#engrained in his very system

[symphonicsoul]

As I'm working on the final post in the collection of Faces of the King my brain thought to stop for a moment to explain something. I have previously mentioned it in other posts but I just wanted to point it out again and everything else it is effecting.

You see in the world of FF:U there are two major elements and they are Soil and Mist.

Most beings in the Universe (yes probably your muse too) are what would be known as "Beings of Soil" even if they cannot command it as Windarian Soil Mages can. (Staring hard at Kaze right now.)

Kumo refers to these beings as "Soil Souls" because that means their soul is comprised of Soil.

Soil is the crystalized souls of the dead composing a color of varying hue post-mortem.

so humans, and most other beings are beings of soil.

On the other side of the Universal scale sets Mist or "Mist Souls" - meaning their souls are comprised from the magical substance known as Mist and these beings are largely beings of the Sky or the Sea. Mist Souls all possess a color within their soul as well, but Mistericans were the only beings that actively produced it within their bodies and could harness it's magical abilities.

I am telling you all this because Kumo is a Mist Soul (obviously) and there are very few of them left in the universe.

I am telling you this because Soil and Mist both have a governing force. That being that Soil is governed by the Spiral or Spiral Motion

While Mist is governed by The Straight Line or Linear Motion.

I am telling you this because in recent days in writing this man I have made observations and laughed because he does it so naturally.

Kumo is:

straight to the point when he speaks

someone who says exactly what he means

straight forward with his needs and wants

straight forward with thoughts and opinions

straight forward with his intentions

His thoughts follow a linear path

Kumo is very "point A to point B" in his thinking

blunt and direct

planned and organized

orderly with a place for everything

systematic and he will meltdown without them

rigid in the way he does things

Kumo gets:

annoyed at side paths

annoyed with conversations that go in circles

annoyed with topic or question dodging

frustrated with convoluted answers

annoyed with trips that take him all over the place instead of just from one place and to the other

frustrated when his systems are disrupted

[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Royal Children - Heirs and Spares

The lives of Princesses and Princes are of interest to most fantasy writers, it's where many of our heroes, side characters and antagonists hail from. But what is there life like? Is it always ballgrowns and servants? Or something more?

A Strict Order of Precedence

The first thing to know about royal children and siblings is that there's a very strict precedence of importance. Is it fair? No. But this is a system, it doesn't have to be fair. The heir comes first without argument. They are the most important child, they are always greeted first, they are the one to stand next to the monarch or their parents at occasions, they literally go first - and this doesn't change with age, if the heir is the youngest, they still have precedence over their siblings. After the heir, order of predence goes by age and the order effects the life of the children. For example, the older sister will marry begore any of her sisters. This order of deference will be so engrained in your character's life that they will believe it the norm and rarely question it, it probably won't spark any in-fighting.

Accommodation & Staff

Royal children are usually raised one of two ways. Either they are raised at court, in the same Palace as their parents or they are raised away from court under the care of trusted servants. Being raised away from their parents isn't a sign of remoteness or dislike or terrible parenting, it was a way of break a child into the constraints of royal life while giving them freedom of scrunity or danger. Usually these children are raised in the countryside for their health, as cities are usually cesspits for disease. Their parents would come to visit them or allow them to visit them at court. Children raised at court are raised with a higher level of scrunity and attention. They will be in the public eye.

Royal children will always be surrounded by staff. There will be nurses to wash and dress them, nannies to discipline and direct them, guards to protect them and usually, a guardian known as a governess to run their household and care for their needs. Staff are not allowed to hit royal children and must obey their commands. Some royal children were very close to their staff:

Kat Ashley and Elizabeth I

Baroness Lehzen and Queen Victoria

Klementy Grigorievich Nagorny and the Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich

Lala Bill and Prince John

However, some royal children faced neglect from their staff. George VI was abused by his nanny, who would pinch him during important occasions, openly favour his elder brother over him and deny him food, which many have been a cause of his speech impediment. After the Russian Revolution, another of the Tsarevich's nannies proved less loyal than the other. Andrei Yeremeyevich Derevenko abandoned his charge, but not before ordering the boy around and insulting him.

Day to Day Life

Royal children would be educated withing their home by tutors. They would usually take lessons all together (the heir may take other lessons). A royal child would recieve an education in languages, arithmetic, geography, etiquette, dancing, music, sports such as riding and literature. Sometimes they would even share lessons with the children of trusted nobles or their cousins. Only the heir will be taught statecraft and how to reign. There is no rhyme nor reason a spare would learn how to rule.

Some royal children are taught the value of their position. Many royal children will be raised strictly to adhere to their social standing and their place in it. Some children may be raised in isolation, kept from mingling and raised to think of themselves as higher than those around them. Some royal families preferred to raise their children as "normal" as possible. The last Romanov children slept in camp beds, with no pillows and we're expected to tidy their own rooms and help the servants. They didn't even use their proper titles, they were called by their names and given a tight monthly allowance to spend. Alexandra of Denmark and her sisters used to make their own clothes. Some royal children could even be encouraged to play with the children of servants and staff as well as nobility (Kolya Derevenko and Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich, Winifred Thomas and Prince John). Companionship was a great honour for noble and common child alike as sometimes, they would be invited to live or be educated alongside by the royal children.

Royal children will not undertake royal duties until they are of age. Younger children be be present for large scale events such as jubilees but would not be expected to partake in any duties themselves. When they are of age, they will usually be granted an annual allowance, be invited to social events, invited to be patrons of charities and participate in royal duties.

Heir Vs Spare

Heirs have more responsibility, all the prestige, more power but they have less freedom, less room to explore their own lives and be expected to always be the epitome of perfect. Heirs will be given responsibilities in government, sitting in on state meetings or undertaking state duties.

Spares have little in the way of real power but have the ability to live less regimental lives and gave more agency in their personal lives. Spares may act as ambassadors to other nations or undertake state visits on behalf of the monarchy or even take positions in the army. Spares are encouraged to find positions to support themselves outside the family, either in a marriage or undertaking some service to the country. Spares who stay in the country, tend to act as unofficial advisers to their sibling when they become monarch.

All Grown Up

When royal children grow up, there are usually certain expectations and limitations.

Heirs will be married quickly, the lineage must be secure. Heirs will usually marry either as part of a political alliance or marry somebody suitable - from a good family, the right background, and able to fit into a certain mould (i.e malleable, amiable and loyal). They will be expected to focus on the country, it's needs and support the monarch at all times. Their social circles will be scruntised, their every move will be noted and remarked upon. Heirs will never gave to worry about funding their lifestyle, the Crown is their job and it supports them.

Spares can marry or remain single if they choose, (but if the monarch instructs them go marry they must). Spares can travel, they can be idle, they can even persue amusements not permitted for the heir. Spares can win glory on the battlefield and mix with all sorts of people. That isn't to say spares are useless, spares often occupy very important spaces in society and government. Spares will usually take these positions not for just status but also for the pay. This is why spares are granted royal titles such as dukedoms (they can make money off the lands, be able to build a dynasty for themselves and their heirs and gain status).

[hypewinter]

The boy in the pod slept peacefully, blissfully unaware of his situation. Should he free him? The Fenton part of him screamed ABSOLUTELY! Even if Ellie wasn't here, he'd never let himself live it down if he left his fellow clone here and escaped alone. But then there was the bat part of him. The very same part of him that gave him enough awareness to wake up and enough skills to escape his own pod and sneak around the facility undetected, was now telling him to leave this clone behind. He's dead weight, a voice inside his head whispered. He won't be as skilled. He'll trip their system. He'll get you both caught.

Danny couldn't help but agree with this calculating voice. According to the files he was able to take a peek at, he was looking at the clone of Superman. A heavy hitter, not exactly built for stealth missions. While his clone was definitely leaner than he was, that didn't automatically translate into him being stealthier too.

It'd probably be best to go get help and come back later. Yes, that'd be the best plan. Definitely. That's what he should do. Yet Danny's feet didn't move. What if he didn't make it back in time? What if the scientists concluded he'd go to get help and packed up before he could come back. Or worse. What if they decided to cut their losses and try again later?

The only thing that stopped the shiver of fear that tried to overcome Danny was the fortitude of his donor that was engrained in his body. Danny took a breath then stepped forward towards the control panel. He wouldn't leave his brother behind. They were going to escape together. Even if that meant fighting their way through this entire facility.

