#and doing the time consuming thing anyway

[thursdayisbetterthanfriday]

Some of the most intelligent people I know are continually asking questions which, in many circumstances, would get them labelled as idiots by some. The point is, they're not afraid to admit their ignorance AND they're also not afraid to use that as a springboard to find out more. It's an excellent attitude which allows them, and those they work and interact with, to be more accepting of their own limitations and can allow those with knowledge to share and help them to better things.

You'll sometimes see the above Awareness/Knowledge matrix cited when people talking about knowledge. I like to use it as a demonstrational tool for people.

If you don't ask questions, then your known unknowns remain unknown. It doesn't end there however, as the Unknown unknowns you would likely have uncovered by asking the question remain unknown. In other words, your ignorance compounds like bank interest. But take the opposite. Asking questions can not only help you turn Known unknowns into Known knowns, it can also uncover new Unknown unknowns which you hadn't considered, and might be crucial to what you're interested in, or doing.

In fact, if you assume each question uncovers a uniform number of Unknown unknowns each time, and you seek answers to all questions (a highly unrealistic example, but go with it for now) you can see even only 2 unknown pieces of information per question can quickly balloon to if you try to get answers to them all. If it's 4 then, well, just note that the y axis here is logarithmic. This is a feeling familiar to anyone who has done a Wikipedia binge or has encountered a human child. This is likely overwhelming, but note that this is more of an illustration of how much information can compound over time.

Asking questions also allows others, who know Unknown knows relative to you, to do the same. It's really a win-win situation if done right, creating a kind of compound interest of knowledge that builds over time. But unlike bank interest, the rate isn't fixed. One question can uncover multiple Unknown unknowns which become Known unknowns, leading to quadratic, or higher, rates of knowledge depending on how much time you have to find answers.

Not only that, by helping others do the same you can get increasing compounding knowledge as you both turbocharge each other's knowledge.

Luckily information usually isn't just individual, non-linked, snippets. It often, contextually, ties into itself, giving a network effect which can allow you to assimilate new information and fit it into frameworks of understanding that you already possess. If you're new to a subject, such as a small child or a first-timer amateur, you'll need to acquire knowledge to make your own internal information base but, again, this will compound its usefulness over time. As you gain more knowledge, it allows you to create your own internal knowledge structures which make it SO much easier to understand the world, and means you get to better know which questions to ask.

Anyway - It can be difficult to ask questions at first, and create new habits, but it's often worth the effort. By inspiring others to do the same you can significantly increase your collective knowledge base. Or if you want, which is also a completely legitimate choice, you can choose not to know. Knowledge gathering is a time consuming task after all. Just don't judge people for wanting more.

Just remember: There's no such thing as a stupid question, if it leads to you gaining understanding more about the world.

There's a whole demographic of people who are profoundly incurious and just assume everyone else is too, so when they see something unfamiliar they immediately rush to declare that not only have they never heard of it, none of you did either. You're just pretending. You had to look it up, don't lie. You didn't know this

And like, so what if someone had to look something up. That's how you learn new things. People usually say this about knowledge that's pretty damn basic, but I can't get over how they're not only scornful at the idea of people trying to learn something new, they casually assume everyone else is, too

[meracyn]

LOSER ISAGI PLS!!! 🙏🙏🙏 I LOVE YOUR WRITING 🙏

CRANKING UP THE MOTORS LIKE THERES NO TOMORROW 🗣️🗣️🔥🔥‼️

loser! isagi being absolutely whipped for you..sigh.

loser! isagi who can’t get over your beauty. seeing you, even if he just catches one glimpse of you— is the highlight of his days. he eventually decides to get a notebook and just. write every single thing he absolutely adores about you. tends to fantasize a lot—he can’t help it. can you really blame him? you look so beautiful to him that if you looked over, you could practically notice the lovesick daze glued to his face.

loser! isagi and his frequent stammering. if he somehow manages to speak a sentence without messing up what he was going to say in the first place, is a win in his book.

loser! isagi who’s practically like a schoolgirl having a crush. except no, what he feels for you isn’t some short-term attraction or anything of the sort. isagi knows he’s in love, his face heating up every time you’re there says it all.

loser! isagi who dreams about you day and night. before he goes to sleep, you’re the last thing replaying on his mind and the first when he wakes up. an endless, sweet melody of you, that consumes his mind entirely.

loser! isagi staring at you during any classes you share together, getting completely lost at the way you look. it doesn’t matter whether you’re focused or not. to yoichi, you somehow manage to look even prettier than the day before.

loser! isagi who imagines many different clichés in his head of the two of you. holding your hands, whispering sweet nothings in your ear, hugging you tightly in fear that you’ll slip away any moment— it’s like some sort of guilty pleasure he indulges in. but it’s all in his head, he thinks. it should be fine if he daydreams a little. everyone does it anyway, right?

loser! isagi who doesn’t pay attention in class to end up doodling little sketches in his notebooks. writing your initials, hearts,—even drawing a (somewhat) tiny cupid with a bow and arrow striking a heart to the stickman version of himself. however, that cupid is you. since you struck him with that arrow the moment he laid eyes on you.

loser! isagi who blushes at any physical contact you make, no matter how light it is. he could literally be asking for a pencil, and as you hand it to him his fingers brush against your thumb, making his cheeks redden, and you didn’t even say anything. that moment will forever be engraved in his mind for the rest of his days.

loser! isagi who tries to gather the courage to ask you out on a date. but once the perfect moment arrives when you’re alone, the words just don’t come out, and so he fails miserably. but he’ll do it someday, just you wait. for now, he’ll have to stay content with the friendly hangouts you offer, even though he wishes it was more than that. but then again, just you wait. you’ll fall for him eventually—if you don’t already, that is.

