#i love answering questions but i for the life of me cannot be general

[aprilblossomgirl]

i feel like i'm hurting so much for faifa in this episode. he doesn't deserve to hear that many hurtful words. before i continue, i think i need to say this first: as an asian myself, i will always understand why most (asian) shows choose forgiveness when dealing with bad parents/parenting, no matter how unforgivable they might be seen by the rest of the audience. and that, i believe, is not of any agenda by the showmaker. of course, to not generalize it, few medias didn't go through that route because of a different preference or goal in the storytelling. however, understanding forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean i believe it is always the 'right' way of wrapping up an arc.

thinking about the upcoming faifawine's story starting next week, i feel like some dialogues in this episode, no matter how they really felt off to me, are intentionally right there as a further backstory for faifa. and especially if the directing choice of faifa's expression changes through that scene with the whole family is anything to go by.

when yotha called fai, he said this first: "Tell me honestly. Don’t be scared of hurting anyone." as if yotha knows that fai always keeps his feelings to himself to avoid hurting anyone else.

fai trying to come up with a reasoning, "I was probably just angry with her, but I think everyone was hurt by what happened— Dad, Newton, and Mom." as if to avoid answering yotha's question, "Do you hate her?" with his real answer.

"If Mom really wanted to abandon us, why would she have taken me with her?" shows that fai was not being optimistic (as yotha implied) but somehow trusted the mom. only to be shattered later, "I thought if I brought Faifa who loves being with his Dad and brothers, at least he would ask me to bring him back to visit everyone often and we’d all see each other sometimes. On the other hand, if I’d brought you, Yotha, we might have been so happy that we wouldn’t have wanted to come back and see anyone here again..." (what nonsense! i cannot understand any logic behind this one.) in a way implying that she might haven't been that happy with fai, which somehow validate what he and yotha had been talking about before: "I don’t know why she took me with her even though you were the one who wanted to go." / "Because she loves you more than me." / "That’s definitely not the reason." oh, i was right. mom doesn't love me. but she's hurting. but...

imagine being faifa, hearing all of those hurtful excuses, but his immediate response was trying to justify why mom did what she did instead of trying to validate the real feeling he himself was having. and i say this with my whole being: that's a pretty accurate representation of how we, asian kids, mostly were nurtured. the scene just stabbed me right in the heart.

faifa might haven't said anything, but his face didn't lie. you could very clearly see how his face instantly dropped once mom told her reason for taking him instead of yotha at that time. and i still cannot forget the face he made a few episodes back when mom gave him something he was allergic to. the level of gaslighting here is too suffocating to witness. the emotional neglect just hits too hard. i cannot even begin to break it further into fai's loneliness.

all these made me wonder how the upcoming third arc will 'deal' with fai's inner wound. i hope the show won't brush it off because i think it would add more depth to the romance part, how he navigates his feelings once someone finally enters his life, as it has been implied that wine was also dealing with heartbreak.

[spilycoris]

dropping into ur ask inbox to say u should absolutely infodump about ur lamb btw im so curious about them

throws around confetti.

i appreciate.. the ask.. and also i am very clueless when it comes to actual infodumping cause i thrive when people ask specific questions but i can definitely drop like basic info but I BEG OF YOU. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THNGS SPECIFICALLY. i am willing to share relationships etc etc just ASK

so my lamb, a valais blacknose, is called moros (like the personification of impending doom from greek mythology!) and they use they/them as.. most do.

their preferred weapon is a spear (as said in their current reference sheet) and that spear's base is ratau's staff which they carry around constantly as some kind of remembrance (cause you know that trope of a character carrying around an item that once belonged to one of their loved ones because the died? yeah. that.)

they're a silly and whimsical fella. rarely takes anything seriously. they're arrogant. hubristic. and i hope they explode. overly nice to their followers and then the bishops are victims of their bullying (affectionate). thinks violence is a good coping mechanism. i mean they picked the fight pit ritual and rite of wrath. so do with that what you will.

drops a hammer on them

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[aparticularbandit]

How do your faith + trans support interlock with each other?

(This isn't me looking for a fight, I genuinely want to know.)

I don't want people to die.

I cannot share the love of Christ with someone if they are dead.

[cydork]

Alien Questionnaire - A Biological Perspective

A while ago, somebody linked me a very comprehensive worldbuilding questionnaire. For most aspects of a fictional society, it was great, but I noticed it assumed that anyone using it was making up a fictional human society, or at least a society of beings very similar to humans. As such, there was almost nothing in the biology department, which to me is one of the best parts! Thus, this questionnaire was born.

These questions are designed to help people worldbuild from a biological foundation. As such, the questionnaire only touches lightly on other aspects of a fictional society, and is more of a jumping off point. I wrote it with the aim of using it to develop aliens, but it should be suitable for any project with non-humanoid species, such as sapient terrestrial animals.

Have fun! I'd love to see your answers :)

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General Anatomy How many limbs do they have? Do they have limbs at all?

What are their primary manipulators? Where are they located? How does this affect their tool use, building ability, etc?

What kind of body covering do they have, e.g. hair, scales, feathers? How do they clean it? Do they shed this covering constantly, or all at once at certain times? 

Can they maintain a constant body temperature? If not, how do they deal with changing environmental temperatures? 

What kind of habitat do they live in? Both specific habitat, and broader such as on land vs in water.

What adaptations do they have for living in this habitat?

What kind of creature did they evolve from?

What are the similarities and differences to their closest living relatives? 

What resource(s) is the most necessary and urgent for them? E.g. for many animals, but not all, it’s water.

What are some common mutations? E.g. eye colours, ability to digest lactose in humans.

What injuries or illnesses are considered disabling? 

How is their healing ability? Can they regenerate? If they can, is that limited to certain body parts or a certain number of times?

Senses What senses do they have? E.g. sight, smell, electroreception, etc.

How good are those senses?

Which of their sense/s do they use the most in everyday life?

How might this choice of sense impact the way they interact with the world? 

Can they detect things that Earth creatures cannot? If yes, how and why?

Movement  How do they move? Do they walk, crawl, fly, etc? 

If they have multiple modes of movement, which is preferred, and why?

Which part/s of their body do they use to move?

What is their speed and endurance like? 

How agile are they? 

Do they rely mainly on their own bodies for travel, or do they use pack animals and machines? 

How often do they move around? Are they mainly sedentary, do they move a lot within a set area, do they migrate, etc?

Do they have different levels of mobility depending on age, sex, or other biological group? E.g. young barnacles are able to swim, while adults are anchored permanently to a surface. 

Reproduction and Lifecycle  How many sexes are there? 

Are there differences between the sexes (ignoring the reproductive system)? 

Are there different castes, such as in honeybees or naked mole rats? If so, what is the function of each caste? 

Are differences in sex or caste used to justify discrimination or hierarchy? How might these ideas differ in different populations? 

Do they have a concept of gender? If so, is gender affected by sex, caste, or some other factor?

How do they attract a mate? Do they release a chemical into the air, do an elaborate display, etc?

Does one individual try to actively woo another, or is courtship more mutual?

What do they find attractive in members of the same species?

What is the usual reproductive partnership? E.g. two individuals, one main reproducing individual with a harem, no set partner, etc. 

How long do they live?

How are young brought into the world? Live birth, eggs, spores, etc?

Is producing young a painful, dangerous process, or is it easy?

How much parental investment is there? Are there many young with little investment, or few young with a lot of investment (r vs K strategy)? Or is it somewhere in the middle? 

How many offspring are produced at a time? Think about how attitudes towards children may differ between a species that produces one or two, and a species that produces dozens or even hundreds at a time.

How do they grow? Are they born looking like miniature adults, gradually growing bigger? Do they have specific phases of high growth, like puberty? Do they have a larval phase, metamorphosis? 

How self-sufficient are they as young? Can they move around and feed themselves as soon as they are born? Do they require parental care? 

What is the usual structure of childcare? Single or multiple parents/related individuals? Communally raised? 

Is sex purely for reproduction, or does it serve other purposes?

What kind of sexuality is considered the norm? This doesn’t just refer to same/other sex pairings, but the culture around sex in general.

Diet and Foodchain What is their diet? Are they carnivores, omnivores, frugivores, insectivores, etc?

Do they feed off an unusual source, for example rocks, metals, or (in appropriate settings) something like magic or souls?

What physical adaptations do they have for this diet? 

Is their diet very restricted, or can they have a wide range of foods?

How often do they eat? What is the culture around mealtimes, if any?

Are they prey for other organisms? For each other?

If they are, how do they deal with it? Do they fight back, have barriers, or do they accept it as a part of life?

If they are hunters themselves, what is their attitude to killing other organisms? Are they respectful? Prideful of their kill? Is it completely trivial? 

If they are hunters, how do they hunt? Are they solitary or packhunters? Are certain members of the group designated to hunt? 

Are the results of foraging or hunting shared, or is it everyone for themself?

Are they parasitic, parasitised, or in a symbiotic relationship with any other organisms? 

Body Rhythms How often do they sleep?

What time of the day are they most active? Are they nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular? 

Do they generally sleep for one long period a day, multiple shorter periods throughout, or something in between? 

Do they sleep to cope with extreme temperatures or bad conditions, i.e. hibernate or aestivate?

