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dilatorywriting · 2 years ago

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Monster Mayhem: Donkeys & Dragons [PART 3]

Gender Neutral Reader x Malleus Draconia Word Count: 3.3k

Summary: It turns out that befriending a dragon is not as terrible or difficult as you would have thought. But people, unsurprisingly, will always still be awful.

[PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4] [EPILOGUE]

The first week of your internment flew by shockingly fast.

Maybe because you were always at War—a perpetual cycle of making some demand or other (that usually centered around a desire for the barest levels of personal space or agency) only to be met persistently with the ancient, all-powerful, dragon equivolent of >:(

The clothes and toilet situation were already a lost cause. You knew this.

But there were so many other little things. And big things too, sure. But you can never fully realize how much you’re truly under someone’s thumb until you want to head off to do something utterly insignificant and cannot.

For example, your first morning in captivity you’d tried to boil a pot of water. It was nothing fancy, just a small kettle kit you kept in your travel bags for making warm drinks and reheating rations into something vaguely edible. You’d collected some bits of wood from the heaps of debris lying all over the place and gone about lighting a fire. You’d only just barely managed to get the little sticks smoking when a horrific screech sounded from overhead.

And then, WHUMP!

The spiked end of a black tail came crashing down, obliterating your little fire and sending bits of wood flying in all directions.

“What the fuck, man!”

Tsunotarou curled around you to hiss at the flattened sparks like some unholy snake.

“It’s just for my tea! My tea!” you howled. “I wasn’t going to burn your stupid house down!”

He’s shifted into his human form again not long after, and he looked down his nose at you like a fussy parent—arms crossed petulantly across his pale chest.

“Fire is dangerous for humans,” he snuffed, absolutely indignant. “If you find yourself requiring flames for anything at all, call for me and I will lend you some of mine.”

“I would have been fine,” you beseeched, looking at the shattered remains of your little campfire with a grumpy pout.

“Lilia says humans often overestimate their own constitutions,” Tsunotarou grouched, expression dour and stony. You were about to ask just who or what on Earth this ‘Lilia’ was supposed to be, when the dragon dipped his head in close to yours and nuzzled along your throat. You could feel the pinpricks of his fangs against the delicate skin over your pulse. “Which is why so many of your kind are massacred for their own foolishness. Or fall victim to plague and famine. Or wind up being burned alive. I would prefer that you not succumb to such a fate.”

You gulped, and that had been the end of that conversation.

Another time you’d tried to scale the banister to reach the bathroom on your own. It had been going pretty well, all things considered. There were plenty of nice footholds and it all had sort of settled at a slope, meaning you weren’t really climbing a wall so much as very slowly crawling up an incline like a determined slug.

You’d nearly made it to the top when you were scooped up by the back of your collar and promptly deposited at the other end of the room.

Of all the languages you half-spoke, Dragon was not one of them. But the snarling and snapping in your face certainly seemed like the rather universal ‘what do you think you’re doing?!’

“I was just trying to go the bathroom!” you argued. “No fires or anything!”

Tsunotarou’s large maw ducked down to growl into your much smaller one. He let out a series of exasperated clicks and chatter, the sharper or which were punctuated by sprays of green sparks from behind his teeth. His nostrils flared and the blast of dry heat that followed sent your head spinning and your hair gusting out behind you.

“I wasn’t going to fall,” you finally said, because you had a feeling that’s what you were being lectured about at the moment.

The rumbling growl that followed sounded like it had traveled all the way from the dark trenches of his bowels, or maybe even the very marrow of his bones. You could feel the ground vibrating under your feet.

“Fine,” you conceded. You weren’t exactly worried he was going to eat you anymore, but there were certainly… other things. Many dumb ways to die. “I won’t do it again.”

He harumphed at you, his head bobbing in what looked a bit like a nod. And then he turned and raked a gigantic claw across your little makeshift ladder of debris, flattening it into nothing with one, fell, swoop. You’d groaned and let yourself collapse listlessly back into the ensuing cloud dust.

There was also the time you’d nearly had a conniption because you were sick and tired of camping out on a frigid, stone, floor every night when you were trapped inside a literal castle.

“There are dozens—hundreds—of rooms in here,” you’d argued. “There’s got to be a bed in at least one of them.”

Tsunotarou had simply rolled over onto his side and arched a wing into the air, as if offering you the warm hollow beneath.

“You’re not comfortable,” you’d hissed, and he’d sulked ridiculously for the rest of the afternoon until you’d managed to finally come to a workable solution.

As in, dragging every goddamn mattress you could find into the cavernous ballroom that he’d long since seemed to claim as his Favorite Spot. You’d turned it into a game—see who could find the most comfy things and make the biggest squish pile. Being nearly a dozen times your size and having twice as many functional limbs that were capable of grabbing things, naturally Tsunotarou had come out as the winner. But now you had nearly endless pillows and blankets to snuggle into at night, so who’d really come out on top?

“I’ve never bothered to build a nest before,” he’d mumbled to himself, post victory. He patted gently at one of the thick duvets he’d swiped, expression almost whimsical. “It’s quite nice.”

“See,” you’d grinned, bouncing up and down on one of the springier mattresses. “I told you this was better.”

And so chuffed were you that you weren’t heading to sleep with a rock as your pillow for the first time all week, that you didn’t even complain when late into the evening he sneakily dragged you out of your plush pile and into his—tail wrapped snuggly around your waist and tucking you tightly against his ribs. I mean, his nest was much nicer than yours. It was only practical.

So, as anyone could see, your week had been far from easy.

But after those first days, once you had finally gotten a hand on all his nonsensical rules and you’d in turn concocted equally as many ways to try and circumvent them just enough to make yourself comfortable, things settled into a kind of domestic tranquility.

And that was when time started to drag.

You’d read the handful of books in your pack a dozen times over. You’d counted the cracks in the ceiling (one-hundred-and-thirty-two of them). You’d counted the stones on the floor (six-hundred-and-five). You’d sorted those stones into piles by shape, size, color. You lolled back against your cozy pile of blankets and thunked your head miserably against your pillow. Once. Twice. Three times. Four—

“What do you normally do all day?” you complained.

Tsunotarou lazily blinked awake. He lifted his giant, serpentine, head and glanced pointedly around the cavernous room before settling back into his mountain of blankets with a contented huff.

“You just sleep?” you frowned, baffled. “All the time?”

He rumbled unintelligibly at you for a moment before digging his claws into his nest with a long, lithe, stretch. And then those scales began to melt away, and soon enough he was pale, and bare, and rolling his way into your lap with a contented little grumble.

“What would you have me do instead?” he asked, voice thick with the syrupy warmth of sleep. He stretched again, like a big cat, and settled his head more firmly against your thighs. “Raid cities? Burn villages?”

“…Ideally no,” you grumbled, hands falling habitually to start running your fingers through the silky soft hair pooling along your abdomen. “I mean, there have got to be other things dragons do. You live for thousands of years.”

He hummed, neon eyes slipping closed. He pressed his forehead demandingly up into your palm and you rolled your eyes before obligingly sliding your digits lower to scratch at his scalp and around the base of his horns. That seemed to be his favorite.

“I am not wanted much of anywhere, I’m afraid,” he said finally with a defeated little sigh. It didn’t sound particularly self-deprecating, just… accepting. It made something sad and small curl in your gut. “So what else is there for me to do? Other than while away the hours.”

“There’s got to be something,” you pressed, that eking irritation born from boredom melting into something that was a bit too close to genuine concern for your liking. “Don’t dragons keep hoards? Treasures? That’s a thing, right?”

“Oh.” He blinked himself back into focus, as if only remembering in just that moment. “That is true. Would you like to see mine, then?”

“Aren’t hoards, like, private?” you asked, hesitant. Trying not to bring up the glaring elephant in the room that was ‘Hey. Yeah. So my friends and I totally broke in here in the first place to steal from said hoard. Not that we knew there was a dragon here. But like. I did, in fact, come here as an adventurer and a thief.’

“Naturally,” Tsunotarou hummed. You could feel it vibrate all the way up your hip. His lips quirked into a little, crooked, smile. “I’ll take you there now.”

The Treasure Room was as elaborate and expensive looking as the name implied, and it seemed to be the one area of the castle that had been spared the grey desolation that had seeped through the rest of it. It was enormous—certainly larger than even the grand, cavernous, room in which you’d recently been residing. And it was lined wall to ceiling with every variant of wealth you could imagine—precious metals, ancients tomes, paintings from every great master through history, magical weapons, the finest of spell scrolls. You could probably buy the world at least twice over with its contents.

But the thing that caught your eye amidst the endless sea of gold was not a pretty gemstone or a treasure of old, but a little, black and purple, doll—perched atop a looming pedestal of silks and finery like a crown jewel. It was small and plain with curling black horns made of felt. A chubby little dragon miniature that was as ugly as it was round.

Tsunotarou noticed your inquisitive gaze and walked over to pluck the little, cotton, creature from its throne. He held it delicately in his clawed fingers.

“Ah, yes. This is Drago. Lilia gifted him to me after one of his jaunts through the human world.” He turned the doll over in his palms, brow tugging down a bit as he did. “I hope he hasn’t been too terribly lonely. It has been a while since I’ve come down here to visit.”

The great and powerful dragon of the Castle Within The Lava Lake keeping a toy keepsake amongst his most prized possessions was so strikingly adorable that you couldn’t help but feel your heart melt at the sight.

You brightened and turned on your heel to start making your way back to the ballroom and what remained of your adventuring gear. Tsunotarou made a noise under his breath that was too dignified to be a splutter, but what you assumed was more or less his refined equivolent. And then he was tagging at your heels with a perplexed look on his face.

“Where are you going?”

“To get something!” you chirped, mentally running through the contents of your bag and little sewing kits. Yes, there should be more than plenty to—

“To get what?” Tsunotarou pouted, and you realized belatedly that running off in the middle of him showing off his life’s accumulation of precious artifacts and accomplishments was perhaps a bit rude.

“It’s a surprise,” you said. “Just give me like half an hour to put it together.”

In the end, it really only took you around fifteen minutes of fussing. Drago was hardly a complex little thing, and you’d originally learned to stitch in a panic. Trying to mend holes in pants and leather was a lot harder to accomplish when you were being actively chased by bandits, or a raging Ace. In comparison, sitting merrily on the floor of a collapsed ballroom and shoving stuffing into a little ball of cloth was hardly a challenge.

You held out your creation—equally as ragtag and ridiculous looking as its inspiration.

