#is it obvious I know very little about interior design?

[betweenthings2]

what is your favorite and least favorite home decor style????

Thank you for the ask!! These are so much fun for me! The original post is here =)

I did some googling for this so I could sort of technically correct. I say that like it's some kind of sacrifice, but I love googling things. I love knowin' stuff.

My least favorite style is minimalism. I'm taking minimalism into the alley behind the bar and fist fighting. I don't want to live in a white cube. Fuck minimalism. I also don't love the ranch house style, unless it's a legit ranch house. Why does your McMansion in the suburbs need a barn door and, like, a cowhide rug? I hate it and I hate the suburbs. (No hate to anyone who lives in a suburb, they just have negative environmental impacts. Also, Lyme Disease.)

There are some elements of art deco and mid-century modern that I really like, but I don't necessarily know what I have a definable favorite. When you google about interior design it all feels very sterile and unlived, but if I really, really had to give an answer and go with it, I might say contemporary, which feels a little like a cop out, but that's kind of what I'm going for. I know I said I'm about to start apartment hunting, but I have no idea what I actually what that space to look like at this point. It depends on how much I hate myself after working harvest and how much motivation that allows me.

[thef1diary]

Little Big Fan | Five

- Little Big Surprise

Series Masterlist

wc: 3.3k

The house felt too empty, too quiet.

Isabella has been at her father's house for the past week and you missed her dearly. So, you had to find new hobbies to pass the time. You should've been used to the days she isn't home but you still aren't.

A new addition to your routine was your newfound hobby; watching Formula One races, or more so, watching Max race.

You would've been a fan even if you didn't know him personally, purely based on his driver skills, but that little detail made every moment of the race a tad bit more special. Your eyes would always try to find him on the track with the others, which he was in front of, leading.

You even found out that you could watch an on-board camera for a specific driver while watching the main race screen as well. It was very obvious whose camera feed you chose to watch.

This was the first time you watched the race after coming back from The Netherlands, mainly because it's only been a week since.

Though it wasn't fun watching the race without Isabella, or more like without her own added commentary.

Fortunately, Isabella's father would be dropping her off today. Until then, you had to find a way to pass the time.

Picking up your phone, your finger hovered over Max's contact. The last time you spoke was yesterday, when you congratulated him for the win over text.

You caught up on your pending work, meeting clients, writing up contracts, and even began designing the floor plans. One of the perks of working as a freelance interior designer, was that you could complete it at your own pace. The downside, however, was once you were done, you didn't really have anything else to do.

You worked for a few hours today, so your little break where you contemplated to call Max was well earned.

But before you could decide whether or not you wanted to call him, your phone rang with a call from him.

You quickly answered, greeting him with, "I was just about to call you, but I thought it'd be too late for you." You remembered that even though it was daytime for you, it was nighttime for him.

Max hummed, "too late? Oh wait, you're right, it's well past midnight." You furrowed your brow as his response confused you, but you didn't comment on it.

"So, what's up?" You asked, wanting to know why he called.

"You actually left something when you came to the race, and I kept forgetting to mention it, but I was thinking of sending it back to you as a package," Max explained, and you began to wonder what you had left behind.

"Yeah, sure that's fine, I actually have no idea when I'm going to see you again either." You shut your eyes tightly as you regretted the words as soon as you spoke them. "I mean—" you tried to explain but he cut you off, "I know what you mean and you're not wrong,"

You told him your address for the package, still wondering what you left behind, but dismissed the thought once you heard some noises on the other end. Specifically, noises that would indicate a person is outside, such as traffic.

"Max, are you outside?" You asked, wondering what he'd be doing out at this hour. "What no! Hold on, can I call you back in a bit?" He didn't wait for your response, just hung up the call.

You held your phone in front of you, looking at the dark screen as if it would give you any answers, but as excepted, it didn't. Then, you dropped the thought or at least tried to since Max did say he'll call you back.

You made yourself an iced coffee before falling into the depths of online shopping. Before you could decide on buying anything, the doorbell interrupted you.

"Max" you gasped as you opened the door, seeing him standing on the other side, holding a bouquet of sunflowers in his hands. "Hi," he grinned, eyes taking in your presence since it had been too long since he last saw you.

"You lied about the package," you commented though there wasn't any malice behind your words. "Consider me as the thing you forgot?"

You chuckled at his words but it quickly became quiet as you finally realized that he was truly standing in front of you. "Please tell me you have a work thing here and you're just stopping by because you were in the area?"

"I could tell you that, but it would be a lie," he shrugged. You hesitated before asking the next question, "and the truth is?"

"I just wanted to see you and Isabella again." Either he didn't realize the weight behind his words or he chose to ignore it but you stood there, holding the door, in surprise.

"And now I'm realizing it probably wasn't a good idea to drop by without asking you," Max's words lacked confidence but you quickly shook your head. "No, it's just that you keep surprising me by standing on the other side of the door," then you smiled and added, "this time it happens to be in a different country."

Again, he shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, but if he was able to hear the thoughts running through your mind, he'd know that this was a big deal to you. In the best way possible.

"So, can I come in?" He asked, as he was just idly standing by the door. "Oh yes, sorry."

He passed the flowers to you once he was inside. "I didn't know which flowers you like, but this seemed fitting," he explained the reason behind the sunflowers.

You wanted to ask why, but you held back because in the few weeks you've known Max, he always manages to say something that leaves you speechless.

"It's perfect, thank you. I think I have a vase lying around somewhere." You found one in the back of a cabinet next to your kitchen, and started filling it with water.

Max stood across from you and commented, "that vase should never be left empty."

You chuckled, more at the thought of the vase being full than his words. "It has been empty more often than not."

Although it was just a simple back and forth conversation, Max made a mental note to try and never let it be empty for as long as he knows you. Which he hopes would be a long, long time.

Max looked around the house, noticing a lack of a little ball of energy. "Where's Isabella?"

"At Tyler's. He'll drop her off in about an hour." Once you set up the flowers, you paused, realizing you have to make lunch for Isabella but you didn't want Max to think that you didn't want him here.

"Everything okay?" He asked, always noticing everything. "Yeah, I have to make lunch for Isabella." You didn't know what reaction you expected but it definitely wasn't a laugh.

Max stepped closer to you, rounding the kitchen island that was in between you two. "If you think you have to entertain me as a guest, who by the way showed up unexpectedly, I'm going to think you don't consider me a friend."

You broke out into a smile, realizing that you overthought the small situation. "I do consider you a friend, otherwise I wouldn't have ranted on and on about my job."

"I will say though, if you're making lunch, I want some too," Max added with a sheepish smile. "Isabella's lunch entails a homemade pizza and fries—made with freshly cut potatoes—because that's all she wants to eat every time she comes home."

"Fair enough, let's make extras for all of us," Max began rolling up his sleeves and washed his hands in preparation.

You couldn't help but laugh, "Max, what are you doing?" He looked at you as if his actions were obvious, "I'm going to help you. Did you think I was going to let you make lunch all by yourself?"

There he goes, leaving you speechless. You shut your mouth because you couldn't find a response, and began taking out the ingredients. "Just a warning though, you're gonna have to tell me what to do because I'm not the best chef," Max stated.

"It's okay, you can be my assistant," you responded which made him raise his eyebrows, "assistant huh? I like the sound of that."

You paused, looking at him with a playful glower before both of you broke out into laughter.

You passed him the potatoes after rinsing them, tasking him to peel and cut into strips to make french fries.

Although he didn't notice, you might've stopped a few times while kneading the dough to look at him. Unbeknownst to you, he did the same when you weren't looking either.

"So does Isabella go to her dad's often?" Max asked after a moment of silence. "Sometimes it's every other week, other times it's only a weekend per month," you explained.

Max had loads of questions about Tyler, but he was content in knowing only what you were willing to tell him. This time, you didn't continue the conversation about your ex, and Max understood that you didn't want to talk about it.

The topic was forgotten as soon as you accidentally smeared pizza sauce across your face. You truly had no idea how it got there, but only realized when Max brushed his fingers against your cheek to wipe it away.

However, he only smeared it further. He couldn't control his laughter as it spread and that prompted you to wipe it from your cheek and smear it on his.

He glared at you but it only lasted a millisecond as he grabbed a handful of dry flour. "Max," you warned, stepping backwards in an attempt to get away from him.

You didn't get far as his arm found its away around your waist to pull you back and hold you still. Then, he dumped the flour on your face, adding to the remnants of the sauce.

Your hands pressed against his chest to push him away but it was a useless attempt since he had you cornered against the counter so you had nowhere to go.

You spluttered since a bit of the flour got in your mouth and Max laughed at you. Then, you did the only thing you could think of. Grabbing Max's face, you rubbed your cheek dusted with flour and sauce against his. Now it was even.

Once the laughter died down, both of you noticed how close you were standing. Max couldn't back away because of your palms on his cheek and on the nape of his neck.

Your eyes widened slightly at the realization and you quickly dropped your hands so he could move. Max took a second too long to process that you weren't holding him anymore, before he created more space between you two.

Then, you noticed the time, "shit she'll be here in twenty minutes."

"You should go change, I'll take care of the rest," Max suggested and you looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "you're going to take care of it?"

He nodded like it wasn't a big deal. "You're the one who said you're not a good chef," you spoke with a teasing smile.

"I said I'm not the best chef, I can be a good chef," he reasoned and you couldn't argue with that logic. "Fine, as long as you don't burn my house down."

"I'll try," you heard him as you went upstairs to your room.

"He got me flowers," you muttered to yourself as you picked out a clean outfit. "He fucking got me flowers." The realization hit you hard, more so because you loved sunflowers, and he just happened to randomly guess the right bouquet. Which was something your ex could never do right even after you told him, mainly because he preferred roses and only bought you roses.

"It seemed fitting," you repeated his words, "Max, why do you have to be so nice?" You asked rhetorically as of course he wasn't there to answer.

You hurriedly went downstairs after washing up and changing to see whether Max had done anything wrong. Perhaps if he was a lousy chef, you'd have one complaint about him. So far, you have liked everything about him.

Fortunately, nothing smelt burnt, and nothing was broken. When you spotted him, he was frying the French fries.

You paused in your tracks, and took a good look at him so you could remember this moment later. Max looked very comfortable in your kitchen, in your house, as if it wasn't his first time. You hoped it wouldn't be the last.

"Looks like everything's fine here," you commented and he turned to look at you with a smile, "no burnt houses," he shrugged.

"The pizza still has a few minutes to go, and the fries are all done," he spoke as he gestured with his hands, but when he looked at you again, you had a stupid smile on your face.

"What?" That made your smile widen, "nothing, just, thank you for helping me."

"Always," he responded, already planning that he'll be around as long as you wanted him to be.

The doorbell rang, interrupting your peace but you were beyond excited to open the door and greet your daughter. Isabella definitely got the habit of being overly excited from you.

However, when you opened the door you saw Isabella standing beside Tyler with a frown on her face. "Hi angel, did you have fun?" You crouched down and ruffled her hair.

"Can I go inside, mama?" Her timid voice surprised you as she would usually answer that question happily. "Sure, sweetheart, I'll be there in a minute."

You watched her head inside before you stood up, closing the door behind you so Isabella wouldn't hear your conversation and faced your ex, "what happened?"

He scoffed, "nothing happened, I just told her that I won't be able to see her again as planned because I'm flying out of the country."

"Another business trip?" You asked and he nodded. "She usually doesn't get this upset any other time you cancel, did something else happen?"

"You know how she is, overdramatic," Tyler casually shrugged and that word ticked you off. "Don't you dare call my daughter overdramatic," you pointed at him harshly.

"Oh so now she's your daughter? Isabella gets upset easily, you know this."

"I do not want to hear you say that word again to describe her, I've heard it enough from you when we were together. Now tell me what happened."

Tyler sighed, and for a moment he thought about saying that Isabella was just like her mother, like you, but he didn't want to waste any extra time being around you.

