#it's difficult putting his communication into words. xD;;

[muppenthings]

For Gorm the Octomer (I hope I’m saying that correctly). Could modern day tablets with LCD screens be used with positive and negative reinforcement to teach consent?

Using red and orange illuminated on a screen with the bitter spray…And using Blues and Greens with a tasty treat. With the eventual hope of better communication and understanding? Starting from the basics and work upwards??? Eventually establishing colors with facial expressions or body language?

When a human is flailing about that is like orange, orange is not good. It’s just, Gorm looks like such a curious sweetheart. I would want to help them gain understanding and be less confused by us silly land dwellers.

Using color would definitely aid in getting your point across faster. Mimicking his colors, the strong blue = yes, while the bright teal/greenish = no. Even if that's simplifying it, he'd get the idea. I imagine he'll learn vocal "Yes" and "No" quickly. In the beginning, "no" for him would mean to abort an action. For example what he's about to do, pick someone up. Making him hold back if told "no" is gonna be difficult. He can be quite impatient so there has to be a strong motivator to keep him from acting.

I imagine he'll learn to be more patient and ask for permission because he gets more rewarded if he behaves. Like they're not gonna turn on a light projector for him at night if he picks apart a truck during the day. xD

Gorm learned from handling the past humans how they sound when scared, happy etc. He's just so overcurious, coupled with impatient, that he can't help himself. Besides, he's not trying to hurt them, just having a look, so he reasons. He has many scars from poking around at things and handling scared humans armed with knives and swords. He could use some lessons in self-preservation too. :,)

The arms are just gonna grab unless bitter sprayed. They act upon a given task by the central brain, aka Gorm himself. There's no thought behind them, they just act on reflex in line with the given task! Of course, if Gorm's attention is called directly to the arm (through pain, it getting stuck or it tastes something foul) he can control it consciously. So even if Gorm learns to hold back, the arms will not. So you always have to be prepared.

skmayor asked: Oops, my bad. I thought green was an active color for Gorm. Now I’m recognizing it as a negative color. I’d be impressed if a scientist took the time to try and interact with the octomer. Learning what different colors and flashes mean.

No worries, I haven't written out what the different colors signal! Yeah bright teal/greenish ones signal strong emotions, often negative. Ranging from him being startled, fearful, upset or angry. The humans are definitely trying to decode his colors and patterns. Humans are a curious bunch too after all! But it is difficult! There's just so many subtle differences in hues and how they flash and flicker. And up close it's hard to see all of him while interacting so they'd have to look at recordings to get the bigger picture. Then there's the accompanying huffs, puffs and teeth clacking that he also uses in communication! :)

[onskepa]

Hello! It's my first request and you are also the first writer I will request. Can you do a neteyam and a human girl but she is an arab girl? They are together XD

He calls her yawne, sevin and any other nicknames but she just calls his habibi

It'd be so cute when she'd be calling him habibi and he's so confused because he knows this is not english. But he asks his father and finds out this is another language from earth.

Maybe she can speak a bit of arabic to him?

Helloooooooo sweetie!! This one took me a bit longer than I thought. I went through the Arabic dictionary to understand the basics and make sure what I am putting is right. But hopefully this turned out lovely!!! Enjoy!!

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

حبيبي

When dating someone, the first stage is always the awkward stage. Being shy and nervous around your lover, especially if you are a teenager. Cuddling while being tense, not knowing what to say, eye contact. The whole thing. But the awkward stage isn't forever, as the couple gets more comfortable with each other. Pet names is the next stage. It confirms how one sees the other, a sign and wording of love and deep care. And there are normal pet names like: pooki, honey bun, babe, sweetie, etc. And there are unique pet names that are unique to their own. A little bond just for them. Those hold more special meaning that average pet names. 

And that seals the relationship and opens a clear path to a stronger, loving bond.

Neteyam ran as fast as he could to the human base. Excitement filled his veins, it was complete! A new hijab made from the finest of fibers his forest could ever offer. And the finest hijab is to belong to his loving new lady. 

Things were starting to settle in their new romantic relationship. Was tense and a bit awkward in their starting days but now they are closer than ever. Understand the traditions and cultural heritage his lover has, who is Arabic, he did his best to understand it all. 

When getting to know each other, his Yawntu talked about what her country was like back on Earth. Told him stories, myths and legends. And most of all, the language. To neteyam, writing in Arabic was difficult, and speaking it was just as challenging. But he welcomes new things. He can understand English well enough, so that has become their common language to speak. Of course his Yawntu puts effort in learning na’vi so that she may converse more with the village. 

Opening the door to her room, neteyam enters and smiles at his beloved. There she was, reading a book. Looking up, the human girl smiled at him with hearts in her eyes. They meet in the middle as they embrace each other in full warmth. 

“I missed you ma’sevin” Neteyam says in a cooing manner. His sevin hugs back, replying “I missed you too wasim”. Neteyam’s ear twitched, he didnt understand that word but from the way she said it, must be a loving pet name. 

“Wasim, what does that mean sevin?” Neteyam asks kindly, happy to reply she answers. “Wasim means handsome”. Now this made his tail curl in a playful manner. “Handsome? You see me as a handsome young man, sevin?” he teases while leaning in closer to her face. His dear love couldn't help but blush at his little act and gorgeous smirk. 

“W-well, you call me pretty, i-it's only fair I call you handsome” she stutters out. 

“Dad, why do humans speak more than one language?” Neteyam asks one day as he helps his dad weave something together. Jake pauses momentarily, giving a moment to think before answering. 

“Well son, back on Earth, humans aren't able to connect in a way that na’vi do. Even back then, there was not much to communicate with each other. People living in different areas on Earth developed their own cultures and communities. Even developing new languages”. 

A small moment of silence between them before neteyam asks again, “And how do they develop language? How are they able to make it sound so different from each language?”. Jake scratches his chin a bit and mutters “should have paid attention to history class…” 

Neteyam tilts his head in confusion. Jake waves his hand in a dismissive way. “Forget that” 

Pausing at their craft, they get more comfortable in sitting. 

“Why the sudden interest?” Jake asks, trying to understand neteyams' curiosity for something about humans. 

“Ummm…well there is a human I began to talk to, she stands out a lot from the others you know. She wears a cloth around her hair and wears more clothing and speaks an odd language” neteyam answers. 

“I see. And this girl, are you friends with her?” Jake asks, observing his son as he moves and behaves. 

Scratching a bit on the back of his head, neteyam replies “You could say that. We have been getting to know each other. But she is so cool! Her accent is different but amazing, she showed me a bit of how to write in her native language. It is hard. Oh, and…” 

Jake observes how animated and happy neteyam is as he explains the details of his new friend. Chuckling a bit to himself, jake knows his son won't be silent if given the chance to mention the human girl. It is nice, to see neteyam be happy and express himself more. 

“Your friend seems very nice, but you forgot one important thing, what is her name?” he asks. 

“Oh, her name is…”

“Here, I hope it's perfect for you, I can still make adjustments” Neteyam says as he offers his newly made hijab. The girl grabs it gently and looks at it in awe. “Oh habibi, this looks and feels wonderful, here let me put it on”. Taking that as his cue, the boy turns to give his little lover some privacy to change her hijab. A minute later he turns around. 

“How does it feel?” he asks a bit nervously. Getting a good feel of it, the girl smiles so happily, “wonder, perfect, the colors are truly beautiful. And the material is so soft yet firm. The feel of the forest. The smell….I know that smell very well” she teases, giving him a flirt smirk. 

Neteyam couldn't help but blush at her words. 

   “أنت تعرف دائمًا ما يجب أن تقدمه لي، ومع ذلك أشعر كما لو أنني لم أعطك ما يكفي مني." 

The way the girl spoke was lovely, the curl of the sounds and how it rolls of her tongue was so intriguing. Yes he may not understand everything, but it only pulls him in more to hear the girl's language. 

“Im sorry, I cant understand what you said. '' Neteyam apologies. The girl giggles a bit, holding his hands. Looking up at him, dark eyes meeting his bright ones, “I can teach you if you like. We can speak it together, and I like to hear my language coming from you”. 

His tail thumps against the floor, feeling happy and excited. Smiling widly, he agrees. So, the girl brings out a clean notebook and a pen. “Alright, lets try something simple” she suggests. Nodding, he sees her write a simple sentence. 

أحبك

“Alright, this one is easy, repeat after me, 'uhibuk “ His love instructions. Listening to her words closely, he repeats. 

“'Uhibuk”

Aaaaaaaaand that is it for this one! I hope I got the arabic words right. Had to google it. Until next time! see ya!

wasim = handsome

habibi = my love

  " “أنت تعرف دائمًا ما يجب أن تقدمه لي، ومع ذلك أشعر كما لو أنني لم أعطك ما يكفي مني."  = You always know what to give me, yet I feel as though I have not given you enough from me.

'uhibuk = I love you

[craftlands]

oop sorry! i did come across one of your mor pankh posts regarding the designs and such about the characters and i do have some points to lay out on their accuracies and inaccuracies, as an indian myself, though i cannot say my word for it will be wholly accurate since again, india as a subcontinent is VERY chaotic and the cultures within different states and a lot of times, certain villages and territories vary drastically. a lot of my points could be disagreed with by another indian and if some of my points ARE incorrect, i'm open to being corrected.

i know it's also pretty late, considering this was one of your older posts but i did give it some chew time. sorry if i'm bothering you.

1) first up is kaalaa baunaa. she IS wearing a saree but the draping and style is pretty reminiscent of modernized styles of saree draping. we do have the traditional drape but the generations right now have gotten to mixing and matching western clothing and experimenting with saree drapes. her outfit, while not culturally inaccurate ( because we HAVE the short/pant combo with the saree ) is grossly inaccurate to the time and setting.

there's also the fact that her outfit screams 'bollywood' in a sense. the blouse in particular is something you'd see on actresses during burner movie shoots ( and even those were a little less provocative...but again the blouse does hold a lot of callbacks to colonial oppression and wearing sleeveless blouses back then was considered 'rebellious' ). in my opinion, if i were to change up her design, i would just omit the saree and put her in a salwaar, since that is the usual go to in northern indian states ( unless in formal events ).

but for the stuff i loved about the design? is the design itself XD. it's just grossly inaccurate to the timeline, but in a modern context, it does have a very stylish flair to it. i just wish she reserved those for festivals rather than everyday living ( because from experience, sarees are HARD to walk in depending on how you drape it which is why my college uniform is a salwaar ). unless they were trying to hammer home how alien she is perceived to be, as an arcanist, which in this case? it works thematically. just tone down the sexualization.

her second outfit is a little more accurate though and i have a preference to that. mostly because of the jewellery she uses. mh. the bollywood style outfit? the embroided saree? the baithale bottu? MH. y e s.

tldr ; the design is pretty good but contextually, for the timeline and for her occupation? it's not the most accurate. but i wouldn't call it a travesty and completely inaccurate either. in a modern setting, her outfit would have passed well in a get together or a friend's party.