“There,” you beamed, and pressed it into Tsunotarou’s hands. “Now he has a friend.”

A teeny, flesh-colored, blob. With strips of soft fabric for a cloak and a hastily stitched smile. A miniature bard, perfectly (?) encapsulated in his palm.

The dragon stared down at your offering with wide, green, eyes. He looked positively startled—so caught off guard that he didn’t know what to do with himself, let alone the bewildered expression flitting across his otherwise regal face.

“You said he might be lonely,” you hummed, rocking self-consciously back and forth on your heels.

“Oh,” Tsunotarou mumbled, black-tipped claws flexing around his new gift. He observed it carefully, like an aging academic might study some ancient, arcane, relic. There was still that strange look about him—like he couldn’t quite believe the little trinket in his hand was real. “I did, didn’t I...?”

When he remained silent after that, still staring down at your homemade abomination in awe? Horror? you couldn’t tell, you began fidgeting in earnest.

“It is kind of awful looking,” you rattled off, picking nervously at the hem of your cloak. “You can get rid of it if you want—”

“No,” he barked, and then paused, clearly surprised at the ferocity of what had come out of his mouth. That at least seemed to startle him out of whatever fog had settled over his brain, and he clutched the teeny toy firmly to his chest. He cleared his throat and started again, noticeably gentling himself. “No. I think I’d like to keep this.”

You smiled. “Good! I’m glad you like it! No one deserves to feel lonely—even little, toy, dragons.”

Tsunotarou’s lips curled into an awkwardly lopsided smile—like the muscles there weren’t used to tugging so wide. It lit the entirety of his expression with something so heart wrenchingly warm that you couldn’t help but feel like none of that had really been about the little doll at all.

You really should have known better.

If someone as illiterate and ill connected as your wandering gang of idiots could stumble upon the location of a ‘secret castle overburdened with ancient treasures,’ surely anyone even marginally more competent would be able to do the same.

You’d been at the tail end of your supply of rations. And while you hadn’t entirely meant to imply that you might just wind-up starving to death, the comment had been more than enough to send your dragon into a tizzy.

“Well, what do you normally eat?” you asked, and Tsunotarou frowned as he considered.

“My guards bring me sustenance when I require it. Ice elementals, goblins, stone giants,” he listed, eyes tracking your expression in hopes that maybe any of that sounded appetizing. Which it certainly did not. His nose scrunched up in thought. “Perhaps I should seek counsel with Lilia. He would know what to do.”

You cleared your throat. “I mean, I know what humans can eat. I could just tell you.”

His face brightened. “Meat, yes?”

You nodded. “Sometimes.”

“Like that of a manticore?” he continued, excited at the prospect. “Those are particularly delicious. And there are quite a few nesting in the crags not far from here.”

His merry smile slowly slipped off his face at whatever pinched look had twisted up yours.

“Vegetation?” he tried. “There are ample bushes at the foot of the volcano. Most do have thorns, but I suppose you could pick around them.”

“…Maybe you should talk to Lilia,” you conceded.

So Tsunotarou had shifted into his scales with a promise to return post-haste and many fussy reminders that you should move as little as possible to avoid wasting any more precious nutrients. The great downbeats of his wings seemed to roll through the entire castle like a shudder, and then you were alone for the first time in nearly a fortnight.

You lazed around in the echoing quiet, drumming bits of random tempos against your stomach and occasionally humming snatches of obnoxiously raunchy tavern tunes that you’d never really managed to bleach from your brain. How had Tsunotarou done this for decades? It’d barely been ten minutes and you were already bored out of your mind.

There was a flash of shadow near the grand entrance, and you sat up enthusiastically—ready to greet your returning host. But it wasn’t a dragon at the door.

“Who the hell are y—” the words died in your throat, and you spat a muted curse. The Silence Spell settled over your shoulders like a grungy cloak. You could feel its sticky film along the back of your tongue like a fine layer of moss.

“Who the fuck is that?” one of them hissed, and you fought the petulant ‘that’s just what I’d been about to ask you, jack ass!’ that wouldn’t have made it past your lips anyways.

There were six in total—a proper party from the looks of their ensembles. At least two people in full plate armor, a waify looking elf with a thick spell book in his hands, and three others in various getups that weren’t quite cookie cutter enough to tell you anything helpful. You rambled at them irritably, silently, gesturing rather impolitely all the while. You mimed teeth, and claws, and wings, and stomped around like a beast in a play.

‘There is a dragon here,’ you tried to say. Because maybe they were just unlucky adventurers like you and Tweedle Dee and Dum had been—not having any real idea what lay beyond these castle walls. You mimed a giant mouth, like a crocodile. ‘And he will eat you.’

“What the fuck?” Armored Dude gaped.

You pointed irritably at Mister Elf Wizard, who was still very obviously concentrating on keeping you encircled in a mesh of absolute silence.

The itchy sensation clogging your throat eased and you let out a breath, which echoed loudly in your ears. Elf-Guy looked at you with something that was perhaps a shade or two off of sympathy.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

“You need to leave,” you replied instead, firm. “There’s a dragon that lives in this castle.”

“Of course there’s a dragon,” Armored Lady scoffed. “Why do you think we’re here?”

You looked at their heavy, expensive, armor. At the giant, shining, magical, weapons hanging across their backs. At the thin wizard who proceeded catch you in a Hold Person spell that was so fast and strong you couldn’t have dispelled it if you tried. And of course you tried. What else could you do? These people weren’t like you and your loveable idiots who managed to occasionally stumble their way into an adventure. These guys were the real deal. Warriors. Heroes. Dragon Slayers.

“God-fucking-damn it.”

But of course you’d been caught in Silence once again, so you were left cursing nothing.

[TAG LIST] CLOSED

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#twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #Malleus Draconia x Reader #Malleus x Reader #Malleus Draconia #Malleus x Yuu #Dragon Malleus #Monster Mayhem #My Writing #Twst Fantasy AU #Monster Mayhem Malleus Part 3

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voidscreamintheories · 9 months ago

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Kitten: Theory of a "Hunter"

Spoilers for Hunter The Parenting

So Kitten. He is our happy lil Br*tish hunter. He also is always wearing ski goggles, a sweater, and full face covering. Even in the one flashback image we have of him. As always we must acknowledge the DNA this series pulls from: Kitten was the Captain General in TTS, this is why he uses a spear with a gun and a stake at the end in HTP, it's a guardian spear by way of hunter. It was a running gag in TTS that his helmet was never removed, even all of his other garments were. Side tangent, 1. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING 2. I hope desperately Lockwarden and Santodes return in HTP, because both of those characters were immaculate and we didn't get enough of them. Side tangent complete.

TTS acknowledgement aside, let us consider what Kitten might be. In the audiolog between Kitten and Big D, kitten seems to question the existence of some supernatural creatures, like the witch. Yet two of them he is unphased by them being mentioned: The vampires, which makes sense as the family is hunting vamps and Kitten has fought a vamp (important later). And the werewolves. This is the sticking point to me: Kitten not only is unphased about the existence of werewolves, he in fact says "wait hang on you know about werewolves" to Big D. Now that's a might curious, why wouldn't Big D, master-hunter and well known supernaturalist know about werewolves, and even more so, why would Kitten know and Big D not?

My theory is that Kitten IS a were creature. But not a wolf. In World of Darkness there are a few species of shapechangers like the werewolves. The wolves are the most common, but the other kinds know of each other's existence as well. I propose that Kitten is a werecat. Not only this, I suspect Kitten is a specific kind of werecat, a metis (can someone who knows more about WoD tell me is this is pronounced Met-iss, a made up word, or May-tea, a real word for a real world group of people who this does not necessarily apply to). A metis (in world of darkness, not the real world ethno-cultural group) is a shapechanger born to two shapechanger parents. When they are born they come out in their warform, the half-human-half-animal "hollywood monster" form. These shapechangers often have malformations of some variety, and this can include very obvious animal features even in human form. Say for example, cat ears and fur. I think Kitten wears his ski stuff, and has ears on his hood because he is a lil catboy under that hood. As a werecat he would be familiar with the shapechanger culture and practices, he'd know about other shapechangers (notice in the black shuck story at one point he says "and it is [black shuck]" not "and it PROBABLY is", maybe because he actually knows who black shuck is?), and he'd be supernaturally strong. Perhaps even strong enough to overcome a vampire that just fed. Kitten describes his encounter with the vamp at college, with maybe a Ventrue or Torreador vamp (I think Ventrue because he was charismatic but had a need for a violent feeding), while these clans aren't the normal muscle for the vamps, they are stronger than humans. Yet Kitten managed to beat this vampire, even though he was hopped up on blood. I think our lil cat boy was using his own supernatural strength. Another thing mentioned around this story is the tragedy that befell Kitten's parents, which left him with the house. If they are shapechangers, there is the potential that Kitten killed them during his first change, a not uncommon occurence in Garou families. There's also the possibility that his parents were killed in the war that all Garou are fighting, or because they broke the litany (werewolf mascarade) by having a metis child.

Now. Problems. Both Grimal and Markus have cannonically "broken that boy". Now is Kitten a "sorry babe, the ski mask stays ON during sex" type gamer? Or do Grimal and Markus both know? Not sure! Grimal could probably be convinced he was just REALLY into cosplay, I bet. And Markus may have known about Kitten being a cat from their childhood, depending when they first met.

But! This lets me talk more about garou society as evidence for Kitten being a cat. In shapechanger society, a metis is often hidden from the public until they can control their form, so as to not give the game away on werewolves being real. Maybe Kitten was isolated as a child, making it harder for him to interact with other kids when he did eventually get his form *more* under control. Maybe in the time before he was allowed in public, he became a true gamer. Maybe Markus was one of the few kids weird enough to hang out with him. Maybe those lack of social skills brought him closer to Grimal when they first met, two strange weirdos with similar experiences (please Alfabusa don't make Grimal the ghoul, I don't want her to get Arcanum'd)

Also! The werecats have some characteristics in their culture that might explain why our lil cat friend isn't just vibing with the other werecats. Some of the Bastet (Bastet means werecat, Keikaku means plan) are VERY curious lil fellas. They seek out hidden knowledge and talk to other garou clans to learn their secrets all the time. Maybe Kitten became a hunter because of his in-built desire to be a gatherer of lore. This would also explain how he knows all these stories, and finds secrets in games. He just HAS to know these things. This would further explain why he is SO upset about being blacklisted, he wants desperately to be able to study and learn, but has been cut off.

In brief, I believe Kitten is a werecat and his lil sweater ears are not just a fetish thing. He joined the arcanum/our hunters because it's a great way to sate his innate curiosity.