"I introduced her to Emma," he stated as if it would explain everything but you furrowed your brows in confusion. "Who?"

"My girlfriend. Isabella noticed her around the house a few times so I thought it would be a good idea to introduce her," he explained and you were about to interrupt but he kept going. "I don't know if Isabella doesn't like her, but she's been in that mood ever since."

"Tyler, she has only seen us together, so of course if you introduce her to someone else, it'll take time for her to get used to it," you decided to explain in a calm manner.

"You don't have an issue with my girlfriend?" He asked and you raised your brows, "why would I? It's not my business unless it involves Isabella."

He shrugged, then laughed at his thought before saying it out loud, "well I hope that you don't have an issue explaining dating to her, that is, if you ever start dating again."

"My dating life is none of your business. Don't you have somewhere to be? Perhaps back to Emma?"

"Alright, I'll text you when I'm back in the country," he stated and turned around to leave but paused as he saw a new car in the driveway that he knew didn't belong to you.

"Whose car is that?" You laughed at his need to always be all up in your business, "goodbye, Tyler."

You entered the house with a sigh but the sight in front of you warmed your heart, making you forget all about the conversation with your ex.

Max was crouched down onto his knees to be at eye level with Isabella, who had two arms wrapped around his neck in a tight hug.

When Max heard the door close, he opened his eyes and saw you. He removed one hand that was resting on Isabella's back and gestured for you to come closer.

Understanding his silent gesture, you crouched down right behind your daughter and wrapped her in a hug as well, so she was sandwiched between you and Max.

You placed loads of kisses on her cheeks until she started giggling. Isabella let go of Max and turned to face you, "mama, you didn't tell me that Maxy was here!" Just like that, her mood was drastically different from when she first arrived at the doorstep.

"He surprised me too, angel," you spoke as your gaze shifted to Max.

"Did you watch him race yesterday?" You asked Isabella, but her mood dropped again. "No mama, daddy was busy."

"It's okay, you can watch the next one with your mama," Max spoke, and Isabella nodded in agreement. "Okay!"

Then Max gasped, "the pizza!" He quickly rushed towards the oven to check on it, making you and Isabella laugh.

"Maxy made pizza?" She asked as she sat up on one of the barstools, which also happens to be her favourite place to eat even if you have a dining table.

"Maxy and mama made pizza," Max corrected, as he watched you cut it into slices.

"Are you ready for school?" Max asked once all of you began eating. You and Max also sat up on the barstools beside Isabella.

"No." She simply stated. Max frowned, "why not?"

"It's a big school, it's scary." Her words made you frown, "but you're a big girl too now."

"How about we go shopping tomorrow? Buy a new bag, more school supplies, and anything you want," Max suggested and this time you didn't stop him.

You already had a plan to take her shopping tomorrow, mainly because you already knew that Tyler didn't or else she would’ve been beaming about it.

"Even the glittery clips?" Isabella asks with a bright smile on her face, making Max chuckle, "yes even the glittery clips"

"Oh what about ice cream?" Isabella asked, and this time you watched Max become the victim of her pout and big round eyes. He looked at you for help, but you pressed your lips together, holding back a laugh.

"Yes, we can get ice cream too," he gave in making Isabella cheer.

"Alright, angel, finish your food." You gestured to her plate and she quickly obliged, stuffing her face with pizza and fries.

You were glad that Max was here, able to instantly uplift Isabella's mood. However you couldn't help but think about Tyler's words.

You never thought about dating again ever since you broke up with your ex, especially since Isabella was a baby and almost always with you.

But now that she was older, beginning to understand relationships, you thought about her reaction if you ever introduced her to someone you wanted to date.

Plus, you never met anyone that would make you debate the decision of whether to start dating again or not, that was until you met Max.

Taglist: (let me know if you want to be added or removed) @xjval @mrsmaybank13 @cherry-piee @urfavnoirette @solphin @burningcupcakefire @nessacarty1 @dreamsarebig @omgsuperstarg @fanficweasley @redbullgirly @llando4norris @wonnou @randomgirlnumber13 @dark-night-sky-99 @chanshintien @leilanixx @gisellesprettylies @peachiicherries @monsieurbacteria6 @67-angelofthelordme-67 @arian-directioner @distancedss @morenofilm @sachaa-ff @lighttsoutlewis @teamnovalak @casperlikej @sadg3 @d3kstar @lewisvinga @lpab @queenofmanydreams @glitterf1 @honethatty12 @drunk-teens-doing-drugs @its-avalon-08 @yourbane @oconswrld @noneofyourfbusinessworld @ssrcsm @softtina @hockeyboysarehot @formulaal @namgification @tallrock35 @bloodyymaryyy

[chain-peoplebreaker]

Alhaitham in an Art Nouveau inspired style Here's a thread I wrote about this concept on Twitter, below the cut will be a copy of the text, sorry if it takes a weird format on tumblr since it was initially written as a twt thread

This might not make a lot of sense to some of you but before i talk about Alhaitham and Art Nouveau i'd like to talk about Kaveh and Romanticism The connection between Kaveh and Romanticism can be more easily done, specially with characters such as Faruzan calling him a romantic

The Romantic movement, as the name suggest, is very emotionally driven. Its a movement that values individualism ane subjectvism, it's objective is on evoking an emotional response, most comonly being feelings of sympathy, awe, fear, dread and wonder in relation to the world

Basically the artistic view of the Romantic is to represent the world while trying to say "we are hopeless in the grand scheme of things, little can we do to change the world yet the world is always changing us"

In Romantic pieces the man is always small compared to the setting they find themselves in, see the painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich as an example, the human figure is central but relativelly insignificant to the world

Another thing about Romanticism is the importance of beauty, it's through it that the Romantic seeks to get in touch with their emotions and ituition and its through these lenses that they see the world. The Kaveh comparison should be easy to make with these descriptions

Kaveh's idle chat "The ability to ability to appreciat beauty is an important virtue" just cements to me the idea that his romanticism is closely connected to the artistic movement. He does have an argument agaisnt this connection but I'll bring it up later on the thread

Now that I used the opportunity to talk about my favorite character in a thread that wasn't supposed to be about him let's go back to Alhaitham and how to connect him to the Art Nouveau movement

But seriously, I brought up Kaveh's more obvious connection to Romanticism because the Nouveau movement was created as a direct mirrored response to the Romantic movement, and we all know how we feel about mirrored themes between these two characters

Art Nouveau is about rationality and logic, the movement was used more comonly on mass produced interior design pieces or architectural buildings, it's a movement much more focused on functionality than on art appreciation

They also had a big focus on the natural world but in a very different way, while Romantics saw nature as a power they couldnt contend with, artists from the Nouveau used the natural as an universal symbolical theme for broad mass appeal

Flowers, leaves, branches, complexes and organic shapes are the basis of this style, the logical side of it coming from the mathematics needed to create these shapes and themes in ways that were appealing and also structurally sound

To appreciate the Art Nouveau style is to understand it is a calculated artistic movement (another reason to be salty about an AI generated image trying to emulate it) In short, this style is less about the art and more about the rationality in the mathematics to make it

Another note I'd like to point out is that I love how both Alhaitham and Kaveh have dendro visions while both movements are so nature centric in different ways, Romanticism seeing it as a subjective power and Art Nouveau seeing it as recognizeable symbols

I mentioned an argument against the Kaveh comparison before: the one thing that bothers me about Romanticism is how negative it is in relation to humanity's position in the world and how that related back to Kaveh

In the Parade of Providence it was explicitely showed how much Kaveh dislikes the idea of people seeing themselves as helpless in relation to the problems of the world

People may suffer but there is something he can do to help them and he will do it

It doesn't feel right for me to say that Kaveh fits the Romantic themes because of his suffering, in a similar sense it also doesn't feel right to me to say Alhaitham fits Art Nouveau because of his rational behaviour while he as a character is a lot more complex than that

This thread was done all in fun and love for an artistic discussion, it's not a perfect argument to connect these characters and movements

+ I haven't studied art history in a year, if anyone knows more about these movements please tell me I love learning new things

++ Really sorry if my english is bad or I sound repetitive, it's not my first language and im trying my best here

Thanks for reading

I love you, have a nice day/evening/night

[pseudoquiddity]

Here's my little piece on (P1) Utopianism and orientalism/Utopian co-opting of (other) cultures (and some broadly Asian fun facts):

What's always struck me is the undercurrent of Asian aesthetic influence in P1 and one obvious reason for why it's there at all is the fact that they're bordering Mongolia and China. Many Eurasian nomads are artistically influenced by regional, cultural styles in the middle east, India, China, etc. that central and southern Asian area. But since the Kin's artistic aesthetic (in P1) reflect a utilitarianism use of leather and, broadly speaking, the Earth, where this influence appears most is with the Utopians.

Take Eva Yan, for example! I've only heard her clothes described as "strange," but the style is very reminiscent of a certain kind of dress ...

She's wearing something close to an Indian petticoat and blouse, but she's missing the saree. It might actually be what's around her neck. Indian blouses typically end above the stomach and are either long-sleeved (like what Eva's wearing) or go to the elbows. It even looks like the material might be the same, which would be silk. It seems to me that Eva Yan is doing in P1 what she's doing in P2; she's taking all of her favorite parts of a certain culture's dress and outfitting it to her tastes. Indian clothes are designed to be breathable, but Eva uses that design to look alluring. I would say that the Stamatins do the same thing in their own way; The Broken Heart's interior design and opium pipes evoke the Western-exported idea of Asian drug dens and they name their dead colleague Farkhad, based off the Persian story of Khosrow and Shirin, whether he was Persian, in the area or not - we wouldn't know.

Maria(and Eva?)'s occasional use of the honorific en-Daniil is reflective of this, too. "en" is short for "encik" and is a Malaysian convention. The reason why it's "en-Daniil" and not "en-Dankovsky" is because Malaysian names are structured like "Razak bin Osman," where the "bin" means "son of." It would be odd to call someone "Mister son of Osman," so it's either "en-Razak" or "en-Razak bin Osman."

Off the top of my head, those are the most explicit examples ... and, obviously, the Utopians all use the Kin's culture and aesthetics, too, and incorporate whatever about it interests them into their lifestyles. That aside (or not), as for why the Utopians specifically do this --- it may really be because they live in Asia. Personally, I interpret this as a very individualistic case of orientalism that expresses how Utopians seek out aesthetic beauty and concepts they find both appealing and "other" --- whether this is natural-law-breaking ideas or other cultures. I think this is a very cherry-picked kind of admiration.

[bugs1nmybrain]

Fruity Drinks: L x Reader - Drunk Sex (Minors Don't Interact)

Writer's Notes: Can you tell that I'm running out of ideas? First Shigaraki's stoned smut and now L's drunk smut. I don't encourage substance use!! It's just funny to write about with my favorite characters.

Warnings: VERY ooc L, silly L, fem reader, alcohol use, drunk sex (L and reader are both drunk), the reader is described as a young adult, oral sex (m and f receiving), 69, no penetrative sex, comedy smut sorta, lame and cheesy but kind of fluff ending

How L ended up agreeing to this little arrangement was beyond him. It wasn't that he had never consumed alcohol before. There were a few times when he'd buy a sweet drink from a nice restaurant when he went out. Drinking enough to get drunk, though? L couldn't recall ever doing that. He hated the idea of his judgement and self-control being impaired.

However, he had recently solved a very internationally significant case. You insisted that he and you should celebrate. L didn't really understand the point, he solved cases left and right all the time. He had so many under his belt that it didn't necessarily add to his notoriety anymore. In actuality, though, you simply wanted a night where you and L felt like two typical young adults, wanting to have some fun and loosen up. His solving his latest case was merely an excuse, a poor one in L's opinion.

So you and him sat in one of his more cozy rooms at his house. The room was big and decorated nicely. You questioned if L had chosen the interior design or if it was how the room was before he purchased the house. Or maybe a product of Watari's doing? Themes of white and gold rained prominent throughout the room, which added to the novelty. In front of you and L were many drinks, accompanied by juices and soda that you thought would make the drinks more tolerable. L expressed to you that he could hardly bear the taste of alcohol, so you made sure to accommodate him with some easier options.

