#a whole new pattern that you don’t just. make up when trying to remember how to draw a guy

[devicecontact]

Hey what if this arm is not Gabriel’s (because it does not look like his arm even a little beyond the fact it’s golden armour). But a small teaser for a new Angel enemy (most likely a greater Angel)

Ferryman’s oar was teased in a Christmas ultrakill art piece in 2021 and then was properly shown in April 2022. This wouldn’t be a very far fetched scenario.

[fushic0re]

𝐀 𝐇𝐔𝐒𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃❜𝐒 𝐆𝐔𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐎

𝐆𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆

⊹ ࣪ ˖ 𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗨 𝗚𝗢𝗝𝗢, 𝗦𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗥𝗨 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗢, 𝗞𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗠𝗜, 𝗧𝗢𝗝𝗜 𝗙𝗨𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗨𝗥𝗢, 𝗥𝗬𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗦𝗨𝗞𝗨𝗡𝗔, & 𝗔𝗢𝗜 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗢.

𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝟑 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒂𝒏��� 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓 ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

𝐒𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐒 ─ how they are as gift givers (how soon do they shop, do they shop late, etc.)

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ─ 18+ ONLY; MINORS DNI. a bit of angst for toji because i can’t help myself. mentions of violence.

꒰ ͜͡➸ 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘, 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐀 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆! 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒❜ 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 & 𝐁𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑! ♡

𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈  

WE’RE STARTING OFF WITH THE BEST. 

You literally don’t need to make it overt what you want for Christmas–not even just Christmas if we’re being real. 

Takes gift giving very seriously. It’s more than just handing you things he has bought for you, it’s about celebrating you and how highly he regards you

…..Though there’s no price that can be put on how much he loves you. So, he’ll settle for spoiling you instead. 

Every first of the year, he starts game planning his next gifting season. 

He pays very close attention to you, memorizing your every habit down to your breathing pattern. Do not be surprised by the fact that his gifts are always immaculately packaged with wrapping paper that is the exact shade of that new color you’ve been into (yes, that one) paired with a complimentary bow and card to match. 

A professional spy when it comes to purchasing your gifts.

Oh, that top you looked at for literally only 5 seconds? He’s already putting it on hold in your size for him to come pick up later. 

If you didn’t know any better, you would have thought Kento never bought you anything because you never noticed a change in routine. Not a single one.

He also doesn’t put his gifts under the tree until two days before Christmas so that your nosey self doesn’t snoop through them. 

You literally wake up one morning to the tree flooded with gifts and him just nonchalantly sipping his coffee. 

His favorite gifts to plan are vacations for you guys. You are his motivating factor to rest and actually live the life he has made for himself. 

While his gifts are immaculate, it’s his cards that are the real tear jerkers. 

He writes you the most beautiful things. You stopped reading his cards when people were around because they made you sob. 

Truthfully, the real gift is the sweet messages your lover leaves you. 

𝐒𝐔𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐔 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐎 

Suguru is right up there with Kento in terms of gift giving. 

This man is observant and prepared, putting in lots of time, care, and effort into buying you gifts. 

He isn’t above sourcing your friends too. Every year, your friends get a text like, “If she mentions wanting something to you, text me ASAP please. Thank you!” 

At this point, he has a whole database of things you like and want.

Unlike Kento, Suguru won’t be as secretive. He knows you know when he’s out shopping for you and loves teasing you when you get curious. 

He’ll literally taunt you about all the things he’s getting you until you’re foaming at the mouth and going feral while trying to guess what he got you. 

Packages his gifts and immediately puts them under the tree when you’re asleep that way you wake up to a new gift every morning until Christmas.

“Oh! Someone got a gift from Santa. Sigh, I wonder, I wonder, I wonder.”

Gift giving is symbolic to him as well. Every gift of his is sentimental and has a connection to aspects of your relationship. 

Remember the cherry blossoms that had just bloomed at the park you guys were at when he first asked you out? He stuffed some in his pocket and had them framed. The dried Sakuras now hang on your office wall, a reminder of his love for you every time you work. 

𝐒𝐀𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 𝐆𝐎𝐉𝐎

Money is clearly nothing to this man…but that’s what makes Christmas shopping for you hard.

He literally buys you everything you want on the spot! What the hell else is he supposed to give you? 

Struggles a bit for this reason. 

He tries to splurge on your less throughout the year to build up Christmas, but it’s impossible. He absolutely cannot see something that makes him think of you and not get it.

For this reason, you tell him that it’s okay that he doesn’t get you anything on Christmas since every day with him is like Christmas….this falls on deaf ears.

Really he’s most concerned with getting you something meaningful since like I said, you have everything you could possibly need and want. 

Uses Megumi and Tsumiki for his emotional appeal factor.

For sure asks Suguru and Kento for help.

Ultimately, he decides to go for something simple and sentimental yet still very Satoru–a gorgeous ring with your birthstone with a sweet message engraved inside and a family photo of both of you with Megumi and Tsumiki. 

That ring is just a warm up for the real deal…but he’ll plan that a little bit more elaborately. 

𝐓𝐎𝐉𝐈 𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎

Women like perfume, flowers, and shit right? 

God bless this man. It’s been a while since he had to shop for a woman, he’s just trying his best.

He still needs help though. 

Since the passing of his late wife, he hasn’t opened up to anyone, let alone another woman. 

But here comes you in all of your glory waltzing into his life and defying all of his expectations, bulldozing his walls down like they were made of straw.

He wanted so badly to give you a token of his appreciation and love for you, but it’s so hard. 

It’s hard walking through the familiar flower shop he used to frequent to buy his late wife flowers. 

It’s hard thinking of her so much because he can’t help it when he does things like this. 

It’s hard subtly comparing you both as he shops for you, but she’s the only other woman he’s ever loved and his only guide to doing right by you. 

Toji’s not a rich man. He won’t ball out on you the way Satoru or even Kento does. 

He resorts to a lot of homemade gifts with the help of Megumi because lord knows he can’t craft for shit. 

He takes the traditional approach with flowers, breakfast in bed, homemade ornaments–little things that bring life and love into your shared home.

He saves all of his measly paychecks to buy you a locket. Inside is a picture of you, him, and Megumi.

On the other side of the locket are the words he’s too afraid to say out loud because they’ll break him…..

“Thank you for loving me.”

𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐊𝐔𝐍𝐀

………God.

Do not tell this man you want anything because he will get it for you, but tenfold.

Oh, you enjoyed your trip to Kyoto? He’ll kill everyone there so you both are the sole inhabitants of the city. Kyoto is now yours. 

You love the ocean? Great, it’s yours and whoever roams it without permission will be considered trespassers and dealt with accordingly. 

Fuck a beach house, he’ll just give you the whole sea. 

He will literally mount the heads of your enemies on the mantel or hang their beating hearts on a gold chain that you can wear around your neck if it brings you joy.

In his head, there are no limits when it comes to his Queen of Curses. None whatsoever. 

He wants you to be instantly gratified. You are the one person he feels the need to prove something to. 

There really isn’t much to be said other than this. 

This man would burn the world if it meant keeping you warm, so don’t be surprised when he does. 

𝐀𝐎𝐈 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐎

……God 2.0. 

Aoi is the kind of guy to buy you a whole present just because you sneezed and that calls for a pick-me-up present. 

He buys you apology gifts when you have to open a door by yourself because he isn’t around. 

Christmas is his time to SHINE. 

He approaches it like it’s an Olympic sport that he needs to win otherwise he’s unworthy of being your man. 

Shops early as hell so that the things you want don’t sell out. 

Not above throwing hands if he needs to snag the last of your items. 

Your wishlist is essentially a binding vow to him and if he doesn’t fulfill it, he’ll die. 

Horrible at hiding them because he gets so overwhelmed with excitement that he wants you to see what he got you right away. The gifts don't even get wrapped.

By the time Christmas actually arrives, his presents are the only ones under the tree because he forced you to open all of yours prior.

He tried to control himself, but at some point he literally starts waking you up in the middle of the night because he will not sleep out of pure adrenaline.

SO DRAMATIC. He practically gives you his presents like he’s acting out a Shakespearean play. 

He’ll kneel, bow, and grandly bestow each present upon you with two hands.  

Your reactions mean the world to him. 

Each time you get all giggly and happy opening gift after gift, his heart swells. 

He could deadass start crying tears of joy right then and there tbh. 

Those reactions are his gift. 

© all rights reserved to fushic0re ─ do not repost, translate, copy, or plagiarize my work in any form.

[whatsk-poppinhomies]

Pairing : Lee Felix x F!Reader TW : reader is pregnant ; still extremely fluffy ; Word Count : 1.7k Request : nope! A/N : 11 work days later and I'm finally off!! YAY!!!

“Lix, baby…” You sweetly said his name, staggering back a little as you both walked through the store. He was going there to simply get new headphones for his computer and of course he wanted you to tag along with him, but you always got sidetracked when passing the baby aisle, and this time you weren’t longingly looking at the booties or the onesies… You had a tiny little plan forming in your head. 

“Hmm? What is it, angel?” He responded back just as sweet, his freckled cheeks lifting and his eyes squinting as he looked at you, his smile wide yet slightly bashful. “What’re ya doin?” He quizzed, eyeing you with full interest now as you held up two different pairs of newborn footie pajamas. 

“Which one do you like more? This one…?” You held up a green pair that was printed with frogs and little lily pads. “Or this one?” The other pair was a pale yellow with a small embroidered duck at the top. “Only three seconds to choose one though, come on!” You chimed, trying to make it more like a game so he wouldn’t get an idea of what was happening just yet. 

“Ahhhh…” His eyes wavered back and forth between the little sets before his finger shot forwards to point at the yellow outfit. “That one’s cuter, and it’s closer to Bokkari so, obviously I’m gonna choose the duck.” He explained, and you nodded along in agreement. “Look at this though, angel.” He said as he started walking again, not straying too far off as you hung the outfits back on the racks, making a mental note to remember where they were for when you came back to get them. 

“What is it?” You asked, walking over to where he stood in front of a nursery set that was duck themed, his eyes sparkling as he looked at it. “Oh… Oh that’s adorable.” You picked up the set, flipping it over to see the price on the back of the box before setting it back down again. “And completely ridiculous. $60 for a blanket and a bib? They’re charging for the packaging.” 

Felix snorted, wrapping his arm around your waist and leading you to the electronics section, his mind back on track once more. “It’s cute that you completely forget that I make a ridiculous amount of money doing what I do.” He teased, playfully squeezing your side and making you jump before you leaned into him. “Don’t worry, once we have a baby, they’ll be set for life. They’ll never want for nothing.” 

It was hard to fight back the urge to tell him right then and there, but you bit your lip, looping your arm around his and resting your head against his shoulder. “I love that you’re already planning on spoiling them…” You teasingly murmured, smiling softly up at him. “How will I ever compete with you?” 

He paused for a moment, and you assumed that he was just trying to think of an answer to your question, but his gaze that was laid upon you softened as he turned to stand in front of you. “It’ll never be a competition. Everything we do will be as a team. Whatever I get for them, even if you’re not there when I get it, it’ll be from the both of us.” The short moment of sweetness quickly changed to him teasing once again as he leaned in to kiss the tip of your nose. “What’s with all this baby talk? Hmm? You got something to tell me?” He wiggled his eyebrows playfully, and you shook your head fast, hoping that he didn’t pick up on your nervous giggling. 

“I’m having baby fever again. You know how bad it gets when I walk through the baby aisles.” You reasoned, and thankfully, your explanation was good enough for him. He was used to you having the baby talk the whole way home after shopping trips, but your mind would usually trail off into something else as soon as you got home. You’d have to keep up with the pattern if you wanted to keep this a secret, at least long enough to get everything ready for the surprise. 

2 weeks, one secret doctors appointment, and a small shopping trip with Chan later, and you finally had the little gift box prepared to surprise Felix with. It took a lot to keep yourself from telling him before the two weeks was up, but you just kept it in the back of your mind that his reaction would be adorable, of course it would be, everything he did was adorable. 

