#but i was inspired by everyone else's human interpretation.......

[ochibrochi]

weird looking cat

[mixterglacia]

As a massive I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream fan, the most recent episode of The Amazing Digital Circus NAILED the spirit of its inspiration.

Most people picked up on the "he's only safe as long as he likes us" bit. But another moment that I clocked was the time blindness. In IHNMAIMS, there's a strong implication that the only reason the humans know how long they've been there is AM reminding them constantly.

He could be lying. Both Caine and AM. The fear is what this omnipotent being is TRULY capable of. What happens when the AI himself breaks? How thin is the veil here?

What happens when Caine Abstracts.

That is the unspoken question I think the crew is trying to get us thinking about. If this is what happens when he's being 'good', what happens when he goes feral?

This episode is going to hit very different for those who've had to work retail, or any customer facing job before. I knew it was going to dig into my soul from the moment I saw how lovingly rendered the workspace was.

Taking a moment to visually wax poetic about something seen as so mundane. That was glorious. That was art. I already knew this show was special, but this episode highlighted that.

I understand that some wanted another high energy episode, but this just stuck a dagger between my ribs and twisted it periodically. EVERYONE is suffering in this place.

Ragatha. Pomni. Gangle. Zoobles. Kinger. Jax. Caine.

EVERYONE SUFFERS WITHIN THE MACHINE.

It doesn't matter if you're nice. It doesn't matter if you're mean.

It Doesn't Matter If You're Numb.

It's survival. It's stubbornness. It's the truest essence of humanity.

Hope.

Even when faced with the most unrelenting torment, they still display hope. While it looks very different for all of them, hope is a huge through line.

Abstraction happens when hope is lost.

This is such a phenomenal interpretation of the spirit of IHNMAIMS. Gods I love this show.

(Also, you're allowed to have differing opinions y'all. This is just how I view the show. You're allowed to not like it, you're allowed to think it means something else. This is just how I see things.)

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Jessica Wildfire

Our friends and family think they understand their immune system because George Carlin explained it to them in the 90s:

"Where did this sudden fear of germs come from? What do you think you have an immune system for? It's for killing germs. But it needs practice. It needs germs to practice on. If you kill all the germs around you, and lead a completely sterile life, then when germs do come along you're not going to be prepared. What are you gonna do? I'll tell you what, you're gonna get sick and you're gonna die and you're gonna deserve it because you're f-ing weak and you've got a f-ing weak immune system."

George Carlin was right about a lot of things, but he was wrong on this one.

(He got plastic wrong, too.)

Unfortunately, this part of his 11th HBO standup special became permanently lodged into the American cultural memory. I only saw it once as a kid, but it stayed with me for the rest of my life.

Not even AP Biology could dislodge it.

I, too, used to think you built your immune system up by exposing yourself to harmful germs. How could the great prophet George Carlin be mistaken on something that made so much intuitive sense, especially when you dropped a few f-bombs in there? I also thought it was a good thing to exercise your way through a cold. Then I opened myself up to the possibility that I was wrong.

In the words of Carl Sagan, I'd been bamboozled.

In early 2020, this Carlin bit inspired countless reaction videos that still litter the internet. Anti-science zealots have used George Carlin's monologue on disease thousands of times over the last four years to ridicule masks, vaccines, and clean air. Everywhere you look, that piece of standup looms in the background, and it's getting revived again for bird flu. But even George Carlin got the idea from somewhere else.

You can trace this misguided notion back to hygiene theory, proposed by David Strachan in 1989. Strachan argued that a whole range of health problems in the late 20th century had roots in "a lower incidence of infection in early childhood." Basically, our immune systems weren't getting enough exposure to bacteria and viruses. He was mainly talking about the rise in childhood allergies as the result, but the media began printing loose interpretations of his studies and jumping to conclusions that less exposure to disease was a bad thing in general. So the public developed the idea that somehow getting sick was good for you. So began the myth of the "bored immune system" that needed practice in order to stay healthy. Gurus and quacks latched onto this idea. So did talkshows.

And then comedians...

It wasn't until 2003 that Graham Rook offered a more accurate description of the situation. As he explained, "microbes have evolved into an essential role in regulating our immune system... the microbes involved are not infections, but friendly microbes which make up our human microbiome. These are acquired by exposure to other humans or animals and microbiota from our natural environment."

This became known as the "old friends hypothesis."

The old friends hypothesis now serves as the dominant model for how microbes work with our immune system. According to immunologists, kids need to be playing outside more and eating fresher, healthier foods. That's what helps their immune systems.

Getting sick all the time just hurts them.

Like many debunked ideas, hygiene theory and the myth of the bored immune system have become entrenched. A couple of years ago, hygiene theory got repackaged as "immunity debt." Now Americans, Canadians, and many Europeans think they need to get sick to stay healthy. The elites have absolutely no problem with that. It saves them countless billions to let everyone continue thinking they're better off letting diseases run around in their cells.

So:

Your immune system doesn't work like a muscle. It doesn't get stronger the more it's exposed to different harmful germs.

It doesn't need practice.

Phillipp Dettmer gives a vivid, accessible breakdown of the immune system in his 2021 book, Immune. You can show it to any internet troll who brags about their knowledge of the immune system. Dettmer destroys misinformation, explaining how your adaptive immune system actually works, as well as your gut microbiome.

As many articles and books explain, your body has an innate immune system that already knows how to fight off pathogens. You can help your immune system by feeding it the nutrients it needs. (That's an entirely different article.) You can protect your immune system from pollution, cigarette smoke, and other toxins. But genetics determines a lot of your immunological makeup. You can be born with an immune system that doesn't work the way it should, and it's not your fault.

You also have an adaptive immune system that stores chemical blueprints of pathogens in memory T and B cells. According to a 2024 article in Nature, these cells respond better to specific pathogens your body has seen before. Those blueprints last only as long as your memory cells. Sometimes those cells mature and stay around for years, even decades. If they don't, then your body won't remember the pathogen.

Your body doesn't need exposure to viruses.

Your immune system responds to harmful microbes and it can develop memories from previous infections. Most of the time, those memories apply specifically to that specific strain, variant, or clade of the virus. For example, immune memory to one type of adenovirus or rhinovirus doesn't confer automatic, guaranteed protection against all of them, and there are hundreds.

Sometimes, cross-protection can happen, but it's limited and hard to predict. When it does, like with the original smallpox vaccine, it's a big deal. If that were easy, we would already have a universal coronavirus vaccine and wouldn't have to update flu shots every year. Most of the time, getting sick with one virus doesn't train your body to respond any better to other viruses, especially when those viruses aren't related.

Victoria's state department of health puts it very plainly:

"The immune keeps a record of every microbe it has ever defeated, in types of white blood cells (B-lymphocytes and T-lymphocytes) known as memory cells. This means it can recognise and destroy the microbe quickly if it enters the body again, before it can multiply and make you feel sick. Some infections, like the flu and the common cold, have to be fought many times because so many different viruses or strains of the same type of virus can cause these illnesses. Catching a cold or flu from one virus does not give you immunity against the others."

You can add Covid to that list.

Some research has suggested that because catching one virus activates your innate immune system, your body's broad layers of defense offer brief protection against other pathogens. Viruses also compete with each other, meaning that infection from one virus can ward off others. That's called viral interference. Neither option means your immune system benefits from exposure to viruses.

We can't explain all of the human immune system in a single post, but here's the point. It's way more complicated than George Carlin explained. There's a lot more going on. It's not as simple as training your immune system by giving it practice.

That's not how it works.

It just sounds good.

No credible doctor or immunologist recommends building your immune system by welcoming viral and bacterial infections into your life. The costs far outweigh the benefits. Many viruses exact a price on your body and your immune system. Getting infected over and over again makes you weaker, not stronger. Vaccines don't work because they give your immune system practice. They work because they allow your body to develop a memory of a pathogen without all the risk.

Many viruses, like the flu, often leave lasting damage even when your immune system fights them off. Your immune system actually does some of that damage itself by attacking infected cells. In the wake of flu, your entire body including your immune system needs time to recover. During that stage, you're vulnerable to opportunistic infections. Other viruses, like measles and ebola, disable your immune system and even wipe out memory cells.

That's also what Covid does, among many other things.

You can't develop full immunity to viruses that evade, attack, and disable large parts of your immune system. Sometimes you can develop partial immunity, but the virus still invades and still does damage every time. Just because you can recover from these infections, that doesn't mean you're better off afterward.

Think of it like this:

Your body already knows how to heal its skin and bones. You don't have to teach it how to do that by cutting yourself or breaking your arm.

As it happens, many westerners also think bones grow back stronger after they're broken and scar tissue is tougher than normal skin.

That's also false.

Scar tissue remains functionally deficient in many ways compared to uninjured skin. Broken bones form a temporary calcium callus that's stronger than ordinary bone, but it's eventually replaced.

These misguided ideas fit in a culture obsessed with tough love, the idea that abusing someone somehow builds their character. And while it might make you interesting, it's certainly not "good" for you.

Sometimes I wonder what George Carlin would think about having one part of a standup special used to endorse bad science and eugenics. I'd like to think he would have a problem with it.

There's a lot you can do to boost your immune system.

Getting sick isn't one of them.

[letters-to-lgbt-kids]

(TW: Religion)

My dear lgbt+ kids, 

When we think about reconciling Christianity and our identity, then we are often automatically jumping to „re-interpreting Bible verses that are used to justify homophobia/transphobia“ or to „looking for Bible verses that can be interpreted in a lgbt-supportive way“. 

Both of that is valid and definitely has its place. And if you are someone who (or trying to discuss with someone who) believes everything in the Bible is true and to be taken literal, then looking for the most accurate interpretation of each passage is also pretty much the only thing you can do.

In that case, take comfort in knowing that there is often historical, cultural etc. context missing from conservative interpretations and learning about that context lets us see seemingly hateful verses in a much more inclusive light! 

That Bible verse that seems to be against gay sex may very well be against rape, that Bible verse that seems to be against trans people dressing the way they want to may very well be condemning old rituals that have nothing to do with modern life. I don’t think looking for these alternative (or maybe *better*) explanations is heathenish at all. God wants you to think critically, that’s why he gave you the ability to. If he gave you a book to live your life according to, then it stands to reason that he’d want you to find the most accurate meaning of his words, and that means looking past the most superficial interpretation.

But if you are (or the person you’re talking to is) open to the idea that maybe the Bible isn’t meant to be taken literal in its entirety - then it can feel tedious to dissect singular verses. 

In that case, you probably don’t feel the need to dissect other parts either and you just disregard them. For example you look at certain verses containing rules on hygiene or health, and you disregard them because you figure those were written in, and for, wildly different times and they just do not apply to modern life anymore, and you believe that one can be a good Christian while also disregarding those specific verses. 

If that’s you, then an approach that might fit you better would be to look at the bigger picture instead. Treat the Bible like you would any self-help book - look at the overall messages but don’t assume that every single line is applicable to your life or even holds meaning. 

This may seem counterintuitive or even like a “bad” thing to do, especially if you grew up in a taking-the-Bible-literal household, so I’ll give you some potential questions that may help you get into the mindset: 

Which messages are repeated often throughout the Bible? Which messages are repeated in most big religions you know? Which messages would come to your mind first if you were to teach a child about God? Which values or attributes describe God best? 

For me, and for many people, the biggest ones would be “God loves you unconditionally” and “God wants you to love others”. Another important one might be “God created you, and everyone else, because he wanted you to exist”. 

