#in roughly ascending order

[ladymariayuri]

2, 12, 22, 32, 42, 52, 62, 72, 82, 92 on your wrapped? (you don't have to do all of them <3 if you don't want)

ill do the ones i actually like (already did 2)

[monster-noises]

Hmm Had a Zine idea last night that would involve only curatorial work from me (with... maybe some minimal illustration) where I go through all my old art and files and compile like.. a Tome of Lost Stories that describes and summarizes all the comics and story ideas and characters I've had over the years cause there's a Lot, and it would feel nice, I think, to give them more of a proper send off than the sort of weird decent into obscurity they all kinda Got. Depending on the scope of the project and the available material I have in my Files I would write out a brief description of the plot and list the characters and maybe some of my thoughts Now on the project along side the original sketches and illustrations, and maybe for the bigger projects that I Feel Some Kinda Feeling About I'd draw something new, like a cover or a poster type thing... I don't know if anyone but me would be interested in seeing that compiled at All, but i think it would make me feel Good and would be Largely Achievable, as a Concept....

[wooyoungmybelovedhusband]

I HAVE A THOUGHT SBJABSKR

Note: this fic is pillow princess! Reader

Imagine Wooyoung makes you lay on your back, your legs up in the air with your pussy in his reach, all open for him while hes driving. And then he gently orders you to finger yourself, knowing how inexperienced you are at pleasuring yourself. He guides you to slowly push one finger inside your dripping cunt, groaning at the sloppy noises that are mixed with your whines.

"Fuck, daddy, I can't, i can't, want your fingers please."

Wooyoung almost moans at the way your whiny voice called out to him, trying to keep his eyes on the road. You almost squeal when his veiny fingers finally reach out to your pussy, slapping your clit twice before adding two of his long fingers inside you along with your own pumping fingers. "Don't pull out your fingers, baby." Your moans were almost audible to passing cars as his fingers are almost knuckles deep when he thrusts his fingers back into you.

"Rub your clit for daddy, princess." Your hand immediately comes down at his command, to meekly rub at your clit as your legs twitch up in the air.

Feeling you clench around his fingers, Wooyoung fastens his pace, roughly slamming his fingers inside you as your slick drips down to his black seats. A faint 'daddy' from you was enough for him to know you were close to cumming, "Go on, baby, cum for daddy."

A loud yelp leaves you as your cum squirts around his fingers, which still pace inside you at the same pace. Your hands coming down to hold his wrist for balance as your hips twitch from the orgasm.

Pulling his fingers out once you were a bit composed, Wooyoung pats your pussy which could be mistaken for slaps. "Good girl."

[IM ASCENDING RN SAWFGBRAEHHBDE]

[tyquu]

Absolutely love your prosthetic Ezra AU. Arts so wonderful and stunning (Sorry if I spell it wrong, English is not my first language)

If you don't watch Asoka show you can ignore my question, because of spoilers)))

I have a bunch of little questions. Ezra spent almost ten years in other galaxy. What is the quality of his prosthesis when he returned home? How did he deal with breakdowns without the right tools and parts?

Anyway, love your AUs and amazing art style!

Wahhh thank you so much! Glad to hear you like the AU!

So I haven’t actually finished Ahsoka (I know, im sorry 😭) but at this point I feel like I know roughly enough to take a crack at this! So here’s what I came up with;

So, Ezra’s cybernetic, as discussed in the post where I went into detail on it, requires pretty regular maintenance in order to function. Stranded on Peridea and without access to any med care/tech from the chimera, Ezra’s cybernetic would begin to go faulty within months.

At most he’d probably be able to make things just about work for three months post crash before it would have to come off. Grabbing a stick to use as a cane, there would be a few months where he has to really go back to basics, and it is not ideal.

However, Ezra would get crafty! Either with supplies he’d have stolen from the chimera or gathered on his own, and he’d end up with various self made peg legs! They aren’t perfect but with every iteration tend to get a bit better.

After staying with the Noti for a while, he’d finally have access to better materials and craftsmanship, and make a final design for his post crash prosthetic. It includes an adjustable buckle, prosthetic knee mechanism, and polished wood transtibial prostheses below the knee.

Obviously it would still need the occasional part replacement due to wear and tear as time goes on, but I don’t think it would change drastically from this point onwards, not until he gets back to lesser space of course, where I’m sure he’d go get checked out by a whole med team and possibly get his cybernetic replaced

But yeah!! That’s all I’ve got. I’m not a massive Ahsoka believer tbh, and I kinda split off in the middle to dabble a little bit on what an “Ezra and Thrawn in wild space adventures” prosthetic situation would end up being like. Especially with the possibility of introducing the ascendancy. But I decided to halt that train of thought for now so I could address the Ahsoka show specifically 🫡

Thanks again for the ask! Hope this sort of makes sense (and please do let me know if it doesn’t!) :D)

[lady-harrowhark]

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Gideon’s blood and the Tomb. I’ve got two points here that dovetail somewhat…

Let’s review some key events. I realize these probably seem a bit all over the place, but I do believe they come together. I’ve tried to put these in roughly chronological order.

John attempts to consume the soul of the Earth, and then creates a physical body for Alecto: “I ripped half my ribs from my body and made you from the dirt, my blood, my vomit, my bone.”

Ten thousand years later, Gideon and Harrow duke it out. The initial recollection of the fight says that “Harrow had scratched until she’d had half of Gideon’s face beneath her fingernails.” The more candid HtN version has Gideon telling us, “You clawed my face so bad that my blood ran down your hands; my face was under your fucking fingernails.”

Harrow opens the Tomb with Gideon’s (read: John’s) blood on her hands.

Harrow sees Alecto, falls in love with her, and decides to live. 

At some point while in the Tomb, Harrow apparently kisses Alecto: “She hadn’t come on purpose; the scrap of black-eyed meat had asked for it—the chain of a kiss: the ice that burnt the flesh of the mouth that had stuck to the mouth that was frozen.”

At Canaan House, Ianthe ascends and tells the others that step six of the process is to “consume the flesh. Not the whole thing, a drop of blood will do to ground you.”

Harrow’s letter tells her she owes Ianthe “the favour of the chain”, which extends “into the House, but NOT into the Tomb.” The agreement takes precedence over any oaths sworn to others, including John, except for the Holy Corpse.

Harrow kisses Ianthe to inspect her jaw and re-swears the oath.

Harrow’s Nova AU has her retrieving the chain of Samael from the Anastasian. This is considered a sin severe enough that the Reverend Father whips her, but she is allowed to keep the chain. Denied the role of Reverend Daughter, Harrow tells Ortus that she is “the unfulfilled vow and the bloody teeth of the unkissed skull.”

Alecto kisses Harrow, bites her, and recognizes her by her blood - the blood of Anastasia’s line. Alecto tells Harrow that she is very sorry about Samael, and she vows the favour she had promised to Anastasia to Harrow.

We see over and over this theme of consuming another life, whether body or soul: we get two sides of this coin when we compare Gideon’s “All I ever wanted you to do was eat me” to John’s statement that “it’s the human instinct, to take.” Consuming the flesh is, per Ianthe, one of the steps to taking in a cavalier’s soul and becoming a Lyctor, directly paralleling John consuming the Earth, both physically when he eats dirt and spiritually when he takes in her soul. Thus far, though, we don’t know how or if Harrow consumed Gideon’s flesh in the interim between chapters 36 and 37 of GtN. 

But here’s what I’ve been wondering: assuming Ianthe is correct (and telling the truth) about the steps to becoming a Lyctor, to what extent does the order and timing actually matter? I think there’s a distinct possibility that Harrow had consumed Gideon’s flesh years before they even came to Canaan House.

Because Harrow had Gideon’s face under her fingernails. And Harrow bites her nails.

HtN, chapter four:

You held your left hand up before your face, before the light, the even white light with its hot tungsten filaments. The thumbnail was whole and even. Too even? Were you wont to chew your fingernails still, that unattractive tic of your girlhood?

And again in chapter twenty-one:

She took off her gloves, and with the edges of her fingernails - bitten to the quick, and never much help - she started to prise open one wrinkled corner.

If the steps do not have to be completed strictly in order, Harrow may very well have already checked off step six if she were biting her nails with Gideon’s flesh and blood still clinging to them.

The other thing going on here is that we get these repeated connections between chains and favours and kisses. I don’t feel like we have quite all the pieces yet to draw any definitive conclusions, but it seems that the favour of the chain may have something to do with the Reverend Family’s vow to protect the Tomb. Particularly, Harrow describing herself, sans Reverend Daughter title, as “the unfulfilled vow” as she wields the chain of Samael lends itself to this interpretation. I also find it very interesting that this unfulfilled vow is paired with “the bloody teeth of the unkissed skull” given that upon waking, Alecto kisses Harrow, bites her, and draws blood which then allows her to recognize Harrow as one of Anastasia’s descendants.

