#aes || what belongs to the sea

[jimmysea]

All of Joe's belongings ae mine legally. And how are you gonna handle his ashes? I'll have them scattered into the sea. And all of his stuff, I'll burn them. So there will be no memories left. No Ming, those stuff is Joe's memories. Why not? Those belongings are mine. It's up to me what I wanna do with them. What right do you have?

MY STAND-IN (2024) - Episode 9

[o-hora-o]

oh goodness, we're on the same wavelength about einstein being an empty shell ! the vn brushed welt's death off so easily. also knowing that einstein only see her welt through joachim even in the present days (he inherited the name, but he is only the shadow of his predecessor to lieserl it seems) it tears me apart-

the 55 disater probably destroyed emma too. she lost carl, she lost erwin, nancy and welt, ein and tesla are in coma, and she now has to assume the responsability of parting from schiksal and create her own organization (powerful enough to survive the overseer himself since they are schiksal ennemies now). i recall that scene where ein vaguely mentioned that ae footstep in the wall was thanks to emma, so her loss impacted ae for the worst.

i'm curious, what do you think of einstein adopting coralie ? aside from the fact that joachim adopted a welt clone so that probably was a shock (it's fucked up tbh), but after all these years of her burying her feelings deep she adopted a child. that probably was a big surprise to everyone (also i find it hella funny that lieserl is still in denial considering her age and forbids coralie to call her mom, only big sis lmao)

Oh, I’m so glad that we’re on the same page! 

To this day, the relationship between Joachim and Ein remains something I cannot fully understand for it’s so twisted and complicated. Because, on the one hand, we have Lieserl who did not show much interest in Nokianvirtanen family? (I think the only time she did and talked to Elias was when she told him about Welt's arrival, that he needed a library card and to prank Welt with an "old geezer" test). It seems she treated Joachim as a brilliant neighbourhood boy she and Tesla had to take care of from time to time but she wasn’t that close to him, unlike Tesla. And then, with Welt’s death, it changed so that she did start to care about him  

But 

She cares about not him as a person but as some shadow of his predecessor, as you’ve precisely said. And to make the matters worse, Joachim doesn’t care about himself either, as if that little Joachim boy is long gone and now there’s only Welt Yang, the carrier of His will. So, we’re left with Tesla, the only person who sees Joachim as Joachim and who has always cared about him and always will no matter how hard he tries to kill his true self. 

On the other hand, we have Joachim who did show signs of care about Ein  

But 

He cares about every single human being and is ready to sacrifice himself for every single soul. Therefore, the question is, is his care genuine, or is it simply part of his “this is my duty, he died so that we could live, and I need to keep them safe no matter what” mindset? 

See? These two seem to be in the same depression boat but so distant and indifferent to each other at the same time.  

(Imagine how the tables would turn if Lieserl’s body wasn’t so weak, and she could inherit the core) 

But back to Ein’s situation. Not only does she care about Welt’s legacy and only about that, but she cares about every little thing that is associated with him. She kept the shattered core, the Star of Eden while Joachim was lost in the Sea of Quanta, and the book of poems. The last one is an especially interesting case as it’s stated that it’s hard to encounter someone on the base which means Ein must have been carrying that book with her for who knows how long before giving it to Fu Hua. And not only that, but she translated and read it as well. 

(She was so caring about his belongings and then Bronya single-handedly erased 300,000 souls and all their memories. Yes, I’m still very much pissed off by it and always will be, sorry)  

Btw in the same dialogue with Fu Hua she mentioned that she didn’t feel great if she didn’t work out. And that’s another interesting topic to talk about – the way she kinda contradicts her younger self. Take for example this scene and that it is stated many times across vn or events or comics or the main story that she’s an awfully lazy person, her ideal life would be lying on a sofa and tease everyone around. (The part where she used to work 3-4 hours per day and now she works 24/7 can be explained by the fact that she had to fight honkai but that is no longer the case?). Or another example, I remember she used to go to sleep quite early and in the main story she goes: 

And this one still pains me:

Yeah, you're right about Emma. Additionally, I picture that little Lieserl and Erwin were like her Pride and Joy (and then she adopted a stray cat called Tesla). Then she lost one, partially lost another and I'm afraid Emma passed away before Joachim returned (But hey, she still had Tesla-)

Oh, I forgot to mention another thing. I suppose Erwin had already received her doctorate during vn timeline, but Lieserl and Nicola were still in the process of studying? And then they...well...had no time and opportunity to finish it. What if their doctorate is as fake as is Tesla's driver's license and Welt's passport (Ada being able to print fake documents is a nice headcanon ig because how else can you explain Ein getting Welt's passport within an hour or two)

Oh, Coralie... At first, I was very negative towards her when I watched that BiliBili Part 2 stream. She seemed like a replacement for the AE or Bronya role in the story. Moreover, by that time writers totally forgot about AE characters, and I was very disappointed by the moon arc, not only by the destroying memories in the core and the soul-erasing part but by the fact that AE dedicated decades to making a plan (Planck and Edison were the origins of the plan) and successfully carrying it out (they even spoiled like half of the story in the very first chapter with the letter on Selene), and we’ve never got a scene where they realised they had won and celebrated it (I bet Ein/Tesla/Joachim thought “I wish Emma/Nancy/Welt could see this day”). But. The “The Star Which the Moon Gazes Upon” chapter completely changed my perspective on Coralie and Helia. They’re adorable and are my most favourite (and only) thing of Part 2 (ironically, writers don’t really care about them either). I remember how confused I was trying to figure out how Ein decided to adopt a child, but this explains a lot: 

Though I'm still confused how they ended up playing a guess game and the whole "let's adopt another one" idea.

But let's look at this from another perspective.

What if the original reason behind Lieserl’s obsession over Welt starts in 1952 when she wanted to find out how Carl died, then she discovered that there was only one mysterious survivor and she unconsciously took it as a sign of fate and that she could become a Сarl figure for Welt and save him as Сarl had once saved her and maybe it would help her cope with the loss of Carl.... And then the 1955 came and Lieserl...well...failed.

BUT 

 60+ years later she spontaneously won a guess game (it would be funnier if it was a card game) and adopted a girl and ended up with the same thought of “now I want to try and play Emma’s role” and she tried to do everything for Coralie that Emma once did for her? 

What I'm trying to say is that in the first case, Lieserl was initially trying to help a stranger, as if she was helping Carl. And in the second case, she enclosed the image of Emma in Coralie so that now she takes care of "Emma". Does it make sense?

Btw Coralie's black shirt kinda looks like the one Emma had...oh, right, have you ever thought that it is for certain that there should be Emma's room somewhere in the AE base...?

Wait, have Coralie ever called her "a big sis?" :0 Genuine question because I've noticed that she calls everyone senpai/uncle/teacher but Lieserl is just "Einstein". Also it's funny how Ein is considered to be her mother and Coralie does indeed have Lieserl's devilish traits but she's mostly as unhinged and chaotic as Tesla.

[xiathiau-myshif]

A being of many forms, many hearthomes, and many names

Welcome to the orbit of TON-618!

Main stuff

Hi, we're Xiathiau (you can call us Xia or Catharsis) and we're 16. (NSFW blogs that follow us will be blocked)

We are queer, nonbinary, polykin, and fictionkin/fictionflicker. We're also british (unwillingly) and plural.

We use many names, Xiathiau/Xia being just one, but the main ones on this blog. Others include Equinox, Eclipse, and Catharsis, plus we use a different name for each of our kintypes to distinguish between them. Each kintype name is in the description of their respective side blogs.

We are aroacespec! Unsurely exactly of what we are just that we're on that spectrum.

Speaking of spectrums, we're autistic!