"So, it must feel nice to have gotten that case out of the way," you comment.

A part of L was agitated by that question, perceiving it as petty small talk. "Yes, it is. Admittedly, every time I solve a case, I feel disappointed knowing there's no more to uncover from said case; that the war has been won. The satisfaction from my victory is more to compensate for it, though. I'll just have to go searching for another, now."

"Mhm. Did you have any ideas on what drinks you were interested in?" you asked.

"Hard to say. Something sweet, for sure."

"No need to over-explain yourself. I'm sure it'll be perfectly fine."

You chuckle at his very obvious statement, "I could've guessed that. I heard that vodka cranberries were sweet, so I chose stuff for that, if it's alright. I will warn you that I am not someone who mixes drinks often. I kind of don't even know what I am doing, but I tried coming prepared."

So you continued to pour L a drink, mixing vodka and cranberry juice like an amateur bartender. You also made yourself one, hoping that the matching drinks would provide some nice bonding between the two of you. When you were done, you handed your lover his drink and he held the glass with his pointer and thumb, eyeballing it for a moment.

"This would have been nice with some cherries," he comments.

"I'll remember that for next time," you chuckle, taking a sip from your drink.

L began drinking his beverage as well, furrowing his brows at the sting of the alcohol in his throat. You eyeball him, finding his face of discomfort adorable.

"Are you alright?" you ask.

"Yes, love. It's not as bad as I thought. I think the cranberry juice dilutes the taste of the alcohol, but there's still a burning sensation."

"Makes sense."

"Why exactly are we doing this again?"

"To have fun. Loosen up a little."

"Ah, I see. You know that I'm not one to do this sort of thing. Especially not anything that would impair my reasoning abilities."

"I know. Is it okay? We can stop if you'd like."

"I didn't mean that, exactly. Honestly, I'm a little curious to what you are like while intoxicated. Is that strange of me to say?" he questions, giving you an engaged expression.

"That's true, though. Perhaps I should indulge your curiosity. You deserve the privilege for being such an outstanding girlfriend, " he eyes you with a neutral expression.

You blush and laugh a bit, "No. I don't mind that."

Honestly, L being nosy was something that was a surprising turn on often.

"I actually wanted to see how you'd be, honestly. I've never seen you drunk or high or anything like that and I was curious on how your behavior would shift."

"You're the perfect psychologist."

You chuckle abruptly in response.

You laugh at his compliments, feeling a sense of comfort in knowing his admiration for you. L continues to drink his vodka cran, watching you as you drink yours as well.

------------

About an hour rolls by and you and L are absolutely hammered. This was a surprise for sure. L had never submitted to this kind of lack of cognitive control, and you had surely never seen this side of him.

The two of you hadn't simply sat there and drank. You had turned on some crime documentary and sat side by side, with your form leaning onto his shoulder. L seemed to really be enjoying his drinks, as he downed one after the other. It was actually very concerning. In truth, he just really liked the taste of them and you two hadn't gotten snacks.

It seemed that L could hold his liquor quite well, and he did when he was simply watching TV. Until now. You sat as the documentary began to give the viewers options as to who they thought the suspect was in the series of murders. L went from dead quiet to deeply and prominently vocal, so much so that it startled you.

"It's him. How..? A seven year old could guess who the murderer is...that one-uh-guy."

Your eyes shot wide open and you tried your hardest to hold in a laugh.

"I'm shutting this off," L announces, clumsily reaching for the remote. He grips it sluggishly and flicks the tv off, slouching back onto the couch. He still sat in his typical position but with his head titled to the side, looking as though he was about to fall over.

You hadn't exactly processed your own intoxication up to this point. It was terribly difficult not to hold back your laughter, and ultimately, you failed. You let out the most uncensored laugh, and L shot his face your way with his finger pressed to his lip.

"What's funny?"

"You. You're cute."

"Oooooh. Yes, you tell me that very often."

"I'm sorry."

"Oh no need..my love. You're, quite "cute" yourself. Did you know that?"

Your flustered face beams a glow, both from the alcohol and your embarrassment. You continue to chuckle for way too many seconds. You sat rigidly in response, thighs pressed together and hands on top of them.

"You..."L begins. You could tell that him never being drunk before contributed to his very apparent intoxication.

"You're so pretty. Your hair,,, and your eyes...you're..how did I manage to end up with such a beautiful lady?? You're so gorgeous, Y/N."

He was plastered. This was hilarious. You thought he was lying but when you looked at him and saw his cheeks flushed and eyes heavy, along with his finger teasing his lips, you could tell he was genuine. He was cute, so much so that you couldn't control more flustered laughter escaping your lips.

"Am I funny?" L asked. You couldn't tell if he was insulted or not. You hoped that it wasn't the case, as your laughter was far from out of a malicious nature.

"Yeah. I think you're the funniest person I know. You make me laugh without even meaning to, like all the time."

"Hmm...you like me that much? Do I have really have that affect on you?"

Even though you were very drunk, you could hear the tone of his voice become rather flirtatious, though uncoordinated.

"I've noticed, Y/N. You're rather addicted to my attention. And when you look at me, your face lights up. Your body tenses. Your speech becomes stammered. I'm not referring to the alcohol, nuh uh. You love me."

"Yes, of course, I love you. Why wouldn't I?"

You felt hurt a little, so you held your head down. It made you upset, because yes, he was a rather sneaky and occasionally manipulative partner. He wasn't harsh or anything, or trying to corrupt you, at least you thought. But he would try and pry out information and reactions from you, and get you to say things that would help him understand your tricks and own manipulation tactics.

"Because I am a treacherous, inhumane liar. Who's to say..I'm not lying right now? About how pretty you are, hm?"

L is always a thousand steps ahead of you, easily picking up on your suspicions of the genuineness in his compliments.

"Lovee...don't frown. I didn't meaan that. I actually, have proof. That you're pretty."

"Huh?"

"Yes. Do you want to see the evidence?????"

The drunkenness of yourself and his slurred speech confused you and so you cocked an eyebrow and let out another, "Huh?"

"Come here..Sit right here, next to me."

So you complied. You scooched directly next to L. He reaches to cup your shoulder and presses you close to him. He takes your hand carefully and sets it down over his crotch. Your heart jumps at the touch of his stabbing bulge, straining against his jeans.

"You see, do you see my point?"

You could feel his point, for sure. An unexpected moan escapes your lips, and you can feel yourself become wet instantly from the knowledge of his attraction to you. It didn't help that you loved his cock, either. You feel incredibly embarrassed at the noise you made uncontrollably, and bury your face into your hands.

"No, don't do that, my love." He takes your hand and sets it on his bulge again. "I want you. Would you be willing to indulge me? In your beauty?"

"Mmmmm...yea. Yea, I'd..like that a lot," Your verbal communication has gone out the window and you are unable to manage your composure at all. "Y-yes..yes please..."

"You're so cute," without much warning, L crawls on top of you, fumbling as he does so. He hovers over you and looks you in the eyes for a moment as his hair falls downward. With lustful, lidded eyes he makes his way to kiss the nape of your neck. Even intoxicated, he manages to maintain his romantic and calculated movements, even if they are a little sloppy.

"Mmm!"

"That's it..."

L's desperate need for stimulation encourages him to grind his clothed cock on your thigh for relief. He groans as he kisses your neck, lightly nipping at it. Your gasps cause him to twitch in his pants and he yearns out in painful arousal.

"Mmm, you're soooo pretty. Can I see your breasts? They're so nice. I want to see them."

It was a little humorous when L would talk about your body. He hardly used slang terms, such as tits. His use of clinical language was cute, though awkward. You nod with an eager, "mhm."

It took him a bit to remove your shirt and unhook your bra. Surprising for him, L is usually so good at coordinated actions. Once you were exposed for him, he merely stared at you for many seconds, cock pulsing at the sight of you.

"Oh my goodness," he comments, making you embarrassed.

You can feel your face flush and grow hotter and hotter, as well as your cunt. You couldn't help it when you began squirming your thighs together in arousal, and L let out a sigh at the impact of your movements against his erection. His penis was painfully sensitive, perhaps caused by blood flow from the alcohol.

You gripped his pants, pulling the hem to release his member so you could touch him. You tuck your hand under his waistband and wrap your fingers gently around him. He sighed heavily as you stroked him clumsily. His hips rocked himself into your hand, basking in how good it felt.

"Are you,, do you feel good?" you ask with a slurred tone.

"You have no idea."

He continues nipping at your neck. His hands were relentless, searching for any part of your body to squish or tease.

"Are you turned on?" L asks with a tone of voice that makes him almost sound guilty. He knew full well he was losing control of his gravitation toward you and perhaps wasn't being the most romantic or courteous.

"How about you look for evidence?"

"Hmm.."

L did just that, hand slipped into your pants to feel your pussy. When he discovered you had a hot, wet secretion that drenched you, he slowly plunged two fingers inside out you. You whimper in tension, but once he began rubbing your special spot, your body relaxed to his touch.

His fingers pulled out, making sure to rub your clitoris a bit. The lubricant from your pussy made his motions much more fluid. Fuck, even while he was hammered he was so precise. Sloppier than usual, but still knew exactly what they were doing.

"I...i want to taste you so badly right now," he yearns as he stops fingering you. He begins moving his way down to your crotch but you grip his hair before he can make it.

"I want to..to make you feel good, too. Let me do it to you."

"What? No. I want to bury my face in you, like right now. I don't have time for your mouth."

wow.

"I think people do like, 69? Right?"

"I'm not extremely educated in that department. But...that could be nice.."

You and L exchange a few more lusty kisses until he pushes you to lie on top of him. "You should turn the other way, right?"

Without a response you turned your body so that your ass was facing him. Your cunt hovered above him, to which he glanced at for a few moments. He cupped his hands around your ass and pulled you down so that your heat was pressed against his mouth.

You yelp quietly at the contact. You hadn't ever tried 69 and the position was rather vulnerable. However, the way L was devouring your cunt made it clear he wasn't bothered in the slightest.

He lied down with his legs crunched so that his knees were bent. You took his cock in your hand, giving it a few tender strokes and finally stuffing it in your mouth. L moaned against your pussy, enhancing the stimulation. He sucked on your clit vigorously while holding you in place.

L was interesting in that he adored eating you out. You felt bad as if you were a burden for wanting that kind of pleasure. He never objected, though. He had a pretty significant oral fixation, and running his tongue along your cunt was strangely soothing. Plus, the added bonus of the pride he felt when he made you cum was incredibly rewarding.

Blowing him was kind of difficult right now. Your mouth had a hard time coordinating, but you managed to bob your head along him. He must've been enjoying it by the muffles he made against your cunt. L's cock was a bit long, which made taking his whole length tricky. His hips jolted forward on impulse, gagging you a little.

"Shit! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's..okay," you said in between kisses along his cock. L wanted to chuckle at how you were treating his length, but he was far too concentrated on making you cum. You were taking a little longer than usual, but it was alright. L simply thrust his fingers inside of you for a bit and rubbed your G-spot.

He could feel himself building slowly, and he wondered if he could make the two of you orgasm at the same time.

"Mmfm...you taste incredible," he comments. "You're so pretty down here, too."

L's praise always made your heart jolt a little. Sometimes you questioned his sincerity, but he seemed to want you to feel good about yourself for whatever reason. It still made you feel validated nonetheless.

You hummed on his dick in a pleasant response. L kept running his tongue along your clit in consistent motions, and you can start feeling your cunt quiver. L knows, recognizing the way your pussy twitched in his mouth. A smirk grazes his face as your cunt spasms in convulsions and you have to pop your head up for air as you mewl uncontrollably. L allows himself to let go as well as his cum spurts out onto your face while you gave him a mess as well.