[gorgeys]

foragers ★ jackie taylor x fem!reader

you force jackie to go foraging with you and she decides to make the most out of your alone time

warnings: SMUT - dry humping, knee thing, biting, making out word count: 1400

"so...what are we doing out here again?" jackie groans from behind you, mindlessly following you deeper into the woods.

you sigh out of frustration, your eyes still fixed to the ground, looking for plants that might be edible.  you had explained this to her about a hundred times already.

"we're foraging," you say pointedly, crouching down to take a closer look at a random plant.

"oh, we're foraging," jackie mocks, raising her hands in faux surrender though your attention isn't anywhere near her.  "my bad," she says with a teasing laugh.

"can you be serious, for like, two seconds, jackie?" you ask, peeking over your shoulder at her. your face is the picture of irritation.

"um, no," she says, reaching down and tucking your hair behind your ear.  her hand affectionately holds the back of your neck.  "what's the point of this anyway?  we've been out here for hours and barely found anything."

her thumb soothingly strokes your skin, and you can't deny that it makes you feel a little more at ease.

"it doesn't matter.  we just need to put in the effort and show that we're contributing in some way," you say.

to jackie, sounds are coming out of your mouth, but she's more focused on the way your lips seem to move in slow-motion and the precious way you look up at her through fluttering eyelashes.

"the longer we're stuck here, the crazier everyone's gonna get.  we need to make sure we have some sort of role to play so no one has a reason to..."

"to what?  get rid of us?  kill us?  i think you're starting to go a little crazy," jackie says with that carefree smile of hers.

"yeah, maybe," you say, standing up to meet jackie face-to-face.  her hand still lingers on the back of your neck.  "but foraging is easy enough."

you weakly smile at her, but she can see the stress written between your brows.  you've been on edge since the plane crash, always worrying about something.  even though you tried your best to hide it, jackie could tell.

"why don't you just relax a little, huh?" she says, both her hands now finding your neck.  they trail downward, softly tracing over your collarbone, then your shoulders, then your sides.  there's an unmistakable excitement in her eyes.

"jackie," you warn, just before she grabs your hips and pulls you into her, eliciting a soft grunt from the back of your throat.  it only motivates her more.

"lemme help you relax," she says with a lopsided grin.

her hips push into yours as she turns you slightly and guides you backwards.  after nearly stumbling over a fallen branch, your back hits a tree trunk with a thump.

without another thought, jackie's lips attack your neck.  her lips eagerly kiss and suck on your fragile skin, leaving trails of saliva in their wake.  she felt you like this in weeks, so she's more desperate and sloppy than usual.  she wants to consume as much of you as she can, as quickly as you'll let her.

"jackie, someone could see," you say, sounding whinier than you intended, your hands tangling in her bouncy hair like second nature.

"we've been walking for hours, no one's out here," she reassures you, her rapsy voice barely above a whisper.  her fingers start to creep under your shirt, a cool contrast to your warm skin.   "besides, i haven't had you like this in forever," she groans.

she suddenly bites down on the column of your throat, causing you to hiss in response.

"jackie!"  her name leaves your lips, something between a reprimand and a moan, as you throw your head back against the tree.  "marks?"  it had always been something you guys were careful of back home.

"you're so whiny," she mumbles, and you can feel her smiling into your neck.  she loves it.  "forget about everyone else.  you can tell 'em we got attacked by a deer or something."

she bites down in a different spot, and you're about to protest, but her knee finds its way in between your legs and the words die in your throat.  jackie notices and looks up from your neck.  she can see the worries starting to fall from your face, replaced by pleasure.

jackie's hands find your bare back just above your waist.  she pulls you into her while slowly grinding her knee against the crotch of your jeans.  pride immediately washes over her as your mouth falls open and each breath becomes heavier than the last.

"that feels good, doesn't it?" she says, lips ghosting over yours.  she doesn't give you time to respond before she's repeating the same motion.

"mhm, feels good," you say, voice slightly higher pitch.  usually it would take a little more friction and a lot less layers to get you panting like this, but you've been so touch-starved since the crash that you're practically moaning every time jackie even grazes you.

your hands leave jackie's hair and grab her by the jacket to pull her into a needy kiss, tugging her so hard that one of her hands leaves your back to brace herself against the tree.  seeing you with a fistful of her varsity jacket drives her absolutely insane and you know it.  she sucks on your bottom lip hard enough to bruise and pushes her tongue into your mouth.

"jackie," you moan against her lips.  your hips are now working with her knee, trying to produce as much friction as possible.  "you're doing so good," you say, knowing she's a sucker for praise.

she feels herself throb in her cargo shorts, so hard that a quiet moan sneaks past her lips.