Do they have any biological processes that disrupt their life e.g. moulting, reproductive cycles, etc?

If yes, how does their society accommodate for these processes? Does it accommodate them at all? 

Communication What is their main method of communication? Sound, visuals, scent, etc? Think about their main sense and how this would affect communication.

What is their body language like? What small moving parts might aid their body language?

If they have multiple methods of communication, are they all given equal weight, or is one considered higher than others? 

Society How sociable are they? 

If social, what is the usual social structure? 

Are there hierarchies? How strict or relaxed are the roles?

How are disputes usually settled? Is it more common to be violent or appease the other party? 

If not social, what is the reaction to being with other individuals? Do they become aggressive or stressed? Do they tolerate each other? 

What is the usual size of a community? Do they have communities at all? 

Do they have an in-group vs out-group mentality? If so, how strong is it? This generally relates to how scarce or plentiful resources were during their evolution, and how territorial their ancestors were.

What kind of bonds do they form? 

On the spectrum of individualistic to community-oriented, where do they fall?

Do they have a strong sense of personal identity? Think about how this might tie in with the previous question. 

What are the main things they derive identity from? Occupation, gender, family ties, etc?

Do they have names? If yes, how are these names formed? Are they given by another party or chosen by the individual?

Have they domesticated any creatures? If so, what do they use these creatures for?

Do they have any unusual relationships with other creatures on their planet (beyond predation, parasitism or mutualism)?

Do they produce art? What are their main forms of artistic expression? Think about how this will be linked to their main sense(s), communication method, and/or primary manipulators.

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GLOSSARY Primary manipulator: Main body part used to manipulate objects, e.g. hands in humans, trunks in elephants, feet in parrots.

Sedentary: Inactive, staying in the same place.

Caste (reproductive): A group within a species with differences in body type and reproductive ability.

Symbiosis/Mutualism: Interactions where both parties benefit, e.g. cleaner fish getting a meal in exchange for picking irritating parasites off larger fish.

Aestivate: To become inactive during hot or dry periods, usually involving being sealed in mucus or soil e.g. lungfish, snails. 

Reproductive cycle: Regular hormone fluctuations that affect an animal’s fertility or attitude towards breeding. The cycles can range from months to years and can include things such as antler growth in male deer, heat cycles, and menstruation in humans.

[adrinktostopyourthirst]

incoming smutty thoughts:

the other night i had a dream i asked something like “how come you always tell me to talk and you rarely do?” and he replied “i like your voice more.” so we know bucky is the “ask for what you want type,” but do you think he’s more or less verbal than her in bed? he’s generally quiet, do you think maybe that leads to him talking dirty more?

Oh, I love this, because I do often write about him dirty talking.

I think we all know that Bucky only speaks when he absolutely has to and even then, it's usually something sarcastic or cynical. Also, Bucky isn’t the best with words. Yes, he can lie and manipulate well, but most of that is body language and perception. It’s fascinating how few words he has to utilise to get what he wants. His skill is mainly in listening and observing and most people know this about him, so they let him.

Just as most people have the good sense to be somewhat on their guard around him, especially when Bucky doesn’t bother to be sly about keeping a close eye on everyone and everything. But he has never really been able to unnerve you. Or… Maybe he has, but it only made you talk more. You share unapologetically and you ramble and you show most of your emotions. At first, he thought it was foolish to be so open and vulnerable. Now, he can see it has probably saved your life (and others’ lives) more times than he can count. With you living, speaking and feeling so out in the open, he doesn’t have to pay so much attention to you.

And yet…

The man cannot stop himself from paying attention to you. Everything else just kind of blurs. It mostly amuses everyone around Bucky how distracted he gets. They pull petty little pranks when he isn’t paying attention. And they fail awkwardly, because Bucky might be smitten, but he’s still a trained soldier.

So yes, Bucky is quiet and you’ve always known that about him. You expected him to be more quiet in bed, too. But he has learned that he loves how responsive you are and it just so happens that you get more responsive when he speaks to you. When Bucky has his tongue buried between your legs or his cock hitting your cervix, he usually grounds you by splaying a wide palm over your back, or thigh, or tummy. However, Bucky has found he likes the way you shudder when he mumbles against your neck or the shell of your ear. He likes how you can only respond with a soft mewl when he uses his voice.

Sometimes he asks you a question and then drives his cock into you with a thorough thrust at the end, making you writhe under him and choke on air. Then he nuzzles his nose over your pulse with a soft laugh. “Who’s the quiet one now, huh?”

You want to answer him, you do, but fuck– his fingers are at your clit and his teeth bite into your collar bone and he’s moaning and– and– Oh God… But he talks you through it. Every step of the way. Teasing. Coaxing. Soothing. Praising.

“That’s the spot.”

“Look at you,” when your eyes roll to the back of your head.

“Hug me tighter, sweetheart,” he’ll groan when you clench around him tightly. “Fuck. Good girl.”

“That’s my girl,” when you come. And the sounds you make - that will have him nearly go blind with pleasure. “There you go. Keep coming for me.”

[erinsreadings]

tarot game: cupid's arrow

status: closed!

this tarot game if dedicated for valentine's! (one of my favorite days of the year) this year, i wanted to create a meaningful way to explore the themes of love, connection, and self-discovery through these cupid-inspired arrows. whether you’re single, in a relationship, or focusing on self-love, there’s a message for you. make sure to follow the rules carefully below.

rules

you must be following me, no exceptions

if you are anon, include the first and last part of username for example @/e____5, so i know if you did or not

you must include the color of the arrow you would like

you must include your name or initals AND pronouns (& your person's initals or name AND pronouns if it includes someone else)

you must include your valentine's day plans even if you have none

you must say thank you!

you must reblog & like my pinned post

all asks that meet the guidelines will be answered, do not rush me or be rude. i am a full-time student with a job. if you submitted an ask after the game was closed & it is denied, you cannot send another ask because the game is closed.

when the game is closed, it is closed and this post will be updated. only send asks to my heart / ask box. replies after the post is closed will be deleted, no questions asked.

all asks will be answered before Valentine's Day!

color of the arrows

mauve how are you percieved by other lovers / how do they see you, what are the best qualities you have to offer as a lover, romantic interest

blush if your love life were a movie, what would it be? what is your troupe, your plot, upcoming events, what fictional character you resemble the most in terms of love, etc.

poppy a general love reading for february & what's to come, including how your valentine's might go. (avaliable to people that have a person in mind)

sangria random things channeled about your next lover could include physical apperance, personality, quirks, their love language, your dynamic, etc.

cherry what does your highest self want you to know about love? guidance on embodying the version of you that attracts the love you deserve and how your highest self views you now.

rose any one (1) love question that you would like to ask (that follows my guidelines, listed on my pinned post) and include the details of the other person involved if it involves someone else

have fun lovers! i will begin answering these in a few days!

[were--ralph]

Hey i saw you ranting about trans men on a post, and i was just wondering a few things. This is a genuine question, as a stelth trans man, i really cant find anything about a pre op transitioning body attractive. Especially a pre op Chest. Now i do take testosterone, and i think that the parts that i find gross (ex: tits mixed with chest hair) are a perfectly acceptable thing to deal with so i can look the way i want to look. I love my body hair and my muscle growth, i just dont love the obviously not cis parts of me. What do you find attractive about this? I truely cannot for the life of me understand why people find trans men attractive but i would really like to understand.

I think spicy food is disgusting generally. it's like. hot and not fun and to me it adds nothing good to the food experience. Genuinely I don't understand why people enjoy hot foods it makes like. literally no sense.

and yet, people do. it's weird. I've tried on multiple occasions to get into spicy food and it just. suks. every single time it sucks. But everyone else in my family lives by it. And I've asked why for years literally unable to understand it until I realized.

sometimes people just. like things. things I certainly don't like and cannot enjoy whatsoever. But at the same time, this is true for me and not for them. I fucking love coffee to the point I drink it more than water most days, but no one else in my family likes it. BUT other people outside my family enjoy it too.

Life is weird and what I'm getting at is something that took me a lifetime to understand and I still can't wrap my head around it all the time.

People just like things. People love things and hate things. What things mean to one person can mean the world to another and death to the third. There's not always a reason for it, but what you have to do is accept that there are things in life that you just might not like much right now. but as time goes on you'll find value in it the same way your partner will find value in you and all the minuscule things you do and become and like and dislike.

And to build on that point, there are things I hated as a kid that I'm fine with and even love now. Each day changes you more than you'll ever know and with those changes, the acceptance that comes with them may be easier or harder.

So, to answer your question, I don't know! I just love men. Men with tits or pecs, men with vaginas or dicks. maybe both at the same time or neither at all! I just think men are generally attractive no matter the design or what's different about them. and not just men but people who present as masc in general. If you're masc nb there's a chance I'm looking at you through the window of a bar as much as if you were cis-male or trans-male.

I do know for some men, the allure of masculinity displaced with the typically-feminine concept of a vagina intrigues them. Maybe it's the juxtaposition of them together, maybe they just want something unique and new to them. Maybe they just really like vaginas and it doesn't matter who it's attached to, or maybe they just like trans men. Same thing with boobs, some guys just like boobs. Some men have boobs. the overlap doesn't mean net-negative results, it could be double positive.