2) shamane. okay so the imagery and his outfit WAS something i needed to do my research on. but the 'connection to nature' thing is pretty common here too in tribal societies. my own community, while centuries far removed from it's initial tribal roots, still worships familial sprits and natural objects alonsgside the usual practice of hinduism. i kind of liked that aspect about him tbh because it did reflect of the few vestiges that were left over in my community XD. hell a good chunk of his design was very steeped in tribal influence, though differentiating it is a little difficult ( which again is my critique, but that could also be me not being as well versed in indian tribal culture. it's probably in part because of ignorance. ).

the closes i can get to the influence of his outfit would be naga tribes in nagaland with a mix in of a few others. i'll try to do more research and get back to you on that. i'm just wondering how he got all the way to nagaland???? that's like in the far east...though if were to narrow down the locations, it would be in the few locations where it snows...HMMMM. but yeah the feather motif? tribes here seem to tout it too, depending on what tribe it is.

he does wear your typical sherwani with a large coat on top, something that is, in fact accurate to men's fashion at the time. most middle class or well to do families ( the ones who were not a part of the 60% - 70% below the poverty line ) did hold that similar style of traditional wear with western influence, or straight up turn to western clothing as a whole. its a very small nod to the fact that he was from a well to do family at least. then the eye imagery on the prosthetic arm could be a reference to the nazar, though it's not blue.

tldr; his outfit holds heavy tribal influence but i really need to do my research on which ones in particular.

3) kanjira.

okay. i'm a little upset with her. the fortune teller aspect is rooted in how astrology played a huge part in indian culture. the coffee readings could have been an aspect carried over by cultural mixing through islamic trade and invasions as well. kanjira is another aspect that is a little more of unsure territory. there are parts of her outfit that i can recognize. but together it does feel a little disjointed. and confusing. her jewelry is recognizable. her kamarbandh for one and her skirt.

the blouse though? that confuses me. for one it's more in line with 1910s fashion. the blouse was initially not a part of a lot of traditional indian dresses and were introduced by the british due to extreme discomfort ( aka they didn't like that indian women didn't cover up their chest ). the earlier blouses strongly resembles victorian blouses, with puffed sleeves and ruffles. but then there is that older the shoulder thingie and i'm like ??? HOW DOES THAT WORK-

the snake motif could be a reference to the irula tribe from south india. even her name is a reference to an instrument in south india ( which resembles a tambourine ). i don't think her base outfit is based on accuracy due to the mismatched nature of it. it seems like she just took what clothes she could and made do with that, which given her economic status, makes sense. her alt outfit does glean into what influences she took after, perhaps the banjara tribe. i will need to look into it some more. but it is admittedly, facing a similar problem to kaalaa in how it's so heavy stylized. it's not accurate save for the motifs and yes, it could do with some better work in both versions.

now for the stereotype. i'm very on the fence in this sense with how i could understand that the 'thief' stereotype is referenced. but kanjira is however, a product of some very real stuff that happened ( and still goes on even now ). the unfortunate reality is that people who are considered beneath the lower caste and obc umbrella face their share of discrimination as hooligans and thieves amongst the indian majority as well, even today. it's harmful, but she's the reflection of the struggles of a lot of communities who lived in poverty post colonial india. the british left a lot of scars and the governments after did very little to help and kanjira, as a child with no parents did what a lot of kids back then turned to. it's circumstances deeply rooted in systemic oppression, casteism and so many other issues. i've had family members in similar situations ( my mother's side in particular ).

so i do wince at the fact that she's labelled as a 'stereotype' even though i do see WHY she's a stereotype when the context is removed. her spoken english is also another wince. i know you didn't mean to be offensive and i'm sure to a lot of indians you might not be but kanjira's english is the way it is simply because she was never formally educated in it. she does refer to asking for help to read english words and it's fairly obvious she picked up on the language by listening to others speak it. matilda however, did have to learn it from a pretty young age in the foundation. she was educated in it, whether she likes it or not ( a lot like my case ).

a bit of a breakdown here. english is mostly learned in india for the sake of convenience. it's used in our parliament because it's culturally neutral and doesn't show favor to certain state languages ( and native language in itself is a very culturally sensitive topic in india ). you learn it in case you need to study in foreign firms or if you travel abroad. it also means that if you and a good chunk of other indians speak in english, it allows some leeway to communicate in other states. because again, different languages and dialects are spoken in different parts of india. i myself have a better chance of communicating with a different people from different states in english, no matter how broken it is than having to learn a separate language every time.

i know a lot of people in my college who didn't start learning english till grade 11 and speak pretty similarly to kanjira. so alluding to her imperfect english as a 'not great thing' kind of rubs me the wrong way due to personal gripes of mine, mostly in part due to how eletist it tends to be at times. the mindset of janjira not being good at english being considered 'really not great' kind of fuels into a still ongoing problem of insecurity and a lot of other issues i'd rather not clog the post with.

she's fluent in hindi and it's obviously her preferred language and she can certainly write and read hindi as well. it's kind of similar to making fun of an american for not knowing fluent french they picked up from a few classes, while they're still in america. again, i doubt you meant any harm saying that but my gripe with how learning english is so desperately seeded in some families just to appease how the west views us ( that stereotype you mentioned? yeah ) and the constant perpetuation of the stereotype, has a lot of ramifications.

i don't know how to explain it but it's kind of like this : you call broken english a stereotype, we're afraid of being stereotyped, we try to avoid being stereotyped. but there are people here who can't. maybe their medium of education wasn't english for a good few years, even if their family is well off. that leads to further discrimination from us to them and from you to them.

yes english is a neutral language, but it's also horrifically overrated due to the imbued belief that it also alludes to being educated. i lost chunks of my own mother tongue trying to learn english, simply because it was given more priorities at my home and at my school because of us moving and the imbued fear of seeming uneducated.

i know you meant no harm to that.

but on a cooler note, punji literally means 'money'. kanjira named her snake 'money' and with the drip it has? it's strangely cute XD. it's like that one meme.

also kanjira's accent, kind of reminds me of a few annoying girls in my school ( it's a very common accent in north india and my hindi speakers tbh ). she's literally the valley girl's take in india. the drawl, the lilting tones every time i listen to her, i hear that one girl from fourthe grade and i'm like "n o." because it has that condescending edge to it. i love it XD.

tldr ; kanjira is both 'it kind of makes sense' and 'fuck it we ball'. she could do with reworking. i like the thought that her outdated blouse and her clothing was a mix and match, possibly picked up from charities as well but...yeah XD.

these are mostly my takes. overall, i thing r1999 actually has some of the better depictions of indian culture compared to a lot of other stuff out there ( and there is a LOT of bad stuff ). the fact that there was variation in their accents, the casual switch between english and hindi, the story of mor pankh itself and shamane's incessant need to feed us ( which is a thing in our families btw )...i'm pretty happy with it. and yes, even we fuck up aspects of our own culture. aka, adipurush exists and i will shit on that way more.

sorry for bothering you and thanks for reading through it all ( and i hope i didn't come across as rude in that segment about language )!

hiya! sorry for taking so long to get to this ask -- i was out of town for like a week and had absolutely Zero energy on coming back for like another week afterwards. i want to head this off by saying you're not bothering me in the slightest, i'm genuinely delighted to get to be able to talk about things like this in more depth and i really appreciate you taking the time to write this out! (peek behind the curtain: i have gotten up several times and paced around excitedly in the course of writing this. i REALLY love discussion and critique and Learning Context in general.)

i think time's been pretty kind to the Mor Pankh update, all things considered -- having several months to sit on it (and also no longer playing CROB -- good god Centipede and Black Pepper are an absolute mess of racist/Orientalist tropes, and that was pretty recent at the time of Mor Pankh), it's definitely better than i initially gave it credit for. a lot of things you've mentioned here -- especially a good deal of the further context on Kaalaa Baunaa and Shamane's clothing, as well as further context on Kanjira -- is something i truly don't have much to add to other than "i didn't know that, and this makes me a lot more favorable towards them than before".

definitely Kanjira is still someone i find myself heavily split on. i think a lot of what you mentioned about the way i treated her speaking broken English very callously is probably right on the money and thank you for the correction on that end -- given the context of the story that seems to be one of the more thoughtful aspects of her overall characterization and design. the thief/fortuneteller stereotype is something i'm a little more hesitant to dismiss at face value, though; while it may be a coincidence, there's definitely a history of stereotyping Rromani people in particular as like... scantily clad fortunetellers who steal from people, and it's something that feels really prevalent in Kanjira's design for me. from an in-story perspective i think rev19 does a great job of contextualizing and fleshing her out as a character, but from an overview of the character it rings eerily similar to Orientalist tropes about both Indian and Rromani people in a way that i will probably never be fully comfortable with.

i do think it's hilarious that her snake is named Money though. that's beautiful and i can't complain in the slightest.