When you identified some big picture core messages, and are open to the idea that the Bible may not be meant to be taken literal in its entirety (for example because it was inspired by the Holy Spirit but written by humans and humans can make mistakes or add their own personal agenda, or also simply because it’s so old and over time some of its original teachings got mistranslated or lost), then you may be able to look at these seemingly hateful verses with new eyes - not seeking to find a more accurate explanation, but rather being able to compare them to those core messages and being able to say “this fits in with the core message” or “this doesn’t fit in with the core message”. 

With all my love, 

Your Tumblr Dad 

[unfamiliaris]

THE TERROR ASK GAME

⚓️ (Anchor) - How long do you think you would have survived the expedition? How would you have died? (for the sake of keeping answers interesting, “I would have survived”/“none of that would have happened to me” are NOT viable answers)

🚢 (Flagship) - Would you have eaten the human meat, knowing what (or who) it was?

🪢 (Knots) - Favorite Terror fic(s)?

🧊 (Pack ice) - Favorite Terror ship(s)?

❄️ (Snowfall) - Backseat drive one of the conflicts in this show. (e.g. whether or not to tell the men about the spoiled rations immediately, whether to abandon Erebus, etc.) What would you have done? Do you think it would have worked? (Assume you have the same amount of information about the situation as the characters did at the time.)

🌊 (Pacific) - You are the one and only survivor of the expedition. You’ve been rescued, but everyone else has succumbed to their fates. Would you be able to go back to your normal life at any point? Would you be able to live with yourself? Would you tell your story, or take your and your companions’ sins to the grave?

🐻‍❄️ (Great white bear) - The men at sea were only allowed to bring limited possessions to save space. (Assume you are a lower ranking seaman without your own private quarters.) Aside from clothing, what would be of importance for you to bring along? Remember what era you’re in, but the question is flexible. For example, your phone is not a viable answer, but a book, even if it hadn’t been published yet at the time, is okay.

🌅 (Sunrise) - Do you have ambitions or plans on going on an arctic expedition in real life? If so, was it directly inspired by the show, or was your interest in the show because you already had these goals? If not, what things do you dislike about the prospect? (The temperature is a given!)

🍽️ (Empty plate) - List some characters you think you’d have an interesting dynamic with, if you were on the expedition with them. They don’t all have to be from the same ship, the relationships do not have to be romantic or sexual (but could be!), and for the sake of clarity we’re going off the interpretation of these characters as they exist in the AMC show. Would you fall for anyone? Would they reciprocate? Would you butt heads with anyone? Why?

🌫️ (Dense fog) - If you could have saved just one of the men from going on the expedition, who would it have been? Why them above anyone else?

🦭 (Seal) - Blatant promo bait question. If you have an AO3, an art tag, or anywhere else you post art related to the Terror, link them! If you don’t do either of those things, link and/or tag some of your favorite artists in the fandom.

[sepublic]

People -and this did include myself at one point- really don't want to engage with the fact that Belos is modeled after white supremacy by trying to bury this under the lens of "Oh he's actually a lonely weirdo like Luz!!!" when Belos' superiority complex is the most important part of him and it's where all analyses inevitably must stem from. I think the problem is that people are too attached to their speculative fanon version of Belos and instead of letting go of that to rebuild their understanding of him from the ground up (since he's a mysterious character who is only gradually revealed bit by bit), they keep clinging to this sympathetic tragic villain as the core behind their interpretation of him. 

Everything about Belos makes so much more sense when you explore him as someone akin to a lot of right-wing 4channers; A lonely young boy who was radicalized because white supremacy promised to rescue him from his isolation, and after buying into it wholesale, he very much chose to cling onto the need to be superior to the "NPCs" even when someone close to him actually unlearns and deconstructs for him why this is harmful. He sees firsthand how someone just like him is happier for leaving this mindset, and then kills them to eliminate that contradiction threatening his world belief; At which point it’s inaccurate to infantilize him as just a lonely and misguided kid, because he’s no longer a kid and he made a very cognizant and informed choice to double down and commit actual violence.

And everyone knows that by this point, such people are not actually being sincere; They’re not secretly misguided, you can’t simply attribute their harm to not knowing better because this is what their religion says or whatever. These people know they’re committing harm, but rather than help on “lesser” people’s terms, they ‘help’ the way THEY see fit, in the way that strokes their ego. That’s what separates Philip from someone like Gwen, who humbled herself to focus on what Eda was saying she really needed. So the Titan’s summarization of Belos as someone who only cares about being the hero in his own delusion, and fears what he can’t control is… hardly an oversimplification, it really gets to the core of Belos as a character, and the narrative he embodies. It captures the difference between wanting to help and having a savior complex, and is what ends up delineating the two at the crucial crossroads. 

And I find it a little concerning to joke about how this type of character is “just a silly guy” when people exactly like him are on the rise and committing very real violence right now. It’s also why I don’t buy the justification behind a lot of salt about how villains need to be humanized in order to show kids how THEY can become villains, because the show is fairly outright about how Belos rationalizes atrocities under the guise of the ‘greater good’ and refuses to self-reflect, and it’s not as if we don’t have Luz learning to understand characters like Amity or Lilith, the Collector and even Kikimora (whom she DID relate to personally, yet Kiki still doubled down with or without Belos), while still having the show emphasize that they need to get their act together and can’t just depend on people to save them. 

There’s also the very obvious theme of Luz realizing she doesn’t owe her oppressor anything, especially not when he won’t ever meet her or anyone else on their terms, but idk some people just seem to hate Luz for having boundaries I guess, even though she already put in the effort to be kind and understanding to Belos and she got hurt for it. Hell the Collector made that effort after being inspired by Luz, and Luz was murdered protecting them from that mistake!!! There are some very obvious stories and lessons being told here with the actual protagonists being the heart of those narratives, but the problem I’ve noticed is that a lot of the people complaining on Belos’ behalf are those who hyperfixated almost exclusively on the Wittebane aspect of the lore, going over it with a fine tooth comb and microscope to extrapolate an entire fanon from the littlest of details… only to just ignore the actual show and narrative and themes happening on-screen. 

And that leads to many not understanding various narrative decisions because they weren’t really paying attention to the actual point they’re in service to, and then they blame the writers for their own chosen ignorance, and how the story wasn’t about their part specifically so everything else doesn’t count and the whole show is wasted potential, really. The way so many of said fans immediately turned on Luz after the finale and tried to drag her down to Belos’ level by acting like she wasn’t any better for also wanting things and 'demonizing enemies', claiming Luz had unaddressed ‘flaws’ while Belos deserved more sympathy, and framing Belos as a ‘better’ character who ‘worked harder’ while claiming Luz was retconned into an arrogant chosen one who never grew, is actually baffling.

A lot of them are just upset that Belos didn’t play the role in Luz’s arc that they wanted him to play, so they’ve opted to dismiss Luz’s overall storyline as badly written and even a reflection of Dana's 'Catholic complex' (which is a tasteless jab to make) because they neglected the nuance behind every other aspect of Luz that wasn’t directly tied to Belos, that didn’t set her up as the one person who understands him or whatever because that’s more important to them than addressing the sheer trauma and pain that Belos willingly inflicted upon Luz. Because god forbid this brown girl be angry against her white abuser, huh? God forbid the white guy be used to set up the brown main character, rather than the other way around right????? It’s really just a jealous complaint about the show’s choice of priorities and celebration, hidden under the false guise of ever caring about Luz’s arc for Luz’s sake.

And that’s how you get insincere arguments about how Belos should’ve been able to survive, that’s how you get AUs that undermine the lessons of canon to egregiously relegate Luz to being Belos’ sidekick, or even present her as an obstacle to him getting his much-needed redemption, as if that last part hinges on all of Belos’ victims getting over their pain to help him, because obviously he needs it more than they do! Because we gotta spare Belos’ feelings by giving him friends instead of consequences!!! Unbelievable. He is not Amity, not Lilith, and definitely not Hunter, and the people who forgave them had actual reason to do so. And even Lilith had to move in with her mother so she could be given reparations by someone who actually owed it to her, rather than her younger sister and two kids.

And there’s definitely a major difference between Lilith and Gwen’s dynamic and Philip and Caleb’s, especially since Caleb was also a child when he moved into Gravesfield. Even if you think Belos' bigotry was radicalized due to 'grief' over losing his brother to witches, that's just entitlement and control because it's not as if Caleb can't have more than one positive relationship in his life; Philip is no better than people who blame minorities for some incident in their life and use that as justification to become white supremacists, and there's nothing sympathetic or 'tragic' about that.

But the point is that Caleb ultimately wasn’t THAT important to Belos because he’d always be secondary to witch-hunting, Belos clearly chose his white supremacy over his brother, and any ‘takebacks’ that come in the form of the Grimwalkers are insincere given Belos does nothing to actually repent or regret his violence committed on the people of the isles; It’d have been one thing if he DID try to undo his mistake by choosing differently, by cloning Caleb and giving up witch hunting, but he still doesn’t (Note that Belos does not hallucinate the ghosts of the witches he killed; He still feels no remorse over them, because his fear of being wrong comes from a selfish place). And unlike Luz, Belos can’t have it both ways because one option explicitly calls for the extermination of the other; It’s the Paradox of Tolerance that Luz struggled with, except contrary to what Belos claims, humanity’s existence does not require the eradication of others.

Because yes there IS a meaningful moral distinction between Luz and Belos -don’t forget they’re not just parallels but explicit opposites- that occurs even before you get into the genocide, not that you should neglect that other part either because it’s incredibly important, being the starting point for this entire rant. Society already has a bias towards devil’s advocating bigotry as some big misunderstanding, and prioritizing the angst of white dudes who commit it over the victims of color; Can we avoid applying that to fiction?!??!? I literally saw someone complain that the show didn’t portray Belos’ grief from murdering Luz, and that Luz’s “glory moment” took away from a Wittebane backstory!!! At this point, people are just being racist.

[pixiemage]

I legitimately think a lot of people get too hung up on how other people write or draw characters (both in MCYT and outside of it). I sometimes feel like there's so much bitterness towards fellow fandom members just because they've chosen to enjoy a character or corner of the fandom in a different way. Do you picture the characters the same way the creators are IRL? Fun! Do you have a much more fanonized interpretation because you want to separate the characters from creators? Great! Do you tend to lean toward one kind of design overall in your art because that's just how you enjoy the act of creation? Fantastic!

Short, tall, thin, fat, human, hybrid, something entirely undefinable - every single option is correct. Every single option is right. That's the point of creativity and creative liberty. That's the point of fandom and the whole reason why fan art and fan fiction exist - to take what canon gives you and make something, whether that something clings to canon's every note, or if that something turns canon on its head. Especially if it turns canon on its head.

This is a vast fanbase built upon a sandbox game, and any creations we make should be treated the same. It doesn't matter if it doesn't fit the bill for what someone else thinks, and it doesn't matter if it doesn't fit some standard mold. If everyone else views Grian as a parrot avian, but you love writing him as a cod? Do it! If a lot of folks depict Tango as a blazeborn, but you fucking love the idea of him being an android? Well, for god's sake, what's stopping you? Make him an android! Does everyone else write Bdubs as short, but you think it'd be really funny if he was taller than half the hermits, so the short jokes are even more ridiculous? Then, holy shit, I wanna see that!

But to roll back to the point, fan creations is meant to be fun. And all of you out there being picky? As a viewer of other peoples' art and writing, don't go telling people they're "doing it wrong". Don't be critical. Don't tell someone they need to "do better" if their portrayal doesn't line up with what's in your head. There's no rules here. And similarly, there's no quota we need to meet on variety. There's no law someone is breaking if they're not following your expectations. If you're a viewer of art and fics, and you're pissed at someone because you believe they don't draw or write someone tall enough or short enough or thin enough or fat enough or young enough or old enough - make it yourself. Don't detract from someone else's joy just because their version of having fun in the fandom doesn't line up with yours.

