring their consciousnesses into the bodies of their respective other selves. How this is done exactly is unknown, but Yuu and Saya are capable of doing so, with Yuu even being able to transfer Mato's consciousness into Black★Rock Shooter. Under normal conditions, the human counterpart can return to the real world by waking up, but Mato became trapped within Black★Rock Shooter after her trauma caused the latter to transform into Insane Black★Rock Shooter. She was able to separate herself from Black★Rock Shooter (but still remain in the Otherworld) and Strength from Yuu by pleading to protect Yuu from Insane Black★Rock Shooter.

Despite the fact that other selves do not have emotions of their own, they have their own free will, and rather than being forced to, they choose to fight out of love for their human counterparts. Strength says that this is the reason the other selves could never fight for someone they hate, because regardless of their individual personalities, all the other selves have a deep and unconditional love for their human counterparts, whom they regard as the most precious person to each of them.

All the known other selves are distinguished by their shared characteristics: they have a concentric circle pattern in their eyes, a signature color theme, and blood that is both black and their respective signature color (for example, Black★Rock Shooter's blood is black and blue). They also each have a realm that belongs to them within the Hollow World.

Canon Characters

Black★Rock Shooter

Black★Rock Shooter (ブラック★ロックシューター, Burakku★Rokku Shūtā) is the other self of Mato Kuroi.

Black★Rock Shooter has blue eyes and long dark blue hair tied into spiky asymmetrical high twintails (the right being shorter than the left). She wears a hooded black trench coat adorned with single white stripes down the sleeves, a small white star in the front, and a larger star on the back. The tails of her coat are attached by three zippers, two horizontal around the waistline and one vertical down the lower half of her coat. Her open coat reveals a bikini top and a pair of hot pants with a black and white belt worn in a cross-shaped manner over another belt. She also wears knee-high boots with white soles, the underside of which has a star on the footprint.

As Mato's other self, Black★Rock Shooter represents her self-sacrificial personality to the extreme in the form of someone who takes the worst feelings of other people and strikes them down in cold blood. Whereas Mato sets aside her own feelings to help other people, Black★Rock Shooter stops at nothing to destroy the other selves of the people Mato comes into contact with, effectively ending the pain that those people and their other selves feel. Initially, Black★Rock Shooter reflects Mato's desire to help Yomi Takanashi become independent of her relationship with Kagari Izuriha by saving Dead Master from Chariot, though later she treats Dead Master the same as the other selves whom she stops at nothing to destroy.

Black★Rock Shooter understands her purpose as an other self very well. She believes Mato wanting to feel her own pain or claiming not to hurt people is hypocritical, because by hurting Mato to show her the pain that Black★Rock Shooter goes through on her behalf, she's only hurting herself. Nevertheless, Black★Rock Shooter has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts, and she vows to continue fighting and bearing pain in the Hollow World.

Dead Master

Dead Master (デッドマスター, Deddo Masutā) is the other self of Yomi Takanashi.

As Yomi's other self, Dead Master reflects her personal struggles in the real world, often wearing a melancholic expression on her face. In her first appearance, she is shown helping Chariot in battle by preventing Black★Rock Shooter from attacking her, but it is later revealed that she is forcefully bound by Chariot and kept away from Black★Rock Shooter's attempt to save her, representing Yomi's strained relationship with Kagari Izuriha and how she hesitates to truly be friends with Mato Kuroi because of it. Once Yomi manages to stand up to Kagari with Mato's encouragement, Dead Master breaks free from the literal chains that bound her then. Later, when Yomi's darker feelings begin to grow in the real world, Dead Master represents this by descending into a vortex of chains that gradually amasses, and emerging from the chains after her human counterpart snaps and breaks down.

Dead Master has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts.

Chariot

Chariot (チャリオット, Chariotto) is the other self of Kagari Izuriha.

As Kagari's other self, Chariot reflects many of her mannerisms, especially Kagari's initial hatred for Mato Kuroi in the real world. She has a cold gaze, is determinedly stubborn to keep things the way she wants them to be, and displays sadistic joy in brutally beating Black★Rock Shooter, but is also shown to panic when she starts losing control. Chariot also displays a silent yet apparent possessiveness over Dead Master, and even some control over her: the latter defended her and attacked Black★Rock Shooter for her, took her away to a house in the sky, and violently intercepted just before Black★Rock Shooter could reach out to Dead Master there.

She seems to be skeptical and untrusting of anyone willing to help her, though she takes advantage of the opening created by Black★Gold Saw as a last-ditch effort to stab Black★Rock Shooter. Chariot has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their counterparts.

Black Gold Saw

Black Gold Saw (ブラックゴールドソー, Burakku Gōrudo Sō) is the other self of Saya Irino.

Throughout her appearances, Black Gold Saw is shown to be very dubious. Whereas most other selves fight each other on instinct for their human counterparts, Black Gold Saw does not actively participate in battles, preferring to keep a close eye from afar on activity in the Hollow World, especially on Black★Rock Shooter in particular. Whenever Black Gold Saw does make a physical appearance, she tends to disappear soon after. Her overall behavior is likely a reflection of the purpose given to her and her human counterpart, Saya, to protect the Hollow World for Yuu Koutari's sake, who had taken Strength's place there. Black Gold Saw's only direct standoff was against Insane Black★Rock Shooter, who was capable of threatening the Hollow World and even destroying it.

Black Gold Saw has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts. She has the closest bond with her human counterpart, acting almost entirely according to Saya's will to protect Yuu in the Hollow World.

Strength

Strength (ストレングス, Sutorengusu) is the other self of Yuu Koutari.

In the past, Strength was no different from any of the other selves who fought each other purely on instinct, without any emotions of their own. When Yuu connected with Strength for the first time, she sensed how much her human counterpart was suffering, and it terrified Strength to the point that it forced her to feel emotions. Overwhelmed by the sadness she felt from this, Strength wanted to let herself die so she could take Yuu's pain with her, but was instead made to switch places with Yuu in the real world.

Strength's personality in the present time, as seen while she has taken Yuu's place, is that of a cheerful and supportive friend, especially to Mato Kuroi, whom she has been close friends with ever since kindergarten (according to Mato's memories). She teases her from time to time, especially poking fun about her friendship with "her tiny bird" at the beginning of the series. Mato was Strength's first and best friend, and the one who had taught her how beautiful the real world could be. She agreed with how Mato saw what the other selves go through for the sake of their human counterparts as wrong, which also showed how empathetic Strength was to the other selves suffering in their constant fighting. It was for this reason that she sent Mato's consciousness to the Hollow World to help her save Yomi. Strength is also close with Saya Irino, who was friends with Yuu in her youth and the only person in the real world who knew that Yuu and Strength had switched places.

Strength has the same love for her human counterpart that all the other selves have for their human counterparts. She has demonstrated this love the most with Yuu, whom she comforts and reassures that she would find friends and be supported by Saya and Mato in the real world, which she knew was wonderful. She tells Yuu this because she would never lie to someone she loves.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter

Insane Black★Rock Shooter (インセインブラック★ロックシューター, Insein Burakku Rokku Shūtā) is an incarnation of Black★Rock Shooter after having gone insane from being affected by Mato Kuroi's mental trauma.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter retains the personality of her normal state, but due to the immense power she has gained from going insane, she is much less affected by the pain afflicted to her, and even disregards the injuries she gives to herself, such as when she tears her arm off during her fight with Black Gold Saw and when she shoots herself in the leg to prevent Mato from hindering her. Even sustaining such severe injuries cannot stop Insane Black★Rock Shooter from pressing her assault against her enemies.

