#and most of them are too ancient to handle it lmao

[lesbiansanemi]

I need to change my blog header. Half the things on there aren’t even things I post about anymore lol

[brittle-doughie]

if y/n was piss at a random cookie hurting one of the cookies kids.

This is them if u anger them

How would the others reacted to this, with the darkness cookies witness this side too. Plus the others like the ancients, legendaries and the yeast beasts also see this

Spy x Family reference lol

I think a majority of cookies would be caught very off guard by your sudden aggression when it came to ANYONE bringing harm to your little ones. A literal Papa/Mama Bear momento.

Black Swan, so used to you being soft and adorable, is suddenly taken aback when she sees your fierce side when Red Panna critiques Blue Slushy a bit too much and you want him to cut her some slack.

White Lily gasps in shock when you tell off DE to leave Brave and the others alone, they were still just kids at the end of the day! Not Chili though, she can suffer. (LMAO)

Timekeeper is immediately reminded of your short fuse when you push back against her usual trolling, saying that Brave and the gang could’ve gotten hurt from her timeline shenanigans. She had to stop it to prevent you from quitting.

Xylitol Nova is most curious about this side of you when he sees you handle some of the younger Xylitol cookies. He knew you were a benevolent cookie, but to see you care for the others so well, it makes him wonder where you got the experience from if you didn’t have young ones yourself.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Ever since I saw that you like zhongtham... the idea has been living rent free on my head, thanks for build this roman empire in my brain lmao so...... TELL ME MORE, what are your thoughts on their relationship? how the people around them react to their relationship??

(of course, only if you want to, I hope you have a nice day!!)

oh god

ultimately i think what they both need is understanding? in the sense that- both have very specific experiences in their day-to-day lives that aren't exactly the common shared experience between most other people. zhongli is a fucking eons-long being and alhaitham is not neurotypical. like he's autistic, idk how else we want to put it, that's what he is. zhongli, meanwhile, by virtue of not being a human and not having a strictly human way of processing the world, cannot be autistic since- again, not human. but this does make him autistic-coded, if that makes any sense. my man despises slimy foods on the basis of the texture (yes, this comes from trauma, but what bothers him is still the texture. that's coding). he's not human so he has different sensory experiences, probably more acute than humans. he's been described as a blockhead. he seems like he'd have a very specific routine he follows. he's very exacting on his field of expertise. the whole 'haha no mora no wallet' situation comes from the fact that his brain is still logically thinking he can just make mora (which, given everything, is a perfectly valid thing to still be hung up on), and so he forgets his money because his mind insists the way of the world is that he can just make it - but he can't anymore, and for an arbitrary reason, too. he's the literal god of contracts: what are contracts if not a parameter of very logical pre-established rules you have to follow? and he doesn't bend on those contracts, because he's of the mindset that if you made them in the first place, you knew what you were getting into, so what's the problem. all combined, and added with the fact that he's not human, and you cannot call him neurotypical. because he just does not function to match human standards of what 'neurotypical' even is.

so like- we don't know that they've met in canon, but we have decent reason to believe it's a very real possibility. the same way you could say gaming and ganyu have probably either met or seen each other at least once despite neither ever mentioning the other or appearing together on screen, because- well, he handles a delivery agency, she works for the qixing, they live in the same city, they're both familiar with cloud retainer, ganyu moves around a lot and knows a lot of people, and gaming seems pretty social. you get what i mean, right? in that same sense, i think it's perfectly possible for alhaitham and zhongli to have met at some point. granted nowhere near as probable as two people actually living in the same city, but notable enough nonetheless: alhaitham knows twenty languages, for that quota to exist i have to assume that each nation has at least their own unique language (since they all seem to speak the same thing in-game, tho, i can only translate that as all nations having their unique writing script- which they do). idk how many languages you could pull out of regional dialects in teyvat, but the most logical and easiest and obvious thing to do here if you were told to go learn 20 languages to graduate is to first go for the main most spoken languages and then fill in the gaps w regional dialects or more obscure no-longer-spoken ancient dialects. so we stand to reason alhaitham must know liyuean (?) right? and unless he learned it from within the confines of sumeru (which is possible tbf), then he must've traveled to liyue in order to learn the damn language. with liyue having quite the decently-preserved history, he might've picked other regional dialects up since they'd be easier to study next to like- idk, an obscure old language from mondstadt or smth. so if you're a student in liyue on a quest for knowledge trying to learn the language and possibly other obscure dialects, who are you going to go after? fellow scholars. what do all fucking scholars in liyue do when people have highly-specific needs and questions? point to fucking zhongli. so you get where the idea comes from. you can't tell me its completely implausible (for a headcanon) for zhongli and alhaitham to have met at some point, not the same way i'd raise eyebrows at like- headcanoning candace and zhongli having met based solely on in-game info. or- ei and sigewinne. y'know?

so like- alhaitham needs to learn liyuean (+ maybe other regional dialects bc 20 sounds like quite a lot for 7 nations, 8 if you count khaenri'ah), he goes to liyue, he gets to learning and then runs into the roadblock of not many scholars being familiar enough with ancient dialects for him to become fluent in them from their input alone, so the scholars are like 'yeah dw we know a guy, he's super knowledgable' and so they point him to zhongli, zhongli is like 'yea sure i can teach you, what do you need?'. idk how long it'd take alhaitham to learn liyuean (+ whatever else), but i'd assume he'd bunker down in liyue for most of that time. so let's say like- 6 months, and it counts as like a 'foreign languages' course where haravatat students get given money and are shipped off to learn (bear in mind 6 months sounds like stupid little to become fluent in an entire language let alone possibly a few others, but we'll just assume alhaitham is a prodigy (he seems to be) + since it's not a whole language and just a script, then it can be done).

so he stays in liyue for a while. i'd guess learning from zhongli most of that while. they're two guys who like peace and quiet and reading and investigating and they're both rather knowledgable (the gap is obviously abyssmal but still). you can imagine them just- going to a tea house and sitting down with tea for hours on end in amiable silence and quiet grammar exercises. i cannot see them not getting along. alhaitham is practical and so is zhongli, zhongli has a lot to say but it's always with purpose and informative and for a reason, and alhaitham is just happy to absorb knowledge. alhaitham is effective and to the point and zhongli (a battle general) would probably be perfectly happy rolling with it and being effective and to the point in turn. maybe they start having lunch together some days (zhongli does seem to do that with acquaintances a lot so it's not strange of him) and alhaitham just doesn't want any stewy soups and zhongli doesn't question it bc he's the one asking chef mao to dice and slice his fish into oblivion. sumeru is big on spices so alhaitham would probably have no problems whatsoever w the jueyun chilli. he'd also probably pick up on using chopsticks easily enough bc he's a perfectionist. zhongli would realise like two seconds into their introductions that alhaitham can hear him perfectly loud and clear w the headgear on and never bother commenting on it at all. alhaitham would also probably clock zhongli's more acute senses two seconds in and be relieved he doesn't have to raise his voice around people for no reason all the time. catch the patrons at the tea houses being confused and mildly unsettled by the two guys on the corner table just mumbling stuff to the other with a pile of books between them lmao

i cannot see their relationship being like- exciting in the sense that big shocking things happen. i just think they're both too smart and good at communicating w each other that shit like that just wouldn't catch them off guard. alhaitham would probably hear about legends of the adepti throughout his stay in liyue and quietly figure mr zhongli might be an adeptus but never bother saying anything because why should he care about what mr zhongli is? it's not his business, and it doesn't make him not-mr zhongli. so it's whatever. i also don't think any drama would pop up 🤷‍♂️ again they're too smart and hypercompetent for any misunderstandings to appear. by virtue of both of them being non-neurotypical they'd also understand each other in particular ways, so they'd easily be able to figure out any stuff and sand off any rough edges. it wouldn't be an exciting ship, it wouldn't be a ship full of ups and downs and drama and twists and turns and spice and oh the romance of it all. they both strike me as ace af and if not aro then absolutely somewhere in the spectrum, alhaitham more than zhongli.