Special interests:

Black holes! TON-618 is our favourite but we also like Pheonix A

Hypnotism that is NON SEXUAL, SAFE FOR WORK, we know it's "18+" side is much bigger than the recreational/therapy side but we are a MINOR and are currently unable to interact with that side, and don't really want to. If you are a hypnok!nk mdni blog fuck off!!! Don't follow us!!! Again, we are a MINOR

Asian soup spoons :] especially when they're wooden and come with a matching bowl :]]]

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984 movie, directed by Hayao Miyazaki)

Pronouns

Any pronouns other than he or she are fine, but below are some we like to use

Xe/xem/xyr, ae/aer/aers, it/its, star/stars, fae/faer. Space related neos are some of our favourite

Blogs

This is our main blog. It doesn't really have a theme, but we tend to post alterhuman related stuff

Non-kin related sideblogs:

Sideblog for our Original Work ao3 stories: @xia-myshif-on-ao3

If you want to confess your autism-related sins: @unhingedautisticconfessions

For a plural-focused blog, head over to @the-ribombee-collective

For a xenogender/system term coining blog that we run with a friend, go to @blurry-coining

Original music sideblog (very new): @eribon-equulei

Educational hypnotism sideblog (will not be posting on it until we are 18 and will not need to block a billion hypnok!nk blogs, we're just saving the URL): @spiral-studies

Fandom blogs:

@every-story-needs-a-monster Illuminae Files blog

@in-the-valley-of-the-wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind blog

Type list and kin-related sideblogs:

Theriotypes: melanoid axolotl ( @goth-silly-guy ) 💜, ragdoll cat ( @cotton-candy-fur ) 💚, and melanistic red fox ( @fuzzy-fox-kid ) 💚

Kintypes: vampire ( @red-roses-and-fangs ) 💙, sea dragon ( @mariana-creature ) 🤍, angel ( @alien-seraph ) 🤍, haunted doll ( @haunted-aerie ) 💚, nephelae ( @dreams-of-a-nephelae ) 💚

Fictionkin: Ribombee (Pokémon, @i-am-a-ribombee ) 🤍

Fictionflicker: AIDAN (The Illuminae Files, no side blog) 💜 (strong 💙 when active)

Kinsidering: deer

Our shifts are confusing, we rarely shift and it's usually phantom shifts

Key:

🤍 Main, strongly felt

💙 Strongly felt

💚 Medium strength

💜 Weakly felt

DNI

Exclusionists of (almost) any kind, e.g. lgb without the t folks. We strongly believe ace/aro people belong in the LGBTQ community

Homophobes, transphobes, racists, misogynists, ableists, paedos/MAPs, Nazis etc. Basically generally terrible people.

Dream stans

Therian/otherkin/fictionkin/otherlink antis

Neopronoun / xenogender antis

Anti endogenic / non-disordered/traumagenic systems

Anti good-faith contradictory identities, e.g. lesboys, turigirls, he/him lesbians

Radqueers / TransID

Zionists and antisemites

Anti physical therian

Anti self diagnosis

To add: our opinion on proshipper discourse.

We don't consider ourselves proship, but have friends that are. Thus, proshippers are safe to interact with this blog. Do not send us asks about it. We will not participate in discourse.

Spam likers/rebloggers are completely welcome, as well as asks, whether you want to show us pictures of an animal or a landscape, anything like that.

Our hobbies include video gaming, reading, and music composing. We like cats and snakes

Tag system:

#xia irl - irl posts

#xia kin stuff - otherkin posts

#xia's hoard - reblogs

#xia's random posts - just random things

#shutterbug xia - pictures we took

#xia's autistic moments - new hyperfixations we develop

#xia's special interests - posts about our special interests

#xia's nsx hypno stuff - posts about hypnotism (nsx = non sexual, just in case we start to delve more into the k!nk side of stuff when we're not a minor anymore)

#xia's spoons - posts about spoons. Spoons.........

#xia loves TON - posts about our beloved TON-618 (favourite black hole)

#xia replies - replies to asks

#eri's plurality - plural posts

This might be updated if we remember something we missed, or the info becomes outdated.

Thanks for stopping by :3

[fritextramole]

the devil divine

part 2 of a Blair Waldorf playlist - best heard in order

tracklist and quotes under the cut

Get What 'Cha Got And Go ~ Loretta Lynn

You think you're the greatest thing in this whole town Oh number one but everyone no one can put you down Every night you go downtown where the go-go's go

Pink Shoe Laces ~ Dodie Stevens

He takes me deep-sea fishing in a submarine We got to drive-in movies in a limousine He's got a whirly-birdy and a twelve-foot yacht Ah, but that's-a not all he's got Ae's got tan shoes with pink shoelaces A polka dot vest and man, oh, man

Fever ~ Peggy Lee

When you put your arms around me I get a fever that's so hard to bear You give me fever When you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight Fever! In the mornin', a-fever all through the night

Big Bad Handsome Man ~ Linda Carone

Got me where he wants me to be With his arms so wide, he pulls me in by his side He's the kind of guy that does it for me

Manhattan ~ BLOSSOM DEARIE

The great big city's a wondrous toy Made for a girl and boy We'll turn Manhattan Into an isle of joy

Idéalisation ~ Cosette

Je vais te faire araignéïser Pour que tu me prennes dans tes filets Je veux t'idéaliser ~ I will make you a spider So that you catch me in your web I want to idealize you

Treat Me Rough ~ Ella Fitzgerald

The cushy sheltered way of life was really no fun From now on, some manhandling must be done

I Belong To You ~ Caro Emerald

The afterglow that's down below Is when I see your smile And in your eyes, true love assigns Forever is a word that cries That I belong to you

Crazy He Calls Me ~ Billie Holiday

The difficult I'll do right now The impossible will take a little while I say I'll care forever And I mean forever

Tea For Two ~ BLOSSOM DEARIE

Just me for you And you for me alone Nobody near us To see us or hear us

You Belong To Me ~ Jo Stafford

Send me photographs and souvenirs Just remember When a dream appears You belong to me

Please Mr. Postman ~ The Marvelettes

I've been standin' here waitin' Mister Postman So patiently, for just a card, or just a letter Sayin' he's returnin' home to me

Washing Machine Heart ~ Mitski

Baby will you kiss me already and Toss your dirty shoes in my washing machine heart? Baby, bang it up inside Baby, though I've closed my eyes I know who you pretend I am

Jolene ~ Dolly Parton

You could have your choice of men But I could never love again He's the only one for me

Comme moi ~ Édith Piaf

Peut-être bien encore qu'elle entendra plus fort Son cœur battre et qu'alors Comme moi Elle voudra crier en entendant Monter, un pas dans l'escalier Comme moi ~ Maybe she will hear louder Her heart beating, and then Like me She will want to scream when she hears Going up, a step on the stairs Like me

Darn That Dream ~ Doris Day

Just to change the mood I'm in I'd welcome a nice old nightmare Darn that dream and bless it too Without that dream I never would have you But it haunts me and it won't come true

Maybe I Know ~ Leslie Gore

"He really loves me", that's all I can say Before my tears fall, I just walk away

Graveyard ~ Halsey

You look at me With eyes so dark, don't know how you even see You push right through me

Little White Lies ~ Ella Fitzgerald

The devil was in your heart But heaven was in your eyes The night that you told me those little white lies Who wouldn't believe those lips Whoever could doubt those eyes

I Can’t Stay Mad at You ~ Skeeter Davis

You can run around You can tell me lies But there's nothing I can do I'll never say goodbye 'Cause I can't stay mad at you

Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool ~ Connie Francis

I told myself it's best that I forget you Though I'm a fool, at least I know the score Yet darlin', I'd be twice as blue without you It hurts, but I'd come running back for more

Boys Like You ~ dodie

You thought you could charm me And, damn it, you're right So watch me fall for every damn stereotype

Une chanson brisée ~ Cœur De Pirate

Mais qu'importe, tu m'aimes, oui Ça justifie tous tes oublis Mais qu'importe, le temps joue Une chanson sur mes plaies qui s'entrouvrent ~ But whatever, you love me, yes It justifies all your oversights But whatever, time plays A song about my open wounds

I Just Couldn’t Stand It No More ~ Dinah Washington

My heart is aching, My heart is aching He don't know how much it is a breaking I need somebody, yes I need somebody To take my love and help me to forget him...