Insane Black★Rock Shooter is also notably more expressive than her normal state. She grins when she is about to strike Strength, when Mato stands up to her and brings out the ★Rock Cannon in its gatling gun incarnation, and shows surprise and fear when faced with the massive ★Rock Cannon that Mato summons. At the same time, when the battle is not particularly challenging for her, Insane Black★Rock Shooter maintains a blank expression.

[meme-streets]

dollars event day 4. prompt: spirits ---

He was frightened when he died. The thought comes to him one night with unexpected conviction.  Teetering just on the edge of sleep, snatched back near-violently by forces unknown.

Blondie hasn’t been sleeping well since he left Sad Hill.  Partly he blames the solitude.  From a purely practical standpoint it was safer sleeping in pairs with a man he could, for whatever short period, rely on having reason not to cut his throat in the dead of night.  Now it’s only him watching his own back, and for all the long years he’s spent doing it, for the comparative drop in the bucket when he wasn’t, he’s somehow out of practice.  The silence, too.  Tuco snored.  He got used to the way that covered the other sounds of the night. If he’s honest (a rare thing): perhaps a little sentimental attachment. Still, that’s not all of it.

Daily now he scans the horizon, squints off into the white-blue distance till the strain of it nearly makes his eyes water, sees neither smoke nor track nor distant rider.  But Blondie cannot shake the feeling, deeper than gut level, that he is being followed. Nights it’s worse.  He keeps his fires low to avoid being seen, lies awake cold and uneasy trying to hear something he’s sure is lurking out in that drone of scouring wind.  He awakes frequently and sometimes with a heavy feeling on his chest, like a hand, and always finds nothing.  Gets up over and over to check on the horse.  A gorgeous animal, he admits that readily.  Coal black so he can’t hardly see her on the new moon.  The same one he’d rode out of the cemetery on.  He’s sort of attached now.  The saddle though, and the gear: that he had sold and bought his own.  He has the money.

He’s not superstitious, but.

He was frightened when he died. Blondie doesn’t know why he’s so sure of it suddenly, but he can’t let it go.  He remembers, now, without that initial satisfaction.  A week’s worth of stubble.  Bloodshot eyes.  Dust on his too-slick duds.  Nothing but a man, and with nobody to protect him anymore.  Just a man and his two hands and his gun. Blondie was the one with a quickdraw holster.  Blondie was the one who knew about Tuco’s empty gun.  Blondie had emptied it.

It had felt so goddamned good at the time, though.  And like not enough.  Those long days riding, before he knew for sure that Tuco was still alive, he had contented himself picturing how the bullet would pass through, would rend the flesh.  How the blood would turn black fabric glossy.  How those beady eyes would widen, how those long legs would buckle.  He was not a man to waste bullets but he had thought about rope and desert sand, had dreamt up a dozen bloody ways to dispose of a man trying to find something violent enough for the lowdown bastard who'd been fool enough to leave his partner's blood staining the floor.  In hindsight he wondered if that was the way Tuco had felt. He had never wanted to hurt somebody like that.  Cold, calculated.  Not even all those miles into the desert, angry as he had been.  That was different.  Was something animal, something frightened, something clawing to stay alive.  No, it hadn’t been like that at all, in the cabin or after it.  That was purely human.

Pay evil unto evil.  He heard that once. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.  He heard that once too.

He becomes aware one night that the ever-present feeling of solitude is absent, and he looks then across a dying fire at a darker shape against the darkness like a new moon in a star-strewn sky.  All edges and corners and angles. Blondie doesn’t go for his gun.  Maybe he ought, but he doesn’t.  Doesn’t move, at all really, unsure if he can’t or doesn’t want to, feeling hazy and drunk despite the fact he hasn't had a drop.  He just lies back with his head in his saddle while they look at each other and don't speak.  He wouldn’t know what to say if he wanted.  They look at each other for a long time before eventually he must fall asleep. In the morning there is no disturbance in the sand.

Somehow he ends up back in the cemetery.  He doesn’t think he had meant to.

The grave is filled in.  The shovel’s still wedged in the dirt beside it. Tuco was always superstitious.

Blondie stares down at the grave for a long time, the sun beating down on them both.

“I’m not sorry, you know.”

[demvalhaken]

Welcome to, I’m having an unnecessarily hard issue trying to get the Western Hornets into a smaller size~ (Fancy squiggle)

I think I fixed it?

WOOHOO, JPEGS ROCK!

FUN FACT: THE WESTERN HORNETS AREN’T EVEN THAT BIG?!

Muahaha, the canvases are all different sizes because I just scaled it up as I progress farther in the drawing >:]

I WORKED MY ASS OFF TO DRAW ALL THESE AND IM SO PROUD OF MYSELF FOR NOT ABANDONING IT!!!

Yes, the Eastern Hornets stick out because they were done first

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…

THIS IS WHERE THEY LIVE (YES ITS A MESSY MAP BECAUSE I’VE NEVER DRAWN ONE DIGITALLY)

Berry Hive was bombed

Luna Hive is so awesome though!

If you grab a magnifying glass, you will see the borders! North, East, South, and West!

Okay soooo, the Northern Hornets live in the coldest region

The Eastern Hornets live in like, forests, plains, and cool little mountains

The Southern Hornets live in a tropical area. Imagine a humid, jungle with a ton of water

The Western Hornets are parched… they’re dehydrated grapes… deserts are not that wet

Late Warning: This probably gonna be reallllllllllyyyyy long

Is that what I think I hear?! Their economy? Oh yeah, I’ve got it all figured out and totally not making it up on the spot with scarce prior knowledge

Northern Hornets Economy Trade

What is an economy again? A thing about goods and services? Ha! Yeah, we’re just gonna talk about trade because I don’t got that kind of patience!

Traded items!

The Northern Hornets often trade iron, jewels, glacier honey (An ice-coloured honey that comes from the ice flower that grows on the mountains) They also trade a ton of ores as well

Northerners aren’t that popular in the Klaudin trade

Eastern Hornets Trade

Traded items: Silk, cotton, most other fabrics, exotic fruit and spices, and astronomical stuff

The Easterners are a huge part of the Klaudin trade

Western Hornets do not trade that much with the Eastern Hornets

NETR (North-East Trade and Relations) is a major thing in both the North and East for their trade

The Easterners are also often known for trading literature

Southern Hornets Trade

Traded items: Most exotic fauna used in dishes, lumber/wood, medicinal plants, and most animal products

The Southerners are a lesser known part of the continental trade.

They mostly are known for food products

They have an alliance with the West but not a fancy acronym name

Western Hornets Trade

Traded items: Desert fauna, pottery and clay, textiles and woven goods, and straight up salt.

The Northerners get most of their salt from the Westerners, despite having a bad history with each other

They are mostly just known for their pottery, woven/textile stuff, and art is general

The West Hornets are in an alliance with the South Hornets

I guess we go on to appearance differences?

Now if you look at the Hornets, all of them are unique! They have different mouths, antennae, wings, and eyes

Largest Wingspan to Smallest: Southern Hornet, Western Hornets, Eastern Hornets, Northern Hornets

Best Eyesight: Western Hornets

Longest Antennae: Northern Hornets

Best Average Strength: Northern Hornets

Worst Crime: Western Hornets

Best Reputation: Southern Hornets

Worst Reputation: Western Hornets :(

Each species has different mane styles

Northern Hornets: Often left alone or braided Eastern Hornets: Well-kept and sleek, often just left alone but came be styled in every way

Southern Hornets: Left long and untouched, some braid their manes, some stick colourful things in it like feathers

Western Hornets: Tied back or cut short

Palaces!

Northern Palace

The Tyvin Palace (Could be changed later on) is a massive structure built in between two towering mountains. The palace is insulated and heated. It’s made of timber, iron, stone, and probably other materials.

Halls are lined with carvings and tapestries featuring wildlife or cool events!