Now something to consider, as many of us know, curiosity does have a certain reputation regarding cats...

#hunter: the parenting #hunter the parenting #h:tp #htp #fan theory #htp kitten

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rainbow-wolf120 · 16 days ago

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You guys like my DW art? Cool.

DW OC BLAST!!!!

Meet Chippy and File (prounced "Phill")

Chippy was my first silly and File was from just a concept I thought was cool lol

It's not just info cards, but you can also buy them >:3

(File is a better Vee, and Chippy is an ideal griefer character </3)

Their bios and shop cards technically saw all you need to know, but I do have a relationship chart for them:

(Template made by my sibling <3)

No one likes them lmaoo, but at least Chippy is fun

Ig here's a more in-depth look of them if wanted:

Chippy steals EVERYTHING. She's kind of a menace to everyone he meets. She was created in the show to teach a lesson more specific than "bullying = bad," so they did "stealing = bad." Even with her "negative" purpose, she still proves that she could make real friendships like her and Gigi. Gigi's friends might not be too fond of their possessions disappearing after a hangout, but they tolerate her for Gigi. A lot of other Toons (like Teagan) think that she can help Chippy. It hasn't worked out so far and resulted in a tea set missing...

Nobody likes File. Or at least, like him for who he is. He's what people would call a "Stick in the mud" or "Vibekiller." He's very adamant on the "canon" and what's he believes is right. This gives him a very black and white view of the world. For example, he doesn't believe in character development, especially with Toons like Shrimpo. In his mind, Shrimpo is a bully and will always be a bully. His linear thinking drives many Toons away, but some stick around for answers. File didn't work with kids, but instead, the Toon Handlers and Arthur and Delilah. It's the reason why Dandy hasn't killed him or Rodger actually talks to him. In their minds, he's the closest thing to the "status quo."

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saintsenara · 7 months ago

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During the Harry Potter series, we meet many fathers. So my question is how do they wish to be called? Do they want to be a father, a Dad or a Daddy? Or something else? Like their first name or a Papa. Would someone be upset if their child called them by their first name or daddy? For example, I think Arthur would have accepted any father title from his children. But what about Lucius, Riddle Sr, Crouch Sr, Vernon,James,Riddle Jr, Tobias Snape, Orion Black, Amos Diggory and Xenophilius Lovegood.

thank you very much for the ask, anon!

and the answer - as it is when it comes to literally everything in britain - is that it all comes down to social class...

straight off the bat, though, it would be extremely rare for a school-aged child of any class-background to refer to their parents [or grandparents] using their first names - this just isn't a cultural norm in britain and ireland, and so a family which made it their standard practice [especially with children who were younger than eleven] would definitely have a counter-cultural [and probably quite crunchy] vibe.

[so an author could feasibly write luna referring to her parents as "xenophilius" and "pandora" - even though, in the books, she doesn't - without losing the lovegoods' canonical oddness. but none of the weasley children would dare.]

adult children broadly stick to whichever version of "mum" and "dad" they used as children when speaking to their parents - as bill and charlie do - although it wouldn't be thought of as rude for an adult child to use their parents' first names, so much as it would be thought of as unusual.

and so what has probably emerged from the above is that - by far - the most common scenario nowadays is for children of all social classes [and i really do mean all social classes - prince william calls the king "dad"...] to call their parents "mum" and "dad".

this would not always have been the case historically - which we'll come to - but it has been the case since at least the 1980s, and so it makes sense for the vast majority of characters in the series to use "dad" when talking to their fathers.

although of course it's never entirely that simple...

firstly, there's an age-related aspect to be aware of. most children - again of all social classes - will begin, once they have a reasonable grasp of language and have moved beyond just sounding out "mama" and "dada", by calling their parents "mummy" and "daddy". they will then switch to "mum" and "dad" [or regional equivalents - which we'll come to] at some point in primary school [the school children attend between the ages of five and eleven], especially when speaking about their parents to their peers. generally, it would be thought of as a bit cringe [regardless of gender] to still be calling your parents "mummy" and "daddy" after starting secondary school [if not before], because it would be understood as childish.

there are a few canon examples which illustrate this.

petunia dursley refers to herself as "mummy" when speaking to the teenage dudley in the opening chapters of order of the phoenix:

“Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police! Diddy, darling, speak to Mummy! What did they do to you?”

during the build-up to this, the reader has learned that dudley [fifteen at this point] lies to his parents about doing childish activities - like having his tea at a friend's house - as a cover for roaming around beating up other children, hanging out at his friends' houses while their parents are away, and [presumably] drinking, smoking, and taking drugs. petunia's language choice, then, underscores the fact that one of her main character flaws is her refusal to accept what dudley is actually like, because admitting that he's not the perfect child she believes him to be would mean acknowledging that her perfect, non-magical, middle-class life is a farce.

harry, similarly, uses the word in order to - deliberately, in his case - underscore that he thinks the person he's talking to is [behaving like] a child when speaking to seamus in order of the phoenix and ron in deathly hallows:

“I’ll talk to you how I want,” said Harry, his temper rising so fast he snatched his wand back from his bedside table. “If you’ve got a problem sharing a dormitory with me, go and ask McGonagall if you can be moved, stop your mummy worrying - ” “So what part of it isn’t living up to your expectations?” asked Harry. Anger was coming to his defense now. “Did you think we’d be staying in five- star hotels? Finding a Horcrux every other day? Did you think you’d be back to Mummy by Christmas?”

we can also see the hidden meaning of this language choice in a character's use of it with their own parents. in order of the phoenix, for example, luna switches between calling xenophilius "dad" and "daddy" based on how credulous and strange the text wants to make her seem.

compare:

“My dad thinks it’s an awful paper,” said Luna, chipping into the conversation unexpectedly. Sucking on her cocktail onion, she gazed at Rita with her enormous, protuberant, slightly mad eyes. “He publishes important stories that he thinks the public needs to know. He doesn’t care about making money.”

with this, from the same scene:

“I don’t think Daddy exactly pays people to write for the magazine,” said Luna dreamily. “They do it because it’s an honor, and, of course, to see their names in print.”

luna and xenophilius are both completely right that the daily prophet is an "awful paper" - and so he's "dad" - but they're both completely naive to think that journalists would consider it an honour to write for the quibbler for free - and so he's "daddy".

and so, of your list, amos diggory, vernon dursley, james potter, and arthur weasley - all of whom are normal fathers, as far as fathers go in the series - would be "daddy" when their children were very young and then "dad". xenophilius lovegood is canonically both. draco malfoy uses "dad" to refer to lucius once, at the end of order of the phoenix, so make of that what you will. the rest, we will come to...

firstly, though, there are two major exceptions to the "daddy-to-dad-pipeline" rule.

the first is regional. in ireland [both northern ireland and the republic] it is entirely standard to refer to your parents as "mammy" [note the spelling - although you will see "mummy" in the north] and "daddy" regardless of your age. unlearning this is one of the first things you do if you're irish and move abroad, lest everyone think you're deranged [ask me how i know], and so seamus was definitely working hard to code-switch properly for the first few weeks of school...

the second is class-based. in mainland britain - especially in england - referring to your parents as "mummy" and "daddy" over the age of about eleven is generally an indicator that you are incredibly posh - but, specifically, that you're posh and your relationship with your parents is close, supportive, and genial.

[although this doesn't stop it being seen as a bit odd to those outside your class-bracket - the best illustration of which can be found in the entirety of the peep show episode "sophie's parents"...]

justin finch-fletchley - for example - would almost certainly call his parents "mummy" and "daddy", based on his canon vibe. and while he doesn't do this in canon, the malfoys' family dynamic - which, whatever else you can say about it, is sincerely loving - especially when combined with draco's slight childishness, would justify the idea that he used "mummy" and "daddy" to refer to lucius and [especially] narcissa.

but here comes a detour into history.

the association of teen and adult children using "mummy" and "daddy" with being upper-middle-class or upper-class is because several other terms with similar class-based coding have fallen out of fashion since - roughly - the middle of the twentieth century.

the first of these are "mama" and "papa" - pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: ma-mahhh, pa-pahhh - which would have been taught to all posh children in early childhood [in the same way "mummy" and "daddy" are now], and then retained in their teenage years by those who were close to their parents.

the second are the latin words for mother and father, "mater" and "pater" - pronounced may-tah and pay-tah - which would only be used by teenagers upward and which have a cheerful, slightly irreverent vibe [à la bertie wooster].

you will find both of these used - especially in material either written or set prior to c. 1960 - to signify the same thing that a teen or adult using "mummy" or "daddy" would today: a posh, but nonetheless genial, parent-child relationship.

[although it's worth saying that "papa" signifies something slightly different when merope gaunt uses it in her one line in half-blood prince. in this case, when paired with her appearance and what we can reasonably imagine is a very unusual accent when speaking english, it contributes to mrs cole's belief that she came "from the circus" - that is, that she was of gypsy (on the reclamation of which term in britain and ireland, see here), roma, or traveller heritage - by making her sound "foreign".]

given the wizarding world's archaic vibes, then, lucius malfoy might very well be "papa" rather than "daddy". orion black also seems very likely to have gone by "papa" when his children were little - even if this would only have been retained by regulus as the boys entered their teens.

a tom riddle sr. who raises his son would - in the 1920s - definitely be "papa" while tom jr. was small. what he then becomes would depend on how close their relationship was.

which brings us, of course, to "mother" and "father".

the use of "mother" and "father" as nouns is completely standard in written british english. which is to say that the narrative using "mother" and "father" for james and lily outside of dialogue doesn't signify anything about what harry would have called them, what their relationship would have been like, or what they mean to him as people who are dead. these words are chosen because they're correct for the register of language used by the text.

the use of "mother" and "father" as both nouns and titles in spoken british english - on the other hand - is a bit more complicated...

it has a class element in that the concept of manners and social class are profoundly entwined - and so knowing when and to whom to say "mother" and "father is, therefore, an indicator of class-background - but what it primarily indicates is that the register of the conversation is formal.