Kaalaa Baunaa is a delight to read about in terms of where her outfit might be drawn from. i genuinely don't know a good 90% of the fashion/clothing context when it comes to basically anything in rev19, so for a lot of it i'm definitely deferring to you in terms of whether or not her outfit is accurate. i do definitely like her second outfit better as well (it also looks a lot more comfortable. we're under a heat advisory where i am right now and i WISH i had something like that to wear when i eventually have to go out and walk the dog). i don't really have much else to say here, though

finally for Shamane i will fully admit to being woefully out of my depth and being very attuned to looking for First Nations stereotypes owing to that be a particular trope i'm very used to seeing (gods the feather thing happens SO MUCH). that said, i am absolutely kicking myself for not researching things first, i think learning more about the context of his specific design and beliefs makes me come around a lot more positively to some of the aspects of his design -- especially what you mentioned about it being historically accurate, as that's something i did not consider initially and is really cool to hear about wrt what the design process may have been! (also i love his arm design, like, a lot. no idea if connecting it to nazar designs makes sense or not, it does appear that those are almost exclusively blue though maybe in the context of rev19's worldbuilding red eyes would have developed as the "evil eye" instead? idk, but i can probably count on one hand the amount of prosthetic users in gacha games whose missing limbs are actually given thought and treated as aspects of the story rather than just visual flavor.)

in conclusion: yeah, i think after learning more about the context behind these character designs i was definitely a bit harder on Mor Pankh than i needed to be -- relative to other games that take a swing at depicting SWANA and/or Indian cultures i think rev19 is doing way better in that category than most of them. i will say part of why i am so frequently critical of rev19 is that i also love the game a lot -- i don't put much time or effort into critiquing things that are just straight up bad, and if i'm hard on something that's usually because i really want to sink my teeth into it and talk about what works and doesn't work within its story and broader cultural contexts.

(and also -- thank you again for taking the time and thought to send me this! i can't express enough how much i appreciate being able to learn more about the context of a lot of these characters and the story and just, like, talk about it openly. it rocks! thank you!!)

[rin-henricov]

What would you say is your top 5 favorites in Storm Hawks? (BUT you can't use Stork XD)

Aww man, you caught me on the last word :'D I thought for a long time, trying to remember all the characters I like besides Stork, but it was even more difficult to put them in their places, cause I love them all equally. So be it, I will answer! 1. Radarr.

Number one on my list is the sky lemur, a comic-relief sidekick and just a funny character whose antics are so much interesting to watch. He's just a cute little fella, so assure you, he can safely be trusted with a firearm. Have to admit, but the show would have be much boring without Radarr (and I think he has a lot more dynamic with Stork than with Aerrow). 2. Master Cyclonis.

The supreme ruler of a matriarchal empire in the person of a cynical teenage girl? Give me two! I also really like her design — especially impressive is the idea of a hood that resembles the petals of a devil's daisy. At least, never seen anything like this in any media before. Well, now let me share my subjective opinion. Let's be honest: just because she's a lonely girl with no friends doesn't absolve her of responsibility for deliberately ravaging the terras for the empire's expansion (has anyone ever wondered about Finn's or Piper's terras?) and entertaining her people with brutal gladiatorial battles. Even if she had undergone a thorough introspection and returned from the other side of Atmos with the entire squadron, it was unlikely that anyone would have forgiven her. Also don't like the fact that in the eyes of some fans (don't speaking for everyone!) she is no more than Draco in leather pants, whose essential flaws no one tried to notice :( I understand that my opinion may seem very controversial, and you have every right to disagree with it. However, I still hold the thought that «loving a character does not mean justifying their actions». 3. Repton.

A badass, strong, fearless leader of the criminal squadron, who does not back down before any challenges, no matter how serious they may be. Admired the fact that Repton, as one of the most competent servants of the Empire, is not afraid to contradict Cyclonis herself and always remains true to his beliefs. I always assumed he called Stork a salamander cause of his cowardice and dodgy nature. Even after the merb had destroyed his entire squadron, Repton continued to treat him with the utmost prejudice and did not consider Stork a serious opponent. Based on the lore, it is logical to assume that the Raptors were raised with the idea that they are the most dominant species in all of Atmos, and all others must serve them or be conquered. I just think that's one of the few reasons he harbors a general dislike for all existing races :D 4. Merbian postmaster from episode "Scouts Honor".

Oh yes, my favorite trope — «a character who appears in a two-minute scene, says just one phrase, and manages to win your heart in half a minute». I've always wondered what his background might have been, and what he might have done besides his work. It seems to me that he is less emotional and more resistant to any stress than Stork. However, he may experience some social awkwardness in communication, and it is easy to confuse him with a couple of personal questions. Therefore, he prefers to use short and clear phrases, which makes his speech more meaningful than it really is. I've already drawn him once, but it's quite possible that I'll do it again. 5. Griffin.

He's my son, ask questions. Characters that aren't on the main list, but are also my favorites: 1. These cute bunny fellas.

2. Hamish.

3. Aaaand... The Murk Raiders!

[moonspirit]

Hi Moon, I hope you are well! I wanted to drop in and say OH MY GOD THE NEW CHAPTER?!?!?!?!?!!?!!?

First of all, remember you made a poll/question asking what readers want to see more of and I said REINER POV and YOU MADE IT HAPPEN. It was heartbreaking but also SO SO GOOD AND AAAAA I can't believe how well you wrote him and his thoughts. Also fuck Karina man, I hope she falls in the lake and freezes over 🌚 maybe she can take Mrs Leonhart with her too👀

Then, CONNIE??? HE'S THE STAR HERE OMG I fucking love the way he's so serious about this ginger bread project. But also, how did Connie of all people become the serious, responsible and grounded one of the group🫢

Then, JEANPIKU AAAAAAAAAA I can't believe they're acting so flustered and they didn't even kiss yet like HELLOOO how will you guys react after that??? Terrible at hiding emotions fr!

I also want to take a moment to appreciate LEVI IN THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE THIS MAN HAS MISSING FINGERS AND IS STILL DOING HIS VERY BEST. Him sulking?? Him agreeing with Connie on the Annie crystalizing moment (which btw made me snort), him going along with this "plan" to help Armin and Jean?? Yes!!!

Below I added my favorite passages from this chapter. What a delightful read! I can't wait to do some drawing in the future of my favorite moments! Absolutely want to capture some of these!

Hellllooo stella!! T_____T Thank you so much for reading, I'm so happy to know you enjoyed the chapter aaaaaaaaa T^T

Yeeesss the poll-not-poll thingy xD This chapter has been in the works for months now, so it wasn't a sudden thing! But you actually guessed right under that post and it was a struggle to not tell you "Bingo!" XD

I'm very glad to know you liked the Reiner POV tho T_T I admit it was quite difficult to actually put into words; severe depression, especially the physical manifestation of it, is tricky to actually explain seriously without it sounding silly. Imo a lot of the ways depression shows up in daily life are very quiet and "tiny" - for example, Reiner's struggle to get out of bed and the sudden confusion that envelopes him as he stands in the middle of his room and doesn't know what to do next.

Also fuck Karina man, I hope she falls in the lake and freezes over 🌚 maybe she can take Mrs Leonhart with her too👀

I laughed SO hard xD Glad to know you all hate her! Horrible reptile indeed.

On a serious note, I think... the warrior parents (with the exception of Pieck's father who seems, for the lack of more information, quite nice actually) might've actually had their eyes opened to the cruelty they dealt their children, but such realizations imo aren't total 180s. Both Mr. Leonhart and Karina are different now, yes, they no doubt value Annie and Reiner as actual people more than just as tools, but... it's highly likely they both also continue to hurt their children, probably unwittingly. Parents who view their children as trophies do not easily come down to a level where they are content with just the happiness of said children. I won't get into Mr. Leonhardt right now (to be discussed at a later point), but while Karina might really love Reiner, his status as Hero and Ambassador is still valuable to her. He is still a trophy son, someone she can show off to others. I don't say Karina does this intentionally, but it is incredibly harmful behaviour, especially to a vulnerable son like Reiner.

Okay wait I rambled, sorry xD

CONNIE BTW, IS THE ONLY ONE WITH THE SINGLE VALUABLE BRAINCELL AT THE MOMENT (among the six). I hc he'd really love community projects - hence gingerbread town, it's kinda funny he'd be the only one so fired up about it xD That said poor guy has his work cut out for him now, so RIP Connie Boy.

I also want to take a moment to appreciate LEVI IN THIS CHAPTER

T_____T Father of several adoptive children humouring his idiot son's excitement over gingerbread-town - ISN'T IT A NICE PICTURE TO HAVE?!! Aaaahhhh I really loved writing him doing such a silly activity, it was very heartwarming. But where Levi is, there are also sarcastic one-liners and maybe I enjoyed those a little too much xD So glad to know you enjoyed them too, Stella, thank you T_T!

These passages... yeah xD Things have been too sad lately, it was time for the sillies! I'm incredibly glad this chapter made you laugh.

Thank you so much for the lovely words, you're too kind T^Tb

[mdhwrites]

In an answer to another question, you said that Amphibia acknowledges how change can be beneficial but also difficult and harmful, partly because the ‘quick’ and ‘forced’ change Andrias inflicts on Amphibia by trying to bend the world to his will is presented in a negative light. This is a very good point, but isn’t there a bit of a double standard when it comes to the forced change inflicted by the Guardian?

At journey’s end, the Guardian drops Anne back in Amphibia with three shards for a one-way trip home. It was nice of them to give her a ticket back to Earth…but it also forces Anne into a position where she has to leave a world she loved enough to give her life for, and potentially never see her found family again.

Now, it would be pretty hypocritical for Anne to talk a big deal about accepting that things change whether we like it or not in All In, only to turn around and pick a fight with the god of the multiverse out of a refusal to tolerate being separated from the Plantars. But the Guardian didn’t even consult Anne or ask her if she’d be okay with this before putting her in this position. They just…sent her back, left a little note saying “TTYL,” and didn’t even explain why they couldn’t give her a way back to Amphibia.

Sure, the Guardian knows how much damage was caused by creating the stones to see what mortals would do with unlimited power. Recreating the stones for Anne would have easily risked another disaster happening. But if the Guardian is truly all-powerful, surely they could have given the Calamity Trio a two-way portal that couldn’t be exploited by the wrong hands?

And in the deleted alternate ending, the Guardian does recreate the stones anyway when an old Anne forgets the deal she made and forces them to start their search for a replacement all over again. Now, this alternate ending isn’t canon, so it might not actually be what the Guardian would do, but again, the Guardian never explains why they’ve given one-time-use-only shards.

By all appearances, this is a quick and forced change to inflict on Anne, Sasha, and Marcy. You say the forced changes Andrias inflicts on Amphibia are portrayed as bad, but the narrative doesn’t even question the forced change brought about by the Guardian. Nobody raises so much as a word in condemnation of its actions. Not once does Anne even think to look up to the sky and ask ‘What gives? I sacrificed my life to save Amphibia, and you won’t even give me a two-way portal?’

