#it'd be cool to write it all out

[unwashedpotato]

cw: incest/stepcest

the urge for brother x sibling plots is unbearable.

family road trips. forced to share rooms on vacation. getting drunk at college parties and drunkenly mistaking their sibling for their usual make out partner. weekend at home, your sibling has a sleepover with all their friends and big bro has to "supervise" but his eyes are only on you. athletic sibling locker room hook ups. pretending to hate each other but touching your sibling in the middle of dinner. trying to be discreet under the blanket during family movie night.

[struggling-jpg]

Yanqing and Yunli Appreciation Post

Keep Reading cut due to 2.4 spoilers~ (also relatively long-ish post)

These two bounce off each other so well! As a writer, it feels so satisfying to see their characters shine through the quest and the event in the way their interactions highlight them. So I'm gonna use this space to ramble about it!

My previous post pretty much talked about it already, but Yanqing!!! My son!!! I was quite worried that any potential arc for him would be shoved down the road or to the side due to the scale HSR has, but the game's been actually holding up to his ongoing arc. As a result, at least to me, he's come through as one of the best written/developed characters on the Xianzhou so far.

The nature of the length of the updates lets what we get in previous quests settle in for a long while, and considering the mentioned of flow of time in-game, Yanqing's had the time to think and develop as a person. The fact that so many players have had their view and opinion of him finally turn around in this quest is a testament to that. We get to see more facets of him, as in, doing his job and the responsibilities of doing so, and how his insecurities are mentioned in a main quest for all to see. He's constantly referencing others and his past encounters. You can tell that Jing Yuan raised him with his manner and approach to things, which is highlighted by the contrast to Yunli (will get to that soon).

His position as a child soldier has made him mature faster, be quiet even when he's been wronged (filial piety/saving face (aka thank you person on Reddit who makes the banger character Yanqing (and other characters in general) appreciation posts)), take a step back and have to be able to read the room (though, reasonably, he doesn't catch on all the time), and much, much more. The fact that other official content has described him as being more worried about diplomacy and all that. He doesn't have the luxury to be as carefree or brash for someone his age.

There's a lot to unpack there still, even with the development he's had now and that's good! If the Hoyo writing team was wild enough, it'd be cool to see them address the grayness of his role and Jing Yuan's mindset in raising him as he did (We love Dad-Yuan and he loves his son dearly no question, but it'd be so interesting to explore his flaws/mistakes in this perspective!).

Now onto Yunli.

I'm saying straight off the bat, I'm irritated by her!

And that's a good thing!

Her being annoying or bratty or irritating doesn't automatically make her a badly written character! She only would become one if they don't do anything with her, and HSR most probably will, and she should be given the same room to develop in her own arc.

She acts like her age, and she doesn't have the same pressures as Yanqing does. Just like how you can see Jing Yuan in Yanqing, you can see Huaiyan in Yunli, if anything he says is to go by. She's tempremental and outspoken to a fault, and based on the way how quickly Huaiyan relented when she talked back, you can tell that Huaiyan isn't as strict/stern with her to give her a sense of being humble.

I had this thought that she's technically what the general fandom viewed Yanqing as initially, and I'm not saying that as a 100% thing, by the way. But like by some traits and the vibes. She, of course, has a lot more nuance that will be explored at one point or another.

But back on topic, she's a foil. They represent two different approaches and lifestyles and can clearly learn from each other. Her inconsideration of the fact that she's on the Luofu but enforcing Zhuming practices (which I noticed people were upset by, and same; which I imagine is the point), her bluntness to no matter who she's talking to—there's a lot to work with here.

Just like with their swordplay, Yanqing could learn from her mental strength while Yunli can learn from his focused speed and defense. He can learn to regain a more firm grasp of his recently found purpose while she can learn to mature and take in her surroundings and be more thoughtful in that front.

Another interesting note is that where we are with Yanqing currently is in the middle of his arc, we've had the time to see him take a long route of struggle to get to this point, exacerbated by irl players views of him. He's in the middle of his growth and we've had since 1.0 to get to know him. But with Yunli, she was introduced very recently, so we're technically at the "beginning" of her character arc. In a way, Yunli now highlights how far Yanqing has come and changed, and in a way Yanqing now is a potential show for the arc that Yunli can have (not being the exact same as him of course).

I think the idea with these two is that they develop to be more balanced. Balance is such an important thing, especially in Chinese culture (Daoism (Yin-Yang), etc.), and 2.4 has shown how much potential they have to make for amazing character arcs.