but i'm an absolute sucker for non-verbal comunication and quiet understanding and an almost telepathic camraderie that would be so funny from the outside so i just think they'd be a delight. like the perfect team. they get each other, they're both smart, they're both strong (again, the gap is abyssmal). absolute academic weapons the both of them. catch someone being an ass about a contract and zhongli just staring disappointed and alhaitham next to him equally disappointed but listing off every single reason why they're being stupid about it also. zhongli's a bit too nice to say any of that stuff aloud but you can't tell me he wasn't running a constant 'chat are you seeing this shit?' in his head during his first story quest w kliment. alhaitham knows he's already got the 'freak' reputation so he just goes 'well if you want to keep digging i'm happy to hand you a shovel'.

as for other characters' reactions to them- i'd have to sit and think about them? idk how the liyue gang would react bc idk how they'd work in a canon setting? i can't see zhongli leaving liyue and i can't see alhaitham leaving sumeru either. if i had to pick one, alhaitham seems more likely for like- leave sumeru for plot reasons. and then go 'okay fuck this' and go to zhongli like 'you're the only bitch i respect in this house'. but outside of plot contrivances, hu tao does send zhongli off on random errands? so maybe he could pop up in sumeru from time to time. idk how the liyue gang would get to meet alhaitham then but if there is one character that absolutely gets to meet zhongli is kaveh bc the man is almost everywhere alhaitham is + they literally live together.

i think it would be fucking hilarious. like alhaitham: oh yeah a friend is coming over btw. don't be weird about it kaveh: why would i be weird about it what are you on kaveh: ... kaveh: ... kaveh: a what alhaitham: a friend kaveh: what alhaitham: i don't think the bimarstan is open at this hour if you got something in your ear kaveh: what friend kaveh: you don't have friends kaveh: ...you can just say nilou alhaitham: ??? zhongli: hello kaveh: who- what. what- who are you alhaitham: a friend from liyue. the one i said was coming over. like five minutes ago kaveh: what zhongli: is he alright alhaitham: he's never been alright, dw about him. the study is this way

[piratefern]

THE COLOURED DIGITAL PEICES ARENT MINE, THEY ARE OFFICIAL ART FROM THE GAME

(so you can tell whos who, and for those unfamiliar with rainworld)

I drew the main three rainworld characters from the base game and gave them environmental adaptations according to their play style for sillies :3

SURVIVOR:

I gave survivor a more average slugcat body type as it serves as the “normal mode” of sorts in the base game. The back legs are spring like and adapted for jumping and quick manoeuvres. They have a streamlined head shape to allow for this movement, but their dew claws are also adapted into a hook like shape to improve grip on poles and ledges. They have a balljoint in the front legs to improve with this as it gives a fuller range of motion. They also have more omnivorous teeth, with molars, carnassials and incisors! They are fitted with big ears for good hearing, whiskers to measure spaces, and reflective eyes to improve with vision in the dark due to many areas being underground. Ontop of this they have a strong prehensile tail to allow for easier escape from predators.

some little things I added for sillies are the claw marks on the back and neck along with a bite mark where they would have gotten away from a lizard :3

MONK:

Monk has similar base adaptations like the other slugcats such as the spring legs and good vision :3 But their nose is incredibly pointy, forcing the teeth into a more rodent like shape which aided in consumption of fruit but not excluding meats. They are also more streamlined than survivor, smaller and with shorter legs; their ball joints in the lower arms are stiffened for strength and their dew claw is similar to that of a cat’s. These factors are all to help improve running speed, and allows for monk to escape into smaller areas more effectively, they are less able to pick and choose fights like survivor but they aren’t incapable of killing.

My version of monk doesn’t have any visible scars to push the fact that they are adapted to opt for escaping rather than fighting :D

HUNTER:

I ran out of red ink on the red slugcat, typical, hehe :3 Hunter has adapted for physical strength to improve success when, well, hunting! I had to take note that hunter does fight with spears rather than claws and teeth, so I noted that they wouldn’t be too drastic from the other slug cats, but still a lot stronger. So i gave them a more robust jaw for improved biteforce because fuck that apparently, as well as very ancient canines like that of thyacoleo to emphasise a meat based diet. Furthermore the dew claw is adapted into more of a proto-thumb than the others to aid in object handling, such as spears and debris. I say proto-thumb as it isn’t a fully formed opposable thumb, but more acts as something for the object being throw to lie on, improving accuracy and damage! The tail isn’t as prehensile as hunter’s body doesn’t need to rely on climbing to escape due to improved offensive adaptations. They don’t have whiskers due to their larger size, but have an improved sense of smell to track prey more effectively as they are a solitary predator.

My hunter has the infection around their back area like usual, but also has scars under their chin and the tip of the tail has been bit off from a vulture attack, where as the eye scar i believe came from a scavenger attack in cannon? But i could be wrong. I chose a vulture as they are the apex predator in most regions, and would make more sense them giving hunter the extra scars rather that a more secondary based predator such as lizards (like with survivor). The ears have also been affected, but thats up to you whether you think it’s infection or scaring, I can’t decide :3

Hope you guys like my headcannons, i love making adaptations for things its fun :3 reminds me a little of all tomorrows (but obviously nowhere near that scale lmao)

[squidthesquidd]

HELLOOOOOOOO THEREEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Do you have any Tf Ocs? or Ocs in general? Asking for no reason (:

-🪐

oh my god so many so many transformers OCs😭 I only have one drawn so far so im just gonna infodump on you so hard

Clapperclaw- my FIRST actual transformer oc :3 hes a lil guy and hes designed to look like a bird!!! and he transforms into a mosquito helicopter! He used to be a decepticon, but he defected after a series of events that kinda made him have an identity crisis.. alsooo hes conjuxed to MisClick!! who ill talk abt now

MisClick- Big blue tank thing!!!! shes a scientist and doesn't prefer fighting, but shes huge and buff and can protect herself verrry well. She was also a decepticon, but didn't really care for sides all the much, but stayed with the decepticons for convenience (first faction that found her, her partner was part of them, they had the materials she wanted for her experiments) but when Clapper defected, she did too.