I Guess I’ll Have To Change My Plans ~ Annie Ross, Gerry Mulligan Quartet

Before I knew where I was at I found myself upon the shelf, and that was that I tried to reach the moon but when I got there All that I could get was the air My feet are back upon the ground I've lost the one man I found,

Back To Black ~ Amy Winehouse

You went back to what you knew So far removed From all that we went through

Blue ~ Rebecca Black

Two years down the drain A whole life we had made It was ours for the taking

Une complainte dans le vent ~ Cœur De Pirate

Aux chaleurs oubliées À tes doigts longeant mes parures Tu m'aurais à l'usure Mais qu'importe les douleurs du présent Je ne suis plus la même, tu n'es plus un enfant ~ To forgotten warmth To your fingers along my finery You would wear me out But no matter the pains of the present I am no longer the same, you are no longer a child

You ~ The Pretty Reckless

I can't steal you, no Like you stole me

my tears ricochet ~ Taylor Swift

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe All the hell you gave me? 'Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you 'Til my dying day

Le monopole de la douleur ~ Cœur De Pirate

Tu n'entends plus rien Que je m'exprime tout haut, tu n'y vois qu'une maudite fin Et les lignes des épopées de nos nuits racontent leurs histoires Mais j'en ai marre qu'on broie du noir Tu penses que tu es le seul à souffrir Qu'importe que je saigne aussi ~ You don't hear anything anymore That I express myself aloud, you see only a cursed end And the lines of the epics of our nights tell their stories But I'm sick of us brooding You think you're the only one to suffer It doesn't matter that I bleed too

L’etang ~ BLOSSOM DEARIE

Là, le ciel, pour quelques instants Garde encore de l'or dans ses yeux Une étoile brille au fond de l'étang Pour les amoureux ~ There, the sky, for a few moments Still got gold in her eyes A star shines at the bottom of the pond For lovers

La Nuit N’en Finit Plus ~ Petula Clark

Je voudrais partir au hasard Partir au loin quitter mes souvenirs ~ I would like to leave randomly Go far away leave my memories

Hey There ~ Rosemary Clooney

Better forget him, him with his nose in the air He has you dancin on a string Break it and he won't care

Hard Feelings/Loveless ~ Lorde

I light all the candles Cut flowers for all my rooms I care for myself the way I used to care about you

Heartstrings ~ Leighton Meester

Had to save my own self from all your evil games

Happier Than Ever ~ Billie Eilish

You call me again, drunk in your Benz Driving home under the influence You scared me to death, but I'm wasting my breath

Cry Me A River ~ Julie London

Remember, I remember all that you said Told me love was too plebeian Told me you were through with me and Now you say you love me Well, just to prove you do Come on and cry me a river, cry me a river I cried a river over you

Gonna Get Along Without You Now ~ Skeeter Davis

Got along without you before I met you Gonna get along without you now Gonna find somebody who is twice as cute 'Cause I didn't want you anyhow

Kill My Boyfriend ~ Natalia Kills

And boy I'm so committed, I'm so deep, there's no more digging There's only one thing I can do to solve this mess, come on I gotta kill my boyfriend yeah...

Hermit the Frog ~ MARINA

Well, I, I wanna tell you a secret You can take your double standard love and keep it I can't help the devil likes to make my heart a double bed And I can't help he sometimes like to come And rest his little head

OKAY OKAY ~ Alessia Cara

My best friend said to me, "I know just what we need A song of yours that we could feel ourselves to" I said it'd be a test, 'cause you know I'm always stressed Come to think of it, I guess I've never cared to She said, "You won't know if you never commit" So here's me convincing myself I'm the shit

[d3sp4ir-c0d3]

ZEROS [[A BASIC GUIDE]]

(Alien species belongs to @tiredsn0w )

Hello hello. Welcome to the basic guide to zeroes. Warning: this guide is not fully polished and some things might be outdated in the future.

What are zeroes? They're archaic keplers. Think of them as like Neanderthals or denisovans but for the kepler aliens. The zeros are divided into two: BE (before eruption) and AE (after eruption). To make it short, BE zeroes are those who exist before the mass extinction, and AE zeroes are those who survive after it. I'll make a post on how BE zeroes went extinct in another post.

General anatomy

Zeroes are a lot less humanoid and more beast-like. As you can see from the reference sheet above, they are wildly different from modern keplers. There are currently 6 subspecies of zeroes I've thought of, but only 1 I've made a reference sheet for it (see below).

This is only the basic anatomy guide common land dwelling zeroes. Their anatomy vary depending on where they live. Example: a reef zero would have more aquatic like anatomy. Ranking from least to most humanoid, it'll be: deep sea, reef mangroves, swamp, river, and beach.

They have very fine and thin fur, kind of like a seal. Except deep sea, reef, and mangrove zeroes where they are instead (mostly) hairless. They can stand up straight, but they prefer to lean forward as it's their natural stature. If there are any questions regarding zero anatomy, feel free to hit me up on Discord (S4NDSTONE#0278) and on tumblr or ask the man himself @tiredsn0w

Here is an old concept art for a swamp zero. This design might be a bit outdated and will be remade sometime in the future, but for now use this one. Swamp zeroes are the largest of the subspecies. Because of that, they don't move much to maintain energy. They hunt similarly to alligators and crocodiles. They can swim well in water but clumsy and slow on land

[bonesandthebees]

I am in shambles but I am taking a W since I was right about Ranboo's general involvement in the escape plot. Was not expecting Aimsey to come in with a metal chair and absolutely lose their shit but it was satisfying as hell.

The reveal that Ranboo had even given information from Aimsey to Techno about the flora was rough. Aimsey is a good person though so I'm not expecting them to punch him in the face but I really hope that they rip him a new one when they get the chance.

Also I love the use of oil as a metaphor for Wilbur's guilt in place of the waves and drowning when he's overwhelmed and suffering. I love how it ties to the waves being used for his mental state and I just ugh. I LOVE COOL LITERARY DEVICES‼️‼️‼️

Speaking of Phil though, holy shit. Their entire confrontation was insane /pos. I'm really curious as to what Phil and Techno were going to say before the boys cut them off. It makes you wonder if they could have convinced at least Wilbur to stay, given that he was having doubts about it. We will never know though but it gave us Wilbur using his Voice on Phil and holy shittt. Phil's pride from this reveal is so <33. Everything that Wilbur has said about the Voice makes sense to them; Techno and Phil have seen firsthand how little the sirens care about Tommy and Wilbur, that they're men and half sirens, they don't belong. The reveal that Wilbur can use his Voice (assuming that Ranboo hadn't woken up yet therefore hasn't told them that Tommy can also use his) is shattering. Despite all the trust that Wilbur and Phil have and the reports Ranboo has been giving, Wilbur still kept one final card to himself. Ofc he's proud.

Also Wilbur's tear before the shuttle door close eueueueu. Stars!sandduo my beloved. You are so </33

But fuck Essempi just waiting for them. Heartbreaking but also I am going to try make this more lighthearted by imagining Sapnap just waiting in that huge fucking ship for months on the off chance that if Wilbur and Tommy leave, they'll use their own shuttle. Probably not what happened but this is how I'm choosing to cope.