Before that kiss, though, there was another. Alecto describes being called back by Harrow’s kiss, presumably when she broke into the Tomb as a child. I have to wonder if blood was playing a role here too. Alecto says that Harrow’s flesh stuck on her frozen lips, that the ice burned her. If this kiss also drew blood, it could be that the blood of Anastasia’s line was the key to calling her back. However, there may have been someone else’s blood on Alecto’s lips that day. If Harrow had been biting her nails, which she’d earlier used to claw Gideon’s face, she very well may have had Gideon’s blood in her mouth as well. As John’s daughter, her blood was able to open the Tomb. Was it able to call Alecto as well? Could “the chain of a kiss” be referring to Harrow transferring John’s blood between Gideon and Alecto?

Overall, it seems like we’re circling something akin to a blood oath or living blood ward. The thalergetic nature of blood certainly aligns with the symbolism of life and light that we see connected to the Earth and Alecto, in contrast to the thanergy that John cultivates. Alecto’s physical form is derived from John’s blood, and his power is derived from her soul. If indeed a kiss and a few drops of John’s blood, shepherded into the Tomb by Gideon and Harrow, are enough to call Alecto, I cannot even imagine the pyrotechnics show that we’re in for now that he’s had a run-in with the business end of her sword.

[nightlyrequiem]

Hey there, I love your writing! (you may know because I'm always around hehe). You're smooth, set a good flow even with the one shots, I look forward every Saturday to read a new chapter🥺 It's definitely the best girls for the girls writing!!!

And, I have a request hehe, I just read 'Weeping Angel' and I had the thought about Valeria finding a girl that works in her cartel who is the opposite, instead of crying she gets on with Valeria atitude.

Something about Valeria been rude, that harsh and mocking tone she has that's chef kiss, she screaming with her crew? Barking orders with her brows narrowed? Reader LOVES IT, just staying around looking with doe eyes at the cartel mami being a sexy leader all day.

Hiii Infeeeerno!!! I see you in my notifs all the time. Always makes me smile 🫂

I'm glad you're enjoying my writing, as a self-proclaimed girl lover, I naturally like to write for them

I can't even lie watching scenes where Valeria is angry just does something unspeakable to me. Something about aggressive outspoken women is just so... I say I want her to yell at me like that but I'm probably more like Reader in Weeping Angel

That being said I wouldn't mind her making me cry anyway

Tags/Warnings: Valeria Murders a Man, Valeria is Mean to Reader, Reader is Into it

Yell For Me

Valeria is yelling again. Someone messed up a shipment and it was costly. She's all but throwing a fit over it. The two men responsible are forced to face the brunt of her fury. She's throwing things and cursing. It's the most beautiful thing you've seen. Raw passion and emotion clings to every insult and curse she hurls at them. Valeria waves her arms around as she rants, the muscles in her biceps flexing with each movement.

"-Fucking idiots! How do you mess up such a simple thing?"

You almost feel ashamed over how attractive you find her when she's angry.

The men try not to react when she prowls closer. The smell of violence is in the air. She doesn't even hesitate when she pulls out her gun and shoots one of them in between the eyes. So sure of herself and her decision making. Valeria is a woman that knows what she wants and isn't afraid to be vocal when she doesn't get it. Before the other man can process what happened she's grabbing him by the hair and dragging him back roughly. Throwing him to the floor. You hear the breath knocked from his lungs.

You watch, entranced, as she beats him. Balling up her fists and repeatedly pounding into his face and chest. It's quick and efficient. Though he's still left twitching. It seems Valeria is feeling merciful today. She leans down close to his ear and hisses out a warning.

"Fuck up again and you'll be drifting home in pieces."

You want her to hit you and threaten you like that. Please, lord, just once let it happen? She stands and steps over his body like it's trash on the sidewalk. Valeria stalks past you and you turn and follow her dutifully.

You two walk into the elevator and wait while you ascend. Valeria's gray tank top has a few specks of blood staining the front. Speckled just under her rosary. She's still tense which has her flexing her arms unknowingly. You want to run your fingers over them. At a closer look you see small, silvery ropes of scar tissue littered among her arms.

"What the hell are you looking at?" She snaps, breaking your focus. Your eyes snap up to hers. Meeting her glare head on.

"Nothing." You murmur. 

"Well cut it out, pendeja." She growls. "It's rude to stare. Ya deberías saberlo, imbécil."

"Sorry." Though you're not really sorry.

The elevator doors slide open and she's out. You follow close behind like an over eager puppy.

"You!" Valeria says harshly, pointing at a man going over inventory. He jumps and looks at her.

"What?"

"Go to the warehouse by fifth and make sure everything is accounted for." She demands. Brows lowered. Valeria has one of those voices that commands attention even when it's not barking orders at you. When she's not yelling, she's usually being sarcastic and sneering at whoever she's speaking to. Like they're stupid and inconveniencing her by talking to her. The man nods and scurries off. She rubs a hand over her face. Something she does when she's getting a headache - and you're delighted to be privy to that information. "We have paperwork to do." she says.

Valeria can feel your eyes boring into the side of her head. She tries to ignore you while she works. You're weird. Valeria thinks of you as strange. She's seen that look on your face whenever she's bitching someone out. Eyes wide and glazed over, lips parted like she's giving the most compelling speech to ever grace your ears. Even when she's yelling at you for doing something wrong you have that look. She suspects you're into that kind of thing. It's not like she purposefully puts on a show for you sometimes. Playing up her anger to worse than it is. Even if she was, so what? Valeria isn't the type of person to be looked at with awe, and while she does revel in the fear and hate, it feels nice to be looked at differently.

It's hard to find someone who is able to withstand her temper and sharp tongue. Not only are you able to withstand it, but you seem to like it.

"You're staring. Again." she drawls. Looking up at you with an unamused expression. Anyone else would look away under her withering glare, not you though.

"Sorry."

But you're not. She leans back in her chair and rests her forearm on her desk. Not subtly flexing it for you. "Did you do anything productive, or have you been staring this whole time?" She snaps at you. "You told me you could handle this work, but it feels like something as simple as paperwork is too hard for you."

"I can do paperwork." You reply. Your voice is quiet but not because you're hurt or scared.

"Then do it." she says dryly. You look down and return your attention back to your task. You're weird, but Valeria likes that you aren't scared of her. Valeria likes the way you look at her, like you're five seconds away from pouncing on her.

It's hard to focus on your work when Valeria is only a few feet away. The desire to look at her face, mature in a way that only age and stress can do, is strong. She's strong, and aggressive, and homicidal, and so, so hot. You need her to scream at you, then you'll die happy.

"When we're done, we're going to go bet something to eat." She says. It's a command, not a request.

"Like, you and me?" You ask hopefully.

Valeria sighs irately. "Do you see anyone else in the room I could be referring to?" She asks dryly. 

"Right." You smile.

Valeria shakes her head and mutters under her breath.

"So..." You pipe up after a few minutes, watching her scowl when you do anything besides work. "Are we going to dinner in a date way?"

"Did you inhale paint fumes as an infant?" Valeria retorts. "Yes, it's a date. If you keep asking me dumb questions it won't be anymore."

"Sorry." You reply, still smiling dumbly. Forever unperturbed by her words.

[leifygreeens]

brain rot hours 👀? you said nsfw was cool sooooooo what do you think shane sounds like in bed lol

This ask made my brain rot even worse so I did all of the bachelors LMFAO. This is kind of all over the place, and I veered off tangentially on a few of them, but I did my best to stick to the topic. I also went ahead and situated them in (what I think is, anyway) ascending age order, so younger bachelors are first. Some are longer than others but that does not reflect my feelings for them. No favoritism here, bay-bee. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Thank you very much for your request hkjhlashfiloveu. :)

Warnings: Mentions of sub/dom dynamics, explicit language, GN!Farmer, praise/degradation/dirty talk, a few bits of dialogue, and mentions of oral sex. Enjoy!

Sam

Sam is fucking loud, okay?

Lead singer of a band and you really think he doesn’t have a set of pipes on him?

You’ve reserved your escapades to the farm only, because Haley and Emily would get an earful if you fooled around at his place, and you don’t need any incidents with his family overhearing his loud ass, either

He is loud, and he is shameless, and whether it’s moaning, whimpering, whining, or groaning—you’ll hear it out of him

Mans is versatile

Pathetic is one of the only words I can find to describe how he sounds in bed though if I’m honest

This guy definitely doesn’t have too much experience, so it’s easy to rile him up, and holy fuck if he isn’t sensitive as hell

He’ll make noise even if you're just kissing him

And he’s needy

“You’re too far away, come here” “kiss me more”

This boy has a filthy mouth on him

And he begs like a little bitch lol

“Please, I’m so close, it’s right there, just a little more, fuck please”

If you were expecting him to be a dom you’re on the wrONG BLOG LMFAO

Tie him up and treat him a little roughly, and this boy is drooling with fucking heart eyes, I promise you

But yeah, doesn’t matter if you’ve got your hands on him, if you’re blowing him, or if y’all are fucking, he’s gonna make noise no matter what

When he’s close, his voice gets higher and comes out faster, so every other breath he’s making noise

The only time he’s completely and utterly silent is when he comes

He’s the type to hold his breath when it hits him, and it only lasts a few seconds before he’s gasping and moaning again

And even if all of the attention is on you, and you’re not touching him, this man is gonna be loud

If he’s fingering you? Definitely gonna spill a few curses at how you feel on his fingers

If you let him go down on you? He’s moaning, and lord help him, if you start pulling his hair and forcing him this way and that??