It's cool that while they have such similar base traits, they're so different from each other. Calling Yunli a female Yanqing or Yanqing a male Yunli is simply outright incorrect. Their backgrounds, upbringings, ideals, swordstyles, perspectives, and positions in life are so distinct. I'm looking forward to their futures!

[tojiscrack]

HIIIIII! First of all I obviously want to thank you for being so smart and creative because liar liar is really juste THAT good!

Idk if you're into k-dramas but i just finished the first episode of family by choice and I couldn't help but think about how much it fits with the dynamic between megumi and y/n and I just love it !! It really felt like i was watching the live version of liar liar !!

liar, liar masterlist here:

HELLOOOO!!! before i say anything, i just have to apologise for the dry response here, i'm on my laptop so i can't use emojis :(

but anyway! first and foremost, i'm like giggling in my bed rn like being called smart and creative is just soooo <3333 ugh, you're welcome?? TY FOR BEING SO NICE AND STARTING OFF UR MESSAGE WITH COMPLIMENTS LIKE <333333333 i'm happy you're liking the story so far!

i am into k-dramas :D i've watched a fair few (weightlifting fairy kim bok joo, squid game, true beauty, angel's last mission: love, lawless lawyer, all of us are dead, etc) but i kinda stopped for a while, idk why? like not on purpose, but i just forgot to continue going through my list hahahaa

FUNNILY ENOUGH, family by choice just so happens to be on my list and i haven't touched it. i heard it ended recently too and i've seen a shit ton of edits on tiktok about it, ppl seemed to have REALLY enjoyed it so it must be THAT good.

but now that you compare it to megumi and y/n... i might just watch it some time soon? i wanna see what dynamics and how the setting might just seem like a live action of liar, liar, as you say...

you've just given me a recommendation i'll actually end up checking out!

[confused-stars]

Alhaitham and Neuvillette could hang out i think

it would be entirely silent hangouts but they'd both go home feeling like they had a pleasant time

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2025: ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz.

This was a reread for me! I remembered it being An Inspiration for one of my own novels (which I'm revising now, which is why I am Returning To My Inspiration Roots), but hooo boy did I forget Exactly How Influential it was. The syntax, the tone, specific images ("apocalyptic crimson," neon and sixth sense, aimless wandering for a guiding Feeling about bad things, hello????)--Odd Thomas is 100% Driscoll's precursor, and I think they'd be friends!

Odd is a fantastic fry-cook who can also see dead people (they don't speak)(he doesn't know why)(he helps them when he can) and strange shadow creatures that portend horrible violence. He gets premonitions and weird feelings, and he uses those to try to stop a massacre that's been haunting his dreams for years. (The Goodreads blurb is better; I'm not sure how to distill this sanely, but I love it so much--it's weird, it's fucked up, it's funny, it's sweet, it's unhinged.)

Overall, this held up well! There was more fatphobia than I remembered (published in 2003 whomst??), but I do still really love Odd, and it hurt A Lot to know what was coming--couple instances of neat foreshadowing that I didn't pick up on my first read, and I was still delighted by many of the phrasings and humor. Still an all-time fave series for me, and I'm glad I revisited it!

[enbyboiwonder]

Red Dragon Disciples don’t get wings in NWN2?? No…

This is the worst of NWN (can’t see scales, can’t fly) and BG3 (no wings)

At least you’ve still got your breath weapon (not that I remember to use it tho lmao) and your immunity to fire

[wiltking]

finished Pack of Lies (spinoff sequel for Big Bad Wolf) and i thought it was okay, but just that. would not recommend it over the main story, even though it was a real treat to read more about Eli. he's a delight and it was worth it for him alone but i could not muster any interest in the love interest, Julien, which is shocking considering he's a 40's something double divorced man supposedly on a mission blinded by all consuming grief. i say supposedly because he didn't really give much... of anything. even when it was his POV he was just kind of... there. i wasn't convinced of his grief and felt that his personality was kind of non existent. and not even in the 'too consumed by loss and sadness to be a person' kind of way. it is also very hard for me to care about movie star type characters, but even then, there just wasn't much to work with.

the mystery itself was also just okay. i liked the setting and seeing the clues navigated by civilians, and bringing cryptids into the mix was a fun touch, but the whole thing about Julien's brother felt clunky. i can't say i was ever bored though, really, aside from the lore recap stuff in the beginning (but to be fair i don't think most people read all 5 main books in less than 2 weeks before jumping straight to this one) and i think overall my main disappointment remains with Julien himself. i'm still interested in seeing where else this spinoff goes though, despite book 2 apparently being very delayed. or anything else this author writes in the future, really.

