#it's just that no one is born with reading comprehension you know?

[thecoramaria]

I would like to ask your opinion on what might constitute a mature rating in ao3 that isn’t necessarily more extreme instances of violence/sexual references (compared to teen).

My example is I would like to write a “descent into madness” arc but I’m unsure where it falls on the scale. I sense that the worst of the depiction will be extremely harmful words to others and mild injury from disorientation.

I would first ask myself "If a 13-year-old asked me if it would be okay to read this, what would I say?" If the answer is no, its going under Mature rather than Teen and Up Audiences. You might be fine with a 16-year-old reading it, but there are teens younger than them, after all. Now, however you answer that question isn't the end of it. You might not even know what to answer. The thing is that ratings aren't just about mature subject matter or how "graphically" they're depicted, but the level of maturity/life experience you as the author would expect from the reader for them to understand the story.

A story can have not even the mention of violence, swearing, sex, and the like, and still warrant an M rating, because it's written in such a way that only someone with a certain level of reading comprehension or understanding of the world/subject matter would get. For example, if you were writing a story about office politics and drama with all these underhanded comments and such, that would still be rated as mature, because a teenager would be unlikely to have the life experience to fully understand the sheer anxiety of reading a sentence like "As per my last several emails," and even if they do, it's less likely to engage them because it doesn't resemble what their own life looks like at that point. Does that make sense? If you rate that kind of story as 'Teen and Up Audiences' because it as no age-inappropriate content, the teens who see or read it are still going to be unhappy because it doesn't relate to them, and adults may skip over it because they think it's an "immature" interpretation of their experiences.

For a "downward spiral" arc (I'm using this instead of "descent into madness" because I think it's a less ableist term), those have been done in kid's media before, with Azula from ATLA as a pretty famous one, but it also wasn't the centre of the story. ATLA's target audience is also younger than teens as well. The thing is though, the watcher can still enjoy ATLA whether they sympathise with Azula or not, since they have other characters to be invested in and root for, and they can always come to understand her nuances better as they grow older.

If Azula's downward spiral was the main storyline though, it would have to be marked as being for older audiences, because seeing the protagonist -the character you as the reader are likely to be the most attached to- go through these difficult emotions and reach a point of no return is going to be an emotionally and morally challenging read. You'd expect your audience to have a certain level of maturity where they're able to understand where the character is coming from but also how their downfall is also, at least partially, their own doing. If you're using this story to raise questions, you'd expect the readers to be able to sit with and think about them rather than demanding answers. However much of that maturity you expect from your readers will ultimately decide if your story should be rated 'Mature' or lower. Well, this answer got away from me. I hope it all makes sense! Def typed this up through a raging headache lol

[ozzgin]

Yandere! Werewolf Headcanons

I've been stalked by the guilty feeling that my Romanian Werewolf boy got a lot of backstory but not much romance or interaction. So there you have it: some headcanons featuring the ancient Beast, a post-kidnapping sequel.

Content: female reader, obsessive behavior, monster romance, mild NSFW at the end, ridiculously older yandere

You followed the gargantuan stranger back into the city, leaving the bloodbath behind as if it was just a distant dream. Admittedly, you’d expected to be dragged into some mountainous cave or an abandoned mansion, not the cozy - albeit a little dusty - apartment on a main, historical street. On second thought, he did function as a human outside of his monstrous escapades, so it made sense. “Is this your place?”, you sheepishly asked while he wiped the thick layers of blood off him. “One of them, yes”, he answered curtly. “It’s central”, you remarked, trying to make conversation. “Well, I didn’t know about it back then. It’s been a few decades.”

Your ears perked up at the words. Gazing at his features, he didn’t seem necessarily aged to you. The deep creases contouring his face felt more like a sign that he’s lived sorrows beyond most people’s comprehension. “How old are you?” You finally asked as curiosity replaced your initial fear. He abruptly stopped his movements and leaned back, brows furrowed in deep contemplation. “I’m not so sure anymore. I was born in the 80s”, he concluded. “That’s not too far back, is it?” You inquired, this time more relaxed. “80 BC, I meant. You do the math.”

He freshened himself up as you counted the millennia on your fingers, frowning in confusion. He chuckled at your intense focus, then quickly looked up into the mirror. When was the last time he smiled like this? The reflection was a foreign sight to him. “We’ll get you everything you need tomorrow”, he continued, still in a daze. What a strange idea, having someone to speak to after an eternity. And suddenly, it occurred to him just how rusted his communication had gotten: “I’m so sorry, I haven’t asked for your name once”, he said, embarrassed. “It’s (Y/N). And you are...?" Might as well introduce yourself to your benevolent captor.

The dreaded question. How did they call him back in the day? He hasn't had anyone spell it out for him, nor did he feel the need at any point to say it himself. Why would he? He hadn't anticipated meeting you. With pursed lips, he searched his mind. Eventually, from the depths or memories, from days of yore, it made its way back: "Daos."

Given your first gory encounter (where he quite literally murdered everyone else), you were surprised to find out he's otherwise a calm and polite individual. Well, he's had centuries to mature, you suppose. You've also noticed he has that rather old-fashioned chivalry to him. He's very attentive despite his stoic demeanor, and often follows with acts of service.

"You're insulting me. I can carry this myself with ease", you'll argue. "I never doubted you can. Nonetheless, it is my wish to do it for you."

As the days pass, your reluctance seems to vanish as well. In fact, you've become particularly cheeky, encouraged by his warm, unperturbed behavior. Maybe you haven't gotten the worst deal out there, after all.

"You know, you talk like an old man", you've teased him once. He was visibly taken aback by your statement, and you could discern a faint blush on his face. "Do I? My apologies, I haven't spoken to anyone in a long time. I'm not familiar with modern speech. Have I embarrassed you somehow?"

He spends his free time reading, though he will frequently take you on walks. It's an interesting affair to say the least. You can feel the curious eyes of the passersby and hear their not-so-discreet whispered gossip. You can't truly blame them: Daos is enormous even as a human. He towers above everyone else with his imposing appearance. To match, his voice is deep and coarse as a result of not using it much until recently.

The ancient werewolf is a living history book. If asked, he will narrate to you important events or details you might be curious about regarding his culture. Once, when he'd been in a good mood, he even shared fragments of his life before turning into a creature. He'd been a high-ranked Dacian warrior, spending his days training or fighting. He still remembers the flag he carried with bitter fondness, yet another irony to his fate: a wolf-headed serpent. It was meant to showcase their way of life; barbarians with no fear of death. They'd greeted the Roman Empire with nothing but a sword and a shield, no shred of doubt.

He might've been betrayed by his people, but the pride remains. The pride of a soldier who's never known defeat. You learned quickly that his beastly form doesn't count as a significant change by any means, save for appearances. The man has brute strength even as a human. You'd once strayed from his view, and a stranger approached with a daring whistle, gawking you up and down. Before you could react, Daos clawed him by the throat. You heard the twist of the skin and the creak of the bones giving in to the immense pressure of his large hand.

"It's the second time I have exposed you to such unpleasant sights", he said, discarding the body as if it was any other garbage. "Forgive me, but I will not have you disrespected like this."

He is very much aware he's taken you away from the world out of his own selfish desire. The fact that you accepted it is more than he could ever ask for. That's what he keeps telling himself, even as his eyes wander to your lips whenever you speak. Or as his hand lingers a moment too long against the curve of your back. Or as he hungrily takes in your scent whenever you're nearby.

He might be unhealthily possessive of you, but Daos will never do anything against your will. No matter how obvious his urges are. In fact, no amount of flirting or teasing will shake his resolve. You will have to be very direct with your approval.