[so, historically, even a child who called their parents "mama" and "papa" in private would switch to "mother" and "father" in company, unless they were very young.]

we see, for example, that percy weasley tends to refer to arthur and molly as "mother" and "father", even when he's in spaces [like the burrow] and company [like his siblings and harry] which wouldn't normally warrant any formality in conversation.

for example:

“Well, Father feels he’s got to make up for his mistake at the match, doesn’t he?” said Percy. “If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement without clearing it with his Head of Department first." “Don’t you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!” said Mrs. Weasley, flaring up at once. “If Dad hadn’t said anything, old Rita would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented,” said Bill, who was playing chess with Ron. “Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts’ Charm Breakers once, and called me ‘a long-haired pillock’?”

percy's language choice is a way for the text to underscore that he's a character the reader is supposed to interpret as boring, stuffy, and pretentious [and as someone harry likes much less than the other weasleys] - as well as to emphasise specific notes about his personality, such as the fact that he's someone who values manners and social convention more than his siblings.

[molly uses "your father" as a way of emphasising that percy's criticism of arthur is ridiculous. bill is the one speaking sense.]

this doesn't mean that the text is suggesting that arthur and molly love percy any less than his siblings - nor that they treat him cruelly, nor that percy's affection for them [at least prior to order of the phoenix] isn't sincere. it just means that he's someone the doylist text wants the reader to think is a bit of a prig.

in other cases, the formality implied by "mother" and "father" lends a certain impersonality to the dialogue in which it's used. for example, draco malfoy tending to refer to lucius malfoy - especially when lucius isn't there - as "[my] father" is a way for the text to hammer home that draco sees his father as a figurehead [an imagined, constructed lucius, who's so important and respected and impressive that he can do literally anything] whom he longs to emulate, and that he wants to convince his peers of this fact.

[luna does something similar - in half-blood prince she uses "father" when telling harry that xenophilius has proven that rufus scrimgeour is a vampire. the language choice here is an appeal to authority.]

hence why the only time in the series that draco calls lucius "dad" comes after his father is sent to azkaban at the end of order of the phoenix - and, indeed, is the beginning of the journey towards understanding his family with more nuance that he goes through in the final two books of the series:

“You’re going to pay,” said Malfoy in a voice barely louder than a whisper. “I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done to my father...” “Well, I’m terrified now,” said Harry sarcastically. “I s’pose Lord Voldemort’s just a warm-up act compared to you three - what’s the matter?” he said, for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had all looked stricken at the sound of the name. “He’s your dad’s mate, isn’t he? Not scared of him, are you?” “You think you’re such a big man, Potter,” said Malfoy, advancing now, Crabbe and Goyle flanking him. “You wait. I’ll have you. You can’t land my father in prison - ” “I thought I just had,” said Harry. “The dementors have left Azkaban,” said Malfoy quietly. “Dad and the others’ll be out in no time...”

draco's scared and vulnerable - he's trying to threaten harry, to do what the figurehead-lucius of his imagination would, but his heart's not in it. he wants his actual dad, and the mask slips.

the formality behind "mother" and "father" in spoken english can obviously indicate that the speaker is being polite. it can also, however, indicate that they're very much not - and that the speaker doesn't like the person they're speaking to enough to use more colloquial language.

luna comes in clutch for us here once again:

“Of course not,” said Hermione scathingly, before Harry could answer, “The Quibbler’s rubbish, everyone knows that.” “Excuse me,” said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. “My father’s the editor.”

[hermione refers to xenophilius as "luna's father" throughout the last three books - which demonstrates what sort of esteem she holds him in...]

and, of course, the formality of this language can also imply distance.

sirius using "my mother" and "my father" - for example - is the way that the text shows, even before he's said a word to harry about his complicated family history, that he and his parents weren't close - and not only that they weren't close, but that their relationship was formal, mannered, surface-level, disinterested, dependent on convention, and so on. which him using "your dad" when speaking to harry about james then really hammers home.

and so, if an author wants to write orion black, lucius malfoy, or tom riddle sr. as having relationships with their children which have that flavour, then these men would be addressed as "father" no matter the context. similarly, barty crouch sr. - whose fatal flaw is a total failure to understand his son - was definitely "father" [while his wife, who barty crouch jr. was canonically much closer to, was probably not "mother" in private - really emphasising the discordance in that household...].

when it comes to our last two daddies...

what severus snape would have called his parents depends on two things: where cokeworth is and where both tobias and eileen snape were from.

which is to say, it seems to be pretty common in fics for him to call them "ma" and "da". and my understanding of this is that it happens because authors want to communicate that severus comes from a working-class background and that he evidently grows up speaking with a regional accent.

and it's certainly true that what you call your parents - especially your mother - varies by region, and that using dialect terms communicates the complicated tangle of regional- and class-identity which brits outside of southern england are mixed up in.

[for example, i am northern irish - which is not a sophisticated thing to be in britain - and i refer to my mother as my mam when speaking to anyone in mainland britain for the same reasons that i play up my accent in these circumstances. it's refusing to code-switch.]

so petunia - in snape's memories - uses "mummy" when speaking to lily as an early indicator of her social-climbing tendencies - she doesn't want to sound working-class. severus would obviously not give a shit about this.

but "ma" and "da" are not words which you'd expect to find in common use in the bit of north-west england which is above birmingham but below manchester, which is where cokeworth seems to be.

an author could choose to shift the town further north - "ma" and "da" are both used in liverpool and the surrounding area, for example [and scouse snape would be iconic, i fear] - or could assume that they entered severus' vocabulary in other ways - if his parents are from the north-east [especially around newcastle], if they're scottish, or if they're welsh - but the most likely explanation if an author wishes to use them would be that one or both of tobias and eileen [like many people in this part of the world] was an irish immigrant.

i am wedded to the headcanon that tobias snape is northern irish [and catholic, which "others" the snapes in the eyes of people like the evanses long before they know about the magic] - even though there's no evidence for this in the text - and so i can accept fics using "ma" and "da" in this context.

but it's much more likely that the terms severus uses are "mam" and "dad" [if you're locating cokeworth closer to manchester], "mom" and "dad" [if you're locating cokeworth in the black country], or "mum" and "dad". any of these would indicate his working-class background, when paired with the rest of his speech patterns, appearance, and behaviour.

in a world where tom riddle jr. is left holding the baby after bellatrix dies and is something other than a total deadbeat when confronted with this scenario, what's he's going to insist on being called will depend on which of his various personal idiosyncrasies he's indulging that day.

if the orphanage jumps out, he's "dad" - which would be the word he grew up hearing [but never being able to use, poor angel] among the working-classes in whichever bit of london he was raised in. if he's willing to acknowledge paternity, but doesn't want to give his progeny the impression that he cares about her, he's "father". if he's a doting dad [lmao] and wants to play at being an aristocrat, he's probably "papa".

if we're being realistic... wee delphini, like everyone else, is calling him "my lord".

#asks answered #asenora meta #surprise! it's the class system!#just wait until you hear about bread rolls

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bubuslutty · 1 year ago

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hc: witch!reader x 141 (+ Ale, Rudy, König, Horangi) as monsters

A monster's high

word count: 1.5k

tags: they/them pronouns, poc friendly, 3rd person pov, proof read by me so sorry for any mistakes, nsfw, fluff

warnings: a bit of body horror

a/n: i initially meant for this to be fluffy but uhhh I guess I'm a whore 🥰 enjoy either way!!! 💙 pls if u wanna see anything pls let me know, cuz I just want more excuses to talk abt monster cod mw2 guys!!

Soap (werewolf):

Johnny has a habit of scenting his witch when they have to go somewhere without him, and he claims it's to keep them safe from other monsters. but does he really need to rub his face all over their tummy and ass??

Johnny's witch takes care of him during his ruts by brewing him teas for his stomach aches. and provides him with their worn clothes so he can have familiar and comforting scents around him when he's rutting.

Soap also likes to hang out with his witch during nights on a full moon, so he can turn and run in the forest. and sometimes they even play catch with him, by throwing a stick and he runs after it, getting it for her, for pets and praises, tail wagging and all.

Ghost (symbiote):

Simon Riley is pretty cool, kind and pleasant to hang out with, Ghost on the other hand is dark in a weirdly attractive way (monster fucker alert). Ghost doesn't really have a form, they're just a mass of black matter that merges and melts into Simon's pores, but also has a voice of its own.

Reader has gotten used to Ghost jumping in on conversations when they're talking with Simon. And has even gotten used to Ghost threathening (flirting) to eat them (??). While Simon always apologises about Ghost, reader hasn't figured out if Ghost wants to eat them literally or sexually.

Reader has also gotten used to walking around Simon's place and being suddenly pulled into a dark corner by a cold tentacle attached to Simon's symbiote. Then asked in a very ominous voice "Can you get orange juice from the corner store? Simon can't, too tired."

Reader shrugs and nods, "Okay." while being held up in the air by dark matter.

"Thank you." Ghost whispers, their voice raising all the hairs in reader's body.

Price (Dragon hybrid):

he can breathe fire, but doesn't allow himself to so he satiates the urge with cigars. Breathing fire is a hazard and can put others around him in danger, and he can accidentally destroy his belongings by allowing the tickle of a flame leave his throat.

But sometimes he slips up, for example when he's balls deep in reader (don't ask me how we got here). They were curious about what it'd be like fucking a dragon hybrid and how can Price say no to those pretty eyes?

It happens when he's about to orgasm, and he feels fire tickle his throat, and when he can't swallow the urge back, he throws his head back and let's out fire escape his lips, blowing it upward so it doesn't catch on anything.

And then when reader realises what he just did, he gets shy about it. Usually he doesn't spit fire when he fucks someone, but reader doesn't need to know that.

Gaz (Crow harpy hybrid):

first of all, Gaz has the prettiest, softest feathers. They're black but Show different colours when lights hit them in different angles. And reader spends a lot of time just admiring them and caressing them while he plays his favourite video game.

And when they accidentally press on the feathers a bit too hard, he jumps and grabs their wrist, "Don't do that again, please."

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry." Reader apologises

"You didn't, they're just a bit sensitive… That's all." Gaz mumbles and they nod, resuming caressing his feathers in the gentlest way possible as Gaz resumes his game and tries to ignore the tingle at the base of his spine, making him shudder and heat up.

Horangi (Tiger shifter):

at first he scared reader because when they first met him, he was in his tiger form napping in the living room when reader walked in, completely clueless with a bunch of ingredients for a potion in their arms, "I got the-"

They used all of their strenght not to drop everything in their arms because the ingredients are expensive while they stood, facing a sleeping tiger, taking up the whole couch.

The tiger quickly noticed their presence and woke up, lazily blinking and letting out a big yawn, revealing a sharp set of teeth and reader readied themselves to cast a spell if the tiger was to ever attack or try anything.

The tiger kept staring at reader until they got bored and stood up on the couch, and shifted just like that, fur flipped into pink soft skin and bones reshaping themselves in real time.