People are going to create what they love. People write and draw from a place of inspiration and enjoyment and fun. If they choose to share it, they're doing that for free and of their own free will. They didn't share it for you. Fan artists and fan writers aren't here to be your dancing monkeys, we're here to just have fun. If you aren't seeing enough of whatever you're expecting to see, then don't demand it from other people who were proud enough of a piece of art to share it with the world. Make it yourself.

[suusoh]

I think a lot of people seem hesitant to write about Johan Liebert, believing there’s a need to portray him "accurately" or "seriously" or else don't write him at all.

This fear is completely valid and understandable of course; experiencing it myself. Most works in the "x reader" section tend to lean heavily toward psychological thriller and suspense, all crafted with such skill and depth with downright the most beautiful writing style ever. (can you tell I want to inject these fics right into my veins.)

I absolutely fucking LOVE these. Okay? let's establish that. I eat up these works every time, they clear my skin and water my crops.

What saddens me a bit is to think that starting out writers who read these fics, instead of getting inspired by such beautiful works, accidentally intimidate themselves out of writing for Johan because they think that is the standard of what a Johan fic should look like. I suspect many aspiring writers believe they need to meet certain "requirements" before they can write about Monster or Johan.

It's easy to think that you have to read countless analysis posts on monster, watch the series dozens of times, or have a good grasp in psychology and philosophy before you're allowed to write about him (guilty ✋️).

While it’s beneficial to understand a character well, I've noticed an underlying sense of "perfectionism" found within the fandom, creating this sort of cycle:

-> Look at the Johan/Monster tag: You see no "bad" or "inaccurate" fanfics—only well-written ones. -> Try to write for Johan: You feel your work will never match the quality or accuracy of what's already out there, so you hesitate to share it. -> Avoid uploading your fanfics: you think your work is "inaccurate," so you might as well not upload it. Someone might even bash you for it.

And then the loop begins at the top again. Breeding the idea that only meticulously researched, serious fics are worthy of uploading. I believe these amazing fics should be a source of inspiration to you to share your own stories instead of holding back. I doubt the authors of those fantastic pieces want anyone to feel intimidated. In fact, I'm sure that they, along with many readers, would likely LOVE to see a selection of variety and creativity in the fandom.

It's good to be cautious of your characterization, great even. It means you've at least put in the work right? But you shouldn't let the fear of making something "untrue" to Johan's character stop you entirely. It might help to look at certain fanfics as a way to guide you, but not to set strict laws on yourself. He’s meant to be an enigma, a puzzle to interpret in various ways. For example, one author might say he enjoys tea, while another might explain he prefers blue Gatorade in their story. The beauty of writing him lies in these interpretations!

( Also there are people on platforms like TikTok and YouTube using Johan as a mascot for the "sigma male manipulator". Writing Johan x reader going on a cute date as a little treat for himself with his newfound humanity is absolutely fair game at this point 💀 )

Numerous serious fandoms, like Sherlock, Hannibal, or Dexter, have their share of fluff and unserious fics that don’t delve deeply into character analysis. Yet they’re written, uploaded, and enjoyed by the community.

Fandom and fanfic writing should be a space and a chance for you to experiment and indulge in your creativity. That's what everyone is doing here, it's not a competition for "best writing". You shouldn't feel any pressure to write for anyone else but yourself and write what you wish to read. If anything, I'm pretty sure all the johan peeps are begging to have more people write, eating up any sort of writing like the dogs we are. woof woof bitchh!

You might think that your fanfic about Johan running away to join the circus is stupid, but somewhere out there is someone waiting to find and read a fic of Johan running away to join the circus.

[milevenstancyendgame]

In Defense Of Mike

Sometimes antis inspire you to write meta - I don't know why, but today I feel like going through these Mike accusations that someone left on my Eleven post, lol:

No one talks shit about my boy Mike on my post.😎

-"And not to make this about shipping because El is her own person and should be discussed outside of ships, BUT" - goes on long ass shipping discourse.

You nailed it right there, buddy.😂

-"Mike babies her throughout their relationship":

I think it's so funny that those who are on the fence shouting about El needing to break up with Mike, to be independent, are doing exactly what they accuse Mike of doing (gaslight much?). You're willfully ignoring her love for Mike, which is canonical, projecting your own dislike of him onto her, like you know what's best for her. You're babying her.

So when does he baby her? I can't think of any time, but since you also said that he's protective and "El wants to be trusted and supported", I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're talking about SOME scenes between El and Mike in s3.

I think it's funny that antis wave Mike's protectiveness over El in s3 as though it was some big red flag.

Like, ya'll act as though he wanted to lock her up in the cabin. Oh wait, that was Hopper in s2, actually. I don't see you hating on Hopper though, even though he's an adult.

Mike is worried and traumatised from losing El several times before. Yes, he doesn't know how to deal with this, but like you keep saying, El is her own person and should be respected as such.

So what does El do? She shows that she doesn't like it, and in an intimate moment away from the over-the-top comedy of s3, she tells him "I need you to trust me".

And how does Mike react? Did you actually watch that? Because it doesn't sound like it. He ACCEPTS what she says IMMEDIATELY, even gives Max an acknowledging glance, and backs off, letting her do her thing.

Like this right there. That's growth.

And that's him doing exactly what you say El needs - that's trusting, supportive, and letting her decide for herself. Which, by the way, he has been doing the whole time and continues to do.

He apologies to her and shows that he has been self-reflecting, and is overly hard on himself. He's aware that he was jealous and that he doesn't know how to deal with his strong love for El.

That's healthy and wholesome, and also huge for a 14-year old emotionally neglected boy, who has no blueprint for a healthy romantic relationship.

But no, you don't want to see this. Nor anything else, apparently. Just literally this ONE DAY on which he was overwhelmed and worrying about El. And you interpret that as "babies her throughout their relationship". That is…wild.

-"Mike puts El on a pedestal" & "Mike never compliments El's personality" :

Wow, this feels like the most unjust accusation of all. You interpret him thinking and telling her she's a superhero as putting her on a pedestal?

First of all, how can you do that, when you just said that he babies her throughout.😆 It almost seems like your various views about him are incompatible...maybe because they're not founded on reality...👀

He's the one who constantly reminds everyone else that El is not a machine, that she has limits, that she has human needs...seriously, have you watched the show? S1? When everyone saw her as a problem or a weirdo or a traitor or a monster or a criminal or a science experiment....and he was the one who treated her for what she was - a scared, friendless child in danger. An equal. A friend.

How come you're not hating on Dustin and Lucas? Maybe you're able to see how they changed? Or Max, because she's in awe of El in s2 and in s3 is 100%ly confident that she will be able to defeat the monster on her own? Maybe you're able to see that she had a normal reaction to finding out about someone's super powers and that she simply was mistaken? Or Steve, because he refers to her as "this girl with superpowers that we usually rely on"? Maybe you're able to see that this didn't reflect any dehumanising on his part?

Oh, but Mike is different of course.🙄

Mike never treats El as anything else but his equal. If he actually put her on a pedestal, he'd constantly be like: "Oh, but I'm sure El can fix it!" for every problem they have, and he'd be disappointed and shocked to witness her humanity - her flaws, her needs, her imperfections.

Well, he doesn't. On the contrary, he tries to provide for her every need, reminding others of them, is worried about her overexerting herself (which you hated on a moment ago, but now strangely seem to have forgotten), and never pushes her to fight for them. He's also always the one who wants to provide a back-up for her, to not let her fight alone or do everything for them (like in the caves in s2, or in s3 when they try to overturn the car in the mall).

Okay, and my personal favourite: "He also does this with Dustin and Will" So I'm guessing you're referring to Mike telling Dustin in s1 that his cleidocranial dysplasia is like a superpower, after being bullied; and in s2, when he tells Will he's like a super-spy now. And of course telling El that she's a superhero.

And you think this is bad????????

😳

Sorry, I just....HOW? He's literally reassuring Dustin that he not only accepts him as he is, but that his difference is cool, he compares him to the coolest people they know and admire, the super heroes from comics. He's trying to cheer him up after he got humiliated for being different. I mean...I guess if he had given him a hug, you would have found a way to interpret that as bad.😬

And the same with Will - he sees that his friend is barely keeping it together, he's rightly panicking, because he's possessed by an interdimensional monster, but Mike finds a way to distract him, invite his mind to see things in a different way that actually EMPOWERS him, reassuring him that they won't let the monster spy back, and again, this is bad, because?

Or do you mean it's only bad when he does it with El?😂 Because it's the same thing. He's trying to reassure her that she's not a monster, that he loves her.

And once again - when she shows in s4 that she doesn't like something he's doing (not saying "I love you"), he accepts that, he feels bad, and tries to give her exactly what she asked for at the next opportunity!

Apparently you didn't see that either.

And "he never compliments her personality". How many hoops do you want him to jump through?🤣

Mike shows that he loves and respects El all the time, he doesn't need to say "You have an awesome personality." for El to feel that. And she never expressed any need for that. Does Hopper compliment Joyce's personality to her face? Did Joyce do that for Hopper? Did Nancy do that for Steve or Jonathan or vice versa? Did Max say that to Lucas? I guess Lucas is the only one who really loves his partner, because he did that once.🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

Oh, and of course, the whole monologue at the end of s4 doesn't count, because. "I love you on your good days, I love you on your bad days, I love you without your powers, I love you with your powers...I love you exactly for who you are."

That's somehow not valid, hm?

Mike can't win in your eyes, because you don't want him to. This is called scapegoating, btw.

Lastly, it's strange that you have a reference to him in your username, when you clearly think he's so horrible and accuse him of all this...together with a reference to Will...hmm...how mysterious....🙄🙄🙄 Almost like you had double standards for a certain agenda.🤔

*Drops mic*

[anemonelovesfiction]

Fated Mates 6

Ao’nung x Fem human reader

Warnings ⚠️: Sex- just expect this from now on y’all. Idk what else

Tag List 🏷️: @shit-i-say-shit-i-think @universal-s1ut @lili-flower03 @deadpool15 @mishy-mushroom04 @sanislifealways

I think I edited it? Idk can’t be too sure. Also I apologize for taking forever I haven’t been feeling too inspired lately. I wanted this chapter to end differently and kept struggling to get there, but here it is!

When it came to translating “I love you more” in Na’Vi I essentially out the word “more” in a spot where it made sense and potentially fit with the way the language is spoken… so please don’t judge 😫

Translation Station

Sa’nok: Mother

Tìyawn: Love

Tewng: Loincloth

Yawntu: loved one

Yawne: Beloved

Nga yawne nì’ul lu oer: I love you more (derived from Nga yawne lu oer, that translates to ‘beloved you are to me’ but is used as ‘I love you’- nì’ul meaning “more” I had to place it where I believed it fit best so idk if its all accurate.)

Ma’tìyawn: My love

Tsaheylu: Bond

Tawtute: Sky person (used as “human”)

Tsahik: Spiritual leader of clan; interprets the will of Eywa

Yawntutsyìp: Darling

Ma’sempul: my father

Kaltxí: Hello

Ma’eveng: my child

Hona: Cute

Prrnen: infant, baby

Vrrtep: Demon

Mrr: Five

Nga yawne lu pxoe: “We three love you”

Word count: 8.4K

<<Previous | Next>>

“Thats great news!” Jake is the first to speak as Tuk runs up to hug me, spinning me before settling me on the floor, there was no doubt she had Na’vi strength.

“Congratulations!” Kiri yells in excitement.