Once the reality settles in, he'll become extremely affectionate, bordering on obsessive. To think he could have you in every way possible. Oh, he's waited thousands of years for you. All the suffering, the loneliness, the anger, they're stripped of any meaning now that he has you.

The city strolls at an awkward distance have since become a habitual excuse to hold your hand and show you off to the mortals. The quiet evenings of passing time with a book now include your merely noticeable weight cuddled into his lap. You didn't expect him to be this adoring. Being touch-starved for millennia counts as one reason, naturally, but there's more to it, so much more. And it all leads back to you.

He is a little taken aback when you ask him to do the deed in his werewolf form. "Don't be foolish. I can't overcome my instincts as well when I'm a creature. I could harm you", he'll lecture you. "Besides, you can barely take it as it currently is", he'll add, smirking at your baffled expression. It seems he's picked up on your cheekiness.

After a lot of pleading and waiting for the right moment - when he's ravaging you in a daze - he finally agrees. True to his word, his tune instantly changes. The tender hold turns into a desperate grasp sinking into your skin, and the thrusts become irregular, almost frantic. His drool cools your burning cheeks as you hold onto the coarse fur, feverish and overwhelmed.

His golden eyes rest on the small human squirming underneath him, and suddenly, he can't help but notice: you have the perfect birthing hips.

[ms-demeanor]

That level of confidence on rejecting anything beyond what a MD will tell you (and not even a DO apparently?) has reached peak stupid I see. Probiotics work. Saccharomyces boulardii straight up saves lives. Come the fuck on.

I haven't criticized DOs, DOs are fully qualified physicians. For those not aware: In the US a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) has the same qualifications as an MD; if you want a doctor who does more holistic care but is a real-ass doctor, look for a DO.

DC, doctor of chiropractic, is the degree that you get from the ITT Tech of medical schools to lie to people and call yourself a doctor.

Saccharomyces boulardii is one of the probiotics included in the recommendations of the AGA as conditionally recommended in spite of low quality of evidence.

Saying "probiotics are largely woo" and including a link to A) guidelines that recommend evidence-based use of probiotics and B) a commentary on those guidelines lamenting that the lax regulation of the supplement industry has made it excessively difficult to study potentially helpful interventions is not the same thing as saying "probiotics don't work."

I know it can be hard to see but on tumblr when there's a little line under some words that means the words are a link; you can place your cursor over that link and single-click to go to a different page of the internet that might include more words you can read are a much longer and more comprehensive explanation of the words that you initially clicked on.

There's no conclusive evidence that regular supplementation of probiotics improves digestive issues in healthy people and taking probiotics regularly if you are not at risk for c. diff likely means that you're just shitting money down the drain.

Aspirin saves lives too, but that doesn't mean that literally everyone should take it daily for its life-saving benefits.

I became *absolutely ironclad* in my support for evidence based medicine over medical woo after my chronic illness diagnosis and while trying to figure out how to not feel sick all the time. Getting diagnosed with celiac in 2012 meant getting inundated with books like Wheat Belly and links to Joseph Mercola and advice to take probiotics and to stop eating the yoga mat chemical. Navigating a chronic illness and *massive dietary changes* on an internet awash with medical woo was a nightmare, and you're making the exact same kind of argument that I stumbled across on a ton of forums where parents were trying to treat their kids' symptoms, or where people were searching for help with their own pain and struggles and were getting *bad fucking answers* about probiotics and essential aminos and diatomaceous earth.

Probiotics "work" to help some people in extremely specific situations, but, like most supplementation, they are absolutely unnecessary for the vast majority of people and unless you know that you have a specific condition that will be improved by taking them, you're mostly spending a lot of money to swallow a lot of things and shit them out. If you have a gut disorder, probiotics will not make your gut disorder better. If you have diarrhea as a result of food borne illness, probiotics will not get your poop back to normal. If you are constipated, probiotics will not soften your stools or make you more regular. If you are at risk of c. diff from a course of antibiotics and you are NOT immune compromised, probiotics may potentially reduce your risk of c. diff infection and you should talk to a doctor who is treating you for that specific situation about whether or not probiotics might be helpful in the short term while your gut microbiome recovers from the antibiotics.

[hobiebrownismygod]

Researching Characters so you don't have to Part 1: Hobie Brown & His Accent

Art above IS NOT MINE! Click for the link to the original art! Artist: @Jay19

A lot of people write Hobie Brown like Tom Holland, but this just isn't accurate if you want to write a good fan fiction. Hobie is a homeless black teen from the 70s, who was born in Cambridge, and is also a punk. He's not gonna sound like Aaron Warner or Tom Hiddleston. Just because he has a British accent doesn't mean he's going to sound like your average British movie star.

British English is a dialect, not technically an accent. An accent is how someone pronounces words, while a dialect includes pronunciations, but also includes general vocabulary and grammar. This means that despite Hobie speaking English, he won't use the same vocabulary that American-English speakers use, so if you write him that way it won't be accurate.

The British accent that most people are used to is called Received Pronunciation, which is considered the "upper-class" British Accent. However, Hobie does not have a a Received Pronunciation accent. He's cockney. They do not sound the same as upper-class British people, and have a completely different set of vocabulary.

How do you write a cockney accent?

Rule 1: Never pronounce the "H"

For example, house becomes 'ouse. Hat becomes 'at. Hello becomes 'Ello. By writing the words with an apostrophe in place of the "h", it would read more accurately.

Rule 2: -ing becomes -in

For example, running becomes runnin'. Helping becomes 'elpin' (because both the h and the g are silent). Walking becomes walkin'. Those speaking in a cockney accent don't pronounce the "g" part of the ending -ing.

Rule 3: Words starting with "th-" are usually replaced with "f-"

For example, thing becomes fing. This becomes fis. However, don't overdo it. If you write out every word starting with an f, it'll become difficult to read. Only do it if you're trying to enunciate some words over others. Even if you're trying to write an accent, it should still be comprehensible.

There's other rules as well, but these were the main three I saw during my research!

How do you write a cockney dialect?

Cockney rhyming slang

Hobie consistently uses Cockney rhyming slang in ATSV. For example, he calls Miles, "Peter Pan" which is Cockney rhyming slang for "Little man". Using Cockney rhyming slang can make your writing seem more authentic

Some other examples are "Apples and pears" for stairs. "bees and honey" for money, etc. You can google other ones for any words you want to use!

As always research is your best friend, so while writing Hobie, make sure to have another page open with lots of slang and other words available for you to use in your writing to make your character sound as authentic as possible!

Note: I'm not cockney nor British, so if you see any mistakes with my writing, please let me know <3

[nghtwngs]

teach me the rest

description; unable to withhold your feelings any longer, you confess your more than friendly and familial affections for the second-born bridgerton.

genre; fluff, slight angst, friends to lovers, mutual pining, love confession

pairing; benedict bridgerton x fem!reader

word count; 0.8k

warnings; implied masturbation (non-explicit), slight corruption kink, suggestive themes, overly dramatic period drama love confession

a/n; please don’t come for me if there are inaccuracies—i have seen one (1) full episode of bridgerton (i know) but i have read like 50 benedict fics so there’s that? but as an sea, i WILL be imagining myself in sophie’s place when their season comes out so more content on the way in the near future?

“Benedict Bridgerton, if you do not wish to marry me right this second, I will wait until the next minute, day, week, month, season, year… I will wait for every desert to flood, for every ocean to lose colour. I will wait until the earth destroys itself again and again because there is no amount of time in which I could no longer love you. I beg of you, take me as I am yours, but do not take me if you are not mine. Spare me the embarrassment of my confessions.”

You feel as though you cannot breathe each time you avoid his gaze, but once yours return to his, you inhale more oxygen than you could ever dream of. Benedict looks just as breathless as you are, and you can only hope that that means he too feels what you so unceremoniously conveyed.