And so reader was face to face with a naked man in the middle of Soap's living room.

König (eldritch):

König wears a huge diy'ed mask on his head, covering red and black smooth salty skin and tentacles. Sometimes he lets them hang outside the mask, poking and prodding this and that when he's comfortable, but most of the time they're hidden, out of sight.

Reader has yet to figure out where all of his tentacles come from, they know they come from his head, from the area that would be considered his chin and jaw if he had one, like a beard that has a mind of its own.

They've seen peeks of König shirtless a couple of times, but couldn't see any extra limbs or tentacles coming out of his skin, so how earth does he manages to wrap them in huge long tentacles? Where do they come from??

They've asked König of course, but all he did was smile, his eyes shaping half moons, patt their head and walked off without a word.

Alejandro (werewolf):

The only other werewolf in the bunch apart from Johnny. This man has also an obsession with scenting reader after Johnny scented them just to get a rise out of him.

He's territorial of course, very protective and loves to bite and nip at reader when they let him. Be it their hips, waist, tummy or ass, he'll happily sink his teeth in any part of their body as long as they let him.

He's also allergic to wearing clothes when the sun shines, if Alejandro senses that summer is very near, he'll strip to his boxers and hang around in all of his tan and hairy glory.

And reader is only human, when they see him like that, their heart skips a beat and they quickly leave the room Alejandro or otherwise he'll somehow smell them getting aroused.

And Alejandro doesn't even need to smell their arousal to know they're affected, because he can hear their thumping heart when he focuses his hearing.

They also try to avoid him when they've had their back blown by a local resident monster (only Soap's pack tho, no one else or they'll (141 & Co.) have a mental breakdown lmao) because he can smell the cum plugged inside them. and even when they've showered, washed away all traces of sex, he still can smell it underneath all the soap, lotion and body mist. And when he does smell it, he corners them and bullies them into telling him how it went down while they whine and beg him to let them go (they actually love it dw guys, ale would let them go as soon as they express real discomfort)

Rudy (human):

The second human in the pack after reader. While reader is a witch and in tune with the spiritual and supernatural world, Rudy can't feel shit. like nothing at all. everyone might be on edge because they can smell someone's heat and he'd be sitting there absolutely oblivious, at least reader is knowledgeable enough to know the signs of a heat or rut without smelling it.

Reader might be reluctant to go somewhere because they feel like the vibes are off, or the place is cursed and haunted, and Rudy would shrug and go in to retrieve whatever must be retrieved.

Rudy could be checking himself out in a mirror while a spirit would be looking right back at him and reader is just standing there, uncomfortable while he hums and fixes his hair and the spirit is highly confused because how the fuck isn't he being seen by the dumb very handsome human?

He's the type of guy who'd brush off any attempt at scaring him or cursing him without a second thought, a witch would try to curse him by planting a little pouch under his door matt and Rudy would absolutely have no idea and would never step on the matt at his doorstep because his legs are long and he never needed to step on it in the first place, he even has another one inside his house as well, it's just there to look nice really, so the curse never took effect in the first place until reader shows up and hisses in disgust, immediately finding the pouch for Rudy and throwing it away.

Even when a demon is actively trying to cause him nightmares, Rudy doesn't even notice because every night our boy passes out on werewolf knot, brain melted out of his ears, he barely has the energy to open one eye so it's impossible for his brain to conjure up dreams or be active enough so the demon can plant nightmares into his head.

I imagine Rudy getting his organs rearranged in the nastiest way possible while the invisible demon is just standing there like 🧍‍♀️😐 waiting for Rudy and the werewolf, who is probably Ale to be done so he can give him nightmares.

He's our unbothered King and I love him very much.

tag list (pls ask to be added or removed): @canadianmilkbag @angryandreadytokill @obiwankenobis-lap @goapgrim @smalldemonlover @silviafantin15 @reveluving @bobastayhigh @originalsimp @h-leigh @gxldyjess @msdrpreist @chaoticevilbakugo @Lacunaanonymoused @whore4dilfs @canadianmilkbag @ahoeformando @ray-rook

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lilly-chou-chou · 4 months ago

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Skincare And Lifestyle Tips To Nourish Your Soul :-

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘

Hello, everyone!! I back at it again with brand new post! This time the topic we're going to dive into is skincare. Now I am a woman who has been doing skincare since she was practically 10 so it's been many many decades and what not, mind you I wasn't one of those sephora kids who are stupid enough to use retional at the age of 10 💀 my skincare back then consisted of just cleanser, toner, sum protecting lip balm and sunscreen.

Today I would like to give general skincare advice that is applicable for ALL skin types. Mind you if you have serious issues then do go to dermatologist because the tips I am giving today is to how to have better skin and very general stuff. Hope you guys like it!! <3 💕

Pre-Advice:-

Always know your skin type. This makes things way easier than people actually realize.

Don't always follow the trend because not everyone has similar skin and I doesn't matter ift hey claim to cure you so called problamatic spefic areas always ready the ingredients, be sure about it, consult with your doctor and then use it.

Patience patience patience. I cannot stress this enough, skincare takes time it may take 1 week or even whole 1 year to heal or to see the results. Don't go blaming products if you skip skincare or aren't using it properly. If you are getting rashes you aren't using correct products. If you have sensitive skin I highly suggest you to carefully select your products because anything can give you rashes or irritate your skin. Be careful and take care.

Step 1

Always make sure you know your skin, make sure you are 100% sure with what you want to tackle. The very first step of skincare and general wellbeing is knowing what you want to achieve, for example the sole reason I do skincare is to protect my skin and to make sure my body deserves better. There are many types of skincare routines, you are free to pick one and be dedicated to that.

My skincare consists ONLY of Korean and Japanese products, few of my favorite brands are suwalhsoo, innisfree, hadalabo and such. Skincare is an investment and I hate to say it but splurging on little expensive products REALLY DO make the difference and they do bring a lot of change. If you don't have the budget then I suggest buying trusted drugstore brands (I am kind of unfamiliar with them 😅) and stick to home remedies instead.

I am Asian and we are known to have thousands of home remedies that actually work. Some remedies that I use on daily basis are cucumber and rice water. For this you need to slice cucumber and soak them in rice water for 3-4hrs and put each slice on your face and let it sit for 20-25 mins and don't throw the starch rice water, you can use that in your hair after you shampoo and conditioner put that water in your scalp and massage it keep it for 10mins or so and wash it off for healthy hair, if you have black hair it looks so lustrous and shiny!!

Other remedy is using loose "wet" green tea leaves and mixing it with pure honey, now for this you need to use organic honey for best results. You can't just go and buy honey from grocery store, simply yuck! I suggest you go to organic market and splurge some on organic real honey. Mix those leaves and honey and put the paste on your lips and keep it for 10mins Or so and wash it off, you will get so nice, plumpy and soft lips.

If you don't wanna do all this work then you can simply use a really good lip balm, I used to use various types but in the end I realized that the lip balm they make for babies are the best because they are mild, made with baby safe ingredients so it's best for sensitive skin and it actually works. If you feel like you're too "grown up" to use baby lip balm then I highly suggest any dior lip balm, sure they are expensive but my lips have NEVER FELT SO PRETTY after using dior. Often times with luxury brands these makeup or skincare is either hit or miss but with dior oh! They ate!! It's so good!! You can also simply use innisfree green tea lip balm too, works wonders. Honestly just plain Vaseline also works wonders but choice is yours.

Step 2

Body! This is definitely a sensitive topic but fret not, it's not what you think. By this I mean what goes inside your body also plays a huge role in your skin and body, we need a balanced life by that I mean yea sure healthy greens and well balanced protein options are good but once in a while it's not bad to eat fast food, I absolutely hate how tiktok people say "chemicals" and refuse to use it like boo, everything is chemicals 💀 the only difference is good and bad chemicals. From toothpastes to even the gastric acid that is present inside our body is all chemicals, when will people learn this?

Few steps to have a nourished body are follows:-

Always drink probiotic drinks after you've had a heavy food at the END of the day. My favorite probiotic drink is yakult, it is best to drink at the end of the day because when you are at rest the good bacteria has great chance of working even more prominently.

This one goes out to all the people who can't live without spicy food. Yes, it's time to put down jalapeno, king chili, thai green chili, especially chili powders from India and give your stomach a rest for at least a day. This is a devastating news but I've had a lot of Indian friends who moved to white dominated country and their skin actually improved because food there is super bland and I'm talking full on painful pimples, acne and even healed stomach issues like ulcers, ALL GONE because of bland white people food 😭💀Yes, so you can definitely eat spicy food but don't overdo it in the name of "must have spicy food or I refuse to eat anything"

Please hydrate yourself, and I am sick of hearing "but water tastes bland, can I mix some juice powder?" Umm no?? If you hate the taste of water drink infused water. Some of my favorite infused water "recipes" are cucumber and lemon, blueberries, strawberry. But tbvh you MUST drink water as it is, even if you feel like it's bland, it's for your own good.

Step 3

Gossip, gossip, gossip. It might seem surprising but gossip does play a huge role in lifestyle. It is a factual thing that your skin and body reacts based on how you've been feeling and how you choose to surround yourself. It is true that bad person do have huge affect on your wellbeing...Especially skin, yes you heard that correctly, bad person do affect skin because when you interact with toxic people their ruin your mood, when your mood is ruined you are often faced with so called "negative" feelings like anger, stress and even anxiety. These things bubble up and have negative side affect on your skin and thus make you not only break out but also cause hair loss, headaches and even chronic fatigues.

People underestimate this so much it's crazy! You must remove all the toxic members in your life. If it's family member and you feel obligated then your next best option is to keep a distance or fight back. You deserve the best and surrounding yourself with genuinely nice people will be so wholesome and nourishing for not only your mental health but skin as well.

Toxic people DO ruin your skin and make you break out like hives! Even if it's a relationship, do find the strength to break up with your toxic partners.

So for now I have only done this much I hope you guys enjoyed this mini post. I had come back from this long hiatus yesterday and it took such a long time to do everything, and when I checked the suggestion post a lot of comments were deleted so I could only pull out this many skincare advices, so sorry for super late post and super long hiatus. See y'all in my next post!! 😭🙇🏻‍♀️🙏🏼

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘⋆˚˖𓍢ִ໋🦢˚‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡🪐༘

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igotsnothing · 5 months ago

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"Post 10 Facts About Me"

Thanks for the tag, @greighish (yeeaaaaaah!!) and @lynzishell (your tag asked for fewer facts but, look, this is like winning the lottery, but less fun).