“Are you sure we’re ready for a second fish lips?” Lo’ak teases before getting smacked by Spider.

“Don’t disrespect my little niece or nephew like that.” He jokes and Lo’ak playfully hisses at Spider, Spider hissing back without hesitation.

“You don’t seem as excited.” Neytiri points out and I’m glad someone had managed to notice my solemn expression. “Why is that?” She asks and I sigh shakily.

“Honestly, I never thought I’d be in this position. I don’t know what to expect with a pregnancy, especially with a half Na’Vi child. They grow so big and I’m very small compared to you, You guys carry for up to a year whereas we carry for nine-ish months. What happens if it’s born too soon?” I asked as all of my thoughts run through me, worry filling my head, I had grown exhausted about these things and haven’t really slept well.

I also had no idea how the fuck to tell my honorary family, this was big news, and I’d unintentionally refrained for a week-ish since finding out. I’d chosen not to believe it when I was told I was pregnant, I had Ronal explain it several times and it was hard to get through my thick skull. Until the morning sickness kicked in, it was usually what had awoken me, and Ao’nung had already gone to work with his father.

Tonowari had been more courteous and had waited for the sun to start popping up in the sky before coming to get his son. After being told about it Ao’nung had spilled the details to his father that next morning, not that it bothered me, but I was still in shock from the news and hadn’t accepted it then.

“The great mother will provide. She has given you a blessing and she will be with you every step of the way.” Kiri smiles as her hand reaches to lightly touch my thigh. She always knew what to say and it warmed my heart that she could also sense my unease.

“Thank you, Kiri.” I placed my hand on top of hers and she smiles.

After an afternoon of talking, everyone eventually went off to do other things and I had been left with Neytiri. She only looks at me before smiling quietly, moving to sit in front of me.

“You are hiding something.” It wasn’t a question, I knew her and her behavior, she was definitely hiding something.

“Information, mostly about pregnancy, you will be sensitive to feelings, smells, tastes, and intimacy.” She says, had I been drinking something I would have spat it out.

“Your baby will crave being around those that make you feel comfortable and will often want to feel secured if you feel threatened or in danger. Do not be surprised if you find yourself clinging closer to your mate or others you consider close to you.” She says and I nod, Ronal had stated that in her healing hut when she broke the news for me.

“I also do not want you to feel bad about this blessing either.” She stated, hand gently placed on my belly, tears coming into my eyes, she was the closest thing I’d had to a mother and our relationship wasn’t always perfect, but she was trying- and thats all that mattered to me.

“I don’t want you to think that I will keep this baby from you. I want you to know you are the only family I have here, even if I’m not with Neteyam anymore, you have always been the closest thing to a mother for me.” I admit and her face softens into a smile, she leans in and brings me into her arms.

“Oh sweet girl,” She mutters in english, catching me by surprise. “I am honored you see me as your sa’nok.”

“Is there anything I should avoid?” I ask while wiping my tears.

“Other than your brother?” She asks and the loudest laugh bubbles out of my mouth before I could stop it, not knowing she could casually joke around, her own smile sneaking out as she watches me laugh.

“I usually expect that from Lo’ak, maybe kiri, but you?”

“I have picked up a thing or two from ma’Jake.” She admits and I nod.

“You sure have!”

__________

She wasn’t that far along in her pregnancy but her hips had definitely spread slightly, her bum jiggled while she walked, her short pants as she walked long distances were louder and fuck was it a huge turn on.

She stops and touches her lower back with her fist, rubbing harshly at the small of her back and groaning, cupping her breast through her shirt, she was in pain and was started to become frustrated. I watch as she tries to massage herself and hold her chest with one hand and failing to do so.

“Do you need help?” I offer and she turns with a glare, continuing to struggle on her own.

“I can fucking do it.” She stated angrily and I nod, humming a quick response, knowing she was going to cave soon. Her face falling as she continues struggling and stops to take a big breath in and lets her fist fall from its place on her back.

“Sure you can.” I’d taken the place of her fists and use my thumbs to press the spot she had been trying to soothe, gently massaging the area, and she moans at the feeling.

“You’ve had a stressful day, tìyawn, let me take care of you.” I kiss her cheek from behind her and her knee’s buckle.

“You’re the one who has a stressful day, you wake up at the ass crack of dawn and follow your dad everywhere, I don’t know how you do it.” She stated and I sit down, lifting her hips and settle her on my lap, still massaging her lower back. I lean over to kiss her cheek and end up catching her neck as she moved to get comfortable.

“Fuck,” She whispers. “If you keep touching and kissing me like this, I’m going to-“

“I know, I can smell it,” I stated as I’d already taken to closing my eyes and sniffing her neck, catching the slightest smell of arousal.

I’d decided to bring her out for a walk since she’d kept herself in the marui all morning from feeling sick. She usually felt better in the afternoon and I just happened to have free time at the moment. I’d teasingly licked her pulse point and she gasps.

“Wait, don’t-“ She starts but I capture her pulse point between my lips and sucking on it. “Oh fuck,” She moans again, her hands squeezing on my thighs, I chuckle slightly in her ear, using one hand to slide up and under her shirt.

“Wait,” Her hand grabs onto mine but I growl in her ear, her hand coming back down toward my thigh.

“Let me take care of you and your needy pussy.” I whisper in her ear and kiss her temple just as my other hand slows down her stomach and into her tewng.

“N-not out here, ahh,”

I place one finger to teasingly trail past her lips only to slide past with the amount of slick seeping past them. She grunts and her hips thrust upward, she’s never gotten wet this quick, I barely touched her and she was soaking.

“Yes out here, how are you already this wet?” I ask as I circle her clit with the lightest pressure and hear her catch her breath, I circle once again.

“Why out here?” She whines and sounds frustrated, little fist landing on my thigh.

“I can’t leave you like this, Y/n, you need me.” I kiss on her neck again and squeeze her breast, rolling the already pebbled nipple between my fingers, her hips buck in a way that makes my fingers caress her clit again.

“It all feels like too m-much,” She struggles to get her words in but is doing significantly better than she did when we’d first started being intimate.

“Talk to me, yawntu, what do you feel?” I focus on her sounds and feel myself reacting to her as my cock grows hard every passing second.

“Good, very good, ah!” Her hips rut in the perfect angle that I slip my finger in and she lets out a long low moan. I couldn’t help myself and slid a second.

“Oh please, please lemme come,” She starts fucking my hand by moving her own hips in the same motion, I knew she was feeling too good to stop and I was rock hard, I curl my fingers and she moans loudly, going faster.

“Mmm, no.” I kiss her neck again on the other side, uncurling my fingers from her pussy, sliding them out.

“No, no, no, no, no!” She yells as her protests fall from her lips, I take the hand from under her shirt and slide it up her neck, using it to push her face back so I can plant a kiss on her mouth.

“Come here pretty girl,” I spin her so she’d facing me and push her tewng to the side while maintaining eye contact. “You ready?” I ask.

“God yes, yawne, please!” She begs and I bite my lip, sinking myself into her smoothly, her whine raking out of her mouth, I could only stare at her with half lidded eyes and felt myself overcome with a deep emotion. Her eyes are opened and looking back into mine.

“I love you so fuckin’ much,” I bring her face closer to mine and thrust upward as I kiss her fervently. Placing a hand on her cheek and the other on her hip.

“Nga yawne nì’ul lu oer-“ She places her hand on my shoulders and rides faster.

“Feel s’good, wanna make you come,” I thrusted faster, the hand on her face slipping to her hip, holding her strongly and making her hips meet mine.

“Oh shit, ‘nung, I can’t- I can’t, gonna come-“

“I’m not stopping you,”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” She chants while I continue thrusting myself into her without stopping. I could feel her pussy contract as she comes, her squeal being the biggest verbal cue, her arms wrapping around my neck tighter, bringing me closer toward her. I didn’t bother continuing to thrust once her orgasm had stopped but stayed inside her without moving, contemplating what to do next.

“Keep going,” Her tiny voice and tiny pants cut me out of my thoughts.

“Fill me up,” She wiggles her hips to move down slowly and I grunt.

“Don’t tease,” I hold her hips steady and she whines.

“Don’t have another round left in you?” She quirks a brow upward as she slowly rubs my arms with her hands. “I thought you said Na’Vi like to go more than once,” She smiles and manages to slide down, taking more of me in, our hips now flush with each others.

“I don’t want to hurt you little one,” I warn but hiss at the feeling of her stomach pressed against mine, feeling the bulge of my cock pressing against myself, moaning at the feeling.

“Wanna squirt on you, please.”

“Oh fuck, you filthy girl,” I close my eyes and feel lost in the warmth she provides on my cock.

“Only f’you.” She says as her lips come down to meet with mine, I run my thumbs along her hips carefully, but had no clue her fingers were making their way toward my ears and my hips rut deep into her aching pussy and she squeals.

“You’re so naughty, little one,” I grunt, bringing one hand off of her hips and placing it on her cheek.

“I just want you to come, Ao, fill me up with every bit of yourself and mark me, need you to come, feels hot.”

“I need to lay you down, give it to you good,” I grunt as she continues caressing my ears.

“Yes!” She whines and I lay down on the sand, her hand coming on my cheek, it causes me to stop and look up at her.

“Ruin me.” She demands and I couldn’t help but nod my head, taking my time to slide out of her while untying her tewng, finally getting it free and sliding in just as slow, listening to the wet sounds her pussy made, making my cock twitch.

“Fuck baby,” I grunt and slide back out, my hands had been placed on either side of her head as I started thrusting into her sweet pussy, her little grunts and moans filled my ears and I wanted to hear more. I pick up my pace and continue thrusting inside her at an angle and she’s losing her mind.

“Look at you, so pathetic laying there, taking it like the good pretty girl you are.” Her legs had wrapped around my waist and she locked her ankles to keep them from falling but the feeling of how tight her pussy was, was starting to make me feel dizzy.

“M’sorry!” She whines as her delicious heat contracts around my cock again, squeezing it for what its worth, but I hold back my own orgasm, just needing to put her in one more position before allowing myself to come in her.

“Never apologize for that, little one.” My voice is hoarse from having to grunt to keep quiet. I’m surprised we haven’t been caught by anybody but slip out of her and she whines, scrambling to get me back in her.

“Hush and stop whining, I wanna do something.” I stated in a firm voice and she stops. “On your knee’s yawntutsyìp, hands on the ground.”

She is at a loss for words but nods to show understanding while getting into position, looking back at me with wide eyes, a smile playing at her lips. I sink myself in her slowly and moan at the sensation, this feels different and I have to enjoy it, remaining inside her far too long for her liking as she whines and brings her hips back.

“I’ll never get tired of this, ma’tìyawn, I want to always be buried inside you,” I stated as I slide the rest of the way in “Just like this” I groan in her ear to have her moan loudly.

“S’too much, can’t fit, too big-“ I hear her struggle under her breath just to slide out and shove myself back in.

“M’not too big,” I slur my words together and push her hips away from me only to bring them back together with the sound of skin slapping on skin.

“You’re too small,” I stated and watch her throw her head down to the floor as she bends her elbows, bowing her back, managing to keep her waist up and bum pushed toward me.

“Faster,” she commands and I do exactly what she asks for, hearing her breath pick up, moans thrown in every other thrust, she was struggling to keep quiet but I loved this.

“Oh please, please, please, m’full-“ She is essentially yelling and already squeezing my cock.

“M’coming yawntu!” I grit my teeth while bringing our hips closer than ever before right as she yelps and squirts all over me.

I could feel my seed dripping into and out of her as she continuous to squeeze me dry, I’d kept thrusting into her to prolong her pleasure but her body had simply gone weak and the only reason her hips were up was because I had still been holding onto her as I lazily continued. Every thrust had earned a grunt from me as the feeling of her tight cunt made me shudder.