But unfortunately, you’ve turned him speechless, so you continue speaking in fear of his rejection of your affections—“I realize my father, although ever the artist and drinker of the elixir of life, would prefer Anthony’s hand over yours—you may recall my frankly naïve crush on your older brother—“

You both wince at that.

“—he is no longer the one I foolishly love, and my father would not argue against someone he treats as his own son, one whose passions for painting are one and the same. Please, Benedict, for the love of God, shut me up like you’ve always wanted. I fear I am incapable of not embarrassing myself.”

Benedict, on the other hand, believes he has just taken his first good breath since you first began your declarations. “Is that your wish, darling? To be shut up by me? Because I am afraid it is not mine. I would listen to you waxing poetic about me every second I continue to have ears. And I do believe I will not lose them anytime soon. Even if I lost one—hopefully not my left one, so I may continue to stand right by your side—I will hang onto your every word, as your pretty lips haunt my dreams, waking or sleeping. I did not before desire marriage because I had yet to understand what it does to souls—I thought Anthony would never marry, and yet, here we are. I worried for him after father died, but now, I know that love can melt even the coldest of hearts. Teach me, my heart, each and every way I can love you, for I am now nothing but your student.

“Teach me the art of love—“

In an odd turn of events, you initiate the kiss, the first since the many you shared before either of you quite knew the weight of them, or love. You had once seen Anthony in the Bridgertons’ backyard many, many years ago, lips locked with a girl whose identity you never found out. Thankfully, you think now, you did not stay for very long, or else you might’ve tried to sway young, sweet Benedict into an experiment beyond either of your comprehensions.

After your first kisses as children, he soon learned of the passions people could have for one another and of the cost it could have to your dignity. So, regretfully, dear Benedict would never again know the touch of your lips until now.

“Do not,” you begin breathlessly, achingly, “think for a moment, you have not learned every way in which to please me.”

“If I am out of line, I do sincerely apologize and will let you slap me if only you could forgive me—but I have not yet learned every way to please you. Should we marry, I will learn each sound you’re capable of making, every taste of you, every touch you will learn to take from me. I will offer all of life’s greatest pleasures and indulgences, and I know of no one in this universe more deserving of them.”

You believe that he is the only person who could make you feel better than you dare to yourself, alone in the silence of your bedchambers, masking your pleasure through a trained, quiet mouth.

“I have only known touch through the stories I indulge myself in…” Embarrassed, you continue, “And through my own hand.”

The sound your beloved makes should be quite shameful to the ears of any maiden like yourself, but you can’t but hope to hear it over and over.

“You know, then, only a fraction of what a person can feel.”

“Teach me the rest, so that I may be fulfilled?”

Benedict groans loudly, suppressing it with the palm of his hand. You both pray no one is awake at this hour. You’re oblivious to the double entendre you voiced in your yearning, which for some reason, grows his aching need for you.

He so earnestly murmurs your name. “I will marry you, only if you will marry me.”

“I believe that is how it works,” you tease him.

“But you had such little choice since we were children, so I want you to have this one.” He then admits lowly, “And I wish to hear it from you again.”

“I will marry you, Benedict.”

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: I can't fucking stand the double standards of this fandom. Everytime I see someone bitch about how the Targaryens are "colonizers" I want to bash my brains out. And these posts always include the op talking about how great the Starks are and how they do no fucking wrong.

Like where are these people's media comprehension???? Do they know the basic definitions of things? Add to that the fact that most of these people also constantly call Dany a "white savior". Like literally read a dictionary and try actually reading the books!

I just saw a post where someone was saying that they hate the idea of Dany being the Prince that was Promised because her ancestors were colonizers and she's a white savior.

Instead, they wanted Jon Snow, who, you know, doesn't have any colonizer ancestry. Because the Starks were perfect angels, who took control of the North by asking nicely. And the First Men were gifted Westeros by the Children of the Forest when they arrived because they were all such good friends.

Literally anyone who read ASOIAF (and has the smallest bit of media comprehension) knows that that's the farthest thing from the truth.

The First Men were colonizers who waged outright war with the CotF for thousands of years and desecrated their sacred places. Yes, eventually they made the Pact, but that only resulted in the CotF being slowly pushed out of Westeros completely and they were eventually fully walled out of their ancestral land. They're literally dying out now, as Leaf explains to Bran in ADWD.

Now, doesn't that sound familiar? To me, that sounds an awful lot like what the European colonies did to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Of course it's similar, GRRM is heavily inspired by history.

The Targaryens are conquerors, not colonizers. By the time of the Conquest, they have lived in Westeros for hundreds of years. The Conquerors, their parents, and grandparents were all born and raised on Dragonstone in Westeros.

The Targaryens are a Westerosi house, just like the Starks, Martells, and Hightowers. The only difference between all these houses is the timing of their arrival in Westeros. What exactly are the implications of this belief?

And obviously Dany isn't a white savior. Essos is a very diverse continent, so is their slave system. It's class based, not race based. A large portion of the Essosi slaves looked like Dany because they were of Valyrian descent. The slaves span every ethnicity, why is that so difficult to understand? Not only do the books themselves describe the ethnicity of many of the slaves, GRRM himself came out and debunked this interpretation!

I understand not being comfortable with this kind of story to an extent. The concept of liberation efforts has been tainted by the white savior trope. However, one's personal preferences don't equal the actual content of the story!

I think the thing that pisses me off the most about people who take these stances in the ASOIAF fandom is their pseudo-intellectualism.

Each person who writes these posts believes they have better media comprehension and even superior morality than everyone else. They misapply definitions of extremely damaging ideas so smugly. They believe they are correcting the views of other readers and GRRM himself, and as such, refuse to see how gravely mistaken they are. It's as concerning as it is infuriating.

[witchthewriter]

𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞

From this poll, this series is born!

a/n: the dragons are able to shift into human-like beings. Taking 'bonded' to a whole other meaning.

This whole post is 18+. No minors. 🧿

ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ | ᴹᵃˢᵗᵉʳˡᶤˢᵗ ᴵᴵ

𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑬:

graphic picture ahead -

In the days of Old Valyria Blood Magic was used to create the dragons species by a dragon hybrid choosing a mate. The hybrid had to be in a morphing form into his dragon form. Therefore, creating the dragon spirit that would fill the womb of his human mate.

・Hot-headed, overprotective and showing his animalistic side...always... like a dog with a bone, he will not let anyone touch you, nay; he will not let anyone even look at you too long.

・You often think that the human part of his shift could come out more prominantly, but it just doesn't.

・You do have to remind him that he isn't allowed to kill anyone in his path, that there are rules in human society that are vastly different to the ones in dragon culture.

"Bloody ridiculous, all of it."

・In human form, it's too obvious he isn't human. (Well, yes that is the same with the rest of those who can dragon-shift, but Caraxes cannot let go of his dragon side while human like the others can). It doesn't help that his eyes seem to glow all the time, on his face are tattooed runes from Old Valyria, long thick red hair, darkened lips, pointed ears and extremely large and obvious horns protruding from his head.

・Oh and he was the tallest man you had ever seen

・Standing at 7 feet tall, you thought Westeros had in fact been overrun by some sort of alien creature.

・But no. All dragonshifters are over 6'5 feet. Any less and they are considered still in childhood.

・The first time you saw his human form, you thought he was the most handsome being you had ever laid eyes on.

・A flurry of words that constantly contradicted one another: graceful yet aggressive, mysterious yet direct, there was a pull to him. A pull so ancient that you thought you might die if you didn't follow it.

・And Caraxes was used to ancient authority (he actually hates authority) but still...he knew he needed to listen this time.

・Still an outsider as a human - but he doesn't care, not when he has you.