You and L both were panting, absolutely overwhelmed by your sensations. An instant exhaustion washed over and you collapsed on top of him.

"Come here," L requests. You pull yourself to face him and L kisses you deeply, not caring about the swapping of genital fluids. "Tonight has been very pleasant, wouldn't you agree?"

"Hehe...I suppose. That felt very, very good."

"I thought so, perhaps we should do that more often."

"What about the drinking, should we do that more often?

"Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan. I feel very out of control of my inhibitions," he admits. Tonight was surely fun, though.

"That makes sense."

"I liked tonight though. And I'm happy I got to spend time with you."

"Me too," you fall on L's chest, and if he wasn't so drunk, he'd probably leave once you fell asleep. But he let himself drift along with you this time, enjoying your warmth. You were already sleeping, but he planted a kiss on your temple and allowed himself comfort in your love for him.

[survivalove]

Air Temple Island, the Water Tribes & the Real Life Influences that bring them together

I was gonna screenshot a post I saw and add it to my post but I don’t feel like giving that individual attention (and the 300+ notes they got), so I just decided to make my own standalone post debunking this narrative that air temple island is this fully air nomad brothel (yes they said this) with ZERO water tribe motifs which katara is forced to live in until aang passed away.

frankly it just reminded me of how little people in this fandom actually bother to analyze the actual content, instead preferring to write entirely made up scenarios of katara being reduced to an air nomad incubator along with dozens other female acolytes (yes they also said this lmao. also them acting like both male AND female acolytes weren’t living on the whole other side of the island 😭)

when in truth, i’ve come to find a lot of elements of both water tribes as well as traditional inuit elements across air temple island:

1. the paifang

a traditionally chinese element that for some reason is exclusively found in the northern water tribe (why do they have a gate inside a throne room, you ask? ask the white people that made this show). the one on the left is actually one of two aang BUILT, at the main entrance and another at the temple entrance. this is just one example of water tribe design on the island.

2. the bagua mosaic

another structure is the bagua mosaic on the training grounds. bagua is a set of traditional chinese symbols of the cosmology, taoism. the bagua composes of 8 sets of broken or unbroken lines that represent yin and yang. where have we seen yin and yang in the original series? oh yeah, as tui and la of the water tribe! (because atla is a mess of asiatic and indigenous motifs joined together and spread out across each nation, mainly traditionally chinese elements at that.) aang building this right next to the air nomad training grounds is a symbol of the dual bending heritage their children will have.

3. gold and blue accents

now, gold and blue are the main colors of the exterior structures but is also very strong inside the air temple itself. note, the massive air nomad symbol designed fully in blue in the center and the blue banners and rugs throughout the temple. this is no doubt, for me, a visual depiction of both katara and aang’s representative cultures, but of course this is not limited to color only.

4. cloud carvings

now, this is a slight detour since clouds aren’t a significant part of either of their individual cultures (that we know) but i love the kataang monopoly they have on clouds as a couple so i’m talking about it. if you look at these images very closely what do you see? CLOUD CARVINGS!! specifically near the ceiling of the pavilion (left) and the arches and walls of the temple (right) just imagining aang painting and etching these very consistent swirls, like he’ll never be the selfish inconsiderate unromantic loser you people want him to be, but let’s get more into the southern water tribe style interior.

5. interior design

so here is a southern water tribe white lotus outpost vs the air temple island main dining room. first thing, the seat cushions and rug! while we don’t see air nomad eating quarters we do get to see enough SWT customs both in atla and lok, to know this is how they traditionally eat compared to the north (limiting myself on pics cuz mobile).

another thing is the dining table itself. both have what i believe to be built in fire pits (i couldn’t actually tell for the air temple island one cuz of the quality but if you zoom in you can see the lines go in the table plus the hanging kettle on it makes it obvious to me idk). the southern water tribe one however is clear and likely a more traditional version of what aang and katara have.

thirdly, the exposed timber on the ceiling. i actually looked it up and found this is a common element of these two inuit structures: left is an aasiaat peat house and right is an igloolik turf house. all this for me to believe not only did aang build air temple island to be a haven for the TWO of them but also that katara herself had a lot of input on the interior than people care to notice lol.

maybe instead of projecting these loser fantasies of katara being some unwilling air nomad baby making machine so you can feel better about your fantasies of katara living in a red palace with people that tried to wipe her out for a whole century, you all can go study the actual canon you were shown and the real life cultures the franchise takes from.

6. lastly, some of my own headcanons/stuff i want to see in the movie

the bathroom because I LIVE for a white marble tiled bathroom. i just know katara has to have a HUGE tub and they have one of those insane glass showers that can fit like 3 people, with cloud swirls everywhere because aang clearly got it like that

the KITCHEN, i imagine it being timber like the dining room and is probably on the other side behind the built-in shelf (get into the details like hello). in a perfect world, it would be open plan but hey

the bedroom, now we saw it in lok a bit but i wanna see it in the gaang movie too. i’m on pic limit but there’s a lot of artwork and flowers throughout the whole house which i give katara credit for because I can. like the desk, the bookshelf, that fancy looking vase thing? these two clearly have taste like don’t talk to me rn

I also didn’t show the rooms and aang’s study but there’s a lot of blue decor in those places which makes me think katara decorated the whole house, even the acolytes’ hall has blue sitting cushions and columns which i think is such a nice detail.

if you guys have any air temple island headcanons of your own please reply with some i’m feening lol

big shoutout to this user:

atla-annotated (their page is so great and filled with a lot of incredible information if you guys like this sort of stuff)

[ventique18]

MalleYuu modern AU but instead of a prince, he's the president of a textile and luxury formal wear brand. He comes to work everyday and decorates his office with fresh flowers, and his staffers just pass it off as his penchant for interior design.

But they don't know design is just his secondary reason. He actually sets off very early everyday for a few hours to chat with you, the owner of that little flower shop a few blocks off. He never fails to visit with a few trinkets to give you: sometimes it's coffee and pastries, other times they're tiny stone figures of imaginary creatures or cute animals. Occasionally, he would leave you CDs to listen to (who actually has a CD player at this time and age? Thankfully you do).

He later admits that the CDs are recordings of his own compositions and the tiny figures his own crafts.

"I would have given you flowers plenty enough to fill a room from floor to window, but I highly doubt a florist would appreciate such. Flaunting money and jewels would have been a terribly insincere way to court someone, therefore I could only offer you pieces of my hobbies. I do hope my feelings come across fine enough."

You thank him for his kindness and wear your usual smile. When he's left, however, you feel your knees buckle and you collapse to hide yourself behind the counter. You had an inkling, but you aren't bold enough to assume.

That fine gentleman said it himself: he is courting you. You tell your friend Vil about it, and he sighs at you in utter disbelief.

"A man visits you everyday, feeds you, gives you a good-bye gift each time, and you seriously think he's just asking for your help on what flowers to give his grandmother? Every single day? I genuinely feel sorry for that man."

You ask him what you should do. Should you give back a gift? But he looks like a rich guy; what could you possibly give him that he doesn't yet have?

"Isn't it obvious? What he doesn't have is you. Give him a little kiss and everything will work itself out."

You doubt Vil for a moment, but thankfully for you, he is never wrong.

When the handsome man visits the next day, you shyly peck him on the cheek in gratitude. He stares at you with eyes wide, trips on his words, literally trips on a watering can near you, and more things happen after another but he ends up not coming to work and helps you close up shop. He takes your hand and whisks you away to god knows where, but that's the least important thing on your mind at the moment.

All you can think of is how warm his hand feels, how fast your heart is beating, and how this could be the start of an exciting change in your rather simple life.

[seabirdtxt]

.Irminsul checkout -b <Realm Within>

You, the Creator, explore the possibilities the teapot realm has to offer and try to make accommodations for your surprising new roommates [< prev] [Blog tag] [next >]

Notes: Genshin SAGAU, reader is the Creator but no cult shenanigans. all relationships are currently platonic! WC. 3k

----- ⚘ -----

Meeting Tubby was just as entertaining as you’d hoped it would be. The flustered teapot spirit nearly dropped her porcelain hat when she saw you, offering to give you a personal tour of the realm mansion (as if you hadn’t designed the interior yourself), calling up Chubby (who was mortified to admit that he hadn’t brought any new stock today), and frantically rearranging furniture as your group roamed the mansion grounds despite your protests that everything was fine as it was. In the end, she settled for hosting you and your two companions over a pot of tea.

The Traveler remains silently amused as they watch you trying to behave politely while Tubby continuously refills your cup with fresh sunsettia tea. Beside them, Wanderer discreetly tosses the contents of his cup over his shoulder with a grimace. 

Inevitably, between her stuttered rambling and your patient reassurances, Tubby notices the empty cup and refills it with more tea. Much to Wanderer’s displeasure.

“- and if you need anything to eat, a- any snacks or meals, I would be most honored to procure them for you, Your Grace!” Tubby continues, with you nodding along politely. It seems better to let her vent it out than to stop her, at this point.

“Tubby, would it be very troublesome to get a teapot realm for Their Grace?” the Traveler interjects, saving you from having to placate the bird adeptus once more. “It would be practical for them to have a place of residence while they stay in Teyvat.”

“O- of course!” Tubby nods so quickly you almost fear that her hat will fly off her head. “I can contact Streetwise Rambler posthaste! If you have any preference in shape or colour, Your Grace-” 

“Anything you might have readily available is alright with me,” you reassure her. “As long as it has space to accommodate multiple guests, I don’t mind too much what the outside of it looks like.”

“T- that can be arranged!” the teapot spirit exclaims, topping up everyone’s cups before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The three of you stare awkwardly at the space where Tubby used to be. Eventually, Wanderer gets up and disappears into the mansion, effectively trading places with Paimon as the little sprite returns from within after apparently having raided the Traveler’s pantry.

“Hey!” She exclaims through a mouthful of cookies. “Where did Tubby go? Did you guys drink all the tea?”

“She just went to get a teapot for Their Grace!” the Traveler explains, snatching a package of cookies from Paimon’s tiny hands, to the sprite’s protests. “She should be back soon. I can pour the tea for you, if you want.”

You sit back and enjoy the mindless chatter between the two, and sometime later Wanderer emerges from the mansion with several boxes stacked in his arms. The Traveler jumps up with a noise of surprise.

“Hey! What’s all that stuff?”

“I’m moving out.” Wanderer states, as though it’s obvious. 

“Good riddance!” Paimon says, waving a biscuit at him threateningly. “It’s about time you moved out, young man! How are you supposed to learn about the human world if you’re cooped up in the Traveler’s realm all the time? Go outside and touch grass!”

“There’s grass in the realm, Paimon,” the Traveler points out. 

“Argh! You know what I mean!”

“Of course, I’ll be moving in with the Creator, ” Wanderer continues as if Paimon hadn’t spoken at all. “Someone needs to keep the other two clowns in check so they don’t wreck the nice home Their Grace will surely build.”

“And that someone couldn’t be anyone else?” you ask, and immediately cringe when his piercing eyes turn toward you.

He huffs with amusement. “Nobody knows them better than me,” he shrugs and shakes his head. “Plus, who knows what my second incarnation will get up to? We don’t know how Irminsul resolved his appearance in this world, so he may yet be part of the Fatui, for all we know.”

“If he’s like you after the Joruri workshop fight, y’know, after you lost the gnosis and all? He’ll probably be weak and powerless,” Paimon says. “Just completely incapable of fighting in any meaningful way. Yes offense.”

“Offense taken.” Wanderer replies with the same tone, shooting a glare at the sprite over his shoulder. “I’ll have you know I’m more than capable of wiping the floor with you, with or without a gnosis.”

“You realize you’re bragging about your ability to beat up the physical equivalent of a two year old?” you interrupt before they could start arguing. They both send you equally scandalized looks, and Paimon splutters and mimes stomping as she tries to defend herself from the accusation of being a child. 