“No no no, don’t slip out, I wanna stay like this.” She says just as I tried.

“Y/n,” I state but she whines.

“Wanna stay connected with you, this is our tsaheylu, I want to stay like this.” She protests and my chest feels warm after she says that.

“We can lay like this for a little bit but we should get cleaned up soon,” I explain and see her nod weakly, I’m careful to lay her down with her back against my chest, my cock still engulfed in her heat, and I’m enjoying every second of it. She felt swollen and continued squeezing me with every little movement she made, but I held her close to my chest regardless.

Her telling me this was our tsaheylu made me feel proud for a moment. Understanding that my father was right when saying this was a form of bonding for tawtute. I’ll enjoy bonding with her any day, whether it was for comfort or relieving her stress.

“I’m ready,” She says in a small voice and I snuggle her closer.

“Alright ma’Y/n. Lets get in the water first before separating, it’ll help soothe your ache.”

_________

“Hello again, old friend.” Norm steps out of the helicopter in his blue form, making his way over and hugging me, I return the hug, he was essentially the closest thing to a father Spider and I had before Jake had to take us in. Although Jake never minded when we spent time with his kids but I knew he had his hands full often.

I could hear Ao’nung hiss behind me, a warning for Norm to let me go, and the Avatar does, holding his hands up to show Ao’nung he meant no harm.

“He’s not a threat.” I looked directly at Ao’nung who had his teeth barred and an unpleased look in his eyes. His look shifts over toward mine as I said that, his pupils dilate more as he looks at me, an apologetic look and his once lowered ears flap upward toward me.

“In his eyes I am, his pregnant mate is being hugged by an unknown male, I didn’t mean to overstep.” Norm speaks in Na’Vi toward him and Ao’nung nods his head once, ears having gone back as soon as Norm spoke to him.

“Stop standing so far away and come here.” I stated at my husband and he looks back at the helicopter, his eyes showing worry, my own face softens at the display. “It’s okay, they won’t turn it on until they leave again, for now its harmless.” I reassure him and hold my hand out for him to walk over.

He’d squared his shoulders and seemed to walk with confidence toward me, but I knew better, the fear in his eyes was present, but not to Max and Norm, or our family and friends behind him.

I attempt to lift my foot off the ground to climb into the helicopter but hit my shin on the edge of the machine. I try again with my other leg but don’t lift it high enough and bump my knee. I start giggling at how useless my legs have become since my waist grew slightly. I can feel my mates hands on my waist as he lifts me into the machine, he gets in after.

“I knew this was where you were hiding,” I tease Max as he sets the ultrasound machine they have away from the wall and closer toward the middle.

“Hey there, long time no see.” He goes in for a hug but stops himself at the start of a hiss leaving Ao’nung’s mouth, we both take a step back from each other and roll my eyes.

“I didn’t mean to overstep.” Max speaks in Na’Vi toward Ao’nung and I can feel his hand on my lower back, the other being placed on my belly, lightly pulling me toward him.

I lean over to whisper something in his ear, his eyes widen and his tail thumps twice, before nodding and letting go of my stomach.

“Let me guess,” Norm starts.

“Magic words?” The two men say in unison and I laugh, nodding my head. I would often have to tell Spider to behave when he was grounded in the lab and promise him something for good behavior, any time Norm or Max would ask what I said to get Spider to behave, I always said magic words, after a while they stopped asking and accepted that I was essentially bribing my brother.

“Come sit here,” Max is mindful of where to touch me but I take the edge of my tewng, folding it under my belly, this causes Ao’nung to step forward.

“This is normal, kid.” Jake pipes up from behind him, trying to calm him down before he gets overworked. Our families had wanted to join and be a part of this, but didn’t want to be in the presence of technology, until I talked it over with Ao’nung and told him to convince his family to come.

I’d already confided with Neytiri and Jake and told them to bring Kiri, Spider, Lo’ak, and Tuk. On either side of the hanger where there was an open space stood both omatikaya and metkayina, being careful to stay quiet.

“This’ll be cold.” Norm states as the gel is placed on my small bump and he places the wand over my belly, his deep blue hand being careful while working the wand before settling on the smallest creature in my womb, my breath catches in my throat as I see tiny feet kick, I could feel it slightly.

I subconsciously reach for my mates hand as my heart is exploding with the need to protect the tiny creature inside me. My eyes fill with tears at the baby before me and I’m in awe.

“Do you want to hear the heartbeat?” Max asks and I squeeze Ao’nung’s hand while nodding, just then all Na’Vi ears flicker at the sound of the heart beat being displayed. It sounded unusual and it made me tilt my head.

“Can I see the wand?” I asked and Norm nods, holding it loosely but waiting for me to grab a hold of it so it wouldn’t fall.

I grab is, making sure to pick up extra gel from my stomach and looking at my husband, he nods lightly in approval, and I place the wand on his chest, the sound being picked up by the machine, and sounding similar- but not exactly the same- to the one we’d heard earlier.

“It kind of sounds like yours,” I stated and look up at him happily, handing the wand back to Norm, he places it on my belly while him and Max talk about measurements and growth of the child. Everyone makes cute little comments about our child and Ronal cries- causing vehlín to cry as well. Neytiri is hiding her tears well but they’re still visible in her eyes.

“How far along are you again?” He asks.

“About a month and a half, but I feel like baby is growing pretty big.” I state.

“Baby is bigger than a tawtute would be but still remains smaller than a Na’vi.” Norm stated and it causes Ronal to gasp. “Still growing well and very healthy.” Norm stated happily and it seems to calm the tsahik’s nerves.

“But there is something else,” Max stated and it causes all of our ears to perk up. Considering this was the first interspecies relationship to conceive every bit of news would be considered negative, and I hated to admit that I believe it would be too.

“The reason the heart beat sounded different,” Max begins to take the wand from Norm, planting it one way, showing the visual of the baby we saw before, my heart fluttering again.

“Is because this is where this one is laying.” He slightly tilts the wand and I can see the baby shifting slightly but remaining in the same position. “And this one is hiding behind that one.” He explains.

“No way!” Spider is the first to break the silence, a happily shocked expression settles on his face.

“The great mother has definitely blessed you,” Kiri says as she hugs onto Spider, Neytiri finally letting her tears fall. But my husband and his side of the family stayed quiet.

“Is this a bad thing?” Tsireya asks, but I couldn’t answer her as my eyes had shut, happy tears leaving my eyes.

“It hasn’t ever been recorded in Na’Vi history but it happens with humans a lot. Y/n is expecting two babies,” Max fills them in and the shocked face from all of them.

“But how?” Ronal asks.

“Y/n and Spider’s sa’nok had them at the same time from the same pregnancy. Usually it’s passed on to the female of our species if it has happened within their family.” Norm tries explaining it without using scientific words that practically had no translation.

“The reason the heart sounded different is because each of them have characteristics from one of you-“ Max points between Ao’nung and I. “Their hearts are lined up together and it’ll be near impossible to listen to them separately until after birth.” Max stated while taking the wand off of my stomach and putting it away, making sure to clean the gel off with a towel.

“How soon will I give birth? You said the babies were bigger than tawtute, how much time does that give me?”

“You’re looking at four, maybe five, more months of pregnancy before birth. Had this been one child maybe seven total months, but the these babies will make an appearance sooner than that.” Norm answers my question.

“Will they be safe if they are born that soon?” Ao’nung asks as his hand returns toward my belly, gently rubbing it, his shoulders relaxing as he touches me. His protective instincts have been noticeable since before the small bump appeared.

“We really won’t know until they’re born. But we might be able to test them if we scan Y/n’s body frequently. The better we monitor the babies growing the better chance we could try to be prepared.” Norm explains, half of his words in English but his point getting across.

_________

I could definitely feel the energy draining from my wife after the conversation we’d had with the tawtute. Norm- such a strange name- was adamant that we see him weekly until the twins arrive. Such a funny name for two babies being born of the same womb at the same time. But with that being said we either had to let Y/n go back with the Omatikaya- which was not an option at all- or let Norm stay every couple of weeks as he flies back and fourth- the decision was up to my parents- and they agreed, anything for the health of her grandchildren and Y/n.

I held her back closer to my chest and allowed my hand to trail down toward her belly, the smallest swell showing up, her hips had spread a bit further too, my hand subconsciously leaving her belly and toward her hip, giving it a gentle squeeze. I would give my life for this woman and our children, no questions asked. My hand trailing back toward her bump and feeling a purr rumble in my chest.

She was mine as much as I was hers, giving up her body for the lives that was growing inside of her and giving up her heart to love me. She has willingly given me all of her bests, multiplying it for my benefit, I needed to worship her. Just then she turns her back to lie flat on the mat below us. Her belly facing upward, eyes opening from her nap, turning to look at me sleepily.

“I need something.” She says in a small voice.

“Anything,” I kiss her cheek and smile, her tiny hand placed on the hand I had on her belly, before she lifts it off herself, I’m about to move to give her space but she guides my hand down toward her tewng.

“Need help,” She bites her lip

“Oh?” I question but trail my fingers down further into her tewng, feeling her wetness.

“Oh…” I stated suddenly, not expecting the floodgates to have been open and for her to be ready so quickly. I reposition myself, using my elbow to prop my body up as I slid down her cunt, sliding a finger in.

“I need them all, ‘nung,” She whines and my cock stirs to life at her words, grunting I slide my other two fingers in and didn’t expect to run across the soft squishy spot inside so soon, running my finger against it and hearing her moan. Her back bowed off the mat, her legs spreading wider, her own tiny hand shifting down my own tewng and grasping my cock, running her hand along its length and up toward the head.

“Fuck,” I grunt as she captures the precome off the head to swirl her hand around the sensitive tip and sliding her hand back down its length.

“Tease.” I comment and slide my fingers back inside her sensitive walls, pregnancy has definitely changed her response to anything I did to her, coming faster than before, easily turned on by anything, sneaking over when we’re meant to be doing other things just to beg for my cock.

“Been wanting you all day,”

“All day?” I ask and thrust back in, focusing my fingers over the spongey tissue, her legs shake. “We did this not too long ago, or did your needy pussy forget about that?” I asked again, circling that spot with my fingers. Her hands having moved along my shaft several times

“Need you,” She fumbles with her words but it gets the point across as she swivels around the head again, making me groan.

“You have me, ma’tìyawn.” I lean down to kiss her, thumb coming up to caress her hardened sensitive bud and feel her walls contract around my fingers, squeezing me harshly as she moans into the kiss, her thighs still shaking at the pleasure. Her hands had stilled upon coming but I hadn’t minded, breaking my kiss from her and willingly rubbing the spongey spot again, her high-pitched moan was like music to my ears.

“Need this,” She squeezes my cock to emphasize what she wants and all I can do is chuckle, fingering her already swollen pussy, our previous endeavors still not having healed nicely, but whenever she asks for anything its hard for me to deny her. I remove my hands from her to hear her whine in protest.

“Make up your mind, yawntutsyìp, do you want me or my fingers?” I ask while continuing to untie my own tewng, already having silently pulled on the string holding hers together.

“You, all of you, please.” She begs as she watches me with hungry eyes.

“Already so needy, hm?”

“Just for you, yawntu,”

I hissed at the slight overstimulation from having done this earlier in the day, but knowing the walls of her cunt were still inflamed from before, and she was still this needy only spurred my own needs into wanting to bring her closer toward the finish line.

“You feel so good,” I moan as my hands rest on her widened hips, bringing her closer to me as I continue diving in, feeling her clenching and whining slightly.