"fuck, i missed you," she curses, hand moving up your back under your shirt.  "wanna make you cum so bad."

you whimper at her words, starting to rut yourself against her leg even faster than before.  jackie helps you by pressing her knee even harder into your clothed cunt.  she feels like she's on fire watching how desperate you are to reach your release.  how desperate you are for her to help you get there.

"shit, m'gonna," you warn her after an embarrassingly short amount of time.  your grip tightens on her jacket.

"let go for me," she says, holding your face in her hand so that you can't run from her eye contact.  "please," she begs.  "i need it."  that does it.

"oh, fuck, fuck, fuck, don't stop," you moan, hips bucking into her knee one last time before you're arching and cumming in your panties.

she keeps grinding her knee into you, face beaming with satisfaction as she watches that familiar expression find your face.  she couldn't get enough of it, no matter how many times the two of you had done this.  her ego would be unbearable for the rest of the day knowing she was the one who made you feel like this.

only when you came down from your high did jackie stop.  before she could say anything, you found her lips in a long, gentler kiss.  when you pulled away, her eyes were still squeezed shut and her lips were attempting to follow yours.  you couldn't help but smile: she was just too cute.

once her eyes opened, she looked back at you with so much adoration.

"how was that?" she asked, slightly out of breath, though she already knew the answer.

"i needed that," you say, hand coming up to cradle her face.  she leaned into your touch.  "i missed you too."

she looks absolutely giddy to hear you say that, so much so that she leans in and gives your lips a quick peck.

"wasn't that so much better than looking for berries or whatever?" she asks, hands holding your waist.

"yeah, but we need to find something before we go back so we can at least pretend that we were productive," you say, thumb caressing her cheek.

"hey!  i considered that very productive, actually," she says with that smug, suggestive smirk of hers.

"i don't know if they will, though.  especially when they see these," you say, gesturing to your neck where a few bruises are beginning to form.

"sorry, i got excited," she shrugs, though she doesn't look very sorry.  nevertheless, she leans down and places a kiss on each bruise.  "you're too cute not to eat."

"yeah, yeah," you smile, playfully pushing her off of you.  "you can apologize by finding us some berries before sundown.  preferably ones that won't kill us."

[rea-grimm]

Sleep protector Corazon

You've been suffering from insomnia for some time without knowing why. Maybe it was because you were more of a night owl, even though you couldn't sleep at night but never slept past seven in the morning. 

But nothing was working for you. Pills, meditation, special music... nothing. You felt like you'd tried everything you could. 

After a while, you got used to it and stopped worrying about it. You had giant circles under your eyes and you looked half dead, but you were functioning, and that was the main thing. And that was despite the regular nightmares you had when you tried to sleep. Even though you tried to control your dreams, it was like fighting windmills.

You'd come home late at night. The sky was already clouded with a black veil and the moon was hidden under dark clouds, so the street lamps provided the only light. But the city had saved money, so every other one was lit. 

A freezing wind blew in, bringing full snowflakes that began to drift down from the sky. You pulled your scarf tighter around your neck, wanting to get home as soon as possible. 

You were passing a dark alley when a lamp lit up in it. It startled you completely. You stopped in your tracks and looked into the alley to see if anyone was standing there. There were only trash cans and an ancient chest in the alley. You walked closer when you noticed that a teddy bear had been placed on the box.

The teddy bear had a hole in its chest, and it had plush coming out of it. There was a black feather coat over his shoulders that was burned and the teddy bear was generally dirty. Something drew you to him despite all this.

"You look worse than me," you muttered before picking him up. Even though it was just a stuffed toy, you decided to take it home. There, you cleaned it up and stitched up the wound on its chest. You noticed that he had more stitches on him than just this one.  

That very night, a miracle happened for you. You fell asleep on the couch with the stuffed bear in your arms. But even now you were having nightmares. You were in the wilderness surrounded by nightmares that threatened to consume you.

The whole place was so loud that you held your ears and feared your head would burst. As loud as the noise was, you were paralyzed and all you could do was stand still and hold your ears. 

After a while, however, a light passed by, creating a sort of barrier where everything went silent. You pulled your hands away from your ears and looked around. A few feet away from you, you saw a tall man in a black feather cloak who looked stern. 

The man started in your direction, but when he was almost upon you, he tripped over his own foot and fell to the ground with a loud thud. You were startled, as you hadn't expected it. 

The tall man groaned in pain before scrambling back to his feet and lunging at the nightmares, which he easily defeated and the rest took off running. 

After this, he turned to you and wanted to walk over to you. As he approached, you noticed that he had a lit cigarette in his mouth. A few steps away from you anyway, he had tripped and fallen to the ground. What you didn't expect was that the cigarette fell out of his mouth and lit his black feather coat on fire.

You were surprised by this and ran over to him to make sure he was okay and that nothing had happened to him.

The Protector gratefully accepted your hand and you saw his face was as red as the cap he was wearing. He smiled shyly at you and nodded his head that he was fine. 

Then he began to wave his hands and gesticulate as if he were communicating by signs. Only then did you realize that he was probably mute. You were glad you had taken a short course at school earlier so you understood some of the signs. 

Your protector wasn't sure you understood him, but when you answered him and even used some of the signs yourself, he beamed all over. 