Current- also a scientist, and specializes in chemistry and biology mostly. and he turns into a boat!!! a big as hell yacht!!! so he a reaall big bot. hes an autobot and in most versions of him hes really close with optimus cus yayyy :3 also his face got fucked up in one of his experiments (acid burns teehee) so he wears a mask most of the time

Pike- okay soo... this guy isss complicated??? the initial reason i made him was for transformers reader insert fic reasons, and then he just kinda stuck around in my brain. sometimes hes with megatron, sometimes with someone else, hes an autobot and a decepticon at the same time , i dont fucking know. the only constant is that he's ancient and doesnt eat energon like a normal person (he doesnt really eat energon at all, he feeds off the energy thats always being dispelled by other bots. hes silly like that)

Crimson- now this guy silly!!! hes tiny and has a liiiittle bit of an italian accent cus his alt-mode is based on my dads car which is a really old alfa romeo (which are italian cars :3) hes silly and always super optimistic and is the reason that Tine eventually joined the autobots

Tine- (placeholder name) Saddest guy on the block. wasn't on a side and was doing his best to survive. kills on sight, takes no risks, serious as FUCK. hated everyone and everything until meeting crimson. saw a silly old man so full of joy and whimsy he couldn't help but fall in love lmao. still very wary around everyone else but can and will kill for crimson (also his alt is a jeep btw)

Prodsling- yeah this is a cowboy. texas accent , would wear a cowboy hat if he could, likes to pet cows and horses, loves driving through mud. hes like a chill southern granpa that sits on a porch and gives weird advice and makes farm animal noises. turn into a pickup truck ofc

Shiver- Weirdest girl on the block. literally your local cryptid that watches u from the shadowy corners and knows all your secrets. actually quite sweet but has the autism that makes you strange and unsettling <3 alt is like??? i dunno some cool black car. she walks silently and is so good at eavesdropping

Polyphon- weird little decepticon kid that wants to be friends with soundwave SO BAD. wants to party, covered in rainbow biologhts. RAVE BOY RAVE TIME!!! has speakers on him :3 here to have a good time not a long time 🎉

Vironmet- Little old lady in the woods that loves to meditate and talk to animals. will NOT HESITATE TO THROW DOWN if you fuck of the forest or anything living in it. bakes you a pie but if your mean to dogs its poisoned. basically what if tfa prowl was a little lady that killed. she turns into a Squirrel i think

Matte- Mercedes that does not quit. stares into peoples eyes menacingly all day. wants to bite. most fucking stubborn guy ever. Only loosely tied to the autobots and just does his own thing, cus literally no one can handle him!!!!!

Nano- tiny little medic! about the size or a human and her alt is basically a swiss-army medical tool! so shes made to have other bots handles her. also shes basically Ratchets child for funsies. tiny, bitey, ready to be covered in energon when its surgery time!!!!

aaand thats a out it so far! I dont have a lot of time to draw them cus im in college snd have ine million assignments 😭 but ill try!!! so watch out for em!!

[tae-rambles]

OP ch 1115 SPOILERS:

So cute!

Wanooo! :D so glad they get to hear the message too

Beautiful! The flag fits so well :D

Demalo Black jumpscare lmao didnt expect them to show up

The Elders are seething lol

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA its just a silhouette but OMG

Even Zou can hear it! yay! :D Happy Birthday Carrot :D

Foxy!? :o

Zoro cosplaying a grumpy bag of potatoes lol

Nami's so beautiful

Nooo Stussy! you have to live to have a chance to find a new purpose! dont give up so soon! i cant handle any more deaths this arc! let Edison be the last sacrifice ToT (not that i want him to die but i dont see a way for him to get out)

YEAH fuck that old fart up!

oh no it didnt seem to land ToT

lol

Franky to the rescue! :D

That was close

I feel so bad for them. im sure they must have a lot of regrets :(

Holy shit what power in that cut

Its rai~ning men! HALLELUJAH

Where is this? do we know this place?

So beautiful! i know a lot of people already theorized this to be the case and now we finally have a confirmation

Sabo my beloved hi! :D good to see the RA again

Good to see you but cant the orchard wait a few minutes? curious

Damn thats fuck shit ton of water! where did it all come from? it couldnt have been just from melting glaciers, could it?

Everyones laughing except for this one guy...

Dalton! Kureha!!

Even Ms Goldenweek?

My queen! :D

I wonder which side used those weapons to cause all that... im guessing the ancient kingdom? since they were said to be the most technologically advanced so they must have been the ones who made them and used them thereafter?

I wish we could see what face Imu's making so bad! he must be pissed lol

What a wonderful chapter! :D

[lumilasi]

Finished the next set. Unfortunately it turns out, even for this one I had only 2 ladies...one of which isn't mine, again, lmao

Aimi (the last one on the right) belongs to @mad-hatter-rici

Anyway, short intro of each character below:

Harrow Araknos: The father of the beloved Goth Dad Jurou, a shadow elemental Soul Eater. He is bit of a rebellious and troublemaking figure, who has been, and has escaped prison. Despite all this he loves his family dearly (he ended up in jail because of his desire to protect his son) and while they argue and bicker a lot, Jurou does care about his father - even if he'sa frustrating reckless fool sometimes.

Shura: Jurou's childhood friend, a special type of light spirit native to the mirror world called Vigour Spirit. Shura is the opposite of his gothic bestie, being a very happy-go-lucky goofball, who knows how to not take himself too seriously. He is not one to be underestimated however, one of the very few people in the world who could actually defeat Jurou in battle.

Lawrence Faydream: A Dream-eater/bogyeman spirit and an influental member of the "Overshadowers Council" that handles the matters of dark beings - soul eaters, dream eaters, werewolves, etc - in the Mirror world. He is also the head of a special group/organization known as Shadowless, whose job is to protect the mirror world's secrets and prevent humans from essentially destroying themselves with powerful Mirror world artifacts they do not understand properly. Bit of a devious figure with plenty of shades of grey to his character. Father of Jurou's employee, Avane.

Angus Belmont: A Blood sage warlock who works as a doctor, being the family doctor for the protagonist family. Has some ancient dragonic heritage, hence his natural shapeshifting ability his powers give, gave him permanent dual eyes. A single father who is often powered by black coffee and pure spite towards needing to sleep. He's generally seen as scary but reliable doctor. He also has a secondary job as one of the Shadowless Kenzo commands.

Yui Blackthorne: Harrow's wife and Jurou's mother, she is a spider-woman from japan, who is a famous Jazz singer across the Mirror world. She spends most of her time nowadays spending time with her grandkids, sending them gifts and so on. Yui does still record, but doesn't do that many public concerts anymore.

Clover Belmont (Oliver Blanc): Angus' adoptive son and the best friend/honorary big brother figure of Ichirou Araknos, the nephew/adopted son of Jurou. Clover has a difficult, traumatic past hence he's changed his name from his original one. He is a witchboy with very unique power-mix that while powerful, unfortunately causes him lot of health issues like digestive problems and disfigured sickly thin waist.

Aimi: The right hand woman of Lawrence, a Grand Fairy who didn't want to become a guardian spirit for a child like her kind usually do. She does spywork/intelligence gathering/threat elimination for her boss - or just brings his daughter her lunch she forgot. Aimi is bit of an oddball in nature, but she is not to be underestimated despite her apparent silly goofy nature.

[cloud-somersault]

It's cause Red Son doesn't act like he's over a thousand years old. He acts more like he's MK and Mei's age. Especially with how he acts around his parents, he doesn't act like he had any independence in his life.

So it's easy to see him as young, since he doesn't act like he's older.

I understand that this is meant to offer an explanation, but I think it highlights an issue that some people in the fandom have of not understanding that immortality doesn't equal maturity.

Like, Wukong still acts immaturely and is over 3,000 years old.

I understand red son doesn't act like an old and wise demon, and we have to take into account that he was neglected as a child and didn't get the attention and love from his parents he wanted. He craves attention, he wants acceptance. He wants to meet their high expectations. We can have all that while also respecting that Red Son has been around a while and knows some shit. He's seen some shit, too. He's been through some shit.

At least, I think so. Red Son's backstory is a big mystery, and I don't know how they handled it specifically in LMK, because there's some important details that are missing, but anyway.