“Please move faster,” She begs right when my hips meet hers, her legs spread wide past my legs, the expression on her face as though she just had to reach her peak, her hands grasping harshly at the blankets on our mat.

“Do you still think about ma’sempul?” I tease while pulling out slowly.

“What?” She asks as if her mind had cleared. I snap my hips back into her warmth and hear her moan, but remain still, expecting an answer.

“Do you still think he can satisfy you?” I smirk as she opens her eyes to look at me, wincing when I pull out and snap my hips back in.

“M-maybe, he’s hot-“ I rock back into her body and it cuts off her thought process. “Oh fuck that feels s’good,” She whines while her eyes had shut tightly in the process.

“You think he could fuck you like I do, baby?” I’d taken the time to lean down and say that in her ear and she clenches around me.

“You think anybody could listen to your body the way I can, Ma’tìyawn?” I couldn’t help but bring my hand underneath her neck and lifting her slightly to meet my lips.

“Oh fuck,” She pants while my kisses go down toward her jaw, and down her neck.

“What was that?” I ask and stop thrusting, taking a hand toward her aching cunt and flicking her hardened neglected nub, not that I ever needed to touch it to make her come much anymore.

“Please,” She reaches her hands to wrap them around my neck, but I knew she did this when she wanted me to lose control, she always did that and caressed my sensitive ears, and as much as I’d love that, I wanted to tease her more, moving myself away from her grasp.

“‘Nung, please,” She slams her tiny fists beside herself in frustration. I roll my hips and she sucks in a breath through her nose, her mouth shut tightly, tears sprinkling out of her pretty face.

“My name sounds pretty coming out of your swollen lips.” I groan and repeat the action again, my thumb gently pulling her chin and watching her lips unstick as a moan escapes her.

“Yeah?” I ask and pull out to thrust back in, squeezing her hip lovingly.

“Nobody else could satisfy my pussy, hmm?”

“Yours,” She manages to speak as she drops her head back, arching her back, moaning again.

“All mine, hmm?” I coo as she struggles to form any words and settles on nodding her head.

“What about ma’sempul?” I tease again and she groans, digging her heel in my back.

“Only you,” She finally reaches my neck and locks her hands in place, finally holding on the way she wanted.

“Thats fuckin’ right. Only me.” I groan and pick up my pace.

“Oh shit,” She whines.

“I’m close too,” I connect our foreheads together and she reaches a lazy finger to stroke my ear, making me shamelessly moan, the wonderful feeling heading straight to my cock.

“Fuck yes, yes, yes,” She wraps her legs harder around my waist as she comes first, her pretty pussy kissing my cock everywhere, allowing me to come inside without hesitation. I’d shoved myself impossibly far inside her cunt and allowed myself to be overtaken by pleasure.

“Shit-“ She mumbles something before taking her hand away from my ear, her fingers reaching her sensitive clit and rubbing it furiously, allowing her back to arch, my cock kissing her cervix just right, and her pussy clenching back down, bringing herself to squirt.

I’d been panting the entire time, trying to catch my breath, and watching her relieve herself again. Enjoying the way she came a second time with myself still lodged inside her.

“You’re overly sensitive, Tìyawn,” I comment as she calms her own breaths, her flushed face coming up to look at mine.

“Are they okay?” I ask her as I place a hand on her belly, I hadn’t forgotten that they were there, but often lost myself into the throes of pleasure to remember to be careful.

“We’re fine, I promise.” She pats my hand with her own.

“I’m going to pull out now, okay?” I warn her and she nods tiredly. I pull out with a hiss as the air from around us feels uncomfortably cool around my warmed up half mast cock.

_________

I’d had help raising my body into the helicopter, considering I’d grown bigger as the weeks went by. Tsireya was the one accompanying me today as the males had gone hunting. Lo’ak had injured his foot on a bed of coral and it had gotten infected, and Ronal had told him he was not allowed to get his foot wet but deemed it worthy of being safe today- it was their wedding day after all.

“How are they?” Tsireya asks as she sits with one foot dangling out of the helicopter while Norm scans my stomach.

“They’re growing pretty rapidly, but still in that in-between human and Na’vi size, baby A is growing a little bigger than baby B but theres no cause for concern, everything is looking fantastic.” Norm states as he changes the position of the wand.

“I think you’ll like this, Y/n.” Norm states but before I could ask him what he meant I could hear the sound of one of the babies hearts beating, it sounded like a human’s, like mine.

“Thats baby B,” Norm states as a smile spreads through my face while watching the baby wriggle around as if happily dancing.

“Kaltxí, ma’eveng.” I soothingly run a hand alongside where I felt the baby moving.

“This is baby A,” He says and it switches to the sound that resembles Ao’nung’s strong thunderous heart. The sound I’d grown used to as I lay my head on his chest and fall asleep to the lullaby his chest plays for my ears, that and he plays with my hair a lot.

“Kaltxí, hona prrnen,” I run my other hand along the side where the other one laid peacefully.

“Did you want to know the genders?” Norm asks and I recall having asked Ao’nung if he wanted to, he stated he was thankful that those machines existed to tell him the health of his children but thats where he drew the line. In other circumstances the people usually waited until giving birth to see the gender of their children, and that was something I was looking forward to.

“Nope, we’re waiting until they make their appearance.” I patted the sides of my bump affectionately.

I’d made sure to lower myself toward the edge of the helicopter as I carefully slid myself off of it and onto the sand below, making sure to regain my balance before letting go of the helicopter. Tsireya being unusually quiet throughout the entire interaction.

“Talk to me, sweets, whats the matter?” I ask her while walking back toward the village. She had been trailing slightly behind me which was unlike her at all, she was usually a couple of steps ahead or right on track with me, and we always had something to talk about.

“I am nervous for tonight.” She explains and I finally catch her fiddling her fingers.

“Your union?” I ask and she nods, I could only smile quietly thanking Eywa for this opportunity to be the one to provide her with words of wisdom, Kiri and Tsireya were usually the ones giving those words if wisdom to me.

“What for?” I asked and turn to face her, making the nervous girl stop in front of me, a slight flush settling on her features.

“I’m afraid of- everything. How will we be once the union is finalized, will he lose interest and try to find another, or will us having children ruin things?” She asks and her eyes are showing me that her mind is running a mile a minute.

“Your people mate for life, sweets, the moment Lo’ak had come here he only saw you. When Spider and I had come here, he mostly talked about you, he was smitten. He cares about you deeply, ‘Reya, theres nobody else he’d rather be with.” I reassure her and her eyes are searching mine for any inconsistencies.

“Your life will change after having children because you’ll have Mini Lo’reya’s to look after, but what matters is taking time apart to be with him, even if that means having sex while they nap.” Her face flushes at this and I chuckle.

“Marriages are hard work, but you have to be willing to put in the same work you did when you formed your relationship it’ll work, and it is something you could always ask your mom for advice about, or Neytiri, or myself, or even Kiri.”

“You don’t ever need to allow your wonderful mind those unnecessary stresses, Tsireya, he loves you and you love him. You were still into each other even when he refused to listen to either set of parents and when you were tied on the ship together.”

“Thank you, Y/n.” She states with a small smile.

“You’ll be nervous today, thats natural, and when you meet up at the spirit tree it’ll feel like your first time again, but once it happens, it’ll be worth it!” I smile and she nods, looking a million times better.

“Go get ready, okay?” She nods and runs off.

“Alright babies, we need to go find Aunty Kiri to make their garment.” I speak to my belly and pat it gently to calm the babies who’d seemingly woken up from a short nap.

_________

I’d just gotten off my tsurak, making sure to tell it to go back where its supposed to, before breaking our bond, diving into the water and heading toward the beach. Many other hunters were making their way back as well, so it surprises me that my wife had maneuvered her way around so many of them, willingly placed herself in the water, and found me, her tiny hands wrapped around my beck and her legs around my waist, her lips finding mine even under the water.

My hands hold on to her bum to make sure she doesn’t fall off as soon as I plant my feet in the sand, standing and bringing both our heads above water. Her bump was getting bigger and it was separating us further than before.

“I missed you,” She leans down again and peppers my face in kisses around my face, my ears twitch as a couple of the others laugh or chuckle as she kisses my face.

“Wait ma’tìyawn,” I pull the back of her hair gently to stop her from attacking my face again, only for her to stop herself mid-moan from what I’d done. I could tell several faces turned to look our way and with that I walked out of the water and toward the marui’s, hearing plenty of laughter and jokes coming from behind me.

“I need you, you were gone too long,” She plants her lips on mine fervently, her tongue poking out past her mouth and into mine.

“I wasn’t gone too long, just a few hours,” my face is pushed back toward hers as she continues kissing me, I groan in slight frustration.

“This is why I made sure you were satisfied this morning,” I sit down and place her covered pussy over my erection, grinding her on it.

“I was, but its not morning anymore,” She grinds herself on my lap and I groan.

“You are an insatiable little vrrtep,”

“You smell so good, so musky, I don’t even need your fingers, just you, ma’nung,”

“This might make us late for the ceremony,” I stated but untied my own tewng.

“Tsireya will forgive us,” She stated as she stood slightly to slide her own tewng off but not giving me time to breathe before she sinks herself down.

We were left a panting mess after our activities but managed to clean her up just in time for the ceremony to start, I’d sat down and instead of sitting next to me, she sat on my lap, her back flush against my chest, reaching over to place my hand on her hip and growing bump, I ran a thumb over it and felt the happiness bubble in my chest, I felt proud to have mated with her.

I lean over to kiss her cheek just as my mother steps out to address the clan. I couldn’t be happier seeing Lo’ak and Tsireya standing there together knowing that was myself and Y/n not too long ago, I knew my sister had found someone perfect for her.

“Nga yawne lu oer,” I kiss her temple and she places her hands on top of the one I had on her bump.

“I love you too,”

We continued watching the entire celebration holding each other close but the moment when she had looked up, my mother had placed the garment behind Lo’ak and Tsireya, I could feel her shaking with excitement.

“Mrr!” My mother yells happily and hugs my sister.

“They’re having three kids,” Y/n stated happily and tears brim her eyes, I bring her down and kiss her face several times, her laughter being muffled by the cheers around us.

_________

“I’m a fucking tulkun.” I commented.

“No, no ma’tìyawn, you’re as beautiful as the day I met you.” Ao’nung was quick to say but the tears came back with a vengeance.

“You hated me when you met me!” I yell and start sobbing again, only to feel him wrap his arms around me, gently running his hand on my back.

“I did not hate you, I was unsure of how to deal with tawtute before.” He kisses me head softly.

“Yes you did, you wouldn’t talk to me.” I sniffle only to start crying again, hiding my face between his neck and shoulder.

“Only because of what Neteyam said, he scared me,” He says softly, still using his hand to run calming circles on my back.

“I’m sorry,” I whimper and hide my face in his chest.

“What are you apologizing for, little one?” He gently places a hand on my cheek, looking into my eyes with a saddened expression, a gentle smile on his lips as he runs his thumb on my cheek to calm me down.

“Everything.” I sniffle and he pulls me closer toward his chest.

“Not allowed. If you apologize for everything that means you apologize for being mine, but I like that you’re mine, and I am yours. You can’t take that back.”

“Thank you.” I stated softly, feeling the anxiety leaving my body, my shoulders relaxing. Truthfully it was from being around Ao’nung and the way he smelled, it brought me peace, and I’m sure it helped the babies feel calm having their father near.

“Do you need to be reminded how much I love you?” He asks and I gulp nervously, I hadn’t expected him to ask such a question after my emotional turmoil had settled. “Because I’ve got a craving for something sweet that only you can give me,”

“Oh-okay,” I stutter, he just smiles, kisses me on my forehead and spreads my legs- maybe his idea of sleeping naked during the heat of the summer was a good idea?