[violetsareblue-selfships]

good morning!! <3

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay do I make a) my Percy Jackson reincarnates into dc, or b) my loz link goes to camp half blood au.

[pitzer]

I love this person

“Occasionally I’ll have a beer after work and break out the sketchbook. But I had wanted to be this great painter. I wanted to do these grand things: big, huge oil paintings. But those days of painting all the time were such a roller coaster. There were these periods of extreme depression, followed by manic states of trying to put myself out there. I couldn’t do it anymore. I mainly felt sorry for my dad. I know it was rough for him. My mom hadn’t wanted me to go to art school. She wanted me to do something more practical, but my dad said: ‘No. This is what he wants to do, and I want to support his dream.’ And then I abandoned it. That was the first time I had to deal with real failure. A lot of times when you’re an artist, it’s your job, it’s your lifestyle, it’s your entire fucking identity. It wasn’t like I failed to do a thing. It was like: I failed to be something, you know? It was a failure to live up to what I thought was my destiny. But then on the other side of that, there was this figuring out that there was nothing wrong with me the entire time. I didn’t need to be something else to have meaningful friendships, or a good relationship. I didn’t need to be something else to be loved and cared about. After work tonight I’m going to meet up with a person who’s in love with me, and I can’t wait. And that person met me long after I gave up on being a full-time artist. They met me when I wasn’t even a chef yet. I was a piss-poor, part-time line cook. But even then, they decided I was worth it. So you know, there’s something there. There’s something there that’s enough.”

[keeps-ache]

my brain is all over the place with projects and thoughts rn so i'm putting up this poll and whenever i feel like checking back i shall letcha know lmfsvh

[meximango]

Day 14 - Telling - Luvon + Cahsi - G -make up day

Summary: Luvon tries to develop a way to cross water on foot. --

“Alright, I’ve followed you to the nearest large body of water, so get ready to explain what we’re doing here.” They’re actually not quite at the lake yet, but she’d been extremely patient and avoided asking questions per Luvon’s request until they were at least at Camp Bronze Lake’s aetheryte. It wouldn’t be long before they could walk along the water’s edge. Luvon appreciated her willingness to cooperate and accompany him at a moment’s notice, though he chose her to begin with since she’d seemed bored (his other adventuring friends all seemed to be in the middle of things, while Cahsi was taking a much-needed break but also beginning to go stir crazy. Any excuse to leave the house seemed good enough to her). Also, she was friends with a few scions who could benefit from this research. She had an interest in aetherical manipulation and spellworks, so she could also be a valuable source of feedback as well. 

Now he just had to test this out. He’d run through it theoretically numerous times, at least, but hadn’t dredged up the courage to try on his own. Not on a large scale, at any rate. Trying it out with a small wash basin didn’t count, if you asked him, as it was important to have a runway for this experiment. The rest of the Ironworks crew were far too busy with their commissions and projects to bother any of them with this, either. There also was an understanding, with Cahsi–that their irrational fears may feel silly, but that they wouldn’t judge one another for them. Poking a bit of fun was ok, but never too far. Ever since he comforted Cahsi and helped her through an ordeal facing down a red chocobo, she returned the favor by purposely taking routes that went around large bodies of water whenever possible, if they were adventuring together. It’s not that he couldn’t swim. Luvon used to find it fun and was quite good at it, even. Growing up, he’d often dived deep and swam with the eyeless fish in the pools near his village. After leaving home, he discovered that the lakes, seas, and oceans away from the cave had dangers lurking in them, and all it took was one near-death drowning experience for him to develop a debilitating fear of large, deep, bodies of water. Or perhaps the fear lied in drowning. Even if he knew it was safe, even with all the power available to him, his defensive skills and the heroic deeds under his belt–he’d still find himself hyperventilating if he had to cross a deep body of water unexpectedly. It didn��t stop him from going on adventures, but it could be problematic. Eitherys was covered in so much water, after all, and aetherytes, land mounts, or airships were not always an option for arriving at a destination. 