And now, just between you, me, and the internetz:

I love books, stories, etc. I read everything- fiction, non-fiction, etc.

I can drive a stick shift. Do I drive it well? That’s another story. But if we had to flee zombies? I’d come in clutch (pun intendeeeeed).

I HATE ice cream. Hate it with every fiber of my being. It is gross, horrible, and if I have to sample it, imagine me doing so as if in an existentialist black and white French movie with a crackling melancholic soundtrack playing in the background.

I’ve lived in different countries while growing up.

I know all the puppers in my neighborhood by name… but not their owners’ names. Ooops!

I’m an introvert. People don’t believe it because I can be very social and outgoing…But I promise you once I get home, I need to decompress and recharge.

I used to play the Sims 1 when it came out and hoarded cc obsessively on CDs I’d burn. Stopped when 2 came out. Discovered 4 during the pandemic and now I share my silly stories here. I still hoard cc. It’s an illness; pray for me.

Cherries are my favorite fruit.

I give my OCs quirks I have. For example, Sasha has a collection of stupid T-shirts: I have a collection of stupid T-shirts.

I have been drinking a lot of tea. I think I like it more than coffee.

(Me, after sampling ice cream. Beaucoup le sad.)

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cosmica-galaxy · 1 year ago

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Since I absolutely adore pal,, could we have more facts on his personality? Mayhaps silly lil quirks even? /nf!!

~Facts about Pal!~ + Pal is a VERY talented singer! He can sing soprano, opera, crescendo, pop, rock, and electronic. Even A cappella! + Pal is outwardly friendly to most units and, despite his size and VERY powerful ability, he's a gentle giant that doesn't want to fight. + Pal actually has friends outside of his primary pack! He joined the human by choice and left his original pack in search of adventure. He still visits them! As he leaves from time to time to visit his "older pack" that stays together at his older home! + Pal has a collection of music boxes that he's collected! He also likes fancy watches and things that emit noise, like little pocket watches or "stim toys". Bubble wrap is also a fun "toy" to him! + While the human spars or wrestles with other units, especially larger units, Pal wants to try and "play" too. + He's the moderator of the group. If Buddy and Fiend start fighting too much, he'll step in. If the fighting gets really bad or annoying to Pal, he'll flare his frill to the max and it never fails to make the other two behave. + Pal is VERY strong and can easily hold his own against larger skibidis, not to mention his ability to absolutely cripple them or kill them altogether. + He uses his frill to help him hear better, since his sight is not very good. Posters and writing on walls tend to go unnoticed by him if they don't stick out or have a texture. For these reasons, he reads primarily in braille. + Pal eats skibidi jerky and skibidi meat. He has a strong dislike for garlic and will retch if he eats any. His favorite dish is Buttered Skibidi Steak with simple lemon and black pepper! He eats any types of sides, veggie or fruit, as long as garlic isn't present in the dish! + Pal is able to rotate his head 360 degrees! This is how he can lock onto any target while hanging from the ceiling! + Pal, when touched by surprise, will let out a "mrrp!". + Pal's frill is very expressive and flexible, they can wrap around the front of his speaker if he wanted them to! (Example would be to hide his "face") + Pal loves to drink lots of fruit juices and water. Doesn't really care for sodas or energy drinks. Not even coffee. But teas are lovely! + Pal is capable of waiting for long periods of time. He's a very patient mimic. + Pal is also capable of flight! His arms can extend into wings and he becomes a force to be reckoned with. A sound-based nuke that can also fly is why Speaker mimics are NOT to be antagonized. They also use their flight abilities to change positions in elevation, such as moving from a high vantage point to a low vantage point and vice versa. + If there is ever a need for a babysitter, Pal is the one you should ALWAYS go to. He's experienced in helping care for young! Even when he was littler! + Loves his pack, but he loves the human friend the most of all. + Has golden retriever energy. + Loves speakermen the most out of the alliance, even if they may find him a bit scary. Knows Phil and DJ, and they all get along well!

+ Pal can also mimic voices! So he can help in fooling enemies or getting into voice-activated areas!

#haxorus imp #hax speaks #cosmica galaxy #cosmica-galaxy #anonymous #anon asks #anon ask #skibidi tag #skibidi mimic #skibidi toilet mimic

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misc-obeyme · 10 months ago

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sometimes i think about the fact that barbatos is always inviting mc over to try new tea or always brews some when they have business at the castle

and then i think about the fact that I don't like tea irl... just agua de jamaica if that counts, and sweet tea mixed with lemonade 🤣

I wonder if it'd make him more eager to find one that you do like, or if he'd try to accommodate you if you really don't like it and serve something else.

Honestly, the way I am, I might've sucked it up for him and drank it anyway to not be rude ajsjdk. Like for example, I can't eat strawberries because the seeds throw me off texture wise, but my coworker/friend made me chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's, and you best believe I managed to eat 2/4 because I wasn't about to turn down a gift LMAO

- ✨ anon

Yo of course agua de jamaica counts! As does the sweet tea mixed with lemonade (also known as an Arnold Palmer and also is good spiked with vodka~).

I have opinions on this lol. I make my own agua de jamaica, but it's kind of just whatever I thought sounded good so it's not exactly authentic. But the base is hibiscus tea. That is still very much tea. I cold brew mine with loose petals, a stick of cinnamon and a whole piece of star anise... and of course a ton of sugar and a lil bit of honey. But if you look it up, the recipes can vary greatly, but they all have hibiscus tea!

Sweet tea is the same thing - it's just black tea with a butt load of sugar.

I love them both and while I prefer the cold brew method, most traditional recipes call for brewing the tea hot first. And then chilling it in the fridge or with ice. Which is basically the exact same thing as regular tea - it's leaves that are steeped in boiling water. That part's the same!

The thing you might be liking about these two cold varieties is the sugar. Both of them have a high sugar content! So if you don't like drinking hot tea straight (as is often the method in the US), you might like it more if it was made into a tea latte or just had milk and sugar added to it.

I think Barbatos would probably start by trying different things. He might make you a matcha tea latte, which is also quite a different flavor. He might just make you some milk tea. I absolutely headcanon that Barbatos makes his own boba so you know he could just whip you up a bubble tea with boba at any time. Taro is my favorite flavor, but there are so many to choose from!

He might try just making you regular tea with milk and sugar added to it. He might try different blends - regular black tea is pretty boring, but add some cinnamon and cardamom (and other spices) to some Darjeeling and now you've got chai instead, which is delicious. Maybe he makes you a London Fog which is an Earl Grey latte. Maybe he goes with the green tea, which has a more subtle flavor. If you like agua de jamaica, you might like floral teas. Perhaps he gives you some jasmine green tea or some rose or lavender teas. These are all human world variants (because that is what I know... and yeah I know a lot about it lol), so he'd probably also try some Devildom types as well.

If you really don't like any of his offerings, I think he would make something different just for you. Barbatos cares a lot about MC's enjoyment of what he makes. So I don't think he'd want you to just power through something you don't like out of politeness. He would notice right away and call you out on it and then make you something else.

I think Barbatos might be able to find some other teas that you enjoy, but even if he never manages it, I think he would accept that.

He would just be sure to always have a batch of agua de jamaica or sweet tea and lemonade ready for when you come over.

#you see now why I would love to talk tea with Barb #anyway I think he would accommodate you #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me barbatos #om barbatos #✨ anon #misc answers

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accultant · 1 month ago

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✍ : What is your muse’s handwriting like? Is it neat? Sloppy? Fancy?

☕ : Does your muse prefer coffee or tea?

━━★. *･｡ﾟ✧⁺ HEADCANONS !

✍ : What is your muse’s handwriting like? Is it neat? Sloppy? Fancy?

Iago's handwriting varies drastically. When working, they keep it at least neat enough so that they can read it again later ( though it gets a little messier when they're especially stressed or tired ). It's damn near perfect when when corresponding with others and very decorative and pretty. Their blackmail is written elegantly and with perfectly dotted i's and neatly crossed t's. A death threat you could frame. Example below:

But in their journal it's a nightmare. Their chicken scratch is hardly legible to even themselves. Beyond the mess that's going on otherwise, code and acronyms and alternating languages and shorthand and stream of consciousness, the handwriting alone is a complete mess. Horrendous and accurate example below:

☕ : Does your muse prefer coffee or tea?

They prefer coffee ( at all hours of the day ) but eventually grow fond of tea and enjoy learning about the different kinds and preparation. Post-BG3 Iago has an insane tea collection from one of their many phases of trying out as many hobbies and interests as possible to see what sticks since they realize they have none AKA speedrunning a personality. It's also better for their poor heart and anxiety with less caffeine than their usual 6 cups of black coffee a day, they come to realize.

#reading their journal gives you 3d10 psychic damage and thats BEFORE the wards and curses that they have protecting it #halfdeadsacrifice #★. *･｡━━━ 🪤 stupid intruders ~ inbox #★. *･｡━━━ 🐁 where your nightmares end… willard begins! ~ headcanons and fun facts

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snippychicke · 1 year ago

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Cats & Ships Chapter Three

Title: Cats & Ships

Overall Rating: Teen for now? May go into mature at a future date

Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond what's in the live-action series. I mean, Kuro's still manipulative and paranoid. It gets better tho? Slowly?

Pairings: Captain Kuro (Klahadore)/Reader; hints of Kaya/Usopp

Summary: It started out as a means to get information as Khaladore. Who would be better to provide information regarding the high seas than Syrup Village’s Harbormaster? Except, for the first time in a very long time, Kuro found himself trusting, and even liking, the young woman he shared tea with every week.

And then the Straw Hat Pirates arrived and ruined his plans. Except fate decided his story wasn’t done there.

Nor was yours.

Masterlist here! | Read on Ao3!

Returning to piracy was inevitable, as much as Kuro disliked it. He hated the fact that living in relative luxury and peace was at odds with his more… violent tendencies and that occasional thirst for blood.

Which had meant finding Jango and Bezen Black (which wasn't hard. He just had to find the most popular dance hall in the East Blue and there was his First Mate), and then rebuild a crew.

The new crew were as incompetent as his old ones, barely able to follow direction and often trying to improvise instead of sticking to the plan. But after making a few examples of those who crossed them, they had mostly fallen in line.

Kuro couldn’t trust them -- but he couldn't trust anyone, not even Jango. Gone were the moments he could relax and not worry about finding a knife suddenly in his back, or poison in his drink.

He had to be on guard. Always. Show no mercy, not a hint of weakness.