Eastern Hive(s)

Berry Hive: Bombed by ? It is still unknown. The hive took half of Queen Berry’s ruling to build, unfortunately, she died with her creation from burns

Luna Hive is a hive constructed by her daughter, Queen Luna (Formerly Princess Luna) The hive is situated in the trees, being elevated. It can be warmed or frozen during winters or summers. It’s made of mostly timber.

Southern Palace (Skra Palace): Just a bunch of buildings built on trees. It’s made of timber, mud bricks, rope, and leaves. It has no insulating, but Southern Hornets don’t get that too extreme cold weather. If necessary, fires will be lit for warmth

Oasis Hive (Palace by some locals): A palace made of sun-dried bricks (Adobe), quartz, and sandstone. It has thick walls and a giant shaded courtyard. The windows are often covered with tapestries during the day if it’s too hot. It’s decorated with wind chimes, tapestry and other woven things, and a ton of greenery!

Everything hurts…. My back, my wrists, my fingers, my legs. I HAVE BEEN SITTING FOR LIKE THREE OR FOUR HOURS WRITING THIS!

I can’t write anymore, maybe I’ll add more in a future post!

Okay, soooooo! Final thoughts!

BYEEEEEEE, I WORKED SO HARD ON THIS

Their older selves! Plus this silly thing!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING ALL THAT IF YOU DID!!!

MY BACK HURTS

[stardustbee]

Stardust made to shine

Flufftober - Fireplace

Darth Maul x fem!Jedi OC Ayane Arinori

Song: AURORA - Heathens

Warnings: bit of sexual tension between those two idiots 😅😚; also Maul is hot

Word count: 3054

Note: This was meant to be finished in ocotber for the prompt fireplace for flufftober...HERE IT IS LOL. I have zero excuses for why it took so long. Only that life is stressful and being and adult sucks. But I am happy with how it can out and I am even brave enough to post it without beta reading 🤭 I really enjoy writing Ayane this way, maybe even a little more then in FMTTM. Pls forgive me if the formatting here and on Ao3 is shitty. I am lazy.

Ao3 • Taglist • Masterlist

Cold wind whipped mercilessly in Ayane's face. Her face was already flushed and it was not because of the Zabrak, far too heavy for her, that she was supporting in her arms. Who would have thought she would meet him right here in such a deserted section of the galaxy. Master Kenobi had sent her on this mission. The Council suspected Separatist activity in this area and had been ordered to check it out. But the fact that it was exactly him she came across was something neither of them expected.

Ayane did what she was asked to do. Or rather, what she had been ordered to do. It was a moon orbiting an ancient, almost forgotten planet that was in a sector of the Outer Rim. Because of this, the Council assumed that the activity they were receiving from there was separatist in nature. The still somewhat clumsy Jedi Knight, not wanting to admit that she had not been a Padawan for a long time anymore, did as she was ordered to do and set off with a droid. Her skills as a pilot weren't enough to allow her to travel alone with a starship.

When her investigations on the planet itself came to nothing, a strangely familiar feeling led her to the very moon on which she now found herself.

She quickly realized that the feeling was her current rival and once lover Darth Maul. "Formerly Darth..." she reminded herself. She heard a loud grunt from the Zabrak she was supporting as those words rolled over her lips. How had they ended up in this predicament?

Quickly Ayane had to learn and realize that weather conditions on the moon were not normal. One minute there was clear, warm sunshine and the next the weather would change. And not only did the weather change rapidly in seconds, no, the flora and fauna also underwent an absolute transformation. Trees lost their leaves as dark clouds closed in and a fierce snowstorm began. Animals rushed into burrows, flowers died within moments and a layer of ice began to cover lakes and rivers.

In the middle of the storm she met the men, who held nothing but rage in his eyes. Both quickly drew their lightsabers and a fight broke out, despite the severe cold that afflicted Ayane. Due to the lack of reports and analyses of the planet and its moon, these weather fluctuations were unknown and the woman had accordingly not been able to prepare herself with special clothing. She only wore her Jedi robes.

Ayane's heart pumped faster, her breathing became uneasy. She tried to think of the exercises and teachings of her Master, but it was easier to think about it then put those thoughts into action.

Most importantly, she didn't have much time when Maul made the first attack, striking with his red blade. Her orange lightsaber, the color of the moon of her home, blocked the Zabrak's strike. Both blades hummed as they struck the other, as if they were crying out because they had hurt themselves. Maul was far more powerful and stronger than Ayane. The snow and ice beneath her feet crunched and cracked as he pressed her into the ground. A diabolical smile ran across his lips and Maul brought to Ayane all the hatred he felt for the Jedi.

Wildly the two fought in the blizzard as the temperature dropped and the former Sith Lord kept spitting insults at her. He was so much stronger and more experienced than her. That Ayane could hold out against him for so long was probably due to the mysterious connection through the Force she shared with him.

And then there was a small moment, just maybe a damn millisecond, when Maul gave her a window of opportunity to counterattack. She used the time she was given and threw a punch of the Force at Maul. She spun her body around once, deactivating her lightsaber as she did so, and when she looked back at Maul, she abruptly extended her arms.

The Zabrak reacted quickly, deflecting the blow with his own control of the Force. Nevertheless, the brute force of Ayanes punch sent him sliding backwards a few feet. His weapon was also deactivated. Again a malicious smile ran across his lips. He took a few steps towards the Jedi.

Ayane braced herself, this fight had gone on too long and she knew she would not win it. But suddenly and unexpectedly, the tide would turn in her favor once again when she heard a crackling sound under the man's artificial feet.

Maul had also noticed the sound, but at that moment it was too late. The thin layer of ice on which he stood hid a lake. The ice gave way and, although Maul tried to get off the lake, he sank into the icy water. Everything happened so suddenly and quickly and Ayane's eyes grew bigger and bigger as she realized what had happened.

His lightsaber slipped from his hand as he tried to hold on and came to rest on the edge of the small hole. Small bubbles rose and the water was choppy. Ayane expected him to resurface any second.

They were long seconds...

Many seconds...

Minutes...

He couldn't get out on his own. His legs...

"You'll regret this..." gave Ayane as she wiped off her Jedi cloak and dropped her sword on it. Quickly she jumped into the water herself. It was so cold that it almost robbed her of consciousness. She swam fast, darkness enveloped her and it was hard to locate the Zabrak. But after a few meters she saw him. His cheeks were puffy and he was holding back what air he had left in his lungs. Maul waved his arms around but absolutely didn't move. His eyes were almost trembling and Ayane could have sworn it was fear she saw there.

And so they had ended up in that very predicament. Ayane had no idea how she managed to pull Maul out of the lake. She just instinctively grabbed him by the waistband of his trousers and put his arm around her shoulder. The Force was strong in her today and supported her in her endeavor.

Ayane was desperately looking for shelter. Anything where she had the possibility to maybe make a fire and where they could both warm and dry themselves. If this continued, they would both freeze to death. She had just saved the life of a man she didn't know how to sort out her feelings about and then she was supposed to freeze to death in the middle of a wasteland called the moon? No, that just couldn't be, she didn't want that. A strong gust of wind hit her again and she almost sank to her knees with Maul.

Despite his own weakness at that moment, he supported Ayane as much as she supported him. Her hand went to his chest to hold herself better. Surprisingly, his skin was warmer than she had expected. Ayane remembered the studies on different species and the altered metabolism of the Zabrak. They recovered more quickly from temperature changes and generally their metabolism worked much faster than that of humans.

It was like a twist of fate when the woman discovered a small, old hut on a hillside. It was made of solid stone and withstood the storm. It must be my imagination. Someone really lived here? Someone built something that looked like a house? Death knocked on the door. This could only be a hallucination, a desperate attempt at her sanity. 

"It's not." gasped Maul a little weakly. "I see it too."

He did it again...

He searched her mind. 