He’d mentally prepared himself in the weeks leading up to this, so he was not likely to get cold feet and run away screaming from this. Even so, his steps still felt heavier as he knew they were leading to the very large and very deep and imposing lake that could swallow him up and drown him in a few short minutes. The lost city of Nym was lurking under its depths, for the twelve’s sake! He was a little sweaty, if he was being honest, and breathing became a concentrated effort. 

But! He was going to do this. With Cahsi here, he’d face his fear. In the name of research! Cahsi, by far the best choice. She also had the gift of water breathing from her travels to the east, so if some great beast somehow grabbed him, she could dive in and fight it with two swishes of her tail with no problem at all. It would be fine. Yes. His other friends would likely have been understanding as well, but they didn’t understand the depth (ha!) of his fear, and Luvon’s nerves were too frayed as they were about this endeavor to handle too much teasing or misunderstanding. He would have backed out. A hand was suddenly on his shoulder, stopping him. He’d been so caught up on his thoughts, it seemed they’d gotten to their destination even quicker than he expected. 

“Hello? Lu? Easy, there. You’re normally as much a chatterbox as me, but you haven’t been responding to any of my amazing quips the last few minutes, and you nearly walked right off the pier. I don’t think we’re here to swim, otherwise we would have gone to Costa del Sol instead, where the water isn’t cold and full of seaweed. Nor do I think you’d willingly come here unless you had something special to share.” Her tone was firm but gentle. She had him. It calmed him enough that he could gather himself together again. Breathe in, then out. “Right! Right. Apologies, Cas. I got distracted with all my thinking.” “Ha! Familiar territory. I know what that’s like all too well.” She gave him an encouraging smile and squeezed his shoulder.

Luvon had his shades on today that Nero had designed for him. They gave him nearly normal eyesight, at least for a few bells. He’d rather be able to see what he was doing here, if anything went awry. “We are here for a demonstration, which I am excited to do, despite what I must look like right now. Just have to shake out these jitters!” He did a few high steps and waved his hands about, hoping that’d get the remaining tremors to stop. He’d always worn his heart on his sleeve and knew his low-level grade of terror was most certainly writ all across his face. 

“You’re not going to…” Cahsi trailed off, gesturing toward him and then pointing toward the lake. The waves were lapping against the pier. There wasn’t much wind today, but it wasn’t completely calm either. This lake was known for swirling currents caused by the ruins underneath, which often made sudden spots of choppy water. “Oh, but I am! Well, preferably not in the lake. Instead, I have developed a way to go on the lake. Hopefully.” Understanding dawned, and Cahsi’s face lit up. “Oh! Just like what Urianger tried! He lasted a few steps, but then he sank like a rock, poor guy. If this works, he’d be delighted to hear! Alphinaud too, I’m sure. You're telling me this is that super secret project you've been working on for moons?” Luvon nodded. “Indeed. I wished to get as far as possible on my own, first. I feared backing out if I spoke to soon. I discussed with Urianger at length about what he tried, but had made no mention of wanting to further his idea, and he seemed to think it impossible to improve the technique to be stable for longer than a few seconds, even on calm waters. However, I have the resources of Garlond Ironworks at my disposal, and as you know, we specialize in freedom through technology. I still practice the arcane, but when you combine the two…” “The possibilities become endless! Oh, I can hardly contain my excitement! I hope for both our sakes this works, because Iwanttoseethissobadly. This is in my area of interest too, so if you need anybody on research duty to tweak things, you’ve found your girl.” “I was hoping for a reaction like that! It is one of the reasons I wanted you here, my friend. To witness this. Maybe we can make a footnote in a history book if the results are satisfactory, hmm?” “I’m thinking a whole chapter, buddy. Alright, so how’s this going to go? Need me to supply any aether? And I assume you want me to spot you?” “Much appreciated, thank you. If you wish to supply the aether, then the honor is yours! I printed runes onto these shoes, so the energy can be channeled directly into that. They should glow a bright blue when full.” Luvon started rifling  in his bag to collect the items needed. “Tough break, having to wear shoes for this,” Cahsi lightly teased.