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Jpv and Steph should have been able to meet, I don’t think it would’ve, like, saved either one of them but I do think it would have been super interesting and I’m very curious about how it would’ve gone.

How would Steph deal with encountering someone who is also strangely maligned by Bruce, but who Bruce can’t use a skills based excuse to dismiss? How would jpv deal with seeing the Batman who he looks up to with almost religious devotion treating stephanie brown the same way he treats Jean-Paul, when she hasnt been a threat or a ‘villian’ like he had been.

How about their relationships with Leslie and Cass? They both get caught in between Leslie and Bruce’s moral opposition, they both are a ‘first friend’ to Cass.

Despite their similarities a lot about these two actually contrasts each other.

The duality of a self made vigilante in every way vs a character fashioned into a tool, not just in the way of Cass of being taught and engrained with violence by a villian since childhood, but jpv who also had little to no control over his spiral once becoming Batman, and how the System fucked him over and made him Batman. Becoming a vigilante was not empowering like it was for Steph, it was essentially the removal of Jean-Paul’s agency. Steph who designed and built her original costume, who went out on her own, vs JPV who is handed down this Azrael costume, this heavy legacy, then who gets another costume designed again by someone else, a costume influenced by a villian while he trains in Gotham, and then again another hand-me-down costume when he becomes Batman. And of course, JPV alters and changes the Batman costume while he’s Batman, he and Steph are similar in that way, they both create with their own hands their own costumes, but the huge difference is Azrael again had little to no control over even that, he would blank out and the System would design, the System would build. Again, paralleled in how vigilantism controls them or allows them to control.

And then of course the Batman component.

Would Steph be uncomfortable seeing JPVs dedication to proving himself to Batman? Would something about it leave a bad taste in her mouth, embarrass her? Would she want to shake JPV and tell him he has no reason to be that pathetically attached? How about JPV? Steph is self made in a way Jean-Paul never had the chance to be, she has no ancestral title to live up to, none of that all consuming baggage that Azrael comes with, but she’s still similarly consumed with proving herself. Shouldn’t she be able to know better? Assert herself the way Azrael fails too?

Would they get along? Can’t honestly say I know. Maybe they would become pals, bond over their roles as peripheral Bats mistreated by Bruce. Or maybe their similarities would force them to recognize the unpleasantness within themselves that they see in the other, and they might become insecure and hateful, and they might turn on each other and hiss like cats faced with a mirror. What do I know.

[slippery-snake]

Yandere Sides x Reader

CW// STALKING, PHYSICAL HARM, MANIPULATION AND OTHER GENERAL THEMES OF THE YANDERE TROPE ARE INCLUDED IN THIS. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO ANY OF THESE TOPICS

A/N: Finally I got these out of my system!! Ive been wanting to write yandere content for a long time now but my inspiration was lacking. I may follow up with a yandere reader next ;)

Roman

His feelings blossomed for you the second he saw you.

He sometimes overshares about his deepest thoughts with others and feels a little shy about it later due to their reactions

“I would love to collect just a lock of their hair, for a keepsake”

There's definitely a shrine of objects he has from you, ranging from cups you’ve drank from to clothes you’ve worn

He writes a ridiculous amount of poetry about you, after the first month of knowing you he has already filled out 3 notebooks

He’s not shy about his admiration, just about how you may react to him showing it.

It doesn't take too long before you reciprocate his feelings, since he can come across as very charming

This includes buying you giant bouquets of roses, expensive jewelry, and fancy dinner reservations

It only makes it harder for you to reject his advances, especially when he praises you so aggressively

And by praising I mean love bombing

When you do accept his affection he loses that sense of shame, since he believes he has “won” you

He'll openly brag about stalking you, thinking you'll sigh dreamily from how much he cares about you.

He’s throwing small anniversaries for you, like the anniversary for when you first touched his hand, or when you first made eye contact

He will also love to act out plays with you, usually you're the damsel and he's the hero, and the face of someone he thinks is trying to steal you from him is on the villain.

He gets jealous a little easily, but instead of letting his frustration out through violence, he isolates himself.

It takes you at least an hour of reassurance before he feels as though you actually love him, deep down he’s extremely insecure

You have to make some ridiculous promise to him for him to believe you, like agreeing to let him have some of your eyelashes or something like that.

He’s relatively easy to manage actually

Virgil

You probably think he hates you for a long time

He walks away whenever you’re in a room and glares at you from afar

Poor thing is just so conflicted with his emotions

On one hand, he wants to take you away, keep you in his room and stay locked away with you forever

On the other hand, he knows those aren’t normal thoughts and thinks that if he can get you out of his head, he’ll be normal again.

He eventually convinces himself he needs to get his inner thoughts out of his system by indulging slightly, leading to him stealing your clothes and taking pictures of you

One thing leads to another, and suddenly he has your entire schedule and secret about you engrained in his brain before he's done so much as spoken a word to you.

You will either have to be the one to confess to him to discover his feelings about you, or walk in his room and see the wall of pictures he has hung up of you.

After this, assuming you accept his feelings, he does a 180

He's constantly hanging around you, even waiting outside the bathroom while you shower

He would be in there with you, but you had to beg him to let you shower alone

He also get's bad anxiety attacks over his concern for you.

If you're eating, he insist on trying the food first because he's convinced someone who's jealous of your love for him is trying to poison you

Alternatively, he may randomly accuse you of not loving him, which leads to heavy isolation on his part.

After a few hours, he comes out and apologizes for being too dramatic and wants you show you something he did to make it up to you

He shows you a notebook, its filled with intelligible scrabbles of your name and deep rooted desires he has, along with pictures of you and locks of hair with dates they were collected underneath

He’s smiling softly, as if awaiting some kind of praise from you for his efforts

Patton

He's so sweet, nobody even knows what he's like inside

He's not shy about his affection either, hugging you every time he sees you, taking a deep inhale of the scent of your hair.

Even if he does something a little strange, like embracing you for a little longer than normal, everyone else just deems it as Patton being his slightly weird self

He loves baking for you so much, almost every time he sees you he has a treat for you

He even mentions at one point that he would love if you only ever ate the food he made, and you laugh it off, but you shivered seeing the deadpan expression on his face

If you do develop feelings for him, his physical affection just gets worse

He insist you always sit on his lap, and his hands are under your shirt holding your tummy

He almost treats you like a doll, insisting that he knows what's best for you and since he's older than you he knows better

He even likes to dress you up, your wardrobe consists of pajama onesies and his own clothes

You have to beg him to let you wear normal clothes to work, to which he says there's no need for you to worry about that since he plans on taking care of you.

A lot of his power comes from seeming very caring and honest, which he is, but you feel too shy to disobey, since at the end of the day he only wants to take care of you

He’s also very clumsy

There's some stuff he’d rather not let you find out but sometimes it just slips from his mouth

“I already know your favorite flavor of cake, hun, you get it every year for your birthday!”

“We’ve only known each other a few months, how would you know that…”

“…oops.”

However, he can be focused when he needs to be, like if someone was getting a little too close to you

It'd take a lot for him to even want to hurt someone for you, they would have to push his buttons for a while, but eventually it does happen.

You never really find out what he does, and he tells you not to worry about it, but since then you've never seen them again

Logan

He's probably the hardest to manage

Prior to any confession, he will seem like he doesn't like you

He sees you as an inconvenience for a while, since you keep on popping into his head at times where he's attempting to work or rest

And eventually , the creeping thoughts begin to grow, such as taming you and teaching you the right way to act.

His thoughts on shaping you into an ideal person slowly start to turn into shaping you into his ideal person.

He manages to convince himself that he sees you as an obstacle, yet he can't help himself from the ways he'd train and groom you into a better, no, a perfect version of you, and thus his mission began.

It takes him a while to fully assess his own feelings, but when he does you'll know

Your conversation essentially goes the same as how it does in the "Alone On Valentines Day" episode when he was flirting with Valerie, except when Virgil was showing him how the conversation would realistically go

"Would you like life long companionship and someone to have a general care of your well being at all times?"

"I suppose...?"