I understand two-way transportation would have contradicted the message of accepting change and how love transcends distance. But throwing an entity who supposedly could, but won’t, give them a way back muddles things, in my opinion. A big part of Anne’s arc was learning to stand up for herself. Shouldn’t she have stood up to the arguably unfair hand she was dealt?

(Sorry for how long this ask was, I just have a lot of thoughts on this stuff and I get carried away rambling sometimes XD)

So for the sake of focus, I'm going to take all the stuff about the two way transportation and Anne supposedly being out of character for not arguing about the stones and put them to the side. One: because you yourself admit that approaches are flawed, Two: things get deleted for a reason. I could literally probably give you a clear, logical, narratively consistent reason why EVERY storyboard we're shown for TOH was changed or deleted, and Three: I could genuinely go into each topic on its own and so it would make this blog incredibly long.

Instead, I'm going to focus that while it wasn't my first point, I did continue for one more line about why Andrias' change upon the world was so destructive. I specifically point out that it is forcing the world to be something it is not and to bend it to his own will. It is selfish and uncaring of others and the show's themes of community always punishes selfishness.

Instead, the Guardians' final choice... Actually evokes the first sin in Amphibia's timeline, at least for the trio. The Guardian's logic is actually pretty easy to figure out after all. After what the girls did, especially Anne, they deserve a chance to go home, even if the Guardian is now done with allowing inter-dimensional travel, at least easily and by his intervention. So they're given shards to allow them to choose what form of change they want, what sacrifices they will make, but change HAS to happen either way. It is simply best for everyone, you yourself admitted this and a two way portal would not magically fix the issues with it, from the Guardian's perspective to keep the worlds separate..

It is not selfish. Instead, he is doing it for the best of the dimensional community... Just like Marcy's father was going to make them move likely for the sake of keeping his job or a promotion or any number of reasons that were likely motivated by trying to keep his family together or help them prosper. The change it would inflict on Marcy would not be of her own choosing, just as we cannot control the change those around us inflict upon us, but it wasn't done maliciously, nor was forced to be faster than the nature of the change required. There is no way to make a change like that smooth or consequence free. It was always going to hurt, much like when someone around you dies.

Instead of running though, the trio embrace it and head back home where they'll have to deal with reality the most. It's a stark contrast to, while still paralleling, the actions that began the show. A scared girl running from inevitable change and deciding a fantasy world was better than her actual home. For an ending, it's perfect.

So why not show the pain? Well... Because a story needs to end eventually. Amphibia in the end is extremely optimistic about good intentions, community and change so showing Anne or any of the trio cursing God himself for not giving them a fairytale ending makes literally no sense to include in the finale and just adds more time whining when that time could be better spent saying farewell to the characters and staying committed to the hopeful message that it has.

That's something I don't think a lot of people entirely get with stories. There are actually plenty of TOH scenes I've dug into HARD not because there isn't a logic to them or I couldn't explain to you why the characters are behaving the way they are or because it is literally written badly but because, you know... It needs to actually serve the story and the point of a scene. Even if it doesn't 100% adhere to pure logic, it needs to adhere to the thematic and emotional logics of the piece. Those are ALWAYS more important.

Otherwise, you get people bitching at SpyxFamily for the fact that trained spy Loid doesn't give a shit that his wife has literal superhuman capabilities. Logically, they're correct. But... The show IS a comedy. And 90% of the time, Yor's strength and skills are used comedically because that is the tone and purpose of whatever scene is going on. It adheres to the logic of what the show at least pretends to be. It's actually why I find myself questioning the serious portions of the show more. Not because they make less literal sense but because they make it so when the show shifts back into silly times with Anya at school, it is fucking JARRING.

And for Amphibia's ending, the point is how much good change has done these characters. Saying farewell and embracing how much both the characters and the audience have treasured the characters they've been with. There's a reason why the epilogue, and even the farewell before it, come across like a curtain call to a play as much as a natural scene. A final chance to say farewell before we probably never see them again. And, you know, because they commit to that instead of trying to prove they're so smart or address every potential thing someone might claim is illogical about the show mostly set in a frog world, it is able to genuinely say goodbye to those characters and stay emotionally and thematically consistent throughout.

Because those things, in 99% of stories, is WAY more important than being 'logically correct'. It's also why I don't really think there is a better version of Amphibia's ending. Period.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 169

I swear I gotta put up a reminder or smth man I can't keep posting these posts just 2 hours before the new damn episode

(I must admit, making a review for this episode is kinda difficult)

ISOLDE TO THE RESCUE!! Also I just remember that Maria is still afraid (?) Of Isolde lmao XD

I was wondering where the old guard went :') the fact that he fell asleep during a WAR is honestly impressive though.

WAIT WAIT WAIT NO I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT LELAND BUT BLAINE???? BLAINE FELL??? But before I go to that I must say that plant holding Leland's leg is strong AF. What kinda root does it have...

The parallel of Frederick ripping his sleeves to cover Gwen's wound and then Gwen ripping Maria's blanket to save Leland.

WH. OHHHHHH. OH DAMN OH MAN. YOOOOOOOO. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT. Wait so I'm guessing here that Isolde forged Leland's signature? But when did she send that letter? Was it sent during the war? If yes then the process is really quick! It's just one day.

Honestly I'm so glad Isolde wrote that she's going to take the throne until her sons are ready because they CANNOT rule the whole damn kingdom right now with that mental state. And I honestly love the idea of all of them ruling the kingdom instead of just one of them.

WAIT WAIT WAIT This is what I'm getting but correct me if I'm wrong. I'm guessing Leland signed on the pastry catalogue and gave it back to isolde and that's how Isolde can forge his signature? That's actually really smart.

And she kinda bribed (more like raising their salary, really) the Parliament so they'd accept it right away!! Also by giving them more power! HAH And there's more power for Lavern lmaooo

Aaaannndddd the omniscient clam comment is literally just digging his own grave xd

HECK YEAH JERRY TO THE RESCUE!! FINALLY NAME REVEAL!!! Tho ngl I really thought the lemoncillo was for a molotov cocktail or smth XD

Syrah.............

WAIT DAMN ISOLDE HAS POWER OVER JUDGE, JURY, AND EXECUTIONER???? She really thought it through.

Damn...spoken like a true queen (and she IS a queen!). You go Isolde!!

Ooooh that sentence "what more did you want?".... Leland fr needed to hear that. I mean okay man I get it, your bestfriend said he doesn't need you behind your back and that hurts. Words can hurt like shit, I get it. But that does NOT mean you can just, declare a whole damn war. You can always, y'know, continue to live your life knowing there are people you SHOULD love and people who loves you. Also I gotta add that Jack was probably stressing the fuck out in that moment. His wife is literally dying, dude. There's a chance that he might say things that don't seem right because of impulsiveness. And y'know what if it really bothers you that much, COMMUNICATE. DAMNIT.

Did I say all of those right? I hope I did.

I gotta say I love Isolde even more now. That "off with his head" caught me off guard like I know sometimes we joke about that but I didn't actually think that would happen. Cpc is always about redemption and stuff after all. But now I'm genuinely wondering if Leland should actually be executioned. War, abuse, torture, those should get life sentence right?

So I'm guessing he's going to prison then? Fancy words sometimes gets me mixed up.

OH!! IT GLOWS BECAUSE OF HER KINDNESS, I'M ASSUMING? THAT'S AMAZING. Also the fact that she offered to help the man who just tried to kidnap her...We don't deserve Gwen fr.

So, uh...Blaine? Yeah where is he? I'm theorizing that the tent Nell moved will save him but he should still have some injuries. And the chances are he will break at least one bone. I don't think tents are that soft. But I'm willing to hope that he will be perfectly fine....physically.

Well that's all for now!

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts)

[thecloudstan]

Oooh, if you're accepting stuff for the OTP + Character Ask thing, then for Rufus/Cloud... Let's go with 3, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 22, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, and 39. Lmao, I know that's a lot. Please, thank you, and sorry. XD

Yes, yes, yes! Still doing!! I'll answer the first ask or two and put the rest under the cut so this post doesn't get too long.

3. Are they into PDA? Who initiates most?

I think it's pretty obvious that Rufus is the one who initiates PDA, but only when he feels especially bastard-like. I do think he'd naturally draw the line in situations that would make Cloud genuinely uncomfortable (like in front of his friends/family/comrades), but strangers? Eh, who cares? Mostly, though, Rufus likes to be almost caught, it's the tension of possibly being seen that excites him, it's watching Cloud squirm that amuses him most. If Cloud is drunk, he'll act physically possessive without much pretense at all.

12. Who prefers calling to texting (& vice versa)? Bonus: Who is so bad at texting it made the other think they weren’t interested when they first started hanging out? [This could be hypothetical as much as real].

Rufus would rather call. It's the business man in him. Real businessmen don't text important shit. It's also bad form to put things in text. Too formal, some things are better communicated verbally (this may be the fact that I work in a law office speaking). Cloud is the one who is abysmal about texting at first. If Rufus is inwardly concerned that Cloud isn't interested, he'd keep it to himself.

13. Stay home/go-out? What are their date nights like?

Irritatingly lavish because Rufus plans them all. This is not Cloud's forte. He barely wants to be seen in public, let alone seen in public with someone who loves to be seen in public. A night in would be perfectly fine with Cloud. Still, I can't see this as being planned by anyone other than Rufus, and the "night in" would be a "night in a 5 star suite complete with room service and wine that costs almost as much as the room itself."

17. Who is more competitive?

Tie. They're both so bull-headed. Have you played the game(s)?! Have you heard these two men throw insults (flirt) back and forth?! This is what makes the ship so much fun!

18. What are they like when they’re drunk? How do they act together? & when 1 is drunk, while the other one’s sober?

Cloud - fewer words, if you can believe it, but no filter. Will say the mean things and the soft things and the sweet things. Holds a sour face. Bebi-shaped (always).

Rufus - horny and somehow even more elegant. Difficult to tell except for the slight flush to his cheeks. His smile reaches his eyes more.

19. What do they fight about most often? (Alternative: what was their biggest fight?)

Which one of them is a bigger liar.

22. Love languages? How do they get around differences, if any?

I think Cloud's love language is pretty clearly Acts of Service. He can't help but help. For Rufus, I would lean toward Quality Time. At least in the case of Cloud, he knows he needs the right hook. He finds ways to make sure they're alone, repeatedly, without interruption. He is not at all feigning attentiveness. And at least in terms of NTYC, they get around differences primarily by Fucking. It can be very cathartic and can really re-frame whatever things you were arguing about beforehand, LMAO.