“Guys, let’s all calm down for a second,” the Traveler sighs, rubbing their head just as Paimon launches herself at Wanderer and knocking over cups and the magic tea kettle, and Wanderer fends her off with one hand, balancing his stack of boxes with his other arm. He swings around to avoid her tiny fists, knocking over the table and chairs in the process as he dances out of her reach.

 “Guys, seriously! Tubby will be back any minute now-”

Just as the words leave their mouth, the adeptus in question suddenly reappears with a lovely little porcelain teapot in her wing-hands. She takes in the scene, of you and the Traveler standing with your arms outstretched to restrain, and Paimon and Wanderer having a spat amidst the wreck of her tea set and furniture.

With a choked gasp, she promptly drops the new teapot.

----- ⚘ -----

After some profuse apologies on everyone’s part, Tubby repairs your new teapot and her furniture with her adeptus magic. She hands you the teapot with reverence, quickly running you through how the Realm Within works (even though you already know) and then ushering you out of the Traveler’s teapot excitedly.

“I hope you like it!” Tubby chirps, feathers fluffed with happiness. “Your teapot spirit is a good friend of mine, I’m sure he will take excellent care of your realm!” 

You and Wanderer are ejected from the realm, finding yourselves standing in the glowing Irminsul chamber, outside the Traveler’s golden teapot with the stack of boxes and your porcelain teapot. Somewhere in the distance, you can hear Nahida speaking, likely addressing Scaramouche and Kabukimono.

“Okay! here goes nothing,” you exclaim, placing down the teapot reverently. You grab the realm dispatch that Tubby had given you, visually identical to the one you remember seeing in your game’s inventory but with a red and gold tassel.  You hold the strip of wood in your palm and allow yourself to attune to the magic inside it. 

Despite not feeling any different after a few moments, you hand over the dispatch to Wanderer, who attunes as well. Once the process is complete, the two of you place your palms against the sides of your teapot and allow yourselves to be warped to the new realm.

Immediately upon appearing in the realm, which you notice is modelled after the same landscape theme as the Traveler’s, a cheerful little basketball-sized grey and yellow teapot spirit floats up to you.

The spirit, looking very much like the little cockatiel-coloured finches from the overworld, greets you with a happy whistle. Where Tubby and Chubby are usually sitting in a fancy teapot-shaped vessel, this one is sitting in a small, but equally ornate, teacup. 

“Hi! Hello! Are you my new master?” the tiny adeptus chitters, clapping his wing feathers together. “I’m your teapot spirit! I’m so happy to meet you!” 

“Oh great, another one.” Wanderer snorts, then pushes past you and into the mansion with his boxes. You gently hold the teapot spirit to avoid him getting knocked back by the motion.

“Don’t mind him, he’s not very social,” you tell the finch, who looks up at you with adoration. “How about you tell me about yourself?”

The finch reluctantly extracts himself from your hands and floats in front of you, feathers twisting shyly.

“Th- this one doesn’t have many interesting things to tell,” he admits. “Not like Rain Calmer and Jade Seeker… This one hasn’t even been granted a small-name yet…” 

“Oh…” you reach out and pat his head. “That’s okay, I can give you a nickname if you really want one.” 

“Will you?” the finch gasps, and surely if beaks could smile…

“That can wait for a minute,” Wanderer calls from the mansion’s front door, leaning against the open door frame. “Can we get some furniture in here first? This place is emptier than Dottore’s soul.” 

“Oh! Of course!” The teacup spirit hurriedly follows Wanderer into the mansion, with you trailing behind them at a slower pace.

As you walk through the mansion, a collection of Inazuman and Sumerian-style furniture begins popping up around you. You follow Wanderer as he moves from room to room, decorating the first one in purely Inazuman decor, the second with a blend of Inazuman and Shneznayan furniture, and the last with simple Sumerian amenities. Satisfied, Wanderer dumps all his boxes on the floor of the third room.

“Okay, great.” He nods at the nervous finch, then points at the door. “Now you guys, get out.” 

You beat a hasty retreat with the teacup spirit in your hands, just barely making it out before Wanderer slams the door behind you. You peer down at the little finch, trying to smile in an encouraging way.

“How about we check out the other rooms while he settles in, shall we?” You offer, and the teacup spirit nods enthusiastically. 

You deck out the remaining rooms with whatever nation’s theme inspires the teacup spirit’s artistic expression. For your own room, the last one you two decide to tackle, you choose a mix of all the nations’ furnishings. It creates a bit of an aesthetic mess, but it seems fitting to want a piece of each place. 

You clap excitedly for the little finch, who blushes fiercely and coos under your attention. 

“Aw, shucks,” he warbles. “I was just doing my job…”

“Nah, you did great, bud!” You reassure him, patting his fluffy head again. “Now, how about that nickname, huh?”

“Wow, really?” 

“Sure thing! How about, hmm…”

You squint at the teacup spirit, thinking really hard about a potential nickname. You know Tubby and Chubby’s nicknames aren’t really related to their adepti names, but it still would seem helpful to have something to go off of…

“... Cup…” You mutter to yourself, eyeing his little teacup seat, and the finch spirit perks up at the sound.

“Hm?” The adeptus makes an adorable noise of confusion, head tilted to one side as it eagerly awaits your final decision.

“... Cuppy.” You finally say, more confidently. The newly named Cuppy vibrates with excitement. “Yeah, I kinda like that. Well, nice to meet you, Cuppy!”

“Wow! Thank you so much!!” Cuppy exclaims, crashing into you and doing his utmost to hug you with his stubby little wings. “I’ll cherish this name forever!”

“That has to be among the dumbest names I’ve ever heard, Your Grace,” Wanderer’s voice sounds behind you, and you turn around to stick your tongue out at him. 

“W-wait, Your Grace?” Cuppy suddenly lets go of you with a gasp. “You’re the Creator?!”

Before you can say anything in reply, the poor teacup spirit promptly faints in your arms. You quickly make sure Cuppy is alright before giving Wanderer the most exaggerated frown you can muster.

“What? Don’t look at me like that,” he scoffs. “That's what you get for picking such a stupid name.”

“Says the guy who came up with ‘country destroyer’,” you retort. 

“It sounded cool at the time!” Wanderer snaps, clearly embarrassed by his past self’s taste.

“Maybe for a ten year old.”

“Well of course it sounds dumb in Common, in Inazuman it’s a lot better.”

“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”

----- ⚘ -----

You and Wanderer exit the realm after Cuppy wakes up again, and you comfort the teacup spirit by telling him that you’re not mad at him and that he’d done nothing to displease you. Reassured, but only barely, Cuppy tearfully accepts your praise and promises not to let you down. 

You resurface in the Irminsul chamber for a second time, to the hilarious scene of Nahida restraining both Scaramouche and Kabukimono within glowing green cubes a few feet above the ground. Scaramouche is beating against the transparent walls and furiously shouting, from what you can tell since the cubes appear to be soundproof. Kabukimono is sitting in the far corner of his cube, sulking with his arms crossed.

“- and that’s why it’s important to try and let go of any leftover resentment you harbor toward one another,” Nahida appears to be mid-lecture, wrapping up one of her points as she addresses the two puppets. “Otherwise you will fill up with anger and anxiety like a glass of water that is overflowing, and you will eventually release the surface tension and spill all your negative emotions and make a huge mess that everyone else will have to deal with. You may not realize this now, but the result of your quarrel will be very tiresome to those around you. If you spill water on a very important research paper, or a valuable book, or even a quick pencil drawing on a napkin, you will create irreparable harm to those you have affected, no matter how big or small the consequence appears to be.”

“The metaphor got away from you again, Buer.” Wanderer decides he’s heard enough and brings his hand down on the small god’s head, patting her. She looks up at him with a patient smile.

“Wanderer, Your Grace! Have you sorted out the living arrangements?” She asks cheerfully, releasing the Dendro cubes and allowing the puppets in time-out to drop to the floor in ungraceful heaps. 

“We did!” You confirm with equal enthusiasm. “We even have a nice teapot adeptus named Cuppy who helped us out with the decorating and everything!”

“That’s wonderful!” Nahida nods and gestures to Scaramouche and Kabukimono to approach, which they do with some measure of caution. Especially on the Balladeer’s part. He eyes Nahida with newfound suspicion, making sure she doesn’t perform any more Dendro abilities on him.

“Are we going to teleport into your new house?” Kabukimono asks, eyeing the porcelain teapot with intrigue. “The same way you and the Traveler teleported earlier?”

“That’s right, you just need to hold this piece of wood for a minute so that the realm magic recognizes and authorizes you as a guest,” you tell him, holding out the dispatch. Kabukimono takes it delicately, staring at the dispatch with wide eyes even though nothing obvious happens.

After his minute is up, Scaramouche snatches the dispatch out of Kabukimono’s hands and grumbles in annoyance as he looks anywhere but at you guys, allowing the magic to attune to him as well.

Once everyone is ready, you bid Nahida a quick goodbye and show the two puppets how to use the teapot to teleport. As you feel yourself warp in, you watch their expressions.

Wanderer is the most composed, having grown used to teleporting thanks to the Traveler, while Kabukimono seems a little dizzy but not overly bothered. Scaramouche, on the other hand, looks positively nauseous, much to your amusement. 

The four of you land in varying degrees of balance on your feet, with Cuppy stuttering out a greeting and ushering you all into the mansion.

Kabukimono is most pleased with his room, plopping down onto the floor mat with a wide grin. An array of tools lines one of the walls, and the adjacent wall opens to a sheltered view of the outside and a small forge. You turn to look at Wanderer as an awestruck Kabukimono takes in his accommodations.

“... What?” Wanderer scowls when he notices your look. “I just know what he’d like, okay? Don’t think too hard about it.”

Scaramouche’s room is next, and he walks in a few paces, has a look around at the very specific combination of aesthetics, and then kicks the door shut in your face. You’re not sure what else you expected from him.

Wanderer’s room is last, and though you already saw it as he was having it customized, you have a quick peek into it.

The Sumeran decor, though relatively plain, is used to great effectiveness. A desk takes up half of the far wall, accompanied by a mostly empty bookshelf and a tall lamp. A few boxes are pushed against the bookcase, unopened so far but you can guess what the contents will be. On the other side is Wanderer’s dresser and bed, and while you know he doesn’t necessarily need to sleep it’s nice to know that he included a bit of comfort for himself anyway.

“Okay, see ya,” Wanderer says, but you interrupt him with a gentle tug on his sleeve. He looks at you with annoyance and mild confusion.

“Thanks for helping me with the decorating,” you half-whisper, a grin spreading across your face. “Who knew you had such good interior design taste?”

“Whatever,” Wanderer huffs and looks at the floor. “It’s just because I knew you would make a mess of it like you did in the Traveler’s teapot.”

“What? No I didn’t. My decorating was just fine!”

Wanderer rolls his eyes at you. “You have a room filled to the brim with random unrelated junk.”

“That’s my storage room,” you state matter-of-factly. “I needed to reach a certain level of adeptal energy to get the maximum currency reward.”

“You say that as if I know what you’re talking about.” Wanderer deadpans and crosses his arms. “It’s still just a room of junk to me.”

“Fine! I see how it is.” You throw your hands up in amused outrage and stomp out of the room. “I guess decorating is your problem from now on, since you’re so good at it or whatever.”

Wanderer nods with a satisfied smirk. “As it should be,” he says before pushing his door closed.

[theragamuffininitiative]

Cozy Interior Aesthetic Pictures PSA (only if you care about not reblogging ai generated images)

This goes for all images really but I am seeing a sudden influx of mutuals reblogging ai art that I very much know do not want to be reblogging ai art. And it's almost entirely because, "Cute kitchen! Look at this lil cottage! Fits my aesthetic, saving that." Which is an attitude I love.

The problem is 90% of the images are clearly ai. I won't say obvious bc if you're not someone like me who just happens to have seen enough of that very specific ai imagery to recognize the vibe on sight, it isn't obvious until you do a doubletake and some fact-checking.

So!