Lights out, goodnight, he is officially gone.

Sebastian

Depends heavily on circumstance, I think

If you’re in control, he’s moaning and gasping, and his voice is so fucking pretty

A little scratchy from his smoking habit, if I’m honest, but it’s still a very nice voice

Especially if he’s the one in charge

And if he is in charge, he’s groaning, and hear me out—he laughs at you.

Not meanly! (kinda meanly) just, yanno

Some slight degradation

“Hah, does it really feel that good? I haven’t even done all that much to you yet and you’re already like this?” 

Hnnnghghffsebastianjustonechanceplease

Probably a little insecure about his voice, but if he knows you like it, that’s all the information he needs

He just wants to make you feel good, so if there’s something he can do to make it feel better, he’s going to do it

That said, he mirrors you quite a bit

So if you’re loud, he’s gonna be loud (what do you expect from him, really? It’s not his fault you sound so good), and if you’re quiet, he’s gonna be quiet, too

He’ll never be completely silent, just because he doesn’t have that kind of self-control, but he’s definitely quiet

It also depends on how heavy you’re going

So if it’s rough, his voice will also probably reflect that: lots of groaning, heavy breathing, some curses here and there.

Soft sex will be quieter, but he’ll also be a little sweeter. There’ll be more praise, probably some “I love you’s” sprinkled in there, and he’ll try to muffle his higher noises into your lips or any other skin he can reach

Overall, I think sex with him will go one way or the other

Sub or dom? Whines or groans? Flip a coin and lemme know how it goes lol

Alex 

He’s the kind of person who won’t make a lot of noise

he’s panting and breathing heavily, and that’s probably it

But he talks quite a bit

And we all know that deep down this boy is a hopeless romantic(hello, ten-heart event!), so his dirty talk def reflects that

Get ready for PRAISE. SO much praise

“You feel so fucking good, baby,” “I’ve been waiting for this all day,” “you’re doing good for me, just like that,” etc.

If he’s really into it, especially when he’s close to cumming, he’ll stutter a lot or just give up halfway through his sentences lmao

Don’t misunderstand, it’s not that he refuses to make noise because he thinks it’s weird

He just prefers the way you sound, yanno? So he’d rather keep it down to hear you better

But if you let him know that you want to hear him more, he’d make an effort to let some sounds loose

But he wouldn’t fake them, and he’s not gonna suddenly start blowing out your eardrums

The first time he properly groans, he feels the effect it has on you

It could be the most pathetic, shaky, and quiet sound ever, but your reaction is immediate

Goosebumps over your arms, subtle trembling/shivering, bro, if you grab him a little bit tighter???? 

and now that he can see with absolute certainty that you enjoy his voice?

His confidence will sky-rocket, and you’ll get wayyyy more noise out of him from then on

He will take the opportunity to tease you about it after you’re done though

“Damn, you like my voice that much, huh?”

I am also a firm believer that he prefers positions with a lot of proximity and skin contact, so lots of missionary, back-to-chest, etc. (he also likes positions where he can show off his strength and stamina, but that’s neither here nor there)

He loves anything where he can press in close and have as many points of contact as possible

Which makes it way easier to dive low and spit romantic filth into your ear, you with me?

Lives for the reactions he can drag out of you with just his voice

It might be his favorite part about sex with you if I’m being realistic

It's nice to see tangible proof that you’re enjoying yourself because of what he’s doing, obviously, but the fact that he can have you reduced to such a mess with just his voice?

This man is absolutely gone on you, I swear

Elliott

Lordt have mercy

I think in terms of volume, he’d be pretty average.

Like he’s not going to drown you out, but he’s definitely not quiet

Having said that

Moans, praise, and sappy declarations of love are his modus operandi

Elliott is a poetic soul: he’s got a way with words, and a romantic heart

Intimacy is important to him, and the more connected you are, the sweeter he sounds

He doesn’t curse nearly as much as any of the bachelors, either

While the rest of them spit filth at you with a good helping of swearing tossed into the mix, he’s a little more classy and eloquent with how he goes about it

“You sound heavenly, my love,” “how was I so fortunate as to meet you,” “so good to me, my precious flower”

what a cheese lol elliott pls i’m begging i would give you everything

One hundred percent convinced y’all are soulmates

And it’s kind of obvious during sex

He hates not being able to see your face while you’re in bed together

Wants to be able to kiss you while he’s making love to you, and will absolutely moan into your mouth while doing so end me

But he’ll be at his loudest when you’re indulging his desire for intimacy

Hold his hand during sex. I dare you.

Cup his cheeks? Tell him you love him while he’s mid-thrust?

Lol if you’re at his cabin on the beach, you better hope Willy took his boat out for some ocean fishing because otherwise, he’ll definitely hear

But enough about volume

Elliott’s voice is smooth like butter, and fairly deep

listening to him fall apart feels like pouring warm honey down your spine

He sounds so good, and he’s not shy about it

Will only beg if he wants you both to come at the same time—otherwise everything is pretty neutral—no dom/sub dynamics, he just wants to make love to you

I wouldn’t say he’s vanilla by any means, but that’s a story for another time

Shane

If he’s in a Mood™, this man is nasty.

Point-blank, no bullshit.

He doesn’t moan, or whine, or whimper—you’d have to overstimulate the shit out of him to get a reaction like that, but unless you’re willing to deal with the consequences, I don’t personally recommend doing that lol yes I do

But for the sake of the ask, let’s say you don’t

Grunts and groans—that’s all you’re getting as far as sounds go

But not to worry, because dirty talk is his specialty

Will praise you while degrading you

“Look at you, drooling and drunk all for my cock,” “Wish you could see how pretty you are, baby”

Hnngf anyway

He’s at his loudest when you agree with him

Sound confusing? Here, have some examples.

“I’m the only one who can fuck you like this, aren’t I?” “no one could make you feel the way I do”

Say yes to anything like that? ^^^

And this man is yours.

He’ll get SO loud, and he’ll dive head-first into dirty talk like his life depends on it

Oh, you thought he was filthy before?

Lmao anyway yeah he’s possessive and likes it when you indulge him

But if he isn’t in a Mood™, and you catch him during a good moment, he veers a little more toward Elliott’s territory

Like definitely still possessive, but less vulgar about it, and not as cheesy

This guy has low self-esteem, and a lot of his insecurities stem from not feeling adequate for everyone in his life—including you

So if he’s feeling a little softer around the edges, and you take the moment to remind him that you’re in it for the long haul and have no intention of going anywhere

He’s groaning praise and loving filth in your ears

Definitely has a breeding kink I mean what I didn’t say anything

Anyway yeah lots of “so good to me,” “can’t believe I got this lucky,” “do you have any idea what you do to me?” etc., etc., etc.

Shane sir my husband my favorite chicken man just one chance please I beg

Harvey

A crier

Lol jumping straight into it LESGO

Pathetic little sobs because he’s so overstimulated and it feels just a little too good

Stutters quite a bit—he likes giving up control to you so he doesn’t have to think, but that often means he loses his ability to speak coherently

this man is so stressed all the time and he just wants you to help him shut his brain off

Is a blushing, sobbing mess

Probably hiccupping a little if it gets to be too much

His crying is probably due to a mix of embarrassment and pleasure if I’m being realistic

But I personally hc him as someone who enjoys feeling a little stupid and sex-drunk, especially because of how much you seem to enjoy seeing him get like that

Don’t get me wrong, when it’s casual sex and not in the midst of a scene, this man is just as loving as any, but there’s a certain empty-headedness he gets when he feels too good

Doesn’t really talk much, again, he can’t think straight long enough to string anything together

If he does manage to get anything out, it’ll be a lot of one-word compliments and simple begging—also he slurs his words quite a bit

“Feels s’good, please don’stop” “please, s’pretty,” “like that, right there—hnngmfuck!”

I am dead

Sex is probably one of the only times he’ll cuss actually

Now I don’t imagine him as a goody-two-shoes-pure-boy-do-no-wrong-innocent-mind

Definitely not

But yanno, he’s not swearing up a storm in his day to day, or accessorizing every other sentence with “fuck” and “shit” like a certain someone abby i’m lookin at you babe

But he’ll definitely lose his filter during sex

My brain has collapsed after this jesus christ

[elminx]

Enery Update: Mars Retrograde 2024-2025

From December 6, 2024 to February 26, 2025, Mars will retrograde from 06° Leo to 17° Cancer. As this is a personal planet retrograde and it encapsulates most of our winter holiday season, it is a fairly long term aspect that we should all keep our eyes on.