Luvon gave a weary sigh. “I know! Life is difficult,” He whined. “I went through so many blueprints and models in attempts to avoid them, but they’re the point of contact with water, so the designs got more and more complex the more I fought it, and–well, I suppose I will survive. I’d rather wear them than an entire uncomfortable suit.” Finding what he was looking for, Luvon pulled out some rather interesting looking footwear out of his pack. “Not gonna lie, they’re not the most fashionable. But hey, that can be the last step before putting these babies on the market,” Cahsi joked optimistically. “They look kind of like…Flippers? No, not quite. Froggy or lizardy feet? What am I looking at.” Luvon stifled a laugh behind his hand. “They’re inspired by nature! They do require some athletic ability from the user, but it’s a start. Erenville was a helpful source of knowledge for this. I asked if he knew of any creatures or plants that did well on the surface of the water, and then I made a list of least to most feasible. Did you know there is a type of scalekin that can run across the water with its special feet?” Cahsi wracked her brain, trying to think if she’d seen anything like that, but she’d fought so many things by now, and monsters in the water tended to jump out at her or dive underneath, not run along its surface. She shook her head no, intrigued to hear more, and set a reminder to hit up Erenville sometime and learn about the oddities he’d encountered as a gleaner. What other world mysteries was she missing out on with his encyclopedic knowledge? “It’s quite interesting! Its back toes have special fringes of skin that can unfurl and increase the surface area that is hitting the water. With enough speed and force applied as continuous slaps across the water, they are able to run on top of the surface so they may attack food sources or escape predators. The distance limit is likely dependent on more than just their stamina, but it isn’t well-researched. There is a lot of physics involved–transverse force, the question of if the scalekin’s movements act more as a piston or a spring, the surface tension of the water, not to mention gravitational force and mass…” He trailed off as he finished getting the shoes on. “Anyroad! I can give you the equations later if you’d like to study the math, but I calibrated these based on my own weight. These scalekin are smaller and lighter than a standard lalafell, let alone other races, but I do not believe it is significant enough to make this impossible for even a roegadyn or hrothgar, at least if the magic implementation formula is correct. The scalekin are wind-aspected creatures, which I imagine helps them greatly in their endeavors.” “So these runes incorporate wind aether, I assume? What about gravity magic?” “Right on the ticket! By incorporating a mixture of anti-gravity and wind magic, the user can then propel forward with their own force, given enough speed and as long as everything is adjusted for their individual limits. Otherwise, I believe the person would end up floating in place for a moment before falling. Certain water conditions may affect the shoes as well, for example salinity, viscosity, density if the water is concentrated with certain particulates so as to drastically change that–but I think this freshwater lake is a good place to start!” Luvon stood up again and clapped his hands. He jogged in place to warm up and test the fit. Everything seemed secure. “Now, would you mind summoning your amaro and flying above me for this test? If it gets too dicey, I would most appreciate your trusty steed picking me up by the arms with his claws.” 

“Aye aye, cap’n!” Cahsi saluted. She whistled for Pidgeon and hopped aboard his back, settling into a light hover a few yalms ahead of his trajectory. “The path is clear. Ready when you are!” The Amaro’s wings flapping lightly disturbed the water’s surface, so Luvon motioned for Cahsi to go higher. After obliging, the waters were as calm as they were going to be. The goal was to do an arc. The lake was far too large to attempt to traverse the entirety of its width on a trial run. He would move forward and then test turning and run back toward shore again. Altogether, the goal was to travel a distance of twenty fulms before sinking. He had his thumb over the start button on an odometer he’d attached to his wrist to measure that. It doubled as a speedometer so he could track a minimum requirement for velocity while he was at it. Luvon anticipated that the shoes might stop working once the depth got too shallow, since the water meeting shore caused frothy waves, but he wouldn’t know until he tried.

Here goes nothing.