I get that this is explaining how people see him and why they see him that way, but I also am trying to show that demons mature differently and assuming someone's age based on how they act is gonna cause problems because people mature differently and at different rates. I've met some wise af 25 year olds and some really immature 50 year olds.

So then we go back to "he's young demon wise" but again, if we look at the other demons, we see that maturity and sense spikes up and down with them. Like the most capable people in MK's crew are the mortals LMAO

And actually, I think Red Son does show a lot of maturity in certain ways. He knew to work together with MK was the only way to stop the spider queen. He put aside his hatred to do that. He helped Mei get out of those webs. He gave Mei, MK, and Sandy a place to stay when they showed up uninvited. He didn't like cut them off when they stole from him because he hangs out with him at the beach later like?

I guess what I'm saying is: there's a way to incorporate and consider a character's age and their maturity level while making them multifaceted and realistic. With a measure of respect. So, we can roll with Red Son being an ancient demon, and show that in a variety of ways while keeping his personality and current maturity levels in tact, is all. And, tbh, I feel like the monkie kid crew did this well with Red Son helping them get to the celestial realm. That's a good way to balance that immortality and maturity and characterize him

[raionmimi]

hello. thank you for the emiya tiddies, they made my day ^^ also i would so love to hear more about Medb's types and how she views certain guys. your piece on how she would view Emiya was really cool. I would love to ask how she would maybe view Gilgamesh as he's on her list and he is indeed generous with gifts but how would she handle his annoying sides?

That’s a good question because unlike Bryan’s list, Medb does not have Caster Gilgamesh on her list of Good Looking Braves. She has Archer Gil instead! A lot of people have been pretty confused by this decision because it’s hard for them to picture how he lines up with the Kind, Brave, Warrior who would not envy her position or lovers. I’m not an expert on Gil lore by any means, but I think based on how he treats certain people, it kinda makes sense

We do know is that Caster Gilgamesh finds Medb attractive canonically, but she rarely, if ever, spoke to him. So we can assume that Archer Gil might also see her in a similar light

Good Looking Braves themselves seem more so on who could run things well with Medb in the actual castle and battlefield as she actively views relationships as more on a legal partnership. A very “what can I do to help you, and what can you do for me” mentality, so I think Gilgamesh would definitely be able to handle that.

Strategically, Archer Gilgamesh tends to be the one who gets too prideful that he gets sloppy when it matters, whereas Medb is the one who learns to cover her bases extremely well to protect herself. It’s a good combo of perfect offense and defense that it would just be a pain to deal with both of them

Politically, I think Gilgamesh and Medb might butt heads on how things should run on occasions, but I also think they’re similar enough that they’d be on the same page more often. They’re selfish and want things done their way which isn’t always the most diplomatic way, but they have a clear idea of what needs to be done for their people

I think the only thing is that Medb would always be wary of Gilgamesh, who is always going to undoubtedly be at an advantage because he’s wealthier than her, and that’s dangerous territory because ancient Celtic laws dictated that the wealthier person had control of the relationship. Something her husband Ailill did try to pull on her because he was envious of her.

However, I think Gilgamesh would find her brash and cunning personality entertaining that he would just let her pull the reigns because he would want to see what she’s capable of. She does a lot of things because she had to constantly prove herself in a male dominated society, and she’s ecstatic when men yield to her. Gil loves ambition and seems to have a hobby of seeing how far people will go to seek what they want because it’s Free Entertainment™️

It might come off condescending but it’d be a genuine respect for her authority. She wouldn’t kiss up to him, she’d make demands, and she’d actually go out and get shit done. She suits his idea of progress compared to how he despises the modern era

As for his annoying sides, they’re both annoying in their own right lmao. Medb is pretty outspoken when she hates or doesn’t like something, so I think her being headstrong enough to tell him how it is, he would find it amusing. It reminds me of all those “I married the tyrant” stories where the female lead is the only person who can tell the king or emperor to fuck off, and he is clearly smitten without her even realizing it

Also Gil is a bottom, and he likes dommes so it’s fine

[romaritimeharbor]

honestly, one of my favourite things about the hoyo games is how they deal with immortality, im a sucker for immortal characters who dont enjoy being immortal and vise versa, yknow?

its why baizhu and yaoshi are so interesting to me, especially baizhu. most of the liyue story themes revolve around modernity vs. tradition and mortal life compared to the reclusive adepti, usually (im pretty sure its always?) siding with the former being better. so a character like baizhu, a mortal man desiring immortality is just so cool and i wished they gave enough of a shit to write him better (not that his writing is bad, especially compared to some other characters, but its very obvious the writers couldnt choose between a 'kind doctor' character or a more black jack-esque doctor who can cure anything but is pretty morally gray, especially the 'charging people a bizzare amount of money' thing)

one baizhu moment that i think about constantly is from his story quest where xiao tells him "immortality may not be the blessing that you imagine it to be." and i just wish hoyo could expand on that. like imagine wanting immortality more than anything and then basically being told by an ancient being "its not my buisness but please dont its awful."

(also yeah genshin's worldbuilding sucks so bad lmao, i've played through all of the main story and read alot about the lore and i still barely know What is even going on)

NO IT'S REALLY ONE OF THE COOLEST THINGS!!!!! hyv writing is kind of questionable most of the time but i think they did well in their handling of immortality. it's really fascinating to me.

baizhu wants to attain immortality so bad, to save others, to save changsheng, and maybe to save himself (just throwing that last one on there for fun tbh i think he's way more worried about others; the other potential victims of changsheng's contract if he does not end it asap, changsheng herself, etc). i wonder what he must've felt when xiao outright told him "immortality may not be all that you think it is" LIKE???? this ancient being told you not to do it. but he'll continue doing it anyway. a man who is blinded by his ambition. hmm. and yeah i do agree! but i also hope this particular trait of baizhu's was done for a reason, not just bc the writers couldn't pick between tropes. baizhu was written impressively well compared to some others, so i HOPE it really is there for a reason.

(GLAD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE BECAUSE I SWEARRR SOMETIMES I HAVE NO CLUE WTF IS GOING ON)

but to add my own little commentary regarding yaoshi bc i never stfu about them: yaoshi is so fascinating to me for so many reasons.

do they know about the consequences of their blessings? if so, did they warn the alliance's ancestors, and did those people just not listen? or... did they not say anything? if so, why? OR do they just not know?

(either way i think the xianzhou's explanation of their history is bullshit. girl why did you all go LOOK FOR THEM and ASK FOR IMMORTALITY and then get mad when they did what you asked....... smh. This is why we can't have good things [<- is biased])

to add onto that last point, are they so all-consumed by abundance that they cannot see beyond their path and cannot even perceive the harm their actions cause? it would be such a fascinating idea, because this would also explain why lan is SOOOO obsessed with them (just say you want to kiss them bro it's ok 😒 /J); if the "aeons are all-consumed by their path" is true, then lan literally cannot do anything BUT hunt yaoshi down. the trailblaze can do nothing but trailblaze, which would explain why they disappeared. They Trailblazed Too Far. but if this were true, then what would this mean for aeons like long?

OR. is yaoshi simply an amoral eldritch being, whose motivations and thought processes cannot be comprehended by mortals? adding to this point, why the fuck does the xianzhou alliance "categorize" the aeons GIRL THEY ARE ELDRITCH DEITIES NONE OF THOSE MFS ARE "GOOD" OR "EVIL" ❗️❗️❗️❗️

[unohanadaydreams]

Yamamoto x Unohana being married and having kinky sex.