25. (a lil sappy, but..) What do they like about each other?

Hmm. I think Cloud likes the directness, even though there are times Rufus is clearly playing a game. He likes that he can say whatever he wants without really having to worry about stepping on Rufus' toes or hurting his feelings. Rufus likes having a worthy opponent in Cloud. By many definitions of the term.

27. Craziest place they had sex?

Bathroom at a heavily attended private event. This is in the story but I also just think it tracks for the ship, generally.

29. First date? (Give as much or little detail)

Something suitably over the top that would make Cloud flush the entire time. Something that included a private car and an expensive dinner, maybe an illustrious night at the theatre because Rufus is important enough to get box seats. Everything is a competition, after all, and if Cloud is shocked speechless, Rufus is pleased. He's winning.

30. Pet names? Yes or no?

Rufus would absolutely use pet names (again...he's ruthless). Cloud? No. Absolutely not. Unless things uttered milliseconds before climax count as "pet names."

31. How do they spend their anniversary?

Alone. I don't know if either of them are sentimental enough to put much stock into an anniversary.

32. Who’s so affectionate they can’t stop touching the other?

Probably Rufus, but I don't know how much of this is genuine affection or that desire to claim and overwhelm. It's probably still motivated by affection, he just tells himself otherwise. You have to fuck Cloud into submission for him to start feeling comfortable enough to get touchy-feely.

36. Who is more protective?

Cloud. No one on the planet is more protective than Cloud.

38. If/when they have kids, what is their parenting style (or pets-who does what)?

Cloud is practically already a co-dad, so I think we kinda know his parenting style. Or, I like to indulge myself in writing MORE about it. I think his mother was probably a wonderful parent and that he was quite close to her, so that's what he'd emulate to the best of his ability. Patience, protection, never a raised voice.

Rufus...aaaah, yikes. That's tough. I don't think he has much use for children. Can't picture it. I would like to believe he'd want to be a better father than his own, but I think his fear of failing would create a self-fulfilling prophecy, of sorts.

39. Do they get along with the other’s family? If not, how do they deal with the other’s family?

Well enough. Cloud is combative with the Turks because old habits die hard, but in the end they'd have each others' backs, right? I believe so. And Rufus will be perfectly cordial to anyone who is important to someone who is important to him. He takes that sort of thing seriously. He values loyal people.

[therosefrontier]

20 Questions for Writers

Got tagged by @pencilofawesomeness!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Ah, 66 of them! And if I count that Whumptober 2021 collection that I put in one work but is really 31 different oneshots, then 96, I suppose...?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

That would be 999226, from the looks of it! (oh wow I didn't realize I was so close to one million, dang...)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Genshin Impact, Tower of God, and now Twisted Wonderland have been the biggest hyperfixations over the past few years, I'd say! And also Fairy Tail! Got a few for FT due to an event...still need to continue those... And yeah, going a little older, I got My Hero Academia, Voltron, Attack on Titan, Sonic the Hedgehog, etc... Also unpublished RWBY. But then I have a lot of unpublished WIPs soooo...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Hmm, looks like that would be...

Every Day We Face the World: Whumptober 2021 | Genshin Impact | 383

We Promised We Would Be Together | Genshin Impact | 342

A Day in the Life of Why Did I Take This Job | Genshin Impact | 242

And You Think, "No Escape" | Twisted Wonderland | 227

Angeli Quaeritus | My Hero Academia | 206

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! Or at least, I like to! Now I do. So, with Whumptober last year, I did drop the ball on this one, I remember. I was going through the process of responding for a while and taking a long time getting back to people...and eventually, after multiple months have passed, I just went "marked read" to everything that remained. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had not overthought it so much and just made a response. I can overthink a lot of things like this. But of course, I do really really enjoy reading comments! And I like the interaction of responding. But because of my awkwardness, sometimes it's difficult knowing what to say to a compliment... I think I'm better now than I once was, though, even just compared to a year or two ago...

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm, so, my first thought is Tower to Celestia on account of being my one and only "real" major character death fic, but it's more bittersweet, maybe? Since I end with the epilogue, with grown-up Klee telling the story of her friends who died and kind of sharing the legend... I think angstiest might have to go to Together We Face the Darkness, actually. Which is, uh, also character death, but canonical? It's a Whumptober piece, and for the most part, those still get happy endings, but not so much for the backstory ones...

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Huh, good question! And You Think "No Escape" when I finish it, maybe but yeah, I usually end "happy" in some way, though generally following much angst, but I think I might have to go with A Day in the Life of Why Did I Take This Job for this? Ends with lightheartedly intense snowball fights, found family vibes, and Razor calling his friends "lupical" so, like, looking back on it, I think it might be up there! At least in my opinion :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No, I have not! At least, nothing of significance I remember. The community's been very nice.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope, I do not! I don't really write romance much at all? My aroace self does not have this material in my purview in any way XD

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do! Although it's mainly in the realm of "AU of characters from fandom X now in the world of fandom Y" rather than truly making the characters collide, but on that note, I agree with @pencilofawesomeness that the The A.I.D. Universe project we were doing is probably the craziest, for sure! That concept really was just "what if all of the fandoms existed as their own world in the multiverse, and what if there was some super special interdimensional task force that deals with multiverse problems and which recruited all of these characters as members?" We never posted all that much for it, but it was a cool thought experiment back in the day, and we had a lot of ideas for the middle of the broad story and all the adventures they may have. May or may not ever really get back to this, but great memories, all the same.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope, I have not!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Again with the A.I.D. project with @pencilofawesomeness, and more than that, some things we did in the past before the AO3 days...

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I'm not really a shipper? So, hard to say, but if I were to pick one, it might be Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, actually? That said, it completely flew over my head actually watching the show; the fondness comes from fandom content, honestly, as is the case with many such things XD

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oof, that is the question. I would like to think that I'll get back to everything in time (what I've published, at least), although there are a few old ones that I think I'll end up making much shorter than originally planned, Angeli Quaeritus included (that one haunts me hard...). Sonic Reloaded, however, is probably not going to happen at all, unfortunately. Same with the A.I.D. Files.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Huh...good question. Weaving introspection into the prose, maybe? Interweaving complicated plot elements and making stuff connect? Making multiple POVs work? I'm not really sure. I feel like a lot of this just goes into the way I like to write, as a matter of style. But the latter point is something I've actually been called out for fairly recently in comments by others, so...thank you? It was encouraging to hear, anyways!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Fight scenes have always been tough. I think I'm better now than I used to be, but choreography is tough, and I applaud those who can make it work! Besides that I can struggle with being longwinded and not knowing where to put the worldbuilding in when there is some. Also character descriptions. As in, physical descriptions. How do I describe?? Fanfics spoil me in that I can get away with not really having to do that most of the time, since the main characters are usually known to the reader, but it still comes up.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't think I really have...? I can see where it can add to the immersion, but also, don't want readers to just...not understand what's going or have to use a translate app. Sometimes I will sprinkle in words in another language when I think that is the word that best describes the thing or it's a very specific cultural thing. I also will use Japanese honorifics for Japanese media sometimes, though not strictly. I'm not using it nearly as often as an actual speaker (or the canon media) would, but it feels right to throw it in at places, because that's what I hear in my head? And also, it's just far more specific than anything English has to translate it to? Although I'm not always consistent (and I've probably also been inaccurate at places too, admittedly). Like for instance with Twisted Wonderland, Cater will call Lilia "Lilia-chan", but the English localization just uses "Lils" to indicate a nickname, so I've also used "Lils" in writing Cater's speech, but on the other hand, I'll write Sebek as referring to Lilia as "sama" or "senpai" because that is just way more precise to what he means.

Also, speaking of Twisted Wonderland, it's canonical that Rook randomly peppers French into his speech, so...yeah. Things like that XD

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Sonic the Hedgehog! Way, way long ago into yesteryear and long buried... Warrior Cat RPs came around at near the same time for me, though, I think...

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Honestly? I think that would have to be my current big project, And You Think, "No Escape". I'm just really, really glad with the way it's been turning out, and I'm almost done, too! Just a couple more chapters to go. Feels like a breakthrough for me as a writer... I've been at this for a long time, but it feels like it hasn't been until recently that I truly grasped my own style and how to make an executable idea, if that makes sense? But anyways, I like to call myself a found-family-loving whump writer who also likes a feel of action and adventure, and this fic is pretty much exactly that. The fandom inspired me by a lot, for sure. These characters grabbed hold of my heart and now I have a vested interest in seeing these boys talk about their feelings (not an easy task XD). It's been a wild ride, but yeah, I've had a blast!

+++

So...yeah! That! Now let's see... going to tag @resident-normal-person, @wintersphoenix, and @comfort-questing! No pressure, of course! Just if you want to! And also to anyone else who sees this and wants to, you may feel free to take it on!

[tinytinybumblebee]

heyheyhey!! i'm baaaack!! this one mayyy focus on some tiny Joel, but it still has tiny Bill around it too- :> So, since its canon that Joel is a lil deaf in one ear, sometimes it's hard for baby Joel to hear sometimes, and it gets him a lil frustrated!! and just huffs and puffs, cuz its so difficult to hear and stuffs!! and he wants to hear whats going on!! And tiny Bill is watchin as his big bro has a bit of a fit from him trying to hear some old record that Frank put on, and he said it was a good song too!! but he can't hear!!! >:( So, Bill havin a lil knowledge with ASL (probably self taught before Frank came along, just in case that he wouldn't be able to talk in some situations that had to do with another person, and maybe an infected.), and that he remembers the tiiiiiny tiniest bit of it, he just goes and tries to help with Joel's problem!! Bill shuffles over to his big bro, lightly tapping him on the shoulder. Joel just looks at him with a big ol grumpy frown, but Bill just ignores that and moves on XD and he starts to slowly show Joel slow, lil hand signs!! (it probably translates to 'hello' or 'greetings' :>) and Joel just kinda watchies along, until Bill is just like 'mmm!! mm! >:(' and taps Joel's hands and starts to sign again.