The raiding of a passenger ship between his old haunting grounds of Syrup village and Shell Town was supposed to be routine. Smash, grab, disappear before any of the marine vessels could answer the distress call. (So far no one had seemed to take his victims seriously when they claimed to be attacked by the Black Cat Pirates, but it was only a matter of time. Soon he would have a bounty on his head and an even larger target on his back.)

But of course, things had to go sideways. But in a way he had not anticipated. And that was when a small black streak shot across the deck towards the huddled group of passengers, snarling and hissing as it launched itself at one of his crew.

Except a well timed kick sent the beast flying. Kuro's eye twitched when he realized the creature was a black and white cat, but it was the scream that followed that made Kuro pause his descent into the hull.

“Kuro!”

He knew that voice. He turned in time to see you try to lunge for the cat, only to be kneed in the chest by the same man who had punted the cat across the deck.

"What did you just call that fleabag?" The man laughed, which was echoed by the rest of the crew in charge of keeping an eye on the passengers. "Did you really name your cat after the pirate captain? Well, my pretty little bird, it's your lucky day."

Kuro took a breath. He should ignore it and continue on. Nevermind you or his namesake, or the sudden pang beneath his ribs as he remembered the time he had spent with you over the years. Or how fond he had grown of the one-eyed cat that unknowingly carried his name.

Yet for some reason, he couldn't. The captain growled to himself as he turned and strode quickly to where the cat was climbing to its feet, obviously not used to the sway of a ship on open water. Or at least, Kuro… hoped. He hoped that was the cause of the cats shakiness and not something else.

Picking a cat up with his Cat Claws would be impossible, making Kuro hesitate for a moment. Yet as soon as the cat recognized the towering figure, he was quickly climbing up the pirate's pant leg with plaintive whine.

Soon, his namesake was settled in the nook of one of his arms, acting as if he hadn't just been treated like a ball.

Which left you. Kuro turned to see you curled in a ball against the deck, shielding yourself from the boots of the pirates. His anger took control before he could think.

Within a second he was behind the man who started it. The five blades of one Cat Claw easily slide into the man's back, ending the laughter with a choked breath.

Silence quickly fell just as fast as the dead body hit the deck.

"We're not here to torture the passengers," Kuro stated coldly to the others, pushing his glasses back up as he glared down at the corpse. "Follow the plan, or the next person to step out of line will answer to me as well."

"Sir, yes sir!" They shouted before scattering. Kuro waited until they were gone before glancing towards you. You were still half-laying on the deck, your eyes wide and full of tears, hair a mess…

But it was the blood smeared across your face and arms that made his temper flare even more. A busted lip, abrasions marring your skin…

"On your feet," he commanded, though far softer than if you had been anyone else.

There was no doubt that you recognized him, not with the mixed expression on your face. Relief. Hope. Anger. Hurt.

Which meant you knew. Knew everything. He couldn't trust you either. Not any more.

You opened your mouth a few times, almost as if to say something before giving up and silently standing, wavering slightly. He wasn’t sure if you were shaky due to the abuse you had sustained, or the fact the seas were somewhat choppy today. Either way, he allowed you a moment to gain your balance before he turned back towards his ship.

"Follow me." He stated and was able to hear your unsteady steps as you complied without argument and followed him over the gangway plank that bridged the ships.

He paused for a moment when you hesitated at the edge, shooting you a glance over his shoulder. It was all the warning you needed as you quickly stepped up on the narrow plank that served as a bridge.

Despite being more than a few feet in front of you. Kuro could here your faint whimpers as you slowly crossed, and recalled you weren't fond of heights.

Which, now that he had a moment to think, he had to wonder what in the blue seas were you doing out here? So far away from Syrup village? From the harbor you so dearly loved? You had never expressed the slightest interest to leave before, so what could compel you to do so?

He led you to his quarters, and carefully allowed Kuro-the-cat to jump down on the swinging bed before removing the Cats Claws. "Please, close the door,” he stated when he heard you linger at the door. “I don't think we want Kuro trying to explore the rest of the ship."

You closed the door, though you didn't move a step from it. "Is…Is he okay?" you finally spoke.

Kuro smiled faintly to himself as he ran his bare hands along the cat in question, the cat purring happily with no flinching as he felt his ribs and legs. "He's fine. Cats have nine-lives, after all."

Once he was satisfied the cat wasn't injured, he finally turned towards you. You quickly looked away, your face flushed as you hugged your arms to yourself, obviously terrified.

He could hardly blame you, he could only imagine what was going on in your mind. How much of the truth did Kaya tell the village? Or did she just give a small hint and the rumor mill cause the story to develop in unexpected ways.

Regardless, seeing you covered in blood unsettled him in ways he rather not admit. Kuro moved silently as he grabbed a clean cloth before dipping it in the wash basin, wetting it slightly before approaching you.

"Now, are you okay?" He spoke as a warning before cupping your face, though you still jumped. His grip was gentle as he guided you to look towards him, carefully wiping the blood away.

Honestly, they were minor injuries but still made his blood boil.

(If only he could kill the idiot again. He should have taken his time. He wasn’t usually a fan of torture, but he could’ve made an exception.)

"Khala--" you cut off as his eyes met yours, and he arched an eyebrow, curious. "...Captain Kuro," you finished, as if acknowledging the elephant in the room.

Kuro's smile widened slightly, becoming cat-like as he stated your name in return before asking the question still bothering him. "What are you doing so far from home?"

Your expression melted into grief unexpectedly before you pulled away from him. "Finding a new one."

He pushed away the feeling caused by you stepping back and wadded up the bloodied cloth instead.“Did you finally realize you deserved better than that squalor of a village?” he asked as he tossed the cloth in a basket of other dirtied clothes.

You scoffed, your gaze taking on a hard edge. “Hardly. More like I was no longer welcomed. After all, no one would trust a harbormaster who had been friends with a devious lying pirate.”

Kuro nodded his head slightly, not particularly insulted; that did make sense, he supposed. He hadn’t really given thought about the fallout of that night, other than the chances of the marines realizing that he still lived.

He could easily see the villagers turning on you, the seeds of distrust quickly taking root and threatening to bloom into chaos.

“My apologies,” he stated after a moment as he turned to check on his namesake, who had hopped up on the shelving holding items he had collected over the years. “Nothing went according to my plans, it seems.”

“Your plans? Your plans?” He turned back to see fire in your eyes as you glared at him. “For fucks’ sake, Klahadore-Kuro-whatever your name is, I had once admired you for your ingenuity and always being one step ahead, pirate or not. But mother sea, I had never realized you to be such an idiot!”

“Excuse me?” He felt an eye twitch in annoyance, irritation quickly simmering. Him? An idiot? The great Kuro of a thousand plans? Who were you to say such a thing? A tiny little harbormaster that had perhaps one of the quietest ports in all of the East Blue?

“Why the hell did you think you needed to kill Kaya to get what you want?” You snarled, either not recognizing the signs of anger, or foolishly ignoring them. “She said it herself, she would have happily given you whatever you wanted! You were fucking family to her! Hell, now she's left the manor and the rest of the estate to the village so she can go off and become a doctor! Were you so blinded by greed to not see how much we--she-- cared for you?”

Kuro hesitated, digesting your words and the implications. Could it have been that easy? Would Kaya have agreed to such a thing? And what did you mean the girl had left the village as well? A doctor? Why would she give up a life of luxury to be a doctor of all things?

“It never crossed your mind, did it?” you continued after the silence lingered a few more moments. “You lived with us for three years, took care of the girl with such devotion… And you were so heartless that you never paused to think that maybe could be the path to your goal.”

“You’ll get nowhere if you expect your goals to be handed to you on a silver platter," he argued sharply, stalking back towards you. "It’s best to take them, by force.”

To emphasize his point, he grabbed your neck roughly, just below your chin to make you look up at him. He could feel your pulse bounding against his bare fingers, your eyes widening in fear.

It would be so easy to twist your neck. Or squeeze his hand until you couldn’t breathe and he could watch the life fade slowly from your eyes.

Except the longer he watched you, the more the bloodlust faded and something akin to regret took its place, causing his grip lightened. You… you had been one of the rare ones.

One of the few he had trusted. The only one he had trusted in recent memory.

“Are you going to kill me?” you spoke after a long moment, snapping him out of his thoughts. There was a cold darkness that seemed wrong in your eyes. “Had that been part of your plan as well?”

No. It hadn’t. He had expected the arrangement with you to continue after Kaya’s ‘unfortunate’ death, until he tired of playing Klahadore and could no longer ignore the need for violence that was constantly itching in the back of his mind.

Hell, he could at least admit that he had entertained the thoughts of seeing if he could progress his relationship with you more than once. There was no denying he found you attractive, both physically as well as intellectually.

He… had liked you.

He still liked you.

Kuro’s hands traced down the line of your neck, watching the vein in your neck quiver as your heart raced. Your skin darkened with a blush, starting in the swell of your cheeks and quickly spreading. He always loved seeing you blush.

If only you didn’t look so scared. As if you expected the Cat Claws to suddenly form and end your life.

That trust he had enjoyed had been irreversibly damaged. No more tea while venting about the little annoyances of quiet village life. Or the warmth he felt when you mindlessly prepared him another cup exactly the way he liked it while you talked, putting a cookie on the saucer if he didn't take one.

“No,” he finally answered, allowing his hand to drop. He turned, trying to calm himself as he picked up his namesake. Kuro-the-cat initially complained as he picked him up, before shifting and curling against his shoulder, purring.

Maybe he should see about getting a cat for the ship. After all, they were the Black Cat Pirates. It would keep vermin out of the pantry at least.

There was no better companion than a cat.

“I wish you well, in fact,” he continued as he dropped the cat into your arms. “Your talents were wasted at Syrup village, harbormaster or not. Just be careful to avoid any other pirates in the future.”

#kuro one piece #one piece kuro #klahadore #captain kuro #black cat pirates #one piece #opla

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cellarspider · 2 months ago

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Qunlat 9/12: Compound word construction

⭅ Previous =⦾ Index ⦾= Next ⭆

As we start thinking about Qunlat names, let’s examine one last thing and take a moment to look at compound words and derived words, because we’ll be drawing on their patterns and style. In brief: They work like English most of the time, but there are notable exceptions that provide us some more flexibility to work with.

Compound words are any word that’s made up of meaningful parts that can stand on their own: “blackbird” is a compound because “black” and “bird” can be used independently. “Blackened” is a derivation instead of a compound, because “-en” and “-ed” have to be attached to a word. It’s derived from a root word and these derivational suffixes.