With a quick prayer to whichever god wished to listen at the time, Luvon ran down the full length of the pier, gaining speed as he went. The quicker the better seemed a safe bet, plus that meant he could get away from his impending doom sooner! As fear coursed through his veins over what he was doing, a lot of his senses were muddled. Luvon vaguely heard the slap of the shoes hitting water and the mechanism on the back ‘toes’ activating. It almost felt like he was running on top of gelatin? Was it supposed to be like that? Was Cahsi shouting something or was that just general excitement or was that coming from his own throat? He hadn’t immediately sunk, that’s for sure. His legs made the movements of at least three long strides, and he couldn’t help but want to start turning and get away from the deep, away from the unknown, away, back to safety, back to shore–but something seemed off. He was attempting to run forward, but his balance was way off–perhaps too much thrust with the air crystal substrate? Before he could register much more than a rush of blood to his head as the water appeared to be getting closer to his head, he was rising through the air. Cahsi must have caught him, then. Phew!As his own memories were untrustworthy, he had to ask Cahsi what had happened once they were safely back on shore. “Alright, so that was a really good first try!” she started out with to try to cheer him up. He had forgotten to stop the recording on the odometer, so that reading was useless. “You made it further than Urianger had with his own water walking spell, so this is already looking more promising than that. I am not sure if the arm flailing really worked in your favor? Maybe stick to your normal running motions next time. It didn’t really look like you were falling outright, nor really running, not after the first few steps, more like–bouncing? If that makes sense? You kept getting higher and higher, and then I think you tipped over on your landing. But hey! We caught you before you got soaked!”  She held out a hand for him to high-five. Luvon, who’d been petting Pigeon’s soft feathers without realizing it, reached out with his other hand to finish the gesture. “So the calibrations are off, but it started out okay?” “Exactly! I’d love to look over your notes and paperwork and dig into this myself. I don’t think you’re too far off. We can workshop and test it again when you’re ready. What do you say? Ready for the long haul?” 

Luvon smiled warmly, closing his eyes and knocking his head back against the amaro, who nuzzled the top of his head. He was still afraid, and maybe he always would be, but this was a great first step to not only overcoming the worst of his fear, but developing something for those in the group who weren’t able to swim. This could be important for a lot of people and change some lives for the better. How could Luvon ever say no to that? Especially when he was the one who dragged Cahsi out here in the first place.

“I would love that. Thank you for sticking with me on this, truly. It really means a lot to me, and I can already hear the gears running in both our heads. I think this has a chance of being something great!” His heart swelled with hope.

“I couldn’t agree more. Now, baby steps. That may be enough for the moment. How about we take a snack break, and then we can see how you’re feeling and if you want to run some more tests today or hit the drawing board?”

“That sounds great! I packed things I knew you’d like. Did you sniff them out already?”

“You betcha! I wasn’t even hungry until you opened up your bag, then the delightful smell of sweet and spicy squid jerky hit me, and I was just waiting for a chance to pounce on that and any other delectables you have hiding in there.”

Luvon laughed as he fended off Cahsi from trying to sneak food early. He had to set out all the picnic supplies first! Trial one: partial success. Trial two? Time would tell. He looked forward to figuring this out, not by himself, but with a trusted friend. 

[hyperfixation-tangentopia]

You ever realize you can do literally anything you want creatively

[likeimsittinginanairportbar]

how hard would it be to find someone who will like take the stories i give them about my life and then turn it into a beautiful song i could sing? because i'm no writer and i've tried but it just never turns out how i want it but i love to sing and i would love to get to tell these stories through music.

[aethersea]

another thing fantasy writers should keep track of is how much of their worldbuilding is aesthetic-based. it's not unlike the sci-fi hardness scale, which measures how closely a story holds to known, real principles of science. The Martian is extremely hard sci-fi, with nearly every detail being grounded in realistic fact as we know it; Star Trek is extremely soft sci-fi, with a vaguely plausible "space travel and no resource scarcity" premise used as a foundation for the wildest ideas the writers' room could come up with. and much as Star Trek fuckin rules, there's nothing wrong with aesthetic-based fantasy worldbuilding!

(sidenote we're not calling this 'soft fantasy' bc there's already a hard/soft divide in fantasy: hard magic follows consistent rules, like "earthbenders can always and only bend earth", and soft magic follows vague rules that often just ~feel right~, like the Force. this frankly kinda maps, but I'm not talking about just the magic, I'm talking about the worldbuilding as a whole.

actually for the purposes of this post we're calling it grounded vs airy fantasy, bc that's succinct and sounds cool.)

a great example of grounded fantasy is Dungeon Meshi: the dungeon ecosystem is meticulously thought out, the plot is driven by the very realistic need to eat well while adventuring, the story touches on both social and psychological effects of the whole 'no one dies forever down here' situation, the list goes on. the worldbuilding wants to be engaged with on a mechanical level and it rewards that engagement.

deliberately airy fantasy is less common, because in a funny way it's much harder to do. people tend to like explanations. it takes skill to pull off "the world is this way because I said so." Narnia manages: these kids fall into a magic world through the back of a wardrobe, befriend talking beavers who drink tea, get weapons from Santa Claus, dance with Bacchus and his maenads, and sail to the edge of the world, without ever breaking suspension of disbelief. it works because every new thing that happens fits the vibes. it's all just vibes! engaging with the worldbuilding on a mechanical level wouldn't just be futile, it'd be missing the point entirely.