Ayane still couldn't figure out if he was doing it on purpose or if she was naively sharing those thoughts with him every time. Just like she had done back on Midgard. She revealed so much weakness to him. She knew he could wipe her out all at once and yet...

The door was kicked open and Ayane's eyes analyzed the room. It was a rather plainly furnished building. There were many boxes made of wood and steel, neatly organized. It looked as if the building was a warehouse. At the other end of the room, the woman was looking directly at a fireplace. She heaved Maul against a crate near the fireplace. 

It was still so bitterly cold...

She quickly brushed Maul's top off his shoulders. That was the only thing he allowed, because when she tried to remove his gloves, he grabbed her by the wrist and gave her an angry, almost aggressive look. 

"I don't like it either, but you have to get out of those wet clothes," she countered the look immediately. 

"Take care of yourself, Jedi." he hissed through his sharp teeth.

Ayane left it at that. She knew Maul and knew that persuading him was like riding a Rankor. So she placed the two lightsabers in front of the fireplace. She quickly found something to light a fire. As the flames rose up and filled the stock, which it obviously was, with warmth and a cozy light. 

She found a blanket in a corner and wrapped it around Maul. "There is only this one blanket," she said, looking him in the eye. "We have to warm our bodies against each other, otherwise none of us will get out of here alive."

She began to remove her Jedi robes.Then she heard a laugh from the Zabrak's mouth. "Tell it like it is, woman." Maul leaned forward. "You need me to survive. Your human body can't withstand the cold."

"And your mechanical legs would have dragged you to the bottom of the lake if I hadn't been there." She placed her clothes in front of the fire together with Maul's top. Then she sat down next to Maul in her underwear, swung the blanket around her and leant against him a little. Her skin only touched his very lightly. "Don't kid yourself. You need me just as much as I need you right now. I hate to admit it myself. To someone like you..." she stopped herself.

"Keep talking, Jedi. What you have in your head right now just doesn't fit very well with what your master taught. You and the rest of the Jedi are ridiculous beyond compare."

Ayane squinted her eyes a little. The underwear she was still wearing was still soaked from the icy water. "What am I doing that's ridiculous in your eyes?"

"You could have left me behind. You would have defeated one of your order's greatest enemies. Imagine how proud your masters would be." There was hatred in Maul's voice. Yet, Ayane felt a certain pride and...fear.

"But I didn't." She leaned a little more against Maul's muscular arm. Her muscles were tense to protect her from the cold. Despite the dancing fire, her body didn't want to get warm. "I saved you." 

"I am your adversary, an enemy of your order. I am a thorn in the side of your faith. My destruction should be your highest priority."

Ayane straightened up and looked at Maul. He did not return her gaze. "Do you really think that? Do you really think I should kill you?"

"That's the way of things. That's what the Force commands." His eyes now wandered over to the woman. His face was rigid, emotionless. Why should he show anything other than disdain?

"Then do it," Ayane replied quickly. "Why don't you kill me if you think that's the way of things? If you think that's the way of the Force!" Her voice grew louder and she clenched her hands into fists. Ayane tensed her muscles so tightly that the skin on her knuckles turned white and her teeth gritted from the tension she was exerting on her jaw. "Kill me, now!"

Ayane was so angry that she hadn't even realized that she was now standing in front of the Zabrak, the warming blanket only covering his body. She stood in front of the fireplace and could feel the warmth on her back. Still, none of this helped. The flame was too small to be able to fight the merciless cold that seeped through every crack in this leaky building. Just as Ayane was unable to withstand Maul, to resist him. Goosebumps covered her body and soon she was no longer trembling from the cold. It was an unspeakable rage she felt in her heart, unable to admit such feelings.

Ayane's eyes explored Maul's body. She took in every tattoo, which was as black as the endless galaxy. She already knew each one, as they had spent more than enough time together on Midgard. Before she became a Jedi, before Ayane knew what was behind Maul's stay on her home planet. But now she knew more than she ever wanted.

He looked beautiful like this…

Her lips opened, but before she could say anything, Maul was already holding her hand in his. He slid forwards a little, the blanket slipping over his shoulders and revealing his body. His golden eyes bored into hers, his gaze fixed, but not angry or malicious. There was no danger in it. The material of his glove pressed against her skin. Ayane remembered the feeling and the material of his gloves. It was the first thing she felt from Maul. 

Then he did something she hadn't expected. Maul put the hand that had just been resting on hers around her waist, hugged her with the other and gently pressed his head against her stomach. He made sure that none of his horns hurt her. The woman raised her hands, a little startled, and wanted to take a step back, but the Zabrak's firm grip made that impossible. His skin was so warm. "Your path was a mistake. That you became a Jedi...that should never have happened..."

A loud, almost angry snort came from Ayane's nostrils. "What are you doing now? What are you..."

Maul interrupted her and looked up at her. Their eyes met again. "You feel…that is your mistake." Ayane's mouth fell open in horror and shock at what he had just said.

Maul pushed hard against her body and brought her to her knees so that she was now kneeling in front of him. The jerky and brutal movement caused the Jedi to wrap her arms around his neck. Their lips almost met…

His hands bored into her skin, leaving white marks on it. "Why are you still a part of them? I sense that you realize it yourself. That you know what I've said is the truth. Your insecurity, your fear...it fills this room. It trembles under your feet, little Jedi Knight."

The realization hit her like a wild Bantha wandering the plains of Tatooine. He was right. Maul, the enemy she had fought so often, was right. And she didn't like that. She quickly grabbed his face and pulled him closer to hers. Their bodies were tightly entwined. Ayane no longer felt the cold. It had given way to a very familiar heat. "No..." she only whispered.

The Zabrak stared at her. "Admit it."

Ayane shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt tears welling up. She hastily pressed her lips to those of the man in front of her. She straightened her upper body as best she could. It hurt to feel his naked skin on hers. 

She was weak. She was giving herself over to something she shouldn't and Ayane knew it was inevitable that it would happen. She knew her place was not in the Order and yet...

Maul's hands squeezed the woman close again and he let himself fall backwards. The moment he was on his back, Ayane stopped the kiss and looked at him again.

"Say it." he began in a low and calm voice. "No one will know."

Ayane swallowed hard, not allowing the tears to fall. She dropped her head onto Maul's torso. Her body was tense, almost clinging to the Zabrak. "I..." she began and tried to swallow the words, "...you."

Maul's eyes widened. "Say it. Look at me and tell me how you feel."

She quickly straightened up and sat on his lap. Tears streamed down her face, which was turning red. "I hate you!" she finally shouted at him. "For your arrogance, for always being right! It's because of you that I became a Jedi in the first place! Because you....because you!" she stammered.

"Because I what?" Maul asked, almost amused. His lips curled into a devilish smile.

"Because you didn't come back! Because you left me alone on Midgard! Because you always make me want to break the rules of my order and my master!" her voice broke. She weakened and put her face in her hands. 

"Then join me." That was the only thing Maul said to her. He didn't reassure her, he didn't hug her. He simply allowed the feelings she had held back for so long to escape.

"You know I can't and I won't..." Ayane rubbed her eyes. She placed her hands on the Zabrak's chest. She tried to calm her breathing. 

Maul sat up and hugged Ayane again. "Then at least enjoy this moment." he kissed the corner of her mouth.

"You're not making any sense..." she whispered.

"Neither do the feelings you're giving me. They don't reflect what you just told me." Maul's lips tracing over her cheek to her earlobe.

"We're doing this just so we can draw our swords and fight again tomorrow?"

"Yes..." His hands stroked Ayane's back far too gently.

"Don't use this as a weapon against me..." she said as Maul grabbed her and laid her on her back. His body laid heavily on top of hers. She could feel the cold metal of his legs and she knew that this would become a different experience than the once on Midgard. 