And Joel is like 'ooooh' and starts to slowly follow along, getting a lil confused at some parts, but baby Billy helps him!! just helpin by putting his hands in the right place and such :D and Joel finally gets it!! (after 30 minutes XDDDD) and just starts to sign it everywhere!! one to Billy, one to the front door, one to the couch and one to his cars XDD

And Frank just sees all this cuteness happen, cooing lots n lots from how sweet his boy's are, and just goes over to them (he may have learnt a lot a while back when he was with a few other people for the first couple of years of the pandemic hitting and then he was left alone later on :( ) and just smiles when Joel does it, and does it back to him!! And Joel and Bill are both super duper shocked!! just starin at Frankie, while he gives a lil chuckle and a kiss on each boy's forehead before just going on the do the sign again, and both Bill and Joel do it back and repeat!! :D

And now, Joel has a new word he can teach to Tess and Ellie ;w; (and big Bill and Frank may help with a few other simple signs with tiny Joel, just so he can communicate when he's not feeling up to talking or he's just a lil frustrated!!)

!!!!!!! Aaaaaa oh my goodness yes😭💖

Tiny Joel sorta forgets he can turn his head to hear better but, then that means he'd have to move his toyssss which is soooo much work for a lil guy xD

So he just pouts with his muffled hearing until his lil bro comes up and starts moving his hands around- Joel's a bit confused, thinking Billy is just, doing something cute until he figures it out and tries to copy n' learn too!!♡

Frank definitely finds it adorable and so kind of Bill to try and help Joely find a way to communicate that doesn't require hearing!♡

[rainbow-scarab]

All the many WIPs

Yup XD

I. I keep saying I’m working on stuff. I’m so slow. I did write a lot last year...for my own standards anyway. But mostly just in stuff that is not published yet. So I dunno just for fun I’m writing out what I have (with current word count)

  silent.docx, started March 25th, about 5.7k words (and many more discarded), multichapter

This one is for personal ptsd reasons. I’m sorry Hollow, you get more traumas. Can be difficult for me to work on. First time I’ve ever tried to write a multichapter fic

I am self-conscious to ever post it ._. But I do want to anyway. Will have many warnings on it though

  desaturated.docx, started May 28th, 13.5k words, multichapter

The Grimm Troupe is summoned, by the Pale King. Grimm is wary, but he has his role in the Ritual, and must leave the Pale King to his.

A second attempt at a multichapter fic, this time with a very concrete plot idea. Perhaps a blessing and a curse as eventually I have to deal with difficult plot things and also to put in themes and good character moments.

(I question my choice at having Grimm try to coordinate all the Grimmkin across the kingdom in a crisis now I have to figure out leadership skills and how to communicate/coordinate across distances XD;;;)

(Also I keep thinking of this fic as “the fun one” that I’m working on, until I realize how many warnings it will need on it. But when it’s not things that I personally need warnings for sure I guess that makes it fun XD;)

  Quirrel dies in Ghost's arms.docx, started October 17th, 965 words, oneshot

;_; Quirrel gives me emotions. And gives Ghost emotions here

  embodying.docx, started December 3rd, 2k words, oneshot

I try to write horror, with the Pale King as the horror monster XDDDD I’m not even a horror fan?? I dunno, I’m having fun here

  Bonus: hornettiso.docx, started October 7th, 444 words, abandoned

NOT A SHIP FIC XDDD I enjoyed thinking of the idea for a bit but, was not inspired enough. Just started from me wondering if Hornet typically tries to intercept everyone coming into Hallownest and what she would do if Tiso was one of them

  ...so I wrote tens of thousands of words in the last year which is a lot for me! Only have published *counts* 6k words but I hope I can finish more

[tsukarysgrimoire]

ABOUT: Broken and Lost but Healing, chapter 50

Chapter 50 sees the Batch and Sixt leave the small, unnamed moon on which they had agreed to meet. Crosshair's convalescence is nearing its end, and the team can begin to prepare for a return to action. As mentioned in the author's note for this chapter, I had planned to use this cape to take Crosshair and Sixt's relationship to a new level. Unfortunately, like the previous ones, this chapter just said "lol nope!" to me, and instead of an intimate moment between our two main characters, Tech took the spotlight. While the opening scene with Sixt forcing Hunter and Wrecker to clean up on the Marauder had been planned for a long time, the next part - the conversation and decision to send one of the batchers on the Raptor with Cross and Sixt - wasn't meant to take up as much space. I'd originally decided that Echo would go with them, but at the last minute … well, Tech. And when I finished that scene, I knew I was setting myself up for some very complicated chapters. Although I personally have nothing against Tech, he's still a character I find very difficult to understand.

As someone who's extremely emotionally sensitive, on edge, it's completely foreign to me to be so logically Cartesian. Of course, I know perfectly well that Tech is not a droid, contrary to what Sixt claims, and that he has emotions and feelings like all living beings, but that's not the most important thing to him, that's not what's going to affect him. On AO3, I've seen a lot of fanfiction that identifies Tech as autistic, and although my psychiatrist has raised the possibility that I may have mild Asperger's, I can't claim to know anything about it. I don't know if I can classify my view of Tech as autistic or not. He has no difficulty communicating, which is the first 'symptom' of autism, if I can put it that way.

I see Tech more as someone who struggles to understand what he doesn't think is logical, and human feelings and emotions are often anything but logical. Tech sees things from a scientific, rigorous, purely logical point of view, so it's not surprising that he doesn't understand feelings and emotions and all that goes with them. When he states a fact, that's all he's doing: stating something logical, he doesn't understand why his words can provoke violent reactions in others. He simply doesn't believe that others aren't as coldly logical as he is. Although Omega's presence at his side has begun to change him, he still finds it difficult to reconcile his logic with his emotions, which he prefers to ignore.

Tech's decision to make the trip in the Raptor with Crosshair and Sixt stems from this realisation. He doesn't understand why Crosshair trusts Sixt more than his brothers. To him, Sixt is an outsider, a nat'born, and Crosshair has always hated people from outside his Batch, especially nat'born. To Tech, Crosshair's behaviour is not logical, simply because he doesn't yet see the whole picture. He doesn't know what Crosshair has been through or how Sixt has helped him. It's to find out the solution to this mystery that he's decided to board the Raptor and give me a good headache in the process. XD

Tech would like to take advantage of the trip to have a conversation with his brother, because even if he doesn't show it, he too has regrets. And although he struggles to reconcile this new Crosshair with the old one, he wants to make amends and try to rebuild what has been broken between them. The only thing he doesn't know is how. Talkative as he is, Tech doesn't know how to talk about his feelings and emotions, it's one of the few subjects he doesn't know anything about. He wants to get closer to Crosshair, but he doesn't know how. He hopes to use the trip to learn more about Crosshair and Sixt and their relationship to find a way to get closer to his brother and talk to him.

But once again, he ignores the most important thing: humans are often anything but logical! XD

BONUS: How I see Sixt at the beginning of the chapter! XD

[wilfywarfy]

Take A Break (Abestache Drabble)

A/N: I hope that this is good enough to hold y'all over until the second thing I make XD I must provide for the Abestache community!

Word Count: 666 (Unintentionally evil lol)

Warnings: Angst, but there's fluff in there! Offhand mention of blood. Literally just a sentence, but I'm tell you anyway! Oh, and unhealthy work habits because it's Abe. And Abe is gonna Abe.

"Abe! Where are you?"

The question went unanswered as the detective continued to stare at the walls. Photos, documents, and god knows how much red string covered the space, resulting in a mess that Abe was trying his damn hardest to decipher. The photos screamed a message that he couldn't understand. Even after days upon days of work, he still didn't feel any closer.

"Damnit," Abe muttered to himself, putting his head in his hands. His eyes hurt, his eyes dry and cracked with red.

'Its been a month since I started this case. The days and nights started to fuse together after the first week. The leads I've received branch off like a fresh set of roots, making it even more difficult to track. Nothing is clear to me anymore, and damn, is it frustrating. But I can't give up. Not until this perp is caught and locked up-'

'Are you monologuing again, hon?'

'No, I'm just going over my- wait a minute.'

The detectives monochrome view shifted to color as the door to his office opened. 

"Had a feeling you'd be in here! Barely see you outside of here nowadays." Wilford said as he entered the room, taking a seat on the opposite side of Abe's desk.

"Wil, I'm busy right now." Abe sighed, not looking up from his hands. He couldn't think of the last time he went outside the house, let alone outside this room.

"Oh, you're always busy with your 'job'! But this is getting a bit out of hand, don't you think?"

"You know this case is important, Wil."

"When was the last time you took a break?" Wil asked.

"I can't just stop when I'm ahead!"

"That's not answering the question, Abe." Uh oh, he used his first name. This was bad.

"...I think it's been… I don't know. A few days? A week?" The detective mumbled.

Now it was Wilfords turn to sigh.

"I thought we talked about this."

"We talk about a lot of things, Wil."

"No, but this. This, here, right now. This is what we talked about."

"Look, Wil, I don't know if this is clear to you, but let me out it in terms you'll understand. People are dying, and I have to be the one to stop it."

"People die everyday, Abe! I know it's important to you, but that doesn't give you the excuse to-"

"To what, Wil?"

"Let me finish! It doesn't give you the excuse to kill yourself trying to find whoever this is!"

Abe was about to say something, but the words fell flat on his tongue.

The detective finally brought his attention up to the man in front of him. He was dressed in his usual pink get-up, only missing that horrible Afro. He must've come back from a night out. If he saw a tiny blood stain on his shoulder, no he didn't.

What struck him most however, were his eyes. It was like they saw right through him. Oh, who was he kidding, they could. To Wil, he was an open book, whether he liked it or not.

The man stared at him with a mix of concern and affection, a stare Abe thought he'd never get to see, until he met Wilford. A stare he thought he didn't deserve, until he met Wilford.

'I know you can hear me right now,' a familiar voice said in Abe's head. They had a habit of doing this. It took a while to get used to, but it became easier with time. It was just how they worked.

'Yeah… I can.'

'You're tired, Abe.'

'We've established that.'

'So what do you think we should do about it?'

There was a moment of silence between the two of them.

'...I could take a break.'

'And?'

'I'd… I'd like to spend some time with you.'

"That sounds like a plan to me." Wilford said out loud, a slight smile on his lips.

He could say no to him, could he?