And I don't expect you to love everything about yourself, god knows I don't love everything about myself, and despite people telling me what's good about me I can still find flaws within it whenever I choose. I think men with chest hair are hot as fuck, but also I've seen some smooth men that are just as if not hotter. I love me a fat man or a man with muscles, but i've seen twinks i'd demolish in one sitting as well. I've seen men with dicks and boobs and scars and and hair pretty much everything under the sun and sometimes I want them to sit on me and forget I'm there and smother me.

What you do have to do though is accept that you have those things, and you are those things, and even though you may not like those things you have to accept that they're a part of you and find value in that. And it's not an easy task at all to love yourself, but you have to try because even if you don't right now, there's a partner who will be waiting for you somewhere. there's a future version of you who loves you as you are. there are friends who love your flaws, pets who don't judge, and there are a lot of things that accept you as you are.

So just say you have boobs and chest hair. even if you don't love it about yourself right now know that there are and will always be people who do, and personally I've said before, but I wish i had boobs and chest hair it's just a perfect look to me. I'm fine with whatever my gender is, i just think its a good look. If I had money for top and bottom surgery I'd get it and never look back. You just have to find the value in yourself we all know is there, and if you can't just know that we know it's there and let that carry you through the day!

[11queensupreme11]

Okay so I’m currently writing for my next chapter when it suddenly came to me! I totally forgot to ask and idk if you’ve answered this before.

But how would the yan kids react to watching their mom fall in love with Anthonius?

Like that has to be weird, right?! Watching ur mom fall in love with someone who isn’t ur dad or stepfathers?

Especially the girls since they’re kept away from boys and aren’t allowed to have boyfriends!

yaaaaay, can't wait for the new chapter! 🥰

as for ur question, i'll only answer eudorios and axiandros' reactions in more detail cuz i only have their personalities down so far 😅 everyone else will get a more general reaction, sorry 😢

eudorios is like a more unhinged version of his mommy so it won't kick in right away that his mommy's falling in love with another guy (he's just a lil dense guys, sorry, he inherited it from percy 🥺). ngl, he's probably gonna be the last kid to figure it out 😭😭

(just like how percy was the last person to realize anthonius liked her and that she actually liked him back 💀)

but when it finally clicks, he'll go:

eudorios: Oh! :)

and then he internally flips his shit 😭😭😭 he'll continue to watch it all happen with a ":)" on his face while crying, screaming, and shitting tears on the inside. the more he watches, the more he realizes that his TRUE enemy wasn't his father, or brothers, or half-siblings, or his mother's other husbands. no, it's ANTHONIUS. because he recognizes that soft look in her eyes, the genuinely happy grin on her face every time she's with anthonius. it's a look that's supposed to be reserved only for HIM, not some ugly mortal boy! and he's seething at the thought that ANTHONIUS was the first person to ever bring out that smile from her, and not him 💀💀💀

after watching, he'd probably rush to his room to scream into his pillow and everything like a dramatic teenage girl 😭😭😭😭 he'd sulk a bit and then rush out to go find his mother to demand more love from her 💀

for axiandros, he's gonna mentally pull up his shit list, place eudorios from #1 to #2, and put anthonius at the very top 💀💀💀💀💀💀 he's now genuinely concerned for his mother's taste in men because seriously???? did she just have a thing for losers???? first eudorios, and now a literal mortal boy???????

he cannot, for the life of him, understand WHY his mother would ever fall for anthonius. he acts like he knows better, he lets his emotions get in the way, he's rude and ill-mannered, he's a son of athena, he's pitifully WEAK, the list goes on and on.... 💀💀💀

then in comes the jealousy 💀💀💀💀💀 while eudorios is just like their mommy (but more crazy), axiandros is just like his daddy. his jealousy is icy-cold and seething, a sort of icy fury that everyone in the room can immediately sense. expect a lot of biting words and insults spoken in a ruthlessly cold tone, just like poseidon would. like father, like son after all!

as for the other sons, the incesty ones are, ofc, jealous af. but regardless of whether they're freaks or not, most are genuinely in disbelief that their mother had actually fallen in love with a mortal boy before, but there's also a lightbulb moment that goes in their head where they all think "ohhhhhh, so THAT'S why some of us have names related to wisdom!!!! 🤯"

they gotta admit tho, their mom had BALLS OF STEEL to name a child from each of her husbands after anthonius 😂😂

anyway, the more they watch her life, the more they finally start to understand why mother's so kind and loving towards humans. they knew that she was once a mortal (which is still hard for them to wrap their head around, cuz they always saw her as the perfect goddess and mortals are just so... not), but actually SEEING her live her life as one is a whole different thing entirely!

as for the daughters, many of them are wide-eyed and silently side-eying each other cuz ooooooh the DRAMA 😂😂😂😂 but aside from that, they're very curious. most of these girls are either super sheltered (percades and sécy kids), or they're just too used to godly culture (which is all the kids). would their mother marry this boy?? was he mother's first husband? why is she so close to someone that she's not married to? why does she let him touch her, get close to her, why are they ALWAYS together?? isn't that improper????

lmao, so while some of the sons are seething with jealousy, the daughters are getting a culture shock basically 😂

[thera-daydreams]

SCARLET & SHADOW

ᱬ The Darkling x Scarlet Witch!Reader ᱬ

[aleksander morozova x wanda maximoff!reader]

Warning: This will be very canon-divergent, considering that it will be a fix-it fic for the Darkling's story. Will contain elements of violence, manipulation, and gore present in the series. Plus, mentions of depression, trauma, regret (as W. Maximoff) and the inclusion of possible adult themes in the later chapters.

Majority of this will also be based on the Netflix show since I haven't read the entire books yet. There may be inaccuracies and a whole lot of changes. You have been warned!

Otherwise, proceed and enjoy! ��️🌹

(Sidenote: So... okay. I'm deciding to write this and make it a formal fanfic—as per previous post one and post two—because I seriously cannot sleep with the overwhelming inspiration I'm getting from shipping these two characters. Aleksander and Wanda are practically the same person in different fonts. They both did shitty, selfish things but I need to give them a happy ending. Together. Somehow. And hate it or love it, I firmly believe this idea should be shared to the world. If you know my other JJK fic, you'll know Wanda is an obsession of mine. Also, also, also! Please bear with me if updates are scarce. I'm juggling my academic review, work, another unfinished fic, and my daily fangirling. 🥹)

1. once upon a dream

Aleksander had dreams of you long before he even knew you. Maybe it was the stress of this neverending war. Either way, you weren't real anyway... were you?

(3.9k words)

2. coincidence

The Black General finds himself magnetized by the seemingly inconspicuous gardener in the Little Palace. He gets to know you, contemplating life. Just when he thought you were just a strangely wise, young otkazat'sya woman, he finds out why exactly you decided to work in the Little Palace.

(2.5k words)

3. reflection

You are confronted by a certain Shadow Summoner about your motives in bringing the kids to the Little Palace. He realizes that you've loved and lost so deeply, eerily the same as he had. Perhaps that's the reason why he was so drawn to you; he could see his reflection in your eyes. But the more answers the Darkling got, the more questions he had. Unfortunately for you, Aleksander was a patient and persistent man who would stop at nothing to get what he wants.

(4.8k words)

4. haunted

You were no powerless otkazat’sya, Aleksander finds out the hard way. He’s pushed you too far, and he’s left to deal with the aftermath of the new knowledge he half-regrets he gained. On the other hand, you see something bad about this new world that wished you had never seen.

(6.0k words)

5. ?

(tba)

... more chapters?

Synopsis:

"No more magic." You swore to yourself after the madness that you'd spiraled into; the chaos you'd wrecked upon the Multiverse under the influence of the Darkhold. Now, you had destroyed the Darkhold in every universe.

The last universe that had a Darkhold? Safe. Book of the Damned, gone. It was a land with no heroes, gods, or sorcerers... just... normal people and... Grisha? Either way, it was time for your atonement. Your repentance for your mortal sins.

But when you save and bring three orphaned Grisha children to the Little Palace, working as an otkazat'sya gardener to secretly keep an eye on them, it turns out that a certain Shadow Summoner begins to have his eye on you, instead.

taglist: @idohknow @robertthehoover @the-desilittle-bird @pearlstiare

[j-k-writes]

hi!! may i request i promised them i'd keep you safe and i should have been here. this is my fault with alicent?!

Summary - After the death of King Aegon II's firstborn son, Jaehaery's, Y/N Tyrell must face the consequences of his mysterious absence.

Warning - mentions of child death, general HOTD warnings

Y/N paced outside the room, heart pounding in his chest. He had only returned to the keep minutes ago, seeking out The Queen Dowager’s chambers. The news of Jaehaerys’ death had reached him that morning, and he had immediately mounted his horse and made his way toward the keep. He had nearly spilled his stomach over the banister of the keep at the sight of the blood stained bed sheets that were being carried out of the children’s bedchambers. Jaehaerys’ was just a boy, no more than a toddler, and yet he had become a martyr in the war between the dragons.  

Steeling himself, Y/N entered the room silently, bowing to the occupants. “My queen, my hand.” 

Otto Hightower stood furiously, rearing on the man. “Where have you been?” 

Y/N bowed his head in shame, refusing to meet the man’s eyes. 