What do we do? We want to keep sharing cute interiors! For our aesthetic! For our dream homes! But nobody likes being taken in by fakes. Knowing it is ai generated bc it is noted on the image is one thing (this never happens but pretend it does). Bc who hasn't played with a computer program to design a cute house? I have! But it's a different beast all together when the images are passed off as real places and we love those little places bc we haven't noticed what is wrong with them.

What do we do?

Keep reblogging cute interior/exterior/setting images! But before you hit the rebagel button do this one tiny, four second check: click to the original poster. Minimum 80% guarantee you will immediately find a blog filled with ai, unsourced, probably untagged art. What was hidden before now becomes wildly obvious.

And then! If you still like the image, that's fine if you want to reblog it anyways - but you are no longer taken in by it and you can do yourself and your followers after you a favor by making some little note on the post: "this is ai fyi but still cute." A little blogger beware and you're on your way!

TLDR - briefly click to op accounts before reblogging unsourced art: this is an almost foolproof way of detecting ai without having to play mind games with an image. 👏

[rocksanddeadflowers]

something I've been thinking about is how interesting it would be to see the goblincore/gremlincore/corvidcore type aesthetic to evolve into an actual subculture. obviously for starters we should change the name bc anything ending in -core just doesn't sit right with me? unless of course it becomes that "placeholder name turns true name" sorta deal but ANYWAY.

main three key elements I've noticed that tend to make up a subculture is: style/outfit presentation (the optional part), belief system, and music genre(s).

style and presentation: (like what you wear), that part is already obvious if you ever followed the aesthetic at any point. (it was trendy for a time I think, is it still trendy? bc idk if it is but that's not stopping me from loving it.) basically wearing majority earth colors like browns and greens, stuff like hobbit-esque cloths or sweaters and stuff. definitely LOTS of nature based themes or just wearing weird trinkets. gotta go for that "creature directly out of the chronicles of spider wick" type look you know?

with the clothes (and often interior design I've noticed, which my entire bedroom would probably fit the aesthetic actually) one thing I've noticed for most who are into the aesthetic is there is a LOT of DIY. also going out and collecting things you find (anything from mystery trinkets to dead bugs and sticks and rocks, which I grew up doing and would call myself a tinker bc I made stuff out of what I found very often).

belief system: I feel like, above all else, beliefs commonly held among people in this aesthetic is to respect and be in nature, as well as do not waste, reduce and reuse. a lot of environmentalist like stuff, as well as seeing and respecting the beauty of nature, from butterflies and flowers to dirt and corpses. I don't have a solid concrete answer for belief system, but hopefully that sums up my view on it.

music genre: folk/folk punk, fantasy DND type genres, and nature based lyrics and vibes. from my experience and digging around, there's less artists who catch the vibe of this aesthetic all around (bc that's not what they're trying to do), and moreso having a couple or handful of songs that fit so very well. unless of course it's a genre of music that is enheritly matching to this aesthetic.

anyway, I'm not great at explaining the music aspect of it, but I feel like if it's magical and yet sorta punk-like that can work. no limits here yet, I have a playlist on my youtube that definitely pushes the boarders but who cares? the thing has celtic woman and httyd score on it. I just think if this evolved into having music for the genre (idk if we could call it a music based genre since it didn't start that way but I mean overall having a genre of music dedicated to this aesthetic-turned-subculture) it would be really interesting to hear what comes of it.

circling back for a minute, I feel like punk comes hand-and-hand with a couple of things here, but specifically mainly eco-punk. like diy, reduce and reuse, etc. as well as the music, while not deeply punk still feels like it would have a punk undercurrent.

I also think this could parallel well with goth, with the dark romantic sorta stuff. the music and belief system having love and adoration for the strangest and darkest aspects of nature, similar to goths seeing beauty in the darkness and creepiness of the world.

if anyone actually read this I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on my little rant (suggestions for bands/musicians and similar subcultures/subculture parallels are very encouraged) bc I grew up doing pretty much everything within this aesthetic long before I knew it was a thing or maybe even before it was a thing. that isn't meant to be gate keepy. I mean that when I found out just how many other people liked and did the same things as me, it was just so cool. so I just really wanna talk to people about this and I think something like this aesthetic could easily become a subculture one day.

[donnerpartyofone]

This has been a really hard one to talk about. I'm always very ambivalent about mourning celebrities. I try to remember that I don't know these people, that what is really mourned by most of us is the person's ongoing work, which in the best cases has helped us understand ourselves and the world in which we live. Unavoidably, though, you can start to develop the sense that you know these people personally, which isn't true or even appropriate necessarily, I mean you have no idea whether you would even like someone you've only seen on a screen or received an autograph from; but at the same time, I don't know if you can really force yourself not to feel like the deceased celebrity is a dear friend you will never get to talk to again (the last time I tried and failed was the passing of Lux Interior). Maybe this is more forgivable, and also more inevitable, if you feel like you grew up with the person.

Of course this is all about ME now, but my mother (who also died from cancer) was an extremely hip, brilliant, funny individual who for whatever reason refused to form a relationship with me. This was pretty strange, because we liked a lot of the same things--B movies, old comics, all types of camp and kitsch--but when I liked those things, it was in poor taste and punishable by exile, whereas when she liked those things, it was evidence of her cultural genius. Before I make anybody too mad I should say that I'm being a little bit unfairly reductive just so I can get to the point, which is that one of the few things we could share was Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I didn't know anything about the show's more adult origins or the fact that Paul Reubens was sort of a performance artist, but I didn't have to. Pee-Wee's Playhouse was a feast for any child's senses: stylish, hilarious, and on some subliminal level, really sophisticated. I was clued into some of what was going on just because I watched it with my mom, who always laughed at Pee-Wee's winks and nudges to the hep parents in the audience. The show might have been my first encounter with the kind of anthropological humor favored by people like David Byrne and Laurie Anderson, artists who engage subversively with cliches, stereotypes, and other memetic parts of popular culture. In Pee-Wee's Playhouse, with its sharp, edgy cast and crew, kids like me were getting into fine art without even knowing it--which is possibly the best way to learn about art anyway.

In fact, on the other side of our house, I became obsessed with Gary Panter's incredible punk opus Jimbo In Paradise, a Dantesque comic book about an innocent young guy living in a dystopian future, where he is occasionally joined by guest stars such as Nancy and Hedorah. I was about 7 when I started reading Jimbo over and over again even though I could barely understand it, and I had no idea that Gary had pretty much designed Pee-Wee's Playhouse. I'm speaking about him so familiarly because I got to know him a little bit as a grownup. I remember Gary talking about how private Paul Reubens could be. He used to do this thing where he would accept a dinner invitation from anybody who asked, as sort of a stunt, but he had to stop doing it because people became so intrusive and entitled with him. Gary said that they'd be walking around in New York and when they saw an obvious Pee-Wee fan gearing up for an offensive, Paul Reubens would sort of transform into this totally different person, putting out an aura that let you know not to fuck with him. It's crazy-making to think that someone who was so protective of the boundary between his private and public selves had to suffer that ridiculous arrest, but it's heartening that most of society eventually grew the fuck up and forgot about it. It's also helpful to remember when he turned up later on the MTV Music Video Awards and started off by asking the audience, "HEARD ANY GOOD JOKES LATELY??"

I'm glad we got one more Pee-Wee special in the past several years, but I always wished that we would see Paul Reubens in more movies. He was such a cool actor, funny, convincing, and naturally charismatic. While people are cycling through their favorite roles of his, I want to point out that he had a great role on a recent HBO miniseries called Mosaic, an intense, engrossing crime drama that I definitely recommend if you have access. Maybe I'll rewatch it, too. In closing, here's a great story that I grabbed from Facebook that should warm everybody's heart, along with the heartbreaking statement (inappropriately cropped by Instagram of course) released upon the death of the very private Pee-Wee Herman. It makes you wish you could thank him in person, for everything. The best we can do is just remember him.

[sheltershock]

Currently thinking about the symbolism of orange with Sasha’s character. How it’s a metaphor present both in Sasha’s mind and lab/office of having a very cold exterior(black/white or greys and blues) and having the smallest pop of color in the interior specifically with the color orange.

The first obvious appearance of this is in his level. When he pops out of the trapdoor/hatch in his mind there’s orange light streaming out from wherever that portal leads to deer within. This is then mirrored in the sequel seen in his office, which has the same cube design with geometric framing. The general feel of the lab is cold and almost inhuman in a way. There’s no windows and all the light is artificial. But the small corner of his office is brightly lit and warm on the inside. And the couch and pillows on top are orange along with bits of the rug on the floor.

It’s also in his outfit. The dark pants, shoes, gloves, glasses and coat cover up the sweater he’s wearing that striped with tans and browns, earthy colors and a less saturated orange. Three places, that’s a pattern.

Then there’s the detail of where the orange is, in comfortable things. It’s the surrounding light for wherever Sasha’s hanging out when chaos is absolutely rocking his entire world. It’s in his turtleneck sweater, something you usually wear to combat cold. It’s in the couch cushions and pillows, something you usually interact with to talk a break or rest in.

It’s such an obvious metaphor. Sasha is such an intimidating figure initially, cold and detached from the world and others. But then you actually spend a little time with him and he’s actually a dork who cares a lot about the people he’s close with. The most glaring time is when he calls Lili ‘darling’ that one time in RoR, completely unprompted. For most the jet ride he’s barely acknowledging that she’s crying her eyes out and mostly has the air of “don’t make me turn this car around.” But then just out of nowhere when he gets good news about Truman’s location he just pulls out the “I think we might know where he is, darling” while clearly putting on the softest tone he can most definitely but imitating Milla. And it just shows that he’s been aware the entire time and just saying something now while trying so hard to be comforting is so much. Fantastic characterization.

I love all the small details in this series, even with something like color and where it appears and how that links up with the character themselves. Just wow. I love the writing here.

[plussizefantasia]

Spookifying

Flufftober Day 27: Decoration

Tony Stark x reader

Word Count: 0.9k

AN: Thank you to @unholyhuntress for letting me know that my post hadn't gone out today. Tumblr deleted my qued posts, I uploaded this as soon as I could.

I can't believe we have less than a week left. As always, Reblogs and Feedback is really appreciated. See y'all tomorrow.

divider credit @royallaesthetics

On October 1st, you decided that you’d try to play a fun little prank on Tony. You had moved in together a few months before and Halloween was going to be one of the first major holidays that you’d celebrate while living together. It was also the first one that you could decorate for.

Tony was not the one who decorated his suite, he had hired an interior designer to design pretty much the whole compound. And while it looked very nice, it wasn’t very personal. Everything was modern and sleek. Blacks and whites and the same shade of blue ran throughout the entire space. It looked straight out of a magazine, but it didn’t look like a home.

So for Halloween, you decided that you would decorate. Without Tony. But you figured it would be too obvious if you did all the decorating at once. That is why, once a day since the first of the month you’ve taken a piece of decor and replaced it. At first, it was small things, you swapped out a random bowl of rocks that was sitting on the bookshelf with a little foam pumpkin. You swapped the towel hanging in the kitchen and even took down one of the paintings in the living room and swapped it with a framed Friday the 13th movie poster. You swapped out boring white candles for ones in pumpkin jars that smelled like cinnamon apples. 

You figured that Tony would’ve said something by now. At first, it was fun sneaking around and swapping decor, hoping that when Tony noticed it would be a fun laugh, and then the two of you could decorate the rest of the house together. But he hadn’t said anything, he hadn’t even looked at any of the new decor when you two were spending time together.

You didn’t know what to think. Was he just really oblivious? Did he not care? Was he annoyed that you had swapped things but just didn’t want to say anything? You decided that you would pull out the big guns today and hopefully, he would finally say something.

Tony drank a lot of coffee, but he always drank it from the same mug. It was an Iron Man-branded mug that he was given by a little boy when he visited the children’s hospital for a charity event. He cherishes it, he gets grumpy when it's not clean. And you stole it. You replaced it with a mug that looks like a jack-o-lantern. It even lights up.