[jotatetsuken]

CONGRATS BABY! 100 IS A LOT =) GLAD YA MADE IT TILL THERE AND I KNOW YOU’LL JUST GROW MORE!

As for my request hehe,

she/her; ENTP (7w8); Entrée or Main (whichever is easier for you!); Milk; Oregano and Geto Suguru =)

Thank you if you accept and thank you still for being a friend baby.

ILY <333 Thank YOU for still being a friend and your friendship means a lot to me ^_^ And now for the most difficult part /j...

Made with Love: 100 Followers Event | MWL Masterlist

Do I Wanna Know?

features: suguru geto x f!reader

type of writing: headcanons

trope: enemies to lovers, modern au, domestic au

warnings: mention of the word “bitch”, a little bit angsty in the beginning but fluffy overall?

song: do i wanna know? - arctic monkeys

tagging: @2dmensupermercy @bmthevick @akaashi-todorki @ohtobiors @miwaizumi @mrskenmakozume @cirigiri @ambieux @beware-of-the-rogue @saltyvanilla @hyeque @sabyss @kiiraes @miikoos (taglist form)

prompt: “We couldn’t have picked a day when rain wasn’t predicted?”- @sleepyprompts

headcanons under the cut (kinda wrote it as a story, I lost track sorry xD)

When she met Suguru for the first time, he gave her the bad boy vibes but couldn't deny that he was attractive. However, unlike Satoru Gojo and Shoko Ieiri, she could never bond with him. They could never see eye-to-eye on anything.

He thought that like Gojo, she was someone who could care less about others. She, on the other hand, was really irked at the side glances he'd often throw her way because she could tell that they were full of contempt.

Their heated arguments were never over trivial matters, but debates went awry. While she'd communicate her point of view with a smile on her face, Suguru spoke while glaring into her eyes, as if he was speaking to her soul, and then there was a certain point that he made, which triggered her deeply.

It was safe to say that they could never be at the same place together because they'd be at each other's throats, and it would be worse if Satoru and Shoko did not stop them.

One rainy day, as she got out of her house, she opened her umbrella and started walking towards the bus stop when she saw Suguru drenched in the rain and smoking a cigarette. She hated his guts and didn't want to see him, but one corner of her heart tugged at her and spoke to her saying that she didn't want to leave him like that by himself.

She put the umbrella over him, and he responded by clicking his tongue, saying, "go away, bitch." Sighing and shaking her head, she'd take her umbrella away and say, "excuse me for trying to help." He'd then stop her by placing his hand on hers and turning his head in the other direction, throwing the butt in the trashcan nearby, softly saying, "thank you."

You nod in agreement, throwing a question in the air, “We couldn’t have picked a day when rain wasn’t predicted?” He then turns to her, smiling back at her, chuckling. They had planned to meet Gojo and Shoko for a hangout, but Gojo had picked a day, oblivious to him when it was going to pour.

She offered him a place to freshen up while she made tea and got the clothes clean, with him responding by shrugging his shoulders, "can't say no to that." As soon as he entered her house, however, he was stunned.

It was neatly maintained with pictures of her family and a cabinet with different books about science, technology, and novels. "So, (y/n), do you like (favorite author)?" he'd asked. She turned in his direction and said, "they're my favorite author."

What was then supposed to be a one-and-a-half-hour of freshening up, became hours of engaging conversations about different authors, theories, and different opinions. Stolen glances were exchanged, and that's when they felt a shift in the dynamic between them. They finally broke the ice.

From that day on, Suguru always drops by her house for a nice cup of tea and some good conversations, eventually leading to him getting closer to her than Gojo. As days passed by, they began to understand why they behaved the way they behaved, and this drew them closer.

Both of them weren't aware, however, of the pull they were having on each other. One day, as she was cooking something, she heard a knock on her door. As soon as she rushed to open it, she saw Suguru panting and sweating profusely in a blue t-shirt and black loose pants. He said as he entered, "(y/n), I want to ask you something."

She nodded in agreement, and he asked, "I've been feeling something for you and I'm asking myself if I want to know if this flows both ways." She sighed and approached him, looking him in the eyes and saying, "I'm pretty sure we do, let's just go with the flow and see how it goes?" He nods and says, "well, would have thought that I'd finally get to kiss someone I used to hate?" Both of them laughed as they kissed while they were unaware that she forgot to turn off the stove.

© Shyna 2022

[a-dragons-journal]

i dont "kin for fun" but through tiktok i found out about the whole kin for fun vs actual otherkin... situation ig? im having a really hard time taking it seriously... maybe im just burnt out and bitter from dealing with the worlds current events, and maybe its because on tiktok the only people i saw mad about it were white people, but you're the most reasonable person ive seen talking about it (a lot of other posts have this odd tone that 12 year olds on tiktok saying kin is the worlds greatest opression and it weirds me out) so ig my question is just... why exactly does this matter? why does it matter enough to post about and care about and not just ignore? /gen

Hey! I don’t blame you for being a bit weirded out by it, we’re a weird subculture and we’re well aware of it! xD I appreciate you taking the time to actually look into it past your first knee-jerk reaction, especially considering burnout and the state of things.

I’m not totally sure if you’re asking why otherkinity matters or why the “kin for fun” being wrong matters, so I’ll answer both - they’re pretty well tied together anyway.

The short version:

Otherkinity is an identity. It’s who we are, we can’t choose to pick it up or put it down, and it comes with struggles - though no, ‘kin are not systematically oppressed (though we are pretty badly bullied and, at this point, pushed out of our own words and spaces).

What people calling roleplay/relating to/projecting onto characters “kinning for fun” does is steal our words, make them meaningless, and in doing so, make it difficult or impossible for us to find each other. If someone says “I kin [x],” I no longer know whether they mean “I am [x] on an intrinsic level” or “haha I relate to this character a lot”. I no longer know whether they actually share my experiences or if they’re going to turn on me and call me “crazy” as soon as they realize I’m not exaggerating or joking or roleplaying. It’s done massive harm to the community as a whole because it’s become difficult to tell whether someone is actually ‘kin or if they’ve misunderstood the whole thing - and because antikin rhetoric, which I’m seeing more and more in KFF spaces, hurts far more when it’s coming from inside what you thought was a community space than when it’s coming from self-labeled “antikin.”

There are other words for roleplaying and relating to and projecting onto characters. Hell, there are words for strongly identifying with-but-not-as characters/things, though usually KFF people don’t even seem serious enough for those to fit in my experience. I’m really not sure why these people are so determined to steal and misuse our words, words that were specifically created to mean something else, when they already have their own and are just refusing to use them. (Or, hell, if you don’t feel like those fit, make your own. We did. It’s your turn to put in the work. (General you, not you-the-anon, of course.))

An analogy, if that still doesn’t quite land for you:

Consider, for a moment, the transgender community. I am aware this is a dangerous thing to say, but bear with me. Obvious CW for hypothetical transphobia up ahead is obvious.

Consider if you were part of the trans community (I don’t know if you are or not), having finally found a word to explain why you feel the way you do about yourself, why your experiences don’t seem to match up with those of everyone else around you. Having found a community, a home, full of other people like you, people you never would have met if not for words like “transgender” and “gender dysphoria/euphoria” that were created specifically to describe your experiences.

Now consider if people suddenly stumbled across your community for the first time who were not trans themselves. They see community jokes and lighthearted posts out of context, because Tumblr and Twitter aren’t exactly conducive to making sure people find the Transgender 101 information posts first. They don’t bother to do further research, assuming they understand: ah, these people like to crossdress! They like to pretend they’re a different gender! This seems like a fun hobby, I want in!

They begin to post things like this. They post photos of them crossdressing and caption them “hi, I’m [name], and I trans men!” and things of the like. Suddenly the concept of “transing for fun” seems to be everywhere - and it’s not at all what being trans actually is, but these people either don’t know or don’t care. When actual trans people try to politely correct them, they’re accused of “gatekeeping” - and to be clear, this is not “nonbinary people aren’t real,” it’s “transgender means you identify as a gender other than the one you were assigned at birth, and you’re self-identifying as the gender you were assigned at birth 100% and telling us this is just a fun hobby for you, therefore you’re not trans, you’re crossdressing or doing drag or being GNC. That’s fine, but it’s not being trans - you have other words to describe that, use those.”

(Yes, I am aware these things have a history with the trans community - please just ignore that for the sake of the analogy and bear with me on the slightly simplified version of this. “Kinning for fun” does not have that same history with the otherkin community.)

...And then the response to those attempted corrections, in some corners, turns into “wait, you ACTUALLY think you’re another gender? idk that sounds pretty unhealthy, maybe you should see a psychologist or something :\” and “you’re taking this too seriously.”

I imagine, in this hypothetical scenario, you’d also be pretty fuckin peeved.

(Obviously, in this hypothetical scenario, systematic transphobia would be an issue as well, which isn’t the case for otherkin - again, you’re gonna have to bear with me on the simplification for sake of analogy there.)

(EDIT: this is not an anti-MOGAI/exclusionist argument, this is “you’re literally telling me you don’t fit the definition,” explanation on that here)

The long version, which is probably still worth reading if you have the time and energy:

Otherkinity is... pretty core to who I am, who we as a group of individuals are. We live with being otherkin on a daily basis. Many of us spent a long time feeling different and disconnected and not understanding why until we found the otherkin community. Even people like me, who don’t share that experience and still had social connection - I’ve still had to live with weird differences that I had to learn to mask when necessary; instincts that don’t line up with human society well, feeling body parts that weren’t there and that no one else ever seemed to have, things that other kids grew out of because it was just make-believe for them and I... didn’t, because it was never make-believe for me to begin with. Oh, sure, I played make-believe too - I played warrior cats and house and all those things with the other kids, but there were things that weren’t play-pretend for me too. I didn’t have an explanation for it for a long time - it was just how I was, I was weird, and fortunately for me personally I was okay with that (many of those with species dysphoria or more trouble connecting with humans have more problems from that than I did).

And then I found the word “otherkin.” And suddenly everything fell into place, and I had an explanation for the things I’d been experiencing, and there were other people like me. Something I’d assumed didn’t exist. I found others who shared my unique experiences, who were talking about how to cope with the instinct to growl or snap jaws at people instead of expressing annoyance in a human way instead of just saying “that’s weird, don’t do that”, who were talking about dealing with phantom wings and tails, who understood me. I wasn’t weird, I wasn’t broken, I was exactly what one would expect from a dragon living in human skin. I found an explanation for myself. I found a home.