“Well?” Otto asked again, grabbing Y/N’s face and making him meet his eyes. “The family of the king has suffered a horrible blow, and where were you? Whoring? Drinking?” 

He did not answer. 

“Father,” Alicent spoke, voice shaking. “Please leave us.” 

Otto scoffed at Y/N, releasing his face. “All this family has done for you, Y/N, and you have brought us nothing but shame.” 

Otto brushed past the man, slamming the door behind him. Y/N raised his gaze to meet The Queen Dowager’s, “Alicent I-” 

“Will you not answer the question?” She spoke. 

“Alicent I can't apologize enough.” Y/N said, voice cracking on his words. “I promised your brother I would keep you safe, and I have failed.” 

“I am fine.” Alicent said, tears spilling down her cheeks. “It is my daughter and her family who have suffered. My daughter’s life was threatened and you were nowhere to be found. You promised me that you would protect this family, that your allegiance remained here no matter where your houses’ laid. Does your promise still hold true or are you to betray us as well.” 

“My loyalties have always been with House Hightower, Alicent. How can you doubt that?” Y/N took a step forward, taking Alicent’s hand in his. “You are right, I should have been here. This is my fault. But do not doubt my loyalty because of a foolish mistake.” 

“My grandson is dead!” Alicent cried out, grabbing Y/N’s face with both of her hands. “My children have lost their boy, and you cannot even tell me where you were.” 

Y/N grasped the hands on his face, “I am loyal to you and this house, please listen to me when I tell you it was a mistake, my love.” 

Alicent released him, “This is my punishment.” 

“Alicent-” 

“No.” Alicent walked away from the man. “We have sinned and my children are punished for it.” 

Y/N tried to reach out for Alicent, but she moved further away. She sunk into herself, and Y/N could only watch as the woman’s belief in him fell apart. She shook with sobs, refusing Y/N’s comforting gestures. 

“I want you to leave.” 

“Alicent please, you must believe me-” 

“Leave me!” Y/N froze, and Alicent’s face immediately fell. She turned from him, sobbing into her hand. 

“I will take my leave, your grace.” 

Y/N bowed, turning on his heel to walk out the room, Alicent’s sobs fading as he closed the door shut.

[serejae]

ITS STUPID | BND

pairing : bnd x reader (NO WOONHAK)

genre : fluff

WHAT ! - bnd when your sulky

wc : 1584 | @onedoornet

-

SUNGHO :

- i feel like he would be so confused if he didnt know why you were sulky

- i also feel like he would ask some light questions but wouldnt push you to answer. but if he didnt get a answer he would be so confused

- he would spend the rest of the day reflecting on what he did only to get no answer

- it isnt until night time when you both are laying by each other and arent cuddling that he speaks up because he cant sleep without your cuddles :-|

sungho got home and saw you in the kitchen doing the dishes, normally youd wait for him to come home for dinner to eat together but maybe you werent feeling it. he tried starting a conversation only to get short responses, he then asked if you were okay only to get a hum he noticed the slight pout on your face as you gave these responses. after he got freshened up he went to eat dinner alone with only his thoughts. he replayed his whole day, actually no week, maybe month. but he couldnt seem to put his finger on what you were mad at him for. as he made it to your guys room, he noticed how dark the room was letting him know that you were asleep. he sighed and laid down, and for about 30 minutes he keeps his composure before speaking up “baby..baby!” he shook you gently, you hummed tiredly wondering why your boyfriend was waking you up. “what did i do? just tell me and i’ll apologize but i really cant think of a reason hun” he said propping himself up to look at you. “you left the toilet seat up” you said as you yawned seeming to not care anymore, he groaned and pulled the covers over to his side “now im mad at you”

“made me worry for no reason” he mumbled

RIWOO :

- riwoo is a worried man

- he’ll do everything in his power to try and calm you down so by the time you two cuddle he can get you to spill out why you were sulking

- he hates seeing anything on your face but a smile and would do anything. ANYTHING to get it off if it isnt a smile

- but hes a master manipulator like he’ll plan all this out for the perfect timing

as riwoo left the room after noticing you were not joining him in a few minutes like you said, he saw you sitting at your desk typing away on your keyboard. aside from your beautiful face he noticed the big fat pout on your lip making him furrow his eyebrows. riwoo sat on the couch behind you as you did your assignment watching the pout on your lips sit there making him form a pout on his lips as well. he didnt like seeing you bothered or upset by something, so he decided since he knew you wanted to finish this assignment that instead of stopping you he’d take some of the burden off your shoulders. he massaged your shoulders, gave your favorite snacks, and gave you a peck here and there. he could see the way your shoulders relaxed and how slowly but surely the pout on your lips disappeared. and when it finally disappeared fully he left a fat kiss on them as a celebration on his end, afterwards when you finally finish he takes you to your guys room and massages your head letting the stress rest as he listened to you complain about your day. his lips curved up when you mention how you appreciated him helping you. in response he kissed your forehead

“anytime”

JAEHYUN :

- wee woo wee woo someone call the dramatic police !!

- HE WILL NOT SHUT THE FUCK UP!! literally blows your head off with questions before he can leave you alone

- he cannot stand you being mad at him for more than 1.36 seconds and make it 1.17 seconds if your sulky

- so as soon as he notices something off hes begging for forgiveness even if he doesnt know what he did

jaehyun couldnt LIVE with the fact tjat he made the love of his life mad like no, kill him. and he dont even get him started if he didnt know why. he has a pre generated apology in his mind ready to be said with tears and everything. he continued to follow you around the house naming all the reasons you could be mad at him even the most ridiculous. “is it cause i ate the last ice cream bar?” “or did i snore too loud” “ohhh its cause i sent too many of those emoji reactions huh?” he continued talking before you turned around “no, no and no!” “than what is ittt” he groaned stretching the ‘t’. you sighed and laid down on the couch to relax, only to feel a man ontop of you (GET OFF ME!!!!) “JAEHYUN” you shouted “tell me” he repeated and he laid ontop of you. “remember when i said i didnt like liz?” you said giving up this whole cold persona. feeling him nod you continue “you said ‘she isnt that bad!’ but your suppose to agree with anything i say and dislike anything i dislike!” it goes silent for a bit then you hear him go “OHHHHH, noted”

now hes a certified hater with you ❤️

TAESAN :

- like sungho doesnt pester you too much about it

- but unlike sungho he doesnt ask questions but observes your moves, and once he sees the pout he knows hes OUT (laugh.)

- anyways literally spend the whole day spacing out wondering what the fuck did he do, he starts reading old conversations you both had. he makes his brain a computer system tracing back each step (while keeping a straight face)

- he folds when you two are having dinner and its silent. he canr take it anymore and ask you if he did anything wrong in the most nonchalant way he can (hes about to start tweaking)

he spent his whole shower standing there backtracking all his steps, from when he woke up to when he got home. after he got out he proceeded to stay in the bathroom and sit there for 25 minutes and 19 seconds scrolling through your messages to see if he had said something wrong trying to find a mood change for him to have to come home to a pouty partner. after finding nothing he sighed coming out of the bathroom and joins you for dinner. the dinner is silent, your peacefully eating but he pokes at his food not being able to get your sulky face out of his mind. he puts his fork down before looking at you “please tell me what i did” he said plainly trying to mask the fact that hes going to explode. you look at him and tilt your head confused, he picks up on your body language and speaks up again “i dont like seeing you pout, especially if it was something i did, did someone do something did i do something?”. he sees your face change when you realize what he was talking about “you never would believe what my mom did to me today…” you continued

he sighed out of relief realizing he didnt do anything and listened with a smile on his face enjoying his dinner.

LEEHAN :

- he would find it entertaining…(sawry)

- but definitely would take you seriously after having a little analysis in his fish brain he ask you why you were mad

- if it’s something silly hes stares at you for a bit processing it again (fish brain) and lets out a laugh making you more mad

- he composes himself and puts on serious mode. proceeds to indulge in whatever you were mad about, as long as ur happy 🔥

leehan didnt expect for the first thing that he would come home to was a sulky s/o. he had walked home to a quiet house wondering where you were, since you didnt greet him at the door like you normally did. walking into the shared bedroom he saw you wrapped in the blanket without your face visible, walking over to your side he saw you scrolling on your phone with a slight pout on your face. he chuckled a bit catching your attention. when you see him laughing it only makes you more angrier, so you flip to the direction facing away from leehan. your reaction suprised him, he stood there for a moment wondering what he did. he sighed a bit before sitting down on the bed behind you as he rubbed your back, “whats my baby sulky for?” he asked softly. “it wasnt very nice of you to call the fish i sent you ugly.” you said huffing. he then remembered that you two wanted to adopt a fish together and were actively looking for one, and it wasnt until this morning that you sent him a link and he cringed at the photo of the fish. it wasnt the most pleasant to look that in his opinion…after finding out the reason your upset with him, he cant help but let out a laugh. after seeing your face to him not taking you seriously he’d panic a little before drowning you in kisses “we can get the fish, even if its a little strange…”

[thejournallo]

Explain the basic: Energy manipulation

Disclaimer: in this chapter you are going to learn the physical and spiritual meaning of energy! Everything I will talk about is information that I got from books and sites online and even videos on YouTube. In my years of practice, I learned as much as I could out of curiosity and what works best for me. I suggest you do the same by learning as much as you can on your own (I will be here making posts teaching this kind of stuff) from multiple sources.

tags: @koda-manifesting

As always, I will love to hear your thoughts! and if you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them! If you liked it, leave a comment or reblog (that is always appreciated!). if you are intrested in more method check the masterlist!