The camera was set up, under the advice of Hyunjin who wanted so badly to be there to see it, but he also knew that if he was at the house when Felix got home it would raise some questions and might have spoiled the surprise. Everything was being recorded, and truthfully, this would be a moment that you’d love to look back on later on in life. 

“Angel…” Felix called out from the front door, and you heard his shoes tumble onto the floor and the quiet sound of his slippers sliding across the hard wood as he slipped them on. “You okay?” Of course, today was one of those days when the wonderful symptoms of carrying a child kicked in full force and had you leaning over the kitchen sink as you tried to hold back the nausea long enough to give him his surprise. 

“Mmhm…” You hummed, cupping a bit of cold water in your hand and sipping a bit of it before turning around to face him. “Think I just ate a bit too quickly.” You explained, giving him a smile when he came over to you, placing the back of his hand against your forehead. “I’m not sick, really. Come… I have something to tell you.” You said, and the sudden bout of sickness had your voice lacking the excitement that you had been hoping to convey. 

“Is… Is it bad?” He stammered, and you could almost see through his chest, visualizing his heart sinking at your words. He truly was too good for this world, he was far too sweet, and you immediately felt bad for even accidentally worrying him. “You’re not leaving me… Are you? Did I do something wrong?” 

“No!” You said, maybe a little too loudly, his eyes widening in shock at the sudden outburst. “Sorry… Sorry. I’m not leaving you. I just… I have a surprise for you and… I really want to show you.” You said the words a little too fast, and you hoped that he was able to catch all of them. He still seemed a little confused, but you were already grabbing his hand and leading him to the living room. “Sit… I have to run to the bedroom to grab something.” You motioned to the couch with your head, and once he was finally seated, you ran to the bedroom and grabbed the little box out of the top of the closet. 

“You’re not… proposing, are you? I wanted to be the one to do that…” He said, watching you with suspicious eyes as you walked back into the living room, your hands behind your back to hide the box from him. “What is that? What are you holding?” He inquired further, craning his neck to try to see behind you. 

“Shh.. Just close your eyes and hold out your hands.” You waited for him to do so before placing the little box in his upturned hands, and then you sat on the little seat across from him. “Open…” You whispered, and your heart was hammering in your chest now as you watched his eyes scan over the little box that had congratulations written across the lid. 

“What is it…?” He asked, and you motioned towards the box with his hand, silently telling him to open it. He carefully set it down on the coffee table before shimmying the lid off, and you heard him gasp softly when he saw the tiny teddy bear and the little note. “Appa…? Me? I’m… You’re… Really?” He questioned, and you hesitantly nodded your head in agreement, not able to fully gauge his reaction just yet. Then he lifted the note and on the backside you had carefully taped the ultrasound photo, it wasn’t much, but the little bean was there, and he could see it clearly. 

“Lix…” You nervously whispered his name as you watched his hand go to his mouth, and you could have sworn you heard a sigh… or maybe it was a sob… But you couldn’t really tell how he was feeling just yet. “Are you… okay? I’m sorry, I just-” 

His head shook, and when he finally looked at you, his hand falling to his lap, you could see he was smiling. “This is amazing…” He choked out, pushing himself up off the couch and striding over to you only to drop down to the floor in front of you, his hands moving to your stomach. “I’m so happy… I… I don’t even have words. This… We’re having a baby… We’re gonna have a family… Us… We are…” 

“We are…” You agreed, your own tears beginning to form and trickle down your cheeks. His hands moved up to cup your cheeks, his thumbs working quickly to wipe the tears before they had the chance to reach your chin, his smile never faltering as he looked up at you with eyes that sparkled and shined. “I love you, Felix…” 

He pushed himself up, kissing you gently, his lips tasted of salt from his tears and a slight hint of coffee. “I love you more, most, mostest, more than anything. Thank you… For giving me this gift, for loving me… For making me happy, for making me the luckiest man in the world.” He sighed, and then he started laughing, a soft laugh, a chuckle that came from his chest that seemed to vibrate through him. Your head tilted to the side questioningly, but he only shook his head. “I’m glad that wasn’t a proposal… Because I have to run to the bedroom real quick and grab something… Just make sure you say yes to my next question.” 

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[tanix-dragon]

Is That a New Guy or Am I Losing My Mind; or, A Beginner's Guide to Finding Headmates

Written by Roger de Camden of the Draconic Wizard Workshop

Hello, everybody! This is an essay for both plurals who might struggle finding, identifying, or confirming headmates, as well as people who are questioning whether or not they’re plural. Certain pieces of advice may apply better to questioners than established systems, and vice versa, but rest assured, it is intended for both!

This essay will be broken into several sections for various “phases” of discovery and working things out, but a disclaimer before we get to that: this is heavily based on our own experiences. This is not a one-size-fits-all kind of guide. I’m going to try to make it such, but, well, I can’t make any promises, because there are infinite ways of being a system out there, and everyone’s a little different. This is just what I’ve found works for us, and, to a large extent, many of our system friends! That being said, if you try to start syscourse or invalidate other systems for any reason in response to this essay, I’m going to block you and that’s that.

Also, sorry if I go between spellings for words. I’m English, but the body is American and that means that I don’t know how to spell certain words anymore.

So! Onwards, towards discovery!

Step One: Getting an Inkling

The first step to figuring out whether or not you’ve got a headmate (new or otherwise undiscovered; I’ll mostly be calling them “new” as in “new to you”) is having an inkling that one might exist. This is mostly a passive process, and you’re probably familiar with it if you’re reading this guide. Maybe you felt something scuttle through headspace (if you have one) or through the back of your mind. Maybe you felt a presence looming behind you, mentally, that bolted when you “looked.” Maybe you had a very strong emotional reaction to something that makes no sense for you to react to, but would make sense for a character you’ve been really attached to in a show. Or maybe you slipped into an unfamiliar accent, had a loss of memories and woke up with nail polish on in a colour you hate, or just felt an opinion about something that doesn’t match your usual one. Sometimes, you may even “hear” comments about things going on in your mind.

There are a lot of little things that can tip you off. Most of them are going to be things that are misaligned with your own perception of yourself, your opinions, and your behavior. This is usually a sign that someone is co-conscious or co-fronting with you without you being aware of it. Some headmates are very sneaky this way, and some may not realise that they exist at all while doing this! Don’t hold being hard to notice or get a hold of against your headmates—many of them don’t realise that they exist, don’t know how to not be this way, or are doing it for what they perceive to be a good reason (this last one is especially common in disordered systems). Maybe they’re scared, or just not ready to be confronted yet. Don’t worry—remember, you have your whole lives to figure out everyone who’s in there, and the time will pass anyways! Take it easy.

One specific thing that tends to tip us off to a new fictive is that we realise that… no one is aware of running a character that we’re playing in a tabletop roleplaying game. Maybe someone started off running them, but they sure seem to be doing their own thing now! That character may be hard to “turn off” or “put on the shelf” when you stop playing them—and they may continue to make comments and have opinions about things in your life. This is a dead giveaway! Sometimes when we think about a character, we feel a “movement” or interest somewhere in our mind that doesn’t match anyone else’s pattern of thinking or interests, which also can be a giveaway that they’re scuttling around somewhere. Also beneficial, for us, is our synesthesia—every headmate has a colour associated with them, and when we get a thought pattern that seems to match someone but the colour is off, it can make us realise that maybe there’s someone else in here. For example, if someone were to be really interested in jellyfish, we might think that it’s Caspian, but if the colour comes back as red and not blue, then we know for certain that it’s not him.

This first inkling of a new headmate may be obvious or it may be subtle. You may question yourself repeatedly, but remember: if you feel like you are “accidentally faking,” that’s not how faking works. Faking must be done intentionally and on purpose. You could be wrong, yes, but being wrong isn’t inherently bad. It’s just that you were mistaken about something. Nothing wrong with that! We’re all mistaken about all kinds of things every day! Be kind to yourself while trying to figure things out.

Step Two: Are You There, Headmate? It’s Me, Your Other Headmate

Steps two and three are interchangeable in order, but I thought I’d put this one first because it tends to be the one that’s hardest and most distressing, rather than step three, which is about identifying who the hell your headmate is. We’ll get to that, never fear!

So, let’s say you think there might be someone in there. How can you tell for sure? How can you open communication? How can you get them integrated okay?

The bad news is that this depends heavily on the system. The good news is that there’s no need to panic, rush, or be afraid, because once again, you’ll figure it out eventually, and it will be okay!

My first suggestion is to take note of everything that’s made you think there might be someone else in there. Write it down, if that helps! Write down everything that seems to get the entity’s attention, if anything. Write down anything that might help you identify who it might be! In some instances, you might have a character that seems a little independent but you can’t tell whether they’re really a headmate or not. In my experience, this is often how many non-disordered systems (but it’s not exclusive to them!) realise that they’re plural. Knowing who it is will make this step easier, but it isn’t necessary! After all, if you know who it is, you can also write down things that might bait them into responding. Interests and friends of theirs are good examples.

Your goal in this step is to try to draw them out into doing things, speaking, or acting in ways that will give away that they are for certain there. For systems with heavy amnesia or dissociative barriers, this might be significantly harder, but my best suggestion there is to jump straight to trying to communicate, however you can—and this isn’t a bad approach for other systems, either. You can try internal communication, although you might get no response, or an abnormal one, if the headmate is new. For example, with us, new headmates usually respond to direct queries with anxiety—which, while not good for communication and not ideal for the headmate in question, does help us key in on the fact that they definitely exist. You can also try external communication, if internal communication isn’t working or is difficult for you. Write a note in a journal or a sticky note, or even in a notes app or a private Discord server. Sometimes, headmates can find replying over text to be easier. If you’re a high-dissociation and high-amnesia system who is trying to figure out if it’s someone old or new who is fronting and doing things while you’re unaware, leaving sticky notes places asking people to write down who’s fronting when they see it (if they even know who they are) might be helpful. Keep experimenting, and do what works best for you!

As a last resort for uncertain, new, or inexperienced systems, you can try something called “puppeting” on a suspected headmate, especially if you know who they are and just aren’t sure whether or not they’re here. A warning: this is rude and not advised under most circumstances, but sometimes it’s the only way to make absolutely sure that someone is in there with you, especially when you’re not used to it. Have an apology ready and mean it. Puppeting is when you try to force a headmate to do something, especially something unusual or out of character for them. For example, if I thought I might have my character Gorka as a headmate, but I wasn’t sure, I might try to call up a scenario involving Gorka and then try to imagine her doing something wildly out of character, that she would never, ever do. If I couldn’t get a response out of that, or if I had no idea who this new headmate might be, I might just try to make them physically do something—strongly imagining them doing a stupid dance or similar! No response doesn’t necessarily mean you do or do not have a headmate, but a strong response—usually of anger, offense, or “slapping” your “hands” away—indicates someone separate from yourself! Apologize immediately and then attempt to engage in communication once they’ve calmed down a little, or try to transition into it through an explanation. 

There are a lot of reasons that a headmate might not respond to puppeting, though. They might be non-confrontational, or hiding their presence from you intentionally for any number of reasons. (Maybe they’re nervous, not ready to exist yet, afraid of how you might respond, afraid of accepting that they’re in a system—it could be anything.) In cases like this, you might just get discomfort instead of a strong response, which is easy to confuse for being your own rather than theirs. Try to sort out whether you just feel strange doing it, or if it’s someone else’s discomfort bleeding through. I know it’s hard, but that’s a difficult thing to give advice for, I’m afraid! Other reasons may be that they just dip from the front when you try (removing themself from your sphere of influence completely), or if they’re a character you frequently play, they might be so used to being pulled around into doing things that it doesn’t bother them, or bothers them so little that you don��t notice.

Usually, if you’re at the point of trying puppeting, there’s enough signs that this person really is a headmate to dissuade you from trying it once you’re a little more used to it. It’s a temporary and unideal tool that should leave your toolbox as soon as you become confident enough to identify new headmates without getting grabby with them. Undoubtedly, trying to establish communication is a better approach, if you can get it to work.