Listen, I think this would be true, but they would have such a shitty marriage. Which makes it better.

Yamamoto has always been able to keep his sense of self, no matter what. No matter what he does, he can justify himself and move forward. He moves from war mongerer to strict, peaceful old man like it’s nothing.

Unohana had to reinvent herself and even after doing so, still yearns for Zaraki, the only person to make her feel something in presumably hundreds of years. She can’t leave what Zaraki represents (war mongering and the blistering heat of true life and death battle) behind even as she’s found fulfillment in actually living….a life.

They got married when they were high on war and building a new world order and now they’re like….stuck with each other because it feels like if they let go, they let go of all of that too.

They have similar interests NOW but it doesn’t feel that way to them. Inevitably, they will start reminiscing. And Unohana will go do katas to cool off or stare glaze-eyed on the patio for her desire of the past while Yamamoto heats up some tea or does some paperwork and wishes it hadn’t ever existed. They do not find solace in each other.

They are riding the kink carousel because it’s something to do. They are getting freak nasty and then staring at the ceiling like hollowed out corpses.

They do everyday life well enough. They are both traditional, graceful people who live for the Seireitei and for their underlings. But intimacy is kind of dead except for brief flashes in their daily routines and very rarely, their sex life.

I also don’t think they would have the same kinks or appreciate each others kinks. They’re selfish like that ❤️

Unohana is out here begging to be half-dead for a nut and Yamamoto wants the most sickeningly sweet praise known to god as he works his way through whatever ancient kinky positions & play books the Seireitei pleasure districts have spawned over 1k+ years (you know those tomes are full of the weirdest stuff to be spawned from very bored minds).

ALSO I think it would be SOOO funny if they kept trying to strong arm their personal 3 or 4 some picks with each other but it never happens because they hate the other’s choices.

Unohana is out here gunning for Zaraki & Isane and Yamamoto is like ‘why don’t I just have sex with a sprout, fuck no.’ And Unohana stabs out her own eye every time Yamamoto mentions Chojiro, who can’t even handle spanking someone because He’s A Gentleman.

They died in TYBW to get away from each other LMAO.

[edalynn]

9, 22, and 29 for Catdiphunter?

!!

9. What are their thoughts on having children?

They never really thought about it too much, especially since Cat actually (technically) was infertile. Turns out dying and coming back via spirit revival means your body is kinda half dead still. Plus being a hunter is no way to raise a baby with how much of a threat that is to both them and a potential baby. I think the boys don’t think about it too much because while neither really want kids either, they both go through phases where they get baby fever (moreso Hunter) and thinking about it just gets sad. Technically Hunter could carry being trans, but the dysphoria would most likely wreck him mentally.

It gets even worse after Cat actually does get pregnant, most likely after a run in with an ancient fertility god, but her body couldn’t handle it and they lost it,, I don’t talk about it a ton because it just,,, sucks

22. What reminds each of their partner?

Dipper: pine trees, deer (particularly stags), flannel, wood smoke, log cabins, field journals/overfilled notebooks, the colors forest/hunter green & cobalt blue, constellations, the Big Dipper, campfires & summertime (Cat specific), the smell of pine, spruce, & musk, redwood forests, cryptids (especially Bigfoot & mothman), diner coffee

Hunter: cardinals, birds in general, warm home cooked food, wolves, the constellation Orion, knit sweaters, cottage homes, printed button-ups, the colors red & gold, pancakes, wood carving, baking, the sound of birdsong, sewing, embroidery

Cat: Cats but especially white cats and calicos, blue jays, Luna moths, turtles and amphibians, the taste & smell of whiskey, mock neck dresses & tops, cemeteries, the moon/things related to the moon, the fae (Dipper specific), sushi, shrimp cocktails, vintage/antique clothing, hiking boots, the feeling of a cat purring on your chest, the colors silver & teal/turquoise, the smell of rock salt & old leather

29. Who is more likely to jump in an elevator? Who freaks out?

Like jump so it shakes?? Definitely Cat lmao. Dipper would freak the FUCK out, same with those bouncy bridges on like ropes courses and stuff. Hunter would be ambivalent or lovingly scold Cat for scaring Dipper lmao

[luvsavos]

could you talk a bit about alaakiilah :o i'm Curious

yes i absolutely Can he's one of my favourite monhun ocs of mine thank u sm for the ask nonnie<3

canon divergence inbound etc etc

SO! alaakiilah, or al for short, is one of the members of the five (which is actually made up of seven deities in total, with the title of "the five" referring to the five creation deites, with the other two being al and his brother naasfilrah, the destroyers); i specifically based him on the line from the tale of the five about the moon and the sapphire star, with him being essentially the physical manifestation of the moon, he's a white fatalis

he was the fatalis that wiped out schrade + the ancient civilizations in a single night, and his "name" is actually a title given to him by the ancients out of fear for speaking of what he was; it translates to "destroyer • guide • moon", or destroyer guiding moon/guiding destroyer moon (using dovahzul for my dragon language and going by dovahzul naming conventions)---he only let a small handful of people survive because of the creator gods pleading him to do so

in the beginning he was a "benevolent"(?) deity like the others were, albeit more distant than them; he was never Overly fascinated with humans like his brother or some other members of the five (ie nami and xeno) were, but he did enjoy observing them from afar and very occasionally intermingle with them in a human form (his human form faceclaim being geralt from the witcher; he makes precious little effort to make it not abundantly obvious of what he Is). when the dragon wars broke out, al initially held back from taking any action, at the plight of the rest of the five, who believed the conflict would sort itself out in due time (or in shara's case, felt that direct involvement, as deities, could have potentially catastrophic negative effects and should refrain from doing so unless absolutely necessary). that said, between the creation of the equal dragon weapons and the ancients presumedly killing naasfilrah (this would later come to be found untrue, but by then the damage was long since already done), something in al just kind of... snapped? all the latent, innate aggression and violence came out at once and he never was quite the same after it all; he adopted the title alaakiilah as his name, took extreme sadistic pleasure in tormenting the ancients before he killed them, often with mindgames and/or exterminating them in agonizing ways, and even to the current day takes a disturbing amount of pride in his brutal efficiency in wiping out humanity to near-zero (and will go into FAR too much detail with Far too much enthusiasm if prompted to talk about it)

at some point after that, i don't entirely know when, he ended up sort of helping to raise another young fatalis whom became known with the moniker "middovah" (lit. means "loyal dragon"), and eventually by some way, idk entirely how yet, became a crimson fatalis; the details are fuzzy on this whole thing admittedly, but it was al's first dabble into his eventual road to Dadhood™️

extremely long and convoluted plot stuff based on rps with a close friend of mine, of which essentially led to the five (starting with nami, since she Adopted another oc of mine, shang, in his lore) taking up residence in seliana, eventually leading to al in his human guise coming to see why they'd taken up residence with Mortals (derogatory); tldr through reluctantly socializing with some of the mortals (most notably aiden/the excitable a-lister), he slooooowly managed to have some vague semblance of a Chilling Tf Out Arc (partway because aiden emotionally attached himself to al and al had NO idea how to handle it) and eventually ended up taking in an abandoned fatalis egg, and when it hatched the baby was named yunhind (lit. new • hope) by nami

as of currently he resides in the supply cache (which has conveniently gotten rid of the Tempered Elder Dragon Problem it seems to have LMAO) and still generally avoids interacting with other people, but he's much more tolerant of being around others to a certain point

this was a lot longer than i had intended but FHKSJFKG like i said al is one of my fave ocs i love talking about him<3

[silens-oro]

Requiem is such an experience!! And Planet is my favorite off of that album! ugh Planets for me is just such a Kylo Ren/General Hux from Star Wars kind of song, I love it so much. OK Sorry but I'm shifting into super fangirl mode because !!!! SAME! I think it's been around the same time for me too! A friend recommended them to me when I was in 5th grade I think, so around late 2008-ish? I was looking for a song for myspace (lmao) and Bat Country was the first one I heard and they've been my favorite band ever since. You're so lucky you've seen them many times, that is AMAZING! do you have a favorite time you've seen them? I was never allowed to go back in the day and when I finally did in 2013 it kinda sucked because of the people I went with so I'm hoping for another chance soon!