When it comes to energy manipulation, we have to remember the 12 laws of the universe!  According to these laws, we are all connected; everyone vibrates at different rates, and energy is always changing! We can use the knowledge that those laws gave us to manipulate the energy that is around us in different aspects. Before we start to talk about what energy manipulation is, let's learn what energy is, even in a more scientific aspect.

witchcraft: 

"Energy" is often referred to as the life force or spiritual power that flows through all living things and the universe itself. People who practice witchcraft often work with this energy to bring about desired changes in their lives or the world around them. This energy is believed to be manipulable through various practices such as rituals, spells, meditation, and visualization.of course Different traditions and practitioners may have their own specific beliefs and terminology surrounding energy, but it is generally understood to be a fundamental aspect of the spiritual and metaphysical realms of witchcraft.

manipulating energy: 

More often than not, we manipulate this energy, which can happen on a daily basis without our knowledge. In a more visual explanation, we are surrounded by a bubble. Bubble = spiritual energy. When we go out and do our daily things and have our daily experiences, we give some piece of bubble. Energy manipulation is understood if we are using our bubble, understood when we have to use it and use it to our own advantage. for example, "If I feel this kind of bad feeling from a person, I will use a piece of my bubble to protect myself." I used my spiritual energy to protect myself from negativity.

science:

Energy is defined as the capacity to do work or produce heat. It exists in various forms such as kinetic energy (the energy of motion), potential energy (stored energy), thermal energy (the energy associated with temperature), chemical energy (energy stored in the bonds of chemical compounds), electromagnetic energy (energy carried by light and other electromagnetic waves), and many others.

The law of conservation of energy states that energy cannot be created or destroyed; it can only be transformed from one form to another. This means that the total energy within a closed system remains constant over time, even as it may change from one form to another.

Energy plays a fundamental role in all physical processes and is a central concept in fields such as physics, chemistry, and engineering. It's a crucial aspect of understanding the behavior of matter and the interactions between different systems in the universe.

Why am I talking about physical energy?

because we can use physical energy to practice witchcraft. Let me give you another visual example.  We are going on a walk to feel relaxed and release some tense energy. We are using kinetic energy to protect our peace.  It is all in the intention and the mindset when you use this kind of physical manipulation; even lighting a candle before a spell means using thermal energy to protect the space. (I'm saying protection as an example.) You can do pretty much anything; a walk can equal aboundance if that's what you want.

NSFW TALK AHEAD (MINOR DO NOT INTERACT)

It is a bit uncomfortable for me to talk about this, but it has to be said. Carnal acts like sex or masturbation can also be used to manipulate energy, and it is a whole practice in itself called red magic, where you use the build-up energy of the orgasm and the peak release to put your intention in the world. The tricky part is to actually concentrate on your intention until you release it. 

[nekropsii]

Hello! First of all, love your work. Wonderful takes and analysis on the alpha trolls, and also i’m a big fan of sovstuck - both the text and the awesome cool art. I love that every character gets introduced with their own unique artstyle, each oozing with character :)

I wanted to ask, - and please believe that i’m asking in good faith, - about your proship dni. I’ve been seeing discourse about ‘pro/anti ship’ for ages now, but i cannot for the life of me understand what the hell either side stands for. First i hear it’s about abusive or problematic (pedo/incest) ships in general, then it’s about the difference of portrayal/endorsement of those things, then it’s something else entirely and i can never fucking understand what the hell the issue is and why it is so heated.

By no means i’m asking you to speak for the whole discourse or even for the entire ‘side’ of it - if there’s one thing i got, it’s that no one can agree on their definition of what ‘their side’ stands for. But i would like to know what meaning you put into the terms, and what kind of ‘proship’ you would like to not interact with you; i trust that you know what you believe in and are able to put it to words in a way that makes sense and doesn’t contradict itself or common sense, as i sometimes see :”)

I.. understand that since the topic is so divisive, you may get a ton of bullshit in your ask box and notes, should you choose to answer this, both from people who disagree and those who choose to misinterpret what you say. So feel free to ignore this ask if you don’t want to deal with that. Still, i do hope i can someday gain some clarity on this topic haha.

Best wishes!! thanks for what you do :)

Hello! Thank you so much, the compliments mean a lot! They really keep me going, lol!!

First of all, congratulations on formulating the most normal ask adjacent to this topic. Since it's so god damn touchy, people have a tendency to start throwing rocks no matter what "side" they're on, and no matter if they know what the hell they're talking about or not. Frankly, some of the ruckus surrounding this circus act is embarrassing. On both ends. Second of all, while this isn't something I'm an expert in, I do know more than I'd like, so I'd be happy to give my perspective, even if it's potentially a bit limited/flawed.

Thirdly, I'm putting this under a cut, for anyone who doesn't want to read all that.

Content Warning: Discussions of Shipping Discourse, Sexual Assault, Abuse, Grooming, Incest, and Pedophilia.

Let me start this by defining what the Relevant Terms mean:

Shipping: The act of pairing two or more Characters together. Though the term is derived from "Relationship", and therefore is at its core - technically, theoretically - a Neutral Term, it - conversationally, colloquially - carries extremely heavy Romantic Connotations, with a strong implication that said Romance is found to be appealing - typically in the sense of being either Cute, or Sexy. Defining this is not me trying to condescend you - One of the key questions in this discourse is what it means to "ship" something, and whether or not the term implies the shipper is condoning the material inherent to the ship.

ProShip: Essentially means "All For All Shipping". It's the personal, discourse-based identity label equivalent to the phrase "Ship And Let Ship". There's a common misconception floating around that the "Pro" in "ProShip" stands for "Problematic", rather than simply being the positive antonym to the prefix "Anti". While I find this to be a failure of basic deductive reasoning, I can also understand how the conclusion was reached - Proshippers are most commonly associated with "Problematic Content"/"Problematic Ships", and they do tend to take pride in being "Problematic" themselves. Either way, the word "Problematic" is highly associated with them and often reclaimed by them. They also call themselves "Anti-Antis" (horribly stupid label, by the way), and "ComShip(pers)", with the "Com" being short for "Complex". To my knowledge, ComShip is a sect specifically trying to get away from the baggage that the term "ProShip" holds, and away from the very real predator problem within the ProShip Community. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

AntiShip: Essentially means "Against Certain Forms of Shipping". It actually used to be a term for people who were against specific individual ships, rather than a blanket discourse label - for example, rather than someone identifying as just an "Antishipper", they would typically label themselves as "Anti-VrisMeen", or a "VrisMeen-Anti", or whatever their focus was. An important thing to note is that Antis trend Young, and they trend Traumatized. They are typically Teenagers, and their stances are largely informed by their discomfort watching Adults Sexualize Characters who share their age or younger, and discomfort watching people Sexualize some kind of Trauma they've been through - and considering their general ages, it's not unlikely that that Trauma is either Fresh or Ongoing. This is not always the case, but it's such a large amount of the AntiShip crowd, and it's acknowledged so little, that it's worth mentioning. It's a very important piece of context to me.

The general Belief Systems of both sides, as they currently stand, are as follows:

ProShip: ==> Never Harass Anyone Over Their Ships: This is the bones of their beliefs, and where everything started. Essentially, it's rude and unnecessary to send people Harassment over a Ship they enjoy, because not only could you be doing something better with your time, but also it can be pretty difficult to tell the "How/What/Why" of someone's interest in such material. ==> All Forms of Shipping Should Be Allowed, No Matter The Content: This is the meat of their beliefs, and also where the arguing starts. It's exactly what it says on the tin - Anything Goes, including Rape, Abuse, Incest, and Pedophilia. This is why the label is so touchy - many people are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of Fandom going back to its habit of uncritically normalizing + romanticizing Rape, Abuse, Incest, and Pedophilia. Part of this is due to the fact that this uncritical normalization has led to genuine, tangible harm on people in Fandom Spaces, particularly Minors. ==> Being Problematic Is Based: The skin of their beliefs. Many people wrap up Shipping Discourse in terms that make it sound like engaging in it is Political Praxis, somehow. While your stance on Shipping Discourse can certainly be telling of your Political Beliefs, in the way that your stance on literally anything can be telling of that, calling Shipping Discourse on its own some kind of Radical Political Stance is... Deeply silly, and also keeps leading to people saying "Being into Incest/Pedophilia is Queer Nature", like, unironically. I keep seeing this happen. This part of it tends to be very... Spite-driven. ==> Fiction Is Not Reality: Basically their catchphrase - nothing that happens in fiction is real, and therefore has no tangible effect on reality.