Usually, once we’ve properly spotted a headmate and made it clear to them that we know they’re there, one of two things happens: either they come sit in the front for a few days or weeks to settle in, let us identify them, and get used to being a full active member of the system, or they realise that they exist and have a panic attack. This “new headmate panic” can last anywhere from a few minutes to multiple days, and may fluctuate in strength. Sometimes, a new headmate might seem fine early on, but have this panic after a few days, weeks, or even longer. Be gentle during this time, especially if you yourself have a strong reaction—be gentle with both, or all, of you! Realizing that you’re in a system can be very distressing, as can realizing you have a new headmate, so try to be gentle, let yourself feel what you’re going to feel, and work through it in the best way you have. Try not to direct any anger or negative feelings towards anyone else in your system during this time, and just let the storm pass before really trying to get to know each other.

Step Three: Who Is This Guy, Anyway?

Once again, you can do this step before or after step two, but I put it here because I decided to include some tips for getting to know your headmate, not just identifying them (if there is anything to identify). If your system is introject-heavy, or if you’re asking yourself if you’re just really interested in a character or if they’re a new headmate, this is an important step! Who is this? Are they an introject of some kind? Are they something or someone else? Is there anything to identify, per se, or is it just a situation of getting to know a whole new person? This is a very, very different step depending on your system, and is going to skew very much towards my own experiences. I’m sorry about that, but I will do my best!

If you’ve already established communication with this headmate, even if it’s shaky, you can try to get information from them that way. They might be willing to give you a name, a code name, a colour, an aesthetic, likes or dislikes, something you can use to familiarise yourself with them or identify them from a list of “suspects” if you have such a thing. (We always do, because we’re almost all fictives, and we know our own patterns at this point.) For us, new headmates almost never actually identify, and just sullenly sit while trying to figure themselves out and will only confirm who they are once we figure it out. It’s sort of like playing a mystery game, assembling clues based on a myriad of factors. If you have some suspicions, just like the previous step, you can try to bait out responses by doing things that might interest who you suspect this headmate might be.

Again, I suggest writing things down! Write down likes and dislikes, things that get their attention, interests, even things that make them anxious or afraid. Whether it’s a case of identification or just getting to know them, this is invaluable information for interacting with someone sharing a head with you, and it may even be helpful for them as they get their feet under them.

Another invaluable tool is talking to people outside of your system. They can help you identify when you’re acting unusually, when you might have someone unfamiliar riding co-conscious, and even who that person might be. You may be too tangled up in your own feelings, your dissociation, or the desperation to understand who is in your head with you. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds and lose sight of the big picture, but another friend, especially another system that knows you well, can be extremely helpful! One of our system friends has clocked many a headmate of ours before we were even certain they were there—just “hmm, you’ve been very much like X lately” and they were absolutely right. 

Regardless, taking notes on your new headmate, asking them about themselves, and sharing things about yourself are all important steps to getting to know them! They may be uncomfortable, they may distrust you, they may be afraid—or they could be friendly and excited to be here! It really depends on who it is and their comfort level. Don’t push—if they’re not comfortable talking yet, don’t make them! Let them adjust at their own pace and get to know them as they’re willing to let you. I know it can be distressing to have a totally unknown entity co-fronting with you, but sometimes it’s one of those things that you have to take a deep breath and carry on through until they’re willing to talk. I know you can do it! Talk through it with someone outside of your own head if it’s difficult to give yourself some fortitude if you need to. I know it helps me.

Step Four: Now What?

Let’s say that you’ve confirmed that you do have a headmate, and either have or are on the road to identifying them, if applicable. Now what?

As I’ve said before: be gentle with yourselves! Especially for a new or inexperienced system, and especially for someone who is just realising that they’re a system, this can be overwhelming, distressing, or any other number of emotions. Remember that having or gaining headmates isn’t inherently a bad thing, and while this all might take some getting used to, it’s going to be okay. You’ll figure out an equilibrium eventually, and it is absolutely possible to live a long, happy life with your headmates. Remember that you’re all in this together, and you’re a team.

People may not want you to notice them, may not want to be in the system, or may avoid attention as best they can for a lot of reasons, and trying to make them feel at home, or at least more comfortable, is essential. It can be scary being in a system all of a sudden, especially if they’re an introject or otherwise had a life outside or before this one. Maybe they don’t like the body, or are afraid of another headmate, or are terrified of a negative response from you or someone else. Don’t force these people into situations they’re not ready for! If you’re looking for someone, trying to identify them, or trying to help them, and you’re just causing a lot of distress, back off for a while. Let them calm down and come to you in their own time. Sometimes, you have to do the system equivalent of leaving cookies out on a plate and turning your back to them so that your new headmate can take them without being watched. Take things at the pace that you’re all the most comfortable with, and as always, be kind.

I really do suggest talking to someone about this process, if you can. Journal if you’d like, especially if you can’t trust anyone with this, or don’t feel comfortable doing so yet. Getting your words out of your head helps you sort them out a lot, especially in the case of systems, where a lot of people’s thoughts can get jumbled together. Writing them all down, even if you don’t know whose they are, can be helpful. We find that talking to other system friends is of the most benefit, and our new members are far more likely to speak to them first rather than us, because there’s a degree of separation and that’s more comfortable for them. Whatever works for you, do it! The idea is to get comfortable with each other, and with being here together.

Find things that your new headmate likes doing. Goratrix has a whole panel about this aimed at fictives, but essentially, if your new headmate doesn’t have reason to front and isn’t interested in anything, you probably won’t see much of them, and they may end up miserable. Make sure you engage with them and their interests. Let them make friends if they’d like. Get them snacks. Again: whatever works! This is going to depend very heavily on your system, so follow your gut instinct on this one, I think.

Absolutely essential, though, is to not repress anybody. I know sometimes getting a new headmate can be scary, especially if they’re unfamiliar, frightening, seemingly monstrous, or a persecutor, but remember: they’re probably just as freaked out as you are, if not more so, and they need patience and understanding. Statistically, if they’re doing something troublesome, they’re trying to help and just don’t know how, or are misguided on what “help” looks like. Be kind, and try to find a solution that works for everyone.

Past that… just get to know each other. Figure out how to live together and how to make your combined life the best life it can be. For us, there’s so many of us that someone new can almost always find a fast friend in someone else, and sticks with them for a while until they’re more used to the system and more confident fronting and doing things without their buddy. Other systems may be able to mimic this approach, or may need to do something very different. Again, again, again, do what works best for you! If parts of this guide seem unhelpful or counterproductive, ignore them! This is based on our experience of plurality, not yours. Always do what’s best for you, what helps the most of you, and what causes the least distress while still letting you function as much as you need to.

Being plural is a very personal experience, in a lot of ways, which is pretty funny because sometimes that personal experience is spread across two or twenty or five hundred people. It’s also a very personalized experience, meaning we’re all quite different. Your “now what?” might look very different from ours, and that’s okay. We can only do our best, and that’s always good enough.

I hope this is helpful to someone! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and I may edit this guide in the future if it seems that I left something out or think of anything to add. =)

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

Celebrating Ramadan With Ace and Deuce

Platonic Ace x muslim!fem!reader x Deuce

Masterlist

First of all these boys would be so accommodating with you if you’re a muslim

They’d try to learn as much as they could about your religion either from you or asking a few Scarabian students.

They’d even ask the Scarabian students for things like lunar calendars or tasbihs or travelling prayer mats in case you need one 

They do their best to make sure you’re comfortable if you’re the type that has issues being too close with the opposite gender, always making sure to keep a respectable distance between you and ensuring that the rest of the student body do the same

If you want to pray, they’d just wordlessly use their bags as your sutrah and basically be your bodyguards until you’re done 

Also, for the hijabi girlies, they’d be so respectful. If your hair starts to show they’d avert their eyes quicker than you could blink and inform you. If anyone bothers you or looks at you in a way that you’re not comfortable with, they’d be decked onto the floor in a flash.

You bet they would have a few spare hijab pins or carry an extra shawl in case of emergencies 

Anyway, back to Ramadan

So when you tell them about fasting, they’d first get all shocked. Poor Deuce is besides himself thinking that you’ll be starving yourself for a whole month before you elaborate on how it’s just from sunrise to sunset and then explain the spiritual significance for it. 

Not going to lie, these guys are so the type to be like “you can’t even drink water?? 🙃”

They’re both super proud of you and are just in constant awe of your strength 

I feel like they’d want to do it with you as a show of unity, and to help you with your homesickness, but since they’re both athletes (especially with Deuce being in such a high stamina/adrenaline sport like Track and Field), you suggest that they start with half fasts to ease themselves into it

(also props to everyone that still works out during fasting hours - you’re all incredible and absolute superheroes. My mum goes to the gym practically every morning and I’m still amazed every time.)

Also, when you’re doing your make up fasts to compensate for the ones you missed due to mother nature, you bet they’ll be right by your side fasting with you

I bet Deuce would feel genuinely offended if someone ate in front of you. Like he’d just stare at someone as if they’re smuggling contraband instead of just munching on their sandwich.

They make sure to do as much as you can so you could rest as much as possible. They set the table for iftar and suhoor (they even get up before you and wake you up), and do the cleaning up whilst you go to pray

Food usually comes from Sam’s shop or Trey (I don’t remember how they were during the culinary crucible but I really wouldn’t want those two in my kitchen before iftar whilst I’m fasting)

They’re always carrying your bag/things and practically never leave your side. Ramshackle is practically their second home at this point.

They love to learn more about your practices, especially traditions that you would do back home and you feel so loved to share that with them. You even teach them arabic (which ends with you getting a stern talking to from Jamil when Ace practices your lessons during basketball club)

Having a henna night with them would be so fun, just listening to nasheeds as you apply henna to both yourself and your best friends (who would take it so seriously and make such a noticeable effort to stay completely still until it dries and it’s both endearing and hilarious)

Okay but one time my sister fell asleep on her hand with henna on it and she woke up the next morning with a faded orange matching pattern on her cheek and that totally happens to Ace

They would totally (with Scarabia’s help) decorate Ramshackle with lights and lanterns to make it all festive

Just the two of them acting as your family in this strange new world 💛

[star-anise]

reading supercut: disability, body image, and trauma

A glimpse into the clothes thrashing around in the washing machine of my mind, with apologies that it is still a wet lump and not an actual synthesis of ideas.

From Easy Beauty: A Memoir by Chloé Cooper Jones:

[This event] embedded a damaging idea in me, one I’d recognize deeply when I read Scarry years later: beauty was a matter of particulars aligning correctly. My body put me in a bracketed, undercredited sense of beauty. But if I could get the particulars lined up just right, I could be re-seen, discovered like the palm tree is discovered. To be deserving of the whole range of human desires, I had to be extraordinary in all other aspects. In this new light, I started to see my work, my intellect, my skills, my moments of humor or goodness, not as valuable in themselves, but as ways of easing the impact of my ugliness. If only I could pile up enough good qualities, they could obscure my unacceptable body. [...] accepting the argument that beauty was malleable came, for me, with a cost. The Platonian view rejected me cleanly, but Hume and Scarry left a door ajar and I’ve spent a lifetime trying to contort my form to see if I could pass through it.

From Til We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by CS Lewis:

I now determined that I would go always veiled. I have kept this rule, within doors and without, ever since. It is a sort of treaty made with my ugliness. There had been a time in childhood when I didn't yet know I was ugly. Then there was a time (for in this book I must hide none of my shames or follies) when I believed, as girls do — and as Batta was always telling me — that I could make it more tolerable by this or that done to my clothes or my hair. Now, I chose to be veiled.

From Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy of Borderline Personality Disorder by Marsha Linehan:

Inhibited grieving is understandable among borderline patients. People can only stay with a very painful process or experience if they are confident that it will end some day, some time—that they can "work through it," so to speak. It is not uncommon to hear borderline patients say they feel that if they ever do cry, they will never stop Indeed, that is their common experience—the experience of not being able to control or modulate their own emotional experiences. [...] In the face of such helplessness and lack of control, inhibition and avoidance of cues associated with grieving are not only understandable, bur perhaps wise at times. Inhibition, however, has its costs. [...] Volkan (1983) describes an interesting phenomenon, "established pathological mourning", which is similar to the pattern I am describing. In established pathological mourning, the individual wishes to complete mourning, but at the same time persistently attempts to undo the reality of the loss.