"Then you shall be my partner"

“Uhh…”

Before you could really even deny or protest, he begins to list out the rules of your relationship

You can't stay out too late, must wear what he wants you to wear, etc

You would deny, but he has already deemed what seems like ownership over you

He has such rules in place since he wants to keep you around as long as possible, and to do that he has to cut out a lot of things in your life that bring you, what he calls, "destructive satisfaction"

He eventually considers your friends destructive, and isolates you from them

Any sign of resistance from you is met with instant punishment, the same someone would do with a brat acting out.

This includes caging, putting you in a dark room for days on end with no interactions socially until he's convinced you've learned your lesson

Others don't notice much of a difference in his behavior, he's just as stoic as he usually is, but maybe he's a little less snappy than usually, and slightly more lax with others

But when someone remembers how you suddenly changed from who you once were, they just assume that a few conversations with Logan was all it took.

Remus

He is not subtle at ALL

He openly talks about his admiration for you, and unlike Roman, is not shy about how he wants to show it

You know about his obsession with you the moment he knows about it

He loves toying with you, seeing your disturbed expression when he talks about murdering your loved ones so you only depend on him is too cute!

Any push back on your part is almost instantly retaliated against, his personality does a 180, and he's no longer giggly and smiling

His brows are furrowed, and pupils dilated

Unlike some others, he's not against physically harming or threatening you

He may leave cuts on your body or kidnap one of your friends and threaten to kill them if you don't take what you said back

He's more of a Yangire but oh well

After these outburst, you're likely very upset after, but he's not completely a monster

He'll try to make it up to you, in his own messed up way

This is usually by bringing you expensive gifts to decorate you or forcing his tongue down your throat

He also loves biting

At least with him, you don't have to worry about being isolated, as he lets you go out as long as you have at least 5 fresh bites visible on your body

Lets not forget tentacles people!!!

The suckers are seraded, and he uses this to his advantage

If he wants you to come to him, and you're either A: not coming fast enough or B: he just feels like it

When he gets you to him, it usually includes some very intimate cuddling and what he considers praise

"You know I'll kill for you, right? I have before and I will again."

Janus

This is not his first time playing this game

He usually likes messing with others through manipulative tactics

But you? Oh, you sparked his interest the way nobody else ever has

He has to have you to himself

He starts off by acting normal, nobody else even thinks to question his behavior

Your interactions are so innocent and genuine

But instead of forcing you away from your loved ones, he starts rumors

These rumors cause them to hate you, and soon you realize Janus is the only one in your life you can trust

Before you know it, you've completely fallen for him, and he didn't have to do anything but say a few white lies

It just proves to him that he's the only one who deserves you from how easily the others abandoned you

This gives him a complex over you, and he sees himself as a shepherd for you

He calls you his sweet, innocent, lamb, and buys you all white clothes that he insist you wear to show off how innocent you truly are

The problem is, to hkm, innocent and naive are the same word to him

He never forces you, but you find yourself not being able to deny him

Your greatest pleasure comes from pleasing him, whether that be serving him food, washing and ironing his clothes, or simply responding to when he calls you lamb

You become completely dependent on him, and your life prior to meeting to him becomes a faint memory

If you ever do find out what he did to get you in this situation, he will have to force you to stay his obedient little lamb

This is done through hypnotization

He holds your face close, forcing your eyes to look into his, and they being to swirl

He repeats a mantra "You're my lamb, and you will do what I say"

You can't escape his grasp it's strong like an anaconda, and you're soon loosing your train of thought

You're from then on is empty, only filled with direct orders from him

You didn't know it at the time, but that first time you smiled at him was when you had already lost this game.

[youllneverguesswhat]

Reo being mentally ill lol

//

It made no sense. Reo was smart, charming, full of charisma, and undeniably attractive. Sure there were times he felt like his mask would falter, but no one ever questioned the Rich kid. His parents made him to be the perfect mini ceo in preparation for a future that was inevitable.

Sure to some people he was intolerable and annoying. But Reo wasn’t one to think about people who weren’t him. Then when he met Nagi it was - Reo wasn’t one to think about people who were not him or Nagi. Any one who did not like him genuinely never crossed a single thought in his mind. Whether it be naivety or object permanence.

So why was he currently staring at himself in the bathroom mirror wondering why he is never good enough. Why is he questioning who he is and whether he even deserves to live over something so minuscule as not being apart of a simple birthday party.

Ridiculous, and he knows it. But the dread that’s settled in his stomach is unavoidable. It happens periodically. When he feels 8 again and everyone’s invited but him. After being used for his money year after year. After making sure no one is ever excluded from his. He never liked these people. But it was engrained in his brain that he must do everything he can to maintain connections. So no one gets left behind, right?

Until it’s him. Right.

It felt as though he was staring at a stranger. I guess when he thinks about it, he understands why people don’t like him. Cocky, arrogant, loud, obnoxious, rude. All very negative adjectives one could use to describe him.

He thought this was different. Life was moving different. He thought these people were his friends, he felt included. He had been comfortable enough to maybe show parts of himself he would normally hide.

A dry heave. He’s shaking. This is ridiculous. What did he care what broke, ugly people didn’t want him around. This was such a stupid silly thing and he’s spiraling. Questioning every move he’s ever made.

He doesn’t know how long he’s been in the bathroom, the skin around his nails bloodied and torn and he sits against the wall staring at the cabinets that have been eye level with him for some time now. The feeling of nausea never quite leaving and the panic and guilt that has made home in his stomach fill him to his throat. He wishes he could puke out this apprehensive feeling.

So he tries, first with the coughing, nothing but saliva comes out. Next thing he knows he’s trying his fingers. Anything to get take his mind of the disgusting feeling his skin is giving him. Anything to take his mind off of the spiraling thoughts of perplexed self hatred coming to the fore front of his mind. Would it be easier if he was gone?

The thoughts not fleeting, he needed this out of his system. He needed to be better. He needed — a knock throws him out of his own head.

He freezes, fingers falling slowly out of his mouth as he leans back on his feet away from the toilet bowl.

“Reo?” A familiar, tired voice.

Reo hadn’t realized how cold he was. His body continuing to shake as he moves his legs to sit on his butt in front of the toilet. He doesn’t say anything, too scared to even look towards the door that was opening.

He couldn’t believe this was happening, Nagi was going to see how absolutely horrible he was. He couldn’t even look at the feet that had appeared next to him. Choosing to only stare at the toilet bowl ahead. Maybe if he didn’t move Nagi wouldn’t see him. Wouldn’t be disgusted by his presence and his insides that are currently residing in the toilet. Without a word nagi sat behind him. Legs on either side of reo and pulled his back flush against his chest.

He was warm, and Reo was oh, so cold.

Muscular arms wrapped around him. Tight, as if he held on any looser Reo would float away from his hold.

Reos mind goes blank, body almost getting sent into shock from the sudden change. He wanted to scream, to push Nagi away and tell him to leave him alone. His body didn’t listen to his mind this time though. Relaxing immediately, sinking into nagis hold as if it was made to be there.

Nagi hadn’t said anything since walking in. He didn’t pry about what Reo was doing. In all honesty nagi had no clue what was going on but that Reo must be sick. Why else would he be warm and shivering at the same time? Why else would he be hurling his inside?

So Nagi did what Reo does to him when he’s sick. He holds him. Face resting in the crook of his neck like the last piece of a puzzle being pushed into place.

It’s not long before reos body relax’s, exhaustion finally seeping in after his heart rate has slowed. With his head resting against nagis, his eyes start to flutter shut.

He thinks about how he’ll apologize to Nagi for having to do this. Maybe he’ll buy him a new game. Take him to that ramen place he likes.

“I don’t like when Reo is sick.” Nagi speaks after what feels like hours. Voice soft and assuring. He really had no idea.

Reo takes a deep breath trying to control his breathing. “I’m sorry Nagi, I’m not sick see I’m feeling better now that you’re here.” Shaky. Unassured. Voice shot from the dry heaving that occurred earlier.

“Reo, we should go lay down.” Nagi says almost stubbornly, “my back is starting to hurt.”

Reo would laugh if his body wasn’t worn.

“Nagi you have the party to go to. I’ll wait here for you, yeah?” Reo tries to sound supportive, try’s to make it sound matter of factly. But truth is, his eyes started to water again. The thought of the one person he can’t stand to see leave right now going to a place he’s not even wanted.