AntiShip: ==> Please Tag Your Content Appropriately And Keep It Out Of The Reach Of Minors: The bones of their beliefs. Self Explanatory, typically followed up with "and if you can't do that, don't post/make it at all". To further illustrate this, I'd like to spark any reader's memory of the times where you couldn't Google search "Fluttershy" without being lambasted with hardcore porn. No additions of "R34", or "NSFW", just "Fluttershy". There was no SFW Filters. You just had to fucking fight for your life. Being a child on the Internet is and was extremely rough. There wasn't any Official Tag Filtering on Tumblr until... I think 2017. It was dark. ==> Abuse/Rape/Incest/Pedophilia Should Not Be Considered "Shipping": The meat of their beliefs. Essentially, these are extremely heavy, delicate topics meant to be treated with respect and tact, or not handled at all. This is not possible in Shipping Content. At least, not as we currently understand it, and will likely remain understanding in that way for years to come. They argue that Fanfiction is not ever going to be on par with Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Which is true. They also argue that it's impossible for most Fanfictions to treat these sensitive subjects with any respect, which is... Dubious, but also fair, considering the Sturgeon's Law of it all. ==> Ewwwww...: The skin of their beliefs. Disgust. It's a whole lot of disgust. Again, worth reiterating that the bulk of AntiShippers are quite Young and/or Traumatized, and the content they are reacting to tends to be Extreme, so a gut response of disgust is... Honestly, healthy. No 15 Year Old should be stumbling upon art of a child getting frisky with their dad and going "hell yeah, brother!". Though I wish they'd handle their disgust with more tact, I find that it's just... A fair response, given their age, what their backstory tends to be, and what content they tend to be reacting to is. ==> Fiction Affects Reality: Not necessarily their catchphrase, but definitely their counterpoint to the catchphrase of ProShippers. They do not say Fiction is real, just that it does literally have a tangible effect on reality, and point to cases where this is observable. The impact Jaws had on real life sharks is a favorite, as is The Birth of a Nation, and The Turner Diaries. And, of course, the ways that the works put out by ProShippers has tangibly affected the lives of others, especially children.

It is worth noting, I am neither of these things. I do not identify as a ProShipper, nor do I identify as an AntiShipper. I identify as a Horror Writer. I have "DNI: ProShip" in my bio because their stances make me the most uncomfortable, and I have been victimized personally by members of their crowd and the result of their beliefs.

I was Groomed by an Adult ProShipper when I was 14 Years Old. She used her ideologies as a ProShipper to excuse herself and the (sexual) content she forced me to Roleplay with her, and used it to pressure me into writing more and more extreme content. I did not want to do it even at the time - it made me uncomfortable - but she made the idea of saying "No" to her... Quite scary, and like I was the one in the wrong for being uncomfortable with it. After all, Fiction Isn't Reality, right? I am not the only person I know with this experiences. I have met and spoken to countless - and I mean countless - individuals who have had similar experiences with that crowd. The sheer distrust kids and teens tend to have towards them is learned through that crowd's propensity towards grooming them. Because the celebration and normalization of that content breeds comfortability with "the real deal", and comfortability with harboring predators.

I'm sure some ProShippers have noble intentions, and don't realize what the controversy is about. I'm sure some of them are deeply out of the loop, and still think it only means "Being Anti-Harassment". But I do not care enough to give people the chance, just... For the sake of my own sanity. You understand, I'm sure. I do not think that this rift between worlds is ever going to get closed, or that these sides are going to experience amicability, because the question is nuanced and about morality itself, and one side is full of defensive, traumatized teenagers trying to keep themselves and their friends safe from what they are perceiving as legitimate threats to their safety, and the other side is full of people who just wanna jerk it to weird porn.

I'm not personally comfortable with, like, any self-identified ProShipper being near me, just due to my own experiences. Some might try to identify me as one against my will, due to the fact that I am Anti-Harassment and a Horror Writer unafraid to touch upon every single one of the aforementioned sensitive topics, but... I am simply not one, because I don't identify that way, I don't believe in their beliefs, and they creep me out, lol.

My beliefs are that people should be able to write about whatever they want, as long as they handle things with the appropriate amount of care, and as long as they keep things tagged appropriately. I think that harassing people for shipping Stridercest in fucking 2024 is lame because you could be doing literally anything else with your time, and I think shipping Stridercest in fucking 2024 is lame because you could be doing anything else with your time. Like, come on, man, it's not even interesting. They're not even doing anything interesting with it. Where are the themes? There are no themes. It's just brothers mackin' on each other whitely. Come on.

No topic should be off limits, but you should at least give it the care and respect it deserves, and you should make it interesting. Nothing is interesting on its own. Rape is not interesting on its own. Incest is not interesting on its own. Abuse is not interesting on its own. Pedophilia is not interesting on its own. Taboo subjects are not interesting on their own. They're mundane evils that happen literally every day to regular people. In writing, they need to be paired with themes, and, hopefully, with good writing. People who have been through these things deserve not only to have their trauma represented, but handled with care, and also for it to be interesting to read. They deserve to have options. They deserve to have good literature to chew on, to help them digest and cope with their own trauma. It's difficult to do that when you feel invisible to everything but the camera lens of a Fetish Pornographer, and I know many people who are suffering with the fact that their traumas seem to only ever be represented or referenced in shitty pornography.

Sure, some people cope with their own trauma by sexualizing it. I know that's the case for some ProShippers, and their reason for being within that group. But it's certainly not everyone's method of coping, and it shouldn't be the only option... Which is why I'm advocating for safe, non-fetishized exploration of extreme themes.

I think the reason why the discourse is so unclear is because "ProShip" and "AntiShip" aren't very tangible, definite belief systems, and also the talking points are evolving and maturing over time. A few years ago, the beliefs of "Antis" definitely broadly leaned more heavily towards total rejection of those themes being present in any fiction, but their arguments seem to have matured lately into "the problem is the nature of the depiction, not the presence of depiction itself".

That's all I can think of saying right now that wouldn't just be me walking in circles. And don't worry, I can definitely take the hit. I'm not sure what here could be very arguable other than semantics, or maybe a history lesson or two.

Thank you for the ask! Hope this helps!

[burningcheese-merchant]

How on earthbread do you ship BurningCheese. Im gonna try to not judge you. This is 80% a non-rethorical question. like genuinely how do you ship them?? /lh

I was wondering when someone would come ask me this lol. It's ok though, you can be honest, I can feel you narrowing your eyes at me through the screen 👀

I could honestly go on for a REALLY long time about why I ship BurningCheese/GoldenSpice. But I'll try to distill/narrow down my thoughts the best I can so my answer isn't longer than the Bible

I adore the enemies to lovers trope and hero/villain pairings in general. I did long before Cookie Run and I will long afterwards

I like how they complement and contrast against each other, aesthetically + personality-wise + backstory-wise

I love how they interact with each other. I love how they talk and snipe at each other. Golden Cheese's frustrated yet unyielding confidence and wit VS Burning Spice's brash, raucous excitement is fun to see. (The back-and-forth they have during their fight in episode 6 is dangerously close to how I've written them in my fics, even before the episode came out. So technically, in a way, my fics have been canonized lol)

It's fun imagining them together in different ways. A one-sided crush/obsession on Burning Spice's part is fun in a dark way (my Yandere Spice). So is a mutual love and respect between them. Main canon for me is a slow burn romance and a slow redemption arc for Spice alongside it. I also have an AU where Golden corrupts and becomes a Beast herself, and they become an evil villain couple. I have another where Spice doesn't get better and Golden doesn't get worse, they just have the standard forbidden love affair that they hide from the world (the latter out of fear of judgement, the former just so no one can try to keep them apart). I've got a million story ideas with them. You can do all sorts of things with them imo. And I think it works because of how they bounce off of each other. Put them in different situations and see how their relationship changes/adjusts/adapts, see if love can exist and how

I like their size difference. Spice is significantly taller and wider than Golden and it's really funny to see lol

The way they and their relationship/dynamic parallel actual Egyptian and Indian mythology (the latter in particular) is absolutely unreal

Not kidding, I can go on about the symbolism and allusions and references forever. I could write an actual paper on it. How can a ship go THIS hard

Come on, don't act like they wouldn't give each other a fantastic time in bed lmao

They follow each other around in my kingdom almost 24/7. Literally every single time I log in they're next to each other or one is trailing behind the other while they walk somewhere. If they want to be together that badly, I'm not going to stop them

They are literally the cycle of life and death, they have the single most important connection of all the Beasts and Ancients, one simply cannot go on without the other for together they make up the foundation of the goddamn cosmos

It actually all started with me and someone irl joking about Burning Spice having a stalker crush when the very first trailer came out. Then I went "haha that could be a funny fic". Then I wrote it and went "wait this is an interesting idea". Then episode 5 came out and I went "wait wtf does he actually want her??? He's acting like he does in my fic!!!" Then I wrote more and got even more attached to the one-sided attraction dynamic. Then I started imagining them in an actual, normal relationship and how that might pan out. Then I started writing stuff for/about that and I got extremely attached to that. Now they have a fully fleshed out relationship and they're married and have two kids, and I have a billion side stories and AUs, and any other ship involving either of them viscerally repulses me. I unironically memed too close to the sun and immediately fell straight down into BurningCheese hell (but it's ok, I like it here and I don't plan on leaving ever)

I can and I want to and no one can stop me

I still wrote a Bible, didn't I lol. BurningCheese/GoldenSpice is perfect in every way, they are my ride-or-die and you can pry the ship from my cold, dead hands. The end, roll credits

[writing-in-glitter-pen]

⋆⁺˚.ೃ࿔ °⋆ a warm welcome ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

After living together in your humble apartment in Liyue Harbor, Childe decides to finally take you home...indefinitely—a shocking request you find you don't have much of a choice in adhering to. Though the situation is rocky, you cannot deny you love Childe, and though you're pissed, you work with this new life of yours. But when you're introduced to your new life and Childe's family, you find something's not quite right about the place he calls "home".