・He knows how to do Valyrian braids, and loves when you sit on a pillow in front of him while he sits behind you. Humming, which turns to singing - an Old Valyrian one that only mates sing to one another.

・Loves giving you gifts; absolutely showers you in them.

・Caraxes is a shifty, silver-tongued character who is also a big dumbass once he's not playing into the intimidation role

・CONSTANTLY LOYAL AND WILL SQUARE UP TO ANYONE AND EVERYONE.

𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

"Caraxes, No." (You) x "...Caraxes Yes..." (Him)

Commits crimes (Caraxes) x Accessory to crimes (You)

Tough on the Outside, Soft on the Inside Kinda (Caraxes) x The Top (You)

𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆

Challenging Social Conventions

Soulmates

Saw You, Instantly Decided You Were His.

𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈

The Devil & the Daughter by Daniel Pemberton

To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey

The Sails of Charon by the Scorpions

𝑁𝑆𝐹𝑊 🔞 No one under the age of 18 past this point, makes me feel weird if you read it.

・Caraxes loves to hear your moans, especially when it's his name. He wants it loud, louder, louder. Pouding into you, drunk on your body.

・Then he ends up being just as loud - and then he gets so absorbed by you that he cannot make a comprehensive sentence

・His favourite positions are the ones where you're closest.

・"Just like that, keep going. Keep going beautiful."

・Caraxes loves praise, both giving it and receiving it. He does feel lonely; he would never admit it verbally. But ends up showing it in different ways. Such as this.

𝑺𝒆𝒙𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔

"you're so tiny and i dont want to lose control." (Caraxes) and "idc and im gonna taunt you until you break and ruin all my holes" (You)

Breeding Kink

Cockwarming - whines when he can't be inside you. Only you've heard his whines. I swear he would kill anyone else if they heard it.

art credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9w5Gd2PiFM/

A/N: This is all my own headcanons and ideas, it's not canon - George hasn't released a lot about how blood magic works, or how the dragons came to be. So I'm ... taking creative liberties. If you have a different opinion then that's cool too!

[magical-regical]

I saw someone on twitter make art of how MC slowly gets tired of having Mr Crawling in their house after that one ending since taking care of him would be a whole ordeal.

And it made me very sad because in the art, he really does want to help but he's just not built for it. It also got me thinking, exactly how much of an ordeal would it be to get Mr Crawling to a point where he would pass as a house husband?

In this report I will

TLDR; at the very least, he needs mobility aid, a good washing up, basic language lessons, and a partner with good story telling skills to pass off all his other quirks as disease or accident related deformities.

Full analysis under the moss. Also spoilers.

The things most likely to cause problems are his height, his looks, the language barrier, and the fact that he doesn't walk. (And ig his diet but considering MC's 'hobbies' that's trivial).

So let's go one thing at a time here. His height is probably the easiest thing to sweep under the rug, gigantism is a real condition that can happen to people and as luck would have it, the tallest man in the world needs crutches to walk.

From the incident w/ Mr Stitch we know he can stand up and walk to some extent. He probably just can't stay standing for long. This might be because he's not used to walking and being upright since it probably makes it harder to move around in the Ghost Apartments when your head touches the ceiling or maybe it hurts to walk that's why we only see him do it the one time.

If it's the former case then you'll have to help him get more used to using his legs (kinda like physical therapy) and maybe overtime he'll be able to stand and walk around long enough for a quick café date or a short stroll through the park. He'll probably still need crutches but that won't be strange for someone his height. If it's the latter case where it's a biology thing then pookie will have to sit in a wheelchair, might need a custom wheel chair commissioned to accommodate his build but I'm sure teaching him how to wheel himself around won't be too hard since he's been shown to have good comprehension.

The next glaring thing is his looks. You might have to make him wear a mask whenever he goes outside because of the void inside his mouth. He'll definitely need a good washing up, especially his hair. I've seen many fics of MC washing and taking care of his hair as well as art of his hair being tied in different ways and I subscribe to all of that. He will need a haircut. At least to get rid of any split ends, at most to make sure his hair doesn't trail behind him when he walks. I want to believe he'll trust you enough to give him at least a trim (he'll still have long hair but just not as long ya know?). Couple that with a wardrobe change and he'll fit right in if it wasn't for his eyes.

Speaking of his eyes, does he even have eyes? We know he can see but like ??? Everyone has a different interpretation of what's under those bangs of his. I'm gonna go with the interpretation that the skin around his eyes looks badly burnt because I like the headcanon that he was some lone ronin that was brutally murdered and his eyes were burnt in the process. So it's now up to you to make up a convincing and heart wrenching story of how he was born with a deformity/disorder and then got into a horrible accident that caused his ghastly appearance. Making him wear sunglasses might also be a good way to hide his eyes (or lack of eyes).

The last thing to address would be the language barrier. I believe he's smart enough to pick up human language especially if he's immersed in it. Make him watch a lot of tv lol. It also once again falls to you to teach him how to speak and possibly read and write. His pronunciation doesn't have to be perfect, whatever tragic backstory you cook up for him will be able to cover for that but he has to understand words and hold some form of conversation even if particles aren't in his vocabulary. On the bright side, he'll most likely pick up your accent so that's kind of cute.

Only after all of this then you'll finally be able to start teaching him how to properly clean, cook, and do other household chores. In conclusion, it'll take a great amount of effort and probably money on your part to get him up to snuff.

But you'll do your best right? He surely will. After all, he loves you. He loves you so much he's willing to come to this unfamiliar world with you. You and him, together. Always.

Please don't leave. Please?

[cursedappendage]

Slay the Princess Vessels in Japanese Pt 2

<<Part 1(Chapter I & II + Razor III & IV) Part 3(Narrator, Princess, Voices)>> Part 4(TLQ, TSM, Echo)>>

OKAY CHAPTER 3 TIME LETS GO

Chapter III The Eye of the Needle 第三幕。針穴の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Hariana no Otome.) [Act 3. Pinhole Maiden.]

This one is also quite direct, as although the word 針穴(hariana) means pinhole, 針(hari) and 穴(ana) mean "needle/pin" and "hole" respectively. And the phrase 針の穴(hari no ana) refers to the "eye of the needle". Although "pinhole" in itself also works for this chapter cuz i think the theme trying to be conveyed is the narrow space and thread being pulled through a small hole.

Chapter III The Fury 第三幕。憤激の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Fungeki no Otome.) [Act 3. Fury Maiden.]

Like I mentioned in the last post, the only Princesses that were adjectives instead of nouns were The Witch and The Stranger. So for the Fury, rather than something like "Furious Maiden", it's read as "Fury Maiden" or "Maiden of Fury". 憤激(fungeki) means fury or outrage.

Chapter III The Apotheosis 第三幕。神格の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Shinkaku no Otome.) [Act 3. Deity Maiden.]

This one is obvious as well. 神格(shinkaku) means divinity. Though, it's interesting to note that the ENG name is more about the process/point of climax of the Princesses transformation. But also the word for "apotheosis" or "deification" in Japanese is 神格化(shinkaku-ka)

Chapter III The Princess and the Dragon 第三幕。プリンセスとドラゴン。(Daisanmaku. Purinsesu to Doragon.) [Act 3. Princess and Dragon.]

Like the Nightmare and the Beast, this one is the straight up ENG words. Something to note in not only this chapter, but throughout the whole game, is that the Princess is always referred to as プリンセス(Purinsesu), as in the English word "Princess" rather than the Japanese word お姫様(ohime-sama) which is the direct translation of the word "princess".

Chapter III The Wraith 第三幕。邪霊の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Jarei no Otome.) [Act 3. Evil Spirit Maiden.]