From How to Respond to Criticism by Danny Lavery:

Apologize, but don’t really mean it, and plant a seed of secret resentment so deep in your own heart that years later you can’t even remember that you’re the one who nurtured it and made it grow, it seems that much like a native part of you.

From Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed:

[After learning that state child protective services had made a budgetary decision to only intervene with children under 12, to one of the teenagers that regularly shared stories of abuse at home] I told her it was not okay, that it was unacceptable, that it was illegal and that I would call and report this latest, horrible thing. But I did not tell her it would stop. I did not promise that anyone would intervene. I told her it would likely go on and she’d have to survive it. That she’d have to find a way within herself to not only escape the shit, but to transcend it [...] I told her that escaping the shit would be hard, but that if she wanted to not make her mother’s life her destiny, she had to be the one to make it happen. She had to do more than hold on. She had to reach. She had to want it more than she’d ever wanted anything. She had to grab like a drowning girl for every good thing that came her way and she had to swim like fuck away from every bad thing. She had to count the years and let them roll by, to grow up and then run as far as she could in the direction of her best and happiest dreams across the bridge that was built by her own desire to heal.

From Essays in Aesthetics by Jean-Paul Sartre:

Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.

From "I Know What You Think of Me" by Tim Kreider:

if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known.

[gor3sigil]

About being a freak, queer, trans etc.

In all the years I've spent going back and forth with my gender, being sure one day and unsure the next about how I wanted to present, if I wanted to be more fem or masc, if I wanted to be neither of them, there's one thing that I never wished: I never wished to be born cis.

There's something so magical in being trans. To me it's like a never ending childlike wonder of myself and others. I see my body as a white canvas I can do anything with and as a playground for me to explore and find secrets at every turn. It's shedding so many times that I had hundreds of silhouettes and I'm not even 30. It's seeing the most deepest and honest smiles when you hang out with your peers, and they're fully themselves and you are fully yourself even if it's just for one moment.

Being trans is being more naked than ever. My understanding of my own flesh at its core like I'm dissecting it once a year is so whole and complete. Noticing the patterns, the intricate map of my skin, how it grows and stretch with every change even well before HRT as I was practicing new poses and expressions and clothes.

I don't see myself as a flower, I see myself as a whole garden, with bees and critters everywhere, bursting with life in the warmth of the sun under a sky as blue as the cleanest seas.

Regarding the way others see me, mind you, I always was, and I mean ALWAYS, all my life, seen as a freak.

Try to picture this, even tnough you maybe can because this is the story of a whole bunch of us: growing up as a goth, queer and undiagnosed autistic girl, in a little shitty town, the last child of a family of disabled and neurodivergent folks that everyone saw as a family of, well, freaks. The teachers at school knew your brother who was bullied, and your sister who always caused troubles. They don’t know which of these paths you’re going to take but they sure as hell don’t like you. And the only other queer kids you know are a couple of girls who’d chugg down vodka before class in middle school because they were not accepted at home and bullied during recess.

My first queer relationship, also in middle school, was the typical “I loved her to the moon and back but she only wanted to experiment” and it tore down my soul. It took me years to recover from this. I think that, apart from my longest relationship to date, I never put that much of myself into someone I loved. But she was just goofing around and I mean, fair, we were kids, but man did it hurt. I resented her for years after. Now I just hope she’s happy and doing the job she always dreamed of doing.

Anyways, all that to say that I was used to being seen as an outcast. I hated that for years and tried and tried again and again to fit in. It doesn’t work. Because this in not the answer. Remember when I said that my family members were always all disabled ? My father espacially was physically disabled (and probably also autistic but undiagnosed), and he’s still to this day one of the most ableist person I’ve ever met. He knew his kids weren’t “normal”. He fought tooth and nails for us to fit in. Because that’s how he survived. But despite it all, it never worked. Because you can’t force your way into society’s standards.

I never felt more free than when I just gave up trying to. If I was going to be seen as weird anyways, might as well go all the way. Dress as I please, date who I wanted (another story for another time but it didn’t go as planned), enjoy the shit I enjoyed, unapologetically. And guess what ? It stopped the bullying. Because I gained confidence in myself and most of all, pride. I grew proud of being an outcast, so much so that people just started to be like “well, they’re like that anyways” and left me the fuck alone.

I’m rambling lmao but I think it’s important to be aware that nobody will live your life for you. Being your weird self, it’s so hard, butn so rewarding. More rewarding than anything. You’ll start making new relationships based on you TRUE self, you’ll go all the way for your passions, and trust me, you’ll be more free than anyone who bent themselves to fit in the mold and still need to painfully stretch their limbs everyday to keep the act on.

I know that sometimes it’s something you have to do to survive, and that’s perfectly okay. But don’t forget to keep your true self close and to let them out from time to time, okay ? Water down your inner garden. That’s the only way you will truly live.

[scrubbinn]

Mimic HRT: month 22 “sight seeing”

“All ready?”

“Yeah, how many places are we visiting today?”

“I need to stop by THEMS for the support group meeting today, and pick up recording equipment. I need to write a report of mimic behavior/sensitivity analysis by the end of the week.”

“How much have you written so far?... You haven’t written anything have you?”

“...Busy.”

“HUN! You need to actually work to keep your job!... but if you wanted to spend the whole day together and you did that stuff later. I wouldn't say no.”

“Nice try Abi. But the recorder is coming with. I've used them since I could remember, it's practically a member of the family. Now you can wait in my room during the meeting… But if you wanted to…”

“I'll stay here, I'm not feeling up to meeting your new friends yet.”

“Boo. Don't worry I won't rush you. See you in a bit. There's snacks in the fridge, don't eat any of the picnic stuff. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

“So how was it?”

“It was… alright. Sorry that makes it sound like it didn’t go well. It went perfectly fine!... Just a little sad Alexis still isn’t back. It’s been three weeks now. Apparently it’s just something she ate recently.”

“So food poisoning?”

“I honestly don’t know, it didn't seem like I was allowed to pry into it. I hope she’s fine, I was hoping you could meet her.”

“…But it went well otherwise, yeah?”

“Yeah! Everyone’s super nice! I just hope I come off the same way. I’m sure they know me as the nervous wreck who works for Erian at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hate-

“HUN!”

“AH! W-what is it? Oh, right, thanks. I need to stop thinking like that, huh?”

“It’s ok hun. It’s hard to stop thinking like that. Talk to me about your meeting. Was it good otherwise, besides one of them getting food poisoning?”

“Oh, yeah! It was super nice! I feel like we ended up helping out with a lot of problems we all had today. I didn’t end up talking much, but working in my field has been great for helping out with any logistical problems someone might have like with continuing prescriptions or stuff like that. 

I did notice one thing though. I, uh, well, I wasn’t talking much because usually when I’m at a meeting I get terrified of everyone looking at me. Not in an anxiety sort of way… I think, but in a, I've been spotted and need to slink off and hide, sort of way. I think it’s a mimic thing, like I don’t like to be known, you know? But this time was different. I felt a lot more at ease, even when I was the center of attention. I think it had something to do with a few people having simultaneous big changes with their AHRT. It made me realize that maybe what I hate isn’t being seen, but having humans know what I am.”

“Oh… Do you feel that when I look at you?”

“No, I know I’m safe with you. It’s just an interesting thought, is all. It’s like maybe humans are the natural predators of mimics, since they have the pattern recognition to notice strange details and spot the mimic. It could potentially lead to the origins of mimics. Maybe we were just normal animals that got hunted to extinction.”

“Uh huh… Wouldn’t there be fossil records then? Or some other evidence… Look hun, I’m happy that you’re happy, but you’ve been kind of laser focused on this origin stuff lately.”

“Well it’s important. Erian barely understood what he was giving me, I’m the only one of my kind that I’m aware of. It’d be nice to find my roots. Not to mention, he can’t even put this new Mimic HRT on the market until he actually knows everything he put into it. There’s one ingredient he apparently just found and stuffed it in there to see what would happen.”

“Hun, the more you talk about him, the more I worry about your health and your job.”

“It’s fine, my health is perfect and I don’t think I’ll be fired anytime soon. Anyway, come on, it's picnic time.”

* * *

“It's been so long since I've been to the beach. Look! Hun! Sandpipers! Ooooooh they're so cute!”

“Abi, are you good to walk around like that? I get the sand isn't going to be hard on your injury, but you're still recovering. And you shouldn't go swimming!”

“I'll be fine if I'm walking a little bit, don't worry. Now come here! Sit with me.”

“Y'know they say Kaiju sized sea creatures live here. You think I should dive in and look?”

“Pfffft! Who's they? Wouldn't there be like no fish at all if there were things bigger than whales in there?”

“Hyper city is weird, I’d believe in anything strange, like Erian being a half decent person.”

“...Hey hun, do we need to go to all these different places?”

“Getting tired already Abi?”

“Yeah…”

“I'd like to. My behavioral study on mimics is important to others, but it’s more important to me. I need to know so much about mimics. Erian is already working on figuring out the biology side of things, but I need to know how I think. So that I can make sure I'm safe to be around.”

“...So what do you think about this place?”

“It's… It's lonely.”

“Well. We're the only people here right now.”

“Not what I meant. There's a, longing, hoping that something underwater is looking back. But it isn't. I can just tell. I know when I'm being seen, I want to be seen. I just don't want to be recognized. Beaches feel weird, like I'm standing on the side of a cliff needing to jump off. The sea is nice. It's an empty void where I can pretend to be a stray clump of seaweed waiting for some fish to swim by. The prey, all looking at me, no humans around to know what I am. Huh, not sure where that image came from. Maybe mimics are amphibious.”

“You mentioned this sort of stuff before. You just know when you're being looked at. Are you ok? You're not getting an anxiety attack or anything right?”

“I'll be fine. And if I'm not fine then I know you can help, but, let's talk about something else.”

“Ok… So do you have gills or something? Also do I have to worry about you running into the ocean never to be seen again?”

“haha, I can shift gills. And no, if I went feral, maybe, but I'm still partly a slime, I'd eventually dissolve if I stayed in too long. Though, I've been losing those parts more and more.”

“I kind of wanted to ask. Are you ok with that? You came here to become a slime. Do you still feel dysphoric as something else?”

“I'm… We can figure that out later. Let's just watch the waves for now.”

* * *

“Isn’t this near your job?”

“Correct, it’s a nice little place a block away. Also I just like the name. Roost café”

“I’m not big on cafés hun.”

“Trust me, you’ll see why we came here… What do you think?”

“Well the tree is cool, and the magic fairy lights are pretty. Oh they have those little cat walkways, but there’s no cats here. Well, It’s very, cottage core. Very… You.”

“Oh, so you don't feel the aura do you?”

“Aura?”

“Yeah! Do you seriously not feel it? Mabel, the witch who runs this place, set up an aura that’s supposed to pacify any familiars and it came with the side effect of calming down anyone else who enters this place. Isn’t that amazing? Just think about all the places that could benefit from this. Imagine if the clinic had this, or restaurants, or government buildings, then people wouldn’t be so worried, it could help out so many therians!”

“I don’t know hun, I think a lot of people would probably hate having that sort of thing everywhere. Wouldn’t people hate that sort of thing? Getting emotions suppressed because it’s supposed to be safer. If I got insulted for existing and couldn’t get angry about it, I’d probably just feel awful.”

“Oh. huh.”

“Sorry to wreck your dreams.”

“It’s fine. Here, you get some snacks, my treat. Just get me some chai. I’ll find us a table to sit at”

“Ok. mwa! Don’t feel bad about the idea, I’m sure you could do something really cool if you think on it. So don’t start feeling bad about yourself for thinking about helping people.”

“No kissing! Not until I know it’s safe!... 