The SetUp

Due to its position in our solar system (close to the Earth but past its position relative to the Sun), Mars is the planet that goes retrograde the least frequently, roughly every 26 months. Although we know that its backward motion is an illusion, astrology always views planets in their relationship to our home, the Earth. When a planet moves in retrograde motion, it retraces its steps through the horoscope wheel, repeating degrees that it has recently passed through. This creates an opportunity for a cosmic do-over as the world experiences these repeating degrees thrice: once when the planet enters its pre-retrograde shadow, a second time during the retrograde, and a third time after it stations direct once more in its post-retrograde shadow. This puts intense emphasis on these areas of life represented both by where it falls in the horoscope wheel and how it interacts with every person’s natal birth chart.

Mars is our planet of action. It is the planet that governs our drive and our energy levels. It rules the sign of Aries and the 1st house and co-rules the sign of Scorpio and the 8th house, along with the planet Pluto. We all have Mars placed somewhere in our charts. This placement shows what motivates us and how we go out and get what we want. Mars is also considered to be the Lesser Malefic in Traditional Astrology because it governs anger and strife. Mars needs a purpose – generally to move forward and accomplish a goal – or else it can easily become a bad actor.

When Mars moves in retrograde motion, it moves backward through the horoscope wheel. This is unfortunate as Mars prefers to gain and improve constantly. Retrograde planetary motion is all about looking back over the path that has been traveled and making the necessary changes to correct course. Some Mars placements (Virgo, for example) tend to be more comfortable with this than others. The big flex is to lean into the energy of this retrograde energy and work with it rather than against it.

As this Mars retrograde stretches from 06° Leo back to 17° Cancer, it crosses from a fixed sign back into a cardinal sign. Mixed sign retrogrades are more challenging to understand until you have a good grasp of astrology. What I want you to understand right now is that this retrograde will affect people with personal planets between 00-06° and people with personal planets between 17-29°.

This Mars retrograde will most strongly affect the following groups in the order written. Remembering, this is a compounding effect; the more categories you meet, the stronger the retrograde will be.

Those born with Mars from 00-06° Leo or 17-29° Cancer, and all Aries and Scorpio Sun, Moon, Ascendant, or Mars

Those with Mars in Cancer or Leo that do not meet the above degrees

Anyone with a personal planet (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) from 00-06° Taurus or Scorpio (square) or Aquarius (opposition), or 17-29° Aries and Libra (square) or Aquarius (opposition)

Anyone with a person planet from 00-06° Aries or Sagittarius, or 17-29° Scorpio or Pisces (trine)

Anyone with a personal planet from 00-06° Gemini or Libra, or 17-29° Taurus or Virgo (sextile)

Anyone with Mars in the 1st House or Mars conjunct their Natal Sun

Keep in mind here that as a personal planet, Mars’ retrograde will impact everyone to a greater or lesser degree, and it will impact our daily lives as a collective as well. You can determine what area of life Mars will impact by looking at the retrograde and how it relates to your chart by sign, house, aspect, and degree.

The Nitty Gritty

I want to reiterate from the start that although traditional astrology says that retrogrades are Bad and Mars retrogrades, in particular, are bad, this is not a foregone conclusion. Retrogrades are a change in the energy output of the planet in motion, and it takes clever awareness to adapt and work with rather than against this energy. Mars retrogrades tend to be the most challenging for humans for one simple reason – humans are, on average, very adverse and reactive to change. Mars wants to charge forth and exert its will upon the world, whereas Mars’s retrograde moments tend to call for pauses and reflection before action.

It is to our advantage that this Mars retrograde coincides with Fallowtide and the retreating of the light. It is disadvantageous that it coincides with our greater holiday season with all of its rushing and potential family disputes.

There are some almost inevitable truths to a Mars retrograde cycle: anything that requires action (be it your job, physical exertions of all kinds, the court systems, etc.) will move much slower than average. There will inevitably be people who can’t handle this slow-down and will lean into emotional reactivity and violence. Along with Venus, Mars is one of our relationship planets, so its retrograde can lead to relationship issues and breakups. (it’s worth noting here that Venus will retrograde as well in the coming spring, which will exasperate relationship issues as these two retrograde cycles overlap with one another)

Mars retrograde cycles tend to illuminate the areas of our lives where we are not getting what we want. This may be because of misplaced goals or poorly thought-through strategies. Or, quite simply, life isn’t fair, and effort rarely equals payout. Mars retrogrades show us how we and our Others react when we are stymied. It may lead to pessimism or depression in those prone, especially as this cycle coincides with our dark season, so stay aware and practice the self-care necessary to weather this rough transit if necessary.

In particular, this retrograde cycle crosses from our fixed fire sign, Leo, backward into our cardinal water sign, Cancer. Immature Mars in Leo energy can be egotistic and self-serving; immature Mars in Cancer tends towards emotional manipulation to get what they want or need. These will be the two battles of this retrograde season. Immature Mars in Leo energy says, “I deserve this,” and immature Cancer energy says, “And I will do what I must to keep this.”

I intentionally use the word immature here because there is a mature form to both of these energies, and discovering this is part of Mars in retrograde energy. Mature Mars in Leo energy is “We ALL deserve this and I will work to make that happen,” and mature Cancer energy is “When we work together to accomplish our goals, we both win.” I also want to reiterate here that we all exhibit immature behaviors now and then, which doesn’t make us bad people. We are all imperfect human beings. The goal with retrogrades like this is to recognize when we are being immature or unfair to others, and to course correct.

As mentioned above, retrogrades all happen in three phases: the pre-retrograde shadow, the retrograde proper, and the post-retrograde shadow. This can explained through the silly analogy of falling in a hole:

Oh no, I fell into this hole! I didn’t know that it was there. There was no way of avoiding it! (pre-retrograde shadow)

Oh SHIT! Did I just fall into that same fucking hole? I should learn to avoid that. (retrograde)

(and hopefully) Oh hey – look at that hole! I don’t need to fall in that – I can walk around it. (post-retrograde shadow)

In this way, many people will face a lesson somewhere in their lives around the themes of the specific retrograde. Of course, whether they learn from it depends on many factors, such as general awareness, ability to think critically, and general maturity level. A person who isn’t willing to change will never get much from a retrograde cycle; on the other hand, someone who is open and willing to look critically at themselves and their own actions may gain a great deal.

Mars makes several aspects to our outer planets, the lunar nodes, and our asteroid Chiron, which shows that this will likely be an especially momentous retrograde for many. During this journey, Mars in Cancer will sextile Uranus in Taurus, trine Neptune in Pisces, and square Chiron thrice and trine Saturn in Pisces twice. Additionally, Mars will oppose Pluto thrice (once in Cancer and twice in Leo) and trine the North Node thrice (twice in Leo and once in Cancer).

This switchover between signs is especially important here. While Mars is moving backward between Cancer and Leo, Pluto is entering Aquarius for good, and our lunar nodes are switching from the Aries-Libra axis to Pisces-Virgo. This is part of a greater story evolving throughout 2025 as both Neptune and Uranus will also change signs. We can see that the cosmic pause of this Mars retrograde is likely necessary because everyone on Earth is undergoing a drastic shift in energy. We need the space to realign, even if it doesn’t fit our perfectly crafted 5-year plan.

If you aren’t where you thought you’d be during this Mars retrograde, know you are right on time. Pay attention to what is going on around you and discern if perhaps it is where you are meant to be and you just haven’t realized it yet.

Some big changes may be in order; there is no denying that. But holding on (the immature Mars in the Cancer specialty) doesn’t really keep things the same, even when we want it to.

If you want to do magic to help with this retrograde, I would encourage work around Pathfinding and Discernment. When the roads fade away, you may need to pave your own or hedge-trim your way through life until the way becomes clear.