You camped out by the island counter, perched on one of the stools that surrounded the side sipped from your own ghost-shaped mug, and waited for Tony to emerge from your room and come to the kitchen.

He walked out in a pair of sweatpants and a Black AC/DC tee shirt that had seen better years. A pair of slippers adorned his feet and his hair was still a little wet in front of the shower. He walked past you, placing a kiss in greeting on the side of your head and running his hand across your lower back as he turned the counter of the floating counter and towards the coffee machine. 

You were practically buzzing with excitement as you watched him open the cabinet that held your cups and mugs. He blindly grabbed for the mug that was in the same spot it always was and placed it under the spout that the coffee would come from as soon as the machine finished warming the water. 

As he placed it down though you watched him do a double-take. He shot his head back up to the cabinet and turned his head left and right, scanning all the drinkware inside. He searched for his mug for about a minute before he turned towards you.

“Very funny sweetheart. Where is my mug.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” You took another sip out of your own mug.

‘You think I haven't noticed what you’ve been doing?” He asked, walking back around the counter and stopping right in front of you, he took a step forward, forcing your legs apart and sliding in between them. “You think I didn’t notice on day one, that there was a bright orange pumpkin on my bookshelf? You think I haven’t noticed you sneaking around and spookifying my place?” As he questioned you, he pushed his face even closer to yours. You couldn’t really think not when he was so close to you, crowding you being. Filling all of your senses with just him.

“Our place.” was the only response you could come up with.

“Where. Is. My. Mug?” Tony asked, pacing kisses on your lips in between each word. Eventually, he pulled back and you could see the soft smile on his face. Now that he wasn’t the only thing you could see or smell, the rest of your brain started to come back online.

“Wait. You noticed? You noticed and you didn’t say anything? Tones I was seriously beginning to doubt your observational skills.” You were incredulous. He had known the whole time? “Why didn’t you say anything?” You asked him.

“Because you were having so much fun. Sneaking around, thinking you were getting away with it. Sweetheart, you were so happy, I didn’t want to burst your bubble.”

“That is sweet. But I’m not going to lie I’m still a little upset.”

“Well we can’t have that, can we?” He adopted a stupidly handsome pout and looked into your eyes, “What can I do, sweetheart I don’t want you upset.”

You smiled widely. “Well Halloween isn’t for a few more days, and I have a lot more decorations hidden in my office. Help me put them up?” And he did. The two of you spent the rest of the day decorating the suite, watching spooky movies in the background, and laughing together. 

[offorestsongs]

Rook + Lysander ― ship introduction ♡

it only took me like, a good few months but finally! an official (somewhat of an) introduction post for the main OC x canon ship i post about on here - Rook x Lysander aka lilyarrow. Lysander is my Yuu and you can read more about him here <3

i didn't write out their entire relationship timeline because 1. this post is already pretty long and 2. i want to give myself some space to just, make up scenarios lmao. there are some things about the development of their relationship that i consider to be pretty set-in-stone so maybe one day i'll make a post about that too

FIRSTS 𓂅

FIRST MEETING ➙

Lysander has met most of the characters earlier than in the game canon (mostly because i think that makes for some fun dynamics), including Rook. they've met shortly after book 2. Lysander was actually trying to make Ramshackle more liveable; cleaning, moving out some of the old furniture that had was too broken to use, fixing up some things here and there. Rook just kind of,, appeared out of nowhere (he was actually watching Lysander for a while now), spooking poor Grim out, and offered his help. he also kissed Lysander's hand.

when Lysander tried to introduce himself, Rook interrupted him, saying that he already knows it. he also knows what class Lysander is in, his seat number, height and interests.

Lysander, in turn, blushed. he thought it was cute. he did, however, firmly refused any help, since he likes to do everything by himself (Grim thought that was very stupid of him). but Rook insisted until Lysander had given in and agreed to it, so in the end they've spent the entire day moving furniture and painting walls. turns out, Rook had a lot to say about Lysander's interior design choices.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS ➙

Lysander: as i said, presented with Rook's stalker tendencies right off the bat, instead of being weirded out, he thought it's kind of sweet. he's not really used to people noticing him or paying attention to him, so he naturally got kind of flustered by the idea of somebody having any sort of interest in him. he also needed only about five seconds before going "oh! i like him!" ― he just tends to cling to people who are more extroverted and more talkative than him, and he found the fact that Rook seems to have more knowledge about a lot of things pretty interesting. he was a bit overwhelmed by Rook's general Everything, but he pretty quickly got used to it. Rook: he was actually watching Lysander for a lot longer than the day they first met; he was quite taken by Lysander's delicate beauty. he thought that Lysander is like a pretty little flower ― Rook would be failing his life's mission if he didn't help Lysander bloom into his full potential! he was also kind of impressed with the fact that for a tiny, frail, magicless human, Lysander seemed to fare pretty well (especially watching him haul all that heavy furniture).

WHO CONFESSED FIRST ➙

surprisingly, it was Lysander! while Rook was well aware that Lysander returns his feelings (i mean, Lysander was very obvious about it, if anything, it was hard to not notice), he was also willing to wait. you can't make your final move too fast or you'll spook your prey ― Lysander still seemed very skittish and he didn't want to accidentally scare him away. and besides, the wait is as much part of the fun as anything that comes after it (and he enjoyed teasing Lysander and watching him make the most awkward attempts at flirting seen to man).

meanwhile, Lysander made a bet with Vil that if they win the VDC, he'll finally confess to Rook. well. yeah. about that... but Lysander still decided that he's going to do it because, well, they've all had kind of a shitty day, he can at least have this one thing. and he's been hyping himself up all day! he can't all that go to waste!

(and maybe, just maybe he was a lot a bit jealous over a certain celebrity from a rival school. but just maybe!)

Lysander kind of fumbled it tho. he wanted to say something heartfelt and sweet and romantic, but he got too stressed out after like, the first sentence and started to kind of ramble. but Rook thought that it was cute, so it was all okay <3

FIRST DATE ➙

well technically their first date was going to get Vil, Grim & co out of S.T.Y.X while Epel was thirdwheeling them but that doesn't count lmao

it was surprisingly normal and kind of, low-key. very private, very cozy. even before getting together, they would often go on walks and just kind of wander around, especially in the woods near the school.

so they went on a picnic in a little meadow that the often used to meet up at. Rook was the one who organized it, so he was the one who got all the food and all ― Lysander would be happy to do so himself, but Rook didn't want him to do any work before their date <3. Lysander has a real sweet tooth, so Rook had mostly got them Lysander's favorite sweets.

also they got caught in the rain about half way through and had to run back but Lysander got to wear Rook's jacket so it's still a profit? he never gave it back

FIRST KISS ➙

it was actually during their first date! they were both laying on the blanket and chatting and it just kind of,,, happened. for the romance of it all, i would love to say that Rook is a good kisser but realistically speaking i don't think he actually has much experience, same with Lysander, so it was just kind of awkward, but still pretty sweet! tho Lysander did start laughing because he got too overwhelmed.

also it was almost right after that it started raining. they don't have the best luck lmao.

RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS 𓂅

WHAT DO THEY LIKE ABOUT EACHOTHER ➙

Lysander: first of all, he really likes and appreciates the fact that Rook can read him pretty well!! Rook is one of the few people who understand that Lysander really isn't shy or anything, he just doesn't like talking too much and never pushed him into it. Rook is also very good at noticing when Lysander gets too overwhelmed by social situations and is quick to pull him out of them.

for his whole life, Lysander had to work hard to prove that he's worth anything, so he really appreciates the way Rook just,, sees him and loves him for who he is, wholeheartedly and without any conditions. it's maybe the first time Lysander feels really appreciated without having to do anything to "deserve" it.

he likes that Rook is emotional and earnest and genuine!! even if Rook is secretive and weird about some things, Lysander could never distrust him, because he knows that he's honest about the things that matter (especially, his feelings towards other people).

and he also likes the way Rook is so passionate about so many things!! he likes that Rook knows so much about many different topics and that he's always willing to talk at length about them!! and he likes the way Rook gets all excited over it too, he thinks its so cute <3.

Rook: he likes that Lysander is kind and warm and sweet. and most importantly, he likes that Lysander is somebody who chooses to be kind, no matter what — the thinks that's really admirable

he likes that Lysander is so resilient! again, he thinks the way Lysander is so bent on building a life for himself in a unfamiliar world, that he's never deterred by people treating him awfully, that he's willing to be stubborn when the situation demands it and that he doesn't give up easily.

he really appreciates how good of a listener Lysander is. while sure, Rook will gladly just talk at people, he's happy to have someone whos willing to actually listen to him, who's genuinely interested, who's asking questions and who actually tries to look at the world from Rook's perspective.

he also likes how busy Lysander always is. he likes that Lysander is always working on something, always has some project in mind, especially since he likes watching Lysander at work. he also finds Lysander’s wide array of home renovation skills absolutely delightful.

WHAT DO THEY DISLIKE ABOUT EACHOTHER ➙

Lysander: he has some bad jealousy issues, so he tends to get a bit grumpy when Rook starts fawning about other people. he knows Rook doesn't mean it like that, but he's still unhappy

also he doesn't always appreciate how blunt Rook can be with his words, but they usually can talk it out so it's alright

Rook: while he does love how kind Lysander is, yes, he also thinks that sometimes Lysander is being too much of a pushover. yes, it is very noble and beautiful to sacrifice so much of yourself for other people's sake, he wouldn't mind if Lysander also took care of himself while at it!!

FAVORITE PHYSICAL FEATURE OF THE OTHER ONE ➙

Lysander: listen. he's a simple boy. his type is just guys who are Strong. and so as you can imagine, he feels Very normal about Rook's arms. the first time he saw Rook in a t-shirt, he was UNCONSOLABLE. he also likes Rook's hands a lot, he likes that they're the rough hands of somebody who actually uses them to do work

Rook: while he would surely write many pomes about any given part of Lysander’s appearance, he's especially fond of Lysander’s freckles. he always tries to kiss as many of them as he can.

he's also very fond of Lysander’s smile since Lysander doesn't actually smile all that often.

WHAT DO THEY DO TOGETHER ➙

they're both very outdoorsy people so most of their time together is just Going Somewhere. they like to just be in nature, Lysander then can ask Rook about Fun Animal Facts and Rook can be delighted by how animals seem to be naturally drawn to Lysander.

they can and will treat any outing as a date. they also treat everything they do like an adventure!!! no matter where they're going, they're going to find it fun and exciting!! but they especially like discovering new places together; when they're travelling somewhere, they like to go off map and just wander around and Lysander drags Rook to every food place they come across.

when they go on more "fancy" dates, it's usually theatre/opera. back in his home world, Lysander actually never went to theatre and upon learning about it, Rook went to fix it IMMEDIATELY. Lysander is still not that much into it, but he likes that Rook likes it.

they also watch a lot of movies even when they're just chilling together — again, Lysander is mostly happy that Rook can go on and on about cinematography and behind-the-scenes stuff. Rook had introduced him to musicals tho and he does actually like those!!

Rook is not allowed to help Lysander while Lysander is cooking, but sometimes Lysander lets Rook sit in the kitchen and watch. it's one of the few times when Lysander actually gets chatty because he starts to explain what he's doing and Rook is just happy to be able to listen (tho Lysander always makes him do the dishes afterwards). Rook also often helps Lysander with work in Lysander's garden.