A lot of these titles make the Chapter quite obvious actually. Here the word 邪霊(jarei) is used which refers to wicked/evil spirits(which seems to be a really broad term), but I don't really know the implications of the word "Wraith" in English as dictionaries just say it's another word for ghost, so I can't really compare it to the Japanese name. A direct translation of the word "wraith" into Japanese would be レイス(reisu), which is just the english word, or 生き霊(ikiryou) which literally means "living spirit", but can refer to a vengeful spirit/spirit born from rage.

The Moment of Clarity 悟りの時(Satori no Toki) [Moment of Understanding]

One of two Chapters without a period at the end of it. 悟(satori) means comprehension/understanding, though it can also mean enlightenment/spiritual awakening, referring to something like Buddhist enlightenment. I actually don't fully understand what the name in both ENG and JP are supposed to mean in the context of the Chapter. Like, is it referring to finally understanding that you have no choice??? I'm really not sure.

Chapter III The Den 第三幕。穴倉の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Anagura no Otome.) [Act 3. Cellar Maiden.]

穴倉(anagura) refers to a type of hole/cave in the ground where you store food/necessities, though it can also simply refer to an underground room like a basement. I find it interesting that the word used isn't necessarily that close to the word den in english(as in an animals living space). I think words that could fit the meaning of "den" more are 巣穴(suana)("nesting hole, burrow, den") or ほら穴(horaana)("cave, cavern, den"). But I think it's interesting that it's specified to be more of an underground food storage than a cavern for an animal. Also like the fact that it goes from the Beast, which doesn't have "maiden" in the name, to one that does even though the Den is arguably less human than the Beast.

Chapter III The Wild 第三幕。森の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Mori no Otome.) [Act 3. Forest Maiden.]

Now this one is very literal for this chapter, I kinda laughed when I first saw this translation. Obviously, similar to the Tower and most of the other vessels, this can be read as "Maiden of the Forest", but as we all know "Forest" refers to the Princess herself as she and you have become the woods. The Wild, in comparison, is more ambiguous to me personally. But in the Witch, we know that "the wild" refers to the natural environment around them("the roots of the wild" crushing TLQ and the Princess).

Chapter III The Thorn 第三幕。イバラの乙女。(Daisanmaku. Ibara no Otome.) [Act 3. Thorn Maiden.]

Again, direct translation. Though, I would like to note that most of the other vessels use kanji(漢字[chinese characters]) in their names(ie. 森、憤激、塔、卑劣、etc.). The ones that don't are English words written in katakana(カタカナ)(ie. ナイトメア、ビースト、プリンセスとドラゴン). Katakana is mostly used for loan words from other languages or for stylization/emphasis, but イバラ(Ibara) is a Japanese word that does have a kanji form(茨). I'm not Japanese, so maybe イバラ is how it's usually written, or some other nuance, but I like to think it is some sort of stylization.

Chapter III The Cage 第三幕。鳥かごの乙女。(Daisanmaku. Torikago no Otome.) [Act 3. Birdcage Maiden.]

Another interesting one, rather than just cage this one specifies a birdcage. There are words for just cage like 檻(ori) and just かご(kago) but this chapter is specifically a birdcage. I find it interesting since another vessel(Happily Ever After) is described as a "songbird in a cage", and I feel that there are quite a few parallels between the Cage and HEA(Endless cycle, feeling of hopelessness, coming from chapters that share a chapter 3, etc.)

Chapter III The Grey 第三幕。灰色の乙女。(Daisanmaku. Haiiro no Otome.) [Act 3. Grey Maiden.]

Again, direct. 灰色(haiiro) means the color grey, 灰(hai) meaning ash/ashes, and 色(iro) meaning color. I like that the colors of the two Greys are black(drowned Grey) and white(burned Grey), obviously making the color grey put together. There's also comparisons to the dampening of color(to turn grey) and putting out emotions ("emotions left unspoken/all the futures that were supposed to be").

Epilogue エピローグ。末永くお幸せに(Epiroogu. Suenagaku Oshiawase ni) [Epilogue. To Everlasting Happiness]

The 2nd title without a period at the end(the other one being the Moment of Clarity). "To Everlasting Happiness" is a my attempt at a very literal translation for the phrase "末永くお幸せに"(Suenagaku Oshiawase ni). To put more context to it, this phrase is usually used towards newlywed couples at weddings/marriages with a meaning more akin to "I wish you a long and happy life". I like how it makes it seem like TLQ and the Princess are some kind of married couple(and the implications of the dying relationship/staying together because of expectations).

THAT'S IT FOR THE CHAPTERS next will be the characters(The Voices, TLQ, TSM, etc.)

<<Part 1(Chapter I & II + Razor III & IV) Part 3(Narrator, Princess, Voices)>> Part 4(TLQ, TSM, Echo)>>

[littlefankingdom]

Instead of calling Bruce Wayne a capitalist, just say you have never read a Batman comic.

Or that you don't know words' meaning.

Bruce is a privileged white man, born rich and the heir to a fortune and a company. That doesn't make him a capitalist, that makes him a privileged man. Being a privileged rich man who owns a company in a capitalist society also doesn't make him a capitalist (it's the fucking meme again.) He has no power over this, he couldn't choose who he will be born as or where. He is a nepo baby, but that doesn't make him a capitalist.

The correct definition of a capitalist is: a person who uses their wealth to invest in trade and industry for profit in accordance with the principles of capitalism.

Bruce Wayne is literally famous for not doing that, because he invests his wealth in healthcare, housing, education... Literally anything Gotham needs and the gov cannot pay for. Literally nothing that he can make profit from. He doesn't care about profit AT ALL. Investing??? That's not in his vocabulary. And, btw, Bruce doesn't believe it should be a private company doing this. I'm going to use Future State: Dark Detective again, but in it, he states clearly that he thinks rich people should pay their big taxes instead of having lavishing lifestyles (he pays his, btw, and I'm sure he doesn't use the charity to pay less), and the gov should use this money to make everything better for others. And that's not the only time he says that stuff.

"But, if not capitalist, why Bruce keeps WE and money? Why doesn't he change the system?" For the latter, Bruce is one man, he cannot change the system on his own, but also, if he was able to change the evil capitalist way of the USA, the story would be over. It's just like how whatever he does, Gotham never gets better: the story would end. For the former, he keeps WE for two reasons. 1, it's his parents' legacy, that's explained multiple times, and he feels like he would disappoint them if he gives it up. 2, because he knows other rich people don't care and don't use their money for nobody but themselves, and if he gives WE up, all that money and power would end in the hands of an asshole. With him and his kids, he can trust that money to go to the people.

I don't have the energy to demonstrate again how Bruce hates rich people, just look up my posts about Bruce. I have used examples.

If you tell Bruce Wayne "The rich should be dry out, and their money should go to help people and make society better", he would say "Hell yes". That's that he CANONICALLY wants.

When you call Bruce Wayne capitalist, you are showing, at best, that you have so little reading comprehension skill that you cannot understand comic books, at worst, that you don't know shit about our economic and politic hellscape you lived in and the words you use.

Yes, this is because of that fucking panel from Boy Wonder where Ra's Al Ghul calls Bruce a capitalist dog.

[nestastits]

If you hate Gwyn, give me a legitimate reason why other than her being with Azriel.

I’ve seen people claim she’s evil because she doesn’t wear her invoking stone. Even though there was literally an entire paragraph dedicated to why she feels unworthy of wearing it, but you know reading comprehension is dead for the antis. Plus, Ianthe literally wore one and she’s a rapist, murder, and traitor but Gwyn is more evil than her apparently?

I’ve seen people claim she’s a Lightsinger, something we know very little about and what we do know does not make sense with Gwyn’s history and appearance. Plus Nesta can fight off fae magic, so she would know if she was being lured. And if sjm decided to make Gwyn a Lightsinger, it would only make her better. But she’s not with the information we currently know of Gwyn.