When you woke up in the morning, you had no idea it was possible to sleep so well, even while lying on the couch. But you were still holding a teddy bear.

From that day on, you also started finding black feathers in your apartment when you woke up. You also smelled cigarette smoke, even though you were a non-smoker. 

Now and then you would also find little sticky notes on your bedside table or other places in your apartment with short messages that always motivated you and made your day.

These little things reminded you of the man who appeared in your dreams every night and protected you from nightmares. You even practiced sign language with him in your dreams sometimes, when he taught you new signs. 

However, he also took you on adventures to different kingdoms, hunting for magical fruit and the like. It was during these times in your dreams that you realized how clumsy he was. You even stopped counting how many times he fell, tripped, set himself on fire, and other such things.

One day, in your apartment, one of the notes left by your protector included a picture of a little boy of kindergarten age who looked sick. He was pale with black circles under his eyes and white patches on his skin. 

You didn't understand what the photo was doing there. You looked at it a few more times, but otherwise, you left it on the table because you didn't know what else to do with it. 

In the evening, when you drifted off, you found yourself in a dream in a familiar place where you spent most of your time with your protector. In the dream, you found the same photo of the little boy in your pocket and decided to ask your protector about it. 

He took the photo from you and looked at it nostalgically with a faint smile. He confessed to you that he used to be the protector of a little boy who was sick and who was being hunted by someone very bad. He had sacrificed himself so that the boy could live and move on. He thought it was the best solution and he thought it was the end of him. Until he ran into you.

It's been a few days since you got your stuffed bear, and your sleep has improved many times over. You had no idea that sleeping better would improve your life this many times over. The circles under your eyes have improved, and so has your mood. 

You went on a little shopping trip and came home. You waited at the crosswalk until the pedestrian light turned green before you could finally cross. You were crossing and you didn't notice the car coming towards you. It didn't notice the light and kept going.

You didn't notice it until it was almost upon you. You didn't have enough time to get away. Plus, you felt like your body refused to move even though you wished you could get to safety. 

"Watch out!" you heard a voice call out to you. However, you had the impression that you couldn't control it.

You closed your eyes and expected the worst. However, the impact came from the other side as someone grabbed you around the waist and ran with you to the side. However, someone tripped over a curb and you both crashed to the ground.

"You? Are you okay?" 

You asked as you opened your eyes and finally saw the man who had blocked you. It was your protector from your dreams. "Thank you so much," you added, hugging him.

"What about you? Are you hurt?" He asked, stroking your cheek before he began to examine you to see if you were really okay. You were fine except for some minor scrapes. 

"You're talking," you said in surprise since it was the first time you'd heard his voice. You saw him get nervous and instead start mumbling that he needed to take another look to see if you were hurt.

"Um, I'm Rosinante... but you can call me Corazon. I'm your personal protector," he introduced himself after a moment.

"I'm so glad I can finally get to know you properly," you said before leaning in and kissing him on the lips. "You should be more careful too," you said honestly as you pulled away. 

Corazon was red as a crayfish at the gesture and began to stutter. He didn't understand much, but then he said more clearly if you minded. 

But you just shook your head. You were glad for him. For your clumsy protector.

One Piece Masterlist

Sleep Protector Masterlist

[paperstarwriters]

Ugh I’m not great at just randomly posting without like planning and structuring the fic beforehand but I NEED to talk about him. To soothe my soul really.

Just—Muriel. Muriel and sitting not on his lap, but between his thighs, thick and meaty, bracketing your own hips as he leans his chest against your back and head. Maybe he’s settled down behind you to read what you’re reading. Maybe he’s opted to sit like this while e carves rather than sitting back-to-back. Either way, the habit starts as many do with warmth radiating from Muriel’s cheeks, but maybe less so than usual, less so than before, because he’s been with you long enough—long enough to be comfortable like this at least. To just… bracket you—blanket you. Lean atop your shoulders and wrapped around you like a child hugging their favourite plush. Maybe you’ve done that to him before, while you sit on the bed and he sits on the floor, or perhaps while he’s in a seat while you’re standing, just leaning over his shoulders. And maybe this is him returning the gesture.

Either way, as many cozy cuddly things do, this becomes habit. Ritual even. That if you ever sit down on the floor or on the bed in Muriel’s proximity, he’ll drape himself over and around you to cuddle as you work or read or whatever really.

He talks to you like that sometimes. Mundane things really. Like how he enjoyed his day with you, or how it’s really important for you to drink water—please stop forgetting, no coffee doesn't count. And sometimes he rests with his chin atop your head, and other times he leans in to say the things to your cheek, or even whisper it in your ear. He doesn’t mean anything by it most of the time, just whispering because he doesn't want to so harshly break the comfortable silence around you, but sometimes, just sometimes, he does like watching you squirm.

It sends something electric to his chest. Makes his face grow warm from the combination of shame and delight. Shame that he’s trying so selfishly to poke and prod at you like this to make you embarrassed just for his own enjoyment, that he’s still so anxious that he feels the need to test and see if you have the same reaction as he does to your mere presence. And of course delight every time it’s conformed—every time you squirm against his chest almost making him grin at the notion that for once he’s embarrassing you by doing nothing but cuddling a little. He’s still red faced when he does it, still averts his eyes trying not to be too happy at tormenting you, but so long as you don’t turn it back on him—don’t call out his obvious delight, he won’t pout.