"Never..." he said as he smothered the fire with the Force with a wave of his hand.

They would no longer need the heat of the fire. Their bodies were the only thing that would keep them warm now. Just as Ayane had wished when they had entered the wooden their shelter...

Taglist!

@eloquentmoon @justalittletomato @marivenah @herbalinz-of-yesteryear @pixiestookourstardust @bacarasbabe @astarionslittletreat @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @oh-three @dukeoftheblackstar @lune-de-miel-au-paradis

[lost-technology]

Nameless Leviathans

Tri-Tober Fanfic shorts Prompt 28: Death Setting: Any / All canons, but more of a Trimax vibe Summary: When he was a child, Vash was fascinated by the concept of whalefalls.

Prompt 28: Death Nameless Leviathans When Vash was a child he and his brother absorbed data like sponges.  Being that they were not human children and grew at an accelerated pace, Rem could barely keep up on educating them.  As such, she allowed them access to many different archives and young Vash loved nature documentaries.  They told them of animals and plants (flora-type, not him-type) that existed on Earth, those still living and those long gone.  For two weeks straight he was talking his twin’s ear off about whalefalls.  Rem said that there were no whales left anymore on Earth by the time SEEDS disembarked.  Vash had cried about it.  The abyss of the ocean remained, with creatures that Humanity probably would never discover because deep space was actually easier to navigate for them than the deep sea of their own world, strangely enough.  In any case, Vash had a little obsession for a short time about how the death of an elegant creature fed many more creatures just as elegant – or very ugly, depending on one’s judgement - and created the basis of an entire ecosystem.  They were worlds unto themselves, populated by beings which had never known the whale while it was living, but had it to thank for their existence.  In his life on Noman’s Land, Vash would gaze out from a cliffside upon one city or another crafted from SEEDS-fall.  He’d watch people work from ships’ rubble, to villages, to entire cities as the decades wore on – all of them, every major population-center was the picked bones of an ancient star-faring beast.  People lived and died within the shelter of these miniature ecosystems in the dry abyss of the deep desert.  The ships were nameless to the people who’d formed their lives there after a century – They became the cities, new things and too unknown to thank.  Rem had become stardust and that’s probably exactly how she’d have it, save for the fact that she’d wanted to live longer – too young, she was too young…  Vash had outlived her age many times over, never got to see her face adorably wrinkled or her hair turn silver…   Nicholas D. Wolfwood – he had also been far, far too young, half his life stolen from him from the beginning.  He was thanked and he was known, at least – his friends and his orphanage children visited his grave marked with its weapon-tombstone and Vash swore he could feel him sometimes when he turned around.  The voice in Vash’s head whenever he thought he was doing something dumb that cried “idiot” had Wolfwood’s voice now and there was no changing that.  Vash learned where Legato was buried.  The grave was left un-marked because those that did the job did not know who he had been.  There were many nameless bones in the desert and according to the story he had told, he had once been nameless.  He was an elegant beast to have defeated Vash in the end, a shadow in the man’s heart as large as any abyssal creature and like Wolfwood’s voice, that shadow would always stay.  Vash purchased a piece of pristine scrap from a town that still subsisted on an outer hull.  He insisted upon using the tools himself to craft it into a headstone and to etch the name “Legato Bluesummers” into its face.  He tied it to a strong toma and lugged it all the way back to the lonesome grave.  The dead deserved to be named, whether the name was old or new and even if only someone’s killer cared that they were remembered.  In Noman’s Land, there was death and there was life and the world moved on.

[rabbitcruiser]

International Snow Leopard Day

Snow Leopards are captivating and powerful animals. However, they are also vulnerable to loss of prey and poaching. These animals are distributed sparsely across 12 different countries in Central Asia. They tend to be found in rugged, high mountain landscapes, at elevations between 3,000 and 4,500m. The key to protecting this species is raising awareness. That’s what International Snow Leopard Day is all about.

History Of International Snow Leopard Day

The first International Snow Leopard Day occurred on the 23rd of October in 2014. The main purpose of this day is to show the importance of snow leopard conservation and raise awareness about this incredible animal. The day also emphasizes the importance of taking measures to stop poaching, as well as consolidating efforts in terms of an environmental organization in the countries of the snow leopard range.

The day was initiated by the countries that encompass the snow leopard’s range. They include Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, India, China, Bhutan, and Afganistan. On the 23rd of October, in 2013, these countries signed the Bishkek Declaration regarding the conservation of the snow leopard. This happened in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, at the very first Global Snow Leopard Forum.

Fascinating Facts About Snow Leopards

Snow leopards are able to prey on animals that are up to three times their own body weight.

They have massive, thick tails, which are able to help them maintain balance and shield them from harsh weather. Their tails are almost as long as their entire body.

A study from the WWF has recorded snow leopards living at 5,859 meters above sea level. This is the highest altitude that has ever been documented for big cats. This is about the same height as the highest mountain in Canada.

You may be surprised to learn that snow leopards are not able to roar. Instead, they mew, yowl, and growl. They also prusten, which is also known as chuffing. This is a non-threatening vocalization, which is made when they blow air through their nose.

The fur on the stomach of a snow leopard is almost five inches thick. This is so that they can survive in the harsh and cold mountain climates.

These animals are often referred to as ‘ghosts of the mountain’ because they spend most of their lives in solitude and they are rarely seen.

Snow leopards are the only big cats that call Asia’s cold deserts their home. These deserts are sometimes referred to as the third pole because they feature ice fields with the biggest reserves of freshwater outside of the southern and northern polar regions.

What Threats Do Snow Leopards Face?

The exact number of snow leopards is unknown. Experts believe that there is no more than 6,390 snow leopards around the world, yet the number could be as small as 3,920. There are a number of threats that this elusive cat faces, including poaching. Data is hard to come by in this respect because a lot of trades with snow leopard parts occur in the dark. Some research shows that one snow leopard has been killed and traded every day between 2008 and 2016. However, the true extent of the issue is thought to be even bigger.

No animal should be poached, and this is why the likes of International Snow Leopard Day are so important so that we can raise awareness about the issue. Poaching is also a problem because it takes away resources for the snow leopard. The main prey species for the snow leopard are wild goat and sheep. However, these species are also threatened by unsustainable or illegal hunting in a lot of the parts of the snow leopard range. So, if there is a decline in their populations, there is also going to be a decline in the population of the snow leopard.

Snow leopards face a number of other threats that a lot of people don’t consider. For example, their mountain ecosystem could be destroyed because of large-scale developments, including mining. Climate change also poses a number of challenges as well. Temperatures are increasing in the mountains across Central Asia. This has an impact on the entire ecosystem; from water supplies to vegetation. It is certainly worrying times for snow leopards, and a good way to spend International Snow Leopard Day is by educating yourself fully on the issues these animals face.

How To Observe International Snow Leopard Day

There are a number of different ways that you can support International Snow Leopard Day. So, here are some suggestions…

Learn and explore – One of the best ways to observe International Snow Leopard Day is to learn about this incredible creature. Spend some time reading up on the snow leopard. Find out about where the animal lives, what threats they face, and what steps we can take in order to help safeguard the future of this incredible animal.

Get creative – Another way to show your support is to get creative. There are some activities online involving the snow leopard. You can find a fun activity sheet via the WWF website.

Order a WWF Explore Badge – Another way to show your support for International Snow Leopard Day is to order a WWF Badge. This is something else that you can get on the WWF website.

Adopt a snow leopard – You can also support snow leopards by adopting one. This helps the WWF to monitor snow leopard movements, by giving local communities the support needed to do this, as well as reducing human snow leopard conflicts.