I’ve seen people say she lied about her SA even though we have been told from precious Az and Mor how she was assaulted and by whom. And I can’t even begin to describe how fucked up and horrible you are in the head for even insinuating this.

I’ve seen people say it’s because she’s a child compared to others. But literally all the Archeron sisters are younger than her? Feyre was 19 when she was turned Fae. In acosf Feyre-21/22, Elain-23/24, and Nesta-24/25. Gwyn is 28.

I’ve seen people say she is too happy or excited about things, is that not how yall want Elain to be?

I’ve seen people say she’s a copy of Elain. Which is just pure idiocy. Elain and Gwyn have very different life styles. Elain and Gwyn like very different things. The only thing that makes them similar is their compassion for others.

I’ve seen people say they don’t trust her because Az’s shadows darted out at her breath. Azriel’s shadows were born from his loneliness and seek to protect him. They’ve been shown to love him too. His shadows darted out and danced with Gwyn’s breath, a considerable upgrade and show of affection compared to how they scatter away from other characters. They’ve been seen to hover around both cassian and Rhys, the people az calls his brothers, and Nesta-a friend of Az as seen in hofas. It does not mean anything bad for his shadows to fly around another character, I’d be more worried about them hiding from others.

The largest argument I’ve seen antis say is that they don’t like her because she made a man have a spark in his chest😑. If your ship is endgame, why do you care so much about the man having a spark in his chest for another woman? Unless of course this comes off as a red flag, which you should be hating az for not gwyn. Why do you hate her and make up shit for her to look bad just to bring another character up? If your ship is endgame, you should not be worried about the ONLY ACOTAR CHARACTER that has not done a single questionable thing (emerie too) to be hated for.

The only actual reason I’ve seen people hate her for always has to do with the shipwar, which is dumb as hell. But this also proves Gwyn/Azriel have done something to make you question the safety of your “endgame” ship🤔. Right?

[jammechanics]

And. We. Are. Back! Jam Mechanics returns for season 2 with our first guest prompter (Our longtime collaborator and artist, ⁠@deepblueink2d⁠!). In our first episode back we reveal the fate of Jam Mechanics Mansion (Castle?) and reflect on the ocean that separates our two co-hosts Jam Mechanics is a podcast hosted by Matt (@narcissistcookbook) and Bug (@bughuntermusic) where we are challenged to write a song demo from scratch every episode.

If you'd like downloadable files for this episode (and the demos we showed off), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠you can go to our Bandcamp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to pay-what-you-want to support us!

Our brand-new discord is here⁠⁠⁠

and follow us on Instagram, YouTube, etc! Please share the show (and our music) with friends!

-- SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE BELOW --

Challenge: Transatlanticism

BUG'S SONG Title: Agamemnon Lyrics: I am aboard the Agamemnon, we are laying down a line It's gonna cross the ocean floor, the greatest project of our time A telegraph from Newfoundland will reach the Irish Shores but by by the time this note arrives you will not love me anymore

I am aboard the Agamemnon, laying cables in the sea For the purpose of the president to parley with the queen As for me, I've got this letter that I'll send you in the morn but by the time this note arrives you will not love me anymore

You will not love me by the time you read this note You told me you would wait if I had to go I keep your photo in a locket to remind me of my home

but while aboard the Agamemnon I have so much time to dream of a world where I can reach you with no middle-man between And maybe when we're done I'll get my turn, as a reward but I never got that chance, now you don't love me anymore When I made it to Niagara, you didn't love me anymore

You will not love me by the time you read this note You told me you would wait if I had to go I think of you so often with no way to let you know

This is only the beginning, this simple cable in the sea Soon we'll have radios and satellites and waves we cannot see No one'll know the pain of loving one they cannot reach

I'd commandeer the Agamemnon and I'd sail it back to shore it's just a faster way to learn that you don't love me anymore so I'll keep laying this cable for the lovers not yet born so that they may never hear "No, I don't love you anymore"

MATT'S SONG Title: The Tollbooth Lyrics: When Britain's national health service was launched in 1948 it set sail in the wake of the second world war when the country's citizens the upper and lower classes both the rich and the desperately poor had served together, side by side and the ones who survived the horrors came home demanding to no surprise more

we did not fight, they said in our millions just for things to return to the way they were we didn't die they said in our hundreds of thousands just to save a country where the leading cause of death is poverty and perhaps for the first time in british history the aristocrats and the working class agreed on something largely that arming the nation and teaching them how to fight and die for what they believe in makes their demands somewhat more convincing

and so barely three years after the soldiers had come home on july 5th, 1948 the british health system was torn out by the follicles and rebuilt in a new vision that it would be free at point of service, that no one, NO ONE, would be turned away or trapped into debt by lack of personal means that it would be available to everyone who walked through the doors of a hospital or a GP's office and that the well off wouldn't be able to skip the queue this was radical beyond comprehension a truly universal healthcare system doctors across the nation barred their doors and hired personal security so sure were they that the empowered impoverished would storm their offices demanding medicine and aid only to find on that monday morning a polite queue of people in need who for the first time were able to receive the treatment they would have had since birth if they had been born into a wealthier family

the trouble is healthcare is one of those futureproof industries like plumber people are always going to need water and if you can fix their pipes you are, within reason, set for life and the hospital and the doctor's surgery are no exception people are always going to get sick they're always going to get injured at the very very least everyone has to be born and everyone has to die and you would be an idiot would you not if you had the opportunity and the presence of mind to not set up a tollbooth at the well-worn bridges that lead into and out of this life

i am being faceitious of course who thinks like this who is so calculating and cruel that they would look at the legions of dying and sick and feel not compassion but greed who would see not the faces of their own parents, friends and children but a sea of investment a captured market a well of bottomless profit

it would be inappropriate for me to delve too deep into the catacombs that are the American Healthcare System if you are listening from those shores, then you know better than i do how it feels to live in fear of a broken bone of a cough that won't go away of a necessary surgery or a birth in the family I have personally met people who were having to choose between treatment for a treatable disease and a slow death So as to have something to leave their loved ones in their will A meagre windfall, after all, is infinitely preferable over a cascade of debt Maybe, at best, you are simply aware of how lucky you are To not fear these things as many do The privilege of being able to treat mild maladies as the inconvenience they are rather than an existential threat

I bring this up only because The profit machine that is the american healthcare system Is hungry And needs to be fed There is no such thing as too much money There is no endgame in an investment portfolio Where you find the princess in the very last castle and the credits roll There isn't a kill screen where the arcade machine craps out and kicks you back to the beginning The score just keeps getting bigger and bigger, the numbers getting longer and longer, Separated by decimal points and letters and commas And when the numbers get so unwieldy that we run out of space, Eh, we'll just start printing the end of year reports in landscape The machine needs to eat And the painkillers and bloodied sheets of 333 million people could only satisfy it for so long Its eyes, inevitably, have turned east

And what do you think it sees? When you have broken your arm and are getting it cast at 3am When your parents start visibly ageing and wilting When your child gets a cough that won't go away Do you think it wants to help? Or do you think it wants to fucking eat them?

[obeymematches]

Hi there ,I really like your writing! So I wanted to ask you how the demon brothers would react to a MC turning into a little toddler ? (Because of some spell/forbidden book curse etc,you choose) MC being super adorable and sweet like the "perfect" toddler somewhat? Being a little funny too and giggling/smiling a lot ,also loving the brothers and being very comforting with them!

ahhh i wish my own toddler was so nice and sweet lmao

he is though but only if i let him get what he wanted

Toddler MC

Lucifer:

• Sigh

• The only other person not out of their mind in this house turned into a toddler somehow

• Pretty sure it was a curse against him

• Listen dear I doubt he gets along with a toddler for an entire day

• Though you being nice to him, showing him daffodils, rocks with your sticky little hands, hugging his leg until he picks you up helps a lot.