Childe x fem!reader II some fluff, some hurt

"I don't understand what you're asking of me.", you sat on the cushy couch you'd bought how many years ago for your small Liyue apartment. Sure, your abode was humble, but it was yours; the decorations were hand picked and placed by you, the kitchenware was bought by you—popular brands you trusted to use dependable materials. Hell, you'd even painted the whole place yourself! From the dark beige you'd initially moved into, to a softer, more classical version of your favorite color. That is why you could not believe your boyfriend was asking you to...to...

"I'm not asking. I'm telling you. I have orders to return to Snezhanaya, and you are coming with me."

You'd known Childe was pushy ever since you two first started dating: when you had initially rejected his advances in lieu of pursuing an independent life as a single woman in her youth. He took no for an answer, respecting your choice with a polite "I'm sorry to hear that.", but you'd be blind not to catch the confident and cheery grin he still wore on his face—like you'd said yes! His initial acceptance didn't stop him from butting into your life; he'd just happen to run into you on the busy streets of the harbor—like he hadn't been scoping out your usual errands and routes you'd take around the city, memorizing your schedule like it was his own. Once he'd catch you, he'd ask you to get dinner with him, platonically of course, and his treat too! You'd be a fool to turn down a free dinner at Liuli Pavillion. But dinner would turn into a nighttime stroll by the ocean, would turn into him walking you back home, would turn into you inviting him in for coffee and...

Eventually, him becoming your long-term boyfriend.

The feelings he shared with you were mutual; you'd be lying if you said he didn't have you smitten by the end of your first date. He was just so charming and attentive, sweet and generous, he made you laugh and went out of his way to make sure you were safe throughout the day. He wrote you letters like crazy when work called him away for extended periods, and you'd skip to your mailbox every morning knowing multiple pages of parchment marked up in his handwriting would be there to wish you a good day, tell you how much he missed your beautiful face and comforting touch, responding to your questions in your previous letters and asking you his own in return. It felt lovely to have him wait on you, to show you how much he really cared for you and how grateful he was to have you in his life.

You were never quite sure exactly what he did for work, him always dancing around the details and giving you a vague description of his duties. All you could really make out was that his job was strict with unpredictable hours that would often steal him away from you for days or even weeks. Normally, you wouldn't be too upset about going a couple days without seeing your boyfriend...if he didn't live with you. Now, when he didn't come home at the end of the day, or at the end of the week like he promised he would, you'd worry---and you'd miss him terribly.

After about a year of dating, he'd asked you to join him in his apartment for good, he even scheduled a moving date for you, but you refused—you just liked the home you had too much! So he moved into your place, which initially posed an issue with space, but he didn't have too many things to move in with him other than a duffel bag full of clothes. His lack of belongings raised questions that were quickly quelled by him stating he "kept his stuff at the office.".

Now you were kicking yourself, wishing you had asked more thorough questions and demanded answers from him as to what exactly he was always off doing, why he didn't want you to know which corporation he worked for or what goods or services they were involved with, how exactly he'd show up at home looking cleaner and more put together than when he left—like he'd cleaned up and changed before he left work. You felt like an idiot because now, when he'd finally revealed that he was not only a member of the Fatui, but a Harbinger working under the Tsaritsa of Snezhanaya—the Cryo Archon herself, he'd also revealed his plans to take you back home with him.

Plans that you were, understandably, wildly averse to.

Liyue was your home! You had a good job, good friends, a good routine! You worked hard to make a life for yourself here, and now, suddenly it was up to Childe to decide that you were going to uproot it?

That was not happening.

However, as you sat next to him on a massive passenger ship three fourths of the way through a journey to the frozen country perched at the very north of Teyvat, his warm gloved hand encompassing yours and fur-lined cloak thrown over the both of you while you were pressed up against his side, it hit you that it was, indeed, happening.

He was able to talk you into it with promises of, "It'll just be a few months.", "I just want you to meet my family; my little siblings will love you!", "I'll pay the rent for your place so it'll still be there when you come back to it!."

But there was no denying that you were, in fact, not coming back to it; which you'd finally deduced when Childe shut and locked the door to your now dark and bare apartment while his strikingly intimidating subordinates loaded the majority of your belongings onto a cargo ship. The ship was bound to meet you in your boyfriend's home country, ready to furnish your new cabin in Mosepok before your arrival. The realization sat like a pit in your stomach, only worsened by how Childe's planning ahead included your belongings in your new home being arranged for you and not by you; stealing away what little choices you had about this move in the first place.

Though this whole plan of his threw your life off kilter, filling you with anxiety about the future ahead of you, there was a certain comfort in how Childe squeezed your hand reassuringly and pressed kisses to your hair and cheeks.

"I promise it'll be alright…I just need to know you’re safe. And my family will take good care of you."

The thought of getting to spend quality time with the relatives of his you'd only known through written correspondence did fill you with a sort of excitement. Your cabin would be walking distance from theirs, meaning you'd get to share countless family dinners and lively visits with them—a luxury you had not known for a long time. And you were just dying to meet little Teucer, Tonia, and Antón. Childe talked about them nonstop, and they'd sent you a dozen messy scribbled drawings of you and them, though they'd never even met you! You felt lucky to enter a new life with so many people's arms open for you to fall into.

...however, where there is newfound beginnings and gain, there is change and loss, and you felt that loss deeply as you looked across the wild, dark sea---no longer able to see the shoreline of the place you once called home.

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The boat ride felt like it stretched on for eternity, nothing but the view of the open ocean or conversation with your boyfriend (if you could even still call him that by now, given your life was now fully intertwined with his) to entertain you. When the ride through the ferocious waters bobbing the boat up and down in fluid motion inevitably made you seasick, he let you nuzzle your face against his ribs and rubbed a soothing hand up and around your back to give you some relief. You fell asleep against him for the rest of the voyage, opening your eyes to already find yourself in bed—waking to the view of a pine wood ceiling illuminated by firelight.

You were unpleasantly surprised that you'd woken up alone; the adjacent side of the bed typically assigned to Childe, empty. Horror washed down your body at the thought that he'd already left you behind to return to work, before you turned your attention to the foot of your bed to find a pair of bright blue eyes peeping at you from the shadows. Before you could cry out in terror, the small figure excitedly climbed up onto the bed and threw it's arms around your tense torso in a tight embrace. You were too shocked to move as the little creature squeaked in delight and hugged you tight.

"Big sister! You're finally awake!"

You blinked the residual sleep out of your eyes as your bleary vision sharpened, finding that the vice wrapped around your stomach was actually a little boy; and upon further investigation, you found the little boy was an uncanny mini-me of your dear lover.

Your frightened expression melted into a warm smile, returning the little boy's hug.

"You must be Teucer, right?", you gathered from how he was the only one of his family that addressed you in the letters you received with "Big Sister".

The little boy pulled back with twinkling eyes, a bright crooked grin mirroring that of his older brother stretched across his face.

"You remembered!"

You nodded with a, "It's nice to meet you.", and before you could ask where his older brother was, the devil you'd fallen in love with opened the door to your room with a smirk on his face and let himself in. Two other teenier versions of himself followed behind him; no doubt Antón and Tonia.

These children were shier than the bundle of energy, Teucer, and hung back by the door to peek at you while their older brother flopped down next to you on the bed and leaned up to press a gentle kiss to your cheek.

The display of affection drew various expressions of repulse from the kids; scrunching their noses and covering their eyes with performative gags and "ew"s—only serving to make their older brother chuckle.

Childe intertwined his hand with yours and brought it up to his lips, that near-overwhelming intensity of emotion he always held for you evident in his eyes that were now locked on yours making your cheeks flush with color. The dullness of his eyes that made them look so haunting grew to make your heart bubble whenever they landed on you; it was something so unique to him that was actually quite a handsome feature once you got used to it. Though, you often wondered if his eyes had always been like that, if their color simply faded with time, or if it was a specific event that killed the light in his eyes—an outcome you found yourself praying wasn't the case.

No matter how he obtained this feature, you loved it, just as you loved him.

His voice was smooth and unlabored when he asked, "How did you sleep, love?"

"Deeply, I suppose.", you said as you looked around the room, wondering how you'd managed to sleep not only through the rest of the boat ride but the sleigh ride to his family's cabin as well.

Childe nodded as he shifted his gaze to Teucer, grinning and ruffling his hair, "Apologies for the little spy.", making the boy giggle as Childe's eyes once again locked with yours, "He was bouncing off the walls waiting to meet you. Guess it's no surprise he snuck in."

You shook your head, smiling softly at him, "It was a wonderful way to wake."

Childe looked like he'd never received higher praise, putting a hand on the back of your head to draw your face forward and press a happy kiss to your forehead—reawakening the chorus of "yuck!" and "gross!".

He pulled back to gaze lovingly into your eyes, the deep color and heat behind his own once again making your heart sing, though your staring was broken by a soft knock on the doorframe.