That is why otherkinity matters - it is who we are, it’s not something we can walk away from (certainly not most of us, anyway), and it’s something many of us need the support of the community to help deal with on a daily basis. Being a nonhuman in human society isn’t always easy, but it’s not something we can just magically stop being - it’s core to who we are, we (generally) didn’t choose to be this way, and we (generally) can’t choose to stop. Which is fine - the vast majority of us can cope with it just fine, with a little advice and help and space to be our authentic selves in. We found each other, we built this community from the ground up to make a space and words to make finding each other easier - or possible at all.

Thus we come to the second half of our story.

It was only a couple of years ago that the “kin for fun” trend started getting big. It had existed before that, of course, but it only started going mainstream two, maybe three years ago, from what I can tell. Suddenly people were treating “kin” like it meant relating to, projecting onto, roleplaying as, or just really really liking a character or thing - not being that thing, which is what it actually means. Not long after that, it became hard to tell whether someone saying “I kin this” meant they were that thing, that they were actually part of our community - or that they really really liked that thing and either didn’t know or couldn’t be bothered to learn that that wasn’t the case for us.

Not long after that, it became relatively commonplace to hear phrases like “otherkin are ruining kinning!!” and “you’re taking this too seriously” and “idk, if it’s that serious for you that sounds unhealthy. maybe you should get some help :\” (all directly quoted, or as exactly quoted as I can remember, from things KFF people have said to me or people I know).

It is a special kind of hell, I think, to be told “you’re taking this too seriously, that’s unhealthy” by people who are taking words created to describe your experiences, not theirs, and misusing them to mean something that you do for fun on a weekend instead of something that’s intrinsic to your being.

Perhaps more importantly, like I’ve said, it’s making it almost impossible to know whether someone who says “I kin [x]” is actually ‘kin or if they’re misusing our words to mean something else entirely. The entire point of words is to communicate ideas, and once you start misusing words to mean something totally different than what they actually mean, that communication falls apart and suddenly we might as well not have those words at all. Especially when the community is small enough and obscure enough that we’re starting to be outnumbered by the misinformation. We’re being run out of our own words, words we created to describe our experiences specifically - because we’re a small community that the wider internet can easily drown out by sheer numbers of people who either don’t know any better or don’t care to learn.

That’s the harm it does - the harm it is doing, right now. That’s why it’s important enough to post about. That’s why it matters - because we’re fighting desperately to hang onto our own words so that others like us can actually find us. Because we’re seeing young nonhumans go “this isn’t a kin, I actually am this” and screaming “No, I’m so sorry that this is what the misinformation has done to you, that’s exactly what otherkin means, you have a place here, please don’t let these non-’kin misusing our words drive you away from the very community you’re looking for and that you belong in.” Because we can’t even communicate effectively about our own experiences anymore except in semi-closed spaces like Discord servers and forums (and the number of Discord servers overrun with KFF people is absurd).

......This got very long. Hopefully it at least explained why it matters so much to me and others a bit better ^^; Thanks for hearing me out, and thank you again for looking into this beyond your initial knee-jerk reaction - I really do appreciate it.

(For further reading, if that text wall didn’t blow you out of the water completely, I recommend my “kin for fun” tag, which has more posts like this in both short and long form.)

[greyias]

The Prompts for days thing 81. “We’re in the middle of a thunderstorm and you want to stop and feel the rain?” (cause this just sounds adorable) XD

As a spy, Theron was accustomed to planning for the worst-case scenario in his assignments. Digital reconnaissance was a necessity in staying alive, so he had diligently prepared everything ahead of time. He’d mapped out all the network relays of Zakuul’s presence on Voss, loaded as many programs and exploits as he could fit into his implants’ memories and his datapad, and made sure he had backup communications in hand so they didn’t have a repeat of the Tatooine incident, where he had nearly gotten blown to bits alongside the Alliance Commander.

What he had neglected to prepare for, to his great chagrin, was the weather.

When the foreboding dark clouds rolled in across the horizon, they were speeding through the Pelath-Ri Marches towards the coordinates provided by Rokuss, the leader of Voss’s resistance movement. It forced them to leave the well-worn trail and take cover in one of the nearby caves as a dark, thick curtain of rain grew closer and closer. The sharp tang of ozone in the air told them they were in for quite the show.

The ceiling of the cave was high enough to keep them dry, save for the occasional drip, so they decided to wait out the storm. Theron drew his datapad and attempted to send a message to Miot, who was still waiting at the shuttle, but the electricity crackling in the clouds seemed to be producing too much interference. Or maybe the Sullustan had stepped away for a caf break. He grumbled under his breath and ran his fingers through his already unruly hair, making it stand even more on end.

“Are you being grumpy back there?” The question was tinged with amusement.

A glance up from his datapad revealed Grey was kneeling at the mouth of the cave, her fingertips tracing the patterns of the rivulets of water as it cascaded over her hands. She was calm, quiet, her eyes following the water as it flowed around her hands, oblivious to the chaos of the storm outside. Despite her actions, he could have sworn she somehow wasn’t actually getting wet. 

“What are you doing?” Theron quirked a brow at her.

Instead of the expected answer regarding the rain, she just said, “Listening.”

“Ah yes, the soothing sounds of a torrential downpour. How relaxing.”

“Some people find it relaxing,” she said with a hint of amusement, “but that’s not what I’m listening to.”

An urge to roll his eyes at the obvious Force nonsense rose in him, but he resisted it. She never seemed to find his disdainful quips about the Force nearly as amusing as he did — one of the many downsides of dating a Jedi, he supposed. “Then what are you listening to?”

“It’s hard to put into words,” she said after a moment. “The sound of a raindrop hitting the ground may be similar everywhere, but the way it flows is not. Thunderstorms on Odessen have this powerful beat that seems to harmonize with the rainfall. Here it’s more discordent, more turbulent. The vibrations of it as it crashes into the ground are a counterpoint to the steady rhythm of the rain. A bit like the duality of Voss itself.”

Theron was pretty sure that he had never listened to precipitation that closely in his life, and in all honesty, never planned to. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but as much as I’m enjoying this little poetry reading, I don’t really want to get waterlogged.”

Grey didn’t reply, but her eyes never left the rain as it poured down, an expression of almost… longing on her face. There had been many times in Theron’s life where he once wished for the same connection to the Force that the Jedi had. He craved information, explanations for everything around him — and that there was this entire spectrum walled off to him, that he’d never be able to feel. It was difficult to not resent it in a way. But it was that look on her face, that feeling of peace and belonging and yet simultaneous yearning — he’d never be able to truly understand it. And that stung.

The water continued to splash off her palm, splattering against her armor and the gloves, and if she kept it up, she’d be drenched before long. And they hadn’t exactly brought a spare set of clothes to change into.

“I didn’t exactly bring a towel for you to dry off,” he pointed out.

“I don’t need a towel, I can use the Force.”

It took him a moment to process that. “Wait, what? You can use the Force to dry yourself off?”

She pressed her lips together, as if trying to suppress a laugh, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Kidding.”

The playful teasing could have annoyed him, but in the dim light of the cave, the way the water droplets clung to her hair and eyelashes gave her an almost ethereal quality. Like some otherworldly being from beyond the stars. She turned away from him as a few more water droplets trickled across her head and down her neck. He noticed the rivulets of water had soaked through the knees of her pants and were now dripping onto the cave floor. Correction: an ethereal, otherworldly being that was unfortunately on her way to getting soaked to the bone.

With a shake of his head, he said, “Maybe you should save all of that weather poetry slam for another time, because right now you’re getting soaked.” 

A rumble resonated in the distance, and she angled her head towards it, gaze fixed on the horizon. Although he couldn’t see what she was looking at, he could tell she was still straining to hear something. 

“I’m sure you can hear the thunder or the Force or whatever it is just as well in the dry area of the cave,” he added.

She flashed him that look again, amused with her lips pressed together as if she saw right through his sarcasm. If he didn’t know any better, he might think she was trying not to laugh. The cave became darker, as if the clouds outside had closed in and blocked out almost all the daylight. After a few more moments of whatever nature communing she had been doing, she finally relented and stood.

“Fine, you win,” she said, attempting to use her cape to wipe some of the water away.

“It’s not a contest.”

The brow she quirked in his direction indicated she didn’t quite believe that. “If we do not want to brave the storm, then I believe we might be stuck here for a little while. The storm appeared quite large.”

At that moment the thunder cracked again, echoing in the cave, and he felt it in his chest, in his bones. He could see her silhouette in the faint light, reaching up to her hair, fingering the wet, limp strands. The space between them shrunk in just a few steps, and without much thought he shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. That ethereal Jedi vanished as she blinked up at him in surprise. He flashed her a sheepish grin in reply, although he wasn’t sure if she’d really be able to see it in the darkness.

She hugged the jacket closer to her body as if she were suddenly aware of the chill in the air. “Thank you.” 

“I can’t have you catching a cold.” He meant for the comment to come out cool and casual, but it was laced with more than a hint of affection. “Who will save the galaxy then?”

She bit her lip, as if trying to hide that same, almost bashful smile he seemed to summon in moments like these. If there had been more illumination in the cave, he imagined he might see the usual flush that accompanied that look. He reached out, his fingertips grazing her cheek as they followed the curve of her face. He could just feel the heat of her blush radiating through his gloves. It was times like this, when she was soft and vulnerable and open, that all the sharp edges he’d honed to keep people out were utterly useless. At least against her.

His hands glided down to her hips almost of their own accord as she moved forward, their faces inches apart, their breath mingling in the air. He detected the sweetness of her breath, a hint of the caf she’d been drinking earlier. He drew closer as her mouth parted, his own lips hovering just above hers, neither of them moving. And then, with a sudden surge of wind that sent the rain nearly horizontal outside the mouth of the cave, the thunder crashed again. The burst of lightning that followed was so bright that it lit up the cave for just a moment, and he could see that same sparkle in her eyes that made his heart race.

In that moment, the only thing in existence was the two of them. The rain, the storm, the wind, all of it vanished — leaving only him and her. As his lips brushed against hers, the thunder crashed again, as if in time with their hearts. And if only for a second, he thought he heard that same rhythm she’d been trying to describe echoing through the cave.