• He is in his prime during bedtime; reading you stories is his favourite part of the day. You are a good, curious kid & never throw a tantrum when he is with you. It is so peaceful he doesn’t actually want it to end. He tells you another story even if he has already told you 4.

Mammon:

• Oh jesus thank God you were turned into a toddler and not him!

• At first he isn’t too sure about what to do with you but quickly gets the hang of playing a bit roughly

• You know the kind of playtime moms don’t wanna see

• He spins you around, hangs you upside down, throws you into a pile of pillows, lets you sit on his neck, throws you in the air, stuff like this.

• It does good for your confidence levels regarding child development plus! you get tired super fast after spending time with him.

• You, him and Levi have a freeze dance competition every afternoon! Sometimes they won’t let you win though.

Leviathan:

• Doesn’t really know what to do with you either. In fact he is scared of you a little.

• You clinging to him, throwing kisses etc. melts him eventually, you are just so adorable he was an idiot to be scared of you.

• Definitely loves to roleplay with you. Comes up with the cutest storylines, though sometimes it gets so complicated you miss it here and there.

• He can easily keep you busy for 3 hours a day and never ever complains

Satan:

• Highkey concerned about the situation

• Never ever seen a toddler before

• His concerns leave him once he sees that you are actually a good little one.

• So now it is his duty to teach you mischief!

• He spends lots of time teaching you to speak as you haven’t said a comprehensible word yet.

• His strategy is referring to himself as „Tantan” but he calls everybody else „The Avatar of” or „The sixth born”, you know, so there is absolutely 0% chance your first word isn’t Tantan. Or maybe kitty/cat, that’s also a phrase you hear quite frequently.

Asmodeus:

• I think he is the only one who gushes over you right away.

• Doesn’t want you to turn back, look at how adorable your cheeks are!!!

• Spends most of his money on new clothes for you, you have to be the all time most fashionable toddler in the city.

• Loves to have tea parties but tbh that’s pretty much it, not sure what/how else to play but he does everything else!! Very enthusiastic and overprotective!!

• He also gets you this helmet so everytime you might fall you’re not going to hit your head. You are so spoiled my dear

Beelzebub:

• Also thinks you are super adorable. Might eat you if you are with him too much.

• Takes you out to the city with him, you must learn how to get food!

• Introduces you to ketchup

• He takes you to the playground the most.

• He is def not the most violent of the guys but trust me you are very well protected and safe!

Belphegor:

• Doesn’t really like what’s going on right now to be fair

• But at least you are nice so that makes it easier

• His preference is cuddling and having a snack with you as you watch TV

• One time he got you chicken to eat.

-Mr.Belphie I don’t like chicken...

-Ah. But it’s not chicken, actually it’s dolphin!

-Oh! Y/N loves dolphin!

[nuria-schnee]

Hi! ❤️ For this week's sneak peek, have the boys having A Moment™

Most of the time, Edwin was aware of Charles’ presence around him, even if he wasn’t looking at him. It surprised both of them when Charles touched his shoulder and startled Edwin.

“Edwin?” Charles muttered, pulling his hand away and sitting on the edge of the desk, facing him with kind, bright eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” Edwin answered, readjusting his posture and straightening his back. “I only wished to note down tonight’s indecent before I forget any details.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, mate,” Charles smiled at him.

Edwin sighed, wishing that was actually true.

“Could start filing some of these,” Charles added and reached for the first report over one stack of cases. “If you want.”

“No. Not yet,” Edwin sighed, opening his notebook and picking up his pen. “It is alright, Charles. It has been quite a night. You may rest, if you wish.”

“What about you? When will you take a break?”

“I have not had to fight a poltergeist and escape a legion of rabid bumblebees,” Edwin noted, remarking the last part. Then he dropped his gaze to the pages before him and began taking notes.

“Yeah, but,” Charles grimaced a bit. “You’ve been overloading yourself since this started. You should take a break too.”

“Considering the current situation, I do not think that is the wisest decision.”

Keep reading under the cut!

“But it might help? You know, to see things from a new perspective and all that?”

“If you wish to rest, I am not against it. You do not need to feel obligated to do anything else,” Edwin said absentmindedly.

“That’s not what I meant,” Charles muttered, keeping his voice cheerful, but tinged with sadness. “I just— I think you really should stop for a bit after you’ve finished with this, yeah? We could do something fun. Or just laze about. Play Cluedo, maybe.”

Edwin stopped scribbling, raising his eyes to Charles. He was starting at him with a plea written in his expression, shining with hope. When their gazes locked, his smile turned softer.

“Come on, mate,” Charles tilted his head to the side, his earring dangling enticingly. “It’s been weeks since we’ve done anything but work. Things are calmer now and we should make the most of it, just in case. Catch our breath. Get our energies back, yeah?”

For a few seconds, Edwin just stared at his friend, hopeful and bright in the warm light of the office. Admiring the way he was breathing evenly, deeply, his body tense with expectation, with quiet hope. Edwin had trouble remembering why he was so adamant about depriving himself of a bit of time together. The resolve to keep working until he solved the case, until he cracked the greater mystery, was slipping away with every second he kept his eyes fixed on Charles’. An incessant thought that this was precisely the reason he was doing it, to have more quiet moments with him, simmered in his mind. However, Charles had him transfixed with the way he was pleading at him with such fondness, with a need for company he wasn’t sure he could refuse.

Edwin felt he had to be running out of luck by now. He just had to. Even if his life and death had been plagued by suffering, the fact that he was there, accompanied by that beautiful, diligent creature, couldn’t be anything but a causality born out of pure luck. He had escaped Hell and met him. After only a few hours of knowing each other, Charles had decided to stay with him, and chose to again and again, for forty years. They could have lost each other a lot of times and hadn’t. Edwin confessed his love, and Charles still stayed, comprehensive and supportive until the point Edwin found himself struggling to believe he was real at all, all over again. Every time he could have lost Charles, he hadn’t. More often than not, Edwin was shaken by the fear that the next time would be the definitive, the time he truly lost him. Whatever he could do to avoid that, he would. He had to keep working. He had to keep the agency productive and remain useful himself. He had to solve this case, once and for all.

But Charles wanted time with him. It shouldn’t be as baffling for Edwin as it turned out to be. They’d only had each other for decades and Charles still enjoyed his company, looked happier when they spent time doing things together outside cases. To be honest, Edwin hadn’t realised how long they had gone without a break. He’d been too absorbed in the case to notice. Charles’ expression was making him realise how much he too yearned for it. For a peaceful night, spent with Charles on the couch, looking at him, hearing him laugh—

When they got back from Port Townsend, there had been a part of him still scared of how his confession might have changed things between them. Crystal had been mostly doing her own thing those first weeks, and that had left them alone for long stretches of time again. The relief he felt when he realised they seemed to have grown even closer after those experiences was unmeasurable.

Charles’ absolute easiness about his feelings escaped him still, in some ways. Edwin suspected it had more to do with some of his unearthed shame, still encysted in the core of him, than with Charles. Edwin hadn’t felt anything but loved by him, even if his heart yearned for more. That was enough.

If his inability to get rid of those feelings would cause problems in the future, he wasn’t quite sure. He wasn’t inclined to examine that at the moment. Not that he had the time either.

“Alright,” Edwin conceded in the end.

“Yes!” Charles lighted up like a thousand suns, his smile blinding, and he pushed himself away from the table, ready to jump into whatever activity Edwin proposed.

Edwin couldn’t help the smile curving his mouth. “Once I am finished with this,” Edwin added, swallowing down the laughter in his tone. “It will be only a few minutes.”