“Why would I go if you’re not. That just seems like a pain.”

Oh.

Reo didn’t know how to react. He had never had someone choose him like this. His opinion was never said out loud and yet it’s as if Nagi knew exactly what to say to him without realizing how much it meant.

The tears were leaving his eyes but not for the original reason that brought them there.

He had never had anyone be able to pull him out of a slump like this. Normally he’d fall asleep on the bathroom floor after exhausting his body to the point of no return. He’d wake up a couple hours later with a migraine and go about the rest of his day/night.

This was different. This is what he needed. What he had wished for every other time he was crying on his bathroom floor thinking nothing but negative thoughts. Wished for someone to be here. To hold him. Just to feel wanted.

Whether Nagi knew what was happening or not Reo could not have been more thankful for the distraction. Almost as if he had been saved from himself.

He choked back on sobs, voice hoarse as he spoke “okay, let’s go lay down I’m tired.”

Nagi got up without question, Reo went to push himself off the ground was he was lifted bridal style.

“Nagi! What are u doing” Reo flushed, face turning red as he gripped the blondes shoulders.

“You’re sick, I’m taking you to bed.” Simply said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Reo was use to trying to love. He had never actually received anything back in return, ever. Which was fine. He’d have his episode and he would go about his day. But yet here he is now. Big arms wrapped around him, grounding him. He could breathe more clearly now. A soft chest pillowing his head.

Nagi didn’t know it. Or maybe he did and Reo was unaware. But this would be something Reo cherished forever. He knows this won’t be the last time his mind takes him somewhere like that again. Reo knows he isn’t easy to love. He’s cocky, arrogant, loud, obnoxious, and rude. And yet he has Nagi here by his side despite that all.

Reo must have some redeeming qualities for him to be in his current position. Breathing steadied, eyes shut. He didnt want to be anywhere else. With anyone else. Nagi was all he needed, all he had ever yearned for. This feeling of protection, and home.

[belle--ofthebrawl]

Do you remember my skincare mini series? Do you remember how Rain and Lus were kind of mean to Mountain? I felt kind of bad about that.

the day is long enough to turn you into stone

(contains: Gentle sex near the end, 2k words of mountain getting rubbed down and loved on, trans!rain topping, the glory of a naked cumulus, cockwarming and handfeeding. Written in one go so if something's wrong, no it's not. Unless it's really bad. Will throw it on ao3 whenever.)

Mountain’s been on the move long before dawn, boots on the ground with just enough coffee in his system to convince his aching eyes to open and his tired mind to pay attention. It's the last day in a long stretch of many working ones bedding the gardens and orchards down for what promises to be a proper winter season. Coming in late to the harvest season meant he missed the majority of the fun work; picking and canning and jamming and drying. All that was left was the grunt work, of mending fences and chopping wood, testing and feeding the soil to ensure a good healthy ground to plant the saved seeds in next year. Tools needed to be repaired, sheds and barns and coops needed to be cleaned out and inspected. Feedstores checked and then checked again for the constant threat of pests, but that's helped by the mousers, creeping silently along until a hand was held out and they approached with a purr that rivaled any ghouls.

At some point his brain comes online again. The autopilot shutting off when there's no more work to be done. Of course, there's always more work to be done, but as Mountain sits stop a boulder and slowly chews his way through the sandwich someone had handed to him hours and hours and hours ago, he can't think of anything else he’d like to do more than go to sleep for the rest of the year.

(Divider by @forlorn-crows)

Not like this though. He wouldn't sleep well if he was filthy, caked in the day’s worth of sweat and grime and he honestly can't remember the last time he showered but he thinks the garden hose should suffice as he passes it on his way in. His clothes are tossed in a pail to be retrieved at some other point in time for laundry and he relishes the cold burst of water that hits his skin, tracking down through the dirt that might as well be engrained underneath.A cleaning rag from one pocket is taken to scrub what he seems the worst of it off with help of a shrunken and discolored ball of tallow and lye soap taken from another pocket. He reasons that he'll probably dry before he gets to his room and that the sight of a nude ghoul won't surprise anyone at this point. The rules were a bit laxer around this time of year, since novitiates weren't traditionally moved in until the longest and darkest night.

But there's a wrench thrown into his plans, as soon as he opens the door to his room. The motion sends a flurry of rose petals scattering across the floorboards, just a few in a trail that leads to his bathroom door, cracked open to waft out the scent of something decidedly not of his own toiletry collection. There's just enough candlelight in the tiny room for him to see he won't be spending the night alone.

“I'm not cleaning this up.” Is the only thing he can think to say as Rain opens the door wider. He's shockingly clothed but in such a way to suggest he won't be staying so for very long. Loose, flowing fabric, draped easily and easy to pull off. Mountain tries to be interested, really he does, but it's just that he's so damn tired and the bed is right there. His bones ache. His head aches. Rain is very pretty but Mountain is very, very exhausted.

“Don't worry about it.” Rain says dismissively. He beckons with an elegant arm outstretched and like the work-dog he feels he really is, Mountain obeys with a hanging head. “Oh, stop moping. We're doing something different tonight.”

“Not moping.” He says, sounding childish and petulant but the attitude disappears as soon as he sees the tub. His battered old claw foot has been utterly transformed, scrubbed clean and shining in the low light. The water, tepid on the best of days, has been heated so that fragrant steam rises in lazy whirls as Rain leads him to it. He can pick out lavender and chamomile right away, but it's not his own mixture. It's something from the water ghoul’s expensive and luxurious collection, something that came in an elegantly wrought alabaster jar that Rain pours from as Mountain gathers enough braincells to realize the bath is, in fact, for him.

“Go on.” Rain says. “I can't add everything else until you do.”

Words fail him, especially as he tests the water with his fingers and finds it delightfully hot. Slipping his whole body underneath it brings out deep and guttural noise from his chest, near sexual as it envelops him. His eyes are heavy and refuse to remain open.

“Mmrhn?” Is the best he can manage as a lid is twirled open and the gentle hiss of dry herbs hit the water.

“Pain relief mixture.” Rain murmurs, continuing to sprinkle. “Your own.”

A special blend of three salts, eleven herbs, and four oils. He knows them all by name but his brain dips offline again as Rain comes to perch on the lip of the tub by his shoulders. Mountain cracks his eye open in a Herculean effort and is rewarded with the glimpse of a small silver bowl dipping into the water and, most importantly, the sight of Rain’s clothing folded neatly on the counter by the sink.

He's just a Ghoul, after all.

“Close your eyes.” Rain gently admonishes and Mountain does. The water is poured over his hair and face, Rain giving extra attention to his beard to make sure no part of Mountain is left untouched and dry. Cool cream is smeared on the bare skin of his face with a dampened towel wrapped carefully around his head so he can still breath while whatever Rain out on his works it's magic. Something else is combed patiently through his tangled hair and left to soak in as Rain scratches tenderly at his scalp.

He drifts off; into a hazy dreamscape of grey and gardens that never need tending. His feet float above the ground so his body never aches with the weight of carrying itself around all day and somewhere in the mist, he knows someone waits. Just as he's about to find them and take them in his arms, they call out gently a name not his own and he's too tired to startle, but manages an impressive snort as Cumulus chuckles.

“How's he doing?” She whispers and Mountain hopes she's just as naked as he and Rain are.

“He’d fall asleep right here if we let him.” Rain replies. “Did you find the rose lotion? The one in a square bottle?”

“I thought we weren't doing that rose lotion.” Cumulus answers, setting what sounds like a basket down on the countertop. “Remember? It was too waxy and not moisturizing enough.”

“Oh.” Rain says, starting to unwrap the towel from Mountain’s face. His vision is blurred and he can't make out much- just the figure of his beautiful Lus gleaming mother naked in the candlelight as she unpacks her basket, setting each item down with reverence after a thorough inspection. “Right. Look, in my defense, we came up with this idea when we were smoking.”

“Nuh-uh.” Cumulus counters, a smile in her voice so rich he can hear the dimples. “You forgot everything we agreed on as soon as we saw Mountain strip down and hose off.”

“Okay.” Rain says amicably. “And? Like you're any better.”

“Surprised you haven't dove in there with him yet.”