OTHER FACTS 𓂅

aka all the other things i wanted to mention but i didnt know where to put them lmao

i wanted to put it into the "what do they like about eachother" section but didn't know how to fit it in so it's here BUT. Lysander actually never found Rook weird and gets a bit defensive when others do so because. well. Lysander knows well how it is, to be labelled as "the weird person" simply because your way of interacting with other people is a bit out of the norm

while they aren't overly touchy with eachother in public, they're still very affectionate and combined with the fact that they often act like they're joined by hip, it makes them kind of insufferable to be around

they ARE very touchy in private tho!! they often cuddle/take naps together. Rook likes to put his head on Lysander’s chest so he can listen to Lysander’s heartbeat

while Rook uses A LOT of petnames in general, the one he uses most often is mon fleur, since, as i've said, Lysander reminds him of a flower a lot. Lysander is not big on petnames but he often calls Rook "my love" or "my heart"

they write eachother letters by hand, despite the fact that going to the same school, they have no real need to do so. usually full of dramatic romantic confessions and plans for the future

at one point they've given eachother a lock of their hair

not only did Lysander find Rook's stalking tendencies kind of cute, he would also leave the curtains in his windows opened just in case Rook was watching

obviously, the have eachother photo's as their phone lockscreens

Rook really admires the fact that Lysander does embroidery/sewing! he's fascinated by it since it's such a delicate job that requires a lot of carefullness and patience. he likes to sit with his head in Lysander's lap and watch him do it

Vil had put them in a "there was only one bed" scenario during book 5, making them share Lysander’s bedroom (since there were more people living at Ramshackle than actually liveable rooms, they had to arrange everyone somehow)

Rook often compares Lysander to a hare and once bought him a hare plushie

there's some intersection between Rook's interest in hunting and Lysander’s interest in cooking; somehow, that ended up with Rook teaching Lysander how to skin a rabbit (i feel like i shouldn't be putting this point right after the previous one LMAO)

they actually really love teaching eachother how to do things they're interested in!! Rook had also taught Lysander how to climb trees, some archery and whittling (with varying degrees of success)

Rook has just. so many sketchbook pages filled solely with drawings of Lysander

Lysander very often steals borrows Rook's hoodies/shirts; he likes that they're soft and too big on him and smell like Rook. Rook also often steals borrows Lysander’s clothes — they're too small for him to wear obviously but he just likes Lysander’s smell

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Taerfleg

Another obvious one this week, but it seems people are having fun with it. Nothing else for me to add right here, I think, so I'll get right into it. If you're confused by what this is, go check out https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

And if you want to see the entry people are working from this week, it's here:

Art below in rough chronological order:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) started with the concept of a sea urchin, but decided a face might make it more charismatic. It is a very cute face; I like its vibes a lot. Turning a sea urchin into what appears to be at least a semi-terrestrial creature brings up some interesting etymological stuff also, but we'll get into that at the end of the post. Those tube-like appendages there are an interpretation of the business about "ventilation ducts" in the post -- Silverhart acknowledges that it probably refers to the Taerfleg's nest/burrow/whatever, but that they decided to go this direction instead. The linked post explains that these are breathing tubes the Taerfleg can use when it's submerged in mud, which makes me think of this beast as a frog that's also kind of a stealth caltrop of sorts. Watch your step on those muddy banks.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) expresses that she doesn't have enough time this week to do something elaborate, but has sketched out this very good spiky bug. I like it a lot, actually -- it kind of looks like what you'd get if the Koopas from the Mario games were based on pill bugs instead of turtles. This one's got spines, so you can't jump on it. Probably rolls up into a very dangerous ball. Also, you know, everyone appreciates a good isopod. The design of the head is nice also -- there's something to the widely-spaced eyes and those two long appendages. (Feelers? Mandibles? Either way it's got a good outline I think.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has given us an interior view of the Taerfleg's burrow -- over on the right we can see a ventilation duct that's been blocked with some kind of plant matter. Their Taerfleg is a spiny lizard, with long limbs to help them remove the grapes from their spines after collecting them. Notable is the attention to detail -- the grape currently on the Taerfleg's back is a bit squashed from being rolled on. I think the lizard looks really cool -- that tail in particular is very well shaped -- and as often happens, I'm blown away by the amount of detailing CheapSweets is doing with a fountain pen. Also please note the babies over there on the left. For a detailed description of the design process, I highly recommend clicking the linked post.

(Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has again come through with a beautiful medievally-styled piece. These Taerfleg are spiders -- Coolest-capybara notes that "spiders with plant-based diets" and "spiders with spiny carapaces" are both real things, so a type of spider that fits both of those categories isn't out of the realm of possibility. When they're collecting grapes, they wrap them in little spider-silk harnesses, which is neat. I really like the web shown here: we've got a funnel structure, which is what the "ventilation" bit is talking about, and I think the decision to draw it with that kind of knotwork motif is really cool.

(Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@pomrania (link to post here) has taken this in what I can only describe as a delightfully whimsical direction: the spiky armor is artificial. Does the little rodent build these things itself? One must assume. This also explains the ventilation ducts -- they're openings in the little armored vehicle it rolls around in. We can see one covered by a curtain on the left there. It... doesn't look pleased that its armor has been opened. Poor little critter.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has decided to maintain the balance of their bestiaryposting here: last week it was obviously an ant, so they drew a mammal; this week it's obviously a [redacted], so they drew an insect. I think what I like most about this design (besides the fact that it's cute) is that the Taerfleg appears to be doing the dung-beetle rolling thing with that grape. From past experience reading Strixcattus's worldbuilding, I'm guessing that the "attach grapes to its spines" thing is a myth in-universe, and this is its more normal way of gathering grapes. Speaking of which, as usual, it's worth clicking that linked post and seeing the full, more naturalistic interpretation of the Taerfleg that Strixcattus has written.

All right, to the Aberdeen Bestiary:

Yes, so we all know these are hedgehogs, but were you expecting to get this whole scene? I bet not. Check out that very good Stylized Plant. If I were to get a Stylized Plant tattooed on myself (which I'm starting to consider, as this whole thing we're doing has shown me how much I'm delighted by them), this one would be high on my list.

The tiny hedgehogs are very cute, though I think the illustrator didn't keep track of how much space they had in the image, because the scale seems off -- the... grapes? on the hedgehogs' backs are maybe half the size of the ones on the plant. It's like the bottom of the image was compressed.

The thing with the hedgehog using its spines to carry food is all over medieval texts and marginalia, by the way. This was apparently widely believed; I'm pretty sure it is not in fact the case, but Pliny the Elder was certain it was, so you know. Who's to say.

Now, let's talk ✨etymology✨.

So the entry lists the beast as having two names: ericius and echinus. (From my cursory look into it, this is a case of Latin borrowing from Greek: ericius is the Latin for "hedgehog", whereas echinus is the Latinization of the Greek word.) The translation dutifully translates them both, into two different English terms.

The first is of course "hedgehog" -- but that's a fairly recent word, actually. The earliest attestation is at the tail end of the medieval period.

The second is the actual etymological descendant of ericius. Latin ericius became Old French herichon, and after the Normans conquered England that made its way into the English language as hurcheon, which then over the centuries became... urchin.

This is what I meant about Silverhart taking a sea urchin and making it terrestrial being an interesting etymological move. The reason they're called "sea urchins" is because there was already a "land urchin": the hedgehog. They're one of those critters that was named after looking kind of like something on land, and it stuck. Most aquatic organisms whose names start with "sea" are a case of this. (Why do people sometimes say "sea anemone" instead of just "anemone"? Because "anemone" is also a type of flower; the creatures are named after the resemblance.)

It's one of those weird flukes that happens sometimes -- English decided to call the land animal something completely different (I think some dialects still use "urchin", but it isn't common) and the connection became less obvious. In a number of other languages, it's preserved; e.g. in Spanish, "hedgehog" is erizo -- also from ericius -- and "sea urchin" is erizo de mar. Boom, done, the etymology couldn't be more clear.

Incidentally, a weird side note: the Aberdeen Bestiary predates the first attestation of either hedgehog (1450) or urchin (1290). So the creators of this manuscript wouldn't have called them by either of the names we've just discussed, but a secret third option. Before the French loanword became standard, hedgehogs were called ile or igil in English -- cognate with German Igel. (Incidentally, in German a sea urchin is apparently Seeigel, so they also know what it's named after.)

Anyway, it's getting late. Enjoy the lovely art and the unnecessary infodump.

[quackquackcey]

“Stiles, I was talking about the lasagna”

Fic written for @sterekweekly’s prompt ‘confess’. Rated T, 2.4k words. Tags: pining, fluff, confessions, humor, banter. Read on AO3.

Summary:

The time Stiles thought his dad could read minds and ended up confessing his inner most thoughts starring Derek—twice.~ 🐺💝

Stiles liked surprises.

In fact, he loved them.

But he didn’t know how he felt about the surprise of Derek showing up to the pack meeting looking like that.

To be fair, he should’ve been the least surprised, considering he was the one who’d gifted Derek that deep burgundy v-neck sweater for Valentine’s Day—anonymously, of course. He’d ordered it along with a fluffy blanket and chocolates and had them shipped to Derek’s flat addressed to a different name to make it seem like a misdelivered package, all to make sure Derek never figured out it was from him.

A lot of trouble for arguably nothing, but Derek of all people deserved at least a little coziness in his life. Everytime Stiles saw Derek’s apartment, he found himself bewildered by the absolute lack of comfort and homeliness and warmth, because look, having a minimalist interior design did not equate to not having any blankets or rugs anywhere.

A month had passed since then, though, without Derek wearing the sweater once or even mentioning that he’d gotten a misdelivered package in the mail. Stiles had assumed that Derek had returned it, set it aside, forgotten about it, or thrown it out—who knew—and moved on.

He hadn’t particularly expected anything to begin with.

But then Derek had walked into that pack meeting wearing the v-neck sweater that Stiles had spent a pathetic amount of time picking out, looking so unfairly stunning and for the first time, relaxed, and—

Stiles couldn’t stop thinking about it. Couldn’t stop thinking about the way Derek smiled at him a little on his way out when he’d commented, “Your sweater looks soft,” after both Erica and Isaac said something similar—(he figured it wouldn’t be weird of him to mention it if the others did, too.)

Even Lydia had complimented Derek with a “Not your usual style, but it’s even better. I didn’t peg you as someone with an eye for flattering colors and fits.”

So Stiles thought it’d be safe to say something.

“It’s very soft,” was Derek’s reply.

Stiles nodded. “Baby alpaca wool is supposed to be the softest.”

That was why he’d picked it, after all.

Derek just gave him an amused look in response.

He went home soon after, still thinking about Derek and that little smile and the way that sweater might as well have been tailored for him and his ripped muscles, only to find his dad waiting for him, arms crossed.

“C’mon Stiles, just confess already,” his dad said with a sigh when Stiles told him he wasn’t hiding anything. “Are we really going to play this game?”

‘Confess what?!’ Stiles wanted to scream, but then—

Oh god.

He was hiding one thing, his feelings for Derek, but there was no way that was what his dad was talking about.

Right?

…Right?

Stiles’ hands grew clammy and his dad just stood there looking profoundly stern and unbudging and oh god, he knew his dad had detective skills, but this was just freaky, because he was pretty sure he hadn’t been obvious about it, so maybe his dad could just read minds…?

His dad sighed again and tapped his foot, and Stiles cracked under the pressure.

He didn’t even know what all he babbled and rambled about, but it went something along the lines of fine, so what if he liked Derek, it wasn’t like it was ever going to happen and they were just friends, and it wasn’t weird that he’d secretly sent him a Valentine’s Day gift because that was what Valentine’s Day was for to begin with, right? And he didn’t even know Derek had opened his gift for sure until tonight when he wore that sweater, and you know what, he might be a genius because that sweater looked fucking amazing on Derek and Derek looked fucking amazing and he looked so content and relaxed and happy, and Stiles was just glad that Derek had maybe liked his gift because Derek deserved to be happy. Plus Derek had mentioned at the pack meeting that he was thinking about building himself a small house in the woods and he’d looked so soft when he said that, and of course Stiles had volunteered to help and he was happy if Derek was happy and he was fine, just fine, really—

“Stiles, I was talking about the lasagna you hid that Melissa brought over,” interrupted his dad just before he really spiraled. “Not your, uh…secret feelings.”

And Stiles just stood there slack-jawed in shocked, humiliated silence, like a moron, while his dad rubbed his temples.

Continue on AO3!