I wonder how the AE is going to react when they find out that Tommy and Wilbur were caught immediately after leaving orbit.

Great chapter, I am distraught

🦈

LMAO YOU WERE DEAD ON ABOUT RANBOO'S INVOLVEMENT I READ YOUR ASK AND WAS LIKE OH THEY GOT IT

yeah, uh, aimsey is PISSED. they're not a major character in this, but i still wanted them to have their due part with this as well. they're ranboo's closest friend in the palace. they've been friends for a WHILE now. they trusted ranboo with so much, only to find out he's spying on their friends (and then finds out he shared private information they gave him with his mentor). ranboo lied to them, and they're very, very hurt by it.

aaa thank you!! I was very proud of the connection to oil. I wanted the guilt to be described as something gross and heavy in your gut, something you can't ignore. along with that, oil on troubled waters is an actual turn of phrase since sailors used to drop oil into the sea to calm the waves, so I thought it was a clever way to tie that in as well.

god i've had that confrontation with aeduo in my head for SO long. phil's proud smile after wilbur used his Voice on him was something I thought of over a year ago now when I was first brainrotting this au. it was so so fun to finally write out. phil is so proud of wilbur for holding that card to his chest for so long. he's so proud to see just how cunning his boy can be.

(ranboo hadn't woken up by that point so yeah, that was a shock for both him and techno to find out)

LMAO ngl essempi kind of has just been waiting for months to see if they leave the planet. sapnap wasn't necessarily there the whole time, but they've had eyes on the planet for a while. like, they knew the brothers were on zephys iv. they knew eventually they'd have to leave, and there was mostly just some surveillance on the planet to see if the brothers ended up leaving with a full military in tow so they'd know if they needed to prepare for an invasion. but then the brothers just left on their own! all alone! perfect opportunity to scoop them up :)

oh aeduo are not gonna be happy with this development

[6peaches]

Ae Hee Lee - Green Card :: Evidence of Adequate Means of Financial Support

I needed money. There’s no poetic way to say this. Even so, when you touched my face, brought my cheeks to the nook of your neck, I burrowed into it— a firefly seeking shelter from winter, far underground. Then,

         you told me there’s no application form that can hold          the entirety of a life, because our days constantly spill like wine.          Imagine that, you said, apricot tones all over the page!

         you told me about your ferns, bejeweled with jade dew,          their coiled fiddleheads full of unfulfilled,          twirling futures, and I forgot about my fixation with earning          people’s respect, among other things for which          I’d been told it was proper to plead          until granted.

         you told me, if immigrants could enrich a country,          you didn’t want to know          our melting point and whether we would shine          brighter than gold.

         you told me how I could stop confusing belonging          with belongings,  good with  goods, by sharing          the way our hearts continue to beat          resilient, even without an assurance of worth.

         you told me there can be solace in a dead end, in knowing the sea          still collapses, still runs and soars carrying its broken          shells, somewhere out there. And then,

                     you buried a kiss in the dark                      earth of my hair. I believed it all.                      What else could I do?

- Green Card :: Evidence of Adequate Means of Financial Support by Ae Hee Lee

[pronoun-checks]

Era with any pronouns (neo and normative)?

Sure thing!

Is that Era? I think I see Era over there! Do you see him? He’s the one sitting by herself over there with her headphones on. I wonder what they’re listening to? You’ve met Era before, right? No? Well, you’ll have to meet them sometime; I think you’d get along nicely with it. I’ve only spoken with xem once or twice, but xe seems pretty neat! Ve didn’t say much about virself, though. Oh, you don’t see star? Star’s the one sitting in the brown chair over there. Yup, that’s Era! I’m not sure if the bag under seas chair is seas or not, though. It could belong to the table next to void. Oh, I sure hope that’s not voids bag, because ae’s leaving without it! We should go let Era know there’s a bag under the table ae was at, in case the bag is eirs. Looks like you’ll get to meet em now! Hey! Era!

[poisonheart]

Listen, you and I are passengers on this cruise named StalkYoo. We have been sailing forever, braved some rough seas, but only recently found each other when we were howling at the moon and crawling all over the deck and burning the life boats because nobody is getting off now. We either make it to dock or we sink—there is no escape.

The naysayers will say what they want to say, will try to downplay the events that Quimchee has so carefully, so masterfully crafted, yet we KNOW BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN FEEDING ON THOSE CRUMBS OF CATNIP FOR YEARS AND TONIGHT SHE LEFT THE BAG OPEN AND WE'RE ROLLING IN THE GOOD SHIT!!!!!

Ahem.

NO SCREW THAT I WILL NEVER BE NORMAL ABOUT THEM. EVER. I have not been able to process anything since last night. I was just at the kitchen, cooking my pasta in garlic butter sauce when they came into my brain again and I was just like...

I LOVE THEM. THEY ARE SO STUPID!!!! /affectionately

Nana having a moment to talk to Nol before she meets Shin Ae was so important and I think a lot of people miss why.

She got to see him reacting to what had just happened with Shin Ae. Was seeing him mope, fiddle with his emotional support bandana. It's probably a side of him that she doesn't often see because Nol doesn't let many perceive his distress. Or so he thinks. He thinks he's so good at hiding, especially his emotions.

Nol tells Nana that the bandana belongs to his friend.

Nana knew that it wasn't a gift.

But she uses the bandana to unsettle Nol in an effort to get him to talk because she recognizes that he's retreating and she doesn't want him to. She knows that he will find a way to get her to leave to stop embarrassing him and that they'll have a chance to talk. She just has to play the part. And she does. Beautifully. Comically.

As expected of Nana.

But there is more to this, too.

Not only does Nana notice what's happening between them, but she also connects the dots that this is the "new friend" he's often talked about. I need you to understand how HARD I AM CHEWING MY WALLS.

Do you remember that episode where Nana calls him out to eat at night and tells him to eat more because he's tiny? How can he fight evil witches with that small frame?

And Nol responds that he's at least 6 feet tall and that if Nana wants to see tiny, she should see how small his friend is.

That's just one instance that we see, but we're not privy to those small moments often given the format of Webtoons.

Just like Nol and Shin Ae texting a lot, by the glimpses of their message history, but it's not something explicitly stated...

This is another one of those moments.

I know in my soul that Nol has mentioned this friend to Nana before and now Nana knows this is Shin Ae. It's a girl... and whatever sort of platonic enthusiasm he displayed before is entirely gone now.

This isn't the avoidant gaze of a guy who had a little disagreement with a pal. And Nana sees it. Recognizes it.

She's 72 and sharp.

She's been around long enough to see two idiots clearly.

I want to scream.

Ah, so this is that friend you were always yapping about?

She sees the effect Shin Ae has on him—when she's not there and now when she is right in front of him.

Everything about them drives me insane.

I just want to rattle them like Shake n Bake chicken.

So many people in the comments like:

"This miscommunication is getting on my nerves" or "When are they finally going to admit everything?"

They get served a banquet of catnip and spurn it.

They must not be cats.

We can't relate.

I need to pause and simply comment Quimchee's art. It's so simple. We know she's been struggling with missing assistants, etc. But she is able to always, always draw the emotions perfectly.

I don't know how she does it.

This is one of the things I have always admired about her work.

When Nana leaves them alone you see that Nol has the intention of saying something—maybe apologize, but he doesn't. Because the two of them are struggling with emotions and pick at each other.

"So all those things she said... about you moping about... was she just making all that up to get you riled up? Or was there truth to it?"