Then again, even if you do he’ll smile eventually anyways, your own affectionate glee too infectious not to.

But like I can’t help but imagine how one day you might just be sitting between his legs like that, him draped over and around you while you chat. He interjects occasionally giving input when in short sparse bursts and the occasional thorough explanation, but at some point the conversation comes to a lull, a soft cozy silence that isn’t loathed in such comfortable company, but you still choose to break it regardless, not even trying to turn when you speak to him.

And maybe it’s a confession of love for the umpteenth time (though he'd never tire from it), maybe it’s a worm of some tender insecurity rearing it’s head, or maybe it’s Muriel, who’s had a bad day or a bad week, feeling shitty and horrible and loathing himself in that silent way he sometimes does, and you tell him that you can see him. That you know that it’s hard, that it’s awful, but you see that he’s trying too, and you’re so proud of him. So proud that he’s trying. That he cares for himself enough to try instead of shutting down and letting the hurt just consume him, and that you're always around if he needs some help, that he needn't shoulder the burden all by himself, no matter how much his broad shoulders can carry.

And either way the reaction is the same. He pulls away just for a moment, struck by your words—either appalled that you think so lowly of yourself or awed at such a blatant and earnest display of your love for him—before he presses a kiss to your neck. Once, maybe twice. Three times or even more if he's feeling particularly greedy, or if it seems to make you happy (so often three or more times lmao) And it's not just rapid little fluttery kisses, though it often devolves into that. But he'll start slowly, lovingly. Devoting his kisses to some tender spot along your neck that he's long since memorized, perhaps the ridge of your spine, or the soft column of tissue between your neck and your collarbone, or the tender patches of skin just behind your ear. And each kiss he gives with such reverence, such adoration and love—the same way he loves to do when he presses his lips to yours.

And at some point he curls against you, brushes his lips to your ear, and with that low rumbling voice, that you can feel as you rest your back against his chest, he'll say, "Thank you" if your words had been loving, or "I disagree." if it was something cruel to yourself. Either way, he's squeezing you tighter between his arms and legs, like he's worried you might leave him somehow. That you might try to squirm from his grasp even as you make your delight so blatantly clear. And while there is a thread of that thought that ties itself round his chest, it's more that he needs you to stay in place. So long as you stay where you are—so long as you you don't turn around, so long as you don't call him out for how red his face is, how embarrassing it is that he's so affected by you, so delighted when you show how much you love him, how upset he feels when he hears you don't view yourself the same way he sees you... so long as you don't look at him it's easier to tell you. Not to mention, it's so much easier to be honest when no one is watching him, when he isn't worried that he'd disappoint you somehow or make a fool of himself.

Most importantly though, it keeps him from getting distracted. Because it is. Distracting, that is. So very distracting to watch you watch him, eyes narrowing in on all those spots on him that he once might have hated, but now appreciates if only because you so vehemently adore. His chest and stomach for one; once markers of how large he was—how large he is—have become a point you often like to stare at. Eyes trailing down when his shirt is off, igniting in him that familiar, embarrassed, delight. And in the same way coals still able to start a fire anew with the right kindling, the thoughts set his mind alight with thoughts of what you'd so eagerly love to do to him if he let you. What he'd so eagerly let you do if you were willing.

The mere memory of your kisses all over his stomach and chest—and the one bite you pressed to his chest, right atop his heart, like you were trying to swallow what was already yours—oh it made his mind swirl, made his face grow beet red at even the vaguest memory.

So as long as you couldn't so easily reciprocate. So long as your back was to him. He finally would get to give back to you. To litter loving longing, dizzying kisses of his own against your skin. Against wherever he could reach, against whatever you would expose for him. Make you shiver and squirm in the way he often did for you. Make you keen or gasp or whine when he bit you, teasingly perhaps, or longingly, when the urge to carve a place for himself beneath your skin—safely tucked beside your heart—grows far too fierce. Never enough to hurt of course, every bite always followed with more kisses to your skin like an apology for even leaving the imprint of his teeth on your flesh.

Ah, but as much as he wants to keep you from watching him, to keep you from distracting him with your loving wandering eyes, he still will always crave the chance to kiss you, to feel you kiss him. To press his lips against your own, and cling to you like you were the very air that would fill his lungs with life. And whether that happen when you finally turn to peer at him, or when he tilts your head back guiding you with a warm hand against your cheek, he all to eagerly slots himself in the slight part between your lips, all too eager to just kiss.

Just for a second perhaps, or however many minutes it takes for you to loose your breaths, he doesn't care how long it lasts, so long as he gets to hold you after, so long as you let him bask in the glory of getting to love you, of getting feeling what it's like to be adored from the bottom of your heart.

Just stay here, with his arms wrapped greedily around you, and his thighs bracketing your hips. A full body embrace.

Ah, a Bear hug really.

[semipreciousgemstonejade]

Tying a few loose ends.

Just wanted to close the gap with the central fragment being missing, though I'm not sure if that is specifically what is being referred to by Captain Jenna. That is just my own speculation. Could it be the fragment MC is holding in Ch 11 of Zayne's Branch Story?