MYSPACE! This is digging up so many memories oh my GOD. I had the deathbat as my profile mouse curser and I thought I was the coolest person alive.

I would like to preface by realizing how ancient I sound by Tumblr standards. I am a fresh 29, but I may as well be 60 with the dates I’m mentioning below. That being said, I can talk about this band until I’m blue in the face. I’ve never met another person who is on the same level so I’m screamin’!!

lmao fun fact: Burn It Down was the FIRST music video I ever watched online and it took HOURS to load because I lived in the country at that point and dial up was actual hell. My mom absolutely freaked out when she saw what they looked like (because our massive Dell desktop WAS in the living room for everyone to snoop at what you were looking at).

I lived in California for a very brief period of time when I was 10 and the only friend I had was my neighbor who was my age so we immediately got along. He was really close with his cousin (she was 18 or 19) but she babysat us together often. ANYWAY she worked at one of the really small diy venues the next town over. Long story short, she dragged us to work with her one afternoon to grab her paycheck or something and they were playing that night. I didn’t get to see them play because I was too young and my parents would’ve 100% murdered the poor girl. BUT I did get to meet them outside while they were smoking lmao. It was the most awkward and weird experience back then because I had no idea who they were (they were so nice but also like “who are these children??”) but I look back on it fondly now.

The first time I got to see them was at Warped in ‘05 from a million feet away because my dad (rightfully so) did not let my 12 year old cantankerous self just waltz into the pits. I had zero fear. I was, admittedly, WAY TOO YOUNG to have been there, but it was an experience.

I think my favorite show was seeing them on the Taste of Chaos tour in ‘08. The lineup was bonkers. If I remember correctly it was A7X headlining with Bullet for my Valentine, Atreyu, Blessthefall (Craig had JUST left and their bassist had to do all the vocals. I remember that distinctly), and some J-Rock bands that I can’t remember as support. I went with my (still) best friend and it was the last tour I saw them on before the Rev passed the following year. They pretty much played their self titled album from start to finish with a few of the classics thrown in. Very, very fortunate.

I think the last time I saw them was at Mayhem Fest in 2014?? I went alone and was able to snag a front row spot at the barricade when they opened the gates for it and it was absolutely incredible. Hearing Requiem live absolutely obliterated me. I still get chills thinking about it.

So between ‘05 and ‘14 I’ve seen them maybe 7 or 8 times??? I wasn’t a huge fan of The Stage (will definitely need to give it another try) so they kind of fell off my radar for a bit. I’d definitely like to see them again if I get the chance because I’ve never seen a bad set from them in any show I’ve been to.

Honestly, I’ve learned by going with people who either can’t handle it or are just not fun concert people to go with that I prefer to go to certain concerts alone. If you’ve never done it before, I highly recommend!

[breeze-of-sunlight]

Hey there :D

This is Santa anon again, you're probably starting to get used to it XD

I just realized that in my panic-induced message (by the way I am writing on computer right now and in my previous message, and I can't use my beloved emojis, I saying that because I don't want to sound cold :D), I did not answer most of the message you wrote, sorry about that ! I hope the situation at work and your club is better and you're not stressed too much. Thanks for the congrats on my thesis ! I am a language teacher, so I graduated in education sciences and didactics. I'll have the opportunity to work pretty much anywhere in the world I'm accepted into in the future, which is one of the reasons I like to learn about different cultures and I feel like it's something that has a lot of influence in how I write characters !

I have heard about Korean Odyssey but never watched it. If you like fantasy, I absolutely loved Tail of the Nine Tailed ! There's two seasons and the first one is romance but truthfully, everybody watched for the bromance, and the second season is basically just that LMAO ! You're right about Under the Queen's Umbrella ! Didn't expect to love it so much but I did. It is rare enough to see period dramas where the parents are actually good parents, and the relationships between the characters were so well developed ! I, for once, really loved the Queen, she is the one that drives this show and she is everything I love in a character. Yes, The Moon is sci-fi, about a guy stuck on the moon basically. Interestingly enough, I have never seen Interstellar though XD

I'm sorry your Santee has not answered your ask, that's tough. To be honest, my own Santee has not contacted me at all yet LMAO.

Sorry for the slight delay in response, I had a busy day yesterday and wanted to take a little time to properly think about the gift to see if it is in fact feasible on my part, which I have come to the conclusion that, yes, it is. Don't worry, you did not give me the impression I had to write a lot or anything, it's just that I like to develop characters a bit and would rather have few characters appearing but they have nice relationships, rather than a lot of them just being there for the sake of being there, which is why I panicked when you mentioned bromance because 1. I'm not sure how to write that and 2. I thought I had to include everybody and had a moment of light-headedness XD

For the deadline, because I have intense attention-deficit disorder (coupled with autism, yay XD) and (literally) take four times more time to do anything as others, I had to get to work early so I am sure I can have it done by the final deadline :D Also, it'll helps prevent any blank-page syndrome that might happen :D

So for the story, your message reassured me. I think I'll be able to pull off something you may like.

About the magic : I'll spend time on customs and people, and the way magic is woven into traditions. Rather than a weapon, I want to consider it as the way ancient civilizations viewed it, more as something that cannot be controlled, with a mind of its own (which is why I mentioned the Disney movie Pocahontas briefly, because spirits are a inherent part of the culture of many civilizations). There will be some lore, some legends. If you manage to escape a little to the little world I'll create, then it will be the best reaction to it I can imagine.

About the OC : I will do my utmost best to make her as Reader-unlike as possible. I do not want her to be a flat character, or someone who's decisions are totally unrelatable. I want her to be as human as possible, with her own strengths and doubts, her own biases, her own decisions. I also have observed a very clear shift in the way OCs are handled in the last 5 or 6 years, probably due to this Reader character that is meant to be as general as can be. Too bad, because I was able to read stories with formidable OCs a decade ago or so ! I also have taken a controversial decision with that, and I'm telling you now so you won't be surprised : story will be written in 1st person. Most people hate it but there is a reason I promise ! When I write a story, I almost always use 3rd person, like everybody else. As a consequence, my sentences become excruciatingly long (I am a native French speaker, and I don't think you're a native English speaker, so you must get that). I made a few trials with this story, and in the end, 1st person fits the narration better. Not because I want you to live the story through the OCs eyes, definitely not, but rather because I almost want you to consider the narrator as a friend, who's telling her own story as she's experienced it : you might not always agree with them, but ultimately, it doesn't make what they're telling you any less worth-listening.