That pokes him. Pokes at the thing he was trying to convince himself he had no time for—he has too much shit going on.

Instead of letting him speak, she prods... and he often whips back. They do this a lot—they go back and forth—because he has the same power to get under her skin, get her riled up.

Nol has been pushing them away for so long that she asks what's been on her mind since running into Dieter.

"Did you hurt him too?" <- that is the underlying question.

And so he remembers the guilt which was already bubbling because when Dieter came back to his room before, Nol hid the bandana from him because it was part of a secret moment he thought nobody but them were privy to.

Dieter is good at hiding.

Like Shin Ae, he could think anything off about him was exhaustion. It's easier than even thinking Dieter saw any of that, but now he can't avoid the reality that Dieter saw everything.

Only that would explain the behavior Shin Ae is explaining right now.

He has failed his friend in his mind.

He has feelings for the same girl.

So Nol pushes her out and he knows where to hurt her. He tells her that she has no business being there. And he probably would have let her storm off had she not made a comparison with Rand, the person he most despises being like.

After all, Kousuke has partially despised him for being Mini Rand. For being "like father." To have someone else, someone Nol cares about, remark that he's just like Rand—that's what gets him to express that the reason he's asking her to leave (or so he wants her to believe) is because Dieter saw them. Saw them having the most non-platonic sappy moment ever.

I feel like Shin Ae isn't aware that saying he's like Rand gets under his skin—it was a natural thing for her to say, where Nol is often aware of what can hurt others and sometimes weaponizes that knowledge.

It takes a lot for him to reach that extreme, but he does it.

"He heard it all. Saw it all."

And this is such an interesting line because Nol didn't see the entire part of their little exchange. He blindfolded himself for that dance. Both to hide the tears and I also believe to shield himself from seeing the person he wanted for himself. Had he seen her smiling that way, seen her so happy with him, I don't think he could have taken it.

Nol didn't see her shining, but Dieter did.

Dieter saw the things Nol wanted to blind himself to.

And like you say... it's how Nol says things.

It's the way he emphasizes, as you said, "when we thought we were the only ones up" because both of them gave into a stolen moment that Nol feels he probably didn't deserve nor should have taken.

But he did take it.

He went all in for it.

He was so insane for what he did and it finally hits him.

Especially because Dieter witnessed everything.

Shin Ae still doesn't add it up because she hasn't processed how her feelings for Nol are vastly different, much less how someone looking at them would interpret things.

She wants to normalize what she feels for Nol so badly.

"I don't feel the same way about Dieter as I do Min Hyuk, so obviously that explain why Nol is different too."

She hasn't processed that he's the only one to truly rile her up, get under her skin, fluster her, frustrate her, and drive her over the edge.

She hasn't had time or space to compare and realize why Nol is so different. She never dug into why Nol disappearing from her life hurt so badly, so much worse than any other betrayal or disappearance.

Shin Ae has been confessing to Nol the entire night, without realizing the impact of what it means yet. She has told him, without saying she loves him, that she loves him. Always remarking how well they get along, how effortless it is to be with him, how badly she wants to see the real him, how much she needs him to stop pushing her away. And he has heard every single word. Believed it.

He doesn't doubt her.

Shin Ae feels Nol's urgency and maybe even a sense of finality which only makes her more desperate to fix the situation.

She can't lose him.

"There's nothing going on here."

But there is. There is so much going on.

"You're acting like you did something despicable."

He did. He feels he did. Because he likes her. It's not platonic.

"We're all friends here."

She is trying to salvage this situation that is spinning out of control. Trying to convince him that she can fix it. That she can undo the big mess. Yet it won't work because the truth is they're not friends.

What's happening between them is anything but friendship.

AND IT IS SO FUCKING WELL DONE.

Shin Ae is Rose trying to pull up Jack on that fucking door and Nol is just like "No."

Quimchee is so good at the way she draws thing.

I know I mentioned this on Discord but having her set the foot down was such a nice touch because she's been "tolerating his bullshit" in respect to his boundaries but she can tell this is different.

This isn't really a boundary but cowardice.

Why won't he tell her what it's really about?

Why is he really trying to get rid of her?

She doesn't get it.

I love her so much. She represents that some people really need it to be spelled out for them. It may be part consequence of her brain injury, but it's also trauma.

Shin Ae often thinks worse case scenario.

We've seen her assaulted by memories of all the bad things people have said about her. She's asking him to not leave her to her own imagination, to be clear—direct, but he won't do it.

He wants her to figure it out herself.

He doesn't want to influence her.

A lot of people shit on Nol for being a bad friend to Dieter because he developed feelings for Shin Ae (as if you can control that lol) but I love the way he stood up for Dieter this episode.

"It's either you are or you aren't."

In many ways, he is trying to get her to understand she needs to apply this to him too.

Why is he different? Why does she care so much about him?

"He doesn't have that. Not even as your friend."

But she still doesn't get it because she doesn't have the same feelings for all her friends.

From the start, she has tried to make sense of things, but it doesn't quite dawn on her why Nol is different.

She has been too busy trying to salvage the friendship he was throwing away to even ponder on how her feelings for Nol are different.

She's been trying to get him to "stay put" and be honest, and "stay."

And she keeps losing him.

He keeps slipping.

Now he's pushing her and she's trying to counter his logic by saying "all friendships are different" because this is all she knows.

This is what she had been fighting for.

Except it wasn't.

What she's been fighting for wasn't friendship, it was Nol.

She was fighting to keep Nol.

She was fighting to keep him in her life.

She thinks what she's been fighting for is solely the friendship, but what she wants is him, the person. To see him, to know him, to be by his side.

I HATE THEM SO MUCH FOR DOING THIS TO ME.

That's why he asks why she cares.

She keeps saying it's because they're friends, because she cares about him, so he asks why again.

Why do you care about me?

Why him? Why is he different?

Shin Ae has been telling him all night why. What he means to her. How he makes her feel. The impact he's had on her life. How much he matters. How special he is to her.

But Shin Ae has never gotten down to why she feels all those things.

She can't come up with an answer...

She doesn't understand why "I care about you" isn't enough.

Why she needs some better reason to "convince him."

In many ways she's like "Are you dumb?"

While he's like, "Are you dense?"

Like you say—they're speaking in different languages.

Why he's pushing her away is the same reason why she cares about him. It's the same. They're on the same page, but holding different translations of the book, lol.

AND I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

As you know, Quimchee said on Patreon that she wanted Nol to resemble Rand while still looking like himself in that panel where he asks her to convince him.

I want to believe it will mean something.

That she will think back and have one of those "my life flashed before me" moments and realize exactly why he's different and why Dieter is understandably hurting.

Because everyone can see it except her right now.

This is so good. This is everything I wanted.

This is angst that isn't there as filler but as natural progression of two idiots who are coming to terms with each other.

It's as you said: Nol can't deny Shin Ae.

He's so insane.

How he blocks her number but checks his spam folder. He can't let go. He just can't. All he can do is push, but they always find a way back to each other. IT'S UNREAL IT'S FJAHBUFBAKJ.

THEY MAKE ME SO SICK.

This is a story that loses all meaning if people take everything at face value... which happens a lot when you read the comment section. I'm so happy to have found someone WHO UNDERSTANDS and LOVES the catnip Quimchee leaves for us.

ILY FP 231

ALRIGHTY KIDS WHO’S READY FOR STALKYOO WEEKEND WHO’S READY FOR ME TO TALK NONSTOP ABOUT ILY AND TENSION AND FEELINGS AND EXECUTION AND SUBTEXT I’M RARING TO GO picture me frothing at the mouth rattling the bars of my cage because that’s been me and that WILL remain me! 