Mountain makes a noise that informs everyone present he would very much enjoy Rain diving in to join him. But that would leave Lus out and he wants his Lus as well, it's not fair to leave her in the candlelight, lovely as she looks in it.

“He agrees with me.”

“He's agreeing with me.”

They're being so nice to him for once. He thinks the bickering has taken a different turn but it's not like there are any real stakes at play here. Rain’s washing his hair now, soaping out the mask he applied earlier and rinsing the suds out as Cumulus sits on his other side and presses something to his mouth. He opens as he's bid and lets her handfeed him some impossibly delicious, crispy bite of food. Savory and meaty in a flaky shell. His own recipe that he can recognize even as the last of his brain drips out of his skull in the heat of the water and the two beside him. His mouth is wiped when he finishes, cool water out to his lips and he drinks. The next course of fruit and cheese begins as Rain fusses with conditioner, snips at his scraggly beard with a little pair of shears and even cleans and files his nails, brushing on yet another oil to the keratin.

“I could watch you pamper our man all day.” Cumulus teases, holding out a cube of cheese on a stick. Rain takes it gracefully, giving her extended and pointed eye contact as he draws back. Mountain wheezes and the noise brings their attention back on him again.

“Your turn.” Rain says.

He's helped out of the water, gone tepid by now and for once his body doesn't complain about the work of moving joints and muscles and his bones don't feel like they’ve been filled with lead. Cumulus dries him with her power, keeping him warm thermals harnessed to keep him from shivering. His skin, dry from the heat and the harshness of his own soap, is coated in a shea butter lotion and he's led from the bathroom to his bed with a fire crackling in the grate.

“Lay down.” She says, and he obeys. On his back at first but she flips him with ease onto his stomach and really, he's got no complaints there. She's easy to underestimate, always seen with a box of sweets and tucked up with a book but only a fool forgets she's a menace from the pit. Being spoiled up top just suits her better and she's got years of experience to draw on as she straddles his back. Hands that once ripped jawbone from skull press tenderly into his muscles and he forgets everything again as she works him, fingers dancing like she's playing her piano. Her body is a comforting weight atop him, easing any lingering anxiety he might have had about things being left undone or not good enough. It's no use to worry without energy to act on it. If things go wrong, he’ll be rested and restored enough to deal with them. Even his tail is lovingly played with, tugged on and rubbed until it settles.

At some point, she slips off and lays next to him with a little plate of chocolates. Rain’s on him now, pouring more oil in a straight line down his back, humming as he dots more here and there. Mountain grumbles until he's fed a candied pecan from Lus’ lips and the kiss distracts him enough so that he doesn't notice Rain shuffling back to sit on his knees as he idly plays in the spills of oil, finger painting that takes his hands lower and lower.

With one hand on each cheek, Rain pulls him apart. Warm oil splatters directly on his hole and he jolts with a whimper that Lus smothers with her chest. Rain dips two fingers inside, easily finding the spot that has his legs shaking in moments. He didn't have the energy for sex, he thought, but what they wanted was vastly different than what he expected. Rain’s fingers steadily pump in and out of his body for ages as he and Lus kiss, the water leaving his own lip prints in the film slowly absorbing into Mountain’s skin.

“You hard, baby?” Lus asks him between breaths and Mountain is embarrassed at the way he whispers out no, chasing the taste of her but she just smiles patiently at him.

“Don't need to be, honey. We’ll take care of you.”

When he's finally deemed ready, he's pushed onto his side, Rain tight to his back while Lus throws a luscious thigh over his hip, going for his neck. He feels the press of Rain's breasts against his shoulder blades, his own hips rocking for purchase until his tentacle eases out of Rain's body and wriggling home into Mountain's. It curls up inside him, heavy and deep and pressed right where he needs it. His cock is gripped in a soft, manicured hand, not to rub and tease but just to hold and comfort. He doesn't know which way to turn to kiss them and their laughter is gentle.

“Just let us take care of you.” Whispers one.

“It's the least we could do in return.” Murmurs the other.

His sleep, after an orgasm milked from his still soft cock, is deep and dreamless. It's a long time before all three of them wake up.

[velvetcloxds]

GONE | E.M.

word count: 1.5k

warnings: written before the inspo guy totally ruined this concept for me, how very fitting the first title was inspired by that song

summary: your dad made it clear you and eddie weren't allowed to even see each other, let alone talk to each other, eddie takes the risk to come and surprise you on valentines day

previous parts: linger | fleeting

You were frustrated to be at work, it was odd being at another building while someone else was trying to use your system and clear a mess you’d already tried to clean only to be taken away from it before it was done. You got constant calls from your dad, questions which prompted you to drop everything and solve their problems even while not there. More than anything you were back to the realization that this job absolutely sucked, Eddie had been enough of a distraction to help you forget all of that. Your dad declared a strictly no communication order between you and Eddie, he’d found him with a hand on your shoulder, leaning over you to check the booking list and it was like all the little puzzle pieces fell into place and he realized the two of you were actually not just good at working together.

In a perfect world, you’d riot, and rebel against the notion but you knew better, you weren’t supposed to get close to Eddie in the first place, to anyone who works with or for your parents. It made total sense, you knew as much, he reminded you about how being his daughter meant that you weren’t just a girl working with a boy your age and being too friendly about it, you were creating a weakness in the business, and it might seem all nice and dandy for the time being, but people change, motives change.

It was engrained in your head to consider the family, protect the brand, the name, you’d never even looked at any of the other workers too friendly for that very reason, but Eddie snuck up on you. He made you feel your age, made you feel like just a girl who got a crush on a boy who was sweet to her despite herself and what started as you being sure he was just a friend, there was now a little ache in your heart that made you realize it definitely wasn’t the case. With Eddie you felt normal, just a girl, not your parents’ keeper, not the household emotional manager, just a girl who could smile at a boy and shrink instantly when he smiled back at you.

So, you’d survived a week without him, and all the emotions he’d managed to stir up in you and made it all the way to Valentine's Day, a horrendous day in a normal year, an absolute nightmare when your heart felt like it was in mourning. You’d still put on your pretty red dress and put some fresh flowers in your hair and did your makeup all pretty, only now it was only the cleaners and the guests and the little birds that stopped by at lunch that got to see it- not your guy, your Eddie. You had to delete his number just to stop yourself from talking to him, remind yourself to act casually whenever your phone chimed and you thought just maybe he was talking to you instead, had to keep a hand on your leg to stop it from jumping up and down. It got to the point where you were happy to be called to the basement to check on some sort of water leak, at least you wouldn’t have to think about him anymore.

It didn’t help, the road was there too long, you got to thinking about what he’d tell you if he was there, if he’d have been a little cuter on such a day, if he’d already found himself a cute girl to spend the day with instead, wondered if he’d seen your love day post on someone else’s phone.

“Careful,” you thought you’d reached peak desperation when you heard his voice, but your mind wasn’t actually playing tricks on you, because it was actually him who moved you out of harm’s way, one hand on your elbow pulling you from a bunch of paint cans, the other holding onto a single red rose. “What, I leave you alone for one week and you succumb to your terrible ways?” he didn’t make much of a show about handing you the flower, shrugged when your eyes met, and smiled when you sniffed it.

“Eddie,” you wanted to thank him actually, told him how glad you were to see him, wonder out loud if he missed you at all as much as you missed him. “What are you doing here?” his face fell, you didn’t mean for it to, but if someone saw him here, saw him with you, if it got back to your dad your next move would be right out of a job. “If my dad-“

“I know, I know,” he shrugged again, you didn’t like it, he wasn’t wearing his smile nearly as well as he used to, it wasn’t nearly as genuine. “Look, consider it a platonic, strictly professional visit.” Liar. He pulled something from his back pocket, pages folded in half, completely skewed, somehow a perfect representation of him. “I just had to drop off some paperwork for you,”  when he opened it you nearly swallowed your tongue, it was one of your short stories, his handwriting in the margins, a bright yellow highlighter used to highlight some parts, you had no idea what to do next.

“Where on earth did you get that?” you gasped, very unladylike when you snapped it from his hand, it was somehow turned into a work of art now, his words and your own, you’d never even allowed anyone to read what you wrote let alone have someone react like this to it.