The Details

10/04 – Mars enters its pre-retrograde shadow 17° Cancer 10/06 – Mercury in Libra square Mars in Cancer 10/08 – Venus in Scorpio trine Mars in Cancer 10/13 – Mars in Cancer trine Chiron in Aries (1) 10/14 – Sun in Libra square Mars in Cancer 10/25 – Mars in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus (1) 10/28 – Mars in Cancer trine retrograde Neptune in Pisces (1) 11/2 – Mercury in Scorpio trine Mars in Cancer 11/3 – Mars enters Leo, Mars in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius (1) 11/17 – Mars in Leo trine North Node in Aries (1) 11/27 – Sun in Sagittarius trine Mars in Leo 12/06 – Mars retrogrades 06° Leo 12/12 – Venus in Aquarius opposed retrograde Mars in Leo 01/02/25 – retrograde Mars in Leo trine North Node in Aries (2) 01/03 – retrograde Mars in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius (2) 01/06 – retrograde Mars enters Cancer 01/12 – retrograde Mars trine Neptune in Pisces (2) 01/15 – Sun in Capricorn opposed retrograde Mars in Cancer 01/23 -Mercury in Capricorn opposed retrograde Mars in Cancer, retrograde Mars sextile Uranus in Taurus (2) 01/25 – Venus in Pisces trine retrograde Mars in Cancer 2/3 – retrograde Mars in Cancer square Chiron in Aries (2) 2/9 – retrograde Mars in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces (1) 2/23 – Mars stations direct 17° Cancer, Mercury in Pisces trine Mars in Cancer 2/26 – Mars in Cancer square Chiron in Aries (3) 3/08 – Sun in Pisces trine Mars in Cancer 4/4 – Mars in Cancer sextile Uranus in Taurus (3), Mars in Cancer trine Saturn in Pisces (2) 4/6 – retrograde Venus in Pisces trine Mars in Cancer 4/8 – Mars in Cancer trine North Node in Pisces (3) 4/18 – Mars enters Leo 4/19 – Mars in Leo trine Neptune in Aries (3) 4/20 – Sun in Taurus square Mars in Leo 4/26 – Mars in Leo opposed Pluto in Aquarius (03) 5/02 – Mars exits its post-retrograde shadow 06 Leo

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[maggiecheungs]

poems in episode one of the story of kunning palace

in episode 1 of kunning palace, xuening grabs a book of poems in order to trick her maids into thinking she keeps a ledger. my knowledge of classical chinese isn't particularly high level, but it's good enough to at least identify which poems are on the page that she opens to, and i'm certain they were deliberately chosen because of their relevance to the characters and themes of the show 👀 so i thought i'd do a post about them :)

this page contains three poems by the tang dynasty poet wang changling (698–756): 芙蓉樓送辛漸 (farewell to xin jian at lotus tower); 閨怨 (boudoir lament); and 春宮曲 (spring palace song). detailed analyses under the cut:

1 - 芙蓉樓送辛漸 (farewell to xin jian at lotus tower):

my translation

poem summary: the poet's friend came to wu on a night when cold rain was pouring into the river, and departs again at dawn. the poet accompanies him on his journey as far as the chu mountains [but cannot carry on journeying with him because he must stay at his official post in wu]. as he bids goodbye, he asks his friend to tell his family back in luoyang that his heart is still pure and resolute.

key themes: loneliness and solitude; duty; having a pure heart and noble character

analysis: this one is a fairly famous poem about parting before setting off on a long journey. it's particularly notable for its final line, 一片冰心在玉壺, which roughly translates to "my heart is as pure as a piece of ice within a vessel of jade"... which could easily have been written as a summary of zhang zhe's character.

however! while there's a definite emphasis on having a pure and guiltless heart, when you combine with the previous line, the couplet as a whole also gives a sense that the speaker wishes to be remembered by those they love as someone pure and righteous ("tell my family back in luoyang that my heart is still pure etc"). this seems to be a theme of xuening's second life: wanting to correct her past wrongs and treat the people she cares for better, and to prove to zhang zhe that she can be a good person in future

in particular, this poem makes me think of xuening's last moments in her first life. the poet's final request before he bids farewell to his friend? for his companion to tell his family that he is still noble at heart. xuening's final request before she dies? for xie wei to take her life in exchange for that of zhang zhe, as her way of repenting for being dishonourable and ruining his life... ���🤔🤔

2 - 閨怨 (boudoir lament):

poem summary: the young wife in her boudoir knows nothing of sorrow, but as she completes her toilette and ascends the emerald tower, she suddenly sees the hue of poplars and willows on the roadside and regrets letting her husband leave home to pursue official position and power.

key themes: love and marriage; abandonment; ambition (and the effect that ambition has on love)

analysis: it's essentially about how the husband's ambition causes him to abandon his wife to grief and loneliness, which seems like a clear parallel with xuening's willingness to abandon her faithful lovers for the sake of her ambition; there's also the implication that political status is ultimately less meaningful than a loving marriage.

i think it's worth noting that the character 怨 (yuan) in the title is fairly hard to translate, as it implies a mixture of grief and anger/resentment, or even hatred. it's fairly common in boudoir poems about women left behind by their husbands, and in that context it's often translated as 'lament' or 'grief', but i think the ambivalence of the term is fairly important, particularly if you apply it to kunning palace and the mix of grief and anger that xuening inspires in her old lovers in her first life.

3 - 春宮曲 (spring palace song):

poem summary: the wind is mild, the flowers are in full bloom, the moon is full and bright. the emperor has fallen in love with one of his sister's singing serving women, and is showering her with imperial favour and bestowing brocade robes upon her to keep out the spring chill.

key themes: happiness, success, security. (however, with contextual knowledge, there's also the implication of future doom, and that nobody can stay on top of the world forever)

analysis: i didn't quite catch the full significance of this one until i googled it and realised it's a poem about a real historical figure: wei zifu, a song-and-dance girl serving the princess pingyang, who wins the favour of pingyang’s brother, emperor wu of the han dynasty, eventually becoming his second empress (the second-longest serving empress in chinese history!).

wei zifu's story is essentially about a young woman of humble origins who survives numerous palace intrigues and eventually manages to ascend to the position of empress, trusted by the emperor to the extent that she was allowed to rule in his absence. however, after maintaining her position for over three decades, she eventually fell afoul of a conspiracy against her and her son, and committed suicide rather than allowing herself to be deposed.

i mean… the way this links to jiang xuening's first life is so obvious i don't even feel the need to explain it.

[sillylovingpupper]

I want to talk, uh, about Firefly. There will be spoilers for Honkai Star Rail 2.0

So the driving force behind 2.0 is Firefly; the current arc we're in has wider implications, but 2.0 was pretty clearly set up to introduce you to Penacony and get you to emphasize with Firefly. She is clearly designed to tug at your heartstrings. It's...pretty naked what the writers were hoping to invoke, but I want to rewind a bit. I want to talk about a certain scene, and how it relates to me, and...probably quite a few people reading this. I want to talk about Entropy Loss Syndrome.

I have very little doubt we'll hear more about it in the coming content; I keep myself away from leaks so I don't know if it's confirmed or not and I don't want to know. Everything I want to talk about is in this cutscene right here. Entropy Loss Syndrome is described as "irreversible chronic disassociation of your physical structure." Essentially, your body slowly breaks apart. Firefly explicitly says that it happens so slowly that it's hard to even notice from the outside.

This is the part that made me sit up and take notice, though.

Because while I can't tell you the date? I can tell you the year I noticed this happening to me.

This is the part where I need to tell you a bit about myself.

I was...a relatively healthy person, once upon a time. I wouldn't say I was in the peak of health, but physically I was quite capable, especially when it came to stamina and endurance. I prided myself on being able to walk further, last longer, and do more than other people. I couldn't go as fast as some or lift as much as some, but I could do it longer. And that was taken advantage of. I was a lowerclass American, of course it was. From the age of 17 to the age of roughly 29, the only period longer than six months that I didn't have a fulltime job was the semester and half of college, and the CNA training, that I attended. And in each of those jobs? I made myself indispensable because of the stamina I prided myself on. I'd work doubles, I'd work days in a row, I'd skip breaks, all without complaining. Which leads me to 2019.

After a year of difficult work as a CNA, involving...a lot of interpersonal drama at around the same time I was realizing I was transgender, I...buckled, in 2016. I left that line of work and took the first job that accepted me; McDonalds. At that point, I lived alone with my cat, and I had come to accept that was my fate. I would live alone, work at McDonalds until something happened, and move on to...a similar job, and so on until I died. I simply lost my desire to live, a desire that wouldn't return until early 2018 where, for some reason, against all odds, I pulled myself to a therapist. In 2019, I had, without any true intent on my part, ascended to the role of manager, and found myself shuffled to night shift. I took pride in my work, humble and underpaid as it was, and applied the same stamina and endurance to it that I had my previous jobs. ...until something changed. It was slow at first. I didn't even notice it, I wrote it off as a series of bad days...but thoughts were slightly out of reach. The amount of sleep I needed started to increase. The amount of time it took me to complete an order or clean an area increased. The distance I could walk or ride my bike started to shrink. I ran out of breath slightly easier. Truthfully, this had started happening when I was a CNA, but only on great exertion. I can't say it came from being less active, because of anything, I was more active, as I didn't have a car or the ability to drive...but increasingly I found myself unable to do anything but go to work, and even then, I needed more rest than before.

Fortunately, I was able to move in with some friends in mid 2020, and I haven't worked since, not for pay. I did promise them, in exchange for supporting me, I'd do housework; cook, clean, and support them however I could. A promise I have kept to this day, to the best of my abilities. But those abilities were continuing to shrink, and still do to this day. They noticed then, and they do now.

I went from being fiercely independent and active, to relying on a cane to keep myself stable and prevent falls, to now, where I can't even grocery shop on my own without leaning on the cart or using a motorized cart. I own a wheelchair for especially bad days. ...my thoughts and memories escape me on a nearly daily basis now, and I've found days, every now and again, slip through my fingers.