…What the heck am I doing, of course there’d be problems like that with an aura like this. How would I even set up magic fields in specific locations, I doubt the owner here is going to willingly teach it. I’m putting my feelings over others again aren’t I. Ever since I was told about this place I can't stop thinking about how everything would have been fine if I had an aura like this then. Maybe Abi wouldn't be stuck in a wheelchair. 

It's only supposed to affect familiars right? Wonder why it affects others like this. I think I read somewhere that mimics used to be familiars to wizards. Maybe I'm Abi's familiar now…”

“What are you mumbling hun?”

“Oh! Nothing! Don't worry about it!”

“Ok? Want a bite hun? There’s so many cute pastries here!”

“I can't eat pastries anymore, only meat. I pretty much just stick to the tea here. It's good tea.”

“That's so sad. Enjoy your dirty leaf water. I got some apple pie. Jealous?”

“Not really.”

“Mmmm, so good! This place is really cute though, Apparently you can take any of the fruit growing on the tree there. It's a little cramped but you could call it cozy. When we get a cat do you think we could bring it here?”

“I think it needs to be a cat familiar. You could start practicing to become a witch. But this place is nice I guess. I usually come here after work, you should try some of the tea here hun, it pretty much cures any migraines I get.”

“I'll stick to pepsi.”

“Well glad you like the place. I think you'd like Mabel too.”

“Oh she seemed really nice when I was paying. So… did you just want tea or was this place part of your study.”

“...I just wanted to stop by for tea. We can head over to the next place soon. You'd like it. It's called the Heart Mender boutique!”

“I don't mind staying here longer with you hun. Let's just sit a bit longer.”

* * *

“Ok, the recorder is back on.”

“Hun what happened, you can't just start freaking out for no reason and run out of the store. And your first instinct is to start documenting it, that's not healthy.

“Look I'm sorry, I just wanted to go clothes shopping, but something felt really strange, I tried to ignore it for a while. I feel bad for making a scene but I had to leave.”

“Hun, you've been panicking a lot lately, and you just take out that recorder if anything ever goes wrong. Have you talked with your therapist about this?”

“I have. Look, I’ll be fine, but right now I need to record these thoughts. please just tell me what you thought of the boutique ok?”

“...Alright. Fine. Uh, It was really nice. The one at the counter, Samara I think, showed us around the place. There were a lot of different styles and shapes for all the clothes. Like even ones that therians could wear. I bet it felt really cool for you when you saw that jacket with the four sleeves. You don’t usually have four arms but it’s inclusive and I know you like that stuff. It’s cool. I even asked and apparently the owner makes them! She sounds cool. Plus it seems like they'd be able to help you pick out an outfit. You’ve never had a good sense of style.

“Thanks hun. I can count on you to always sneak in an insult about my past self. Well, It helped calm me down I guess. Hey, uh, not part of my point, but… I don’t really go to boutiques. Is pottery a thing they usually sell?”

“Not really? The accessories, like necklaces, are pretty normal, but I’ve never seen pottery being sold in one. They’re really cute though. I love the one you bought. You could grow some bamboo in it. And Thank you again for getting me this necklace by the way. It's so cute!”

“So you didn't notice anything else?”

“Hun… If something's the matter you have to tell me. It's just a nice place. I want to visit here again.”

“You remember how at the beach I mentioned I could always tell when I was being looked at?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, I could feel something else watching us. I don't know what, but something was there. Looking through the eyes of everyone. No, that's not right. Like everyone everywhere was seeing me in one place.” 

“Ok, maybe we should focus on breathing. Just calm down for a moment. Even if you're right about, whatever you're trying to say. It's still none of our business. Everyone in the shop are nice, and I don't see anything bad about the store online. Is it really that big of a problem for your new senses?”

“It's not. I'm sure whatever secrets the Heart Mender boutique has, it's their business. I just. I wish I wasn't the only mimic. I could tell whatever connection there was, it was something my instincts wanted. It wouldn't stop screaming at me that I should be the same way with my own kind. I was jealous. Whatever I felt in there, I wish I had it… Abigail, don't get near me. I could bite!”

“You won't. I just know, and you could use a hug. I wanna go back inside, they had a lot of cool stuff. I'll hold your hand while we're there, and I'll help you pick out some cool clothes.”

“...I feel so weird, in a, how can I be this dumb, sort of way. Let's hope I haven't scared anyone.”

“There's no other mimics, so you could just say it's a mimic thing and no one would know.”

“Jeez hun, hahaha, I can't just go around lying like that.”

“Hey, technically, it was a mimic thing. And turn off your recorder this time. No recording equipment remember.”

* * *

“So, the next location is an interesting one. And I think you'll probably want to wait in the car for now. And before you say anything, listen. I actually mean that this place is apparently really bad to stay in. Thayer Library is something of a ghost story. Where they say people feel the presence of something watching them”

“So, you want to see if you can feel their presence then?”

“Yep! Also it's a spooky haunted library, how could we not go here for a date! Oh! There it is, come on! Oh this is going to be great. It’s close to sunset too! Alright, let’s get going hun, I’ll go get the wheelchair.”

“Actually, could I stay inside?”

“Is everything alright? Are you feeling haunted.”

“... I think if I step inside I’ll die.”

“Oh. oh, you’re serious. Alright, I’ll be quick. Stay safe then, I’ll be right back…

…Huh, is. Is this it? It’s barely a tingle. It’s certainly empty. I don’t even see a receptionist. Is it open? I guess I’ll just do a quick read and leave. Suppose I can spend time documenting behavior. Something is definitely watching. But it’s not thousands like last time, just a few. Something big, but strangely calming. I feel completely relaxed here, like I don’t have any problems. Who’s watching? And why does it not bother me? It’s not human, so then it’s some other force, is it a guard, a curious visitor? Well I’m in a library, I guess I should read…

…I wonder if this place has any books on mimics. The books here feel like they could disintegrate with a touch, but there’s not a speck of dust on them. Maybe I could actually find some information on us. Huh, this might be my first real chance at a lead. This could be perfect! I could… Why is Abi calling? Wait… It’s already been an hour!? How?! When!? Ugh, I’ll have to come back here later. I get the sense I’m not wanted here. Maybe Abigail is right, this place could be dangerous.

There’s one more location to go to. I’d rather not head there in a bad mood. I think I’ll check out a book. Mimics surround us? Yeah I wish. Ominous title, and what are the chances I pull this book out at random… I should go.”

* * *

“Mayday, is the place closed?”

“Yeah, it's closed, apparently some sort of crime happened a while ago and they’re closed to the public. I can only imagine what anti-therian story is being spun right now. I just hope they don’t try to contact Erian’s clinic about this. They treat me like a child who needs to hand the phone over to a dad.”

“God, I hate this place, why did we even have to come here?”

“The zoo is important to visit, even if it's the culmination of everything awful in this city. I know people who live here. I hope they're ok… Do you think I'd end up living here in a tiny glass cage if I did go all the way with mimic HRT?”

“I don't want to think about that hun. Let's just go already.”

“...Sometimes when I go to the support group, someone doesn't show up, and I can always tell what everyone's thinking. The first thought is always that they went full feral, that they're stuck here, that we've been forgotten again. I always make sure to visit here every month. Just in case. It's never actually happened. Except the once. It makes me think what would happen if a colony of mimics showed up in Hyper city. Would we be accepted? Or would we be all cornered into this zoo for the sake of a fake safety that only exists in people's heads. What I would give to see this place turned to rubble.”

“Do you need another hug hun?”

“I'll be fine.”

“You could use another hug.”

“I guess I could yeah. It’s hard to stay sad when you’re around.”

“So did you figure some stuff out today?”

“Oh absolutely not, Erian is going to be pissed when he finds out I have nothing. But it was fun. And I got to spend some time with you, which is always a plus. Let’s do this again next time, and maybe I won’t be so buried in my own head. We can go to a spa or something. Some good old sight seeing.”

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Start - Prev - Next

Hey y'all, This one took us quite a while to write out, two weeks to write out, including a nearly completed scrapped script. Anyway, this chapter is very special to us because it uses a lot of fun locations that others have created. Hyper city is an amazing setting that has given us so much to work with and has become the perfect place to write about. We wanted to showcase some of our favorite places and if any of them interest you, you should go read where they came from.

Kaiju beach: @noreo-oreo

The roost café: @ashedink

The Heart mender boutique: @home-sweet-hive

Thayer library: @dawning-mars

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Mention list: @a-shramp, @calliecwrites, @be702, @respectfulevil, @hyacinthdoll1315

@aster-is-confused, @bloodandbrandywyne, @glitchgloop, @nyxthewary, @lunadook

[sainamoonshine]

Okay so I saw that @foxy-alien made art of a TLT house swap AU and it started me thinking about how I’d do a similar AU… I did that instead of sleeping last night btw.

So here’s what I have so far:

Ninth House: Ianthe, Corona and Babs. Once upon a time a woman and a baby fell on their planet. When they saw the woman’s red hair they thought “ugh what Third House bullshit is this” and while they kept the corpse, they sent the baby back. We don’t want this keep your trash. They have their own drama to deal with anyway; the tomb needs its keeper to be a necromancer. Corona, while officially the heir and Reverent Daughter, is not one. Ianthe and her started hiding her lack of talent before their parents explained the whole “unbroken chain of the tomb keeper’s necromantic bloodline” thing. So long as Ianthe is around, the twins expect that everything is still fine. Still, their house hovers on the edge of breaking a promise of ten thousand years once their parents die and Corona inherits the duties of the tomb… unless they find a way to make Corona a necromancer, either by turning her into a lyctor, by making Ianthe a lyctor and then Ianthe makes her necromantic (?), or they just straight up ask Jod for a boon.

Eight House: Abigail and Magnus. Everyone is surprised when they meet them, as they do not meet the traditional pattern of their house; especially when you know the fact that Abigail’s cavalier was supposed to be a cousin but was replaced by Magnus when he married Abigail — their blood type was, luckily (or unluckily?) compatible. Like, who the fuck would want to be an Eight House cavalier??? (Magnus would. He think going into the river is exciting. He also trusts his wife.) It’s usually only when Abigail starts actually doing necromancy that people remember she’s scary AF. Through her interest in ghosts, she has developed her own custom safeguards against Magnus getting possessed when she siphons him… or if he does get possessed, she is a quick and extremely brutal exorcist.

Seventh House: Palamedes and Camilla. Pal decided on his medicine focus due to his house’s propensity for weird necromantic cancer. He firmly believes that if he can just find a way to either stabilize or treat it, the inhabitants of the seventh house will live more comfortable lives. He is considered something of an heretic due to this, but house leadership is willing to ‘let him cook’ -> they’ll wait to see if a necromancer with a stable cancer is still powerful before they decide whether to censure his research or not.

Sixth House: Jeannemary and Isaac. They’re still young, but very good at getting into places they’re not supposed to be, particularly by breaking wards and then rebuilding them better. Both of them keep trying to apply into the cohort but the scholars of the Sixth see Isaac’s skills with wards and want him to pursue academia instead. When the summons to Canaan House came the council all looked at each other, remembered they still had to appoint a new master warden after the last one passed, figured that nobody wanted to abandon their current study/experiments to go participate to what would be sure to be a tedious dick measuring contest with the other house heirs, and decided to invoke an obscure emergency clause in a law book somewhere in order to appoint Isaac to the title. He and Jeannemary really were the only ones who actually wanted to go to Canaan.

Fifth House: Dulcinea and Protesilaus. It is a shame that her health is so poor, because she would otherwise have become a hell of an ruler. While she has an ease with history and academia, her true skill is diplomacy. Dulcinea can get a very accurate read on most people, and she knows how to use their own psychology against them to make them agree to her ideas. She looks nice and fragile, but she is cunning. Meanwhile, Protesilaus is surprisingly good at paperwork for a guy who looks like he eats skulls for breakfast.

Fourth House: Judith and Martha. This AU version of them is less cocksure, but just as proficient at gathering information, profiling people, and writing down ample notes. Their rank in the cohort is lower than in canon, and they often get assigned to the tasks nobody else wants. Such as: overseeing security on ships bringing prisoners to the Ninth House prison installation… and this is how Judith and Corona met.