“I’m going to enjoy this more than you will,” He comments and stuffs his mouth greedily, my hand immediately going toward his hair as he eats away to his hearts content.

_________

“I don’t mean to be rude but you need to shut that pretty mouth of yours, little one,” I place my lips over her mouth while I said that, not stopping my thrusts, hearing her muffled moans against my mouth.

She’d decided to turn our picnic into another one of our escapades. I’d had her up against a tree with her thighs hooked onto my arms, holding her up against it, while fucking her greedy cunt. But being out in the clearing also meant we were close to an observation post, the last thing I needed was anyone interrupting our time together, and I’d be damned if anyone saw her body.

“You gonna be quiet?” I asked her while slowing down my thrusts, hearing her whine as she shook her head.

“Close,” Was all she said and it made me speed back up.

“Mmmmm!” She tries moaning with her mouth closed.

“Are you going to make a mess on my cock, baby?” I ask.

“Please touch me,” She begs, bringing her knees closer toward her body, even while being held upright against a tree, she didn’t even have to specify where as my hand trail toward her clit, feeling her slick coat my finger as I rub against the sensitive nub.

_________

“I’m comfortable, I promise,” I sigh as my back is pressed toward his chest. One of his arms are cradling his own head and doubling as a cushion for my own. His other hand protectively over my bump.

“I just don’t want it to be too warm for you,” He stated and I laughed.

“If It ever got too hot I’d be more worried we were surrounded by the pink pollen in the cave,” I stated.

“That could be arranged-“ He stated jokingly.

“I thought I was insatiable.” I laugh and hear him chuckle, only for him to stop and take his hand off my bump, leaning his head over and inspecting it.

“One of them kicked me,” He stated with pure awe on his features, he still inspects the bump, gently poking the spot where one of the babies had kicked, placing his hand on my bump with a gentle smile.

I can feel him rub my stomach sweetly, only to feel the flutter again, against the spot where his hand was placed. I laugh at his reaction and he settles me on my back, wedging himself between my legs and staring at my bump, placing both hands on either side, comically placing his face closer as if to make sure they hear him.

“I am your sempul, and you will not disrespect-“ Another kick in the direction of where his voice was coming from and I’m giggling at his expression.

“Tìyawn, they are disrespecting me-“ Another kick against his hands, considering both babies favored one side, each of them had kicked at his hands and I couldn’t stop the laughter rolling out of me.

He only brings himself up against me and peppers kisses all over me, tickling my sides as he does, making me erupt into uncontrollable laughter, I try kicking him away- knowing it wouldn’t hurt him- and pushing his head with my hands. I’m sure he expected these moves as he continuously blocked my hands with his. He suddenly stops and just stares at me as my laughter dies down.

“What?” I asked with a smile on my features.

“Nga yawne lu oer,” He stated with a smile, seemingly enjoying his time with me, completely taking this moment in.

“Nga yawne lu pxoe,” I responded as he rushes up to kiss me.

_________

[akimojo]

i don't mind seeing people interpret hope and lightning as having romantic connotations surrounding them in the lr lore, but i personally think claiming it to be proven as canon really undermines just how badly bhunivelze fucked with hope's head

"bhunivelze developed a romantic obsession with lightning because he absorbed hope's heart!" yes, but that's not all there is to it. you gotta keep in mind that bhunivelze used lightning to psychologically mess with hope for centuries, he used her image as a tool to get hope to obsess over the past and wish for nothing more than to be reunited with her (remember that the last time hope ever saw her was at the end of xiii, while everyone else aside from vanille and fang had come back at that point), and she had such a major hand in inspiring hope to become the person, the leader, he'd become since then

bhunivelze didn't inherit hope's emotions until after he had become obsessed with lightning as a symbol of the past. if you view hope's and lightning's relationship as platonic/familial (like i personally do) then bhunivelze becomes so much more sick, and it adds to the misogynistic undertones in his behavior toward mwynn and etro, his own family. he took something pure, the admiration a young boy had for an older woman who replaced his mom as his female role model, and twisted it into something dark, inappropriate and obsessive, something that would serve him. that's what he inherited. he was never able to love his mother or daughter, how could he possibly understand the familial love between hope and lightning?

bhunivelze's sudden feelings for lightning is, in my opinion, meant to disturb us because of how innocent hope's admiration for lightning actually is. turning hope back into a kid sells that even more, it specifically draws out lightning's maternal instincts toward him, just for her to be faced with what bhunivelze has twisted it into after centuries of torture. bhunivelze isn't representative of hope's and lightning's relationship, they're victims of his abuse of the human heart

again, interpreting them as romantic is fine and dandy if that's how you see them, but i feel like claiming it's all "proof that hope x lightning is canon" ignores a lot of important details surrounding them and bhunivelze, more specifically it downplays the absolutely devastating impact bhunivelze had on hope's state of mind, and subsequently, lightning's rage upon seeing it for herself

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #50 – The Gold Eaters by Ronald Wright

This was the rare book I had literally never heard of before opening it - a birthday gift from a friend, and the rare one not resulting from some sort of conversation about what books we’ve been meaning to read. It’s the first historical fiction I’ve read in year and years, so I can’t really say how it stands in terms of the rest of the genre. Reading it for myself, I had a great time – though the book did seem confused about which part of ‘historical fiction’ it actually cared about.

The book (primarily) follows Waman, an adolescent boy just coming of age in a nowhere coastal village on the edge of the ascendant and seemingly world-spanning Inca Empire, the demands and products of which are the only outside intrusions upon his life. Feeling stifled at home after his father returns from a period of conscription building roads and bridges in the highlands, he runs away to have some adventures and become a man on a trading ship. And in a stroke of truly cosmic misfortune, on his first voyage they run into a scouting expedition run by one Francisco Pizarro, investigating rumours of a strange land called Peru and its cities of gold.

Waman is abducted and conscripted into service as the Spaniards guide and interpreter. He spends the next decades of his life with an unwilling front-row seat to History unfolding, making and losing friends and endlessly searching for his family and childhood love as the whole world is overthrown again and again around him.

The great strength of the book, I think, is how it manages to portray the civilizations of the past as both familiar and awe-inspiring. The Spanish and Inca Empires are both portrayed almost like fictional kingdoms in a fantasy novel, simultaneously defamilirized and made new and strange, and presented from the point of view of someone whose ideas of normal are at least as strange to us as any of the peoples he meets. More than that, it never stops feeling like a world where people actually lived and worked, one that made sense on a human scale where all its inhabitants could find a place for themselves (or else be forced into one). It was never exactly confusing either -even if it does feel a bit like cheating to jump between points of view to ensure there’s a wide-eyed foreigner needing things explained to them wherever it’s required.

Wright is apparently a historian by trade, and has mostly previously written nonfiction. Given the sheer cornucopia of details about both daily life and the exact sequences of events that led to Spanish dominion, I entirely believe it.

As history, the two things that I most took away from the reading experience were the portrayal of the Inca at their peak as a really vital, world-shaping imperial society on the one hand, and just how drawn out and contingent the process of conquest was, on the other. The book does a great job getting across just how incredible the road- and bridge-building projects and the great imperial cities were, and how rich and organized a society it was (without ever entirely falling into portraying the Inca as some prelapsarian utopia, either, which is how a great many works in the general space seem to screw this up). It then also does an excellent job getting across just how apocalyptic the smallpox epidemic that swept through the empire was, and how ruinous the wars of succession that followed. Pizarro triumphed because he was facing an empire that was a death-choked ruin at war with itself, manipulating and extorting an emperor with many enemies and not much way in the way of skills or legitimacy except that everyone ahead of him was dead.

The other thing that did strike me is that – the historical narrative as I have always received it is that the Spanish conquered their American empire in one single, cataclysmic moment of contact, disease and violence and simple shock leaving them ruling the better part of a continent before anyone even realized what was happening. Which I’d intellectually known was false, but the book really does an amazing job dramatizing the fact that the building of the Spanish empire was a multi-decade – multi-generational, really – affair, and far more a matter of politics and logistics than initial shock an awe.

My main complaint with the book is the matter of genre – it spent the entire back half continuously changing its mind about what it wanted to be. Is this Waman’s story, a man coming of age and scrambling to form a life for himself as the tides of history destroy and remake his world around him and buffet him hither and yon? Or is he just a convenient POV to what’s essentially a rationalized history of (the initial chapters of) the fall of the Inca, improbably standing at the side of and sharing drinks with one famous personage after another to hear their thoughts and see their pivotal deeds? The book never quite settles on an answer, and so Waman’s own arc and personal concerns shift from feeling like thin connective tissue to the emotional core of the story and back several times. The issue gets worse in the latter parts of the book, where it just outright shifts into omniscient exposition of historical events at times.

Also on goodreads this is tagged as a romance and – okay so there is a romance in this book. But it’s the third or fourth most important relationship at most. For the vast majority of the page count it’s just a childhood crush Waman nurses as motivation to get home. If you come in expecting this is mostly be a love story you are going to have a bad time.

But yeah! I should read more historical fiction.

[bookwormbynight]

hello! as a huge fan of ur works i was inspired to write something of my own but im struggling to get L & light's voices down, in both exposition and dialogue, theyre so tricky! 😭 would you have any tips youre willing to share? 💖💖

Oh my fucking God I'm so flattered I'm going to crumple up into a little ball and die you let me know the second I can read whatever u got going on my dms are open

Here's the biggest single piece of advice I can offer you: can you hear their voice actors read the line you just wrote in your head. That's the one I always end up harkening back to. To get a good sense of this, make sure you know the material. Interpret the way the characters say things and deduce how this adds to the person they are beneath everything explicitly stated or shown. Watch the series a couple times, maybe focusing on episodes that the character you're struggling with features strongly in. That sort of thing. I use this in every fandom I've been in that has voice acting. This applies to exposition as well, although that's always a bit more nebulous and can really come down to personal style.

Character specific... Let's see...

L - Be an asshole. State everything eloquently, but basically as plainly as possible and do not pull any punches. His vocabulary tends to be a bit higher-class than pretty much everyone else in the anime, aside from maybe Watari. Lots of SAT words and synonyms for common words. ("I understand" instead of "got it" like Ryuk would say. But don't overdo it, he still speaks like a human being.) Do not hold back on the snark, he's a fucking dick and even more so when he doesn't have to watch his words for cooperation purposes. If you can fit the occasional pun or two in there, do it, you KNOW the scene where he shows a penchant for wordplay and I'm inclined to believe that wasn't out of left field for him. He's constantly cracking himself up and no one else, and he doesn't care, because any jokes he makes are for him. If Light's involved in the scene, have L fixate on him. In the anime, he's CONSTANTLY poking Light, asking questions, and trying to get him to engage. If I'm translating this into prose, I usually take his POV as the opportunity for the most fucking detailed obsessive descriptions of Light I possibly could want to do. (If L describes literally nothing else about his surroundings and all you can envision is a white room, HE WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW LIGHT'S EYELASHES ARE LOOKING.) He also tends to notice little details about others, to be fair, but far less frequently lol simply because he doesn't give enough of a shit to catalog them.

Light - He's a lot trickier for me, tbh. I'll do my best. He tends to avoid slang, but I don't think he goes out of his way to, and he's not afraid to cuss for emphasis, but otherwise he keeps his mouth clean. Other than that, his word use is very average and unremarkable (he pays a lot of attention to not being noticeably weird, even though he's super hindered in that goal by virtue of the fact that he's a fucking weirdo 😭 he's got most of the superficial stuff down, tho). His emotional thought process (and thereby descriptions) depends on where exactly he is in his Kira journey, sliding scale of arrogant but legit sweetheart to full on Regina George. He is kind of a bitch regardless, but he'll be very very polite if it's good for him to do that. He's a hardcore rationalizer, and sometimes he's right, but sometimes he's dead wrong and deploying it as a defense mechanism, which can affect the prose.