I've seen doctors, and none of them understand it, not entirely. There's been...theories, and a handful of things that contribute. Dehydration, sleep apnea, issues with my inner ear, even my HRT. Nothing that explains the fullness of it, though. Words like Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia are being thrown around, but we can't even point to a clear infection that could have triggered any of those. And all of this terrifies me. There's a part of me that just keeps telling myself that I'm getting older, that it's normal to slow down as you age...or that maybe it's diet, or getting the wrong kind of exercise. But at the end of the day...I'm losing abilities that I prided myself on. Abilities that I loved. I've found myself largely bound to my house and...

To be honest, I've told myself I'm fine with that. I've painted for myself a beautiful picture where I keep myself at home, take it easy physically and even mentally, and live a peaceful life. There's a part of me that even sees this as the best possible ending for me, but... with even my cognition slipping away from me...what kind of life can I have?

I've gotten through so much of my life, done things that I would have thought were impossible, simply by convincing myself they weren't. That nothing was impossible to a mind that believed. So Firefly means a lot to me because while she has a name for it, and I don't...both of us find ourselves in a body that's slowly betraying us. And Firefly was the first time I've seen someone on screen who had the same kind of struggle as me, and who also chose to keep walking forward and dreaming despite of it. I don't know what kind of life I'll have. I still don't even know for sure if this...whatever it is, is even real and not a result of me overreacting to getting a little slower and my mind filling in the gaps. But...whatever lies ahead of me...I hope that I can still live it brilliantly. I hope maybe one day, I can be the kind of person I was once again, even if I have to take it in smaller bites.

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

Not so happy introduction.

Sugarboo looked over their crew and then to the intruder that tried to fight their boyfriend. Scout held a gun to the brown haired man's head with a wicked smile. It's been a while since anyone dared try to harm their crew and they all ended up bonding with Alphonse. Knowing that he was the captain's partner who did have a past of pirating but not as good as them.

"Now now Scout. Don't hog the fun for everyone now." Chuckling out as Sugarboo slowly ascended down the stairs from the helm. Tiping their hat up they then glared at the tan man in front of them. "Alphonse, dear explain this." The pinkette perked hearing his name and began to tell everyone what happened.

"This is....Seth, he's an ex of mine. He doesn't mean harm please Hound, move the gun from his head!" The nickname of Scout was earned after they hunted down the man that tried to kill Rook. Their also referred to as Sugarboo's hunting Hound if they need someone captured.

"Ah, fine! Never let me have fun. Be lucky Candyfloss wants you alive." Pocketing their gun and walling to Casper who was rummaging through Seth's things.

"Hey! Don-" Wind whipped past his head as Sugarboo's trusty sword hit the Main mast. Alphonse flinched a bit at it, but he knew SB wasn't too keen on a intruder and prisoner making demands on their ship.

"I don't remember addressing you. Speak when spoke too!" SB then turn to Casper, "Ghost what's in his bag?" Questioning as they finally reached the deck walking to Alphonse first checking all over him.

"Some coin, food, and ooooh!" Aweing at the gun they pulled Casper spunned it in their hand "I might just be takin' this beauty!" Greedy eyes lit up as they saw the carvings on the gun.

"THAT WAS MY MOTHER'S PUT IT BA- ACK!" Shouting was cut off when Rook slapped the back of Seth's head. All the crew glared at him for thinking that he could even THINK of raising his voice at one of their crew members.

"Your goin' to tell us why you dare invade MY ship." Words said darkly as SB stalked twords Seth like a predator. Seth felt alarm bells ring through his head as the others began circling him as if waiting for a signal.

"I...I wanted to see if Alphonse was safe. I'm...I'm sorry for not asking for permission to aboard your ship." Choosing words carefully seemed to work out as Alphonse gave him a sad smile. This seemed to caused the captain to back off a bit, the other followed suit.

"Well, all ya had to do was ask. Now why'd you grab him roughly then?" The question caused the glaring to come back as most of the crew stood in front of Alphonse. Angel was the closest checking on his body for no brusing, SB always threw a fit when he got hurt.

"I...I was trying to get him to listen and I said somethings and they pissed him off." A look was shot at Alphonse who nodded to confirm the statement. SB sighed as they turned to Seth once again sighing they decided to say their verdict.

"Since ya did caused a hole in my ship and we need a repair man. You'll be staying." Noises of complaint were sounded at the orders of their captain. "I also see you need to talk to my partner. Once you do you can do as you please." Seth nodded and Alphonse looked at Boo with worry. Giving a signal to Rook Seth was released from his bindings to the main mass.

"Here's your shit back." Weight hit his chest causing him to groan and look to see 'Ghost' looking down at him. "Nothin' valuable anyways. Hound wanna go eat what Petals grew? I think they're trying to cross breed a Apple and Peach." Scout gave a crooked smile and came to Casper's side walking away. Buddy who was on top of the stairs looking for the next island to go to finally spoke up.

"Oi! Sweets, found a good one we could go to! It has a good market for us to restock our things." SB sighed thinking of their low supplies. With so many people they really need Sunflower to get better at that cross breeding thing. Star's preforming can only do so much for funding their supplies. Rook started for Buddy giving SB a sign they would handle it and to chat with Alphonse about his old ex.

After everyone left SB looked at Seth and Alphonse, "Now, let's start with that talk yeah?" Taking Al's arm gently they walked to their cabin with Seth running after them. He really didn't want to be slow since almost all of the crew did NOT like him.

Okay! So the pirate AU got stuck in my head and I needed to write about it. Yes all the listeners have some type of nickname:

Sugarboo - Sweets, bc they love sweet things and baking too.

Scout - Hound, is a name they made for hunting people, and their refer to as Sugarboo's hunting dog.

Casper - Ghost, they seems to disappear like one after swipping your things.

Sunflower - Petals, they hair falls like them and they love collecting them.

Star - Nova, they shine bright like one when they take the spot light.

Rook - Monarch or Rookie, Rookie was the og nickname but then as they grew stronger they were called monarch for how they act like a tyrant in the crew. (Mostly bc SB isn't harsh on the crew like they are)

Angel - Halo, it seems like they have one when taking care of everyone when hurt.

Buddy - Chuckles, when they get in mischief you'll hear their chuckling as a sign your going to not like what they have planed.

[enneegon]

i woke up to a massive fucking SURGE of notifs on my dash, hello funky space iterator enjoyers

i come bearing LORE!!! (very long read i'm sorry i wanted to rant)

so this guys full name is Hollow Intercession, Falling Space, All Mundane Order Towards Unawakened Discovery/HIFSAMOTUD (or just Discovery).

the astronomically (pun intended) long name is to celebrate their successful launch!! there were at least fourteen other failures before them

component-wise:

roughly ten times the size of a regular iterator (still deciding on the scale!)

solar-powered

four sets of wings (for moving in zero g)

vacuums to suck out biological waste and prevent slag buildup

massive communication arrays

overseers are used to photograph

personality wise they're actually extremely goofy, really outgoing and concerningly likeable. like they are so fucking silly. could definitely make any iterator laugh. cannot be serious for the life of them

purpose wise, they still worked on the great problem but were also tasked with researching space eg. taking pictures, sampling matter, naming planets.

(think big satellite or massive james webb telescope except the ancient version)

and STORY WISE

HIFSAMOTUD worked on their given tasks for a very short time after taking one look at the earth and going 'why the fuck do i have to be stationary and work on the great problem when you have all of them'

after MULTIPLE reminders HIFSAMOTUD just goes 'lmao no you gave me wings', breaks out of orbit and flies thousands of kilometres into space until the ancients completely lost connection with them. because of this, their model is discontinued in fear of this situation ever happening again <3

long after the ancients have all ascended HIFSAMOTUD floats their way back and makes a distress signal in hopes of contacting someone again - to their shock getting the attention of hundreds of iterators, all in different situations but being broken down by time.

HIFSAMOTUD, being in deep space where there is no oxygen for erosion, gets very concerned for their ground iterator friends.

they were already a massive communication system from the start, but they go off to rewrite some of their genomes so they can reprogram themselves. (and it goes surprisingly well! probably because they don't have resources to share with anyone and they told all their friends to shut the fuck up and leave them to focus)

they reprogram their coms to be a full global system for the iterators (invented discord) and use it to reconnect with older iterators and as a system where all the other iterators can communicate with each other. sorta like a server host!!

they also made a database for the iterators (registration) so they know who has been contacted and/or uses their system.

this is when the group of 'discoverists' form!! these are iterators who HIFSAMOTUD has registered on their database (in this au fp and lttm are discoverists!) discoverists are all anonymous and are given new aliases by HIFSAMOTUD - this can either be based on a role, or HIFSAMOTUD names them something space related based on their name or puppet colour, eg. OPERATOR, LIFEGIVER (roles) MOONLIGHT, NEBULA (colours) etc etc

these guys either don't work on the great problem, are massive space nerds, crave social interaction, are just here to fuck around or all of the above :)

[tribbetherium]

Insects, just as on Earth, have become tremendously successful on HP-02017: overshadowed by the hamsters and their spectacular descendants, but nonetheless unimaginably numerous, diverse, and vital to the balance of the countless ecosystems and biomes that have flourished across the planet for millions of years, from cold polar tundras to temperate forests to scorching deserts and, in the Middle Temperocene, a time of flooded coasts and expanding oceans thriving with life in its sunlit shallows, even the seas itself.