I reach out but stop once I realise I'm holding something. I open my hand to see a Protocore fragment. It emits a faint green glow.

Are the Branch Stories connected in some way and not in order?

Thought it'd be a good idea to begin going through the other chapters as well.

Prologue to Tomorrow - Eye of The Storm - Ch 01 - 03 / Story - Onward Again

I wonder if there will be an Aether Core for each Stellactrum colour...

Anyway...

I also came across something yesterday whilst revisiting the Main Story and it made me think of Xavier's collar.

A group of fully geared hunters rushes past us. The Evol railguns in their hands are glowing blue. They're clearly charged. - Under Deepspace - Ch 05 - Eternal Aurora - 02 / Story - Snow-Kissed Coffee

The Protocore energy in MC's heart is currently stable as confirmed by Dr. Zayne and Philip of The Odd Workshop.

Under Deepspace - Ch 05 - Eternal Aurora - 07 / Story - Aether Core

Dr. Noah mentions that the power of her Aether Core is reduced and speculates it is after an accident in the final experiment.

Meeting Philip, whom Dr. Noah mentioned had run away.

Long-Awaited Revelry - Ch 01 - Ambiguous Chaos - 06 / Story - Resonance and Shackles

MC says in Under Deepspace - Ch 01 - Eternal Aurora - 02 / Story - Deepspace Hunter, of the Main Story, that she was attacked by a Wanderer and since then her Evol hasn't been stable.

In World Underneath, 06 Sealed in Dust, the following is recorded on Day 75 & Day 134 (I have only included excerpts below):

Ch 04 | Post Catastrophe Journal - 02/03 - 03/03

Day 75, Post-Chronorift Catastrophe, Sunny

Our lives have calmed down, yet still she forgets things from time to time. Her memory is like a faint signal, intermittent and sometimes wavering.

Ch 05 | Journal Entry 4 - 01/02 - 02/02

Day 134, Post-Chronorift Catastrophe, Sunny

Her condition has improved a lot recently. She's less likely to forget things. Perhaps it's because her condition is stabilizing... The data after the checkup shows the energy peak in her heart is only half of what it used to be... What happened to this child when she faced the Chronorift Catastrophe alone?

We know MC can control others' Evol (Xavier's Branch Story), control Zayne's Evol backlash (Zayne's 5-Star Memoria, Snowy Serenity), surpress other's Evol (Zayne's Branch Story) and can absorb power as stated in, World Underneath, 06 Sealed in Dust, Ch 06 | Dust - 02/03 - 03/03.

Her powers also get stronger.

Xavier's Branch Story, Voyage of the Outcast, 09 / Story, Starfall Forest.

(His power is fading... Is this space trying to consume him?)

*MC attempts to Resonate with Xavier*

"What's going on? Why can't I control your Evol?" - MC

Sidenote:

This trap was set specifically for Xavier and was only devouring his power. Other traps had been set for him, potentially by other Backtrackers as we've learned some of them defected and began working with Ever.

When we first met at the abandoned research base with the Luminivores, and the robots watching us at Azure Square- he sent them? - MC

Maybe. - Xavier

This forest... It's clearly a trap designed for me. This can only be his doing. - Xavier

Luminivores - Under Deepspace - Ch 01 - To Begin - 02 / Story - Mysterious Light

(I would argue the attack on the train could also be them/ Ever since a) MC speculates about it being connected to the Flux Nexus i.e., being able to reanimate Wanderers, b) Lumiere slayed the only one ever seen, and c) we learn in Lumiere's Myth that they're behind the increase in Wander attacks) Tezcatlipoca - Under Deepspace - Ch 06 - Endless Night - 04 / Story - Loop of Mirrors

Robots in Azure Square - Under Deepspace - Ch 08 - Galactic Sunset - 03 / Story - Luminous Veil

MC speculates the Wanderer that Soren is using to trap them in its Protofield can "invade and read memories" or has a special connection to the Spatium Core. Xavier speculates it could have been modified by Soren.

In Zayne's Branch Story, 04 / Story, Chansia City Hospital, MC speculates to herself during a conversation with Captain Willow that maybe the Aether Core made the Myst Wanderer mutate (dispelled by Zayne in Ch 05 of his Branch) "or something" because of its ability to hide. We also learn here that MC can surpress the accumulating Metaflux with her Evol.

We also learn Evol's can potentially be hidden as Xavier says,

"He changed his appearance and hid his Evol." - Xavier

The man in a raincoat and the hat-wearing man (a Backtracker. Possibly Soren?) are hoping Xavier's presence will allow MC (Unicorn) to absorb some of his power.

World Underneath | 06 Sealed in Dust

Ch 06 | Dust - 01/06 - 03/06.

"Why should we rush? Her powers aren't complete yet." - The man in a raincoat, 01/06

"Don't say I didn't warn you. It's not just Ever who wants her. Strike first to gain an advantage." - Hat-wearing man, 02/06

"If you can get rid of Xavier in the process, you'd be doing us a big favour. Isn't internal struggle your specialty? Kill Xavier and let Ever crown you as Prince. Haha-". - The man in a raincoat, 03/06

World Underneath | 06 Sealed in Dust

Ch 06 | Dust - 04/06 - 05/06.