“I have my ways,” the smile snuck through, the good one, the one that made you gooey. “Listen, I figured if I can’t actually hear your voice I might as well get to hear the next best thing,” he tapped the top of the paper. “You’re really good, you know, don’t know why you’re hiding that from us common folk,” the compliment was completely sincere, but it made you snap back to reality.

“I’m sorry, Eddie,” you caught him off guard, made him waver in his usual ways because you’d never spoken to him like that, so few words but so somber, he’d never been the one to prompt them from you, he hated it. “I didn’t even think about how this could turn into such a big dramatic thing- you were just so easy to be around, to exist with, made me feel so human, so safe- I didn’t think we’d get into so much trouble for it.”

“I’m easy to be around?” he scoffed, leaned back against some stacks of tables, eyes ever dreamy as he looked you over. “Don’t think I’ve felt so comforted just being with someone ever before, warmth literally fills the air around you, if anyone should apologize for not being weary it should be me- should’ve known that being friends with you would be hard enough.”

“A bunch of idiots, we were,” you sighed, and you allowed yourself another moment of selfishness when you went to stand next to him, sighed again when your arms squeezed against each other, braced yourself before resting your head on his shoulder. “First guy I ever liked like this, and you just had to work for my dad and ruin it all.”

“Tell me about it, a guy falls for a girl like you, and she just has to be related to the jerk who signs his checks,” he lingered, paused before he let his hand brush against yours, sighed shakily when he rested his head on top of yours. “Shit, I really liked you, you know.”

“I really did like you too, never expected you’d break my heart before I even had the chance to give it to you,” he wasn’t sure how to reply to that, the thought of being given your heart was absolutely insane, a heart like that, so bruised yet so trusting of all he was, what kind of guy would be lucky enough to have the chance to hold onto it.

“Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart,” he breathed, and you were looking at the rose he’d given you as if you expected something of it, all the answers to your situation, a promise that this wasn’t the end of what could’ve been something so amazing if everything was just so completely different.

“Happy Valentine's Day, Eddie,” you sighed, placed the flower right back into his hand, and reminded yourself that you just had to make it to the bathroom before you’d allow yourself to cry- it represented him so well, so beautiful, so lovely, but you couldn’t let anyone see you with it, couldn’t hold onto it even if you wanted.

[drifterslittlemuffin]

Please tell me about your zavalaxdrifter (zavaladrift? driftvala?) headcanons or ideas or concept or whatever. Please. I'm so close from going "Oh hehehe shitpost ship :)" to "Oh. Oh we gettin emotionally attached to this now"

HDHEHDBSMN YESSS I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO TALK ABOUT THEM!!!

under a cut, because this is lengthier than I intended it to be (and also kind of embarrassing)

So when I first entertained the of shipping them, I immediately went to ao3 to find my people. Alas, there were only four works, and only two of them weren't explicit. I don't read explicit fics (I'm ace) so I was left with not much to work with. what I DID get, however, was wonderful. the fics are not very hard to find, as you can simply search for Drifter/Zavala on ao3.

I dont have tons of headcanons for these two, but I do have a few! my first is based off one of the fics I read, in which Zavala takes Drifter out to dinner in exchange for some information. It's my favorite out of the two, but the other one was still great!

that fic is canon in my mind, so I've engrained it into my Dravala Belief System™️. I like to think that Zavala will bring food with him during monthly vendor check-ins, or he'll have the Hidden deliver them occasionally when he doesn't feel like leaving his office. when he brings food for Drifter, he often ends up staying down in the Annex longer than he intends, sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not.

I also like to believe that ever since that happened, Drifter has been way more eager to be seen in public with Zavala. Not only does it irritate him, it also flusters him, so win win!

Ikora notices, at some point, that Zavala isn't only visiting the Annex during check-ins. Zavala thinks he's slick, but he really isn't. Sometimes, Zavala will transmat in at the Annex landing zone so nobody sees him, but Ikora still knows he's missing from his post, because she's got eyes everywhere.

Drifter and Zavala sometimes "coincidentally" run into eachother at the Bazaar. Zavala will be on his way to grab some ramen from the shop in the Bazaar, and Drifter just so happens to also want ramen. how bizarre.

Another thing is that Zavala isn't the only one leaving his post. Drifter is seen leaving the Annex far more often than usual, and when he isn't in the Annex, you can probably find him at Zavala's post, running the Titan's patience thin. if Drifter isn't in the Annex and Zavala isn't at his post, well, it's probably best not to question in.

Ikora, Shaxx, and Saint all organize an intervention once they catch on to Zavala and Drifter's little meet ups. Ikora is firm, Shaxx is brutally honest, and Saint is rather sweet, though still blunt on the way he feels about the rogue. Zavala is not good at this kind of confrontation. he hasn't been with anyone since his wife. The three try to reassure him that they aren't judging (they are), but it isn't much use. They're all dismissed and Zavala leaves to think over his predicament.

At some point, Zavala stops seeing Drifter outside of the check-ins, only visiting when the first Tuesday of the month rolls around. Drifter tries to talk to him about it, try to figure out what he did wrong, but his usual snarky mask makes him seem harsher than he intended to be. Zavala answers anyway, probably more than a little ashamed, though he hides it well (he doesn't). Drifter isn't impressed.

when Ikora notices a determined looking Drifter marching towards her, with a rather embarrassed Zavala in tow, she already knows what conversation she's about to have. Drifter slightly is afraid of her, obviously, but he values his pride more than his life, at this point. Drifter informs her that Zavala is not, in fact, under her complete and total control, and Ikora stops him mid sentence.

the whole intervention thing is explained. Drifter is confused, and Zavala moreso. Ikora doesn't know how the two can be so dense. she wasn't trying to stop Zavala from seeing him, she was just warning him. Not much is known about Drifter, aside from the fact that he's shady, cocky, and doesn't care about anyone but himself, though the latter seems to have been disproved today.

the three just stand there for a moment. Drifter opens his mouth to speak, and promptly closes it at the glares the Vanguard members shoot his way. he excuses himself and Zavala and Ikora are left to talk on their own.

They get things sorted out. Zavala isn't allowed to sneak around anymore, but he also doesn't have to give out every single detail of their... acquaintanceship, as Zavala calls it. Ikora is fairly certain Drifter would use a much more colorful word, which is why she doesn't ask.

Zavala just has to make known when he's going to be with the Drifter longer than anyone expects him to, so his duties can be temporarily taken over for however long he's gone for. the limit is three hours.

peace and love on planet earth!!

these aren't really headcanons. this is essentially a very poorly written and thought out fic. I wouldn't be surprised if all of this is pretty stupid, I'm not a writer. I just imagine the scenarios in my head and don't speak life into them until someone asks.

if anyone actually enjoys this uhh lmk? maybe I'll talk more :)

thanks for reading this far, if you made it. have the current meta god roll?

cheers.

[wingzie]

Hi Lovely!

You are the G.O.A.T Jikook historian and I love, love, love your threads on Twitter. I also love your posts you’ve been doing here on your thoughts and perspectives all things Jikook, jikookers and the fandom.

I have a question. I’ve already talked about it a while ago but I wanted your take. What’s your opinion on people feeling like Jikook haven’t been the same post-2020 and the fact that EVEN MORE feel like since chapter two Jikook are not in a ‘relationship’ anymore. I use ‘relationship’ as it’s the easiest word to use for them for this ask, whatever people believe the labels for Jikook’s jikooking should be.

Do you think that:

a. There IS a difference in Jikook of the past and Jikook of now?

b. Do you think that if they once had something they no longer do?

c. Do you think that Jikook are no longer close after chapter 2.

We know Jikook are currently serving together and used the buddy system but apart from that, if you were to answer the above with evidence as the Jikook historian you are, what’s your take.

Thank you for your part in making Jikook spaces fun and informative 😉

💜

Hello! Thank you for your kind words and for sending in the ask. Let’s get into it with some honest truths: I don’t see a difference and I don’t think anything has changed. I am very much aware of what people are saying, but this is a pattern that repeats itself every single time there is less content to “feed” those who are less patient. Or, even worse,  those who want to control Jimin and Jungkook.