Keep reading

[poetryfoundation-potd]

Green Card :: Evidence of Adequate Means of Financial Support

By Ae Hee Lee

I needed money. There’s no poetic way to say this.

Even so, when you touched my face, brought my

cheeks to the nook of your neck, I burrowed into it—

a firefly seeking shelter from winter, far

underground. Then,

you told me there’s no application form that can hold

the entirety of a life, because our days constantly spill like wine.

Imagine that, you said, apricot tones all over the page!

you told me about your ferns, bejeweled with jade dew,

their coiled fiddleheads full of unfulfilled,

twirling futures, and I forgot about my fixation with earning

people’s respect, among other things for which

I’d been told it was proper to plead

until granted.

you told me, if immigrants could enrich a country,

you didn’t want to know

our melting point and whether we would shine

brighter than gold.

you told me how I could stop confusing belonging

with belongings,  good with  goods, by sharing

the way our hearts continue to beat

resilient, even without an assurance of worth.

you told me there can be solace in a dead end, in knowing the sea

still collapses, still runs and soars carrying its broken

shells, somewhere out there. And then,

you buried a kiss in the dark

earth of my hair. I believed it all.

What else could I do?

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/159225/green-card-evidence-of-adequate-means-of-financial-support

Audio Included

[snarkpick]

i haven’t finished my pages, but i’m gonna make tags so i can send this blog to Seeker lmao 

❧ ❝ ❞ // ooc

[laughingmaiden-a]

tag drop !!

[anony-mouse-writer]

okay so i havent been able to stop thinking about @sundewa 's empires extensions au, so here's a list of the hermits and their empires thats mostly sundewa's canon, but also my ideas for the hermits ae haven't gotten to yet

blue names are canon to either the au or empires lore, the rest are just my personal assignements

Rivendell

ethoslab: ice ninja who does theft legal business.

Grimlands

mumbo jumbo: i mean. have you seen him?? in charge of the count's deepslate redstone ore vaults

tangotek: have you seen him x2. would set up incredibly elaborate and dangerous games for the enemies of the grimlands and cackle maniaclly in the background as they played them

Crystal Cliffs

geminitay: lol

gtws: magic crystals go brrrr. also does crime totally legitimate business.

xisuma: this is one of two empires i can really see him fitting in. how else do you explain the constantly shifting species except magic

Lost Empire

docm77: ominous theatre villain vibes (also no shirt). also The Jungle

House Blossom

hypnotizd: bees and chill vibes

stress: flowers! collecting heads! what more do you want?

zedaph: chaotic sheep that definitely isnt responsible for the soot stains lol

Ocean Empire

ijevin: ngl part of this is just cuz i think it would be hilarious if he was part of the ocean empire's entourage and spends the entire time he's there getting on cleo's last nerve but theyre allies so they cant kill each other. also a slime in the water is funny to me. would he be a jellyfish or just a slime who Suffers?

impulse: s5 atlantis base, s7 water pyramid + guardian farm. also has the kind of playful 'mindin my business' energy i see in a lot friendly of sea creatures

xB: guardian farms, octodrop, assigned guardian hybrid by fandom

Mythland

rendog: has the correct amount of drama to belong in mythland. can play the hero or the villain

beef: something blood sheep something. also i feel like if anyone was going to have elaborate map art decorations, it would be mythland

welsknight: this is literally a kingdom of knights, its perfect. probably in charge of the two armor stands guarding the docks.

Gilded Helenthia

false: nice and chill and will stab u real good

joehills: moved from pixandria, happy to work the fields and read poetry, would probably fight a dangerous threat for funsies

keralis: there's a post somewhere about how helenthia is the bread basket of the empires and therefore would probably be one of the richest and i think keralis would be in charge of a lot of that infrastructure. also would make tractors for the fields.

pearlescentmoon: lol

Pixandria

cubfan: moved from crystal cliffs where he learned a bit of vex magic. now he dresses as a wandering trader and causes problems on purpose. also does a lot of overseeing in the dripstone caves

Undergrove

bdubs: funny moss man go brrr

Kingdom of Mezalea

tfc: this man just wants to mine blocks and be left in peace

zombiecleo: moved from pixandria, goes on 'diplomatic visits' to the ocean empires and gets on jevin's last nerve. manages the joel clones

Cod Empire

grian: lol. also: cod face.

iskall: iskall took one look at the empire full of iskallium and never went back. the cod empire's redstone has never been better

xisuma: this is the other empire i can see xisuma fitting in. wet cat genuinely trying his best vibes. would be codsuma.

[jiubilant]

22 from the writing prompts? ❤️

22. wildflowers

After arithmetic, history, and an unscheduled stop at a sweet-seller’s cart, the wizard Farengar takes two pupils on a field trip. Through a field.

“The dandelion,” he says, wading through an ankle-deep sea of the buttery blooms, “is a flowering plant of the family Asteraceae, genus Taraxacum. Repeat after me. The family As-ter-a-ce-ae.”

Two voices, high and small, drone the answer in dutiful unison. “Asteraceae.”

“Good. And the genus Tar-ax-a-cum.”

“Taraxacum.”

With an approving nod, the wizard takes his nose out of his field guide and turns to survey his students: the steward’s daughter Adrianne and the Jarl’s fosterling Lydia, stumping along behind him like ducklings behind the duck. They’re perspicacious, Farengar thinks, for eight-year-olds. They’d rather be beating each other with sticks than memorizing the Cyrod names of wildflowers, of course, but they haven’t run off to play shield-maids just yet—and Lydia, the little ankle-biter, is following his lecture with a fiercely furrowed brow.

“Very good, girls,” he says, flattered by the attention; it speaks, he supposes, to his prowess as a teacher. He claps the field guide shut. “And the word Asteraceae—well, let’s see who’s been studying their noun charts, shall we? The Cyrod word aster, from which we derive the family name of the dandelion, is in which declension?”

Lydia, sensing a trick, eyes him with wolfish suspicion. “What’s the genitive?”

Farengar smiles. “Asteris—”

“Third!”

Adrianne, not to be outdone, tugs the wizard’s cloak. “It means star.”

“So it does,” Farengar agrees, subtly twitching his cloak away from the little hand. On the way through the market, as a treat for surviving arithmetic, he’d bought both girls a bag of sticky-sweet comfits—and watched with polite horror as they crunched through the lot, chewing with open mouths, then licked their fingers clean like cats. He tries not to think about it. “Now, why might we compare a flower to a star?”

“Dandelions aren’t flowers,” says Adrianne, scrunching her sticky nose. “My fa says they’re weeds.”

“Far be it from me to argue with your fa,” says Farengar, who’d argued with the eminent Proventus Avenicci not fifteen minutes before buying the comfits. “But let’s interrogate—none of that eye-rolling, now—let’s interrogate that assumption, shall we?” He smiles and tucks his book under one arm. “What’s a weed?”

The girls look at him as though he’s the stupidest creature alive.

“A weed,” says Adrianne patiently, “grows where it shouldn’t. Like in Gerda’s onion patch.”

Lydia nods along, eyes wide. “So Gerda makes you pull them out.”

“And why,” says Farengar, raising his eyebrows, “does Gerda make you pull them out?”

“‘Cause she’s got creaky knees,” says Adrianne.

Lydia, more quietly, says, “‘Cause they’re bad.”

“Just so. Er, Gerda’s knees aside,” says Farengar, his eyebrows climbing higher, “we agree that we pull weeds because—because they have no useful properties, let’s say?”

His pupils nod.

“And because they have no useful properties, they don’t belong in our gardens, where they might harm the plants we grow to eat.”

More nodding.  