the reason I started off calling this aesthetic-based is that an airy story will usually lean hard on an existing aesthetic, ideally one that's widely known by the target audience. Lewis was drawing on fables, fairy tales, myths, children's stories, and the vague idea of ~medieval europe~ that is to this day our most generic fantasy setting. when a prince falls in love with a fallen star, when there are giants who welcome lost children warmly and fatten them up for the feast, it all fits because these are things we'd expect to find in this story. none of this jars against what we've already seen.

and the point of it is to be wondrous and whimsical, to set the tone for the story Lewis wants to tell. and it does a great job! the airy worldbuilding serves the purposes of the story, and it's no less elegant than Ryōko Kui's elaborately grounded dungeon. neither kind of worldbuilding is better than the other.

however.

you do have to know which one you're doing.

the whole reason I'm writing this is that I saw yet another long, entertaining post dragging GRRM for absolute filth. asoiaf is a fun one because on some axes it's pretty grounded (political fuck-around-and-find-out, rumors spread farther than fact, fastest way to lose a war is to let your people starve, etc), but on others it's entirely airy (some people have magic Just Cause, the various peoples are each based on an aesthetic/stereotype/cliché with no real thought to how they influence each other as neighbors, the super-long seasons have no effect on ecology, etc).

and again! none of this is actually bad! (well ok some of those stereotypes are quite bigoted. but other than that this isn't bad.) there's nothing wrong with the season thing being there to highlight how the nobles are focused on short-sighted wars for power instead of storing up resources for the extremely dangerous and inevitable winter, that's a nice allegory, and the looming threat of many harsh years set the narrative tone. and you can always mix and match airy and grounded worldbuilding – everyone does it, frankly it's a necessity, because sooner or later the answer to every worldbuilding question is "because the author wanted it to be that way." the only completely grounded writing is nonfiction.

the problem is when you pretend that your entirely airy worldbuilding is actually super duper grounded. like, for instance, claiming that your vibes-based depiction of Medieval Europe (Gritty Edition) is completely historical, and then never even showing anyone spinning. or sniffing dismissively at Tolkien for not detailing Aragorn's tax policy, and then never addressing how a pre-industrial grain-based agricultural society is going years without harvesting any crops. (stored grain goes bad! you can't even mouse-proof your silos, how are you going to deal with mold?) and the list goes on.

the man went up on national television and invited us to engage with his worldbuilding mechanically, and then if you actually do that, it shatters like spun sugar under the pressure. doesn't he realize that's not the part of the story that's load-bearing! he should've directed our focus to the political machinations and extensive trope deconstruction, not the handwavey bit.

point is, as a fantasy writer there will always be some amount of your worldbuilding that boils down to 'because I said so,' and there's nothing wrong with that. nor is there anything wrong with making that your whole thing – airy worldbuilding can be beautiful and inspiring. but you have to be aware of what you're doing, because if you ask your readers to engage with the worldbuilding in gritty mechanical detail, you had better have some actual mechanics to show them.

[bunnis-monsters]

I hope I'm not too late! For the 5K event (congratulations btw!!! You deserve all of them ^^), could my request be of a merman pod finding reader and deciding she needs to be their mate/breeding partner? I guess it'd be kind of a similar situation with the cow/bull hybrids?? I'm not sure how it'd go, but It can be as sfw or nsfw as you want (I deeply apologize if this exceeds 1k words. Of course you don't have to write this if you don't want to). Thank you in advance! ^^

A/N: my requests and commissions are closed for the foreseeable future, but my commission wait list is open! Consider reading my commission info and helping me out! Slots are limited, so get on the waitlist while you still can~

Warning: dubcon, breeding, virginity loss

It had been a normal day out on the water for you, swimming and splashing around in a small cove near your home.

Unfortunately(or maybe fortunately) for you, it was the spot where a pod of mermen spent their breeding season, relaxing and eating there before going out to try and find a suitable mate.

As you got ready to get out and go grab a snack from your cooler, you felt someone’s eyes on you…

When you turned to look, a head quickly dipped back under the water, and you felt your blood run cold when you spotted several dark shapes swimming in your direction.

Of course you immediately swam for the shore, afraid of it being a shark or some underwater predator. You were alone out there, and if you were eaten no one would ever even know.

Before you could stand to start wading through the now waist deep water, something grabbed your ankle, pulling you under.