Third House: Harrow and Gideon. Once upon a time, the Ninth House sent them an orphan they claimed was theirs. The King and Queen didn’t pay the mystery much mind and stuck the baby in an orphanage. They had their own troubles to deal with: the royal family had not been able to produce a necromantic heir yet, and the vassal families were closing in. They figured that they couldn’t let a lesser branch of the family inherit the Third; it had never been done, would discredit them in the eyes of the other Houses, and would cause political instability. So in order to ensure the necromantic potential of their latest vat baby experiment, the King and Queen sacrificed the children in one of the lesser orphanages. They claimed that an hull breach in the space station caused the poisonous air of the planet’s upper atmosphere to get inside the ventilation system… except there was one survivor. The King and Queen were weirded out by that seemingly unkillable toddler but public opinion was heavily positive towards the ‘miracle survivor’. Not to mention having at least one person survive the incident helps make the ‘it was an accident’ excuse sound more credible. So the King and Queen brought the child to the palace and decided to do some PR by giving her a place to live and an education, and eventually made her the Cavalier of their (powerful) new daughter.

Second House: Silas and Column. Duty-bound, fanatic, no fun allowed Silas is a bit young for military service, but that doesn’t stop him from climbing the ranks. Column is still used as a battery, even in this AU, except his role is to start killing people to produce the initial necromantic boom to give Silas something to work with when they deploy to new battlefields. He hates doing this btw.

[fireinmoonshot]

Rooster and wearing the others’ clothes so that it can at least feel like they’re hugging them, even for just a moment

“Angel, you home?”

Bradley’s voice is so loud from the front door that there’s no way you can miss it, or the sound of him kicking off his shoes and shoving them into the shoe rack. You turn the television volume down a little bit and call out to him, letting him know you’re home.

He wanders into the living room a second later, running a hand over his hair.

The sight of him immediately brings a smile to your face.

“Hey, handsome,” you smile up at him. “Welcome home.”

Bradley sinks down on the couch beside you and wraps his arms around you, pressing a kiss to the side of your head. “What are you watching? Anything I’d like?”

“Course not,” you grin. “Couldn’t start a show you’d like without you, could I?”

It’s only then that Bradley notices what you’re wearing. He recognises the shirt, can even smell his own cologne on it. He hasn’t seen the shirt in weeks – just two days ago he’d been confused over its disappearance, wondering how he could lose a whole shirt.

“Where did you find this?” He asks, tugging gently on the fabric.

You look between him and the shirt and then smile sheepishly and start to pull the blanket that was on your lap up over the shirt, as if you’re trying to hide it. “It was just in the washing.”

Bradley shakes his head. “No, angel, it wasn’t.” An idea pops into his mind. “Have you had this all along? It’s been missing for a few weeks now.”

It’s then that you realise you have no choice but to come clean to him. He’s seen it now and there’s no hiding it anymore – you hadn’t expected him home for another hour or two and had planned to take it off and hide it away again before he arrived.

“Okay, don’t hate me…”

“I could never.”

“Remember a few weeks ago? We went out for dinner at that new pub?” You begin and Bradley nods in understanding. “And then we came home and…” You trail off.

Bradley smiles to himself. “And then we came home and threw all our clothes on the floor and I made love to you?”

“Yeah, that,” you chuckle. “Well, when you got up the next morning and left for work, I was the one who ended up picking up our clothes, and I noticed that this shirt just… well, it smelt like you, and it made me feel like you were here with me, so I kind of… shoved it in my bottom drawer and have been wearing it whenever I miss you. It makes it feel like I’m getting a Bradley hug when you’re not here.”

He looks at you for a few moments. That was the last thing Bradley had expected you to say. He’d had no idea where the story was going, but it was certainly not this. His heart feels warmer, though, upon hearing your words, and his love for you is stronger than ever.

“Why didn’t you just tell me, angel?” He tugs you into his chest, one of his hands starting to draw patterns on your back instinctively. “Would’ve saved me looking for it for so long.”

“I don’t know,” you say, wrapping your arms around him to keep him close. You can smell the cologne on the shirt he’s wearing, and it’s much, much better than smelling him through a few weeks old t-shirt. “I was worried you thought it’d be strange.”

Bradley shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s strange at all. It’s pretty damn cute, actually.”

“You think so?” You look up at him.

“I do,” he nods, and then leans down to peck your lips. “You wear it better than me anyway. But…”

You furrow your eyebrows. “But what?”

Bradley leans down so his lips are by your ear. “Now that I’m here, you don’t need an old t-shirt to remind you of me, so how about we… remove it?” His fingers start to play with the hem of your shirt and he moves back to see the look in your eyes.

“Deal,” you smirk, “but only if yours comes off too…”

[dwcmarshalarts]

I adore your style and content - I’m considering doing masters studies of some of your pieces just to try it out, but I’m still fairly new to art. I was curious if there’s any part of your process or any particular advice you’d have?

Gave this answer before to someone who asked me the same question, and I think it still counts! 1) Build stamina. You can do this by drawing often- and with intention. Start your drawing with a warm up- something light, not overly serious. Focus more on the literal mechanical feeling of your hand moving to draw. Then focus on the heavier stuff after you’ve both literally and mentally warmed up, setting the stage for more involved drawing. Make this a routine and drawing overall will be less tiring over time.

2) Focus on replicability, not detail. This goes hand in hand with the previous point. A lot of people develop a kind of perfectionism early on, where they get overly attached to a specific sketch and don’t wanna budge from it, and put details until it “looks good,” even when the subject as a whole is wonky. I like to equate this to “too much icing, not enough cake,” or “building on sand foundations.” I’ve been there before, and it can hold you back. Instead of focusing on a specific piece and how you rendered it that one time, focus on how you render it such that you could do something similar, easily replicate the concept. Once you’ve built more stamina, you can open up the gates to tackling the same subject matter in different ways.

3) Mind your mark making. Some folks agonize over the tiniest detail, sometimes for hours. At the end of the day, that itself doesn’t necessarily bring improvement- that’s more of a test of patience. Unless someone specifically asks, you don’t- for example- need to draw every single ridge of every knob on a switchboard in great detail. These things can be implied through mark making. Remember, a lot of drawing isn’t about literally making something for people to see- it’s tricking the eye into believing what’s drawn is actually there. You’ll be amazed at what detail can be like even when you don’t define every part.

4) Drawing is more seeing than “making it up.” * Don’t be afraid to use references and such. It’ll help you render form than imagining it- sometimes the imagination can conjure things incorrectly. *Even seasoned artists who don’t typically use too much references need to do studies from life or books every now and then to reinforce skills.

One point I didn't add before for style things specifically is: 5) Look where the artist got their inspirations from if you want to learn from them. No art exists within a vaccuum, everyone has their influences. Trying to do a study from someone's art will only take you so far- because then it'll feel more like mimicry than actual, learned study. Research or try to see parallels with artists that you might think had a hand in influencing a given artist's style. Notice the patterns there- certain textures are invoked here, this form was defined like this, etc. A lot of folks confuse wanting "more of a thing" as opposed to "what makes that thing desirable/unique." If you'd like to know where some of my influences come from, I'd say look at the works of Squiddy, covers for Hellboy comics, and the Snowpiercer graphic novel.

Addendum: If you're looking to draw anatomy specifically- study from real anatomy, and learn how to do those before you begin to "break the rules" (exaggerate, anthropomorphize, etc). For resources on that, I'd recommend the Morpho books (all of them haha) and Dynamic Human Anatomy by Roberto Osti.

Hope this helps somewhat, feel free to ask if I missed anything.

[kirislovelygf]

after the storm (kiri sully x fem! omaticayan reader)

contents: angsty, wlw angst, kiri’s leaving the forest and you have to say goodbye, kissing

wrd count: 1.4k

｡･:* ʚĭɞ

thunder sounded through the land of the forest as y/n sat in her tree house.

she has just found out her girlfriend had to leave the forest with her family forever. and she’d never be able to see her again.

tomorrow morning, the new olo’eyktan will take jake’s place. and her and her family would disappear.

a week before this, kiri and her siblings were taken away by sky people who died and then came back as avatars searching for revenge against her father.

y/n had never been so scared in her life when she heard kiri was being held against her will.

kiri had asked her to meet her at their spot in their tree. they made a bungalow-like treehouse in the tree just for them to spend time in.

there was an open wall that looked upon the heads of the trees of the forest. it began raining softly as y/n sat at the edge of the treehouse.

kiri had climbed up the tree and jumped into the house before sighing out. “i don’t remember that tree being so tall.”

y/n looked back and smiled at her struggling. she always makes a bigger deal out of the height of the tree than is necessary.

kiri walks over and sits down next to y/n.

“how did you convince your dad to let you come here?” she laughed.

“oh, easy. i just didn’t tell him.” she said.

“hm.” y/n side eyes her and kiri just laughs in amusement.

they stare into the night in silence, trying to ignore the inevitable conversation they know they have to have.

kiri had found a necklace she remembered making when she first met y/n. she pulled it out of her bag and held it before looking up at y/n.

“i had made this for you a while ago. i guess now’s the best time to give it to you.” kiri muttered to her, handing her the necklace.

y/n looks down at the artwork with admiration.

“you did?”

kiri nods.

she holds the necklace in cupped hands like it was the most precious jewel in the world. “it’s so pretty.” she smiled.

“here, let me put it on you.” kiri gets up and crouched behind y/n. she hands her the necklace so kiri could put it on.

kiri gently pulls y/n’s hair aside and y/n holds it in place. the necklace was long and the pendant laid comfortably on y/n’s top.

“now, when you miss me, you can look at this and it’ll remind you of me.” kiri said softly. y/n picked up the pendant to look at its pattern.

it was a turquoise colored rock kiri had carved to make it look like a spiral. the beads that lead up to the clasp were shiny rocks kiri had found in a pond.

“aw, kiri.” y/n sighs out. she looks up at the girl with teary eyes.

y/n throws her arms around kiri and hugs her tightly, burying her face into her shoulder.

“please don’t go.” she cried softly.

kiri sighed and hugged her back. the tears she had held back the entire way there were making their way down her face.

“i’m sorry.” kiri cried.

they held each other until rain started to pour down and little drops fell on their legs.

kiri pulls away and holds y/n’s face. her thumbs crossed her cheeks gently, taking away her tears.

“i have to.”

“no, just stay here. i don’t want you to go.” the girl responded.

kiri sighed. these girls thought they’d last forever, just like any other young couple would.

“my father just wants us to be safe. what else can we do?” she asked her.

“if we stay here, more sky people will try to come after my father. and our people will get hurt. you could get hurt.” kiri said softly. she held y/n’s hands that rested on her lap.

“but look, wherever i go, i will not forget you. i’ll always love you. please, don’t be sad.”

y/n can’t bear to look kiri in the eye, because she knows if she does, she’ll start crying and might never stop.

“i don’t want to move on from you. i know we’re young and everything and i have my whole life ahead of me.. but i love you too much for you to just become a memory to me.” she sighed out.

the girls sit there, crying softly, before they eventually stop, and just enjoy the little time they have left together.

y/n had her head on kiri’s shoulder and kiri’s arm was around her.

they stared at the treetops that acted as a blanket over the forest, listening to the rain patter. while their feet dangled over the edge.

“y/n.”

“hm?”

“i don’t want my last memory of you to be us crying with the people as we leave. i want my last memory here.” she said softly.

y/n looks up slightly. “okay.”

“and i don’t want it to be sad either.” their eyes meet and they had sad smirks on their faces, both of them.

“how do we make our last night together not sad?” she asks kiri.

“we can just pretend.. that i’m not going anywhere. just for tonight.” kiri suggested. y/n looks back down and tightens the grip her arms had around kiri.