“Ah, but the dandelion,” says Farengar, his smile scholarly and smug, “is entirely edible. To say nothing of its medicinal capacity”—he kneels to pick one of the plants, grinning as the girls lean over his shoulders—“and, of course, the fact that it’s an essential ingredient of dandelion wine. A very useful flower indeed.” He twirls the dandelion between finger and thumb, then glances from little face to little face. “And—see? The blossom looks a bit like a star, doesn’t it?”

The girls look at the dandelion. Then each other.

“No,” they chorus.

Farengar sighs.

“Go and gather some,” he says with martyred patience. “We’ll bring them to Arcadia. She’ll tell you all about their uses in alchemy.”

Adrianne, recognizing the recess for what it is, brightens and takes off. She’s halfway across the field, her black curls bouncing, before Lydia takes a single hesitant step. Then stops. Then stares at nothing, pale and still, ankle-deep in dandelions and drifting bumblebees.

“Lydia,” says Farengar, affecting a stern frown, “didn’t I give you a task—”

He falters, aghast. The child is knuckling her eyes.

“I’m a weed,” she says, her voice terrible and small.

Farengar is perspicacious for a twenty-eight-year-old.

“Let’s—let’s interrogate that assumption,” he says, very gently. “Look at me. Who braided your hair this morning, Lydia?”

The Jarl’s fosterling sniffs. She takes her braid tenderly in two hands, holding it as another child might hold a favorite toy. “Irileth.”

“And do you suppose Irileth would have bothered to braid your hair,” says Farengar, “if she didn’t love you very much?”

Lydia stares at him. Then she blinks a few times, hard, and toes a dandelion with her shoe. “No.”

“Do you suppose the Jarl would let you swing from his balconies, and bite his thanes, and wrestle hounds under his table—and climb trellises, and loose cats in the kitchens, and otherwise disturb the peace—if he wasn’t very proud of you?”

“No.”

“And do you suppose Adrianne would let you drag her into mischief,” says Farengar, glancing briefly over his shoulder to check on her, “if you weren’t her dearest friend?”

“No,” mumbles Lydia, staring at her shoes. Then she looks up, her face flushed and furious and horribly, horribly ashamed. “But her fa says—”

The smile drops from Farengar’s face.

“Never mind,” he says, his voice soft and sharp as spellfire, “what Avenicci says. He’s decorative.”

Lydia laughs, startled, then smiles a little tearily. Farengar, still solemn, beckons her over.

“You are very welcome in our garden,” he says, and tucks the dandelion behind her ear.

[elder scrolls writing prompts]

[candyheartedchy]

Watercolors (Second Meeting)

Summary: The artist meets the red-hatted duck again.

Rating: G

Word Count: 997

The studio was quiet. Enjoying the solitude, the painter dabbed paint upon a canvas before her. A few times the pig paused, studying her work before adding more color to the painting.

“Cursed me kilts, yer still here?”

The artist turned at the voice, spotting her employer, Scrooge McDuck, standing in the doorway.

“Don’t ye ever take a break?” the older duck continued, entering the room.

“I took one the other day. Besides, I’m almost finished.”

Scrooge stepped over, looking over the pig’s shoulder.

“Looks finished to me.”

“I don’t know, something’s off...” the pig pondered, almost glaring at the painting.

“Ye do this with every painting. It’s fine.”

“But-”

“Cheyenne, ae wouldn’t had hired ye to work for me if yer work wasn’t good.”

The artist sighed.

Scrooge sighed as well. He knew this pig was a perfectionist. So much so that the artist would lose sleep just to work on a painting for him. Sure Scrooge admired how hard working the pig was, but seeing those dark circles under her eyes, it concerned him.

Scrooge spoke again, “Ae know ye mean well, but maybe yer working a bit too hard? What do ae always say?”

“Work smarter, not harder. But I’m getting the work done!”

“By losing sleep?”

“I take naps.”

Scrooge crosses his arms in disappointment, before spotting a jar off to the side, “What’s that?”

“Hmm?” the pig turned, realizing the duck was looking over at her jar of seashells, “Oh, someone gave those to me.”

“As a gift?”

“A apology really. I put them in a jar to make it easier to carry.”

Scrooge made a face, “And ye take them to work with ye?”

“It’s a reminder.”

“For what?”

“To see someone again.”

The duck blinked hearing this. Why are all his employees so weird?

“Who gives seashells as an apology anyway?”

“I though it was sweet. I’m hoping we meet again.”

“Ye won’t if ye keep staying cooped up in here.”

The artist paused at this before standing up from the painting, “You know, maybe your right... I’m going to the beach right now!”

“At this hour? What makes you think they’ll be there?”

“Then I’ll try tomorrow. And the day after that!” Cheyenne grabbed her belongings, rushing pass Scrooge to leave, “See you tomorrow!”

The duck just stood there, dumbfounded.

For a week she anticipated seeing that duck again ever since their first meeting. And yet there she was, standing in the sand, waiting for someone who was still technically a stranger to her. She didn’t know why but something about that duck intrigued her. Never had she met someone so eccentric before, then again, she really didn’t go out of her way to talk to people. Being cooped up in that studio all the time, she never really had the time to make friends. She hated to admit it, but she was lonely.

The artist watched a few people walked by the setting sun, but none were the red-hatted duck.

Maybe I’ll see you again? I come here everyday!

The pig couldn’t help remembering those words. She was so hopeful. Maybe too hopeful.

Turning her back toward the ocean, the pig sighs. Maybe the duck already came by for the day and she missed him. It was getting late after all. Or what if something happened? The artist shook away the thoughts. Maybe is was just a coincidence they met? She frowned.

Turning to walk away, darkness engulfed her as a large shadow towered over the beach. The artist turned slowly as a huge wave of water was pushed upward. Breaking through the ocean revealed a gigantic sea creature. The artist froze. As the creature made it’s way upon shore, the artist slipped in panic, falling into the sand. Trembling, the pig watched in terror as she recoiled, waiting for the impact, until she heard a familiar voice.

“Hey! You’re back!”

Her eyes shot open, snapping her head up toward the voice, confused.

“Up here!”

Squinting upward, the artist spotted a red-hatted duck waving at her. The sea creature lowered itself, allowing Fethry to slide down to land into the sand before the pig.

“I was hoping to see you again!” the duck smiled.

The pig was speechless.

“You forgot this.” Fethry began to dig in his pocket before pulling out the paint-stained cloth, gently placing it into the artist’s hand.

“You kept this?” the pig looked up at him, shocked.

“Of course!” Fethry scratched at his cheek, shy, “Didn’t want to throw it away just in case you needed it back.”

The pig smiled softly before the sea monster made a grunt, alerting both her and Fethry.

“Oh, I forgot! This is Mitzy! She’s a krill! Well, a mutated krill.”

The pig swallowed, “Hello, um, Mitzy.” she smiled, a bit strained.

“That reminds me, I never got your name the other day.”

“It’s Cheyenne. Cheyenne Hoglet.”

“Fethry. Fethry Duck.” the pair shook hands, “So, what brings you here, Cheyenne?“

Tucking her hair back, the pig felt her cheeks burn up, avoiding eye contact with the duck.

“I... I got off work early today and I...” the artist gulps.

“Are you going to try to paint the ocean again?” Fethry asked, a bit excited.

Cheyenne shook her head, “Not today.”

“Oh.”

“Do you always travel by, um, krill?”

“What?” Fethry blinked before he chuckles, “No. But when I want to explore the ocean, Mitzy here is a great travel companion!”

Cheyenne was still baffled by the whole situation, but seeing that duck’s smile felt comforting. She was glad to see it again.

“Would you like to join me and Mitzy for some ice cream?“

The artist was taken aback by the offer, causing Fethry to panic at the pig’s stun reaction.