"Hello?", the soft voice of an older woman called before she peered in, adding evidence to your suspicion that this family was full of warm smiles as she gazed at you adoringly. You had no idea a stranger could look at you with so much affection upon your first meeting. "Oh, good to see you're awake, dear.", she cooed, "Dinner's ready if you'd like to come to the table, but if you're weary I could always bring you a bowl. We're having beef stew to give you strength after your long trip."

For some reason, her use of the word "you" resonated somewhere in your mind. It was full of warmth and kindness...but it was singular to you---she was addressing you alone. Childe had made this journey too, and you supposed "you" could have included him in the statement...but she wasn't looking at him. In fact, this interaction could play out the same were he not here at all.

Your eyes drifted to your lover's face only to find his cheery expression virtually unchanged, though an unfamiliar pit sat in your stomach. But you shook off the uneasiness, supposing that she was just referring to you alone as a way of honoring you as a guest. Childe didn't seem bothered, and it was just a minor detail, so it was probably nothing.

...right?

"...We'll join you at the table. Would that be alright?", you said in a soft, polite tone.

Childe's mother only nodded with an affirming hum, before leaving the room without sparing her son a single glance; the children followed after her.

You were about to turn and ask Childe if everything was okay—maybe he'd gotten into a disagreement with her earlier in the night, but he beat you to it, cupping your jaw to bring your face close and press a firm, lingering kiss to your lips. It was so passionate, the force of it pushed you back slightly, to which he stabilized you by encircling his arm around your waist and dragging you back in.

When he finally pulled away, leaving you breathless and flushed, your mind was spinning. What had you just been worrying about? You couldn't remember.

"You ready to eat?", he sang, the happiness in his voice so clearly present it felt...forced.

"...sure."

With that, he pulled you out of bed and brought you to your feet, taking care to stabilize you to ensure your exhaustion wouldn't overcome you and send you crumpling to the floor. Childe always handled you like glass, and for that, you were often grateful.

Once he was convinced you were fine to walk on your own, he took your arm in his and led you down the cabin's hall into the dining room.

As he tugged you along, you took care to look around, taking in Childe's home. The place was humble—not what you had expected of a cabin belonging to a harbinger's family to look like. It would take a measuring tape to confirm, but you were skeptical that Childe's apartment in Liyue might actually be bigger than this cabin in it's entirety. The house was constructed of a simple sanded pine, not a glossy, well-crafted redwood like you'd seen in pictures of the house Childe had purchased for you down the road. You wondered why, with their son's hefty income, they hadn't gotten an upgrade; perhaps the house was built by his father, or held special memories they didn't want to get rid of. Still, the dated appliances like the furnace in your room or worn rugs on the floor raised questions.

You knew Childe, and he was anything but neglectful of those he loved.

So the only reason you could surmise for the dated appliances was that they didn't want his support.

...maybe it was his parent's pride...maybe it was something else.

Your thoughts strayed when Childe sat you down at the table and the mouth-watering fragrance of his mother's stew invaded your senses---leaving you drooling. Your stomach growled loudly in anticipation, to which you shyly covered it with a hand. This drew a hearty laugh from your lover, placing his own hand over yours and kissing your head.

The children clamored over to the table; you noticed only the youngest three children were present, meaning Childe's older siblings were most likely off taking care of their own responsibilities in their adult lives. You were sure you'd meet them soon. The kids giggle amongst themselves and squeaked excitedly at you, overwhelming you with an avalanche of questions like: "Are you going to marry big brother?", "Can we come see your house?", "Can we sleep over all the time?", "Are you going to get a kitty?".

The little bunches of energy brought so much life to the room, and the way their mother looked at you with such welcome and love, you couldn't help but feel right at home.

But when the door to the frigid yard opened, and Childe's father strode in with clumps of falling snow following him, the room stilled.

The kids stopped laughing, Childe's mother looked on in grim anticipation, and your lover's smile finally fell.

You looked between the two in confusion: Childe's father did not look surprised, but did not look happy to see his son, and Childe himself was glowering, almost a challenge in his eyes. It was like he completely stole the older man's attention, as his eyes didn't seem to register you seated right next to his son at all. The man looked to his wife firmly, the look on his face alone silently shouting "Why is he here?". The woman's eyes flicked to you. He followed her gaze, his own blue eyes, with a dulled shine but not nearly as dulled as his son's, landing on you.

...and he grinned broadly.

"Well! Do we have a new daughter?"

You were perplexed by Childe's father's drastic shift in attitude, looking tentatively at your lover for some sort of explanation, but the man only fixed his eyes on the oak dinner table below him.

Childe's father stepped into the house and around his son to pull you into a big, warm hug. Though part of you was hesitant to accept sudden affection from someone who was practically a stranger, you couldn't deny the overwhelming feeling of acceptance and love eminating from the man's grasp. It felt like a hug from your own father; full of joy and warmth.

When you pulled away and sat back down with a tentative smile, the older man found his wife by the stove to give her a peck on the cheek. You turned your gaze towards Childe to find a soft smile on his lips; you'd always loved his grin, which had an endearing, crooked tilt to it---it was unique to him and characteristic to boot. However, this time, you weren't met with that classic Childe smirk; this time, his smile was a mix of both joy and sorrow---like how you would smile at someone who'd achieved something you yourself desperately wanted. You drew a hand out to smooth your palm over his cheek, and he gratefully leaned into your touch, momentarily shutting his eyes and releasing a weighted sigh.

˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖♡︎˖⁺‧₊˚♡˚₊‧⁺˖

After dinner, though Childe's siblings begged the both of you to stay and play with them, you said your goodbyes to the family to retire to your new home just a few doors down. The two of you were exhausted from your trip, and you needed some time alone with Childe to get some explanations.

Childe kept you close to his side as the two of you walked down the cobbled street, his cloak thrown over the both of you once again to ensure the frigid air could not bring you discomfort for even a minute-long journey.

Down the street of dimly-lit homes, with mother's tucking their children into bed and couples huddled close under their warm covers, only one house shone brightly with warm, orange light in the starry night.

At the end of the street, your sturdy cabin, crafted from quality redwood, welcomed you.

When the two of you reached the porch---with an awning promising protection from falling snow in the mornings you now planned to spend sitting outside and watching as Teucer and Anton build snowmen in the yard---Childe scooped you into his arms before unlocking the front door and carrying you inside.

"For good luck.", he grinned, with that crooked tilt you adored so deeply, bringing a chuckle to your lips.

You leaned up and pressed a happy kiss to his cheek, drawing a pleased hum from him.

"I love you.", he sighed, holding you even closer in a tight squeeze before setting you down carefully.

You tore your eyes from his cheery face to take a look at your new home. To your surprise, it was nearly the spitting image of your old place in Liyue, only much bigger.

All of your furniture had been assorted just as you'd had it in your apartment, but you now had a bedroom and kitchen separate from the living room. New, classical Snezhanayan furniture sat in the spaces that couldn't be filled with the little belongings you had: a finely crafted display cabinet behind the dining room table, a velvet loveseat with flowers and swirls carved into the fine wood, a silver mirror by the front door that reflected the image of you and the man you adored so ardently---you had to admit, the both of you looked perfect together. As an additional surprise, framed photos of your and Childe's happiest days adorned the walls: a picture of you and Childe on your first date, your most recent birthday dinner with you surrounded by your closest friends, a beach day with Childe---your legs wrapped around his torso as he held you, cackling with you thrashing angrily as he dipped you into the chilly water. You smiled at the sweet images; they made your heart bubble like it did every time Childe spoiled and cared for you. Accompanying the snapshots were photos of Childe's siblings outside their schoolhouse, playing in the snowy yard, and even a family photo of when Childe was still small; from a time his little siblings hadn't been born yet. Your smile fell slightly as you reached out and stroked young Childe's image.

Your voice was gentle as you inquired, "...are there any more recent photos of your family? The kids aren't in this one."

His wistful gaze turned forlorn as he took in the image and your accompanying question, "...no."

Your heart broke at his distant face; something was eating at him, something deeply etched in his heart.

It was suddenly clear to you why he couldn't return home alone—why he dragged you out to his frosty country to secure you in a cozy cabin to share.

He needed to have you, someone who smiled so brightly in pictures with him, who welcomed him home with a hug and a smile at the end of each day, who'd tell him she loved him with ardent honesty in her voice.

In the expanse of the frosty country he grew up in, the only place he could return to was a house he was unwelcome in.

He needed you...

...because without you, he really had no home to return to.

Without another word, you'd understood the gravity of his situation, and the heart throbbing in your chest cried out at the sight of his somber expression to alleviate it.

You tugged him down to you, softly holding him around his shoulders and allowing him to rest his head on your collarbone. His eyes closed as your poured your love over him, whispering, "I love our new home."

"I'm relieved.", he sighed, "...I know I dragged you out here...and...I'm sorry...I realize how selfish it was."

"...I forgive you...I just wish you were honest with me earlier...I would have been more willing if I'd understood."

If he had told you the real reason he needed to take you home with him, though you might still have shied away from the change, you would have gone. The last thing you wanted was for the man you loved to feel alone in the world.

"You have me, Childe."

He hummed---the sound rumbling softly from his warm chest to yours, "I have you."

"You'll never be without a home again."