“alright.” she mumbled. kiri smiled at the girl before kissing the top of her head.

the girls hung out in the treehouse for the next couple hours, talking, laughing, making jewelry for each other, sharing sweet kisses, and enjoying each other's presence before the sun came up.

jake knew where she was and who she was with and decided he would leave them be for the night.

he knew how much kiri cared for that girl, and wanted them to have as much time together as they could before leaving.

the next day, it was time for the sully family to leave.

kiri asked y/n not to be there when the role of olo’eyktan was passed to tarsem, so they could keep their promise of the rainy night being their last memory or each other.

but y/n couldn’t help herself. she waited out the morning for as long as she could before racing to the ceremony before it was too late.

she swung through the trees, jumping from branch to branch, praying to eywa she’ll make it in time to see her.

she finally made it just as her family was leaving and watched from a branch above.

“oh thank you, great mother.” she sighed out in relief. “i’ll never disobey you again.”

she swung down to the floor to catch kiri in time as her family was walking away from the people.

kiri spotted y/n as she clutched her shawl over her shoulders. her eyes widened and ran to hug her.

“y/n, what are you doing here? i thought we agreed-“

“i know. i just couldn’t stay away. i need to see you one more time, i’m sorry.” y/n cried into her shoulder.

kiri sighs out and held her head in her hand. “aw, my sweet girl.” she cried softly.

they hugged each other for the last time, crying softly into each other.

kiri’s siblings walked ahead of their parents to get the ikran ready to leave while jake and neytiri waited for them.

neytiri almost broke down watching her daughter bid goodbye. she hadn’t met anyone who made kiri as happy as she was.

and to watch her leave her, and her home. she couldn’t take it.

but her and jake knew it was for their own good. for both girls. they’d both be safer this way.

y/n watched as they mounted their ikran and flew into the sky, away from the forest.

it took a while for them to move on from each other, find new loves, but they never forgot about each other.

even as y/n grew older, she never threw away or put away the necklace kiri gave her.

and kiri had many mementos y/n made for her that she jake and neytiri asked her to get rid of because they were taking up space but she never budged.

it wasn’t up for debate, the love they had for each other would never leave.

｡･:* ʚĭɞ

[handsome-wise-strong]

Can I get some Lucemond fic recs? I’m new to the fandom ☺️

First of all, welcome to the fandom! I hope you enjoy your time in our little corner of tumblr. There are countless great fics out there I could recommend you to read but I’ll try to keep the list short and simple for now. I don’t wanna overwhelm you!

Here’s my favorites:

Remember the lives we once lived — Unohanabbygirl

This is a series and it focuses on the Targs reincarnated in modern times. The first fic in the series I read was Forget me not, which focuses around a troubled and amnesiac Luke. The author creates such vivid world building in the fic, and the characterization of not only Luke but everyone else in the family is truly incredible. It’s so immersive and complex and I feel like a kid on Christmas whenever it updates. I also highly recommend you check out the other fics in the series — A whole new world in which I don’t belong (which focuses on Alicent’s backstory and is just so so so good) and Take me with you before you fall (Aemond’s life after he accidentally killed Luke!!) There’s nothing else like it in the world!

new contact: luke — Everild

This is also a modern au. It focuses on Aemond, who has joined the priesthood. It incorporates modern notions about incest, adding a delicious sheen of guilt and self-loathing around the entire fic. This, paired with a healthy dose of religious guilt, makes for an intriguing read that leaves you craving more.

Glass cases — lockandkey

Another modern au that centers around reincarnated Lucemond. It’s a bit of a slow burn (which I’m addicted to) and there’s a lot of tip-toeing around feelings in this fic! Overall very soft and a little bit angsty at times. I adore it!!

Ægishjálmur - theartificialintellect

I read each update as soon as it comes out, that’s how much I love this fic. It’s a viking au, featuring seer! Lucerys!! If you’re a fan of history or Norse mythology you’ll love this one. It’ll keep you on your toes and leave you wondering about all the mystery surrounding Luke’s visions and Aemond’s family.

Athamé - theartificialintellect

This is one of my favorite Lucemond fics. If you like old manor houses, strange occurrences in the night, and dark family secrets, this will be the perfect read for you. It has a very gothic romance/horror vibe that I always crave, and wraps up so well in the end.

Empyrean Blaze — theartificialintellect

Alright, I’m just a really big fan of theartificialintellect lol 💀 anyway, this fic is not for the faint of heart, but I still highly recommend it. It’s a dark fic, focusing around a demon Aemond and a vengeful Luke, so if that’s your style, go for it.

Time Has Gone — Minos_TT

An A/B/O fic set during Rhaenyra’s time on the iron throne. Luke has had Aemond’s bastard while in the Vale, and returns to King’s Landing with his son in tow. Secret kid plot lines are always a treat to me, and little Laenor in this fic is one of my favorite Lucemond kids!

The Holiday — archimedesprinciple

Another modern au!! I’m a sucker for fics framed around holidays, so this one was very comforting to read. It’s probably the Lucemond fic I go back to read most often, just so I can feel like it’s Christmas again.

In Darkness there is Love — springofmylove

Modern au again (I’m starting to see a pattern) Luke gets injured in this and loses his sight. Aemond takes his nephew under his wing and pining and tenderness follows. I adore the hell out of this fic and the way the author has written Lucemond’s dynamic.

Luke Rivers AU — Unusual-Raccoon

It takes quite a bit for me to fully enjoy smut (I’m asexual) but my friend here writes so well that I couldn’t help but to eat this series up. Aemond’s characterization is spot-on, as well — something I really appreciate seeing in fics!!

For the Wildest Mystery I Know — NinthRiver

This only has one chapter up but I adore it already. It features Luke (Lucerys Flowers in this) living a quiet life on his farm when Aemond shows up to turn his life upside down (again) I’m really looking forward to seeing where it goes!

a losing game — monkkeyslut

I recently started this one (late to the game) and it has me hooked. Set in modern times with the Targs as royalty, it incorporates the characters so well. It features a secret relationship between Lucemond, and brings a lot of miscommunication and oblivious idiots in love to the table.

Star-Crossed — DominaReginald

Another one I binged just recently! Luke gets taken hostage by the Greens and Aemond is absolutely down bad whipped for him. *chefs kiss* the best flavor!

you whom i should love above all things — ser_pounce

A modern au featuring a religious Aemond (yes I have a type) Things get steamy between Lucemond during a family holiday get-together and religious guilt and sneaking around pursues. Delicious stuff :)

no morning glory (it was war) — dandelion_weed

Another A/B/O (my beloved) in which Luke presents while in Winterfell. Aemond is very much not down with letting his nephew mate with someone else, so he takes matters into his own hands and heads out to claim Luke for himself. There’s only two chapters for now, but I still highly recommend it.

I said I’d keep this short… that was a lie, wasn’t it? Anyway, I hope you enjoy these fics! I know I did 🫶🏻

[cryingatwindermerepeaks]

My complete list of all fandom Agere HCs (very incomplete so far)

So essentially this is just a collection of every single character I HC as a little, caregiver or switch + a little summary about them :)

Fandoms Included: Marvel (and Agents of SHIELD), The hunger games, Friends, Descendants, New Girl, Marauders, Daisy Jones and the Six, Brooklyn Nine-nine, Barbie (2023), Possibly more to come…

Let me know which fandom you found this post whilst looking for and I’ll try to finish it as soon as I can!!

Marvel:

Natasha Romanoff: Nat regresses to around 3. Because of the red room she suppressed her regression for a long time and it was by accident that Clint found out - eventually Coulson, Maria and Fury found out too but it took years for her to be comfortable with her regression. Sweetest little ever though, super cheeky too. It’s kind of impossible for every caregiver in her life not to buy her every single toy they find, so she’s amassed a large collection. She really likes duplo, less the building more the smashing it down.

Wanda Maximoff: Caregiver… I think… honestly I’ve read both with her and haven’t minded either. I don’t particularly think of her as a switch though. At the end of the day I think caregiver just makes more sense for her. She likes to make sure the people she loves feel cared for. She cooks her littles all the best foods, her magic is very helpful for grabbing toys that drop under the couch and sometimes she projects pretty patterns on the roof for her little to watch.

Kate Bishop: Kate ‘Katie’ regresses to around 4. She’s quite comfortable with her regression but struggles letting other people know about it, especially Clint. She hid it from Clint at first because she thought he was so cool and was kinda embarrassed. However after one particularly bad mission she’s feeling super little and doesn’t know who to call so she calls Clint (I’ll do a whole other part on this if you guys want). She’s super fidgety and playful when she’s little, she thinks everything is funny and is almost always laughing. She has a toy bow and arrow (a present from Clint which Laura does not support).

Yelena Belova: Like Kate, Yelena regresses to around 4. Like Nat, she really struggles to be open about her regression but Kate helps her a lot with that. She’s a very talkative little, though a lot of it’s hard to make out. As far as caregivers for her go I’m on the fence, I think I’ll have a better idea after Thunderbolts comes out. I can only really see her being comfortable regressing around Nat (so that’s kind of out of the question…), Kate (they take it in turns to regress - I can’t explain how much their friendship means to me), or Melina and Alexei (but I struggle to believe she’d be comfortable being that vulnerable in-front of them after everything)

Maria Hill: Maria is a switch, Mia when she’s little (around 6). She hides her little side for AGES (most of my hcs for Mia are based off these fanfics I read a while ago, I don’t remember what they were called). She’s super independent, she loves playing with the other littles but sometimes gets a bit overwhelmed by how loud little Nat can get. She likes to build forts under Fury’s desk - he’s her primary caregiver. When she’s big she’s a great caregiver, she mainly watches Nat. She has a whole corner set up in her office for littles and a fridge filled with all the best snacks.

Bucky Barnes:

Steve Rogers:

Sam Wilson:

Agents of Shield:

Daisy Johnson: Daisy (Skye) is a little, she regresses to around 2-4. She’s a very cuddly little, always near her Mama and Dada (Coulson and May). When she first joined the team she tried to hide her regression but it lasted like a month before Coulson figured it out. She regresses most of the time after missions and it helps everyone wind down. She has this little worn old blanket that she can’t sleep without.

Jemma Simmons: Jemma regresses to around 4. She is the biggest rule follower you’ll ever meet - sometimes the others do things May and Coulson wouldn’t like and it scares her a lot, but sometimes she can be convinced to join in… She loves story time and refuses to go to sleep if she doesn’t get a story. She obviously loves all her siblings but thinks her big sister Bobbi is the coolest and most grown up girl in the world.

Leo Fitz: Fitz (though he goes by Leo when he’s little) regresses to 6, he’s the oldest of the three og bus kids and takes his role very seriously. Aka, he’s super bossy. He loves lego and has a million different sets, which all have to be completed properly, sometimes after the brain injury Coulson has to help him because his hands are too shaky and it upsets him. He also naturally has like a million stuffed monkey toys, his favourite is one with those Velcro hands (idk if you guys know what I’m talking about) he likes to stim by pulling the Velcro apart and putting it back together.

Bobbi Morse: Bobbi regresses to around 8-ish. She’s a very hyperactive little, she always wants to set up obstacle courses and play rough which would be fine except the other littles are all much younger than her and so not as interested in that kind of play, Daisy tries her best though. Mainly Mack plays with her. She’s a great big sister, always keeping an eye out for the little ones. She’s very emotional when she’s little, she also really loves dogs.

Phil Coulson: Coulson is the Caregiver equivalent of a Super Soldier. He just somehow always seems to know when they feel little and what they need. He’s always at the ready with some (captain America themed) little gear and a bottle of milk (if May asks it’s definitely not chocolate milk). As I’m writing this I’m watching AOS S2 EP5 34:28 and if you need any proof that Coulson is caregiver material just watch that scene.

Melinda May: May is as practiced and all knowing in being a caregiver as she is at everything else. She has this ability to make littles feel immediately at ease because she seems to always know what to do, they can just relax and fully let her take care of them. There is a gentler side of her which is only shown to her littles. She’s stricter than Coulson but always fair.

The Hunger Games:

Katniss Everdeen: You guys already know all about my little Katniss (I never shut up about her), but for the sake of this post you get more anyway: She regresses to around 5. She has a comfort pacifier, which she got from Madge Undersee and she keeps with her at all times. Haymitch is her primary caregiver but eventually she learns to let Effie take care of her too. She’s the biggest sucker for physical affection - always on someone’s lap, cuddling, holding their hand - anything tactile helps soothe her. She tends to gravitate towards Peeta if he’s not regressed for comfort, and if he is she’s very protective of him.