“You don’t have too! I just thought that-“

“No! It’s okay!” Cheyenne almost shouted, pulling back shyly, “I would love too.”

Fethry beamed before walking off with the artist, “I think I saw a stand this way!”

[only-martha-knows]

The Path of Daggers Chapters 1-2 Notes

Warning - SPOILERS both for PoD and for future books will be in these notes! I have some knowledge of major events happening later in the series and I may reference them to have an honest reaction. But I do ask that nobody tells me anything extra in the notes.

The One Where The Tension In the Stableyard is Thick and Nynaeve Spiritually Hits People With Sticks

and

The One Where Aviendha Does Something She's (Debatably) Not Supposed To, and Moridin Feels Cheated

Chapter One: To Keep the Bargain

Ooh we get a glimpse of the island of Tremalking - I love that! So the people there, the Amayar, believe that this life is an illusion. I wonder if that will come up again??? (she said sarcastically)

“...flying fish soared on outstretched fins two paces and more across...” Okay. Actually flying fish??? That’s so COOL! I love fantasy seas, there’s so much potential for cool creatures there.

And then clearly these are the Seanchan ships approaching Ebou Dar on their attack, but they haven’t gotten there yet so this is a flash backwards.

AVIENDHAAAAAAAAAAA omg I love getting inside her head I’m so ready okay -

I think everybody has that weird thing where you can feel someone’s eyes on you but the fact that she has like a danger sense is really neat and interesting. Is it trained?

“Only the most beautiful truly caught her gaze; whatever wetlanders thought, beauty held more worth than gold.” True.

Aviendha being like why do I care about this child? Why do I keep thinking about him? Why do I want to hug him forever and ever??? This is bad!

Her perspective on Nynaeve is so fun and also hilarious to compare to the absolute perfection in her head that is Elayne.

“Aviendha had grown up around dangerous men, but never one too match Aan’allein. Had death been a man, she would have been him.” DAMN! What a line.

Honor is absolutely permeating every aspect of Aviendha’s POV. I love it. Culture clash when it doesn’t lead to like... terrible misunderstandings... is something I like to read, and I love the Aiel culture especially.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA Elayne is practicing her swearing!!!! That she’s been picking up from Mat!!! “Summer ham” omg that’s hilarious

Awww Nynaeve gets some character development when she pushes down her anger and tries to warn Teslyn about all the dangers in the city. I wonder now that anger is not her only route to holding saidar, if she will be able to let go of that being such a huge part of her character? And being married to Lan now and being around him a lot more (I assume), how that will affect her as well. I saw some really good discourse the other day about how Lan is one of the first people to validate her and admire her work rather than telling her she’s not enough to be the Wisdom, etc. I’m so ready for her development.

“Aan’allein’s bond might belong to another, but his heart hung alongside his ring on that chain around her neck.” Awwww! Lan/Nynaeve is one of the ships I actually love in WoT, so this quote just warms my heart.

Poor Aviendha! You can be a badass woman and still feminine! You can be deadly with the spears and still love talking about lace and dresses! It’s okay!

Loving the complex relationships with this group of the Kin, the Aes Sedai, and the Sea Folk. The Kin really just don’t know What to think when the Aes Sedai are not the goddesses they’ve made them out to be over the years.

References to Egwene as Amyrlin still spark joy in me. I’m so happy.

Nynaeve being the Wisdom and shutting everyone up!! Yes!!! Where’s her stick, she needs it???

Aviendha seems actually to be pretty insecure, which you would not really see from the outside, I think, since she’s a badass. But she’s still feeling guilt over sleeping with Rand and betraying Elayne, and she thinks that she’s soft since she likes dresses and lets Elayne sneak up on her, and she can’t hold as much of the Power as Elayne - now that I think of it a lot of this unintentionally comes from Elayne. Do they need to have a little talk about their feelings?

And great I was really hoping they would all get out of Ebou Dar, use the Bowl, and then go to Caemlyn but with the appearance of the gholam I’m starting to doubt it will be that simple. When will Elayne get to Caemlyn? She has to eventually, right??

Chapter Two: Unweaving

What does this chapter title mean? I’m intrigued...

“Nyneave was as skilled at woodscraft as she was at herbs.” Yes! I love references to Nynaeve’s tracking abilities. It’s been too long since I read EoTW to remember who taught her (her father maybe???) but I love that this character trait hasn’t just disappeared.

So they’re going to need a circle of thirteen women to control the Bowl, right? Well they do have at least thirteen channellers so that won’t be a problem. I think I’m used to Aes Sedai being the only women who can channel in a place, and their scarcity - like in LoC when thirteen took forever to reach.

Okay so we’ve got three Sea Folk apprentices who all are as powerful as Elayne. I guess that makes sense for there to be powerful Sea Folk, but the fact that it’s the apprentices and none of the Windfinders makes this interesting. What does it mean?

For some reason it surprised me when Elayne remembered Rand would have to die. I was like she knows about that??? But yes, she probably studied the prophecies as a child, since she is a royal. (Also is Elayne queen right this second since Morgase abdicated? There’s probably some other thing she has to do to get the authority.)

Elayne’s proficiency with the angreal is so great. I love that we have a resident expert here.

I predict that this rod associated with pain is going to be important. And it also makes me think about Semirhage. How is she? What’s she up to? She better not come near my son Mat.

Okay so my main frustration with Elayne is her... arrogance is not the right word. She is the Daughter-Heir of Andor, which means she has a right to expect respect and obedience to some degree. But I like king/queen figures who have humility and want as little genuflecting and servility as possible, and Elayne leans more to the side of enjoying it, which annoys me a bit. But tightrope-walking Elayne is still iconic.

Ok so Aviendha literally unweaves her weave. (For some reason I keep forgetting that magic users use weaving. RJ doesn’t seem to describe the weaving bit of it as much with saidin users. Why?) That is incredible, but I didn’t get why it was so terrible until this:

“One slip - one! - and there’s no saying what the weave will snap into, or what it will do!”

That makes so much sense, different weaves do different things, a changed weave is unstable, etc. And of course it’s not that big a deal to the Aiel. The Aes Sedai NEED to realize that there are untapped stores of knowledge in the Wise Ones, stores that they know nothing about. Aes Sedai arrogance is starting to frustrate me more and more.

Maybe I’ve already forgotten a Lan and Nynaeve scene from the last book or a specific line of dialogue but Nynaeve is definitely trying to hold back on her anger when in front of/with Lan. She seems to be trying to make him proud of her? (If there’s a line from the last book I missed where she talks about this let me know.)

Honestly Aviendha and Elayne’s friendship is so great. There’s a trust level there, as you can see from Aviendha makes “an admission she likely would have made to no one else in the world.” But there’s also a bit of miscommunication and insecurity that we see from Aviendha’s angst in the last chapter.

So the watcher was Moridin, and he just lets them go. That’s how you know we have a calculating villain - he doesn’t take the opportunity to smite down anyone who is a threat to him, but lets them go for his own plans. Interesting.

Now here’s something I didn’t realize - things being discovered now are things that didn’t exist in the AoL. Healing stilling. Unweaving weaves. It does make sense, but I hadn’t thought of it before. And Moridin, of course, is angry that there’s some knowledge that he doesn’t know.

He’s got this calm and calculated, clever and smart exterior, but this boiling, roiling, mess of madness internally, I think. And that is fun to read, to see the internal peeking out through the external.

Great, the gholam is going to be after Mat now. Poor Mat needs a break after everything that happened to him in the last book. He’s hanging on by a few threads.

Oh so the gholam was the watcher??? Yikes that means Aviendha didn’t even see Moridin.

Nice. We end with horrific blood-drinking and the title of the next chapter is A Pleasant Ride.