On 8th March 2020, BTS were told that their April concerts in Seoul would be cancelled. As we know, this later included the cancellation of their entire tour. Both the members and entire fandom were very upset about this, but I remember very vividly reading takes on the Jikook side of Tumblr saying: "but what about our Jikook content?" When, in all honesty, that should never have been the main focus when the entire world was experiencing a pandemic. I've seen this complaint several times. This happened during their vaction in 2019 and it's even happening now whilst they are in the military. It is incredibly selfish. I may be a Jikooker, but I understand that Jimin and Jungkook are their own people.

Hindsight is also a wonderful thing. There are a lot of times that we don't know about something, until it is revealed later on. We didn't know that Jikook ate dinner together after one of their concerts until the docuseries was released. This goes for 2018 AND in 2022. There are certain things that Jikook do because it is to heavily engrained into their routine together. We just won't always witness or hear about it.

How is this all linked though? There has been a change in content releases. We were used to Memories being released every summer and a Run episode every Tuesday. Episode 155 was the last weekly episode, released in October 2021. The last Special Episode was released in February 2023. They would have been filmed years apart, but they still show the same closeness and loving spirit. Both of these episodes also included some Jimin butt loving from Jungkook!

When chapter 2 began, it was obvious that Jimin and Jungkook were focusing on their own things. They do not have a persona in BTS to explore with, so this was their chance to share their stories or experiment with other music. Though busy, they still supported each other massively with social media posts or hyping each other on Lives. This is another pattern which has maintained over the years.

We also know that they have been on several trips together. They may have been on many more that we don't know of. I personally don't worry about it, I just support them as much as I can without putting any pressure on them. That would be unfair. I just think that whenever we do see anything from them, we are very lucky.

I know this response is probably what you (and others) weren't expecting, but I think those saying these things are probably too involved in Jimin and Jungkook's lives. That also goes with the amount of leaked photos and videos lately that I have seen on all platforms. Respect goes a long way and some are abusing it. (And thank you for always showing it in your own posts!) I am working on a "Jikook during Chapter Two" post, coming soon!

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

i just now learned about a recent case where a german man kidnapped and did unspeakable acts to two boys. one was german, one was a refugee. the first one was immediately treated as a missing case, but the second one was not because the cops were afraid the mother was hiding her son to avoid deportation. and the worst part is, that little boy was kidnapped in a government institution (lageso in berlin) where his mother went for help! its infuriating beyond belief.

racism is so deeply engrained in german institutions, its not funny. yet police refuses any reforms or real investigations and deny even the notion - despite mounting evidence - that there is an issue with systemic racism in german police. and we dont have an independent institution to control the cops, you know who investigates their failures and issues? other cops. and we all know how they stick together like literal shit.

but it also made me think about „missing white woman syndrome“. does anyone really care about an eastern european white woman who goes missing while being exploited in the west through prostitution, in the domestic field, nursing, or as a „mail bride“ dependent on her husband? does anyone care about a white woman in the usa going missing from a trailer park? does anyone care about a white woman who was homeless, mentally ill, drug addicted, disabled, impoverished, prostituted, or otherwise marginalised going missing? and do people not care about white men going missing?

and it also made me think about this current trend of oversimplifying and decontextualising racism. one thing i hope we all can agree on is that anti black racism is very persistent. i cant think of a single country where black people are treated preferably over other races, best case is to be treated equally as a black person, and even that is not the case in most countries. but this doesnt just apply to white majority countries. in japan or korea, or under the kafala system in the arabic gulf states, for example, black people are systematically discriminated against and exploited too. white people are also not the only ones guilty of colonialism and imperialism - albeit i dont want to minimise the scale of portugese, spanish, french, british/australin, german, dutch, belgian (neo)colonialism or the north american slave trade.

i dont know its just, everything always has to be put in context and looked at from an intersectional perspective but i feel a lot of people who fault white supremacy for everything dont do that. and dont get me wrong, white supremacy is the root of a lot of inequality and issues, but despite the name its not merely a black and white problem, its complex. for example, even if a roma or jewish person is white, neonazis dont consider them the same race as white people. or i remember my turkish professor once saying, „in turkey im considered white, but in germany im a person of colour“. because race is not just phenotype, it is also culture, nationality, location and ethnicity that matters for who is holding power and privilege.

meanwhile a lot of the same people will refuse to agree that sex matters. or claim that sex - which is a lot less ambiguous than race by the way and nobody argues that mixed race people prove that race is not real or doesnt matter the way they argue intersex people prove that sex is not real or doesnt matter - is a spectrum while chanting „black lives matter“. and i know that black communities do have that conversation about colourism and how whiteness is something even people of colour are supposed to „strive for“, which is why for example the harmful practice of bleaching your skin exists. so it is being acknowledged that race is a spectrum, but some of the same people who rightfully talk about black lives and how blackness is its own social category will call you a bigot for talking about female lives and how being female is a social category.

im not going anywhere with this, just some thoughts that came up regarding discussions on racism and sex and how they intersect too. feel very free to chime in especially as a person of colour obviously!

[wazzappp]

So, I recently acquired a copy of Blue Diamond, which collects issues 7-16 of the New52 Blue Beetle 2011(?) run, and there is some nice lore.

Scarab hosts have lengthened life-spans, especially considering Sky Witness was a full grown (middle? aged) adult at time of bonding with Khaji Da.

Also, not shown but still of interest, Khaji Da + Sky Witness are the inspiration for “the cruel god, Quetzalcoatl”, due to Sky Witness, a Mayan Priest having near-single-handedly chased the people who would become the Aztec Empire out of Mayan lands using the Scarab’s power. (Also, the armor looked very very different on Sky Witness than it does for any other Scarab Warrior?)

Long term bonding results in scarab technology staying, even after the scarab leaves, although this may be affected by how hastily Khaji Da left him. (Sky Witness [SW] got obsessed and possessive over Khaji Da, [guy calls it his love and was pissed about Jaime, like *yikes*], realized that the armor couldn’t extend his life anymore, so he went into a pyramid, and blew it up so as to entomb himself and the scarab inside of it and prevent the scarab from taking another host. Khaji Da immediately detached in a semi-successful attempt to flee.)

Scarabs change their host’s dna, adding some of their own.

In that case, I’ll change my statement about the scarab mimicking genetic markers on native cells to avoid an immune response, and instead state that the scarab inserts its own dna into the native strand of dna that codes for those markers, as well as tampering with the immune system during the adjustment period, so as to avoid the body responding to its own modified cells, as well as Khaji Da.

Might send you another ask bc I might have more to say but don’t want to risk this getting deleted while I look for the panels I’m thinking of.

ooOOOoooooo Good to know!! I didn't like what New 52 did with Jaimes character but I will say the genetic fuckery / body horror is very very nice. Jaime watching his own fingertips burn off. Forever engrained in my memory I LOVE IT.

FUCK YEAAAAA KHAJI DA HAS GENETICS FOR THE WIN. eeeehehehehehehehe were mimicking viruses again here you love to see it you LOVE to see it. Assimilating the central nervous system (leaving the brain for last) first and then going for the immune system sounds like some good pathogenesis. Rabies style (in the club. freaking it rabies style) moving through the axons to try and avoid an immune response would make sense. LEAVING THE HOST GENETICALLY ALTERED FOREVER EVEN AFTER SEPARATING HOW VERY VIRUS OF YOU KHAJI <- compliment.

Jaime living longer than everyone he knows / straight up not aging angst my BELOVED. God I love messing with him so much. Pulling a jellyfish on Jaime might be Khajis biggest accomplishment and also their biggest mistake. This boy without his family. I think Bad Things would happen really quick.

Please do!! Always makes me happy to see the source material taking the body horror just a little farther <33

[zachary305]

You and the Cycle (Naruto)

Naruto was a pretty intriguing watch, especially coming from someone who had never seen the series prior to this. Jumping from the very first episode to episode 162 of the sequel series was a bit jarring, but I was really surprised with how easy it was to follow along. I found the fights super entertaining and the characters themselves very interesting. Its through these characters though that Naruto explores a key concept in discrimination: the cycle of hatred.