Peeta Mellark: Regresses to around 3, his caregivers are primarily Finnick, Annie and Effie. He loves his big sisters (Kat and Jo) so much and is always following them around. Very affectionate, always cuddled up to someone. He regresses more after the hijacking.

Finnick Odair: Finnick is like the coolest dad ever. He’s really strong so he can carry the littles (even Peeta) which they adore. He’s always down for one more bed time story, a spontaneous treehouse building project or the fanciest tea party the littles could ever imagine. He loves taking them out to the beach in the morning (in my head they all end up moving to district 4 to be together) and he teaches Peeta to swim.

Annie Cresta: Annie adores her babies more than anything else. She’s quiet, but observant and very caring. She always knows what they need. She can recognise the slightest shift in mood and knows what to do. Johanna’s upset? Annie knows she’ll be in the treehouse. Peeta’s upset? He’s probably been having nightmares and needs a bottle and a nap. She knows Johanna needs a nightlight on but will never admit it, Peeta’s still a little bit scared of the water, Katniss (whilst not Annie’s little, they are still very close) needs physical contact to calm down. She is always there for them no matter what.

Johanna Mason: Jo regresses to around 7, her cgs are Annie and Finnick. She’s very strong headed and likes to boss Katniss and Peeta around - this causes a few issues for Katniss. Finnick helped her build a treehouse and she goes up there whenever she’s upset. She loves wearing overalls and they look soo cute on her.

Haymitch Abernathy: Haymitch tries his damn best. He loves Katniss, he knows he needs and wants to take care of her, but he often feels out of his depth. Really all that matters to him is that his little girl is happy and my gosh does he make sure of it. No one understands Katniss and Haymitch as much as they do each other. They are inseparable. Little Katniss thinks all of Haymitch’s dad jokes are funny, he thinks she’s the smartest little kid ever. He acts all tough but he hangs all her drawing on the fridge and he learnt to braid hair just for her!!

Effie Trinket: Effie loves enabling the kids. Like they’ve been through so much why should she say no if Peeta and Katniss want to eat ice cream for breakfast?! She tries and fails to convince Katniss to let her out bows in her hair but very quickly learns that Peeta likes them much more. She buys pretty much every stuffie she thinks the littles will like (Johanna included though Jo swears she doesn’t need little kid toys) and eventually she learns to sew so she can make them little clothes and stuffies herself.

Friends:

Rachel Green:

Joey:

Monica:

Chandler Bing:

Descendants:

Mal Bertha:

Evie Grimhilde:

Carlos De vil:

Jay:

Ben Florian:

New girl:

Jessica Day: Jess regresses to around 3/4ish. She doesn’t have a set caregiver but all the boys and Cece take care of her. She’s pretty much just the same big or little, she loves glitter, rainbows, polka dots. She has a massive collection of stuffies and sippy cups. She needs someone to sit with her as she falls asleep and she likes to hold someone’s hand when she crosses the road.

Marauders:

Remus Lupin:

Sirius Black:

James Potter:

Lily Evans:

Marlene McKinnon:

Daisy Jones and the Six:

Daisy Jones: Daisy regresses anywhere from 3-5. Simone is the first to know about her regression, she figures it out shortly after they move in together. Karen is the first to find out in the band (when she gets Daisy out of jail), then Billy (while they are recording the album), then Rod (at the start of the tour) and everyone else finds out after Nicky leaves. Daisy LOVES colouring books and doodling and just pretty much anything creative. She hates wearing shoes and is very picky with her food. She’s amassed a gigantic collection of stuffies but her favourite by far is this little bunny that Simone got for her. She’s really shy at first but once she trusts someone she’s really clingy and talkative.

Karen Sirko: Karen never wanted kids but she is completely dedicated to taking care of Daisy. She loves that girl more than anything. Shes really good at understanding when Daisy needs quiet time with just her to process and calm down (a sippy cup, cartoons and a colouring book) and when she needs something stimulating to do to keep her mind occupied (usually this includes letting her go outside and just run because despite how little she sleeps that girl has so much energy). No matter how Daisy is feeling Karen is always there with exactly what she needs.

Billy Dunne: At first Billy didn’t fully understand Daisy’s regression. But once he got it he was completely understanding. No matter if he’s on good or bad terms with big Daisy he can always put it aside for the sake of baby Daisy. When she regresses in the studio he likes to write and play little lullabies and kid songs for her which she adores. More often than not the rest of the band will leave them to write for the album and return to Billy singing and playing a song he’s come up with on the spot while Daisy jumps around sings along with him.

Camila Dunne: Camilla is a natural born caregiver. She knows Daisy is a little from that first night they meet. She doesn’t say anything at first because she really doesn’t know Daisy that well at all but she does bring it up to Karen who later confirms her suspicions. She’s very gentle and understanding with Daisy. Talking to her calmly when she’s overwhelmed, taking her side when she’s upset because of a fight big Daisy had with Billy.

Simone Jackson: Simone is the first person to figure out about Daisy’s regression and she’s the first person to ever make her feel validated and understanding of herself. She does everything she can to help Daisy become more accepting of herself. She buys her colouring books and pyjamas with kids cartoons on them and every time they are shopping and she sees Daisy eyeing a stuffie it goes straight in the cart. She worries about Daisy all the time and is constantly on damage control to make sure she takes care of herself. When she moves away she makes sure to call Daisy consistently both when she is big and little because she’s worried Daisy will get lonely.

Brooklyn nine-nine:

Jake Peralta:

Amy Santiago:

Captain Holt:

Barbie:

Barbie:

Gloria:

Dance Academy:

Tara: Tara regresses to around 4. She’s very clingy but also just damn adorable. She has a little lamb stuffie which she brings everywhere like she even keeps it in her dance bag when she has class. And again, very clingy to both Kat and Sammy. But that also means she adores them. Yknow (you probably don’t I doubt anyone who’s seen the show will see this) the scene at the end of s1 where her Clara dress goes missing and they ask what she needs and she only wants cat? Literally the most regressor coded moment ever.

Kat: Kat never would’ve expected she’d be able to take care of a little. In fact most times she rarely knows what she’s doing at all. But then she reminds herself it’s just Tara, and she loves T, so really, it’s not that hard. And truthfully she’s amazing at it. She always knows what she needs and how to calm her down.

Sammy: Sammy is more of an older brother to Tara. He spoke her rotten. Tara’s always quite uptight when she’s big and struggles to relax, even when she’s little. It’s sort of Sammy’s life goal to help her actually have some fun from time to time.

[pearlwhitecats]

Hey, your OCs are really cool, I love their designs!

I was wondering if you could give any advice on designing characters, or more specifically, fragmem Ocs like Azulan? I've been trying my hand at designing my own for awhile now, but they always feel like they're missing details.

Thank you so much!! I can give some tips on how I design characters 🙇‍♀️!! I have some examples prepared too for anyone who is interested! Azu shall be my model today since it’s fragmem related, but you can use these tips for any fandom/oc you want!

1. Personality ✨

Personality can influence the way your character dresses :0 the way they wear their jackets, scarves etc, can give you some opportunities to experiment with different styles!!

2. Silhouette ☁️

Silhouette is very important to a characters design. It can say a lot about your character, not just their personality! I also find it easier to add accessories after sketching out some base shapes of how I feel the outfit could look like!

3. Compare to the official characters 🩵

This is a preference, but personally I like to study the way the official artists draw the characters.

For Azulan, I looked at Wilmesh and Kurode’s design because I wanted something soft but street!

Take note of the kind of fabrics, patterns and accessories used in official characters, they could give you a feel of how to accessorise your oc in a way that could fit in that world.

4. Draft 📝

This is dependent on how you work, but just remember that many of the times, the first design you come up with may not be what you envisioned! Don’t be afraid to make more than 1 version of the outfit, you could end up loving another design more! You can create a whole new design or expand on the existing one, it’s up to you!

(Here’s a lil peek at Azulan’s original design! He had more flared out pants, and his jacket didn’t even exist then! 😮)

These are just tips I feel that help me out alot when I design characters, please don’t feel pressured to follow these tips, but try them out if you’re interested!! <3 🩵

If anyone has questions, send it to me thru my inbox! I enjoy helping people out with art and stuff 🙇‍♀️ tysm for reading!

[badnew2005]

dennis’ shirt in gets romantic . do you remember hoodiegate. blue and arguably stripey (simply because of how material works) a core emotional dennis motif. but these aren’t bold stripes. it’s The material that makes it seem stripey, all blended together, unending stripes, you can’t tell where one ends and another beings, it’s continuous, but still landscape. you don’t know where he is emotionally, and he doesn’t either. just come back from north dakota. pretending everything’s the same. knowing everything’s different. macs out. and he left. and came back. there are blue stripes.

then THE blue stripe dennis emotional shirt. big and bold. it’s got a different neckline than break up’s shirt but it’s essentially the same pattern. following the narrative of the episode. dennis is out (of the plan)… but he won’t leave. hearing mac set up dee and greg. the wink. confusion and then acceptance. “what do you mean the plan is in motion for me, i thought i was out” setting dennis up with lisa. maybe teddy was a platonic friend from highschool that makes greg jealous. maureen kicking mac out of their apartment after getting married to dennis. “so i’m still your leading man” the big stripes. big emotional arc. calling lisa “my roomie” when he has to flirt with her. drinking wine. helps when your sad. still got big blue stripes. you miss teddy and no one can replace him. macden coming home singing the boys are back in town. maureen couldn’t replace mac. i don’t love you maureen (looks at mac) i never loved you (maureen). blows hitting on lisa purposefully. if he really wanted to sleep with her “sex, banging” he wouldn’t have been that forward, knew it wouldn’t work. big blue stripes. i’m still your leading man. mac thinking that went great. i find you annoying this whole thing is annoying. i’m leaving (to mac’s room). you just have to trust the structure. Just Trust The Structure!!!

third and final dennis shirt. still blue. it’s checkered But the more prominent stripes are facing downward. a Change. the emotional blue stripes are still there but there’s new stripes, going in a different direction. horizontal stripes shown in closeted dennis moments. the macden story and frank and charlie’s stories mirroring eachother - as they once did in fights gay marriage/gets divorced. straight is gay. the stripes have changed. the whole worlds upside down and the emotional dennis stripes have twisted. stops trying to set dennis up with a woman and moving the focus to setting mac up with a man. it won’t play in middle america but we’ll jam it down their throats till they enjoy it. mac coming in and out of the closet like a yoyo. so you’ll help me. i will. emotionally charged macdennis moment. mac let’s go find you some romance. the stripes have changed. this cat is coming out of the wall. to get him out you introduce another cat and they get codependent then that second cat will come out and hopefully the first one will come out soon after. episode before gets romantic was mac finds his pride. Just Trust The Structure. the framing of dennis, with his horizontal and vertical stripes, standing behind mac (hoodiegate). if you just give us a chance, we could tell a love story for the ages (chuckles softly) (dennis is out of frame) a gay…. gay-ass love story. sunnys relationship with its audience and the media. greg i don’t know what you’re talking about … back to dennis. and his stripes. you can barely see the horizontal stripes. they’re mainly vertical. he’s changing. this is a turning point. it was me, it was always me. lisa’s here, focus on dennis. lisa as maureen lisa as mandy. he doesn’t want lisa here. now dennis and his stripes are out of frame again. moving away from the love story, teddy reveal, someone smarter than me could talk about father son relationships here. dennis isn’t over macs shoulder but we still go back to him. you can see the checkered shirt so clearly but the vertical stripes seem even more prominent up close. director glenn. trusting the structure. dennis shots isolated from macs “love story” until the reveal it wasn’t romantic. dennis ready with the speaker. that’s not romantic or comedic. i guess we’re not gonna get that romantic comedy ending after all. mac and dennis’ story mirroring charlie and franks’ Again. the stripes have changed. the cat is coming out of the wall. and i am trusting the structure