Many dipteran flies and a few hymenopterans too have taken up partial residence in coastal areas, convergent with Earthly brine flies, whose larvae live in shallow, salty tide pools and whose adults gather in massive swarms by the beach, where they in turn feed a wide array of wildlife such as ratbats, pterodents, rattiles, shrabs, squoads and more. But few live out in the open ocean, a realm whose arthropod inhabitants are instead governed by the shrish, their numerous basal krill ancestors and loads upon loads of nondescript zooplanktonic crustaceans. Yet the presence of coast kudzu, an unconventional, fast-spreading sea grass that floats entirely on the surface and can blanket whole square kilometers of ocean surface in favorable regions, provides a suitable habitat for the most unlikely of marine insects: the kudzu seatle (Thalassoscarabus spp.)

Descended from freshwater diving beetles that likely in turn descended from the darkling beetle Tenebrio molitor, one of the planet's earliest colonists, the kudzu seatle's ancestor was among the many victims of coastal storms that were swept out to sea and became unwitting pioneers. While many unfortunately perished and a lucky few made it to oceanic islands where they flourished, others, of more salt-tolerant strains, remained out at sea, some making it to the patches of coast kudzu where their descendants have flourished ever since.

Kudzu seatles spend much of their time clinging among the tangled floating forests of leaves and stems, to rest, hide themselves from predators, and to lay their eggs. Their eggs, laid in clusters of up to a hundred at a time, are attached to the stems of coast kudzu, where they hatch within a few days' time into small, bristly larvae that cling to the coast kudzu with their six thoracic legs to feed on microbial aggregations, algae, plankton and organic detritus, but are capable of swimming actively through jerky wiggling motions of their abdomens. When at rest, the larvae cling near the surface and extend an abdominal breathing tube to the surface, in order to breathe air, quickly diving and holding their breaths when disturbed by waves and ascending once more as the surface calms. As the larvae grow, they become ever more voracious, soon after graduating to feeding on the coast kudzu itself in its later instars. Once it reaches a full size of roughly two inches, it stops feeding and prepares itself for its transformation.

Yet in the open sea, there are few, if any, places for a larva to safely hole up in and become immobile for a prolonged period of time. As such, the kudzu seatle has an unconventional adaptation: a motile pupa, capable of swimming actively through contractions of its abdomen and possesses a specialized reserve of fat to fuel its motility, separate from its energy sources that guide its transformation as it does not eat for the two-week duration of its pupation. It now breathes at the surface through two thoracic tubes, and spends much of its time at the surface, diving back down when disturbed by vibrations and shadows.

At last, after an average of 14-16 days, the adult finally ecloses as a mature beetle, clinging to the surface of the coast kudzu to allow its elytra to harden. The pupae, guided by hormonal and light triggers, all emerge simultaneously just after sunset where they are much safer from predators. By dawn their exoskeletons will have hardened, their elytra now serving as oxygen tanks where they store bubbles of air, and now, swimming along with the aid of bristly legs and possessing excretory organs derived from their gut lining that clear their bodies of excess salt, the adults begin the final phase of their life cycle, being active hunters of zooplankton and larval shrish and pescopods, as well as feeding on the sap of coast kudzu as a supplement of energy-rich carbohydrates, throughout their adult life that can last as long as six months to a year depending on the species and local climate, throughout which they constantly mate and reproduce incessantly, with each female able to produce as many as 600-1000 eggs in a lifetime.

Various species of kudzu seatle are found across the oceans of HP-02017, such as the most common coastal kudzu seatle (Thalassoscarabus larsoni), which is predominantly a omnivorous plankton-feeding denizen of shallow tropical seas, to the larger pelagic kudzu seatle (T. shocirus) that is a more active hunter of smaller invertebrates in coast kudzu patches in open waters far from shore, to the forest kudzu seatle (T. puget) that thrives in the "emergent layer" of seagrass forests and experience massive population booms each summer that become a feast for predators of all kinds. The latter species, ranging around the shores of South Ecatoria, are very familiar to shore-dwelling calliducyons such as the baywulves and riveners as their breeding explosions seasonally blanket the surface with millions of larvae, many of which wash ashore and are considered a seasonal treat by the ocean-side foragers: though "sea bug season" does not last, as, while the larvae and particularly the fat-rich pupae are a favorite of theirs, the hard-shelled adults they eventually metamorphose into are considered bitter, chewy and highly unpalatable. Due to the somewhat shrimplike appearance of the larva and pupa, the calliducyons do not distinguish them from shrish and merely consider them as just another species of shrish, or "seaswimmer bug": though the resemblance of the adult to terrestrial beetles has not gone unnoticed by the riveners who call it in their dialect as "sea land bug", the paradoxical statement of which is the subject of local rhymes, songs and amusing folk stories.

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[taiey]

Derapchu's "trust tests" before asking Zam to team with him and showing him the five recovery compasses is like Planetlord's anti-paranoia therapy as lead-up to blowing up and replacing his base is like Vitalasy testing Jumper before giving her all his hearts and placing his last block. And honestly all three of these kinda skeeve me out (in um roughly ascending order)—but as far as I can tell in all three of them everyone involved was really genuinely glad to have been involved.

I want to say it's a ~grammar thing? In normal life it'd be very "why are you doing things this way. what. why. what was the point of that entire run around." but in content-creator-context the answer is just very obvious, you do it that way to make a structured, easily-paced video at the end. The artificiality isn't marked because it's default.

Also it really helps that at the end you give them something extremely valuable. 😆

(to step only very slightly out of Lifesteal context, ECorridor's Bliss video "This is the Most Evil Player" begins using this ~grammatical construct, then veers wildly off course ✨)

[racefortheironthrone]

So I know my homoiousios vs. homoousios, and my monophysite vs. dyophysite, and my monothelite vs. dyothelite, and how it all led to the Arab caliphates getting a decent navy and winning the Battle of the Masts.

I don't, and I'd love to! (If you feel like it, obviously.) I'm pretty sure the homoiousios one is about, like, the Trinity or something, but beyond that it's all Greek to me.

(At this point, I feel like I owe @apocrypals royalties or something, but I'm getting a weird kick from doing this on Saint Patrick's Day, so let's do this).

I covered the impact of the monophysite vs. dyophysite split and the Battle of the Masts here, so I'll start from the top.

You are quite correct that the homoiousios vs. homoousios split was, like most of the heresies of the early Church, a Cristological controversy over the nature of Christ and the Trinity. This is perhaps better known as the Arian Heresy, and it's arguably the great-granddaddy of all heresies.

The Arian heresy was the subject of the very first Council of the early Church, the Council of Nicea, convoked by Emperor Constantine the Great in order to end all disputes within the Church forever. (Clearly this worked out well.) In part because the Church hadn't really sat down and attempted to establish orthodoxy before, this debate got very heated. Famously, at one point the future Saint Nicholas supposedly punched Presbyter Arius in the face.

What got a room of men devoted to the "Prince of Peace" heated to the point of physical violence was that Arius argued that, while Christ was the son of God and thus clearly divine, because he was created by God the Father and thus came after the Father, he couldn't be of the same essence (homoousios) as the Father, but rather of similar essence (homoiousios). Eustathias of Antioch and Alexander of Alexandria took the opposing position, which got formulated into the Nicean Creed. As this might suggest, Arius lost both the debate and the succeeding vote that followed, as roughly 298 of 300 bishops attending signed onto the Creed. This got very bad for Arius indeed, because Emperor Constantine enforced the new policy by ordering his writings burned, and Arius and two of his supporters were exiled to Illyricum. Game over, right?

But something odd happened: the dispute kept going, as new followers of Arius popped up and showed themselves to be much better at the Byzantine knife-fighting of Church politics. About ten years later, the ever-unpredictable Constantine turned against Athanasius of Alexandria (who had been Alexander's campaign manager, in essence) and banished him for intruiging against Arius, while Arius was allowed to return to the church (this time in Jerusalem) - although this turned out to be mostly a symbolic victory as Arius died on the journey and didn't live to see his readmission.

....and then it turned out that Constantine the Great's son Constantius II was an Arian and he reversed policy completely, adopting the Arian position and exiling anyone who disagreed with him, up to and including Pope Liberius. While the Niceans eventually triumphed during the reign of Theodosius the Great, Arianism unexpectedly became a major geopolitical issue within the Empire.

See, both during their exile and during their brief period of ascendancy within the Church, one of the major projects of the Arians was to send out missionaries into the west to preach their version of Christianity. Unexpectedly, Arianism proved to be a big hit among the formerly pagan Goths (thanks in no small part to the missionary Ulfilas translating the Bible into Gothic), who were perhaps more familiar with pantheons in which patriarchal gods were considered senior to their sons.