About the romance : I read a lot of NSFW, and used to write it a long time ago, but there was never any NSFW intended in this story. To be honest, I'm not sure there will even be a kiss of any kind included LMAO. The most daring thing there will be will probably be some hand-holding and, at most, some wandering eyes. Nothing too extreme XD ! I rather want to focus on their emotional connection, and the steps they take towards each other. Not too different from a soulmate-trope actually, even though it will not be a soulmate story.

I have started some trials, and I think it will definitely be longer than 1k, and most likely longer than 4k or 5k. This is also why I wanted to start as soon as possible ! Plus, I'm not working these days so I'll have time to think about it. There will most definitely be a moodboard as well, those don't take me much time to do, and it you're curious about sources or anything, I'll give you the notes I used to write the story, they might as well be of use after I'm done !

I'm glad to learn we're not too apart in ages : you're 22 and I'm 25 :D

Have the best day,

Sincerely,

Santa anon ! :D

Hey there Santa! 🖤

Hiding the answer under the cut again :)

I hope you had a good start into the week ^~^

Don't worry about glossing over most parts in the previous message, I totally understand that you had other stuff on your mind. ^^' And actually you can use emojis on your computer! :) For Windows it's holding the windows button + . and for iOS it's Ctrl + Shift + Spacebar (i think, i don't have anything running on iOS). I'm typing out most of my responses on PC as well, because I'm afraid I'll lose track of the topics otherwise, haha.

Saddly the situation at work will go on for a while, but my team won't need to organize another game day until December - so yay to that!

Ooooh, being a language teacher sounds so cool! That also explains why you're so eloquent in your messages :) Do you have any specific area of the world in mind where you might want to work? I imagine setting up life in an entirely new country must be stressful - the bureaucracy alone seems a lot. ^^'

Tale of the Nine Tailed, noted! It certainly sounds right up my alley, haha ^^ Makes sense that the Queen is the MC of Under the Queens Umbrella. It's nice that the queen / mother figure isn't used as an easy villain figure for once. This definitely bumped the drama up my Netflix watchlist :) I highly recommend Interstellar if you're ever in the mood for scifi. It's really touching.

Oh wow, your Santa not reaching out is quite possibly even worse. At least I can see whether or not my Santee has been active or not ^^' Maybe my Santee is your Santa and they haven't had any time to be on Tumblr recently? Either way I hope they'll reach out to us soon. It'd be a pity to fall back on the prompts.

Don't worry about any "delayed" responses. Any adult responsibilities have priority, obviously. Besides, I need a few days to tackle long messages, so I don't expect you to immediately have the time or energy to respond either. I'm glad I didn't pressure you into anything :) Peace and love ✨✨

I'm happy you're putting so much energy into the relationships! I can't wait to read what you'll do to them :] And agreed, having to rope all 9 (or 11, depending on the perspective) members plus on OC into one cohesive story is always the struggle. 

Mhm, yeah, I get you on wanting to start early. Pulling something creative out of your sleeve is hard enough as a neurotypical, nevermind the hardships that stack on top of that as someone neurodiverse. Although, idk about you, but sometimes having a deadline breathing down the neck is the only thing that kicks me out of my procrastination phase. :')

I'm very much looking forward to your magic interpretation! I feel like magic has most commonly become a tool to the characters in most stories. I'll eat right out of your hand (so to speak) for the more mythical approach! 

I think it's cool that you include an OC the longer I think about it, actually. Complex OCs have really become few and far in fanfiction, I'm ready to feel like in the golden age of fanfic again, haha :) I can feel the passion you put in every message (not just on the OC topic, but also in general) and I really appreciate it. Seems like the OC will be in good hands.

I am actually not opposed to the first person perspective at all :) My prefered reading style is third person, but I have come across a few novels that pull it off really well. I look forward to hearing the OC tell their story :] And yes, coming from German as a mothertongue, I absolutely get accidentally writing down sentences that span way longer than they have any right to be ^^' Are you from France, btw, or a different French speaking nation?

Oh, yeah, I also do read NSFW, I just wasn't sure what you had in mind and felt like this might not be the right time and place for it. Props to you for actually writing some yourself, though. I always used to cringe to hard at my stuff and thus could never finish it ^^' But what you've described sounds very vanilla, so I'm not worried, haha :D 

I can't wait to glimpse at the notes you'll have taken. Seeing something grow and change in the process of creation is always so cool! :) And 4 / 5k already sound a lot, wow ^^'

Oh yeah, we are pretty close in age! I feel like you can never guess how old EXO-Ls are. Most tend to be in their (late) twenties, but apparently there's an EXO stan in my brothers class (17 y/o), too? I've given up trying to guess our fandoms age range ^^'

I hope I didn't miss answering anything 0-0

Have a wonderful day / night! And sorry for the delayed response again ^^'

xoxo Ju

[eyndr-stories]

Across The World C6 - RABBIT

Summary:

The gods of this world are ancient, most of them forgotten, or nearly so. Nomen has been taught not to make deals with any old gods, should they be unlucky enough to come across one. However, when their little brother Maribus stumbles into mortal peril, they find they have no real choice but to accept the trials of one such god in order to save him.

This is an original story written by yours truly! I started writing this back at the very start of 2021 when I had a particularly wild and extremely vivid dream. This story is heavily based on said dream! This dream is also why I strongly distrust bunny mascots / anthro rabbits lmao but anyhoo, I think i've improved as a writer since this so the quality may or may not be quite on par with my other stories. I also had some help from my cool aunt Kerry with editing this, so if there's anything amiss here we can totally blame her lmao

That all being said, I do still like this story, and I hope you will too!! Enjoy <3

Things To Know:

major character death (its okay though, they live lol)

blood and violence

happy ending

protag (Noman) is nonbinary and referred to with they / them pronouns

first person POV

8 chapters in total, about 13,000 words in total. So roughly 1600 words a chapter. Lil bite sized chappys!

No swear words used, somehow

(lmk if i should add anything, i can't think of anything else)

Ao3 link here

Chapter 1 here

Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

C6 - RABBIT

     I stood at the beginning. There was one piece left, floating there and waiting for me in silence. I looked all around. Amicus was not here.

     Tears stung my eyes. I'd wanted it to work so badly. But the fire starter could only save one life, it seemed. I just had to hope, and I did so desperately, that Amicus had actually reset with the rest of the town, and he'd be waiting for me back on the beach when I got back there.

     If I got back there.

     I gently took the final piece, and stared at it for a long moment before putting it in my pocket. I began to walk towards the trees. The lush forest was dying now. The grass was brown and the stench of dead flowers overpowered the air. The sky was so dark with heavy clouds I almost couldn't be sure it wasn't nighttime.

     My body was screaming at me to turn and run for the glowing white exit, to not face what I would inevitably face in the second place.

     My brother was still waiting for me at the end. Before that, Amicus was waiting at the beach. He had to be. I had to make sure they were both okay. I would see this thing to the end because I had to. I just had to.

     I wasn’t sure what the rabbit was capable of. They’d consumed an entire armed army and whatever those four mechanical creatures were, and they didn’t appear to have a scratch on them. I couldn’t fight them. Well, I couldn’t fight them and win. I’d have to be smart.

     My resolve wavered as I stood in front of the door. It was different now. It was just as tall as the simple wooden door that used to be here, but now it was much older, with rotting wood boards and a handle so corroded and rusty it was nearly gone. Blood seeped through the wood of the door as I stood there staring at it. No light escaped along the edges. The rabbit was waiting for me on the other side, that I could be certain of. I stood in front of the door for several long seconds. I was so scared. More scared than I’d been when I'd seen the mechanical creature charging at me, more scared than being chased through the maze by the warrior, even more scared than I’d been when I’d realized my brother was not in his bed. My brother. Maribus was counting on me. Amicus was counting on me. I had to do this. I took a deep breath. I opened the door.