"Tell your masters they better get their hands on her fast. Based on my experience, her existence isn't as simple as the observation records suggests." The man lowers his hat and turns to leave. "If you keep stalling, Ever will end up losing more than they bargained for once she develops." Hat-wearing man, 04/06

Fortunately, the substance mixed in the drug hasn't been discovered yet. According to Ever's plan, if they can control that Backtracker with that drug, Xavier shouldn't be far off. He will soon beat other "Raincoats" and join the real plan. Ever has always valued talent such as a useful lightblade. They can't let it break so easily. Since Unicorn's power isn't complete yet, it's perfectly fine to let her absorb some power- Xavier's specifically. Letting his lightblade serve her and becoming the strongest weapon in her hands is something the Resonance Evol can easily achieve. Xavier will surely give her every bit of himself. - The man in a Raincoat, 05/06

MC finds 2 syringes in the cabin of Xavier's Spaceship, Traceback II Philos 1101 PLS, that showed "signs of recent use". Is this linked to the substance mixed with the drug in World Underneath?

Long-Awaited Revelry - Ch 01 - Ambiguous Chaos - 08 / Story - Hesitation

Philip - the owner of The Odd Workshop analyses MC and discovers she has the Resonance Evol and recognises her Aether Core's Protocurve.

A red/ beta-Protocurve indicates a Protocore is an Aether Core as confirmed by Xavier in the Main Story, Under Deepspace - Ch 06 - Endless Night - 11 / Story - Highest Level Access and Captain Jenna in Zayne's Branch Story, Thorns Under the Moon, 02 / Story, Hunter's Association.

The Hunter's Association doesn't have the means to analyse Aether Core Protocurves until the Branch Stories.

In Zayne's Branch Story, Ch 05, Zayne confirms that an ordinary Wanderer cannot generate such a Metaflux that occurred during the surgery he performed. But he quashes MC's speculation that Aether Core's are causing mutations since she has one successfully integrated with her heart. He may be alluding to the experiments conducted by Xander Sciences as he doesn't elaborate. It interferes with her heart unlike the Wanderer in Xavier's Branch which devours only his power. MC senses faint Aether Core fluctuations and speculates the Myst's Protocore has Aether Core energy. Protocore Clusters keep them trapped in Zayne's nightmare. MC can detect them with her Evol.

Simone tells MC that after Raymond passed, Xander Sciences was acquired by Ever.

I need to revisit again, but we don't know what the Aether Core looks like in Rafayel's Branch Story. All we know is it comes from the Tome of the Sea God.

Under Deepspace - Ch 05 - Eternal Aurora - 09 / Story - Snowy Mountain

Relating to the Protocore found in No Hunt Zone No.7 with Xavier. MC further confirming that its energy value in comparison to the Aether Core in her heart means that the one they found was modified.

That's all for today. It's easy to see all kinds of patterns as there's lots of information that seems insignificant at the time or it's not clear how it pieces together until more information is released.

MC's Anhaunsen Class Evol Ponderings...

In Xavier's anecdote, When Shooting Stars Fall (Ch 01 | Distant Stars, pg 06), MC wishes to know more about him and even tries to use her Evol to resonate with his dreams.

"There were times when i noticed him sleeping. I tried using my Evol to resonate with his dreams. But whenever i do, i get too nervous and fail." - MC

Can MC see people's dreams when she resonates with them while they're asleep?

In Long-Awaited Revelry, Ch 2, she absorbs the power from the Aether Core she obtains from the Flux Nexus and has the infamous vision.

"But before i started resonating with you, i saw a strange vision..." - MC

Sylus can use the Aether Core in his eye to invade and take over consciousness...

Does MC have the capability or potential to do this as well since she can acquire new abilities?

"You have a lot of potential for growth and might even acquire new abilities." - President, Badge Ceremony

In that case, what would MC see if Sylus was dreaming or fantasising about her? Now that, i would like to see. Wouldn't that be grand?

[dailypokemoncrochet]

I spent so long on this 😭🪦

[xshinina]

Guess who's back for blood?

[cubbihue]

Hi! this is kinda an art request if u dont mind. And it's angst related, can you draw like where wanda and cosmo obvs have seen for a while how (human) timmy has been treated by his real parents. I just want to see like the "last straw" which lead Cosmo and Wanda wanting them to make Timmy as their own. (IM HAPPY THAT TIMMY HAS A FAMILY THAT LOVES AND CARES FOR HIM)

The "Last Straw"?

Cosmo and Wanda have seen humans at their best. They've seen humans at their worst. They've seen anything and everything that they've gone numb and used to what humans get up to.

But nothing's shaken them quite like Timmy's case did. Nothing has ever made a Fairy feel such strong human emotions than what Timmy made them feel, on that one particular night.

The thing that broke Cosmo and Wanda was Timmy himself.