You cursed yourself for not bringing your goggles, unable to open your eyes under the stinging, salty sea water.

You prepared for some kind of attack, hoping it wouldn’t be too painful… but nothing happened. Your body was gently lifted out of the water, and you felt something cool and smooth rubbing against your cheek… and your belly… and pretty much every part of your skin.

When you opened your eyes, you were surprised to see that you were surrounded by strange creatures, half human and half fish. They all were nuzzling their cheeks unto your flesh, some giving you soft licks as if inspecting you.

After thoroughly looking over you, they all began purring and trilling, some cooing as they set you on your feet. Getting a better look at them, you realized they were all handsome, and were all smiling as they surrounded you.

“A female in our cove? What luck!”

You were surprised when one of the creatures spoke, even more surprised when another responded with soft trills and clicks.

“Yes, she is quite warm… and so soft!”

The feeling of cool scales rubbing against your thigh made you yelp. One of their tails was curling around you, keeping you close and still.

“H-hey! What do you think you’re doing!?”

They all flinched when you raised your voice, their fins perking up. Some looked at you curiously, while some seemed a bit annoyed or afraid.

“Mmm? We’re preparing to breed with you. It’s not often a female is so close to our cove while it’s mating season.”

You nearly fainted, this was all too much. First you were having to accept the fact that mermen were real, which was hard enough by itself.

Now, these mermen that you just learned actually existed wanted to breed with you.

Another merman pressed against your back, letting out a soft coo as something sticky and hard slipped and rubbed between your thighs.

There was one in front of you as your thighs were fucked from behind. He examined your bathing suit, talking his head and pulling at the fabric curiously.

“Something to cover your mating slit? Perhaps human females are more cunning than I thought…”

He seemed to view the fabric as a separate layer of skin, his weighed fingers moving to trace over your clothed pussy.

The merman’s eyes went wide, and his finge red pressed against your clothed hole. “Warm… so warm…”

The feeling of his cool, webbed fingers moving over your warm pussy made you shiver and buck your hips uncontrollably. This made the merman purr in delight.

“Y-you can remove it… it’s clothing,” you said, panting softly. Honestly, it had been so long since you’ve really pleasured yourself, and you desperately wanted to get fucked stupid.

Your bathing suit was unceremoniously ripped off, and the pod gathered around you.

There were whines and hisses, each merman fighting over who got to breed you first.

It was finally settled that they would go from smallest to largest. A merman, a bit younger than the rest approached you shyly. He was excited, this would be his first time breeding!

He chirped at you, giving you puppy dog eyes as his cock bobbed up and down in need. It seemed this one couldn’t speak, possibly being new to human speech.

“Go on, just inhale her scent and your instincts will take over,” one of the merman said, encouraging the other as he placed a hand on your thigh.

His face buried itself in his neck, and as soon as he inhaled your scent his body stiffened and pressed against you.

The feeling of his cock struggling to find your hole, rubbing against you desperately made your heart throb. This merman was too cute!

You loved your hand down, the man letting out a nervous yet aroused trill when you helped to guide his cock to your entrance.

“There you go, baby… r-right there…”

He nuzzled his cheek against yours, the flesh slightly rough against your soft skin.

The second he sunk his cock into your cunt, he let out a groan, unable to stop his hips from rutting into you roughly.

You but your lip, trying not to make too much noise. The other merman moved in closer to watch, and they all seemed to communicate with the one mating with you.

“Warm? You said she’s warm there?”

“Oh… cum already, I want a turn!”

The first merman came, relaxing against you as your pussy was filled with his cum. The next was eager to get a feeling of your pussy, pushing the other out of the way before pushing in.

“Nngh… w-warm…” he gasped out, his body hands trembling as they grasped your plump hips.

None of them were used to fucking into something so soft and warm, mermaid were usually cold and rough… but god you were the complete opposite.

It was a breeding frenzy after that, each desperate to get their turn fucking that fat, warm pussy of yours. The sound of wet squelching and shameful moans and cries echoing through the cove.

After each had a turn, they returned you to the shore, leaving you with a freshly caught fish before they left to go hunt.

“We’ll be back by nightfall, mate!”

“Don’t enter the water until we’re home! We don’t want our scents attracting other competing males!”

They waved to you as they swam away… and you were looking forward the summer with your new pod of mates.

part 2? might make a little series based off this concept where you meet each merman and get to know them!

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