I would define the cycle of hatred as being a self-feeding loop in which hatred towards one group causes hatred within that group, and their hatred causes more hatred, and that hatred causes more hatred, etc. It’s a nasty philosophical ouroboros present within everyday society, one that exists solely because of our reaction. Naruto explores this through the character of Pain or Nagato. Despite setting himself on a journey to bring about peace, the destruction of Nagatos village led him to become disillusioned with this idea of harmony. He began to believe that hate was present throughout not only every person, but engrained within the “ninja system itself.” Now in this, Naruto briefly touches on another idea important to the cycle of hate; systemic discrimination. Basically, Nagato believes that the system itself perpetuates the hatred and violence present within their society. In his mind, there is no ninja system without hate. And to some extent, Nagato is correct. To need to use these powers suggests that some idea of conflict exists, with conflict comes violence, and with violence comes hate. Another cycle that exists because the ninja system exists, but then if the ninja system didn’t exist, violence would still happen, which can be stopped with the ninja system, etc. Once again we have trapped ourself in a paradox and that is essentially what the cycle of hate is, a paradox.

Nagato sees a single solution to this cycle and that is to simply make others too scared to express their hate through violence, basically a cold war technique. He wants to bring about peace through fear, but to create that fear he resorts to the destruction of the hidden leaf village. Here lies the fault in Nagatos plan, by creating this fear, he also creates hate. His plan isn’t viable because hate will have to be conjured to even bring about his plan. So how can one stop the cycle? It’s actually Naruto himself who is the one to show the simplest and best answer; You cannot stop the cycle of hate, but you can stop the cycle of violence. Naruto chooses not to kill Nagato, because he knows killing Nagato would only make the cycle continue, so Naruto chooses to hate, without violence. This is the true nature of the cycle of hate. By trying to eliminate hate in others, one is missing the entire point of the cycle of hate. You have no control over others emotions or actions, you only have control of you. YOU have to make the active decision to end the cycle. You are the only person that you can act for and at the end of the day it is your actions that decide if the cycle continues. By freeing yourself from the cycle, you free future generations from it.

[journeytothewest-daily]

Apologies for the double ask, but there were some things I wondered about!

Is the emperor missing the point by giving Tripitaka a golden alms bowl?

What on Earth is vegetarian wine? Was it permitted to monks?

I've seen HKers burning paper money in games and movies. Do you know if geography impacts how common it is? Are any groups particularly associated with it?

Do you think all the suicides are a criticism of dogmatic systems of honour?

Thank you for the new chapter ☺️

Why do you think he shouldn't be given a golden alms bowl? As a monk, you can't want to have one of those, but you can use it as you'd use any other. And Buddhist monks lived on alms from people, which helped feed themselves etc. Just like the OG Buddha.

To tell you the truth, I don't know what vegetarian wine is, since all wines are made from plants :( My research didn't give me any explanation.

I only know it's common for Chinese or Han people, I don't know of any other culture that does it, even though many groups worship ancestors as well.

JTTW can be read as satyre, but I think you can do that with scenes that seem funny. We've seen several people killing themselves so far and in my opinion, the author wasn't letting us know what he thought of it all, but what people do. Systems of honour were very engrained in the mind of the people of the time, and although from the distance, if we wrote the novel now, we could be critics of it, I personally think Wu Cheng'en doesn't let s into his thoughts in thi matter but most often on the palace politics ones.

Thank you for the interesting questions! You're very observant, I'm sorry I couldn't provide an answer to everything.

[cyborg-daughter]

tell us more about harper!!

ooo where to start!!

- i first started making harper when i was around 15 and she started out as a very stereotypical “tony stark’s daughter” style-oc, but i think she’s grown a lot since then (also ive grown as a writer so)

- she’s MCU-based so keep that timeline/continuity in mind. i unfortunately don’t know much abt marvel comics :-(

- her mother was a government worker/possibly SHIELD agent

- her mother died when she was around eight years old in a “house fire.” this same accident left harper an amputee and with a few other issues. after this she lived with her father. genuinely if not for his money, she probably wouldn’t have received proper healthcare and would’ve passed from her injuries.

- when harper is around 15, she’s taken by ultron and experimented on. this is when her “cyborg” comes into play. his initial plan is to basically make her a human drone— mindless, and something to experiment with humanity. her bionics can be upgraded but cannot be fully removed, due to being so engrained in her internal systems (brain, nervous system, etc.)

- she can understand any language due to an automatic translation in her ears, but cannot speak these languages. the translator makes the words into english, but she can’t speak english and have it come out a different language. she does pick up a few things, though.

- she’s a very silly character. despite her traumas she tries to have fun and be carefree, mainly as a defense and trauma response. when she does break, she falls to pieces. most people don’t see her actual feelings. she acts like a happy rich kid, but she’s genuinely just a young girl who’s scared for her future.

- she saw wanda almost like an older sister, but wanda never saw her as the same.

- harper wasn’t blipped! so she’s around 27 in current MCU-era.

- absolutely hated peter. saw him as the child her father always wanted that she couldn’t be.

- she’s very artistic and loves to paint!

- got her ears pierced with nat when she was 13. she looked up to nat, and though natasha would never admit it, she liked harper well enough and wanted to see the little girl live a mostly-positive life.

- when harper eventually meets yelena, her earrings remind her of natasha, as harper’s own piercings were lost when she got cyborg’d.

- when she was experimented on by ultron, her mind went into the vastness of the web, like how jarvis and ultron did at the beginning of that film. this is how ultron was able to have control over her. the only thing that kept her from being completely lost was by clinging to familiar things— she inevitably found the recently released SHEILD/HYDRA documents regarding her mother’s death/house fire. in short, it wasn’t an accident. she never tells tony this.

- for a reason totally not related (it is) she’s afraid of bucky, but also doesn’t blame him like others do, considering she’s also technically been “mind controlled.”

- in the current MCU, harper feels painfully alone. the people that raised her are dead or retired, and she’s never had the chance to make friends. she isn’t necessarily close to pepper or morgan and lives alone in an apartment in New York that, in the event of his death, tony had paid for.

feel free to ask more questions!! anything really :-) i love yapping abt my cyborg daughter ehehe

[lunarianebula872]

I really need to stop drawing past midnight but still I can't really help it

[First image is from the back page of my sketchbook that had some bleed from some alcohol markers but I'm making due with what I have till after the move to get a new one]

Anyways here's a pose [the image with the pose has Raz with a mug of coffee and we all know coffee isn't really a kids drink so I think the Psychonauts need to keep an eye on the coffee machines] and some facial practice [sorry for some sloppiness on some of the faces as I'm running on little to no sleep and it's 4:13am now]

The Raz in my au due to being with the Psychonauts a little sooner and being taught directly helped him a bit however an engrained water phobia doesn't disappear immediately as phobias take time to conquer [Raz here is demonstrating his progress but he's not 100% there yet as sometimes he just gets dragged in (an impromptu bath lol) which dampens things but since he's very stubborn he tends to keep at it and not give up

As for the expressions I was just practicing them and even testing them on top of drawing this au Raz's hair to.

My Au Raz tends to not sleep as often then he needs which does get him scolded at but some habits are hard to break ngl

After Raz's leviathan transformation [as it him coming back from what set off his fight or flight instinct] he gets called the little sea noodle [as leviathan is a sea serpent so aka a sea noodle lol] Raz doesn't like this nickname much at all but what surprised everyone and Raz himself by how brave those closest to approached him in his leviathan form and spoke to him in length about his achievements and how much they care about him [especially his adoptive parents Milla and Sasha along with his girlfriend Lili bringing him back to his senses [when you have a good support system it helps that's for sure]

when Raz is back to normal he understands being thrown into psychoisolation for what he did until he gets his mental state and psychic abilities under control again however Raz might not be able to fully explain how he's feeling and what caused him to snap like he did but one thing he hasn't fully done is explain how the bloodbath from that spring festival happened in his point of view and how traumatizing it was along with dealing with traumas from others via their minds which means Raz isn't going to be put on any missions till that is also solved [let the boy rest and get mental help]

Raz will be stuck doing things kids get in school which he won't escape from for a while [homework] though he does get through it along with being taught more of Milla's and Sasha's language which will distract him [the leviathan event grounded him and on top of that he has to be monitored so both Milla and Sasha take turns looking out for him and do allow him to nap when Raz is able to [a well rested brain better then a very tired one] and Raz thanks to the Psychonauts does have a somewhat balanced diet that's for sure.

Anyways it's almost 5am and I'm still rambling so imma stop here so enjoy.