While they weren't particularly given to persecuting Niceans in the West, the Ostrogothic, Visigothic, Burgundian, and Vandal Kings weren't about to let themselves be pushed around by some Roman prick in Constantinople either - which added an interesting religious component to Justinian's attempt to reconquer the West.

[liquid-luck-00]

Red Binding 4

Maribat March Day 4: Siren

@maribat-calendar-events @maribatserver

First *** Previous *** Next

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In the end, Marinette was accompanied by Guardian Shun’itsu and their protégé, a girl roughly her age. She had trained with the two of them for almost three weeks before they had to leave. Apparently they used to do this trip on horseback, but not anymore. Now they would climb down the mountain to a village at the base, where they would board a train. That is until they reach a stop that an agent would escort them the rest of the way.

So yes she did have to carry a pitcher of water, in a sense.

This ritual would apparently work best and easiest of both the ladybug and black cat were alive and were doing it simultaneously. Each of them would be at their counterpart, creation at the pits of Lazarus while destruction at the pool of Ambrosia. But this was only her so it would be harder and it would take more time.

She stared out of the window of the car they were currently in. A Shadow had showed up at the station and led them to the car. She just watched the forest thin and thicken as they wound up the mountain. They stopped at a small village, similar to the one at home. Where they started to ascend the rest of the way.

Marinette didn’t know what she expected, but it wasn’t this.

The base was similar to a that of the temple, only for the fact that they were built and carved into the giant mountains that oversaw the valley. But the similarities ended there. Where the temple spired through the mountains organically, this seemed to be carved from the face of the mountain itself.

"Hello, and welcome to Nanda Parbat." A woman stood in front of the gates. "Which one of you is the Ladybug?"

Her eyes passed over them, seemingly bored, but she knows better. This woman was analyzing them, their weaknesses, their strengths, and most importantly judging if they would be a liability.

"I am the Guardian Yùnqì." She stepped forward, her words slightly accented, but clear in Arabic. She paid attention to where they were and she figured that would be the language best used in this region.

It seemed to surprise the woman, but it really shouldn’t. The Order was just as well kept and as expansive as the League, if all her research was correct.

"Very well, the Demon’s Head is waiting for an audience with you."

She turned and the gates behind her opened to a large courtyard. As the woman walked they did as well, keeping fifteen paces behind her in case of any possible attacks. None such happened but something was off.

Something told her there was more here than they originally thought.

Do you feel that Tikki?

Yes, but it might be nothing. The kwamii was unsure, yet continued. But maybe…

What is the maybe?

It could just be nothing. Tikki seemed to try and dismiss the idea, but Mari knows that feeling. And if her life has taught her anything, it’s to trust that feeling.

It’s not nothing, and you know it, so what could this be. She put her foot down. They had continued to walk further into the base, it wasn’t until the next threshold that Tikki responded.

Plagg’s wielder is here. The goddess sighed, her constant presence sending a shock of annoyance through her mind.

And what about Plagg? Can you tell?

Maybe? But that might just be the Well of Destruction. Tikki sighed.

Well it’s a start. She responded back, as their little party came to a stop in front of ornate metal doors.

"The two of you will hold back as the Ladybug enters."

"We all enter or else we shall leave." Guardian Shun’itsu challenged the woman, who thankfully didn’t call their bluff. Because yes they could leave, but if they did and the Well of destruction continued being used unchecked, devastation would truly follow.

So they all entered together Marinette took the point while Guardian Shun’itsu flanked her on the right, and her protégé (Ryuko) was on her left. The woman continued in front of them. When she stopped a couple of meters away from a throne, she dropped to one knee. A man in emerald green and pitch black armor sat on what was clearly a throne of sorts. The man waved a hand and the woman stood before taking her place behind him on his right.

"So you are the latest child of creation." The man’s voice was odd. It was accented by a language she has heard before, but also is sure she hasn’t. There was no emotion in his voice , while his eyes swept over her, judging and analyzing her very being.

"I am." She stood straight, and watched him in turn.

Neither of them broke the eye contact, as by this point it was a battle of wills.

"Very well." He nodded ever so slightly, raising a hand and three people stepped into the room. "No harm will come to you so long as you are accompanied by one of my officers."

One of the shadows stood right behind her and it sent chills down her spine. She wanted to shift and fidget to get rid of the feeling, but she knows that wouldn’t be a good idea. In fact it would probably be considered a show of weakness that she doesn’t want to show.

"You will be shown to your rooms and know your itinerary here for the next two weeks." He spoke with such distain, that she did not wanna be here anymore. Granted she didn’t actually want to come because she was going to be surrounded by assassins, now she really doesn’t wanna be here. But she spoke up, because she is the highest ranking of the three.

"If that is your command, we shall abide by them, but you, too shall learn that we have our own itinerary. We must follow as well."

"Guardian Yùnqì, This would be best discussed after we have settled in."

"That is very true Guardian Shun’itsu." She slightly turned her cheek, so she could see Lord Doreiku, yet ensure that the man sitting in front, wouldn’t think she was ignoring him. She turned back to fully face him. "I shall write up our daily proceedings, as well as the rights that need to be accomplished during the ritual. So that both your men and yourself may know what to expect. As I do not want to make a mockery of our alliance, as I also do not wish to anger you unnecessarily."

Her head was high. Her voice was calm, and she noticed the man started to scowl ever so slightly. She got under his skin, and all she could think of was good, there was an understanding neither one wanted the other here, but they needed one another.

And she wasn’t foolish enough to allow herself nor her two companions to be caught in the crossfire, if he wanted a fight.

The three of them bowed shallowly, turned to follow the three shadows, and went on their way quietly. She was showed her room smaller than the one she has at the temple, but it would be fine for what they needed it for.

Quietly she made sure to search the room, fully, because they knew they were coming, they knew which ones to set them in, she wouldn’t have been surprised if they had but the rooms were bugged, so she didn’t do anything until she knew she was secure.

She started putting up wards around the room, that way no one can enter without her permission, and no one can hear into it.

Tikki had just flown out, and made herself comfortably a bed in the back of her robes. Marinette opened the door, and as she did, the ninja appeared.

"This is the itinerary, if you would be so kind as to deliver it to the demons head." She smiled and tilted her head slightly, that portrayed an innocence which her stature provided. The ninja, because that’s the only way she can describe them from now on, because calling them assassins would put her to far on edge, took the letters, bowed and left.

Mari acted as if she was going to close the door, but in reality, it was still open. She’s assuming that the doors probably have a mechanism or alarm set into them whenever they are opened or closed, to make sure they are where they are meant to be. She slipped out of the room and leaving the door slightly ajar, that it looked closed, she crept down the halls.

Mari what are you doing? She felt Tikki’s small weight, disappear, and her voice hissed through her mind.

You know what, and so do I. If the Holder, the Black cat is here, if Plagg is here, he might be suffering.

You don’t know that Marinette. Tikki’s voice was small, but hopefulness swam through it.

And we don’t know otherwise.

She followed at the pull she felt until Mari reached another door. She was about to raise her hand and knock when it’s swung open.

A boy, slightly older than her, with pitch, black hair and turquoise eyes opened up to her. She doesn’t know what to say, and it seems like he didn’t either. They stood like that for a moment, before something slipped out of the boys hair.

"Get inside." A nasally voice huffed behind her shoving her into the room.

"Plagg what are you doing?" The boy hissed at the Kwamii in front of them now.

"If you two were caught like that, what do you think would happen kitten?"

The boys stayed silent, but this solidified what he was. He was the guardian of the black cat.

"I’m sorry let me introduce myself." The ease in which she switched to English, as Plagg and the boy was just speaking it.

"I am the Guardian Yùnqì, my name is Marinette'.' At that moment Tikki reappeared in this dimension, floated for a moment beside her before sitting on her shoulder. "And this is Tikki, the Kwamii of Creation."

"Hi there, Sugar Cube!" Plagg flew up to Tikki who was still on her shoulder.

"Stinky Sock." She grumbled, but Marinette heard the fondness in her voice all the same.

"Name is Plagg Kwamii of Destruction." The small black cat like creature floated up and gave his head a bow to her. "And this is my kitten."

He flew back to the boy and landed in his hair.

"Why are you here?" Was the first thing the boy ever said to her, as he was glaring at her the entire time.

"Because I have to do a stupid ritual, I can’t sit still, and stay somewhere I’m supposed to be, there’s more here than just the wells of destruction, I didn’t know that the miraculous of the black cat was active." Sarcasm rung through her voice, and it felt as if she hadn’t used it in so long.

She leaned back against the door, finally dropping the act of perfect guardian that she needed to uphold.

"You’re just a kid."

"And so are you." She shot back at him. "Who still hasn’t given me their name."

"Jason."

"It’s nice to meet you, Jason." She lifted her hand and it seemed like he might’ve taken it, if a siren didn’t start blasting.

"Shit."

Next

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