Fundraise – You may also decide to host a fundraising event. This is a great way to raise awareness about the problems that snow leopards face while also accumulating donations that can go towards helping them. There are so many different ways that you can fundraise. You may decide to host a fundraising event, such as a cook-off, bake sale, or fun run. Another option is to make products that you can sell and then you could donate the proceeds or a percentage of them to helping snow leopards.

Source

[tenabrye]

So I just finished binging the entire original anime and, as someone who immediately fell in love with Wolfwood, I'm sad and desperate for some soft content for him. I'm very happy that I found your blog and looking forward to when your requests open again <3

Soft content with Wolfwood coming right up. :D

(I recently found out he wore a choker with a cross on it and it's all I can think about now)

He was forever in debt to you for saving his life. Most would have simply left him to die in the desert heat, but not you. Having encountered his half-dead self when making the usual grocery trip into town, you knew you couldn't just leave him there. So, you loaded him onto your Thomas and headed back home. Most would have believed you to be quite careless for bringing an unknown man back to your abode, however, you simply couldn't leave him out there like that. The intense and prolonged exposure to the heat during the day, the drastic ice-filled air during the night, or perhaps even the various creatures and people lurking just over the dunes could have killed him. You weren't about to let that happen to him.

Now, when he woke, Nicholas hadn't a single clue as to where he was or even how he had gotten here. All he knew was that he was in a bed with a damp cloth resting on his forehead, and he had been stripped of his suit and shoes, leaving him in only his boxers. If he wasn't so comfortable resting on the soft mattress, he would have been worried about the situation he found himself in. His eyes glanced around the room he was in, soon letting them fall on a small, framed photo of what looked to be a man and a woman. He squinted his eyes, taking note of how the woman in the photograph was much younger than the man, with him having gray in his hair and beard.

The door soon opened, causing Nicholas to turn his attention away from the photo and to the woman that entered the room. She was the same one he saw in the picture with the man. "Oh," you spoke, surprised to see him already awake, "I didn't expect you to wake anytime soon." He noticed she carried a small basin in and placed it on the bedside table beside him. He could hear the water swish gently within it. "I came to re-damp the cloth for you."

"Thank you," he said, eyes fixated on you as you took the cloth from his forehead and wetted it in the basin. You glanced at him, your eyes meeting his, and you smiled softly at him. "Did you remove my clothes?" He asked you.

The smile on your face broadened as you chuckled and shook your head at him. "No," you answered, "that was my father. Don't worry, he's a doctor." He hummed in response and turned to look back up at the ceiling. "You were in pretty bad shape when I found you, you know. Who knows what would have happened if I didn't bring you back..."

"Thank you, again," he told you.

"You don't need to thank me. It was the right thing to do. I couldn't leave you out in the heat like that." The ravenette turned his attention back to you, his eyes now soft. "You could have died, or worse," she said.

He can't recall a time in which someone ever saved him out of the kindness of their heart. In fact, he wasn't so sure people like that were still around, nor that he would encounter someone like that. His lips curled into a soft smile as he closed his eyes, only to open them when he felt the cloth being placed back onto his forehead. The coolness of the material felt nice against his heated skin, causing him to let out a content sigh. "There must be some way to thank you, Mrs...?"

"Miss (L/n)," you told him, "but you can just call me (Y/n), and there's no need to, Mr...?"

"Wolfwood," he said, "Nicholas D. Wolfwood."

"Well, Mr. Wolfwood, you don't have to repay me for helping you. Just think of it as a helping hand that requires no payment in return." You smiled down at him and he couldn't help but chuckle.

Little did you know, he would do the exact opposite. It didn't take long for him to be able to get out of bed and move around, asking you and your father what he could do to be of assistance around your home. You told him he didn't have to do such a thing and that he was free to go, however, his stubbornness was simply too strong to just up and leave like that. So, your father had him tend to the little vegetable garden you had back behind the house. Nicholas felt as thought this still wasn't enough and would ask yet again on what other tasks he could do to help. That's when your father suggested he go with you to town on the next grocery run.

"Why do you stay?" You asked him on the ride to town.

He glanced at you and chuckled. "I don't feel right leaving when I haven't paid you back for--"

"I've told you many times before that you don't need to repay me. Is it difficult to believe that people help others without the expectation of being repaid?" You looked at him with a small frown on your face.

He mimicked the expression and closed his eyes, sighing. "I'm not used to people doing things for me without me paying them back..."

A sigh fell from your lips as your shoulders slumped. "I suppose I shouldn't be too hard on you. I just want you to know that you don't need to feel obligated to stay until we're paid back. You're free to go if you want to."

That was the issue he found himself having. You told him he was free to leave without repaying you, yet he simply couldn't. He knew the reason why, but he hid it behind the whole act of repayment rather than telling you, however, he knew he couldn't keep the little act up for long. Especially since he ended up prolonging his stay to two months now. You figured he would have left within the week after your little chat on the ride to town that day, but apparently not. You weren't sure as to what the exact reason was, since he finally knew he didn't have to repay your kindness.

Him being here was a nice change Having someone to speak to when your father left to make home visits to patients, oftentimes being gone longer than anticipated due to unexpected sandstorms in the area. It wasn't long before you found yourself growing fond of Nicholas, not knowing he had felt the same as well, until one night. It was the same ordeal, what with your father having to leave yet again for another check up on a patient of his. By this point, he trusted Wolfwood with you, his only daughter. Not to mention that you would be far safer with him rather than by yourself, just in case something were to happen.

Having bid your father farewell about two hours ago, you and Nicholas were seated at the small table in the kitchen. He had made dinner for the two of you, a hidden talent you didn't know he had until his third week of staying. "I love your cooking, Nicholas," you said, smiling softly as you cut up a piece of smoked Thomas and placed it in your mouth. The flavor was exquisite and the meal well done. "You've outdone yourself this time."

The man chuckled and waved off the compliment. "You think so?" He asked. "It's just the same meal from the first time I cooked for you." His eyes became half lidded as he stared at you with such tenderness.

"Oh? Is it really?" You questioned, brow raised. "Strange, because it really does taste as though you did something different to it. Perhaps that's just because of how good of a cook you are."

He chuckled once more and closed an eye as he rested his chin in his hand. "You know, you could taste my cooking everyday if you'd like to."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." He continued to stare at you, his lips having broadened into a wider smile.

You chewed slowly, soon swallowing the piece of meat before you frowned at him. "I wouldn't want to keep you from leaving and going back to your home, or continuing your travels."

Nicholas closed his other eye and softly hummed before he opened both eyes and stared at you. "I don't mind not having to travel as much. As for a home, well, as cliché as this sounds, the home is where your heart is, and mine seems to be right here, with you."

"You don't mean that," you said.

"Oh, but I do. At first, it really was about repaying you and your father for your kindness and helping to keep me alive, but," he trailed off, voice growing softer, "then I realized the reason why I couldn't leave. If you'll let me, I'd like to stay here with you, indefinitely."

The smile on your face seemed to give him the answer he searched for. "I actually would love for you to stay, Nicholas." God, he loved the way his name fell from your lips. Honey-dipped sweetness to his ears. You watched as he stood from his seat and approached you, eyes staring deeply into your own before he leaned down and pressed his lips against yours. He tasted like cigarettes and whiskey, but you loved it. To him, you tasted like the sweetest honey he's ever had, and he craved it.

His prior debt to you shifted, now becoming a need to stay by your side, and he did. Nicholas had never been so thankful for almost dying in the desert, and he would do it again if it meant you would come to his rescue once more.

[duckapus]

Me: can we please actually write something for one of my Pokemon Anime AUs for once?

Brain: Ben 10 crossover time fuck you.

Anyway AU where Ash is the wielder of the Omnitrix and Pikachu is also the wielder of the Omnitrix but for animals.

But isn't that just the Neme- Azmuth made a second Omnitrix for nonsapient species fuck you and your idiot crab.