Bitties Series: [Start] > [Previous] > [Next]

[royalarchivist]

This is what it feels like every time a new SMP has streamers I like

[gretagator]

What if the Joker was blue and orange

[volitioncheck]

does near every single post-canon DE fic out there need to be tagged ‘Sober Harry Du Bois’? i’m getting so tired of it.

do i expect every single piece of fan content to have to fully delve into the often-depressing always-complex topic of addiction? not really. sometimes you just want to write/read a silly fluffy romance one-shot, whatever. i get it. but i think my issue is specifically with the fact that for nearly every sillyfluffy au out there, there almost must be a ‘sober harry du bois’ tag. and it does feel very slapped-on more often than not.

i think to me it is an unconscious statement that nothing *good* can ever happen to harry du bois until he is completely and permanently sober. before solving the next big case, he has to be sober. before quitting the force, he has to be sober. before falling in love with kim, he has to be sober. before accomplishing anything, starting any sort of recovery, making any life improvement, he must first be sober.

sobriety as a goal, as a journey, and honestly as a concept in of itself is not as cut and dry as so many people think it is. and i think it would serve a lot of people well if they did some introspection on the implications of how nearly every single post-canon fic that isn’t dealing directly with harry’s addiction have him as completely sober instead.

if the plot of the fic isn’t going to touch directly on harry’s substance use (and again, i’m not demanding that every single fic should), why does that mean that sober!harry must be the default?

i think i am just tired of reading a casefic, a smutty one-shot, a fantasy au, whatever, where it almost seems that before getting on with the plot, the author feels obligated to first assure us that the harry we’re reading about is a Sober Harry. it’s established with a couple lines in the exposition, probably about his improved appearance, a tag up top, and then never brought up again; a checkmarked box. like the societal image of An Addict has completely prevented people from being able to imagine a person just, continuing to live life, while still struggling with addiction.

life happens, with all of its backslides and achievements, mundanity and changes, to people with drug addictions just as much as people who don’t. is a post-canon harry who isn’t sober not worth writing about?

i think so. i think the game we all played thinks so too. in fact i think that sentiment is woven into the game’s very core. i just wish i saw that reflected in our fan content more.

[icarrymany]

the mh comics open up such an interesting narrative for our few surviving characters. to them, what happened in the videos was real, but to everyone else its a cool creative web series. when all of that is viewed as fiction, fans have a freedom to speculate about and invade the lives and privacy of real people. and that would be so uncomfortable and terrifying. imagine someone irl having headcanons about YOU. writing fan fiction about you and your real friends. assuming things about you PUBLICLY ! IN MASS!

wouldnt it be so cool to see a character grapple with that in like a self-reflective way? fans asking questions the muse is too afraid to ask themselves. of course, theyre the only person the answer matters to.

[scarletfasinera]

I hate when people are like "I already didn't like xyz so it's not difficult for me to boycott it unlike those loser customers that actually Liked the thing which I could never understand bc I was never a customer uwu" bc like. That literally isn't boycotting lmao. That is just Never Being A Customer In The First Place, which means nothing actually.

Boycotts are primarily about applying pressure (or completely making it impossible to operate) via financial/commercial/economic impact. AKA it's about money and capital.

If you already weren't spending money on a product/franchise/company, then you were already never part of their sales data, and you just doing nothing & making absolutely no change to your daily life and just continuing to not be part of their sales data as normal, has literally no material impact. You were already never a factor. The people who WERE customers & WERE part of the sales data & ARE withdrawing their money from those sales figures actually ARE making a material impact.

"Supporting" something isn't about vibes or thoughts or feelings or you telling your best friend how much you like a thing, "support" in a meaningful sense is specifically material. It is financial. Refusing to continue supporting something means taking the money you were previously spending on it & putting it elsewhere. If you were never spending money, you were never supporting it, and therefore it doesn't make any difference if you continue to not support it. Boycotting is something CUSTOMERS and CONSUMERS do.

SO STOP FUCKING BRAGGING ABOUT IT & STOP MAKING FUN OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY ARE BOYCOTTING FOR "EVER LIKING XYZ TO BEGIN WITH" & STOP SPREADING THIS FALSE IDEA OF HOW BOYCOTTING WORKS LMAO sorry for capslocking I remembered I was annoyed

I just hate this low-morale mean-spirited bullshit some people do in the notifs on boycotting info posts where they arbitrarily moralize about something they just don't understand so they can pat themselves on the back for doing literally literally nothing AND inadvertently spreading misinfo in the process. Be quiet. Go do something that matters. There are plenty of posts going around, including from Palestinians themselves, with lists of references for how to help Palestine & other similar causes for people currently in crisis, please please do something For Real instead of boasting online about your fandom superiority complex as if it means anything.

[sluckythewizard]

[PUT INTO PLACE, TIED DOWN AND ARRANGED, AND IS NEVER THE SAME, AGAIN.]<-listen to my favorite songs. VAMPIRES ARE WONDERFUL ARENT THEY. THE FLESH IS SO MUCH MORE DURABLE. SO MUCH STRETCHIER THAN HUMANS. THE STRESS DOESNT KILL A VAMPIRE THE SAME WAY IT DOES A HUMAN. YOU CAN TAKE THEM APART THREAD BY THREAD AND LEAVE THEM WIDE AWAKE WITHOUT WORRY OF THE BRAINMATTER SPOILING UNDER VINEGARY AGONY.

[beneathsilverstars]

Drew some family portraits to figure out how I want to draw everyone!! I was so brave and basically kept them in canon greyscale even though coloring is my favorite thing in the world 😤