Hope this helps.

[gingermintpepper]

Day 5: Orpheus

Interpretation notes and trivia under the cut!

Orfeu meu amor <333 Honestly this could be my longest ever set of notes or the shortest because unlike literally any of the other Apollonian figures in this, I have never once had to waver from what I wanted with Orpheus and that's an Orpheus without Eurydice. I know that sounds kind of strange, Orpheus and Eurydice have always been completely synonymous with each other but like, Orpheus is kind of completely batshit as a concept and I'm tired of pretending the most interesting thing about him is his love life?? His love life is cool, don't get me wrong, but we, collectively, as a group of people don't pay nearly enough attention to the fact that Orpheus was singer and musician so gifted that he made trees and rocks bow to him and he could stir even the gods to grieve from his songs. This is the guy who's song was so beautiful that not only did he outsing the Sirens, they also killed themselves upon hearing his song?? This is the man that was pulled apart but his head just?? Kept on singing??? So the Muses just???? Added his perpetually singing decapitated head to their choir??? There are depictions of Apollo using said decapitated head to help him teach people???? And we're gonna focus on him trying to get his dead wife back?????? Really?? Miss me with that nonsense, Orpheus is the witchest witch to ever witch and if no one else is gonna make him the disgustingly powerful bard he was in myth then I guess I'll have to do it myself. His femme appearance is mostly inspired by the highly ornamental raiment of kithara players and he consistently has some of the fanciest clothes of the cast apocalyptic hellscape be damned.

Some assorted trivia:

Son of Apollo and Calliope - was accidentally conceived during the period when Artemis had forbid Apollo from fraternising with mortal creatures in penance for him orchestrating Orion's death and so Calliope and the other Muses hid him away in the court of King Oeagrus. Didn't know Apollo was actually his father until quite a bit later.

Not a demigod as that would imply he's half human. Orpheus isn't exactly mortal either but he certainly cannot be harmed by most normal methods. There's no formal name for something half god, half muse and not deathless so Orpheus prefers to identify as the Son of a Muse rather identifying strongly as something strictly divine.

Older than Heracles! One of Apollo's oldest children still kicking about, actually, but he's treated like the youngest due to how fragile he'd been after Eurydice's death. Is generally better now than he used to be, but still tends to have depressive episodes every now and again.

Horrifyingly powerful. Orpheus' words are so potent that he does his best to not speak at all for fear of influencing the people around him accidentally. Has the uncanny ability to transmit his own feelings through his songs which can be both fantastic and awful. The Twelve had Apollo put a seal on his tongue when he was grieving so his song would stop completely disrupting the world. The seal's since been removed as Orpheus has had a lot of help working through his feelings. Now he paints whenever he thinks about Eurydice which is much more productive for everyone involved.

Argonaut, storied traveller, speaker of many languages, healer, teacher and storyteller. Teaches occasionally at the Parnassus Institute for Gifted Children and tends to be a favoured teacher whenever he drops by. Is responsible for a lot of very important people knowing some form signed or gestured language.

Has no set 'home' and wanders from temple to temple, sanctuary to sanctuary. His worldly belongings like his clothes and old paintings are currently with Asclepius and his family. Apollo has some of his stuff as well, but they're mostly special instruments like the holy lyre he used on his journey on the Argo.

Never keeps any money on him and is usually fed and clothed by the townspeople wherever he goes. Hasn't had to actually pay for something in decades. Has absolutely no concept of money because he'd forgotten it's a thing people need day to day.

Had a brief fling with Heracles while he was still mortal and the two remain on good terms even now. Heracles tends to visit him every now and again for a stint in some springs and good music.

Favourite colour is maple orange, favourite food is roasted pheasant with rosemary and thyme. Allergic to specifically pale yellow mead but is fine with raw honey and honeycomb. Aristaeus has been trying to figure out what causes his reactions for years now.

[dreamweaversfavsandthoughs]

Rick and Morty S7 Ep. 10: Fear No Mort

(A bittersweet end to a great season)

If you are not ready to conquer your fear of spoilers, go no further…

My Favs

Diane!

Overall, I’m pleased with how the writers handled the character of Diane and Rick’s interaction with her. They don’t portray either Diane or their marriage as flawless. There is definitely a bite to her personality and we see them have conflict like any married couple but there is still a lot of love and affection there, assuming Morty’s version of the relationship is accurate. It is certainly open to interpretation. In my mind, the only thing that was inaccurate is Diane’s disdain for her grandson. In actuality, I think she would have loved Morty to death and have absolutely spoiled him rotten as a grandmother should.

I also love that the writers confirmed that she was a scientist or was on the path to become one. She was definitely some sort of biologist, maybe a zoologist or a ornithologist. I don’t know about you but my heart went pitter-patter when Rick said her master’s thesis inspired him to create a ray to hear duck’s talk.

Lastly, I’d like to say that while I thought we might have somehow had the real Rick interact with the real Diane through some sort of sci-fi resurrection or afterlife break-in, I’m ultimately glad this is the work around the writers came up with. Anything else would have cheapened Diane’s death and Rick’s grief.

Rod Serling/Twilight Zone homage

Confession time. I’ve never seen the original Twilight Zone or the reboot, but I’m aware of the premise of the show and how it ties with this episode. I know I’m missing out and it’s on my list of shows to watch. Sometimes, I wish I could get a Night Person to watch all the television shows I don’t have time for in my waking hours.

Tide and Time

Really enjoy the newest Ryan Elder song. He is incredibly skilled at finding or creating the perfect soundtrack to convey the emotion we need for a particular episode.

Morty’s fear of relying on Rick

I will expound on this further in “My Thoughts”

Rick choosing Morty

Not only does he do it once, but twice. Once in Morty’s fear simulation and once in the real world.

Not my Fav

Product Placement

I know capitalism has got to capitalism, but could we please leave ads for shitty restaurants out of my story of a grandfather and his grandson navigating the human condition in a infinite, nihilistic universe that is incapable of caring! Thanks.

Besides, the fear hole should have been at a Shoney’s

My Thoughts

Morty’s codependency, fear of change, and learning to not live for the dead but to live for the living.

Seasons 6 and 7 has seen a gradual shift from Rick being a drunk asshole who is incapable of creating any real attachments because there are infinite versions of everyone (except for the one person he most cares about) to someone who is less drunk, ever so slightly less of an asshole, but a little more willing to open his heart to the version of his family he has chosen to live with. Unmortricken closed the chapter on Rick’s life purpose of getting revenge on Rick Prime and now with Fear No Mort we see Rick resist the temptation of clinging to the past and choose the grandson living in the present. The finale doesn’t give us much to chew on in regards to what is in store next for Rick, but in some way, I think the show is taking a bit of a pause on Rick as it shifts to Morty.

As the twist reveals, this episode focused exclusively on Morty’s psyche and his recognition and fear of his codependency with Rick. I recommend if you haven’t, to rewatch the episode a second time with this knowledge in tow. What sticks out to me is the antagonist relationship he has with Diane. They never speak to or acknowledge each other. I don’t think she even makes eye contact with him and in the scene at the school play, Diane belittles him and delivers an ultimatum to Rick. Choose her or choose Morty. Maybe the show wants us to take this literally, and it is really Diane he resents and that Rick will never choose the family in the present. Rick will never choose Morty. In my mind, I have a more metaphorical interpretation. I think Diane is symbolic of a future Rick that is, at last, happy and mentally healthy. Morty fears that if Rick gets better he will need his grandson less and that scares the shit out of him. He can’t imagine a life without Rick by his side, even envisioning a future where Rick follows him into adulthood, de-aging himself so he’s around forever. Both interpretations work and they both reveal the incredibly unhealthy mindset that Morty harbors.

We see a sort of ships passing in the night as Morty accepts that Rick will never see him as irreplaceable and he should just rely on himself at the same time Rick is finally ready to claim this Morty and only this Morty as his grandson and a legitimate part of his family on equal footing as Diane and Beth C-137.

The finale doesn’t give us much insight into what we might focus on in season 8, but I suspect it might be more Morty-focused. We have seen Morty start to develop some independence in the past, but it would be nice to see Morty develop an identity outside of Rick while also learning that Rick truly sees him as part of his family.

Also, the boy desperately needs some friends his age.

[grifff17]

Audiodrama Sunday 09/01/2024

Happy Audiodrama Sunday! Right now there are so many shows I follow that are releasing an episode every other week. It’s great! But it does mean I have a lot to write about. This week - Electromancy relisten, lots of werewolves, the arc finale of WBN, and more!

NEW SHOW ALERT Spout Lore’s spinoff Mall Brats is no longer Patreon exclusive! Mall Brats is a Blades in the Dark actual play about 3 kids who live in a giant shopping mall in a fantasy world and do crimes. This is a relisten for me, a year or so ago I subscribed to their patreon for a month and binged the whole thing. My only criticism is that the new version of the theme song isn’t as good as the old one.

I relistened to @electromancypodcast this week. I love this show, it feels so thorough in it’s approach to the setting and core conflict. Electromancy would adapt so well to a tv show, I can see so many of the scenes in my head. I don’t know how else to say it, the show feels like it was written like a tv show. Don’t get me wrong it’s great in an audio medium, but it would also be great as a tv show.

In @storiesfromylelmore this week poor Rion! He’s like Molly from Epithet Erased except he’s overworked by choice, and he also has to deal with werewolf racism. He didn’t even get a hug! The luck charm was really cool worldbuilding but also such an incredibly meaningful gesture from Keryth. Literally giving someone your luck because you care about them is so powerful.

@worldgonewrongpod also had an episode focused on werewolves this week. It has a very different interpretation of werewolves to Ylelmore, but both used them as an allegory for actual marginalized groups. Werewolves are so versatile.

Starwhal Odyssey released it’s second episode this week. It’s officially moved away from 5e, the new system seems cool. I loved the audio design for gamer space, and the gaming chair spelljammer helm is such an inspired choice.

I have a lot of distinct thoughts about the arc finale of @worldsbeyondpod. First off is that they have trains? That’s not something I expected from this setting. Immediately following that revelation was another party split, the rest of the party really is so irresponsible without Suvi. Stealing anything other than the coven wand was so dumb, Indri can curse the shit out of them for that. There was a complete tone shift in the last half hour of this season, at least Suvi isn’t going to be as upset this time.

We had part 5 of @midnightburgr’s Welcome to the Horizon. Everyone is high! I’m glad Verge is enjoying themselves, Verge and Deidre is fun. I guess Verge has a thing for humans, first Leif and now Deidre.

Case study: IREC-A59 released its third episode this week. It’s really good so far, it’s making me want to reread Project Hail Mary. I love that no one knows the captains name, that’s a great detail.

I listened to part 3 of Moonward, the @midstpodcast AP miniseries. For some reason I didn’t expect it to lean into horror, but given the setting, I shouldn't be surprised that it did.

We went to the Paris Olympics this week in Mission Rejected. That was a fun episode, I loved the image of two random Olympic athletes taking on a bunch of kidnappers and destroying them. Interesting to see the nation of Val Verde again. Mcgrath hitting up Athena for a gadget was great.

I didn't get through all the new shows that came out this week, there's still some more for next week. I also want to try to catch up on The Once and Future Nerd, I think I need to start from the beginning of book 2.