Because Pokemon are a weird grey area they're in both databases, because it would make more sense for them to be in the Omnitrix wielded by an actual Pokemon but given that Meowth, most Legendaries and Alakazam exist they also absolutely have to be considered sapient.

The capsule drops in the woods just outside of Pallet Town about a month before the Journey begins

Pikachu's Omnitrix messes with Pokeballs so he's technically wild but between the fact he can't be caught and Professor Oak manually inputting his information into the League Files to avoid potential issues everyone assumes he's Ash's and nobody in the know sees any reason to challenge that assumption.

Delia, Oak and Gary are all in the know because they were there that night.

As always, first actual Villain is Animo. You'd think that having Pokemon to work with instead of ordinary animals would give him an advantage but then you remember that everyone else has Pokemon too.

Professor Oak and Agatha used to be Plumbers

Gary may or may not be part alien as a result and I might give him an Omnitrix knockoff for the sake of The OG Rivalry.

Team Rocket takes forever to figure out that Ash and Pikachu are the alien heroes who keep wrecking their plans.

Other Nintendo franchises are canon but only as other planets so I can use their species to fill out the roster. And occasionally include guest cameos.

Ash's Starting Playlist

Magmacho (Diamont) (from metroid)

Eatle (Oryctini)

Snaptrap (Mawile)

Upgrade (Galvanic Mechamorph)

Footstool (Goomba)

Dyrt (Unknown Species) (sea serpent but it swims through the desert)

Ghostfreak (Ectonurite)

Smashimi (Picene Cornobblite) (fish man with giant fists and super strength)

Goop (Polymorph)

Astrodactyl (Unknown Species)

Pikachu's Starting Playlist

Icknition (Vellix’s Sulfuric Glomeba) (flaming goo creature. smells bad)

Saber-Dupe (Panuncian)

Banana Beard (Tropius)

Micromutt (Pikmin Series Dog)

Enigmaw (Scarfy)

Terroranchula (Unknown Species)

Glaciersaur (Sheegoth) (also metroid)

Moledozer (Pyroxovore)

Psyche Out (Lucubra)

Spit-Take (Octorok)

[robtopus]

Robert R. Sidian: Death of the Author. A Tragedy.

TW Death, animal death. Text after the cut.

The Greek playwright Aeschylus, it must be said, can count himself lucky. After all, he managed to survive fighting in the Battle of Salamis (where he undoubtedly was in dire straits) during the Persian Wars. His military career over, he casually invented Greek tragedy. Not only that, but he is the only playwright of antiquity where not just a few scattered plays are extant, but a whole trilogy. But despite Fate being kind to him in so many regards - surviving a bloody sea battle, inventing a new form of art - his death was decidedly silly:

An eagle, mistaking the playwright's bald head for a rock (proving that eagle eyes are worth absolutely nothing) dropped a tortoise he was holding in his claws onto Aeschylus. Of course, while this did achieve the Eagle's goal of opening the tortoise's shell, it also mostly opened up the head of the greatest living (up to this point, anyway) playwright. Aeschylus was killed instantly, leaving behind a mess of a corpse, a headstone only celebrating his military prowess and the ensuing ages who might hold him in high esteem yet only managed to record a fraction of his plays.

The fate of the tortoise remains unknown.

But I imagine her wandering the desert on that day, idly wondering whether she'd win a foot-race against Achilles, and if yes, how much of a head start she'd need. She's also thinking about her slow gait, living proof and metaphor for how sometimes a shell and a calm demeanor are the only things necessary to reach one's goals. She's just strolling along, maybe secretly wishing to inspire a poem or two, or maybe a parable, or a short story by a hack writer. She does, however, not waste a thought on what a tragedy is, how many actors are needed in the theatron or what fate befell the Tantalides, thoughts that, at this moment, might have gone through Aeschylus' bald head.

And then, all of a sudden, she is whisked away, higher and ever higher. Ripped from her surroundings, without rhyme nor reason, she is suddenly forced to cope with an entirely alien way of existence, and she soon finds that she doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Her horizons have, one might assume, expanded greatly, as have the heights of her reason - but she does not see any reason for that, nor does she know what to do with it, for her myopia does not allow her to even see that far. And the firm foundation all her reason was based on is rapidly disappearing, leaving her with nothing but empty, dead air. She does not even have a concept of up or down, but still she can feel herself ascend, like Icarus, ever closer to the sun (albeit not as willingly); and then, like for Icarus, gravity suddenly reverses, there is a whole different kind of pull to her body as the air and the ground both rush into her face and she is performing an action she found unthinkable, the word for which she can't remember (because she is too busy actually falling).

And then she hits, no, not the ground, but Aeschylus' blockhead, she is the last thing going through it, it feels like she hits a rock. Skull and shell both burst in a shower of blood, brain matter and scales, burst like over-ripe melons and with much the same colors. Incidentally, a sight like this would have never flown in the theater of Aeschylus.

And the eagle, the perpetrator of the whole disaster, just flies away, seemingly a symbol of freedom and leadership, when in reality his greed, stupidity and short-sightedness have led to a tragedy of previously unknown proportions.

What remains are the remains of man and tortoise, as not-quite-living proof of the fact that each tragedy needs a certain height for its protagonist to fall. 

© Robert R. Sidian 2021. Do not distribute. 

[yumeirochaser]

watched macross: do you remember love?

okay i literally just watched this movie bc i hated the show and wanted to watch the (better) sequels. it is a very well animated movie, with exquisite art and aesthetics. and really good mechanical and character designs.....

but it's also a total mess. a very, very sexist mess.

like man the gender essentialism in this thing is off the charts. it's also kind of a michael bay movie since it's about the cool military otaku guy getting hot chicks except it tries to say Something about women and men and like. it's bad

it doesn't help that hikaru starts bland and nicer only to become a slimeball and misa joins on his assholery later and there's roy whose entire character is hating women but wanting to fuck them and ughhhhhh. hikaru even falls in love with misa in a sequence where she literally stays in the kitchen and starts acting like a trad wife playing house and making fake food in the ruins of a town. it fucking blows. like i don't want to be too negative but this movie is just so mean.

but there's. one character. who is the highlight of it all. the one and only lynn minmay. she starts already tired and disillusioned with the idol business and mostly sees hikaru as a way to cope with her depression and escape the pain. being a normal girl from a small place, in a world too big for her. she's too naive to be with this guy she just met and she has been drafted far from home to do this idol gig and this is like. way too much for someone like her. she has a fling with hikaru...and then she gets kidnapped by aliens who force her to kiss her abusive cousin. and then she gets separated from hikaru and waits for him....while he starts cheating on her with misa when they both fall into the trad family delusion in a deserted earth. and when she meets them again they treat her like shit.they reveal he cheated on her, and don't even try to comfort her until it's time to use her singing as a weapon to stop the war. she says selfish stuff but she also just feels so tired, esp since she was made an ambassador for the galaxy during this. hikaru treats her coldly too. but then she swallows her pride, pulls her pants, and decides to sing with all her heart for the sake of the world and the family that she no longer has. she gave up her youth, an after this, dissappeared in the end and became an idealized image.....she's so tragic....

minmay was the only character who overcame the fantasy she wanted to live in at the start. bc hikaru and misa actually like, don't like each other that much, they just like the trad wife and husband fantasy they have with each other. but minmay, who initially wanted to use hikaru as a fantasy to escape her miserable life as a naive idol coming from nothing in an unknown place, actually grew up and moved on. choosing to live in reality, even if it's not perfect...she still sings.....

i don't think this arc of hers was like, intended? bc in the end it is played in the text as her having a tantrum. but like. the reframing of her character as being depressed from the start combined with the context of the tv show and HIKARU CHEATING ON HER makes her feel really sympathetic. in the end, everyone won and got to live their ideal lives but her. she's not a little girl anymore, but a woman who has to live in the real world. i do feel later shows noticed this and retroactively made her tragic but like. damn. the fact that she was supposed to be in the wrong, and that she was hated back in the day like, says so much about the era and type of show this is. truly rancid. i'm glad she got reappraised and reframed as a hero later on.....minmay deserved better.

sorry for the word vomit i just feel a lot for her. she was treated so badly in this awful, awful film. i came out of this really loving her character and i'm glad later stuff recognizes that she was sympathetic and influential but like. god, this is just too mean. too awful.