Qunlat has a lot of compound and derived words. I’ll get into some of my theories about them when I transition into talking about Expanded Qunlat, but for now let’s stick within the guardrails here.

Two notes before we dive in: Qunlat compounds are often hyphenated, for a number of reasons: if they’d otherwise create deceptive consonant clusters (ex. notas-taar), confusing syllable boundaries (basalit-an), or mess with the aesthetics (viddath-bas). Some non-compounds seem to possibly have an obligatory hyphen to show that one of the parts is a standalone grammatical modifier that forms part of the overall meaning, but this isn’t consistent.

And as always, be wary of the canon dictionary. Some compounds in there are just straight up wrong etymologically, and unfortunately the rather notable word asala-taar seems to be one of them.⁽¹⁾ Keep this in mind when looking for references.

Compounds can be formed a number of ways: noun-noun compounds, for example, usually have a “head” that tells you what the thing is, and a “modifier” that tells you what kind of thing it is. In English, the modifier comes first: A “bookshelf” is a shelf for books rather than a book for a shelf, a “teapot” is a pot for tea and not tea in a pot, “ice cream” is a kind of cream that’s frozen, not ice that’s made into cream. Some compounds like “ice cream” can have spaces or hyphens in them and still count as a compound word, because of how they function together as a single unit.

Qunlat usually puts noun-noun compounds in the same order as English: Vitaar is “poison-armor”, for example. Ben-Hassrath breaks this a little with the previously discussed “Ben-” possessed prefix, but “Hassrath” follows this as well: “heart-(of the) many”.

Of course, Philliam, a Bard! complicates things, and in this case, it’s literally bullshit. Or rather, vashe-qalab: “shit-(of?)-cow”. This is why I’ve managed to convince myself that -e may be a possessed marker like ben-, because it seems like it’s a grammatical suffix, and its presence may reverse the order of compounding, making Qunlat bullshit more like Spanish bullshit than English bullshit–while idiomatically you’d just say mierda, a literal translation in spanish would be mierda de toro: Shit of the bull. That’s a compound in head-possessive-modifier order.

The other thing that muddies the waters are item names in DA2, which I’ve previously noted as being highly irregular. Compounds there are a jumbled mix of head-initial and head-final. For example: Antaam-Taar Iss, a cuirass for experienced fighters. Antaam-Taar literally means “body-armor”, so that’s head-final. …But with Iss meaning “(the) experienced”, Antaam-Taar Iss is head-initial, and it implies an absent possessive marker of some kind. So now we have a pattern of head-initial compounds specifically if the head noun is a possessed object, and the modifier is the possessor. Annoying to keep track of, but personally, I like the funky precedent this sets.

Verb-noun compounds are all over the place in Indo-European languages, and wouldn’t you know it, they follow the same order in Qunlat again! Beres-taar, shield, seems to literally mean “reaching ahead-armor”. Most canon verb-noun compounds are names, so we’ll get back to them later. Verb-verb compounds are rare in English and in canon Qunlat, to the point where I can’t 100% call any compound verbs from canon definitions.

Qunlat adjective-noun compounds are similarly ordered in modifier-head order. Qunlat doesn’t have many of these, in part because there are very few adjectives in the language, and even defining what counts as an adjective is hard. Functionally, they don't exist as a distinct category. But it has one very notable one that’s worth mentioning: aqun-athlok. Literally translating to “balance(d)-mind”, it can also be read as a verb-noun compound, an adjective-noun compound, or a special kind of noun-noun compound that I want an excuse to ramble about, so I’m taking it.

If read as a noun-noun compound,⁽²⁾ aqun-athlok doesn’t follow this pattern of head and modifier, called a dvandva. First described by grammarians of Sanskrit,⁽³⁾ dvandva are compounds where two or more nouns join to create a single, distinct concept. For example, many languages use the equivalent of “mom-dad” to mean “parents”, Chinese and Japanese use “mountain(s)-river(s)” to mean “scenery”, Nahuatl uses “the flower, the song” to mean “poetry”, “artistic endeavor”, or “the divine effects of teotl”. Friulian uses “ocean-world” to mean “the universe”.

Was talking about dvandvas a tangent? You bet. A tangent with a purpose–This post is about empowering people to start thinking about possibilities for names. Dvandvas give you a lot of room to play with in a language where the canon dictionary is hugely weighted toward nouns. Start thinking about how two ideas can be brought together to form something new, that fits your sense of who your character is.

Next time, we’ll get into canon names of Qunari, Tal-Vashoth, and Vashoth, and how we can classify them.

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Footnotes

(1) From what I can reconstruct: asala-taar is defined canonically as “soul sickness”. But in every other word we have, taar means “armor”, “materiel”, or “keep”: Taarbas, beres-taar, and, probably explaining our present problem, vitaar. Vitaar is canonically defined as “poison armor”. So my guess is that someone saw that in the dictionary, and tried to make a compound without fully considering how the word vitaar was built. They took the wrong half of the word.

Sometimes this does happen IRL, it’s called rebracketing: the same process that brought us “-burger” foods, when “Hamburger” originally meant “a thing or person from the German city of Hamburg”. But rebracketing most often happens when speakers aren’t aware of the underlying etymology of a word, from casual speech, or are doing so in a flippant way (ex. “Chocoholic” from “alcoholic”), and given the theological seriousness of soul-sickness and the common root words in vitaar, I find it unlikely that this rebracketing would happen. Sorry y’all, it should be asala-vi.

(2) As said, canon Qunlat has no real distinction between adjectives and nouns, so how we even classify these is hard. A dvandva usually is structured as an “X and Y” kind of thing, rather than “a Y for X”, and both are possible reads of aqun-athlok….depending on what the components mean. Aqun can mean “balance”, “unchanging”, or describe a dynamic equilibrium and flow with the natural order of things that’s suspiciously similar to a layperson’s understanding of the Dao. Athlok can mean “mind”, “earth”, or “laborer”. So, is this “balanced mind”, or “unchanging, fluid way and solid earth”? Don’t know! Either would probably be theologically defensible from a Qun standpoint.

(3) Sanskrit grammar is so cool and so intimidating, not only because of the complexity of Sanskrit literature, but also because of the literal millennia of scholarship on the subject. One of the biggest names in the field was a linguist who lived somewhere between 2300-2600 years ago. He’s sometimes called the father of linguistics, and with good reason!

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#dragon age #qunari #qunlat #conlangs

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mamamittens · 1 year ago

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500+ follower event!

As decided by popular vote, a food themed ask box event!

Running from 9-12-23 to 9-19-23, hopefully the menu makes sense!

Milkshake themed!

Here’s our menu for the special 500+ follower event running from 9-12-23 to 9-19-23! To enter your order, just put it in my ask box! I may suspend the ask box if I get overwhelmed, but all asks put in during this time frame are eligible for this event.

Who can go on an order? Why, you and a character of your choice as long as they are +18. Please clarify if this is a character from a specific fandom, otherwise I will assume One Piece as that’s my most active fandom at this time.

For yourself, please include a short description for your pronouns (F!, M!, GN!, AFAB, and AMAB), appearance, style, and personality. I just need a reasonable amount of information to write your stand in with. If there’s a particular quirk or detail you want focus put on, please do include it!

If I’ve written for you before, an OC may go in your place! I’m sticking to just what’s in the ask box, so if you don’t include it, I won’t know!

All I ask is that you keep it relatively simple, polite, and short since I don’t know if there’s a character limit to the ask box. Should you need multiple asks, make it clear which are yours.

If you intend to ask for a +18 order (smut), I advise you to be at least 18 as I voluntarily flag all my +18 content. In this particular context, I especially need to know AFAB/AMAB so I may write appropriately.

Flavor – Universe

Vanilla – Canon

Chocolate – Modern

Toffee – coffee shop au

Vanilla swirl – Office au

Strawberry – Fantasy

Cake – royal au

Chunks – fantasy creature au (feel free to specify who is what)

Add ins – Relationship

Caramel syrup – Childhood friends

Chocolate syrup – Strangers

Strawberry syrup – Unbalanced relationship

Fruit – Arranged marriage

Gummy candy – Enemies to lovers

Cookies – Coworkers

Flambe (on fire) – Fling

Powdered sugar – One sided crush

Toppings – Reception?

Sprinkles – Nervous

Whip cream – Confident

Cherry – Sweet

Fries - Casual

Additional shots* - Get a room!

NSFW+18 ONLY

Alcoholic shots (kinks) to be added to your milkshake or your partners! Please phrase it as “shot of X for (A)/me” to identify who receives the act. There is no limit but bear in mind a complicated order could take much longer! And some shots may interact in unusual ways, so if you have a squick please bear that in mind.

To specifically request something not be present when it is otherwise implied, please ask “to hold X”.

White Russian – Creampie/Cum play

Hot Damn – Praise kink

Mind Eraser – Degradation

Afterburner – Choking/breathplay

Jell-o shot – Edging

Pineapple Upside Down Cake – Oral

Alice in Wonderland – Size Kink

Motor Oil – Marking

Kamikaze – Temperature play (Served hot or cold for temp preferences)

Jager Bomb – Rough Sex (Extra strong is hate sex)

Green Tea shot – Soft Sex

Pink Schnapps – Dom/Sub (The person receiving this shot will be designated the ‘Sub’)

Black Jack – Restraints

Brain Hemorrhage - Overstimulation

Special side treat (totally optional!)

Mochi Ice Cream – Yandere

Vanilla – Obsessive

Red bean – Possessive

Grean tea – Delusional

Strawberry – Protective

Coffee – Manipulative

An example of an order would be as follows:

“Hi! Doffy and I would like a strawberry cake milkshake with strawberry, caramel syrup and powdered sugar (for me!). Whip cream and a cherry on top, please! A red bean mochi would also be nice! Add in an Alice in wonderland, black jack (for me), pink schnapps (also me), and a hot damn too! I go by “Sky” and I’m a short but lanky guy (masc pronouns please) with black curls, tan skin, and dark eyes. I’m nervous and tend to freeze when shocked before rambling. I blush really easily too… unfortunately.”

#500 follower event #shake date #anime event #ask box event #one piece #I JUST REALIZED WHY THE UNIVERSE CHOICES SEEMED SO ODD #IT'S CAUSE TUMBLR DESTROYED THE FORMATTING #FOAMING AT THE MOUTH RIGHT NOW #FIXED-ISH #MODERN AND FANTASY NOW HAVE SUB CATEGORIES #SORT OF #RATHER THAN A LIST OF WEIRD AU CHOICES #I AM SO SORRY

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