“Brills,” Charles said, cheerful.

[traegorn]

Hey-o! Tis the season for people to talk about how the holidays were "actually pagan" and I'm on the hunt for sources about how that's really not the case, if you have any you'd recommend!

Okay, so the problem is there are so many weird "Christmas is stolen!" bullshit memes going around, it's so hard to just give you a comprehensive list of sources. Christmas celebrations have evolved as the religion has spread, and different things come from different times...

The key here is to go for academic sources. This is a question of history, and a well supported historical research is going to tell you whether they're operating from primary, secondary or tertiary sources.

So while I can't give you a simple list, let me give you a couple of examples off the top of my head and give you tips on how to investigate any the dumb claims that get passed around.

Christmas being in December: So a lot of people go for the "Christmas is in December so it can steal from [INSERT SOLSTICE CELBRATION]" is ahistorical... because we know exactly why Christmas is in December. Because the guys who made the decision argued with each other and left behind written documentation. The two big names you need to look up are  Clement of Alexandria (who pitched January 6th) and Hippolytus of Rome (who proposed December 25th). This is around the turn of the third century, and you can find both of their writings. Some folks have questioned the authenticity of some of Hippolytus of Rome's writings, but Clement of Alexandria's seem well supported. These were internal arguments about when the birth of Christ took place within the early church, and when they settled on late December. There are reasons for this, and you can read their arguments (it largely has to do with the importance of when Jesus was conceived -- they wanted that to be an important date and then added nine months to it). Importantly though, because linear time is a thing, this means Christmas was set in December before the Christianization of the Germanic and Norse tribes... so anyone who says Christmas was set to December to correspond with Yule doesn't understand the concept of "coincidences."

The Christmas Tree: The Christmas tree was invented in 16th century Germany. That's... that's just written down all over the place. Now, there are legends about Martin Luther being the first who did it -- but I'm pretty certain that's just an embellishment that got added on. There are preceding traditions where part of an evergreen was brought into the home as a part of solstice traditions (though some will claim the Egyptians did this? Which is wild -- likely misinterpreting their use of palm fronds as the same thing), but the act of taking a whole ass tree, cutting it down, putting it in your house, and decorating it? That's 16th century Germany all the way. You can rabbit hole so many sources on that one, but honestly just pick apart the citations on the Wikipedia page. Putting a branch in your house and dragging a whole tree in are very different acts.

Jesus's story is copied from [INSERT RANDOM GOD]: There are so many of these, and some are just downright disrespectful to major world religions (the Krishna version of the meme especially). The answer is... just see if what the meme is saying about the god is supported by the mythology. Like I've seen ones that says Dionysus was "born of a virgin." If you know anything about the Greek gods, you're probably already laughing on the floor. Horus gets dragged into this too, because Gerald Massey was trying to pull a "White Goddess but with Dudes." But any serious research on Horus will tell you the supposed parallels aren't supported by the mythology.

So sorry, this wasn't so much sources you can use as it is how to look for them to begin with. Because there's just so, so much. This isn't even covering cases of syncretism, where pre-existing cultural traditions got continued post-Christianization. Because it's almost always the case that if a pre-Christian practice endured post Christianization, it's because people decided to keep doing it -- not because the church was trying to "steal" it. The latter means there was some mustache twirling plan behind it, when the former means (usually) the church went "Well, they're paying their tithes and saying it's for Jesus, so who gives a shit?"

I'm just going to finish this off with linking to my podcast episode on this, along with Ocean Keltoi's great Yule video on the topic. Hopefully that helps.

[aledethanlast]

Jeremy shows up to practice fifteen minutes early and finds Jean in the team lounge. "This is for you," he says.

Jean expects those words, like all the other times he's heard them, to be accompanied with a bright smile and flowers, or chocolate, or a plate of whipped cream to the face—don't worry, revenge was had—but instead finds himself staring at...a note.

White flash card, folded twice, one corner bent back down halfway for no good reason at all, and the memories hit Jean like a racquetto the head. How many of those noted had he been given? Shoved into hands without stopping to look and passed on just as quickly.

Jean is a man of instincts. Reflexes. Ingrained responses so deep the brain need not bother, for the body already knows.

And this note is a cue his body knows too well. One, take the note before anyone can think to come near it. Two, shove it into his pocket before anyone can see. Three, storm down the hall to tell Kevin that he is NOT waiting for 45 minutes again while he agonizes over a two fucking sentence response, and—

The door opens again, San Diego sunlight blinding him as two more teammates come in, and Jean remembers Kevin isn't here. Which means. Which means.

He unfolds the paper too quickly—it would've torn if it had been thinner, but the thick flash card just gets stuck. Typical. Holy shit, typical.

Thea's handwriting is the same precise script as ever (except the lowercase g's for some reason). The letters are smaller than the guidelines, like she didn't know how much space she needed to write everything she wanted to say.

Hi Jean. Kevin says you're doing well. Or rather, Kevin says that Jeremy says. Not that I think Jeremy would lie, but there's only one messenger I've every really trusted, and that's you. I'll be in SD sometime next week. Give me a call.

A phone number is scrawled beneath. No signature. Overall, it takes just over half the card; either she miscalculated or she had more to say but instead chose self censure. Both options are unlike her.

The myriad pieces of Jean's mind read the note, over and over, all slightly out of synch from one another so rather than comprehension he only gets nose.

"Jean?" Jeremy's had on his shoulder, concerned. Jeans hand jerks upwards, sharply, and then he brings it back down as he turns to face Jeremy, pretending he hadn't been this close to stuffing the note in his mouth. "You good, man?"

Good question. Great, even. Jean has a better one. "Who gave you the note?"

Jeremy frowns even harder. It doesn't suit him, brow furrowed like that when he isn't trying to run through a backliner like they're made of tissue paper. "Coach Rhemann came back from Texas this morning, told me Muldani gave it to him. With very specific instructions not to open it. I met Coach, he gave it to me."

Of course. Thea doesn't ask for things; it's the first piece of advice she ever gave him. If you want, and you can, then do it. Forget who might stand in your way; they can only try, same as you.

"Jean?" Jeremy asks again. "What did the note say?"

Thea wanted to pass a message to Jean without Jeremy in the way. Well, maybe fuck what Thea wants. Jean hands him the note. Jeremy skims it, raises a brow. "What does she mean, that she only trusts you?"

His concern, born of meeting Jean back at Abby Winfield's house and fed by the steady trickle of Jean's stories of the Nest, seems momentarily absurd. "The Ravens weren't allowed to date," Jean says simply, as he had many times before. When Jeremy seems to catch on, he nods at the note. "I was their favorite messenger. Well. I was the only one who wouldn't sell them out."

"Why didn't you?"

Because Kevin was his friend. Because Thea deserved better than anything the Nest could ope to give her, much less dare to deny. Because every breath Jean took in protest to that tar pit came filled his lungs just a little bit deeper.

"Because then I got to read Kevin's love letters."

Jeremy's eyes go wide. "Shakespeare?"

"Poe."

Some teammates turn at the sound of their captain's laughter. More turn when they hear him hit the floor. Jean gives them all a plain look.

He takes the note back from Jeremy's twitching fingers—it's best to let him wear himself out on such occasions—and stares at the phone number.

Thea does not ask, she acts. If Thea wants to come down here and see him, then nothing stands in her way.

Except Jean. If he doesn't call, if he doesn't show, he's sure she won't push. She will never call or text or write a note to him again and all he has to do is nothing.

The thought rumbles through the dark halls of his mind that still belong to the Nest, like a freight train pushing forward too much air, pushing, pushing until the wall ahead falls apart from the pressure and—

Sunlight. The lounge door is open again. More teammates, almost late, confused by their laughing captain.

Jean takes out his cell.