[moneeb0930]

18 interesting facts about Africa.

1. Africa is the second-largest continent in the world both in size and population.

2. Islam is the dominant religion in Africa. Christianity is the second.

3. Africa has the shortest coastline despite being the second largest continent in the world.

4. Africa is the most centrally located continent in the world. Both the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude), and the equator (0 degrees latitude) cut across it.

5. Nigeria has the highest population (226.2 million people) in Africa. This represents 18% of Africa's total population.

6. Both the world's tallest and largest land animals both come from Africa. They are the giraffe and African elephant, respectively.

7. Around 2,000 different languages are spoken in Africa and each of them have different dialects while Arabic is the language that is most widely spoken in the African continent.

8. The world's longest river -- the Nile -- and the world's largest desert -- the Sahara -- both are home in Africa.

9. Algeria is the biggest country in Africa by land area.

10. The world's hottest place -- Ethiopia -- is in Africa.

11. The continent's terrain was inhospitable and remained unknown for thousands of years, earning the name of 'Dark Continent' by the colonialists.

12. The equator passes through the middle of the Continent and it receives direct sunlight throughout the year.

13. The major animals in Africa include -- cheetah, African elephant, lion, zebra, Egyptian mongoose, giraffe, addax.

14. The largest waterfall in Africa is the Victoria Falls and it is located on the Zimbabwe and Zambia border. It has a height of 355 feet and the width of the water fall runs into almost a mile.

15. More than 50% of the world's French-speaking population lives here on the continent.

16. Angola has more Portuguese speakers than Portugal.

17. Africa has a pink lake in Senegal.

18. Africa is the hottest continent on earth.

[papermint-airplane]

I feel like talking about Aiden more and I'm still away from my computer atm so here are some random facts about him

He loves the color pink. He's obsessed. It was outlawed on his home world because the ruler had some grudge against it but he used to buy black market (pink market?) pink goods and smuggle them home for his collection.

He doesn't really understand love. It's not an alien thing, it's purely an Aiden thing. He feels attraction towards other Sims, but the second his heart starts fluttering and he goes weak in the knees, he freaks out and thinks he's dying. He does want to find love and settle down one day, so he carries a heart monitor with him on dates.

He loves juice -- the fruitier, the better. He doesn't realize it's alcoholic and doesn't understand what's happening when he gets juiced, but he just can't stay away from it.

It's unknown how Aiden ended up on Earth but we do know it was not intentional on his part. Whether he was banished for his pink contraband, abandoned by his friends as a prank, abducted by humans, or took a nap on a transport ship and accidentally got dumped with the rest of the cargo, we just don't know. By which I mean I haven't decided which one is funnier yet.

He can't really tell the difference between Sims and animals. Not like he can't tell they're different species, of course, but since he's unfamiliar with the multiple forms of life on this planet, he doesn't know which ones can talk and which ones can't, which ones are sapient, etc. Parrots are extremely confusing to him.

He tends to stick to desert areas because those are places most likely to be visited by UFOs. He has so far been unsuccessful in flagging any Sixam ships down but he keeps trying.

His favorite food is the last new food he's tried. As much as he hates being stranded on Earth, he loves Earth food. It's the one and only area of his life in which he is the least bit adventurous.

He's been kidnapped to star on a reality TV dating show twice.

His name is Aiden because I thought it sounded similar to alien at the time but also because I thought the idea of Space Ireland was really funny. He doesn't have an Irish accent in my mind, though. His actual birth name is some ridiculously complicated unpronounceable Sixam name and he just chose Aiden to blend in a little better on Earth. But I still think the concept of Space Ireland is funny.

I could not for the life of me remember the original last name I gave him years ago so I chose Ayy in reference to the "ayy lmao" alien meme. It's funnier (to me) than whatever I picked before anyway. I feel like Aiden saw it on a bumper sticker and identified with it.

[cockatrice-writers-guild]

Is there an "original" au for Jax and Mia? And for the this means war au, does Jax help the remaining humans? Befriends others besides Mia? And the big question, what happened to Jax?

THIS IS LONG SO IT'S GOING UNDER A READMORE

The original universe for Jax and Mia is the ride or die universe where giants and humans exist in an integrated society. There's shrinking and growing technology to make things like furniture, food and clothes for the 2 species without too much material waste. Shrinking/growing technology is not used on living things as it is deemed too risky.

Jax is a giant that was born with a birth defect that made him Way too big to safely live among the other giants and humans (giants are around 150ft and Jax is Jax Sized) so since the government is scared of what he potentially can do, they isolate him in a house they grow to his size and keep him in the middle of nowhere where they check on him periodically to make sure he isn't going to go on a rampage any time soon. He's told he isn't allowed to go into populated areas or be seen by other people to avoid mass panic.

They also eventually put a prototype of the shrinking technology into him so he can shrink down to human size and go to the city for food and necessities rather than just relying solely on the government for food and income but given the faulty nature of this technology, it's uncomfortable for him to use and he can't shrink for long periods of time.

Jax wants to be an actor but due to the complications around his existence and the fact that he can't stay reliably shrunken down at movie sets, he settles with voice acting from home until an eccentric movie director finds an old news article about his birth and decides that he Needs Jax to play the villain in his upcoming movie because Jax is Big and that would make a cool and scary villain. Plus it would cut costs on special effects. The movie director won't take no for an answer and begs the government (along with Jax cuz a c t i n g) until they finally give in and let Jax go under the condition that he remains human sized outside the movie set since he's been civil this whole time.

Through an unfortunate event after his first day on set, he meets Mia and helps her out and a few days later, when he finally grows to his normal size around a lot of other people on set and starts freaking out cuz he's not used to being around so many people, especially since they're so small compared to him (whenever a government agent comes by he has to shrink down so he doesn't have much of a point of reference) and he doesn't want to hurt anyone, Mia returns the favour and talks to him after, eventually offering to role play villain scenarios with him at his house to help him gain more confidence in acting like a villain around other people for the movie. And Thus Friendship Commences.

Also fun fact, the way every au ties in to the ride or die verse is that each alternate universe is basically the real way Jax would act in those scenarios (eg. evil giant merman rp = lighthouse au).

And for your other questions:

Jax and Mia do travel around and help out people after they grow comfortable with each other again. Jax uses his new body and size to restrain monsters and help Mia out with fights while Mia does the Maiming and Killing.

People do generally stay away from both of them, Mia being seen as a deserter and Jax being Jax but they do sometimes escort people to safe places. It's very much a them against the world type deal.

And basically the monsters that ravange the world are called war machines and were made by an unknown group for unknown reasons. The process of making a war machine involves taking a living thing and through a bunch of grotesque experiments, turning them into misshappen monsters. Humans, animals and plants are all fair game but the organization quickly learns to stop going after humans cuz human war machines can usually be reasoned with and thus aren't effective (thus why Mia was so confused to see a humanoid war machine when she first sees Jax again). When the whole war machine thing was just starting though, Jax was nabbed off the street on the way home and was subjected to said cruel experiments. He survived and became a giant shape shifting sludge puddle though since he refused to fight or get violent even when attacked, he was eventually put in what was essentially a sensory deprivation tank and forgotten about.

That is until the base got raided and the unknown horror that was kept in the back was found and released as a last ditch effort.