     This was not the second place.

     I was surrounded by decaying temples filling endless plains, settled around mountains and heaps of rot and rubble. The stench was absolutely overwhelming, and I took a long minute struggling to breathe through my mouth and not throw up. An indifferent starless sky watched from above.

     I could feel the labor of time. Everything around me, even the air I breathed, was primordial and endless. This place was a living death and my youth was an affront to it. I could feel it under my skin, itching as if it wanted to rip me apart. It wanted to turn me to dust, as if doing so would save it from the horrible fate of decay and neglect it had suffered for time uncountable.

     I reached into my pocket and held onto my fire starter, my bit of light in such a dark place, hoping it could give me the courage I needed.

     There was a shift in the atmosphere as I was walked among the ancient temples, doing my best to stay clear of the rot. Something deeply disconcerting permeated everything, and I could feel something hungry and malicious watching me. I felt the rabbit was there before I saw it. We stared at each other across the plain, bordered by two taller temples still emblazoned with symbols of countless eyes. The eyes watched the scene as the rabbit clicked their teeth and hissed at me.

     The rabbit smiled and leered, revealing bloodstained teeth. “Tsk, tsk, only one fire starter left.”

     I felt sick to my stomach. I was suddenly so jarringly aware or my own mortality. Of how horrifically easy it would be to loose such a fragile thing, as fragile as the life sitting in my pocket.

     The rabbit stood in my path, those teeth still clicking. The force of their hunger was almost physical. I was as petrified and useless as the stones of the temples around me. I was trembling from head to toe while the rabbit’s rotting breath crawled across my skin. When had they gotten so close?! It took everything I had in me not to run. The need to not turn my back on this creature was helpful.

     The rabbit stared at me intently with their one giant eye, challenging me in some unknown regard. I stared unblinkingly back until the rabbit lashed out, and there was a sudden explosion of pain across my arm. I saw three bloody trails running down my arm where their claws had punctured me. Then they stepped behind me and I felt them shove me forward and growl lowly. “Run little mouse, run!”

     Terrified, I stumbled forward and took off as fast as I could. I knew they were toying with me, they could easily have killed me, but I didn’t care. I had a chance and I wasn’t going to waste it. 

     I stayed close to the temples and weaved in sharp turns, dodging behind rubble and between pillars. Where the rabbit was big, I was small and I could move through tight spaces faster and easier than they could. The rabbit had been gaining, then cursed as I weaved around walls and leapt over rocks.

     Up ahead was a door. I almost missed it, what with all the twisting and climbing I was doing in my frantic escape from the manic rabbit. That familiar tall wooden rectangle, this time outlined in a wood frame, the door already ajar, and instead of darkness I could faintly see red and purple through it. The beach, it had to be. I could barely breathe, my arm burned and ached and my brain was empty from pure terror. All I knew was that I had to run as fast and hard as I could.

     The door was close now. The air was electric as the rabbit gained on me. I felt a vicious swipe of their claw down my back before I dove through the doorway, clawing at the sandy ground on the other side, pulling myself through. Dirty claw-tipped paws had a hold of my leg, and as the rabbit’s spiky teeth were about to pierce through my flesh and bone, I flung handfuls of sand back at their eye. They squealed in pained surprise and flinched back, eye squeezed shut, and with that one second of their grip loosened, I slid through the rest of the way through and slammed the door shut.

     I couldn’t move. I ached everywhere from pain and fear. A horrible thought rushed through me and I frantically felt in my pocket. I let out a shaky breath as I opened my palm and stared at the unbroken fire starter. I quickly put it back safely in my pocket and pulled myself up to my feet.

     “You made it!!” Amicus sounded relieved. He was waiting here for me on the beach as he’d promised, currently running down the sand to greet me.

     “Barely,” I got out through gasping gulps of air. I was beyond relieved to see his familiar friendly face, for more reasons than one. I pulled him into a hug, trying not to look too relieved.

     “Are you alright??” Amicus put a gentle hand on my back, wincing at the gash there.

     I nodded. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” I said.

     “Well just take a second to breathe. I know we don’t have a lot of time, but we need to think this one through. The doorway isn’t anywhere in town. I walked all around and even asked around. The only door people have seen is this one here.” Amicus stepped back and pointed to the door I’d come out of. "Although I don't remember it looking so… creepy."

     I did as he suggested, taking in one long breath after another. I closed my eyes and thought about everything I knew about this place. “The island sways, as if its floating in the water,” I mumbled, almost to myself.

     “But if it floats… wouldn’t it just rise with the tide? Like a boat?” Amicus asked.

     “…Not if its still tied to the dock.” I looked up at the long bridge. Then I looked down at my shovel, then at Amicus. “I think I know what we need to do.”

     Amicus nodded, already catching onto my train of thought. They helped me to my feet, then hurried with me to the bridge.

     We made it across to the island. The crowd had already dispersed and moved into town. Amicus and I turned to where the end of the bridge was tethered to the island.

     I put my shovel to work, quickly digging away at the dirt around the bridge posts. Amicus pried rocks out of the way and scooped loose dirt aside with his hands. Together we worked diligently to unearth the four bridge posts gripping the island tightly.

     The sun set, pulling a blanket of night along behind it. Amicus and I worked as fast as we could. My arms were sore and my legs were still beat from all the running, but I shoveled as fast as I could.

     Finally, I dug up the last shovel-full of sandy earth and tossed it away from the final pillar. With that, the whole island swayed, and the disconnected pillars now holding nothing but the sea fell away below us as the island lifted a small distance, then steadied. I turned to Amicus and smiled. We’d done it, we’ve saved the town and likely bought ourselves more time to search for the door as well.

     “Are you… agents of our god?”

     Amicus and I turned to see the town leader standing in the archway leading into town. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been standing there watching us.

     “No. We’re just people, same as you,” I said.

     “…My god… was supposed to save us. Why do I get the feeling that if you two hadn’t been here, we would have… been swept away?” the leader asked.

     I thought about the rabbit's domain. The eyes covering the temples, the feeling that the whole place had been made to exist for far too long.

     "I think the gods need us as much as we need them. Try not to ask for too much without offering to give anything in return," I said.

     The leader thought about that for a long moment. "I wonder what a god would want." She turned, lost in thought, and walked back into town. As she left, the archway filled with the familiar plain wood boards of the doorway.

     “The doorway!” Amicus cheered.

     “The fifth and final place.” I took a moment to breathe. I turned and looked back at the now distant mainland. I could still see the other doorway, and… a figure standing on the beach, so starkly white they nearly hurt to look at. A figure with long rabbit ears.

     I stared at the rabbit for a long moment, and they stared back. Then the rabbit turned and walked calmly back through the doorway.

     “…Maybe they don’t like water?” Amicus guessed. He sounded relieved.

     “Maybe.” I turned back to face the doorway. “Are you ready?”

     “I am. And you know what? I really think we can do this. I just have this feeling, deep inside. It’s all going to end up okay,” Amicus said, smiling at me.

     “A gut feeling?” I asked.

     “Yeah, I think so.”

     “I always trust those.” I put a hand on Amicus’s shoulder. I smiled at my friend, then turned to face the doorway. We stepped through together.